Margaret Atwood Essay

I came across the quote â€Å"Context is all; or is it ripeness? One or the other†[1] when reading Margaret Atwood’s novel â€Å"The Handmaid’s Tale† for English. I didn’t give it much attention, because since I was 12, I had come to the conclusion that there was no such thing as a â€Å"fact† and every thought depended on other factors for it to be true. However in this essay I’m going to see if my original assumption was true or if there is a way to reach a truth through different branches of knowledge. I’m going to take the definition of â€Å"truth† from the dictionary, solely to have a base for which to compare the rest of the essay to; â€Å"A verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle†[2].Which means that that there are facts that are backed by evidence, such as; it is 14:24 (at the time of writing). However in this case we can apply Atwood’s ‘context is all’, and change it to â€Å"context is location†, as this scenario isn’t necessarily true, seeing that in Sydney the time is 22:25, therefore the truth can be considered relative. Relativism is a doctrine where there is no absolute truth; that truth is always relative to some particular frame of reference, such as a language or a culture[3]. Which brings up a paradox as if someone were to say â€Å"context is irrelevant† meaning the truth would remain a truth in every situation, it would contradict themselves, as that statement would be relative depending on the context. Francis Bacon’s Empiricism or otherwise known perception, is the process of arriving at the truth through sense experience.[4] People use their five senses to arrive at a truth, however depending on the context, the exact same senses can make that truth false. An example that happens to me frequently is; when I look at a shirt, to me it looks black, but then when I put it under a stronger light and look at it carefully it often turns out to be dark blue. It doesn’t mean the senses are â€Å"faulty† or can’t be trusted, but the observation; truth, arrived from the use of perception, isn’t congruent when the context is changed. Another very bizarre example that happened to me last year when I bought my new phone; is before purchasing it, I didn’t know of anybody that had one, but as soon as I had it in my pocket I started realising that a lot of people around me had it as well. Language is the use of characters, symbols, images and sounds as a means of communicating a message.[5] We assume that language is a truth, as we have a general consensus of the different characters, symbols, images and sounds in language. However once again the truth is challenged with the â€Å"context is all† axiom, where in certain cases the truth behind language doesn’t stand. My father told me the following example; when Vice-President Richard Nixon, at the end of the 1950’s was visiting Colombia, he used the commonly known â€Å"OK† hand sign, denoted with a circle formed by the thumb and the first finger, with the remaining three fingers outstretched, to which the Colombian people, thought they were being called assholes. Rene Descartes’ Rationalism is the use of reason, be it inductive or deductive to logically arrive at the truth.[6] Descartes used reason to arrive at his famous; ‘Cogito Ergo Sum’, I think therefore I am.[7] He was asking the question â€Å"How do I know I exist ?† and he deduced by no more than reason that it all boiled down to; I doubt that I exist, therefore I think, ergo I am.  When I first heard this deduction, it seemed to me that it was flawless. However I remember looking around the room I was in at the time; I realised that objects such as the chairs, tables and even trees to an extent, couldn’t deduce their existence like Descartes did, therefore according to his deduction they wouldn’t exist. Once again I came to the conclusion that context will undermine truth.

Organic Foods Are They Really Better for Us? Essay

Consumer food awareness is growing and with it the need of going back to basics. To fulfil needs of these people, hotel restaurants as well as other food outlets starts to use term organic food as a marketing tool. In current market organic products seem to be an easy and quite low-cost means to elevate the prestige of a restaurant. The General Manager of the Savoy Hotel- Kieran Macdonald (cited in Hammond, Shepard 2010) says: â€Å"Luxury has changed in the last few years from the point of how it is defined†¦ it used to something that was very materialistic†¦ and very new. Now people are looking for authenticity – something that has integrity behind it†. INTRODUCTION (continued) Main restrictions in organic food production: * Before a license is granted and on a yearly basis after, all farmers and processors are subjected to rigorous inspections (Bord Bia 2011). * Very limited use of synthetic pesticide, fertiliser, livestock antibiotics, food additives and growth regulators is allowed in organic farming. * Use of genetically modified organism (GMO’S) is completely prohibited * Livestock must be provided with organic feed in a free-range, open-air farm. * At processing stage use of artificial flavourings and colorants is not allowed, only authorised by the European Commission non-organic ingredients, additives or processing aids can be used with strict limit. * Distribution and sales involve proper produce labelling- the producer name and name or code number of the inspection body must be provided. (European Commission, Agriculture and Rural Development ,Organic Farming 2011) All the above would suggest, that choosing organic is the best possible choice that consumer can make, but does the organic food really equal higher quality, more nutrients, better taste etc.? Can consumption of organic food make a difference to our health? Many studies were carried out to answer those questions and I will elaborate on them in later stages of my assignment. NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF ORGANIC FOODS VIA CONVENTIONAL FOODS â€Å"Nutrition and food safety trends are at the centre-of-the-plate this year. Restaurants are updating menus to reflect nutrition policy and trends, consumer desires for variety and quality, and chef innovations† (Restaurant Industry Forecast, National Restaurant Association 2011) A lot of research was conducted in past years in order to differentiate nutritional value of organic and conventional food produce. I will focus this assignment on high demand foods like fruit and vegetable, dairy produce and meat. Fruits, vegetables and grains According to the studies conducted by a certified nutrition specialist Virginia Worthington (2001) an increased amount of several nutrients is present in organic crops compared with their conventional equivalents. These included: * 27% more vitamin C * 21. 1% more iron * 29. 3% more magnesium * 13. 6% more phosphorus * 15. 1% less nitrates than their conventional counterparts. Figure 3 The chart above illustrates the percentage of additional mineral content in organic compare to conventional crops. However, when the research was carried out the following factors (which are proven to have an effect on a nutritional quality of the food) weren’t taken into account: * Quality of soil and fertility usage * Storage methods * Forms of food consumption e. g. fresh, steamed, pureed, cooked from frozen etc. * Climate in different regions of the world (amount of rainfall and sunlight per day) * The method and timing of harvest To get a real picture of a difference in a nutritional value of organic via conventional foods, a large quantity of different origin samples would need to be tested. Findings that take into account the listed above factors were published in a report â€Å"New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods† (Benbrook, Zhao, Yanez, Davies and Andrews 2008, p.42) and state that: â€Å"Yes, organic plant-based foods are, on average, more nutritious in term of their nutrient density†¦ The average serving†¦contains about 25% more of the nutrients†¦than a comparable-sized serving of the same food produced by conventional farming methods. † NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF ORGANIC FOODS VIA CONVENTIONAL FOODS (continued) Milk and dairy produce Another research, carried out on grass feed cows, by Newcastle University in United Kingdom (2008) and published online in the Journal of Science of Food and Agriculture showed that forage-based diet and natural grazing have a significant influence on milk composition. An increase in beneficial fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamins was observed when nutritional values of organic milk and conventional milk were compared. Meats Studies of laboratory animals demonstrate that farm-raised animal’s meat is higher in some fatty acids. Amount of CLA (Conjugated linoleic acid) found in animals fed organically grown diet is five times higher than the once fed conventional diet. Meat and dairy products from organic animals are the richest known source of this fatty acid (Butler 2008) Pastured cattle’s meat is also higher in vitamin E. Even when compared with cattle given supplements of vitamin E, the condensation of this vitamin in organic cow’s meat is twice as high (Kluger, Jeffrey 2010). Lack of day light and fresh organic feed have a significant effect on amount of omega-3 in chicken meat and eggs. 10 times more omega-3 was found in pastured hen’s egg when compared to factory hen’s egg (Kluger et al 2010) . INFLUENCE OF FOODS COMPONENTS ON CONSUMER’S HEALTH Fats and sugars A well-known fact is that today’s generation is getting heavier. One of the reasons for it is a tendency to eat foods witch are high in fats and sugars and low in vitamins and minerals. Another well-known fact is that obese people are more likely to suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and other obesity-related illnesses. According to studies directed by DR. Don Davis (2004) in University of Texas-Austin, the vitamins and minerals concentration of many commonly consumed foods has dropped gradually (figure 4). Figure 4 Vitamins and fatty acids Vitamin E is well known antioxidants and is believed to have anti-aging properties. Eating food naturally reach in this vitamin can lower risk of heart disease and cancer. Fatty acids and CLA in particular might protect against various cancers. In addition omega -3 and 6 reduce risk of heart disease and arthritis and improve mental functions. Research conducted by Swiss scientist Lukas Rist and his team (2006) has found 50% higher levels of CLA in breast milk of mother, whose diet was based on organic milk and meat products. Large human study reported that consumption of organic dairy products is closely connected with risk of eczema in infants being reduced (Kummeling, Thijs and Huber 2008) Pesticides and antibiotics. Some pesticides allowed to be used in food business are proved to be dangerous for health. Findings of another research reveal strong connection between exposure to pesticides and a variety of health effects in humans. The ill effects can differ from headaches, fatigue and nausea to neurological disorders including cancer (U. S. General Accounting Office 2001). An increase in development of drug-resistant bacteria in human body was observed in recent years. Also early-onset puberty in girls is a growing problem. Existence of mentioned conditions is related to antibiotics being used in farming. Organically raised animals and organic practices in general, avoid the abuse of antibiotics (Kluger et al 2010) TASTE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTOR OF CHOOSING ORGANIC FOODS â€Å"While the growth in organic purchases is primarily in the retail category, consumers are demanding these offerings more when they dine out, and restaurant operators need to meet these demands. † Nation’s Restaurant News (2011) Does organic food taste better? Most people say that they cannot taste the difference, but organic isn’t a guarantee of taste. Taste of crops largely depends on quality of soil, weather conditions, treatments used by farmer etc. As taste is an entirely subjective matter, only large scale double-blind taste test would help in finding out if organic crops have better, fresher, more complex flavours than industrial crops do. But without a doubt, abnormally large, excessively engineered tomatoes designed to ripen on the way to a distribution centre will never come close to the taste of its vine-ripened, fresh-picked cousin (Kluger et al 2010). Numbers of people looking for authentic food are increasing with every year. More and more consumers want to grow their own fruit and vegetables, as they fill need of going back to basics. Fruits and vegetables that that can be seen every day in the shops don’t look like ones from grandmother’s garden. Not even one apple with a wormhole makes buyers question their â€Å"realness†. Most high class hotel restaurants recognise the need and importance of providing their guests with fresh, fully nutrient organic food and as a result information of the origin of produce used in preparation of meals is placed on the menu. ETHICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF ORGANIC FARMING A problematic issue, in non-organic agricultural areas, is soil and water pollution. According to findings of the U. S. Geological Survey over 90% of water and fish samples from rivers and nearly 50% of all tested wells contained a minimum of one pesticide (U. S. General Accounting Office 2001). Another shocking but common issue is relates to the way non-organic animals are raised. In order to fatten an animal, so it can be slaughter as fast as possible, a high-calorie, corn-based feed is used. To increase productivity level large numbers of animals are jammed together on factory farms. A cow raised in these conditions might be slaughter after just 14 months, while for a grass-feed cow it can take up to two and a half years before it face the knife (Kluger et al 2010). Last but not least way in which organic farming influence environment is by respecting use of countryside. In order to maintain a balance required by a healthy ecosystem organic farmers use a variety of non-chemical method for the control of pest and weeds. By looking for disease resistant crops, that works the best in particular climate, they contribute in big way to protection of different varieties of dying out of forgotten species. CONCLUSION There is no simple answer to the question asked in the topic of this assignment. First of all, we should remember that the purpose behind organic agriculture is not primarily about human nutrition – it’s more about protecting the environment. The world population is growing, obesity rate continue to climb, people eat more and more food needs to be produced- all of that results in industrial engineering tricks being use in food production. Some of us are aware of the above and choose organic. Unfortunately, because of overuse of agricultural chemicals over past decades, they are all-pervasive in rainfall and water that is held in the soil and in pervious rocks. Due to drift via wind and rain organic crops are also exposed to them, so organic food cannot be a guarantee of 100% toxic free. This assignment confirms that organically-grown plants, animals and dairy products are more nutritious, yet the health effect of eating organic cannot be assess by simple lab test. Monitoring of health of individuals over generations is the only way of finding out if organic is really better. And still a healthy balance, in types of foods eaten, needs to be maintained. Person that throughout the day eats large amounts of organic chocolate and pastries and drink seven organic coffees and have a six pack of organic beer with organic burger and chips for dinner is missing the point. Also restaurants play a big role in creating a healthy eating concept. Good chefs know, that methods of cooking and focusing on seasonal and local products, to minimise the time between harvesting and eating, can be more important than whether a food is organic or non-organic. And finally, before deciding on what to put on our plate, either organic or not, we should always bear in mind a very meaningful phrase: â€Å"You are what you eat†. REFERENCES: Benbrook C. , Zhao X. , Yanez J. , Davies N. , Andrews P. (2008) â€Å"New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods† available: http://www. organic-center. org/science. nutri.php? action=view&report_id=126, [accessed: 10 Oct 2011] Bord Bia-Irish Food Board (2011) â€Å"Organic Food† available: http://www. bordbia. ie/aboutfood/organicfood/Pages/OrganicFood. aspx [accessed 4 Oct 2011]. Butler, Newcastle University (2008), â€Å"Organic Free Grazing Cows Are Cream Of The Crop† ScienceDaily, available: http://www. sciencedaily. com /releases/2008/05/080527101003. htmhttp://www. sciencedaily. com/releases/2008/05/080527101003. htm, accessed: 16 Oct 2011 European Commission, Agriculture and Rural Development ,Organic Farming (2011), â€Å"What is organic farming? † available: http://ec. europa. eu/agriculture/organic/organic-farming/what-organic_en [accessed 04 Oct 2011] Hammond R. , Shepard A. (2010)†The Savoy – a green hotel? † available: http://www. greentraveller. co. uk/blog/savoy-london-green-hotel [accessed 06 Oct 2011] Kluger, Jeffrey. (2010)†What’s So Great About Organic Food? †, Time, Vol. 176 Issue 9, p30-40, available: http://web. ebscohost. com/ehost/detail? sid=e6bef63d-8e95-431c-9fd9-523ebf5edba0%40sessionmgr111&vid=2&hid=119&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d.

Popular Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Popular Culture - Essay Example In most cases, popular culture is used to refer to the cultures of low class citizens as opposed to the official culture of the high in the society. TV shows and other forms of mass media are often used to depict how people in a certain society are expected to behave (Ashby, 2010). Grey’s Anatomy is about the lives of surgical interns who are residents of a fictional hospital known as Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. The series shows the interns as they evolve into experienced doctors under the care of their more experienced mentors. Although the show revolves around the everyday lives of the doctors, it is worth noting that much emphasis is put on their personal lives as opposed to their professional sides. A typical day starts with the interns arguing about who should take care of a certain patient. This ends after the intervention of a hospital superior who is charged with the responsibility of assigning duties to the interns. The main theme of the series is the interacti ons that take place between patients and the doctors as well co-workers (Rhimes, 2005). On the other hand, Family Guy is about the adventures faced by Peter Griffin’s family. Griffin is an American- Irish catholic, a blue-collar worker and has a well-known Rhode Island. In addition, he speaks with a deep Eastern Massachusetts accent. His wife is known as Lois, a homemaker who plays piano. The two have three children, a teenage daughter by the name of Meg. Chris is their teenage and overweight son who resembles his father in several ways. Stewie is the youngest son but he has adult mannerisms. In addition, they have a dog by the name of Brian, who has anthropomorphic characteristics and can engage in human conversations as well as drink martinis (MacFarlane, 1998). Similarities The two TV series are based on relationships between people in a family setting and among friends. Although Family Guy focuses on the lives of the Griffin family, it is of paramount importance to note t hat the relationship between the family and their neighbors is highly explored (MacFarlane, 1998). In Grey’s Anatomy, the resident interns are like a family because they have to stay together until they done with their internship (Rhimes, 2005). Relationships are not easy in the two series because of the differences that exist between the characters. The interns are always arguing about the patient one will attend to and this is evident when Griffin is not happy with the paraplegic police officer, Joe Swanson. This happens despite the fact that Swanson has not done anything wrong to the Griffin’s family, but he is told that he is unwelcome in their restaurant. In addition, family feuds are evident as seen in the way the Griffin’s treat Meg. This is because they believe that she is timid and unable to fit in school. Although Stewie is the youngest, he is considered more intelligent than his elder siblings. Moreover, Brian, the dog is held in high esteem than Meg and Chris despite the fact that the latter resembles his father in several aspects (MacFarlane, 1998). Just as the hospital superiors are the heads of the interns in the hospital, Griffin is the head of his family. The superiors make most of the decisions irrespective of what the interns want. Whenever they find the interns arguing about patients, they do not take time to consult the interns before coming up with a solution (Rhimes, 2005). On the same note, ideas from Meg and Chris are not welcome to the family because

Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Portfolio - Essay Example It is done in five stages namely; Existing skills and knowledge are identified considered to be vital in the current business work; Future skills and knowledge are identified considered to be important in future career; Rating of your ability as strong weak, and somewhere in between; Reviewing of your ability ratings by choosing someone who is not afraid; Finally, utilizing the information to develop the skill and the knowledge areas. Behavioural skills include communication skills, self management and development, mathematical skills, time management, management of tasks, ITC skills, and applying initiative. The technical skills and knowledge is specific and inclines to the area of professionalism in this case business fraternity1 The benefits of skills audit include; There is improved skills and knowledge; Valuable and valid skills of the work place plans; Low development and training costs due to developmental efforts being much focused; Increase in productivity as employees are b etter marched to their positions. There are many techniques used to conduct skills audit based on the strategy and context of the organization. This is alignment is very vital in ensuring consistency with the strategy of the business and the value of the audit skills results. Key stages in skills audit is determining the skills required of each employee. Auditing the actual skills and it involves an individual skills audit and self-audit. On result analysis the audit information is utilized in planning purposes related to training and development2. The current strategies for skills audit implementation of individual self audit include the panel approach, one-on-one approach and finally consultant approach. The pitfalls to avoid when conducting skills audit include; the hallo effect, perfectionism and/ or non-perfectionism, the external factors, and self-perception. The principles of skills audits form the basis upon which skills audits are conducted. They should be strictly followed to ensure a valid and fair process. They comprise of; honesty, validity and reliability, transparency, and constructive feedback Skills Audit table PORTFOLIO ITEM 2: A current personalised CV plus discussion The employability skills that I needed were all geared towards building of my personalized CV as an accomplished business asset. The employability skills are grouped into six broad categories which include communication, customer service, cognitive/ analysis, numeracy skills, manual skills, and finally leadership and management. When you want to improve on the quality of your CV, you must actually start by sharpening the marketable skills and knowledge you posses before embarking on those that are new to you. The employability skills include; Regard to team work, must be able to show cooperation to others on a shared task; Oral communication skills, by showing the ability to give accurate and clear information by appropriately listening to others and making clarifications on yo ur stand; Written communication, having the ability to write well presented essays, letters, and reports for a mixture of audiences; Presentation skills, concisely and appropriately presenting ideas and information; Persuading and influencing, by being able to convince others that the my ideas are worth of consideration; Negotiation, ability to facilitate the reach of an agreement with a group or an

Quality Assurance - Ford Motor Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Quality Assurance - Ford Motor Company - Essay Example cilitated the company to keep abreast with the changes and maintain a competitive edge over their rivals, has been its ability to test new approaches in its business strategy through stringent framework of quality assurance. Montgomery states, ‘..strategy must be a dynamic tool for guiding the development of a company over time’ (Montgomery, 2004). While changing dynamics of the global business has necessitated formation and incorporation of management strategies that go beyond the realm of individual company’s concern, planning for distinctive competencies has given the company market leadership. The company’s focused vision towards quality has helped the organization to maintain its market leadership even in the recessive environment of global economy. The company has made concerted efforts to follow six sigma criteria to meet the challenges of the contemporary time. In the deteriorating market conditions of global market economy, the company is primarily faced with two major issues: efficient and timely production of new products; Quality assurance satisfying ISO 9000 standard that meets the customers’ changing demands within the constraints of rising cost. Quality Assurance can be broadly defined as the activities that deliver high standard of products and services to customers at large, satisfying their requirements and meeting their changing preferences. It ensures that production and delivery of services take place in a manner that delineates the percentage of error or the problems within the production and have requisite standard. ISO 9000 is the name of Quality Assurance standard that are followed globally. The primary requirements of ISO 9000 is to develop a well defined system that incorporates that is well documented and the information is disseminated amongst the various stakeholders so that they can be followed at each step of different business processes. In the contemporary times of cutting edge competition, Juran asserts ‘all quality

Business In Asia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business In Asia - Research Paper Example The Asian Financial Crisis which happened during 1997 in stark continuation with the happening of the global financial crisis rendered significant implications on separate economies of Asia. The paper in this connection endeavours to understand the impacts of the Asian Financial Crisis on economies of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Japan entered the realm of financial crisis owing to the decline in the currency of Thailand. During the era of financial crisis, both the currencies of Asia and America became overvalued leading to mass scale investments in the region of Thailand. Investments which were driven to Thailand mainly catered to the development of construction industry leading to the rise of the property bubble. However, the situation of the financial institutions in Japan deeply worsened which lead to the region’s further dependence on international funds. As compared to the Japanese effect economic and financial situation of other economies like Taiwan and Singapore al so reflected similar slowdowns. The growth of the Asian Financial Crisis also leads to the final demise of economies like Indonesia and Southern Korea. The Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand, the region of Hong Kong and the Philippines Islands were all swept by a huge recessionary wave. Further, the decline in the currencies of the Asian economies also made these economies highly dependent on foreign currencies making them equally expensive. Thus, the financial institutions of these Asian economies started finding it difficult to meet the debt of the external borrowings. (Moe, 2004, pp.231-232). Thus, it is found that the happening of the global financial crisis changed the face of the Asian economies. Leaving the Chinese and Taiwanese economies, the Gross Domestic Product of other Asian economies like Korea, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and the like was adversely affected owing to the wave of global financial crisis. Several policy decisions were taken at the regional level to counter the growing effect of the financial crisis. The

Lesson 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Lesson 2 - Assignment Example the five dimensions are conscientiousness, openness, agreeableness, neuroticism and extraversion. The acronyms CANOE NEOAC, or OCEAN are used to refer to these traits. An aggregate of factors are found under each dimension. First, Openness is a trait which encompasses features such as insight and imagination. It also implies that individuals bearing it generally appreciate emotion, art, unusual ideas and adventure. On a broader spectrum, openness infers to the level of intellectual curiosity, preference or creativity that an individual has. Therefore, people having this trait tend to possess a wide range of interests. Second, Conscientiousness implies to the art of being dependable, organized, act dutifully, having goal directed characteristics with a superb impulse control. People with this trait have a tendency to be mindful of little details. Third, Neuroticism refers to the habit of experiencing unpleasant emotions such as anxiety, anger, vulnerability and anger. This implies that individuals who are high in this behavior/trait often experience sadness and emotional instability. Fourth, the primary attributes under agreeableness are altruism, affection, affection trust and a wider variety of prosoc ial behaviours. Fifth, The common features depicted by people having Extraversion as a trait include sociability, assertiveness and excitability. As such, individuals having this dimension express themselves emotionally. This personality test was designed to help individuals identify some vital personal preferences in how they make decisions or view the world.. The acronym MBTI represents the indicator. The MBTI assessment was developed by Isabel Myers and Katharine Cook. The model uses four dichotomies or preferences; extraversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeing and judging/perception. Under Extraversion/introversion, Myers acknowledged that each and every one of the cognitive functions can

Management Information System Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Management Information System - Research Paper Example In this scenario, it can be said that electronic commerce encompasses a number of attributes and entities and it is not limited to only some entities such as the Internet, extranets, intranets, electronic data interchange (EDI), and various others. Some of the well-known instances of e-commerce comprise communications and collaboration with business associates and customers like that inventory management, transaction processing by means of electronic payment, customer self-service like that allowing them to track order status as well as researching problem resolution, and making use of a business intranet for omnipresent information sharing (Fruhling and Digman). Until recently e-commerce has transformed into a completely new form of business. Internet has changed the way people think and carry out their daily routines everyone simply wants to shop and order from their home using their personal computer, all with a single click. Moreover the latest tools and gadgets which are available online have also made life easier and interesting. Presently most businesses have shifted their focus towards utilizing internet for which they are also making use of internal private domestic intranet. Moreover some organizations are trying to formulate methods to protect business to business networks which are regarded as extranets. All this communication infrastructure and business to business network is recognized as electronic commerce. In short e-commerce deals with internal and external services such as purchasing and selling of products and handling payment matters digitally along with smooth execution of business operations and processes (Khurana, Goe l and Singh). For Organizations: Without a doubt, e-commerce eases the business activities for business organizations such as performing transactions and other associated processes. These improvements in business processes have a straight impact on

The Caregiver Chosen by God Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Caregiver Chosen by God - Dissertation Example The situation becomes even more complicated if the patient is the caregiver’s own mother who had to deal not only with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia but also with a leg amputation. Providing this special patient the continuum of care while ensuring the patient’s comfort and dignity, is profoundly challenging and physically taxing (Lindstrom, et al., 2011). Further confounding the intricacy of caregiving for a family member is the negativity connoted in the workplace for employees who are honest enough to disclose their dual role as caregivers of the elderly at home, in terms of promotions and pay raises (Hendershott, 2000). This researcher had first hand experience in this regard, to the point of having lost both her job and her house. It is not unusual, though, that despite awareness of the travails of caregivers, many good-hearted individuals are being drawn towards this line of work. The essence of care giving dates back to biblical times as recounted by Je sus Christ, himself, in his parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). The good Samaritan took care of a wounded man he passed by on the roadside, offered the man a place to stay and commissioned someone to take care of the man until he is well.

Ethical Issues for Engineers Working in a Design Engineering Company Essay

Ethical Issues for Engineers Working in a Design Engineering Company - Essay Example In the U.S, the National Society of Professional Engineers offers guidelines on ethics and professional conduct of the engineers. Bribery and corruption are prohibited as well as ethical issues like sustainable development and environmental protection (Baura 13). For instance, the American Society for Civil engineers requires members to observe health and safety and welfare of the society while executing their duties. The society also requires the engineers to reject corruption and bribery and offer services to the best of their competence (Christine Van Gorp 91). In a design company dealing with gas and oil exploration, an engineer may be required to design oil and gas rigs. The engineer will be responsible for developing reservoir simulation codes requiring a lot of computations. The engineer will perform test analysis by applying the principles of physics and mathematics and separation of hydrocarbons (King 33). The engineer may be required to offer advice on hydraulic fracturing systems and offer sufficient advice in the design of the oil and gas rigs (Heidersbach 3). Oil wells and rigs are used to get out from the ground to the surface tankers or pipelines up to the refineries. Oilrigs support structures constructed around the oil wells while the drilling takes place (King 51). The rigs may be on the ground or floating on the sea but are used to drill down to the strata that contain the oil deposits. The pumping system is then used to get the oil to the tankers or the pipelines (Heidersbach 2). The engineer is required to hold paramount health and safety welfare to the public by performing duties only in the areas of competence. The engineer is supposed to conduct himself responsibly and lawfully so as to enhance the reputation of the Company and the engineering profession (Baura 16). If the engineer’s judgment is overruled in cases where it endangers the health and safety of the public, the engineer is supposed to immediately inform the employer or client so that appropriate action may be undertaken. The engineer is supposed to inform the professional body in case of violation of the ethical code of conduct (Baura 16). The engineer is not supposed to make material misrepresentations, omit material facts, or make statements that are geared to deceiving the public on health and safety matters (Gunn and Vesilind 59). According to the ethics code of Institute of Engineers of Ireland, engineers are supposed to promote the principles of sustainable development in order to protect the future generations and the ec osystem (Unesco 184). The members are supposed to ensure the engineering projects have minimal adverse health and safety impact to the environment (Fleddermann 59). The engineer should ensure economical use of the natural resources like water wastage and avoidance of pollution (Unesco 185). The engineer is supposed to promote environmental awareness education among the public in order to promote the welfare of the community by avoiding pollution and natural resource wastage (Unesco 186). Companies in the oil and gas industry may cause adverse effects on the environment. Some of the environmental stressors include noise, fugitive dust, vegetation clearance, drilling waste, accidental oil releases, air pollution, sedimentation, and turbidity from the onshore surface runoff (Harris, Pritchard and Rabins 77). The magnitude

Psychology of Racism Essay Example for Free

Psychology of Racism Essay In 1892, a shoe maker named Homer Plessy from New Orleans Louisiana was arrested for refusing to transfer to a railroad car designated for the dark-colored population in the East Louisiana Railroad after he sat in a first class railroad car meant for the white-skinned constituents of the state. Plessy appealed that he should be considered white since only 1/8 of him was African American as it was substantiated in his heritage. According to him, by forcing him to transfer to a different car, the authorities were violating the 13th and 14th Amendments of the United States Constitution which impedes slavery and segregation. From local custody to Supreme Court, Plessy was tried and accused of civil disobedience (Elliot, 2009). The arbiters of the court exhibited linear cognition which disregarded Plessy’s plea of violation of rights and obstinately favored Luoisianas claim that they did not violate such Amendment of the United States Constitution since they have the right to imply regulations and policies in railroad stations that are within their state. The case was denied of opportunities to be studied sufficiently as the justices esteemed and acknowledged that the act of separating the races under impartial rights should be abided, setting aside the sentiments of the colored inhabitants. II In South Campton County Virginia, a group of African American slaves initiated a rebellion that killed about 57 white men, women and children before the military forces and a number of armed civilians were able to arrive and take control. Angered by the murder of almost more than 50 innocent lives, vigilantes eradicated dozens of slaves who were not involved in the insurrection and exiled hundreds of free colored people from their land. The leader of the insurrection was a literate African American slave named Nat Turner who claimed he saw visions of God telling him to commit this act of violence, and with his extraordinary power of persuasion, he was able to compel other slaves to join him. After Turners surrender on October 30, 1831, he and his men were executed. (Bernier, 2010) Following the death of Nat Turner, a year of debate relating to the status of the African American slaves congested the Virginia General Assembly. Although it was considered that they should be relieved from their abject duties as slaves, a systematic arrangement for their freedom was never formed. Nat Turners act of rebellion caused that an anti-literacy law be passed which diminished the African American slaves freedom to communicate and have the opportunity to be educated, thus, almost completely mutilating their already restricted rights. From that historical event which became known as Nat Turners Rebellion or South Campton Insurrection, it can be analyzed that it might not only be a visionary or a delusioned mans whim that caused such barbaric deeds but possibly an act or cry for liberation. Unequal treatment, enslavement for the rest of a mans life and forced labor for very minimal or no wage at all, these are acceptable factors that can be considered as parts of a motive for the rebellion in South Campton. III In 1803, a British convict settlement was established in a Tasmanian aborigini inhabited island called Van Diemens Land. A total of of 65,000 convicted men and women were settled in the island of which most of them were cruelly traumatized and extremely violent. Due to the incompetent procedure of punishment, convicts were able to take flight into the Tasmanian hinterland where they exerted the fullness of their brutality and thirst of blood upon the aboriginis of the island (Turnbull, 1948) Symbolically and appropriately, this event in history can be described as a case of rape as the innocent aborigines were violated of their rights and freedom to live accordingly. Not only were they conquered and treated as slaves in their own land but they were exterminated and murdered like animals. They were robbed of their privilege as humans and left their race at the brink of their extinction. References Bernier, C. M. (2010) Slave Heroism in the Transatlantic Imagination. New York: Routledge, Taylor Francis Group. Elliot, M. (2009) Color Blind Justice: Albion Tourgee and the Quest for Racial Equality from the Civil War to Plessy v. Ferguson. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. Turnbull, C. (1948) Black War : The Extermination of the Tasmanian Aborigines. Melbourne:

Literature Review On Material Management Construction Essay

Literature Review On Material Management Construction Essay Nowadays, many contractors are doing investment to construction project to earn their profits. Unfortunately, there are not all contractors able to earn the profit of the investment in construction projects. This is because some of the contractor does not proper management the materials. For examples, a contractor over order the material such as cements, bricks and reinforcement, the cost will increase and the profits will become low or deficit of the money. Therefore, a systematic material management is very importance in construction site to avoid over ordering and receive low quality materials at the same time can minimizing the cost and maximum the profits Construction materials can be consisting as a major cost for any construction project. This is because 50% or more of the total cost of the project is for purchasing the materials or even storage the materials costs. Thus, efficiently material management is very importance because it will cost a lot of money. Therefore, the contractor should consider the time to order the material when they needs and the time delivery to the site. This is because if the material does not come at the schedule time will cause delay of the projects. In additions, a proper site plan to put the material is very importance for construction site. For example, if the materials such as concrete batch plant putting too far from the build places, it will cause a lot of time for labours to bring the concrete to sites. This will delay the time to complete. Therefore, difference material should locate at the suitable location. This will help to increase the productivity of the construction projects. Now, Almatad Sdn. Bhd is carrying out a housing project which is semi-detached houses and double storey terrace in Johor. The construction site layout has been prepared which illustrates the layout equipment, building materials and access roads for the erection of the building. As a new site manager of the project, I noticed that many problems are carrying out by the plans and those problems will cause the projects to be delay or increase the cost of the projects. Thus, I need to re-organize the layout of the site and improve the site accordingly. 2.0 Literature review on material management According to Arnold, J. R. and Chapman (2004), materials management can define as an organizing function responsible for planning and controlling the materials flow. This means that the materials management is a planned procedure that involves from the initial purchasing, delivery, handling and minimisation of waste of the material with the purpose to ensuring the quality, quantity and time of the requirement should meet accordingly. Material management are the activities involved to plan, control, purchase, expedite, transport, store, and issue in order to achieve an efficient flow of materials and that the required materials are bought in the required quantities, time, quality and at an acceptable price. (Stukhart ,1995) 2.1 Importance of material for a project. Most of the organization are having the same problem which is related to the managing the flow of the materials. Therefore, the efficient management of materials is the main keys issue to determine the success of a completion of a project. In addition, the control to the materials is subject to the difference company and should be handled effectively to complete the project. Building materials cost is the major cost for the project. The cost represented by materials changed and may include between 20 % and above of the total of the project. According to the Stukhart (1995) and Bernold and Treseler(1991) studies, the materials cost can be around of 50% to 60% of the total of project cost. Materials are very important in the operations of the construction site since unavailability of materials can stop the construction work. In addition, unavailability of materials will affect the productivity and cause to the completion of the project. Other that unavailability of materials, the excessive quantities of materials could also create the serious problems to managers in the construction site. This is because storage of materials can increase the costs of the project. In addition, when there are limited spaces in the construction site, the managers have to find other storage from other people to store the materials until they are needed. So it will require the re-handling of materials and the costs of the project. Some of the requirements must take to handle and store the materials properly when they are received. Thus, special attention should be given to materials after they purchased from the supplier. According to Damodara (1999), there is obvious that materials can provide saving when it obtained at the lowest price to the company. In early construction industry, many construction companies experienced that the increase in costs and a decrease in productivity which due to inflation and economic problems. From the research of Stukhart(1995) we can concluded that early construction industry were not using their resources efficiently and that the decrease in productivity is due to poor management in the construction site and materials.(Stukhart, 1995). Material management has been the main issue of concern in the construction industry. By the research of Baldwin t. al (1994) that is more that 40% of the time lost due to bad management in construction site, poor documentation of materials, lack of materials on site when needed and inadequate storage. Therefore, the need for a proper material management system becomes mandatory. Many companies increased their efficiency of materials management to remain the competitive and protected for their future project. They try to reduced their overheads cost and improved their productivity strategies. The saving cost and improvement can run accordingly by materials management. The material available on site and management system is the main point to success a construction project. Better materials management will help to increase the efficiency in the operation in construction site and reduce the overall cost from the total cost of the project. Top management such as project manager, site manager or architect should pay more effort to materials management. This is because available of the materials will affect the successful from their project. When the material is shortages, the high interest rates should pay, rising prices of the materials and competition with other companies. There is a developing attentiveness in the construction industry that material management needs to be solved as an overall integrated administration activity. 2.2 Benefit of material management An effective material management system can bring many benefits for a company in construction industry. From the study of Construction Industry Institute (CII) we can concluded that labor productivity could be improved more than 6% and can produce 4-6% additional savings from the total cost (Bernold and Treseler, 1991). Among these benefits are: Reducing the overall costs of materials Better handling of materials Reduction in duplicated orders Materials will be on site when needed and in the quantities required Improvements in labor productivity Improvements in project schedule Quality control Better field material control Better relations with suppliers Reduce of materials surplus Reduce storage of materials on site Labor savings Stock reduction Purchase savings Better cash flow management 2.3 On-site Material Management Functions Chandler (1987) stated that, the function of site control of materials is to control their transports to the site in order to control the waste and ensure the material available on site in the right time. He also added that, materials control responsibilities can be separated into two areas of actions which is: Action Prior to Site Delivery This may include the following actions: Continuous check on order pending delivery or call for division dates Managing the change in the rate of work movement and evaluate its impact or materials Deliveries schedule to adjust delivery dates accordingly. Inform the supplier about delivery adjustments Discuss and settle with the supplier to adapt to the agreed schedule. Follow up the quantities and specification changes of the materials Chasing a major project in a reasonable period of time before supply assurance. Action after Site Delivery Concerned for materials receiving, checking and payment. These activities and actions provide an important means for controlling the waste of material, and make the right supplier to eliminating the addition cost paid. However, whatever the actions of materials management is running, they need a cooperative involvement of both parties such as head office and the site functions that are primary controlled under the action of site management: Materials Planning and expediting Materials receiving and inspection. Materials handling and distribution. Inventory and inventory control Materials handling and distribution Quality Assurance and Quality control Material Surplus disposal 2.4 Process of the material management There are few steps which can implement the material management to construction site which is planning, purchasing, logistics, handling, stock and waste control. Each process was state out its characteristic as important role for an effective materials management. Planning Materials planning include measuring, ordering and scheduling. It is emphasized that planning is a very important process to increase the productivity, profit, and assisting the time to complete the construction projects. The productivity of the construction project will be hanged if the material planning process is not implemented properly. Purchasing Purchase the materials and have the services from supplier to get the support of operations as the construction project from production to marketing, sales and logistics. For examples, a detailed material list and co-ordination of the purchasing and order of material are significant to assuring the material will available on construction site. Logistics Logistics is a concept that stresses movement of the materials and it involve planning, implementing, and controlling the movement and storage of all things from raw materials to the finished of the product to meet client requirements. During construction project, routing of the materials will affect the cost and time to complete the construction projects. Handling Handling of materials is the flow of the materials to the component that provides for their movement and location. Due to the rate of handling materials, there are some quality needs to be in considerations when designing a materials handling system. The selection of the materials handling equipment is important to enhance the production process, provide the effective operation of manpower, increase production and advance the system to be more flexible. Stock and Waste Control Stock control can categorize as a technique planned to be the cover and to ensure all materials or equipment are available when needed. Stock control include raw materials, processed materials, assembly components, consumable stores, general stores, maintenance materials and spares, work in progress and finished products. It is very important as the construction materials were delivery as requested and with the progression by the proper management of stock control. At the same time, construction activities will generate big amount of the waste and it will cause difficulty to the construction industry. However, with the planning of the material management which is effective will help to reduce the waste of material and increase the profit of the companies. 2.5 Challenging of Materials Management There are few categories that selected in Materials management: The specification and measurement of the materials; Where to locate and thus procurements progression when the instruction of stock is done dealings by the supplier; Transaction to site and inspection of the order as off-loading, and storing onsite; The executive and monetary process of payment; The usage of materials in production on the job site and waste remove production. Process of purchasing and supply of materials, the challenges often occurs when the materials is not equivalent as the ordering purchase, the skipped list out ordering materials, timing of materials arriving, quantities of materials, lack of training and adequate management, lack of Just In Time strategy, lack of communication and relation between contractor and supply chain companies are the main impediments. In construction site the challenging are obvious which are specifically as: Miscarriage to order stock on time which postponements the projects; Mistaken time delivering which interrupts the work schedule; The amount ordering more than the needs; Wrong materials or fault in track of materials leads double work; Scamp on materials from delivery into production; Double handling of materials because of inadequate material. The key to success of a construction management process is to be effective in construction. The main problems lead to ineffective are fault timing of materials received by the site or inadequate quality, improper information for materials arrival to the site stock, missing materials, unavailability of storage space, and waste of labour for materials searching on site. 3.0 Comment and evaluate the existing site layout relation to the positioning of the material on the construction site Timber Concrete batching plant Access Double Storey Terrace Semi-detached houses Temporary Road Materials Scaffold store Temporary building Waste materials Store Reinforcement Materials Store Figure 1: Existing Site Layout 3.1 Evaluation of Existing Site Layout (Figure 1) From the existing site layout plan, many material or place are located wrongly as below. Concrete batching plant is putting too far with the material which is cement and aggregate. It normally must put near to the build place because concrete batching plant is for mix the cement and aggregate to form the concrete. Therefore, if store it at a distance from site, it will take time to transfer the mix concrete to the building places. Waste material should not located at behind of the temporary building. This is because the temporary building used for project manager and others consultant to have meeting or discussion session and to make decision. If the waste materials located behind of it, the sound or odour will disturb the individual which is inside the temporary building. Store should have a check point to have record through the transferable of the materials and instrument of the store. Without the check point, the instrument will easy to be lost and hard to search for the needed. With the check point, it will be easier for the employee to have checking record of the material or instrument. Therefore, the contractor could save up some portable cost as when the needs to rebuy the new instrument or materials which are lost founded through the record in the statement. Entrance to the site or offices was too long as when the truck originates during working hours it will disturbs the labour performance as in their works. Security of the site does not be consider in the site plan, this mean the stolen easy to be happen without any security at the site Each store does not name it accordingly. So when the worker need find some instrument will take times. 4.0 Identify possible problem that may face by site manager relating the materials management on the site There are many problem faces by site manager relating to the materials management on the site which is: Limited space and cost There are limited spaces allowed on construction site for the location of the materials or store. In addition, budget for build the store and materials places is limited. Therefore, Site manager need to solve the problem according their experiences. Late or early delivery the material on site Materials does not delivery in right time will cause problem to site manager. If the materials delivery early, site manager need to arrange a place for put the materials. In another way, if late delivery materials to site, it will cause delay of the work as plan by site manager. Delivery wrong materials, wrong quality and wrong quantity If the materials delivery on site without any checked by site manager, when the materials is needs to be used only satisfy that the materials in the situation of wrong materials wrong quality and also wrong quantity, it will cause delay of the work and increase the cost of the projects. Theft or spoil when the material is needed. When the materials does not put or keep accordingly, it will cause theft or materials spoils happen. Therefore, the site manager needs to take extra cost to purchase the new materials or instruments. Waste material increase When the materials does not keeping in the safety place, the materials will be spoils then increase the waste materials. As example when the cement just located at site without any cover, when rain the cement will spoils. Poor site layout When the site layout does not plan accordingly, it will cause many trouble to the site manager and workers. For examples, the concrete batching plant located far from the site, it will take time for worker transfer the concrete to the site so it may cause delay of work as time table. 5.0 Proposed new site layout to improve the existing site layout Waste materials Reinforcement Timber Joint shop Temporary Road Aggregate Store Concrete batching plant Double Storey Terrace Semi-detached houses Security Check Access Car Park Temporary building Check Point Materials Materials Scaffold store Instrument Store Safety Equipment Store Figure 2: New Site Layout 5.1 Suggested Improved Layout (Figure 2) As a site manager, I will suggest the new site layout as shows in Figure 2 which is have some changes of the position from existing site layout plan and addition new locations, which is Concrete batching plant moves to the site and will have a temporary aggregate storage to put cement and aggregate. This will help to increase the work daily because the labour no need to move the concrete from far to the site. At the same time, when have the rain, the cement can just located at the aggregate stored without scared the cement will be damage. All storage should name according to the type of thing they put, therefore it wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be mixed up with other materials and easy to find out the equipment or instrument when needs. The storage from new site layout all already named accordingly such as aggregate storage, instrument storage and safety equipment storage. Aggregate storage is just for temporary for putting the cement, piles and aggregate. Instrument storage is for putting machine and instrument. Safety equipment storage is for putting some safety equipment such as signboard, helmet, safe boots and others. Reinforcement and timber can be located together besides of the joint shop. Therefore, the labour can easy take out timber and reinforcement to do the joint without carry from far places. It helps to save time and increase the daily work. Addition a car park for parking. Therefore, the labour can park their car in safety places without any extra fee and will perform will when work because no need scare the summons when parking outside. Addition a security check in the main entrance. It is necessary to have a proper guard in the entrance to keep track of all visitors to the project. Therefore, the safety of the internal site and the materials will be protected. Addition a check point as the guard for material, instrument, safety equipment and scaffold. The main duty of the check point is received and checks the materials according to quality and quantity which order by the site managers. In addition, it also helps to record and distribute the materials or instrument according to the needs of the site. 6.0 Suggestion/recommendation that will give strong impact on the material management process in the future based on the case study The suggestion that will give strong impact on the material management process is the top management of contracting companies should encourage their development using materials management systems in their construction project. They can make some reward for their employee to attend training courses of construction materials management. So they can save more effort and time to achieve more exact results. Besides, the site manager should arrange the waste materials accordingly by recycles and without recycles. For examples, some waste materials from reinforcement can recycle. Therefore the site manager should correct it at a place and sell the recycle factory. This method can help site manager to cover back some cost even is less but at the same time will decrease the waste materials from construction. In additions, concept of Just In Time (JIT) should apply in materials management. The JIT idea originates from the manufacturing sector. It helps to smoother the manufacture process through the efficient management of materials such as providing the right materials with right quantities and quality, just in time for production in manufacturing sector. By applying the concept of JIT, it can help to improve the movement of materials from the suppliers to the construction site. With the JIT management system, the materials maybe delivered to site according schedule or just the day before. Health and safety should be provides according to the health and safety handbook. Even it is costly to provide that safety equipment but it is very importance to the worker determined their safety. So that when they are working, the accident can be secured accordingly. In addition a successful construction project is having the zero accident in construction site. So the health and safety is very important in construction site. The temporary facilities should provide accordingly to the project. The project manager should select the temporary facilities some as offices, canteen, and rest room for worker and other. It should estimate the size according to the site space and the needed of the people. In addition, a proper management of temporary facilities will increase the productivity in construction site. 7.0 Conclusion In conclusion, material management is the main key for success a construction project. This is because the cost of materials is represented more than 60% or above cost from the total cost of project. Therefore, with the effective management of the materials, the company can save more than 6% or above of the cost from a project. Therefore, the materials management method must apply in construction site to guide the materials. With the proper arrangement of the materials will help contractor minimum the cost and maximum their profits. Besides, the proper site plan is very important to the construction site. The location of the materials, storage and other temporary facilities should located according the efficient of the construction work. This will help the employee complete their work as schedule by the site manager without any addition of unnecessary work. When the productivity is high, the project cans completion of the time given by the client or early from the completion date. In addition, the top management should give their employee attending the course regarding materials management. This will helps them arrange the materials accordingly to increase their future project and arrange the site layout according to the needs of construction project. Health and safety also is a part of importance in construction site to provide zero accident. It should follow according to hand book of health and safety. This is because the construction site is the risky site, when the health and safety can be determined on site; the worker will feel secured and confident to perform their work as well as possible. Successful management of construction resources has to be based on updated information and processed utilizing a well-designed construction resources management system.

Effect of Alpha-galactosidase on Digestive System

Effect of Alpha-galactosidase on Digestive System Janaaron Aquino    The Effect of the Enzyme, Alpha-galactosidase inside Beano, on the Digestive System Problem To use the alpha-galactosidase enzyme in Beano to examine the effect of the enzyme in the digestive system at different temperatures and to find the glucose concentration at those temperatures which represents the efficiency of the enzyme under the various temperatures. If different temperatures of Beano solution are tested, then the temperatures closest to human body temperature will extract more glucose than other temperatures because of the fact that the human body has adapted to operate at an optimum temperature. Background The human body has several complex systems that fulfill essential goals the human needs to survive. Each system has a different procedure for the body and works individually or with other systems to perform that action. One of the human body systems is the digestive system. There are several steps that come into play when discussing the system, but in short, the  digestive system turns the food that humans eat into energy. In the digestive system, parts and organs include salivary glands, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. Digestion is the breakdown of large food particles into smaller molecules that are easy to absorb into the bloodstream (Gureco, 2015).This experiment focuses solely on the transfer of glucose from food consumed into the body. What does this food do for the human body? The path of the food being digested is as followed. When food enters the mouth saliva helps break it down. It goes down the esop hagus and enters the stomach where it is broken down further by acid in order to be able to extract nutrients from the food. It enters the small intestine where the nutrients are absorbed and goes through the large intestine where water is absorbed in order to create a stool (defecation) so that it can exit the body via the anus. Digestion occurs in which the rate and extent of sugar release from available carbohydrates, by simulating physiological processes occurring in the mouth, stomach and small intestine (Woolnough, 2010). The focal point of this experiment is to examine the glucose concentration with the help of alpha-galactosidase which all takes place in the path of digestion. To start off, the food (or food solution) used in this experiment was a solution of broken down refried beans. The enzyme Beano was used specifically for this experiment because, as the name suggests, Beano is made specifically for digestive assistance with beans. Beans have a tendency to cause stress in the human digestive system. The Beano was used with the refried beans to digest the beans easily. This allows an easy pathway for the glucose to be broken down and for the human body to absorb the glucose. According to a journal abstract written by RJ Levin, The glucose, galactose, and fructose produced are absorbed across the e nterocytes [cell of the intestine] of the upper half of the villus [increase of surface area in order to absorb more nutrients] (Levin, 1994) In more specific terms, foods are carbohydrates called oligosaccharides. In the case of this experiment, refried beans were used as the oligosaccharides. Oligosaccharides are groups of two to ten monosaccharides bonded together to form the carbohydrate. When entering the body, the enzyme called salivary amylase (most commonly known as human saliva) starts the chemical process of digestion of food. The enzyme breaks down the oligosaccharide carbohydrate polymers into monomers called monosaccharides. When oligosaccharides are broken down by digestion, a monomer called monosaccharides are produced. This is because multiple saccharide polymers are broken down into a simple sugar. Included in a humans digestive system are living microbes in the large intestine that carry out the process of breaking down the carbohydrates. These microbes in human in testines are necessary because the body needs to break down the food into monosaccharides to obtain the nutrients needed for processes such as cell repair, growth, and most importantly energy. The breaking down of the oligosaccharides are essential because The biological roles of oligosaccharides appear to span the spectrum from those that are trivial, to those that are crucial for the development, growth, function or survival of an organism (Varki, 1993). However, the refried beans mentioned have starch in which these microbes produce an uncomfortable and bloated feeling like the aforementioned stress that beans cause. Although the following experiment was done on a different species an abstract suggests that mammals that consume soybeans may suffer from a gastrointestinal hypersensitive reactions involving major disturbances in digestive functions (Sissons, 1982). The use of Beano in this experiment examines the effect of the alpha-galactosidase at varying temperatures as the inde pendent variable which assists the digestion of refried beans. The alpha-galactosidase is used to pinpoint the temperature in which glucose concentration is high or low as the dependent variable. Data  and  Observations      Ã‚   Figure Results  and  Discussion The graph illustrates several temperatures in which the solution of Beano and refried beans were tested. Similarities and differences can be observed across multiple of the Beano solution mixtures at the varying temperatures. Some of the lines that represent each temperature stand out more than others. It can clearly be seen that relatively high temperatures of the refried bean solution and Beano cannot extract much glucose from the solution itself. High temperatures that did not have a high glucose concentration included temperatures that ranged from 60oC to 90oC whose maximum glucose concentration did not reach over 0.50%. This outcome can also be predicted for any temperature higher than those experimented with because if 90oC did not extract any glucose, anything higher will do the same. The same outcome can be seen with the lesser temperature of 30oC, in which the concentration of glucose did not reach over 0.50% in the course of 25 minutes. Relatively high and low temperatures of refried bean and Beano solution extracted glucose at a lower rate or did not extract any glucose at all. In comparison, two temperatures of the solution stood out more than the others. The Beano solution skyrocketed at temperatures of 40oC and 50oC. It is clear that these two temperatures were different from the others. The reason behind it? Well the optimum temperature for digestion ranges from 37oC and 44oC. Relatively close to the aforementioned temperatures of the solution, is it not? This is because body temperature is approximately 37oC and this is the temperature in which the body functions best. Temperature gets too hot? Humans get a fever. Temperature gets too low? Humans start to internally develop hypothermia. Both indicate that the body is not fully functional. The temperature of 37oC is closer to 40oC than it is to 50oC. Figure 1 indicates that the Beano solution at 40oC had a higher slope which exemplifies the fact that digestion works best when near the body temperature of approximately 37oC. According to a news website, The body has sensors with memory, or its linked to the brain, and immediately it sense the food in the stomach has temperatures and pH outside the optimum range, it uses the energy and acids stored in the body to regulate the right conditions for the optimum digestion. This further exemplifies why the Beano solution of 40oC and 50oC worked best compared to the other five temperatures. The experiment proves the efficiency and effectivity of alpha-galactosidase inside Beano impacts the rate of glucose concentration of refried bean solution at varying temperatures of 30oC to 90oC. Analysis Oligosaccharides are groups of two to ten monosaccharides bonded together to form a carbohydrate. Carbohydrates are found in all foods that a human consumes. They consist of the sugars, starches, and fibers found in food and are made primarily of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. When oligosaccharides are broken down by digestion, a monomer called monosaccharides are produced. This is because multiple saccharide polymers are broken down into a simple sugar (monosaccharide). The enzyme called salivary amylase breaks down these carbohydrate polymers called oligosaccharides into monomers. Salivary amylase, which is also known as saliva, breaks down starch when chewing food. As food is consumed, saliva inside the mouth starts the process of digestion by breaking down the food as humans chew. This allows the food to be broken down for glucose extraction and also breaking down the food for the esophagus. If food were not to be chewed, it cannot enter the esophagus and if it does, it will be difficult to swallow which can lead to respiratory injuries. In the human body, intestines have microbes that fulfill certain needs for the digestive system. These microbes in human intestines are necessary because the body needs to break down the food into monosaccharides to obtain the nutrients needed for processes such as cell repair, growth, and most importantly energy. In all, digestion is essentially important because of the advantages it gives to us in the form of energy. Without the energy produced from consuming, a human body cannot be fully functional. In the experiment, the enzyme, Beano, worked most efficiently at a temperature of about  40oC. As mentioned in discussion, this is because the optimum temperature for human digestion is approximately 37oC. That temperature is linked to the brain as a the human body temperature in which the human body operates at its best. Beano working most efficiently at 40oC can be explained because that temperature is approximately body temperature. Other varying  temperatures are not quite as efficient as body temperature because the human body breaks down glucose at its best. On the contrary, Beano worked least efficiently on the refried beans at an approximate temperature of 90oC. The reason behind this is that 90oC is way too hot for digestive organs to obtain nutrients. In turn, glucose cannot be absorbed which explains why the line in Figure 1 which represents 90cC did not increase throughout the course of the entire twenty-five minutes. Alpha-galactosidase is a glycoside hydrolase enzyme that is inside Beano extract to make it work. The enzymes in Beano helps with digestion, bloating, and reducing gas by increasing the rate of digestion. In the experiment, Beano was mixed with refried beans to increase the rate of glucose extraction from the beans. Refried beans were used because the starch inside the beans is difficult to digest which causes troubles such as methane gas (farting). The Beano was used with the refried beans to digest the beans easily. Another reason why the refried beans were used is because the enzyme, Beano, was created specifically for beans as beans are foods that are typically difficult to digest. When experimenting with different independent variables, it is better to have all lines on the same graph. Why? Well the graph of Figure 1 was used to compare different glucose concentration at different temperatures. Mentioned several times before, about 40 degrees Celsius worked best because it is body temperature. In this case, the line that represented 40oC can be compared to the other varying temperatures because of the fact that all of the lines were put on the same graph. In a lab very similar to the Beano experiment, peas were used instead of refried beans. The lab had the same concept and measured glucose concentration over time. Instead of using different temperatures for each line, the peas were differentiated by 25% pea extract solution,  50% pea extract solution, and 100% pea extract solution. All three solutions were tested at a temperature of 25oC. Each line increases as opposed to the lines of Figure 1 because it does not include temperature and it is different solutions being digested over time. It can be concluded that the 100% solution was digested the best. References Varki,A. (1993). Biologicalrolesof oligosaccharides:allof thetheoriesarecorrect[Abstract]. GlycoBiology.RetrievedDecember20, 2016, from http://glycob.oxfordjournals.org/content/3/2/97.short Sissons, J. (1983). Effectsof soya-beanproductson digestiveprocesses inthegastrointestinal tractof preruminantcalves[Abstract].41(1), 53-53. RetrievedDecember20, 2016, from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-nutrition-society/article/div-classtitl eeffects-of-soya-bean-products-on-digestive-processes-in-the-gastrointestinal-tract-of-prerumina nt-calvesdiv/829E6E65CF3E213E31E10230E100A3C8. Levin,R.(n.d.). Digestionandabsorptionof carbohydratesfrommoleculesandmembranesto humans.[Abstract].ClinicalNutrition.RetrievedDecember20, 2016, from http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/59/3/690S.short Gureco.HumanDigestiveSystem DigestiveEnzymes andDrinkingColdWaterafterMeal. (2015, June 24). RetrievedDecember20, 2016, from http://hubpages.com/health/Human-Digestive-System-Digestive-Enzymes-and-Drinking-Cold-W ater-after-Meal Woolnough. 1.W. (2010). The Effect of a Brief Salivary a-Amylase Exposure During Chewing on Subsequent in Vitro Starch Digestion Curve Profiles. Retrieved December 21. 2016. from http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/11/8/2780/htm

Individuals Suffering from Alcohol/Substance Abuse and Mental Illness E

Individuals Suffering from Alcohol/Substance Abuse and Mental Illness In this day in age, there are many diseases that one can contract. Sometimes a person contracts a disease because it was contagious, and others because they are genetically prone to it. Still others contract diseases and disorders in ways that are not clear to doctors and medical researchers. In recent years, alcoholism and substance abuse have been labeled as diseases because of new research findings that doctors have discovered regarding the biological and psychological factors causing someone to become an alcoholic or a substance abuser. Anyone who has a friend of family member who suffers from any form of substance abuse knows the extreme difficulty of helping the suffering individual seek help and recover. The same goes for individuals suffering from a mental illness. In the past two decades doctors have discovered that at least 50 percent of mental ill individuals in this country also suffer from either alcoholism or substance abuse. (4) Some studies indicate that this percentage translates to 7.2 million individuals between the ages of 18 and 54 are suffering from both a substance abuse problem and a mental illness. (2) These numbers are simply staggering. Many of these numbers apply to the adolescent demographic in particular, who the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) say are most prone to having a mental illness "...that may in fact lead to self-medicating with street drugs and alcohol." (1) NAMI's fact sheet on Dual Diagnosis also states that mental health professionals are discovering Dual Diagnosis in such high rates that they have come to expect that individuals with a substance abuse problem will also have a p... ...sorder by the general population, it will become easier to identify multiple problems in an individual family member or friend, and aid them in seeking treatment. Sources Ccited: 1) National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), general information on Dual Diagnosis http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Child_and_Adolescent_Action_Center 2) The Dual Diagnosis Pages , Dual Diagnosis Conference Reports http://www.toad.net/~arcturus/dd/pepp2.htm 3) Kathleen Sciacca's website , leading resource on treatment methods and program sites http://users.erols.com/ksciacca/ 4) National Alliance for the Mentally Ill , Fact Sheet on Dual Diagnosis http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=54&ContentID=23049 5) About.com article on Dual Diagnosis http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/dual/a/aa981209.htm Individuals Suffering from Alcohol/Substance Abuse and Mental Illness E Individuals Suffering from Alcohol/Substance Abuse and Mental Illness In this day in age, there are many diseases that one can contract. Sometimes a person contracts a disease because it was contagious, and others because they are genetically prone to it. Still others contract diseases and disorders in ways that are not clear to doctors and medical researchers. In recent years, alcoholism and substance abuse have been labeled as diseases because of new research findings that doctors have discovered regarding the biological and psychological factors causing someone to become an alcoholic or a substance abuser. Anyone who has a friend of family member who suffers from any form of substance abuse knows the extreme difficulty of helping the suffering individual seek help and recover. The same goes for individuals suffering from a mental illness. In the past two decades doctors have discovered that at least 50 percent of mental ill individuals in this country also suffer from either alcoholism or substance abuse. (4) Some studies indicate that this percentage translates to 7.2 million individuals between the ages of 18 and 54 are suffering from both a substance abuse problem and a mental illness. (2) These numbers are simply staggering. Many of these numbers apply to the adolescent demographic in particular, who the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) say are most prone to having a mental illness "...that may in fact lead to self-medicating with street drugs and alcohol." (1) NAMI's fact sheet on Dual Diagnosis also states that mental health professionals are discovering Dual Diagnosis in such high rates that they have come to expect that individuals with a substance abuse problem will also have a p... ...sorder by the general population, it will become easier to identify multiple problems in an individual family member or friend, and aid them in seeking treatment. Sources Ccited: 1) National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), general information on Dual Diagnosis http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Child_and_Adolescent_Action_Center 2) The Dual Diagnosis Pages , Dual Diagnosis Conference Reports http://www.toad.net/~arcturus/dd/pepp2.htm 3) Kathleen Sciacca's website , leading resource on treatment methods and program sites http://users.erols.com/ksciacca/ 4) National Alliance for the Mentally Ill , Fact Sheet on Dual Diagnosis http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=54&ContentID=23049 5) About.com article on Dual Diagnosis http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/dual/a/aa981209.htm

Franny And Zooey And The Razor :: essays research papers

Franny And Zooey & The Razor’s Edge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many novels use religion as the central object of their plot. Franny and Zooey, by J.D Salinger and The Razor’s Edge, by W. Somerset Maugham both display religion as having they key role in their novels. Religion is the main guide in Franny and Zooey and The Razor’s Edge for the search of meaning. During the search for meaning the two main characters Franny Glass and Larry Darrel, use religion as an escape from everyday life and from bad memories. Secondly, these two characters put important factors of their lives on hold, which leads their loved ones to disagree with their search for meaning. Nevertheless, both characters benefit from their religious experiences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both Franny Glass of Franny and Zooey and Larry Darrel of The Razor’s Edge turn to religion as an escape rout from their everyday lives and disturbing memories. They have become annoyed and dissatisfied with their ordinary lives and the individual values and goals in their everyday lives. While Franny was dining with her boyfriend, Lane, she describes the atmosphere around her and how she feels about the theatre department and how sick she is of everyone close to her. “I’m not afraid to compete. It’s just the opposite. Don’t you see that? I’m afraid I will – compete – that’s what scares me. That’s why I quit the theatre department. Just because I’m so horribly conditioned and people to rave about me, doesn’t make it right. I’m ashamed of it. I’m sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody. I’m sick of myself and everybody else that wants to make some kind of splash.';1 This also occurs in The Razor’s Edge. After Elliot Templeton’s death, Larry describes how worthless Elliot’s life really was. “An old, kind friend. It made me sad to think how silly, useless, and trivial his life had been. It mattered very little now that he had gone to so many parties and has hobnobbed with all those princes, dukes, and counts. They had forgotten him already.';2 Both of theses examples show how, Franny and Larry do not want to be a part of the stylized like of their societies. Franny was part of a large family in which each sibling was an actor or actress at one point in their lives. Franny was expected to lead a very prestigious life. Attending university in honors program, and becoming a wonderful actress.

Essay --

Applying Information Security and SDLC to Business BIS320 June 4, 2012 â€Æ' Introduction Books-A-Million is a good representative business which faces numerous IT security challenges and serves thousands of customers annually from local locations as well as through internet sales. Books-A-Million has seen declining sales in recent years while competitor Amazon.com has seen growth through extremely strong internet sales as well as innovative applications which recommend selections to customers. Our team has made recommendations to establish a new technology application similar to Amazon’s offering to increase Books-A-Million competitiveness and regain lost sales. Our team has also reviewed multiple security risks and developed a preventive plan as well as disaster recovery plan in the event of a security break or other disaster. Books-A-Million In 1917 starting out as a street corner newsstand in Florence, Alabama Books-A-Million (BAM) was founded. The corporate offices are now based in Birmingham Alabama. Books-A-Million Inc. has since grown into the nation’s 3rd largest book retailing chain (behind Amazon and Barnes and Noble). The company presently has 257 stores located in 31 states, including the District of Columbia. BAM 2012 Annual Report confirms â€Å"of the 257 stores, 204 are superstores that operate under the names Book-A-Million (BAM), Books & Co. and 2nd & Charles, and 53 are traditional stores that operate under the Bookland and Books-a-Million name†. In addition to retail stores the organization comprises of an e-commerce subsidiary operating as booksamillion.com and American Wholesale Book Company (a book wholesale and distribution division). The company’s mission statement â€Å"books are just the beginning† ... ...eview (2012) Books-A-Million Review, Retrieved from: http://www.givemeareview.com/online-book-stores/BooksAMillion.html Market Watch, The Wall Street Journal (2012) Annual Financials for Books-A-Million Inc.Retrieved from: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/bamm/financials SearchSoftwarequality, 2009 retrieved from www.searchsoftwarequality.com ScienceDaily, 2010 retrieved from http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/definition/systems-development-life-cycle The Free Library, Business Wire (2002) Books-A-Million to Install Wincor Nixdorf's BEETLE Point-of-Sale Systems At 204 Stores. Retrieved from: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Books-A-Million+to+Install+Wincor+Nixdorf%27s+BEETLE+Point-of-Sale...-a081772964 UAB. Culverhouse College of Commerce (2012). Capstone Team Projects. http://cba.ua.edu/mis/undergraduate/capstone-experience/projects

Term Paper, Rizal

TO THE YOUNG WOMEN OF MALOLOS AN ESSAY BY DR. JOSE P. RIZAL (TERM PAPER) PATRICK JAMES D. CLEMENTE MC21 A woman, what is a woman? Woman plays a very important role in our society. They are the light of the family, the one who is responsible for the acts of their children, the first teacher of each and every child. But what do you think will happen to a country if almost every woman is acting like a slave? Being manipulated? Believes in fake sancity and no power by themselves?If that is the case, then what would they be? They would be a big failure. Once in the history of the Phillipines, there is a man who opened the eyes of each and every women.. it was doctor Rizal. He did it by the way of sending a message to our country women†¦.. Jose Rizal’s legacy to Filipino women is embodied in his famous essay entitled, â€Å"To the Young Women of Malolos,† where he addresses all kinds of women – mothers, wives, the unmarried, etc. and expresses everything that he w ishes them to keep in mind. To the Young Women of Malolos† was written by Rizal when he was in London, in response to the request of Marcelo H. del Pilar. The essay was originally written in Tagalog then later on translated to English. The essay contains inspirational messages for the women of our country. It also points out, almost everything about the issue of mistreating the women in our country. Rizal wrote the essay to open up the eyes of our country women. That essay has been a big breakthrough for the women in the Phillipines.It served as their stepping stones in obtaining their goals. It helped them see what they are missing, thir flaws and almost everything. Like for example is why do they believe on everything the friars have told them. Rizal wrote the essay very smooth and enough for the women of our country to see what is really happening and what should be done. On the essay To the Young Country Women of Malolos, Rizal dug out a lot of issues about our country, an d what is happening to the women in out country.A lot of issues were discussed and some of it was– The rejection of the spiritual authority of the friars – not all of the priests in the country that time embodied the true spirit of Christ and His Church. Most of them were corrupted by worldly desires and used worldly methods to effect change and force discipline among the people, especially to the mothers. A lot of mothers had been completely manipulated by the friars, if the mothers were manipulated it also means that their children will also be affected. Another thing that Rizal pointed out

Effects of Europe’s Colonization of Africa Essay

Imperialism is the political, economic, and social control by one country over another country. In the 1800’s, many European countries began their imperialism of most of Africa. But when the Europeans were finally forced out, the government, economy, and social life were in ruins because a lack of concern by the Europeans, and their hasty decisions. The Europeans ignored the social effects on the African people completely. When the new â€Å"borders† of Africa were drawn at the Berlin Conference, of which no African people had any input, the Europeans drew the lines according to what they wanted, and not what the African people had already established. The effect of this was that many ethnic and religious groups, and even sometimes families, were split up, causing mass havoc and chaos. The Europeans also decided that they were going to implement their own religion into the African peoples. Many times, if an African resisted, he would be beat for his religious beliefs because he would not convert to Christianity. Mostly, this only angered the African people. Overall, there was simply a total disregard for African life throughout the imperialism of Africa. Many Europeans had views that were contradictory. One such example is Henry Morton Stanley. Although he claimed to accept the Africans, he often portrayed them as childlike and ignorant. However, he was the ignorant one, not realizing what he was saying. Maybe it was not that he did not realize what he was saying, but he was trying to satisfy one group, while portraying his true personality to another. The political impacts of imperialism are probably the most widespread. The way the borders were drawn has created several civil wars that still rage on today. The lack of concern on the Europeans’ part created a huge problem when they left; they had made the borders so that previously warring tribes were placed in the same place, creating havoc. Also, few Africans had a strong governing power to begin with, and the leaders did not know how to deal with the economic mess, nor the social mess, because their knowledge and resources were so limited. Another huge problem was deciding who would be in power. This goes back to the civil wars and lack of concern on the  Europeans’ parts; they had made the borders so that previously warring tribes were placed in the same place, creating havoc. This led to the economic and political problems that still exist in Africa today. Economically, the Europeans depleted many of the resources that Africa had. The countries went in, plundered what they wanted, and sold it to their home countries, with the Africans receiving none of the profit. This can be likened to someone discovering a gold coin in a neighbor’s backyard, but declaring that it was their’s because they found it. This wouldn’t happen most places, but since the Europeans were the ruling powers of the time, there was no one to stop them. But what resources the Europeans didn’t completely plunder, they didn’t teach the Africans how to effectively make a profit from them. The Africans relied on the Europeans for their economy, because before their ethnic and religious groups had been separated, there was no need for an economy. But since the different areas had been reestablished as countries with peoples within its borders that fought, one had to be established. The Africans had no knowledge of how to run an economy, and as a result, there is an economic problem that still exists in Africa today. The biggest economic impact on Africa was also a social impact. Slave trade. It is probably one of the most significant issues to ever be written as history. The slave trade was the biggest exploit of Africa by the Europeans. Seeing that the Americans needed manpower for their large agricultural-based economy, the Europeans saw yet another economic road to riches. The Europeans thought of the Africans as inferior, and seeing that they could get ride of some of the resistance, they began to sell the Africans to plantation owners. This produced money for the Europeans, and separated many African families forever. Looking back on this problem, had the Europeans shown a little bit more concern for the Africans and thought about the consequences of their actions, the social, economic, and political problems that exist today in Africa would be lessened or even non-existant.

Importance of Leadership

Chapter 1 The Importance of Leadership D. Quinn Mills Leadership How to Lead, How to Live  © 2005 D. Quinn Mills. All Rights Reserved. Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live Few things are more important to human activity than leadership. Effective leadership helps our nation through times of peril. It makes a business organization successful. It enables a not-for-profit organization to fulfill its mission. The effective leadership of parents enables children to grow strong and healthy and become productive adults. The absence of leadership is equally dramatic in its effects. Without leadership, organizations move too slowly, stagnate, and lose their way. Much of the literature about organizations stresses decision-making and implies that if decision-making is timely, complete, and correct, then things will go well. Yet a decision by itself changes nothing. After a decision is made, an organization faces the problem of implementation—how to get things done in a timely and effective way. Problems of implementation are really issues about how leaders influence behavior, change the course of events, and overcome resistance. Leadership is crucial in implementing decisions successfully. Each of us recognizes the importance of leadership when we vote for our political leaders. We realize that it matters who is in office, so we participate in a contest, an election, to choose the best candidate. Investors recognize the importance of business leadership when they say that a good leader can make a success of a weak business plan, but that a poor leader can ruin even the best plan. 10 The Importance of Leadership Who Will Gain from Leadership? Do you want to be a leader? Or, if you’re already a leader, do you want to improve your leadership? Do you want to affect what other people do—to help them accomplish important goals? Do you want to point the way in your organization? Do you want to climb the promotion ladder to positions of higher authority and greater pay? Leadership will make these things possible. You should read this book if: †¢ †¢ You are interested in leadership and how it affects you. You plan to lead an organization or are already in a leadership position. You are interested in developing yourself to meet the challenges you will confront in a leadership role. You wish to make a difference in the world through leadership. †¢ †¢ The Meaning of Leadership What is leadership? It is a process by which one person influences the thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors of others. Leaders set a direction for the rest of us; they help us see what lies ahead; they help us visualize what we might achieve; they encourage us and inspire us. Without leadership a group of human beings quickly degenerates into argument and conflict, because we see things in different ways and lean toward different solutions. Leadership helps to point us in the same direction and harness our efforts jointly. Leadership is the 11 Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live bility to get other people to do something significant that they might not otherwise do. It’s energizing people toward a goal. Without followers, however, a leader isn’t a leader, although followers may only come after a long wait. For example, during the 1930s Winston Churchill urged his fellow Englishmen to face the coming threat from Hitler’s Germany. But most Englishmen preferred to believe that Hitler could be appeased—so that a war could be avoided. They were engaged in wishful thinking about the future and denial that the future would be dangerous. They resented Churchill for nsisting that they must face the danger. They rejected his leadership. He had very few followers. But finally reality intruded—Germany went too far and war began. At this point Churchill was acclaimed for his foresight, and became prime minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. During this period almost all Englishmen accepted his leadership willingly. True leadership is sometimes hard to distinguish from false leadership, which is merely a form of pretending. Winston Churchill was a real and great leader. But there are also people who wish to appear to be leaders, but aren’t actually. They say that they are leading others; they posture as if they are setting direction and inspiring others. Yet often they are merely pretending. There’s an old saying that the way to become a leader is to find a parade and run to the front of it. We refer to a person â€Å"leading† a parade, but walking at the front isn’t really leadership unless the person in front is actually choosing the direction! If the person isn’t choosing the direction, then being at the front of the line is merely a way to pretend to be a leader. 12 The Importance of Leadership Leadership can be used for good or ill. Hitler seemed to be a leader of the German people, but he set an evil direction. He had great leadership skills, but put them to terrible uses. Sometimes people in business use leadership skills to exploit others. Sometimes people in charitable organizations use leadership skills to benefit themselves rather than the people they are supposed to help. Leadership skills can be perverted to pursue bad ends. The Importance of Ethics The danger that leadership will be perverted is why ethics are so important to good leadership. Ethics are the inner compass that directs a person toward what is right and fair. Only if a person has an inner ethical compass can he or she be sure that leadership qualities will not turn to evil ends. Learning to lead with good objectives is the only purpose of this book. So let us say that those who do harm are not leaders at all; we recognize that they may be influential and persuasive, but we will not think of them as leaders. With confidence that you, good readers of this book, will put leadership to noble ends, we go forward. The Work of the Leader Taking a leadership position means several things: A leader must have a vision of the future for the organization and its members. 3 Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1-1 TAKING A LEADERSHIP POSITION Taking a leadership position means: †¢ †¢ Having a vision about what can be accomplished. Making a commitment to the mission and to the people you lead. Taking responsibility for the accomplishment of the mission and the welfare of those you lead. Assuming risk of loss and failure. Acc epting recognition for success. †¢ †¢ †¢ A leader must be able to express his or her vision clearly and in a compelling manner so that others are engaged by it. (See Executive Summary 1-1. A leader has to make a commitment to his or her vision, to the organization, and to the members of the organization. A leader can’t be committed one day and uninterested the next. People will judge a leader by his or her commitment, and will commit themselves no more than the leader does. A leader assumes a considerable amount of responsibility— not just for the mission that he or she urges others to accept, nor just for the organization he or she heads, but for his or her followers, their lives and efforts, as well. 14 The Importance of Leadership A leader assumes risk. If there is no risk, little leadership is required. If the effort is easy and certain to succeed, anyone can, and probably will, â€Å"lead† it. But where the effort entails a risk of failure, then many people will quail before the challenge and leadership is necessary to get people to make the commitment and the effort to succeed. In most organizations, one associates high levels of leadership with high levels of authority. The chief executive of a company usually plays more of a leadership role than people at lower levels of the hierarchy in the firm. It is the same in notfor-profits and government agencies. The higher on the job ladder a person is, the more she is expected to exhibit leadership. In the military, however, the opposite holds true, and for a very good reason. In the military the greatest leadership challenge is to get other people to risk their lives in combat. Generally, the higher one goes in the chain of command, the less exposure he has to the battlefield, and the less exposure to men and women who are in combat. The officers who have responsibility for commanding soldiers in combat have the greatest leadership challenge, for they must get others to risk their lives. Michael Jordan’s brother is an army sergeant major leading a deployment in Iraq in which he is responsible for more than 2,000 soldiers. Offered an opportunity to leave his assignment in combat, he chose to stay with his unit in harm’s way. In so doing, he accepted one of the military’s most significant leadership challenges. 15 Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live The first responsibility in a position of leadership is to have a vision. (See Executive Summary 1-2. ) The visionary leader must create his or her concept of what the organization can accomplish. A business leader may be leading a few people in a department or an entire company; a military leader a small squad or an entire army. The vision may be smaller when the group of people is small; and much broader when the group of people is large, but it must be forward-looking and exciting in either case. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1-2 VISIONARY LEADERSHIP Visionary leadership requires: †¢ †¢ Creating a vision, a mission, and a strategy. Communicating the vision/mission/strategy and getting buy-in. Motivating action. Helping an organization grow, evolve, and adapt to changing circumstances. †¢ †¢ The leader must also provide a mission—what needs to be done—and a strategy, a path, for how to accomplish the mission and achieve the vision, a way for the group to get there. But having an exciting vision, an exciting mission, and a careful strategy is not sufficient. A leader must clearly communicate them. Only if people grasp the vision can they commit to it, and buy-in is crucial to motivating action. Finally, a vision cannot be rigid and unchanging; it must adapt 16 The Importance of Leadership to changing circumstances, growing and evolving. Otherwise it becomes outdated and obsolete, and loses its power to excite and motivate people. Leaders versus Administrators and Managers Leadership is not the same thing as being in a position of authority. It is possible to be a boss in a company without being a leader. A boss can be more of an administrator than a leader. Conversely, an administrator can be effective in his job without being a leader. The administrator is a bureaucrat— whether in government or in business—a person who keeps careful records and sees that things are done according to the rules. On the other hand, a leader can be effective without being an administrator—leaving rules, regulations, and their enforcement to others. Administration is not as exciting a topic as leadership, but it is almost as important. The success of organizations depends to a great degree on how well they are administered. A manager is often thought to be primarily an administrator. But a manager is not an administrator; management requires a special set of skills of its own. And being a manager is different from being a leader, as we shall see below. So there are three roles: administrator, manager, and leader. A manager has the broadest role, and a good manager has much of an administrator and a leader in him or her. A manager needs to set direction and inspire others to get work done (leadership functions) and he or she needs to keep records and see that rules are followed (administrative functions). 17 Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live The manager is a necessary combination of leader and administrator. (See D. Quinn Mills, Principles of Management, Waltham, MA: MindEdge Press, 2005. ) But leadership is the most important of the three roles. Administrators What does an administrator do? (See Executive Summary 13. ) An administrator applies rules and regulations generally developed by top executives of an organization. In the government, the key rules and regulations are often issued by legislative authorities like the U. S. Congress). He or she keeps records and fills out forms necessary to take administrative steps (like getting employees paid or reimbursing an employee for travel expenses). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1-3 ELEMENTS OF ADMINISTRATION The elements of administration are: †¢ †¢ Making rules and regulations Making decisions that apply and interpret rules and regulations Keeping records Filling out forms †¢ †¢ 18 The Importance of Leadership Managers What does a manager do? See Executive Summary 1-4. ) He or she makes plans and creates budgets that set forth in great detail how something will be accomplished and how much money and other resources (e. g. , people, office space) are necessary to accomplish those plans and budgets. He decides who is going to be assigned to the necessary tasks and how they will fit into the organization. She supervises the actions people take, ensuring that they are doing the right things, that no money is being misappropriated or wasted (we call this â€Å"controlling†), and when problems arise she helps to resolve them. Finally, by combining these tasks into a coherent whole, the manager makes the organization operate efficiently. Running an organization effectively requires administration, management, and leadership. Leadership is ordinarily in shorter supply than administrative or managerial competence. Leadership is more important and more demanding for most people. Fewer people are able or willing to be leaders, so it tends to be a higher calling than administration or management. There is a large literature discussing the differences between leaders and managers. There is also an important distinction to make between leaders and administrators. In general, a leader takes a broader view and points an organization toward necessary, even critical, change. The core of the criticism in the literature is that organizations of all sorts (corporations, government agencies, and not-for-profit organizations) tend to be over-managed (and/or over-administrated) and under-led. Because of over-management and overadministration, organizations are slow to make necessary changes and achieve less than what they could. This is a substantial criticism that points to the importance of leadership. 19 Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1-4 ELEMENTS OF MANAGEMENT The elements of management are: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Planning and budgeting Setting direction Organizing and staffing Aligning the efforts of many people Controlling Decision-making and problem solving Motivating and inspiring people The Nature of Leadership True leadership is special, subtle, and complex. Too often we confuse things like personal style and a position of authority with leadership. †¢ Leadership is not primarily a particular personality trait. A trait closely linked to leadership is charisma, but many people who have charisma (for example, movie actors and sports figures) are not leaders. Leadership is not primarily a set of important objectives. It involves getting things done. †¢ 20 The Importance of Leadership †¢ Leadership is not primarily a formal position. There have been great leaders who did not hold high positions—for example, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jeanne d’Arc—and there are people who hold high positions who are not leaders at all, but administrators who don’t want to rock the boat. Leadership is not primarily a set of behaviors. Many leadership manuals suggest that what defines leadership is things such as delegating and providing inspiration and vision; but people who are not leaders can do these things, and some effective leaders don’t do them all. †¢ Many discussions of leadership confuse any and all of the above— personality, important objectives, formal position, specific behaviors—with leadership. (See John P. Kotter, What Leaders Really Do, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1999. ) But leadership is more than any of the above characteristics. It’s a process by which one influences the thoughts and behaviors of others in a substantial way. It may involve charisma, important objectives, a formal position, and a particular set of behaviors, but it is not limited to any of them. Effective leaders are often very complex people. Writing about Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England during the English civil wars of the seventeenth century, a foremost historian marveled at the complexity of his personality. â€Å"There was no single Cromwell, â€Å" he wrote, â€Å"—that is, a clear-cut individual†¦Instead, there was a multiplicity of Cromwells, each linked to the other by his enormous vitality†¦Firstly, there was the very human, simple and compassionate man, a visionary and a romantic. Secondly, there was a violent, boisterous and irascible bully. Thirdly, there was the resolute and iron-willed general†¦Fourthly, the calculating politician, the man of expedients who had no guiding principles. 21 Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live And lastly, there was†¦the Cromwell†¦who, as the interpreter of God’s will, was capable of committing any atrocity. † (J. F. C. Fuller, A Military History of the Western World, Volume 2, New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1955, p. 110. Because leaders can be so complex, we must be careful in our generalizations about leaders and their personalities. But not all leaders are such complex personalities, which is good for most of us who aspire to leadership. Examples of Leadership Leadership in Business In the 1980s Harley-Davidson was almost knocked out of business by competition from other firms. To survive, it needed to change dramatically. Rich Teerlink, the company’s leader, was able to save the firm financial ly, but with the pressure off, the challenge of continuing to improve seemed even more daunting. Could Teerlink get his managers and employees to make the significant, and to many of them inconvenient, changes necessary? He did it by building a different company, one driven from the bottom up by employees rather than from the top down by managers. It’s a story of successes and failures, advances and setbacks, dead ends and breakthroughs, ending in a much stronger company than before. (Read the inspiring story in Rich Teerlink and Lee Ozley, More Than a Motorcycle: The Leadership Journey at Harley-Davidson, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2000. 22 The Importance of Leadership Leadership in Government When Charles O. Rossotti became commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 1997, the agency had the largest customer base—and the lowest approval rating—of any institution in America. Mired in scandal, caught in a political maelstrom, and beset by profound management and technology problems, the IRS was widely dismissed as a hopelessly flawed an d dysfunctional organization. Rossotti— the first businessperson to head the IRS—transformed the much-maligned agency. In the glare of intense public scrutiny, he effected dramatic changes in the way the IRS did business—while the agency continued to collect $2 trillion in revenue. Through heated congressional hearings, encounters with Washington bigwigs, frank exchanges with taxpayers and employees, and risky turnaround strategies, Rossotti demonstrated leadership against daunting odds. (Read this enlightening story in Charles O. Rossotti, Many Unhappy Returns: One Man's Quest to Turn Around the Most Unpopular Organization in America, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2005. ) 23