Corruption in Russia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words - 1

Corruption in Russia - Essay Example Russia is one of the â€Å"G8† countries. The G8 group’s interim compliance report,1 at the Sea Island Summit in 2004, mentions Russia’s failures in controlling the levels of corruption while translating its undertakings into action. As on the date of the report, Russia had not ratified the U.N. Convention against corruption2 though action to ratify had been under way. The report says that corruption in Russia has become so pronounced that, the country has gone down to 90th position in Transparency International’s Corruptions Index in 2004. It had been already at the 83rd position in 2003.3 It makes a passing reference to President Putin’s handling of affairs of Russia’s second largest oil company ‘Yukos’ which has since been taken over by the Government.4 Vladmir Popov in his article â€Å"Russia Redux’ referred to new Russia as the â€Å"Shock therapy era† characterized by huge economic, political and human costs. The article further stated that the country is far better than it was seven years ago but worse than it was twenty years ago alluding to Boris Yelstin’s turbulent years marked by moral bankruptcy. Russia’s GDP, investment and life expectancy figures are yet to reach at 1989 levels. President Putin’s priority has been to regain the lost institutional capacity of the state and stability via re-centralization. Despite best efforts the country has not been able to do much for equitable distribution of wealth. 46.6 percent of wealth is concentred in the hands of 20 per cent of the population. The informal practices which Georgi Derlugian attributes to ‘persistent under-institutionalisation of Russian life’, have been the breeding ground of corruption at all levels in Russia. The absence of institutions has opened up avenues of personalism and nepotism. During the years from 1996 to 2000, Oil Company of Kursk Oblast, pharmacies, public security and cultural affairs were under the control of the then-governor Alexander

The book Gap Creek Essay Example for Free

The book Gap Creek Essay The main objective of the book Gap Creek is to educate people about the trials and challenges of marriage. The speaker of the book, Julie Harmon tells about her story as a teenager and continues till the time she met Hank and married him. Till then, the story focuses more on their lives as a couple. The story is narrated from the perspective of the main character Julie. It started on her life as a teenager. At an early age she started to help in chores and in some of his father’s work. She lives with her father, mother Delia, baby brother Meseiner, young sister Rosie and baby sister Carolyn. Meseiner, being the only boy, was spoiled by her parents. However, it was not long when he passed away following her father being sick. Since then her mother was not able to do the things she used to and it was up to her and her sister Rosie to do the house works since her sister Carolyn is now the one being spoiled by her mom. She works hard like a man since she knows that if does not take charge and do her father’s work, nobody would get it done. Unfortunately, her father didn’t make it and passed away too. Her family was having a hard time adjusting to her father’s death but later on found a way to still keep the family intact. One day when Julie and her mother were working on a field, a man came by asking for directions. Hank Richards, who came from downtown, went to look for the Willards on the mountains since they are selling sweet taters. Later on, he and Julie took a special interest on each other, and after spending time with each other twice, Hank asked Julie to marry him. Julie agreed, not bothered by her age and current life situation. Her mother did not approve of this for she thinks that Julie is not ready for a married life. Nevertheless, her mother failed on convincing her to back out of the marriage. After Julie and Hank got married, they move to Gap Creek and her sister Rosie took over on the family obligations. The bad news is that the new couple didn’t have a place to live, so they agreed to live with Mr. Pendergast who allowed them to live with him in exchange for household services. Hank works all day and Julie does the chores. When Hank’s mother came to visit, Julie accidently caught fire while preparing dinner for Hank’s mother. When all of them were safe outside the house, Mr. Pendergast rushed inside to get is pension money. Sorry to say, Mr. Pedergast didn’t make it for the fire was to big. When the fire was cleared, they were able to retrieve Mr. Pendergast’s body, burned and lifeless. Julie and Hank, uncertain of their future, with a baby on the way didn’t know how long they could stay in the house before the heirs take it. Hank Richards, though a supporting character, is the one being talked about in this paper. Some of his actions showed defense mechanisms studied by Freud. When he was in the field asking directions from Julie’s mother, he showed displacement for he used Julie’s mother in order to get close to Julie. Displacement is defined as the redirection of an impulse to a substitute target. Another example was when Hank and Julie for fighting on Christmas. Hank who’s originally angry at Julie for constantly asking nonsense question, instead directed his anger to the flood and the storm leaving an angry and sarcastic response to Julie – â€Å"If the creek rises we won’t be able to get out of the house without a boat† – when asked what to do if the flood rises. He also showed projection when he was talking to Julie’s mother like an old man. He also illustrated this when they were in the forest and said that there are a lot of varmints in there, in which he referred the varmints to the Willards. When we say projection, we tend to deny our thoughts and feelings by attributing them to somebody else. Hank however showed isolation a lot of times. First was when he was a Julie’s house for dinner and she invited Julie to go to the spring for he said that drinking cold water is good after hot dinner, isolating the fact that Julie spilled coffee in his pants. It is possible for someone to portray to characters at once. In this case, Hank also showed reaction formation for he â€Å"believed the opposite†, meaning even after Julie spilled hot coffee on his new bought pants, he came to love her more. He also showed reaction formation when during a storm, he said that they never had floods on Christmas even if he knows that that happens because they live on a mountain before. To make it more clear, isolation is defined as stripping or isolating the emotions from a difficult memory or threatening impulse. Reaction formation, as mentioned earlier, â€Å"believing on the opposite†. Most of Hank’s attitude shows intellectualization or rationalization. Some of these were when Hank was asked by Julie about banjos. Hank, having a bad memory with his father when talk about banjos becomes rather more focused on the idea on how the banjo was made out of the skin of a cat. When he and Julie went to the spring to drink, instead of commenting on how refreshing the water was he prefers to compare the idea the water’s taste from rubies and emeralds. When Julie talks about his father using wine for rheumatism, Hank engaged on the conversation that pokeberry is better for its therapeutic on the joints and explains how the wine can warm and soothe the joint. Intellectualization is defined as analyzing instead of feeling and reacting, which Hank showed most of the time when he answers intelligent but unrelated answer. On the situation when Julie asked Hank to sing a Christmas carol, Hank answered him that he can’t remember how to sing depicts denial and at the same time, repression. He was in denial that he can’t sing and at the same unconsciously repressing the idea that he can sing for he is more focused on the flood at that time. Denial is defined as falsifying reality which is somewhat close to repression. Repression however, means not being able to remember things. Gap Creek was truly wonderful and a lot of values can be learned. The trials and challenges that Julie and Hank overcome were really admirable for with each obstacle that would come to them, both of them always want to manage to put their lives back again. Works Cited Cherry, Kendra. ‘Defense Mechanism’. About. com: Psychology. Web. 18 May 2010. http://www. psyhology. about. com

Four Procedures Commonly Used in Refractive Eye Surgery Essay examples

Four Procedures Commonly Used in Refractive Eye Surgery One of the first things put on in the morning and one of the last things taken off in the evening, glasses and contacts play a large part in the everyday lives of those who depend upon them to see clearly. These two types of corrective lenses allow for clearer vision, but glasses and contacts are also inconvenient. Sports, especially contact sports, are more difficult to play when glasses get in the way or break. For those who can wear them, contacts are an improvement over glasses; wearing contacts for 18 hours a day, however, is not healthy for the contacts or the eyes. Therefore, other methods are desired to correct vision. Ophthalmologists have long dreamed of equipment and techniques to permanently correct refractive problems. For more than 100 years, doctors have been exploring the use of surgery to reduce or eliminate patient's dependence on glasses and contacts ["Refractive," 1997]. This dream came true with the introduction of refractive surgical techniques for the correction of myopia and astigmatism. In refractive surgery, various micro-surgical procedures are used to re-shape the front surface of the cornea. Four main refractive eye procedures are clinically being studied: radial keratectomy (RK), automated lamellar keratoplasty (ALK), photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), and laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK). These four common procedures in refractive eye surgery will be compared and contrasted while taking into account the limitations of comparison such as the patient and the extent of the correction needed. Function of the Eye The human eye is a complex organ with a primary function of focusing light on the retina to provide the sense of sight f... ...ctive and Corneal Surgery (Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1996), pp. 10-120. "Laser Eye Center," http://www.lasereyecenter.com/ (Madison: University of Wisconsin, November 1997). McFadden, Murray, Dr. "Laser Eye Surgery, PRK, LASIK," http://www.prk.com/ (Madison: University of Wisconsin, November 1997). Raeburn, Paul, "Keep Your Eye on the Laser," Business Week (30 September 1996), p. 40. "Refractive Surgery Frequently Asked Questions," http://www.isrs.org/library/faq (Madison: University of Wisconsin, November 1997). Sanders, Donald, Radial Keratotomy (Thorofare: SLACK Incorporated, 1984), pp. 1-16. Sulting, Dr., "Laser In-situ Keratomileusis (LASIK)," http://www.emory.org/vision_correction/ (Madison: University of Wisconsin, November 1997). "Understanding Laser Vision Correction," pamphlet (USA: The Laser Center Inc., 1997), pp. 7-43.

Essay on What Dreams May Come :: What Dreams May Come

What Dreams May Come    When mortality is contemplated, issues of life, death, and the hereafter are usually the first of a myriad of topics to spontaneously arise as if they are from the dark depths of a person's soul. I believe that this is most eloquently stated by Hamlet:    For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause. (III. i.)    This passage served as inspiration for Richard Matheson, the author of the novel, What Dreams May Come. This essay is in two parts: discrepancies between the book and the movie, and views of life/death in the movie and book.    Part I: Discrepancies The first noticeable discrepancy between the book and the movie is that the movie is a movie (meaning that the movie progresses with the characters for the most part except for the occasional flashback) while the book is a retrospective by Chris of his life and escapades written after he is dead. The first chapter of the book opens with a medium at Richard Nielsen's (Chris's brother) door. It appears that after rescuing Annie in her very own, limited edition, private hell, Chris finds a medium, and he pesters her until she agrees to transcribe his journal (it took her six months) and hand deliver it to Richard.    Another major discrepancy between the movie and the book is that in the book the children do not die. In fact, the children are they way that Chris can find his way back to Annie; through their thoughts and prayers. Before Anne dies, Chris gets Albert (not his son in the book) to look up how long Anne is to naturally live. Albert comes back and reports that it is twenty-four years. Chris becomes devistated and worries about it. Then, Anne kills herself. In the book, Anne would not be in her own patented hell forever but for the time she was to live (she still committed suicide). So she would be in her desolate hell for twenty-four years. That doesn't seem too bad but Chris would not hear of such, and then proceeded to persuade Albert to help him get in touch with Anne again.    Richard Matheson became a new-age metaphysical expert in order to write What Dreams May Come. He wanted the book to be as realistic as possible, so he acquired dozens of books (all listed in the Bibliography) and first hand Near Death Experience accounts from people from all walks of life.

Foreign Direct Investment Essay

Case Discussion Questions: 1. Why, historically, has the level of FDI in Japan been so low? The relatively low FDI stock in Japan is partly the result of a history of official inhibitions on FDI. In some industries, inward FDI penetration, as measured by the share of employment accounted for by foreign affiliates, in Japan in fact is on par with the United States. However, a large number of â€Å"sanctuaries† with almost no foreign involvement remain, so that FDI penetration overall is still very low. While to some extent, this can be explained by Japan’s relatively isolated geographic location, historical factors play an important role. Throughout the centuries and until quite recently, Japan’s rulers have viewed foreign involvement in the economy as a threat and consequently erected various barriers to FDI. 2. What are the potential benefits to the Japanese economy of greater FDI? The potential benefits to the Japanese economy of greater FDI are the ones listed below: †¢ Faster revenue growth than domestic firms; †¢ Significantly higher profitability and sales margins than domestic firms; †¢ Greater capital investment per employee than domestic firms; †¢ Higher total factor productivity than domestic firms; †¢ Higher spending on research and development per worker than domestic firms; and †¢ Higher average wages than domestic firms. 3. How did the entry of Wal-Mart into the Japanese retail sector benefit that sector? Who lost as a result of Wal-Mart’s entry? It helped restructure Japan’s retail sector- boosting productivity, gaining  market share, and profiting in the process. Wal-Mart implemented its cutting edge information systems, adopted tight inventory control, leveraging its global supply chain to bring low cost goods into Japan, restraining employees to improve customer service, and extending opening hours. It was more difficult than Wal-Mart had hoped. Wal-Mart’s entry prompted local rivals to change their strategies. 4. Why has it been so hard for Wal-Mart to make a profit in Japan? What might the company have done differently? The company’s global marketing strategy has many flaws. Wal-Mart failed to grasp the consumer and retail environment in Japan. With a population of 127 million, the highest per capita income and the second largest economy in the world, Japan is a very attractive market for retailers. Perhaps more research into their cultural values and patterns could have helped avoid some of these mishaps.

buy custom A Chinese Poem To Pi Ssu Yao essay

buy custom A Chinese Poem To Pi Ssu Yao essay To Pi Ssu Yao is a Chinese poem. Well written to portray the plight of the poets. It is one of the many Chinese poems, which is just so good and well written. This one particularly reverberated with me; despite the fact that I do not figure out the title. I believe there are two issues going on throughout the poem. First, there is the whole poem artist not getting acknowledged for the contributions they give, you know, the clich, stereotype also reality that artists have a tendency to die meager and leave their estate administrators to enjoy the riches. However, there is also the notion that knowledge is a type of procreation. We leave the matter for the generations there after. The poet gives us the reality of procreation that is dependant on generations. It is a kind of immortality, even after you pass on; the acquaintance that one has left will continue to be passed on generation after generation. This issue of life reality is quite evident in the poem that is being passed on to g eneration. It' has been passed down for more than ten centuries and currently every one of the six billion persons on the planet has a right to use to it. The poem is giving us the reality of life where those who work hard never gotten the right yield of their labor. Human acquaintance gets more complex since it is compounded; we find out everything the persons who came before us had acquainted with, and then we gain knowledge of something new in addition to that. In addition, it keeps building through the periods, and we as species recognize more and more with each succeeding generation. Writers get to know what came before by learning through reading, and in turn, they struggle to push their writing wherever writing has not gone before. In Patterns, we are awakened from quietness by a precise fanfare that for a fleeting second suggests too much accomplishment. Instead of ruptures of electrons, we hear dissimilarity on the opening display, in lush chromatic harmonies and changing moods. Curiously, the character is the poet and other poets suffering from the opening injustice, departing with an unsettling, disjointed, almost exhalation into a final trivial chord. The illusion is absolute. The arts have talent and people refer to them as the leading poets of our day. The translation of the poem stanza give us the agony poets fill when they work yield to them litter. Too bad, our homes are humble. The poets recognition is considered insignificant. Hungry, not well clothed, the lovers of their work treat them with contempt (Rexroth, 2011, pp1-2). This is a true picture of the worlds injustices where people are self centered and inconsiderate about others. In the prime of life, the poets faces are furrowed. However, this is a recap of the old saying that ones meat is anothers poison. We are our own Audience. We appreciate Each other's literary Merits. This translation is a confirmation that the like-minded or victims are always concern about one other. The poems will be passed on along with great dead poets'. This is a poem written to give the plight of the poets and other talented artist. To Pi Ssu Yao is a well written poem that gives the injustice of the world; where majority are reaping where they never sowed. Conclusion To Pi Ssu Yao translation, give us the perspective of the writer and other artists in regards to their work. It is a poem giving the plight of the poets also continuity of their work for generations. Buy custom A Chinese Poem To Pi Ssu Yao essay

cultural relativism essays

cultural relativism essays HUMAN RIGHTS AND CULTURAL RELATIVITY Human rights is something every person is entitled to by virtue of their being human. It is an entitlement, something you have without deserving or earning it. It is yours because you are a human being. If it is a right for you, it is a right for everyone else. It is the basic right and freedom to which all women and men are entitled - among them the right to life, liberty and nationality, to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, to work, to be educated, to take part in government. Cultural Relativity is the anthropological attitude that a societys customs, traditions and ideas are to be described in an objective perspective in context of the societys problem. In other words, it says that we should judge the actions of a society in context to the societys traditions and customs. The basic premise of cultural relativism is that beliefs, values, and morals are all based on ones culture. It is an ideology that all beliefs are equally valid, and that none can be considered inferior or wrong. All ethical, religious and political truths are relative to the cultural identity of the individual. Cultural relativity says that good and bad are relative to culture. What is "good" is what is "socially approved" in a given culture. For example, Infratricide, it isn't good or bad if you look at it objectively but it's good in a society that approves of it and bad in one that disapproves of it. Many anthropologists have already become uncomfortable with the form of Cultural Relativity advocated by Benedict and Herskovits. According to them morality differs in every society and all patterns of culture are equally accepted. There have been on going debates for a long time now about Cultural Relativity and Human rights. Cultural Relativity goes against Human rights. It does not recognize a persons individual rights but a societys tra...

Bronchitis essays

Bronchitis essays Bronchitis is the inflammation of the bronchi. It may develop suddenly, following a head cold (acute bronchitis), or it may persist or return regularly for many years, causing progressive degeneration of the bronchi and lungs (chronic bronchitis). Certain people are more susceptible than others; Men are more of a target to bronchitis than women, out numbering them 10 to 1 cc the reasons are unclear. Of course smokers are 50 times more likely to get chronic bronchitis than noncsmokers. Acute bronchitis is a bacteria or virus infection, often following a cold smoking. People who have acute bronchitis usually have a mild fever, soreness under breast bone, irritated by coughing. First they have a dry cough then the cough later brings up green and yellow mucus. The cough may persist to 4 to 6 weeks. Chronic bronchitis is produced by other chronic problem: sinusitis, smoking, TB, etc. The Bronchi becomes thick, inelastic, and accumulate mucus and pus in lower part of lungs instead of bringing discharges up and out. The result is chronic cough, shortness of breath, sometimes spasm, and frequent infection. In acute bronchitis, the basic symptoms are a head cold, fever and chills, running nose, aching muscles and possibly back pains. This is soon followed by the obvious persistent cough. At first the cough is dry and racking and eventually becomes phlegmy. The persistent cough is worse at night than during the day, and when the person breathes in smoke and fumes. The main symptoms most recognized in chronic bronchitis is, again, a cough, with sputum, often occurring in paroxysms. Other symptoms in chronic bronchitis are dependant on how much, or how little, emphysema is present. This disorder causes the lungs to become overstretched, making the breathing process difficult. The chronic bronchitic with no emphysema tends to be overweight and often has a bluish tinge to his or her li...

Movie Comparison Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Comparison - Movie Review Example Similarly, similarities in movies may also be analyzed to see how they implicate the touch and feel of these movies being compared. For the purpose, two movies of similar nature may be compared and contrasted to analyze various elements involved. Thus, a comparison of the movie The Kid with a Bike and Bicycle Thieves may prove futile for the paper. Therefore, the paper will be arguing how both papers are similar in context to the various themes and simple symbolic elements like a bicycle. Yet, the paper will also be talking about how the themes which are similar in nature have been approached in a different fashion with elements of contemporary nature impacting one movie making it different from the other. Therefore, an analysis of these similarities and differences will lead towards conclusive discussion of how these elements drastically impact the movie being talked about. Firstly, both the movies are similar in context to their reflection of harsh realities of time. Thus, both movies tend to reflect on the hard lives of the central characters by depicting their heartbreaking life stories. In this context, the movie ‘The kid with a bike’ takes a naturalistic approach while narrating sufferings of an abandoned child. This theme is similar to the one depicted in the Italian styled movie ‘Bicycle Thieves’. In both the movies, the core point of concern throughout have been the highly difficult moral as well as economic conditions which De Sica had to suffer after his bike gets stolen. Therefore, both movies are exactly similar in explicating the hard struggles which the central characters had to suffer from. The realistic lens, thus, proves to be futile in this context. Another shared theme between the two movies, besides the element of harsh realities of life has been that of the material prosperity. The central character Cyril in the movie, The kid in the Bike’ isn`t born rich and thus, when he

Aboriginal perspectives and science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Aboriginal perspectives and science - Essay Example The concept of indigenous science is very unfamiliar to most Canadian education systems. The education policies that was developed by the Ontario first nation was to provide a framework that will provide institutions with a strategic policy natural systems context within which Ministry of Education and school boards can work together to improve the academic performance of the non-aboriginal students. As described by Michell, Herman and Yvonne in ``Learning Indigenous science from place`` (pg. 6), ‘Aboriginal perspective of indigenous science is a study of natural system that contributes to a holistic view of the environment and the role of human beings in the environment’. This holistic nature of the indigenous science is composed of physical, intellectual, affective and spiritual domains of learning. For this reason the aboriginal community have wished to incorporate cultural teaching within mainstream or other institutional curricula, but there was a concern that was r aised based on the need to help universities systems to prepare students to choose their careers within scientific discipline. The framework provided in http://library2.usask.ca/native/ library website, also clarifies the roles and relationships of the ministry to Inuit students achieve their education goals and close the gap in academic achievement with the non-aboriginal students. A guideline emerged from a certain research project that aimed at fostering collaboration among a diverse range of group of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal educators and scientist. The indigenous study has experienced acknowledgement within traditional ways and cultural practices as a method for sharing, learning, and collecting knowledge development and maintenance. The purpose of the group of Aboriginal students, educators and scientist is to begin the conservations to envision, discuss, and to clarify a philosophy and framework of aboriginal science. The aboriginal people of the 21st century have been so diverse such that their personal beliefs and ideologies as to any other cultural and ethnic group makes it important for educators to realize that these people have traditionally held and have maintained unique perspective that is much different from that of non-aboriginal peoples. The implications of the research have been anticipated to nature all learners in science schools regar dless of their cultural background. Aikenhead (2006, Pg. 7), states that the believe of incorporating Aboriginal perspectives in the school of science will help nature students’ and educators’ in understanding and appreciating indigenous knowledge systems that have not that been a major part of many institutions curriculum in the past. The primary connections of indigenous perspectives framework is aiming to accelerate science and literacy learning outcome for indigenous students and increase non-aboriginal students teachers awareness and understanding of the indigenous perspectives. It also acknowledges the contribution of those involved with development of the indigenous perspectives framework which is based on national research findings and collaboration with Aboriginal groups. Discussion Aboriginal people have viewed themselves to be part of intimately connected individuals and therefore they have acted as the guide to the way in which people and visitors in need a re to be helped traditionally. There have been a lot of aboriginal resources that have described and indicated the role of indigenous science. The need to integrate aboriginal perspectives into the science curriculum in most countries is clear and immediate. Aboriginal resources are used to help understand the knowledge of indigenous

All the Pros and positive aspects about the US legal system Essay

All the Pros and positive aspects about the US legal system - Essay Example However, there is more in law, for laws to be effective, the sovereign command must maintain the rule of power and its principles or directives that are applicable; moreover, they must apply equal magnitude to all citizens in the state. Furthermore, they should be accepted as laws which are legitimate rational, just and fair to all citizens. Legal systems on the other hand refer to systems that interpret as well as enforce laws. This paper will look at the positive aspects of the US legal systems. A medical legal aspect of medical records is an example of the US aspects of legal system. Records of care are provided to patients, the same records are used by the US legal processes, and they are used as relevant eyewitness in case of need. Here, the records are used to attest their reliability and veracity. The American legal system has rules that observe the records so that they are unimpeachable. The most relevant role of the records is that they give information about the patient to the healthcare team; the main goal is to ensure that the medical team offers safety and competent care to the American citizens (Lyer, Levin and Shea, 4). The US has indeed ensured that its citizens access medical care without difficulties, as a result, most illness have been eradicated in the US. The US has great legal systems and they are relevant in influencing the correction in the state. The legal aspect that involves correction management is present in the US legal system. This has been directly been impacted by the court ruling to ensure that US has correction facilities. In addition, there is change in the way they managers have been thinking about how they make their decision on small and great matters. These are in line with the way managers set their priorities in the manner in which they operate their institution as well as the community programs in the US. Administrators involved with correction issues are expected to take legal systems into account. It therefore means that the US academic studies as well as the daily activity of the correction officers are available in the US legal system (Pearlman, 3-4). The main goal of the US judicial system is to offer justice, solve disputes and interpret laws within the state. The positive part of the sophisticated judicial system in the US is its design; it is designed in a manner that it can be able to cover extremely large countries. In the US state for instance, it has hundreds of millions citizens, so having a system of court that can be applied to such a high population in provision of justice is indeed a success. The system has been designed to offer trials that are fair if one is accused of a certain crime. In addition, citizens have been given a chance to file lawsuits if they are treated wrongly in line with the laws of the country. In the US legal system on the other hand, victims of crimes have their right to defend themselves if accused or hire an individual to defend them before the jury or a judge. Judges are individual who determine if the accused is guilty based on the laws interpretations. Furthermore, the US court system is extensive and it extends to different court types, making it to be more effective compare to other legal system across the globe. For example, the US federal court system has been appointed to deal with matters of federal laws. In addition, America is

Intro to Rel Dbase Mgts Syst Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intro to Rel Dbase Mgts Syst - Assignment Example De-normalization process is applied for the creation of data warehouse or sometimes used for revival of the dying online transaction processing (OLTP) applications, which shows the dreadful performance. De-normalization process applied to those tables, which results during the normalization. De-normalization does not alter the basic form or structure of the schema, but adjusts the basic structure or database design. Response 2: Business rules are enforced by applying the triggers or stored procedures. Business rules are used for handling the referential integrity. Using stored procedures for achieving the referential integrity does not involve the application development outside of data. Response 1: Queries like select, create, update, delete, and alter are used to perform the various business functions from a relational database management system. These queries can be used to access the column or rows of relations. Response 2: Under specification of data translation is another issue. Data from multiple tables becomes an issue because no simple way is there to validate the cross references from different files. It becomes the integrity issue of cross-referencing. Response 1: Initial deficiencies of information flow assessed during the Database Initial Study phase causes the modification of the existing system. This modification is also derived from the increased size of the organization. Increased number of wants and needs of the system also modify the initial study phase of database life cycle. Response 2: If the current system fails to meet the required functionality then system designer examines the ways the existing system failed. Lot of time is spent in talking with end-users of the database (Rob, Coronel and Crocket

Music Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Music - Assignment Example In a capitalistic society where achievement is equated with the demand for his work (and its profitability), even the most gifted artists are not spared from commercialization. Quite often beauty is defined by popular following and not by sheer artistry. With this mixture of art and commercialism in the music world, composers should face a challenging frontier in front of him to vie for success. He should balance the inventive search towards the noble and the new in the artistic society and the critical search for mass customer appeal in the business world. Given this let inalienable fact, let us now elaborate the necessary elements that composers should consider in producing his masterpiece. Just like in any field of art, music is a product of mixture of different elements artistically combined together to produce beautiful melodies. Before the ensemble became a concrete reality, a composer should initially brew up an idea. Ideas don't come naturally. It comes from numerous sources. It can come from adopting the sounds of nature, from another musical piece, or from sheer imagination. It can even come from a painful and moving experience. Almost any event that are deeply instilled in a person's emotional and mental faculties are rich sources for ideas. All it takes for a composer is to be keen to the changes that happen within and/or around him. Sources of Ideas Liftoff laid down several sources of ideas for composers based from the first-hand experiences of actual composers: The first is, as mentioned above, the environment where a person is. For a gifted artist, any stimulus is a potential source of ideas. Therefore a composer should develop astuteness in the picking up the signals in his environment to come up with creative concepts. Also by way of analysis to his environment, composers can create melodies and even possible lyrics for his next musical endeavour. Bob Dylan, for example, used music as a medium to convey his anti-war opinions and sentiments. Paul Simon and Arthur Garfunkel of the famed musical duo Simon and Garfunkel produced musical masterpieces on themes of friendship and social awareness. Another source of ideas is the analysis of his inner thoughts and feelings. This is why love songs are listened by different cultures everywhere. They convey the feelings one has towards his loved ones accompanied with musical tunes and melodies. Music is a powerful tool to express one's emotions. Through this a composer can deliver his joy, frustration, sorrow, or any other emotions using its power. A composer should also consider the theme of his work. It should have universal appeal. A good musical piece can enchant listeners across different cultures and boundaries. This is true especially now that, through technology, musical works can be transported and heard in different nations. Experiencing foreign cultures is another method by which a composer can generate ideas. The novelty and the unique experience that a person has in an unfamiliar culture and environment is a fertile soil where musical pieces can bloom. Each culture presents a unique and exciting musical style that can be partially used as raw material for future creations. A composer should also be updated to the latest musical pieces not only within his area but also in other nations. Most musical innovations

Intro to Rel Dbase Mgts Syst Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intro to Rel Dbase Mgts Syst - Assignment Example De-normalization process is applied for the creation of data warehouse or sometimes used for revival of the dying online transaction processing (OLTP) applications, which shows the dreadful performance. De-normalization process applied to those tables, which results during the normalization. De-normalization does not alter the basic form or structure of the schema, but adjusts the basic structure or database design. Response 2: Business rules are enforced by applying the triggers or stored procedures. Business rules are used for handling the referential integrity. Using stored procedures for achieving the referential integrity does not involve the application development outside of data. Response 1: Queries like select, create, update, delete, and alter are used to perform the various business functions from a relational database management system. These queries can be used to access the column or rows of relations. Response 2: Under specification of data translation is another issue. Data from multiple tables becomes an issue because no simple way is there to validate the cross references from different files. It becomes the integrity issue of cross-referencing. Response 1: Initial deficiencies of information flow assessed during the Database Initial Study phase causes the modification of the existing system. This modification is also derived from the increased size of the organization. Increased number of wants and needs of the system also modify the initial study phase of database life cycle. Response 2: If the current system fails to meet the required functionality then system designer examines the ways the existing system failed. Lot of time is spent in talking with end-users of the database (Rob, Coronel and Crocket

Essence of concept of integration to fair-mindedness Essay

Essence of concept of integration to fair-mindedness - Essay Example From the research it can be comprehended that, In spite of its significance, executing fair-mindedness sometimes presented enormous challenges to the employees: that is, the nature of intellectual approaches or practices that were supposed to recommend a new applicant for recruitment despite the lesser qualifications of candidates who had been on the waiting list for many years. Concept integration was a challenging task as to the ‘amount’ of each concept should be incorporated in an effort to execute fair-mindedness between applicants who had had immense experience but inferior training and those that were highly trained but had limited experience to show. In view of this, there are several philosophies on fair-mindedness that cast grievous misgivings on its essence as a rational virtue. Regardless, its essence is enticing to contemplate as basically in line with situations revolving around intellectual disagreement, resistance, challenge, or row, and essentially, to si tuations revolving around a disagreement between an individual’s morals, on opposing a position based on logical reasoning as to who should get the green light to join employment. Diestler suggests a fair-minded individual essentially moves beyond his or her own doxastic inclinations in order to offer a fair judgement to the logical opposition. This presented immense challenges to the management team of which I was part of, especially when decision-making was required. Although, fair-mindedness is an essential quality that the organization leadership attempted to uphold, tremendous pitfalls such as balancing the the employment opportunities between poor and rich neighbourhoods presented gaping pitfalls which the management had to tread carefully to maintain professionalism in the organizations who absorbed their workforce from our company; and proper balancing of employment opportunities across the country’s major socio-economic demographics. Fair-mindedness used to be quite involving: for instance, while a modification of the conflict of dealing with only the local employees and employers resulted in acceptable outcomes, especially among individuals who felt they were excluded from the exercise, the organization made it clear that in intended to include human resources from other countries as a strategy of expanding its operations globally within the next decade. While serving in the organization, concept integration manifested in the organizational leadership when different pressing issues relating to employment such as gender, race, qualification, disability, and employee experience was looked into from different perspectives. The recommendation of qualified candidates was based on the monetary loses or benefits that an issue could result in, such as taxation issues, bond issues, rent, and pension schemes. Additionally, the management team explored the long-term expenditures that organizations may

Lecture Coherence Examples Essay Example for Free

Lecture Coherence Examples Essay Examples of paragraphs that shows coherence and unity: Example 1: This is a good example because it responds to the prompt in first person, the details are thoughtful and personal, and it follows the structure I’ve taught you very well. I slightly changed the topic sentence to make it connect better to the supporting sentence. I have also made some grammatical/vocab corrections so that you can focus on content and structure when you read. To get good grades in classes, I need to plan to do three things. First of all, listening carefully to the teacher in class makes me understand the lesson. If I listen carefully to what the teacher says, I can ask questions about things that I don’t understand. I can also do the right homework that the teacher assigned. Second, doing my homework every day makes me review the lesson from class. The homework helps me to practice many things from class. I can also find questions in the homework to ask the teacher that will make my English better. Third, making an effort to study gives me the will to learn. If I don’t make an effort, I will be lazy. The will to learn makes me try to finish the homework furst, and then I will let myself go out with my friends. Finally, I try to make a plan to get a good grade in class, and I will abide by it. Notice: The yellow topic sentence is echoed (but not repeated) in the yellow concluding sentence. The three green sentences introduce an idea (listening) and then gives more information about that idea. The three blue sentences introduce a second idea (homework) and then gives more information about that idea. The three pink sentences introduce a third idea (making the effort to study) and then gives more information about that idea. Notice the use of the transitions â€Å"first of all†, â€Å"second,† â€Å"third†, and â€Å"Finally.† Example 2: This is a good example because even though it responds to the prompt in second person, the details are again very thoughtful, and the paragraph has a strong structure. I have again made some grammatical/vocab corrections so that you can focus on content and structure when you read. There are some useful ways to get the grade you want in this class. Before the class, you must preview the lessons you will listen to tomorrow. Previewing is a perfect learning habit to help you improve your learning efficiency. After previewing, you can know what the teachers will teach the net day. Then you can listen to your teachers with the questions you found the day before. In the class, you have to listen to your teacher carefully. Your teachers are professional and dedicated, and they can solve all of your problems about your studies. Listening carefully can also help you to get more information or details about tests. You can also confirm the knowledge you are not sure about, and it is an important way to improve your grade. Practicing more after class is also an important part. More practice for grammar or writing can help you to memorize. Don’t be show – speak more English, and you will improve your speaking and listening. The more exercises you di, the higher grade you will get. If you want to get the grade you want in this class, do these things before, in, and after classes. Notice: The yellow topic sentence is echoed (but not repeated) in the yellow concluding sentence. The three green sentences introduce an idea (listening) and then gives more information about that idea. The three blue sentences introduce a second idea (homework) and then gives more information about that idea. The three pink sentences introduce a third idea (making the effort to study) and then gives more information about that idea. Notice the use of both time words and placement of time words as well as repeated words for transitions

Barriers to Prostate Cancer Screening

Barriers to Prostate Cancer Screening Prostate Cancer: A Man’s Dilemma Afzal Hussain Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Canadian men. In 2013, the Canadian Cancer Society estimated that 23,600 men will be diagnosed with cancer; a further 3,900 will die from the disease in Canada (Canadian Cancer Society, 2014). The prostate is part of the male reproductive system; it surrounds the urethra (tube that carries urine and semen through the penis). Prostate Cancer Canada (2014) states, â€Å"Prostate cancer is a disease where some prostate cells have lost normal control of growth and division. They no longer function as healthy cells (Prostate Cancer Canada). Potential barriers to screening includes socioeconomic status, lack of health care, culture, and false experiences of medical treatments. These barriers and other misunderstandings of the causes of prostate cancer impede the process for early screening further delaying early diagnosis and treatment. This paper explores socioeconomic status, race, fear, and sexual function as perceived barriers to prostate screening; it also identifies strategies that promote successful screening and eventual recovery. Canadian Cancer Society in their statistical report of 2013 reports, â€Å"Prostate cancer is rarely found in men younger than 50, most of the deaths associated with prostate cancer are found in men older than 75 years. Canadian males are more likely to develop prostate cancer, with 1 in 7 males expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. On average, 65 Canadian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer every day. On average, 11 Canadian men will die of prostate c ancer every day. (CCS) Socioeconomic Status Better survival is a testimony to the advances in research and treatment, but improving survival and reducing prostate cancer diagnosis is more resourceful to a better quality of life. Treatments and technological advancements in diagnosis and medications have transformed survival rates in cancer tremendously. Despite the overall improvement in survivorship in prostate cancer patients, socioeconomic inequalities in survival of prostate cancer patients remains a constant challenge in healthcare. Most men diagnoses with prostate cancer are at high risk, mainly because of their low socioeconomic status, unemployment, lack of education and inability to afford health care services. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Care without Coverage: Too Little, Too late states that, â€Å"People without health insurance often go without appropriate care. For example, the uninsured more often go without cancer screening tests, delaying diagnosis and leading to premature death. † (Institut e of Medicine [IOM], 2002) In Canada, a fragment of the population lives on social assistance and cannot afford quality health care services, these â€Å"disadvantaged people† faces many health challenges and are at high risk for health issues. Residents faced with these challenges find it harder to have prostate cancer screenings despite doing their best to facilitate socioeconomic changes in their life. Fortunately, in Canada, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) provide prostate screening to low income citizens who cannot afford the screening. One such organization in Calgary, Prostate Cancer Centre has been a model of excellence in this service to the community. However, in Alberta, Quebec, and British Columbia, prostate screenings is not medically covered by provincial health plans. Therefore, men persuing screening will have to pay out of his pocket or will incur charges through his health plan. Crawford (2010) in her online news article states, â€Å"The PSA test has been used as a widespread screening tool since the mid-1990s, but has been dogged by controversy. While seven provinces pay any man to get tested, B.C., Alberta and Quebec do not, unless there are risk factors such as a family history of the disease (Crawford, 2010). This clearly shows the partial distribution in persuing health care services within Canada. Jamuir, Robinson Shavers (2008) found that, â€Å" Underinsurance is of particular concern for racial/ethnic minorities, who are more likely than others to report having difficulties paying medical bills despite having medical insurance coverage16 and it may contribute to the lower rates of cancer screening observed for these groups.(p. 843). Patients having the privilege of an extended private insurance coverage feel a sense of economic security. The real question is what is the case with the ordinary person without any coverage? Someone with a minimal wage and/or without coverage may feel the pangs of hopelessness, neglect, and long-term suffering. This disadvantage stems from differences in the receipt of treatment and access to high-quality healthcare treatment presented with low economic status. Furthermore, considering the imbalance between economic classes in regards to access to prostate screening, it is viable to suggest a level playing field where screening should be available to all men, despite their income status or health care coverage especially considering the Canadian Cancer Society reports on new instances of the disease annually. Also reducing the cost/payments for screening will be a significant boost for uninsured patients, because patients can express greater satisfaction of having the screening done despite having a low-income status. Another important strategy is to make sure that an all-accessible approach towards this screening, where men can afford the screening despite not having enough income or insurance coverage, in doing so having the satisfaction of economic security. Race In their research titled â€Å"Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Survival among Men Diagnosed with Prostate Cancer White, Coker, Du, Eggleston Williams (2011) found that, â€Å"Racial/ethnic disparities in prostate cancer survival have also been documented in the literature, and can be attributed to differences in socioeconomic status (p. 1080). In Canada, race is also a key risk factor for prostate cancer; it is prevalent in people of (Black African or Black Caribbean descent) who are at increased risk compared to white Canadians due to their genetic disposition, family history of prostate cancer, or age. Brooks (2013) states,† Black men are 60% more likely than white men to be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, and is more than twice as likely to die from the disease. † (Brooks, 2013). Furthermore, besides ethnicity and age, numerous other factors contribute to prostate cancer. Canadian blacks are also higher risk due to the prevalence of comorbidities and heavy smoking or alcohol intake. These risk factors are common in Caribbean culture where people tend to take their health and lifestyle habits less seriously compared to North American culture. Despite the largest improvement in medication and technology Blacks remains a high risk of prostate cancer and is twice, more likely to be affected and die from the disease compared to whites. Having support groups plays a significant role in times of stress, especially when faced with a disease like prostate cancer. Establishing family networks and religious beliefs will offer a strong support base, especially when the patient is making health-related decisions that will establish his future life. Oster, Hedestig, Johansson, Klingstedt Lindh (2012) states, â€Å" Conversational group support can help men to realize that it is normal to experience mixed emotions including sadness, anger, or despair over losses c aused by the disease, and such interventions have shown improvements in anxiety, depression, men’s abilities to cope with the situation, and their quality of life.† (p.332) Fear. Many patients are afraid of prostate cancer screenings. With the increased amount of prostate cancer, patients diagnosed each year; countless men are still avoiding screening tests because it makes them uncomfortable with the results. This emotional and defensive action stems from the lack of independent knowledge patients have about the screening and the cancer itself. Presenting fear towards prostate screening changes the overall attitude towards treatment. This fear could provide a negative response to treatment. By expressing elevated levels of fear, a patient will be denied access to treatment and further delayed interventions, which may evolve into an advanced stage of the cancer. Furthermore, a patient presenting minimal levels of fear will be motivated to peruse screening, leading to an eventual diagnosis. Male patients are also hesitant to take screenings for prostate cancer due to many misconceptions, many believe the cause of their disease is due to sexual promiscuity or sexual orientation, sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and unhealthy lifestyle attributed to alcohol and smoking. Consedine, Adjei, Ramirez McKiernan (2008) found in their research, â€Å" The high incidence and mortality rates for prostate cancer among African American and other men of African descent may be expected to be reflected in elevated anxieties surrounding prostate cancer and the associated screening in these men. African Americans report greater fear of prostate cancer and screening, particularly for the Digital Rectal Examination (DRE). When applying these findings to advance nurse practitioners’ practices, it can be said that men in the high-risk groups must first be educated on the risks of prostate cancer (p. 1631). In preparing a patient for prostate screening, it is wise for the nurse to engage in careful planning and use best nursing practice while encouraging the patient to participate in screening thus eradicating some of his fear. Education on the risk of prostate cancer should be distributed among high-risk group. Patients in this group need to understand the implications of non-screening. One good nursing approach is the application of â€Å"change talk†, an important concept of motivational interviewing; the nurse will carefully implement strong concepts on why the patient should be screened, carefully supported with strong evidence of the clinical benefits. Apodaca, Magill, Longabaugh, Jackson Monti (2013) state, â€Å"more change talk predicted better outcomes, whereas more sustain talk predicted poorer outcomes† (P.35). Another important strategy to improve accordance to screening is through programs/ advertisements, which opens awareness of prostate cancer about the ge neral male public over 50 years of age. Proper media coverage will enhance the importance of the disease, the causative agents, and the importance of screening for a wider public. It will also help patients to self-reflect on their lifestyle and make progression towards health interventions. Himelboim, and Han (2014), in their research on Community Structure and Information Sources in Breast and Prostate Cancer Social Networks found that, â€Å" the past decade has witnessed a phenomenal growth in the use of the Internet—especially social media—in health care and management. From the user side, this means more opportunities to connect with others, obtain needed health information from available sources, and potentially benefit from that information (p. 211) Sexual Function. Prostate cancer will have an effect on the sex life of many prostate cancer patients. Most men affected by prostate cancer will develop erectile dysfunction after diagnosis. Men will also lose interest in sex and will have difficulty maintaining an erectile penis or performing penetrative sex. Beck, Robinson, Carlson (2013) found in their research that, â€Å" Sexual dysfunction is the most significant long lasting effect of prostate cancer (PrCa) treatment, despite the many medical treatments for erectile dysfunction, many couples report that they are dissatisfied with their sexual relationship and eventually cease sexual relations altogether. (p. 1637). Because one of the risk factors of prostate cancer is age, it is important to point out that many patients because of impotence may have already contacted symptoms of erectile dysfunction prior to developing prostate cancer. Treatment also plays an important role in the outcome of sexual functioning in patients, if patients are tolerable and react to the proper treatment regimen, the likelihood of sexual dysfunction will be minimized, and sexual urge will remain normal and intact. The stage of cancer also identifies the outcome of sexual functioning and the ability to deal with sensual life post surgery. Early screening can help a patient to identify possible malignant cancerous cells; it also can be helpful in managing impotency. Sex after diagnosis can be dreadful for various partners, especially when sexual desires may be minimal or much diminished. It may also dampen any chances for future families wanting to have kids in the distant future. A patient with impotence may consider sexual counselling by a sexologist to diminish any fears of sex. Chung Brock (2013) in their research states, â€Å"Sexual function remains an important issue in many men, who often continue to be interested in sex after pr ostate cancer treatment. It has been shown that the impact of sexual dysfunction is greater than the impact of urinary incontinence and over 70% of men felt their quality of life was adversely affected following cancer diagnosis and treatment † (p. 103). Participation in prostate cancer support groups helps patients to better be educated on sexual life after prostate cancer, just as support groups are helpful to eradicate the fear on early screenings, these groups will prepare patients on the trials of sexual intimacy after recovery, also providing coping mechanism for sexual dysfunction. Another strategy to cast away fears of sexual dysfunction is to promote sexual preferences amongst partners, which may bring a sense of satisfaction to both partners. Conclusion Prostate cancer patients continue to suffer from many dilemmas. Patients are continually faced with barriers to cancer care, which impede screening and treatment. Socioeconomic status, race, fear, and sexual function are all contributory factors in a patient dilemma when intrigued with tribulation of prostate cancer. Despite all the technological advancements, prostate cancer remains high in Black African or Black Caribbean descent compared to white males in Canada. Decision-making process when considering prostate cancer screening is influenced greatly by socioeconomic status, race, fear, and sexual dysfunction. These beliefs often result in a lower rate of compliance of prostate screenings. By establishing strategies to promote care for patients, the said barriers can be eradicated making treatment and recovery possible. Support groups, non-governmental organizations, media, and better insurance coverage for low-income families can all be used to effectively promote successful pros tate screenings thus eradicating social inequality, racial and sexual barriers and increasing compliance through educating prostate patients’ ways to address these barriers. Effective strategies will help to decrease morbidity and mortality of prostate cancer in Canada. References Apodaca, T. R., Magill, M., Longabaugh, R., Jackson, K. M., Monti, P. M. (2013). Effect of a significant other on client change talk in motivational interviewing. Consult Clinical Psychology, 81(1), 35-46. doi: 10.1037/a0030881 Beck, A., Robinson, J., Carlson, L. (2013). Sexual Values as the Key to Maintaining Satisfying Sex after Prostate Cancer Treatment: The Physical Pleasure–Relational Intimacy Model of Sexual Motivation. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 42 (8), 1637-1647. Brooks, D. (2013). Why are black men negatively affected by prostate cancer more than white men? Retrieved March 3, 2014, from http://www.cancer.org/cancer/news/expertvoices/post/2013/09/24/why-are-black-men-negatively-affected-by-prostate-cancer-more-than-white-men.aspx Canada Cancer Society. (2014). Canada Cancer Statistics 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://www.cancer.ca/~/media/cancer.ca/CW/cancer information/cancer101/Canadian cancer statistics/canadian-cancer-statistics-2013-EN.pdf. Canada Cancer Society. (2014). Prostate Cancer Statistics. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from: http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/prostate/statistics/?region. Chung, E., Brock, G. (2013). Sexual Rehabilitation and Cancer Survivorship: A State of Art Review of Current Literature and Management Strategies in Male Sexual Dysfunction among Prostate Cancer Survivors. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 10102-111. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2012.03005.xginger Consedine, N. S., Adjei, B. A., Ramirez, P. M., McKiernan, J. M. (2008). An Object Lesson: Source Determines the Relations That Trait Anxiety, Prostate Cancer Worry, and Screening Fear Hold with Prostate Screening Frequency. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers Prevention, 17(7), 1631-1639. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-07-2538 Crawford, T. (2008). Prostate test a lifesaver with surveillance: equally important is the right course of treatment. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Prostate+test+life+saver+with+surveillance/3588621/story.html Himelboim, I., Han, J. Y. (2014). Cancer talk on twitter: community structure and information sources in breast and prostate cancer social networks. Journal of Health Communication, 19(2), 210-225. doi: 10.1080/10810730.2013.811321 Institute of Medicine. (2002). Care without Coverage: Too Little, Too Late. Retrieved March 2, 2014, from: http://www.iom.edu/reports/2002/care-without-coverage-too-little-too-late.aspx Oster, I., Hedestig, O., Johansson, M., Klingstedt, N., Lindh, J. (2012). Sharing experiences in a support group: Mens talk during the radiotherapy period for prostate cancer. Palliative Supportive Care, 11(4), 331-339. Prostate Cancer Canada (2014). What is prostate cancer? Retrieved February 18, 2014, from: http://www.prostatecancer.ca/Prostate-Cancer/About-Prostate-Cancer/What-is-prostate-cancer#.UxQQK4WmbIk. Robinson, J., Shavers, V. (2008). The Role of Health Insurance Coverage in Cancer Screening Utilization. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 19(3), 842-856. White, A., Coker, A., Du, X., Eggleston, K., Williams, M. (2011). Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Survival Among Men Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer in Texas. Cancer, 117 (5), 1080-1088.

The Importance of the Ozone :: essays research papers fc

The Importance of the Ozone â€Å"Like an infection that grows more and more virulent, the continent-size hole in Earth’s ozone layer keeps getting bigger and bigger†(Beyond Discovery). The ozone is a protective layer that occurs naturally in the stratosphere, 6 to 28 miles in altitude. Each year, since the late 1970’s, much of the ozone layer above Antarctica has disappeared, creating what is popularly known as the â€Å"ozone hole.† This hole now measures about 9 million square miles, nearly the size of North America. Less dramatic, but still significant, depletion of ozone levels has been recorded around the globe. With less ozone in the atmosphere, more ultraviolet radiation strikes Earth, causing more skin cancer, eye damage, and possible harm to crops.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main causes of ozone depletion are chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s), such as coolants, aerosols, and fire extinguishers. When CFC’s are released, they rise into the ozone layer. The UV (ultraviolet) radiation then releases chlorine from the CFC’s. Chlorine is a chemical that disintegrates the ozone. Other everyday items that contribute Cottrell 2 to the devastation of the ozone include household refrigerants and exhaust fumes emitted from automobiles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Without the ozone layer the health of every single living being on planet Earth would be jeopardized. Ozone depletion leads to an increased exposure to ultraviolet light, which can cause many health problems. Exposure to ultraviolet light greatly increases the risks of skin cancer and cataract development. Skin cancers are very treatable in their early stages but very deadly in the advanced stages. Cataracts are growths in the eyes that cloud vision and can lead to blindness. Increased UV exposure also causes decreased growth of phytoplankton. This is the light-sensitive organism that not only forms the base of the ocean’s food web, but also is responsible for removing much of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Last, a thinning ozone layer would produce lower crop yields. Some crops, such as rice, are sensitive to ultraviolet light. Increased UV exposure could make these crops less productive or even kill them. Much of the world relies on rice as a pri mary source of food.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The people who need it most are destroying the ozone layer. This problem can be traced back to the overwhelming increase in the world’s population. With more people on the planet, there will be use of more automobiles, CFC’s, and refrigerants. In turn, an increase in these products will yield an increase in air pollution.

Literary features of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Chapter 11 Essa

Literary features of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Chapter 11 Pg 70 Achebe throughout the novel uses many different literary features Literary features of ‘Things Fall Apart’ by Chinua Achebe Chapter 11 Achebe throughout the novel uses many different literary features to bring emphasis to certain points and equally to create a plausible picture of what tribal life was like. His particular style of writing, using specific detail of everyday things, brings the characters to life; it creates a depth and complexity to the characters that makes the tribe into a realistic civilization. This technique is used primarily to challenge the preconceptions the people of the Western world have about tribal life. Details such as the ‘shrill cry of the insects’ and how the snuff Okonkwo brought had gone damp and how it was so dark there was not enough light to eat by. The chapter opens with a description of the night, we have been told in a previous chapter that the tribes people found the dark without moonlight frightening, this information helps the reader to identify w...

Assignment Front Sheet Essay

Marketing is at the heart of every organisation’s activity. Its importance is also growing in the non-commercial, public and voluntary sectors. Also, at the heart of marketing is the customer. This unit will introduce learners to some of the tools and techniques all types of organisations use to achieve their objectives. Firstly, learners will explore how different types of organisations use marketing principles to meet the needs of their customers and achieve their objectives. The constraints under which organisations operate are important and learners will study the legal requirements and voluntary codes that affect marketing. Learners will then go on to investigate how organisations collect data through market research and turn it into useful information which can be analysed and used to plan their marketing activities. The segmentation and targeting of groups of customers is a key marketing technique and this is studied in detail. This includes the different bases for segmentation of both consumer and business markets. Next, learners will examine how a marketing mix is developed to meet the needs and aspirations of a targeted group of prospective customers, before going on to develop a marketing mix for a new product or service. Learning Outcomes: On completion of this unit you should: 1. Know the role of marketing in organisations 2. Be able to use marketing research and marketing planning 3. Understand how and why customer groups are targeted 4. Be able to develop a coherent marketing mix. 5.  Criteria reference Assignment brief Qualification BTEC L3 Extended Diploma In Business Unit number and title Unit 3: Introduction to Marketing Start date 24th March 2014 Deadline 22/04/14 Assessor name KAREN MASON Assignment title ‘A’ LISTED MARKETERS. Part 1 The purpose of this assignment is to: Work individually to complete the following tasks. Assignment Brief/Scenario You have just started working for a large marketing and design agency based in Teesside that consults for a variety of businesses on the marketing activities that they undertake in order to promote their products or services. The agency has a varied portfolio of ‘A’ Listed clients and you have been given the task of consulting for two new clients, one business that operates in the private sector and one in the public or voluntary sector. Choose your two businesses remembering that: One must be from the private sector, for example, Marks & Spencer One must be from the public or voluntary sector, for example, Oxfam. Task 1 Describe how marketing techniques are used to market products in two organisations. You task is to produce a presentation for your senior management team (SMT) to introduce your new clients. Your presentation must include the following: Part A a) Two different definitions of marketing (don’t forget to reference your source!) b) Identify the broad aims and objectives of organisations of the private, public and voluntary sectors c) Identify the aims specifically for each of your selected businesses d) e) Part B f) For each business, you will need to research and describe the marketing techniques it has used in order to market one product/service. These techniques might include: Growth strategies Survival strategies Branding Relationship marketing. Following unit content guidance sheet & week 1 PowerPoint; in support of this task (P1) Describe the limitations and constraints of marketing Your task is to create a factsheet that describes the limitations and constraints under which marketers operate; this should include legal requirements and the use of voluntary codes and constraints. Task 2: Select one of the businesses you researched for criterion P1, describe the limitations and constraints of marketing for the organisation. Include the following in your description: legal constraints, for example Sale of Goods Act 1979, The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, Consumer Credit Acts 1974 & 2006, Consumer Protection (Distance Selling)  Regulations, Date Protection Act 1998 Voluntary constraints, for example Code of Advertising Practice and Advertising Standards Authority. pressure groups and consumerism, for example CBI Acceptable language. Guidance note: you should give real life examples of each limitation and constraints identified and include suitable text and images into your factsheet. Following unit content guidance sheet & week 2 PowerPoint; in support of this task (P2) Task 3 Compare marketing techniques used in marketing products in two organisations M1 To complement the presentation you developed for criterion P1, you now need to produce a report where you will demonstrate higher-level skills through comparing or finding the similarities and differences between the marketing techniques used by the two organisations. Guidance note: your report should include an introduction and be separated into sub-sections including growth strategies, survival strategies, branding and relationship marketing. Follow tutor support; stretch & challenge activities to work towards this criteria (M1) Evaluate the effectiveness of the use of techniques in marketing products in one organisation. D1 This task is an extension to the report you have produced for criterion M1. You now need to select one of your two businesses and fully explain how effective you think it has been with the techniques used in marketing its  products? You should fully justify your answer and make suitable recommendations for improvement. Guidance note: you should back up your points with suitable, real life examples relating to that particular business. Evaluation requires more than stating an opinion and should demonstrate higher-level skills such as researching and interpreting data and using logical judgements about the validity and reliability of the data used to evaluate the effectiveness of the marketing techniques Follow tutor support; stretch & challenge activities to work towards this criteria (D1) Sources of information Indicative Reading  Bevan J, Dransfield R, Coupland-Smith H, Goymer J and Richards C – BTEC Level 3 National Business Student Book 1 (Pearson, 2009) ISBN 9781846906343. Tutor support Stretch & Challenge guidance sheets.

Limitations of financial ratios as a tool to evaluate financial performance Essay

Although financial ratios play a critical role in allowing investors and analysts to give appropriate predictions and a measure of how the company will perform in the future years in terms of stock prices and profitability but a measure problem with these ratios is that they are based on historical data and therefore an attempt to look into the future with the use of these ratios is risky and exposes investors to different kinds of risks such as inflation, cross-border risk and other business related risks. Another limitation of these ratios is related to there limited use on there own. Certain ratios are insignificant unless they compared with the older data or industry averages. This is a main reason why most analysts want to compare a company’s financial ratio with the industry figures. This also means that an understanding of the business and industry must be there with the investor before a decision is made with regards to purchasing the stock of a company. We also see that firms and their finance departments do try their best to inflate results and window dress the balance sheet and profit and loss figures. This can lead to over estimated revenues and understated costs which might be discovered later. Therefore it is important to look at different ratios and notes to the statements before conclusions are drawn. There is also a case for companies that have defaulted or there have been instances where scams have been caught and reported by the securities companies and other government departments. Some of the financial ratios also might be impacted by the sudden change in a particular factor or some economic factor that might have a short-term affect on the performance of the company’s bottom line and earnings per share. To counter this short-term possibility analyst must look at both technical and fundamental analysis before deciding the long-term view on the company. Another issue with financial ratios is that it does not take into account off-balance sheet items that might play a significant role in the profitability and revenue generation of a company this is a case especially for investment banks. We also see that financial ratios only use accounting data and not economic data. This is also a downside to financial ratios as only limited data is being used to come to important conclusions. (Financial modeling guide, n. d. ) Conclusion MITIE is a strong group with businesses in strategically strong markets where long-term view is extremely positive. The company has strong financials with a prudent policy of avoiding debt in uncertain times. The company has done well considering the difficult time that has been presented by the economic recession and worldwide financial crunch. The company’s profitability looks stronger as we move into 2010 and beyond. The company also has huge potential in business areas such as infrastructure management and property works especially within the public sector. We say so because a lot of options will be available and a number of opportunities present themselves specifically in the government sector. (Reilly & Brown, 2003) The financial analysis reveals important stuff about the company; firstly the company has very few assets backed by long-term borrowing which shows that the company has an opportunity to raise finances by leveraging its balance sheet. This could be very effective if some strategic capital is bought or expansion is sought by the company. We also see great potential as the liquidity and cash position of the company s very impressive this is the case because it is very difficult to manipulate important data in the cash flow statement and the cash flow figures therefore a good performance in that sector shows great potential and the healthy performance of the company. Essentially what is of utmost importance for the company is the fact that it has successfully faced the lowest points of the economic cycle and more importantly it ensured that it developed adequate policies to handle the recessionary times so that in future when liquidity crunch will strike again the company will have adequate measures in place. Appendix Bibliography: Baker. H, Powell. G, 2005. Understanding financial management: a practical guide. Blackwell Publishing Financial Modeling Guide, n. d. Limitations of Financial Ratios in Financial Modeling. Viewed February 6, 2010. < http://www. financialmodelingguide. com/financial-ratios/financial-ratio-limitations/> MITIE, 2010. Investors at MITIE, viewed February 7, 2010 < http://www. mitie. com/investors> MITIE, 2010. About us, viewed February 7, 2010 < http://www. mitie. com/about-us> MITIE, 2010. Annual Report 2009, viewed February 7, 2010 < http://www. mitie. com/investors_reports-and-presentations_2009_MITIE-Group-PLC-Annual-Report-2009> Reilly, K Frank & Brown, 2003. Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management, Cengage South-Western Publisher.

Observation of community Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Observation of community - Assignment Example We also use hand gestures as if to move a wand or catch a snitch (a ball in a wizard’s game of Quidditch). The vocabulary and actions are a secret language known only to Harry Potter fans. If an individual that had never watched or read the Harry Potter overheard or observed us, they would not understand over conversation. This is what makes the Potter Fans’ communication unique. It takes someone special to understand and appreciate the Harry Potter phenomenon. Fans can be young or old. I like Harry Potter because J.K. Rowling weaves an interesting story that is written simply. A third grader can enjoy a Harry Potter novel. Potter Fans usually have good imaginations, since it takes the imagination to even consider a parallel world of witches and wizards. A Potter Fan also must have a certain level of empathy. This is due to the lead character Harry Potter being a sympathetic character. All of my family members and friends that are Potter Fans possess these traits. Not everyone understands or likes Harry Potter. Due to the controversy of witches and wizards versus mainstream religion, religious people tend to not like Harry Potter. Not only do religious groups not like Harry Potter, but they tend to be offended by the mention of the subject. I would never talk about Harry Potter at church, or to individuals I know disapprove of the series. These people are in part of my discourse community conversation group, just not my Harry Potter discourse community conversation group. Potter Fans speak differently to each other than to people who are not a Potter Fan. I would never talk to someone at school about Quidditch, unless they acknowledge being a Potter Fan first. However, my close acquaintances are a different story. We enjoy talking about Harry Potter terms and Harry Potter in general. I know that my friends and family

Andrew Johnson (Importance in American History) - Although an honest Research Paper

Andrew Johnson (Importance in American History) - Although an honest and honorable man, Andrew Johnson was one of the most unfor - Research Paper Example There were two attempts made to impeach him from office during his term, although neither was successful. During a time when the nation was greatly wounded in the aftermath of the Civil War, President A. Johnson created a political leadership that did not help the nation towards its recovery. President Andrew Johnson had established a place within history with ill-advised behavior from the moment of his inauguration as Vice President to Abraham Lincoln. During the event, President Johnson had become intoxicated and his inauguration speech was a slurred mess that embarrassed those at the gathering. Later he would claim that he had been drinking because of the pain of suffering from typhoid fever, but whether this was true or not, his position in the administration was tainted by this rambled, incoherent speech. Because of this event, there were frequent accusations of his drunkenness, including on the day that he ascended to the Presidency when Abraham Lincoln was shot, but this accus ation was put down by many witnesses to the event who claimed it was untrue. Still, this issue plagued his career, framing him as unreliable and creating a system that consistently second guessed his attempts at leadership.i Andrew Johnson received his leadership of the country through the tragic death of Abraham Lincoln who was shot and killed at a play by John Wilkes Booth at a play at Ford’s Theater. He should have been the perfect selection for the task of helping the country to recover, a Southern man who aligned his political beliefs with the North giving him an understanding of both cultures. One of the first acts that he committed after ascending to the Presidency was to create the First Amnesty Proclamation. This proclamation gave amnesty to thousands of southerners who had participated in the war. In order to be given a pardon, all that was needed was to swear an oath to the Union. However, fourteen classes of people were not allowed this general amnesty option. Thi s included those who had graduated from military academies, those under indictment, and those who owned property worth more than 20,000.00.ii This last exclusion created economic problems. Those who had to go through the very lengthy process of applying individually for amnesty had their lives disrupted through the inability to participate in the privileges of legal status. This included not being able to marry, to get loans, or to easily conduct business. Johnson is quoted as having stated â€Å"you know perfectly well that it was the wealthy men of the South who dragooned the people into secessionâ€Å".iii With those of means being affected, this meant that commerce was affected. However, the desired result that President Johnson was seeking was to allow for Caucasian Southerners of less means to climb into politics, leadership created by those of average means rather than an elitist class. However, this goal was very short lived as the power that was temporarily given to the a verage farmer was soon to be usurped once again by the elitist class. The acceptance of emancipation was not easily won and the retributions for the loss of the slavery against African Americans were harsh and violent. Southerners were reticent to accept the newly freed people and there were frequent reports of whippings, murders, and the burning of schools and churches. In addition, Black Codes being developed by that middle class leadership that President Jo

Knowing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Knowing - Essay Example There were some who doubted if he was really born in the United States of America. Going by our criteria, most reasonable people in society have no problem with President Obama’s proving that Donald Trump was wrong. This gives justification to President Obama’s birth certificate. Secondly, President Barack Obama released a copy of his birth certificate to prove the doubters wrong. The majority of people accept that his birth certificate is legitimate and that he was in fact born in Hawaii. Finally, we can accept the accounts of witnesses at the time, who verified that he was born in Hawaii. We believe that those doctors actually carried out the birth of Barack Obama and did not make anything up. On the other hand however, one example that does not meet these criteria was the claims of Harold Camping, who predicted that the world would end on the 21st of May, 2011. According to our definition of knowledge, Harold Camping was not justified in his conviction that the world would end. The reason for this is that not only did the event not happen, but many people did not trust his word before the supposed event. Subsequently, Camping’s claims were not proven true, so they cannot be accepted as the truth, no matter what anyone says. Lastly, many people do not believe in Camping’s worldview.

Materialism and Domination in Ben Jonson's Volpone Research Paper

Materialism and Domination in Ben Jonson's Volpone - Research Paper Example The concept materialism is many times associated with political nature where, agents of politics are seen as materialist. Marxist provided us with knowledge of how the society works and thus, poets and philosophers can predict how the society will behave over time (Friedman, 1974). When you look at Marxist versus historical materialism the idea of a society developing from one stage to another can be seen although such transition is characterized by several conflicts that arise between social relations and productive forces. Marxist believed that a change in ideas could not change the society because dominant ideas that the reformers use to bring change to the society are embedded in material conditions. In the play â€Å"Volpone† various characters portray acts of materialism and dominance among and against each other. In this play, two characters by the name Volpone and Moscow play the servant master relationship, for an individual to employ a servant, he must possess some m aterial things such as money, physical comforts which can be seen by the way a person spends his jewelry, his clothes and behavior around other people. Servants normally would be submissive to their master and follow their masters’ instructions to the letter. ... For example, in the capitalist exploitation of labor is a common phenomenon as portrayed by Marxist. In the play a similar behavior is seen in Volpone, he wants to exploit the likes of Voltore, Corbaccio and Corvino. Because he possesses a significant amount of vast wealth with no heir and he knows that several people would fall prey in his trap in the quest to be named the beneficiary of his wealth or at least be given a portion of the wealth. Volpone thinks that because he owns material wealth he can easily dominate over peoples thoughts. This is evident in the actions of the three characters, Voltore, Corbaccio and Corvino, who bring him gift after gift hoping their generosity to the sick man will be repaid in tenfold. It is so ironic that even though Volpone’s servant has no wealth he is able to manipulate him contrary to his expectation. Mosca plots a lot of schemes for his master and the other three individuals, Voltore, Corvino, and Corbaccio, portraying his desire to d ominate above everyone. The desire for wealth is a common phenomenon in this play, Volpone, Mosca, Corvino Corbaccio and Voltore all desire wealth. In their pursuit to achieve this goal, they seek to outdo each other in the different plots they come up with. Volpone and Mosca seek to cheat the lawyer, the merchant and the old miser who is also on the verge of dying, on the other hand, Mosca is encouraging the three to continue bringing gifts to his master, he does this intentionally because he has a plan that will benefit him. Volpone has a great desire to accumulate as much gold as he can, he says to his servant â€Å"I long to have possession of my new present†, his servant uses

Pluto Telecommunication- Organisational Behaviour (People Management & Assignment

Pluto Telecommunication- Organisational Behaviour (People Management & Organisation - Assignment Example The main concern in this context can be recognised to be shortage of proper coordination amid the leaders of top level management and lack of proper planning that could help the company in conducting proper marketing and selling of its products. Thus, with this concern, this particular report is about analysing the problems confronting Pluto and offering valuable suggestions for the resolution of the problems to the company (Martin, 1994). Problem Identification According to the case study, Pluto is being facing crucial problems over a few preceding years. In this regard, one of the problems can be viewed as poor communication. There does not lay any sort of effective communication between the three functional departments of the company which ultimately hampered the performance of the company at large. The overall performance of Pluto got hampered in terms of losing number of orders and also increasing in the complaints of its products by the customers. The main problem which can be seen in accordance with the case study is the cultural difference which is prevailing in the three different operating segments of Pluto. This can be one of the major reasons which eventually results in making inefficient communication between different groups (Martin, 1994). ... between management and employees, whereas, smaller-scale deficiency in communication can occur between the individuals belonging to different functional or operational departments. It is worth mentioning that failure to communicate effectively is often said to be one of the imperative reasons behind raising conflicts in any organisation. Poor communication can create conflict in a number of ways that are apparently visible in this case study. For instance, in accordance with the case, it is clear that the deficiency in proper communication between various operational departments of Pluto has affected the financial position of the company through generating conflicts with the customers in terms of raising severe complaints and losing new orders (Martin, 1994). Analysis Is This an Issue or Problem That Is Concerned With One or Several Aspects? Pluto Telecommunication has been facing challenges while performing its different operational functions. It can be stated that the main reason b ehind the arising challenges is the expansion of the company. It can clearly be seen that there exist lack of proper coordination between the three various functional departments of Pluto. The particular aspect raised several problems like no formulation of proper marketing strategy, need of forming incentive plans by the sales department and non-availability of brochures depicting features of the new products among others. Thus, on the basis of the above discussion, it can be affirmed that the issue concerning shortage of proper coordination or communication is principally concerned with several significant aspects (Martin, 1994). Theories or Concepts Relating to the case study of Pluto, several theories or concepts can be taken into concern that would help in analysing the organisational

The Culmination of Transformations Molded Europe Essay Example for Free

The Culmination of Transformations Molded Europe Essay Europe underwent some major transformation from 1100-1300. The High Middle Ages, as this period was known, economic, political, religious and cultural revivals began to shape Europe. These changes were made possible for several reasons. One of those reasons was that Europe had become more settled after numerous invasions that occurred in the Early Middle Ages. The medieval kings began to apply centralized control. Advancement in agricultural practices also contributed to the European reform, as increased food supply stimulated commercial and urban growth. Also, due to pressures from the church, internal warfare and chronic violence in Europe was declining. One of the most exciting areas of revival was in economic conditions. The increase in food supply and agricultural production meant that trade increased. Commerce and interaction, which declined or completely halted during the dangerous disruptive years of the Central Middle Ages, reemerged. Increased trade led to several related and extremely important developments. One was the reintroduction of movement and interchange in parts of Europe, a dramatic change for people who had been isolated by limited resources and the dangerous conditions that had surrounded them. Now it was safer to travel, and there was the strong motive of trading surplus goods. Another change was the reemergence of currency throughout Europe. This was an extremely important change in the long run. Currency meant that land was no longer the only source of wealth. This eroded the monopoly of power held by feudal lords and vassals. Currency meant the beginning of a more complex economy and social system, providing more opportunities for people. Political revival was the most threatening to feudal lords and vassals. This was the process by which kings started to successfully build states in some parts of Europe. Although this took a long period of time, in some cases centuries, the process of state building began in the 1100s and 1200s in regions such as England and France and parts of Central Europe. The rise of kings meant less power for feudal lords as these monarchs built up their centralized control in the areas of military, taxation and legal enforcement. Although most modern states did not truly emerge until the 14th and 15th centuries, the threat to feudal lords became clear during the High Middle Ages. In the area of religion, the Catholic Church began to reassert its power in two ways. One was a movement within the Church to confront the problems of moral and financial corruption. An influential internal reform movement began in the 10th century. Over several decades, the efforts to create truly devout religious communities independent of outside political influence, and cleansed of corruption, sparked the imagination and passion of many in the Church. The emphasis on cleaning up corruption spread throughout Europe. The second area of reform took place at the highest level of the Church leadership. During the Central Middle Ages, popes were weak and often corrupt. During this period, the clergy was manipulated by powerful families. During the High Middle Ages, the Church distanced itself from political influence and corrupting influences as it gained greater support and respect from the common people and also greater control of its wealth. The culture of the High Middle Ages displayed a time of artistic vigor. Universities as we know them today, with faculty and students, were produced during this period. Kings and Popes competed to start up new universities. By the end of the Middle Ages, over 80 universities were in existence. Christianity was pivotal in the medieval society, as theology would play a vital role in the academic world. Christianity effected the actions of the kings and princes. Christianity would touch all Europeans lives. A philosophical and theological system was created in the schools and was referred to as scholasticism. This system was created to merge faith and reason and to exhibit that what was accepted on faith was in accord with what was learned as reason. The European civilization was transformed in the Middle Ages into a growing economy, nurtured by explosive trade, centralized government, agricultural progression and a cultural revival.

Differences Between Manufacturing Operations And Service Operations Commerce Essay

Differences Between Manufacturing Operations And Service Operations Commerce Essay Generally speaking, process efficiency is the most important to manufacturing operations while production and marketing are inseparable to service operations. (Yavas Yasin, 1994) Manufacturings tangible output can be consumed overtime (Kumar, 2008), less labour and more equipment are used in production, since automation has increased capital intensity while as a result reduced customer contact (Collier, 1983). Consumers rarely take part in the manufacturing process, many manufacturing operations have emphasized efficiency while compromising flexibility (Jelinek Goldhar, 1983), the methods for monitoring and using resources are sophisticated while producing. On the other hand, service operations are different from those of manufacturing operations. Consumption and production of services takes place simultaneously or closely (Arja and Seliina 2008), and there are more labour and more customer participation, which means service businesses, usually are more customer-oriented (Chase Erickson, 1988; Heskett, 1987). while elementary methods are frequently used for monitoring and using resources. To be specific, there are mainly 6 differences between manufacturing operations and service operations. 1.1, Basic organize style in operation. Basically, manufacturing companies usually make production and purchase plans based on the demand of the market and their customers. Then human resources and equipment are settled to produce. So the manufacturing companies operation management is mainly product-cantered the aim is to control the process of production, keep the quality of outcomes and reduce cost. Yet the service organizations seem organized differently as they have greater amount of interaction with their customers (Voss et al., 1985). There are more uncertainties in the process, so specific plans cannot be made in advance, and the results are diverse if the service personals or the customers change. For that reason, the service operations are human-centred. 1.2, Design of products and operation systems. In manufacturing factories, the products and production systems can be designed separately because one same product can be produced by different manufacturing systems (i.e. two equipments with different automation degree). However in the service operations, the service provides system is part of the whole service itself. Different service provides system have different characteristics which make the service not the same, so those two systems must be designed together within the service operations. 1.3, The use of inventory in adjusts supply and demand. Since the companies cannot decide the demand of the market while their productivities are controllable, the manufacturing companies can use their inventory to deal with unexpected demand increases. So those companies should pay more attention to plan reasonable inventory strategy. To most of those service companies, their products cannot be inventoried as readily as goods (Thomas, 1978). They cannot produce service in advance and store them for later customers, so what they can do is to make better use their service abilities while the demand happens. 1.4, Customers effect. The production systems in the manufacturing companies are usually enclosed to customers, manufacturing firms generally evaluate their products quality from internal perspective rather than external (customers) perspective (Buzzell Gale, 1987).thus they can have few influences on the manufacturing operations. However, customers take part in the service operations; they may have positive and negative effects to the process. So the service companies need to make full use of those good effects and try to minimize the undesirable ones. 1.5, Boundaries of function division and human resource characteristic In the manufacturing companies, there are clear boundaries within the operation, marketing and human resource management. The time and places are different between producing and selling the goods. Besides most products need to transport through a complex channel before the customers get them. As a result, there must have different people take response of different departments. Moreover, since the manufacturing operations are product-centred, the working process and quality are strictly controlled, which means humans behaviour will have few influences to the results. Nevertheless, to the service companies, the human factor is critical while operating. Managing people must become a critical part of line managers job in service operations. (Boudreauet al., 2003) So the three parts which had been mentioned at the beginning have to be integrated while managing. 1.6, Measure the output Clearly, the output of the manufacturing operations can be easily measured through count the yield and test the product quality. However, in the service operations, the quantitative indicators are unsuitable for measuring the output service. Gupta (1995) indicated that productivity measurement it is more complex in service industries owing to the inherent characteristics of services. Besides, the qualitative indicators of service are more difficult to define than those of manufacturing operations. Furthermore, as a lot of service organizations have multiplex goal such as long-term benefits and social benefits, evaluating these organizations could be even harder. In a word, although there are some basic features in common, different type of output of manufacturing and service operations lead to dissimilar emphasis of the two operations. As a result, while dealing with these two kinds of operations, the management methods would not be the same. 2. Top-down perspective of operations strategy and Hangzhou Chengcheng Handicraft Limiteds performance objectives As discussed in many literatures, there is a vertical relationship between operations strategy and business/ corporate strategies in the companys hierarchy. Meanwhile, other functional strategies such as the marketing strategy are horizontally connected with operations strategy. When talk about business and corporate strategies, operations strategy may turn up in a bottom-up or a top-down procedure. Likewise, either market requirements or the capabilities of the operations resources can lead to operations strategy. Appendix 1 (Slack and Lewis, 2002) illustrates 4 perspectives on operation strategy. Each aspect differently stresses on the character of operations strategy process. The top-down perspective is one of those perspectives that operations strategy comes from. It supports the organizations business strategy and the corporation can use this to make its business strategy come true. From this point of view, to develop an operations strategy is in line with Skinners methods of identifying an operations task (Skinner, 1969). Thus the business strategy will logically determine the operations task. The operations task can be expressed by five operations performance objectives (Slack et al. 2004). As a result, while the business strategy is one of the providing high quality products, the operations task has to be one of carefully design the process. If the business strategy is based on offering low prices, the operations task, in this context, need to consider achieve lower costs. In diversified companies, the top-down perspective suggests a link between operations strategy and the corporate strategy through each business units business strategy. While using the top-down hierarchical approach, there would be three main strategy levels: corporate, business and functional (Hollins Shinkins, 2006). Under this model, corporate goals are passed down to the functional areas via business areas (see Appendix 1). The direction of the whole company is set by the corporate level strategy which acknowledges the key internal and external stakeholders who the company is seeking to satisfy. Such a strategy illustrates what the corporation wants to achieve in details. The business level, in some large multi-business organizations, is at the Strategic Business Unit level. The business level strategy decides the way of business units contributing to the whole company by dealing with its customers, markets and competitors properly. In the business functions, the operations, tog ether with finance or marketing, will help to support the goal of business strategy. Operations strategies may have diverse priorities due to the distinct business aims. Hayes and Wheelwright (1984) developed a four-stage model (see Appendix 2) to help explain the role of the operations function. This model supports the idea that overall operations capability will lead to the success of the company. Hangzhou Chengcheng Handicraft Limited (HCHL) is a Hangzhou based manufacturing company whose main products are handcrafted slippers. The main customers of the company are from Japan. The company owns a factory in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou, and has a workforce of about 200. For the corporate strategy decisions, the company business in clearly manufacturing slippers and the accessories of slippers, and export them to the foreign customers. Since the payment will be transferred once the delivery has completed, there will not be any cash flow problems for the company if nothing too terrible happens. Besides, as the company has only one business, they just need to focus on how to improve the performance, and they will not worry about deal with relationships between different businesses. For the business strategy decisions, the company aim at provide the slippers with best quality and lower price, in this way the company will keep the customers and keep growing at business and profit. The growth targets of the company are 10% per year while the profitability targets are 28%. The competencies of the company are good relationship with suppliers and customers, on-time delivery and guaranteed quality, but they just do better than other competitors, improvements are still needed in these aspects. For the functional strategy decisions of the company, the performance improvement priorities for the firm is to make all the employee anticipate in to the whole operation as much as possible. The company devotes to provide high quality products to its customers. Since most of its slippers are sold at several main supermarkets in Japan, the company is aim at achieve zero faulty goods. Reduce the time between the order and the availability of the product as much as possible is the speed dependability objectives of the company, while it is going to minimize the cost of raw material by purchasing globally. 3. Capacity strategy and capacity control of HCHL There are about 160 contracted workers making slippers in the workshop of the factory. 10 of these workers are quality inspectors whose job is to get rid of the spots of glue on the surface of the slippers, check the quality of the slippers and pair them in a proper way. Apparently, the capacity of the whole factory depends on the other 150 skilled workers productivity. 3.1 Classify the orders The company has divided its products into two parts. One is called Normal orders which means those slippers are ordered and manufactured regularly every year. Other slippers are belonging to the Special orders. These slippers usually have either or both of the following features: 1, the slippers use new models which are provided by foreign importers; 2, the time for delivery is often not long. So it can be concluded that these Normal orders can be forecasted and prepared in advance, while Special orders are usually unpredictable. The good news about those Special orders is that most of them are usually ordered follow the season changing. For example, the importer will provide a new slipper model which has a bamboo-made sole at the summer and the leather style slipper are often ordered during the cold days. Nevertheless, some slippers will be ordered as soon as the models are developed. These including the one that can help female customers shape their bodies, especially their legs, the one have the function of feet massage or those have cartoon characters pattern or shaped slippers for children. 3.2 Capacity of the factory. As an order-driven production company, the yield of the company is often depending on the amount of orders it gets. According to the historical statistics, these skilled workers can make about 300 pairs once they are familiar with the operational processes for a particular sort of slippers. While the qualification rate  for the Normal orders is about 93%, the result is that the factory has the capacity of about 280 pairs per day. Normally, each order from the international buyers is for 1000 pairs of slippers, since there are usually about 5 Normal orders for each month, the capacity of the company will not fully used for the period without any Special orders. The workers will get two day weekend for rest, and they can go home as early as they have finished their jobs in the weekdays. While there are several Special orders, consider that the study of the new model and the time for workers get used to the new products, it will take several days for the factory to get to the normal o utput. In the case of a month with two Special orders, the factorys capacity will be fully used, and sometimes the company need to hire temporary workers to help. While the capacity of the factory is improved temporary, the total cost and the fault rate  are also higher than it was due to the temporary workers who are not familiar with the working process. In order to improve the capacity of the factory, the company has made some changes. Several workers have been trained to learn how to cut the raw material including upper and soles of the slippers. In this way, workers on the pipeline will not have to wait for long. With more workers have different skills each, they can help with the particular work stage of one special model which might cost more time than other models. Push money is provided if workers can finish their jobs on time. Moreover, records and statistics are made in order to monitor the performance of the workers, managers will check the records regularly and discuss with workers who have problems with their works. 4. The impact of product life cycle to HCHL Clearly, the slippers are in the maturity stage of the product life cycle. For the HCHL itself, the cost is lowered due to the great amount and steady production volumes and the experience curve effects. Competitors are increasing, although the customers may not the same, at the upper side of the supply chain, competition happens when purchasing raw materials, besides, there is a threat of the loss of skilled workers. Generally, the price and profit of the products tend to drop, especially in the Normal orders; the importers keep using different reasons to cut the price. However since there are always Special orders which have new features, the company can get a chance to recover the loss on the Normal orders. Because the slippers are in the maturity stage of the product life cycle, HCHL is now trying to give new concept for its products. The company is seeking the chance to get into the markets of unconventional slippers such as pocket slippers for travelling use, cleaning slippers and so on. Besides, slippers aim at new target customers (i.e. BabaPapa family slippers set for children and their parents) are developed for improve the companys revenue. 5, Quality management Slippers quality is important for HCHL. There are mainly four aspects of judging the quality of the slippers. Firstly, the outlook and the shape of the slippers need to fit the standards which are agreed by both the HCHL and its customers. Secondly, small blemish such as spots of glue on the surface are not allowed. Then, if there are patterns especially stripes on the upper, two slippers in one pair need to be matched. Finally for the pack process, no sundries such as needle or even scissors are allowed left in the boxes. Usually, it is the 10 quality inspectors who need to take care of those quality problems. The HCHL did apply some rules and standards for their jobs. Since there are many factories whose business are almost the same as HCHL, the customers have more choices in choosing partners, so they are really strict about the quality of the product. In the summer of 2007 when there are news about bad quality food made in China, the Japanese customers even required a zero faulty rate of product to their Chinese suppliers. In order to get rid of the gap between customer expectations and perceptions, HCHL had made a lot of improvement. First of all, the company released the its own QEMS with dozens of documents including the standards of finished and semi-finished shoes, QC flow chart, waste disposal management rules and so on. Forms are sent to each employee and need to be filled regularly. Besides, witness points and break points are set up to assist the quality control. There are people who are responsible for monitor the working process and deal with the important process. Thirdly, since the producing of handicraft slippers has higher requirement about the physical fitness of the workers, regular medical examination are took before go on duty. In addition, the 6s rule has been introduced to the workshop; however it seems that the workers are not quite understand the meaning of doing this. Finally, when it is necessary, the company will hire professional inspection companies to do the inspection job, although it may cost a lot. 6, Recommendations on operations management to HCHL There are a lot of ways of improving one companys operations management. However consider that the HCHL is a kind of companies that is not a large business, those methods such as ERP or invest heavily on the equipment which cost too much are not suitable for the company. Take the real condition of the firm into account; there are several aspects that can be improved. For the capacity management, except for what the company is doing, other efforts can be made for making it works better. Firstly, the company need to realize that although it has several fixed main customers, it does not mean that the company is the subsidiary of those customers. When there are not many orders from the customers, which does not equal to the capacity of the firm, the company should not leave part of its capacity unused. One way to solve this problem is to keep working in full capacity and set up other flexible channel of selling its products. An example of such channel is online shop. There are many benefits of keeping the full capacity: the average cost of every slipper will be lower since the fix costs are fully allocated; and the employees can make more money. To re-consider the relationship with the customers has another meaning. To avoid some pressing Special orders, the HCHL need to be more active than it is. They need to contact the customers frequently enough to follow the trend of the market and make forecast based on the information and historical data. The more important thing is independently development. To accept the models provided by the customers are always too passive, if the company can develop its own model series, it will improve the companys power while bargaining with customers, and the period of getting used to the new model will be reduced since then. Besides, creation is always good for the life cycle of the products. What is more, since the word co-petition has been put forward as a new relationship between competitors, the company can make agreements with other factories that do the same work as the company does. While one of the factories has a need for extra workers, other factories will send workers to the factory. The yield and quality of those skilled workers are much better than the former temporary workers; besides, they are much easier to manage. The main advantage of a well managed capacity system is that more time can be spent on the business analysis and forecasting, (Dithmar, 1985) by which the needs of the firm will be supported. Because the cost of the production is at a low level, the proper way for the HCHL is to implement product differentiation. For the quality management, introduce the total quality management is necessary. According to Prajogo, and Sohal (2006), TQM is shown to have a significant and positive relationship with a differentiation strategy. Research also supports the positive relationship between three organizational performance measures (including product quality, process innovation and product innovation) and both differentiation and TQM. The HCHL can follow the PDCA cycle to implement the TQM. On the plan stage, the company need to negotiate with it customers about the details of the orders, quality aims and quality plan have to be made. Then on the do stage, training might be the most important part, workers need to be taught and communicate about the skill of producing the slippers. On the check stage which is after the exercise of the plan, adjusts will be made to let the process more efficient. Last on the action stage, the result will be examined and it is the start of the next cycle as well. The benefits of TQM for HCHL will show in different ways. Since all the stuffs are required to enter the progress, the problems and faults can be spotted quicker, and workers will be motivated by extra responsibility. Improvement made by TQM is not only with output, but also with improving processes and capabilities to produce better results in the future. 7, Conclusion The essay first gives the critical review of the differences between manufacturing operations and service operations, and the top-down perspective of operations strategy is explained. Then the HCHLs case is introduced to evaluate the operations function in a product-based organisation. As a small business, the company has its own features, and the Performance objectives are given in the essay. After analysis the capacity, product life cycle and quality management of the company, the essay gives some recommendations to the HCHL to help it improve its operational performance. These recommendations including improve the capacity and make full use of it through several methods and introduce the TQM for improving the product quality.