Free Markets are Efficiency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Free Markets are Efficiency - Essay Example In addition, the paper also focuses on the criticism and arguments surrounding the free market concept. The efficiency of free markets surrounds the effectiveness of an economy in the allocation of resources. The efficiency of a free market is dependant on satisfaction of several conditions that permit the agents in that economy to trade freely and attain the market equilibrium in quantity and price. For the purpose of this paper, a free market is one that has negligible government interference, or no such interference (Argelis & Pitelis, 2008: 1). With this in mind, we may define a free market as a market where the agents engage in selling and buying activities on own consent, without any legal compulsion. The prices at which a trade transaction takes place, or the quantities traded are not under control (direct or indirect) of third parties in the market. In essence, this implies that the market operates without legal restrictions or regulations. Simply, a free market is one where buyers decide freely the commodities to buy and their quantities at the prices of the sellers and sellers choose freely the commodities they are willing to manufacture and sell at their price that they decide to sell. The first welfare theorem or the invisible hand proposes that a free market provides a channel through which an economic system is able to reach the ideal level of production. According to Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations, the different traders, like butchers and brewers, do not offer their services out of benevolence, but with a consideration of their own gains (Chang, 2002:5). Kenneth Arrow and Gerald Debreu later mathematically confirmed this theorem, indicating that in the event that all possible gains are exhausted from the exchange, then the free market attains an equilibrium equivalent to the Pareto efficiency in allocation of resources. In economics, the allocation of resources is Pareto efficient if there is no other feasible allocation preference by one pa rty, and which the other party equally likes, therefore making any further mutual benefiting allocation impossible (Hayek, 1945). For instance, party A and party B engage in a trade exchange. After several exchanges with emphasis on their level of endowment, party A and party B will reach a position on the curve (B and C), which is the Pareto optimal point of resource allocation (Lott, 2007: 82). The curve demonstrates the dual benefits of both parties for both reaching an equilibrium benefit of transfer and guiding the economy towards an outcome that observes the Pareto efficiency. Fig 1: Pareto optimality graph. From http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://pmbook.ce.cmu.edu/images/fig8_1.gif&imgrefurl=http://pmbook.ce.cmu.edu/08_construction_pricing_and_conctracting.html&usg=__d69xypDoP0EqqL9D0orgPd46Ezw=&h=399&w=404&sz=5&hl=en&start=3&sig2=s1ZXuuc1Dtp3tLmn-opTVA&zoom=1&tbnid=AORY7mH4F1EvoM:&tbnh=122&tbnw=124&ei=uZDpTrifAsqZiQfMnYWyBw&um=1&itbs=1 The Pareto-efficient outcome is only attainable on the certain conditions that are generally not applicable in practice, despite the mathematical proof by Kenneth Arrow and Gerald Debreu (Mankiw, 2009:153). These conditions include, but not limited to, imperfect competition like a monopoly, inevitable provision of public goods, presence of externalities, negligible transaction costs that are difficult to achieve, and social priorities that often favor a particular

Development of soft palate Essay Example for Free

Development of soft palate Essay Triangular area of hard palate anterior to incisive foramen Forms during 4th to 7th week of Gestation Two maxillary swellings merge and two medial nasal swelling fuse Formed by the fusion of medial nasal processes Secondary Palate- Remaining hard palate and all of soft palate Forms in 6th to 9th weeks of gestation Palatal shelves change from vertical to horizontal position and fuse Formed by fusion of maxillary process- Soft palate Is musculo-membranous curtain that separates the oropharynx from the oral space and the nasopharynx from the nasal space. It functions as flap valve closes off nasopharynx during swallowing. Its anterior margin is attached to the posterior border of hard palate by fibrous tissue known as palatal aponeurosis i. e. It is a collection of muscles with central aponeurosis. It Is continuous with the floor of the nasal cavity and covered with pseudo-stratlfled columnar ciliated epithelium and oral surface is covered by stratified squamous epithelium. Anatomic factors- The anatomy of the soft palate reveals a symmetrical and a radial distribution of the muscles and their fibers. The soft palate is part of a dual valve system which eparates the oropharynx from the oral space and the nasopharynx from the nasal space. The function of the soft palate in these dual valving actions requires freedom of movement in three dimensions or planes of space, i. e. , superoinferiorly, medlolaterally, and anteroposterlorly. A denture which contacts the soft palate then must conform to the requirements for freedom of movement of the palate. Therefore, an impression should be made when the soft palate is placed at a desired denture border position. This functional position of the soft palate may be achieved when the atient, seated in the upright position, flexes his head 30 degrees forward and places his tongue under tension against either the handle of the impression tray or the dentists finger which is held in the region of the upper maxillary incisors. The tongue should be retained in a state of tension within the arch form, and should not protrude beyond the lips. Neuropnyslologlc Tactors The soft palate as a component of an oropharyngeal valve may be considered as the analogue of the upper lip and the distal part of the dorsum of the tongue as the analogue of the lower lip. The soft palate and tongue thus contact and separate as hey protrude backward and forward to selectively permit food and air to pass the fauces for swallowing, speech, and respiration. The neurologic control for the valving action is mediated by the ninth and tenth cranial nerves for the palate and tongue (these nerves have both high somatic conscious and visceral automatic components) and by the twelfth cranial nerve which is dominated by the somatic conscious motor component. It is this latter phenomenon, wherein the rich conscious nerve control of the tongue muscles prevails, that makes it possible for the patient to respond to erbal and tactile stimuli to alter the position of the contiguous muscles of the soft palate. Even though there is a large proportion of visceral components in the ninth and tenth cranial nerves, it does not imply that the soft palate cannot be conditioned to respond appropriately to the denture which encroaches upon its environment. It merely suggests that more time may be required to condition the soft palate tissue to adapt to the presence of the denture which initiates a gag reflex. The physical stimuli of the denture base must be inhibited or suppressed so that the posterior border an become an extension of the patients biologic self in the same manner as the other borders. To facilitate the patients adjustment to the denture touching the soft palate, the border should be convex in contour on both the tongue and soft-palate sides. This recommendation is supported by Litvak, Silverman, and Garfinkels in a recent study wherein patients identified objects with many line angles in the mouth more readily than those with few line angles.

Essay --

1. Introduction As the world gets more global Companies do their best to raise their profits and survive in the competition. Companies may have to grow to survive, and one of the best ways to grow is by merging with another company. However, some merges may disbalance the development of market and disrupt the balance of current market structure. Perfect example is the Daimler and Chrysler merger it is such poweful global corporation that has its activities all around the world. It can use its strong position to influence the decisions of a government. If a government disagrees with the proposals, the corporation can easily move its bussines to another country this will lead to higher unemployment in the country so the government can not allow this and is forced to make a trade-off. Nowdays some corporations have bigger powers than some governments and therefore it is harder to resist the influence of the corporations. Mergers also lead to a decrease in competition in a market, this means higher pr ices and less choises for consumers. The European Union is trying to prevent that companies become too powerfull and that is why firms who seek to raise their profits through merger, must attain European commissions (EC) approval. In this paper I will focus on the Volvo/Scania merger case. Firstly I will explain what is merger, the benefits of firms to conduct merger and the effect of merger to market. Secondly I will briefly describe the two companies which are involved in the Volvo/Scania merger. Finally, I will explain why did the EC blocked this merger. 2. What is merger Merger is a process when at least two companies combine to form one single company. In general, there are three types of mergers, Horizontal Mergers, if both f... ...cks, buses and engines businesses. After selling its car division Volvo had nearly no market share, to become larger again Volvo decided to buy shares of his largest competitor Scania. (Case No COMP/M.1672 –Volvo/Scania) The merge between these two companies would cause a large decrease in competition on the Swedish market for trucks. Volvo wanted to grow to achieve the economies of scale to compete in the global markets, but Volvo was prevented from doing so because the merger would give them too large market share in Nordic market. 6. Conclusion The EC has blocked the proposed merger of Volvo and Scania because of the competition concerns. The main reason was that these two companies, which both make trucks and buses were the two largest competitors in most of their European markets, it would create significant barriers to entry the market by other companies.

Allied Office Products Essay

It seems that customers such as A are more profitable for Allied at the moment, using Service-Based-Costing. According to the service-based costing, Customer A achieved a 23.81% profit margin, while customer B achieved a profit margin of -.38%. Using the old system, where overhead was not charged to the customer; both customers achieved a 16.67% margin. However, it is important to note that if Allied could price their products better, Customer B may be more profitable in the long run, due to their wide use of Allied’s offerings and products. Yes, because it more effectively allocates overhead to each customer and shows the true profitability of each customer. Additionally, this kind of system could provide Allied the leverage and possibility of charging more for their products and being more profitable in the long-run. Service-based-pricing, in Allied’s case may not be too expensive to implement as evidenced by the relative ease that it took myself to allocate costs to each customer. Building SBP pricing into Allied’s invoicing system could prove to be profitable in the long-run and can establish the true profitability of their operations.   The TFC business seems to be an important part of the industry chain. However, Allied’s problem is that its customers seem to take advantage of them, and they seem to be at the back-end of the client’s concerns. Evidence to this is the amount of old inventory that sits in Allied’s warehouses that companies do not utilize. If Allied’s business offering was a more comprehensive document management system or they became at the forefront of the client’s concerns, they could potentially push through some pricing increases and gain some pricing power that way. Additionally, extra services like Desktop delivery end up costing their clients more than their apparent usefulness, especially given company B’s usage of only 26 of these per anum. Additionally, a more effective inventory control system, ie an  SAP solution to their accounting and distribution services, could make Allied more cost effective and eliminate the need for certain data-entry tasks. An online tool or RFID chip usage could greatly boost their business potential.

Britvic Case Study Essay

The marketing concept urges organizations to focus on the needs and wants of their customer. By following this concept the organization’s success can be achieved solely through customer satisfaction. In the case study we see that by identify the needs of the customer; a key characteristic in the marketing concept, Ralph Chapman acknowledged that the Great Depression in the UK meant that many of the poorest customers needed an affordable source of vitamin C. He found a way to bottle fruit juices so they stayed fresher for longer without the addition of preservatives, his juices were sold in small glass bottles that ensured easy transportation. This contributed to keeping the products cost effective. Customer satisfaction is another significant part of the marketing concept. Britvic has a constant flow of new product development; they plan on launching a new Tango variant called Tango Clear with no added sugar. They plan on marketing this to the older generation. They have understood a knish in the older market to meet customer satisfaction by supplying a healthier alternative to their original product, which was more brand appealing to children and teenagers. We can identify that by using the marketing concept Britvic’s core goals are meeting the consumers needs and wants to achieve full customer satisfaction and to sustain their title as the second most successful soft drinks supplier in the UK. Customers are central, we can see this in the case study when we look at the considerable amount of products they supply too approximately 20,0000 outlets across the country including all leading supermarkets, local shops, restaurants, pubs, hotels and cinemas. They are the leading drinks supplier to the licensed premises and have more soft drinks brands in their portfolio than any other UK manufacturer. This makes them so accessible to the consumer, and offers a large variety of different products to suit numerous markets

Custers Last Stand essays

Custer's Last Stand essays The name of "Custer" has become a byword. Today, when someone is involved in seemingly hopeless circumstances references to "Custer's Last Stand" might be made. On the surface, and even after some investigation, the case could be made that Custer was the victim of his own mistakes and recklessness. This case cannot be confirmed, only opinionized and acknowledged to be a possible conclusion. The case made here is one which notes that the men under Custer's command on June 25, 1876 failed him, and in failing him certainly doomed him. The purpose of this essay is not to slander the Indian nations with whom Custer fought against that day. The Sioux and other tribes were just defending there home. Treaties had been made with these Indians granting them the Dakota Territory and the region of the Black Hills forever. Treaties that white men drew up and signed gave them this land. In 1874 Gold was discovered in the region of the Black Hills, on Indian land. With the discovery of Gold, treaties were thrown aside and forgotten. The Indian nations whom Custer fought in 1876 were fighting to protect their lives, their families, and their land. The Government had indeed directed that all Indians move onto reservations by Jan. 31, 1876, or be deemed hostile. In their remote and scattered winter camps, it was likely that many Indian tribes did not receive these orders and could not have reached the government agencies with their women and children if they had. Custer and the United States Government were not in the right on June 25, 1876. Indeed, the whole Indian policy is a dark page in any history. If you read any sources on Custer he was either loved or hated. The governing powers in 1876 were no exception to this. General Sheridan admired Custer. President Grant, Benteen, and Reno did not. President Grant did not like Custer because Custer testified, in a court, to the corruption withi...

Discomfort and Discomfiture

Discomfort and Discomfiture Discomfort and Discomfiture Discomfort and Discomfiture By Maeve Maddox A reader asks, Can you explain the origin of the word discomfiture? This seems to be a recent invention; I was not coming across this word about 10 years ago. However, recently its use has increased. Is it the same as discomfort? Discomfiture is not as common a word as discomfort, but it has been used continuously in English since Chaucer’s day. Discomfort is a little earlier, dating from about 1350, when it meant â€Å"deprivation of happiness.† The earliest OED citations show discomfiture used with the meaning â€Å"defeat in battle.† Meanings that developed from there include â€Å"frustration of plans or hopes; utter disappointment; perplexity, confusion.† In time, the meaning weakened to include lesser emotions, such as unease, embarrassment, and similar-sounding discomfort. Although the words may be considered synonyms, discomfiture implies a stronger sense of unease and confusion than discomfort because it combines the connotation of both defeat and embarrassment. Even when defeat is not implied, discomfiture suggests a sense of agitation that discomfort lacks. I never was more completely whipped in a criminal case, and I always thought Judge Miller enjoyed my discomfiture more than anyone else. So terrible was his appearance that Spitz was forced to forego disciplining him; but to cover his own discomfiture he turned upon the inoffensive and wailing Billee and drove him to the confines of the camp. Tempting as it is, though, to smile at the courts discomfiture, the bigger issue here is whether the federal judiciary should be so actively engaged in the details of the electoral process.   Discomfort implies a sense of uneasiness, inconvenience, or mild physical pain. If you have a comfort zone, you must also have a discomfort zone.   Why Getting Comfortable With Discomfort Is Crucial To  Success About a dozen new teachers of criminal law at multiple institutions have told me that they are not including rape law in their courses, arguing that its not worth the risk of complaints of discomfort by students. If you experience any discomfort in your eye after doing an activity in which a small particle could have entered your eye, such as hammering or working under a car, don’t ignore it.   I would save discomfiture to describe the kind of discomfort that includes embarrassment on the part of the person feeling it. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Math or Maths?Expanded and ExtendedPresent Participle as Adjective

The Persian Immortals

The Persian Immortals The Achaemenid Empire of Persia (550 - 330 BCE) had an elite corps of heavy infantry that was so effective, it helped them to conquer much of the known world.  These troops also served as the imperial guard.  We have beautiful depictions of them from the walls of the Achaemenid capital city of Susa, Iran, but unfortunately, our historical documentation about them comes from the Persians enemies not really an unbiased source.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹ Herodotus, Chronicler of the Persian Immortals Chief among the chroniclers of the Persian Immortals is the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484 - 425).  He is the source of their name, in fact, and it may be a mistranslation.  Many scholars believe that the actual Persian name for this imperial guard was anusiya, meaning companions, rather than anausa, or non-dying.   Herodotus also informs us that the Immortals were maintained at a troop strength of exactly 10,000 at all times.  If an infantryman was killed, sick, or wounded, a reservist would immediately be called up to take his place.  This gave the illusion that they were truly immortal, and could not be injured or slain.  We do not have any independent confirmation that Herodotuss information on this is accurate; nevertheless, the elite corps is often referred to as the Ten Thousand Immortals to this day. The Immortals were armed with short stabbing spears, bows and arrows, and swords.  They wore fish scale armor covered by robes, and a headdress often called a tiara that reportedly could be used to shield the face from wind-driven sand or dust.  Their shields were woven out of wicker.  Achaemenid artwork shows the Immortals decked out in gold jewelry and hoop earrings, and Herodotus asserts that they wore their bling into battle.   The Immortals came from elite, aristocratic families.  The top 1,000 had gold pomegranates on the ends of their spears, designating them as officers and as the kings personal bodyguard.  The remaining 9,000 had silver pomegranates.  As the best of the best in the Persian army, the Immortals received certain perks.  While on the campaign, they had a supply train of mule-drawn carts and camels that brought along special foods reserved only for them.  The mule train also brought along their concubines and servants to tend to them.   Like most things in the Achaemenid Empire, the Immortals were equal opportunity at least for elites from other ethnic groups.  Although the majority of the members were Persian, the corps also included aristocratic men from the previously-conquered Elamite and Median Empires.   The Immortals at War Cyrus the Great, who founded the Achaemenid Empire, seems to have originated the idea of having an elite corps of imperial guards.  He used them as heavy infantry in his campaigns to conquer the Medes, the Lydians, and even the Babylonians.  With his last victory over the new Babylonian Empire, at the Battle of Opis in 539 BCE, Cyrus was able to name himself king of the four corners of the world thanks in part to the efforts of his Immortals. In 525 BCE, Cyruss son Cambyses II defeated the Egyptian Pharaoh Psamtik IIIs army at the Battle of Pelusium, extending Persian control across Egypt.  Again, the Immortals likely served as the shock troops; they were so feared after their campaign against Babylon that the Phoenicians, the Cypriots, and the Arabs of Judea and the Sinai Peninsula all decided to ally themselves with Persians rather than fighting them.  This left the door to Egypt wide open, in a manner of speaking, and Cambyses took full advantage of it. The third Achaemenid emperor, Darius the Great, likewise deployed the Immortals in his conquests of Sindh and parts of the Punjab (now in Pakistan).  This expansion gave the Persians access to the rich trading routes through India, as well as the gold and other wealth of that land.  At that time, the Iranian and Indian languages were probably still similar enough to be mutually intelligible, and the Persians took advantage of this to employ Indian troops in their fights against the Greeks.  Darius also fought the fierce, nomadic Scythian people, whom he defeated in 513 BCE.  He would likely have kept a guard of Immortals for his own protection, but cavalry would have been much more effective than heavy infantry against a highly mobile foe like the Scythians. It is most difficult to evaluate our Greek sources when they recount battles between the Immortals and Greek armies.  The ancient historians make no attempt to be unbiased in their descriptions.  According to the Greeks, the Immortals and the other Persian soldiers were vain, effeminate, and not very effective compared with their Greek counterparts.  If that is the case, however, it is difficult to see how the Persians defeated the Greeks in numerous battles and held on to so much land adjacent to Greek territory. It is a shame that we do not have Persian sources to balance the Greek point of view. In any case, the story of the Persian Immortals may have been distorted over time, but it is obvious even at this distance in time and space that they were a fighting force to be reckoned with.

The Spiritual-Needs Assessment Tool Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Spiritual-Needs Assessment Tool - Essay Example From this discussion it is clear that  the reporter made several significant discoveries about the patient that he chose to assess. He found out that morality and ethics were high on his list of spiritual needs. The illness he had was a challenge and struggle to him and he needed guidance and support in maintaining a commitment to his principles that for a foundation of his spiritual life. For example, because of the realization that he could not make the decision by himself to do as he pleases in regard to his spiritual needs, for instance going to the mass, he requested that he be given particular times both in the morning and in the evening so that he can pray without disturbance. He also requested that his belongings for his spiritual needs be respected.  This study outlines that the author of the essay  discovered that the patient wanted his spiritual needs to be respected by the health care team and that he could put his trust on them to do exactly that. To him respect an d trust were very important as aspects that could help the healthcare team to fulfill his spiritual needs. His requests acted as an agreement between him and the healthcare team who will be providing care for him while he was in hospital. Therefore, this agreement ought to be respected.  The reporter discovered that the patient was not ready at any cost to compromise his spiritual needs even though he was ill.

Secure Computer System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Secure Computer System - Essay Example Firewalls are the most common security measures for computer networks. Certain mechanisms are put in place in order to provide adequate security to protect resources on the trusted network against potential access by attackers. There are numerous mechanisms in network security, one of which is the DMZ or Demilitarised Zone. DMZ is a network which is semi-protected and is common to medium scale to large scale enterprise (Pickering, 2009). DMZ has two (2) disadvantages: First, the firewall can be created to pass trusted'' services within the application gateway(s), thus, subverting the policy. The trusted'' services which get passed all around the application gateway typically end up being in contact with the site systems. Another disadvantage is placed on the routers for the provision of security. Packet filtering routers seemed complex to configure and errors could disclose the whole site to security holes (Wack, 2009). Added by Pickering (2003), the application proxy firewalls usually require frequent software updating to run the latest versions of the proxy code. This is important particularly when new exploits are detected, needs to be blocked, and in the event when problems emerge interactions between the proxy as well as widely deployed applications. Meaning, when the proxy is found actually breaking. 3. Using a Microsoft XP or 2000 system, open Internet Explorer. Open Internet Options under the Tools menu. Examine the contents of the Security and Privacy tabs. How can these tabs be configured to provide: a) content filtering, and b) protection from unwanted items like cookies Some actions that Microsoft XP or 2000 system allow a user to do in order to configure content, filtering, and protection from unwanted items like cookies are: 1. To personalize Windows XP settings for each user; and also 2. To assign user to create accounts and passwords in the computer to control the users who can access on the system. In other words, users who are not the "administrators" will have no access, unable to change critical system files or delete it. The system may also be upgraded by logging off from a regular user account, then, logging back in as

Business Strategy and the Role of Information for the Organization Term Paper

Business Strategy and the Role of Information for the Organization - Term Paper Example Gerry Johnson and Kevan Scholes (2003) argue that the mission statement of the organization is the element that reflects upon the core strategies of the organization itself. This makes it clear that the mission statement is the critical element for the successful evaluation of the existing strategies in an organization. In light of the aforementioned arguments, the mission statement for the organization under scrutiny is presented below. From the mission statement, it is clear that the Office of the Attorney General and the Chief State Solicitors office are predominantly involved in accomplishing effectiveness in legal services provided to the customers through gaining efficiency in performance. The mission statement also reveals that the quality of service is the critical element for the organization in both the external and internal customers scenario as mentioned in the strategy statement of the Office of the Attorney General. From the review of the strategy statement of the Offic e of the Attorney general, it is clear that the organization is not only striving to accomplish effective customer service through improving quality but also increasingly focusing upon the development of the human resource as well as the overall organization status in the public. The presence of the Management Advisory Committee in the organization as the monitor 'to ensure that all key strategic, business and management decisions for the Office are discussed collectively before any relevant issues are further developed in a partnership approach involving management, unions, and staff', further justifies that the strategic positioning of the organization   as argued by Richard Lynch (2003) is the key to effectiveness in performance within the organization.   

Choose any title from below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Choose any title from below - Essay Example Since 2001 heightened national security concerns followed by the current economic woes have led to immigration becoming an important area of concern in the United Kingdom (GMF, 2008). Net immigration into the United Kingdom has been increasing with time leading to an increase in the migrant population. As per figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in 2007, the net immigration into the country was 237,000, while in 2006 it was 191,000. These figures show that there was a growth of 25% in the net immigration into the United Kingdom in the last year (Boycott, 2008). This large influx of immigrants has raised concern over their possible economic contribution to the nation, security issues and the capability of the public services to cope with the unexpected rise in population of the country (Select Committee on Economic Affairs, 2008) Immigrants into the United Kingdom tend to group together and not meld within the local communities. The large influx of immigrants is posing a threat to the peace and stability of the local communities. For example in Peterborough, Burnley and Barking and Dagenham, which are three areas of high immigrant populations there is the lowest cohesion in the community, when compared top other areas. This has heightened public anxiety on the rapid increase in rate of immigration (BBC NEWS, 2008). In addition to this factor, there is the issue of increasing influx of illegal immigrants into the United Kingdom from countries like India. After entering the country, they are prepared to work for low wages causing problems to the local workers (Bannerji, 2008). Finally the largesse of the United Kingdom in granting asylum to individuals facing persecution in their native lands has been misused to increase the number of migrants into the country. The political perspective of this is reflected by the claims of the Immigration Minister Phil Woolas that â€Å"most asylum seekers were not fleeing

SAT waiver Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SAT waiver - Essay Example I have been an extraordinary student who not only performed well in studies but also in social and extracurricular activities. I was enrolled in the honors courses at school too. I am a fully devoted person and have the courage to overcome challenges bravely. Here, I would also like to say that I like to bring improvements wherever I can. For example, empowering women in every part of the part is my dream that I aim to fulfill. I am half-Saudi half-American person. I have a good amount of knowledge regarding the difficulties that women of the Saudi society face in their daily lives because of gender based discrimination in the society. This knowledge and my aim to improve the society inject in me the drive to change the Saudi society and make it better for women. I want to empower Saudi women so that they can get their due place in the society instead of just being controlled by the male dominate society. Moreover, I have the aim to bring improvements in the educational sector of Saudi Arabia in order to make it able to deliver high quality education to local and foreign students. I have a firm belief I my abilities. I am sure that I can achieve my aims once given the support of the government and the society. These goals and missions reflect my intellectual sense that goes beyond the results of a particular

A critique analysing the neuropsychology of schizophrenia Essay

A critique analysing the neuropsychology of schizophrenia - Essay Example As part of discussing the signs and symptoms found in schizophrenic patients, the effectiveness of the author’s proposed diagnostic procedures will be criticized based on the diagnostic intervention as proposed by other equally qualified authors. Cris Frith is highly qualified as an author of the journal article on Schizophrenia. For many years, Frith works as a psychiatric professor and a member of Wllcome Department – Cognitive Neurology at the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience in London (UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2008). Aside from being a highly competitive psychiatric professor, Frith has personally written other recent article journals by himself and together with other highly qualified authors including â€Å"Editorial: In Praise of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry† (Frith, 2008) and â€Å"Different Brain Circuits Underlie Motor and Percetual Representations of Temporal Intervals† The article journal entitled â€Å"Neuropsychology of Schizophrenia† was officially publised back in 1996. In the past, cognitive tests are often considered the best diagnostic tests for patients with schizophrenia (Frith, 1996). This is primarily due to the fact that there is not one psychological test that can be used in measuring the neuropsychological impairments that are present in schizophrenia patients. In line with the importance of diagnostic tests, the main purpose of the article is to present clinical evidences of past diagnostic tests to prove to its target audeinces that the tests used on patients with schizophrenia is not accurate in terms of being able to explain the cognitive deficits in each patient. Since the article was published approximately 12 years ago, there is a strong possibility that a more reliable diagnostic test methods are now being used under the modern psychiatric practices. The target audiences of the author includes not only the professional psychologist

SAT waiver Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SAT waiver - Essay Example I have been an extraordinary student who not only performed well in studies but also in social and extracurricular activities. I was enrolled in the honors courses at school too. I am a fully devoted person and have the courage to overcome challenges bravely. Here, I would also like to say that I like to bring improvements wherever I can. For example, empowering women in every part of the part is my dream that I aim to fulfill. I am half-Saudi half-American person. I have a good amount of knowledge regarding the difficulties that women of the Saudi society face in their daily lives because of gender based discrimination in the society. This knowledge and my aim to improve the society inject in me the drive to change the Saudi society and make it better for women. I want to empower Saudi women so that they can get their due place in the society instead of just being controlled by the male dominate society. Moreover, I have the aim to bring improvements in the educational sector of Saudi Arabia in order to make it able to deliver high quality education to local and foreign students. I have a firm belief I my abilities. I am sure that I can achieve my aims once given the support of the government and the society. These goals and missions reflect my intellectual sense that goes beyond the results of a particular

Theme, Charractor Development, and Symbolism in The Fall of The House Research Paper

Theme, Charractor Development, and Symbolism in The Fall of The House of Usher - Edgar Allen Poe - Research Paper Example The personification of the mansion implies a lot of things which is discussed in this paper along with the theme and character development in the story. Edgar Allan Poe is considered as one of the unhappiest nineteenth century American poets, who wrote great horror tales and detective stories. His works can be included the gothic genre, and dealt mainly with deaths, unknown diseases and madness. The peculiarity of his themes arises from the mishaps in the life of Poe. He lost his parents at a very early age, his brother died when he was young and his only sister became insane later. â€Å"In his supernatural fiction Poe usually dealt with paranoia rooted in personal psychology, physical or mental enfeeblement, obsessions, the damnation of death, feverish fantasies, the cosmos as source of horror and inspiration†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849)). ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ is one of his best short stories, in which he narrates the story of an insane man, Roderick, who buries his twin sister alive out of mere superstition only to find her returning after a few days. Roderick dies out of terror as the sist er dies and falls onto him. In this paper, the theme, character development and symbolism in the story, is going to be discussed. The main theme in the story is the decline of an ancient incestuous family and the psychological effects it has on its members and probably the physical effect on the mansion. There are various interpretations about the theme in the story. The story narrates the theme of duality with the characterization of Roderick and his sister. It means that Roderick and Madeline, his sister are not two people, but one. The old mansion gets destroyed with the death of Roderick and his sister, giving a direct relation between the members of the family and the mansion. â€Å"An interpretation of the story is that the Usher House represents the main character’s psyche or personality. The fissures

Religion and Animal Rights Essay Example for Free

Religion and Animal Rights Essay Speciesism – Discrimination in favour of one species, usually the human species, over another, especially in the exploitation or mistreatment of animals by humans. Sentient – Able to feel pain; conscious through the senses. Shallow ecology preserving the environment to the extent that it benefits human beings. (This is an anthropocentric view of ecology – human centred). Deep ecology Giving all life respect and value – caring for all of nature, not just the aspects of nature which benefit human beings. Dominionism Judeo-Christian idea that human beings have a special place in the natural world; they are given the power to rule over it (as overseers) in behalf of its creator, God. Stewardship – Judeo-Christian idea that human beings have a special responsibility for the natural world (and indeed all other areas of responsibility such as other people, their money and possessions) acting as caretakers on God’s behalf. Autonomy – Free will, able to self-govern. Deontological – Duty led approach. Emphasis on the act itself in determining moral righteousness. Inaugurated eschatology The kingdom of God was started/established in the agapeistic life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and continues in the life of the church, but will be fulfilled after bodily death in heaven. Realised eschatology The kingdom of God is here and now on earth, through agape and the life of the church. Futuristic Eschatology: The Kingdom of God will come in the future – after bodily death, resurrection (bodily or spiritual) in heaven. Vivisection – Experimenting on animals. Instrumentalist approach – A pragmatic (practical) approach that says an action should be taken in order to achieve an active solution to a problem. Mutate – Change, transform (e.g. as part of the process of evolution). Immutability – Unable to change (e.g. from species to species). Commodification – To turn into and treat as a commodity – an article suitable for trading/buying and selling. Scholars Aristotle – Identified the hierarchy of being placing human beings above animals. Augustine – Human beings are superior to animals as human beings are rational, being made in the image and likeness of God, Genesis 1:26. Aquinas – Influenced by Aritotle – â€Å"animals†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦by divine providence are intended for man’s use in the natural order.†. Charles Darwin – Theory of evolution – ‘Origin of Species’, 1859. The process of natural selection, challenged the Bible, and in particular the Genesis creation story which claims that human beings are created in the image of God, Genesis 1:26. Albert Schweitzer – A pioneer of animal rights with his ‘reverence for life’ ethic. For Schweitzer ‘all life is sacred’, sentient or non-sentient, animal or vegetable. A deep ecologist. St Francis of Assisi – Often referred to as, ‘The Patron Saint of animals’. God has created the world and so the created order reflects God’s goodness and purpose of design and order, animals are a particularly important aspect of that created order. Peter Singer – If a being has interests then they are morally important and should have rights; sentient, self-conscious beings have interests. What matters is not what species a being belongs to, but to what extent a being is a person – fulfils Personhood criteria. Jeremy Bentham Believed that unnecessary suffering was morally wrong, irrespective of the species. KEY TEACHINGS FROM CHRISTIANITY AND AWARENESS OF HOW RELIGIOUS LEADERS AND OTHER FAITH MEMBERS HAVE INTERPRETED THESE TEACHINGS AND APPLIED THEM TO LIFE IN SOCIETY TODAY. Religious beliefs about the status of animals. SCHOLARS * Aristotle (4 BC – a foundation and influence for later Christian thought) -everything had a telos, an end purpose. The end purpose of nature (and animals) according to Aristotle, is human fulfilment Hierarchy of Being, Anthropocentric (human centred), Speciesist approach. * Augustine (4th to 5th century AD). Human beings are superior to animals as human beings are rational, being made in the image and likeness of God, Genesis 1:26. , â€Å"To refrain from the killing of animals and the destroying of plants is the height of superstition.† (Augustine). Hierarchy of Being. Speciesism. * Thomas Aquinas (13th century AD). Influenced by Aristotle’s ideas there is no sin in using a thing for the purpose, telos, which it is intended. There is no possibility of sinning against non-human animals or against the natural world which exist for the use and good of humanity. Hierarchy of Being. Anthropocentric. Speciesist. * St Francis of Assisi (12th to 13th century). Francis of Assisi thought that the natural world, and in particular animal life, was an expression of the creative will of God and was worthy of respect. Patron Saint of animals, emphasised the importance of sentient beings as part of God’s creation. Humanity should behave as responsible stewards to care and look after all of God’s created creatures. Shallow ecology preserving the natural world, including animals to the extent that human beings benefit. (This is an anthropocentric view of ecology – human centred) where human beings have a caretaker role over nature. * Albert Schwietzer (20th century). Albert Schweitzer was a Christian who pioneered animal rights with his ‘reverence for life’ ethic. He was astonished at the indifference that human beings show to fellow creatures on the planet. Schweitzer was a ‘deep ecologist’ who believed that all life was sacred – sentient or non-se ntient; human, animal, plant. BIBLICAL TEACHINGS * Human Beings created perfect, imago dei (St. Augustine). Genesis 1:27. * Genesis 1:28 – Dominionism (to rule over, use, control) â€Å"Then God saidHave dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.† This was the traditional position of the church towards animals as identified by Peter Singer. * Genesis 2:15 – Stewardship (to look after and care for on God’s behalf) â€Å"The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.† More recently this is the role taken by the church, replacing dominionism with responsible stewardship. * Genesis 2 – creation story has focus on creation of man and woman (Adam and Eve). Human beings have a soul (animals do not) â€Å"The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed (ruach) into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being† (Genesis 2:7) * Human beings, but not animals have free will, autonomous, with the opportunity of choosing a love relationship with God. â€Å"Love God, love your neighbour.† (Jesus, Mark 12:30/31). With autonomy comes responsibility, stewardship (see church teachings below). * â€Å"A righteous man cares for the needs of his animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.† Proverbs 12:10. * â€Å"The wolf will live with the lamb† Isaiah. An O.T. eschatological vision of harmony between all sentient life. * â€Å"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.† Luke 12:6. CHURCH TEACHINGS Roman Catholic Catechism (1994) †¢ God willed creation as a gift addressed to humankind. †¢ Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present and future humanity. Anthropocentric, arises out of the shallow ecology approach to the natural world that is the usual the way for Christianity to deal with this area of ethics/moral issues. †¢ Animals do not have rights but humans do have duties towards animals. Roman Catholic Papal Encyclicals Centesimus Annus and Solicitudo Rei Socialis (Pope John Paul II) †¢ Human beings are stewards of God’s creation, not masters of it. †¢ Animals are part of God’s creation and must not be abused. †¢ The Church opposes cruelty / exploitation of animals. †¢The earth and all life on it is a gift from God given to us to share and develop, not to dominate and exploit. Church of England documents: Our Responsibility for the Living Environment (GS 718) and Animal Welfare (GS 341) †¢ Animals have been created by God and deserve respect. †¢ The value of animal life is secondary to human beings. †¢ Humans have a common heritage with, and have an obligation to animals. †¢ Humans are the most efficient predators and therefore must exercise responsible stewardship. †¢ Medical / scientific testing within reasonable limits is acceptable as it promotes the common good of humanity. Quaker Peace Testimony * show a loving consideration of all the creatures, maintain the beauty and variety of the world and show reverence for life. * Quakers have long supported vegetarianism. * Quakers oppose animal experimentation for weapons. * They also oppose the use of animals for the testing of cosmetics. * Most Quakers oppose the fur trade. * Quakers do support the use of animal testing for medical research. The extent to which animals are different from humans and their relative value. Humans are animals. * Charles Darwin 1859 â€Å"Origin of the Species† * Evolution, Natural Selection, Survival of the Fittest. Humans have evolved to become the dominant/controlling species. * â€Å"With all these exalted powers humanity still bears in its bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin.† (Charles Darwin) * Darwin challenged the idea of a designer God, and the anthropocentric view of the world. â€Å"Humanity in their arrogance think themselves a great work, worthy the (inter)position of a God. More humble, and I believe true, to consider them created from animals.† (Charles Darwin). * Many religious believers accept evolutionary theory as a way of explaining the origins of life on this planet, but still see that God’s power was behind the very start-theistic evolution (God the Uncaused Cause brought everything else into existence – based on Thomas Aquinas’s cosmological argument). How can an anthropocentric approach be upheld if humans ar e descended from animals – all are of equal worth and value – deep ecology. Hierarchy of species. * See above. God created animals for a purpose to be of value and support to human beings. Human intelligence versus animal instinct. * Rationality, intelligence and autonomy set humans apart from animals. * Capacity for sophisticated methods of communication is a human skill. * Creativity (music, literature, art) and complex/sophisticated (developing/utilising science and technology) societies for a good and worthwhile quality of life rather than for instinctive survival are hallmarks of human existence. * Most humans protect the weak and vulnerable arguably for altruistic motivations rather than for survival of the species. * Humans can choose to behave morally. * Humans are spiritual beings. However, just because the status of animals is lower than humans many argue for care and respect. * Stewardship. Deep ecology. Animal Rights.   * â€Å"The question is not can they reason, can they talk, but can they suffer.† Jeremy Bentham (19th century). * Peter Singer thinks that if a being has interests then these things should be satisfied, other things being equal. What matters is not what species a being belongs, but to what extent a being fulfils the criteria of personhood:- rational, sentient (experience pleasure / pain), self-conscious, can establish relationships and can communicate. Religious views on animal rights and the means of protecting those rights. See scholars, biblical and church teachings above. * Rev Humphrey Primatt (19th century) argued all life was made by God and any sentient creature has the right not to have pain inflicted upon it including animal suffering. â€Å"Pain is pain whether inflicted on man or beast† (Primatt). The work of Humphrey Primatt led to the foundation of the RSPCA in 1824. * Organisations such as WWF and RSPCA campaign for animal rights so that they may live according to their own nature and not be harmed, exploited or abused, maintaining a dignified existence. * Such pressure groups oppose factory farming (a method of raising animals intensively for maximum economic gain and to produce food at a lower cost for consumers, resulting in the commodification of animals), animal experimentation (vivisection) and using animals for entertainment;, although opinions vary on all these issues. * Controversy exists about vivisection and the extent of justifiable protest on animals’ behalf – SPEAK campaign sought to end the building of ne w animal labs for scientific experimentation on animals at Oxford University, often using intimidation and direct action which was judged by the law courts to be illegal. â€Å"If possessing a higher intelligence does not entitle one human to use another for his own ends how can it entitle humans to exploit non-humans for the same purpose?† Professor Peter Singer VERSUS â€Å"You can’t go to a doctor without having treatment that has been tested on animals – you can’t pick and choose.† Professor Colin Blakemore, Oxford University. * International Animal Rights Day = December 10th annually. * British law protects animals form cruelty and neglect which are criminal offences. * Revd Professor Andrew Linzey – Department of Theology at Oxford university = world’s first academic post in Ethics, Theology and Animal Welfare. Rejects an instrumentalist view of animals as ‘speciesist’; privileging one species, human beings, giving them a unique moral status. For Linzey, animals are part of God’s creation, and have God-given rights, or ‘theos-rights’, and thus have moral status. Religious responses to the preservation of species from extinction. * Genesis 1:12 – Species were created immutable (fixed and unchanging). Dominionism means human beings have used species and their environment for the good of humanity which has inevitably led to extinction of some. However, stewardship imposes a duty of care implying preservation and conservation of God’s sacred, creation for future generations upholding biodiversity. * Evolution teaches that species naturally change, mutate, and die out as part of the process of survival of the fittest and natural selection. Some religious people accept evolutionary theory theistic evolution (God the Uncaused Cause brought everything else into existence – based on Thomas Aquinas’s cosmological argument). * Breeding programmes in zoos have helped to save species from extinction. * Ohito Declaration 1995 – sustaining environmental life is a religious responsibility.

Refuting the Claims in Adam Kolasinski’s The Secular Case Against Gay M

Refuting the Claims in Adam Kolasinski’s The Secular Case Against Gay Marriage Gay marriage has been one of the most controversial topics of the twenty first century and the topic has mainly circulated around such issues as procreation and marriage benefits. Although Adam Kolasinski, the author of â€Å"The Secular Case Against Gay Marriage,† never refers to homosexual behavior as â€Å"wrong,† he argues several key points, including financial issues, to conclude why homosexual marriage is not allowed in the majority of states. The author, with a degree in financial economics, will first of all already have a biased attitude towards any subject that promotes a better fiscal policy. Second of all, financial economics represents only one factor in the debate of gay marriage. This minute detail diminishes the author’s argument significantly since he is probably not extensively knowledgeable in the subject, even if some of his positions are legitimate. Kolasinski’s assertions and assumptions contain falsehoods and flaws, specifically con cerning the overemphasis on procreation and the notion of sexual love. Kolasinski begins his debate with the notion that â€Å"marriage is not a universal right.† He states that a majority of states ban many people from marrying one another – including first cousins, blood relatives, and people with venereal diseases. Although these statements hold true, the United States did not allow other â€Å"traditional† or â€Å"normal† marriages. For example, in the 1960’s, the government would not allow interracial marriages. This exemplifies how the government and the majority can sometimes be tyrannical or even wrong. Obviously, two heterosexuals of different races can marry without any government opposition. Although marriage... ... the government and a majority of states ban homosexual marriage. Although many of these claims tend to be opinions and even falsehoods, the author contributes a strong argument. Many court cases have been issued due to the huge controversy of homosexual marriage. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court concluded â€Å"that the Constitution places limits on a State’s right to interfere with a person’s most basic decisions about family and parenthood†(Moss 106). This contradicts with all the rules and regulations that the states place upon marriage and more specifically gay marriage. There have been several cases on the violations of homosexual rights, but laws have not currently been changed so that they have equality in all aspects. In the future, society will hopefully mirror the solution to the 1960’s prohibited interracial marriage and permit homosexual marriage.

Cloned stem cells may give you a new lease of life Essay -- Biology

Cloned stem cells may give you a new lease of life (A new lease of life means â€Å"an opportunity to improve someone’s future†) Summery Paragraph The name of my article is â€Å"Cloned stem cells may give a new lease of life† I found this article in the â€Å"New Scientist† magazine. It was published on November 8, 2002. The article is telling us about how to use therapeutic (treatment) cloning to take adult cells from a human body, create cloned embryos (animal or plant in the early period of its development before it is born or grown) and remove stem cells that can turn into a wide range of tissues (a bunch of cells forming an animal or plant. Like the heart, brain, muscles, and lungs are some examples of tissues). When they tried this experiment on two cows, one cow was given drugs...

A Modern Modest Proposal

It is a truly depressing matter to witness the complete and utter destruction of Haiti. Since the earthquake, the nation has being slowing withering away. The people that inhabit the land are suffering terribly and enduring the most brutal conditions. Tent cities, populated by close to seven thousand people, are being subject to crime and the propagation of a multitude of diseases. Parentless children wander aimlessly, searching for any remnant of food or even a single droplet of water. If they do not find their precious water and food they will end up like many others who end up passing out due to starvation or dehydration and eventually dying. Only the fortunate have an actual place to call a home, if one considers four sticks embedded in the ground covered by old clothing a house. It is indisputable that a precarious situation exists in Haiti. Any moral human being must realize that action has to be taken. Haiti could serve as a valuable consumer market if the nation is restored back to a perpetual state of stability. It would aid every single American in that it could potentially boost our economy. It could serve as another place to have manufacturing done cheaply because Haitians are desperate for any job. We could use this nation for our advantage and integrate them as valuable aspects of our economy. The real question is not why should we help them; it actually is why should we not help this feeble nation. Haiti needs us great Americans to lend our hand and help them from their destruction and devastation. This predicament has engulfed the majority of my thoughts for the past few years. Constantly, weighing out the pros and cons of each and every situation. All of the other solutions just do not sufficiently mend the problems of Haiti, according to my calculations. This being true, the only plausible solution that would efficiently fix the immense amount of problems in Haiti is my proposal. It is reasonable to believe that the situation will only worsen. With new children being born due to the rape of women and the continuous manifestation of deadly infections it is becoming increasingly difficult for Haiti to recover. That is why direct and immediate action is imperative to the survival of this potential huge asset to America. My proposition is the perfect panacea for Haiti. It will bring an abrupt halt to all the problems in Haiti. No longer will a child have to scour the streets looking for food. No longer will mothers beg people to take their children to a safer environment. No longer will there be unconscious infants, due to dehydration and lack of nourishment, being lugged around by their elder siblings. The distress and chaos will come to an end if my modest proposal is followed with the utmost precision. It is now that I bring to you my modest proposal. It is simple really; slaughter the elderly, weak, sick, and the children, who are too young to fend for themselves. There is a plethora of uses that come from their bodies. First the bones can be used to build much more stable houses. They can act as a very sturdy shelter that will actually be able to withstand the rainy season, unlike their current houses built from simple cloth and sticks. Then the meat, which is not infected with disease, will act as valuable source of nourishment for the hungry. I have been reassured by an array of scientists that for every one hundred grams of brain there are: 78 grams of water, 10 grams of fat, 11 grams of protein, and 1 gram of carbohydrate. This will be an easy way to get the remaining population water and the necessary nutrition they need. I assure you that this is the most efficient way to provide shelter, food, and prevent the spread of disease. There is no feasible rejection to my proposal. All of those who claim there are alternative methods to helping the Haitians are mistaken. The idea that we should take more direct action in helping Haiti is laughable. I have ventured off into Haiti once to try and help them. I had success in helping a small population in Haiti. I gave them water, helped rebuild a school, and entertained the lonely children. But what does that do? Nothing. After all, they are still in desperation; constant help and gradually development of Haiti is not the answer, clearly. There has to be one defining movement that will drastically alter their condition of lives. People just tend to forget about problems that are not in the news. Due to the incurable attention deficit disorder that has cursed this country, Haiti requires immediate and drastic action. There is much humanitarian talk of alternative absurd methods to helping this country. One is attempting to fund raise in America and use that money to build hospitals and other necessary buildings. Another idea is to aid the Haitians in reconstructing their society rather than just throwing food and water at them; basically help them become a self-sustaining nation. â€Å"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a ifetime,† obviously this Chinese proverb is just nonsense. There have even been suggestions to try and work cohesively on an international level. With these foolish proposals it should be obvious that it is mine that is the most logical and efficient. I will be the first one to initiate my proposal. I am traveling this April to do so. I have been accepting donations to fund my purchase of the toxins that will kill those who need to be killed. So I call upon the people of America to rise up and overcome their ignorance and help this nation in a true state of need.

Nature of Knowledge Essay

In the study of knowledge we distinguish between knowledge by acquaintance, in essence to know someone or know of something. Ability knowledge is for example to know how to swim or how to ride a bike. And, our main concern, propositional knowledge that is sentences or statements that can be either true or false. To have knowledge one needs to have a belief and for this belief to be true. The following text will show how true belief, even if it is justified in a rational way, does not suffice for knowledge. Take Nina, she is walking by some slot machines in the casino. She feels drawn to one of the machines, and believes it is her lucky day and that she will win because of the nice appealing colors on the slot machine. She places her bet, the wheels spin and line up three lucky 7’s, she wins and her belief turns out to be a true one. But while her belief being true, intuitively this do not suffice for knowledge, as it is easy to ascribe this winning to pure chance. Even if different suppositions may justify Nina’s belief in winning, it is natural to think that what Nina lacks in this situation to have knowledge, is justification. And also for this justification to be strong enough for Nina to be a rational being in believing she will win, without need to turn to superstition or vagueness to explain her belief. But even if Nina where to have a justified true belief, which she formed in a rational way, it is easy to show that this neither suffice for knowledge. Say Nina is a con girl, she has tricked the manager of the slot machine manufacturer to give her a manual, showing all the results the machine can produce, together with a serial number for each spin which is also displayed on the slot machine. So it is easy to look down in the manual what the next result will be. It is noon and Nina is now standing in front of the slot machine in the casino. She reads the serial number in the display and matches it in her manual. The next spin will line up three lucky 7’s and win. She places her bet and spins the wheel. Unbeknown to Nina there was an error when printing the manual so all the numbers are mixed up, making the manual useless. And this day the casino owner celebrates his 60th birthday by letting all the machines go off program at noon and give every placed bet at that time the three lucky 7’s line up. Nina’s justified belief turned out to be true, but due to lucky and unlucky circumstances we do not ascribe knowledge to Nina in this situation. Nina was responsible and rational when forming her belief, considering she went the length to trick the boss to give her the manual to see which spins win. If her goal is to win at slots, she was responsible when gathering evidence and responsible and rational in believing her evidence. And even if this example showed that an agent with a justified true belief formed in a rational and responsible way, do not necessarily have knowledge. It is easy to see that even if the agent lacks knowledge, she will often be successful in reaching her goals, because of the rational way she gains justification for her beliefs. Though it is not sufficient or may not even be necessary to have justified true beliefs when trying to grasp the nature of knowledge. Bibliography: Pritchard D. (2006) What is this thing called knowledge?, Routledge, Oxon

Justifiable and Unjustifiable Government Interference

Since the Patriot Act was enacted after September 11, 2001. There has been an ongoing argument about the validity of the Patriot Act and whether or not it is a violation of civil rights. The question is how far is too far? How much intrusion will Americans allow into their lives for the sake of national security? The Patriot Act was signed into law on October 26, 2001. The Patriot Act has 16 provisions that give the government surveillance and legal powers to use against terrorists. Since 9/11, there have been no other terror attacks on American soil. Since this time has passed with no other attacks, people are starting to question whether the Patriot Act should be scaled back or whether we even need it at all. The Patriot Act addresses several new areas in surveillance. I will touch on a couple of those new provisions and what they mean. Pen Register or Trap and Trace Orders: Currently, law enforcement agencies involved in intelligence investigations can obtain a ‘pen register’ or ‘trap and trace’ order under which they can have access to numbers dialed and received by a particular phone. In order to obtain a pen/trap order, law enforcement must show that the information they are seeking is relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation and that the suspect that they are tracking is ‘in communication with’ someone involved in international terrorism or intelligence activities. This is a much lower standard than the probable cause standard used in criminal investigations. The Patriot Act reduces this standard even further, eliminating the ‘in communication with’ requirement. Law enforcement officials must simply show that the information they are seeking is relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation. Under this provision, when law enforcement requests a pen/trap order from a judge, he must issue it. The judge has no discretion to refuse, even if he/she views it as unnecessary or unjust. These are the types of provisions that concern opponents to the Patriot Act and those who think our privacy is being threatened. Although, it this may help in the fight against terrorists, opponents contend that it could be used against all citizens. I have a hard time believing that law enforcement is going to be wasting their time with people that are not involved in some type of terrorist or criminal activity. This doesn’t mean that the powers could not be abused or that mistakes could not be made. Just that in the grand scheme of things, these instances are unlikely. And if they do happen, the consequences in relation to the issue of national security is not likely to be all that great. The PA also extends the scope of information that can be obtained using a pen/trap order. Law enforcement may now have access to ‘dialing, routing, and signaling’ information where in the past it could only be used to obtain telephone numbers dialed and received. The reference to routing information refer specifically to internet use – either for email or browsing. The PA expressly states that the â€Å"contents† of communications may not be obtained with trap/trace orders, but the PA does not define the term. The FBI began using a new tool called â€Å"Carnivore† to monitor email and instant messages. They claim it will be very effective against terrorists. Opponents claim it can be used against any citizen. Carnivore lets them monitor everyone who uses the same internet provider that the suspect uses, whether they are under investigation or not. The argument is that new rules need to be put into place to prevent innocent people from being tracked instead of relying on the FBI to filter out any non-relevant information. Because content cannot easily be separated from internet routing information, in order to obtain an email address, law enforcement must be given access to the entire email packet and then is entrusted to only viewing the address and deleting the content without viewing it. With internet browsing, content cannot be easily separated from internet routing information either. This is different from telephone calls where the numbers dialed and received can easily be separated from the content of the phone call. The PA increases the scope of subpoenas. In the past, the government could use a subpoena to compel an ISP or website to release the following information about their subscribers: customer’s name, address, length of service, and method of payment. The government could not get credit cards numbers, bank account numbers or other more specific indentifying information. PA now authorizes the government to obtain credit card numbers and bank account numbers through subpoenas. Law enforcement argues that this is essential information as many people register with websites using false names and this is the only way to get a positive ID. There is no judicial review involved in the subpoena process and therefore no check to make sure law enforcement has the proper grounds. As you can see, the PA has given much broader authority to law enforcement personnel. This increase in power has raised alarms from opponents of the PA. Civil libertarians fear that concerns about national security will erode civil liberties. The key is to try and find some sort of balance. The problem is that both sides continue to argue for their point of view. Can there be a balance when you’re talking about our national security? Which is more important? Are civil liberties more important than the national security of our country? I personally don’t see how you can prioritize civil liberties over our national security. History shows that we have underestimated dangers many times in the past. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Cold War espionage, Cuban missile crisis, the Tet Offensive to name a few. There are even theories out there that we had advance knowledge of 9/11. Perhaps we tend to overreact. But we cannot underestimate the importance of national security. We already know that there are plenty of people out there that want to see our destruction. It doesn’t matter what we do, what we say, how we handle things. They want us destroyed no matter what, so this whole theory of trying to figure out what we did wrong or why they hate us is a complete waste of time. Because they don’t care. They have one objective only. I don’t know that we’ll ever be able to strike a balance that is acceptable to both sides. I understand the need to protect civil liberties. The issue I have is that situations sometimes dictate what needs to be done. I don’t think the fears that we’ll lose our civil liberties is a valid one. This idea that they’ll take a little at a time and pretty soon we’ll have none. I just don’t buy it. Not in this Country. It’s too strong, there’s too much individualism in America. The people would never allow it. There would be a revolt before it would ever happen. I guess since I have nothing to hide, I don’t mind that the government has certain powers or takes certain steps to ensure the security of our nation.

PharmaSim Report OCM Group Allstar Brands Lab Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

PharmaSim OCM Group Allstar Brands - Lab Report Example Marketing plan or strategy must describe the key or augmented product characteristics and the kind of benefits they provide to the customer, the pivotal price that bounds company profitability yet providing value for money for the customer, tempting promotions that wil attract people to buy the product and a sound distribution and placement strategy to create access for the customers. Our target market segments was basically the retired segment where Allround had the most penetration and the largest (30%) market share. The prime reason for the selection of this market was the fact that they are most prone to body aches due to ageing. Since Allround product had the most amount of Analgesic, it was more suitable for aches and fever than cold symptoms. The brand is the clear market leader in this market segment. Most consumers use this product for nighttime relief because of the strength of the medication and because the alcohol and antihistamine help the patient rest. How you adjusted your pricing, channel, and promotions in response to the changes in: a) Macroenvironment of the Industry: Macro-economic environment changes such as change in government regulations; taxes, demographic changes and political environment highly affect the performance of the brand. For example, decline in industry growth and rise in infaltion negatively affected all the companies (including Allround brands) in the market. The cost of goods sold became higher than the previous period and hence our bottom line took a hit. After a consistent decline in the industry profits and growth, because of the competitive nature of the industry or changes in government policies for OTC, the macroeconomic environment changed in Period 8 when it increased by almost 12% period-over-period growth. Due to anticipatory high growth, the prices of the product were marginally increased ($1) in the respective period in order to leverage the benefits of market boom. b) Consumer Behaviors: Generally speaking, m arketing revolves around people. In the words of Peter Drucker, â€Å"Marketing is the entirety of the business from the perspective of the customer.† Hence, it is imperative to understand consumer behavior in order to gain customer insights and apply it to one’s brand strategy. In PharmaSim, consumer behavior was studies through market research reports and analysing shopping trends of the customers. The following insights were gained about our target market segments: Majority of the customer bought their over-the-counter medicines from grocery stores Majority of the physicians and pharmacists recommended brands Coughcure and End c) Competitors’ moves: Similar to the real world, one cannot play in insolation in PharmaSim, hence competitors’ reactive and aggressive moves affect your Dripstopperformances and strategies. For example, Besthelp, Coughcure and End

Why numbers matter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why numbers matter - Essay Example The principles concerned with managing money are important to be taken into account while planning to save or invest money somewhere. To discuss and understand these principles, an article from Msnbc The Bottom Line dated November 06, 2011, ‘After steadying, home prices begin falling again’ has been taken into account which entails the scenario of the United States’ real estate industry. The author of the article tells about the falling prices of homes in the United States which were on a steady trend in the summer of 2011. He says that due to the imbalance between demand and supply, there are numerous houses unsold in many states of the US until the end of September 2011. This price fall is being observed by investors and analysts and they are waiting for these to be bottomed that is a rise is being expected after massive falls, though not in the short term. Considering the poor interest rates of US short term Treasury Bills; 0.005% for 3-months and 0.035% for 6-month bills as per the recent auction; this investment aspect has been kept on a farer side by many investors as the rate of return is minimal. Considering this point, other investment opportunities should be searched for. This shows that it is a nice time to buy some lower priced houses and benefit from the capital gains arising in the future, though not in the short term (Schoen, 2011). Taking control of finances is very crucial and an investor should read about some financial trends using mathematical concepts such as percentages and shares in different investments and then take calculated actions. This leads to the understanding of the compounding concept. Just as an investor determines the amount of investment he or she can do, he must take into account the related rate of return and use it to compound his or her future inflows from the investment over the concerned time period. The simple formula for it to be calculated is: Amount of investment * (1 +

Gerardus Mercator Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gerardus Mercator - Essay Example As stated by the author (Van Cauwenberghe, C., 2005), Gerardus Mercator's personal self-governing map-making only started when he created a map of Palestine in 1537 and this was pursued by an additional map of the world in 1538 and a map of Flanders in 1540. In 1541, Mercator made a globe of chips of wood, wrapped with linen and plaster. On top of it he stuck twelve parts of paper which was colored by him. Throughout this stage, he learned Italic handwriting as it was the most appropriate kind of handwriting for copper engraving of maps. He wrote down his first tutoring book of Italic handwriting which was published in northern Europe. (Van Cauwenberghe, C., 2005). In 1544, Mercator was accused with unorthodoxy due to his kindness for Protestant thinking and doubts about his regular travels. He was in prison for seven months before the blames were plunged, perhaps because of interference from the university authorities. However, in 1552, he went towards Duisburg, one of the main cities in the German Duchy of Cleves. He opened a cartographic workshop, where he finished a six-panel map of Europe in 1554. In the mean while, he began to teach mathematics at the academic college of Duisburg. After generating quite a few maps, he was chosen as a Court Cosmographer to Wilhelm, Duke of Jlich Cleves Berg in 1564. Before Mercator, seafarers had a problem, there weren't any reliable carts. The signals of the compass didn't agree with the signs of the carts. As a result, the seafarers ran aground hundreds of kilometers from their target. But Mercator had a solution as he wanted to give the seafarers a dependable cart. He created a new chart and used it fi rst in 1569. He projected the world on a cylinder having the parallels and meridians cross each other vertically and extending the distances on the corresponding lines with the same reason as the distances on the meridians. When Mercator presented his latest world map in 1569, he right away resolved one of the most imperative problems of map-reading which was to sketch a map on which a rhumb can be symbolized as a straight line.He used the word atlas to illustrate the collection of maps and encouraged Abraham Ortelius to assemble the first modern world atlas namely, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum in 1570. He formed his own atlas in numerous parts, the first of which was published in 1578 and consisted of accurate versions of the maps of Ptolemy. Maps of France, Germany and the Netherlands were added in 1585 and of the Balkans and Greece in 1588. More maps were published in 1595 after his death by his son Rumold Mercator. It took a while before the maps of Mercator were launched for navigation because Mercator kept his mathematical backdrop as a secret. As a result, other mathematicians struggled on other way to solve the problem. Michiel Coignet, a mathematician of Antwerp, attempted to give it a way out by calculating the length of the rhumb piece by piece for some given paths. These statistics didn't mean anything for seafarers only if they couldn't mark them out on their maps. Simon Stevin had similar thoughts and he recommended the usage moulds, shaped like a loxodrome and appropriating to each map. The real mathematical approach came from Edward Wright in 1599 using the basic idea for a Mercator map

Unwritten Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Unwritten Constitution - Essay Example Paine’s definition of constitution is based upon 4 premises: 1. the constitution precedes and establishes the system of government; 2. the people are the superior authority; 3. the constitution binds the Legislature and the Judiciary; 4. it is entrenched, designed to limit the powers of the Executive, and can only be changed by special procedures. Wheare, (1966), defines a constitution as: â€Å"[T]he whole system of government of a country, the collection of rules which establish and regulate or govern the government.† The Select Committee on the Constitution appointed in 2001 uses the following working definition: â€Å"[T]he set of laws, rules and practices that create the basic institutions of the state, and its component and related parts, and stipulate the powers of those institutions and the relationship between the different institutions and between those institutions and the individual.† In most constitutions a concentration of powers is avoided by keeping the legislature, executive and judicial powers separate. This ensures that certain rights of the citizen are beyond the reach of the organs of government and are entrenched by requiring a special legislative procedure if they are to be amended. However, commentators in the UK prefer a wider definition. ... Further as Bradley & Ewing point out: "In practice, a written constitution does not contain all the detailed rules upon which a government depends."6 The jurist and legal historian, Lord Hailsham believes that a written constitution is not necessary pointing out that: "The essential ingredientsare a strong executive based on an omnicompetent and elective legislatureregular electionspowerful and independent oppositionand limitedby convention and precedentand regulated more by checks and balances deriving from political constraints and necessities than by a written legal code policed by a Supreme Court."7 It is misleading to refer to the British Constitution as 'unwritten': "from the Magna Carta to the Local Government Acts most of our constitutional law is contained somewhere in the growing volumes of written Acts of Parliament."8 Hailsham sees no particular reason for a codified constitution since he argues that: "Throughout our history, our Constitution has proved flexible, sensitive and almost infinitely capable of evolutionary adaptation. "9 The flexibility of an 'unwritten' constitution allows the people to vote out the Executive when necessary and for majority rule. Countries with written constitutions have the equivalent of a Constitutional Court which has a remit to amend the constitution.10 "It is an axiom of our constitutional law that no parliament may bind its successor.A traditional constitution, changing and evolving with the needs of a nation, may well prove more flexible and practical than the legal strait-jacket imposed by a 'written Constitution'."11 As examples Hailsham looks at the first two articles of

N.R.A. Paper (second draft) Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

N.R.A. (second draft) - Research Paper Example The organization further aims at popularizing shooting sports, enhancing safety training, and, as its leadership states, defend the US constitution, largely by defending the right of Americans to own guns (National Rifle Association, par. 1). Some of the political reasons why the NRA retains its stranglehold over the proponents for tougher gun legislation are described below. This term is widely used in economics and political science to imply lack of collective efforts by proponents of an agenda to push their scheme to required success. According to De Mesquita and Ludwig (par 3), the proponents of tougher legislation on gun control are more in number than the opponents. The opponents are mainly NRA members, most with licensed guns and willing to retain them. However, the proponents do not have as much will to fight collectively for gun control, since they have relatively lesser to lose even when guns are available to people with questionable backgrounds (Harcourt 15). The public does not have a common opinion over whether the NRA plays an extremely assertive role in protecting gun owners, even when the many defeats to alternative legislation have formed a lens through which opinion makers have been trying to portray the association. According to a Pew Poll conducted in May 2013, the percentage of respondents who believed the NRA was either applying the correct amount or too little pressure comprised 53% of the sample. The problem is sustaining the interests of the larger less concerned population so that their feelings do not wane over time. The NRA appears to have learnt this trend, and it has been using it successfully in its favor. Drake (par 5) and The Center for Public Integrity (par 3) also alluded to the fact that the majority, noisier population without guns has been particularly reluctant to sustain interest in fighting gun violence. This section

Nutrition Final Paper Essay Example for Free

Nutrition Final Paper Essay Question 1 (3 pts): Clients will often approach the RD, bewildered as to how to select, plan, and prepare a healthy diet for themselves or their families. Using yourself as an example, discuss the six basic principles of diet planning and how they apply to your dietary intake. Answer 1: Preparing and eating health meals for me and my family can be difficult with our busy schedule, but it starts with a plan. Using the 6 principles of diet planning I start with adequacy. I accomplish this by writing out a grocery list of all the things my family will need for the week. I also shop weekly because we prefer fresh fruit and vegetables. Next, I make sure we have an even balance of foods. I write out meal plans for the week to make sure my family has an even items of food and also a variety of foods. This can be very challenging with young picky kids, because my son would just eat fruit and oatmeal all day long if I let him. Variety is really hard in the Parker home because of the limited food choices do to my husband intolerance to red meats and dairy products. I also struggle because my favorite food list consists of about 10 different kinds of foods. We dont really have problems with the nutrient density because we only eat lean proteins such as fish, turkey, and chicken. My husband cannot tolerate fatty food so we dont fry, and we enjoy a fixed variety of fruits and vegetables. I do not pay attention to calorie content unless it is a prepackaged food you heat up or add water to, but I do make sure what Im putting into my families bodies is enough to keep them going for the day. Moderation is the last of the principles and a big one in my house. When cooking we do not add extra salt for taste nor do we consume foods with high trans fat, saturated fat,or cholesterol. Water is also the most consumed beverage. Soda has no home in my pantry, but we do elect for juices that are not made from concentrate. Question 2 (2 pts): Discuss the key recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 and differentiate these guidelines from the Canadian Guidelines for Healthy Eating. Do you have a preference as to which one you would use with clients? Answer 2: The dietary guidelines for Americans in 2010 have 4 main points. Starting with balancing calories to manage weight. With in this section it talks about how to maintain calorie control,intake,and balance. Also, is talks about physical activity and keeping active to maintain a healthy weight. In the Canadian guidelines it has in own section for keeping active and doing it in accordance to your body weight, but it really doesnt touch on calorie balance or intake. Next, the American guidelines touches on foods to reduce from your diet. Focuses limiting sodium, saturated, mono and poly saturated,cholesterol ,trans fats,added sugars,refined grains,and alcohol. Whereas Canadian guidelines really just focus a lot on salt intake, alcohol, and caffeine. Next American guidelines talks about food to increase. Included in this list is fruits, vegetables, fat free dairy, lean proteins, seafood, and foods that have more vitamins within them. The Canadian guidelines emphasis consuming a variety of complex carbs and foods from the earth. Also, incorporating low fat dairy products as part of a daly routine. Although, both will guide the average person to a healthier lifestyle I would refer my clients to the American guidelines because it goes in to more depth of how to live healthier. Question 3 (3 pts): MyPyramid is a popular graphic source for nutrition information. In fact, it is so popular that it has been duplicated as a graphic for exercise information, vegetarian diets, etc. Given its popularity, it would appear that MyPyramid is the best pictorial to teach consumers nutritional information. Would you agree or disagree? Why? After you have stated your own personal argument, consider the other perspective and discuss why someone would take this perspective. Answer 3: I believe MyPyramid is a great way to teach consumers nutritional information, but I disagree thats it is the best way. The people who need these guidelines the most are most likely ones who do not take the time to get on the Internet and use the tools that MyPyramid has to offer. I dont think it properly educates people on the right food choices in each group. Education on nutrient density is a lacking component when using MyPyramid. I also believe that the MyPyramid is lacking in teaching balance of healthy foods. It seems like they stress certain foods more than others and thus creating unhealthy habits for individuals not properly understanding their nutrition needs. Question 4 (3 pts) : Food manufacturing and technology continue to grow in sophistication. While one can certainly debate about the pros and cons of such growth, there is no doubt that consumers are often confused about the different labels given to the different types of processed foods! (a) In a few sentences, describe each of the following: fortified, refined, enriched, whole grain, and textured vegetable protein. (b) What are your thoughts on how these types of foods fit into the diet of the American consumer? Question 4 a) Refined foods are highly processed that have been stripped of their original nutrient content such as white flour and white pasta. Enriched foods add vitamins and minerals to replace the ones lost in the refining process. Fortified foods add vitamins and nutrients in addition to the ones found before the refining process. Question 5 (3 pts): To fully gain command of their dietary intake, consumers should know how to read food labels. Many find reading food labels very confusing. Why do you personally believe that consumers find food labels hard to read? Describe how you, if you were an RD, would educate your client on reading a food label. What do you think would be your priority point of education for your client? Question 6 (5 pts): As noted in your readings, describing a vegetarian diet is somewhat like describing a typical American diet; there are many varieties. Please describe the types of vegetarian diets one might come into contact with and provide a short synopsis on the food plan that would be followed. Question 7 (3 pts): Discuss the rationale why consumers/clients select to pursue a vegetarian dietary plan as well as the health benefits of following a vegetarian diet. Question 8 (3 pts): Discuss nutrients that an RD should be careful to assess for and discuss with a client pursuing a vegetarian program to ensure that their dietary plan allows for sufficient quantities of that nutrient.

The Negative Effects Of Animated Cartoons

The Negative Effects Of Animated Cartoons What are cartoons? According to Oxford Advanced Learner Dictionary (1948), a cartoon is an amusing drawing in a newspaper or magazine, especially one that comments satirically on current events. Also, it defines animated cartoon as a film made by photographing a series of gradually changing drawings, giving an illusion of movement. An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn (or made with computers to look similar to something hand-drawn) film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot (even if it is a very short one) (Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, 2001). AudioEnglish.net (2000) defines animated cartoon as a film made by photographing a series of cartoon drawings to give the illusion of movement when projected in rapid sequence. Then, Britannica Concise Encyclopaedia (1994) claims that originally, a cartoon was regarded as a full-size drawing used for transferring a design to a painting, tapestry, or other large work. The encyclopaedia also claims that it was in the 19th century that the term acquired its popular meaning of a humorous drawing or parody. Cartoons are not simply animated, sketched or drawn figures as unfamiliar viewers may think, they are comic constructions, ranging from mildly humorous to savagely satirical, based on current happenings and/or peoples lives (Websters Dictionary, 1972). This is where the problem comes in. What are cartoonists making children feel is funny, trivial or even of no consequence? Before the advent of the word cartoon in its modern sense in the 19th century, all sorts of funny and/or awkward drawings were referred to as caricatures. (Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopaedia, 2004) The most famous figure of early times for the world of cartoons is William Hogarth created in 18th-century Britain. Honorà © Daumier, a French man, introduced text to his cartoons to convey their unspoken thoughts in the 19th century. Following this, Britains punch became the leading source of cartoons in the 19th century and then The New Yorker took the lead for the Americans (Britannica Concise Encyclopaedia, 1994). According to Museum Broadcast Communication (2008), cartoons as we know them today generally evolved in the teens, however, their growth was stifled by the fact that for every second of animation, about 25 scenes had to be drawn. This made production tedious and uneconomical. Nonetheless, Earl Hurd revolutionized the insipid industry of the era by designing the cel (a sheet of lucid celluloid) patented with Bray Studios Inc. The cel provided cartoonist with new light; they only needed to redraw the part of the cartoons that moved. Studios also discovered ways to simplify the process of animation by initially departmentalizing the steps of the process of making the cartoons and then using storyboards (little drawings of scenes that represented different sections in the cartoon) to plan cartoons. Thus, something similar to a production line was formed for producing animation, making it much more economical. Furthermore, Jerry G. Butler states that the animated cartoon industry was born with Krazy Kat created by the American George Herriman. This was followed by Pat Sullivan and Otto Mesmers Felix the cat which was the first series of the animated cartoon industry; the majority of the first animated cartoons were adapted from comics, following their earlier popularity with readers. Walt Disney, one of the early producers, was one of the first to use new technologies and devise competent modes of cartoon production. His Steamboat Willie (1928) was the first notable cartoon with harmonized sound and also his Flowers and Trees (1932) was the first to employ the tri-colour, Technicolor procedure which became the industrys primary colour scheme of the time. The major reason for the success of the cartoon industry according to the Museum Broadcast Communication (2008) was an effective distribution system. Before sound was introduced to cartoons, they were produced by smaller studios with restricted theatre access. Later on, major studios such as MGM and Warner signed distribution deals with these smaller studios gaining their distribution rights and greatly increasing the distributing power of these smaller studios. Some major studios even went on to produce their own cartoons, as the standard way of exhibiting films at the time included cartoons. Jerry Butler says that cartoons started emigrating to television around the late 1940s when Van Beuren (a smaller studio) started selling its shows to early programs for children like Movies for small fry. Disney was one of the first major studios to follow this trend posting The Mickey Mouse Club to television. Thereafter, the other major studios joined in. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopaedia (2004) says that concurrent with the vital changes for the film studios, there were also changes in the aesthetics of the cartoons that were made. Hitherto the 1950s, cartoonists in particular those working for Disney strived to achieve naturalistic figures so much so that they transformed dancer Marge Champion into Snow White. However, World War II and post World War II art movements including Pointillism cast off this natural style to nurture an approach that stressed abstract line, shape, and pattern. United Productions of America (UPA) was at the fore front of this revolution, with its first achievement coming with the Mr Magoo series in 1949 followed by its Gerald Mcboing Boing which won an Academy Award in 1951; truly setting this new style into motion. According to Wikipedia, UPAs style featured flat perspectives, imaginary backgrounds and strong primary colours all with limited animation. UPAs cartoons were simply flat in backgrounds of wide fields of colour; squiggles suggesting clouds and trees. Also, Wikipedia says that crucial for the progress of television cartoons, was the limited nature of UPAs creations summarized as, the amount of movement within the frame was greatly reduced, the motions are often repeated. A character chattering his teeth, for example, might contain only two distinct movements which are then repeated without change. Thirdly, limited animation uses less individual frames to embody a movement. Full animation might use 24 discrete frames to represent a movement that takes one second; however, limited animation might cut the number in half. The result is a faintly jerkier movement. Wikipedia noted that UPAs changes in animation which appeared to have been aesthetically inspired, also made good business sense. Flattened perspective, abstract backgrounds, strong primary colours, and limited animation result in cartoons that are cheaper and quicker to produce. When animators began creating programs specifically for television, they quickly adopted UPAs economical practices but did away with their aesthetics in the process. The first successful, designed-for-television cartoon was Jay Ward and Alexander Andersons Crusader Rabbit initially distributed in 1949. Network television cartooning which came along eight years later had its first cartoon series developed by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera, the most successful producers of television cartoons. The Ruff and Ready Show was the first made-for-TV cartoon to be broadcast nationally on Saturday mornings; its popularity helped to establish the practicality of Saturday morning network programming. Hanna-Barberas The Flintstones (1960) was prime-times first successful cartoon series but also its last until the debut of The Simpsons in 1989. With these first well established cartoons, the characteristics of the made-for-TV cartoons were laid down (Toontracker, 1996). UPA-style aesthetics (especially limited animation) were mixed with narrative structures that were developed in 1950s television making the final trait of the made-for-TV cartoons an emphasis on dialogue as dialogue in the made-for-TV cartoons often re-states that which is occurring visually. In this way, televisions roots in radio are revealed. There is a reliance on sound in, for instance, Tom Jerry cartoons in which there is no dialogue at all, made-for-Television cartoons are often less visually oriented than theatrical cartoons from the golden era. (Museum Broadcast Communication, 2008) Television cartoons in the 1990s were dominated by the phenomenal success of Matt Groenings The Simpsons, which thrived after its series first appearance in 1989. Its success was principally responsible for the creation of the FOX network and the launching of one of the largest merchandising campaigns of the decade. (The Simpsons Bios, 2009). With this history in view, there are various types of cartoons which different sources including Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia (2001) have highlighted, they include: Fine art These types of cartoons were basically blueprints used by artists to transfer their ideas from the canvases to actual pieces. They were used in the production of frescoes and also by weavers to transfer designs to their looms. Tapestry cartoons which were usually coloured, were followed by eye by the weavers on the loom. Print media In the sense as used by print media today, a cartoon is a work of art, typically intended to be funny. This use dates from about 1843 when the Punch applied the term to the sardonic images it contained. Cartoons were initially meant to be ironic, mocking the outrageous events of the time. Print media cartoons can also be further broken down. Gag cartoons or single-panel cartoons, are found in all print media and they are generally made up of a single drawing with a subtitle immediately below or a speech balloon. Editorial cartoons are a type of gag cartoons found mostly in media dealing with news and although they may be humorous, they are more serious in tone parodying recent happenings. Comic strips, also called cartoon strips are found every day in newspapers globally. Usually they are short series of cartoon illustrations in sequence and although humour is the rifest subject matter, adventure and drama are also represented. Motion Picture Due to the close similarities between early animated cartoons and comic strips, cartoon as generally used today refers to motion picture cartoons. This type of cartoons are displayed on television or in cinemas and are created by showing illustrated images in swift succession to give the illusion of motion. They may or may not include synchronized sounds but most modern motion picture cartoons do. In the past few years, it has been noticed that there is an increase in violence and other inappropriate behaviours among children who we expect to be generally peaceful. What do many children today have in common, what do they share that could be the cause of this change in behaviour? The quest for a reason, an answer has led to the main source of entertainment for children today, cartoons (Leonard Erin, Senior Research Scientist at the University Joanne Cantor, 2002). Cartoons have become the favourite past time of most of the worlds children today. Their lives revolve around everything they watch on television or read in comic books and this has been estimated to take up about 4 hours of their day (Mariam, 2009). Normally, children start watching cartoons whilst they are very young and at the age of two or three they would have been converted to ardent apostles. This has become an issue as many problems have been discovered to have roots in watching cartoons (Stevie Hossler, 2004). MENTAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF CARTOONS ON CHILDREN By Stevie Hossler (2004) Children spend a total of about 13,000 hours in school from day one till graduation day. This seems like a very long time under which the influences of their teachers can be felt. However, within the same time frame children spend a total of about 18,000 hours watching cartoons. This is more than enough time for cartoons to take their effect on the childrens brains, emotions and sense to feel pain. David Satcher, the United States Surgeon General, stated in a report on adolescent violence (2000) More aggressive behaviour in a young childs life is caused by recurrently watched entertainment that contains violence. The American Psychological Association passed a resolution in February of 1985 due to its research findings, communicating the dangers violence on the television has on children. The major effects proved by their study are: The children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others; children who watch violence do not fear violence nor are they bothered by violence in general. The children are more likely to become aggressive or use harmful actions towards others. When we are born we have the capacity for motivation, experience, and training, and because of this our minds are very impressionable. Therefore, our brains development is an active mix of nature and nurture, so it is important to choose a healthy environment for all children. This means cartoons with violence will be detrimental to a child because in general, being interactive with any environment enhances the development of a successful brain. As a result, a tremendous amount of childhood involvement with electronic media can limit social interaction and may obstruct the development of a brains social systems. However, some cartoons promote creativity in children making them more exposed to information that was once unavailable to people their age. Also, children seem to have become brighter and are more emphatic INCREASED CHILD SAFETY RISKS DUE TO CHILDREN WATCHING CARTOONS BY Brandon Ybarra (2004) Today, very many unrealistic things can be seen in cartoons; surviving gunshots at extremely close range and even coming back from the dead. Unfortunately, parents seem to be happy with these cartoons as they do not promote sex but these sorts of cartoons are not good for children. In many episodes of Pokemon for example, brawls can be seen between the Pokemon and in the incident of the death of any of the pocket monsters they are simply reborn, they can never die. Teaching children this is relatively unhealthy as they are young and inquisitive and may not know the full implications of death. It is understood that growing children admire and most often imitate their cartoon heroes even to the extent of trying to fly like Superman or climb walls like Spiderman. Unfortunately, this is not just a cut when talking about injuries to children. VISUAL SUBLIMINAL MESSAGING IN CHILDRENS CARTOONS BY Chris Choma, (2004) Cartoons are packed with many contentious matters which are not consciously noticed but do have an effect on the subconscious minds. This is called subliminal messaging. It is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as, Below the threshold of conscious perception; inadequate to produce conscious awareness but able to evoke a response (AHD, 1352). It means therefore that broadcasters are brainwashing people and more significantly children. Unfortunately, this act is not yet illegal but it is widely frowned at. The use of subliminal messaging has greatly reduced due to advances in technology which enable viewers to scrutinize what they are watching frame by frame. Although subliminal messaging seems to have reduced, no one can be certain as only those who put these messages there are supposed to know that they are there. AUDITORY SUBLIMINAL MESSAGING IN CHILDRENS CARTOONS BY Shawnte Ray (2004) The delivery of auditory information to parts of the mind without an individuals actual perception is called auditory subliminal messaging. A classic example is a statement made by Meowth in an episode of Pokemon which was aired on Monday, October 11th, 2004 at 4:00 p.m. He said, If thats the Democratic way, I am voting Republican. Children are exposed to auditory subliminal messages which are quite common in popular cartoons. Their effects may never be discovered as they will become part of the childrens lives. CARTOONS EFFECTS ON CHILDRENS BEHAVIOR BY Ben Wikox (2004) Organizations such as the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry have discovered from research that children who watch cartoons in which violence is incorporated are more likely to employ violence in real life. They insist that parents should screen the cartoons their children watch and also parents should act as interpreters when necessary, telling the children violence is not the best course of action. The American Academy of Paediatrics states, Neuroscientists have shown that external experiences notably mould a young brain and following this they have discovered that a higher rate of cartoon viewing can be linked to lower academic achievements, particularly comprehension scores. Their humorous nature stifles the development of the left hemisphere of the brain which dominates our use of language. Television is a very quick medium, with messages shot at the viewers like lightening bolts. The minds of children have therefore adapted to obtaining such high speed information and therefore tend to refute slower forms of gaining information or thorough reading as in day to day schooling. TELEVISIONS EFFECT ON THE BRAIN AND EYES After watching an episode of Pokemon which was aired in December 1997, many children across the globe were reported to have suffered seizures (Warner, 2004) It has been agreed on by eye specialist that watching television under right conditions does not cause any harm to the brain or the eyes, however, doing so in inappropriate conditions; in a dark room closer than five feet, will lead to eye fatigue and as scientific evidence also corroborates, brain damage (Adams, 1992). A study which was carried out by the Childrens Hospital and Regional Medical Centre of Seattle, Washington made known that children who watch three to four hours of cartoons daily have a 30 to 40 percent higher possibility of developing attention deficit disorder than children who did not watch cartoons (Todays Chiropractic, 2004). From the foregoing, it can be suggested that though cartoons have some advantages to their viewers, their disadvantages out weigh those advantages, thus, this research hopes to prove that the seemingly harmless cartoons children are exposed to and/or allowed to watch have some adverse effects on their behaviours and at the same time create an awareness of the dangers of cartoons to our communities and have these dangers checked so as to prevent an aggravation of what seems at present to be a harmless situation.