Monday, September 30, 2019

Girl Power

As a 44 year old father of a 16 month girl, I did not know how society planned on giving my daughter a sense of femininity. I mentally prepared myself to be a Daddy and give my daughter Isabel all the support and teachings I thought I was capable of. I knew that it was going to be a daunting task a single father to a daughter to give her a sense of girl power. I was surprised to find out the toy and media industries were not onboard with giving my daughter a sense of what it was to be a strong, powerful, and anything is possible little girl in today’s society.I’ve noticed that the toy industry and media tend to develop and promote their products toward boys. I realized that the two industries felt that girls would learn on their own what it was to be feminine and that the toys, television shows, and movies that are predominately marketed for boys wouldn’t affect that process. Poet, critic, and columnist Katha Pollitt who is best known for her â€Å"Subject to De bate† column in The Nation magazine describes her own experiences as a mother of a 3-year-old daughter and asking the questions of why the media is selling the stories they are to girls and boys.In the essay â€Å"The Smurfette Principle,† she asks the tough questions of why the she finds the high ration of male to female characters in most children’s books, television shows, and movies. Pollitt points out that, â€Å"many male characters are most often cast as active and outgoing and that female characters are most often stereotyped as quiet, hair bow-wearing sidekicks, helpers, or little sisters to the boys—even when the characters are friendly, fuzzy monsters† (544). It should be the parents, producers, writers and toy manufacturer’s pure responsibility to empower young girls.Pollitt states that, â€Å"Contemporary shows are either essentially all-male, like Garfield, or are organized on what I call the Smurfette principle: a group of mal e buddies will be accented by a lone female, stereotypically defined†. Many parents don’t ever think about the characters in a movie or television show and they those characters may impact are children. Growing up watching such children’s shows such as the Little Rascals confirms what Pollitt in expressing in the â€Å"Smurfette Principle†. It was a bunch of boys having fun and Darla was always tagging along.Darla was portrayed as a tough little girl you didn’t want to mess with. The show always had her in a dress, but if you messed with her she would give you a black eye. There was no semblance of any femininity what so ever about Darla. Producers and parents may not understand how much of an impact this character and many like it have an impact on our children. My daughter Isabel understands way more than I initially gave her credit for and she picks up on things like a sponge. Shows like the Little Rascals are giving her a false perception of wha t it is like to be a girl in today’s society.Cartoons play such a major role in the development of our children these days. Television, movies and toys play such a huge role in teaching are children to read, count, socialize and understand there place in society based on their gender. Much of what we see and read to our children teaches them that boys are more important than girls. Pollitt states, â€Å"The female is usually a little-sister type, a bunny in a pink dress and hair-ribbons who tags along with the adventurous bears and badgers† (345).This is due to the fact that most producers, writers and animators are of the male persuasion. â€Å"Boys define the group, its story, and its code of values† (345). Pollitt understands how these people are influencing the way our little girls are perceiving the world and themselves based on what they are watching. â€Å"Girls exist only in relation to boys† (345). The toy industry is one of the biggest offenders when it comes to portraying what a girl should want in a toy and how it fits her gender.One of the biggest offenders when it comes to commercialism of their licensed products is Sesame Street. For all the good they do promoting learning and gender equality they lack the determination to produce toys that little girls would identify with. The Muppets which are the important ones of Sesame Street are the personalities that kids identify with. All these characters which are turned into toys and pushed through commercials and ads are all male. Pollitt knew one little girl that was so upset when she found out that even Big Bird was a boy she stopped watching the show all together.The toy industry is not teaching are young girls that it is okay to like toy cars, tractors, blocks, Transformers and many more cross gender toys. The industry is changing, companies such as Disney, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Warner Brothers are making cartoons that have very strong female characters. An imaniacs, The Last Airbender, Scooby Doo, Kim Impossible, and Gargoyles all have strong female characters that show our young girls that they can play a major role, do anything, and be just as important as any male in society.I my daughter is finding herself even at this young age and I know she and I don’t have much time to reinforce her idea of gender equality. Pollitt ends her essay with, â€Å"it sure would help if the bunnies took off their hair ribbons, and if half of the monsters were fuzzy, blue – and female† (547). I know I have my work cut out for me just like Pollitt does, but it is a job a truly am thankful to have. Isabel will know where she stands in the world and that she is just as important as any little boy.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Literature Review of Grading System

Please read: a personal appeal from Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales Read now Mt Kenya University From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Mount Kenya University) Jump to: navigation, search | This article may need to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help by adding relevant internal links, or by improving the article's layout. (January 2012) Click [show] on right for more details. [show]| This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2011) | Mt Kenya University (MKU) is a private university in Thika Kenya. The idea behind the establishment of the University dates back to 1996 when the precursor of the University, the Thika Institute of Technology was founded as a Computer Outreach Program.At this point in time in Kenyan history, the development of Information Communication Technology (ICT) both Mobile Telepho ny and Computer Technology had started gaining an upward momentum in rural and urban centres. In the year 2000, the Institute developed into a commercial college offering management and computer training programmes. Later in the year the Ministry of Education Science and Technology recognized the institute as a full fledged institution of higher learning and granted it a full registration approval.In order to remain relevant with the training needs of the society, the institute initiated training programmes in the fields of paramedical, Information Technology, and Business and Entrepreneurship education in the year 2002. In the year 2005 the Institute became the 1st private institution in Kenya to be allowed to train Pharmaceutical Technologists by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of the Ministry of Health. In the year 2006 the Commission for Higher Education (CHE) validated and pproved the institute's request for collaboration with JKUAT to offer both Diploma and Degree programmes. T he Institute continued to work closely with the Commission for Higher Education in line with the stipulated guidelines for establishing a privately funded university. After fulfilling all the requirements as stipulated in the guidelines of establishing a privately funded university (1989 rules), the Commission for Higher Education issued MKU with the authority to establish a full fledged privately funded university with Thika Institute of Technology as its precursor/forerunner. citation needed] External links * Kenya University List * Mt Kenya University Official Website [hide] * v * t * eKenyan universities| | | | | | Public universities| * University of Nairobi * Kenyatta University * Moi University * Egerton University * Maseno University * Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology * Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology| | | | | | Private universities| * United States International University (USIU – Africa) * Catholic University of Eastern Afri ca(CUEA) * University of Eastern Africa,Baraton * Daystar University * Africa Nazarene University * Scott Christian University * Kabarak University * Strathmore University * Kiriri Women’s University of Science and Technology * Mount Kenya University * Pan Africa Christian University * Kenya Methodist University * Adventist University of Africa * Gretsa University * Great Lakes University of Kisumu * Presbyterian University of East Africa * St.Paul's University * KCA University * Africa International University| | | Coordinates: 1 °02? 43? S 37 °04? 51? E View page ratings Rate this page What's this? Trustworthy Objective Complete Well-written I am highly knowledgeable about this topic (optional) Categories: * Universities and colleges in Kenya * Create account * Log in * Article * Talk * Read * Edit * View history ————————————————- Top of Form Bottom of Form * Main page * Contents * Featured content * Current events Random article * Donate to Wikipedia Interaction * Help * About Wikipedia * Community portal * Recent changes * Contact Wikipedia Toolbox Print/export * This page was last modified on 3 July 2012 at 11:09. * Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. , a non-profit organization. * Contact us * Privacy policy * About Wikipedia * Disclaimers * Mobile view * *

Saturday, September 28, 2019

The Romantic Era

The Romantic era can be understood as the period which spurred the artistic sensibilities of individuals. By doing away with the established norms of conducting things, people were given a considerable stretch of freedom in expressing their innermost feelings and perceptions of their surrounding world. Not only were individuals granted with full access to their potentials with only their imagination to limit them, the Romantic era also â€Å"highlighted a great transformation of the society† (Lenneberg, 1994, p. 619). While individuals exploit the liberty to express their selves to the fullest extent, the various sectors of the society reaped rewarding benefits in various ways. For example, visual artists were not anymore confined by the boundaries set forth by the previous Classical period. Their artistic horizons grew and their artistic boundaries melted down.In terms of music, it can be said that the virtuosos gained exceptional popularity and social acceptance. Singers, pi anists and violinists, for examples, have exceeded the expectations of their audiences during their performances largely because they performed with such great passion and intensity. Part of the reason why the expectations of their audiences were exceeded is the fact that most of the pieces played were challenging, if not extremely difficult to master.The dawning of the Romantic era spawned a great deal of new art forms which were relatively unknown in earlier times. Symphonic poems and art songs are just some of the new artistic avenues introduced at the height of the Romantic period. It takes little effort to realize that, indeed, the rising of a new period would consequently usher in a new set of artistic forms. On the other hand, the opposite can be also true. That is, the realization of new artistic forms and styles in certain disciplines could also be reasons to the proliferation of the Romantic era.Experimentation was a key factor in the realization of these new artistic aven ues during the Romantic era. It can be said that, as people began to acquire more and more freedom, individuals became more accustomed to the thought and practice of transcending the works of their predecessors. Experimenting with what has already been established during the Classical period could have even been the pastime for most artists. In essence, the relative success of the Romantic era for the artists can be directly linked with the substantial increase in their liberty to practice their craft and master their skills.With the thought of experimenting, people especially artists of the Romantic era may have been constantly seeking their fantasies and reassuring that these fantasies come to life in their artistic works. Perhaps the artists during the Classical period were strongly delimited by the standards of the society during those times, which is why the manifestation of their fantasies rarely materialized although the waves of artistic fantasies ripple right through the ve ry hearts and minds of these artists.As an apparent result, artists grew more and more creative in ways unimaginable, at least in the context of the time during the Classical period. The increased abundance of creativity during the Romantic era paved the way for â€Å"the self-realization among individuals that not everything can be or should be categorized under the label formal† (Perkins, 1990, p. 131). In many ways, the Romantic period has substantially dissolved the formality of art. As creativity significantly erased the pre-established artistic frames upon which virtuosos showed little to no regard, the following eventually came at a steadily increasing pace, not only popularizing the term ‘Romantic’ but also establishing it as a great movement in the history of mankind.By the term itself—movement—one is already inclined to assume that the Romantic period is a sort of a period of transition in the development of man. From the formal boundaries to the full realization of humanity’s freedom, the many varied parts of the Romantic period may not have altogether been the end itself during the time. Rather, the Romantic period only served as a time to prepare man for the complete attainment of freedom, at least in terms of artistic freedom.Prior to the Romantic era, it can be said that the disciplines were formal and constructive of the way in which man should conduct his affairs. Everything was done in a more or less, or even in a precise uniform manner. Perhaps the artists during the Romantic era have found something in the Classical era which they frowned upon. What else could this ‘something’ be than the fact that the Classical era has been predominantly defined by the formal and uniform means of defining what is artistic or socially acceptable from what is not? Of course, the vastness of the Classical period can hardly be altogether defined by a single description precisely because there, too, are many different disciplines during that time. Yet to claim and argue that there is no factual difference between the Classical era and Romantic era is to entirely miss the point.Nevertheless, it is a hardly debatable thought that the Classical era is an era which can be easily differentiated from the Romantic era and vice versa. Apart from the fact that new art forms were introduced during the Romantic era, there was also the increasing response towards the realization of artistic and intellectual freedom. Lest one becomes confused, one should be reminded that the struggles to break from the coherent and limiting system during the Classical period were not as forceful and widespread as compared to those during the Romantic period. Perhaps there was no existing social stimulus to ignite the sensibilities of people at the height of the Classical period. Perhaps the efforts undertaken during those times were not forceful enough or lacked the momentum to instigate a widespread social change. Nonetheless, the Romantic era has made its significant mark in the history of humanity, and continues to do so even to this day.ReferencesLenneberg, H. (1994). Classic and Romantic: The First Usage of the Terms. The Musical Quarterly, 78(3), 619.Perkins, D. (1990). The Construction of â€Å"The Romantic Movement† as a Literary Classification. Nineteenth-Century Literature, 45(2), 131.

Friday, September 27, 2019

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano Essay

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano - Essay Example It mirrored the horrifying slave trade by Europeans for the first time, because many did not know its history. Even though he was a mere boy when he left Africa, it does not prevent him from reminiscing about his village: "Our village is exercised in a large plain or common, some hours walk from our dwellings, and all the neighbors resort thither in a body. They use no beasts of husbandry and their only instruments are hoes, axes, shovels and beaks, or pointed iron to dig with," (p. 38). He says they are 'a nation of dancers, musicians, and poets' with simple manners(p.14). He was grateful for personal deliverance from slavery; but Trans-Atlantic slavery, its naked facts and America's role rendered deep anguish to him and he denounced his own countrymen for aiding and abetting. He continued as a strong abolitionist, and was unable to forget tortures of fellow slaves in Monserrat and his contact with Lord Mansfield remained beneficial. He thought Atlantic slavery resulted in horrifying human misery. Meeting free Africans was a painful reminder of slaves across continents to him. He urged free Africans to refrain from helping slave traders. The North American Colonies and Caribbean were still expor... Equiano dedicated his life for the abolition of this agony. While doing so, he had been very practical. He suggests alternatives to Britain, so that her wealth does not get diminished by abolishing slavery. He knew that it was impossible to face mighty Europeans and Africa neither had money nor military power. He suggests that trading with America could be beneficial for England and slavery is not the only way of amass wealth. "It is trading upon safe grounds. A commercial intercourse with Africa opens an inexhaustible source of wealth to the manufacturing interests of Great Britain and to all which the slave-trade is an objection," (p.234). He knew that trading countries like Britain, America, Portugal, Spain, France would not give up their profits and he was diplomatically showing them another way of earning money, even after 'the abolition of slavery, so diabolical'. He tries to persuade them to adopt the alternative course. "If I am not misinformed, the manufacturing interest is equal, if not superior, to the landed interest, as to the value, for reasons which will soon appear," (p.234). He was the first political leader of Britain's black community and wrote first-ever slave autobiography, which fuelled the anti-slavery movement. He intended his work to open the eyes of the world against degrading and distressing slavery, even though he was not personally subjected to all horrors of slavery and comparatively was treated well by his masters, he was aware of the dreadful life of slaves in American continent. Fortunately, he became a literate, and reading his book, one could easily deduce that he had the capability of writing for readers. He touches the very core of human nature and justice. "I hope to have the satisfaction of

Thursday, September 26, 2019

The Wedding Banquet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Wedding Banquet - Essay Example The wedding banquet represents the first attempt by Ang Lee to discuss gay relationships through the cinematic medium. Interestingly, Lee also makes a cameo appearance in the movies as a guest attending the wedding. The movie works as an intense comedy in the first half, and then it reveals the complexities of the how the secreted relationships burden all those involved. The characters Winston Chao and his lover Simon enjoy a convenient life style, until his parents demand a marriage and, more importantly, a quickly arriving offspring. This movie displays very intense emotional sequences as well as riotously funny movements that every audience expects in an intelligent comedy of this caliber. â€Å"The Wedding Banquet never becomes bogged down by its own seriousness. Lee manages to keep the production buoyant by including scenes that are often riotously funny† (Berardinell.1993). Although the movie offers Winston Chao’s acting debut, he exhibits no flaws or chinks in hi s acting skill.

New Public Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

New Public Management - Essay Example This review will then investigate the observed impact of NPM on the health sector and the effects of adopting market-oriented concepts, as reported in a study conducted by the World Bank (p.13) Moreover, NPM will be a viable reference because it has been documented to influence the financial policies of many governments. Policy issues directly affect public institutions like hospitals because reduced funding restrictions - a reality in many countries and one of the benefits of the NPM approach - will ultimately have an effect at the operational level. That is, hospitals may be compelled to improve procedures and practices, especially in terms of resource allocation, but they must also strive to improve the level of customer satisfaction. The market orientation of the NPM model will be particularly helpful in this area. Thus, with NPM theories as basis, this review will proceed to investigate process level concepts that are also oriented towards efficiency (p.15), which include action research, clinical pathways, service redesign, and operations management. The final section (p.18) looks at several initiatives that aimed to improve operations and practices in hospitals and especially, in operating theatres. The sources cited in this review are summarized in Table 1. DisTable 1. Summary of Reviewed Literature Author/s Date Title Subject/Topic Baird 2004 The Global Influence of New Public Management: Case Studies from Africa Explains the use of NPM in several African countries, with special focus on the importance of capacity building, especially in developing countries where governance issues remain a major challenge. Barry-Walker 2000 The Impact of Systems Redesign on Staff, Patient, and Financial Outcomes Discusses the findings of a study introducing "inpatient bed consolidation" and "patient population reaagregation" in a U.S. hospital and how such change initiatives affect staff, patients, and financial performance. Borins 2000 New Public Management, North American Style Lists the characteristics of NPM and how it has influenced the governments of the U.S. and other developed countries in attempts to reform the public sector. Costello 2003 Action Research Provides a useful general reference for managers wanting to undertake action resarch, from planning to reporting. European Communities n.d. Increasing Institutional and Administrative Capacity Establishes the importance of institutional and administrative capacity in socio-economic development programmes, debating the impacts of NPM especially in developed countries. Khaleghian and Das Gupta 2004 Public Management and the Essential Public Health Functions Discusses attempts to improve the public sector and their impacts on providing health services, including adoption of NPM concepts. Mahaffey 2004 Optimizing Patient Flow in the Enterprise Explains how use of technology can enhance hospital operations and

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Nursing Staff Attitudes towards the Elderly Essay

Nursing Staff Attitudes towards the Elderly - Essay Example When older patients are perceived as being cantankerous and complaining by nurses, the consequence would most likely that the quality of care delivered and the recovery of patients is affected (Courtney, 2000).   Aging of the Australian population has occurred rapidly in recent years. The greatest increases in number have been indicated among the very old or those aged 80 years or over. The aged population from 65 and older has been predicted to reach 22% or 5 million by the year 2051, doubling that of 1991 or 11% at 1.9 million according to Clare (1994).   Likewise, it was said that gerontological nursing is still an unpopular specialty and nursing student's interest in pursuing it as a career decrease during their education (Slevin, 1991). The health-care system has been heavily influenced by social developments and ageist stereotypes, combined with increases in the aged population (Palmer, 1994). In as much as older people are perceived by policy makers and society in general as problems requiring considerable attention and resources (Palmer, 1994), it had also been indicated that increases in the Australian health-care costs have been attributed to the increases in the aged population. Nevertheless, Palmer (1994) found that these increases are more closely linked to social and political changes than a physiologically aging population. Accordingly, changes in the health-care system were influenced by the major political parties' social and economic policies, the need to contain hospital operating costs and the promotion of commun ity care for the chronically ill, disabled and frail aged (Courtney, 1997). But it has to be noted that many family members are no longer able to care for their older relatives due to social factors such as increases in divorce and participation of women in the workforce. This has dramatically decreased the availability of informal community support systems for future generations of older people upon which the government has relied heavily since the 1985 de-institutionalization of aged care to a hostel and home-based care (Gibson, 1998).   Nurse Attitude   Several studies have identified factors, such as an area of practice, age, gender and years in clinical practice, as affecting nurses' attitude strength (Lookinland, 1991). Soderhamn and colleagues found younger and male nurses possessing more negative attitudes in comparison with older and female nurses. Soderhamn's (2001) research also demonstrates that higher education, gerontology courses and more years of clinical experience were found to be associated with less negative attitudes. Another influence is the area of clinical practice influencing attitude strength (Soderhamn, 2001). Cited as the example was that nurses working in acute settings were found to use more negative stereotypical labeling to describe their older patients to student nurses than those working in elder-care settings (McLafferty, 2004).

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

An Ancient Tragedy Oedipus King Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

An Ancient Tragedy Oedipus King - Essay Example This is because; it utilizes the universal literary devices in a very effective manner. As will discuss, in this paper. The play is about a young boy, and his parents. The boy’s name is Oedipus. He was the son of a king (Laius). The king finds an oracle, which was predicting the fate of his son. The oracle was foretelling that the king’s life would be taken away by his own son, who would then take over his wife. The son’s sole intention of killing his father was to marry his own mother; due to this, when Oedipus was born, the king tied his legs and discarded him on a mountain, with a hope that nature would take over the role of eliminating him from the world. This was a strategic manner, of preventing the oracle’s prophecy from taking place. Unfortunately, the young boy did not die. He was saved by a shepherd and landed on another king’s palace (King Polybus). Polybus was the king of Corinth. When the shepherd handed him Oedipus, the king took him i n whole heartedly, as he did not have a son of his own. Oedipus grew up believing that Polybus was his real father. However, as time passed, Oedipus began questioning his parentage. He decided to consult with Delphic god and heard some word leading him to Laius. He fled from his foster father’s house. During his flee; he unwillingly murdered his real father. Coincidentally, when he went to Thebes, he answered a riddle correctly. This earned him a ticket to the bereaved king’s house. He took over the kingship and married the king’s wife. They were very successful in life and bore children. However, there came a great calamity in the town. On consulting the oracle, it was realized that he there was blood guiltiness. Oedipus denounced the crime, as he was not aware of it. He puts his foot forward to track the person responsible for the crime. Gradually, the play reveals that Oedipus is the man responsible for his own father’s death. One of the major themes o f this play is the theme of fate. To begin with, the oracle to Laius states clearly Laius’ fate; â€Å" he would demise a victim, at his son’s hands.† (711-714). In addition, Oedipus says â€Å"I was destined to sleep with my mother†¦I was fated to take the life of my father† (791-793). Both oracles show that fate was the determinants of the main characters life, and so they could do nothing about it. The theme of fate and fortune recurs in many parts of the play. For instance, fortune made it possible for Oedipus life to be saved from the mountains. Fate made Oedipus start questioning his parentage and made him flee away from his foster father’s house. The killing of his real father was an act of fate. The manner in which Oedipus came to sleep with his own mother can only be explained by fate. It is also fate that led Oedipus, to his real father’s kingdom. Most incidences in the play are beyond human understanding and can only be expla ined as destiny. Fate is a common theme amongst many Greek writings. The writer of this play was not an exception and utilized this theme perfectly. This theme helps explain things that are beyond human understanding, and hence is considered as a very strong literature device. Another theme of the play is that of freewill. The play reflects that human’s freewill has its own limit. As much as human beings have a desire for things to go according to their own wish, it is not always possible to accomplish this. For

Monday, September 23, 2019

Corporate Governance Disclosure and the Financial Practices Essay

Corporate Governance Disclosure and the Financial Practices - Essay Example Corporate governance and compliance to its prescribed practices has always been a subject of discussion. Adherence to corporate governance practice helps a corporate organization to rationalize risks as well as maximize its business performance at the same time. In the present day aggressive business environment that calls for a firm regulatory setting, compliance to corporate governance norms help organizations to sustain profitability in the long run. This study evaluates the influence of corporate governance disclosure guidelines on the Saudi Arabian companies in general and their annual issuance of financial reports in particular. This research study is motivated by several factors. First, the Board of CMA had issued a guidance of corporate governance for the corporate organizations in Saudi Arabia. Studying the extent of influence of corporate governance on the annual reports of the Saudi listed companies would help in understanding the attributes of companies that act in accord ance with the CMA guidance. Furthermore, the research study would also benefit in identifying the possible issues that explain the dissimilarities in compliance across Saudi Arabian organizations. Secondly, review of literature on the subject of corporate governance reporting reveals that there are not many empirical researches conducted on the business backdrop of emerging nations, such as Saudi Arabia.  The rationale of this research study is to emphasise on the aspects that impel the corporate governance norms in Saudi Arabia.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Labor Systems Essay Example for Free

Labor Systems Essay There was a decrease in the popularity/ usage of forced labor systems. This was caused by Enlightenment thinking and the recent success of the Haitian revolution. Most of the movements that led to this improvement were led by Simon Bolivar. In the Caribbean, slavery was abolished. It was abolished several years before other regions like the US because of pressure from British labor unions. However, even though slavery was legally abolished, slaves were still obligated to stay with their masters and take on apprenticeships. Women became more involved in society. Women came to Latin America, mainly indentured servants, and they were given work. This was not a large breakthrough though because the only jobs they were given would be domestic work like being house servants or maids. Changes: There was a decrease in the popularity/ usage of forced labor systems. This was caused by Enlightenment thinking and the recent success of the Haitian revolution. Most of the movements that led to this improvement were led by Simon Bolivar. In the Caribbean, slavery was abolished. It was abolished several years before other regions like the US because of pressure from British labor unions. However, even though slavery was legally abolished, slaves were still obligated to stay with their masters and take on apprenticeships. Women became more involved in society. Women came to Latin America, mainly indentured servants, and they were given work. This was not a large breakthrough though because the only jobs they were given would be domestic work like being house servants or maids. Changes: There was a decrease in the popularity/ usage of forced labor systems. This was caused by Enlightenment thinking and the recent success of the Haitian revolution. Most of the movements that led to this improvement were led by Simon Bolivar. In the Caribbean, slavery was abolished. It was abolished several years before other regions like the US because of pressure from British labor unions. However, even though slavery was legally abolished, slaves were still obligated to stay with their masters and take on apprenticeships. Women became more involved in society. Women came to Latin America, mainly indentured servants, and they were given work. This was not a large breakthrough though because the only jobs they were given would be domestic work like being house servants or maids. Changes: There was a decrease in the popularity/ usage of forced labor systems. This was caused by Enlightenment thinking and the recent success of the Haitian revolution. Most of the movements that led to this improvement were led by Simon Bolivar. In the Caribbean, slavery was abolished. It was abolished several years before other regions like the US because of pressure from British labor unions. However, even though slavery was legally abolished, slaves were still obligated to stay with their masters and take on apprenticeships. Women became more involved in society. Women came to Latin America, mainly indentured servants, and they were given work. This was not a large breakthrough though because the only jobs they were given would be domestic work like being house servants or maids. Changes: There was a decrease in the popularity/ usage of forced labor systems. This was caused by Enlightenment thinking and the recent success of the Haitian revolution. Most of the movements that led to this improvement were led by Simon Bolivar. In the Caribbean, slavery was abolished. It was abolished several years before other regions like the US because of pressure from British labor unions. However, even though slavery was legally abolished, slaves were still obligated to stay with their masters and take on apprenticeships. Women became more involved in society. Women came to Latin America, mainly indentured servants, and they were given work. This was not a large breakthrough though because the only jobs they were given would be domestic work like being house servants or maids. Changes: There was a decrease in the popularity/ usage of forced labor systems. This was caused by Enlightenment thinking and the recent success of the Haitian revolution. Most of the movements that led to this improvement were led by Simon Bolivar. In the Caribbean, slavery was abolished. It was abolished several years before other regions like the US because of pressure from British labor unions. However, even though slavery was legally abolished, slaves were still obligated to stay with their masters and take on apprenticeships. Women became more involved in society. Women came to Latin America, mainly indentured servants, and they were given work. This was not a large breakthrough though because the only jobs they were given would be domestic work like being house servants or maids.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Textual Comparison on Blog and Journal Summary

Textual Comparison on Blog and Journal Summary In the following I will be reporting on two texts containing a similar research different in terms of presentation: one is a blog and the other is a journal summary. Of importance however, is not their text presentation mode but on how their respective writers made their lexicogrammatical choices. I chose to work with the following features: noun group composition and lexical density. Lexical density I computed the lexical density of the texts by estimating how each writer used lexical as well as grammatical units in total. The entire blog text has a lexical density of 53.78% while the journal article summary has a lexical density of 55.61%. This is an indicator that the journal article has a huge quantity of information-carrying words. The blog text, on the other hand, has comparatively limited information-carrying words. Mostly, you will find incomplete clauses in the blog text like the writer was constructing his/ her own utterances. For example, how the blog post used The five largest statewide whooping cough epidemics identified as the journal writer used The 5 largest statewide epidemics had substantial proportions . Seemingly, the writer had little time to ponder and plan what they wanted to write. The journal writer had more time to plan as well as shape the units of meaning they wanted to use comparatively. The writer of the journal sufficiently selected the best lexical word befitting, reviewed the text and replaced words before he submitted the text compared to the blogger. The writer of the journal also seems to be well equipped when it comes to vocabulary as well as word finding. Comparatively, the blogger has more difficulties finding words and with their vocabulary. Additionally, the lexical density tells us that there is more information in the journal text compared to the blog text. True to this, the journal text has 355 words and the blog text has 308 words (excluding the last bit about requesting for a copy). Take Of the 970 measles cases with detailed vaccination data, 574 cases were unvaccinated despite being vaccine-eligible and 405 (70.6%) of these had nonmedical exemptions (e.g., exemptions for religious or philosophical reasons, as opposed to medical contraindications; 41.8% of total) from the journal article summary it has a lexical density of 48.84%. A similar edition of the blog is Of the 970 measles cases with accompanying vaccination data, 574 cases were unvaccinated despite being eligible to receive the immunization and 405 cases had nonmedical vaccine exemptions, such as religious or philosophical opposition to vaccines, which has 54.29%. Here, the writer of the blogger used more lexical words in the sentence compared to the writer of the journal to tell the same story. The blogger also used lesser words i.e. 35 while the writer of the journal text used 40 words. In the given text, the blogger came strong with his/ her words and overtook the writer of the journal when he sai d, despite being eligible to receive the immunization. The journal writer simply wrote, despite being vaccine-eligible. For the reader, it is easier to understand the blogger because it is not difficult for anyone who is not equipped with vocabularies to know what eligible by itself means. The blogger explicitly tells us how the subject(baby), and the object(vaccine) relate by telling us how the subject would have had an action performed on it. The other sentence does not clearly depict the object nor talk more on it nor the action. When the journal writer uses vaccine-eligible, the sentence comes out as vague. Taking this sentence apart from the text, the lexical words give us a general idea of what the whole text is about which is what the blogger did. The journal writer decided to take the other approach by using grammatical, non-lexical words more to assist us to make a whole from the pieces. Judging from this alone, the blogger intended to convey more information compared to the writer of the journal. See how in the journal text the writer says However, several pertussis outbreaks also occurred in highly vaccinated populations indicating waning immunity. The whole sentence has lexical words except for the word in. the lexical density is a clean 92.31%. For the same text in the blog, it amassed a 68.18% lexical density. The prepositions and determinants replaced lexical words. However, the study also noted that epidemics of whooping cough occurred in vaccinated populations too which highlights the issue of waning immunity. The blogger uses more words because they have incorporated grammatical non-lexical words but that does not increase the density of the sentence. I feel the blogger already told us what they study was about thus, saying which highlights the issue of waning immunity would have been replaced by, highlighting waning immunity. More lexical units, more density less tautology but still maintaining the meaning. When it gets to the general text, the journal writers text is more expository compared to the blog text. The reason their lexical densities are not that far apart is because they both used information-bearing as well as lexical words, only that one excelled at it more. Noun group composition. With the noun groups, I tackled the four common noun phrases: pronouns, nouns alone, nouns + determinants and nouns + modifiers+ determinants. When it comes to parts of speech, the journal has 37.08% usage of nouns, 5.48% of adjectives, 5.48% of verbs, 1.83% of adverbs, 15.67% of prepositions, 2.09% of pronouns, 4.18% of auxiliary verbs. The blog text has 27.32% usage of nouns, 7.92% of adjectives, 14.48% of verbs, 4.37% of adverbs, 17.49% of prepositions, 3.55% of pronouns and finally, a 5.19% of auxiliary verbs. There are two rules that simply govern how noun groups are used in English. One of them is that many noun phrases have at least two essentials. When a noun is not used in a generalizing manner, there is at least a determiner and a noun. A determiner could be a quantifier like many, a possessive like my, a numeral like thirty, a question word like whose and finally an article like the. The writer of the journal used longer and many noun phrases compared to the blogger. He was trying to be very accurate about the information being conveyed because it was complex. I made a count of 25 noun phrases with determiners in the blog text. Comparatively, I made 31 noun phrases with determiners in the journal text. When it comes to the noun phrases with determiners as well as modifiers, the journal text beat the blog text by far. An indicator of how complexly the writer of the journal viewed the information before he accurately relayed it. I feel the blogger was very sketchy when conveying the information. He did not want to delve deeper rather just give the reader an idea of the matter at hand. The writers have both tried to be very noun-centric. They have used many noun phrases as well as been very modest with their variety of verbs. An example is at some point; the two writers have used a noun phrase repeatedly without making use of the pronouns. They ended up repeating a specific term as it was the only way to refer to the concept in the text. An instance is in how they both have used the noun phrase The United States at least more than twice. The second rule that governs how noun groups are used in English claims other multiple noun phrases also use modifiers. Modifiers can be adjectives, subordinate nouns, adjectival clauses, relative phases or prepositional clauses. Using examples in the blog texts, a substantial number and the 5 largest statewide whooping cough cases. The determiners in the two examples are a and the. Substantial, largest, statewide as well as whooping are adjectives. In this case, largest statewide whooping is an adjectival clause. Lastly, the nouns are number, and cough cases. 5 counts as a number which is just part of the clause but is not necessarily important to the clause. An example from the journal text is this phenomenon improved understanding. This is the determinant here. Phenomenon improved is the adjectival clause and understanding is the noun in this case. Noun phrases are an essential fragment of every sentence. Noun phrases function first as the subject of clauses. For example, in the scientific literature, scientific acts as the subject.Secondly, they act as subject complements. Take that have occurred since measles was declared eliminated. Measles is the subject and eliminated is the subject complement. Thirdly, they function as the direct objects e.g. epidemic in the phrase The 5 largest statewide whooping cough epidemic. Conclusion. A journal text tends to try and be as formal as can be while the blog can be informal. They thus differ in their lexical densities because the writer relayed the information stressing the information differently. The building of noun phrases in the journal is also taken seriously because there are more complex clauses compared to the blogger. The blogger seemingly rushes through to make a submission while the journal writer has to think through and integrate so many aspects of grammar in his writing before submitting. APPENDIX. Blogs noun group composition. Noun alone pronoun Determiner + noun Determiner + modifier+ noun Refusal They The vaccine A substantial number Disease They The spread The scientific literature Jama whose This month The 5 largest statewide whooping cough epidemic U.S> Who The study The recent surge whooping cough cases Measles cases Themselves The disease An unfortunate comeback Patients They The U.S. The largest number Vaccine refusal The study Risk That diseased Cough A record low Immunity The immunization Researchers The study Reporters The researches Measles outbreaks The study authors Cough outbreaks The issue Incidence The vaccine Measles cases The study Percent A rise Children Some groups Parents The U.S. Vacation Percent Patients Measles cases Vaccination data Cases Opposition Vaccines Cough outbreaks Studies Vaccination data Percent Percent Patients Purpose Epidemics Coughs Populations Immunity People Measles Percent People Risk Factors Measles Cough People CDC Measles Disease Cases Cases Cough Cases Street Journals noun group composition Noun alone Pronoun Determiner + noun Determiner + modifier+ noun State vaccine mandates Their The United States This phenomenon improved understanding Vaccine delay refusal A review The published literature Diseases The United States that have occurred since measles was declared eliminated Measles We The association That assessed diseases risk Pertussis The epidemiology Which described measles reports Parents These diseases No history of measles vaccination Children The epidemiology The measles cases with detailed vaccination data Immunizations The association These had non-medical exemptions Exemptions The epidemiology Which included 10,609 individuals for whom vaccination status was reported. Association The united states The 5 largest statewide epidemics had substantial proportions Outbreaks The context A substantial portion Disease These outbreaks The phenomenon of vaccine refusal Attention The U.S measles cases An increased risk Exemption The era An increased risk Pertussis Some populations the lowest point in U.S pertussis incidence Pertussis Diseases U.S. outbreaks Search November Reports U.S measles outbreaks Measles January Studies Vaccine delay Exemption Measles studies Summaries Outbreak reports Age range Years Cases Month Half Cases Vaccine eligible Exemption Reasons Contradictions Percent Total Reports Pertussis outbreaks Age range Years Range Percent Percent Individuals Pertussis outbreaks Populations Immunity Reports Outbreaks Vaccination data Cases Percent Elimination Measles People Vaccines Individuals Pertussis resurgence Immunity Vaccine refusal Factors Blogs lexical density classification by sentence. No. of sentences Lexical density by every sentence. Lexical density 1 vaccine refusal is fueling the spread of potentially deadly diseases. 70% 2 Published this month in Jama the study found that a substantial number of U.S. measles cases that happened after 2000 when the disease was declared eliminated in the U.S. occurred among patients who were left purposefully unvaccinated i.e. vaccine refusal. 48.84% 3 They also found that vaccine refusal was associated with an increased risk for whooping cough though waning immunity seems to be contributing as well. 58.33% 4 To conduct the study researchers combed through the scientific literature for reports of measles outbreaks between 2000 and 2015 and for whooping cough outbreaks since 1977 when incidence of that disease reached a record low. 48.57% 5 They identified more than 1400 measles cases since 2000 of which more than 56 percent occurred in children whose parents refused vaccination. 47.83% 6 Among the five largest statewide whooping cough epidemics identified between 24 percent and 45 percent of patients were unvaccinated or undervaccinated. 57.14% 7 Of the 970 measles cases with accompanying vaccination data 574 cases were unvaccinated despite being eligible to receive the immunization and 405 cases had nonmedical vaccine exemptions such as religious or philosophical opposition to vaccines. 54.29% 8 in eight of 12 whooping cough outbreaks from nine studies that included vaccination data the researchers found that 59 percent to 93 percent of unvaccinated patients were left unvaccinated on purpose. 58.06% 9 however, the study also noted that epidemics of whooping cough occurred in vaccinated populations too which highlights the issue of waning immunity. 68.18% 10 the study authors concluded that refusing the vaccine against measles meant that people were putting not only themselves but also other people who had been vaccinated at risk. 57.14% 11 they also wrote that while the recent surge whooping cough cases may be down to other factors too the study clearly demonstrates that refusing to be vaccinated against measles has led to a rise in whooping cough among some groups of people. 53.66% 12 according to CDC though measles was declared eliminated in the u s in 2000 the contagious disease is making an unfortunate comeback spiking to 667 cases in 2014. 42.86% 13 as for highly contagious whooping cough the disease reached a recent high in 2012 with more than 48000 documented cases thats the largest number of reported cases since 1955. 51.72% Journals lexical density by sentence. No. of sentences. Lexical density by every sentence Lexical density. 1 association between vaccine refusal and vaccine preventable diseases in the united states a review of measles and pertussis. 58.82% 2 parents hesitant to vaccinate their children may delay routine immunizations or seek exemptions from state vaccine mandates. 70.59% 3 recent outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases in the united states have drawn attention to this phenomenon. 60% 4 improved understanding of the association between vaccine refusal and the epidemiology of these diseases is needed. 50% 5 to review the published literature to evaluate the association between vaccine delay refusal or exemption and the epidemiology of measles and pertussis 2 vaccine preventable diseases with recent us outbreaks. 55.17% 6 search of PubMed through November 30 2015 for reports of us measles outbreaks that have occurred since measles was declared eliminated in the united states after January 1 2000 endemic and epidemic pertussis since the lowest point in us pertussis incidence after January 1 1977 and for studies that assessed disease risk in the context of vaccine delay or exemption. 48.33% 7 we identified 18 published measles studies 9 annual summaries and 9 outbreak reports which described 1416 measles cases individual age range 2 weeks84 years 178 cases younger than 12 months and more than half 56 8 had no history of measles vaccination. 57.14% 8 of the 970 measles cases with detailed vaccination data 574 cases were unvaccinated despite being vaccine eligible and 405 70 6 of these had nonmedical exemptions e g exemptions for religious or philosophical reasons as opposed to medical contraindications 41 8 of total. 48.84% 9 among 32 reports of pertussis outbreaks which included 10 609 individuals for whom vaccination status was reported age range 10 days87 years the 5 largest statewide epidemics had substantial proportions range 24 45 of unvaccinated or undervaccinated individuals. 55.26% 10 However, several pertussis outbreaks also occurred in highly vaccinated populations indicating waning immunity. 92.31% 11 Nine reports describing 12 outbreaks provided detailed vaccination data on unimmunized cases among 8 of these outbreaks from 59 through 93 of unvaccinated individuals were intentionally unvaccinated. 55.56% 12 A substantial proportion of the u s measles cases in the era after elimination were intentionally unvaccinated. 47.06% 13 the phenomenon of vaccine refusal was associated with an increased risk for measles among people who refuse vaccines and among fully vaccinated individuals. 57.69% 14 although pertussis resurgence has been attributed to waning immunity and other factors vaccine refusal was still associated with an increased risk for pertussis in some populations. 57.69% Work cited. Laufer, Batia, and Paul Nation. Vocabulary size and use: Lexical richness in L2 written production. Applied linguistics 16.3 (1995): 307-322. Johansson, Victoria. Lexical diversity and lexical density in speech and writing: a developmental perspective. Working Papers in Linguistics 53 (2009): 61-79. Abney, Steven Paul. The English noun phrase in its sentential aspect. Diss. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1987. Pg. 45

Friday, September 20, 2019

Comparing the Secular Humanist, Machiavelli and the Religious Humanist,

Comparing the Secular Humanist, Machiavelli and the Religious Humanist, Erasmus One can often identify a person's political, religious or cultural orientation by his or her reaction to certain words. A case in point is the expression "secular humanism." For religious conservatives those words sum up much of what is wrong with contemporary society. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary gives several definitions for humanism, a word which made its appearance in 1832. The first is "a devotion to the humanities or the revival of class, individualistic and critical spirit, and emphasis on secular concerns characteristic of the Renaissance." Renaissance is capitalized. Another definition reads as follows: "a doctrine, attitude, or way of life centered on human interests or values, especially a philosophy that usually rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual's dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason." Ousted from power and in exile from Florence, the city where he had served as a diplomat, Niccolà ² Machiavelli wrote a famous how-to-do politics book called The Prince. That was nearly 500 years ago and yet it holds a prophetic relevance for own age. Machiavelli fits both parts of our definition of humanism. On one hand, he was versed in the classics and inspired by his study of the government of Republican Rome and his own experience; thus he fits into the Renaissance period. On the other hand, he could be called a secular humanist because he rejects the authority of religion; he trusts his own reason and informs us that he will deal only with "the truth of the matter as facts show it" (34). Most people today would agree with him that the state needs to restrict the power of the church. ... ...nt that held the political power. Machiavelli saw the need for liberation--liberation from religious ideology; what counted in politics was getting the job done. Religion was unnecessary, only to be used as a kind of smoke screen for the real business at hand. Erasmus' used scholarship and wit to attack ignorance and corruption. He did not give up on the establishment nor did he turn his back on his faith. Both blind religious faith and cynical secularism threaten us today. Because I live in a society that claims to be religious, but operates according to secular principles I suppose that I fear the latter more. The current disillusionment with politics shows all too well that Machiavelli has, in a sense, won. We assume that morality and religious convictions do not play an important role in politics. We are only beginning to reap the fruits of that victory.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

An Organic Dissection of a Tutoring Session :: Personal Narrative Writing

An Organic Dissection of a Tutoring Session When Delvin (that's what I will call him) walked into the Writing Resource Center I was a little worried because I knew him from another class and a few social events, besides talking with him on occasion around the campus. I had had a bad experience earlier in the year when tutoring a friend of mine who'd asked me to help him with punctuation. I ended up just giving him a punctuation sheet and tried to work on some deeper level problems with word choices and development. He didn't see the problems or seem to want help in those areas, so he was offended at my attitude towards the content of his paper. (He thought that it was a near final draft except for a little editing.) Right away, though, Delvin said that his paper was in an early draft stage and he need some help "making it clear" because he was dealing with a difficult topic for Philosophy 205, Aesthetics. Now, Aesthetics is a complex topic dealing with ideas, objects, feelings, and theories as to what is beautiful and what is ugly. And Philosophy has a mode of thinking that is complex. At the time of my session with Delvin I didn't make the connection between the two, but prior writing to this paper the magnets reached their poles: the connection between philosophical thinking and writing development and also their ability, when done properly, to deal with complex issues. The main connection between the two is their ability to start with a topic and break it down into simple ideas and then reconstruct it into a theory or paper that displays, argues, questions, or proves the topic to a reader or listener. The philosophers main mode of dissecting a topic is by questioning every factor that is relevant (and even some that are irrelevant.) This is basically the same thing a writer should do when he or she begins to organize his or her paper. They need to find out, "who did what, when, where, and why?" Many writers and philosophers can organize these questions and answers in their head so that it makes sense to them, but the problem lies when they have to communicate multitudes of simple ideas to someone other than themselves. The overall idea won't make much sense to a reader if the writer spits it out like a madman babbling about the apocalypse.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Jamaican Sugar Plantations Essay -- Jamaica Sugar Essays History

Jamaican Sugar Plantations When beginning to discuss sugar plantations in Jamaica, the word slavery comes to mind. This thought occurs because of the crucial role that the slaves played in attempting to make these plantations successful. During the 18th century, "the so-called sugar colonies were the most valuable possessions of overseas empires" (Floyd, 38). Sugar plantations produced money for not only the economy of Jamaica, but for their motherland England as well. Essentially these plantations were created because the aristocrats in Europe needed something to sweeten all of their drinks. However, with lack of space in Europe, the wealthy decided that plantations would flourish in Jamaica. Despite the success of these plantations, they were tools used to discriminate and exploit African-Americans. When the abolition of slavery occurred in Jamaica, the role of the sugar plantation significantly declined. One can say that sugar plantations in Jamaica were mass industries that were designed to belittle the Af ricans and give them little chance at success. The island of Jamaica is roughly 4400 square miles and its size rivals that of Connecticut. "Most of the island comprises a rugged and highly dissected topography, with steeply sloping hills and sharply twisting valleys" (Floyd, vii). With this rugged terrain, it seems to be quite ironic that nearly half of the population lives off the land. The Jamaicans rely on exceptional soil, a good irrigation system and fertilizer to ensure that their most prosperous crops will flourish. Sugar is among these resources that has helped create a stable economy in Jamaica. Jamaica established itself as a leading sugar producer in the 18th century after they decided that they had ... ...ound to become broken down. With the harsh realities slaves faced everyday, it was inevitable that its collapse would come. Nonetheless, sugar cane production was able to produce a stable economy in Jamaica for several years and ultimately led to the success of an entire nation. Bibliography Beckles, Hilary. Caribbean Slave Society and Economy. The New Press: New York, 1993. Cliff, Michele. Abeng. Penguin Books: New York, 1984. Floyd, Barry. Jamaica An Island Microcosm. St. Martin’s Press: New York, 1979. Hall, Douglas. In Miserable Slavery. MacMillan Publishers:London, 1989. Holt, Thomas. The Problem of Freedom. Hopkins Press:London, 1992. Knight, Franklin. The Caribbean: Second Edition. Oxford University Press: New York, 1990. Tomich, Dale. Slavery in The Curcuit of Sugar. Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, 1990.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Anagene Inc.

Anagene is a biotechnology firm started by Mark Hansen and Harold Bergman in 1993. Hansen and Bergman planned to combine microelectronics and molecular biology to develop products that would have broad commercial applications in genomics and other fields. Anagene’s mission was to facilitate breakthrough genetic analysis. The company went public in the year 1998 and raised $42. 9 million. The company’s core product was a cartridge which had to be analyzed with a Anagene-designed workstation. Management anticipated a long string of cartridge sales following the sale of each Anagene workstation. Product Information WORKSTATION Anagene’s first major product was a proprietary platform technology – The Anagene Molecular Biology Workstation. This included a loader (which could load four cartridges at a time), a reader (which read and analyzed one cartridge at a time) and a disposable cartridge that contained the company’s proprietary microchip. The product was priced at $160,000 – each workstation shipped with four cartridges. CARTRIDGES Anagene also sold disposable cartridges – priced at $150 each. Each cartridge contained an electronic chip that held test sites laid out in a geometric grid called an array. Cartridges could perform up to 99 tests on any single sample. As the company sold more workstations, it expected the demand for its cartridges to increase rapidly. MANUFACTURING Anagene’s management decided to outsource the production of workstations to Hitachi. Hitachi and Anagene would work together to cut costs through value engineering thereby enabling the transfer price to continually decrease. Initially, the final testing would be performed at Anagene’s facilities. As the company grew, this activity would also be outsourced to Hitachi. Anagene built its own manufacturing facility for the cartridges in order to capture the profits from the very high forecasted sales of its product. STANDARD COSTING SYSTEM AT ANAGENE DURING 2000 Anagene’s cost system calculated standard costs once a year. The process started by estimating the budgeted variable costs per unit – materials, direct labor, outside processing (several manufacturing steps had been outsourced), and scrap. Plant level overhead costs were allocated among cartridge manufacturing, instrument manufacturing, and R&D. These assignments were determined by the manufacturing department. The cost driver that was used to obtain overhead cost per unit was â€Å"budgeted production volume†. Machines used in the production process were assigned to different manufacturing steps which allowed for easy allocation of depreciation as an overhead expense. The standard cost per cartridge was then calculated by adding up the direct material, direct labor and overhead costs. Some other costs associated with the sale of cartridges included the unit cost of royalties and estimated returns expense. These standard costs were used for financial reporting purposes, assessing product costs and profitability. ISSUES Because of the infancy of the company and the genomics market, it was difficult for Anagene’s management to correctly forecast the company’s future sales volumes and thereby their gross margins. This led to frequent revisions to previously submitted estimates. In one instance, the company revised its estimate for the FY2001 that showed standard costs increasing by 40% and gross margins dropping from 65% to 45%. One of the main reasons identified for this reduction in margins is the increase in overhead costs due to reduction in budgeted volume. In the early quarters, sales are difficult to forecast and the company has experienced fluctuating production volumes and unpredictable gross margins, which has upset the board of directors. The purpose of the case study is to determine a new costing approach based on capacity. With large amounts of unused capacity, the decision of how to apply capacity costs is critical to the company's management and its reporting strategy with analysts. DIFFERENT TYPES OF CAPACITIES Essentially, there are four different kinds of capacity. Theoretical Capacity: -This is the volume of activity that could be attained under ideal operating conditions, with minimum allowance for inefficiency. It is the largest volume of output possible. Practical Capacity: – It is the highest activity level at which the factory can operate with an acceptable degree of efficiency, taking into consideration unavoidable losses of productive time (i. e. , vacations, holidays, and repairs to equipment). Normal Capacity:-It is the average level of operating activity that is sufficient to fill the demand for the company's products or services for a span of several years, taking into consideration seasonal and cyclical demands and increasing or decreasing trends in demand. Master-Budget Capacity :- It is similar to normal capacity, except it is a short-run level based on demand, it minimizes under- or over applied overhead but does not provide a consistent basis for assigning overhead cost. Per-unit overhead will fluctuate because of short-term changes in the expected level of output. Currently, Anagene is using this method. THE GAME PLAN Strategic cost management dictates the use of â€Å"practical capacity of resources rather than budgeted manufacturing volumes when calculating standard costs. If forecasted activity levels are used to calculate cost driver rates, a death spiral may launch in an organization. That is if the cost base (the overhead expense) is fixed, then any decrease in the activity level (the cost driver) will lead to a higher overhead cost per unit. This is a simple arithmetic response to a decrease in the denominator with an unchanged numerator. Using this new high cost driver rate to compute costs will lead to lower gross margins. This may lead the company to set higher prices. These high prices may cause product demand to lower leading to lower activity rates which are again fed into the system causing the cost driver to go up. This creates a vicious cycle. The cost driver rate should reflect the underlying efficiency of the process which is measured better by recognizing the capacity of resources being supplied. Anagene should use practical capacity which could be estimated by subtracting from the theoretical capacity the expected time required for normal maintenance, repairs, startups, and shutdowns. The case provides numbers on equipment depreciation, machine capacity, and manufacturing overhead to allow calculations for different overhead rates based on assumptions about how the plant's capacity costs should be assigned to production quantities.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Defining the Purpose and the Problem When Writing Proposals Essay

INTRODUCTION When drafting a proposal for any type of changes in the workplace, it is important to define the purpose and identify the problem being addressed in the proposal. There must be a needed or desired change identified in order to begin the research and planning phases of the project. Once the desired change is identified, the request for proposal process can begin. This process is repeatable and interchangeable with all project and grant proposals. GENERAL INFORMATION Collecting project requirements is the first step in determining the processes to be used to meet those requirements. The stakeholders of the project should be identified and each group’s individual tasks and boundaries identified. At the Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO), efficient, accurate, and personal customer interactions are all part of the Service Department’s daily operating policies and procedures. As a major part of this operating strategy, change is often imperative to maintaining expected levels of efficiency and accuracy when servicing  insurance policies for GEICO customers. Service Agents are responsible for anywhere from 50-100 calls from policyholders per day. Developing a new system of self-service options for GEICO’s approximately 13 million policyholders nationwide help alleviate over-burdened call centers. In order to ensure that policyholders are able to complete needed transactions without a need to call a licensed agent, th e self-service system must include the same controls as the GEICO Agent’s systems. The duration of this system enhancement and development project will be no more than three months, beginning on August 1, 2014. Distribution of the system will be completed over the following two month period and will be fully on-line in all Regional Office Service Centers by January 1, 2015. Financial resources are unlimited, but will be approved at the discretion of the Approving Authority on a case by case basis. There will be a total of 22 participants in this system development project. The Regional Vice President in charge Region X as the overall Approving Authority for the project. All changes to the established project requirements will be sent via the Project Manager through her office for final approval. A Project Manager who is a current Team Leader / Supervisor of Employees is needed to oversee the project directly. This Team Leader will be chosen by the Regional Vice President. Updated monthly statistics through the month of June, 2014 will determine the best candidate for assignment to this project. In the interest of team integrity, the five Licensed Agents assigned to this Team Leader will be selected to serve as the Working Group of the project and will be pulled from regular floor duties for the duration of the project. This group will be responsible for providing performance and safety measures, system input requirements, and accuracy testing through periodic live reviews of the system. A five person Software and Systems Development Team (SSDT) of Information Technology Office Agents (ITOA) will be responsible for the creation of the  new Internet-based system. Taking inputs from the Working Group members, a system will be written and distributed to all GEICO Regional Offices upon completion of testing and final approval. In addition to the trained professionals assigned to this project, a small sampling of ten customers (Product Testers) from the Tucson area will be participating in the testing and improvement phase of the project to ensure simplicity and accuracy of use for the new system. These testers will receive no formal training on the new system. The only outside input provided will be a data entry sheet containing information for the customer to input / edit on training accounts to test the user-friendliness of the final interface before full distribution. These product testers will also be given satisfaction questionnaires throughout the duration of the testing period from October 1 – October 15. The Product Testers will work from 8AM – 5 PM, with a one-hour lunch break, Monday – Friday. The Product Testers will be paid $600 (before taxation) at the end of the two week testing period. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS The Project Manager will report bi-weekly to the Approving Authority directly with performance updates and any changes to the project Scope. Updates to project objective statuses will be included. These objectives are: Develop a user-friendly policy management system. Test the new system. Identify bugs, inefficiencies, and needed control measures to be built into the new system. Implement needed changes and control measures. Develop a training model using a closed operating system with identical functionality as the production system. Train all employees to use the new system. Put the new system into operation across the GEICO organization. Release the self-service version to policyholders through GEICO’s website at GEICO.com Market the new process to current and prospective policyholders throughout the country. RECORD KEEPING Upon completion of the project, a final report (summary of all tasks), changes, and improvements to the original scope of the project is compiled and turned in to the Approving Authority and kept on file for three years in accordance with State Insurance Regulations. All documents and records kept throughout the creation and testing process will be collected, scanned for sensitive information, and all non-essential pieces will be destroyed. Essential project â€Å"keeper† documents containing sensitive information and company procedures will be edited and stored with the final summary document for three years. EVALUATION CRITERIA Upon completion of the project, a final report (summary of all tasks), changes, and improvements to the original scope of the project is compiled and turned in to the Approving Authority and kept on file for three years in accordance with State Insurance Regulations. All documents and records kept throughout the creation and testing process will be collected, scanned for sensitive information, and all non-essential pieces will be destroyed. Essential project â€Å"keeper† documents containing sensitive information and company procedures will be edited and stored with the final summary document for three years. CONCLUSION Through effective use of the Proposal and the Project Planning Processes, change can be implemented across any size organization effectively and efficiently. Accurate identification of the purpose and possible problems when writing a Project Proposal will increase the chances of efficient and effective change.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Horney’s theory Essay

1. Samara demonstrates Horney’s â€Å"moving towards† neurosis meaning she deals with anxiety by an excessive interest in being accepted, needed, and approved of. We first learn this in the first paragraph where it says, â€Å"she is sensitive to the needs of others.† She is constantly looking for a boy to accept her and does all that she can to make sure he is happy. An example of this would be when she cooks him big dinners and only goes to see movies he will like to. She get very bad anxiety when her boyfriends would hang out with other girls, which would lead her to become very possessive. 2. According to Horney’s theory, what leads Samara’s neurotic behavior is her tendency to take on a dependent role compared to others and her unlimited desire for love. â€Å"Moving towards† people see others as potential resources who can support them and help reduce their anxiety of being along so they seek love, approval, and someone to get close with in order to save them. 3. Samara’s self-image is not an accurate one. She does not have a very accurate idea of who she is. She is very insecure and relies on other people to help build her up therefore she is not able to realize her own potential and achieve self-realization. According to Horney’s theory, there is a discrepancy between Samara’s idealized self versus the real image of herself. Samara’s idealized self was created to overcome Samara’s feelings of inferiority and makes her try and possess all great qualities. This is the reason she is doing everything in her power to make her boyfriend at the time happy and doing all things for him. It is also the reason that Samara never thinks she is doing anything wrong. On the other hand, Samara’s real self is the reason behind all of her self-criticism and hate that is driving her towards always needing to be loved. Her ideal self is taking over her real self and is what is controlling her behavior and actions. 4. For Samara, there is a huge discrepancy between her organismic self and her perceived self. Samara’s organismic self is who she actually is, so she according to the reading Samara is someone is comes across as very insecure, demanding, lonely, and protective. She tries too hard to make her boyfriends happy. Her ideal self is the person she really thinks she is. Samara never  understands why boys don’t love her and why she isn’t married yet even though us as readers could tell right away what the issues were. Samara doesn’t understand her organismic self and that is what is causing Samara’s loneliness. 5. Another theory that could be useful in describing Samara is Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which states that people possess a set of motivation systems unrelated to rewards to unconscious desires. Samara is constantly looking to make herself happy and is relying on other things besides her own self to become happy. According to this theory Samara is stuck on the level of love and belonginess needs meaning she is seeking friendship, intimacy, affection and love. The reading says that Samara is rarely ever alone because once her and a boy break up she immediately goes on to another boy. 6. Carl Roger’s phenomenological theory is something that could change how Samara saw herself, her boyfriends, and how she acted towards her boyfriends. The concept of self-actualization refers to someone moving from a dependent person to an independent person and focuses on someone reducing their tension and their needs, which will help bring them more pleasures and satisfaction. Right now, Samara is also tense because she is worry about how to make another person happy hoping that their happiness will make sure they keep loving her. If Samara were to develop more confidence and trust she would be able to see all the good things she has going on and all of her strengths that will allow her to become a more independent person. Once she is able to do that she will be able to find someone else who will love her and they can have a much more healthy relationship than she has had in the past.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Case Study About Ebola Essay

Throughout this world over the course of centuries, there were many deadly diseases and plagues that killed people or killed an entire population. From the black plague to chickenpox, disease have a huge impact on the population and countries as a whole. Just recently, the virus, Ebola, has made its way through countries across the world and have killed many people. Some people do not know what exactly Ebola is or how it kills people, but people need to discover the importance of the disease and how we as people are preventing it. Ebola is a hemorrhagic virus, part of the virus family called Filoviridae, that consists of 5 other Ebola diseases. Ebola started in the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo with an infectious person. The infected person then spread the virus to thousands of people which lead to between 1,552 to 1,716 cases of Ebola. What causes this virus among many people are blood on a human as well as bodily fluids of infected or sick animals. Once these fluid s are in or affect the human body, the virus Ebola will infect the whole body of an individual. The symptoms of the virus Ebola are active two to three weeks after contracting the virus. Some common symptoms of Ebola are a very high fever, sore throat, muscle pain, as well as a headache. The high fever weakens the body to perform at an all time low and it is hard for the patient to move around or communicate. After the basic symptoms occur, more complex and harsher conditions come on to the patient. The patient would soon feel very sick and begin to vomit, develop a harsh rash, and develop a lot of very painful diarrhea. One scientist on the virus Ebola describes the virus: â€Å"Ebola then turns the insides of its host into jelly: you begin to vomit black junk which is basically your dissolved liver and internal organs.†. Though we live in a modern technological and medical world, there is no treatment to be found to fully cure an infected human being. Some people in the world have not fully treated the disease by tried abnormal treatments. People infected my go on oral rehydration therapy (salty/sweet water diet) or drink intravenous fluids. The virus is so deadly, that its kills nearly 50 to 90 percent of its patients infected with the virus. Because there is no treatment, there are only way to prevent the disease from starting or spreading. The way the disease can not spread or develop is by checking animals (origin of disease) for infections or making sure not fluids make contact with human skin. Along with checking animals,  humans need to wear protective gear to check, kill, and correctly dispose of the animal or people with Ebola. Many believe a quarantine has done a good job to separate the virus from virus-free people. Some people in the Congo believe that just washing the hands may prevent the virus from attacking a human. Although countries have come a long way in preventing the disease, the disease had made it was closer to other countries and has found a way into the United States. There have been a handful of United States citizens who have been affected but have been â€Å"cured†. One case has been found in Texas when a man has not realized he was infected until three weeks later. Because Ebola is a harsh, developing disease across the country and is growing concern, the United States and other coun ty’s organizations have come to fight the disease. Before the virus, Ebola, has spread into the United States and friendly countries, the United States stepped up to fight the deadly disease. The current president, Barack Obama, has taken a huge to step to help fight the disease while other foreign problems, like Isis or Syria, has started over the last couple of months. Some ways the United States has been involved in fighting the disease is by sending in thousands of soldiers. By sending in soldiers, the virus Ebola can be obtained more easily and create less of the spread. Also, the United States has also planned and announced the 22 million dollar project to create hospitals to station and help patients fight Ebola. This hospital will contain 100 beds and 500 health care providers per week. What other countries, international aid organizations, and the UN have done to fight the disease is provide health care systems. Although the health care systems are to help the patients, the systems failed miserably and collapsed under the strain of the virus, Ebola. Also, other countries like Britain, have send more than 40 troops and humanitarian staff members to help cure and c onstruct hospitals to fight the disease. At last, how do we develop health care infrastructures? One main position of creating health care infrastructures will focus on the people in poverty and helping them become distant from the disease. If we can eliminate the poverty community from Ebola, we can decrease the spread of it. At last, what we as people need to do is to donate or help out the system in which would put a huge dent and impact into cures and preventions for viruses such as Ebola. Although the disease is deadly, two principles can be applied to the deadly disease called Ebola.  Two principles that apply to the virus Ebola are human dignity and common good. Human dignity is something that can be taken away. One thing that can be taken away from Ebola patients is assisted or mandatory death. Common Good is for the benefit and interest of all. One action that benefits and interests all is to find a cure for the disease. In conclusion about Ebola, the rise of Ebola has started in our country and we need a way to find to cure Ebola around the world.

Friday, September 13, 2019

The book Breakout Nations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The book Breakout Nations - Essay Example To recognize the countries that will emerge as economic winner in the future, it is important that one should abandon the habit of making assessments from past events and putting diverse countries in one bracket. It is required that emerging markets be treated separately and one should remember that economic success is not an everyday issue. The new â€Å"breakout nations† may jump from the darkness and Sharma identifies the nations they probably will be and attempts to explain the reason behind his speculation. Through this book, Sharma looks at the world from the glasses of a veteran market player. His book is based on his experiences and studies on developing countries that he gained after twenty years of travelling around the world. This book defines a breakout nation as the one that exceeds expectations or that develops faster than other countries having the same per capita income. Sharma has explained the reason behind this definition. He says that there is a circulating myth that if China’s economic growth gets reduced from its previous rate then it will make no difference as China will still be progressing faster than many western nations. Sharma, however has two views on this. According to him if China’s growth rate declines, then it will be considered as recession within the nation, and also for the rest of the world because people are accustomed to the previous growth rate of China. Sharma explains that other than growth rate, it is also important from where the growth starts. With two nations having same growth rates, it is the country with more per capital income that will be making a huge achievement. He said â€Å"per capita income is the critical measure because a growing pie doesnâ⠂¬â„¢t change a nation’s circumstances if the number of mouths it needs to feed is growing just as fast.† (Sharma, 19) Sharma attempts to speculate as to what factors contribute towards some nations that can

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Should Same-Sex Marriage be Legalized Worldwide Essay

Should Same-Sex Marriage be Legalized Worldwide - Essay Example Equality is fundamental and same sex marriages should also be constitutionally recognized. The definition of marriage should deviate from the ‘thicker’ religious perception to the ‘thin’ altered government definition to incorporate other marriages and enforce equality and respect for the rights of all people. The paper also argues that denying homosexuals rights to marriage is a denial of their rights in pursuit of happiness. Finally, it argues that though resistance could be high in other areas, the societies are slowly changing their perception and most nations have adopted or are in due process of recognizing same-sex marriages. Keywords: Homosexual, Same Sex Marriages, Straight Marriages, Heterosexual Marriages, Protections, Cultures, Beliefs, Equality, Pursuit of Happiness, Religion, Christian, Attitudes, Society, Rights, Government The issue of homosexuality has long history in the world. Its existence had always been suppressed by the social and political altitudes in the societies, which prevented the concerned parties from standing up for what they believed in. Allegedly, families have raised children and dictated what is needed of them. However, those who have demonstrated pure sexual attraction to people of the same gender have been condemned and are forced to change their preferences to suit others’ expectations. Some parents have gone far to reject their own children who choose to and uphold their position on same sex marriage. Cases of homosexuality can well be traced in the ancient times of Egyptians, Greeks and the Romans. Though not popular as in the contemporary world, the Christian dominated negative attitude of the same sex marriages has remained over time; the imposition of an Eskridge in the roman empire during the 4th century demonstrated the rising homosexual unions, which the empire w as

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

What's hot in Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

What's hot in Information Systems - Essay Example WebGL allows the client to browse freely within the website and offer an added advantage when it comes to the graphics. Many browsers require plug-ins for some of the graphics to play. However, the use of WebGL allows the client to enjoy using a website with less hassles and quicker navigation (My Opera). It also provides a beautiful environment that excites and attracts a user as they interact with the 3D creations in real-time (Cozzi and Riccio 28). The fact that one can share and publish 3D content at a quicker pace is also appealing. This means that clients can share the product with their friends; hence acting as marketing agents (Khronos group). It is accessible through a variety of user interfaces such as mouse or touch technology; thus reaching a wider audience through different platforms (Nilsson 1). In this era of digitization, such applications are crucial for business entities. The boost that the WebGL performance offers in business should not be underestimated. It is a strong tool that has been recommended by developers from Sony Inc. and Google Inc. among many other renowned software

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Film - Essay Example Because of this, her husband is disappointed but he believes that he will find a way to take care of his son. He joins an internship program where he does not receive any payment. His condition grows worse when his scanning machines are stolen. In addition, he his later evicted from the apartment. They live in the streets, while there he nurtures his son with love and tenderness. With this, the essay brings out what â€Å"The Pursuit of Happyness† says about the modern day fathers and the cultural and social changes reflected in the film. The movie clearly portrays the close relationship between father and son. Christopher provides psychological and emotional support to his child, although they live in the streets. They both struggle hard to achieve their goals knowing very well that success does not come easily, it needs commitment. Christopher Gardner as a single father tries his best to bring up his son in the right way possible (Nadine 4). Christopher Gardener the main cha racter in the film tries his best to balance his professional and personal life. He and his son endure many hardships for instance sleeping in bathrooms. In one of the scenes in this film Christopher is jailed for ten days for not paying the parking fees this shows how Christopher undergoes hardships with his son. This shows how the society values money than human life. As a result of his state in one of the scenes, Christopher pushes women in the bus so that he can get a chance to sleep in the homeless shelter (Nadine 4). This confirms that, when people are in desperate situations morals ceasing to exist they only focus on solving the problem. By this experience between Christopher and his son, the role of modern fathers is clearly brought out. Christopher Gardner balances his personal life and professional life in this film just as modern fathers do. He provides the support he should provide as a father and still works as an intern. In this essay, Christopher struggles to obtain t he American dream and the true happiness just as the modern fathers do especially in the United States of America. There are some social cultural changes addressed in this film. Individualism, which takes a big part in the American society, is portrayed in this film. Individualism is a common problem in the American History. In addition, it has taken root in modern America as portrayed in the film. This means that most American’s believe that they can achieve their dreams by their own self. In this film, Christopher Gardner struggles to raise his son as a single father. He focuses on achieving his dream as an individual. This shows that individualism is a social issue that still exists in America. The film shows how people are trying to achieve the American dream. Besides the main character, the movie revolves on the life of San Francisco. In the film, people struggle to fight time by moving hurriedly in the streets. The movement of the vehicle and the beeps of horns show how urgency surrounds the whole city. People show casing their talents along the roads show how most people in the city are jobless. The musicians who are seen at the start of the film show how most people in San Francisco use their free time to obtain quick cash. The main character in the film is a victim of the highly competitive society. This is shown by how he struggles in life. Christopher has not sold any bone

REWARD SYSTEM- CASE STUDY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

REWARD SYSTEM- CASE STUDY - Essay Example 1.3 Pay. The basic rate for regular employees is  £14,000. A bonus system is in place which is commensurate to the call handler’s efforts in terms of (a) number of calls taken, and (b) informal assessment by supervisors on the quality of customers relations in sampled calls. So far it has ranged from 0 to  £8,000, averaging at  £1,300. Bonuses are paid out every three months. 1.5 Commission. The chief executive has commissioned a study to be made on an appropriate rewards system that would resolve the aforementioned problems, while at the same time matching the organisation’s key competencies, namely From the case situation given, there appears to be prima facie dissatisfaction with the rewards system of Chalmers pertaining to their call handlers, and the way the rewards system is being administered. However, this may be misleading as all allegations of unfairness and poor pay come solely from the handlers, which may be a biased perception. At present, there is no agreed, specific definition of a call centre. The University of Sheffield, commissioned to create a study of the industry for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), formulated a working definition of a â€Å"call centre† as â€Å"a work environment in which the main business is conducted via a telephone whilst simultaneously using display screen equipment (DSE). The term call centre includes parts of companies dedicated to this activity, such as internal help lines as well as whole companies.† (Sprigg, Smith & Jackson, 2003). An alternative name for this type of business firm is the â€Å"contact centre† which is described as â€Å"a business unit with responsibility for communicating directly with customers, either proactively to initiate sales, or reactively in order to respond to specific needs or enquiries. Contact centres are used extensively across both the private and public sectors (UK Trade and

Monday, September 9, 2019

Social Problem Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Social Problem Theories - Essay Example The aim of Symbolic interactionism is to encourage people to help one another in social matters. A critical focus will be put on the subjective meaning among small groups of people including the popular and non-popular viewpoints. This aids in the understanding and acceptance of the problem. Functionalists will explain the problem of suicide or homicide by looking at the social behavior of an individual in the larger society. This entails the collection of information from the members of the society who may be familiar with the individual in terms of social status (Mooney, Knox, & Schacht, 2012). Since the main focus of the theory is the steady patterns of social relations or structures of the victim, for instance the consequence of social cohesion patterns on the rates of suicide or homicide. In explaining the issue of suicide or homicide, the Functionalist theorists demonstrate how social structures uphold or challenge social stability (Mooney, Knox, & Schacht, 2012. Functionalists will offer a proper analysis on the effects of some members of the society on an individual’s behavior. Basing on the theory therefore, it will be argued that in order to address the problem of suicide or homicide, societal issues must be addressed for instance poverty, unemployment, and relationships. Conflict theorists will explain the problem of suicide or homicide basing on the differences in the societal, political, or material status of the members of the social group (Zetterberg, 2002). The analysis of the socio-political structure differentiates the theory from the functionalism. Conflict theory, will address the issue of differences in power. In most cases, the privileged members of the community always try to uphold their benefits while the poor groups continue to suffer. According to the theory, under special circumstances, steady discrimination patterns in the society might lead to social stability (Zetterberg,

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Ethics of Merci Killing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics of Merci Killing - Essay Example People argue that if legalized the choice of their life will be given to other people who may use it unethically to kill those whom they have a bias against. Another reason is regarding the religious aspect of life. Some religions see life as a gift from God and do not give a man the authority to take life at his own will.â€Å"The word Euthanasia means a "good death,"  Ã‚  "beneficial death" or a ‘dignified death’."   Euthanasia can be practiced in a number of ways; one can be defined as passive Euthanasia which is carried out to hasten the death of a person. For example by removing a patient from life support or in some cases by stopping food and water or any sort of medicine which is helping to keep the patient alive.The controversy surrounding Euthanasia can be broadly categorized into two arguments, one in favor of Euthanasia and the other against it. We will briefly shed light on both of these arguments.â€Å"Pro-lifers readily agree that anyone should have t he right to refuse medical treatment if he believes the side effects, whether pain or the burden of being tied to some machine or whatever is worse than the disease. This includes two types of people, One: People who, perhaps because of a serious illness or perhaps for reasons unrelated to their illness, are extremely depressed and say they want to die and Two: People who are suffering from illnesses that make them unable to communicate. This includes people who are in a coma, or paralyzed, or simply so sick and weak that they cannot make meaningful sounds or other communication. The pro-euthanasia people say that such patients' ‘quality of life’ is so low that they are better off dead and they should be killed.†People who argue against euthanasia say that if legalized it can become an issue of cost containment and government saving rather than providing long term care to serious patients or those who do not have health insurance.