Managing Human Resources Master Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Managing Human Resources Master - Essay Example Traditional human resource methods include but are not limited to placing an add in the newspaper or hiring a head hunter. However, neither effort can specify details of their requirements in a cost-effective way. The purchase of a advertisement leaves the employer unable to afford to pack in so much information in a print add. Traditional recruitment methods also have higher costs per hire. This is especially so in the case of head hunters who require a percentage of the annual salary of the candidate whom is ultimately hired. Human Resource recruitment has been argued to be the process of attracting the best qualified individuals or candidate to apply for a job. In business, recruitment involves three stages, identify and define the requirements including the job description, job specifications, attract potential employees and make sure the most appropriate people are retain for a particular position (Poole 1999). Human resource selection process can take place either through internal or external method. According to Poole (1999) internal recruitment and selection refers to the filling of job vacancies from within the business here, existing employees are selected rather than employing someone from outside (Poole 1999). A business might decide that it already has the right people with the right skills to do the job, particularly if its training and development programme has been effective (Poole 1999). Poole (1999) went further to states how internal vacancies are usually advertised within the business via a variety of sources such as Staff notice boards Intranets, in-house magazines etc. This internal selection method has largely been applauded because of its growth opportunity given to internal employees. For example, Osborne, Hyman & Jack (2006) stipulated that internal selection processes, gives existing employees greater opportunity to advance their careers in the business and may help to retain staff who might otherwise leave and assist in a situation of a short induction training period (Osborne, Hyman & Jack 2006). On the other hand, external recruitment and selection processes refer to the filling of job vacancies from outside the business (contrast with internal recruitment). Most businesses engage in external recruitment fairly frequently, particularly those that are growing strongly, or that operate in industries with high staff turnover (Poole 1999, Osborne, Hyman & Jack 2006). Most often, organizations used several ways to look for staff externally. Some used external agencies, some headhunts, while others use job recruitment and student placement fare (Poole 1999). The main advantages with using an agency are the specialist skills they bring and the speed with which they normally provide candidates. They also

Nike vs Adidas Essay Example for Free

Nike vs Adidas Essay My area of study for this project would be more on comparing the performances for Nike and Adidas for the past 5 years. In this project I would explain the performance such as growth in profits, revenues, market share, the company employers and employees, size of the market share, steps for increasing the social performance, products performance, dividends per share, assets and the company investment. Nike and Adidas and have been the top two leading sport companies in the sport industry over the past few decades. These two companies sell and offer wide range of products for the customers and their products offered is mainly on sports wear for men and women and caters to consumers from different age groups. Their products consist on clothing such as jerseys, shirts, t-shirts, shorts and pants. These companies also provide the customers varieties of footwear such as sports shoes, casual shoes, boots, sandals and stockings. Besides that, fashion accessories are also offered from these three companies such as bags, watch, bracelets, wallets and purse. And lastly they also offer a wide range of sport gears for their customers. Nike and Adidas have also been the top sponsors in the sport industry. Sponsoring their products is important for the companies to get brand recognition, building their brand image and to promote their latest products. Nike and Adidas have been sponsoring equipments, clothing and accessories for athletes and coaches in sport tournaments and events. For instance, these three companies sponsor their products for football, soccer, basketball, baseball and many more. These companies also include slogan and motto for their company. Nike’s motto is â€Å"Just Do It’ which is the signature of the brand which makes their products and the company recognizable to consumers. As for Adidas, their current motto is â€Å"Impossible is Nothing† which serves as an encouragement to athletes for their sports. Origins and History of Nike and Adidas Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports was founded by University of Oregeon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger, making most sales at track meets out of Knights automobile. The companys profits grew quickly, and in 1966, Blue Ribbon Sports opened its first retail store, located on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, California. By 1971, the relationship between Blue Ribbon Sports and Onitsuka Tiger was nearing an end. BRS prepared to launch its own line of footwear, which would bear the newly designed Swoosh by Carolyn Davidson. The Swoosh was first used by Nike in June 1971, and was registered with the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 22, 1974. Adidas was founded in 1948 by Adolf Adi Dassler, following the split of Gebruder Dassler Schuhfabrik between him and his older brother, Rudolf. Rudolf would later establish Puma, which was the early rival of Adidas. Registered in 1949, Adidas is currently based in Herzogenaurach, Germany. The companys clothing and shoe designs typically feature three parallel bars, and the same motif is incorporated into Adidass current official logo. The Three Stripes were bought from the Finnish sport company Karhu Sports in the 1950s. Objective The objective of the project is to measure and compare the marketing strategies of the top two sport fashion companies which are Nike and Adidas. So this project would be mainly conducted to resolute the similarities and differences of the two sport companies marketing strategies. Besides that, this project will compare on the performance of Nike and Adidas which include the company’s growth in revenues, profits or net income, dividends per share, size of company in the market, performances of employees, steps for increasing the social responsibility performance, products performance, stock performance and the company performances in investment. Problem Statement Firstly, the sport industry is becoming ever more competitive, with new brands competing for a share of consumers for the products in the market. Building a relationship with customers is a challenge facing for Nike and Adidas. This is because the companies need to be followed up with new trends and styles in the industry for their customers in order for them to build their products brand and image. Secondly, there was a case happened in China where a local Chinese domestic sports goods manufacturer company called Li Ning opened 6917 stores in mainland China by December 31,2008 aking it 1241 more than the year of 2007. During the year 2008, Li Ning has published its financial report which states that due to the Beijing Olympic Games, the company made total revenues of CNY 669(million) a year on-year-increase of 53. 8% compared to the year 2007. Not only that, Li Ning made an overall entry into the market of Southeast Asia. Now they have stores in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and other Southeast Asia countries. This became a problem for Nike and Adidas where the two international giants see recession in their performance in China. According to the financial report of Adidas, the company’s net profit decreased by 95% to â‚ ¬ 130 million in the first half of the year. As for the sales revenue, it decreased by 2% to â‚ ¬ 5. 03 billion. As for Nike numbers of distributors were reduced in the year 2008 due with the bad performance. Thirdly, the problem that attracted me to do this project is because I would like to know why Nike had low growth in revenue in the year of 2009. Nike had only increased 3% of its revenue to $ 19176. (million), with net income falling 21% to $ 1486. 7(million). As for Adidas, they also had the same problem. But the problem for Adidas was worst compared to Nike because at the year of 2009, the company net income is â‚ ¬ 10381(million) which decreased compared to the year 2008 which is â‚ ¬ 10799(million). These two companies had their difficulties is the year of 2009. So I would eager to find out about the problems they faced during that year. Significance of Study The importance of doing this project would be very important to other parties and companies. In this case, small and medium enterprise (SME) would get the advantages and benefits because they would know how the bigger companies such as Nike and Adidas operates their businesses, how they sell their products and services to their customers, what kind of marketing strategies they use, how the companies measure their performances and the most important reason is how Nike and Adidas continues to become a big market player in the sports industry. As part of that, this project will comprise mainly of small to medium-sized companies to engage in a diversity of activities which includes manufacturing of sport goods, sport tourism, media, and construction of venues. For example, small and medium enterprise (SME) in Malaysia can take the opportunity to get involved with sport products, services, sponsorships, hosting up international sport tournaments and events. And not to forget, the involvement of (SME) would also helps our country in the tourism sector because many athletes and participants will get to travel and visit our country and this will relatively build the countries economic performances. Corporate social responsibilities (CSR) also play a role for every sport companies in responsibility to act in a way that positively contributes to their stakeholders and the communities in which they exist. In this case, it is increasingly important for the social and economic issues such as rapid technological change, a diverse and aging population, environmental changes and mounting concerns regarding the country’s growing social divide have resulted in focusing on the responsibility of firms to the communities in which they operate. (Margolis Walsh 2003; Sagawa Segal 2000) Justification The reason I chose this topic is because the project is interesting as sports is an important part of todays society and plays a large role in many peoples lives. From a social standpoint, sport plays a positive role in uniting people from different social backgrounds. This can aid peoples understanding and tolerance of each other. As far as education is concerned, sport is an important part of every childs schooling, as it plays a big role in both their physical and mental development. It teaches children how to work as a part of a team and cooperate with others, while at the same time improving physical condition. The second reason I chose sports industry because this industry is growing rapidly in Malaysia. There are continuous demands from customers, sports athletes, and models for these sport products. The Malaysian sport industry is considered as a young industry comprising of small and medium-sized businesses. The Malaysian sports industry comprises of companies engaging in a diversity of activities, from the manufacturing of sport goods, sport tourism, media, to the construction of sport facilities. The third why I chose these two companies is because Nike and Adidas has been the biggest market share player in the sports industry. Nike controls 31% of athletic sportswear which is the highest market share compared to other sport companies in the year 2007. As for Adidas, they control the second highest share of athletic sportswear which is 16% of the market in 2007. As for other companies Puma controls 7%, Reebok 6%, New Balance 6%, and Converse 4%. Expected Outcomes The expected outcome which I can conclude is Nike would have the better performance for this year 2010 because their net income/profit for the past few years have been stable. Ever since the year of 2006, Nike’s net income/profit stands at $ 1392. (million). As for the year 2007, it increased to $ 1491. 5(million). At the year 2008, Nike’s net income/profit increased with huge and outstanding amount of $ 1883. 4(million). But by the year of 2009, their company had a decreased in their net income/profit which is $ 1486. 7(million). As for Adidas, the company would not have a better performance compared to Nike because in the year 2009, their net income was only â‚ ¬ 245(million). Their net income decreased with a huge margin compared to the year 2008 which is â‚ ¬ 642(million). So the key impact from the financial statement of year 2009. The net income of Adidas reduced more than 60% in 2009. But Nike was capable of stabilizing the results with a minor reduction of only 20% in 2009. As for the performance of dividend development, Nike has shown increases in its number. For the year 2006, Nike’s dividends declared per common share stands at $ 0. 59. Their company dividend increased to $ 0. 98 in the year 2009. But as for Adidas, they showed a decline from the year 2006 to 2009. In the year 2006, Adidas dividends declared per common share stands at â‚ ¬ 0. 42. While in the year 2009, Adidas dividends declared per common share felt to â‚ ¬ 0. 5. As for the expected outcome for the year 2010, Nike would be expected to increase their dividends successfully because their dividend declared per common share has been rising steadily. As for the company’s asset assessment, I can expect that Nike would do better in the assets performance in the year 2010 because their total assets have been increasing from the year 2006-2009. The total of assets that Nike had in the year 2006 was $ 9,869(million), in the year of 2007, Nike’s assets increased to $ 10,688. 3(million). Last year, Nike had a total of assets of $ 13,250(million). This shows that Nike’s assets have been increasing and it is expected to rise in the year 2010. As for Adidas, their company’s total asset is not stable from the year shown in 2006-2009. In 2006, Adidas totals assets stands at â‚ ¬ 8379(million). It decreased on the following year to 8325(million). As for the year 2008, their total assets were increased to â‚ ¬ 9533(million). As for 2009, their total assets decreased to a total of â‚ ¬ 8875(million). Ever since Adidas total of assets is not stable, I can expect that Nike would do better in the assets performance. References http://condor.depaul.edu/~aalmaney/StrategicAnalysisofNike.htm http://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1693768.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike,_Inc http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reebok

Film History Essays -- The Silent Era of Film

In the early years of narrative cinema there was little pressure on filmmakers for the ‘evolution of film forms before nickelodeons’ (Salt, 1990, pp31) as cinema neither became a mass nor high cultural product and was still a novelty but ‘Production companies’ profits were based principally on the sales of longer fiction films’ in the later years (Musser, 1990, pp256) so focus was made for the production of popular narratives so I will show how the early development of narrative evolved from trick films to complex narrative. I will analyse the short film Mary Jane’s Mishap (1903, Smith) and an extract from the seminal The Birth of a Nation (1915, D.W.Griffith). Mary Jane’s Mishap was made when ‘multi-scene films were becoming popular’ (Salt, 1990, pp32) It is notable for its use of experimental transitions. To ‘separate successive scenes’ (Salt, 1990, pp32) Smith used vertical wipes to transition to wider framed shot. This efficiently showed an ellipsis in time from the funeral to people visiting her grave. D.W.Griffith also used inventive shots but popularised them rather than inventing them, such as tracking shots adding pace the characters movement and the narrative. In the silent-era of film insert titles were important in explaining the narrative to the primitive viewer not well-versed in film, especially in films where the audience were not familiar with the story unlike ‘Porters The Night before Christmas‘(Musser, 1990, pp258). Griffith used insert titles which ‘changed around 1905 into summaries of the action’ (Burch, 1990, pp221) As the film had a ‘self-sufficient narrative’ (Burch, 1990, pp221) that ran for over three hours, with poor camera quality to recognise characters. But they were ‘systematically anticipating t... ...ows this film as being a transition between the early trick films and narrative cinema. The Birth of a Nation has evolved in ‘relation to the articulation between shots in term of space and time’ (Gunning, 1990, pp89) it is of the third and fourth cinà ©-genres. As the ‘multi-shot narrative’ of approximately three hours long is edited as to the ‘cut is de-emphazised’ (Gunning, 1990, pp89) and is placed in the ‘fourth genre’ as the plot is disrupted through parallel editing (Gunning, 1990, pp90). In conclusion, we can see in film narrative The Birth of a Nation has progressed from the trick film narrative of Mary Jane’s Mishap to being identified according to Gunning as being of the third genre, due to both profitability and popularity of realistic cinema Moving from being of theatrical proscenium to complex cinematography to tell a story suited for the screen.

The Character of Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire :: A Streetcar Named Desire Essays

The Character of Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Blanche, Stella's older sister, until recently a high school English teacher in Laurel, Mississippi. She arrives in New Orleans a loquacious, witty, arrogant, fragile, and ultimately crumbling figure. Blanche once was married to and passionately in love with a tortured young man. He killed himself after she discovered his homosexuality, and she has suffered from guilt and regret ever since. Blanche watched parents and relatives, all the old guard, die off, and then had to endure foreclosure on the family estate. Cracking under the strain, or perhaps yielding to urges so long suppressed that they now could no longer be contained, Blanche engages in a series of sexual escapades that trigger an expulsion from her community. In New Orleans she puts on the airs of a woman who has never known indignity, but Stanley sees through her. Her past catches up with her and destroys her relationship with Mitch. Stanley, as she fears he might, destroys what's left of her. At the end of the play she is led away to an insane asylum. This is indeed the story of what happened to Blanche in the play but what flaws in her own character were to blame for her subsequent tragedy. Blanche is by far the most complex character of the play. An intelligent and sensitive woman who values literature and the creativity of the human imagination, she is also emotionally traumatised and repressed. This gives license for her own imagination to become a haven for her pain. One senses that Blanches own view of her real self as opposed to her ideal self has been increasingly blurred over the years until it is sometimes difficult for her to tell the difference. It is a challenge to find the key to Blanche's melancholy but perhaps the roots of her trauma lie in her early marriage. She was haunted by her inability to help or understand her young, troubled husband and that she has tortured herself for it ever since. Her drive to lose herself in the "kindness of strangers" might also be understood from th is period in that her sense of confidence in her own feminine attraction was shaken by the knowledge of her husband's homosexuality and she is driven to use her sexual charms to attract men over and over. Yet, beneath all this, there is a desire to find a companion, to find fulfilment in love.

Existentialism and Human Nature Essay

Absolute individuality and absolute freedom: the basis of all existentialist arguments. The existentialist’s conceptions arise from their held views that since we are all ultimately alone, we have absolute freedom over our nature. Existentialists emphasize the â€Å"free and conscious self† which opponents constantly attack, exclaiming that there is a â€Å"higher power† enabling our consciousness. But are humans so simple? Can things be explained solely on blaming ourselves or another being for our nature? The existentialist generally believes in a sole existence; meaning that we are alone in the world, and that we have no one but ourselves. They also believe in the human being’s capacity to feel more than one kind of pain, and that there are three different levels to our pain, physical, psychological, and emotional. All of these types of pain can cause us to become irrational and anxious. But are we really anxious because of this pain, or is it because we ultimately feel alone? And if we are all individuals, can we really feel the same kind of pain as someone else? Existence precedes essence is also dominant in the mind and thoughts of the existentialist. That is, the idea that we are born into this world without a predetermined nature, and only later in life do we shape out nature through actions and choices. This opposes the traditional view that is that essence precedes existence, according to which we are seen as having a purpose, and values, all of which is determined before birth. (I personally think that the idea of essence preceding existence is rather obscure. There is no way that our values and purpose can be determined by genetic code. DNA is what we are, not who we are.) Existentialists pose another question to the opposition: how can we be happy in a world devoid of significance and meaning? The loss of external values allows us to derive value from within ourselves. This value is greater than any imposed by outside forces, and thus cannot be taken away from said sources. Although many human beings live a life devoid of true happiness, it does not mean that we are incapable of attaining such a goal. If a person finds the meaning for their life, whether it be one meaning, or many, there is a large chance that they can achieve such a utopia without recognizing outside influences. People of different viewpoints follow different methods, as well as believe in different forces that shape our nature. It is in my opinion, as well as that of the existentialist, that we shape our own nature through decisions and actions made by our own free will; that we are ultimately free to act independently from the influences of outside forces. That we can ultimately ignore the views imposed on us, and achieve a sustainable level of happiness in the process. Human nature is a frail thing; people are just looking for someone else to blame for their actions and for who they are, even when there isn’t any. Therefore, there is no one to blame for who we are, but ourselves.

Economic Indicators essays

Economic Indicators essays The million (or should we say 'billion' now) dollar question is whether or not the United States' economy will stay in it's record 107 month expansion (according to the index of leading indicators) or come out of the boom and take a downturn into a recession. Nobody, including the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan has a crystal ball to provide insight as to what will happen if interest rates are raised, lowered, or left alone. However, Economists have developed a set of indicators to aid in predicting when a recession is about to occur and when the economy is in one. Indicators should not be mistaken for predictors. They are simply forecasting tools, and like any forecast can be misleading. The index of leading indicators that is reported in the popular press shows our economy is still in an expansion. For the purposes of our evaluation of the economy, we chose the Principle Economic Indicators tracked by the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau under the Economics and Statistics Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce. There are thirteen Principle Economic Indicators, and they fall into five major categories: National Output and Income; Orders, Sectoral Production, and Inventories; Consumer Spending; Housing and Construction; and Foreign Trade. The first of the five major categories directly relates to measuring the growth of the U.S. economy. National Output and Income consists of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Personal Income, and Corporate Profits measurements. GDP is the primary measurement of growth and measures the total amount of goods and services produced by governments, businesses, people, and property located within the United States. Both real (adjusted for inflation) and nominal (current value in dollars) data is collected for computing the GDP. The base year for the real data is 1997. The GDP is normally reported as an annualized quarter-to-quarter change. ...

E-DV Entry Status Confirmation Message

E-DV Entry Status Confirmation Message Every year in May, the U.S. State Department grants the opportunity to obtain a visa- based on availability in each region or country- to a random number of applicants in a lottery system. After entering, you can check your status on the electronic diversity visa (E-DV) website. There, you will receive one of two messages letting you know if your entry has been selected for further processing for the diversity visa. Types of Messages This is the message you will receive if your entry was not selected for further processing: Based on the information provided, the Entry HAS NOT BEEN SELECTED for further processing for the Electronic Diversity Visa Program. If you receive this message, you were not selected for this years green card lottery, but you always can  try again next year. This is the message you will receive if your entry was selected for further processing: Based on the information and confirmation number provided, you should have received a letter by mail from the United States Department of States Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) notifying you that your Diversity Visa entry was selected in the DV lottery.If you have not received your selectee letter, please do not contact KCC until after August 1. International mail delivery delays of one month or more are normal. KCC will not respond to questions they receive before August 1 regarding non-receipt of selectee letters. If you still have not received your selectee letter by August 1, however, you may contact KCC by email at kccdvstate.gov. If you receive this message, you were selected for this years green card lottery. Congratulations! You can see what each of these messages looks like on the Department of State website. What Is the Diversity Visa Program? The State Department publishes instructions every year on how to apply for the program and establishes a window of time when applications must be submitted. There is no cost to submit an application. Being selected does not guarantee an applicant a visa. Once selected, applicants must follow instructions on how to confirm their qualifications. This includes submitting Form DS-260, the immigrant  visa, and  alien registration application and submitting the required supporting documents. Once appropriate documentation has been submitted, the next step is an interview at the relevant U.S. embassy or consulate office. Prior to the interview, the applicant and all family members must complete medical examinations and receive all required vaccinations. Applicants also must pay the diversity visa lottery fee prior to the interview. For 2018 and 2019, this fee was $330 per person. The applicant and all family members immigrating with the applicant must attend the interview. Odds of Being Selected Applicants will be informed immediately after the interview if they have been approved or denied for a visa. The statistics vary  by country and region, but overall in 2015, under 1 percent of applicants were selected for further processing. Its also important to remember that immigration policies are not static and subject to change. Always double check to make sure you are following the most current versions of laws, policies, and procedures.

Plural Forms of English Nouns

Plural Forms of English Nouns Have you ever tried explaining to a child why two feet arent foots, or two mice arent mouses? Of course, the grownup response to such questions is, Thats just the way it is. As youngsters, we learned that most nouns in English change from singular to plural with the addition of -s or -es. But regardless of our age, its the few hundred exceptions that can be perplexing. Rule-breakers: mass nounssuch as mud, music, and peacewhich have no plural because they name things that cant readily be countednouns that show up only in the plural (called pluralia tantum)scissors, jeans, and congratulations, for examplea few nouns, like ox and child, that still rely on the Old English plural marker, -ena few other nouns (foot, mouse) that form the plural by changing a voweland several borrowed nouns that hold on to their foreign plural endingssuch as Latin alumni (or alumnae) and Greek criteria To illustrate some of these eccentric plural forms, here are two versions of an amusing little verse by our favorite poet, Author(s) Unknown. The English Lesson (version one) Well begin with a box, and the plural is boxes;But the plural of ox should be oxen not oxes.One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,But the plural of house is houses, not hice.If the plural of man is always called men,Why shouldnt the plural of pan be called pen?If I spoke of my foot and showed you my feet,When I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,Why shouldnt the plural of booth be called beeth?If the singular is this, and the plural is these,Why shouldnt the plural of kiss be kese?Then one may be that, and three would be those,Yet the plural of hat would never be hose.We speak of a brother and also of brethren,But though we say mother, we never say methren.So plurals in English, I think youll agree,Are indeed very trickysingularly. The English Lesson (version two) Now if mouse in the plural should be, and is, mice,Then house in the plural, of course, should be hice,And grouse should be grice and spouse should be spiceAnd by the same token should blouse become blice.And consider the goose with its plural of geese;Then a double caboose should be called a cabeese,And noose should be neese and moose should be meeseAnd if mamas papoose should be twins, its papeese.Then if one thing is that, while some more is called those,Then more than one hat, I assume, would be hose,And gnat would be gnose and pat would be pose,And likewise the plural of rat would be rose.

Vicarious Liability Module 3 ( CASE) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vicarious Liability Module 3 ( CASE) - Essay Example For instance, it is the employers of any organization who are duly considered to be accountable for the unlawful activities performed by their respective personnel. Conversely, the term corporate liability denotes the employers or the administrative officials of a particular firm who are held liable for performing varied illegal actions rather than the individual personnel and the employees (Anselmi, 2012). One of the mistakes, which can be apparently identified in the case of â€Å"Norton v. Argonaut Insurance Co.† is the inappropriate use of the medication plan. In this context, the negligence activity performed by the nurse in terms of administering the medication plan appropriately, which resulted overdose of the medicines, eventually caused death of the infant. In context to the above discussed case, it can be indicated that the notion of vicarious liability might be applied (Leagle, Inc., 2014). As the administrator or the chief of nursing, I would like to follow certain steps for preventing such happening of mistake again. In this regard, one of such steps I will desire to implement is providing effective training to the staff. This would include a program of remaining stress free within the healthcare environment. Moreover, apart from this step, I would also try to make sure that every nurse within the organization must take valuable advices of the senior officials while catering to the requirements of the patients. In ancient times, there does not lay adequate level of valuable resources in providing effective care to the patients. Moreover, the technology was not upgraded, which eventually resulted the occurrence of such sort of mistake. However, in this present day context, the increased extent of globalization and adoption along with execution of pioneering technological advancements have lessened such kind of mistake as compared to the earlier years. It has been witnessed that

Systems and operations management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Systems and operations management - Assignment Example The company employs more than 52,000 employees based in four countries at sixteen different sites. The four countries in which the 16 sites are set up are Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Spain. The final assembly of the aircraft is done in Toulouse (France). Also, the company has its subsidiaries in the United States, Japan, China and India. The company has built the world first commercially viable fly-by-wire airliner, the Airbus A320, and also the largest airliner, the A380. The Airbus A380 is a four engine double deck airplane is a double-deck, and is the largest airplane in the world. It took its first flight on 27 April 2005 from Toulouse, and the first commercial flight was operated on 25 October 2007 from Singapore to Sydney in alliance with the Singapore Airlines Corporation. The airplane design offers cabin size of 50% more than the Boeing 747 which is the second largest airplane in the world and provides for a seating space of 850 people as compared to only 525 in t he Boeing 727. Airbus 380 is available in both the passenger and freight models and is the first airplane to use the GTL-based fuel technology. This paper, divided into four section, will make a detailed study about the operations management of Airbus 380, use of Information technology, and soft system methodology to enhance the business and management operations of Airbus. SECTION 1 This section will study the role of operations management, the reasons behind its initiation at the company, and its effect on the business objectives. This section provides the detailed analysis of operations management at Airbus, and how it has been implemented with the help of various OM techniques to increase efficiency. The previous operations at Airbus were not in line with the new requirements of Airbus A380. The new system required higher efficiencies, with precision, and reliability of speedy data and decision making. The old manufacturing facilities were not able to support the requirements of a new and more complex engineering product. It was important that the management makes significant changes in the operational process and data handling system to improve efficiencies. Also the supply chain of the company was in dire need of modifications and up gradations to carry out all the requirements for the manufacture of airbus A380. The engineers were not able to identify the cause of frequent disruptions that usually occurred in the system, which resulted in fault decision making at most of the times. In order to cure the system of these problems, it was evident that operational management would be employed in the form of various techniques that would assist in managing the overall business in a more profitable manner. The company management decided to implement two operations management techniques in its manufacturing floors – Enterprise resource planning and SCOR. Airbus introduced a new oracle based ERP system which also consisted of integrated accounting and cos ting along with the regular purchase and inventory management, production planning, and logistics management systems. The implementation of the ERP made it mandatory that the system is centralized in nature required and the production chain assumes a â€Å"Pull type† formation instead of the existing â€Å"Push type† configuration, ( Chekland, 1981). With these two reforms in place, it became easier to share the data easily within the various manufacturing centers of Airbus and

Exporting and Growth for Small Business Research Paper - 1

Exporting and Growth for Small Business - Research Paper Example This comes as a result of increased supplies needed for the target market making the cost of production per unit decrease (Burgel & Murray, 2009). Another benefit for smaller companies venturing into the international market is that they have the potential to gain more knowledge. This is a consequence of the experience acquired in the international market making the small company operators to improve in both their domestic and foreign business. Some of the knowledge that may be gained could be on new technologies, new marketing ideas or product quality improvement (Hill, 2011). Lastly, small companies have the advantage of diversifying risks by venturing into the international business. As such, risks such as market changes that could be taking place in the domestic market become evenly distributed, and the company does become fully affected. Small companies that do not engage in either export or import venture have a lower level of sustainability. They can only survive by ensuring that they dominate their domestic market. Also, they can only survive by producing high-quality goods that outstrip similar international products. Notably, such companies can sustain themselves by specializing in market entry practices. Such practices include; increased promotion, price adjustment, product improvement, and the creation of more distribution channels. Notably, increased promotion is done through advertising the product to make more people aware of the product. Price adjustments are the change of prices to the international standardized rate (Burgel & Murray, 2009). The practice will enable the company to woo domestic market at the expense of foreign products. Product improvement occurs when certain products take more time than the expected to move on the market. As such, the company improves the outcomes by improving the qualit y or labeling the products â€Å"new and improved†. The last step for such companies to be sustainable

Mary Barnett Trial Handoutiter's choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mary Barnett Trial Handoutiter's choice - Essay Example The case was categorized as a second degree murder because Mary Barnett was charged with intentional murder without premeditation. I have been asked to be on the jury to review the testimony and claims of the defendant, prosecution, and witnesses, and to come up with a fair verdict. Caroline Hospers’ statement clearly indicates that Mary Barnett was addicted to liquor products, and she could never carry out the duties and responsibilities of a good mother. In other words, Barnett had been following a bad lifestyle mainly because she lived without a husband. Hospers’ argument that Barnett went to visit her fiancà © ‘just to party and have a good time’ with him cannot be taken into account because it is Hospers’ personal view only (Chaffee para 4). Perhaps, Barnett and Caroline might not be in good terms, and therefore Hospers’ observation that ‘the baby was not taken care of properly’ should not be considered in order to support prosecution arguments (Chaffee para 4). Officer Mitchell tells that Barnett intentionally left her baby to get to California in time and she was aware that she would not be back for a while. Referring to Barnett’s initial responses, Mitchell asserts that Barnett was really informed of what she was going to do when she planned to leave the baby unattended in the apartment. Taking care of the baby was not the first priority of Barnett because she was extremely excited to visit her fiancà © at that time. Although Barnett had tried to arrange a babysitter for Alison, she could not find one, and therefore she just decided to leave her baby in the apartment for a few days. While analyzing the view of Dr. Parker, a professional psychiatrist, the defendant is competent to stand the trail on the charges she was accused of because Barnett developed depression and anxiety problems only after the shocking death of her daughter. According to Dr. Parker, Barnett â€Å"was mentally competent on

Contrast & comparison Death & Dying between developed & developing Assignment

Contrast & comparison Death & Dying between developed & developing countries - Assignment Example This system has partially grown out of a societal-wide understanding in the need for ethical health care services to individuals in all stages of health. Although countries in Africa do not devote a high level of resources towards caring for the dying, the health care system in the United States sees this task as an obligation that cannot be ignored. Many African nations are of the collective opinion that existing health care services should be devoted towards those that can make the most use of them; not those that are all but certain to die. Similarly, nations within the developing world do not have the overall options of healthcare that the United States exhibits. Not only does this place an extraordinarily difficult psychological burden on the family members or loved ones of the individual, it also creates a dynamic in which the potential to earn money to support oneself or one’s family is inherently reduced. This sometimes involves a situation in which the individual is o ften required to stay home and care for the dying individual. This of course restricts such people from having the opportunity to earn a living (Ranjit, 2012). The differential in cost between death and dying United States as compared to the developing world is quite large. The overall financial hardship that death and dying represents within the United States is easier to deal with; as compared to the overall financial hardship that is exhibited elsewhere throughout the world. This is of course the result of the fact that individuals within the developing world face a situation in which the loss of employment could be potentially disastrous in terms of the overall health, standard of living, or well-being of the

Mary Barnett Trial Handoutiter's choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mary Barnett Trial Handoutiter's choice - Essay Example The case was categorized as a second degree murder because Mary Barnett was charged with intentional murder without premeditation. I have been asked to be on the jury to review the testimony and claims of the defendant, prosecution, and witnesses, and to come up with a fair verdict. Caroline Hospers’ statement clearly indicates that Mary Barnett was addicted to liquor products, and she could never carry out the duties and responsibilities of a good mother. In other words, Barnett had been following a bad lifestyle mainly because she lived without a husband. Hospers’ argument that Barnett went to visit her fiancà © ‘just to party and have a good time’ with him cannot be taken into account because it is Hospers’ personal view only (Chaffee para 4). Perhaps, Barnett and Caroline might not be in good terms, and therefore Hospers’ observation that ‘the baby was not taken care of properly’ should not be considered in order to support prosecution arguments (Chaffee para 4). Officer Mitchell tells that Barnett intentionally left her baby to get to California in time and she was aware that she would not be back for a while. Referring to Barnett’s initial responses, Mitchell asserts that Barnett was really informed of what she was going to do when she planned to leave the baby unattended in the apartment. Taking care of the baby was not the first priority of Barnett because she was extremely excited to visit her fiancà © at that time. Although Barnett had tried to arrange a babysitter for Alison, she could not find one, and therefore she just decided to leave her baby in the apartment for a few days. While analyzing the view of Dr. Parker, a professional psychiatrist, the defendant is competent to stand the trail on the charges she was accused of because Barnett developed depression and anxiety problems only after the shocking death of her daughter. According to Dr. Parker, Barnett â€Å"was mentally competent on

What are the principal institutions of the European Union To what Assignment - 1

What are the principal institutions of the European Union To what extent do these institutions engage with the sources of EU law - Assignment Example This therefore means that the laws were formed for social and political reasons. There are three laws that originate from the EU laws. These are treaties, regulations, recommendations and directives. Regulations are directly applicable to all the member states as from the date it is implemented without any action from the member states. A directive is applicable to all the member states of the EU, but the national authorities have the right to choose the form or method. Decisions on the other hand are only binding to the states to which it is designated. Any regulations and directives addressed to particular member states must be published in the Official Journal of the Communities. Some of these laws apply to some of the Member States while others do not. Some of the European Union laws are binding while others are not (Fairhurst, 2009, 72). The EU Institutions were basically created with the main aim of giving an impression to an continually closer Union of European states. The members of the European Union kept growing over time which resulted in an increase in the number of responsibilities for the EU. Over time the Institutions have increased in number and broadened and are more numerous. There are over a dozen of European institutions but only five are really important. There are European Council, Council of Ministers, Parliament, Commission and EU Court. The three institutions that make up the â€Å"institutional triangle† for the European Council law is the Council, Commission and the Parliament. Other minor institutions that exist under the European Union are the European Court of Auditors, the European Investment Fund, and the European Economic, the European Central Bank and Social Committee and others. This institution serves one main purpose which is to steer the political direction chaired by the Head of States. This Institution is often mistaken with The Council of the European Union, which refers to a meeting of ministers who

Power and Knowledge Essay Example for Free

Power and Knowledge Essay Poststructuralism as one of the contemporary political philosophy gain its popularity because of its radical assumptions that veered away from the traditional structuralist thinking. The project of the renaissance scholars to control everything including nature through the used of knowledge particularly scientific knowledge did not gain much fame in this late century. Structuralism although it offers much in looking how institutions served as parts of a social system tend to believe that society could control the individual with the aid of science. However, the ideas of Jean Lyotard, Michel Foucault and Jean-Luc Nancy proved otherwise. The dream of grand theorists to integrate knowledge and create a unified social system is the very idea that most contemporary theorists avoid. Prior to the development of poststructuralism, discussion on power and knowledge is always a feature seen within the structures and not something that emanates from the individual, this structure-agency pendulum continues to fascinate theorists. Structural functionalists believed that social structures such as religion, culture, and government have strong hold over the individual particularly in their socialization process. Talcott Parsons (1951) for instance, look society as the social system divided by subsystems that have specific functions. Each part of society functions and creates mutual interdependence thus maintaining the dynamism of whole social system(Parsons: 1951). The Contemporary political philosophy opens a lot of venues in analyzing society with proposing meta narratives. Much of the themes of contemporary thinkers would be on the consequences of modernity, globalization among others. Topics on power and knowledge are just two of the basic issues that philosophers continuously are gaining interest. It provides a picture on how the development of knowledge transformed power relations in contemporary society. Contemporary political philosophy as it is advanced by the writings of three philosophers mentioned in the previous paragraph, look at power and knowledge in a different light. Before, the scholars would think that the development of knowledge is in a continuum and that power is exerted by institutions to the individual as if power has a center or a fixed point. In Contemporary political philosophy one can view that the source of power comes from various agencies,and the struggling character of power is in every discourse. Power is not only evident on political apparatus, on the religious order or on the intellectual community but power is seen on all arrays of everyday existence. Our day to day social relations are power relations. One of the contemporary thinkers who would employ much time in discussing power is Foucault. Some thinkers considered him as a poststrcuturalist or a postmodern thinker, because of the fluidity of his ideas. Moreover, there are critics who accused him of relativism because of his theory favors, intersubjectivity, the discursive method, discourse among others. Foucault (2002) did not suggests a central power or a solid one that one can see for instance in an authoritarian society, rather in looking at society, one could see ‘pockets’ of power or a decentralized one coming from various discourses. On the other hand, in his theory of knowledge one can see its deviation from Descartes Cogito. Reason as the underlying principle of the enlightenment period, did not escaped the gaze of Foucault. In his Madness and Civilization (1965) he examined that through history, madness became an invention that would serve as the opposite of reason. With the definition on madness as â€Å"non-rational† or irrational, it justifies the power of reason during the enlightenment period. Only through its binary opposition which is madness can reason hold its power. The control of the patient with the development of psychiatry in Madness and Civilization (1965) also served as a critique that looks at how modern society manifests the same features as that one can find in the discipline of psychiatry. There are various means by which society controls the individual. Foucault discussed that in the modern era, exercising power need not necessarily be brute and obvious. One example is his idea of punishment as a result of deviating from the norm. Foucault in Discipline an Punish (1977), discussed in what way torture as a form of punishment in the 18th century was transformed by discipline. With the birth of the prison, instead of attacking the physical body the institution inculcate discipline as a form of punishment. This feature of the prison, and even the birth of the clinic shows how slowly modern society is becoming more authoritarian and all of these are possible because of the different knowledge that people believe as true and moral during their times. Foucault in his Archeology of Knowledge (2002) look at historical development not in a continuum because he did not believed in a unified discourse as proposed by grand narratives such as that of the Parsonian theory. What one can see through history are various realities, are what he called discontinuities. Much of his theory of power and knowledge could also be seen in the History of Sexuality (1990) wherein he is not interested in sexuality per se, but in looking at the underlying struggle within the discourse of sexuality. While in the earlier periods, society repress one’s sexuality, this kind of discourse even propagates it. The more that society for instance repressed homosexuality, the more that people become interested in exploring the topic. In the History of Sexuality (1990)), he sees the reciprocal relation of power and knowledge. One example is the different meanings that society give on sexual relations such as relations out of marriage and the one allowed by the community. These definitions creates divisions in society, thus exercising power over the individual through social norms. By propagating a certain kind of knowledge, this could lead to a power relation between groups. The one who is in control of knowledge will therefore exercise power to the other group. However, it must be clear that the reciprocal relation of power and knowledge is not fixed rather it transform through every discourse. Apart from Foucault, Jean Lyotard also contributes to the debate on the relationship of power and knowledge. In his book, the Postmodern Condition (1979) Lyotard mentioned that the transformation of society into industrialized and complex system leads into the redefinition of the nature of knowledge. In Modern societies, the power of the capitalists to open the market leads to the question that, what kind of knowledge is acceptable or is legitimate provided that there are a lot of choices. Lyotard(1979) sees the complexities in modern times because when one looks at it, it is in no longer a question of simple legitimacy of knowledge but a question of who has the power to decide what is acceptable or legitimate. In addressing the uncertainties of knowledge, Lyotard suggests that one should employ the value of speaking the same language game. How can people speak the same language provided that there are various ways of learning things? Lyotard believes that one must contextualize, and in this part he adopts Wittgensteins’ language game. ’ By contextualizing, the person should be aware of the rules before making considerable actions. Lyotard believes that to be able to analyze knowledge in contemporary society, one must consider what kind of society it is situated. The split between Parsonian theory and that of Marxism will definitely help in looking at the problem of knowledge. Initially one will decide whether to maintain the status quo or radically change it. Because of the ability of language to bind society through communication, Lyotard favors this framework in addressing the issue of knowledge in the postmodern era. Greatly influenced by Heidegger on the other hand, Jean -Luc Nancy (1991) believed that we are thrown into the world therefore we should not rely on God for our existence. Contemporary society according to him is becoming more chaotic in the sense that the harmonious relation in traditional society is transformed into a complex society where there are a lot of uncertainties. Uncertainties are brought by the unintended consequences of modernity. With the advent of globalization, the closed and neatly tied community is transformed into a complex one. While some thinkers consider the development of society into industrialized one as beneficial, still there are paradoxes to this rationality. Nancy in his concept of community critique the grand project of some societies to create a well-planned system such in the case of the socialist state where it only leads to violence. Much of the discussions of contemporary political philosophy dwells on how you can locate the discourse on power as a consequence of the accumulation of knowledge. The Unintended consequences of man’s search for knowledge and the transformation of knowledge into its many forms leads to different power relations. These power relations are seen on every realm of life, on every discourse in society. It is crucial to note that in the analysis of power, power lies to those who have control over knowledge, and in this age of information technology where there is an easy access to all forms of knowledge, it is only logical to think that power is distributed therefore decentralized. While the contemporary era provide a lot of alternatives,undeniably there are consequences that not even scientific knowledge can calculate. Yet the quest for further knowledge continues because beneath those ideas there you can always find power. Various forms of power operates on every realm of life. These are the fascinations of philosophers of the twentieth century.

The Types Of Money Used Today Economics Essay

The Types Of Money Used Today Economics Essay The types of money used today include; Coins, Paper currency, Bank drafts, Money orders, Stocks, Bonds, Treasury bills, Credit cards, ATM cards, Options, Gift certificates, Cheques,Travelers Cheques and many more. Money is converted into two categories, commodity and fiat money. 2.2.1Commodity money What constitutes a commodity? A commodity is generally accepted, without further clarification, as anything that can be bought or sold. This prompts further questioning. What is the communitys present accepted means for buying and selling? The answer is,money. A commodity therefore is a thing to which a money price can be attached and which can therefore be bought or sold with money. If money itself is a commodity, then money is a thing that can be bought or sold with money. The above reasoning not only involves a vicious circular logic of explaining and defining something in terms of itself, but also paves the way for an ascending infinite inflationary spiral (Peter Lock 2008). According to Peter Lock (2008), the definition of a commodity needs to be modified if it is to be consistent and to avoid all circular logic. An economic commodity is any marketable goods or service which has an intrinsic value in itself and whose value can be relatively assessed using an extrinsic suitable stable non-commodity money standard and hence bought and sold. In other words, an economic commodity is any marketable good, other than money, which money itself can buy. Modern money either as bits of plastic or paper, or as numbers in ledgers and computer memories, has no intrinsic value in itself. Its only value is its otherness. It does perform a valuable service in the marketplace by measuring the value of all other goods and services and facilitating their exchange. The mindset of money as a bartering device should not be included in or confused with the mindset for its use as a commodity. Their purposes and functions are self-contradictory, being diametrically opposite. The former exists as a stable extrinsic measure of worth for a community as a whole to use. The latter as an unstable intrinsic measure of marketplace purchasing power for individuals to abuse in their exploitation of the whole global community for their own personal aggrandizement and exercise of usurped power (Peter Lock, 2008). According to Peter Lock (2008), as long as money is treated as a commodity, uncertainty and insecurity must result. It is not a question of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. It is simply a challenge to devise a system whereby the rich well fed haves can keep their fat share of humanitys commonwealth cake and at the same time let the poor hungry have-nots eat a just and reasonable thin slice of it as well. Money as a commodity only exists for the personal profit and increasing wealth and power of the haves: some of the rich get richer, all the poor get poorer. In an economic system where money is self-self functioning in positive feedback as a commodity, the evil treatment meted out to the have-nots who constitute the vast majority of the community becomes more and more inhumane. The term commodity money can be given to the kind of money that is at the same time a commercial commodity. Commodity money has an intrinsic value and that means it is considered to be worth something in its own right rather than simply being a token of financial value such as a banknote. The commodity itself constitutes the money, and the money is the commodity. The best known form of commodity money is gold or silver coins, though any commodity can fulfill this role. The commodity itself; since more is being produced and less being used for non-monetary purposes, the resources devoted to additional production and the benefits forgone must be counted as the price of the system. Examples of commodities that have been used as medium of exchange include gold, silver, copper, salt, peppercorns, large stones, shells, alcohol, barley and cigarettes, just to highlight a few. These items were sometimes used in a metric of perceived value in conjunction to one another, in various commodity v aluation or Price System economies With a commodity money balances is part of the markets for goods and services. Use of commodity money is more the same with barter system. The use of shells or ivory was nearly universal before humans discovered how to work with precious metals; in China, Africa, and many other areas, use of cowrie shells was common. Historically speaking, many different metals have been used as standard money: iron in ancient Sparta, tin in ancient Syracuse and probably also in early Egypt, copper in early Palestine and in early Rome, and brass until recently in many parts of China. In modern times, however, monometallism has been based mostly on the so-called precious metals, silver and gold, with an increasing preponderance of gold since the latter part of the last century. Historically, the strongest and most stable currencies were those backed by gold and silver. It was this gold/silver backing that gave the currency its intrinsic value. In most cases, a countrys currency was actually gold or silver coins. Gold and silver have always been a universal form of money and measure of wealth providing stability in an otherwise unstable world (Tony DiCicco, 2002). A commodity money can give rise to a large amount of price instability if either there are large changes in the supply of the commodity or if there are large changes in the non-monetary use of the commodity. An example of a commodity money that gave rise to price fluctuations is the cigarette currency used in POW camps in the Second World War. The price of goods in terms of cigarettes depended on the relative availability of cigarettes and goods. If no cigarettes were received in the camp for some time, the supply of them would diminish (because prisoners would use them as commodities: they would smoke them) and their value would rise. A rise in the value of cigarettes meant that cigarettes bought more, or that prices fell. When a shipment of cigarettes would arrive, their increased availability would cause their value to drop, which meant prices would rise. Its stated that the erratic delivery of cigarettes and the resulting waves of inflation and deflation were a major problem in t he mini-economy of the POW (camphttp://ingrimayne.com/econ/Money/Commodities.html). Colonists often resorted to the use of commodity money, where a colonys principal commodity would circulate as a medium of exchange. The Massachusetts Bay Colony used corn and beaver skins as its medium of exchange. In the Southern colonies, it was tobacco and rice; and throughout most of the colonies, animal skins, corn, powder and gun shot, and livestock were often used. Since the market value of commodity money was determined by supply and demand, its value as money often decreased when there was an over supply in the marketplace. In addition, commodity money lacked uniform quality, and was prone to spoilage, difficult to transport, and costly to store (http://www.bos.frb.org/education/pubs/historyo.pdf ). pictures below shows examples of commodity money that where used: Gold Silver Shells Barley 2.2.2Fiat money The currency we all use today is legal tender for taxes and debts. It has no intrinsic value, it is not convertible and it is not tyrannically imposed on all transactions. This money fiat money was born in Massachusetts in 1690. Historians have claimed that it was a simple wartime substitution of fiat money for specie, as has happened many times since then, but this view is anachronistic. Later governments learned from Massachusetts that fiat money is a good wartime emergency, but for Massachusetts this was not an obvious idea (Dror Goldberg). Dror Goldberg mentions that Massachusetts had to issue money to pacify mutinous troops who returned defeated from war. However, formally issuing money, and backing it with land (as was then standard), would have been fatal for the long-run independence of the colony. Massachusetts had lost its charter in 1684, partly because it minted its own coins (a violation of the royal coinage prerogative). Moreover, all the colonys land was temporarily considered to be the kings land from 1687-1691. In 1690, when Massachusetts had to issue money, its agents were lobbying for a new charter in London. It could not afford to upset the king by violating his coinage prerogative again and backing money with his land. The solution was to issue IOUs, as any English subject was allowed to do, not back it with land, and not force it on trade. Like any IOU issuer the colony could offset its credits with it, namely making it legal tender for taxes. It was also made effectively legal tender for debts in an elaborate, dishonest way. The outcome was fiat money (Dror Goldberg). The Massachusetts Bay Colony issued in 1776. The evolution of commodity money into paper in America Paper money first appeared in America in in the late 17th century. In 1690, the government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, in an effort to increase government spending while avoiding the unpopular act of raising taxes, began printing paper money to pay for its expenses. To convince the Massachusetts Bay colonists to accept the paper as payment, the government promised to redeem the paper in gold and silver coin collected in taxes at a later date. It also promised to never print paper money again. While both promises were quickly broken by the government, is is interesting to see that, again, what caused people to begin accepting paper money as payment for goods and services, is the understanding that the money could ultimately be redeemed for tangible wealth in the form of the commodity money in use at the time (Chris Lind). The pictures below is an example of fiat money: Federal Reserve Note 1941 Federal Reserve Note 1950 The evolution of commodity money into paper in China Paper money first arose in China around 800 AD during the Tang Dynasty. Prior to the existence of paper money, a merchant selling his goods in the city of Szechuan, risked loss by theft as he transported his commodity money and unsold goods back to his home city. As a way of earning revenue, the Chinese government, in posession of fortified strongholds in each city to store tax revenues, offered the following service. For a fee, a merchant could deposit their gold and silver coin with the government in city A. In exchange the merchant received a paper receipt for the gold deposited. When the merchant arrived back home at city B, he could go to the treasury of that city to redeem his paper reciept for the commodity money in use. Over time, as people learned that the commodity represented by the paper would actually be there, merchants began buying and selling with the paper receipts themselves (Chris Lind). Kuan note is the oldest known banknote in the world (Mike Hewitt) However, its use was very short-lived, by 1455, after over 600 years, the Chinese abandoned paper money due to numerous problems of over issuance and hyperinflation. The term fiat money can be given to money that comprises things with a special legal qualification and the money used today is fiat money.Fiat means let it be done or by order of authority. Fiat money basically means that the currency has no intrinsic value (nor can it be redeemed for precious metals or something of intrinsic value) and the money is based solely on faith. Rather, the currency is only backed by the goodwill of the government that issues it. Normally the government is the one that declares legal tender. With fiat money its not real but it represents goods and services that it can buy thus it can be defined as the baskets of goods and services that it represents. For fiat money to be valued, the money supply must be limited and it must be impossible to counterfeit (PÄ ±nar Yesin 2010). Fiat money is created by a narrow cadre of globalist bankers that seek a new World order. Fiat money is created out of thin air. The fiat system is based on debt. We owe and they are owed. With the power they accrue, a plan has been launched to reorganize all aspects of human life. That plan is called Agenda 21 or Sustainable Development. It is a U.N. program, agreed to by 178 nations, that is designed to create a world order where human beings are regarded as biological resources. The evolving system does not recognize unalienable rights (Michael Shaw, 2009). Since fiat money has no direct legal connection to a commodity money there is no real economic cost to its production, the supply of a fiat money can never be self-limiting; and the value of a fiat money is always largely a matter of public confidence in the economic or political stability of the issuer. Historically every major fiat money have self-destructed in what is popularly called hyperinflation caused by either unlimited increases in the supply of that fiat money by the issuer or accelerating loss of public confidence in the continued value of the money or the economic or political fortunes of its issuer or both. Steve Elwart says that today, fiat money will always bring on inflation for two reasons: 1) Politicians like to induce inflation because it gives the people the illusion of prosperity and 2) its declared value is much higher than the cost of producing it. Whether it is a $1 or $100 bill in fiat money, it costs only 4 cents to produce. In todays electronic age, the pr oduction cost for new money is zero since money creation is just a keystroke and an entry in cyber-space. On the other hand, in history, if you had a $20 gold piece, the cost of that gold piece, less the cost to produce it, was about $20 (Steve Elwart). The Barter system was prevalent before the origin of fiat currency. In this system, commodities were exchanged for commodities. For example, if one person need rice and the other one need coconut, the person who has cultivates rice has to search and find out the person having coconut. Only then the exchange will take place. This itself was the serious disadvantage of barter system. For some times the different commodities acted as money and they were named as commodity money. After years of a coin system the paper fiat currency came in to existence. In the coinage, a gold smith acted sometimes as a banker. A government body started to control the printing of all types of moneys. Banks started to deal with money. They accepted savings and gave loans in the form of money. Apart from these transactions, banks started to generate bank money ( Robert Mendez). Modern society again replaced old money with other new forms of money like, demand drafts, credit cards, etc. Now we dont need to keep a liquid form of money with us. All our transactions can be made by using credit cards. We can do all our shopping with these cards. Even if money is used in different forms, the importance of money is still not deteriorated. According to Steve Elwart in his research entitled Commodity Money and Fiat Money: A Bushel of Wheat for a Penny, says that a government puts fiat money into circulation first by connecting it to a gold or silver standard, but then cuts the link and says that gold and paper are no longer convertible, making the piece of paper legal tender for all debts public and private. It is obvious that debtors would be very happy if the pa-per money lost its value because they could pay their debts with inflated currency. In a letter to Edward Carrington in 1788, Thomas Jefferson wrote, Paper is poverty à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it is only the ghost of money, and not money itself. Jefferson died bankrupt because of the early United States money (monetary) pol-icy based on paper. It is not that fiat currency is a new invention. Fiat currency actually made its appearance over 1,000 years ago. China was the first country to issue true paper money around the 10th century A.D. Although the notes were valued at a certain ex-change rate for gold, silver, or silk, conversion was never allowed in practice. The bills were supposed to be redeemed after three years in circulation, but as more bills were printed with the older notes being refused redemption, inflation became evident. Government measures to prop up the currency were unsuccessful and it fell out of favor (Steve Elwart) . Steve continues to say that at this point, people start to feel the pinch of their money buying less. They demand that their government do some-thing. Since studies have shown that voters only have a memory of one year when it comes to politics, politicians will make sure that the economy is good in an election year.6 They will artificially stimulate the economy to give voters the illusion that times are good again and reelect the incumbents. This lasts only so long and inflation, with its problems kick in again. This cycle of increasing the currency supply and price inflation ultimately ends with the collapse of the currency, sometimes preceded by hyperinflation. (Hyperinflation and its cultural effects will be covered in Part 3 of this series.) Surprisingly, the country has not learned its lesson and the devalued fiat currency is replaced with yet another fiat currency. Greece is a perfect example of this cycle (Steve Elwart). Steve Elwart says the Greek drachma was minted in gold and silver in ancient Greece and made its reappearance as a fiat currency in 1841. Since then, the value of the drachma decreased. During the German-Italian occupation of the country from 1941-1944, hyperinflation ravaged the country, ending with the issuance of 100,000,000,000 (100 billion)-drachma notes in 1944. After Greece was liberated from Germany, old drachmae were ex-changed for new ones at the rate of 50,000,000,000 to 1. Only paper money was issued, again a fiat currency. Greece then went on a program of deficit spending for social programs and inflation started once again. In 1953, in an effort to halt inflation, Greece joined the Bretton Woods system and the drachma was revalued at a rate of 1000 old drachma to one new drachma. In 1973 the Bretton Woods System was abolished; over the next 25 years the official exchange rate gradually declined, from 30 drachmas to one U.S. dollar to a ratio of 400:1. On January 1, 2002, the Greek drachma was officially replaced as the circulating currency by the Euro (again a fiat currency). Today, Greece is once again is in trouble. After years of continued deficit spending and the governments easy monetary policy, Greeces financial situation was badly exposed when the global economic downturn struck. Very quickly, the governments creative accounting practices were exposed. The national debt, put at à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬300 billion ($413.6 billion), is bigger than the countrys entire economy, with some estimates placing it at 120 percent of gross domestic product in 2010. The countrys deficit-how much more it spends than it takes in-is 12.7 percent (Steve Elwart). This time though, Greece just cant inflate their way out of the problem. Now that they are on the Euro (in the Euro-zone), they have little control over their monetary policy. All their loans are in Euros and they must pay back the loans in Euros. One way to balance the national books is to implement harsh and unpopular spending cuts. Another way is to default on their debt. This would seriously damage the Euro as other countries look at default as a way out of their financial problems. (In fact, financial experts are predicting the demise of the Euro in as early as five years.8) A third way out is to separate itself from the Euro, go back on the drachma (fiat currency again) and then set an exchange rate of the drachma to the Euro at an artificially high number. The cycle of fiat money would then begin again. As long as a country is on a fiat currency, inflation is sure to follow. Using a fiat currency could well reduce a civilization to work an entire day for a bushel of wheat,(Ste ve Elwart). Failures of Government fiat money History has taught that lodging monopoly power over the nations stock of currency in a purely discretionary central bank, unconstrained by a monetary constitution, is highly dangerous. The money-process is likely to become politicized, with monetary policy becoming subservient to fiscal policy and with monetary authorities exhibiting a bias toward inflation. James A. Dorn mentions that a study of about 30 currencies shows that there has not been a single case of a currency freely manipulated by its government or central bank since 1700 which enjoyed price stability for at least 30 years running. Although the Fed has achieved intermittent price stability since its inception in 1913, its long-run performance has been unsatisfactory, especially when compared to commodity-based standards such as the classical gold standard. The issuance of fiat money by governments is, in truth, a white collar crime; and, as happens when white collar crimes are discovered, a highly visible paper trail le ads directly back to the wrongdoers-in this case, the central banks (Darryl Robert Schoon). In fiat based economies, time is the enemy and 95 years have passed since fiat money was introduced into the US. In America and elsewhere time is passing and the clock is ticking and recently its been sounding more and more like a time bomb (Darryl Robert Schoon) . Comparison between types of money Fiat money is the term for a medium of exchange which is neither a commercial commodity, a consumer, or a producer good, nor title to any such commodity: that is irredeemable paper money. In contrast, commodity money refers to a medium of exchange which is either a commercial commodity or a title thereto. There is no doubt that fiat money is possible. Its theoretical possibility was recognized long ago, and since 1971, when the last remnants of a former international gold (commodity) standard were abolished, all monies, everywhere, have in fact been nothing but irredeemable pieces of paper (Hans-Hermann Hoppe). As asserted by Cary A. Deck, Kevin A. McCabe and David P. Porter ( ),fiat money is a convention that allows individuals to complete trades without relying on the coincidence of wants or diverting valuable commodities to serve as money. In order for individuals to accept intrinsically worthless fiat money in exchange for valuable goods, the agents must believe that the money can be used to complete subsequent purchases of other goods or services. Advantages of Commodity money According to the information about commodities monies on the internet, the reduced value of the money will encourage people to use the item more in its commodity use. For example, if gold serves as money, and its value drops, people will increase their use of gold for jewelry, tableware, and artistic purposes. Their actions will reflect the law of demand: whenever a commodity becomes cheaper, people use more of it. Thus if there is a sudden influx of gold into a country that uses it as money, part of the influx will be diverted to its commodity use, and the effects on the amount of money, and hence on the price level, will be lessened. On the other hand, a sudden decline will also be cushioned, because as the commodity grows more valuable, people will transfer it from its commodity use into a monetary use. If the amount of gold declines and it rises in value, there is an incentive to melt down jewelry, tableware, and artistic objects and use the gold as money. Hence a doubling of gol d may not double the amount of money, and cutting the amount of gold by one half may not cut money by one half (http://ingrimayne.com/econ/Money/Commodities.html ). Another reason for price stability with a commodity money exists when that commodity is used by many other nations. When the price level in any one nation changes, the commodity will flow across borders to where it is most valuable( Robert Schenk, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1977 ). Disadvantages of Commodity Money When valuable resources are used as money, those resources cannot be used for consumption. Copper used to make pennies cannot be used to make electrical wire. The supply of money is determined by supply of the commodity. The money supply could fluctuate substantially. The discovery of new gold would mean that the supply of money would increase and the price level would rise. There is a lack of stability when a currency depends on being able to find and produce a particular naturally occurring but naturally rare substance. When gold is being used as commodity money it can be a disadvantage since the government cant meaningfully increase the supply of gold over a short period of time, for example the Fed can be able to increase the supply of fiat money in 10 weeks by more than 100%, with gold this cannot be accomplished. . Advantages of Fiat money Is an efficient form of money; since it can be produced costlessly, there is a gain from using it instead of something else that is both costly to produce and has alternative uses (Neil Wallace).Uses relatively little of societys resources. Fiat money has an advantage over commodity money in the senses that the same laws that come up with laws that created the money can also make a decision to replace the money if it ever gets damaged or destruction occurs. Fiat money has more stability as compared that of gold-backed currency in the sense that commodity based currencies are inherently pro-cyclic, increasing volatility in terms of the regular business cycle and come and go recessions. This stability allows investors, capitalists and creditors to make rational, firm decisions based on sound expectations that have little room for uncertainty; and thus make more risky and subjective investments. Studies also shows that during the Great depression, countries that used fiat currency syste m fared more stable and much better off than those dependent on commodity-based currency. As mentioned by Chris Lind, fiat money is generally seen as a convenience or a protectionist system; It is much easier to carry around a piece of paper than 50 pounds of gold or some other commodity. Trustworthiness; the community trusts that the paper receipt or certificate actually represents the tangible good printed on the paper. Fiat money can and still created in arbitrary amounts, and is made more available on a favorable basis to the government and commercial banks. With fiat money the Fed can be able to increase the supply by more than 100% within 10 weeks, the advantage of being able to do that is that the government can manipulate the system to mitigate panics and disasters. Take for example the last fall would have being a bigger mess if gold was the monetary numeraire Disadvantages of Fiat Money The longer a fiat money system exists, the greater the odds of economic collapse. Over time fiat credit money destroys economies because time exacerbates the systemic flaws of credit-based, sic capital, markets (Darryl Robert Schoon). Fiat money is not self limiting, which can make nations which rely on this type of currency extremely vulnerable to hyperinflation. Government controls money supply and it may cause inflation by printing too much money the following example shows how fiat money can really cause inflation the example is taken from a journal by Andrew Digeson White (1933), early in the year 1789 the French nation found itself in deep financial embarrassment: there was a heavy debt and a serious deficit. The vast reforms of that period, though a lasting blessing politically, were a temporary evil financially. There was a general want of confidence in business circles; capital had shown its proverbial timidity by retiring out of sight as far as possible; throughout the land was stagnation. Fiat money becomes worthless when its no longer used that is when the government declares. Fiat money distorts the time value of money and in so doing destroys both money and the economies that use it (Darryl Robert Schoon).

sarah bernhardt :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sarah Bernhardt was one of the stage’s most admired actresses. She was born in Paris, France where she became a star and later traveled the world touring. Bernhardt didn’t start out as the best but did rise to the success she is known for today. She was known for her romantic looks and her melodious voice, her natural acting style and sometimes her tempestuous attitude. Bernhardt lived quite a life, from her many famous lovers, her fabulous clothing, and her travels performing on stages all over the world and even becoming a star of silent movies. She was what we know today as a â€Å"drama queen† in many ways. She wasn’t successful right away, but did rise to her stardom. As stated in The Divine Sarah, even Sigmund Freud who saw her in a performance (Sardou’s Theodora) has said â€Å"†¦I believed at once everything she said†¦, it is incredible what postures she can assume and how every limb and joint acts with her.â⠂¬    Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sarah Bernhardt was born Henriette Rosine Bernard in 1844 to women named Julie Bernard, who was of Jewish descent and little is known about her father. What is known about her mother, is that she was a legendary courtesan and was rarely home, and when she was home, there were always rich men around. Sarah was a wild child who, when she wasn’t sick, did what she wanted and threw many temper tantrums. Her mother wanted Sarah to follow in her footsteps and entertain men for money, the idea made Sarah sick (although later she learned that there is a thin line between acting and prostituting), she told her mom she was to become a nun. That all changed when she saw Racine’s Britannicus at the Comedie Francaise. She planned on attending the Conservatoire, and in 1860 she did where she was trained for two years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1862, at the age of 18 she made her first debut as the lead in Racine’s Iphigenie. Sarah often suffered from stage fright and her dire performance received some bad reviews. According to Gold and Fizdale, Francisque Sarcey, Paris’s most powerful critic, was quoted to say â€Å"[she] is remarkably beautiful. She carries herself well and pronounces her words with perfect clarity. That is all that can be said at the moment.† Her next appearance was in Scribe’s Valerie which was virtually unnoticed, and her third debut in Moliere’s Les Femmes Savantes was not any better.

Plot of Pride and Prejudice :: essays research papers

Mrs. Bennet is anxious to have her five daughters marry into well houses. When a rich single, man Charles Bingley, arrives nearby, she urges her husband to get to know him. The Bennets go to a ball in a town called Meryton, and are introduced to Charles Bingley. Everyone likes him but his friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy is found to be arrogant. Mr. Darcy doesn’t dance with anyone outside his â€Å"group,† and he says that Elizabeth Bennet is attractive, but not enough to tempt him. Mr. Bingley starts to admire Jane Bennet and his love deepens to the extent that Jane’s sisters and Mr. Darcy get concerned. Mr. Darcy is repelled by the family’s lower status and an embarrassing family. Mr. Darcy, however, still becomes interested in Elizabeth’s good-spirited character, and Mr. Bingley’s jealous disapproval do nothing to lessen Mr. Darcy’s interest. Caroline asks Jane to come to Netherfield. On the way there, Jane catches a cold and is forced to stay. Mrs. Bennet loves this information because she will use any means to push her daughter onto Mr. Bingley. Jane’s condition worsens, and Elizabeth goes to Netherfield instead. Her concern for her sister and her intellect interest Mr. Darcy even more, but he is afraid of falling in love with someone who is so much poorer. Mr. Bennet’s estate at Longbourn is supposed to go to Mr. Collins, a clergyman, because Mr. Bennet doesn’t have a son and Mr. Collins is the nearest male relative. Mr. Bennet sends his cousin on a chore to Meryton with his daughters. There they meet George Wickham, a handsome militia officer. At an evening party, Wickham tells Elizabeth his life story. Wickham’s story makes Darcy look arrogant and cruel, and Elizabeth start to have a prejudice against Mr. Darcy from then on. At another ball, Elizabeth resents Wickham’s absence. Later on she is also embarrassed by her family. Mrs. Bennet refuses to stop talking about what a good couple Jane and Mr. Bingley will make. On the other hand, Mary Bennet bores the whole company by trying to play the piano. Mr. Collins, suddenly, proposes to Elizabeth at the ball and she rejects. Mr. Collins doesn’t believe that Elizabeth is intently refusing him, but after Mr. and Mrs. Bennet explain it to him, he seems to understand. The whole Bingley party, all of a sudden, leaves Netherfield to go to London. Caroline Bingley writes to Jane that they don’t mean to return for the whole winter, and she tells her what a good couple Georgiana Darcy and Mr.

Dangers of Bottled Water Informative Speech

Dangers of Bottled Water General Purpose: To Inform Specific Purpose: At the end of my speech my audience will able to describe the dangers of Bottled water. Central idea: Bottled water is not as safe as people believe it to be. Organization Style: Cause and Effect I. Introduction Attention getter: â€Å"Every five minutes in the U. S over 2 million plastic bottles are used (Arrey). † Americans drink about 7 billion gallons of bottled water a year that’s about $8 billion dollars in sales per year (Arrey). We all drink bottled mineral water these days.We all like to think it's a far healthier option than tap water. It's extremely handy to be able to carry around your own water supply in in this hectic and fast paced world we live in. As you all know in am a chemistry major so I spend a lot of time in a lab. I have noticed that the that the purified water we use isn’t as pure as we would like it to be. This water is purified the same way that most bottled water is. So this made me wonder what is in the water causing it to react with thing that is shouldn’t be reacting with.So I stared doing research and found report after report that are reveal the facts that the industry dosen’t want you to know the true face of the bottled mineral water industry. Preview points: As I progressed through research and found that the easiest way to divide the startling facts into to three categories the first the ture Sources of the water, then move on to Quality and the nasty hidden secrets, and finally Bottled Water vs. tap. II Body. A. The Source 1.We are all too easily fooled by fancy pictures a fancy language we really need to stop and read more carefully the labels of the food products we are consuming because often first appearances are misleading. a. Example Alaska Premium Glacier Drinking water claims to be the pure glacier water from the last unpolluted frontier, the actual source comes from a municipal water supply in Greenville, Tennes see (Layton). 2. One brand that claims to come from a mountain range actual comes out of the back of a car park. 3. The truth is that 40 per cent of mineral water you buy ctual come from the tap and they label it as â€Å"pure Spring Water† of â€Å"Natures water†. 4. As a matter of fact, you and I could start our own bottled water company tomorrow and the FDA would have very little authority over us and the brand. 5. Even if a manufacture is caught selling unsafe water the most they can be fined for is that they are false adverting there are no fines for any of the health hazards that it may have presented to the local population. Now that I have discuss the hidden secrets of the sources lets move on to the quality of the water.II. Quality 1. When we all think mineral water these days we think of it as far safer option. Research has proven otherwise. a. The Environmental Working Group conducted a comprehensive test on 10 of the top U. S. brands of bottled water and fo und an alarming amount of containments. Out of these brands tested and contaminated a total of 38 chemical pollutants there was an average of 8 contaminants in each brand. b. The list of the 10 brands tested is anonymous as part of market based research, except for 2 brands: Wal-Mart and Giant bottled water brands.These 2 were actually named in this study because the first tests and numerous follow-up tests confirmed that these 2 brands contained contaminants at levels that exceeded state standards or voluntary industry guidelines. 1. The most alarming contaminants were cancer causing byproducts of population, fertilizer residue, industrial solvents, caffeine, pharmaceutical and heavy metal mineral including arsenic and radioactive isotopes(Evolving). B. 1. Another study showed that nearly one third of the brands on the market have an illegal level of bacterial growth.This study also found high levels as high as 13 parts per billion of arsenic tap water is only allowed to have 5 par ts per billion. 2. They also found Phthalates which is a chemical compound that mimic estrogen. 3. This test went on to test this impurities on lab rates and found that the damaged the genitals, kidneys, liver and lungs, and know they are starting to find these same symptoms in humans. 3 Bottled water vs. Tap A. FDA regulations for bottled water are more lax than the that of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency which regulations for municipal drinking water. 1.FDA regulations start with the most basic must have a sanitary container and sanitary environment. 2. According to â€Å"HowStuffWorks† The FDA states that it must come from approved sources. But the FDA but does not come out and make sure it is safe it just means it comes from either a protected natural source, such as a spring or artesian well in which measures have been taken to assure against contamination by surface water; or a municipal source of drinking water. 3. There are rules on what the bottle can say t hey do have to put if the water originally came from an untreated sources (Layton).B. In some areas FDA regulation on bottled whatever are stricter than the EPA rules C. Example- Tap water, which travels through lead pipes to get to your faucet, is allowed to have up to 15 parts per billion of lead by necessity, whereas bottled water can't have more than 5 parts per billion. D. This rules all sounds great in theory, but the harsh reality is that, about 70 percent of bottled water never crosses state lines for sale, making it exempt from FDA oversight(Baskin). E. However in most cases EPA rules are much stricter. 1.Tap water is not allowed to contain any Coli or fecal coliform bacteria at all (Coli can cause illness, and fecal coliform can indicate the presence of disease-causing agents), bottled water is allowed to have trace amounts of these contaminants. 2. Bottled water sources are typically tested for harmful contaminants once a week at most. They results are not disclosed to th e public or community whereas municipal water supplies are tested hundreds of times every month. As I conutiued to read on this subject I kept seing that bottled water had a 4,000 percent markup up value.Since I work at walmart that gives me the ability to scan the item and look up the mark up value so I did and I found this to be ture. III. Conclusion So to recap: – Bottled water has the main dangers 1-Source of the water in the bottle; with little regulation we could be drinking anything and we are not provided results or data for what the water contains 2- Quality. Even the bottled water from reliable sources is still not as purified sometimes as would a home water treatment do for probably at the same price, if not less. 3- Just because it is bottled ater dose not meant that it is any better than regular tap water. `Works Cited Arrey, Eliel. â€Å"3 Dangers YOU Ought To Know About Bottled Water. † EzineArticles. com. SparkNET, 5 Oct. 2010. Web. 6 Mar. 2013. Baskind , Chris. â€Å"MNN – Mother Nature Network. † MNN – Mother Nature Network. Http://www. glickinteractive. com/, 15 Mar. 2010. Web. 06 Mar. 2013. â€Å"Evolving Wellness. † Evolving Wellness RSS. Http://www. evitaochel. com, 18 Oct. 2008. Web. 06 Mar. 2013. Layton, Julia. â€Å"How Bottled Water Works† 29 August 2006. HowStuffWorks. com. 06 March 2013.

Mental Health and Psychotropic Drugs Essay

In the last thirty years, the number of patients diagnosed with depression has doubled. (doubled from what? What percentage) The sharp increase in these diagnoses is due to the fact that the medical community has blurred the distinction between everyday unhappiness and clinical depression. (what percentage or numbers are you getting the 40% from? The use of Psychotropic medication in depressed patients has increased in the United States by more than 40 percent over the last decade. (you have a website but what is the website for? ) (http://find. galegroup. com. ezproxy. apollolibrary. com/ovrc/retrieve. do? subjectParam=Local) The bulk of the increase can be accounted for by the aggressive use of SSRI’s (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) in patients. It is the class of drugs that includes Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil. The question is: Are more Americans clinically depressed now than in the past, or has medical science started to treat the far more common experience of â€Å"everyday unhappiness† is this a quote from someone or from you? with medication, thereby increasing the number of drug prescriptions? A Psychoactive drug or Psychotropic substance is a chemical substance that acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it alters brain functions, resulting in perception, mood, consciousness, and behavior. These drugs may be used recreationally to purposefully alter one’s consciousness, as entheogens for ritual or spiritual purposes, as a tool for studying or augmenting the mind or therapeutically as medication. (www. Wikipedia. org ). (Is this whole paragraph a quote? If so, it needs to be centered and in quotation marks. ) For example: On January 22,2008, acclaimed Australian actor, Heath Ledger, died from an accidental overdose of six types of prescribed painkillers and sedatives. Ellen Borakone, spokesperson for the New York Medical Examiner’s office, said the cause of death was â€Å"acute intoxication by combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam [Valium], temazepam [Restoril], alprazolam [Xanax] and doxylamine. Valium, Restoril and Xanax are benzodiazepines or tranquilizers/sedatives. The U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) launched an investigation into how Mr. Ledger acquired the prescription drugs that killed him. (Why did you use this example? The usage of this example is in a incorrect location of the essay) A year earlier, on February