Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Physical geography has a major Influence to the story. The themes of geography that mainly pertain to the story are Place, Human/ Environmental Interactions, and Movement. Place can have physical and human characteristics. The physical geography of Afghanistan changed after the wars and the Taliban attacks. For example, before in the â€Å"old days the wind swept through the irrigated plains around Islamabad where farmers grew sugar cane and the sweetness impregnated the air. † Now there were narrow road and dries up gutters. In Kabul when Hosannas and Emir were young boys, they used to run up hills surrounded by Poplar and Pomegranate trees.Treetops could be seen poking from behind the houses as they played. Now most of the trees were gone used as wood for lumber to keep Taliban from hiding. Where before you could fins street vendors and restaurants, now there are only dusty roads, abandoned buildings, and beggars. The number of beggars and orphaned children increased after t he wars. The change in this geographical sense changed the way of life of the Afghan's because now they were homeless because their houses were taken over by â€Å"guest† as the referred to the Taliban.They were left without Jobs, ways of growing crops and providing for their families. The war left omen and children husbandly and fatherless. Another theme of geography that pertains is movement. Because of the war, people were forced to relocate. Those that had money fled from Afghanistan. Babe and Emir left from Kabul dictatorial and into a foreign country, America, in hope of a better future. In Afghanistan they were the aristocratic class and In America they became the working class.The following ethnic groups represented In Kite Runner are Afghans. Pakistanis, Arabs, Palestinian, Iranians, Russians, and Germans. The major ethnic groups represented are the Afghans' divided into two major groups, the Hazard's and the Pushpins, and the Pakistanis. The Hazard's are outsiders a ccording to other Afghans because of their Mongolia indigenous people of eastern and southeast Asia and Arctic region. They are also considered outsiders because the Hazard's are Shiite Muslims In a mostly Sunnis Muslim nation.The Pushpins are the dominant ethnic group In Afghanistan accounting for more than half of the population. The Pushpins are Sunnis Muslims in a Sunnis Muslim Nation. The majority of Pakistanis practice Islam. Islam governs their personal, legal, political and economic parts of their life. Pakistanis live in a hierarchical society and are respect because of age and position. There are many examples of their conflicts during the course of the novel. One example Is when Hosannas finds his mother's history book and starts reading it.In the book he finds an inure chapter about the Hazards and how they were persecuted and oppressed by the Pushpins. When he takes it to his teacher, he replies, â€Å"That's the one thing Shih's people do well, passing themselves as m artyrs. † This show how they differ and how they dislike each other. Another example is when the teacher ells Emir, that Iranians are â€Å"grinning smooth talkers who patted you on the back with one hand and picked your pocket with the other. † This shows how they dislike each other even though the Iranians, Like the Hazards, are Shih's Muslims.Another example with me in Mazda†¦ We left them out for the dogs†¦ † This shows that the Taliban could not put away their differences and they had so much hatred that they believed the Hazards were as significant as animals. The novel faithfully matches the reality of its time. Throughout the book, it mentions dates important to the plot but also events that happened in reality. For example, it leaked about King Mohammad Sahara Shah being sent away to Italy and being overthrown by his cousin Mohammad Doodad Khan in 1973.When further research was done, it proved to be correct with actual events. Another example of this was when the book mentions that the Taliban took over and massacred the Hazard's in 1998. After further studies, it proved to be accurate with the real events. Another factual event illustrated in the novel was when it mentions the United States boycotting the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980. After research, it is proven that the facts given in the novel match the events that actually occurred.

Making China Modern Essay

In Chapter eight of â€Å"The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism,† Max Webber makes a comparison of the eastern philosophy of Confucianism with the western religion of Puritanism. He makes the connection between the how Confucianism has shaped China historically from an individuals personal goals to its economic and commercial conditions. Webber first describes the rationalization of a religion using two different yard-sticks, â€Å"one is the degree to which the religion has divested itself of magic; the other is the degree to which it has systematically unified the relation between God and the world and therewith its own ethical relationship to the world.† Webber denotes that in western Protestant rationalism, magic has been eradicated entirely and was sometimes even viewed as â€Å"devilish†, cutting off all trust in magical superstitions and manipulations. However, in the Confucian ethics, the significance of magic was left untouched. All natural scientific knowledge was lacking due to a cause and elemental forces. It also vested interest in the income opportunities of prebendal office. Webber states that Confucianism and Puritanism both take different stands against the world, Puritanism believed in a God where as Confucianism did not believe in a supra-mundane God, both in time met tensions with the world’s irrationalities. This all constituted in the development of China and its people. The Confucian ethic is to reduce tensions in the world to an absolute minimum. All human nature was disposed to be ethically good and as such, was to be indifferent from one another, capable of unlimited perfection. There was a lack of â€Å"nerves† with unlimited patience and slowness to reacting especially in the intellectual sphere. China taught as a form of philosophical-literary education, learning from old classics and hence it lacked insufficient educational such as economic provisions. It endeavored to remove all tensions from humanity and hence left no leverage for influencing conduct through inner forces freed of tradition and convention. Wealth was the main success measurement in the Confucian mentality, as a means to keep â€Å"face†. It has been recorded in the oldest documents of Chinese political economy where â€Å"balance of trade† and the usefulness of wealth were emphasized. It came to a point where storeowners would haggle for every penny, however despite this lust for wealth, no economic mentality of capitalism was created. The Chinese lacked a system for commercial correspondence and the numerous technical inventions were little used for economic purposes. It is Webbers intention that even though China was capable of assimilating capitalism, the varied conditions and circumstances, most notably the Confucian teachings, had hindered it. The difference between Puritan and Confucian rationalism was that Puritans had enthusiasm, which the Confucians lacked. It is this rationalism that allowed the typical Puritan to invest his income as capital in rational capitalist enterprise out of an asceticist compulsion to save. Webber believes that these attitudes have effected China’s capitalist development negatively.

American Transcendentalists Essay

American transcendentalists sought the permanent spiritual reality behind physical appearances. They were optimistic and believed in human perfectibility; they engaged in projects that tried to create the ideal reality. They believed that the universe is one great entity. Transcendentalism centres on the divinity of each individual. But this divinity could be self-discovered only if the person had the independence of mind. They believed in democracy, equality, the unlimited power of the individual and the beauty of the human spirit and the natural world. They focused on the positive aspects of life, while working to improve the injustices of the world. Transcendentalists’ view on Nature is unique and interesting. They believe that there is an inner spark contained by and connecting all facets of nature, including mankind, which can be discovered not through logical reasoning but only through intuition and the creative insight. They stressed the importance of harmony with nature.   Transcendentalism is an idealism that encompasses a diverse and sometimes confusing set of beliefs regarding man’s role in nature and the universe. As for the human nature, transcendentalists saw no need for any intercession between God and man and therefore called for an independence from organized religion. They stated that God is energy, a force, not a particular separate being; God breathes through nature and man attempts to open himself up to this influx. Their claim was that the divinity is self-contained in every being. They believed in the unlimited potential of human ability to connect with both the natural and spiritual world. People should, through their intuition, the external symbols of nature and translate them into spiritual facts. Transcendentalists were idealistic and optimistic because they believed they could find answers to whatever they were seeking. Transcendentalist declared there was meaning in everything and that meaning was good and connected by and parts of a divine plan. This philosophy led to an optimistic emphasis on individualism; one aspect of individualism is the value of the individual over society. One must follow his instincts and not conform to what society dictates. Although society will influence an individual towards conformity, it is important to remain true to one’s self and to one’s identity. Transcendentalism believes the spiritual reflection of each person as they move from the rational to the spiritual is the very essence of life, and this is an individual accomplishment. Thoreau stated that the world around us as a miracle in itself. It is in this living we move toward the conscience of the reality we cannot see, and this is part of Thoreau’s point. Thoreau argued in Walden that the divine exists not just in all people but can be perceived in all of nature. The idea of immanence served to strengthen Thoreau’s belief in the equality of all people â€Å"Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads,† cited Thoreau in Walden. â€Å"Superfluous wealth can buy superfluities only,† is another valuable quotation from his book. Transcendentalists believed in individual creative spirit and empathized natural way of life. Thus, transcendentalists were extolling the spiritual benefits of living in nature. Thoreau believed that â€Å"most men live lives of quiet desperation,† and he wanted to show the humanity a way out. Anti-transcendentalists rejected the optimistic outlook on humanity and life declaring that the optimism of their predecessors was naà ¯ve and unrealistic.   The anti-transcendentalists reflected a more pessimistic attitude and focused on man’s uncertainty and limited potential in the universe. The writing of anti-transcendentalists focuses on imagination, intuition, the power of nature and individual emotion, but they deal with the darker side of human nature. The anti-transcendentalists viewed nature as vast and incomprehensible, a reflection of the struggle between good and evil. The anti-transcendentalist felt humans were depraved and had to struggle for goodness.  Although they thought goodness was attainable for some, they believed in evil as its own entity. They believed sin was an active force; it was not just the absence of good; they really did think, on some level, that the devil existed. The anti-transcendentalists believed in a higher authority and that nature is ultimately the creation and possession of God and can not be understood by humans. The anti-transcendentalists feared that people who desired complete individualism would give into the worse angles of man’s nature. They were concerned that without external constraints, such as societal mores, people would be motivated only by their immediate need and desire for sensory gratification. They believed that both nature and human nature had a dark side that could not be ignored. Anti-transcendentalist writer would hold readers’ attention through dread of a series of terrible possibilities and feature landscapes of dark forests, extreme vegetation, concealed ruins with horrific rooms, depressed characters. Melville’s perspective on life is that God created the universe with an infinite number of meanings and man is always trying to determine one specific meaning. The writer believed the single-minded idealist could draw society into danger. Melville illustrated this fault through his main character, Ahab, who embarked on a journey to avenge the whale that dismasted him. Ahab had excessive pride, which blinded his common sense and endangered his crew as he set out on a futile mission of revenge. When Ahab said, â€Å"I would strike out at the sun if it insulted me. Who’s over me?† † it showed his transformation into a single-minded idealist. In this story the whale, Moby Dick, serves to symbolize any force that we allow to hold us back. Melville, through symbolism in the story, taught the moral that when human beings have few external constraints, their inner needs and drives serve as their motivation. He also warned of the inherent dangers in a person such as Captain Ahab. On the contrary, Ishmael’s character allows the reader to relate to a love for nature and the earth, as well as a feeling of inner peace and serenity. The â€Å"man vs Nature† is one of the central in the book. This conflict contradicts totally the notion about the integrity of humankind and natural world. Still, Melville gives credit to natural world, while referring to it as to the, â€Å"God’s great, unflattering laureate, Nature.† But in his writing the integrity and spiritual fullness of Nature is questioned, his approach is more scientific than philosophical. Hawthorne was another representative of anti-transcendentalist trend in American literature. In Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment an invitation to taste from the fountain of youth is offered. Four Heidegger’s friends agree to do so and they become young again, but they are soon devastated by the transience of the experience. Again, the motif of the uncontrolled power of the science is central in the story. Another contradiction between transcendentalists and their opponents concentrated around the concept of self-reliability. For instance, Hawthorne saw the self-reliant person as selfish, insecure, and desperate for attention. The need for a person to depend on society is as great as the need for society to depend on the individual. But the term â€Å"society† in the story has more specific application. â€Å"Society† is the familiar circle, the system of social relations of each individual. By becoming suddenly young, people endanger themselves of loosing their familiar circle of friends and acquaintances. Hawthorne depicted people who had no regard for societal values at all; he was among the first to introduce the problem of ethic of science. As for the human nature, Dr. Heidegger advices his friends that they should, â€Å"think what a sin and shame it would be, if, with your peculiar advantages, you should not become patterns of virtue and wisdom to all the young people of the age.† The issue of sin has attracted many anti-transcendentalist writers. So we mak3e a conclusion that transcendentalist authors had optimistic view of life and believed in the spiritual nature if the world and integrity of Man and Nature, they put on emphasis over individualism and self-reliance. Anti-transcendentalists had more pessimistic view on life and concentrated on the darkest side of human nature. Sources: Herman Melville, Moby Dick or the Whale, Modern Library, Reprint edition, 1992, ISBN: 0679600108 Nathaniel Hawthorne, Tales and Sketches, Library of America, 1982, ISBN: 0940450038 Henry David Thoreau, Walden: An Annotated Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995, ISBN: 0395720427   

Medicare Advantage Insurance plans can be confusing. How can families Essay

Medicare Advantage Insurance plans can be confusing. How can families choose the proper plan - Essay Example 330), and it introduced the concept of geography as an important factor in determining the correct health care plan. Much research has been done in the area of choice of the appropriate plans, as they illustrate the difficulty of choosing and the tendency to focus on easily available, invariant components of prices (Kling et al.). There are several examples, such as the research made by Choi et al, when fund fees weren't minimized in an experiment using mutual funds prospectuses. A research performed by Kling et al. showed that the majority of seniors are not particularly well informed about drug plans or particularly diligent users of information sources but was content with their costly choices. In their comparison group, more than 70 percent underestimated their potential savings. This clearly shows the necessity of clearly presenting information and rationally choosing the appropriate program to fit the needs of the customer. It is difficult to decide the most appropriate program that will balance the Medicare copayments with the person's own financial state. However, there are certain principles that can be followed to assure that an appropriate aspect of Medicare to be chosen. A person, first and foremost, should purchase a policy that covers all the deductibles and copayments for hospital and doctor bills, which means that the person will have to pay only what Medicare does not reimburse the provider for, and it limits the expense to relatively minor items (with the exception of nursing home care). The policy should also cover the skilled nursing facility co-payment for days 21 through 100 (Inlander, p. 104). A person should also look for policies that cover physician charges in excess of the Medicare-approved charge. Policies that cover these expenses should pay at least 80 percent of the excess fee up to the full balance billing limits for nonparticipating doctors. This offers further protection fro m large out-of-pocket expenses, which already cost Medicare beneficiaries billions of dollars each year. One should also remember to always use a participating physician in the Medicare program although this is not always possible. However, a directory of doctors who accept assignments from Medicare can always be found at the social security offices. Negotiations with the nonparticipating physician and ask him to accept the Medicare-approved payment. The basic features of the policy that a person desires to choose should have guaranteed renewability, no more than a six-month exclusion for preexisting conditions, no limitations to single diseases such as cancer, payment for services in full, rather than a fixed amount. Many benefit policies pay limited benefits and would not cover the Medicare deductibles or copayments. They may also provide no additional protection on the outpatient side, which is where patients need it more. Therefore Medigap plans, employee or retiree health plans, specific illness policies and long-term-care policies should be considered. Of these options, according to Inlander, the patients should keep any employer plan that they have. It may require a small contribution, but these plans were modeled after employee plans in more

The Argument for Managed Care Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Argument for Managed Care - Research Paper Example Long-term managed care often involves the care of chronically ill individuals. As the term implies, the chronically ill often spend a significant amount of time in long-term care facilities or under constant supervision and care in the community setting. Such long-term care also implies various health needs including medicines, health personnel, and rehabilitation, and similar needs. This health needs all add up to significant financial costs for health insurance and for health authorities, and most especially for families. In the current climate of economic hardships, the health sector has not been spared from the financial crisis. In fact, in the past few years, budget cuts have been made for health allocations. Health rationing and rationalization practices have been considered in order to establish effective ways of health financing. With the significant costs of long-term care, health authorities review the possibility of reducing long-term health costs. The implications of this decision impact on the quality and on the availability of health services for those who are under long-term care. These patients would likely impact them negatively, and yet, the financial burden of long-term care is a significant issue which is weighing heavily on the health care industry as a whole. In applying health care rationalization processes, budget cuts to long-term care in relation to other health services would seem more rational. Based on these assumptions, this study shall then consider the financial burden of long term managed care and the implications of health rationalization on the delivery of adequate long-term managed care. Tentatively, this study answers the query posed by expressing that long-term managed care has a significant financial burden on the health care system and that based on health rationalization, long-term managed care would have to suffer financial cuts. Discussion of Findings The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) (2008) discuss th at long-term care is the blanket term for various services which are meant to meet the medical and social needs of a patient. Patients under long term care mostly include elderly patients and the patients with permanent disabilities or those who are terminally ill. These care facilities include assisted living facilities; these are facilities meant to cater to those who need assistance with their daily activities, but are otherwise able to live on their own (DHHS, 2009). The Continuing care communities are small communities which include various housing apartments, small houses, and nursing homes. These communities cater to the needs of those who are still active and healthy. Home care includes care which is offered by private agencies delivering care in the patient’s homes. Hospice care is also considered long-term care. This type of care is usually offered to those who are terminally ill, helping make the patient and his family as comfortable as possible during the last day s of his life. Long-term care involves numerous activities and services. For nursing homes, the care includes room and board, meals, assistance in activities of daily living, housekeeping, 24-hour supervision, skilled nursing

How could pivotal events in America have turned out differently Argue Essay

How could pivotal events in America have turned out differently Argue for an alternate history into the present using evidence - Essay Example as popular with the troops in Korea, he believed that with his command of the UN forces, and US support, he had autonomy from the American government (Pak 42). Truman viewed the war as a war against North Korea while MacArthur observed it as a confrontation with both North Korea and China. By 1950, the General began contemplating of the notion of utilizing nuclear strikes because the Chinese kept their forces closely together and thus vulnerable to air strikes (Malkasian 5). The idea of utilizing A-Bombs would have resulted in the successful detonation of 28 atomic bombs and thus would have changed the course of history in reference to the war. With various regions in Korea bombarded by nuclear weapons, the Korean War would end as a result, for various reasons. During the war, Chinese forces were closely knit together, and an airstrike would alleviate any actions they had planned. In the 1950s, the Chinese government lacked the ability to develop nuclear weapons and thus did not possess any atomic bombs. Therefore, Communist China would surrender in view of preventing a nuclear strike in their homeland. The main concern for the American government would be the Soviet Union as they also developed nuclear weapons at the time, which had the potential to cause tremendous problems (Dijk, Ruud van et al. 37). Consequently, with United States and Soviet Union utilizing weapons of mass destruction, nuclear weapons would turn out to be conventional weapons of combat by numerous countries around the globe. Therefore, in a world where the Soviet Union developed atomic Bombs, such a pursuit of victory would have resulted in World War III due to the wide spread of atomic bombs. As nuclear weapons would play a significant role in the WWIII, traditional bombings, infantry matches and armor offenses would typify the warfare. The effects of the A-Bomb would have various ramifications of a political nature internationally and in the United States. The utilization of the atomic

The film Circus as directed by Grigori Aleksandrov Essay

The film Circus as directed by Grigori Aleksandrov - Essay Example The jealous master eavesdrops in the conversation through a window and the acrobat goes to find out, only for them to stares at each other in utter disdain before the window is covered in snow. First, the camera illuminates the fast movement then the beating, and suddenly the shift to the ground as the woman falls. The angle at which the camera is held clearly brings out the movements at the stage and with absolute clarity. An aerial view in this scene was picked to show the woman on the ground and a direct view was also presented to highlight the actors. Tilting the camera from sideways has also been achieved well. The initial impact of the scene is to portray the social treatment of women in the Soviet Union. It brings out the disdain to the certain classes of people by their superior counterparts. The scene brings out social classification in the Soviet and how different races were regarded with contempt in that era. The scene is an integral part to the film as a whole and clearly elucidates the shift from social discrimination to integration. It is important to the plot and characterization of the film both as a comedy and as harsh and cool characters are both outlined clearly to the theme. The shots are clears and the mono lighting is well contracted such that actors are brought out. The sound is not too loud and the pitch is well modulated such that the singers use a crescendo when necessary. The wailing of the child and the singing are well to create a proper scene.

Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Behavior - Essay Example When discovered, cheating does not only impact the student’s reputation but also his relationship with others. As a form of deception, cheating is used to protect one’s own happiness or merits. It is an actually a selfish act, as it only protects only the personal happiness or contentment of the individual. A student cheats on his homework so he will not get a failing grade. He may be doing it to prevent his parents from being unhappy with him, or he is protecting his name or his benefits. Same as lying, cheating protects something that makes him feel happy or comfortable. But the same with lying, it jeopardizes one’s morality and confidence. It sacrifices confidence as it shows that the person is not confident that he will be able to answer questions on his own. It shows that the person is not able to accept his limitations, and is taking the easy way out in learning and improving himself. Cheating is a shortcut to showing that one knows something factual. It is not from his own understanding. And this indicates lack of self-confidence and lack of perseverance to really understand and learn what he needs to understand and learn. Cheating affects not only the person cheating but also other people around him. Because he is covering up for his lack of knowledge, pretending that he knows something he doesn’t, other people may believe him for his pretentions. And when he slips and the truth is revealed, that he does not really know what he is talking about, people tend to veer away from him. Deceptions are very damaging when discovered. It creates a gap between people. Remember the classic childhood story of The Boy who Cried Wolf? In the end, when one’s deceptions are discovered, it marks his persona and people tend to doubt his words. When it is the truth that they are speaking, they might find that people don’t listen to them anymore. One of the most common undesirable behaviors is lying. There are different forms of lyi ng. People lie because of different reasons. Some forms of lying are cheating, bending the truth, fabricating stories or information and denying what is real or the truth. Anything that is fabricated or deceiving, in the form of oral and written communication, is lying. Everyone has an episode of lying. One of the most common forms of lying is cheating. This is very common with students. Cheating is not just about copying other’s answers during exams or for homeworks, whether intentional or unintentional. It also involves plagiarism, passing another’s work as his own and inventing or fabricating stories that are claimed to be factual. It can also involve stealing answer keys and even revealing answer keys by posting them through the internet or passing it off to friends. When it’s intentional, cheating involves not only the cheater but also the person who allows the cheater to copy his work. This shows that cheating may involve more than one person. Even if the person knows that cheating is bad and that he, himself, is not cheating, in a way he becomes part of the cheating process since he allowed the cheater to cheat using his answers. This shows how cheating affects relationships and the reputation of the cheater and person being used to cheat. The same with lying, one of the common reasons for cheating is to protect something that the cheater is benefiting from. Examples of these are maintaining high grades, getting additional credits, being known as the top in the class and getting attention from the teacher and parents because of the high grades. Another reason might be pressure from peers, wherein the cheater is part of a group who cheats. Jumping in the bandwagon is also another

Not Specified Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Not Specified - Essay Example as in the case of the European Union), on the basis of conventions like the English Common Law, and on theocratic basis (as in the case of Islamic nations). This essay examines the legal issues vis-Ã  -vis management of engineering organisations in an advanced democratic country like the UK. It is appropriate, at this stage, to put forth the argument concerning the topic. Legal issues may be irksome for effective management of engineering organisations but there is no gain saying the fact that the legal rules provide a definitive and helpful background for professional management. The existence of a body of established law helps in smooth running of an organisation and conducting of its business in a predictable manner. Irksome laws and legal rules are certainly there, if viewed from the narrow perspective of a few organisations or a few managers but in the final analysis, one realises that laws evolve with the collective wisdom of the society and hence are to be accepted in the larger context. For example, the safety, health and environmental laws or corporate governance laws may appear to be intrusive, irksome and expensive to implement. But it is proved time and again that in the ultimate analysis, compliance is more economical than paying the price of damages or clean up costs. The prime examples of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy (Pratima, 1998) of the Union Carbide or the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Bligh Reef near Alaska (Thinkquest) testify to this harsh reality. Engineering organisations are formed to provide goods and services in exchange for a consideration, usually payment of money. This simple definition points out the stakeholders involved in the process of setting up and running of engineering organisations. They can be identified at the broad level as the employees, customers, vendors, investors / financial institutions, and the statutory authorities. All engineering organisations are legal entities, separate from the promoters or owners. To this extent,

The Step Pyramid of King Zjoser Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Step Pyramid of King Zjoser - Essay Example From this essay "The Step Pyramid of King Zjoser" it is clear, that Egypt is bordered by the Red Sea and Israel on the east side. (1) The country is divided into two extreme arid regions, The North-West flowing Nile River. The Nile starts 110 miles (162 km.) south of the Mediterranean and fans out to a sea front of 155 miles between the cities of Alexandria and Port Said. The ancient Egypt was divided into two major parts, first was â€Å"black land,† and another was â€Å"red land.†The black land was situated on the bank of the river Nile and it was very fertile land. The land was used for growing crops. This was the only land in Egypt which was formed due to a layer of rich, black silt, deposited there every year after the flood of the Nile. The Red Land was a barren desert that protected Egypt from its neighboring countries and invading armies. This region provided precious metals and semi-precious stones to Egyptians. The major responsible factor for flourishing the ancient Egyptian civilization is the river Nile. It is the gift given by God to the Egyptian people. It is hardly possible to think Egyptian civilization without the river Nile. (2) The river Nile is the longest river in the world which is over 4000 miles long. The shape of Nile is like that of a lotus flower and it is always depicted in ancient Egyptian art. The river Nile has been playing a very crucial role in developing the Egyptian civilization. The Nile River plays very important role in giving food, water to the people.

Choose a company that is involved in international business activities Essay

Choose a company that is involved in international business activities - Essay Example The recent conflicts in the coltan mining Congo have greatly affected the company in numerous aspects (Smith, 2013). Coltan is Columbo-tantalite substance that is used in the production of the modern electronics including smartphones (Richard & Kathreen, 2014). This product is essential in the production of electric capacitors that are used in smartphones because of their capability to hold high electric charges (Cellular news, 2014). The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has the largest world reserve of coltan, and its production has recently been affected by conflicts between DRC soldiers and M-23 militia rebel group (Smith, 2011). The M-23 militia consisted of Rwandese and Ugandan soldiers. This conflict evolved when the M-23 wanted to gain control over the coltan mining areas in DRC (Weebly, 2014). Though the mining of coltan is not large scale, it is mined by a group of men who dig huge craters in streambeds and scrap the dirt in order to get to coltan. The M-23 was involved in the smuggling of coltan from DRC to the neighboring nations. The neighboring countries such as neighboring Rwanda were accused of selling smuggled coltan though there is no coltan available in the country (Smith, 2011). This conflict in the late 2011 caused a decrease in the supply of coltan and an increase in the prices of coltan. Though there are other nations that produce coltan, DRC is the second largest producer and reserve of coltan after Australia (Marlow & Akkad, 2011). The decreased supply of coltan resulted to increased prices that increased the production costs of Apple Inc. by 20% (Weebly, 2014). However, continued conflicts in the area may result to increasing costs of production and may also affect the production level of the company. Additionally, reports by the United Nations indicate that there is a need to institute regulations to limit the production of coltan from conflict-prone areas in order to

Creating Methodology Essay Example for Free

Creating Methodology Essay 1. Discuss factors about the corporate culture that were at play, and suggest central reasons why the executive staff waited as long as they had to consider the development of an enterprise project management methodology (EPM). 2. Recommend to both the senior executives (i.e., the company) and John Compton (i.e., the president) whether the project management office (PMO) should report to the chief information officer (CIO) or to someone else. Justify the response. 3. Use at least three (3) quality references.Note: Wikipedia and (3). Difference Quotient A classmate states that the difference quotient of any linear function f(x) = mx + b is always m. Explain if you agree or disagree with this statement, and state why. I disagree because he is using the wrong formula. f(x) = mx + b is the slope-intercept form of a linear function and m represents the slope.

Investment analysis: AirAsia Berhad

Investment analysis: AirAsia Berhad 1.0 Market analysis Before we can proceed further in deciding whether investing in AiraAsia is a good choice or not, we have to do a market analysis on the market condition of the airline industry. Our market industry is based on five main elements which are: 1. Legal Like all industries in the market, the airline industry is also tied to certain legal policy of the government so as to ensure the safety and the consumers rights. For the airline industry worldwide, the rules and regulation are set by the International Civil Aviation Organization and is revised from time to time. The rules and regulations are mostly about flights safety measurements and also the management of safety during flight such as making the providence of first-aid kit compulsory on every aircraft in case anything happen during flight. Not only that, the air stewardess and air steward must have basic knowledge of first aid. 2. Politics Politics play a major role in the performance of the airline company as well. Any political policy that is to the airline companys disadvantage will affect the performance and annual profit of the airline. When the very first airline company was established in Germany, which is Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft(DELAG), on 16 November 1909, it was under Germanys government service. But as the 20th century approaches, airline companies are ‘deregulated. Airline deregulation according to the Wikipedia encyclopedia is the process of removing entry and price restrictions on airlines affecting the carriers permitted to serve specific routes. Airline deregulation began in the United States of America in 1978 and from there exist the Airline Deregulation Act 1978 whereas for Europe, deregulation only began in the 1990s. Before deregulation happened, the airline company has to abide by the instructions of the government concerning the routes and the choice of which airports to land on and depart from. Whereas after deregulation, the airline company has the freedom to choose any routes that they want and whichever airports that they want to stopover at. There are pros and cons to the deregulation of the airline company. The pro is the airline company has the freedom to decide on the operation of the airline whereas the con is that the entry barriers for new airline entrants are lower. Thus, creating a more competitive market for established airlines. This is when the low cost carrier airline starts to appear in the market, such as Tiger Airway (Singapore), Jetstar Airways (Australia) and Pacific Blue Airlines (New Zealand). The appearance of these airways will lower the profit margin of the existing airways as Low Cost Carrier (LCC) airlines tend to price their airfare at the very minimum price as possible. Another political aspect is the existence of bilateral agreements between two or more countries regarding the authority of stopovers at different airports. Bilateral agreement is normally based on the concept of ‘freedom of thee air where it gives the airline the freedom or rights to fly in the air space of another country and also be permitted to stop at the airports of their choice. And sometimes, some country may even allow foreign airline to operate on their domestic routes, but this is very rarely to be found. This move by the government will remove many of the barriers to competition and allowing their own airlines to have foreign partners or code sharing partners. This will further increase the airline access to more international routes and also further exposed the airline to foreign countries. Both the airline deregulation policy and the bilateral agreements play a major role in determining the successfulness of an airline company. A policy set by the government may in hibit or aid in the success of an airline company. 3. Economics When we look at the economic side of the market, we will first look at the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world. GDP is the value of all final goods and services from a nation in a given year. GDP is the best tool to use when accessing the performance of a country as it takes all the industries and products into consideration. A few of countrys GDP and the contribution of agriculture, industry and services to the total of GDP are listed in the table below. Country Growth rate (%) Agriculture (%) Industry (%) Services (%) China 8.7 10.9 48.6 40.5 Egypt 4.5 13.1 37.7 49.2 India 4.4 15.8 25.8 58.4 Nigeria 3.8 33.4 34.1 32.5 Thailand -3.5 12.3 44 43.7 Venezuela -1.5 4.0 34.6 61.4 America -2.4 1.2 21.9 76.9 Singapore -2.6 0.0 26.8 73.2 Malaysia -2.8 10.1 42.3 47.6 Source: CIA The World Factbook and Wikipedia Encyclopedia All the countries have different GDP, some countries may have negative growth and some countries have positive growth. This is normal as during 2008 is when the financial crisis happened. But not all countries did not benefit from the global economy downturn as some countries have positive growth rate for their GDP. This may be due to the fact that the countries benefited from industries that bring losses to another country which results in a tradeoff between the benefits between countries. The services industry contributes to most of the total of the GDP of the countries listed above except for china, Nigeria and Thailand. All three of these countries are more focused on industrial industry which may be due to the fact that these countries have more labored intensive industries. Thus, this shows that service industry plays an important role in the performance of a country and service industry includes airline industry. From the GDP of a country; we can look at the purchasing power parity (PPP) of the consumers. If the GDP of the country is low or is a negative value, this means that the PPP of the citizen is low and vice versa. The PPP of consumers can also be linked directly to the inflation rate of a country. As the inflation rate increase, the PPP of consumer will drop. Inflation rate will increase the price of goods in general as the demand exceeded the supply of the goods. Thus, decreasing the amount of extra money allocated for luxurious goods which also include travelling and entertainments. So the changes in the GDP of a country will affect all the industries, including the airline industry. There are times when not only the GDP will affect the performance of an airline; it may be due to natural disasters which include earthquake, tsunami and flash flood which have been happening quite frequently nowadays. All of these can disrupt the operation of the airline companies as facilities and airports maybe destroyed in the process. Thus, causing an airline company to face loss in the event of natural disasters. Another event that might affect the economic performance of an airline company is terrorism such as the event of the ill-fated day of September 11, 2001where American Airlines and United Airlines was hijacked. This had caused both airways to face huge losses due to the decline in value of the airways stocks. This can reflect the confidence of the customers towards both the airlines had declined extremely as an aftermath of the hijacking event. Below is the graph depicting the change in stock price for both companies. 4. Social As the years goes by, consumer demands are evolving gradually. The consumers nowadays want anything that is their convenience, cheap and can be done instantly without going through painstaking procedures. So as to accommodate the change in the demands of the customers, the airline company has to improvise themselves from time to time. Most of the airline companies nowadays have their own websites. This is to make it easier for the consumers to check the availability of tickets, the schedule of the airline and also enabling the consumers to purchase their ticket through e-ticketing. All of these are to the customers convenience. So as to attract more customers, some airlines are now practicing online check-in of luggage where luggage can be checked-in within 24 hours of the scheduled flight. Social and economic factors are closely related to each other as any changes in the market economy will directly affect the consumer behavior. As stated above under the economic factors, the event of financial crisis will affect the PPP of the customers as prices of goods have been increased due to inflation. In order to save more money, consumers will opt for cheaper goods. The same goes to the purchase of airfares. The lower the airfare is, the better it is and this even applies to business travelers travelling on premium class. This can be proven by a study done by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) where it shows that the consumers choice of seats have changed as the number of premium class travelers have decreased. This can be seen clearly from the graph below. The graph shows that the number of premium passengers had started to fall since july 2008 and keeps dropping until sometime in may 2009 before it the number of passengers travelling on premium class starts to increase gradually. Even though there is an increase of passengers travelling on premium class, it still takes time for the airline company to rebound back from the huge amount of losses that they have incurred. 5. Technology With the advancement of the technological changes in the world, the technology used by the airline company also improvised with time. In the past, whenever the customers wanted to buy air tickets, they will have to go to either the airlines office or any travel agency to purchase their tickets. But now, customers can just purchase their ticket with a click of the mouse. They do not even need to step out of the house, as long there is internet available. Advanced check-in can also be done through the internet 24 hours prior to the flight departure. All of these technologies are to the consumers convenience. Advancement in the technology of the airline industry can also be seen on the safety and the comfort of the aircraft. Aircrafts nowadays are more comfortable, safer and in-flight entertainment is also provided for long haul flights. This is very different from the olden aircraft where the main purpose of the aircraft is just to transport passengers from one point to another. Both the Airbus and Boeing Company are improvising their aircraft from time to time in so as to ensure that their aircraft is the best in terms of safety and also the comfort level. Airline companies in the market are also using the advancement in technology to implement risk management by providing good and reliable databases for risk analysis and targeting, providing faster and more effective business processes, more efficient recordkeeping and providing better services to the customers. 2.0 Airline Industry Analysis The airline industry had always been a highly regulated industry from the beginning of its establishment. The deregulation or liberalization movement initially started in the US in 1978. Governments usually treat the airline industry differently compared to some other industries due to the sensitivity of the aviation business, which involve some national security and sovereignty issues. In this report, Porters Five Forces Model is being used to analysis the aviation industry structure to provide an overall view of the industry. This is a well-established model, in which the industry can be simulated as a model influenced by five different factors called ‘forces as shown in Figure 1.1. A suitable dynamic interaction of these five forces shapes the basic structure to determine the profitability and attractiveness of the industry. 2.1 Industry Competitor The degree of rivalry is one of the most important factors that determining profitability of the industry. The market growth and number of competitors are some of the causes that will affect the industry rivalry. For the airline industry where its fixed cost is usually very high and the variable cost is low, competition is fierce as airlines are trying to generate revenue to reach break-even level in order to survive. Competition in the airline industry can be divided into competition between low cost carriers (LCCs) and full service carriers (FSCs) in both regional and domestic markets. There are 6 budget airlines in Malaysia which are Air Asia, Firefly, Tiger Airways, Cebu Pacific, Jetstar, and Lion Air. The competition among low cost carriers is usually fiercer as offering the cheaper airfare is utmost important for them. One of the main reasons that passengers choose to use a LCC is â€Å"cheaper airfares†. Since most of the low cost carriers do not have frequent flyer program to impose switching cost on customers, it is rather difficult for them to build up customer loyalty except constantly offering a cheaper airfare to retain their customers. On the other hand, there are a lots of full service airline in Malaysia such as MAS, Cathay Pacific Airway, China Airlines, Eva Airways Corporation, and so on. Thus, the competition between full service carriers is more complicated. This is because FSCs are competing in many aspects of their services, such as network coverage, flight frequency, and service quality and ticket prices. While the competition between FSCs and LCCs are mainly focused on attracting each others market as they usually have different customer groups. Customer base of LCCs are largely made up of leisure traveler while FSCs appear to be more attractive for business traveler. 2.2 Suppliers Suppliers are those who provide necessary raw material, equipment and labor for an airline to perform their daily operation. Suppliers strength can greatly affect the industrys profitability, if there is a high concentration in the supplier power, they can exert influence on airlines thus increasing their bargaining power. Major inputs for airline to provide their services to passengers are aircraft, labor, fuel and landing slots. The fleet is the most important assets for airlines to generate revenue. However, there are only two major aircraft manufacturers in the West, Boeing and Airbus, which almost monopolizing the wide-body civil transport aircraft market worldwide. Hence, the bargain power of aircraft manufacturers against airlines remains very strong, as the concentration of aircraft supplier market is very high. Some airline employees are considered as highly specialized and professionals, such as pilots and aircraft technicians. Due to their specializations, it is almost impossible for an airline to find replacements for pilots or maintenance workers in short time, which may cause an increase in the bargaining power of their employees over the airlines. In this regard, the labor cost is one of the biggest operating costs of most airlines. However, cutting cost is the main agenda of airline nowadays, and the labor cost is always the first to be the victim. 2.3 The Buyers Power The buyers power is defined as the influence that customers can have on the airlines revenue affecting ticket prices and service charges. If the buyers power is strong enough, customers can set the ticket price, and vice verse. Strong buyer power can bargain away potential airline profit and extract other benefits from airlines such as quality-improved services. Some of the favorable factors to strong buyers power in the airline industry are relatively low customer switching cost, low product differentiation, and freely available information on Internet. Nevertheless, the buyers power may be weaken by low buyer concentration or small purchase volume. Although fierce pricing war dispute among the airlines, it is notably that buyers do not play proactive roles in the pricing war. Current price impacts in the market is aimed to keeping the airlines competitors out of the market rather than providing the low pricing power of the airlines to their customers. Besides, travel agents, who us ually buy air tickets in large volume, yield greater power but they use this concept to strengthen their position in the market rather than transferring the cost benefit to costumers. 2.4 New Entrant â€Å"New entrant† refers to any new player in the aviation market which will compete with the incumbents. A key criterion to analyze the threat of new entrant in the industry is to analyze the level of entry barriers. Entry barriers are obstacles that may discourage others from entering the market hence affect the competition of the industry. New entrants will also lower the potential profits of the industry as a whole. Most common entry barriers in airline industry are regulation restrictions, labor, access to distribution channels and high capital requirement. However, the entry barriers to the airline industry had generally been lowered recently, especially on the regulation restrictions and distribution channels. The example of new entrant to Low Cost Carrier s is Firefly airline, which was growth recently and become a strong competitor to Air Asia airline. 2.5 Substitutes â€Å"Substitution† represents the threat that other industries or transportation may offer a product, which can replace air transport. The threat of substitution depends on the type of flight, namely long haul or short haul, and travel purpose such as business or leisure. For short haul and leisure travel, the main substitution threat in the Asia Pacific comes from surface transport such as road and sea transport. Even though some of the airfares from LCCs are lower than bus fare, but after paying for the airport charges and insurances, customers will find that generally the total cost of air travel is still higher than that of road transport. Although surface transport is cheaper in term of money, it still costs the passenger more in terms of time and efficiency. Furthermore, road transport generally will not compete with long haul travel, especially for cross nation traveling. On the other side, latest technology inventions such as videoconference pose a bigger threat for business travel. In the aftermath of 911, many worries that the airline industry will be substituted by video conferencing companies as they assumed that people will be less willingly to travel since then. However, the speedy traffic recovery proved them wrong. Although the international passenger flow havent returned to the pre-crisis level, but it seems the recovery is on the right path. 2.6 Low Cost and Budget Airline Air Asia Berhad Air Asia is one of the largest low fare and no frills airline. in Low Cost Carriers (LCC) industry which providing guests with the choice of customizing services without compromising on quality and services . It operates scheduled domestic and international flights and it is also the first airline in the region to implement fully ticketless travel and unassigned seats. On 12 November 2008, Air Asia abolished fuel surcharges. In doing so, it claimed to be the first airline in the world to abolish fuel surcharges. From this statement, we can conclude that Air Asia is successful to expand their market as well as they airline had flown 55 million cumulative passengers by 2009. In 2010, it has the worlds lowest costs for an Airline, at $3.21 per seat-kilometer. Air Asia is able to attract more customers in future since they can offer lower price tickets to flight around the world. Last but not least, Air Asia is a corporate that potential to growth among the LCC industry due to its competence strategy holding. This corporate was emphasize on leanest cost structure; transparency in decision making and information sharing; safety; invest and enhance the Air Asia brand to maximize shareholder`s value; human capital development; and passion for guest satisfaction. Hence, investor can be confidence with their performance as well. 3.0 Company Analysis AirAsia is one of the award winning and largest low fare airlines in the Asia expanding rapidly since 2001. With a fleet of 72 aircrafts, AirAsia flies to over 61 domestic and international destinations with 108 routes, and operates over 400 flights daily from hubs located in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Today, AirAsia has flown over 55 million guests across the region and continues to create more extensive route network through its associate companies. AirAsia believes in the no-frills, hassle-free, low fare business concept and feels that keeping costs low requires high efficiency in every part of the business. Through the corporate philosophy of â€Å"Now Everyone Can Fly†, AirAsia has sparked a revolution in air travel with more and more people around the region choosing AirAsia as their preferred choice of transport. AirAsia creates values through the following vision and mission. (Resources : http://www.airasia.com/my/en/aboutus/irorganizationalstructure.html?) 3.1 Mission †¢ To be the best company to work for whereby employees are treated as part of a big family †¢ Create a globally recognized ASEAN brand †¢ To attain the lowest cost so that everyone can fly with AirAsia †¢ Maintain the highest quality product, embracing technology to reduce cost and enhance service levels 3.2 Vision To continue to be the lowest cost short-haul airline in every market we serve, delivering strong organic growth through offering the lowest airfares at a profit. Leanest Cost Structure †¢ Efficient and simple point to point operations †¢ Attracting and retaining hardworking and smart people †¢ Passion for continuous cost reduction Maximise Shareholders Value †¢ Resilient profit growth through our lower cost base †¢ Expansion of the AirAsia network in a prudent and disciplined manner †¢ Invest and enhance the AirAsia brand to increase investors returns Safety †¢ Comply with the highest International Aviation Safety Standards and practices †¢ Keep operations simple and transparent †¢ Ensure the security of our People and Guests Passion for Guests Satisfaction †¢ Maintain simplicity in every application †¢ Practice the unique and friendly AirAsia experience at every opportunity †¢ Recognise the linkage between guests satisfaction and long-term success Transparency †¢ Transparency in decision-making and information sharing †¢ Optimum disclosure higher than industry norms †¢ Timeliness in disclosing information Human Capital Development †¢ Invest in both hard and soft skills †¢ Recognize all our People as contributors to our success †¢ Reward excellence and individual contributions †¢ Maintaining one brand across the Group (Resources : http://www.airasia.com/my/en/aboutus/irstrategy.html?) 3.3 Strategy (Resources : http://www.airasia.com/my/en/aboutus/irstrategy.html?) 3.4 Values 1.Safety Adopting a zero tolerance to unsafe practices and strive for zero accidents through proper training,work practices, risk management and adherence to safety regulations at all times. 2. Valuing Our People Committing to our peoples development and well-being and treating them with respect, dignity and fairness. 3.Customer Focused We care and treat everyone in the same manner that we want to be treated. 4.Integrity Practicing highest standards of ethical behaviour and demonstrate honesty in all our lines of work in order to command trust and mutual respect. 5.Excellence in Performance Setting goals beyond the best and reinforcing high quality performance standards and achieving excellence through implementing best practices. (Resources : Air Asia Annual Report 2008) 3.5 Logo 3.6 Motto â€Å"NOW EVERYONE CAN FLY† 3.7 Directors Biography Dato Abdel Aziz @ Abdul Aziz bin Abu Bakar(Non-Executive Chairman) Dato Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes (commonly known as Dato Sri Tony Fernandes) Dato Kamarudin bin Meranun (Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer) Conor Mc Carthy (Non-Executive Director) 3.8 Independent Directors Dato Leong Sonny @ Leong Khee Seong (Independent Non-Executive Director) Fam Lee Ee (Independent Non-Executive Director) Dato Mohamed Khadar bin Merican (Independent Non-Executive Director) Datuk Alias bin Ali (Independent Non-Executive Director) (Resources : http://www.airasia.com/my/en/aboutus/irdirectorsbiography.html?) Share Registrar Symphony Share Registrars Sdn Bhd Level 26, Menara Multi-Purpose, Capital Square 8 Jalan Munshi Abdullah 50100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: 603-2721 2222 Fax: 603-2721 2530/1 Corporate Broker ECM Libra Berhad Stock Exchange Listing Main Board of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (Listed since 22 November 2004) (Stock code: 5099) Auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers Level 10, 1 Sentral, Jalan Travers, Kuala Lumpur Sentral 50706 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 603-2173 1188 Fax: 603-2173 1288 Audit Committee Dato Leong Sonny @ Leong Khee Seong Fam Lee Ee Datuk Alias bin Ali Dato Mohamed Khadar bin Merican (Resources : Air Asia Annual Report 2008) 3.9 Major Shareholders As of 12 November 2009, about 26% of the total share capital was owned by TuneAir Sdn Bhd. AirAsia is a substantially owner managed company, the cumulative ownership by the board of directors constitutes approximately 28% of the share capital. Shareholder name No. of shares owne What Is Atherosclerosis Disease? What Is Atherosclerosis Disease? Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory condition affecting mainly the medium sized and large muscular arteries in the vasculature. Research suggests that the role of statins as a cholesterol lowering agent is only one of their many pharmacological purposes, and that they can also be used in the treatment of inflammatory conditions such as atherosclerosis. A lot of funding has gone into this area of research as its predicted that in the next 15 years, it is expected that cardiovascular related events are going to be the main cause of death worldwide. Thus there is a greater need to consider novel strategies in management of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. In the course of this essay I will attempt to describe how and why atherosclerosis is an inflammatory condition and how statins can be exploited as anti inflammatory agents in reducing the overall cardiovascular risk associated with the disease. There is a lot of laminar blood flow through the medium sized and large arteries in the vasculature which are the prime positions for atherosclerotic plaques to grow, making the blood flow more turbulent. This leads to the build up of ischemic tissue in organs where blood flow becomes limited leading to major vascular events as a consequence. The composition of this atheroma is the first indication that the disease is of an inflammatory origin as it matches that expected at the intermediate phase of injury. Also, as seen in other inflammatory states, monocytes are attracted to the site of inflamed tissue and differentiate into macrophages. This leads to an increase in production of inflammatory cytokines and an upregulation in toll like receptors. The plaque is largely made up of macrophages, mast cells, T cells, fibrin, collagen and platelets aggregates which indicate that the immune system has been activated to produce an inflammatory response to the insult. It is now also evident that the actual stenosis is less of a contributing factor to ischemia and that it is more of a result of the activation of plaque content, eg, macrophage and mast cells, which elicits the prothrombotic and procoagulant factors involved in thrombus formation. The role of cholesterol in plaque formation is considerable as macrophages found in the plaque composition are heavily saturated with cholesterol ester giving them their name, foam cells. Additionally, there is a lot more LDL in the circulation which has been proven to be pro inflammatory and is raised in atherosclerosis. Raised LDL in it self is a big contributing factor to the formation of foam cells as the LDL becomes oxidised and reduces de-novo synthesis of LDL receptors on endothelial cells and macrophages. Running parallel to this, CD34 scavenger receptors on these cells become unregulated so macrophages and endothelial cells engulf cholesterol and cholesterol esters in an uncontrolled manner leading to the formation of foam cells. These then set off a series of events leading to more foam cell production and plaque formation. This illustrates the important role cholesterol has in worsening the inflammatory processes involved in atherosclerosis thus foregrounding the need of s tatins to utilise their lipid and non lipid pharmacological mechanisms involved in cholesterol lowering as well as controlling the inflammation. There is a lot of evidence from experiments which link the involvement of cholesterol and inflammation in atherosclerosis. There is evidence which suggests that the presence of cholesterol results in an over expression of cell adhesion molecules, eg VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and E-selectin. Also, increased release of cytokines such as MCP-1 within the plaque as well as macrophages TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma and IL-1 which is all consistent with the inflammatory process. Additionally, mast cells are attracted and degranulated at the site of plaque formation. Other experimental evidence also shows that when cholesterol fed rats are treated with immunosuppressants; there is a reduction in the atherosclerosis. There is research into the possibility of there being some angiogenesis in the area which is consistent with the proliferative phase of repair involving the immune system. All of the above illustrates, with evidence, the inflammatory origins of atherosclerosis. Infectious agents are also associated with activating the immune system to produce a pro inflammatory response to a foreign organism. There is further evidence which illustrates that this is also true for atherosclerosis. There have been suggestions which say that infectious agents such as Chlamydia pneumoniae damage the endothelial cells in the same way as cholesterol. Infection with this organism can cause increased cell activation and expression of adhesion molecules as well as programmed cell death at site of damage. Also, there is increased cytokine expression in smooth muscle cells and the increased size of cells correlates to the neointimal thickening (plaque) associated with the disease. Overall, this leads to the recruitment and activation of immune cells such as leucocytes which are a major contributor to the inflammatory process. It was also shown through experimental models, that this infection causing the plaque formation can be treated by azithromycin which is a well es tablished immunosuppressant. All this evidence again foregrounds the strong correlation of inflammation in atherosclerosis. Now that we have established that atherosclerosis is indeed an inflammatory condition which can be exacerbated by high cholesterol and infection, the treatment strategy should therefore involve the use of statins for their cholesterol lowering and non lipid properties allowing them to be effective in resolving the inflammation. The conventional role of statins is the inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase enzyme which intern stops all the enzymatic steps occurring downstream of this enzyme to ultimately reducing hepatic cholesterol production. This leads to the inhibitory effect cholesterol has on LDL receptor synthesis being lifted so more receptors are synthesised leading to a greater uptake of cholesterol from the circulation thus lowering overall blood cholesterol levels. There is a lot of novel evidence suggesting the benefits of statins occurring before blood cholesterol reduction which illustrates that some other process must be involved. Apart from the conventional HMG-CoA reduction, statins also have non lipid related activity. They inhibit the production of mevalonic acid and isoprenoid metabolites which accounts for the apparent immunosuppressant activity of statins in atherosclerosis. In the case of inflammatory diseases, statins can also reduce smooth muscle proliferation, reduce over expression of ce ll adhesion molecules, reduce infiltration of macrophage and T cells to site of damage, inhibit antigen dependant T cell activation and reduce other inflammatory mediators such as IL-6, TNF alpha, C reactive protein and INF-gamma. Some studies have also shown the action of statins in vivo when an small experimental amount of 2ng/kg of LPS from E coli was injected into volunteers taking simvastatin or a placebo. The results of this study illustrated the non lipid effects of statins in response to insult as there was no change in blood TNFalpha in the group taking the statin which shows that statins have a role in affecting the bodys immune response to external insult. This clearly foregrounds the roles of lipid and non lipid mechanisms of action of statins in reducing serious outcomes related to the occurrences of cardiovascular events. In conclusion, it is clear from experimental evidence that atherosclerosis has been identified as an inflammatory disease. There is significant information to support the notion of using statins in a clinical setting for their lipid and non lipid effects to aid the over all reduction in the atherosclerosis and the role it has in activating an immune response. Therefore, statins can be used for their pleiotropic effects in inflammatory disease such as atherosclerosis to help alleviate the body of the inflammatory response related to the condition.

Technological Progress in Science, Arts and Literature

Technological Progress in Science, Arts and Literature Introduction Technology has an influence on the existence of human beings because it brings new risks as well as improving our lives. Technology has impacted a vast range of sectors ranging from health, sports, communication, and entertainment among other parameters. For instance, today individuals are anticipated to live longer as compared to the olden days due to the impacts of new technology in the medical sector. Scientific discoveries are made day by day thereby changing our world. Discussion Just like any other sectors, literature and arts field has also been significantly affected by the advancement in science and technological aspects in our world today. The manner in which art and literature works are presented has become completely different as compared to the early days before technological developments. Some of the rapidly growing art and literature aspects that have been affected by the advancement of science and technology include art application, graphic design; computer generated paintings, art blogs, Photoshop, 3D hacking, E-book, digitally created music, 3D scanning among others (Garcia Calantone, 2002). To begin, one of the literature industries that scientific and technological development has impacted significantly is the film and movie sector. Both digital and mechanical innovations have affected everything from production, distribution, and exhibition of film products. For instance, under production, the advanced technology has changed the manner in which films are shot especially with the use of some special effects. For example, the Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) is a technology that which implicates the computer graphics to unique effects. It is mainly used for visual effects since it makes the scenes controllable. For example, instead of employing the use of thousands of extras in a given scene as before, today CGI would be used for easier and simpler control. Also, many technologies today affect the distribution of films. For example, it is possible for individuals to view movies on portable devices in every location across the world. It is also possible to upload films on small devices and watch them at your discretion. The use of the internet has also simplified the viewing process of films both in legal and illegal means. For instance, an individual can download and view pirated copies free of charge on the internet. Finally, under film industry, the exhibition process of videos has been influenced as well. For instance, special effects have affected the manner in which videos are exhibited through the creation of new motives for the audience due to the special effects that are provided by the CGI technology. Besides, the digital technology has facilitated the creation of bigger and better films with numerous scenes which result into visceral pleasure for the viewers. Another key area in literature that has been transformed by the technological and scientific advancement is our reading and publishing of books. In this sector, self-publishing has been developed, and it has changed the world of books in various ways. For example, today, there is a broader understanding of publishing as compared to before. For an extended period, the publishing industry has suffered the irony that there is the only evidence of publishing when it is invisible. Today, since it is possible to publish brochures for fundraising or sports or even school cookbooks, individuals have learned the steps that are involved in publishing. Besides, due to the emergence of science and technological skills, the role of an author has continuously changed. As a result of media fragmentation in the recent years, publishers were dependent on the authors for marketing reasons, and this is a way of empowering. Because authors can meet their readers during the marketing process more so at literary festivals, or by tweeting or running blogs, they get to know their readers well and do not have to rely on publishers for relationship mediation purposes. The duty of agents has as well changed due to this type of advancement. Initially, the role of agents was to introduce the ingenuine authors to potential investors then associating with them in building long-term careers. However, due to the emergence of many self-publishing authors, agents have found it difficult since the self-publishing authors interact with the readers themselves and therefore agents are expected to identify other areas in which to direct their efforts. Finally, as a result of technological and scientific improvements, the issue is not only about making money. Self-publishing means that an individual assumes a personal responsibility to manage and produce their content which can be effectively achieved through one copy which is kept at home as the sale of many copies online. In other words, self-publishing means that a person recognizes and preserves the content which has value for another person; however, the process does not have to result in earning an income solely. Technological and scientific advancements have also altered the manner in which authors of various items do their work. According to Nietzsche, our writing instruments also work on our thoughts (Carr, 2008). Therefore, Nietzsche acquired a writing ball which compensated for his failed eyesight. This is one instance in which technology changed the manner in which literature works can be presented. The emergence of writing tools and machines has transformed writing to a great extent. Technology has not only changed an individuals styles of writing, but it also has pronunciation on literary establishment entirely. Style can be something that is tangible, but it is built from an individuals words and phrases with academic specialization of stylometry which is intended to its study and elusively associates with the authors unique feel and voice of their prose. With the invention of computers, word processing programs have entirely changed everything. For example, revision has become a considerably easy task. In fact, the difference between composition and revision has completely eroded. For example, today there are writing devices which direct the user through a draft without any stoppage for revision. Word processors have as well found their way to settings and plots in a similar way that typewriters did. Also, literary production circumstances have also changed. For example, in 1983, John Updike dismissed his secretary since he got a word processor (Kirschenbaum, 2014). Apart from style, the sense of the text has also changed due to technological advancement. For example, word processing has enabled writers to grasp manuscripts wholly. Initially, the manuscript was available through search functions. In fact, entire passages could be moved at the users will thereby reordering chapters and sections. The advancement in technology and science has also led to the development of modern literature. There has been an evolution from the gramophone and telegraph to cyberspace and cinema due to technological changes. Each technological breakthrough is accompanied by its changes in literature. Tablet computers, TV and Smartphone have threatened the cultural authority of books thereby shattering the attention or destroying reading. New communication technologies always produce new frameworks that often adjust the appearance of literature i.e. file window, website or even the screen and page. For example, with the help of technology, Walter Benjamin, a commentator, incorporated a technique of rapid intercutting g and jump cuts into a particular form of writing. This was a way in which traffic literature absorbed the film technologies. Concerning art, technology has redefined it in a strange and new ways. Individuals have created works by moving through laser beams or common data that has been gathered from the air pollution. Technology has improvised new ways through which artists express themselves. For instance, the lasers i.e. which are brush strokes, particularly in London one, is known as Assemblance whose design is aimed at encouraging visitors to create light structures and drawings of the floor through the use of colored lasers beams together with smokes. An experience known as Petting Zoo is another favorite digital revolution in the art arena. This involves the snake-like tubes which hung from the ceiling. These tubes may bend move and change colors depending on the way that they have read your sound, movement, and touch. If an individual is simply standing, the tubes will also stand bored. This artwork was developed by Minimaforms which is a design group with the aim of providing a glimpse of future when robots will be capable of reading our moods and react with kindness (Pschera, 2016). The progression of science and technology has also remarkably changed film animation. Several years back, the only way in which an individual would come up with cartoons was hand making frame by frame. However, today many cartoons are made with flash after some software which has interpolation features. In other words, this would mean that an individual doesnt have to draw all the frames for the production of movement illusion. The invention of zoetrope and the current technology has enabled the creation of graphic animation and the evolution of cartoons from 2D to the 3D format and stereoscopic 3D (Adar, Dontcheva, Fogarty Weld, 2008). It is possible to release animated movies across the globe which has become the top-grossing movies over the years. Technological advancement has brought massive changes in this sector, and if a comparison is made between the first cartoon that was made and the current animation, an individual would be convinced that a period is coming when everything would be possible. Technology continuously continues their development, and it has created the movement on a flat screen by making flat images to constantly and rapidly pass on the screen one after the other so that illusion is created. It is possible for a person to catch their favorite cartoons online in their laptops, Smartphone or iPad in high quality due to this technology. Many new cartoons are also made with the 3D software. However, creativity and studies and psychology character definition are required to achieve this. Technology has also improved the difference between modern and classical animated cartoons. For instance, a person who was born in the past century can evidently notice the difference and the unique nature between the old and new cartoons. However, the characters and features of cartoons are almost similar only that those for today are fancy as compared to those for the olden days. Animators and the animation studios continuously combine the latest technological and scientific advances with the naturally born and creative talents to push and raise the levels of possibilities especially to ensure that they come up with the most recent versions of cartoons which are fancier as compared to cartoons of the earlier generations. The final area that has been considerably impacted by the new scientific and technological advancement methodology is writing literary works. Some literary techniques have been improvised to deepen the fiction that an individual has and also to facilitate adequate communication of the intended meaning. The writer is free to use as many techniques as they would want to their literature work as long as they effectively relay their intended information or message. First, there is the use of allegory in which the writer comes up with a story whereby the characters and events bring out a system of symbolic meaning. Symbolism is another technique that can be used in presenting literary work by authors. In this instance, the writer is free to use n action, object, character or word within the story to suggest something but its not its actual dictionary meaning. Irony can also be used, and it has three types. First is verbal irony in which the intended meaning of a statement varies from the actual meaning. It is in most instances referred to as sarcasm. Secondly is the situational irony which occurs when the intended outcome of a particular action is different from the real result. The final type of irony is dramatic. In this case, the audience is more aware of the situation of the character than the characters does. Finally, due to advancement in todays literary works, there is also use of figurative language which creates a meaningful and exciting story. This type of language makes a comparison between different things. The figurative language includes simile, metaphor, personification and hyperbole. The use of figurative language is essential since it gives the audience a clear image of what is being referred to by the performer or the author of an article. This, therefore, makes it easier for the public to synthesize and visualize what the author is talking about. Conclusion It is evident that science and technological advancement has not left out any sector when it comes to its application in various fields. Just like all other areas, art and literary has experienced a vast impact as a result of technological advancements. As the research paper has provided, numerous changes have been noticed especially in the video and film industries. The processes of production, distribution, and exhibition of a video film have substantially improved due to the introduction of CGI which has made it easier to combine many effects easier and more quickly as compared to the initial days. I think that technological advancement is a good thing since it has enhanced innovation and creativity thereby simplifying tasks to be much easier as opposed to olden days when it could take long before completing a particular task. References Adar, E., Dontcheva, M., Fogarty, J., Weld, D. S. (2008, October). Zoetrope: interacting with the ephemeral web. In Proceedings of the 21st annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology (pp. 239-248). ACM. Carr, N. (2008). Is Google making us stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains (Vol. 1). July. Garcia, R., Calantone, R. (2002). A critical look at technological innovation typology and innovativeness terminology: a literature review. Journal of product innovation management, 19(2), 110-132. Kirschenbaum, M. (2014). Operating Systems of the Mind: Bibliography After Word Processing (The Example of Updike). The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, 108(4), 380-412. Pschera, A. (2016). Animal Internet: Nature and the Digital Revolution. New Vessel Press.

Social Interface :: science

Social Interface In the introduction of the book of Norman Long, â€Å"Battlefields of Knowledge†, Long states that theoretical and the application itself cannot be segregated into their respective venues. His book takes a different perspective specifically by not discriminating between the â€Å"knowledge of understanding† and â€Å"knowledge of action.† Long’s book assumes that the theoretical and the pragmatic issues are so intimately entwined that it would be like separating melted ice from your coke. Long stresses that we must work on an actor-oriented approach where we can base new types of theorization and methodologies. The proposed model suggests that a theoretical technique be developed to take into account the actions of the actors and be able to construe them clearly. It also should show how different analyses work themselves out through accommodation and negotiation. By this method, we concentrate on the performer and recognize the multiple realities and diverse social practices of a variety of actors. The interaction between diverse social interests encourages social change and is essential when it comes to understanding development processes. The intersection where we have different social organization mixing with one another negotiating is called the interface. The interface is where the social systems interacts in their own worlds and where the different actors see their own realities and work on how to achieve certain goals they may have set for themselves or goals that the society they are in have been set for them. For this paper, I will attempt to process the relation of a drug addict under going rehab with his/her therapist through our actor oriented approach and hopefully something intelligent will come out. As stated above, the actors are the physician and the patient. It can be noted that such a small group may not produce much of a social change but from trivial matters arise serious obstacles. We may use this interface as to how our society views such a problem and tries to resolve it. Drug addiction in our country has recently become a growing concern for our citizen. Designer drugs have entered our country from illegal drug exporting countries like China or Thailand. And instead of enticing the usual mid-thirties demographic, these pushers peddle their merchandize to young teenagers ranging from twelve to twenty, most of them still easily influenced by their peers. In order to counter this new scourge that our society faces, we have set up rehabilitation centers or detoxification cente rs for the addicted ones.

Economic Analysis of The U.S. 2001-2003 Essay -- essays research paper

Economic Analysis of The U.S. 2001-2003   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Economics have many indicators to describe how it runs. The indicators can show if the economy has improved or declined. The economic indicators that will be focused on in this analysis of the United States economy from 2001 – 2003 will be the consumer price index, the imports and exports, the unemployment rate, and finally the gross domestic product. Now while most may know the meanings of the previously stated indicators, for those who don’t, they remain useless unless defined. To begin with, these indicators will have to be defined in full to aid in understanding the analysis in more detail. It will be after that that the actual analysis of the economy of the United States from 2001 – 2003 will begin.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first indicator to be discussed will be the consumer price index. The consumer price index can be described as â€Å"a price index that measures the cost of a fixed basket of goods chosen to represent the consumption pattern of individuals† . This is mainly used by the government and private sector to measure the changes of the prices that consumers deal with . Also the reference to basket refers to a collection of items representing a purchasing pattern of a typical consumer. The consumer price index has many components itself such as medical, transportation, household services, rent, durables, non-durables, apparels, food and beverage, and other services . This is relevant to show how much prices have increased from a base year .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Imports and exports weigh heavily on how well an economy could be. Imports are defined as â€Å"a good produced in a foreign country and purchased by residents of the â€Å"home† country† . For example an import would be as if in the United States were to get some kind of certain product from another country. Exports are defined as â€Å"a good produced in the â€Å"home† country and sold in another country† . An example of this is if the United States were to sell a product to another country. Ideally speaking, imports should be less then total exports. If the total exports are more then the total imports, that means more money is being received in the homeland, if there is more importing than exporting, that means that the country will be not be gaining from the exports. The United States has a poor import to export rati... ...r will again be on the up and up, with a 3.3% in gross domestic product, showing that 2003 was going to be a positive year . The third quarter was at an astounding 8.2% showing a massive increase from the previous quarters . 2003 would be a year of higher production; in fact it was the highest producing year of the three analyzed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, looking at these indicators, there has been am explanation of home the economy was in the years 2001-2003 in the United States. Discussed were the consumer price index, the imports and exports, the unemployment rate, and finally the gross domestic product. By seeing how these all went it will be open for people to take the given data analyzed in this paper and come up with their own interpretation of the data. This is an analysis of the United States economy for the years 2001-2003.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited 1.http://money.cnn.com/2003/11/25/news/economy/gdp/?cnn=yes 2.http://www.bls.gov/ 3.http://www.ita.doc.gov/td/industry/otea/usfth/tabcon.html 4.O’Sullivan, Arthur and Sheffrin, Steven M. Economics Principles and Tools. Third Edition. Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle, New Jersey. 2003.

A script written for television by Willy Russell Essay

A script written for television by Willy Russell In my essay I will write about the three most important scenes in the script. The story (set in the 1980’s) about a group of friends who fail a test of loyalty. They talk of community spirit and yet they can’t respect another’s decision. Their idea of community spirit is making and standing by one decision and not taking into account that not everyone wants that choice. The majority of the street act as sheep, following and not making decisions for themselves. This is shown when they follow Eddie’s decision to paint their houses yellow to show support for the local football team ‘Northside United’. Danny decides that he does not want to paint his house yellow! Eddie (who started the idea) tries to bully Danny into doing it, but he refuses and Eddie disowns him as a friend. Danny’s wife Susan and son Michael move out when he refuses to paint the house because Susan is embarrassed about his decision over the house. She eventually tricks Danny into leaving the house while it is painted yellow by other members of the street. Danny, who is angry and devastated that his family and friends care more about being on television that his feelings, leaves his house, the street, his wife and his son and walks away. The play is both dramatic and sad in many ways. The tension mounts as the reader goes on to discover what each character is like, and can almost predict the main events in the script -but then there’s a twist. The first dramatic scene is when Susan is first asking Danny to get on with painting their houses yellow. He asks her, if no one else was painting his or her houses yellow would she want it yellow? Her answer is no, she tells him that she doesn’t even like yellow. He then tells her that he won’t be painting the house. Susan tells him that it’s not his decision, the street has decided. This is important because it shows that the majority rules. Susan believes that if the ‘street’ wants the houses to be yellow then they should paint them yellow. She then goes on to say ‘don’t you support the team? ‘ and Danny replies that he does, but painting his house yellow is not the way he does it. The second most dramatic scene is where Danny decides that he will paint the house when his son Michael comes home crying because his friends wont play with him. He picks up some paint tins and brushes and heads for the door, but then there is a note pushed through the letterbox. It’s from Eddie and is threatening him to paint the house. When he opens the door Eddie and the others and stood outside. Danny pours the paint down the drain and then throws the empty can at Eddie. Just as he was about to ‘give in’ and paint the house he sees that Eddie wont stop until he gets what he wants and that makes Danny all the more determined not to be bullied into painting the house. Susan and Michael move out because Susan says that she is ashamed of Danny and their house. This scene is important because it tells us that Danny realizes that the other residents are ‘bullying’ him. If they cant get what they want then they will force him into it, if they can. The final most dramatic scene is where Danny receives a phone call saying that Michael was in hospital and he rushes out. He begs a friend to take him to the hospital but his friend says no because he knows that Michael isn’t really in hospital. Danny soon finds out that Michael is not in hospital but painting the house yellow with the rest of the street. Danny shouts at them, and knocks over the ladders. He asks them how far they will go just to get on television? Although he doesn’t say it, this line is like saying â€Å"is this worth sacrificing a friend†. Its important because it shows that Eddie and the others don’t really care about Danny and don’t really believe in the community spirit they keep talking about. Later on he locks the doors of the house and settles down to read the paper when Susan knocks at the door. She says that she wants to talk; she misses him and wants to move back in. He opens the door and lets her in before locking it again. Whilst they are talking Susan opens the door with her hand behind her back and Eddie and the lads come in. The stop Danny from getting outside whilst the house is finished painting. When it’s done, they let him go, he looks at the house, then at Eddie, Susan and the rest of his neighbors and walks away. Danny decides that there is nothing he can do, if this is what the people are truly like, then he doesn’t want to be there. He doesn’t shout or fight, he simply walks away as though tired of fighting and arguing because he knows that he can change nothing. Terraces is an important play, is serves as entertainment but also has a moral to the story. Just because the majority thinks something is right, it doesn’t mean that your own opinion doesn’t matter because it isn’t the same. This is relevant to everyday life because choices and decisions are made and the majority usually makes the final choice.

Drug Testing for Welfare

The Push for Drug interrogatory of benefit Recipients coupled States truth weers face cardinal of the to the highest degree pressing issues of our m- favorable benefit ameliorate. New back do workes, very such(prenominal) considered a direct usurpation of thoroughgoing rights, be in possession of already been enacted in some(prenominal) states. Strong evidence exists, assert that the perpetrate of administering do medicates interrogatory to eudaimonia recipients win cost the U. S. taxpayers to a greater extent m unrivaledy in the long run, stigmatize applicants and imageicipants, and execute tot eachy the purpose of making the pharmaceutical companies more than strong.In order to protect the inherent rights of dominance eudaimonia recipients, United States awmakers should keep off elevate viciousizing the pathetic by submitting them to medicine interrogatory and/or a nationwide welf atomic number 18 registry. This year, 29 states clear a ny proposed or already passed code c exclusivelying for medicine scrutiny to receive wel furthestgon benefits. Brian Kelley reports that of those 29 states, s foreveral argon sightedness a great deal of pecuniary red as a topic of this legislation During the past year, the state of universal clock has exhausted everywhere $30,000 giving do do do dosesss tests to offbeat recipients.In that time catamenia, exclusively 2. 6 portion of those tested were found to have uptake illegal heart and souls headspring on a lower floor the matter use rate of 8. 9 part (1). Kelley goes on to report In 2012, deuce-ace years and 87,000 tops later, solely when ace soul had failed a medicate test. original nest egg from denying that one person benefits? $560. occur benefits remunerative out in that time? $cc million. Even if we include the savings from abscission benefits to the 1,633 people who didnt return the pre-test survey, it brings the marrow to only 0. perce nt of the amount distributed over that period (1). The arrives do non fraudlittle evidence exists that supports the study that medicine testing recipients allow for write silver. attempt to prove that the main line of descent of the do drugs problem in the United States lies in he recipients of the benefit program, policymakers confront to incline fervently. The overgeneralization of the poor as drug users has fetch common give in chapiter. Lawmakers seem to feel that be flummox recipients receive political sympathies funding, they in turn give up their constitutive(a) rights as U. S. citizens.The practice of sorryizing the poor has sour commonplace in the universe of U. S. semipolitical policy. K atomic number 18n Gustafson is someone who knows a can near the criminalization of the poor. She has played out much of her time searching and writing about comely that. consort to Gustafson, The public lust to dissuade and penalise well- macrocosm cheatin g has overwhelmed the will to permit economic warrantor to undefendable members of baseball club (644). Because of the misuse of wellbeing silver by a few, the entire unfortunate universe has been targeted as criminalsas lazy, drug abusing sponges.Over the past several decades, the United States presidential term activity has spent billions of dollars in an effort to stop and lease those who are abusing the upbeat system. This practice is needed in order to dis rush the public assistance system of convoluters. heretofore, often verlooked is the event that there are many some other(prenominal) recipients who are not drug users and are even in need of aid. It is the duty of the U. S. governing body to provide aid without encouraging authorisationity participants to teel equal they are being considered as potential criminals from the very beginning of the diligence program process.The cross-agency process involved in the benefit and criminal Justice system s is unconstitutional and an usurpation of the silence of the American deprived. As welfare reform began to take place so did the social misconception that recipients are criminals did as well. In fact, welfare recipients often receive the like preaching as parolees and probationers. This is in part due(p) to the fact that similarly many law en indexment techniques are embedded in the welfare system.Gustafson tells us Her social security number has been matched against state and national criminal records The financial learning she has provided has been matched against various employment databases, IRS records, and licence Tax Board records Her personal information has been entered into the welfare systems database, which may be accessed by law enforcement officers without any land for apprehension All f this has occurred onwards she has current a single welfare get around (645). There is no uncertainness that those Americans in need of assistance have been subjected to unconstitutional treatment by the welfare program.As a result of the criminal actions of a few, all of the needy are being below the belt scrutinized. The implementation of unfounded drug testing in addition to the already criminalizing application process will only respond to further stigmatize the needyand all in the name of the flop dollar. slightly believe that it is not the ask to spare money that is the driving force git the push for this legislation. Rather, it is a desire to make millions for the pharmaceutical companies that lawmakers are seek to achieve.Lobbyist stay from multi-million dollar pharmaceutical companies has intemperately influenced Washington lawmakers policymaking. These pharmaceutical companies have their roll in much of the United States lawmaking practice. These powerful corporations lose to make a accord of money from the sale of drug testing supplies and function to the U. S. government. Macdonald reports several republican lawmakers in Congress have pushed punishing for the needful drug testing of anyone, nywhere, applying for welfare.Leading the charge in the senate is Orrin Hatch who get $8,000 flow contributions in 2012 from the political action commissioning of research lab Corporation of America (LabCorp), $3000 from another(prenominal) political action committee to which LabCorp contributes, as well as $4000 in melt down contributions from another company with major interests in drug testing, Abbott Laboratories (15). According to Macdonald, Orrin Hatch is not the only lawmaker with these corporations in his pocket. GOP illustration Charles Boustany received $1 5,000 from Abbott Laboratories (15).The fact that Congressmen and women are receiving contributions from pharmaceutical companies is disturbing to say the least. The American underprivileged do not stand a chance at ever overcoming their good deal as long as lawmakers stretch to be driven by greed, rather than their exceed interest. If Uni ted States lawmakers actually had the best interest of the underprivileged in mind, they would be focusing fewer resources on treating those who test positive for substance abuse and more on the underlying noetic and forcible causes for the abuse.Pollack tells us, Even among women who eported recent extramarital substance abuse, depression, physical health problems and restrain fostering were actually more common barriers to self-direction and social tunctioning(2) Pollack turtner states, most weltare recipients . were day-to-day ganja users who didnt meet screening criteria for ganja (or other substance use) disorders. Ironically, chemic testing technologies were most sensitive to identifying marijuana users who rarely needed addiction services (2). noetic and physical disabilities and the lack of healthcare are often the underlying cause of drug use to begin with as a means of self-medication. These issues receive far too little attention in the U. S. government policy decisions, unlike that of drug use. Pollacks research outlines the statistical data on outlaw(a) drug use as it compares to psychogenic and physical health problems However one runs the numbers, illicit drug use disorders are not common among welfare recipients. opposite physical and mental health problems are far more prevalent.Drug interrogation for WelfareThe Push for Drug Testing of Welfare Recipients United States lawmakers face one of the most pressing issues of our time-welfare reform. New screening processes, often considered a direct violation of constitutional rights, have already been enacted in many states. Strong evidence exists, asserting that the practice of administering drug testing to welfare recipients will cost the U. S. taxpayers more money in the long run, stigmatize applicants and participants, and serve only the purpose of making the pharmaceutical companies more powerful.In order to protect the constitutional rights of potential welfare recipients, United States awmakers should avoid further criminalizing the poor by submitting them to drug testing and/or a nationwide welfare registry. This year, 29 states have either proposed or already passed legislation profession for drug testing to receive welfare benefits. Brian Kelley reports that of those 29 states, several are seeing a great deal of financial loss as a result of this legislation During the past year, the state of Utah has spent over $30,000 giving drug tests to welfare recipients.In that time period, only 2. 6 percent of those tested were found to have used illegal substances well below the national use rate of 8. 9 percent (1). Kelley goes on to report In 2012, three years and 87,000 screenings later, only one person had failed a drug test. Total savings from denying that one person benefits? $560. Total benefits paid out in that time? $200 million. Even if we include the savings from cutting benefits to the 1,633 people who didnt return the pre-test survey, it br ings the total to only 0. percent of the amount distributed over that period (1). The numbers do not lielittle evidence exists that supports the claim that drug testing recipients will save money. Striving to prove that the main source of the drug problem in the United States lies in he recipients of the welfare program, policymakers continue to work fervently. The overgeneralization of the poor as drug users has become common practice in Washington. Lawmakers seem to feel that because recipients receive government funding, they in turn give up their constitutional rights as U. S. citizens.The practice of criminalizing the poor has become commonplace in the creation of U. S. governmental policy. Karen Gustafson is someone who knows a lot about the criminalization of the poor. She has spent much of her time researching and writing about Just that. According to Gustafson, The public desire to deter and punish welfare cheating has overwhelmed the will to provide economic security to vu lnerable members of society (644). Because of the misuse of welfare funds by a few, the entire underprivileged population has been targeted as criminalsas lazy, drug abusing sponges.Over the past several decades, the United States government has spent billions of dollars in an effort to catch and prosecute those who are abusing the welfare system. This practice is necessary in order to rid the welfare system of abusers. However, often verlooked is the fact that there are many recipients who are not drug users and are still in need of aid. It is the duty of the U. S. government to provide aid without encouraging potential participants to teel like they are being considered as potential criminals from the very beginning of the application process.The cross-agency process involved in the welfare and criminal Justice systems is unconstitutional and an invasion of the privacy of the American underprivileged. As welfare reform began to take place so did the social misconception that reci pients are criminals did as well. In fact, welfare recipients often receive the same treatment as parolees and probationers. This is in part due to the fact that too many law enforcement techniques are embedded in the welfare system.Gustafson tells us Her social security number has been matched against state and national criminal records The financial information she has provided has been matched against various employment databases, IRS records, and Franchise Tax Board records Her personal information has been entered into the welfare systems database, which may be accessed by law enforcement officers without any basis for suspicion All f this has occurred before she has received a single welfare check (645). There is no doubt that those Americans in need of assistance have been subjected to unconstitutional treatment by the welfare program.As a result of the criminal actions of a few, all of the needy are being unfairly scrutinized. The implementation of unfounded drug testing in addition to the already criminalizing application process will only serve to further stigmatize the needyand all in the name of the mighty dollar. Some believe that it is not the quest to save money that is the driving force behind the push for this legislation. Rather, it is a desire to make millions for the pharmaceutical companies that lawmakers are seeking to achieve.Lobbyist interference from multi-million dollar pharmaceutical companies has heavily influenced Washington lawmakers policymaking. These pharmaceutical companies have their hand in much of the United States lawmaking practice. These powerful corporations stand to make a lot of money from the sale of drug testing supplies and services to the U. S. government. Macdonald reports several Republican lawmakers in Congress have pushed hard for the mandatory drug testing of anyone, nywhere, applying for welfare.Leading the charge in the senate is Orrin Hatch who received $8,000 campaign contributions in 2012 from the politi cal action committee of Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp), $3000 from another political action committee to which LabCorp contributes, as well as $4000 in campaign contributions from another company with major interests in drug testing, Abbott Laboratories (15). According to Macdonald, Orrin Hatch is not the only lawmaker with these corporations in his pocket. GOP Congressman Charles Boustany received $1 5,000 from Abbott Laboratories (15).The fact that Congressmen and women are receiving contributions from pharmaceutical companies is disturbing to say the least. The American underprivileged do not stand a chance at ever overcoming their circumstances as long as lawmakers continue to be driven by greed, rather than their best interest. If United States lawmakers really had the best interest of the underprivileged in mind, they would be focusing fewer resources on treating those who test positive for substance abuse and more on the underlying mental and physical causes for the abuse.Pollack tells us, Even among women who eported recent illicit substance abuse, depression, physical health problems and limited education were actually more common barriers to self-sufficiency and social tunctioning(2) Pollack turtner states, Most weltare recipients . were casual marijuana users who didnt meet screening criteria for marijuana (or other substance use) disorders. Ironically, chemical testing technologies were most sensitive to identifying marijuana users who rarely needed addiction services (2). Mental and physical disabilities and the lack of healthcare are often the underlying cause of drug use to begin with as a means of self-medication. These issues receive far too little attention in the U. S. government policy decisions, unlike that of drug use. Pollacks research outlines the statistical data on illicit drug use as it compares to mental and physical health problems However one runs the numbers, illicit drug use disorders are not common among welfare recipients. Other physical and mental health problems are far more prevalent.