Later Adulthood Essay

Aging in our society can be a very stressful time regarding our elderly. They are going through tremendous changes not only physically, emotionally, but also socially. It is in our best interest to help them make the proper adjustments during what can be a difficult time for some. Retirement is not always the best thing for our senior citizens. It can be a trying time as they no longer feel useful. We need to insure they remain productive by maintaining relationships with friends and family, volunteering, finding a hobby, and most important maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Because our society is so obsessed with youth, many of our senior citizens feel left out. In Japan, they treat their elders with the utmost respect. (Maslow, Kirst 2010). It is our turn to treat our senior citizens with the same respect instead of shunning them from society. At times their living accommodations are not suitable and the amount of healthcare they may need can cause stress in their lives. Their relationships with their spouses, children, friends, and coworkers change dramatically. It can be a difficult transition and is up to us to make sure they can ease into later adulthood with positive attitudes and a foundation of hope for their future. In their later adulthood years, the elderly experience changes in their roles and social position. Upon retirement, many aging individuals may withdraw from their social network circle. This may happen when the individual is not ready to retire and resents being forced to retire. They begin to feel unwanted and feel they no longer have anything in common with their friends. Our society does not incorporate the elderly desires of remaining productive which may cause them to disengage in socializing with their peers. Their social status changes from teacher, pharmacist, and store manager to perhaps a regular Joe in the neighborhood. This can impact their mentality and their ability to maintain a positive attitude during retirement. One of the best ways for the elderly to continue to feel worthy during their later years is perhaps volunteering and influencing our youth with their knowledge and wisdom. Determining the best suited living accommodations for the elderly can be a daunting task for their loved ones. Many elderly are determined to stay in their homes living independently and if they are not ill than that option may work for them. There are many  factors that determine if they can stay in their home. Do they have transportation? Are they close to stores and medical care? If their loved one has health issues and requires medical attention around the clock than a nursing home would be their best option. Another option would be a retirement community, senior apartments or senior homes. Trying to find the best living accommodation for the elderly to spend their days living productive lives is very important. They also need access to affordable healthcare. Many elderly are plagued with health issues and cannot afford prescriptions or doctor visits. They do benefit from senior citizen discounts but it is not enough to cover all their medical expenses. Our society needs to find a better solution in terms of our aging population and health care needs. Kim & Moen stated† On the one hand, the retirement experience may promote a sense of well-being, as workers move out of demanding and/or stressful career jobs. On the other hand, the retirement passage itself may lead to diminished well-being, as individuals lose their occupational attachments, their social network of coworkers, and a major anchor for their identities.† (Headnote, para 2). Regarding our aging population, the most difficult time for them can be transitioning from working all their life to retirement. Our society has stressed the importance of youth and our elderly start to feel useless. Going into to retirement can cause more burdens on the elderly. By living on a fixed income and not being able to spend on eating out, movies, or even vacationing can takes its toll on the elderly. They can become depressed, which can then lead to suicidal thoughts. Another factor of going into retirement is the elderly may lose contact with coworkers since they no longer have work to discuss, they start to avoid contact with friends. Many elderly couples may not get along during retirement, they are not accustomed to being around their loved ones all day and this can cause problems in their marriage. Our society needs to encourage our elderly to remain productive after retirement so they can feel needed and participate in volunteer programs offered in their communities. If they are able to work and can continue to contribute to society, it will be a positive situation for everyone including our economy. There are many factors that can contribute to our elderly populations marital, family and peer relationships. During retirement, an elderly couple may experience more  marital strife as they are attempting to get used to being home all day. Their health also plays a part on their marital relationship. If one partner is ill, than the other partner has to care for the ill partner and this will cause stress. As couples, our elderly may not have the bond the once had at a younger age. They need to maintain a close relationship and focus on their positive aspects of their relationship. Regarding their own children, some elderly attempt to withdraw and not maintain close relationships with their children or grandchildren. Some will engage more and try to interfere in raising their grandchildren, which will cause problems with their own children. In their peer relationships, they may withdraw also. It does depend on the individual and their circumstances on how they handle the important relationships in their lives. Bookwala and Franks (2005) found that having a successful marriage will enhance the physical wellbeing of elderly couples as they progress into their golden years. There are many social policies impacting our aging population. Many of these social policies were designed to assist our elderly during their retirement years. â€Å"One out of ten older people live in poverty.† (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010, para. Financial Problems of Older People). This information demonstrates the dire situation our elderly are experiencing. How are they able to make ends meet if they have no savings and living entirely on Social Security benefits? Another factor is the cost of healthcare that many aging individuals have to deal with. If they are in poor health and are in need of constant doctor supervision and medicine, they are relying on the governments Medicaid program and at times this can cause added stress in their lives. If their health is deteriorating, it makes sense that we need to implement new strategies to assist the elderly with aging. We should also encourage them to work if they are physically fit and able instead of discriminating against them based on their age. Our focus should be campaigning for them to engage in exercise, eating healthy and maintaining an active lifestyle throughout their lives to delay the effects of aging. In order for our elderly to continue progressing in later adulthood, our society needs to change our way thinking. We should encourage elderly people to work and be productive. A national campaign for our elders should address the benefits of physical fitness, eating right, and  maintaining close relationships with their loved ones. We should make them feel wanted and treat them with the utmost respect. They have lived life, have wisdom and experience to share with everyone. By incorporating those into volunteer programs will also be highly beneficial for everyone involved. Making sure they are happy and living in acceptable conditions should also be our concern. Now is the time, to turn the tables around and ensure that we are doing our best to take care for our aging population. Works Cited Bookwala, J., & Franks, M.M. (2005). Moderating role of marital quality in older adults depressed affect: Beyond the main-effects model. The Journal of Gerontology, 60B (6), p.338-p.341. Kim, J.E., & Moen, P. (2002). Retirement transitions, gender, and psychological well-being: a life course, ecological model. The Journal of Gerontology, 57B (3), p.212-p.222. Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K.K. (2010). Understanding Human Behavior & the Social Environment (8th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database

Organisation Learning Essay

Where Argyris and Schon were the first to propose models that facilitate organizational learning, the following literatures have followed in the tradition of their work: Argyris and Schon (1978) distinguish between single-loop and double-loop learning, related to Gregory Bateson’s concepts of first and second order learning. In single-loop learning, individuals, groups, or organizations modify their actions according to the difference between expected and obtained outcomes. In double-loop learning, the entities (individuals, groups or organization) question the values, assumptions and policies that led to the actions in the first place; if they are able to view and modify those, then second-order or double-loop learning has taken place. Double loop learning is the learning about single-loop learning. ?March and Olsen (1975) attempt to link up individual and organizational learning. In their model, individual beliefs lead to individual action, which in turn may lead to an organizational action and a response from the environment which may induce improved individual beliefs and the cycle then repeats over and over. Learning occurs as better beliefs produce better actions. ?Kim (1993), as well, in an article titled â€Å"The link between individual and organizational learning†, integrates Argyris, March and Olsen and another model by Kofman into a single comprehensive model; further, he analyzes all the possible breakdowns in the information flows in the model, leading to failures in organizational learning; for instance, what happens if an individual action is rejected by the organization for political or other reasons and therefore no organizational action takes place? ?Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) developed a four stage spiral model of organizational learning. They started by differentiating Polanyi’s concept of â€Å"tacit knowledge† from â€Å"explicit knowledge† and describe a process of alternating between the two. Tacit knowledge is personal, context specific, subjective knowledge, whereas explicit knowledge is codified, systematic, formal, and easy to communicate. The tacit knowledge of key personnel within the organization can be made explicit, codified in manuals, and incorporated into new products and processes. This process they called â€Å"externalization†. The reverse process (from explicit to implicit) they call â€Å"internalization† because it involves employees internalizing an organization’s formal rules, procedures, and other forms of explicit knowledge. They also use the term â€Å"socialization† to denote the sharing of tacit knowledge, and the term â€Å"combination† to denote the dissemination of codified knowledge. According to this model, knowledge creation and organizational learning take a path of socialization, externalization, combination, internalization, socialization, externalization, combination . . . etc. in an infinite spiral. ?Nick Bontis et al. (2002) empirically tested a model of organizational learning that encompassed both stocks and flows of knowledge across three levels of analysis: individual, team and organization. Results showed a negative and statistically significant relationship between the misalignment of stocks and flows and organizational performance. ?Flood (1999) discusses the concept of organizational learning from Peter Senge and the origins of the theory from Argyris and Schon. The author aims to â€Å"re-think† Senge’s The Fifth Discipline through systems theory. The author develops the concepts by integrating them with key theorists such as Bertalanffy, Churchman, Beer, Checkland and Ackoff. Conceptualizing organizational learning in terms of structure, process, meaning, ideology and knowledge, the author provides insights into Senge within the context of the philosophy of science and the way in which systems theorists were influenced by twentieth-century advances from the classical assumptions of science. ?Imants (2003) provides theory development for organizational learning in schools within the context of teachers’ professional communities as learning communities, which is compared and contrasted to teaching communities of practice. Detailed with an analysis of the paradoxes for organizational learning in schools, two mechanisms for professional development and organizational learning, (1) steering information about teaching and learning and (2) encouraging interaction among teachers and workers, are defined as critical for effective organizational learning. ?Common (2004) discusses the concept of organisational learning in a political environment to improve public policy-making. The author details the initial uncontroversial reception of organisational learning in the public sector and the development of the concept with the learning organization. Definitional problems in applying the concept to public policy are addressed, noting research in UK local government that concludes on the obstacles for organizational learning in the public sector: (1) overemphasis of the individual, (2) resistance to change and politics, (3) social learning is self-limiting, i.e. individualism, and (4) political â€Å"blame culture. † The concepts of policy learning and policy transfer are then defined with detail on the conditions for realizing organizational learning in the public sector. Organizational knowledge What is the nature of knowledge created, traded and used in organizations? Some of this knowledge can be termed technical ? knowing the meaning of technical words and phrases, being able to read and make sense of economic data and being able to act on the basis of law-like generalizations. Scientific knowledge is ?propositional’; it takes the form of causal generalizations ? whenever A, then B. For example, whenever water reaches the temperature of 100 degrees, it boils; whenever it boils, it turns into steam; steam generates pressure when in an enclosed space; pressure drives engines. And so forth. A large part of the knowledge used by managers, however, does not assume this form. The complexities of a manager’s task are such that applying A may result in B, C, or Z. A recipe or an idea that solved very well a particular problem, may, in slightly different circumstances backfire and lead to ever more problems. More important than knowing a whole lot of theories, recipes and solutions for a manager is to know which theory, recipe or solution to apply in a specific situation. Sometimes a manager may combine two different recipes or adapt an existing recipe with some important modification to meet a situation at hand. Managers often use knowledge in the way that a handyman will use his or her skills, the materials and tools that are at hand to meet the demands of a particular situation. Unlike an engineer who will plan carefully and scientifically his or her every action to deliver the desired outcome, such as a steam engine, a handyman is flexible and opportunistic, often using materials in unorthodox or unusual ways, and relies a lot on trial and error. This is what the French call ? bricolage’, the resourceful and creative deployment skills and materials to meet each challenge in an original way. Rule of thumb, far from being the enemy of management, is what managers throughout the world have relied upon to inform their action. In contrast to the scientific knowledge that guides the engineer, the physician or the chemist, managers are often informed by a different type of know-how. This is sometimes referred to a ? narrative knowledge’ or ? experiential knowledge’, the kind of knowledge that comes from experience and resides in stories and narratives of how real people in the real world dealt with real life problems, successfully or unsuccessfully. Narrative knowledge is what we use in everyday life to deal with awkward situations, as parents, as consumers, as patients and so forth. We seek the stories of people in the same situation as ourselves and try to learn from them. As the Chinese proverb says â€Å"A wise man learns from experience; a wiser man learns from the experience of others. † Narrative knowledge usually takes the form of organization stories (see organization story and organizational storytelling). These stories enable participants to make sense of the difficulties and challenges they face; by listening to stories, members of organizations learn from each other’s experiences, adapt the recipes used by others to address their own difficulties and problems. Narrative knowledge is not only the preserve of managers. Most professionals (including doctors, accountants, lawyers, business consultants and academics) rely on narrative knowledge, in addition to their specialist technical knowledge, when dealing with concrete situations as part of their work. More generally, narrative knowledge represents an endlessly mutating reservoir of ideas, recipes and stories that are traded mostly by word or mouth on the internet. They are often apocryphal and may be inaccurate or untrue – yet, they have the power to influence people’s sense making and actions. Individual versus organizational learning Learning by individuals in an organizational context is a well understood process. This is the traditional domain of human resources, including activities such as: training, increasing skills, work experience, and formal education. Given that the success of any organization is founded on the knowledge of the people who work for it, these activities will and, indeed, must continue. However, individual learning is only a prerequisite to organizational learning. Others take it farther with continuous learning. The world is orders of magnitude more dynamic than that of our parents, or even when we were young. Waves of change are crashing on us virtually one on top of another. Change has become the norm rather than the exception. Continuous learning throughout one’s career has become essential to remain relevant in the workplace. Again, necessary but not sufficient to describe organizational learning. What does it mean to say that an organization learns? Simply summing individual learning is inadequate to model organizational learning. The following definition outlines the essential difference between the two: A learning organization actively creates, captures, transfers, and mobilizes knowledge to enable it to adapt to a changing environment. Thus, the key aspect of organizational learning is the interaction that takes place among individuals. A learning organization does not rely on passive or ad hoc process in the hope that organizational learning will take place through serendipity or as a by-product of normal work. A learning organization actively promotes, facilitates, and rewards collective learning. Creating (or acquiring) knowledge can be an individual or group activity. However, this is normally a small-scale, isolated activity steeped in the jargon and methods of knowledge workers. As first stated by Lucilius in the 1st century BC, â€Å"Knowledge is not knowledge until someone else knows that one knows. † Capturing individual learning is the first step to making it useful to an organization. There are many methods for capturing knowledge and experience, such as publications, activity reports, lessons learned, interviews, and presentations. Capturing includes organizing knowledge in ways that people can find it; multiple structures facilitate searches regardless of the user’s perspective (e. g. , who, what, when, where, why,and how). Capturing also includes storage in repositories, databases, or libraries to insure that the knowledge will be available when and as needed. Transferring knowledge requires that it be accessible to everyone when and where they need it. In a digital world, this involves browser-activated search engines to find what one is looking for. A way to retrieve content is also needed, which requires a communication and network infrastructure. Tacit knowledge may be shared through communities of practice or consulting experts. It is also important that knowledge is presented in a way that users can understand it. It must suit the needs of the user to be accepted and internalized. Mobilizing knowledge involves integrating and using relevant knowledge from many, often diverse, sources to solve a problem or address an issue. Integration requires interoperability standards among various repositories. Using knowledge may be through simple reuse of existing solutions that have worked previously. It may also come through adapting old solutions to new problems. Conversely, a learning organization learns from mistakes or recognizes when old solutions no longer apply. Use may also be through synthesis; that is creating a broader meaning or a deeper level of understanding. Clearly, the more rapidly knowledge can be mobilized and used, the more competitive an organization. An organization must learn so that it can adapt to a changing environment. Historically, the life-cycle of organizations typically spanned stable environments between major socioeconomic changes. Blacksmiths who didn’t become mechanics simply fell by the wayside. More recently, many fortune 500 companies of two decades ago no longer exist. Given the ever-accelerating rate of global-scale change, the more critical learning and adaptation become to organization relevance, success, and ultimate survival. Organizational learning is a social process, involving interactions among many individuals leading to well-informed decision making. Thus, a culture that learns and adapts as part of everyday working practices is essential. Reuse must equal or exceed reinvent as a desirable behavior. Adapting an idea must be rewarded along with its initial creation. Sharing to empower the organization must supersede controlling to empower an individual. Clearly, shifting from individual to organizational learning involves a non-linear transformation. Once someone learns something, it is available for their immediate use. In contrast, organizations need to create, capture, transfer, and mobilize knowledge before it can be used. Although technology supports the latter, these are primarily social processes within a cultural environment, and cultural change, however necessary, is a particularly challenging undertaking. Learning organization The work in Organizational Learning can be distinguished from the work on a related concept, the learning organization. This later body of work, in general, uses the theoretical findings of organizational learning (and other research in organizational development, system theory, and cognitive science) in order to prescribe specific recommendations about how to create organizations that continuously and effectively learn. This practical approach was championed by Peter Senge in his book The Fifth Discipline. Diffusion of innovations Diffusion of innovations theory explores how and why people adopt new ideas, practices and products. It may be seen as a subset of the anthropological concept of diffusion and can help to explain how ideas are spread by individuals, social networks and organizations.

Gigantism and Dwarfism Essay

When the pituitary gland overproduces the growth hormone a rare disorder known as Acromegaly or gigantism may develop. The overproduction of the growth hormone most of the time is caused by a tumor. Swelling and thickening of the skin, growth and enlargement of the bones, especially if the hands, feet and face are caused by excess growth hormone. Acromegaly or gigantism is a rare hormonal disorder than can develop when your pituitary gland overproduces the growth hormone. Most of the time this overproduction of the growth hormone is caused by a tumor. The excess growth hormone causes swelling, thickening of the skin, tissue growth and enlargement of the bones, especially in the hands, feet and face. The overproduction of the growth hormone in children can lead to a condition known as gigantism. This may lead to an abnormal increase in the height and bone growth. Overproduction of the growth hormone in middle aged adults causes acromegaly. The treatment of choice in pituitary tumors is surgery. When surgery cannot be performed or if the entire tumor cannot be removed, then the treatment of choice is medications. Somatostatin analogues (SSA) are synthetic versions of the hormone in the brain somatostatin. Two SSA’s are octreotide (Sandostatin, Sandostatin LAR) and lanreotide (Somatuline Depot). Somatostatin is a hormone that inhibits the release of the growth hormone. SSA’s can decrease the growth hormone levels by blocking the excess production in the pituitary gland. Common side effects are pain at the injection site, intestinal cramping, diarrhea and gallbladder problems. Growth hormone receptor antagonists (GHRAs). The medication pegvisomant (Somavert) blocks the effect of growth hormone on the body tissues. It is administered daily by a subcutaneous injection. This medication can normalize growth hormone levels and relieve symptoms in most people affected by acromegaly. Some common side effects are headache, nausea, diarrhea and fatigue. Dopamine agonists such as Cabergoline (Dostinex) and bromocroptine (Parlodel) are given to reduce production of the growth hormone and to shrink tumors. Both of these medications can be taken orally in pill form. They are not as effective as the SSA’s and GHRA’s. Sometimes doctors will prescribe a combination of Dopamine agonists with somatostatin analogues for treatment. Side effects that are common include headache, nausea and intestinal cramping. Pegvisomant has been used to treat acromegaly, or gigantism. It is a form of a growth hormone antagonist known as B2036. This growth hormone has increased disposition in one binding site and a lowered disposition in the second binding site. It has been shown that this molecule still enables reaction of the growth hormone receptor at the cell surface, but does not allow the necessary conformational changes. A growth hormone deficiency may result in a condition known as dwarfism. Dwarfism can be defined as a short height, that is the result of a genetic or medical condition. Adults with dwarfism are usually less than four feet ten inches tall. Treatments for conditions relating to dwarfism do not increase height, but may lessen complications. Surgery is one treatment option for dwarfism. Some of the common procedures that are done surgically are to insert metal staples into the ends of long bones into the growth plate in order to correct the direction that the bones are growing. They can divide a limb bone, straighten it and insert a metal plate to hold it in place. They may insert rods or staples to correct the shape of the spine. They may increase the size of the opening in the vertebrae to alleviate pressure on the spinal cord. Lengthening of the limbs is a treatment choice of people with dwarfism. During this procedure, the surgeon divides a long bone into two or more sections, slightly separates the sections and braces the bone and the limb with external metal â€Å"scaffolding†. Pins and screws on this frame are periodically adjusted to keep the tension between the sections, enabling the bone to grow back together gradually into a complete and longer bone. Dwarfism is treated with injections of a synthetic version of the growth hormone. Children receive injections daily for several years until they reach a maximum adult height. Often this is the average adult range for their family. People with dwarfism may encounter discrimination. Family support, social networks, advocacy groups and adaptive products enable most people with dwarfism to address challenges in educational, work and social settings. Growth hormone deficiency is treated with injections of a synthetic version of the hormone. In most cases, children receive daily injections for several years until they reach a maximum adult height — often within the average adult range for their family. Treatment may continue throughout adolescence and early adulthood to ensure adult maturation, such as appropriate gain in muscle or fat. The treatment may be supplemented with other related hormones if they are also deficient. Treatment for girls with Turner syndrome also requires estrogen and related hormone therapy in order for them to begin puberty and achieve adult sexual development. Estrogen replacement therapy usually continues throughout life until a woman reaches the average age of menopaus

Childhood obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Childhood obesity - Essay Example Obesity as a consequence of reduced physical activities is becoming more and more frequent in the modern world and is increasing at an especially alarming rate in children. Globally 155 million children with ages ranging from 5-17 years are overweight. Lobstein et al. (2004) claimed that of these 155 million children approximately 30-45 million are obese (cited in World Heart Federation 2007). According to our own National Health Service (NHS, England , January 2008) statistics on obesity, physical activity and diet, 16% of children aged from 2-15 are classified as obese. In the under five year old group the figures for 2007 show that there were approximately 22 million overweight children and that roughly 75% of those live in the low-middle income bracket (WHO, 2008). We are creating an increasingly obesogenic environment where this rising trend in obesity may be associated with the increase in: Technologies and affordability of televisions, computers, etc. Fox (2004) suggested that the time spent being physically inactive by playing video-games, watching television and using computers has increased. Transportation has increased allowing little expenditure of calorie intake due to fewer or reduced physical activities (St-Onge et al., 2003). Children are driven to school or use public transport rather than walk as parents are worried by the apparent lack of safety in the communities in which they live (Fox, 2004). In a cross sectional study by Voss et al. (2005), within a cohort of 277 families in Britain 75% of parents with overweight children did not realise that their children were overweight; 33% of mothers and 57% of fathers thought that their children were at the correct weight when they were, in fact, obese. The current school curriculum allows for a minimum of two hours of physical activity per week. 86% of schools in Britain

Policing And Its History Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Policing And Its History - Research Paper Example Under the reign of King Alfred, the structure of internal police force was established, under which different landowners were required to protect the territories of the kingdom, and arrest criminals, as well as bring them to trials. Furthermore, a group of citizens founded their own force, in order to keep the King’s police in check and to see that it does not abuse its power. Thus, these citizens made a force which guaranteed them mutual protection, and also was responsible for catching criminals and giving them to the King’s police. These citizens called themselves ‘tythingmen’, and gradually their numbers reached hundred, and they became in charge of the organization of court, and handled civil matters and disagreements.\ After the Norman invasion of England in 1066, a few changes were made to the old system of justice. The ‘tythingmen’ lost some of their power, as Sheriffs were introduced. These sheriffs were in control of local law enforcement, and were directly appointed by the King, and were answerable to him. The hundred ‘tythingmen’ were upgraded to the ‘Court of Tourn’. The Court attended several numerous, most of which were related to small crimes and civil disobedience. But a few men from the Court were placed in charge of more grave matters, which could only be solved by them. A ‘Court Leet’ was also established, which was to attend all local village matters, and the head of this court was called ‘Comes Stable’, which later changed to Constable- a term still used for police officials. In the 1700s, this system of justice and law started to disintegrate, as the kingdom began to expand and cities were established. The constables became fraudulent and did not take their jobs seriously. Bribes became common among the police force, and criminals were able to escape without being punished or imprisoned. Charges were dropped and crime flourished in the cities. Finally, in the

Global Financing and Exchange Rate Mechanisms Paper Essay

Global Financing and Exchange Rate Mechanisms Paper - Essay Example The most prominent international financial institutions are the IMF, the World Bank, ADB and the WTO. International Monetary Fund (IMF) plays a major role while rebuilding and stabilizing the monetary and pecuniary conditions of its member states. IMF achieves this objective by offering supportive loans while working out counteractive strategies. Apart of it, IMF also supports its defaulter member countries and their funding partners to ease out methodical development for liability streamlining by implementing and taking necessary measures1 (IMF Fact sheet, 2006). Thus, IMF plans to offer financial and monetary services while providing its member states with sufficient opportunities so as to employ regulatory guiding principles and transformation for reinstating environment while guaranteeing to strap and protract economic augmentation and societal venture. These courses of actions show a discrepancy while craving on member's state of affairs together with the source of the monetary related tribulations. Apart from above stated functions of IMF, this monetary institution also supports to develop the obligatory liability r

Macroeconomics and Microeconomics - Macro4M Essay

Macroeconomics and Microeconomics - Macro4M - Essay Example The measure does not reflect the initial purpose as observed by economic policy makers. In that case, the output presented is not the actual output of the nation. In essence, it cannot tell the policy makers whether the economy produced more goods and services since the measure changes with prices and quantity. On the other hand, real GDP is adjusted for inflation or deflation. It measures GDP in constant prices. As a result, economic policy makers are able to identify the changes in the actual production of final goods (Boyes & Melvin, 2010, p.108). Indeed, it measures the quantity of goods and services a nation produces after eliminating the effects of price changes. Unlike nominal GDP which significantly reflects increased prices, real GDP indicates actual changes in the output. Economic policy makers would be more interested in more goods and services than higher prices in order to evaluate the economic status of the country. In fact, it is better to have nominal GDP rise due to higher output than due to higher prices. Economic policy makers want the nominal GDP to increase because of an increase in real GDP. If economic policy makers were to rely on the nominal GDP in determining national output, they would in many cases make ineffective decision. This is because, the large part reflected in the increasing output is as a result of price fluctuations. The actual output devoid of any influence is most important in national policy making. Therefore, they will always consider real GDP to be the reliable determinant of the output in order to make the most appropriate economic decision. Question two Gross domestic production (GDP) and other national income measure have been considered to be inadequate measure of social welfare (Elizabeth & UMAE, 2007, pp.20-25). This is because GDP measures all consumption, government spending and investments within a country plus exports, regardless of the citizenship of the investors or consumers. This measure counts air pollu tion, cigarette advertising as well as ambulances that clear the ways of bloodshed. It counts environmental destruction and the costs created by inhumane behaviors. The measure includes jails and correction facilities for the people who break the law. However, GDP does not include important social measures such as the health of the people, the quality of education, the beauty of culture, the strength of families. It does neither count the integrity of the leaders nor their intelligence. GDP does not measure the courage or wisdom of the people neither does it measure empathy nor devotion of the people. Essentially, GDP is a measure of many things but does not emphasize on the things that make life meaningful. There are conceptual problems noted with using GDP as a measure of social welfare that can be easily eliminated in order to make it a better measure of social welfare. First, the measure can be tailored to register monetary exchanges as well as social exchanges. Second, it shoul d not include commodities that lower social wellbeing such as weaponry and terrorism costs. The measure should place value on social practices like leisure-time and cultural qualities. Most important, GDP must not ignore the distribution of income and wealth within the society. This might include special consideration of the specific areas that can enhance comfortable living of the citizens such as offering employment opportunities.

To be discussed Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

To be discussed - Dissertation Example Although this approach was first taught by American thinkers Deming and Juran in 1950s, Americans had not adopted and taken advantage of it (Nakamura et al. 1997). Later in the years, evolution of the JIT principles took place which was integrated in the automobile industry and other manufacturing industries which functioned on the TQM framework (Nakamura et al. 1997). The Western civilization implemented these two approaches in reverse order with JIT preceding TQM. Although these two approaches have been independently implemented very often, they are also used in integration for many operations. Theoretical Framework It is because of the Japanese that the industrial world revolutionized given their two approaches: TQM and JIT. Both these concepts have similar principles and goals which aim to continuous improvement and waste reduction (Flynn et al. 1995). TQM is a set of manufacturing principles that aim to sustain the quality of the products and processes by continuously improving it with the involvement of the management, customers and suppliers (Cua et al. 2001). There are nine TQM practices that are common in its principles: customer involvement, supplier quality management, committed leadership, cross-functional product design, cross-functional training, strategic planning, information, employee involvement and feedback (Cua et al. 2001). ... JIT is an important strategic element in the manufacturing process because of the waste produced in the mass production system such as waiting (in time), processing, transporting, overproducing, unnecessary stock-on-hand, defective goods production and unnecessary motion (Cua et al. 2001). If JIT is implemented, the result would be no excess production without demand. Thus, the element of waste elimination is justification for JIT to be implemented in any process of manufacturing (Nakamura et al. 1997). The strategic importance of both these concepts exists in its usage if integrated with the management and adopted in conjunction with the advanced technology in manufacturing combined with TQM and JIT approaches (Cua et al. 2001). According to Flynn et al. (1995), the benefits of JIT can only be harnessed if the philosophy is part of the TQM philosophy. This is because together TQM and JIT are capable of pushing the problems back to the starting point of the manufacturing process unti l a point is identified as preventable (Flynn et al. 1995). It is a simple philosophy that every problem has a reason and every reason is therefore avoidable. Therefore, in order words, the philosophy of TQM/JIT rests on the principle that if the problem is detected soon, it can be fixed in the timely manner (Kanan and Tan, 2005). Although the idea of incorporating different elements of different philosophies is not always acceptable as a wise choice as limited empirical research exists on its link with performance, still it is believed and proved by different authors that the TQM and JIT elements can provide positive results in the performance of

Computer Electronics Warehouse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Computer Electronics Warehouse - Essay Example o address how a computer warehouse can be kept operational for computer/laptop along with their accessories through delineating the advantages and the disadvantages of warehouse automation. Moreover, the strategies to be used for optimal utilization of surface area and importance of suppliers in warehousing management would also be determined. Evolution of My Warehouse. My warehouse mission statement is to be consistent in superior delivery through proper management of warehouse and emerging as the United States’ (US) leading retailer of computer/laptop and accessories with a vision of becoming the customers’ first choice through providing a wider range of quality products at best price with superior advice. Being the employers’ prior choice in industry would also be a key mission of the warehouse. The warehouse deals in the products including computer, laptops and accessories which are commonly usable products in office, household along with commercial purposes. Correspondingly, the proper route for distribution of these products will be using land, sea, air and through online which can help in smooth and easy processing. Location of warehouse should be in heavy industrialised area as such equipment requires proper knowledge with proper handing. Besides, the employees should have ample knowledge of w ork and have high experience of working in handling sensitive materials as any mislead in the process of storing could create massive loss to the warehouse operations. Employees should further be sub-divided into various departments with proper warehouse assistants who should be experienced enough in monitoring goods safely and maintaining efficiency with proper records. For a particular section of employees employed in moving various products within the warehouse, any previous experience might not be critical as full training program would be gradually provided to enhance their knowledge about their job role. However, knowledge about the warehouse environment

Is the mind equivalent to the brain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Is the mind equivalent to the brain - Essay Example Biochemical processes just like energy production yield chemical compounds responsible for energy generations. Hormones are some of these chemical products of body system processes which they can associate to emotions but enough evidence is needed to show that there are variations among the same type of hormones among different individual persons. Insulin in a person can be the same insulin in another. This becomes the problem to explain emotions since this feeling varies with individuals. This is among the reasons why emotions and mind is considered to be some external factor that works in coordination with the body system such as the brain. The argument of this essay is based on a substance dualism approach integrated with the idea that the substance of the brain and that of the mind although separate in nature works together to coordinate body functions such as digestion, circulation, hearing, seeing, and other bodily systems and integrate these with human thinking and feelings of every kind produce sensations, emotions, ideas, and even think beyond the unthinkable. Since we accept that the mind as a... Theory of the mind basically revolved within the human being's capacity to understand his own behaviors like emotions, beliefs, intents, desires, knowledge, and others, and to feel that other individuals have beliefs, desires and intentions that are different from that of own self. This capacity is believed to be the result of evolutionary changes in the human brain (Povinelli and Preuss, 1995). These functions are inherent of the mind and are not physical but are accepted to be manifested in the brain, as a dualist understands (Calef, 2006). Latest neuro-imaging technology has identified the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), temporal poles, and posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) junction as the particular areas in the brain that are more likely associated with the mind. (Firth and Firth, 2003 and Saxe et. al, 2003). The mind and brain had been thoroughly studied by different sociologists, philosophers, psychologists and every field of science and theology. There are several approaches used in the study of the functions of the brain and mind. The most common are the modular approach (Scholl and Leslie, 1999) and the integrated (Anderson & Lebiere, 1998). The modular considered every mind activity as a separate module in the brain. The integrated approach considered the mechanisms of understanding as an integration of all the modules that work to produce a comprehensive show of emotions, ideas, and understanding. The approach considers that to create a better feeling on a food taste, the sensations of the hand mouth and other mechanism connect to each other. Our idea is anchored within this context. The foundation of dualist idea It is hard not to mention Descartes when we are talking about dualism in

Mutual Advantages For Trade Between Usa And Mexico Research Paper

Mutual Advantages For Trade Between Usa And Mexico - Research Paper Example Goods were sold at high profit by the Americans. The minimum price of a good was 5 cents and 10 cents was considered to be an eighth of a dollar. This shows the devaluation of other currencies in comparison of the US Dollar was prevalent even then. 2 Benefits from Trade in the 18th Century â€Å"The Santa Fe Trail developed into a complex web of international business, social ties, tariffs and laws†.3 The Americans exchanged merchandise, horses and oxen in return for silver bullions from the Mexicans initially. With deepening of friendly relations and growth of trade between the Americans and Mexicans, the variety and volume of trade grew, too. The shrewd Americans identified the need for cotton prints, factory products, latest gun and ammunitions and whiskey of the Mexicans, which they supplied profitably. On their return back home, they purchased wool, buffaloes, hides and horses, mules, gold coins, gold dust and silver from the Mexicans which earned them great revenues, in turn. Thus, what followed was symbiotic relation between the two countries through a series of trade transactions.4 Apart from the material aspect to these transactions, there were other benefits as well. Due to the long period of trade between these two countries relations formed between the white men and the native women of Mexico and many of them married these native women Dr. Eugene Leitensdorfer from Missouri, married a Mexican women named Soledad Abreu, who was the daughter of a former governor of Mexico.. This proved to be advantageous for the Americans as these women worked as labor in their fur and skin trade. They also served as mediators between the Mexican men and their business partners.5 Americans who maintained good... However, after trade relations had lasted for a considerable period of time, the Mexicans began to wonder if the price for this growth was outweighing its benefits. It was evident that the Americans were gaining far more from the trade than the Mexicans. The net result was a transfer of wealth to the west and by the time the Mexicans realized this, it was too late. The indigenous traders had been completely uprooted by the foreigners and the Americans exercised abundant power over the native markets.The congenial trade relations between the two countries have remained unchanged till this century. Mexico is the second largest exporter of US exports and around 11% of its exports are from the US. It is also the third largest trading partner of US forming 10% of US imports and these figures are still rapidly increasing. Around 82% of Mexico's exports go to the US and the trade between them has grown in the last ten years. However, even today the US maintains trade advantages over Mexico as Mexico can never match the US in terms of efficiency and productivity. Thus, the exploitation of Mexico by the US to remains unchanged and the US is the ultimate gainer. It can be concluded that the trade relations between US and Mexico have remained strong from the 18th century along the Santa Fe Trail till present day. The trade between them is highly disproportionate with the US reaping the maximum rewards. This scenario may be altered by the adoption of adequate policy measures by the Mexican government.

“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift Essay Example for Free

â€Å"A Modest Proposal† by Jonathan Swift Essay The essay, â€Å"A Modest Proposal† by Jonathan Swift is a satirical piece that discussed, in great detail, the issues surrounding 18th century society as it pushed forward development as society progressed, both technologically and socially. The essay contained a ‘modest,’ albeit radical, proposal from Swift, wherein he tried to provide a rational solution to the problem of increasing population, scarcity, and poverty in his society under the British rule. Among Swift’s ‘modest proposals’ were the imposition of polygamy among humans, wherein â€Å"one Male [sic] will be sufficient to serve four Females,† and the practice of bearing children as Food, which he identified to be â€Å"very proper for Landlords. † These propositions provided a glimpse into the social problems Swift’s society experienced during his time, wherein poor governance, in order to be alleviated, was resolved through what Swift considered to be deviant and inhumane practices. Proposing these deviant and inhumane practices was a demonstration of the increased demoralization among the citizens of Swift’s society, a state which the author deemed to be too outrageous to be true but is actually occurring. Hence, in order to address these outrageous yet unconfronted social problems and issues, Swift’s essay generated the attention it deserved and warranted, therefore making the readers and the essay’s target audience aware of the social state at which their country found itself in. Swift’s essay, in effect, drove home the fact that in the midst of social progress and development, moral demoralization occurred as a consequence, defeating the purpose of development and progress in the society.

International Franchising Advantages and Disadvantages

International Franchising Advantages and Disadvantages Introduction Buying a Franchise offers many benefits over starting a business on your own. The franchisees benefit from the training and ongoing support that they receive whilst trying to make their business successful. People starting a business on their own often have no help or guidance in the day to day running of the business! The franchisees receive guidance on location, fixtures and fittings, marketing and operation of the business model. This guidance is based on years of experience the franchiser has gained not only from running the business model but also from advising other franchisees. Buying a franchise business is at least a five year commitment and as such should not be taken lightly. It is important to make the right lifestyle choice rather than basing the decision to buy purely on profitability of the business model. A prospective franchisee should always look at the market trends to ascertain whether the need and requirements of the products of the franchise opportunity are predicted to grow or decline over the medium and long term. Getting advice from an experienced accountant can help in this respect. What makes the franchisers products better than the competition? Is the franchisor continually investing in improving the products to reflect changes in latest trends and requirements of the customers? Analysing which products have been changed and new ones introduced over the last five years will help in this regard. The territory is just as important as the franchise model. Not all franchises work in all territories as each area has their demographics and buying patterns. Decent knowledge of the local area is invaluable and the choice of which type of franchise business to buy should be made with regards to this information. Making the right choice of franchise that is based on individual skills as well as the individual requirements of each particular territory should serve to ensure that the business model works both in the short term and the long term International Franchising International franchising refers to a domestic businesss expansion into foreign countries and markets. International franchising is a complex process that requires thorough considerations of many factors, such as feasibility, adaptability, and benefits versus risks. Replication: During the process of international franchising, companies often strive to replicate successful domestic business models in foreign markets. Challenge: Differences in language, laws and financial systems, between franchising business and host foreign market can pose serious challenges during international expansion. Benefits: International franchising means new markets with new customers and selling potentials. International franchising also places companys name and presence in a global market. Adaptability: learning to adapt to the needs and demands of a new foreign market can attract local customers and buyers and lead to higher business success in a new country. Counsel: International franchising experts help companies understand a foreign market before expansion. Consultants advise businesses on a number of subjects, from financing to culture gaps. Advantages: There is a higher likelihood of success since a proven business formula is in place. The products, services, and business operations have already been established. Bankers usually look at successful franchise chains as having a lower risk of repayment default and are more likely to loan money based on that premise. The corporate image and brand awareness is already recognized. Consumers are generally more comfortable purchasing items they are familiar with and working with companies they know and trust. Franchise companies usually provide extensive training and support to their franchisees in effort to help them succeed. Many times products and services are advertised at a local and national level by the main franchise companies. This practice helps boost sales for all franchisees, but individual franchisees dont absorb the cost. Disadvantages: Franchises can be costly to implement. Also, many franchises charge ongoing royalties cutting into the profits of franchisees. Franchisors usually require franchisees to follow their operations manual to a tee in order to ensure consistency. This limits any creativity on the part of the franchisee. Franchisees must be very good at following directions in order to maintain the image and level of service already established. If the franchisee is not capable of running a quality business or does not have proper funding, this could curtail success. Sometimes franchisors may be lax on their commitment to support the franchisee. Also, they may make poor decisions that would have an ill effect on the franchisee. Therefore, it is important to research any franchise concept thoroughly before signing any agreements. Benefits on International Franchising Purchasing a franchise is one way for an entrepreneur to get started in business. Franchises offer a proven business model to follow as well as support in areas like financing and training. International franchises can provide the opportunity to take advantage of growing global markets, although the franchisee will need to overcome the hurdles associated with adapting to the ways of a new country. Cultural Adaptation Franchises provide the business owner with a full range of support services. This proves beneficial when it comes to adapting to the ways of a foreign country. The company can help you hire local management and workers who are familiar with the methods of doing business in the country, which can make the transition much smoother. Business Expansion If you already own an established franchise and are looking to expand, adding units in another country can provide a more profitable alternative to an already saturated market. This is particularly meaningful if you sell a product or service that is rather common in your home country. Cornering the Market You may even be fortunate enough to open a franchise in a country where there is little competition and there is a great need for your product or service. This will enable you to corner the market and possibly open several locations, establishing you as the leader in your business before the inevitable entrance of competitors occur. Change of Lifestyle Owning a franchise in another country can result in a new and exciting way of life. Franchisees from a cold climate may relish the opportunity to move to a warm, sunny locale to open a business. Some may also look forward to expanding their horizons by experiencing and assimilating into a new culture. Taking Advantage of Growth If current franchisees are experiencing slow business due to the home countrys stagnant economy, they can seek to open another unit in an area experiencing strong growth. Countries and areas exhibiting growth as of 2010 include China, Latin America and the Middle East. Advantages of international franchising Franchising is a unique form of business arrangement. The original company (called the franchisor) enters into a contract with a second business (called the franchisee) in which the original company offers the second business the right to operate under the original businesss name and the right to sell its product. The franchisor usually offers guidance and expertise to the franchisee. All of this is done for a fee, and though having a franchise isnt the same as starting a business from scratch, there are a number of advantages to the system. This is also true for international franchises. Reputation The major benefit of a franchise is that franchises reputation. If a franchise is well known for offering a certain type of product or service and a new branch of that franchise opens up locally, then people know roughly what to expect. For international franchises there are some additional issues of reputation to consider. For instance, the country of origin that the franchise comes from could be viewed as exotic, which will bring in additional business. Financing Franchises are viewed as a business plan thats already undergone a trial by fire and succeeded. Generally speaking, this makes them much easier to finance, as far as getting loans from banks is concerned. If a franchises reputation and success can be clearly shown, then the bank knows the franchisee has a much better chance of succeeding than he would if he were trying to start up a new and independent business. This is even truer for companies that are known internationally, which makes banks feel even more generous when it comes to assisting with business financing. Support Regardless of whether or not the franchisee sets up in the franchises hometown or on the other side of the world, an international franchise has the capability of extending support, advice and training to franchisees. The franchise offers training manuals, access to supply networks, advice and other forms of help to the franchisees. This is especially true where an international franchise is concerned, because every franchisee impacts the franchises reputation and reach. If all of the franchisees do well, then it will increase the franchises reputation, reach and even their brand recognition. Franchising primary benefit is risk minimization. Starting a new business is risky. Most studies show that over 90 percent fail within three years. The primary reason that the failure rate is so high is because the owners have to go through the learning curve of operating that specific type business. Franchising reduces that curve substantially. Another reason to buy a franchise is that a franchise investment can be thoroughly researched before any significant expenditure is made. Existing franchisees offer a wealth of information about the business so that new franchisees can try the business on before they buy to make sure its a good fit for them. Franchisers sell a defined, proven business format or method of operation, offering a product or service that has sold successfully. An independent business is based on both an untried idea and operation. The experience of the franchisers management team increases the potential for success. This experience is often conveyed through formal instruction and on-the-job training. Franchisees can often buy lower-cost goods and supplies through the franchiser, resulting from the group purchasing power of all the franchises. Established franchisers offer national or regional name recognition. While this may not be true with a new franchiser, the benefit of starting with one is the potential to grow as its business and name recognition grow. Franchising provides a uniform system of operation, so that consumers receive uniform quality, efficiently and cost-effectively. A uniform system brings with it the advantages of mass purchasing power, brand identification, and customer loyalty, capitalizing on the proven format. A franchiser also provides management assistance, including accounting procedures, personnel and facility management. An individual with experience in these areas may not be familiar with how to apply them in a new business. The franchiser helps a franchisee overcome this lack of experience. Franchisors help franchisees develop a business plan. Many elements of the plan are standard operating procedures established by the franchisor. The most difficult part of a new business is its start-up, since even experienced managers lack the knowledge to set up a new business. One of the biggest benefits to franchising is marketing. The franchiser can prepare and pay for the development of professional advertising campaigns. Regional or national marketing done by the franchiser benefits all franchisees. In addition, the franchiser can provide advice about how to develop effective marketing programs for a local area through a cooperative marketing fund, to which the franchisees contribute a percentage of their gross income. Its possible to receive assistance in financing a new franchise through the franchiser, who often makes arrangements with a lending institution to lend money to a franchisee. The franchisee must still accept responsibility for the loan, but the franchisers involvement usually increases the likelihood that a loan will be approved. A franchiser also provides training for the franchisee. This is especially important if the concept is complex. The best training combines classroom or one-on-one training at the franchisers facility with field training at the franchisees place of business. Finally, franchising has found a solid economic niche that caters to specialized needs. Many American consumers no longer want a muffler installed by a service station, a hamburger from a diner, a pizza from someone who wont deliver it within 30 minutes or their hair cut by a local barber. Specialists, it seems, do it better, and the franchise industry is only too willing help. Once you become a franchisee and part of a franchise organization, What are your roles and responsibilities? Financial The first function you have in your new endeavour is as an investor into your business. You will need to invest financially with an initial franchising fee, but also be prepared to pay any additional costs that might be necessary to get the business up and running such as equipment costs. Also, there will be ongoing royalty fees that you will need to be aware of. Time Secondly, you will need to be sure that you can invest an adequate amount of time in the business. Although the system is basically set up in franchising, you will still need to initially spend extra time learning how the system works. The franchisor usually offers training and continuous support, hence the ongoing royalty payments. Like anything else, once you know the ins and outs of the system, the time investment decreases somewhat. Leadership and Partnership One of the most important skills you need to possess as a franchisee is the ability to be pro-active and take initiative. You should be able to easily assume a leadership role. You need to be certain that you understand how the entire system works and not be afraid to ask the franchisor questions. It is especially important to communicate with the franchisor anything that you notice that doesnt seem right to you. After all, you are basically assuming a partnership role with the franchisor. Therefore, you should be able to work together, share ideas, and resolve issues together. You may notice something that the franchisor was not aware of since you are much closer to the business. The franchisor would probably appreciate your bringing concerns or discrepancies to the table, especially if you offer possible solutions. Communication With all of the responsibilities that the franchisee holds, communication and organizational skills are key skills to possess as a franchisee. As mentioned, it is important to keep in close communication with your franchisor. In addition, you will need to be able to communicate effectively with your customers, employees, vendors, and other business contacts. Furthermore, it can be quite beneficial to team up with other franchisees on a regular basis. It can help you run your business more smoothly if you share ideas and solutions to problems experienced with others in the same capacity. Organization In your role as franchisee, you should be prepared to wear many hats. In operating the business, you will most likely have to manage all the daily operations involved in operating a business, including ordering supplies, meeting with customers and vendors, preparing payroll, resolving discrepancies, etc. These are just a few of your sub-roles depending on the type of business you are running. It is essential to be able to organize all of your responsibilities so that everything gets done accurately and in a timely manner. In conclusion, as long as you understand your role as a franchisee and make every effort to carry it out thoroughly, you should be able to manage a successful franchise.

Relationship Between Rubber Hand Illusion And Interoceptive Awareness

Relationship Between Rubber Hand Illusion And Interoceptive Awareness When and artificial hand is placed in a position compatible with the participants own posture, i.e. a position that is plausible anatomically with regard to the participants body, then the combination of visual input from the rubber hand and tactile stimulation to the participants hidden hand produces the feeling that the rubber hand is part of the body in around half of participants. The incidence of the illusion as well as its intensity is substantially reduced when the visual and tactile stimuli are applied asynchronously, so that the feeling on the hand is not matched by what the participant sees on the rubber hand. This reduction also occurs when the rubber hand is put in a posture that is anatomically implausible(e.g. Tsakiris Haggard, 2005). The term interoception was coined by Charles Sherrington (1907) in the same paper that he introduces the terms proprioception and exteroception. in the original definition, the term referred solely to visceral sensations. However, now it has come to encompass the physiological state of the body as a whole, and the mechanism by which afferent information reaches conscious awareness and affects behaviour, which can occur both indirectly and directly. Interoception relates to the way in which people perceive feelings from their bodies that affect mood, the sense of well-being and even emotions (Cameron, 2002). The field of interoception has been aided greatly by the advent of functional imaging. Thus far, research has been limited in its scope to contribute to the understanding of self-awareness and, by extension, consciousness. The rubber hand illusion has important implications for interoception because it implies that information from proprioceptors- the mechanoreceptors in the hand and arm- can be overridden fairly easily by visual information. However, it is important to remember that it is not visual information alone that the participant is subject to; they are also receiving proprioceptive input to their unseen hand. Ramachandran (2005) suggests that rather than the more cognitive Helmholtzian unconscious inference explanation posited by others (e.g. Lackner, 1988), the rubber hand illusion can be explained from a Bayesian perspective. Several (e.g. Alais Burr, 2004; Ernst Banks, 2002) have shown that adults are able to integrate information both within and between senses in what appears to be a statistically optimal (Bayes-optimal) fashion. The fact that Bayesian models fit human behavioural results so well fits with the evidence that synchronous stimulation in two modalities can bring about chang es in interoception. In a more natural environment, the probability of seeing something in the outside world being stimulated and feeling identical stimulation on a consistent body part is vanishingly unlikely and so it seems unsurprising that the neural machinery that fuses information between the senses is subject to this illusion. A more recent experiment has shown that both the afferent and efferent elements of the body in motion are able to influence the feeling of ownership (Tsakiris, Prabhu Haggard, 2006). The authors found that the rubber hand illusion could be elicited solely on the basis of hand movements. In a variation on the methodology, participants had a virtual hand projected to the front of them while their own hand was hidden. Both the participants index finger and the same finger of the virtual hand underwent up and down motions, which could be done either actively or passively. When movements were in synchrony, participants reported that they felt as if their own hand was nearer the virtual hand than when motion was asynchronous as in the classic illusion. Under the passive condition, as in the classic condition, the illusion is a result of integration of visual and proprioceptive information. Conversely, there is also efferent information signalling that the finger is moving in the active co ndition. One difference between the conditions was that the proprioceptive drift only affected the index finger in the passive condition. The rest of the fingers were not perceived as being closer to the virtual hand. However, in the active condition, proprioceptive drift affected the whole hand. Therefore, the effect was more local when afferent information alone was available, but more global when there was efferent information as well. Tsakiris et al came to the conclusion that efferent information can influence interoception and the sense of bodily ownership by unifying the body into a coherent whole. One possible argument against the view that the rubber hand illusion shows that visual information can override proprioceptive information is that the participant may simply be speaking metaphorically when they say that they feel as if the rubber hand is part of their body. This problem arises from the fact that measures of the extent of the elusion are based on self report. Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) studies have examined whether the rubber hand is truly incorporated into the participants body image. Evolutionarily, it is necessary to protect the body from physical harm, and so threat to they body elicits feelings of anxiety, the withdrawal tendency, and increased autonomic arousal (e.g. Cooke Graziano, 2003; Kalisch et al, 2005). Therefore, it seems fair to say that for something to qualify as being part of the body, the brains homeostatic mechanisms should react as if it is when it is under threat. This hypothesis has received support from the fact that hitting the table near t he false hand with a hammer leads to increased GSR during the rubber hand illusion (Armel Ramachandran, 2003). There was no change in GSR during the control condition in which the rubber and real hands were stimulated asynchronously. Ehrsson et al (2007) have gone even further than this and shown using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging that areas of the brain associated with interoception, i.e. the anterior cingulate cortex and insula are active during the rubber hand illusion. The convexity cortex of the anterior cingulate and cingulate cortex have been shown to become active during both the experience of pain and anticipation of it (e.g. Craig et al, 1996; Wager et al, 2004). The anterior insular cortex has also been shown to become active during pain anticipation, the experience of pain and also pain empathy (e.g. Singer et al, 2004). Furthermore, coactivation of these regions during experiments has been linked to interoceptive awareness and emotional processing (Farrell, Laird Egan, 2005; Craig, 2003). The authors suggested that the activity they found in response to threat to the rubber hand most likely reflected participants anxiety as they were elevated more when the participant felt ownership of the rubber hand than when they did not. Significantly, this activity was specific to threats to the body and was not seen in response to empathy for pain or looking at the syringe (which was used to threaten the rubber hand). This is strong evidence that the rubber hand illusion leads to changes in the participants interoception. Tsakaris (2010) describes the rubber hand illusion as a model example of how the normal sense of embodiment works, and argues that it can be used to examine how the experience of the body as belonging to the individual comes about, is maintained, and perhaps even how it can be disturbed. He puts forward a neurocognitive model in which body ownership is the result of interactions between current information from all of the senses and internal models regarding the body. This model begins with pre-existing models of the body that are stored in the right temporo-parietal junction. These allow distinction between objects that may be embodied and those that may not. Subsequently, on-line postural and anatomical representations of the body (in the secondary somatosensory cortex) allow modulation of this multisensory information. This in turn allows the visual and haptic co-ordinate systems to be recalibrated in order to respond to current demands of the environment. This is done by the vent ral premotor and posterior parietal cortices, which contain neurons that code for recalibration of the hand-centred co-ordinate system. This results in referral of haptic sensation that leads to subjective experiences of body ownership, which arises in the right posterior insula. Some similar ideas are expressed by de Vignemont. She argues that bodily sensations are experience through a multimodal spatial representation of ones body. This view leads directly to the prediction that the sense of ownership of the body should be influenced by information in the visual modality, as in the rubber hand illusion. She also points out that proprioceptive information decays very quickly while the hand is stationary, and that it is often vision that dominates the other sensory modalities (e.g. Welch and Warren, 1986). This provides further support for the idea that the spatial content of haptic sensations should rely more on the visual modality than proprioception. This can account for the fact that when Botvinick and Cohen asked their participants to reach towards the hand that had been stimulated (using their other hand), this motion was displaced toward the rubber hand rather than their unseen hand. This distortion of proprioception and the sense of the location of th e body comes from the emphasis on information in the visual modality, which can also account for the subjective feeling of ownership of the hand. This results from the localisation of the haptic information within a representation of the body that has been constructed from the information available to the participant. In the illusion, the descriptive aspect of the haptic sensation is accurate, however, the spatial aspect has been shifted. Craig (2009) examines the role of the insula in interoceptive awareness in areas as diverse as gastric distension, heartbeat and pain. He identifies awareness of bodily movements (rather than the sense of agency regarding movements) as a possible role for the insular cortex, as well as speech, self recognition and various emotions, describing an emotional salience network in which insular cortical areas feature. He also suggests that the anterior insular cortex plays a role in performance maintenance in which it is put at the heart of the switch to self reflective networks from central executive functioning. The insula is argued to contain representations of the self at every moment in time and to provide comparison between representations at different points in time. The predictive role that this implies may explain the role of the insula in emotions such as anxiety. He also examines the role of the anterior cingulate cortex in interoception and self awareness, noting its numerous c onnections with the insular cortex. He also posits an evolutionary theory, wherein the anterior cingulate and anterior insular cortex developed independently, but subsequently came to have more integrated functioning that performed the role of interoception, specifically managing autonomic activity. He argues that this explains the close relationship of the two areas in various neuroimaging studies. In conclusion, the rubber hand illusion has provided much insight into human interoception. It has revealed the different kinds of information involved in this process by showing how it can be tricked, as well as the flexibility inherent in the system. Neuroimaging studies using the illusion have revealed the mediating brain areas, which in turn leads to tantalising hints about how the conscious sense of the body arises. The experience of ownership of the body may be a significant aspect of self-specificity. This illustrated by the different ways that multisensory integration and internal models of the body are able to manipulate important psychological and even physical elements of the self, the prime example being the rubber hand illusion. Interoception has important implications for some groups of patients, in particular amputees. The rubber hand illusion has shown how outside objects can fairly easily be integrated into the body image. The withdrawal reactions that are elicited f rom participants are the same in kind to those that arise when replacement limbs are under threat.

Othello’s Sinister Side Essay -- Othello essays

Othello’s Sinister Side  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare’s Othello, with its prolonged exposure to the evil mind of Iago, is difficult for some in the audience. Let’s consider the play’s evil aspect.    In the Introduction to The Folger Library General Reader’s Shakespeare, Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar explain the single, evil focus of the drama – the arch-villainy of the ancient:    Othello has been described as Shakespeare’s most perfect play. Critics of dramatic structure have praised it for its attention to the main theme without irrelevant distractions. Many Elizabethan plays had rambling subplots and much extraneous detail to amuse the groundlings. Othello avoids all irrelevancies and the action moves swiftly from the first scene to the denouement. We never get lost in a multiplicity of incidents or a multitude of characters. Our attention remains centered on the arch villainy of Iago and his plot to plant in Othello’s mind a corroding belief in his wife’s faithlessness. (viii)    Even the imagery in the drama has its evil aspect. Kenneth Muir, in the Introduction to William Shakespeare: Othello,   explains the instances of diabolic imagery in the play as they relate to the infecting of the Moor by the ancient:    The same transference from Iago to Othello may be observed in what S. L. Bethell called diabolic imagery. He estimated that of the 64 images relating to hell and damnation – many of them are allusions rather than strict images – Iago has 18 and Othello 26. But 14 of Iago’s are used in the first two Acts, and 25 of Othello's in the last three. The theme of hell originates with Iago and is transferred to Othello only when Iago has succeeded in infecting the Moor with his jealousy. (22) .. ...rsity. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.    Wayne, Valerie. â€Å"Historical Differences: Misogyny and Othello.† The Matter of Difference: Materialist Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Ed Valerie Wayne. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1991.    Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957.    Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. â€Å"The Engaging Qualities of Othello.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Introduction to The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare. N. p.: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1957.    -- -- --. Introduction. The Folger Library General Reader’s Shakespeare: The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. New York: Washington Square Press, 1957.

Stakeholder :: essays research papers

The purpose of this paper is to identify key stakeholder groups in the Air Force. In addition to identifying these stakeholders groups, this paper will include whom in the Air Force marketing and communications programs might affect. The next paragraph will expound of who the key stakeholder groups are.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Key stakeholders for the United States Air Force (USAF) are people in the community, in every town, and every state that make up this country. In addition, other key stakeholders are personnel in congress and even the President of the United States. The United States Air Force’s marketing and communication programs have changed remarkably over the years. Since the birth of the USAF over 55 years ago, the marketing strategy has changed from the draft to the â€Å"Cross into the blue† (Air Force, 2002). In 2002, communication to the public about the United States Air Force was received as the best place to be (Air Force, 2002). â€Å"When you Cross Into the Blue, you realize that everyone counts – that each and every member of the Air Force is in the position to make an impact. The Air Force will work to help you discover where you fit in and how you'll leave your mark. Whether you're in high school ready to join the enlisted ranks and continue your education or in college looking for a career as an officer – we have a variety of exciting and rewarding career paths. But it's up to you to take advantage of them† (Air Force, 2002). The Air Force’s communication program via web site where I retrieved this information continues on and gives listings of career fields that will be right for the stakeholder or consumer feeling excited about being a part of a team and ready to sign-up to cross into the blue. Given the â€Å"new† Air Force communication to the public, the USAF is now marketing education benefits to make people believe by choosing an Air Force career that he or she will have a successful life (Air Force, 2002). For example, the Air Force is relaying that they are dedicated to educational development and will make it easy for a person to build on education throughout his or her career. The Air Force is offering a number of unique academic opportunities and experiences in the Air Force. The public can choose from a variety of colleges, universities, and tech training programs to complete his or her education. Stakeholder :: essays research papers The purpose of this paper is to identify key stakeholder groups in the Air Force. In addition to identifying these stakeholders groups, this paper will include whom in the Air Force marketing and communications programs might affect. The next paragraph will expound of who the key stakeholder groups are.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Key stakeholders for the United States Air Force (USAF) are people in the community, in every town, and every state that make up this country. In addition, other key stakeholders are personnel in congress and even the President of the United States. The United States Air Force’s marketing and communication programs have changed remarkably over the years. Since the birth of the USAF over 55 years ago, the marketing strategy has changed from the draft to the â€Å"Cross into the blue† (Air Force, 2002). In 2002, communication to the public about the United States Air Force was received as the best place to be (Air Force, 2002). â€Å"When you Cross Into the Blue, you realize that everyone counts – that each and every member of the Air Force is in the position to make an impact. The Air Force will work to help you discover where you fit in and how you'll leave your mark. Whether you're in high school ready to join the enlisted ranks and continue your education or in college looking for a career as an officer – we have a variety of exciting and rewarding career paths. But it's up to you to take advantage of them† (Air Force, 2002). The Air Force’s communication program via web site where I retrieved this information continues on and gives listings of career fields that will be right for the stakeholder or consumer feeling excited about being a part of a team and ready to sign-up to cross into the blue. Given the â€Å"new† Air Force communication to the public, the USAF is now marketing education benefits to make people believe by choosing an Air Force career that he or she will have a successful life (Air Force, 2002). For example, the Air Force is relaying that they are dedicated to educational development and will make it easy for a person to build on education throughout his or her career. The Air Force is offering a number of unique academic opportunities and experiences in the Air Force. The public can choose from a variety of colleges, universities, and tech training programs to complete his or her education.

The Gap Between Rich and Poor In Canada :: Canada Economics

National economies are extremely complex. The level of economic development is the major indicator of the place that the country stands on the international economic scene or economic staircase. Many factors are responsible for economic growth and sustainability as well as for crisis and disruption. Nowadays, all the countries of the globe are interconnected and closely intermingled with each other in the net of international economic relations due to globalization. Therefore, Canadian citizens should prevent the gap between rich and the poor to make Canada a greater society. Canada is a country famous for the growth of the national wealth, its transformation into financial and economic, and political leader of the capitalist world. Canada uses any opportunity to take control over new markets, to increase the production and export products and investments. Canada has become a country many people want to invest in; â€Å"people follow stability and strength, and so there's people investing in Canada like they used to invest in England, the United States and German. The world feels our affluence† (Serving Up the City to the Super-Rich 2007). Investment is an integral part of the country’s policy and making investments in an economically strong and stable country like Canada often guarantees the development and preservation of the company’s well-being. Therefore, there is tremendous amount of cash influx from foreign economies into Canada, making more investments in Canadian economy, -like this case of construction of 14 hyper-luxury con dos- accompanied by buying lots of Canadian dollars, thus rising demand for it and making the value of Canadian currency grow. â€Å"There is a stealth influx of foreign capital changing the face of downtown Toronto from the waterfront to Yorkville† (Serving Up the City to the Super-Rich 2007). In Canada today, the middle class is shrinking, while the percent of the rich and the poor continues to grow. The average work hours of Canadian working individuals in April 2009 were 36.2 hours per week, but very large percentage of 9.2% of Canadians still falls in the category of low income. Yet, the number of millionaires and billionaires is growing. In 2002, the number of persons with income of $250,000 and over were 94,020 but in 2006, the number has increased to 144,830 (Statistics Canada). As one of the results of increased number of these rich people, we can now even witness a gigantic project like this: â€Å"Welcome to Toronto's new era of wealth.

Sdadsada

Survey Name: _________________________________ Contact number: ________________ |    Please take a moment to rate NRC2 Garden Resort. Check your chosen answer. Thank you for lending us your time. | | | ExcellentGood AveragePoor Promptness of service Quality of service Transportation to NRC2 Garden Resort Cleanliness of the place Condition of rooms Housekeeping services Facilities of the resort Accessibility of the resort Chapter II Review of the Related Literature â€Å"Website marketing can help level the playing field between chain resorts and independent resorts, according to â€Å"Internet Marketing and Distribution for Resorts. Websites can include professional photography, virtual tours, online videos, booking information and online forms for making reservations. They may also provide invaluable feedback forms so resorts can identify strengths and targeted areas of improvement. Strategic online partnerships with complementary industries, such as airlines, car rentals, or fa re-finding websites, can result in mutual referrals. † â€Å"Resort Internet Marketing is an essential factor in attracting customers to exotic resort locations. Since 2009, online marketing spending has climbed almost 15 percent each year.On the other hand, traditional marketing and print media expenses have been steadily declining at the same time. † â€Å"Television is a great way to promote your resort with many opportunities to gain exposure. Of course there is television advertising, but there is also having your resort as a featured location for a television show or feature film. A resort is also a great place to host an event such as a beauty pageant or televised poker tournament. These methods of exposure highlight a variety of resort amenities. † â€Å"Create value-driven packages for both group and transient market segments.The customers surveyed said that price, not rate, drove their decision. Many people (including myself) enjoy traveling in the off -season precisely because of the value. Keeping this in mind, let’s look at examples:  Ã‚  Unique group packages. This strategy actually works year-round but it is especially important in the off-season. Meeting planners work with a budget and an all-inclusive package means no surprises to spoil a successful event when they are handed the final bill. â€Å"Focus on your website and social media channels. Your website and Facebook business page are a gold mine for communicating with both past and potential guests.Ensure that they reflect your hotel’s personality. Wall postings and customized tabs can be used to post reasons to visit during the off-season and use lots of pictures. Encourage guests who have stayed outside of peak season to post their experiences and get a dialogue started. Offer last-minute specials that are really special and limit the availability. Base it on something amusing and unexpected, for example the rate equals the temperature of the day for the first 10 people who book with a special code or who call a special number.Consider using a customized tab to communicate special offers to groups as well. † â€Å"In a competitive industry, every Hotel and Resort needs an effective online marketing strategy to promote their property, drive traffic to their website and generate guest bookings. We believe that a professional, easy to use and attractive website should be the centerpiece of every Hotel and Resort's distribution strategy. With the arrival of internet Search, traditional marketing outlets such as TV advertising, Radio and Newspapers have become ess and less effective. You just need to look at the print industry in the US, every week there are reports of another traditional media company laying off staff, closing their doors. In a tech-savvy time in which most people expect to find the information they need within just a few clicks of their mouse, a strong internet presence for your property isn't just a necess ity, it's crucial for survival. † â€Å"The resort business is competitive, and most resorts must rely on a strong marketing program to attract customers.As you determine how to bring in new and returning customers, consider how you can find travelers who will be interested in the facilities and types of services you offer. â€Å" â€Å"When marketing your resort, create a brand that helps your customers know who you are and why you are different from other resorts in the area. A brand should communicate the style of the resort, the atmosphere travelers can expect to find and give them clues about how to dress and behave. Your brand should feel like your resort through the use of colors, fonts and image styles. It should communicate the essence of your resort without describing it. †

Blades Inc Solution of Ifm

lend an answer from tutors to this homework question similar a shot Chapter 5 Blades, Inc. Case Use of notes Derivative Instruments Blades, Inc. needs to site supplies 2 months ahead of the delivery date. It is considering an order from a Japanese supplier that requires a compensation of 12. 5 one thousand million waste collec display board as of the delivery date. Blades has two choices barter for two retrieve pickings look ats (since each alternative accept represents 6,250,000 hurt). Purchase one futures contract (which represents 12. million pine away). The futures determine on suffer has historicly exhibited a slight dismiss from the existing get laid regulate. However, the firm would like to use currency excerpts to hem in endureables in Japanese hurt for transactions 2 months in advance. Blades would prefer hedging its yen payable position because it is uncomfortable sledding the position open given the historical volatility of the yen. Nevertheless , the firm would be unforced to remain un-hedged if the yen becomes more(prenominal) perpetual someday.Ben Holt, Blades chief financial officer ( CFO), prefers the tractability that excerpts crack cocaine over forward contracts or financial officer ( CFO), prefers the flexibility that wefts offer over forward contracts or futures contracts because he can let the picks expire if the yen depreciates. He would like to use an use cost that is about 5 per centum supra the existing get by ordinate to ensure that Blades leave cast to pay no more than 5 per-cent above the existing get along rate for a transaction 2 months beyond its order date, as long as the plectrum allowance is no more than 1. per centum of the price it would have to pay per unit when exercising the choice. In general, options on the yen have required a exchange subvention of about 1. 5 part of the summate transaction amount that would be give if the option is exertd. For example, recently the ye n moorage rate was $0. 0072, and the firm purchased a expect option with an achievement price of $0. 00756, which is 5 percent above the existing secern rate. The premium for this option was $0. 0001134, which is 1. 5 percent of the price to be paid per yen if the option is exercised.A recent event caused more uncertainty about the yen s future value, although it did not affect the spot rate or the forward or futures rate of the yen. Specifi cryy, the yen s spot rate was still $0. 0072, further the option premium for a telephone option with an exercise price of $0. 00756 was at one time $0. 0001512. An alter-native squall option is visible(prenominal) with an halitus date of 2 months from now it has a premium of $0. 0001134 (which is the size of the premium that would have existed for the option esired before the event), but it is for a call option with an exercise price of $0. 00792. The table below summarizes the option and futures information available to Blades the opt ion premium for a call option with an exercise price of $0. 00756 was now $0. 0001512. An alter-native call option is available with an expiration date of 2 months from now it has a premium of $0. 0001134 (which is the size of the premium that would have existed for the option desired before the event), but it is for a call option with an exercise price of $0. 00792.The table below summarizes the option and futures information available to Blades Before occurrence After Event Spot rate $. 0072 $. 0072 $. 0072 Option Information Exercise price ($) $. 00756 $. 00756 $. 00792 Exercise price (% above spot) 5% 5% 10% Option premium per yen ($) $. 0001134 $. 0001512 $. 0001134 Option premium (% of exercise price) 1. 5% 2. 0% 1. 5% match premium ($) $1,417. 50 $1,890. 00 $1,417. 50 sum up paid for yen if option is exercised (not including premium) $94,500 $94,500 $99,000 Futures turn off Information Futures price $. 06912 $. 006912 As an psychoanalyst for Blades, you have been asked to offer insight on how to hedge. 1. What argon the advantages and disadvantages for Blades to use currency option contracts and currency futures contracts to hedge its 12. 5 million yen payables respectively? 2. If Blades uses call options to hedge its yen payables, should it use the call option with the exercise price of $0. 00756 or the call option with the exercise price of $0. 00792? What argon differences between these two alternatives? 3.Given the above information, how whitethorn you take advantages of this situation? 4. Assume the measurementised deviation for yen is about $0. 0005. If you conceptualise that the future spot rate will likely be two standard deviations above and below the expected spot rate (0. 006912) by the delivery date, what are your maximum gain and loss for option contracts and future contract respectively? gratify draw a contingency draw for each type of contract and also mark the maximum gain, loss, and a break-even price point for each type of co ntract in your answer. Please show your deliberateness