The Organ Of Organ Transplantation - 1426 Words

One of the most significant issues concerning organ transplantation revolves around the just and fair distribution of organs. Due to the assorted and occasionally conflicting opinions of what constitutes as ‘fair’, in concurrence with a relative shortage of donated organs, many social, legal and ethical contentions have arisen. This shortage is portrayed by statistics shown on the NHS organ donation page, where approximately 10,000 people are on the waiting list for a solid organ transplant and approximately 1,000 people die annually whilst waiting for an organ transplant and in 2013, a record 4,655 patients received a solid organ transplant (National Health Service, 2014). Furthermore, it is important to observe the fact that the organ donor deficit is growing, even factoring in the 50 percent increase in live donations since 2008. This deficit can be attributed to the rate of increase in donated organs falling short of the greater increase in transplant-requiring patients. This can be further illustrated statistically where the number of people requiring organs has increased from approximately 8,700 to approximately 10,000 between 2005 and 2013 (National Health Service, 2014). There are a myriad of contributing factors that can be held responsible for the rise in required organs, including the prevalence of diseases inflicted through lifestyle choices i.e. obesity and smoking, as well as improved medical science resulting in an aging population. Additionally, there areShow MoreRelatedOrgan And Organ Of Organ Transplantation2652 Words   |  11 Pagescentury, organ transplantation provides a way of giving the gift of life to patients with terminal fa ilure of vital organs. Organ transplantation requires the participation of both fellow human beings and of society by donating organs from deceased or living individuals. The ever increasing rate of organ failure and the inadequate supply of organs have created a significant gap between organ supply and organ demand. This gap has resulted in extremely lengthy waiting times to receive an organ as wellRead MoreOrgan System Of Organ Transplantation3687 Words   |  15 PagesStates, Not Just Legal Citizens, Should Automatically Be Considered Organ Donors Unless Otherwise Specified Rough Draft UFID: 9169-9185 June 6, 2015 I. Background According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, organ transplantation is the process of surgically transferring a donated organ into a patient with end-stage organ failure (U.S Dept of health and human services website). End-stage organ failure can be attributed to a number of diseases. Diseases suchRead MoreOrgan System Of Organ Transplantation3687 Words   |  15 PagesStates, Not Just Legal Citizens, Should Automatically Be Considered Organ Donors Unless Otherwise Specified Rough Draft UFID: 9169-9185 June 6, 2015 I. Background According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, organ transplantation is the process of surgically transferring a donated organ into a patient with end-stage organ failure (U.S Dept of health and human services website). End-stage organ failure can be attributed to a number of diseases. Diseases suchRead MoreOrgan Transplantation Is The Removal Of A Healthy Organ1539 Words   |  7 PagesPiechowiak 2nd Period 8th Grade Accelerated Language Arts December 14th, 2015 Organ Transplants Organ transplantation is the removal of a healthy organ from one person and placing it into another whose organ has failed, or is injured. It is known to be life saving 80 percent of the time, but it is a major surgery that carries many me potential risks and complications- the biggest one being organ rejection. (WebMD) Organ transplants have quite some history. The first successful kidney transplant wasRead MoreOrgan Donation and Transplantation 982 Words   |  4 PagesOrgan and tissue donation is life-saving and life transforming medical process wherein organs and tissues were removed from a donor and transplant them to a recipient who is very ill from organ failure. It is said that one organ can save up to 10 people and may improve the lives of thousands more (Australian Red Cross Blood Service, 2011). Most of the donated organs and tissues came from people who already died but in some cases, a living person can donate organs such as kidneys, heart, liver, pancreasRead MoreOrgan Transplantation Essay1225 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction Organ transplantation is a medical act which involves the surgical operating by transferring or removing of an organ from one person to the other, or placing the organ of a donor into the body of a recipient for the replacement of the recipients damaged or failed organ which resulted from impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism or an act that causes someone to receive physical damage. Lately, there is an emerging innovation whereby organs are createdRead MoreThe Commercialization Of Organ Transplantation1660 Words   |  7 Pagesto save the world, [he] would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem, and only five minutes finding the solution† (Einstein). In the case of the commercialization of organ transplantation, would the ramifications laid by Einstein change if a doctor had only one hour to save the life of a patient in dire need of an organ transplant? An individual that had spent the last three years on a waiting-list? Waiting, years, months, and days without end for a second chance at life. Similar to EinsteinRead MoreNo Secret That The Organ Transplantation917 Words   |  4 Pageshave to be put on a donor list to get a replacement of a diagnosed organ that must be replaced to live. It is no secret that the organ transplantation list has a significant amount of people and every day a handful of them die. A average of twenty one people die ev eryday, according to the American Transplant Foundation. Many scientist and medically certified personals have been trying to come up with alternative genetic modified organs to give to needed patients, instead of waiting for a donor to comeRead MoreEssay about Organ Transplantation978 Words   |  4 PagesOrgan transplantation is, without a hesitation, one of the most major achievements in modern medicine. In many cases, it is the only effective therapy for end-stage organ failure and is broadly practiced around the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 21,000 liver transplants, 66,000 kidney transplants, and 6000 heart transplantation were performed globally in 2005.1 In addition, data showed that living kidney, liver, and lung donations declined, going from 7,004 in 2004Read MoreOrgan Procurement And Transplantation Network2065 Words   |  9 PagesWhat if your doctor told you that your time was limited to less than six months, unless a compatible dono r came along? This is what many people go through every day. They are put in the â€Å"National Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network or OPTN† which is the transplant waiting list (Tara.B). Organs that become available through the OPTN are matched with the recipients. Here is where most of the people will wait months, years, or even the remainder of their life for a compatible donor to become

The Vastness Of The Field Of Africana Studies - 2238 Words

Sulemana Mohammed AFST 101 May 2, 2016 Final Paper Question 1: The vastness of the field of Africana Studies encompasses multiple disciplines ranging from the individual native African to their descendants spread around the world. It delves into the culture diffusion upon contact with the external forces such as the Europeans and the egregious act of slave trade that followed suit. The effect of which yielded the ever festering wound that is racism. This subject juxtaposes the life and experiences of the continental African and their cousins in the diaspora. In the very first chapter of our Africana Studies book, Maria Azevedo noted how African was originally thought of as a continent without history or contribution to the advancement of the world (Azevedo 7). Imbecilic stereotypes, including the aforementioned one, and numerous others are debunked and corrected for the layman and interested parties alike. People that subscribe to this prehistoric train of thought contributed to the perpetual existence of racism, prominently in Ameri ca and the rest of the world. Most learned individuals have a general idea of racism, but few could reiterate its origins and why it became so pronounced today. According to Azevedo, the Europeans that settled in Africa fervently believed that â€Å"Africans should be enslaved and colonized in order to be saved from extinction and rescued from their own barbaric ways of life† (Azevedo 8). These early supposed

Nutrition Of Newborns free essay sample

Nutrition of newborns Optimal nutrition during the neonatal period supports newborn growth and development, as well as providing bonding with the parents. Current recommendations are for exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life, followed by a combination of solid foods and human milk until 12 months of age. Parents may also choose to feed their newborn commercially prepared formula. It is important for parents to know about the nutritional needs of newborns, the benefits of breastwork, and bottle feeding.By Naomi Hysteria Fluids and calories For their first 2 days, newborns need 60 to 80 ml of fluid per kilogram (keg) of odd weight per day. For the next days, they need 1 00 to 150 ml/keg/day. For the remainder of their first month, they need 120 to 180 mug/day. They lose fluid through urination and respiration. It is essential to monitor their intake and output carefully, as they have little tolerance for fluctuations in fluid balance. We will write a custom essay sample on Nutrition Of Newborns or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Caloric intake, measured in collieries (kcal), provides energy for growth, physical activity, and metabolic function. For the first 3 months of life, infants require 110 kcal/keg/day. Each ounce Of breast milk and of formula contains about 20 kcal. Breastfeeding Human milk offers many health benefits for newborns, including enhanced immunity, maturation of the gastrointestinal tract, and reduced risks of diabetes mellitus and childhood obesity. Feeding-readiness cues include: rooting, sucking motions, and hand-to-hand or hand-to-mouth movements.It is important to initiate breastfeeding when the newborn demonstrates these cues rather than waiting until he is sleeping or crying. The optimal time for initiating breastfeeding is immediately after an uncomplicated birth. Putting the newborn and the mother in direct skin-to- skin contact (tummy-tummy) facilitates the first breastfeeding experience for he mother-infant pair. Common positions for breastfeeding are the cradle, the modified cradle or across-the-lap, the football or clutch hold, and the side lying position.Its important for the mother to use a position she finds comfortable and easily achieves latch, that is, a seal between the newborns mouth over the nipple, areola, and breast that creates enough suction to remove breast milk. Breastfeeding patterns vary among newborns, but in general, they should breastfeed eight to 12 times in each 24 hour period. Although newborns are often sleepy during the first few days, parents should attempt feedings every to 4 hours. After this initial period, when a newborn is feeding regularly and gaining weight, it is appropriate for them to shift to on-demand feedings.The duration of feedings also varies. Also, some newborns feed from one breast per feeding, while others switch easily during a feeding. It is also important to determine when the newborn is finished feeding. The breast(s) will feel softer, the newborn will suck slowly or release the breast, and he will appear content or will fall asleep. These cues help parents determine the appropriate duration of feedings. Bottle feeding Parents should use commercially prepared formula, either the powder, concentrate, or ready-to-feed type, for all feedings.Although manufacturers of infant formula provide detailed instructions for using these products, it is important to make sure parents understand how to use them. They should hold their newborn in a semi-reclining position for all feedings. Propping of bottles during feedings can result in choking, tooth decay, and loss of interaction opportunities. Its necessary to hold the bottle so that the nipple is filled with fluid, not air. Cues that the newborn is satisfied after feeding include turning his head away, stopping sucking, or falling asleep.During and after each feeding, parents should facilitate burping because newborns swallow air during bottle feeding. They need to understand that they must discard any formula that remains in the bottle after a feeding.

My Future free essay sample

Describe the world you come from- for example, your family, community, or school- and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations. Plummeting 100 feet beneath the surface, suspended in perfect equilibrium, bubbles climbing past my eyes, colors incomparable to anything I’ve ever seen, and only the sound of my breath interrupting the barrier of silence (vs. Perfect silence) I crave scuba diving on an hourly basis and it’s this craving that has opened my eyes to marine biology. I was born on the island of Guam where I’m convinced marine biology was imbedded into my mind to later be identified as my calling. However, I am being raised in my town, unfortunately for me, nowhere near an ocean. The nearest large body of water is Lake Michigan, with frigid waters and not the most eventful diving experiences. My father (Pops) is a certified dive master and has always dreamed his daughters would share his passion. We will write a custom essay sample on My Future or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His stories have inspired me to get involved in scuba diving. I believe if I can scuba dive, observe marine life, and get paid for it, there’s nothing better. My parents don’t feel scuba diving is the best career for such a â€Å"bright and talented girl,† as they would put it, but I say it’s my future and my decision. My parents also say the pay isn’t sufficient. I beg to differ. The potential to travel as a marine biologist is fascinating to me. Since the age of zero, I have traveled to locations outside the United States, mostly in Micronesia, which my parents took a great liking to it. I have always been taught to keep an open mind about everyone and everything. I think this has helped me be a bigger person and be capable to approach a situation with out any preconceived notions, which allows me to not look like the stereotypical ignorant American. I remember a trip to Yap where my nanny was from. We were visiting her relatives and there were h alf naked and fully naked women running in a circle as part of a cultural ritual. It was a memorable experience and I have not encountered a more ‘different’ situation since then. Most Marine biologists travel in order to determine how different environments affect its inhabitants. I feel I will be able to adapt to the different countries in order to get along with the natives. I come from a family rooted world filled with aquatic adventure and diverse cultural experiences which have lead to my dream of becoming a world renown, traveling marine biologist.

Free Essays on The Purpose Of Upton Sinclair

The purpose of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was to bring the grim conditions of Chicago’s meatpacking industry and its workers to the American public’s attention. After Sinclair was commissioned to investigate labor conditions in the Chicago stockyards he wrote about his observations in The Jungle. He points out that labor unions have failed because in the so-called competitive system owners can also organize. He stresses the capitalistic system in comparison to the socialist reforms. However, the book did not bring about the socialist reforms that Sinclair thought were needed. It does provide many historical events in vivid descriptions which supported the contrasts between capitalist views and socialist reforms. The book begins with the wedding of Jurgis Rudkus and Ona Lukeszaite. In a flashback the explanation of the characters coming to America is described. Ona decides to come to America after her father dies and leaves her with little money. Jurgis joins Ona, Ona’s family, and his family to journey to America. They settle down in a Chicago area known as Packtown, the center of Chicago’s meatpacking industry. As an immigrant Jurgis sees his new home as a hard, dangerous, and filthy place to live. People are having difficulty getting jobs. However, Jurgis gets a job right away because of his physical strength. His job is shoveling guts at Browns. He is shown a tour of the facilities. This is where hard reality sets in. As he starts his job he witnesses the butchering of injured, diseased, or dead cattle that are unfit to eat. As winter comes things become even harsher. Antanes, Jurgis’ father, dies in a cold cellar. Jurgis is forced to work in an unheated packing house. Because of bad weather, work is shorter hours and less pay. This is the time when Jurgis realizes that possibly by joining a union things could change for the better. He slowly begins to understand politics and bribery. He becomes a ... Free Essays on The Purpose Of Upton Sinclair Free Essays on The Purpose Of Upton Sinclair The purpose of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was to bring the grim conditions of Chicago’s meatpacking industry and its workers to the American public’s attention. After Sinclair was commissioned to investigate labor conditions in the Chicago stockyards he wrote about his observations in The Jungle. He points out that labor unions have failed because in the so-called competitive system owners can also organize. He stresses the capitalistic system in comparison to the socialist reforms. However, the book did not bring about the socialist reforms that Sinclair thought were needed. It does provide many historical events in vivid descriptions which supported the contrasts between capitalist views and socialist reforms. The book begins with the wedding of Jurgis Rudkus and Ona Lukeszaite. In a flashback the explanation of the characters coming to America is described. Ona decides to come to America after her father dies and leaves her with little money. Jurgis joins Ona, Ona’s family, and his family to journey to America. They settle down in a Chicago area known as Packtown, the center of Chicago’s meatpacking industry. As an immigrant Jurgis sees his new home as a hard, dangerous, and filthy place to live. People are having difficulty getting jobs. However, Jurgis gets a job right away because of his physical strength. His job is shoveling guts at Browns. He is shown a tour of the facilities. This is where hard reality sets in. As he starts his job he witnesses the butchering of injured, diseased, or dead cattle that are unfit to eat. As winter comes things become even harsher. Antanes, Jurgis’ father, dies in a cold cellar. Jurgis is forced to work in an unheated packing house. Because of bad weather, work is shorter hours and less pay. This is the time when Jurgis realizes that possibly by joining a union things could change for the better. He slowly begins to understand politics and bribery. He becomes a ...

Abortion Ethics Essay Sample

Abortion Ethics Essay Sample Abortion Ethics Essay The abortion debate has been in the mainstream media for a long time now. Since the Roe vs. Wade case in 1973, there emerged two factions (pro-choice and pro-life) that have always held disputing arguments over the issue of abortion. These two have continued to disagree long after the Supreme Court made their decision in 1973. People in the pro-choice group believe that the right to abortion is a woman’s choice and the final decision must always be with her. Their stance is based on the argument that women have the right to decide over their bodies and therefore, should be left to make the choice. Conversely, the pro-life faction believes that it is unethical and immoral to terminate a pregnancy. To them, abortion is synonymous to killing because it helps end the life of a human organism. The arguments presented are indeed valid and cannot be easily ignored. Currently, with technology advancing at a high rate, the process of abortion has become easy and less painful. However, is it ethical or moral? Another question that needs clarification are fetuses people and do they have the same rights as people? The answer to the second question is the most important and should help to shed light on the first question. First of all, a fetus is a human organism and comparing it to cells is wrong. Each fetus translates to a life and terminating one is the same as ending the life of another person. People in the pro-choice category believe that women have a right to decide what happens to their bodies. While this point does indeed make sense, it should never be a case for abortion. The above is because we consider killing a crime and the same way it is wrong to kill a person now, it should also be wrong to kill one early or during the fetal stage. Human beings develop but never change. We are and have always been the same organism throughout our existence and therefore, just like it is wrong to kill us now, it should warrant punishment to terminate a pregnancy. Pro-choicers often argue against the above notion by saying that we are not the same and have, currently, developed complex functionalities compared to how we were before. However, the truth is, we remain the same being regardless of how much w e develop. Who is a person and why should or at what stage of our life should one be considered a person. The universal belief of personhood holds that a person has a certain moral status which must never be breached or violated unless the measures involved are extreme. It is often argued that it is wrong to kill a person because it would rob them off their future, relationships, and future accomplishments. Some philosophers argue that the need to fulfill certain goals in life as well as experience our lives is what makes us persons. Pro-choicers often use this argument to argue that a fetus does not qualify to be considered a person because they do not yet hold the capacity to yearn for their future. However, the above sentiment forms the argument of shunning abortion because the world should, therefore, strive to let the fetuses develop. Terminating a pregnancy steals the future, future experiences and accomplishments, and relationships for a person. Just like we have developed to the point o f yearning and pursuing our goals, fetuses should also be left to develop to the same point. Finally, fetuses do have a right to life just like a fully grown person. The same way the women have a right to their bodies is exactly the same way that fetuses have a right to live. Babies need their mothers or special attention especially at the early stages of their lives. They cannot survive on their own and therefore, have to be fed and taken care of. As dependent as they are on other people, babies are said to have a right to life. Fetuses, on the other hand, are said to lack the right to life. However, the above should not be the case because they just like babies, fetuses are at stages of development where they are dependent on women. Therefore, they do possess a right to live. The pro-life and pro-choice lot never see eye-to-eye on a number of occasions. However, they often agree that abortion should be allowed on a number of occasions. For example, when the life of the mother is at stake when the child would be born with complications, if the conception is as a result of rape or sexual abuse, etc. These arguments are indeed valid and mainly represent the one time that pro-choicers and pro-lifers agree. In conclusion, abortion is indeed ethically wrong and should warrant punishment. While it should be allowed on a number of occasions, it should not be left to the women to decide whether it is okay or not. Fetuses are developing and terminating a pregnancy robs them off their future experiences, accomplishments, and relationships.

Personal Financial Analysis Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Financial Analysis Plan - Essay Example These financial areas include investment into bonds/stocks, purchasing a real estate, insurance coverage as well as income generating activities. My ultimate aim is to create a portfolio of such assets so that a consistent cash flow is being delivered to me throughout my retirement life. Out of the $100,000/- I would allocate $100,000 to purchase 30 years bonds of a large corporation which can provide return equivalent to the return of 5% to 7% whereas $100,000/- of existing financial resources are going to be invested into the purchase of stocks of a blue-chip company having a history of providing consistent stream of dividends. I also intend to buy a small piece of real estate at the total investment of $250,000 whereas I also intend to purchase an insurance cover which not only pay for my medical expenses but guarantee a consistent annuity amount over the period of retirement life. A bond is a long term security which provides a constant/variable rate of return called coupon over the period of its life besides returning back the investment made into it. Bonds are considered as less risky than the stocks as they guarantee a consistent fixed income over the period of investment and offer priority rights to the bondholders in case of liquidation. They are considered as best financial securities for planning retirement. (Investopedia, 2008). Stocks on the other hand are the shares in a company's equity and holders are given the status of shareholder in the business. They are more risky than bonds because return on them is not variable but also subject to fluctuations into the financial position of the company. Further, from a retirement planning point of view this can be more risky as it is not necessary and obligatory for the company to pay dividends to their shareholders. (Investopedia, 2008). Investing into real estate is now considered as one of the most lucrative form of investment as it not only appreciate in value but also provide a consistent stream of rental income over the contractual period. Insurance covers especially life insurance provide you an opportunity to protect your family in case of your death and after the retirement can also guarantee you a consistent stream of income out of the insurance premium you have accrued over the period of time. (About.com, 2008). Conclusion Preparing for after retirement period is one of the most critical issue in one's life as when approach that phase of your life where you may not be able to work as good as you were able to do in your youth. It is therefore of critical importance that personal financial planning for the future should be strong enough to ensure that all your financial needs are fulfilled. Investing into various real as well as financial assets is an excellent way through which one can plan to achieve a good mix of assets guaranteeing the overall achievement of financial goals of a person. My personal financial

Developing Sociological Imagination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Developing Sociological Imagination - Essay Example They hide at the first sign of trouble, withdrawing into indifference and fear. "Faced with issues they do not understand, with structural forces that they cannot comprehend and over which they appear to have no power, ordinary people withdraw into apathy or anxiety," observed C. Wright Mills, the social scientist who in 1959 blazed the trail on developing a quality of mind that could help ordinary people dissociate themselves from the ostriches in dealing with danger and problems. A false sense of security is all the ostrich example can give us. By developing what came to be known as "sociological imagination," we would know what we are up against. This knowledge will then help us understand any problem that gets in our way to effectively cut it down to size and hopefully cease to elicit fear in us since it is no longer an unknown entity. When we don't feel any threat to the set of values we cherish, it is believed we experience well-being. In the presence of these threats, we experience a crisis. And when we are unaware of any cherished values and feel no threat, this becomes an experience of indifference, apathy if it concerns all our cherished values. However, when unaware of any cherished value but aware of a threat, this results in an experience of uneasiness and anxiety which, if total enough, becomes a deadly unspecified malaise. Sociological Sociological imagination, Mills explains, is the quality of mind urgently needed in our cultural period to cope with the anxiety, uneasiness and indifference that prevail in today's world. Uneasiness and indifference are considered the signal features of our age as a result of the dizzying changes happening in our midst. Governments that used to function as democracies, for example, suddenly fell into the control of despots. In states that were once political colonies, new and subtler forms of imperialism were installed. Societies once relatively peaceful became the object of random and senseless terrorist attacks. Such changes send people out of kilter, giving them the sense of being trapped. We get this sense of being trapped, sociologists believe, when we are not aware of the intricate connection between the pattern of our own lives and the course of history, and what this connection means for the kinds of people we are turning into and the kinds of history-making in which they mi ght take part. To let ourselves out of this trap, we must employ sociology ethically, through sociological imagination, to allow us some sense of control over events by showing how public issues are interconnected with our lives, our history, biographical experiences and social structure milieus. By understanding the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals, we will be equipped with information necessary for developing reason that would "achieve lucid summations of what is going on in the world and what may be happening within ourselves." Sociological imagination will enable us to shift from one perspective to another - from the political to the psychological, from examination of a single family to comparative assessment of the world's national budgets, from the theological school to the military establishment, even from studies on the oil industry to that of contemporary poetry. With such

Difficult Mothers Essay Example for Free

Difficult Mothers Essay In Jamaica Kincaid â€Å"The Estrangement† not talking to your mom after a huge fight and 3 years later she’s dead must be hard for someone. Kincaid talks about how when she, and her 3 brothers were young, they saw her as a God, because her mom was always there, making sure if they were alright. Most children think their mother is the number one, especially for man, since they are more related to the mother, and the girls feel more protected with the dads. That is why neither she nor her brothers could understand how the youngest son, when he was dying of AIDS her mother was always taking care of him, helping with his disease. Moms are always trying to see if her children are doing well, trying to make them always feel better when something is going wrong. Kincaid is letting us know how much she suffered with her mom because of her attitude, but when she becomes one, all of this will make sense, all of the drama, the anger, and the great things She was just being a mom. The oldest sister said that she never knew who her father was, since her mother when she was pregnant, stole money from the dad and ran away, that was the reason why her father never met her, but it was ok with her, since she did not need him. She had the father of her 3 brothers, who knew about him, actually more than the same sons. Physiologists say that â€Å"Father is not the person who gives life, but the person who is always there for you† that is why she never wanted to meet the [real father]. Most people might say that her/his mother is never the way she is at home that she is in public, which happens to all of us, don’t you agree? That is why when the mother died, in the funeral everyone was talking so nice about her, how she was so [generous], [kind], etc. But that was not the mother they knew, but totally the opposite. Always telling them horrible things such as, how much she hated the life her children were having. Being a mom has got to be the most beautifu l thing in the world, seeing your kid growing up inside you for 9 months, and then watching those kids grow older, and see what they become. One impressive thing about this essay, is how at the beginning the daughter says how she’s never going to speak again to her mother, result of a conversation they both had, and turned out to be ugly, when the mother said that her daughter’s life was disappointment because she did not accomplished anything, and her life was just [messed up]. After her youngest brother died, she and her two brothers talked about his/her brother felt when he was with his mom, they wondered how that would feel that? And after everything, they finally said [we would rather be dead than spending eternity with her] Some children don’t realized how much their mother did for them, so they could have a better life, a better way of living, and instead of saying â€Å"thanks† is by saying [I would rather see you dead that spending more time beside you]. Instead of hating so much her mother, she realizes that everything she does everything she thinks, or even says, reminds her mother. And that is just the nature of being a mother, you spent the last 20 years next to your mom, and saw how she tried to influence you to be a better person, and that might or might not worked, but you just know that is the way you should go. All mothers hope that their children will be thankful for everything they have done to make them live an easier life, they just want to make you feel how loved you were and you are. The daughter at the end of the essay says how badly she wants her children to be around her for the most time, but if not, now that they are kids, she will enjoy them, and knowing that she had the best time with them. And now says that she is conscious that she is never talking again to her mother (because she is dead) but, she will always be in eternity with her. At some point they will be together, again.

The Benefits of Living in America. Essay -- USA, ESL essays

Fireworks cracking and lighting up the sky, hot dogs cooking on the grill, and a cold drink in a red, white, and blue paper cup. It is the forth of July, Independence day, the day Americans put all of their worries to the side to celebrate the freedom of the country that they live in, America. Those who live in the USA may experience more freedom and comfort then those who live in other parts of the world. America is highly praised for their education, diverse crowds, and socially accepting everyone despite their race, religion, or special needs. Many people from all over the world come to America to get a better education then the one being offered to them by their own country, mainly because of it's elite schools, endless study choices, and flexablility. Having the choice of where, what...

Activity Based Costing – Essay 4

Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing Activity Based Costing Topic Gateway Series No. 1 1 Prepared by Stephanie Edwards and Technical Information Service Revised November 2008 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing About Topic Gateways Topic Gateways are intended as a refresher or introduction to topics of interest to CIMA members. They include a basic definition, a brief overview and a fuller explanation of practical application. Finally they signpost some further resources for detailed understanding and research. Topic Gateways are available electronically to CIMA Members only in the CPD Centre on the CIMA website, along with a number of electronic resources. About the Technical Information Service CIMA supports its members and students with its Technical Information Service (TIS) for their work and CPD needs. Our information specialists and accounting specialists work closely together to identify or create authoritative resources to help members resolve their work related information needs. Additionally, our accounting specialists can help CIMA members and students with the interpretation of guidance on financial reporting, financial management and performance management, as defined in the CIMA Official Terminology 2005 edition. CIMA members and students should sign into My CIMA to access these services and resources. The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants 26 Chapter Street London SW1P 4NP United Kingdom T. +44 (0)20 8849 2259 F. +44 (0)20 8849 2468 E. [email  protected] com www. cimaglobal. com 2 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing Activity based costing Definition and concept ‘An approach to the costing and monitoring of activities which involves tracing resource consumption and costing final outputs. Resources are assigned to activities, and activities to cost objects based on consumption estimates. The latter utilise cost drivers to attach activity costs to outputs. ’ CIMA Official Terminology, 2005 A development of the principles of activity based costing (ABC) is activity based management (ABM). Operational ABM is defined as: ‘Actions, based on activity driver analysis, that increase efficiency, lower costs and/or improve asset utilisation. CIMA Official Terminology, 2005 Strategic ABM is defined as: ‘Actions, based on activity based cost analysis, that aim to change the demand for activities so as to improve profitability. ’ CIMA Official Terminology, 2005 The main focus of this topic gateway is ABC. However, the development of ABC into ABM will be discussed further under Application. Context In the current syllabus, CIMA students will learn and may be examined on this topic in Paper P1, Management Accounting Performance Evaluation, Chapter 8, Developments in management accounting, and Paper P2, Management Accounting Decision Management, Chapter 10, Activity based approaches. Study systems for these papers are available from CIMA Publishing. Related concepts Activity based management; activity based budgeting; time driven activity based costing. Alternative approaches Traditional costing approaches. 3 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing Overview The concept of ABC was first defined in the late 1980s by Robert Kaplan and William Burns. Initially ABC focused on manufacturing industry where technological developments and productivity improvements had reduced the proportion of direct labour and material costs, but increased the proportion of indirect or overhead costs. Comparison of traditional costing and ABC The traditional method of costing relied on the arbitrary addition of a proportion of overhead costs on to direct costs to attain a total product cost. The traditional approach to cost allocation relies on three basic steps. 1. Accumulate costs within a production or non-production department. 2. Allocate non-production costs to production departments. 3. Allocate the resulting production department costs to various products, services or customers. This type of costing system usually allocates costs based on a single volume measure, such as direct labour hours or machine hours. While using such a simplistic volume measure to allocate overheads as an overall cost driver, this approach seldom meets the cause-and-effect criteria desired in accurate cost allocation. This method of costing has become increasing inaccurate as the relative proportion of overhead costs has risen. This distortion of costs can result in inappropriate decision making. ABC is therefore an alternative approach to the traditional method or arbitrary allocation of overheads to product, services and customers. Stage 1. Activity cost pools Material Handling Stage 1. Activity cost pools Cost per material movement OVERHEAD COSTS Procurement Cost per purchase order Product lines Set-up Cost per set-up Figure 1. Framework of activity based costing 4 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing Application In contrast to traditional cost accounting systems, ABC systems first accumulate overheads for each organisational activity. They then assign the costs of these activities to products, services or customers (referred to as cost objects) causing that activity. The initial activity analysis is clearly the most difficult aspect of ABC. Activity analysis is the process of identifying appropriate output measures of activities and resources (cost drivers) and their effects on the costs of making a product or providing a service. ABC systems have the flexibility to provide special reports so that management can take decisions about the costs of designing, selling and delivering a product or service. The key aspect is that ABC focuses on accumulating costs via activities, whereas traditional cost allocation focuses on accumulating costs within functional areas. The main advantage of ABC is that it minimises or avoids distortions on product costs that might occur from arbitrary allocation of overhead costs. Steps in development of an ABC System ABC uses cost drivers to assign the costs of resources to activities and unit cost as a way of measuring an output. There are four steps to implementing ABC. 1. Identify activities The organisation needs to undertake an in-depth analysis of the operating processes of each responsibility centre. Each process might consist of one or more activities required to produce an output. 2. Assign resource costs to activities This involves tracing costs to cost objects to determine why the cost occurred. Costs can be categorised in three ways: i. Direct – costs that can be traced directly to one output. For example, the wood and paint that it takes to make a chair. Indirect – costs that cannot be allocated to an individual output, that is, they benefit two or more outputs, but not all outputs. For example, maintenance costs or storage costs. ii. 5 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing iii. General/administration – costs that cannot be associated with any product or service. These costs are likely to remain unchanged, whatever output is produced. For example, salaries of administration staff, security costs or depreciation. 3. Identify outputs Identify all of the output for which an activity segment performs activities and consumes resources. Outputs might be products, services or customers. 4. Assign activity costs to outputs This is done using activity drivers. Activity drivers assign activity costs to outputs (cost objects) based on the consumption or demand for activities. ABC in practice ABC activities have been around for nearly 20 years and many companies in a variety of sectors have implemented activity based thinking. ABC and ABM have brought about radical changes in cost management systems. The principles and philosophies of activity based thinking apply equally to service companies, government agencies, process and manufacturing industries. Management practices and methods have changed over the last decade and will continue to change. Organisations have moved from managing vertically to managing horizontally. There has also been a move from a function orientation to a process orientation. However, management information systems to track and provide information about the horizontal aspects of business have lagged significantly behind managers’ needs. ABC and ABM fill this information gap by providing cost and operation information that mirrors a horizontal view. ABC focuses on accurate information about the true cost of products, services, processes, activities and customers. Using ABC, organisations gain a thorough understanding of their business processes and cost behaviour during ABC analysis. Management then applies this insight to improve decision making at operating and strategic levels. This is then known as ABM. Simply, ABM is ABC in action. 6 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing Better management activity based costing survey: how ABC is used in the organisation This detailed study of how organisations are practically applying ABC can be found on the BetterManagement. com website (to access this study you must register, and then click on the link to activity based management in the top left hand corner of the home page). Available from: www. bettermanagement. om [Accessed 4 November 2008] The study was carried out in July 2005 to determine the state of ABC within over 500 organisations across numerous industries of different sizes and locations. It provides a useful and interesting insight into how ABC is used in organisations. Reported benefits †¢ †¢ ABC provides a more accurate method of costing of products and services. It allows for a better and more comprehensive understanding of overheads and what causes them to occur. It makes costly and non-value adding activities more visible, so allowing managers to focus on these areas to reduce or eliminate them. It supports other management techniques such as continuous improvement, scorecards and performance management. †¢ †¢ Reported drawbacks †¢ ABC can be difficult and time consuming to collect the data about activities and cost drivers. It can be costly to implement, run and manage an ABC system. Even in ABC some overhead costs are difficult to assign to products and customers. These costs still have to be arbitrarily applied to products and customers. †¢ †¢ Case studies Technical Matters: Activity-based costing. (PDF 99KB). This article, published in Financial Management (March 2005), provides a case study of implementation of an activity based costing system in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Available from: www. cimaglobal. com/financialmanagement [Accessed 8 November 2007]. 7 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing The Value Creation Group website provides a comprehensive range of examples of case studies within different sectors where ABC has been implemented, including financial services and social services. Available from: www. valuecreationgroup. com [Accessed 4 November 2008] References Barrett, R. Getting a better view of business with activity based costing. CIMA Insight, February 2005. Available from: www. cimaglobal. com/insight [Accessed 4 November 2008]. CIMA Technical Services. (2001). Activity-based management – an overview. (PDF 69KB). CIMA Technical Briefing. Available from: www. cimaglobal. com/technicalreports [Accessed 4 November 2008]. Friedman, A. L. and Lyne, S. R. (1995). Activity-based techniques: the real life consequences. London: CIMA Publishing. Further information Articles Full text from Business Source Corporate through My CIMA www. cimaglobal. om/mycima [Accessed 4 November 2008] Allott, A. Activity Based Management can work for your company. CIMA Insight, January 2004. Available from: www. cimaglobal. com/insight [Accessed 4 November 2008]. Barrett, R. How ABC can make shared services work. CIMA Insight, March 2005. Available from: www. cimaglobal. com/insight [Accessed 4 November 2008]. Barrett, R. Get a better view of business with activity-based costing. CIMA Insight, February 2005. Available from: www. cimaglobal. com/insight [Accessed 4 November 2008]. Cleland, K. As easy as CBA? Financial Management, September 2004, pp 28-32 Available from: www. imaglobal. com/financialmanagement 8 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing [Accessed 4 November 2008]. Johnson, B. and Glad, E. Spring chicken or dead lunch? Chartered Accountants Journal, March 2006, Volume 85, Issue 2, pp 35-36 Kaplan, R. S. and Anderson, S. R. Time-driven activity-based costing. Harvard Business Review, November 2004, Volume 82, Issue 11, p. 131 Larson, P. and Kerr, S. Integration of process management tools to support TQM implementation: ISO 9000 and activity-based costing. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, January-March 2007, Volume 18, Issue 1-2, pp 201-207 Leahy, T. Where are you on the ABC learning curve? Business Finance, December 2004, Volume 10, Issue 12, p. 47 Liu, L. Activity-based costing. Financial Management, March 2005, pp 25-29 Max, M. Leveraging process documentation for time-driven activity based costing. Journal of Performance Management, November 2007, Volume 20, Issue 3, pp 16-28 Meelah, R. and Ibraham, D. N. Factors influencing activity based costing (ABC) adoption in manufacturing industry. Investment Management & Financial Innovations, 2007, Volume 4, Issue 2, pp 113-124 Plowman, B. Activity based management driving profitability. Accountancy Ireland, April 2007, Volume 39, Issue 2, pp 23-25 Abstract only from Business Source Corporate through My CIMA www. cimaglobal. com/mycima [Accessed 4 November 2008] Sandison, D. , Hansen, S. C. and Torok, R. G. Activity-based planning and budgeting: a new approach. Journal of Cost Management, March/April 2003, pp 16-22 Liu, L. Activity-based costing. Financial Management, March 2005, p. 29 Available from: www. cimaglobal. com/financialmanagement [Accessed 4 November 2008]. The competitive advantage of management accounting. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 2006, Volume 18, pp 127-135 Books Friedman, A. and Lyne, S. Success and failure of activity-based techniques: a long-term perspective. London: CIMA Publishing. (CIMA Research Series) 9 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing Hansen, D. and Mowen, M. (2006). Cost management: accounting and control. Mason, OH: London: Thomson/South-Western Kaplan, R. and Anderson, S. (2007). Time-driven activity-based costing: a simpler and more powerful path to higher profits. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Turney, P. (2005). Common cents: how to succeed with activity-based costing and activity-based management. New York: London: McGraw-Hill CIMA Publications CIMA Technical Services. (2001). Activity-based management – an overview. (PDF 69KB). CIMA Technical Briefing. Available from: www. cimaglobal. com/technicalreports [Accessed 4 November 2008]. Websites University of Pittsburgh: Introduction to ABC An online presentation on ABC, by Narcyz Roztocki of Pittsburgh University. Includes links to further sources of information on ABC. Available from: http://digbig. com/4xtmc [Accessed 4 November 2008] The Activity Based Costing Portal Global community portal explaining all aspects of Activity Based Costing. Available from: www. offtech. com. au/abc/Home. asp [Accessed 23 March 2009] The Value Creation Group – Activity Based Costing Gateway site on Activity Based Costing. Available from: http://digbig. com/4xtmg [Accessed 4 November 2008] Where are you on the ABC learning curve? An article by Tad Leahy in Business Finance Magazine. Business Finance Magazine and ALG Software recently surveyed more than 250 finance executives from companies of all sizes and types about the scope and current status of their organisation’s ABC efforts. Available from: www. businessfinancemag. com [Accessed 4 November 2008] 10 Topic Gateway Series Activity Based Costing Bain and Company's 2005 Management Tools and Trends Survey. Shows that usage of ABM is slightly below the mean, but satisfaction with it is considerably below the mean. Available from: http://digbig. com/4xtmk [Accessed 4 November 2008] Copyright  ©CIMA 2006 First published in 2006 by: The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants 26 Chapter Street London SW1P 4NP United Kingdom Printed in Great Britain No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action as a result of any material in this publication can be accepted by the authors or the publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means method or device, electronic (whether now or hereafter known or developed), mechanical, photocopying, recorded or otherwise, without the prior 11 permission of the publishers. Permission requests should be submitted to CIMA at [email  protected] com

Managing Business Problems Essay

What are the causes of poor productivity within large organizations and how can we look at trying to improve this? Productivity is the degree of output achieved in relation to a certain level of input. For example, in a call centre environment, productivity would be seen as the number of telephone calls answered per hour by a certain number of staff. The telephone calls are the output and the staff available to take the calls are the input. In order to improve productivity, one of the following has to occur: The level of input is decreased however the level of output remains the same, or, the level of output increases but the level of input remains the same. In relation to the example of the call centre, this would mean reducing the number of staff available to answer the phone but yet the remaining staff would still have to answer the same number of calls, i.e. they would have to answer more calls each to compensate for the decrease in staff. Or the other way to increase productivity in a call centre would be to keep the same number to staff available to take customer calls but the number of calls being answered in total would have to increase. Productivity is a major issue within any organisation but especially call centres. Call centres do try to forecast the number of calls they expect everyday and allocate resources accordingly to deal with these pressures, however there are still thousands of calls abandoned (where the customer hangs up before even getting through to an advisor) each and every day, this is sometimes referred to as â€Å"call leakage†. This is a growing problem for call centres across the country and it is surprising the amount of customers who will take their business elsewhere simply because they cant get through on the phone as they see it as poor customer service. In many cases it isn’t feasible for staff numbers to be increased in order to cope with the call volumes that are being received and so the only solution to reducing the call leakage is to increase the productivity of the existing staff. Working in a call centre environment myself I appreciate that this is a very challenging task as call centre agents generally feel overworked and underpaid already and trying to get more work out of them will be difficult. However my research into call centre life has thrown up some issues surrounding the task of increasing staff performance in order for your business to work smarter. My research examines the possibility of reward systems as a means of increasing productivity, how call centre staff view their own roles and changes they would like to see in order to help them perform better During my research I searched the Emerald website to find relevant journal articles to assist my studies. I came across an interesting one called † An exploration of managerial issues in call centres† by Colin Armistead, Julia Kiely, Linda Hole and Jean Prescott. This paper consisted of two case studies carried out in two large organisations; these will be known as Case Study A and Case Study B. I found this article useful as it explores why people work in call centres, how they feel about their jobs and this research is spread over all levels from call centre agent to general manager. Case Study A provides a good background to call centre life and will aid understanding of what it is like to work in a call centre environment. In Case Study A, a total of fourteen staff members of all levels were interviewed, interviews lasted one hour and were all taped and transcribed. The interviews explored the initial decision to work for a call centre, the expectations they had before they started and the extent to which their jobs had lived up to those expectations. The authors also examined company statistics; they found evidence of high turnover in staff who had been employed for a few months then reducing to comparatively low turnover after they had been employed for more than six months. I found the findings from Case Study A to be very surprising having worked in a call centre myself and not having had very many positive experiences during my time there. The overall impression from those interviewed was that they felt very positive about their workplace. There were inevitable differences in how different levels of employees viewed certain issued but there were more similarities than differences. I was interested to see how employees had spoke about productivity and performance targets. It became apparent that performance targets were related to the number of calls answered, the time in which it took to answer the calls and also the levels of call leakage. It is very easy to monitor call centre agents against an array of time-related measures and staff felt under a lot of pressure at times due to this. I can relate to this, as this is exactly how I felt working as a call centre agent. One manager interviewed in Case Study A stated that the most important thing in managing call centre staff was â€Å"motivation, motivation, motivation†, yet the manager in question admitted he had little idea of how to motivate staff. I do agree that motivating staff to perform well is an issue and I appreciate that highly motivated staff will be more productive but I also think that if staff working in call centres had a better understanding of the bigger picture and knew how their actions impacted upon the business as a whole they may change their attitudes and automatically perform better and more efficiently. This is just my opinion from my experience of working in a British Gas call centre for almost three years I have been privileged enough to have been given an insight into the deeper realms of the business, something which frontline staff rarely come into contact with and I do feel this would be of benefit to them. As it stand now, staff are being thrown tough performance targets by management and expected to meet them without question, they have no understanding of why the business needs them to perform at a particular level and what the consequences will be if they don’t. I believe business awareness to be a vital part of representing a company to the public and the company I work for do offer a business awareness course, however this is e-learning based and has to be completed in your own time. Needless to say, there are not many staff who take advantage of this opportunity to understand the business they work for due to the above conditions and a lot of staff are probably unaware that the facility even exists. If British Gas were to allow the time for staff to complete this course during working hours or even to be paid overtime for the time they spend on it outside their scheduled hours, they would have a massive response and although this would be time consuming and possibly quite costly, I believe that the positive effects on how employees work would outweigh the costs. Productivity is very poor in the call centre I work in after reading relevant sections in a book called â€Å"Remuneration Policy† by Patrick McCauley I am under the impression that a successful reward system can help to improve productivity. McCauley defines motivation simply as â€Å"goal directed behaviour† and he makes it clear that employees will only be motivated to increase their performance by goals that are actually of interest to them, for example if a manager said to his team one day that the person with the highest productivity that day would be rewarded with a family ticket to the local pantomime then you would get Sandra, the mother with 2.4 children, husband and nice semi-detached house working her socks off, however, Matt, Gary and Emma, the three students on the team and Harold the grandad of the team who is six months off retirement would not be interested in the slightest by the managers offer of reward. McCauley states that the three key questions we need to consider when devising a successful reward system are: * What goals will employees actually pursue? * What factors will determine their success or failure in achieving these goals? * What will be the consequences of achievement or frustration for the employee and the organisation? As I have already mentioned, it is important to offer rewards that are of interest to the staff and that will actually motivate them to perform better and drive them towards goals which involve meeting productivity and performance targets on the way. It is important to offer generic rewards that are appealable to all or a choice of a few different rewards in order to cater for all the different ages, cultures etc. I have dome some research in to reward systems whilst working on a service excellence team in the British Gas call centre and the rewards that were constantly being requested by staff were things such as an extra days annual leave, high street vouchers, deputising for a higher level role for half a day as a development opportunity etc. These were things that the frontline staff were telling management would motivate them to work harder and to a higher standard, however management declined these requests as they saw them as too ambitious and they were especially against the extra holiday which unfortunately was the most popular suggestion. It was a shame these suggestions were declined as staff then felt that they were being ignored which in turn lowered morale and saw a drop in productivity for a short while, it would probably have been cheaper for the company to have allowed a small number of desired rewards which would have increased productivity for while and certainly wouldn’t have reduced it. Staff are already aware of what their targets are on a day to day basis and we need to remember that there will be a percentage of staff who do consistently meet these targets, therefore when setting criteria for a reward system we have to set it higher than daily performance targets to show that staff are being recognised for going above and beyond the call of duty and not just being coaxed into doing what is already expected of them. Staff will have to meet daily performance and productivity targets and then some before they can achieve a reward. If an employee successfully achieves a reward for their performance then not only will their productivity have had to increase to achieve the reward in the first place but as that desired behaviour has now been rewarded, the employee will be conditioned into repeating it in order to gain further rewards. If an employee either attempts and fails to reach the goal required to achieve a reward or doesn’t make the effort and sees his colleagues around him being rewarded for their increased effort and performance it will have one of the two following effects upon him: * He will become de-motivated as he is feeling left out or a failure as his efforts are not being recognised because he fails to reach the required standard and his performance will drop further. * He will become determined to work to the required level to achieve a reward to prove to himself and his managers that he too can perform well. If the latter of the consequences occurs then the reward systems is still being effective in all areas as even failures are being motivated to continue to strive for the reward on offer. However if the company begins to see individuals experiencing a drop in motivation and performance they may need to consider addressing this with a reward for example for the most improved productivity each month, therefore even those whose efforts don’t bring them above the required productivity level for a standard reward have a chance of recognition for their efforts alone. McCauley examines Vroom’s expectancy theory and this supports the issues raised above. Vroom does state though that the criteria that needs to be met in order to achieve a reward has to be very clear cut and communicated thoroughly to all levels of staff so as to avoid woolly areas where decisions to reward or not may be disputed. Throughout my research I have identified underlying issues surrounding the productivity of call centre staff and how to improve this by encouraging motivation amongst staff and providing them with personal goals that at the same time guide them towards achieving the productivity levels required by the business. I have come to the conclusion that productivity can only really be successfully increased in the long term by providing something for the individual to work towards, not just setting targets and expecting them to be met. I also think that increased business awareness amongst frontline staff would be beneficial to any call centre so then at least they know and understand why there are certain pressures placed upon them and they may be more welcoming to the challenge of attaining higher targets. Bibliography An exploration of managerial issues in call centres. (Journal Article) Colin Armistead, Julia Kiely, Linda Hole & Jean Prescott. Remuneration Policy

Anzac Spirit essays

Anzac Spirit essays ANZAC Spirit. What started off as a bungled landing at Galipolli on 25 April 1915, has now passed from fact to legend and become much more than the endeavours of the men who served in World War 1. It epitomises Australian nationalism as a whole. The War arrived fairly shortly after Australia federated, when it was still clinging to the Mother Country, when it hadn't really developed as a country. The soldiers who left this land and the ones who came back to it, fatigued yet proud, were not the same. To see your comrades fall and die as you watch is no easy task, and to hold your head high afterwards is even harder. But that's what they did, and that's what the spirit of ANZAC is all about. At dawn on 25 April 1915 Australian troops were landed too far north of the intended landing place in the Allied attack on the Gallipoli peninsula. Because of that mistake they were faced by perpendicular cliffs heavily defended by the Turkish army. In spite, or perhaps because, of this, they showed fearless courage, great resourcefulness, and initiative to drive the Turks back and gain a precious foothold on Turkish soil. There they endured eight months of hardship, displaying great endurance, and mateship to defend an untenable position. From first to last they were compromised and sacrificed by inept and unsympathetic British generals. This established the pattern for the rest of the war and carried through to the Second The end of this year. Then was the tables turned. World War. The traits displayed were divined to be typical of the nation and Australian soldiers considered to be exceptional, if not natural-born, fighters. Even today that same "fighting spirit" is being shown all around Australia. That same willingness to serve our country is still in use. Although in entirely different situations the same methods and comradeship are being displayed. As Sir William Keys states: "Anzac stands not only for courage a ...

Khan Surname Origin and Meaning

Khan Surname Origin and Meaning Meaning Origin The ancient surname Khan is a contracted form of Khagan, from the Turkish khan meaning chief or ruler. It was originally a hereditary title born by early Mongol leaders, such as the legendary Genghis Khan, but is now widely used as a surname throughout the Muslim world. Khan is an especially common surname in South Asian Muslim families, and is also one of the most common surnames in Pakistan. Surname Origin: Muslim Alternate Surname Spellings: KHANH, KAN, KAUN, CAEN, CAAN, CEANN, XAN (Chinese), HAN (Turkish) Genealogy Resources Common Surname Search Tips Tips and tricks for researching your KHAN ancestors online. KHAN Family Genealogy ForumFree message board is focused on descendants of Khan ancestors around the world. FamilySearch - KHAN GenealogyFind records, queries, and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Khan surname.

Clark Construction Group Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Clark Construction Group - Essay Example Knowledge sharing (K-sharing), moreover, can result from the formation of communities of practice that can derive and share critical knowledge for making important strategic decisions (Dalkir & Liebowitz, 2011, p.4). Knowledge management (KM) is important for examining the external competitive environment of Clark Construction Group, LLC (CCG). CCG has a century of experiencing in construction, particularly in building landmarks. It has already built a number of important structures such as the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Dulles International Airport, and FedEx Field, the home base of the Washington Redskins. Clark Construction is involved in offering consultancy services to commercial, institutional, and heavy construction customers. It can give construction management, design/build, and general contracting services. It can build convention centers, sports facilities, production plants, water treatment plants, highways and bridges, and high-rise apartments. KM is significant for CCG because the more that it knows about its customers, products, technologies, competitors, markets, and their connections, the more that it can perform better. Linking knowledge management and business strategy, however, is a difficult process that requires a strong link between KM theories and KM practices (Baskerville & Dulipovici, 2006). Not all executives are effective in expressing the connection between their companies’ intellectual sources and skills and the firm’s competitive strategy. With a wide portfolio and high number of employees, CCG faces the difficulty of creating an effective organization-wide K-sharing system. CCG should develop strategic models that help link its knowledge resources, technologies, and processes to business strategy through using pragmatic KM theories for knowledge management to be pragmatic, theoretically-sound

Wheat Seed Treatment in Australia Research Paper

Wheat Seed Treatment in Australia - Research Paper Example Seeds are subject to attacks not only externally but also internally as fungi or bacteria may attach to their coating or even within eventually causing plant diseases. The dangers that threaten seeds are present during storage and after planting. The soils upon which seeds are planted also contain fungi and bacteria that could harm them and the degree to which they could endanger seeds depend upon the condition of the soil at the time seeds are planted, which do not favour fast germination. Seed treatment had been practiced as early as 60 A.D. when seeds were treated with wine and crushed cypress leaves to deter insects from destroying them while in storage (Munkvold et al. 2006 7). Also, during the Egyptian and Roman periods sap from onion was used; in the Middle Ages, chlorine salts and liquid manure, and; in the 1600s, hot water started to become a ST method, one that is still being used even to this day (Australian Seed Federation 2010). The earliest treatment for wheat seeds was accidentally discovered in the 17th century when a ship carrying a load of wheat grains sank. When grains that got soaked in the seawater were recovered from the sunken ship and were planted they produced plants that have less bunt or stinking smut than the usual crops planted using ordinary seeds. Thus, soaking seeds in seawater became one of the earliest treatments to seeds to prevent bunt until in the year 1750 a Frenchman discovered that salt and lime can control bunt in wheat significa ntly. The advent of the mercurial compounds in the 1920s, although later banned, had revolutionised contemporary seed treatment (Munkvold et al. 2006 7).

Management Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

Management Accounting - Essay Example The method emphasizes on the total costs incurred and the cost volume profits of the relationship are not considered. As far as the decision provided by the accountant, it is solely based on absorption costing. It is imperative to note that a major part of the costs of the two products are due to fixed overheads and administrative expenses. Moreover, these expenses are incurred even if the production of these two products is dropped. Hence a better costing method has to be adopted to effectively allocate the overheads. The two methods suited for Rothfield Plc are activity based costing and marginal costing. Activity Based Costing: ABC is a modern accounting system in which the expenses and overheads are segregated based on the functions of the organisation, which is followed by allocation of the costs to each of the items in respect to the volume of the activity (Kaplan & Anderson, 2007). The use of ABC costing allows the company to accurately assign the costs for all the activities of each of the product or service (Drury, 2005). Rothfield Plc can allocate the fixed overheads based on the usage of these resources by the various production processes. Marginal Costing or Variable Costing: Marginal Costing provides a clear explanation of the impact of changes in volume of output on the profits and the changes on the profits. There is also a clear differentiation between the fixed and variable costs as well. As explained by Dyson (2007), the fixed costs are never charged to the production and instead the fixed costs are treated as period charges. Hence Rothfield Plc can adopt this method to estimate the potential profits effectively. The total labor hours required to meet the estimated production levels are slightly higher (by 333 hours). Hence, it is evident that some of level of production of either one or some of the products has to be reduced. It is essential that whatever the production combination, the contributions from the sales are significant

Reflection Paper On Hong Kong Tourism

Reflection Paper On Hong Kong Tourism Hong Kong tourism is one of the four pillars in its economy. With its image as a cosmopolitan city, Hong Kong has attracted millions of tourists each year. However there are tourism issues that should not be overlooked by the government and the Hong Kong Tourism Commission (HKTC) in order to develop strategies to maintain the long term sustainability of Hong Kong tourism. In this paper, a situation assessment is presented and key tourism issues are identified together with the problems associated and relevant strategies to overcome these problems identified. After the handover of Hong Kong back to the hands of China in 1997, Hong Kong developed its strong links with China. Tourism is with no exception. In 2010, Hong Kong recorded 36 million visitors with more than 60% of visitors coming from Mainland China (HKTB, 2011). This was the result of the extension of Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) and the relaxation of visa arrangement that stimulate the demand. In the coming future, demand from Chinese tourists is still in a grow. Despite the stable demand from Chinese tourists, Hong Kong faces huge challenges from nearby destinations. Hong Kong is used to have being a shopping paradise and being a MICE destination as its competitive edges, however these edges seem to be narrowing down. Hainan province in China has launched a shopping tax refund program to attract non-residents to spend in shopping (Peoples Daily, 2011). Singapore and Macau have developed casino resorts together with MICE facilities to attract business tourism. Despite all these, Hong Kong still has its advantage on its geographic location to be a gateway to China which attracts millions of people in and out of Hong Kong as a hub. Besides, Hong Kong is a cosmopolitan city and an Asias world city which contains characteristics of the West and the East, tradition and contemporary which is appealing to overseas tourists. Its financial position in Hong Kong has attracted many business travelers to come to Hong Kong for business purpose and its image of being a Shopping and Food Paradise has also attracted many leisure tourists. Though Hong Kong still has these advantages, these competitions should not be overlooked in order to strategically maintain its long term sustainability. Tourism Issue 1 Reliance on Chinese tourists In the light of the huge share of Chinese tourists in the mix of Hong Kong tourist arrivals, it is an issue of whether Hong Kong tourism should rely that much on the Chinese market. Some supporters would say the huge supply and spending of Chinese tourists has stabilized Hong Kong tourism demand. From the statistics obtained by HKTB (2011), while the numbers of short haul tourists from Taiwan and Japan and that of long haul tourists from Europe and USA declined in the past 10 years, the visitor number from Mainland China grew rapidly. It can be said that Chinese tourists have sustained Hong Kong tourism. Moreover, according to another statistics from HKTB (2011), Chinese tourists were big spenders that have accounted for 69% of the total visitors spending in 2010. All these reasons have led Hong Kong to develop tourism policy especially for this group of tourists. However, over reliance on the Chinese market would create problems as well. In case of external forces or simply the change of taste of Chinese tourist would pose difficulties for Hong Kong to maintain its visitors number. The 12th National 5-Year Plan released by the Chinese government is one of the external forces mentioned. It was the first time that Hong Kong tourism was not highlighted in the plan, instead the Chinese government intended to develop Macau as a world-class tourism and leisure center (Hong Kongs Information Services Department, 2011). With this aim, the Chinese government might be policies that favor that development of Macau tourism. In that case, more Chinese tourists would be encouraged to go to Macau instead of Hong Kong. Back to Hong Kong, cases like Ah Zhen incident that happened recently would discourage Chinese tourists to travel to Hong Kong. Ah Zhen has been accused to have damaged Hong Kongs reputation as Shopping Paradise by blaming Chinese tourists for not purchasing souvenirs from designated shops. Similar incidents have also happened after this (Wall Street Journal, 2010). These incidents would hinder more Chinese tourists to travel to Hong Kong for shopping. In the long run, this would pose challenges to Hong Kong tourism. China is a huge market that would supply sufficient demand for Hong Kong tourism, Hong Kong government should continue retaining this group of guests to come to Hong Kong. In order to achieve this, there are several recommendations to protect the interests of these guests. Firstly, the government could expand its Quality and Honest Hong Kong Tours Programme to continue strengthening Hong Kongs image as a quality and value for money destination. At the moment, the programme has been carried out in 27 Mainland cities and also in the virtual world on the Internet. Participating travel agents in the scheme have to commit that their itineraries should not contain designated shopping stops and forced shopping and forced self-paid activities. In the new expansion of the programme, the government can promote these tours together with its benefits in more cities in China. Besides, the government can also promote them more extensively via different communication channels, e.g. TV advertisement, social media, etc. Moreover, secret shopper campaign should be continued and done more extensively to spot out illegal or unethical behaviors of travel guides to maintain a satisfactory level of services. This campaign can be used to facilitate the implementation of the Quality and Honest Hong Kong Tours Programme as well to make sure the travel agencies in China and in Hong Kong if they are following the guidelines offered by Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC) and the Hong Kong Tourism Commission (HKTC). It is hoped that by this campaign, travel agencies would self regulate themselves in service delivery and provision. Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC) should develop a more regulatory system to warn and punish travel agencies or tourist guides once illegal or unethical behaviors have been spotted out. In the case of Ah Zhen, originally she was suspended from being a tour guide after the case discovered, however, after her appeal to TIC, she is now suspended for only half year. This indicates the ineffectiveness of the existing system which could allow similar incidents to happen in the future. TIC should be more careful in designing its regulatory system in order to exercise more regulatory power and punishment on Hong Kong tour operators and tour guides who have offended the rules and gives more confidence to Chinese tourists, thus remedy the bad reputation built. However, for the long term benefit of Hong Kong tourism, over focusing on one market segment could be dangerous, Hong Kong government should also find ways to attract other markets. Issue 2 Sustainability of cultural and heritage attractions In view of this and the keen competition from neighboring destinations, Hong Kong has tried its best to develop new tourism products to overcome these challenges. Cultural attractions are popular among these new attractions in recent years to improve Hong Kongs cultural image. Tsim Sha Tsui piazza and the West Kowloon Cultural District are two of the big projects that the government has under taken as new tourism attractions. Besides, the government has also emphasized in developing heritages to showcase Hong Kongs mixed culture. Examples are the former Marine Police Headquarter in Tsim Sha Tsui which has renovated to become a square 1881 Heritage and a boutique hotel named Hullett House. Another example would be the Central market which will be developed into Central Oasis and the project of revitalizing the Former Police Station is Central. One key issue that can be identified among all these projects is whether they could enhance sustainability. According to the Chief Executive in 1999 (Hong Kong Sustainable Department, 2008), the Hong Kong government would ensure a sustainable development to bring about full integration of economic and social development with conservation of environment. In order to achieve this, local participation is very important in leading to sustainable development which gives win-win situation to all parties of the society. However, one common key critics faced by the government in these big projects is lack of transparency. For example, in the case of Tsim Sha Tsui Piazza, a workshop that aims to gather opinions from different parties was subjected to question as these parties were mostly come from the government or government-related organizations (Tourism Commission, 2007). Another example is from another big project, the West Kowloon Cultural District. The management authority of the project is questioned as all of the 15 members from the authority were appointed by the government. Therefore, it is commonly believed that due to lack of transparency, the interest of the government might have affected the management. For heritage sites development, given that the Heritage Tourism Task Force was set up in 1998, it was blamed to be lack of leadership and lack of influence in the government bureaucracy (Chu and Uebegang, 2002). The essence of sustainable tourism development is how to balance different views from different parties which is actually a huge challenge that the government has to face in planning and developing tourist attractions. In order to fully implement sustainable tourism development, a bottom-up approach has to be adopted to collect more objective views from all sectors in Hong Kong so that specific needs could be satisfied and win-win situation for tourists and locals could be achieved. Cooperation with and involvement of locals or significant cultural group should be guaranteed and local community should be involved at the beginning stage of planning and operation to avoid these heritages to lose its original value, especially to the locals who have grown up with these heritage sites. It is hoped that by this approach, the integrity and authenticity of the heritage could be maintained while new elements like environmental friendly designs could be also involved in the new design. Another problem raised from sustainability is whether these new attractions could showcase the local elements. Perhaps due to the image of Hong Kong as being an international city, projecting an image of East-meet-West, attractions are often blamed to be lack of local characteristics. For example, in the case of West Kowloon Cultural District, even one of the advisory committees of the project criticized that the design is lack of local elements (HKheadline, 2011). This problem has to be dealt properly, or else every new attraction in Hong Kong would deliver similar image to tourists, especially for revitalized heritage attractions which are supposed to deliver a unique image and background knowledge of Hong Kong so that visitors could appreciate and understand more about Hong Kong. One of the solutions is to keep up with public consultations and gather opinions of the public about the kind of local culture to be included in the design of new attractions. By that, local culture could be incorporated into the design and would not be missed out. Conclusion With its strong link to China, Hong Kong relies on the supply of Chinese tourists to sustain tourism. Though the huge number of Chinese tourists remains a consistent supply, there are risks associated with it and as a government body, HKTC should develop measures to also attract other markets and diversify the profile of Hong Kong visitors. On the other hand, sustainable tourism development is often questioned due to lack of transparency and overlook of Hong Kong local elements in development new attractions. HKTC and the government should involve a more transparent public consultation and public engagement so as to guarantee a more sustainable tourism planning and development.

Karl Marx :: essays papers

Karl Marx One day, I was walking in the forest, yearning for just something that will nourish my body. I had not eaten for days, and in order to survive, I needed food. All of a sudden, I came upon a block of bread laying ten feet in front of me. Running towards it, I was confronted by another man twice my size. He was definitely more than I. Being the smaller man, I lost out on my nourishment and on my survival. I lost my â€Å"struggle for existence†. Throughout this paper, I will expand on why this short story, has to do with a man by the name of Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was a failed medical school student, who finally received his B.A. degree in Biology. His schooling was finished up at Cambridge. If anyone is at all familiar with Darwin, they know his beliefs are pretty much the exact opposite of the Christian Theology. What strikes me, as strange, is that Darwin, when younger, was a Clergyman at the Church of England. As I will elaborate later on in this paper, he went from a religious clergyman, to questioning his beliefs, to even stating some of the most non-religious Theories known to man. As an unpaid Naturalist, he traveled on the H.M.S. Beagle, across the coastline of South America. While being dropped off and left on the Galapagos Islands for a number of days, he began to watch the species on the Island. To sum it up, He watched, for many days, Nature run its course. Throughout this time, and even after, he started to develop ideas about how he thought species survived. How they do survive, and how they should survive. This has to do with one of his greatest theories of all, Natural Selection. As I explained earlier about â€Å"the survival for existence†, Darwin developed a theory that explained how the most fit, biggest, and better of all the species have they opportunity to live on and survive. The weak, and less fortunate are able to compete for food, or other survival musts. He coined these thoughts along with a fellow Naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913). Wallace actually gathered his evidence in Indonesia. This theory in which these two men established has been critiqued for years.

Romeo and Juliet, Last Scene

Romeo and Juliet is one of William Shakespeare’s most well known plays and loved by many. It is a tragedy, where two feuding family’s conflict is reconciled with the loss of their children, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, the â€Å"two star crossed lovers† that take their lives. In this essay I will analyze the given passage in Act 5 Scene 3 (143) relating my discussion to the play as a whole. In the given passage, Juliet awakens from her drug induced ‘death† and finds Romeo dead along with Paris.Juliet cannot leave the tomb or even live without Romeo and decides to take her own life with his dagger. This does not come as a surprise to the viewer as they were told at the beginning of the play that â€Å"A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Doth with their death bury their parents' strife. † (1:1 3) Shakespeare not only tells the viewer right from the beginning that the lovers will die but he a lso demonstrates that fate is against them. In Act 5 Scene 5 Juliet foresees Romeo’s death in a vision, adding to the drama.She says â€Å"†¦Methinks I see thee, now thou art below, As one dead in the bottom of a tomb: Either my eyesight fails, or thou looe'st pale. † (3:5 109) Romeo replies that she too looks pale; furthermore saying that â€Å"Dry sorrow drinks [their] blood† (3:5 109). He even dreams of his own fate, â€Å"I dreamt my lady came and found me dead† (5:1 132. ) This dream of Romeo’s seals his fate and forewarns him of his death which is depicted in the given passage Act 5 Scene 3 (143). Lady Capulet also unknowingly condemns Juliet to her death.When Juliet refuses to marry Paris, Lady Capulet says â€Å"I wish the fool were married to her grave† (3:5 112). She even ironically foretells how Romeo will die when she tells Juliet that she will find someone to â€Å"give him such an unaccustomed dram That he shall soon keep Tybalt company† (3:5 110) seeking revenge for Tybalt’s death. Even Juliet brings upon the image of her own death and of Romeos on separate occasions. When she finds out she has to marry Paris she asks her mother to â€Å"Delay this marriage for a month, a week; or, if you do not, make the bridal bed In that dim monument where Tybalt ies† (3:5 114). Upon finding out about her arranged marriage to Paris, and knowing that she is already married to Romeo, she says to the nurse â€Å"My husband is on earth, my faith in heaven. How shall that faith return again to earth, Unless that husband send it to me from heaven B +y leaving earth? † (3:5 114) As seen in the examples above, the images of death and marriage often intertwine emphasizing Romeo and Juliet’s fate which was foretold and wished upon. There was one person, however, who tried to alter it- Friar Laurence.He marries Romeo and Juliet hoping that their marriage would end the feud between the fami lies. He says, â€Å"In one respect I'll thy assistant be-; For this alliance may so happy prove To turn your household's rancour to pure love. † (2:4 63) This shows the viewer that he is good intentioned yet naive and can not foresee the consequences of this clandestine marriage. In the given extract the Friar only recognizes the consequences of his plans and unexpected outcome when he finds Romeo and Paris dead.When Juliet awakens he offers to take her to the nunnery and then flees as he hears noises abandoning Juliet as he does not want to be associated with their death. Many Christians believe that the Friar tries to play God and even believe that Juliet’s death is made to resemble Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus died for the sins of humankind and Juliet dies for the sins of the two feuding families. Furthermore, gradesaver. com mentions another biblical reference, when Benvolio attempts to halt the fight in the first scene, he remarks, â€Å"†¦pu t up your swords; you know not what you do† (1. . 8). This same phrase is used by Jesus when he stops his apostles from fighting the Roman guards during his arrest. Shakespeare also contradicts these religious elements with erotic elements. To commit suicide, Romeo drinks the poison from a chalice which by its rounded shape symbolizes a woman’s torso. In turn Juliet kills herself with Romeo’s â€Å"happy dagger†, a phallic symbol. In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet die as a result of the poisonous feud between their families. With their death Shakespeare resolves the major conflict of the play as the families choose to reconcile.Fate and time is against the lovers. Romeo never receives the letter sent to him by Friar Lawrence informing him of the plans, Juliet awakes just after Romeo commits suicide and the families reconcile only after their death. Even though the audience knows right from the beginning that the lovers will die and are constantly reminded th roughout the play, they can’t help but feel heartbroken. There is however a glimmer of hope, as the night has always brought Romeo and Juliet together and on this tragic night the lovers will reunite in death, defying the stars.

Chapter 10 Sociology Race and Ethnicity Essay

– Race: people who share physical characteristics, such as skin color and facial features that are passed on through reproduction – social construction: a societal invention that labels people based on physical appearance. – Skin color, hair texture, and eye shape are examples of unequal treatment – Ethnic Group: a group of people who identify with a common national origin or cultural heritage that includes language, geographic roots, food, customs, traditions, and/or religion. – Puerto Ricans, Chinese, Serbs, Arabs, Swedes, Hungarians, Jews – Racial-Ethnic Group: people who have distinctive physical and cultural characteristics. Immigrants – Illegal immigrants do the jobs that most Americans don’t want like clean homes and offices, nannies and busboys, nurses’ aides, and pick fruit for low wage Dominant and Minority Groups: – Dominant Group: any physically or culturally distinctive group that has most economic and political power, the greatest privileges, and the highest social status. – Men are dominant group because they have more status, resources, and power than women. – Apartheid: a formal system of racial segregation – Minority: a group of people who may be subject to differential and unequal treatment because of their physical, cultural, and other characteristics such as sex, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, or skin color. – American minorities have fewer choices than dominant group members in finding homes and apartments because they are less likely to get help from a bank to help with mortgage. – Patterns of Dominant-Minority Group Relations: – Genocide: the systematic effort to kill all members of a particular ethnic, religious, political, racial, or national group. – Holocaust in Germany – Segregation: the physical and social separation of dominant and minority groups. – De Facto: informal; may be voluntary as when members of racial or ethnic groups prefer to live among their own group. Due to discrimination -De Jure: Legal; replaced by de facto – Assimilation: the process of conforming to the culture of the dominant group, adopting its language and values, and intermarrying with that group. – Mexicans are less likely to assimilate in the US than immigrants from the Philippines, Vietnam or South Korea because they are more likely to have entered the country illegally which cuts them from getting a good job, most public assistance programs, and eventual citizenship – Pluralism: minority groups retain their culture but have equal social standing in a society. – The US is pluralistic because it is multicultural, multicolored, and multilingual. Also, the US has most racial and ethnic communities (â€Å"Little Italy†, â€Å"Greek Town†, â€Å"Little Korea†, â€Å"Spanish Harlem†) live peacefully side by side Some Sources of Racial-Ethnic Friction. – Racism: a set of beliefs that one’s own racial group is naturally superior to other groups. – Prejudice: an attitude, positive or negative, toward people because of their membership. – Different from us in race, ethnicity, or religion. Asians are really hard workers; White people can’t be trusted – Stereotype: an oversimplified exaggerated generalization about a category of people. – Can be positive; All African Americans are athletic – Can be negative; All African Americans are lazy – Ethnocentrism: the belief that one’s own culture, society, or group is inherently superior to others. – Reject those outside of our group. – Scapegoats: individuals or groups whom people blame for their own problems or shortcomings. – They didn’t hire me because the company wants blacks; I didn’t get into that college because Asian Americans are at the top of the list Minorities are scapegoating targets because they differ in physical appearance and too powerless to strike back. – Stereotypes, ethnocentrism, and scapegoating are attitudes, but lead to discrimination. – Discrimination: any act that treats people unequally or unfairly because of their group membership. – Range from social slights (not inviting a co worker to lunch) to rejection of job application and hate crimes. – Can be subtle (not sitting next to someone) or blatant (racial slurs) – Individual Discrimination: harmful action on a one-to-one basis by a member of a dominant group against a member of a minority group. – Discrimination while eating in restaurants, shopping, buying house, applying for job, etc. – Institutional Discrimination: unequal treatment and opportunities that members of minority groups experience as a result of the everyday operations of a society’s law, rules, policies, practices, and customs. – Heath services; minorities get lower quality care than white people even when treated by the same doctor. – Relationship between Prejudice and Discrimination: – Robert Merton described the relationship between prejudice and discrimination as 4 patterns; 1. Unprejudiced Nondiscriminators: â€Å"All-weather liberals† They aren’t prejudiced and don’t discriminate; they believe in the American creed of freedom 2. Prejudiced Discriminators: â€Å"Active Bigots† They are prejudiced and do discriminate. They are willing to break laws to express beliefs 3. Unprejudiced Discriminators: â€Å"Fair-weather liberals† ; They aren’t prejudiced but they discriminate because its in their own self interest to do so 4. Prejudiced Nondiscrimination: â€Å"Timid Bigots† They are prejudiced but don’t discriminate. Major Racial and Ethnic Groups in the US – European Americans: immigrants from southern and eastern Europe; they viewed newcomers as dirty, lazy, and uncivilized because they differ in language, religion and customs. – Latinos: many Latinos who were professionals in their native land only find low-income jobs in the US. They often have a hard time to both work and learn English well enough to pass exams to become doctors, lawyers, and accountants. Many are successful though. Earn better hourly wages because they are older, better educated, and more likely to be employed in construction than agriculture. – African Americans: They are successful. A third of all black households earn incomes of $50,000 or more. – Asian Americans: the most successful Asian Americans are those who speak English relatively well and have high education levels. Have higher educational levels than any other US racial-ethnic groups. Most likely to be concentrated in highly skilled occupations like information technology, science, engineering, and medicine. – American Indians: they are not immigrants, they have been in the US longer than any other group. They have made considerable economic progress by insisting on self- determination and the rights of tribes to run their own affairs. Most of them work in construction and repair, maintenance, and personal and laundry services. – Middle Eastern Americans: one of the most diverse and complex combinations of geographic, historical, religious, linguistic, and even racial places on Earth. Tend to be better educated and wealthier than other Americans. Well integrated into American life. Three of four speak only English at home or speak it well and more than half are homeowners. Sociological Explanations of Racial-Ethnic Inequality – Functionalism: (macro) Prejudice and Discrimination can be dysfunctional, but they provide benefits for dominant groups and stabilize society. – Conflict: (macro) Powerful groups maintain their advantages and perpetuate racial-ethnic inequality primarily through economic exploitation – Primary Labor Market: held primarily by white workers, provide better wages, health and pension benefits, and some measure of job security. – Secondary Labor Market: (fast-food employees) are largely minorities and easily paid, their wages are low, there are a few benefits and working conditions are poor. – Feminist: (macro and micro) Minority women suffer from the combined effects of racism and sexism. – Gendered Racism: the overlapping and cumulative effects of inequality due to racism and sexism. – Symbolic Interactionism: (micro) Hostile attitudes toward minorities, which are learned, can be reduced through cooperative interracial and interethnic contacts. – Attitudes toward dominant and minority groups through labeling and selective perception can increase prejudice and discrimination. – Contact Hypothesis: the idea that more people get to know members of a minority group personally, the less likely they are to be prejudiced against that group Interracial and Interethnic Relationships: – Miscegenation: marriage or sexual relations between a man and a woman of different races. – The increase in intermarriage reflects many interrelated factors both macro and micro that include everyday contact and changing attitudes.