Database Comparison of Sql Server 2000, Access, Mysql,...

Introduction This paper will compare and contrast five different database management systems on six criteria. The database management systems (DBMS) that will be discussed are SQL Server 2000, Access, MySQL, DB2, and Oracle. The criteria that will be compared are the systems functionality, the requirements that must be met to run the DBMS, the expansion capabilities Ââ€" if it is able to expand to handle more data over time, the types of companies that typically use each one, the normal usage of the DBMS, and the costs associated with implementing the DBMS. System functionality Microsoft Access is a database engine and development environment in one package. It is typically workstation-based, and designed to be easy to use, even for†¦show more content†¦Typically, an Access application will be a single-user installation on a workstation. All of the other DBMS are suited to handle multi-user concurrency and offer a lot of features around transaction processing and record locking to prevent issues from arising. These databases can be found in client/server applications, as well as applications that utilize internet or intranet pages as a front end. Cost The cost for the different DBMS varies widely (in fact, from nothing, to millions of dollars). A standalone version of Access (without an upgrade), costs about $339. It is also included with the Office XP Professional and Developer Editions. MySQL is free Ââ€" if the application you are developing is open-source. If the application is proprietary, then the cost will be $495 per database server , with no cost for client access licenses. The more database servers that are purchased, the lower the cost per server is, down to $175 per server if 250 or more are purchased. Now it gets a bit more complicated. DB2 Enterprise, in a server with a single processor, will cost $25,000. At the high end, it will cost $800,000 for a 32 processor version. If the company wants OLAP and Data Mining, those are additional, with prices up to $2,016,000 for a 32 processor implementation. SQL Server is a bit more reasonable Ââ€" and OLAP and Data Mining are included in theShow MoreRelated Database Comparison of SQL Server 2000, Access, MySQL, DB2, and Oracle1097 Words   |  5 Pages Introduction This paper will compare and contrast five different database management systems on six criteria. The database management systems (DBMS) that will be discussed are SQL Server 2000, Access, MySQL, DB2, and Oracle. 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The United States Office Of Personnel Management - 1261 Words

Rebecca Anderson CFRS 663 Research Paper #1 9/22/2015 The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced on June 4th, 2015 that hackers had intruded into its network to exfiltrate the personnel records of 4.2 million current and former government employees (Bisson). On June 23rd, FBI Director James Corney confirmed the OPM breach was much worse than originally thought, in total 21.5 million people were compromised. Information Security experts warn that this breach could threaten the United States’ national security for generations. It is important to study how the breach occurred to prevent similar ones in the future. The United States Office of Personnel Management was and remains an extremely attractive target for hackers, especially those sponsored by foreign governments. One of the prime responsibilities of OPM is managing security clearances. While OPM may not guard information related to nuclear launch codes or NASA’s latest breakthroughs, OPM has the personally identifiable information of the employees who can access that information. Now, the hackers can have the names, birth dates, home addresses, and Social Security numbers of those Top Secret cleared employees and could potentially blackmail them or threaten their families (Castelluccio). The first attempts to breach OPM’s network were recorded in March 2014 (Bisson). They were thwarted by intrusion detection systems on the network. 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Porter CJA/484 Criminal Justice Administration Capstone Jamie Herring May 6, 2012 As of 2008, there are approximately 765,000 personnel employed as sworn officers in local and state law enforcement agencies throughout the United States (BJS, 2011) with an additional 105,000 law enforcement personnel in approximately 65 federal agencies as of 2004 (BJS, 2006). Law Enforcement agencies function at all levels of theRead MoreOrganizational Management and Operations1213 Words   |  5 PagesOrganizational Management and Operations CJA 484 February 2, 2014 Nicholas Barbella Organizational Management and Operations The subject to describe is policing organizations at various levels. The author will identify, compare, and contrast the policing function at the local, state, and federal organizational levels (CJA/484 – Criminal Justice Administration Capstone). 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Biomedical Engineering Medical

Question: Describe about the Physical Performance of Different Dissolving Nanopatch Formulations? Answer: Abstract Nanopatch method of vaccination has been implemented now a day to provide a replacement over the standard methods, which includes delivery of the vaccine to the patient with the help of a needle. Nanopatch technology provides a cost-effective, needle-free and more precise way of delivering vaccine to evoke immunological responses. Nanopatches resembles a small chip with gold coated silicon wafers lined by numerous microneedles that penetrate the skin to administer the vaccine. Nanopatch formulation helps in the manufacture of proper nanopatches that are widely used for medical purpose. Formulation of nanopatches includes various fabrication techniques. Primarily nanopatches are fabricated with different sugar molecules like sucrose, trehalose, sorbitol and mannitol followed by FT-FIR analysis.The useful role of the various sugar molecules helped in determining the qualitative properties for a better understanding of the nanopatches properties, and the FT-FIR data assisted in identifying the amorphous and the crystalline nature of the nanopatches formulated. Rhodamine-dextran fluorescence method also helped in knowing about the morphological and physical changes from that of pure CMC dNPs. Furthermore, nanoindentation assisted in revealing information regarding the bulk properties of the various CMC sugar/polyol dNPs. The SEM images thus obtained helped in providing data regarding the surface property of the CMC/sugar polyol dNPs indicated by the presence of buckle structure. Keywords: nanopatches, vaccination, formulation, FT-FIR, SEM Biomedical Engineering Vaccination refers to the administration of an antigenic material in the form of a vaccine to stimulate the immune system of an individual for developing immunity against a particular pathogen or disease. Vaccination plays a vital role in preventing the spread of infectious diseases (Josefsberg and Buckland, 2012). The method of prevention includes administration of the vaccine, which primarily comprises of the active agent (inactive or attenuated form) of the antigens into individuals to develop an immunological response to a particular disease (Schild et al. 2015). The method of vaccination includes administration of the vaccine, which primarily consists of an efficient and safe injection of the vaccine (Knight-Jones et al. 2014). Apart from the traditional method of vaccination, in recent days, a new method of immunization has been implemented which is termed as Nanopatch (Fernando et al. 2012). Nanopatch aims to provide an efficient, optimized and differentiated needle-free vaccine delivery system, which tends to be safe and cost effective. Nanopatch technology refers to a pain-free vaccine delivery system to develop a protective immunological response using a dose, which is one-hundredth of the dose as required by the conventional mode of administration using a needle or syringe (Corrie, Depelsenaire and Kendall, 2012). Nanopatches are like small chips that are primarily made up of silicon (gold coated) wafers lined with infinite numbers of microneedles (Ravi, Sadhna and Chawla, 2015). The micro-needles are coated with specific vaccine that penetrates the top layer of the skin where special types of immune cells help the body to respond to a particular infection (McCaffrey, Donnelly and Mc Carthy, 2015). The given article helps us in understanding the physical performance of the different kinds of nanopatch formulations. The various formulations associated helps in the manufacture of moulds by suitable methods, which include dissolving of nanopatches (Fernando et al. 2012). The role of various types of sugar molecules related to the particular method has also been highlighted in the given article. Investigation of the crystalline structure of the nanopatches by applications of the particular biophysical technique also helps in developing knowledge regarding the structural and functional orientation of the respective nanopatches (Corrie, Depelsenaire and Kendall, 2012). Thus, the present article emphasizes on exploration and interpretation of the results associated with careful experimentation for developing knowledge and data regarding nanopatches formulation. Methodology Formulation of dissolving Nanopatches (dNPs) Fabrication of the nanopatches was initially done by the casting of the moulds using silicon nanopatch masters, placed into polydimethylsilicone (PDMS) and was then allowed to dry. Nanopatches were removed, and moulds were carefully placed in a 24 well plate with the addition of 50 l of a sugar-polyol formulation (Grande et al. 2013). The sugar molecules used as a component of the formulation included Sucrose, Trehalose, Sorbitol and Mannitol, which was mixed and centrifuged at 3000 g for 1 hour at 25C for delivering the sugar molecules into the projection moulds. The formulation was then left to dry. After proper drying up of the formulation, 50 l of 2.1 mM carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) was added to the moulds. The moulds containing the dry beads were then placed in a sealed desiccator at 22 C under nitrogen thereby allowing the dNPs to dry up within 4-6 hours. Finally, the dNP array was stored in a sealed desiccator under nitrogen at 22 C. The arrays were safely removed and were then analyzed using a stereo microscope. The table given below outlines the weight-to-weight ratio of CMC to sugar/polyol formulation in association with the given study 1:1 1 : 1.25 1 : 1.7 1 : 2.5 1 : 3.3 1 : 3.75 1 : 5 1 : 6.25 1 : 6.7 1 : 7.5 1 : 8.3 1 : 10 1 : 12.5 1 : 15 1 : 20 1 : 25 1 : 30 Table 1: Comparative w/w CC: sucrose, trehalose, sorbitol or mannitol Nanoindentation The method was applied for measuring deflection in projection by applying force on individual projection (mainly at the top). Thus, a cylindrical probe (40m diameter) was applied in axial direction onto the dNP projections. 10l of sugar/polyol formulation were mixed with the moulds for studying the fluorescence microscopy (Lua et al. 2014). Rhodamine-dextran (M/W 3000 g) was added to the solution with a final concentration of 0.1mg/mL. To compare the delivery of the dNPs, C14 radiolabelled ovalbumin protein was used to trace the dNP formulations. C14 ovalbumin solution was prepared in such a way that each mould received 10 l of the solution with a minimum of 25 nCi14 C ovalbumin. Analysis of dNP formulations using synchrotron radiation by FT-FIR Fourier transform infrared (FT-FIR) spectroscopy helps in detection of the microcrystalline nature of the associated dNP samples. The use of synchtron radiation helps in analyzing the sugar/CMC formulations at a much higher resolution (Kunz, 2013) Sample preparation was done by pipetting 100 l of each sample into three copies on the surface of a glass slide wrapped with parafilm. The formulations were then allowed to dry overnight in a desicattor, thereby storing in desiccated, sealed container. In context to the present study, the Autsralian Synchroton was used. Results Studying the morphology of the dNPs formulated In order to determine the potentiality of the sugar/polyols for dNPs, sugar/polyol and CMC with varying w/w ratio were fabricated (Figure-2). Previous reports suggested that in case of only CMC, dNPs formed uniform structures (Figure-2a). In contrast to the given phenomena, addition of sucrose to the CMC resulted in the formation of brittle, clear, glassy material dNPs (Figure-2b). It has also been observed that an increase in the concentration of the sucrose resulted in the formation of more brittle dNPs. A similar trend was also observed in case of trehalose, which also resulted in formation of brittle dNPs (Figure-2c). However keeping the w/w ratio of trehalose: CMC as low as 2.5:1, resulted in formation of large opaque crystal dNPs (Figure 2c inset). Thus, addition of trehalose resulted in changing the normal morphology of the dNPs. On the other hand, the addition of sorbitol to the CMC formulation resulted in the formation of clear and highly malleable dNPs with varying macroscopic properties (Figure 2d). However with the increase in the concentration of sorbitol, the malleability of the dNPs produced decreased though the dNPs did not become completely rigid and the same morphological projection was maintained at all w/w ratio of sorbitol: CMC. In case of mannitol, the addition of the sugar to the CMC resulted in formation of large crystals at all w/w ratios (even at 1:1 ratio), thus no suitable dNP projections were observed, and hence mannitol was excluded from the given experiment. Figure-2.Images showing the morphological features of the dNPs: a) Uniform solid dNPs was produced in case only CMC b) Brittle dNPs produced in case of sucrose/CMC c) Very brittle dNPs produced in case of trehalose/CMC d) Ductile and highly malleable dNPs formed in case of sorbitol/ CMC Nanoindentation In order to verify that CMC sugar/polyp formulation was not displaced, 3000 MW fixable rhodamine-dextran was added to the respective sugar/polyp formulation. The morphology of the resultant dNPs was then observed by analyzing under a fluorescence confocal microscope, which helped in verifying the rhodamine-dextran formulation. It was observed that the rhodamine-dextran mixture remained within the projection for each formulation case (Figure 3 a-d). The dNPs thus produced were applied to the skin and arrows indicated the projections (Varughese et al. 2013). Thus, it can be clearly stated that the addition of the sugar/polyols into the CMC lead to the formation of dNPs with significant morphological and physical changes in comparison to the dNPs produced in case of pure CMC (Davey, Schroeder and ter Horst, 2013). Figure-3.Fluroscence confocal images of dNPs fabricated with rhodamine dextran and different CMC/sugar formulations a) Only CMC b) 10:1 w/w ratio of sucrose to CMC c) 10:1 w/w ratio of trehalose to CMC d) 30:1 w/w ratio of sorbitol to CMC FT-FIR Analysis The present analysis helped in determining the crystalline nature of the dNP formulations (Winick and Doniach, 2012). Crystalline structures resulted in formation of defined peaks. The pure CMC samples did not produce any suitable peak and hence are considered amorphous (figure 4a). However, crystalline peaks were observed when sorbitol was added to formulation (figure 4b) but at a specific ratio of 3.3:1, no such crystalline peaks were detected. This indicated that decrease in the concentration of sorbitol resulted in overlapping of the peaks (Liu et al. 2015). In case of trehalose two distinct peaks were observed (figure 4c) while in case of sucrose no such peaks were observed at any w/w ratio (figure 4d) Figure 4.FT-FIR analysis of the CMCs. a) CMC (no peaks) b) Sorbitol and CMC c) Trehalose and CMC d) Sucrose and CMC Study of the projections Three distinct failures of projection were observed which were analyzed using SEM (figure 6) (Sohda et al. 2014). Failure in bending of the tip was observed due to initial bending of the tip (figure 6 b, c, and f). Failure due to buckling was observed in cases where projections show that the material has bent (figure 6a). Finally bending of the projection over one another resulted in failure due tp brittleness (figure 6 d, g and h). Figure 6.SEM images showing of the projections. a)Only CMC b) 1:1 sucrose-CMC c) 10:1 sucrose-CMC d) 1:1 trehalose-CMC e) 10:1 trehalose-CMC f)1:1 sorbitol: CMC g) 5:1 sorbitol: CMC h) 30:1 sorbitol: CMC [all in w/w ratio] Discussion Application of Nanopatch technology provides a significant benefit over the old conventional methods of vaccination. The Nanopatch technology is associated with the introduction of first efficient and specific needle-free administration of the vaccine to specific cells, which evokes a rapid immunological response in response to a particular disease. Discussion on the present topic includes an understanding of the designing framework of the nanopatches. The Nanopatches are designed in such a way that it resembles a small chip primarily made up of gold-silicon wafer, which is lined with numerous numbers of small needles over which the vaccines are coated. Thus, nanopatches help in delivering an effective volume of the required vaccine to the respective target cells. To understand the designing framework of the respective nanopatches in association with the medical world, the formulation process associated with the manufacture of the dNPs needs to be carefully studied. The technological aspect of the nanopatches plays a vital role in developing insight knowledge regarding the associated methods and biophysical techniques involved in the formulation process. Discussion on the given topic primarily emphasizes on the interpretation of the results observed by the given article. The results obtained helped in analyzing the change in the morphology of the respective dNPs produced in association with the sugar/polyol CMC with supporting data from the respective FT-FIR data and SEM images. Formation of the dNPs from only CMC do not lead to the formation of uniform reliable structure, but contrastingly addition of various sugar/polyol to the CMC produced a marked change in the structural orientation of the respective dNPs thus produced. The addition of different sugar/polyol resulted in the formation of different kinds of dNPs. This suggests that addition of different sugar molecules produces a marked effect on the resultant dNPs formed. The concentration of the sugar/polyp also plays a vital role in producing a change in the structure of the resultant dNPs. While the addition of sucrose at any given w/w ratio resulted in the formation of brittle dNPs, decreasing the trehalose: CMC ratio resulted in the formation of large opaque crystalline structure. Hence, it can be stated that trehalose at low concentration is able to crystallize with a large number of nucleation event, which results in the growth of crystals and thereby contributes to the change in the morphology of the dNPs. On the other hand, sorbitol addition to the CMC resulted in the formation of completely different types dNPs, which were highly malleable. Significantly, it was observed that with the decrease in the concentration of sorbitol, the malleability increased and, therefore, it can be inferred that addition of sorbitol to the CMC resulted in adding a new dimension to the formed dNPs. The physical and morphological changes thus produced in the resultant dNPs was observed by using a fluorescence dye rhodamine-dextran. Rhodamine-dextran being fluorescent in nature helps in determining the amount of sugar/polyp being incorporated on the surface of each dissolving dNPs. Rhodamine-dextran binds to the sugar/polyol molecule and thus helps in determining the particular sugar/polyol that has been incorporated in the given formulation. The qualitative nature of the resulting dNP formulation is determined with the help of FT-FIR and thus helps in understanding about nature (amorphous or crystalline) of the resulting dNP formulations. A presence of defined peaks contributed to the crystalline nature of the formulation while the absence of such peaks suggests that the formulations are amorphous in nature. Thus after interpretation of the results, it can be discussed that the pure sample of CMC never formed defined peaks and hence are considered amorphous. While the addition of the corresponding sugar/polyp in to the CMC resulted in the formation of dNPs that produced defined peaks. Hence, the addition of the different sugar/polyol residues contributes to the crystalline nature of the resulting dNP formulation and depending upon the w/w ratio the nature of the dNP formulation changes accordingly. Although the addition of various sugar/polyol residues contributed to the crystalline nature of the resulting dNP, it is als o considered that with the change in the w/w ratio the nature of the formulation also changed. For example, the addition of sorbitol resulted in the presence of defined peaks while at a ratio below 3.3:1 no real peaks were observed. Similar trends were also observed in the case of the other sugar residues, which resulted in the formation of a high peak at given ratio, and with the decrease in the ratio, no such peaks are observed. Thus, the FT-FIR data analysis helped in validating the qualitative results. It can be also stated that those sugar molecules that are already crystalline in nature o not produce any peaks in the case when they were incorporated into the CMC and as a result the dNPs produce are amorphous in nature. Hence, the analysis provided accurate and reproducible information regarding the intermolecular interactions (amorphous and crystalline properties) of the complex heterogeneous (sugar-CMC) solid formulations. The method of Nanoindentation helped in providing information regarding the bulk properties of the associated dNPs formulations. Single projections were measured by applying a particular force, which helped in studying regarding the surface property of the formulated dNPs. Finally, it can be stated that the various kinds of projections observed under SEM produced images that help in the understanding of the distinct failures, which resulted in causing a deflection. The deflection produced primarily emphasizes on the projection that arises due to failure in bending of the tip, failure due to buckling and failure due to brittleness. References Corrie, S., Depelsenaire, A. and Kendall, M., 2012. Introducing the nanopatch: a skin-based, needle-free vaccine delivery system.Australian Biochemist,43(3), pp.17-20. Davey, R.J., Schroeder, S.L. and ter Horst, J.H., 2013. Nucleation of organic crystalsa molecular perspective.Angewandte Chemie International Edition,52(8), pp.2166-2179. Fernando, G.J., Chen, X., Primiero, C.A., Yukiko, S.R., Fairmaid, E.J., Corbett, H.J., Frazer, I.H., Brown, L.E. and Kendall, M.A., 2012. Nanopatch targeted delivery of both antigen and adjuvant to skin synergistically drives enhanced antibody responses.Journal of Controlled Release,159(2), pp.215-221. Grande, M., Bianco, G.V., Vincenti, M.A., De Ceglia, D., Petruzzelli, V., Scalora, M., Bruno, G., DOrazio, A., De Vittorio, M. and Stomeo, T., 2013. 2D plasmonic gold nano-patches for linear and nonlinear applications.Microelectronic Engineering,111, pp.234-237. Josefsberg, J.O. and Buckland, B., 2012. Vaccine process technology.Biotechnology and bioengineering,109(6), pp.1443-1460. Knight-Jones, T.J.D., Edmond, K., Gubbins, S. and Paton, D.J., 2014. Veterinary and human vaccine evaluation methods.Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences,281(1784), p.20132839. Kunz, C. ed., 2013.Synchrotron radiation: techniques and applications(Vol. 10). Springer Science Business Media. Liu, L., Li, Y., Xia, D., Bortolini, C., Zhang, S., Yang, Y., Pedersen, J.S., Wang, C., Besenbacher, F. and Dong, M., 2015. A self-assembled nanopatch with peptideorganic multilayers and mechanical properties.Nanoscale,7(6), pp.2250-2254. Lua, L.H., Connors, N.K., Sainsbury, F., Chuan, Y.P., Wibowo, N. and Middelberg, A.P., 2014. Bioengineering virusà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ like particles as vaccines.Biotechnology and bioengineering,111(3), pp.425-440. McCaffrey, J., Donnelly, R.F. and McCarthy, H.O., 2015. Microneedles: an innovative platform for gene delivery.Drug Delivery and Translational Research,5(4), pp.424-437. Ravi, A.D., Sadhna, D., Nagpaal, D. and Chawla, L., 2015. Needle free injection technology: A complete insight.International journal of pharmaceutical investigation,5(4), p.192. Schild, H., Warger, T., Radsak, M. and Rechtsteiner, G., Johannes-Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, 2015.Preparation for vaccination, vaccination method and use of a vaccination preparation. U.S. Patent 9,017,654. Sohda, Y., Yamanashi, H., Fukuda, M., Ohashi, T. and Komuro, O., Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation, 2014.Scanning electron microscope. U.S. Patent 8,704,175. Varughese, S., Kiran, M.S.R.N., Ramamurty, U. and Desiraju, G.R., 2013. Nanoindentation in crystal engineering: Quantifying mechanical properties of molecular crystals.Angewandte Chemie International Edition,52(10), pp.2701-2712. Winick, H. and Doniach, S., 2012.Synchrotron radiation research. Springer Science Business Media.

The Effects of Immigration on Poverty in Canada free essay sample

This is a research proposal that was done to look at the effects of poverty on immigration in Canada. The proposal attempts to answer the question: Why are Canadas immigrants more likely to end up in poverty than native-born Canadians. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effects of Immigration on Poverty in Canada or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This is a research proposal that was done to look at the effects of poverty on immigration in Canada. In Canada, immigrants are more likely to live under the poverty line than native Canadian-born citizens. The proposal attempts to answer the question: Why are Canada?s immigrants more likely to end up in poverty than native-born Canadians. It is a qualitative proposal, which includes a literature review. The author discusses census data and utilizes interview questions and answers. The proposal was written in first person narrative, and is 13 pages long, including bibliography as well as a potential newspaper ad for gathering applicants to the study. This study will hopefully show why it is that immigrants to Canada , at least those who arrived since 1981, are more likely to live in poverty than native-born Canadians. It will attempt to find possible solutions to prevent this from happening to future immigrant populations, whether the problem lies in the hands of the immigration system, or if it has to do with something else. Optimistically, my study will also serve to educate the public and policy makers to adopt different views on immigration and immigrants than the ones currently harbored by many. In my opinion, education of the public and lawmakers will prove crucial after the findings to start finding ways to make some changes to get these people out of poverty, which would benefit everyone.

Music Test 3 Flashcard

Music Test 3

Peace in Jerusalem essays

Peace in Jerusalem essays Just as Madeleine Albright was heading to the Middle East, peace talks were already starting to deteriorate. "The chief Palestinian negotiator, angry about accelerated construction plans at Jewish settlements in the disputed West Bank, said he would no longer discuss anything with Israel except the settlements, which the Palestinians and much of the international community consider illegal." 1 This of course disrupted any chance of a "broad settlement to end a century of conflict". 2 Albright arrived in Saudi Arabia late Monday night, the 6th of December, and on to Syria for talks with President Hafex Assad yesterday, arriving in Israel sometime late today. These negotiations were to be a final Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty. They were to be completed within a year17. With this new problem, however, they ground to a halt. According to Abed-Rabbo, "We have stressed to the Israelis that this issue is creating a major obstacle in the path of the final-status negotiations". 3 This issue must be finalized before any further agreements can be made. The negotiators from the United States were "disappointed but not entirely surprised by the latest turn of events. It is hardly uncommon, on the eve of a visit by a U.S. secretary of state, for one side or another to seek tactical advantage by manufacturing a crisis." 4 This ruse is very possibly a way for the Palestinians to pull the U.S. into the negotiations, "to compensate for their weak negotiating position relative to Israel." 5 The "Israeli officials dismissed the dispute as artificial, created by the Palestinians in the hope of drawing Albright into a direct mediation role during her two-day stop here". 6 This is not an unfamiliar situation for the U.S. negotiators as they prepare to come into the region, "similar crisis often have occurred in the negotiation process as American envoys have made preparations to come to the region, and they said it was not yet clea...

Whistleblowing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Whistleblowing - Research Paper Example nzi scheme in 2009 – discuss their causes, analyze the importance of whistleblowing and find out the implications that this practice has had on corporate governance globally. At the end of 2001, Enron’s filing for bankruptcy made it the largest corporate bankruptcy in the history of the United States. This fall from being the most innovative company as per Fortunes Most Admired Companies survey was catastrophic. Enron’s misconduct were brought to the fore by Sherron Watkins, a former vice president who had previously warned Enron’s chairman that its current aggressive accounting tactics were nontransparent and would come back and haunt the organization. From her investigations Watkins became increasingly alarmed as it became apparent that Enron was using accounting loopholes, special purpose entities, and poor financial reporting to misrepresent earnings by hiding billions in debt from projects. Enron was a classic case of audit failure which forced the US government to come up with legislation to prevent such scandals from future occurrence. In 2002, WorldCom overtook Enron as the largest corporate bankruptcy in US history – a record that has since been broken by Lehman Brothers in 2008. WorldCom, like Enron, was also involved in use of fraudulent accounting techniques that classified operating costs as capital expenditures and inflated revenues through phony accounting entries to create a facade of financial growth and profitability. Even though the WorldCom board reacted swifter than Enron in dealing with the masterminds of this fraud, it still took the courage of Cynthia Cooper to blow the whistle on WorldCom's unscrupulous financial practices. In reaction to these scandals, the US government enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 together with several amendments to the U.S. stock exchanges’ regulations. The new rules included different provisions whose purpose was to ensure alignment of incentives of corporate insi ders with those of investors, and to reduce the likelihood of corporate misconduct and fraud. For example, the new rules mandated exchange regulations to require a majority of independent directors on corporate boards and independence of the board committees that choose new directors and compensate managers (Chhaochharia & Grinstein, 2007). This act also included provisions that protect whistleblowers by forcing companies to create dedicated mechanisms to record and track information provided by employees both anonymously and confidentially (Eaton & Akers, 2007). The third whistleblower case is somewhat different from the Enron and WorldCom cases with the whistleblower being an individual not operating within the company that committed the fraud. In this instance, Harry Markopolos took it upon himself to conduct an independent financial fraud investigation for close to a decade to uncover evidence that Bernie Madoff's wealth management business was nothing but a grand Ponzi sche me. Markopolos probed Madoff’s operation and kept filing formal complaints at the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) to have Madoff’s hedge fund investigated. The SEC never acted on Markopolos’ tips until 2008. Bernard Madoff Securities firm pitched investors a strategy he called ‘split strike conversion’

International business context Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

International business context - Essay Example Most significantly is the fact that mergers have resultant benefits and accrued demerits. As a result, there have been diverse arguments for and against the policy of mergers in the international business. Over the years, the growth of mergers continues to fall. In fact, in 2011 and 2012, there were few mergers, with only four deals hitting the $20 billion mark in 2012. The pro-mergers argue that those global level mega-mergers are inevitable as part of the cycle of consolidation and concentration in globalizing industries where firms seek to gain advantage and accelerate their presence (Deans, Kroeger, & Zeisel 2002, p.1-3). On the other hand, the anti-mergers argue that business leaders should embrace innovativeness and desist from mergers in approaching international business Ghemawat & Ghadar (2000). Indeed, according to AT Kearney, in a span of 25 years, all industries in the globe will consolidate in four stages that include the opening phase, the accumulation, focus, and allia nce stage (Deans, Kroeger, & Zeisel 2002, p.1-2). He notes that the four stages are distinct and derive unique results. He argues that industries follow a similar consolidation pattern although some industries may spend more time in certain stages than others may. Moreover, he states that all industries encounter similar challenges at respective stages. Additionally he argues that the size, location, and type of business does not matter in consolidation but endgames stage matters. An industry starts at a low level of concentration and increases its merger and acquisition activity until it reaches saturation. At this point, alliances form. From the article, we can derive that companies follow a uniform consolidation pattern and consolidation allows companies to get bigger (Deans, Kroeger, & Zeisel 2002, p.1-3). More so, merger decline upon reaching concentration and result to alliances. As such, when companies understand the patterns that mergers follow, and appreciate that their com panies stand on the consolidation curve, then they can initiate successful mergers. Actually, A.T. Kearney’s theory predicts that then dominant players in the industry will gain 60-70% of global market revenues in a merger endgame. This demonstrates the escalating free movement of resources, people, and information over the few years (Deans, Kroeger, & Zeisel 2002, p.1-3). Most importantly, it is worth noting that mergers bear significant benefits to international business despite the process having reasonable risks. As such, the benefits of any merger rely heavily on the marketing strategy in application and therefore not all mergers are successful. Notably, a successful merger that combines two or more companies’ leads to expansion of services and products offered as well as customer base and market shares. Ideally, when companies combine in a buyout strategy, they relevantly share resources and expand their market presence locally and internationally. More so, the m arket expansion and consolidation of resources cuts down operation and business costs (Periasamy 2009, p.11). For example, when a local company mergers with an international company the local company gains international market presence through the networks established by its partner. Indeed, most companies lack international networks and thus to gain international market presence a merger is relevant. More so, the establishment of a merger enables a

It's FAMILY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

It's FAMILY - Essay Example Among these authors, Nicolas Cage has tried to uphold the positive sides of a family in his film â€Å"Family Men†. In â€Å"Lottery†, Shirley Jackson talks about the cruelty and superstition of member family members. Whereas in the poem, â€Å"Daddy† Sylvia Plath disparages the conservative control of a father over a girl, Hayden appears to be confused about how to assess his father’s control as well as his care for the child. But in the story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†, Flannery O’ Connor tells about the fakery of a family member, namely the Grandmother. But she considers all men and women as members of a common human family. After all, authors present both the good and bad sides of family life and family members. They, to a great extent, reflect Charlotte’s view of the negative consequences of family. Thesis: Though family is important for human life, the authors say that it has both the good and the bad sides and some author itative family members can be harmful for other members. Like Charlotte Gilman, Sylvia is preoccupied with the harmful dominance and control of family members such as a father or a husband on a girl or a woman. In the poem â€Å"Daddy† by Sylvia Plath deals with the negative consequences of a father influence on a child. In the poem, the poet compares her father with a number of imagery, such as daddy, shoe, devil, commander of Jewish extermination, etc to portray the unhappiness that her father caused to her. She compares her father with someone protective; but obviously for her protection, this protection is dark and choking. This is evident in her use of the imagery of black shoe. Shoe protects one’s feet but its blackness means that it is a dark protection (Plaths â€Å"Daddy†). Both Charlotte and Sylvia agree that conservative attitude of family members like father and husband harmful for a woman because they make her passive and choke

Cultural Differences and Switching of In-Group Sharing

Cultural Differences and Switching of In-Group Sharing Nuchelle Atkinson, M.A. Research Article Critique Qiu, L., Lin, H., Leung, A. K. (2013). Cultural Differences and Switching of In-Group Sharing  Behavior between an American (Facebook) and a Chinese (Renren)  Social Networking Site. Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44(1), 106-121. Emma J. Barnes Abstract Culture is often mirrored by or perceived through shared practices in a community. The different shared practice on users’ national culture represents their host cultures. Facebook is the main social network site (SNS) in Singapore, thus, the partakers was considered bicultural online users, because of the widespread experiences to two culturally different online environments. The authors studied cultural differences and behavioral switching in the context of the fast emerging, naturally occurring online social networking, using both self-report measures and content analyses of online activities on two highly popular platforms; Facebook and Renren (the â€Å"Facebook of China†). Furthermore, the study considered indications of the extent to which characteristics described perceived cultures. These results set the stage for further investigations on flexible switching of actual sharing behaviors. The results also provided the basis that users’ behavioral differenc es in online sharing are due to their culturally shared practice as opposed to differences in technical capabilities. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to achieve two objectives; to seek to identify cross-cultural differences between technologically similar SNS platforms; Facebook and Renren (the â€Å"Facebook of China†). Second, to demonstrate cultural frame switching in online environments. The study also sought to establish that Renren and Facebook are two technically similar platforms in terms of system performance, security, and user-friendliness of in-group sharing functions. This would eliminate the possibility that behavioral differences in the two online communities are attributable to technical differences between the two platforms. Methodology: . The study was conducted using a 5-Point Likert-type scale event on the News Feed page of the participants’ accounts. Participants completed a set of questionnaires on perceived characteristics and various technical capabilities of Facebook and Renren. We created a survey to examine the perceived cultures of Facebook and Renren using characteristics that are related to either a collectivistic or an individualistic orientation in the context of online social networking. We used the scale developed by Tuunainen, Pitkanen,and Hovi (2009) to assess user perception of information security on Facebook and Renren. Website Analysis and Measurement Inventory (WAMMI). WAMMI (www.wammi. com) is a measure widely used in industry for assessing the overall system performance Results: The present article fills this gap by studying the practice of in-group sharing, a highly common online behavior afforded by many SNSs. Our findings demonstrated for the first time that users with extensive experiences with two culturally distinctive SNS communities can flexibility switch their online behaviors to match the shared practice on those SNSs. Conclusions: first, our studies demonstrate that SNSs are interesting cultural environments on their own. our research suggests that SNS users can actively participate in multiple online cultures and acquire multicultural experiences through social interactions in the virtual world. Culture is often mirrored by or perceived through shared practices in a community. The different shared practice on users’ national culture represents their host cultures. Online culture has been considered as a knowledge system formed by constellations of shared practices, expectations, and structures that members choose to follow with the help of networked computer technology (Fuchs, 2008). However, little work has been approached from a cultural psychological perspective; there is a need to examine the emergence of online culture. Studying different online cultures will expand the possibility of cultural psychology by providing new evidence to support existing cultural theories or challenge established ones. Thus, it becomes increasingly important to understand the behavioral ramifications of exposure to multiple online cultures. The problem and statement of importance is clearly stated. The purpose of the study is to achieve two objectives; to seek to identify cross-cultural differences between technologically similar SNS platforms; Facebook and Renren (the â€Å"Facebook of China†) and to demonstrate cultural frame switching in online environments. The study also sought to establish that Renren and Facebook are two technically similar platforms in terms of system performance, security, and user-friendliness of in-group sharing functions. The authors hypothesized that Renren (vs. Facebook) culture is relatively more collectivistic, whereas Facebook (vs. Renren) culture is relatively more individualistic. The second hypothesis is that Renren and Facebook differ in their cultural orientations, with Renren being more collectivistic and Facebook being more individualistic. The authors hypothesize that in-group sharing is a shared practice more prevalent on Renren than on Facebook. All key terms are well d efined. The literature review is very comprehensive in that it covers all of the mechanisms associated with the current study. The authors identify different forms and interpretations of this study. The review concludes with a brief summary of relevant literature and the reasoning for this study. The author intent of the study was explained with words that reflect higher order thinking skills. The participants are mentioned, the setting of the study is explained and words are well chosen; free of jargon and no unnecessary words are used. Thus the purpose was clearly stated. The hypothesis was provided in the literature review and logical. The justification of why the study is important was stated and convincing. It explained the purpose of the study and provided a compelling foundation, enabling the work to be set in the context of both existing evidence and its practical applications. All of the references are pertinent to the problem and help to inform the reader of the study’s purpose. The author used a systematic methodology involving the construction of theory through the analysis of data. The study was conducted using a scale developed by Tuunainen, Pitkanen and Hovi (2009), Website Analysis and Measurement Inventory (WAMMI), and a 5-Point Likert-type scale event. Participants completed a set of questionnaires on perceived characteristics and various technical capabilities of Facebook and Renren. The authors created a survey to examine the perceived cultures of Facebook and Renren using characteristics that are related to either a collectivistic or an individualistic orientation in the context of online social networking. This was an original study as the authors seek to step further in examining if similar cultural switching behavior would occur in natural online environments.Previous research has shown that attributes such as sharing-oriented (Berry et al., 1997; Triandis, 1995), conformity-oriented (Bond Smith, 1996), hierarchical (Triandis, 1995), and supportive (Miller, 1997) pertain to collectivistic cultural characteristics, and attributes such as self-expressive (Kim Sherman, 2007), assertive (Church Lonner, 1998), egalitarian (Triandis, 1995), and competitive (Triandis, 1993) pertain to individualistic cultural characteristics. What are the variables? Participants completed a set of questionnaires’ in Chinese, the participants’ native language. In this study, the authors counterbalanced the order of questionnaires that asked about Facebook and Renren. The present article fills this gap by studying the practice of in-group sharing, a highly common online behavior afforded by many SNSs. The study demonstrated for the first time that users with extensive experiences with two culturally distinctive SNS communities can flexibility switch their online behaviors to match the shared practice on those SNSs. With online social networks becoming a highly viable research tool, the current research offers an example of utilizing online data to study an emerging sociocultural phenomenon. Study 1 confirmed that system performance, security, and the usability of sharing functions are similar across Facebook and Renren, the two SNSs differ in their language medium. Facebook’s user interface is in English, whereas Renren’s is in Chinese (although users can communicate in Chinese on Facebook and English on Renren). From the author’s viewpoint, language is part of the cultural systems on SNSs. Indeed, considerable evidence suggests that language constitutes a part of the larger culture such that the use of Chinese can activate the Chinese cultural system and the use of English can activate the Western cultural system (as sited in Bond, 1983; Trafimow, Silverman, Fan, Law, 1997). Thus, it is reasonable not to consider the effect of language as a rival explanation of the current finding, but to view language as an important element of the online culture in which the users are participating. Another alternative account concerns how different degrees of closeness of friendship on the two SNSs might have affected individuals’ sharing behaviors. Our participants joined the Renren community when they were in China, and later became Facebook users after they arrived in Singapore. One might argue that these friends’ online activities constitute only a small sample of activities that may not accurately represent what other users generally do and therefore the shared practices of the SNS cultures. We contend that, however, it is the practices and activities nominally engaged by their friends that are most likely to reflect the immediate cultural environment in which the participants are actively involved. Conclusions and Implications (2-3 paragraphs)3 points Are the conclusions of the study related to the  original purpose? The present article fills this gap by studying the practice of in-group sharing, a highly common online behavior afforded by many SNSs. The study demonstrated for the first time that users with extensive experiences with two culturally distinctive SNS communities can flexibility switch their online behaviors to match the shared practice on those SNSs. With online social networks becoming a highly viable research tool, the current research offers an example of utilizing online data to study an emerging sociocultural phenomenon. We highly encourage other researchers to capitalize on this valuable resource and study the cultural dynamics of their own interest. The conclusion of the present study is related to the original purpose. The purpose of the study is to achieve two objectives; to seek to identify cross-cultural differences between technologically similar SNS platforms; Facebook and Renren (the â€Å"Facebook of China†). Second, to demonstrate cultural frame switching in online environments. The study also sought to establish that Renren and Facebook are two technically similar platforms in terms of system performance, security, and user-friendliness of in-group sharing functions. Were the implications discussed? The current findings have important implications, both theoretically and methodologically. In  terms of theoretical significance, first, our studies demonstrate that SNSs are interesting cultural environments on their own. Their technological capabilities enable them to afford new norms and practices that are not previously observed offline. For example, instant in-group sharing of information such as videos and pictures can be easily done online but not offline. Nevertheless,  the use of new media may not alter the fundamental essence of a culture—the newly emerged  norms and practices online may evolve from and later reinforce the shared norms and imperatives prevalent in the culture where the online community is hosted. Thus, SNS practices could be important manifestations of cultural products that contribute to a sense of â€Å"cultural consensus† (Lamoreaux Morling, in press). Second, our research suggests that SNS users can actively participate in multiple online cultures and acquire multicultural experiences through social interactions in the virtual world. Whom the results and conclusions will effect? With millions of people engaging in online communities What recommendations were make at the conclusion? SNS communities can flexibility switch their online behaviors to match the shared practice With online social networks becoming a highly viable research tool, the current research offers an example of utilizing online data to study an emerging sociocultural phenomenon. We highly encourage other researchers to capitalize on this valuable resource and studythe cultural dynamics of their own interest.

Priotities of Gene Therapy Essay -- Genetics Science Medicine Papers

Priotities of Gene Therapy Gene therapy is a relatively new area of medicine that attempts to apply recent advances in molecular biology, genetics and biotechnology to the treatment of human diseases. Gene therapy uses a set of approaches to the treatment of human disease based on the transfer of genetic material (DNA) into an individual. Gene delivery can be achieved either by direct administration of gene-containing viruses or DNA to blood or tissues, or indirectly through the introduction of cells manipulated in the laboratory to harbor foreign DNA. As a sophisticated extension of conventional medical therapy, gene therapy attempts to treat disease in an individual patient by the administration of DNA rather than a drug. (1) Genetic manipulations, such as replacing defective or missing genes with healthy ones, can be used to alter germ cells (egg or sperm) and somatic cells. Theoretically germ-line gene therapy appears to have more advantages since it aims at preventing a genetic defect from being transmitted to future generations. However, the prospects of germ-line gene therapy look more remote due to many unresolved ethical and social problems as well as technical obstacles. (2) What is presently understood as gene therapy is, mostly, somatic cell gene therapy. By altering the genetic material of somatic cells onetime cures of devastating, inherited disorders may be potentially achieved. But, "in principle, gene therapy should be applicable to many diseases for which current therapeutic approaches are ineffective or where the prospects of effective treatment appear exceedingly low." (1) However, gene therapy is still extremely new and highly experimental. The number of approved clinical trials is smal l, and relativ... ...scarbamylase deficiency. Hum Gene Ther 10(14):2419-37. 5. Lehrman, S. 1999. Virus treatment questioned after gene therapy death. Nature 401(6753):517-8. 6. Federico M. 1999. Lentiviruses as gene delivery vectors. Curr Opin Biotechnol 10(5):448-453. 7. Iwakuma, T, Y. Cui, L.J. Chang. 1999. Self-inactivating lentiviral vectors with U3 and U5 modifications. Virology 15;261(1):120-32. 8. Ropert, C. 1999. Liposomes as a gene delivery system. Braz J Med Biol Res;32(2):163-9. 9. Lanzov, V.A. 1999. Gene Targeting for Gene Therapy: Prospects. Mol Genet Metab 68(2):276-282. 10. Kren, B.T., R. Metz, R. Kumar, C.J. Steer .1999.Gene repair using chimeric RNA/DNA oligonucleotides. Semin Liver Dis 19(1):93-104. 11. Zanjani, D., W. French Anderson.1999. Prospects for in Utero Human Gene Therapy. Science 285(5436) p.2084-8. 12. New York Times, August 4, 1998.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Epilogue

Epilogue The angel took the book from him, then went out the door and across the hall, where he knocked on the door. â€Å"He's finished,† the angel said to someone in the room. â€Å"What, you're leaving? I can just go?† asked Levi who was called Biff. The door across the hall opened, and there stood another angel, this one seeming to have more a female aspect than Raziel. She too held a book. She stepped into the hall to reveal a woman standing behind her, wearing jeans and a green cotton blouse. Her hair was long and straight, dark with reddish highlights, and her eyes were crystal blue and seemed to glow in contrast to her dark skin. â€Å"Maggie,† said Levi. â€Å"Hi, Biff.† â€Å"Maggie finished her Gospel weeks ago,† said Raziel. â€Å"Really?† The Magdalene smiled. â€Å"Well, I didn't have as much to write as you did. I didn't see you guys for sixteen years.† â€Å"Oh, right.† â€Å"It is the will of the Son that you two go out together into this new world,† said the female angel. Levi went across the hall and took her in his arms. They kissed for a long time until the angels began to clear their throats and murmur â€Å"Get a room† under their breaths. They held each other at arm's length. Levi said, â€Å"Maggie, is this going to be like it always was? You know, you're with me, and you love me and everything, but it's only because you can't have Josh?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"That's so pathetic.† â€Å"You don't want to be together?† â€Å"No, I want to, it's just pathetic.† â€Å"I have money,† she said. â€Å"They gave me money.† â€Å"That's good.† â€Å"Go,† said Raziel, losing his patience. â€Å"Go, go, go. Go away.† He pointed down the hallway. They started walking down the hallway, arm in arm, tentatively, looking back at the angels every few steps, until at last they looked back and the angels were gone. â€Å"You should have stuck around,† the Magdalene said. â€Å"I couldn't. It hurt too much.† â€Å"He came back.† â€Å"I know, I read about it.† â€Å"He was sad because of what you had done.† â€Å"Yeah, so was I.† â€Å"The others were angry with you. They said that you had the greatest reason to believe.† â€Å"That why they edited me out of their Gospels?† â€Å"Good guess,† she said. They stepped into the elevator and the Magdalene pushed the button for the lobby. â€Å"By the way, it was Hallowed,† she said. â€Å"What was Hallowed?† â€Å"The H. His middle name. It was Hallowed. It's a family name, remember, ‘Our father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.'† â€Å"Damn, I would have guessed Harvey,† Biff said. Afterword Teaching Yoga to an Elephant And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. JOHN 21:25 Can you really teach yoga to an elephant? Well no, you can't, but we're talking about Jesus here. Nobody knows what he could do. The book you've just read is a story. I made it up. It is not designed to change anyone's beliefs or worldview, unless after reading it you've decided to be kinder to your fellow humans (which is okay), or you decide you really would like to try to teach yoga to an elephant, in which case, please get videotape. I researched Lamb, I really did, but there is no doubt I could have spent decades researching and still managed to be inaccurate. (It's a talent, what can I say?) While I've made some attempt to paint an accurate picture of the world in which Christ lived, I changed things for my own convenience, and sometimes, obviously, there was no way of knowing what conditions really existed in the years 1 through 33. The available written history about the peasant class, society, and the practice of Judaism in the first century in Galilee degenerates quickly into theory. The role of the Pharisees in peasant society, the Hellenistic influence, the influence of an international city like Joppa nearby: who knows how these things would have affected Christ as a boy? Some historians postulate that Yeshua of Nazareth would have been little more than an ignorant hillbilly, while others say that because of the proximity of Sepphoris and Joppa, he could have been exposed to Greek and Roman culture from an early age. I chose the latter because it makes for a more interesting story. The historical life of Jesus, beyond a couple of references by Josephus, the Jewish historian of the first century, and the odd mention by Roman historians, is again mostly speculation. What we can know today of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is included in the four slim Gospels found in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. For those readers who know the Gospels (bear with me), you know that Matthew and Luke are the only two to mention Christ's birth, while Mark and John cover only the ministry part of Jesus' life. The wise men are mentioned only in one short passage in Matthew, and the shepherds are mentioned only in Luke. The slaughter of the innocents and the fleeing into Egypt are mentioned only in Matthew. In short, Jesus' infancy is a jumble, but the chronicle of his childhood is worse. Of the time from Jesus' birth to when he began his ministry in his thirties, the Bible gives us only one scene: Luke tells us of Jesus teaching in the Temple in Jerusalem at age twel ve. Other than that, we have a thirty-year hole in the life of the most influential human being to ever walk the face of the earth. With Lamb, in my own goofy way, I attempted to fill that hole in history, but again, I am not trying to present history as it might really have been, I'm simply telling stories. Some of the historical elements of Lamb are uncomfortable to work the modern mind around. The precocious sexuality comes to mind. That Maggie would have been betrothed by twelve and married by thirteen is almost certain from what we know of Jewish society in the first century, as are the facts that a Jewish boy of the time would have been learning his trade by age ten, would be betrothed at thirteen, and would be married by fourteen. Trying to create empathy for the adult roles of those whom we, today, would consider children, was of no small concern to me when I was writing that section of the book, but it may be the one section where the sexuality of the characters is not historically out of place. The average peasant in Galilee would have been lucky to live to the age of forty, so perhaps the children, by necessity, reached sexual maturity earlier than they would under less harsh conditions. Although there are, I'm sure, many historical inaccuracies and improbabilities in this book, the most blatant that I have knowingly indulged is in the section where Biff and Joshua visit Gaspar in the mountains of China. While Gautama Buddha did indeed live and teach some five hundred years before the birth of Christ, and while his teachings were widespread in India by the time our heroes could have made it to the East, Buddhism didn't make it into China for almost five hundred years after Christ's death. The martial arts would not be developed by Buddhist monks until after that, but to remain historically accurate, I would have had to leave out an important question that I felt needed to be addressed, which is, â€Å"What if Jesus had known kung fu?† The life of Gaspar, as described in Lamb (the nine years in the cave, etc.), is drawn from the legends of the life of the Buddhist patriarch Bodhidharma, the man who is said to have taken Buddhism to China around A.D. 500. Bodhidharma (or Daruma) is credited with the school of Buddhism that we know today as Zen. Buddhist legend does not mention Bodhidharma encountering a yeti, but they do have him cutting his eyelids off to avoid falling asleep and having them sprout into tea plants which later monks would brew to keep awake during meditation (which I left out), so I traded that story in on an abominable snowman and Biff's theory of natural selection. Seemed fair. Bodhidharma is also said to have invented and taught kung fu to the famous Shao Lin monks to condition them for the rigorous regimen of meditation he prescribed. Most of the details of the festival of Kali, including the sacrifices and mutilations, come from Joseph Campbell's Oriental Mythology, from his Masks of God series. Campbell cites eyewitness accounts of the bloody ritual from nineteenth-century British soldiers and states that even today over eight hundred goats are beheaded for the festival of Kali in Calcutta. (Anyone who had trouble with this passage, please write to Campbell in his current incarnation.) The cited verses from the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita are actual translations of those revered writings. The verses from the Kama Sutra are completely from my imagination, but you'll find weirder stuff in the actual book. Theologically, I made certain assumptions about who Jesus was, mainly that he was who the Gospels say he was. While I used the Gospels heavily for reference, and there are a couple of references to the Acts of the Apostles (specifically the giving of the gift of tongues, without which Biff could not have told the story in modern American idiom), I tried not to draw on the rest of the New Testament, specifically the letters of Paul, Peter, James, and John, as well as Revelations, all written years after the Crucifixion (as were the Gospels). These missives eventually went on to define Christianity, but no matter what you may think of them, you have to agree that Jesus would not have been aware of them, or the events in them, or certainly the consequences of their teaching, so they had no place in this story. Joshua and Biff, as Jewish boys, would, however, have been familiar with the books of the Old Testament, the first five of which made up the base of their faith, the Torah, and th e rest which were referred to by people of the time as Prophets and Writings, so I referred to these when I felt it was appropriate. As I understand it, however, the Talmud and most of the Midrash (illustrative stories explaining the law of God) had not yet been formulated and agreed upon, so they were not used as a reference for Lamb. From the Gnostic Gospels (a set of manuscripts found at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945, but which actually may have been written earlier than the canonized Gospels) I've drawn only slightly on the Gospel of Thomas, a book of Christ's sayings, because it fit well with the Buddhist point of view (many of the sayings in the Gospel of Thomas are also found in Mark). The other Gnostic Gospels were either too fragmentary, or frankly, just plain creepy (the Infancy Gospel of Thomas describes Jesus, at age six, using his supernatural powers to murder a group of children because they tease him. Sort of Carrie Goes to Nazareth. Even I had to pass.) Lamb is peppered throughout with biblical references, both real and made-up (i.e., Biff quotes liberally from nonexistent books of the Bible such as Dalmatians, Excretions, and Amphibians). My editor and I discussed the merit of footnoting these references and decided that footnotes would detract from the flow of the story. The problem arises, however, that if the reader knows the Bible well enough to recognize the real references, there's a good chance that he or she has decided not to read this book. Our final decision – well, my final decision, my editor wasn't really consulted on this because he might have said no – was to advise those who are not familiar with the Bible to find someone who is, sit them down, read them the passages in question, then say, â€Å"That one real? How 'bout that one?† If you don't know someone who is familiar with the Bible, just wait, someone will come to your door eventually. Keep extra copies of Lamb on hand so they can take one with them. Another problem with telling a story that has been told so many times is that people are looking for elements with which they are familiar. Although I've glossed over many events that are chronicled in the Gospels, there are numerous elements which many people think are there, which simply are not. One is that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. She's always portrayed that way in movies, but it doesn't ever say that she is in the Bible. She is mentioned by name eleven times in the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Luke, Mark). Most references to her talk about her preparation for the burial of Jesus, and then being the first witness of his resurrection. It also says that Jesus cured her of evil spirits. No whore references, period. There are â€Å"Marys† without surnames all over the Gospels, and some of them, I suspect, may refer to the Magdalene, specifically the Mary who, soon before his death, anoints Jesus' feet with expensive ointment and wipes them with her hair, certainly one of the most tender moments in the Gospels and the primary basis for my rendering of Maggie's character. We know from letters that many of the leaders of the early church were women, but in first-century Israel, a woman who struck out on her own without a husband was not only considered uppity, but was very likely referred to as a harlot (as was a woman who was divorced). That could be where the myth originated. Another Gospel misassumption is that the three wise men were kings, or, in fact, that there were even three of them. We make that assumption because there are three gifts given to the Christ child. Their names are never mentioned. The names Balthasar, Gaspar, and Melchior come to us from Christian tradition written hundreds of years after the time of Christ. We assume that Joseph of Nazareth, Jesus' stepfather, dies before the Crucifixion, yet it is never stated in the Gospels. He just may not have been involved. We make assumptions based on what we have been fed over the years at Christmas pageants and passion plays, but often, although inspired by faith, that material is little more than what you have just read: the product of someone's imagination. The Gospels do not agree on the order of the events that happen during the ministry, from Jesus' baptism by John to the Crucifixion, so I arranged events from all the Gospels in what seemed a logical, chronological order, while adding t hose elements that allow Biff's participation in the story. There are, of course, elements of the Gospels which I left out in the interest of brevity, but you can always find them in the Gospels if you want. My sending Joshua and Biff to the East was motivated purely by story, not by basis in the Gospel or historical evidence. While there are indeed astounding similarities between the teachings of Jesus and those of Buddha (not to mention those of Lao-tzu, Confucius, and the Hindu religion, all which seem to have included some version of the Golden Rule), it's more likely that these stem from what I believe to be logical and moral conclusions that any person in search of what is right would come to, e.g.: that the preferable way to treat one another is with love and kindness; that pursuit of material gain is ultimately empty when measured against eternity; and that somehow, as human beings, we are all connected spiritually. While historians and theologians don't completely rule out the possibility that Christ may have traveled to the East, they seem to agree that he could have formulated the teachings we find in the Gospels with no more influence than the rabbinical teachings in Galilee and Judea. But what fun would that have been? Finally, this story was set in a dire time, a deadly serious time, and the world of the first-century Jew under the rule of the Romans would not have been one that easily inspired mirth. It's more than a small anachronism that I portray Joshua having and making fun, yet somehow, I like to think that while he carried out his sacred mission, Jesus of Nazareth might have enjoyed a sense of irony and the company of a wisecracking buddy. This story is not and never was meant to challenge anyone's faith; however, if one's faith can be shaken by stories in a humorous novel, one may have a bit more praying to do. My thanks to the many people who helped in the research and writing of this book, especially those who were generous enough to share their beliefs without judgment or condemnation. Many thanks to Neil Levy, Mark Joseph, Professor William â€Å"Sundog† Bersley, Ray Sanders, and John â€Å"The Heretic† Campbell for their advice on religion, philosophy, and history. To Charlee Rodgers for putting up with the fits, starts, whining, and hubris of the process, as well as to Dee Dee Leichtfuss for readings and comments. Special thanks to Orly Elbaz, who was my tour guide through Israel and who showed infinite patience in answering my nitpicky historical questions. Also to my agent, Nick Ellison, and my editor, Tom Dupree, for their patience, tolerance, and advice. Christopher Moore BIG SUR, CALIFORNIA NOVEMBER 2000

Examples of discriminatory practices Essays

Examples of discriminatory practices Essays Examples of discriminatory practices Paper Examples of discriminatory practices Paper Infringement of rights: Infringing a service users rights means treating them in an unfair, unequal or legal way. These could be physical, for example restraining a patient for no logical reason; Financial, for example not informing them that they are entitled to disability benefits or other government benefits; psychological, for example making them feel like they are worthless or not as valued as other service users. It is the care workers’ responsibility to ensure servo=ice users do not have their rights infringed. The various types of abuse: Abuse is when someone is taken advantage of in a negative way. It can be overt or covert, and there are various types of abuse. For example it can be physical, for example punching, kicking, restraining someone unnecessarily, or handling people roughly when helping them with bathing, moving or using the toilet; sexual, for example doing things to a person without their consent; psychological, for example humiliating someone or harassing them; financial, for example stealing their money or possessions, or putting pressure on someone to give you money. Those most at risk from danger and harm are children, individuals with mental health problems, individuals with learning disabilities or physical disabilities, the elderly etc., as these kinds of people can be less powerful and easily influenced. Care workers can protect individuals from danger and harm by raising awareness of possible abuse or problems, monitoring who they have contact with, physically or written (e.g. who phones them, who they write to, who cares for them etc.), by training staff so they know what procedures to follow when they feel someone’s safety might be at risk etc. Bullying: bullying a type of behavior by an individual / group that is repeated on a regular basis over an extended period of time aimed at another person or group of people. Bullying within the health and social care sector may be very damaging to the patient. It may result in the person having low self-esteem and confidence levels, they may feel very angry and powerless at the same time, they may also be worried to talk to the carer as they may feel disempowered and belittled. Prejudice: Prejudice is a negative pre-conceived belief, opinion or feeling towards a certain group of people that is based on unreasonable judgements. For example if there was a group of elderly residents in a care home, and they didnt talk to one of the members because they were homosexual and the residents believed this was wrong, if member of a class was Asian, and all the children refused to play with him because of this, this would be prejudice. Stereotyping and labelling: A stereotype is a belief about how all the people from certain groups of backgrounds behave or feel. Labelling is when someone gets labelled, either positively or negatively. For example if someone gets labelled as ‘lazy’ working for someone, then they might not get offered jobs and opportunities which could help them excel in their career. Covert and overt abuse of power: Covert: covert means that something is hidden, in the case of power, it would mean that someone is concealing their abuse of power from the public/other service users/other care workers. Covert abuse of power can happen in any setting. Overt: overt means that is it out in the open or known by everyone. Overt abuse of power means that someone is abusing their power in front of other service users/care workers and isn’t trying to hide it. This can also happen in any setting. For example, the manager of a care home making all the staff clean her office and tidy up after her every day would be an overt abuse of power. A covert abuse of power would be if the manager didnt supply the residents with all of the complimentary things (free pyjamas, free snacks etc.) because she wanted to keep them all for herself in her office.

Swot Analysis on Hindustan Unilever Essays

Swot Analysis on Hindustan Unilever Essays Swot Analysis on Hindustan Unilever Essay Swot Analysis on Hindustan Unilever Essay According to the study made by me, HLL has basic problems but which have to be dealt with planned strategy. Now we got to see where the problem lies, looking at the market itself will give us a lot of ideas, India is a developing nation with a massive population where majority areas are rural and people living in there are uneducated, moreover to get to these customers is very difficult as the mode of transport to these people are difficult and time taking. In that kind of situation a large company like HLL needs to think over a plan of action where the flow of their products is consistent and is being bought through effective marketing. Here manpower needed for the task is huge at hand and needs to be taken care of, this brings in a newer problem where people can’t be employed from one area and made to work in these different rural areas, the reason being that every state in India speaks a different language, therefore employees of the same area need to be employed. The fact that the task is massive gives a lot of pressure on the company, here the human resource, marketing representatives etc. are required to pull in together to get to a proper liable solution. Let us see the main important problem and also what plan can be used to deal with this problem. The first problem identified by me is that the company is facing problems to train the employees in the rural areas as they are far to reach and sending people to train is becoming expensive. Moreover as of now the company has still covered up only 12 states and so there are more states to cover, as India consists of 28 states. So the rest of the 16 states have to be yet penetrated. With every state speaking different languages it becomes difficult for personnel from one place to go and communicate with them. Knowing culture is a big part of assistance that is needed to know. Now the problem here is that the Shakti project aims at recruiting women as a social achievement. But it comes with a great price as the remote rural culture believes that women are not supposed to work or carry out business, this would result in a chaos among the society which will be against the company’s interest, moreover overcoming such a problem will make the company take more drastic steps to do better. If we go to look at the other kind of problem that HLL face, than we come to know that transport is a big issue for them as the reach to the inner most areas of some villages is difficult by large vehicles and other means of transport needs to be used which is more time consuming. The lack of training that the employees have are one of the major problems that the company will face as the motive is to keep the customers consistent, therefore making the situation more tuff as the employees working with the company are not trained well enough or in other words are not shown the importance of who they represent. The motivation level of the employee will die soon if the sale is not good enough this would make it very difficult for the company which is HLL to keep hiring new staff and training them which would be very devastating. Now as we know what all the problems are that HLL faces we need to see as to what solutions are very much reliable that can be made use of and what tools could we use to make this problem non-existent. As we see the clear problem of the statement is that training is needed for the employees and so the part of the responsibility is of the human resource. Moreover information technology is very important in this kind of a situation as the method of training staff becomes easy and education or information is passed on more smoothly and efficiently. As we see now the concept of the problem and its solution is very much connected, we only have to see how to analyse the situation. We got to take the following analysis Although, rural areas in India have a very small idea about technology and it’s growth, we have to see how is the use of such information going to help solve a problem of transport and also expense of training, so therefore the first plan is to use information systems that can improve the overall performance of the organization and its employees, by doing so we would be able to improve the level of communication from the company to the employees in the rural areas, by installing computer hubs in the rural areas at the entrepreneur’s location where the people under the entrepreneur would be able to get any kind of information that they need. Law education, health and safety education, and much more which will be a very good objective to make sure the employees are well aware of what is right and wrong by law. More over this IT information can also be used to train employees without sending the trainers to the rural areas directly. With the use of Skype and other forms of internet faced live conversations, where video chat is free of charge and the training can be done from the company itself through a aim of knowing what problems the employees face’s, by which the company will be able to look at situations where they can help improve the situation and also improve their sales. More effective trainings can be done through distribution of video cd’s or DVD’s, in which the complete system of training would be visually done to keep the employees up to date and more motivated. This would then help employees become more efficient in their work and the cost for all of it would not be too much. The second plan would be segmenting the customers by age, sex, income levels and so on by this a clear picture will be portrayed and what has to be done. In rural villages in India the majority of the people are family oriented and have a huge number of family members, so we would have to look at the number of people majority in the age groups and also take in account how the income level is as the product has to be to the comfort of the people buying it. After looking into this we could than make an assumption whether or not a particular product would be advisable to sell there or not, or also find the idea as to how many products a bought at an average every day and on this making a thorough note. The third analytical plan is the method of motivating training your staff, which would be more of the human resource side, this is very much important as the employees that the companies are dealing with are not very educated in the field of the work they do so they would need a lot of guidance and help from the human resource team making them fell important and part of the company rather than just middle men doing their job for the third party.

Geomorphology Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Bank analysis paper-Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Bank analysis paper-Economics - Essay Example The second part is done in order to get an idea about the safety and soundness of Citibank Las Vegas branch from a depositor’s perspective. There are a number of ways to examine the profitability of a bank; for example, for measuring the after-tax rates of return, ROA (the return on assets) and ROC (the return on capital), are extensively utilized for testing the performance of banks. The analysts and regulators of the bank use these measures in order to assess the performance of other players in the industry as well as to forecast trends in market structure. This helps them to gather data to predict bank failures and mergers, and also to come up with a strategy that serves the interests of their bank well. Return on assets (ROA) of a firm is an indicator of how profitable the firm is relative to its total assets, and is calculated by dividing the net income of the firm by its total assets. ROA gives us an idea about how efficient the management of the firm is at generating earnings by using its assets. A higher ROA percentage is considered better as this means that the same level of investment is yielding more earnings for the firm. Citibank’s net income in the year 2009 was $107,923,000,000, and its total assets were worth $1,161,361,000,000. This results in a ROA of 9.3% for the year 2009 which is considerably higher than the ROA recorded in 2008 (74,767Mn/1,227,040Mn = 6.1%). This suggests that there has been a rise in Citibank’s ability to earn with lesser amounts of input i.e. the profitability of Citibank has increased. Return on Capital (ROC), on the other hand, is a measure of how efficiently a firm uses the money that has being invested in its processes. It is being measured by the division of net income and the total capital. ROC should always be greater than the rate at which the firm borrows money. This is to ensure that an

Why does tayo wants to be white smoke Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why does tayo wants to be white smoke - Essay Example Tayo portrays himself as formless as white smoke and refuses to talk to the doctor’s as white smoke is invisible. In his guilt and trauma he wants to become the white smoke because white smoke has no consciousness of itself and in becoming invisible and oblivious he was granted a safe heaven, where nothing horrific or awful penetrated. Losing consciousness and becoming invisible allowed Tayo to leave the painful memories behind and escape the war and the reality and the guilt of Rocky’s and Josiah’s death. â€Å"The smoke had been dense; visions and memories of the past did not penetrate there, and he had drifted in colors of smoke, where there was no pain†. (Ceremony) 1. For him the smoke was a barrier against the pain, where visions and memories of the war did not infiltrate. This barrier of white smoke made him fell safe and secure from the awful reality surrounding him. The doctor’s further aid him in feeling like white smoke by keeping him drugged, helping him to maintain a state of unconsciousness, oblivious of all things surrounding him. Their medicine drained memory out of his thin arms and replaced it with a twilight cloud behind his eyes†. The medicines induced a state of stupor for Tayo, in which his thoughts, memories and consciousness get lost as if in a fog. Instead of helping him they simply let him believe that he indeed is white smoke. To Tayo living or becoming white smoke is a way of escaping reality and the ugliness of the war. By keeping his memories at bay he tries to create a place where he is safe from the horrific visions of war and the death of his relatives. A place where he dose not have to feel guilty for killing his uncle Josiah’s or for not being able to protect his cousin Rocky from

An Obsession the World Doesn’t Share Essay Example for Free

An Obsession the World Doesn’t Share Essay In his essay, â€Å"An Obsession the World Doesn’t Share†, Roger Cohen describes in detail the way other countries view the actions of the United States Government and President Bush (New York Times, 2004). Mr. Cohen’s main idea throughout the article is how the United States government is reacting, or not reacting, to world issues due to the focus on 9/11/01. The author uses countries such as South Africa, and Brazil to make his point that these countries are facing severe problems and the USA, which has always been seen as a â€Å"helping country† is now focused on terrorism. Supporting viewpoints of his main idea are the fact that in Canada, a recent statue of President Bush was erected in the same form as Iraq’s past leader, Sadaam Hussein. In addition, the author notes the AIDS epidemic in South Africa; and the economic factors in Latin America. Mr. Cohen continues his main idea by making the suggestion that any good the USA government has done (i. e. giving money to support AIDS education), is overshadowed by the fight on terrorism. Mr. Cohen’s point in this article is to inform Americans about how the rest of the world views their country. His central argument seems to be that despite the good our government has done, it is completely overshadowed by our dire need to revenge for 9/11 terrorist attacks. The author uses facts to back up his argument from what seems to be reliable sources, such as the government of these nations, and Ambassadors for these countries. The tone of this article is informative, the author presents his arguments without bias and his personal judgments are few. The author uses a logos appeal, presenting his argument as a logical, reasonable one. Although it does not appear that there are many weaknesses in his argument, some information is excluded, namely that of President Bush’s view, because Bush’s view was not clearly stated, this alone may make the author slightly biased towards the other countries, who are in effect asking for our help. This writer accepts Mr. Cohen’s argument. I believe that all the good the USA may be doing for other countries, IS overshadowed by what seems to be revenge for not only 9/11 but for the Gulf War as well. The fact that our government is intent on punishing Middle Eastern countries, which had little or no involvement in 9/11, speaks volumes about what is important (fighting and not assisting). In this article, the author states, â€Å"The problem is the perception that Bush uses immense power in an egotistical way. (NY Times, 2004) This writer strongly believes this to be the truth as evidenced by the fact that Hussein of Iraq was a main focal point of the terrorism instead of the one who committed the crimes (Bin Laden). As assumed from this article, President Bush is not well-liked by other countries and even Americans are growing tired of Bush’s so-called priorities. In sum, Mr. Cohen has presented an aptly named title of how the world negatively views our government. Unfortunately, most Americans do not differ on this viewpoint.