Obesity, Sleep Apnea and Cognitive Functions in Children Research Paper

Obesity, Sleep Apnea and Cognitive Functions in Children - Research Paper Example Obstructive sleep apnea is caused when the airways are significantly narrowed, and again increased neck weight can contribute to this narrowing and the subsequent breathing problems (Chan et al, 2004). Although the links between sleep apnea and obesity are well-researched, the links between impaired cognitive function, obesity and sleep disruption are minimal, although studies have been done comparing two of the above. The article in question (Clark, 2005) illustrates the possible links found between all three of the conditions. The purpose of this paper is to examine the biology behind the research and investigate the possible reasons for the connection. The structure of the pharynx is illustrated in figure 1. From this diagram, it is evident that the windpipe is a narrow structure and any further narrowing could cause a lowered ability to receive sufficient air into the lungs. Obstructive sleep apnea is categorized by a cyclic closing and opening of the pharynx during sleep, which can lead to disrupted gas exchange and disturbed sleep (Strohl, 1996). Evidently, any disruption in sleep is going to cause excessive fatigue/sleepiness, but research suggests that the effects of sleep apnea go beyond this and cause behavioural problems (such as impulse control and hyperactivity) and cognitive deficits. It has been suggested that these are caused by intermittent states of hypoxemia as well as reductions in brain metabolism (Clark, 2005). Figure 1 – Diagram of the neck illustrating the pharynx (Clark, 2005) There are also suggestions that obesity is linked to cognitive deficits. Learning, memory and abstract reasoning were all shown to be lower in people suffering from obesity and hypertension, although the effects were seen in men only (Elias et al, 2003). Despite this evidence, it is unclear whether obesity is a result of or a cause of these impaired cognitive facilities. People who have taken part in cognitive skill building exercises as younger children ar e shown to have less chance of developing obesity as adults (Hill et al, 2003), but this could be partly due to socioeconomic factors. Other suggestions have been made that show that impaired cognitive function is a result of obesity. The glucocorticoids (GC), for example, are implicated. Figure 2 shows the chemical structure of cortisol, an important example in this group of steroid hormones. GCs are found in almost every vertebrate cell, and bind to the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). GCs are important in several areas of the brain, including the hippocampus, the amygdala and the frontal lobes (Clark, 2005). In obesity, individuals may be exposed to an abnormally high amount of glucocorticoids (Masuzaki et al, 2001), and evidently if they play an important role in brain function, obesity could well be a cause of impaired cognitive function. Image 2 – The Chemical Structure of Cortisol (Clark, 2005) Obesity has also been linked to a number of neurological conditions, primarily stroke. A stroke is characterized by a swift loss of brain function because of a blockage or other disturbance of the blood supply to the brain (Clark, 2005). Thrombotic stroke is the most common type of stroke in obese individuals (Clark, 2005). Blood supply in

Business Case Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Business Case - Coursework Example First, we discuss the appropriate nature of the topic, define its focus or scope, describe and explain the context in which the paper aims to answer the research question and the peripheral questions that proceed from the search for the answers, establish the rationale for the paper, and enumerate clearly the aims and objectives for the study. Like other observable facts of life, there are two ways of knowing the purpose of a thing. One can observe and discover what that thing does, or if one knows how that thing came to be, that is, it was created by another rational person to whom we can talk, there is a simpler way: to ask. After years of daily observation and questioning, it is this researcher's common understanding that a business is an artificial (something created or put together, as opposed to natural, that is, existing in nature) form of social organisation that fulfils three main goals: it keeps the person who created it busy, it provides the same person some amount of income, and it provides a product or service that meets a need of a portion of society. At the start of the research study, this researcher considered these as the main purposes of a business, and as long as these purposes are met, the business becomes an ongoing and sustainable concern as the income generated allows the business to continue in existence. However, once any of these purposes is not met, either the business ceases to exist or a new business with a different set of purposes is created. This is the intellectual position of the researcher. The research question for this paper is a variation of the same theme: what is the business of business What is the purpose of a

An Over View Of The Tata Motors Company Marketing Essay

An Over View Of The Tata Motors Company Marketing Essay The concept of operations management is related to the optimum utilization of the resources in the best possible way. Introduction Established under the parent company, Tata Group, in 1945, Tata Motors Limited has become Indias largest automobile company. It was the first Indian automobile company to list on the New York Stock Exchange. Tata Motors began manufacturing commercial vehicles in 1954 with a 15-year collaboration agreement with Daimler Benz of Germany. This partnership has led Tata Motors to not only become Indias largest automobile company but also Indias largest commercial vehicle manufacturer; the worlds top five manufactures of medium and heavy trucks and the worlds second largest medium and heavy bus manufacturer. Having just entered the passenger vehicles market segment in 1991, Tata Motors now ranks second in Indias passenger vehicle market. Tata has enjoyed the prestige of having developed Tata Ace, Indias first indigenous light commercial vehicle; Tata Safari, Indias first sports utility vehicle; Tata Indica, Indias first indigenously manufactured passenger car; and the Nano, the worlds least expensive The company that has been taken for the purpose of demonstrating operation management and its effectiveness is Tata motors India Pvt. Ltd. The fact that tata motors came up with a small car in the Indian market and has been very succesfull it needs to be understood that what it is that instigated the success to such a boundry. Tata Motors is Indias largest automobile company, with consolidated revenues of USD 20 billion in 2009-10. It is the leader in commercial vehicles and among the top three in passenger vehicles. Tata Motors has products in the compact, midsize car and utility vehicle segments. The company is the worlds fourth largest truck manufacturer, the worlds second largest bus manufacturer, and employs 24,000 workers. Since first rolled out in 1954, Tata Motors has produced and sold over 4 million vehicles in India. Established in 1945, when the company began manufacturing locomotives, the company manufactured its first commercial vehicle in 1954 in a collaboration with Daimler-Benz AG, which ended in 1969. Tata Motors is a dual-listed company traded on both the Bombay Stock Exchange, as well as on the New York Stock Exchange. Tata Motors in 2005, was ranked among the top 10 corporations in India with an annual revenue exceeding INR 320 billion. In 2010, Tata Motors surpassed Reliance to win the coveted title of Indias most valuable brand in a annual survey conducted by Brand Finance and The Economic Times. Tata Motors has auto manufacturing and assembly plants in Jamshedpur, Pantnagar , Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Sanand,Dharwad and Pune in India, as well as in Argentina, South Africa and Thailand. Tata Motors aimed to increase its presence worldwide. In 2004, it acquired the Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company of South Korea. The reasons behind the acquisition were: Companys global plans to reduce domestic exposure. The domestic commercial vehicle market is highly cyclical in nature and prone to fluctuations in the domestic economy. Tata Motors has a high domestic exposure of ~94% in the MHCV segment and ~84% in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment. Since the domestic commercial vehicle sales of the company are at the mercy of the structural economic factors, it is increasingly looking at the international markets. The company plans to diversify into various markets across the world in both MHCV as well as LCV segments. To expand the product portfolio Tata Motors recently introduced the 25MT GVW Tata Novus from Daewoos (South Korea) (TDCV) platform. Tata plans to leverage on the strong presence of TDCV in the heavy-tonnage range and introduce products in India at an appropriate time. This was mainly to cater to the international market and also to cater to the domestic market where a major improvement in the Road infrastructure was done through the National Highway Development Project. Tata remains Indias largest heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer and Tata Daewoo is the 2nd largest heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer in South Korea. Tata Motors has jointly worked with Tata Daewoo to develop trucks such as Novus and World Truck and buses namely, GloBus and StarBus. In January 2008, Tata Motors launched Tata Nano, the least expensive production car in the world at about 120,000 (US $3000).The city car was unveiled during the Auto Expo 2008 exhibition in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Tata has faced controversy over developing the Nano as some environmentalists are concerned that the launch of such a low-priced car could lead to mass motorization in India with adverse effects on pollution and global warming. Tata has set up a factory in Sanand, Gujarat and the first Nanos are to roll out summer 2009. Tata Nano Europa has been developed for sale in developed economies and is to hit markets in 2010 while the normal Nano should hit markets in South Africa, Kenya and countries in Asia and Africa by late 2009. A battery version is also planned. Tata Motors Limited is Indias largest automobile company, with revenues of 35,651.48 crore (US$7.74 billion) in 2007-08. It is the leader in commercial vehicles in each segment, and among the top three in passenger vehicles in India with products in the compact, midsize car and utility vehicle segments. Tata vehicles are sold primarily in India, and over 4 million Tata vehicles have been produced domestically since the first Tata vehicle was assembled in 1954. The companys manufacturing base in India is spread across Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Pune (Maharashtra), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) and Dharwad (Karnataka). Following a strategic alliance with Fiat in 2005, Tata set up an industrial joint venture with Fiat Group Automobiles at Ranjangaon (Maharashtra) to produce both Fiat and Tata cars and Fiat powertrains. The company is establishing a new plant at Sanand (Gujarat). Tatas dealership, sales, service and spare parts network comprises over 3500 touch points. Ta ta Motors also distributes and markets Fiat branded cars in India. Current Situation The Tata Motors group is a passenger and commercial vehicle manufacturer based in India. The motor group was established in 1945 as part of the larger Tata Group. They have long been known for their commercial vehicles and in the past ten years entered into the passenger car market. Currently, Tata Motors has a line of five passenger vehicles and a large line of commercial vehicles producing pickups, trucks, tractor trailers, tippers, and buses. Both product lines of the Tata Motors group have seen success, but much of this has been built upon the more deeply established commercial vehicle product line. Tata Motors commercial line has been established for several years in many market segments such as Europe, Africa, The Middle East, Australia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Tata Motors has expanded their business and market share around the world through a series of acquisitions. In 2004, they acquired Daewoo commercial vehicle Company in South Korea which was South Koreas second largest truck manufacturer. This acquisition gave Tata Motors a significant presence in the Korean market. They have also entered into joint ventures with companies such as Thonburi Automotive in 2006, which allowed them to manufacture and market pickup trucks in Thailand. Tata Motors have been making global headlines in the auto industry lately; the largest news being their acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford. Tata paid 2.3 billion dollars to Ford for the two brands that cost Ford 5.3 billion (Carty, USA Today). This is a major step for the company because it catapults them into the luxury car business which they are not known for at this time. Tata, like many new businesses it acquires, is allowing this new segment of the business to be run by previous management since they have more experience in the luxury automotive business. Tata will give us some space. They want us to run our business, be a premium British car company (Mike ODriscoll, managing director of Jaguar). This is yet another large acquisition for the Tata Motors group and could create great success for the company in the near future. Corporate Governance Since Tata Motors is a part of a large conglomerate company it needs to have a strong corporate governance to ensure that its employees act ethically and the business continues to run smoothly especially during the ever changing and dynamic global economy. Tata Groups corporate governance is founded upon a rich legacy of fair, ethical, and transparent governance practices (tatacarsworldwide.com). One of the more important parts of this is the transparency of the company people have a right to know what the company is doing not only to ensure ethical practices, but for the insurance of their many shareholders whom have a right to know the inner workings of the company Tata has created some models for employees to guide themselves through everyday business practices to ensure that the corporate governance is continuously being upheld. The Tata business excellence model is upheld by Tata quality management services. Quality management is an in-house group dedicated to helping the various Tata companies achieve their business objectives through specific processes. The two main processes that the quality management services employees focus on are business excellence and business ethics. These two objectives have helped build Tata into the strong, dynamic company it is today. These models are entrenched in the companys ethnical standards and Tata feels strongly about enforcing both throughout the company. Tata quality management services plays the role of supporter and facilitator in the journey that Tata enterprises undertake to reach the peaks of business eminence while, at the same time, adhering to the highest ethical standards (Tata.com). To further prove their commitment to quality and ethical practices Tata has introduced annual quality awards for those companies conducting business with the utmost quality. These awards are called the JRD quality value awards named after the late chairmen JRD Tata. These awards are presented annually on July 29th, the birthday of JRD Tata. Tata has committed to ensuring quality and ethical standards not only within Tata Motors, but throughout their many other branches and sectors of the Tata Group. They have done so by benchmarking quality standards through the Tata business excellence model as well as providing incentives for companies to strive to improve the quality of their service, by awarding JRD quality management awards. Financial Position Tata Motors have increased its earnings over the years through their various acquisitions and joint ventures with truck manufacturers in Southeast Asia. Gross profit in the year 2006 was 1,160.9 million and increased to 1,510.1 million in the year 2007. Earnings after taxes also increased significantly between 2006 and 2007 increasing from 336.6 million to 405.5 million in 2007. After a large drop in revenues from 2004 to 2005 when the company first went public on the NYSE it has been increasing revenues greatly annually, from 4,422.0 million in 2005 to 7,354.0 in 2007. Core Competencies Tata Motors is able to maintain, as well as increase, their market share by capitalizing on their core competencies. Tata Motors is active, competitive, and dynamic in all aspects of the automotive industry, which means that there must be many different activities going on in all areas of the company. As a result of the ever evolving automotive industry Tata Motors must always be changing and one way to stay at the forefront of the industry is to make continuous improvements in technology through research and development. One way that Tata Motors has done this is by producing one of the most efficient and low cost vehicles on the market. Acquisitions, mergers, and expansion is another core competency that Tata Motors has is embedded in their company structure and philosophy. Another core competency that Tata Motors holds is being located in the India. This location has allowed them to understand not only the Indian market but also the dynamics of emerging and developing markets. This market understanding and knowledge allows Tata Motors to manufacture their products at lower costs, sell them to emerging markets while making profits as well as take advantage of the strong labor base in India. PEST Analysis Political Since Tata Motors operates in multiple countries across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, it needs to pay close attention to the political climate but also laws and regulations in all the countries it operates in while also paying attention to regional governing bodies. Laws governing commerce, trade, growth, and investment are dependent on the local government as well as how successful local markets and economies will be due to regional, national and local influence. In accordance, Tatas headquarters in Mumbai, India, strictly controls and regulates operations in all dealerships and subsidiaries, in addition to knowing and abiding by all labor laws in the multiple countries where they have manufacturing plants it has to watch political change. Economic Operating in numerous countries across the world, Tata Motors functions with a global economic perspective while focusing on each individual market. Because Tata is in a rapid growth period, expanding or forming a joint venture in over five countries world-wide since 2004, a global approach enables Tata Motors to adapt and learn from the many different regions within the whole automotive industry. They have experience and resources from five continents across the globe, thus when any variable changes in the market they can gather information and resources from all over the world to address any issues. For instance, if the price of the aluminum required to make engine blocks goes up in Kenya, Tata has the option to get the aluminum from other suppliers in Europe or Asia who they would normally get from for production in Ukraine or Russia. Tata Motors also has to pay close attention to shifts in currency rates throughout the world. Currency fluctuations can equate to higher or lower de mands for Tata vehicles which in turn affect profitability. It can also mean a rise in costs or a drop in returns. But they also have to pay attention to not just the domestic currency, the rupee, but also to the dollar, euro, bhat, won, and pound, to just name a few. Just because the rupee is strong against the dollar does not mean it is strong against all the other currencies. Attention to currency is important because it influences where capital investment will develop and prosper. Social Undoubtedly, the beliefs, opinions, and general attitude of all the stakeholders in a company will affect how well a company performs. This includes every stakeholder from the CEO and President, down to the line workers who screw the door panel into place, from the investor to the customer, the culture and attitude of all these people will ultimately determine the future of a company and whether they will be profitable or not. For this reason, Tata Motors tends to use an integration and rarely separation technique with foreign companies they acquire. In 2004, Tata Motors acquired Daewoo Commercial Vehicles Company, which was at the time Koreas second largest truck maker. Rather than using de-culturation or assimilating Daewoo, Tata took an integrated approach, and continued building and marketing Daewoos current models as well as introducing a few new models globally just as it had been done under Korean management. Technology Tata Motors and its parent company, the Tata Group, are ahead of the game in the technology field. The foundation of the companys growth is a deep understanding of economic stimuli and customer needs, and the ability to translate them into customer-desired offerings through leading edge RD (Tata). Employing 1,400 scientists and engineers, Tata Motors Research and Development team is ahead of the pack in Indias market and right with the rest of the field internationally. Among Tatas firsts are the first indigenously developed Light Commercial Vehicle, Indias first Sports Utility Vehicle and, in 1998, the Tata Indica, Indias first fully indigenous passenger car, as well as the increasingly famous Tata Nano, which is projected to be the worlds cheapest production car (Tata). In the automotive industry, it is becoming increasingly crucial for manufacturers to stay on top of the technology curve with new problems always rising such as escalating gas prices and pollution problems. Tata rec ognizes this and dedicates lots of resources and time into research and development to be even with or preferably ahead of other competitors, global trends, and changing economies. In all, an automobile manufacturer must change, adapt, and evolve to stay competitive in the automotive game, and this is exactly what Tata is doing with their rapid growth, and extensive research and development. SWOT Analysis Strengths Tata Motors excels when it comes to innovation through intensive research and development. Their ability to make the least expensive car on the market, the Nano which will retail for $2,500, is far beyond what any other car dealership has created. This innovation gives Tata Motors their main competitive advantage. Tata Motors makes everything from tractor-trailers to the worlds least expensive car. This product diversity grants them a competitive advantage over their competitors because they can satisfy more markets and customer needs. Another strength that Tata Motors possesses is high corporate responsibility. They donate a portion of their profits from stock increases towards a specific charity. This highlights Tata Motors overall desire for community improvement while also emphasizing Tata Motors high morals and values which is something money can not buy. Tata Motors is unique in a way in which when it buys a company. Tata Motors keeps the original management of that company int act. The company that Tata Motors purchases will look exactly the same in terms of management and organizational structure as if it was never purchased by Tata Motors. Weaknesses There are strings attached with every new invention and improvement on products. These strings are Tata Motors weaknesses and what other groups perceive as their weaknesses. One weakness that Tata Motors faces is its inability to meet safety standards. Although they have made the most inexpensive car out on the market, it has yet to pass all the safety standards which is a legal factor. Some consumers and pessimists inquire as to how Tata Motors can make such a cheap car and withstanding a car accident or not just falling apart after hitting something once. Pessimistic people also want to believe that car manufactures are already doing everything they can to keep costs low for the consumer, and if that is the case, then putting the cheapest car out on the market automatically questions if it is safe to drive.Tata Motors only have been making passenger cars for the approximately last ten years. This can be viewed as a weakness from a customer standpoint since a decade does not seem li ke a lot to consumers and therefore they will think that Tata Motors is inexperienced car manufacturing. Opportunities Tata Motors has already opened the doors for many new and innovative ideas, but not only for their company, but their competitors as well which could turn into a threat. One of the major opportunities that Tata Motor faces is that as of right now 90 percent of China and Indias adult population do not own cars, partly because cars are costly and require more expenses after purchased. So the market for a low-priced car is huge which benefits Tata Motors perfectly since they produce the lowest priced car on the market. This is a huge opportunity for Tata Motors because if they can get their feet into that market of people that do not have cars because they cannot afford them, then they will make large profits down the road. Chinas total car sales are estimated at over 8 million dollars annually and they were the worlds second largest car market in 2006. Chinas government forecasts that demand for cars will top 20 million by 2020. With Tata Motors in the market with the cheapest car, Chinas demand for cars will probably increase even more significantly which will in turn increase sales for Tata Motors. As of March 2008 Tata Motors finalized a deal with Ford Motor Company to acquire the British businesses, Jaguar Cars and Land Rover. This is a huge opportunity for Tata Motors since they will acquire the large knowledge base and technologies for producing and marketing luxury vehicles. This acquisition helps them dive into the more mature markets in Japan, Europe and the U.S. The knowledge transfer from these two companies will greatly improve Tata Motors ability to continue to grow and flourish in both developing and developed market segments. Threats The obvious threat to Tata Motors is intellectual property rights. Tata invented the cheapest car on the market and every automobile manufacturer wants to know how Tata did it. Headhunters are soon going to find out this valuable information and make it available to their own company. This is a huge threat to Tata Motors because at first they had low competition, but once other car manufactures find out how they invented such a low cost car, and then these companies too will jump on board and design their own line of low cost automobiles. On one hand this can be a threat, but on the other it may not affect Tata Motors at all because people will still want to purchase their product since they were the pioneers of all the excitement. Another main concern that Tata Motors faces is that cheap cars in India will have an adverse effect on pollution and global warming because most of the population will be able to afford the cars.

Characterization in The Little Prince and Pinocchio Essay -- essays pa

Characterization in The Little Prince and Pinocchio Children’s stories are often written about growing up or appreciating the joy of being a kid. These stories consist of characters that children can easily relate to and offer the road to exciting adventures. The main character has a personality very similar to the young readers. They have childlike qualities that are enchanting, lovable, curious and especially adventurous. The protagonist encounters individuals on his adventures, which have specific characteristics that mirror the traits of the main character. The reader may also boast these same characteristics, which guides the reader to understand the conflicts they may encounter in life. These dominant traits are very simple to spot and are used to create powerful images and send influential messages of morality either directly or indirectly to the young readers. Each character symbolizes a specific temptation or obstacle a child must take in order to grow into a good and moral adult. In the two stories of The Litt le Prince by Saint-Exupery and Pinocchio by Collodi, the authors effectively illustrate how important it is to learn self-discipline as a child even when it is so easy to get caught up in the moment and lose sight of the big picture. Through the effective character personality traits and their captivating adventures the child stays attentive and retains the moral lesson the author is attempting to convey. Pinocchio and the Little Prince are very similar characters. They are exciting, curious and adventurous and are both striving towards a particular goal. Pinocchio wants to become a boy and must abide by certain conditions before his ultimate goal can be reached. The Little Prince is on an excit... ...tle Prince’s soul rests in his home planet through the rose. Like the Prince, the rose is delicate and needs protection from outside dangers. Her roots are planted at home and she is in need of constant care. Dynamic characterization of Pinocchio and the Little Prince, as well as minor characters in the story, have created an exciting adventure for children. These stories keep the reader interested and begging for more even though they are essentially educational readings. By using minor characters to exemplify the complexity of the main character, the authors were able to deliver many powerful messages of morality and help children understand the complexities growing up. Bibliography: C. Collodi. Pinocchio. Trans. Ed Young. New York: Philomel Books, 1996 Saint – Exupery. The Little Prince. Trans, T. V. F. Cuffe, London: Penguin Books, 1995

Natural language processing

A survey of related studies was conducted by the researchers in order to provide more insight into the research in the field of an experimentation and to get support of the Borer-Moore string searching algorithm as a relevant string matching algorithm that can be integrated with Natural Language Processing method and why it creates a better string searching process. The available literature related to the research work has been reviewed and presented under two distinct heads biz.String Searching Algorithm ii) Natural Language Processing 2. 1. String Searching Algorithm There are many existing string matching algorithms, and each is efficient and effective in one way or another. It is worth noting that string is used interchangeably with text. It is a sequence of characters that may be a set of alphabet. The researchers have selected the Borer-Moore string matching algorithm because it is used in most software applications.String matching algorithms work by matching two strings, the m ain string and the pattern. The main string is larger than or equal to the pattern that is the text being searched. Borer-Moore String matching algorithm works by comparing from right to left. It is fast because it skips some of the characters. It is efficient because with each failed attempt to match between the search string and the pattern, it uses the gathered information from that attempt to rule out as many positions where the pattern does not match. REF_002] It becomes faster if the set of alphabet is larger and the pattern is longerThe current areas covered by natural language processing are automatic summarization, coherence resolution, discourse analysis, machine translation, morphological segmentation, named entity recognition, natural engage generation, natural language understanding, optical character recognition, sentence breaking, sentiment analysis, speech recognition, speech segmentation, topic segmentation, word segmentation, word sense disambiguation, information retrieval, information extraction and speech processing; some other are stemming, text simplification, text-to-speech, text-proofing, natural language search, query expansion, automated essay scoring and truncating

Costco

The average Cost customer is found to be a college graduate earning an estimated $100,000 a year, twice the national average. This shows that their customers are ones ho can afford the yearly membership fee and to spend as they please in the warehouse as most customers find that they tend to overspend as they shop about Cost. Cost is able to create value for its customers by creating a sense of adventure and mystery for the customer who relates a shopping experience at Cost as akin too â€Å"treasure hunt†.Another value Is the low prices of items that customers can buy at no more than 15 percent mark ups as compared to departmental stores that mark up merchandise by 50 percent and supermarkets that mark up their Items by 25 percent or more (Lutz 2013). At times, Cost has special deals for customers by selling branded goods Like Pravda handbags, Carrier watches, Kristin Kelly wedding gowns, barrels of whiskey or even engagement rings, all at specially discounted prices (Lulling 2014). The first area of Cost's value-chain analysis will be the primary activities of inbound logistics and marketing and sales.Cost is extremely proficient and efficient in their procurement system, integrating a mix of human and technical skills and capabilities. One such instance is the development off competent technique of delivering inbound cargo to their designated warehouses within the pan of less than a day to ensure there is no time and cost wastage of leaving the items in the delivery trucks (Cost Wholesale 2010). This leads to higher sales and enables Cost to achieve quicker inventory turnover. As of June 2014, Cost Wholesale Corporation Is reported to have an Inventory turnover of 1 1. Times the national average (Bloomberg Businesswomen Bibb and compared to Wall-Mart Stores Inc which has an inventory turnover of 8. 1 times of the industry average (Bloomberg Businesswomen 2014). Cost is unique because they do not advertise but prefer to save that two percent of he budg et and channel it into more productive areas like employee benefits (Greenhouse 2005). Sales and service-wise, as mentioned previously Cost does not mark up its prices by more than 15 percent and it achieves this by buying in bulk and stocking only a limited assortment of products.A typical supermarket may have about 50,000 different Items for customers to choose from; Wall-Mart has an enormous selection of about 100,000 products but a typical Cost wholesale outlet stocks only about 4000 Items, of which most can be bought In bulk, a small portion as compared to competitors. Castoffs low merchandise count means It carries only choice brands and items and often only in one size. The executives at Cost believe making and confusion and eventually they walk away without purchasing, thus Cost only provides the best brands for each product (Logan and Abeyant 2012).The only gripe about Cost's service is that the lines are always taking too long, seeing as most customers end up over-spending and buying most items in bulk. Procurement is an essential aspect of support activities in the value-chain analysis of Cost. Cost builds strong relationships with its suppliers and tries to ensure that TTS suppliers are providing the best and lowest prices in order for Cost to do the same for its customers. Potential suppliers have to go through long dealing periods and stringent tests are carried out on their products to ensure it suits the needs and wants of Cost's customer base.An example would be thousands of toys waiting for the Cost team to hand-pick over five days the hundred fifty or so final products that will make the cut onto Cost's end-of-year holiday shelves for children. In the name of providing the best prices for its customers, Cost sometimes resorts to hardball arraigning when dealing with the suppliers such as in 2009 when Cost temporary ceased inbound shipments of Coca-Cola beverages as it stated on its website and shelves that Coca-Cola had not provided Cost wit h competitive pricing and Coca- Cola products would not be available until prices were lowered.Coke beverages returned to Cost's shelves in a few prices, but this shows Cost's procurement strength even when dealing with a main supplier (Harvard Law School 2010). The Cost Collaborative Retail Exchange (CRUX) program is a real-time software that allows Cost and selected suppliers to update the inventory anytime anywhere, especially when inventory for an item falls below a reorder point, the supplier is notified and stock is sent out to ensure it meets market demand.Once a product is scanned, the program is updated and inventory managers are notified if the product is close to the reorder point (IR 2013). For the demographics of Cost's customer base, it is divided by income, household size and age. A research done on Cost by a New Zealand market research firm finds that a whopping eight-five percent of wholesale club shoppers belong to the upper income market that are either â€Å"liv ing comfortably' or â€Å"affluent†.Subsequently, seventy-two percent of wholesale club shoppers are typically from a two to four person household. It is also noted that about three-quarters of female wholesale shoppers are younger than 55 years. (Acropolis Research Ltd. 2004) In conclusion, Cost Wholesale has a strong reputation and brand name, provides value through its low prices and for creating an adventure for its customers. With a large market share, it has considerable procurement strength but maintains relationships with suppliers.

Differences in Culture

Differences in Culture Summary International trading activities are built on the concept of cultural differences. Culture refers to tastes, manners, and social values practiced by a certain community. Therefore, due to cultural diversity, there exist pronounced differences between local and international businesses resulted by preferential variations. For instance, the Hinduism culture respects the cow and thus do not eat beef. Successful international business relations call for the need to improve cross-cultural literacy (Hill, 2011).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Differences in Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Cultural interaction brings on board different morals, beliefs, knowledge, and customs along with other managerial skills. These cultural values differentiate one community from the other and thus the need to reduce misunderstanding and conflicts in the business world. Cultural values provide a good understanding of a so ciety’s attitude toward democracy, justice, integrity, personal freedom, and role of women in collective duties. Different countries have a lot of varying practices ranging from politics and traditions to the language of communication. These variations are vital in business since they enlighten and improve cross-cultural relationships. Social stratification refers to the characteristic difference between persons of varying societies. This results mainly from benefits of healthiness, education, living standards along with opportunities available to different social strata. Religious and ethical systems are some of the guiding cultures in the business world. These include the Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, Muslim, and Hinduism cultures. Among all, Christianity is believed to be the most influential and has the most imperative implications. Protestants stress on working hard to build up wealth for the glory of God. Language use is vital in the education system (Hill, 2011). Edu cation, in international view, is featured by the element of competitive advantage where skills are more extensive in some societies than others. Nations with a competitive advantage benefit from reduced production costs, in addition to increased revenues due to an enlarged market share. What I learned From the understanding of international business, it is clear that cross-cultural literacy is beneficial to business in that it assists business persons to treasure other cultures. Cultural interactions assist the less equipped countries to seek assistance from the most developed ones. For instance, China offers a good example of a country that can help other countries improve their technological skills and expertise. In addition, cross-cultural literacy enables firms to cut production costs as well as adoption of the capitalist way of production. Culture is affected by social structure in given perspectives. In an individual’s perspective, it is based on personal performance d ue to beliefs that warrant success. Social groups are essential in local and international business (Hill, 2011). This encourages teamwork in business activities that require varying ideas to perform and do well. Japanese are believed to work successfully through group work and hence achieve maximum results.Advertising Looking for essay on cultural studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Social mobility enables people to move from one stratum to the other in a bid to advance personal skills, as well as access prestigious jobs. Social stratification affects business operations and thus the need for class consciousness to enhance inter-class relationships. Besides, hard work advocated by some religious cultures enables people to accumulate wealth to finance new investments as well as for expansion purposes. Protestantism encourages individual freedom in an attempt to develop a personal relationship with God. The princ iples urged by Islam include honor and respect, generosity, equality, and perpetuation of other peoples’ rights. These ethical behaviors can improve inter and extra cultural relations and afterward be extended to the business world. As a result, communication could advance locally and internationally. However, it is clear that Hinduism recommends spiritual achievement over material gain (Hill, 2011). Societal change in relation to individualism and collectiveness positively impacts economic progress. Reference Hill, C. H. (2011). International business: Competing in the global marketplace. New York City: Irwin professional pub.

Overpriced Vehicles for Teenagers Essays - Insurance, Free Essays

Overpriced Vehicles for Teenagers Essays - Insurance, Free Essays Overpriced Vehicles for Teenagers Overpriced Vehicles for Teenagers New cool cars are too expensive for teenagers to afford. I would like to have a new sports car to drive around but I do not have the money to afford the car. By being in high school I do not have enough time to go and get a job and do the work to make the money to afford the car. There is not enough time in the day for me to go to school then go home, do my homework, and work only about 2 hours after school if I was to have the job. Even if I was to get the car, the insurance on the car would be very expensive because it is a sports car and I am only 17 years old. The prices on new cool cars for teenagers should be lowered because they do not have enough time in the day to do the work to make money and the insurance on the cars are overpriced. There is not enough time in the day for teenagers to work to make the money for the new sports cars. Most teenagers like myself are in school from 8 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon. Then I go to football or basketball practice afterward until sometimes 5 or 6 that evening. I then go home and do my homework and after I help clean up around the house. By this time that evening it is already late and close to my bed time so that ill be able to get enough rest and get up to go to school the following day. There is no time in the day for teenagers to get a job and work the hours to make the money to buy the sports car. The insurance on the sports are overpriced. If I was able to get a sports car, I still would not be able to afford the insurance on the car. That is not including gas prices and all the maintenance I would need to keep the car in a good condition. Insurance prices on sports cars are overpriced especially for teenagers since teenagers are not able to pay the high prices for the car. The insurance needs to be lowered so that teenagers will be able to buy the sports cars they want and be able to afford the insurance for the car as well. Although I believe that new sports car and their insurance prices are very expensive for teenagers, people think the opposite. Others believe the prices should stay the way they are. They feel that teenagers should not have the sports cars because of the in-experience of the young drivers and by driving the cools car they will pay less attention to driving and more to what their friends think about them in the car and they will ?show boat?. They believe that there is a also a higher risk of the teenagers having an accident. This is why the insurance is so expensive because if there was an accident they will be covered. I still believe that the prices for the new cool sports cars? prices should be lowered so teenagers can buy them. Although others believe prices for the new cool cars should remain the same, I strongly believe prices should be lowered for the teenagers so that they will be able to afford the new cool cars without paying a fortune for them. With the little time the teenagers have in the day they cannot make enough money to afford the vehicles they would like to have because of the expensive prices. The new cool cars and their insurance prices should be lowered for teenagers.

Battle of Peachtree Creek - Civil War - Atlanta Campaign

Battle of Peachtree Creek - Civil War - Atlanta Campaign Battle of Peachtree Creek - Conflict Date: The Battle of Peachtree Creek was fought July 20, 1864, during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Armies Commanders Union Major General William T. ShermanMajor General George H. Thomas21,655 men Confederate General John Bell Hood20,250 men Battle of Peachtree Creek - Background: Late July 1864 found Major General William T. Shermans forces approaching Atlanta in pursuit of General Joseph E. Johnstons Army of Tennessee. Assessing the situation, Sherman planned to push Major General George H. Thomas Army of the Cumberland across the Chattahoochee River with the goal of pinning Johnston in place. This would allow Major General James B. McPhersons Army of the Tennessee and Major General John Schofields Army of the Ohio to shift east to Decatur where they could sever the Georgia Railroad. Once done, this combined force would advance on Atlanta. Having retreated through much of northern Georgia, Johnston had earned the ire of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Concerned about his generals willingness to fight, he dispatched his military advisor, General Braxton Bragg, to Georgia to assess the situation. Arriving on July 13, Bragg began sending a series of discouraging reports north to Richmond. Three days later, Davis requested that Johnston send him details regarding his plans for defending Atlanta. Unhappy with the generals noncommittal reply, Davis resolved to relieve him and replace him with the offensively-minded Lieutenant General John Bell Hood. As orders for Johnstons relief were sent south, Shermans men began crossing the Chattahoochee. Anticipating that Union troops would attempt to cross Peachtree Creek north of the city, Johnston made plans for a counterattack. Learning of the command change on the night of July 17, Hood and Johnston telegraphed Davis and requested that it be delayed until after the coming battle. This was refused and Hood assumed command. Battle of Peachtree Creek - Hoods Plan: On July 19, Hood learned from his cavalry that McPherson and Schofield were advancing on Decatur while Thomas men marched south and were starting to cross Peachtree Creek. Recognizing that a wide gap existed between the two wings of Shermans army, he resolved to attack Thomas with the goal of driving the Army of the Cumberland back against Peachtree Creek and the Chattahoochee. Once it was destroyed, Hood would shift east to defeat McPherson and Schofield. Meeting with his generals that night, he directed the corps of Lieutenant Generals Alexander P. Stewart and William J. Hardee to deploy opposite Thomas while Major General Benjamin Cheathams corps and Major General Joseph Wheelers cavalry covered the approaches from Decatur. Battle of Peachtree Creek - A Change of Plans: Though a sound plan, Hoods intelligence proved faulty as McPherson and Schofield were in Decatur as opposed to advancing against it. As a result, late in the morning of July 20 Wheeler came under pressure from McPhersons men as the Union troops moved down the Atlanta-Decatur Road. Receiving a request for aid, Cheatham shifted his corps to the right to block McPherson and support Wheeler. This movement also required Stewart and Hardee to move to the right which delayed their attack by several hours. Ironically, this sidestep right worked to the Confederate advantage as it moved most of Hardees men beyond Thomas left flank and positioned Stewart to attack Major General Joseph Hookers mostly unentrenched XX Corps. Battle of Peachtree Creek - Opportunity Missed: Advancing around 4:00 PM, Hardees men quickly ran into trouble. While Major General William Bates division on the Confederate right became lost in the Peachtree Creek bottomlands, Major General W.H.T. Walkers men assaulted Union troops led by Brigadier General John Newton. In a series of piecemeal attacks, Walkers men were repeatedly repulsed by Newtons division. On Hardees left, Cheathams Division, led by Brigadier General George Maney, made little headway against Newtons right. Further west, Stewarts corps slammed into Hookers men who were caught without entrenchments and not fully deployed. Though pressing the attack, the divisions of Major Generals William Loring and Edward Walthall lacked the strength to break through XX Corps. Though Hookers corps began strengthening their position, Stewart was unwilling to surrender the initiative. Contacting Hardee, he requested that new efforts be made on the Confederate right. Responding, Hardee directed Major General Patrick Cleburne to advance against the Union line. While Cleburnes men were pressing forward to prepare their attack, Hardee received word from Hood that Wheelers situation to the east had become desperate. As a result, Cleburnes assault was cancelled and his division marched to Wheelers aid. With this action, the fighting along Peachtree Creek came to an end. Battle of Peachtree Creek - Aftermath: In the fighting at Peachtree Creek, Hood suffered 2,500 killed and wounded while Thomas incurred around 1,900. Operating with McPherson and Schofield, Sherman did not learn of the battle until midnight. In the wake of the fighting, Hood and Stewart expressed disappointment with Hardees performance feeling that had his corps fought as hard Loring and Walthall the day would have been won. Though more aggressive than his predecessor, Hood had nothing to show for his losses. Quickly recovering, he began planning to strike at Shermans other flank. Shifting troops east, Hood attacked Sherman two days later at the Battle of Atlanta. Though another Confederate defeat, it resulted in the death of McPherson. Selected Sources Historynet: Battle of Peachtree CreekNorth Georgia: Battle of Peachtree CreekCWSAC Battle Summaries: Battle of Peachtree Creek

Factors Influence a Consumer to Select Restaurant in the UK Coursework

Factors Influence a Consumer to Select Restaurant in the UK - Coursework Example Restaurant selection has without any doubt become an established art as of these days. While consumers seemingly exclaim that the quality of prepared food and the type food are the critical variables for restaurant selection or rejection for that question, there might definitely be an overwhelming number of other less significant choice variables. This line of reasoning may in addition to the former one, prove to be an unquestioning component of the deciding factors in determining the final reflection on restaurant selection for the British consumers. In a very significant contrast to what used to be the norms in the early days of the restaurant in Britain, when getting fed was supposed to be the one and only explanation for hungry consumers to visit commercial eating places in the United Kingdom, consumers of the present age have acquired different moods and tastes and accordingly, rummage around for restaurants or dining places where they could get a more than fair to middling oppo rtunity in order to comply with the requirements of their specific penchant and palate. In sequence to putting adequate light on the subject of restaurant selection and the motives and driving factors that move British consumers, there is a dire need to furthermore look into and discuss another major and very much relevant topic which is; dining out. Selection of a Restaurant is no doubt very much related to the subject of Dining Out. Everyone needs to eat out and enjoy. There is a considerable population in Britain that actually loves to go and eat out in restaurants, cafes, fast food outlets and even bars, taverns, and inns. For some consumers though, it is a leisure activity that usually takes up all of their time and more often than not, their amounts of money too. The specific comportment, in which Britons dine out today, is evermore changing and before we could even start taking into account the ins and outs of modern day restaurant dining, it is important and interesting to u nderstand how the actual practice got underway.  

What makes American Design American Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

What makes American Design American - Essay Example America. AUDAC was a dramatic gesture at a crucial time in the development of the decorative arts in America. Many art historians have suggested that until 192 there was essentially no true form known as American design and that craftspeople in the United States from the 16th to the 19th centuries interpreted European prototype& Granted, the handmade copies of lath-century English furniture mode in Boston, Connecticut, New York, and Philadelphia were aesthetically of a high order. Some of the earliest examples of "true' American design appeared offer the Civil War. Americans were exposed to the new design trends from Europe - the most Influential of which may hove been japonisme the roots of Art Nouveau American design began to show itself as having unique traits particularly from the lost quarter of the 19th century. George Hunzinger as emigre-craftsman, Louis Comfort Tiffany as native artist-designer, Frank Furness as designer-architect, and the Herter Brothers as manufacturer are prime examples of producers with an American aesthetic. - From Vienna, Austria, architect-designer Joseph Urban, furniture-designer Pour Frankl, designers Wolfgang and Polo Hoffmann, and architect Frederick Kiesler. - From Paris, France, decorative artist Paul lribe and industrial designer Raymond Loewy. - From New Zealand, industrial designer Joseph Sinel Walter von Nessen and Peter Muller-Munk and film set designers Hans Drier and Iribe become one of the first film art directors in America to offer the more baroque, if not bizarre, aspects of the Art Deco style in France, Those native Americans who attended 1925 French far included Donald Deskey, Kern Weber, Eugene Schoen, and Hollywood set-designer Cedric Gibbons, In the 192O, Ruth who become known for her fabric and carpet designs for Radio City Music Hall in New York City, was an art student in Paris. Few other American designers attended the event or were living in Paris at the time, although the city was packed with American literati. Soon after the fair, numerous American designers and soon-to-be AUDAC members traveled to Europe-Walter Dorwin Teague in 1926, Gilbert Rohde n 1927, Raymond Hood, and Ely Jacques Kahn-and the exposure is manifested in their subsequent work. Viennese architect Kiesler was the director of the Paris exposition's Austrian pavilion, designing its theater and architecture section. The influence of the French decorative arts at the exhibition was appreciable. Having lived in the U.S. for 14 years by 1928, hit commitment to ,American design was widely known. In the best tradition of European designers, AUDAC members were active in oil areas of design. in this book, Modern American Design, we find individual designers who were active in most of the minor-arts media interiors, lighting, textiles, industrial design, and graphics, For example, by 1929 Gilbert Rohde had become art active designer of furniture, textiles, lighting, Industrial products and interiors. Unlike American design and American organizations, European design often had a political agenda, whether or not overly expressed The UAM (Union des Artistes Modernes), which, was formed in Paris a year after AUDAC began, had members in the decorative arts, fine ants, and architecture-the full spectrum of art mineur and art majeur. French artist Amedes Ozenfont and Swiss architect Le Corbusier pointed out, "There is a hierarchy in the arts... decorative art is at the bottom." Nouveau pavilion A plethora of the new French Art Deco style furnishings and interiors filled pavilion at the fair. Neither the Bciuhcius nor Art Deco The apartment in the Hotel Delmonico's & 502 Park Avenue n New York designed by AUDAC's president Lee Simonson was more charming than many of the

Management of Organisational Behaviour Assignment

Management of Organisational Behaviour - Assignment Example The resultant effects of these problems are that output of the supplies department is less than optimal and the service it renders to its customer is poor. As most of you are aware, the institutions this department services provide essential needs and services to the populace of Glent County. The inability therefore of our department to adequately meet their supply needs can adversely affect their effectiveness in discharging essential services to the county. When symptoms of an illness are noted, they often point to an underlying cause. If this cause can be identified and remedied, the symptoms would vanish and health restored. A stitch in time, we are told saves nigh. There is no point in allowing the illness to fester on, when remedial action can be taken. In the same akin, the problems of Glent county supplies department cannot remain unattended to. It must be addressed in a comprehensive manner. An all -out organizational re-engineering and renewal is needed. In the few months that we have been at Glent county supplies department, these are some of our observations. There are too many rules that govern behavior at this department. The organizational chain of command is unduly long. Decision- making is over centralized. The outcome is that a simple task takes a long period of time to get done.

Regional Attitudes and American Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Regional Attitudes and American Identity - Essay Example My friend explained that the Philippine culture is very rich in diversity due to both history and geography. Historically, he explained that the Philippine people are actually composed of ethnicities from different foreign cultures that migrated centuries ago. The immigrants were mostly Malay and Muslim from the surrounding neighbor islands, while later years would bring the Chinese, then the Spanish, and then the North Americans. Geographically, the various mountain ranges and islands act as cultural borders, giving each separated region its own cultural development. My friend is from the capital city of Manila, which he believes is a place where the old face of his home country is being overlapped heavily by the new trends of globalization. He gives high regard to the old ways that place value on virtues, which are close to Western ideas of chivalry and a mix of the Oriental notion of filial respect. However, he also believes that the new ways of thinking are important if his country is to progress and to keep the pace of development without slacking. From how I understand it, this creates conflict between the two cultural perspectives that try to control the cultural plane. Scott and Sherson (1999) indicated that, â€Å"the problem for intercultural communication is that communication is never between cultures per se, but always between people. And people, and the contexts in which they interact, are unique, dynamic, and changeable† (p.4). My friend finds an example of such conflict between him and his mother. He stated that his mother is so attached to the old cultural ways that her methods of dealing with matters are ineffective and inefficient. On the other hand, he notes that his forward thinking and practical methods is taken as an upfront resistance or seen as disrespect to his mother’s sense of authority. According to him, such intercultural conflict exists in his country within homes and even between regions, beliefs

Should Boys and Girls be in a Separate Class Research Paper

Should Boys and Girls be in a Separate Class - Research Paper Example Arguments in favour of the method One of the major benefits of separating the two genders is that students get to receive better education as per their personalities. It is well understood that girls are often more silent than boys, a factor that favours the good development of the learning environment. At times, girls also seem to be talkative than boys and this may require a new type of education (Weil 56). Psychology puts across the main stages of development among individuals. Learners in both primary and secondary level are at a crucial age of development which can be characterized by several activities amongst themselves. An advantage of teaching a specific gender with respect to this issue is that their future learning would be enhanced, considering the diversity in their growing ways. Boys get older in sexual matters and this could have an effect on girls who may concentrate more on the boys’ attention and thus interfere with the normal learning activities. Many religi ons perceive that boys and girls ought not to attend classes together, particularly during the age of adolescence when such children are curious and have-not yet acquired discipline in the body and mind. The religions with this perspective fear that children may engage themselves in sinful occasions in intimate quarters for the time allocated in school. They suggest that children should not be exposed to this â€Å"risky† situation till when they mature up and get ready to involve in legal circumstances. Above all, separating them keeps their minds focused on studies rather than on each other in the class (Leinhardt432). Other proponents suggest that single-sex education is the best because it is believed that children achieve higher results when taught separately than in unison. Boys’ and girls’ intelligence differs significantly, so their learning pace differs as well. Girls are more passive learners and perform well when it comes to classroom discussions and drawings or diagrams. Their visual ability is also high and are believed to be auditory learners. On the other hand, boys learn more kinetically and like practical learning. This assumption means that by teaching gender-based classes, different learning styles can be catered for and thus teaching them together will mean interfering with their potentials. Boys and girls are engaged by dissimilar stimuli, proving that if a teacher caters the class to the interests of girls, he might lose the boys and vice versa. Boys are sometimes intimidated by the superior verbal abilities in some subjects such as English, but can score far better if girls are not in their midst. The same applies for girls in science subjects, P.E, and woodwork. According to one American psychologist, who is also a family doctor, Dr. Leonard Sax, girls ought to learn on their own. He states, â€Å"The best possible thing you can do to help your daughter is to get her into a girls’ school.† His main arg ument is that the single-sex schools are a good way to eliminate the gender stereotypes in the society. To him, girls in schools with specified gender are more likely to study subjects that are perceived to be masculine. They can pursue engineering, technology, computer science, and physics and be more active in competitive sports compared to girls in co-educational schools setups. Further, he argues that the focus

Crito- Socrates argument against escape via the voice of The Laws Essay

Crito- Socrates argument against escape via the voice of The Laws - Essay Example Lastly, in his third argument Crito mentions Socrates responsibility to his children. As their father, it is Socrates responsibility to see that his children are brought up well and educated, and he cant do this if he is dead. (Woozley, 1979) Socrates of course is flattered, but he does not agree. Most of his response involves his theory of political obligation. He is sceptical that he will be welcomed in any other state, or will be happy and comfortable there. He will see himself as a foolish old man willing to humiliate himself in order to buy a few more years of life. If another state accepts him at all, hell be treated as a comic and pathetic figure. In addition, he is also is not swayed by the point about his children. If he flees, he will either take them with him, in which case they will be raised in a foreign land by a cowardly fugitive and lose the benefits of an Athenian upbringing, or they will be left behind to be raised by his friends. The first is undesirable, and the second is the same as what would happen if he were executed. ( Rudebusch, 2009) As far as what people will think of Crito and the others for supposedly failing to rescue him, he reminds Crito that they would long since come to realize that the opinions of the masses typically are not true anyway, just as we shouldnt care what someone who isnt an expert in physical fitness and athletics thinks about your physical training regimen, we also shouldnt care what non-experts think morally about the choices we make in life. Any time there is a choice between doing whats right and doing what will placate other people and avoid the harm that comes from their ill opinion of you, you should always do what is right, up to and including at the cost of your life. This point provides a transition to Socrates discussion of political obligation. He reminds Crito and the others present that they

Should Boys and Girls be in a Separate Class Research Paper

Should Boys and Girls be in a Separate Class - Research Paper Example Arguments in favour of the method One of the major benefits of separating the two genders is that students get to receive better education as per their personalities. It is well understood that girls are often more silent than boys, a factor that favours the good development of the learning environment. At times, girls also seem to be talkative than boys and this may require a new type of education (Weil 56). Psychology puts across the main stages of development among individuals. Learners in both primary and secondary level are at a crucial age of development which can be characterized by several activities amongst themselves. An advantage of teaching a specific gender with respect to this issue is that their future learning would be enhanced, considering the diversity in their growing ways. Boys get older in sexual matters and this could have an effect on girls who may concentrate more on the boys’ attention and thus interfere with the normal learning activities. Many religi ons perceive that boys and girls ought not to attend classes together, particularly during the age of adolescence when such children are curious and have-not yet acquired discipline in the body and mind. The religions with this perspective fear that children may engage themselves in sinful occasions in intimate quarters for the time allocated in school. They suggest that children should not be exposed to this â€Å"risky† situation till when they mature up and get ready to involve in legal circumstances. Above all, separating them keeps their minds focused on studies rather than on each other in the class (Leinhardt432). Other proponents suggest that single-sex education is the best because it is believed that children achieve higher results when taught separately than in unison. Boys’ and girls’ intelligence differs significantly, so their learning pace differs as well. Girls are more passive learners and perform well when it comes to classroom discussions and drawings or diagrams. Their visual ability is also high and are believed to be auditory learners. On the other hand, boys learn more kinetically and like practical learning. This assumption means that by teaching gender-based classes, different learning styles can be catered for and thus teaching them together will mean interfering with their potentials. Boys and girls are engaged by dissimilar stimuli, proving that if a teacher caters the class to the interests of girls, he might lose the boys and vice versa. Boys are sometimes intimidated by the superior verbal abilities in some subjects such as English, but can score far better if girls are not in their midst. The same applies for girls in science subjects, P.E, and woodwork. According to one American psychologist, who is also a family doctor, Dr. Leonard Sax, girls ought to learn on their own. He states, â€Å"The best possible thing you can do to help your daughter is to get her into a girls’ school.† His main arg ument is that the single-sex schools are a good way to eliminate the gender stereotypes in the society. To him, girls in schools with specified gender are more likely to study subjects that are perceived to be masculine. They can pursue engineering, technology, computer science, and physics and be more active in competitive sports compared to girls in co-educational schools setups. Further, he argues that the focus

Comptemcy Goal Essay Example for Free

Comptemcy Goal Essay Candidate develops a warm positive, supportive, and responsive relationship with each child, and helps each child learn about and take pride in his or her individual and cultural identity. To Support social and emotional development and provide positive guidance in toddlers I explain the reasons for limits and rules in simple words, demonstrating whenever possible. I also talk about rules and limits in words that children can understand. â€Å"You can not hit. Hitting hurts. When you are mad, you can jump up and down or stamp your feet or come to me for a hug. † To Support social and emotional development and provide positive guidance I talk with preschoolers about â€Å"good touching† and â€Å"bad touching† as a way of preventing sexual abuse. I help preschool children start to identify how good touch feels as opposed to bad touch. I tell them that hugging and cuddling is good and healthy and will help them feel confident. I also talk about feelings and explain the range of emotions we all feel and that these emotions are good to have. Functional Area 9: Social Candidate helps each child function effectively in the group, learn to express feelings, acquire social skills, and make friends, and promotes mutual respect among children and adults. I give the children the opportunity to learn cooperate and social interact with each other. I provide a social and emotional development in this area by providing a positive relationship with the children. I help the children with developing with the social skills and problem solving skills to ability to act independently. I encourage the children to learn to communicate with the other children. I learned that having a positive attitude with the parents encourages them to have a positive attitude with there children. Also communicate with the parents. I encourage social and emotional development and to provide a positive relationships through the daily interactions. I try to engage the feeling acceptance in the group and by helping the children to communicate and get alone with the children. I also have a healthy relationship with the children, parents, teacher’s, service providers and any one who is a part of our day to model for the children. Functional 10: Guidance Candidate provides a supportive environment and uses effective strategies to promote children’s self-regulation and support acceptable behaviors, and effectively intervenes for children with persistent challenging behaviors. I have realistic expectations about the children’s attention spans, interests, social and physical abilities, and needs. One way I provide positive guidance is I anticipate confrontations between children and diffuse negative behavior and model positive behaviors.

Causes and effects of international labour mobility

Causes and effects of international labour mobility Introduction Globalisation is the process of intensified international competition and trade. It enables the movement of goods, production factors, labour and technology across borders. If countries use their resources efficiently then globalisation can also enhance growth and social welfare. This depends on how much competition there is and a country has to have a certain stability and mobility of labour and resources for production. The common trade theory suggests that globalisation will equalise the prices of products and costs of production and free trade will lead to a more efficient allocation of resources. It is also beneficial for the customer since free trade suggests high competition and therefore companies will be able to offer low prices to their customers. This seems to be the case in the long run but problems that arise in the short run include high unemployment and income inequalities. Globalisation is an ongoing process that has been around for quite some time now. EU firms can o ffshore many tasks which were never possible before. This also means that international competition is completely changing and going through a transformation. Competition took place mainly between firms or different industries in different countries, however now since a lot of firms go abroad for their production, because it is cheaper, competition takes place between individual workers that use similar skills for their tasks in different countries, so they no longer compete within a nation. This of course can be beneficial for some workers but can also harm other workers. Europe is exactly facing this problem at the moment and this paper will focus on the impact globalisation has on the low skilled workers and income inequalities in Europe. European Globalisation trends Globalisation is taking place in nearly every country on the planet, but it has different effects on different nations. Trade expansion in Europe seems to be proceeding at a rapid paste, especially trade with low wage countries. Due to immense improvements in technology, transportation and communication, it is now a lot easier to handle the production process and this might have caused some firms to move parts of their production process to other nations. Offshoring and outsourcing are the common terms used when companies move their production process abroad. There are many reasons for why companies move to other nations for production. But the main reasons could be because it is cheaper to produce in less developed countries, firms only have to pay low wages and get a better output than in the home country. Especially labour intensive goods are shipped to less developed countries because there are more people that would do the job for less money. Therefore globalisation seems to hav e a negative effect on employment, especially low skilled labour. Since a lot of firms moved their production abroad and the ones that didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t only employ high skilled labour, it makes it even harder for the low skilled labour to find employment. New technologies also lead to higher unemployment rates among low skilled workers, because the low skilled workers that used to have a job are no either replaced by new technological advancements or by high skilled labour. Overall one could say that globalisation lead to a high demand for skilled labour and on the other side a rise in unemployment among low skilled workers. EU trade In Europe most of the countries are part of the EU, which has special trade agreements. Trade among industrialised countries differs significantly from trade with the developing world. This is mainly due to the fact that industrialised countries are relatively similar, in the sense that they use similar production technologies and have similar factor endowments, so one could say that they produce pretty similar goods. Trade between them therefore mainly exists among industries. So countries would import and export products from the same industry sector. For example Germany exports their yogurts brands and France French yogurts to Germany. These goods are similar because they are both yogurts but they have different tastes and characteristics, that is why these countries trade. It is the same with cars, Germany sells German cars to France and France sells French cars to Germany. Trade among industrialised and developing countries is different. Countries export goods belonging to one s ector and import goods belonging to another sector. Germany would for instance export Volkswagens to China and import rice or computers in exchange. Theoretical approach Comparative advantage Ricardian model Globalisation leads to increased trade amongst countries. Countries usually produce goods where it is the cheapest to produce them. Krugman discussed this in Chapter 3, if free trade exists with countries that pay low wages then this will harm the country that pays high wages. In the end the consumer profits from this because if firms have low production costs then they are able to offer the products at a lower price. And the producer benefits from a higher income if he uses his resources more efficiently. Krugman gave an example of this where W represents the wage rate in the home country W* represents the wage rate in the foreign country And the home countries unit labour requirement for good i is aLi, and the unit labour required for good i of the foreign country is a*Li. Now if WaLi < W*a*Li then the home country will produce the good I because it is cheaper, as wages are less at home. Or if the relative productivity of a country is higher than the wages, then the good will be produced in that country. This can be calculated as a*Li / aLi > W / W*. So overall if a country produces the good that uses the resources most efficiently then trade will be beneficial for that country. EU Unemployment To explain why Europe is facing this high unemployment ratio one has to look at the relative wages. This can easily be determined by looking at the relative demand and supply of labour services. If W / W* rises then the relative demand for home labour services will fall. If the home country would produce goods with expensive labour services then this can have a huge impact on society. Because it means that production costs are high as the producer has to pay high wages and therefore he canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t offer the final goods at an attractive price. If nobody buys the products because they are too expensive then the demand for labour services will go down too. This can also lead to fewer goods being produced at home because costs are too high, which will lead to a further reduction in demand for labour services in the home country. The Ricardian model only focuses on the productivity of labour across countries. According to this model a country gains from Trade if a country has a comparative advantage in producing a specific good. If the country produces the good it has a comparative advantage in, then it is able to use all its resources more efficiently and will gain more from producing this good. So here this model shows that overall if a country trades according to rules mentioned above, then the relative price of the good will increase, wages will increase and the producer is able to offer the good at a lower price so therefore even the consumer profits from it. Heckscher Ohlin Samuelson Model The Ricardian Model suggests differences in productivity of labour between nations cause productive differences. The Heckscher Ohlin model suggests that there are other factors of production between different countries, not just differences in productivity of labour, that cause differences in production. Usually the price of a good should be the same as its production costs, and the production costs also depend on how much wages they have to pay and the lending/renting rate of land. Changes in lending rates can affect the final price of a product, depending on how intensively you use land in production. For example if there are two products cloth and food, cloth is labour intensive and food is land intensive. If lending rates for land increase then this should have a bigger affect on the price of food than the price of cloth, because the production of food requires more land than the production of clothes. Heckscher Ohlin model also suggests that an economy will be efficient at producing goods that are intensive in the factors of production in which the country has a lot of. Just suppose the domestic country has an abundant amount of labour relative to land. This suggests that domestic country is abundant in labour and the foreign country is abundant in land. Likewise, the domestic country is scarce in land and the foreign country is scarce in labour. Because the domestic country is abundant in labour it would be very good at producing cloth, as cloth production is very labour intensive. The foreign country on the other hand should produce food as it is abundant in land and the production of food is very land intensive.(64-68) With trade the relative price of cloth should rise in the labour abundant country which is the domestic country, and should fall in the labour scarce country which is the foreign country. According to the Heckscher Ohlin Model, in the domestic country the rise in the relative price of cloth leads to a rise in the relative production of cloth and a decrease in the relative consumption of cloth. The same will happen to food in foreign economy. So what will happen is that the domestic country will become an exporter of cloth and an importer of food. And the foreign country will import cloth and export food. So one could say that a company would be very good at producing the goods that are intensive in its abundant factors, this just means a country produces the goods it has a comparative advantage in. And likewise a country should export goods that are intensive in its abundant factors of production and should import goods that are in its scarce factors of production. (58-63). To explain the wage inequalities among European low skilled workers one has to understand The Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson factor endowment model. This model predicts that trade among different countries derives from differing factor endowments across nations. This model looks at different countries that are trading with each other and these countries are also on the same technological level, which just means that they use the same technologies in their production process for both products. The production process for both goods in this case, requires two different inputs, this could be high skilled labour for one country and low skilled labour for the other country. For example, the production of one of the goods, for instance computers, requires more high skilled labour, while the production of the other good, for instance cloth, needs more low skilled labour. It is assumed that one of the two countries is relatively well equipped with either low skilled labour or high skilled labour, for instance Europe is equipped with relative large amounts of high skilled labour and the foreign country is relatively well equipped with low skilled labour. Usually when two countries trade industrialised countries have more high skilled labour and the developing countries have more low skilled labour. The Heckscher Ohlin theory in this case suggests that industrialised countries like Europe would export computers and the developing foreign country Europe is trading with should export cloth. The outcome would be that the relative price of cloth would fall in the industrialised country, but would do exactly the opposite in the developing country, the relative price would increase. This would lead to changes in wage distribution; low skilled labour in the industrialised country such as Europe would decline relative to the wages of high skilled labour. This can be explained because globalisation increased trade among countries and enabled countries access to products that were produced abroad, furthermore this implies that through trade the relative supply of low skilled labour has increased. According to this theory, inter -industry trade would as a result have the effect of increased wage inequality in industrialised countries like Europe, while inequality should decrease in developing countries. (58-61) Overall it seems as if owners of abundant factors gain with trade and owners of scarce factors lose. This model assumes that after international trade factor prices will be equal in both countries. This just means that once the domestic country which has a higher ratio of labour to land than the foreign country trade with each other, the wage rate and the lending/renting rate of land are the same in both countries. But that is not the case with every country that trades because labour moves around and usually both countries are not exactly the same in terms of infrastructure, technology and communication as the Heckscher Ohlin model suggests (68-69). Because ever changing differences in relative product prices has a large effect on the relative earnings of resources, and with trade the relative price also changes, so trade has a negative impact on income distribution. Causes and effects of international Labour mobility (chapter 7) p154 Heckscher Ohlin model focuses on trade as an explanation of bringing together factor prices, and capital / labour movements have similar effects. Capital tends to move from high wage countries to low wage countries. However labour migrates from low wage to high wage countries. Workers usually move to foreign countries in order to get paid more. Krugman suggested that labour will migrate to countries with higher labour productivity and higher real wages. And he further states that due to immigration wages will fall and due to emigration real wages should increase. If wages do not fall despite immigration, employers have no incentive to create additional jobs, and the immigration and this causes unemployment. Due to the fact that countries do not produce the same goods, due to differences in technology and due to immigration barriers, real wages across countries will never be equal (156-157). Companies in Europe which is considered an industrialised country will outsource those activities that use a large amount of unskilled labour. Moving these activities abroad would then lead to a decrease in the relative demand for low skilled labour in Europe within each industry. This means that outsourcing has a similar effect on reducing the demand for low skilled labour relative to high skilled labour within an industry, as does skill-biased technological change. Technological advancements and wages Skill-biased technological change reduced the demand for unskilled workers leading to higher long-term unemployment among low skilled workers in Europe. So low skilled workers would have to receive training in order to retain a job. At the same time, international outsourcing also leads to a shift in relative demand for labour. Firms outsource the low skill intensive parts of production and therefore increase the relative demand for skilled labour. Technological advancements also enabled companies across the world to better communicate with each other. Fast communication is a key factor when you are trading. Better infrastructure and more ways of transportation also enabled and increased trade among different countries. Benefits from globalisation According to the traditional trade theory globalization will equalize the price of products and production factors. Free trade will lead to a more efficient allocation of world resources as competition will shift production to the producers with the lower production cost. This more efficient allocation of resources will boost growth with positive effects on social welfare. Innovation and increased international competition can lead higher productivity, higher wages and improved living standards. Consumersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ welfare will improve due to a decrease in prices. However, the fall in prices relies on the level of competition in the product markets. Conclusion If economies have different capital/labour ratios, free factor mobility will encourage capital (labour) to move from the economies with a high (low) capital/labour ratio to those in which capital (labour) is relatively scarce. This process will affect the distribution of income since it will increase the relative income of capital (labour) in the countries initially with a high (low) capital/labour ratio. As globalization accelerates further, both costs and benefits will tend to raise while costs such as higher unemployment and income inequality will be concentrated in the short run while benefits in the form of lower prices, higher productivity and income will only occur later on.

everyday use Essay example -- essays research papers

A symbol is a person, place, event, or object that suggests more than just its normal meaning. The symbols in this story, â€Å"Everyday Use†, were pretty clever and told a lot of clues about the story. Also Little peepholes that would dig into deeper meanings, and hints in the story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first symbol, which I thought meant something was towards Maggie and Dee’s mom. â€Å"I was always better at a man’s job.† (pg.320). â€Å"In real life I am a large, big boned woman with rough, man- working hands.† (pg. 318). â€Å"I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man.†(pg. 318) I think because man was used a lot referring to their Mom, might have meant that she was the man of the house. Maybe that she was the only parent and that her husband was never around to help after the kids were born. So she really had to be tough and do a lot of things that the men would usually do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another symbol I found was one that goes along with Dee. â€Å"She burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn’t necessarily need to know.†(pg. 319). â€Å"It is hard to see them clearly through the strong sun.† (pg. 320). â€Å"Dee next. A dress down to the ground, in this hot weather.† (pg. 320). â€Å"There are yellows and oranges enough to throw back the light of the sun. I feel my whole face warming from the heat waves it throws out.† ( Pgs. 320-321). â€Å"She put on some sunglasses that hid everything about the tip of her nose and her chin.† (pg. 324). I think because we don’t quite kno...

The Advantages Of American Educational System Essays -- essays researc

The Advantages of American Educational System Parents and the older generation Americans always complain about the educational system of the country. They assert that their children's knowledge and skills are below average as compared to their counterparts in other countries. The American educational system is not inferior to other systems in any other way. Instead, it is just teaching some other factors that are considered more significant than simply basic knowledge and skills. The American educational system tries to develop freedom and creativity among its students. From an American point of view, only in this way can the students contribute maximally to the future society. Freedom is the trademark of America. Americans are admired by people in other countries because they have the freedom to do whatever they wish without worrying about the negative consequences. Therefore, the American educational system must be in congruence with this trademark. According to this system, children can learn effectively only when they are allowed to explore freely with their ideas, "without this they will not really be able to think or believe in themselves" . When children are forced to memorize some materials, they will remember the materials for a few days. However, they would have forgotten everything after a summer vacation. On the other hand, when children are allowed to think of their own ways of learning the concepts, they will tend to re... The Advantages Of American Educational System Essays -- essays researc The Advantages of American Educational System Parents and the older generation Americans always complain about the educational system of the country. They assert that their children's knowledge and skills are below average as compared to their counterparts in other countries. The American educational system is not inferior to other systems in any other way. Instead, it is just teaching some other factors that are considered more significant than simply basic knowledge and skills. The American educational system tries to develop freedom and creativity among its students. From an American point of view, only in this way can the students contribute maximally to the future society. Freedom is the trademark of America. Americans are admired by people in other countries because they have the freedom to do whatever they wish without worrying about the negative consequences. Therefore, the American educational system must be in congruence with this trademark. According to this system, children can learn effectively only when they are allowed to explore freely with their ideas, "without this they will not really be able to think or believe in themselves" . When children are forced to memorize some materials, they will remember the materials for a few days. However, they would have forgotten everything after a summer vacation. On the other hand, when children are allowed to think of their own ways of learning the concepts, they will tend to re...

Abuse of Prescription Drugs on College Campuses

Abuse of Drugs on College Campuses Today on college campuses, it is not possible to make it through college without knowing someone who has at least tried a prescription drug or recreational drug for either party uses, to help them study and keep up in school, or simply to help them get by day-to-day essay writer toronto. Maybe you have tried them yourself? College students all across the nation are abusing substances such as Adderall, Vicodin, Oxycontin, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, etc. Those students who drink alcohol are more likely to use prescription drugs for non-medical uses than non-drinkers.The number one way students are getting their hands on these different drugs is from the help of their peers. As for prescriptions, others steal it from their family members in their medicine cabinets at home if it is available. Like any drug, your body will build up a tolerance when you take it regularly resulting in dependence of that drug and/or need of higher dosages. Some people even fake symptoms to get prescribed the drug needed. For example, there are multiple websites on how to fake ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) so your doctor will prescribe you Adderall.Prescription Drugs All this talk and we do not know what Adderall even is. Adderall (amphetamine, dextroamphetamine mixed salts) is a prescription drug that is generally prescribed to treat people with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Some side effects are euphoria, restlessness, headache, dryness of mouth, insomnia, and even anorexia because of loss of appetite. Adderall is a central nervous system stimulant which can result in stroke or even death if the proper precautions are not met.This stimulant causes an increase in average heart rate about 3-6 beats per minute and an increase of average blood pressure about 2-4 mmHg (millimeters of mercury) (â€Å"Adderall†). As for Adderall’s contribution to college students, it is known as â€Å"Brain Steroids. † Some street names for it are addy, beans, black beauties, speed, double trouble, and Christmas trees. It is also known as cheap cocaine. Many students use it for late-night studying because the drug keeps you awake and alert for long periods of time. The problem is many students will do nything to get their hands on it in fear that they cannot do work without it. On the other hand, Adderall is also used as an all-night party drug. In the party scene, this is where Adderall is known as cheap cocaine. It is either taken orally or snorted before or while drinking alcohol, allowing the user to stay awake and drink for a longer period of time causing their BAL (Blood Alcohol Level) to continue to rise without the user falling asleep. This can not only lead to hospitalization but it can also lead to death. Adderall is being so widely used that the prescription is currently on a manufacturer backorder.The reason is because more and more people are be ing diagnosed with ADD and ADHD and in most cases I believe it is because people are faking the symptoms and doctors are too willingly writing out prescriptions. The DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) only releases a certain amount of the drug at a time in an attempt to prevent illegal abuse. With the demand of Adderall being so high at this time, its presence in the market is currently scarce. A story told in Texas showed that a man drove about 80 miles away from home to fill his prescription and paid $417 for the name brand Adderall (Keith).This story comes to show how addictive this drug can be. The central nervous system stimulant Adderall is not the only form of prescription drugs being abused. Pain killers are also being abused by students, Vicodin being one example. It is used to treat mild to severe pain with side effects of nausea, sedation, shallow breathing, slow heartbeat, confusion, and possible seizure (â€Å"Vicodin†). The abuse may begin when you break a bo ne and are in return prescribed Vicodin for the pain. You continue to take the drug until the pain goes away and may continue to take it after the pain is gone.I have personally seen this happen with a friend who recently broke his leg. This particular person has no more pain from the injury, but continues to take the Vicodin for recreational purposes and sometimes drinks alcohol while taking them. When mixing alcohol and Vicodin it causes an enhanced sedated feeling and/or respiratory depression making the effects life threatening. In addition to Vicodin, the pain killer Oxycontin is also widely abused. It is used to treat severe pain that is expected to last a prolonged amount of time.Oxycontin has many similar side effects of Vicodin along with sweating, itching, loss of appetite, and severe weakness. It works by blocking the brain from receiving pain messages. The reason Oxycontin is so dangerous is because it is highly addictive and is a central nervous system depressant. It is believed that a younger healthier college student is more likely to become addicted to the drug rather than an older adult taking it for pain reasons. This is because taking Oxycontin to get high has a completely different effect on the body (â€Å"Oxycontin†). Like most drugs, Oxycontin can be abused in many different forms.It can be taken orally, crushed up and snorted, or dissolved and injected. By crushing it up or injecting it, it causes an instant feeling of euphoria when it enters the body. Oxycontin is often called â€Å"poor man’s heroin† due to the fact that they both have comparable effects. When the user is exposed to constant amounts of high doses, dependence of the drug is nearly inevitable. College students do not understand the dangerous and deadly outcomes of abusing Oxycontin. There are many cases where young adults in college have died from abusing it as a party drug.One case at the University of California, a student was not so lucky. Daniel Ashkenazy, a pre-law student was found dead at the age of 20 the morning after a fraternity rush party after taking Oxycontin while drinking alcohol. The shocking part is that a lot of times there are no signs of drug abuse and you do not have to be addicted to the drug for it to kill you. Daniel was a junior at the college with a 3. 8 grade-point average and frequently spoke with his mother. Another case at Colorado State University, 20 year old John Hunter-Hauck was found dead by his roommates the day after an off-campus party.His autopsy revealed traces of Oxycontin and alcohol in his system which resulted in his death. Moving away from pain killers, Xanax is a highly abused prescription drug used to treat anxiety and panic disorders. Common street names for the drug are bars, blues, peaches, and handlebars. Xanax has a calming effect that controls the chemicals in your brain that cause anxiety. Some side effects may include drowsiness, depression, dry mouth, constipation, and h eadache. Students turn to this drug because it has similar effects of alcohol. Also, it is used to help take the edge off the constant stresses and demands that college puts on a student.When taking it in ‘bar’ form rather than the smaller dosage pill, the effects are so intense that you lose your ability to reason and think. When Xanax is mixed with alcohol, the effects are either intensified or reversed causing even greater anxiety because they are both central nervous system depressants (â€Å"Xanax†). Like Xanax, the prescription drug Valium is taken to reduce anxiety but it also used to treat muscle spasms and alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Some side effects may include dizziness, fatigue, and muscle weakness. When mixing Valium with alcohol you may experience difficulty breathing and it may cause you to pass out.If too much Valium or alcohol is taken, it could lead to a coma. The effects of alcohol are stronger and you are unable to drink a much as you normal ly do. After long term use, dependence may form. Insomnia, panic attacks, tremors, and/or depression may occur after a sudden stoppage from taking Valium (â€Å"Valium†). Prescription drug abuse among college students has become so rampant that there are parties specifically intended for exchanging these drugs. They are known as â€Å"pharm parties. † The basis of a â€Å"pharm party† is that everyone who attends brings their own prescription drugs and freely exchanges these drugs for other drugs.They sometimes even put all the pills into a large bowl and ingest whatever pills they pick out. Being that many of these individuals are willing to try anything new, they do not always know what prescription they are taking which results in different forms of potentially dangerous highs (Alexander). Even places one would believe to be a safe route for help are not always so safe. Recently in Indiana County, PA, a doctor at the Indiana Walk-in Clinic was arrested and ac cused of exchanging powerful pain medications for sexual favors. This just shows what extremes people will go through to get the drugs that they need.The doctor was providing prescriptions of Oxycodone to the patient despite the fact that he was aware she previously failed drug screenings at the clinic (â€Å"Indiana Co. Doctor†). So what happens when a college student is caught selling their prescription medication in the library during finals week or in the hallway of a school building? The consequence is that of a felony offense, although different states have different laws regarding the selling of a controlled substance. In some states you could be sentenced prison time or you could be let off on easier charges if you are a first time offender.The same ramification is in effect if you are caught purchasing the drug as well. Recreational Drugs Prescription drugs are not the only substances where abuse is a problem. On college campuses, alcohol is by far the most serious i ssue. Almost half of college students drink to the point of binge drinking or drink in greater excess. Binge drinking means a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) reaches 0. 08 grams percent or higher. The BAC generally reaches this after a man consumes 5 or more drinks or a woman consumes 4 or more drinks within 2 hours.This kind of drinking is what effects students the most. When under this influence, students are more likely to fall behind with school work, skip their classes, engage is risky or illegal activities, or be injured. The issue of binge drinking is not easily controlled due to the fact that alcohol fits within a student’s budget and it is very easy to access(â€Å"Alcohol’s Damaging Effects†).. Alcohol is used in many social situations in college such as fraternity/sorority parties, house parties, tailgating for sporting events, or just going to the bar.In these social settings, students are more likely to drink more in a short period of time resulting in a blackout. A blackout is where you are intoxicated to the point where you cannot remember specific events that take place or you may not remember anything from a certain point on (â€Å"Alcohol’s Damaging Effects†). This stage in consuming alcohol is the most dangerous because the person may have little or no memory of risky actions like driving under the influence, engaging in unprotected sex, or committing illegal acts (â€Å"Binge Drinking†). Some students are less fortunate nd instead of blacking out, the consequence is death. Samantha Spady, a sophomore at Colorado State University, was found dead at a fraternity house at the age of only 19. The cause of death being binge drinking. Binge drinking also leads to a high risk for sexual assault, where women are mostly the victims. After consuming over 10 drinks in one sitting, about 60% of young women are sexually assaulted after their first semester of college (â€Å"Freshman women†™s binge drinking†). Sexual assault can range anywhere from unwilling sexual interaction or even worse, rape.Since alcohol is the most frequently abused substance, marijuana is the runner-up (Boyum). Marijuana, also known as pot or weed, is usually smoked either like a cigarette (joint), blunt/cigar form, or from a pipe. It can also be ingested by cooking it into food or brewed into tea (â€Å"NIDA InfoFacts†). Marijuana is considered a gateway drug that opens up users to even harder and more dangerous drugs. The effects of smoking weed can include paranoia, random thinking, short term memory, anxiety, and distorted sense of time (â€Å"Marijuana Uses†).College students often turn to marijuana use because it helps to take the edge off of everyday college demands and responsibilities. Weed smokers are more likely to spend more time engaging in party-like activities rather than studying due to difficulty concentrating (Ray). Results from continued use will more t han likely result in poorer grades, possible changes in personal relationships, inability to retain new information, or difficulty comprehending information (Ray). Some say marijuana is addictive yet some say it is not. So what is an abused drug that is addictive?Cocaine. We have already found that Adderall is a central nervous system stimulant, and so is cocaine but highly more addictive and powerful. Cocaine (coke) is usually snorted but it can also be mixed into water and injected. Regardless the way it is used, it enters the bloodstream quickly and the effects only take seconds. The results are similar to that of Adderall yet much stronger causing very high levels of mental alertness and energy. It works by increasing the levels of dopamine in the brain which is a chemical associated with pleasure.Long term usage can cause addiction because it is disrupting the brain’s reward system and will not produce dopamine in a normal fashion as it did prior to using the drug. It ma y sound like an amazing drug that causes it’s user to have a feeling of euphoria each time it is used, but the problem is it is very easy to overdose. Over time, a tolerance may build up causing the user to take more and more of the drug attempting to achieve the euphoric feeling they had the first time they tried it. Needless to say, this can ultimately result in overdose and death (â€Å"NIDA InfoFacts†).Cocaine can even effect life decisions as serious as what college to attend. Paige, a student at the University of Miami made her decision to attend there because she found that coke was cheap and very easy to get. Luckily for Paige, she stopped using the drug after her first year attending the college because it stopped being a fun thing for her to do (Shepherd). Another case was that of a former student of the University of Miami, who was identified by her middle name Xavier. She stated that using coke not only affected her grades, but also her relationships with f riends.Her grades were so bad that she was unable to continue attending the university. Another effect of coke is loss of appetite, and Xavier even admitted that was one of the reasons she continued to use it. â€Å"It’s so addictive that your life revolves around coke,† she said. â€Å"I was failing school, and I wasn’t going to class because you don’t really have the desire for anything [while] on coke. † After leaving the university, she stopped using the drug and her grades have improved as she now attends Miami Dade in hopes to re-enroll at the University of Miami (Shepherd).In Andria Ziegler’s case, she was found dead at her Paradise Valley Community College professor’s home. The autopsy revealed the 19-year-old’s death was caused by an accidental cocaine overdose (â€Å"College Student Dies†). Another popular drug among college students has a completely different effect than any of the previous drugs. These drugs are called hallucinogens. A common form is LSD (Lysergic Acid Diathylamide), also known as acid. It most often comes in the form of blotter papers, which are small paper squares that are dipped in LSD. Other forms include powder, liquid, pills, and capsules.Taking the drug results in a â€Å"trip† lasting around 12 hours with feelings of mind-altering changes in thought and mood, distorted perceptions of reality, and can cause hallucinations (â€Å"LSD†). College students are attracted to acid because of its easy availability, cheap prices, and mind-altering perceptions (Loglisci). A user can either have a very pleasurable experience or have a very terrifying â€Å"bad trip†. Each time acid is taken the results are different and have extremely unpredictable outcomes. Not only does the trip affect you when you take it, but it may also result in flashbacks of the experience weeks or even months later.These recurrences are also unpredictable and will lessen over ti me(Hallucinogens). Another similar hallucinogenic drug linked to LSD is mushrooms. They are also known as magic mushrooms or shrooms which contain psilocybin (a hallucinogenic principle). Shrooms can either be orally ingested or brewed into tea and drank. They have very similar effects of acid being that they cause trips that can either be pleasant or terrifying but they also cause altered perceptions of sight, touch, and taste. The long term effects are the same and can cause horrific flashbacks that can occur long after taking the drug (â€Å"Mushrooms†).The scariest aspect of this drug is that when you are around the students taking it, you do not know what is going to happen, depending on the outcome of the trip. I have personally experienced a friend â€Å"tripping† on shrooms and it was not a pleasant experience. It happened to be a bad trip and he was severely depressed and talking about life in a very serious manner. It was quite a frightening experience. Altho ugh I have never seen anyone take acid, I was told a story from another friend who tried it. They were two students at IUP who were bored one night and decided to try the drug.My friend explained to me that the two of them sat in a room all night until morning writing their thoughts on post-it notes and sticking them all over the wall until it was covered. She said that the next day they read the notes and had not one clue as to what any of them meant because they did not remember what was going through their heads at the time of the trip. A case in New York showed that Michael Simmons, a 19-year-old student at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts was found dead after an 8-story fall from his dorm window.Nothing was posted about the autopsy, but friends said that it happened after Michael and a few others consumed hallucinogenic mushrooms (Feeney, Gendar, and Lauinger). It is a scary thought to think that if you take a hallucinogenic drug you could possibly have a terrifying experience, jump out of an 8-story window to your death, or possibly not remember anything at all. In conclusion, it is clear from the sources displayed in this article that recreational drugs and prescription drugs will always be in demand for certain users.As a responsible and sovereign society it is one’s personal responsibility to understand the threats and consequences of these substances. Recreational drugs and prescription drugs alike all have potentially harmful and sometimes fatal effect on the human body. The sad truth is that these drugs are all addictive and are easy to miss use in the wrong hands. Unfortunately this is a real and unfortunate fact of the world we live. Different individuals and personalities handle and make with decisions their own way. Drug use to some is a personal choice.With new knowledge in drug awareness it is our responsibility as a society and individuals to educate, influence, and prevent the harmful and potentially fatal effects of drug abuse. To avoid potentially harmful or life threatening situations please consider the data and message displayed in this paper. Works Cited â€Å"Adderall. † Rxlist. com. Rxlist, N. p. , Web 20 Oct. 2011. â€Å"Alcohol’s Damaging Effects On The Brain. † Nih. gov. National Institute On Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism, Oct. 2004. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. Alexander, Deborah, â€Å"Pharm-Raised Teens Oxycontin Abuse Prevalent Among Adolescents,† alexanderlawoffice. om. N. p. , Web. 13 Oct. 2011. â€Å"Binge Drinking on College Campuses. † Cspinet. org. Center For Science In The Public Interest, Dec. 2008. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. Boyum, Richard. â€Å"A Two Edged Sword: Marijuana Use and College Students. † Selfcounseling. com. N. p. 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