Latino Race Ethnicity and Place in the USA 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 groupÃ'Ž – 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 securityÃ'Ž – 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 attitudesÃ'Ž

“Macbeth” and “Brave New World” Comparison Essay Essay

Freedom and individualism are a significant component of contemporary society, however there are many parts of the world where these basic human rights are not granted. The lack of these basic rights are clearly demonstrated in the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. The leaders of many societies are willing to sacrifice innocent lives in order for society to function according to their visions. Many leaders are willing to sacrifice the freedom of the people in order for society to run the way they want. Furthermore, even the individuals making up the society are quite willing to sacrifice their souls in order to live in an imaginary world. As long as they perceive happiness to be present they are very content to live there. To live in the utopian imaginary worlds of Brave New World and Macbeth, freedom and individuality are often sacrificed. Sacrifice is often a necessity when attempting to create utopian societies. However, these sacrifices are not enough to convince every individual within the society. One of these individuals is Bernard, who was going to be exiled to Iceland by the director, because he does not believe in the society that individuals after Ford believed in. Even though Bernard was conditioned when he was a child, he could not accept what all the other individuals believed. Unlike the other individuals, Bernard has stunted growth and often felt isolated from the rest of society. Further alienating Bernard from the rest of society is his rejection of the promiscuous nature present in his society. He also exhibits the various characteristics of men who existed before Ford. Bernard Marx did not believe in the everyone belonged to everyone theme that was the norm in Fords society. The director wanted to exile Bernard Marx because he did not believe in the society that the director was enforcing. However, Bernard felt strong enough to meet and overcome affliction, strong enough to face even Iceland. (Huxley 106). This mentality was one of the many factors which set Bernard apart from the rest of society. Another man who sets himself apart from society is Macbeth. He plots and succeeds in killing King Duncan after hearing the witchs prophecies.  Macbeths reasons for killing King Duncan are numerous but most striking are greed and an unrelenting desire to become King. He also wants to make sure that he runs the country as he saw fit. Macbeth allows the prophecies to control him and his internal struggle is demonstrated by: This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill; cannot be good: if ill why hath it given me earnest of success (Shakespeare 27). Despite his initial reluctance, he quiets his conscience leading to the brutal murder of King Duncan. I have done the deed (Shakespeare 70). Both stories show similarity between the Director and Macbeth, who are willing to sacrifice innocent lives to obtain the society they want. Wanting and achieving the society that is envisioned is always paralleled with loss and some sort of sacrifice. Bernard Marx sacrifices the little respect that he has by bringing John Savage back to the utopian society. Bernard and John both want the society to be more independent. Fortunately for Bernard and unfortunately for the director, society accepts John and questions their own lifestyle. Bernard believes that life should be exactly the same as John wants it to be I dont want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness, I want sin.(Huxley 237) Bernard took a huge risk in bringing John back to his society because he was risking definite exile to Iceland had society rejected John. Macbeth sacrifices his peace of mind and self-respect by killing Banquo and trying to kill Banquos son Fleance. At the feast Macbeth makes a fool of himself by talking to the imaginary ghost of Banquo. Blood hath been shed now, I the olden time, Ere human statute purged the gentle weal; Ay, and since too, muders have been performed Too terrible for the ear: the time has been, That when the brains were out, the man would die, And there an end: but now, they rise again, With twenty mortal murders on their crowns, And push us from our stools: this is more strange Than such a murder is.(Shakespeare 145)Many individuals take note of Macbeths strange behavior leading them to suspect him of some foul deed. Unfortunately for Macbeth, Macduff realizes that Macbeth is the true murderer. This realization leads to the eventual killing of Macbeth. This illustrates Macbeths sacrifice of his self respect and his life in order to fulfill his  prophecy. Many individuals are willing to sacrifice their souls in order to become part of the imaginary world where only happiness exists. John Savages mother, Linda, sacrifices her life by taking too much of a drug referred to as soma. Linda wants to get away from the real world and enter a world of happiness. Ever since she had a child with the Director her life changed for the worse. So the best people were quite determined not to see Linda. And Linda, for her part, had no desire to see them. The return to civilization was for her the return to soma, was the possibility of lying in bed and taking holiday after holiday, without ever having to come back to a headache or a fit of vomiting, without ever being made to feel as you always felt after peyotl, as though you’d done something so shamefully anti-social that you could never hold up your head again. Soma played none of these unpleasant tricks. The holiday it gave was perfect and, if the morning after was disagreeable, it was so, not intrinsically, but only by comparison with the joys of the holiday. The remedy was to make the holiday continuous. Greedily she clamoured for ever larger, ever more frequent doses. Dr. Shaw at first demurred; then let her have what she wanted. She took as much as twenty grammes a day (Huxley 107)Lenina introduces the drug to Linda as soon as Linda enters the world after Ford. Linda looses her life and dies at the hospital because of an overdose of soma, the drug that is supposed to provide happiness. Lady Macbeth also sacrifices her peace of mind and eventually her life so that Macbeth could be King. Lady Macbeth sets up the killing of King Duncan at the beginning of the novel. Throughout the novel, Lady Macbeth becomes involved in many of the murders committed by Macbeth. Unfortunately Lady Macbeth experiences a sleepwalking illness with recurring nightmares of the murder of King Duncan that could not be resolved. This disease is beyond my practice: yet I have known those which have walked in their sleep who have died holily in their beds.(Shakespeare 213). The lives of Linda and Lady Macbeth can also be viewed as victims of the utopian societies envisioned by the director and Macbeth. Freedom and individuality are sacrificed throughout Brave New World and  Macbeth in order to achieve the societies envisioned by the director and Macbeth. The director tried to exile Bernard just because Bernard did not accept the norm of the utopian society. Macbeth kills King Duncan after hearing the witchs prophecies of him being King so that he can run society the way he wants. Bernard sacrifices his respect by bringing John Savage back home. Macbeth also sacrifices his respect when he talks to the ghost of Banquo. Linda puts her soul on the line with an overdose of a drug called soma. Lady Macbeth also sacrifices her life in order for Macbeth to be King of Scotland. Many individuals throughout Brave New World and Macbeth sacrifice their freedom and individualism for the society that they believed in, even if it was not the society that was accepted by the majority of people. Bibliography Shakespeare, William, Date Modified: 1999, MacbethHuxley, Aldous, Date Modified: 1979, Brave New World

Organizational Transformation Q&A Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organizational Transformation Q&A - Essay Example â€Å"The human capability for creative thinking, creative behaviour, and innovation is a major source of organizational change† (Levy and Merry, 1986, p.221). This reinforces that the people are integral to the development of any organization. This is an on-going process that requires the participation of the members of the organization for its efficiency and must be for the common benefit of all. These innovations are illustrative that the organization places individual growth as a part of its policy. Leadership is an important characteristic which guides the direction of the organization and is oftentimes the make or break catalyst which could either propel success, keep the status quo or lead to its demise. Many great leaders have become the cornerstone of their organization and have often been simultaneously the face which identifies the company. The leader is the one who is in the forefront of creating, managing and sustaining innovation. In the same light, he fosters th e kind of culture that is adopted by each member of the organization. Adair outlines the duty of a good leader which is necessary in implementing innovation, â€Å"It is your job as a leader at any level in the organization to facilitate desirable change and to encourage that attitude throughout the management team† (2007, p.17). ... Even ethical standards may at times differ in such a way that what is acceptable to one may be utterly deplorable to another. But this also is imperative in the continuing growth of an organization because it is important to stimulate creativity and hard work, and this could only be positively done through a reward system. The individual reward system gives the best sense of fulfilment to an employee and this may not be dispensed with. Schein proposes a logical ascertainment of this system, â€Å"Every group must develop a system of sanctions for obeying or disobeying its norms and rules. There must evolve some consensus on what symbolically and actually is defined as a reward or punishment and on the manner in which it is to be administered† (2010, p.107). This responds to the ethical implications that will necessarily exhibit because of the reward system. By creating clear-cut rules supported by an innovative and unyielding leader, the conflicts will be mitigated or at the v ery least they will be amenable to such rules. I will describe my organization as innovative because it incorporates the necessary tools that would define one to be adoptive to change and open to creativity. Admittedly, there are times when people may be butting heads and there are those who are not wholeheartedly supportive of the decisions and the policies of the management but I deem these to be necessary to the growth of the organization. Not everyone can be in good terms all the time because the company is essentially composed of people with different backgrounds and education that differences are inevitable. The policies of the company promote individual rewards which can be immensely gratifying not only on a

Field trip assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Field trip - Assignment Example Others may be identified by their height and morphology The difference between the southern and northern magnolia trees are mainly based on their morphology. The difference may be used to tell the native of the specific species and the kind of the environment from which the tree came from. Pollination of these flowers is mainly done by beetle, although other insects may be involved. The structure of the flower is simple and one can hardly distinguish the sepals from the petals, the flower is leathery and the seeds are well protected. A leaf that would survive I water needs to be wide and flat for it to float on water, it needs to have many stomata on either side to get rid of the excess water, and the stomata need to be open throughout so as to allow water to escape Station 3 Bald cypress; The bald cypresses are known for their distinctive feature, the knees. These are special roots that protrude upwards from the ground water; their function is thought to be that of air exchange since the bald cypress grow in swampy areas. The giant redwood has a lifespan of up to 2000 years while the giant Sequoia has a life span of 3000 years. The branches of the giant redwood, go up to 5 feet in diameter while those of the Sequoia go up to 8 feet in diameter, the bark of the redwood grows up to 12 inches thick while that of the giant Sequoia grows up to 3 feet thick, lastly the redwood reproduce either by seed or sprout whereas the Sequoias reproduce mainly by seed. Station 4b: Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides); Some of the advantages of deciduous plants are that the plant leave are prevented from damage during harsh conditions, the nutrients and energy are stored in the stems and later used to make other leaves when the conditions are favorable. These plants also reduce ice buildup as they do not have leaves that provide a perfect surface for ice buildup. Thus, there is less damage to the

Mythology and St. Patrick of Ireland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mythology and St. Patrick of Ireland - Essay Example As to Patrick's earliest beginnings, the Catholic Encyclopedia writes that St. Patrick was an, "Apostle of Ireland, born at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, in Scotland, in the year 387; died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, 17 March, 493. [some sources say 460 or 461.-Ed.]," ("St. Patrick" p.1). In the study of historical figures, whether they are of the religious nature or not, it is most imperative to begin as far back in their lives as possible and moving forward from there. To question how and where Patrick was spiritually enlightened, the following section of the Catholic Encyclopedia best describes both parts. ... Known as a very spiritual man in later years leading to his declared sainthood and death, it is important to observe what lead him to that point and as the previous paragraph shows, it was something as horrible as slavery that lead him to find his spiritual center. Like many believers, St. Patrick found warmth and comfort of a magnitude that he may never have experienced before. As he says, the outside elements became non-existent to him and the power of prayer enveloped him in a protective shield and gave him the faith and courage, as well as the hope that surely was needed for him during such a horrific period of his life. "Admonished by an angel he after six years fled from his cruel master and bent his steps towards the west. He relates in his "Confessio" that he had to travel about 200 miles; and his journey was probably towards Killala Bay and onwards thence to Westport. He found a ship ready to set sail and after some rebuffs was allowed on board. In a few days he was among his friends once more in Britain, but now his heart was set on devoting himself to the service of God in the sacred ministry. We meet with him at St. Martin's monastery at Tours, and again at the island sanctuary of Lrins which was just then acquiring widespread renown for learning and piety; and wherever lessons of heroic perfection in the exercise of Christian life could be acquired, thither the fervent Patrick was sure to bend his steps. No sooner had St. Germain entered on his great mission at Auxerre than Patrick put himself under his guidance, and it was at that great bishop's hands that Ireland's future apostle was a few years later promoted to the priesthood. It is the tradition in the territory of the Morini that

Discuss the questions the research PowerPoint Presentation

Discuss the questions the research - PowerPoint Presentation Example Inflation targeting argues that an approach may not be operational due to time that monetary policy affects inflation, and also difficulties in forecasting inflation. These problems are the reasons for policy making should target money and exchange rates as well as other variables that are more directly controlled (Kohn and Robert, 309). The rate of inflation is fundamental determinant for the discount rate that is used to calculate the investment present value (Bernanke and Mishkin, 143). Changes in the rate of inflation affect market valuation of stock. There are various ways to construct and forecast this inflation rate and also the rationale of the methodology. Consumer price index (CPI) relies on simple analysis but more technical in forecasting the inflation rate. The technical analysis mean that prediction using Consumer Price Index that has passed and is related to an inflation rate data than prediction using economic data e.g. trends of commodity prices and employment wages( Bernanke and Mishkin, 122). Inflation rate momentum for the forecast is more important than the reversion. This means that inflation rate does not undergo reversion on its trend quickly on long term and short time changes in Consumer Price Index which are indicative of future changes and not changes in Consumer Price Index on a distant past. Forecasting using CPI requires construction of various different forecasts of a year before the annual CPI inflation by use of variables and method. Variables are CPI inflation, measures of inflation and economic activity and also the inflation expectations. These may be obtained through survey. Our study involved constructing many different forecasts of one-year-ahead annual CPI inflation using a number of variables and methods and then comparing the accuracy of those forecasts. Variables included CPI inflation, core measures of inflation, measures of economic activity, and inflation expectations obtained from surveys. Empirical models

Law of Accounting Coursework question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Law of Accounting Coursework question - Essay Example It is a well established principle that a contract can come into existence even if it is oral or has been concluded in an informal manner, however, it is important to note that there are certain conditions which must be satisfied for a legally binding contract to be existent. The starting point for the formation of a contract is that there must be an offer made and it should clearly not be an invitation to treat and subsequently there should be acceptance. The next aspect is that of the criterion of consideration, the intent to enter into legal relation the presence of certainty. For an effective evaluation of how a contract is to be concluded can be found in the case of Smith v Hughes1, whereby the subjective as well as the objective test was laid down so as to evaluate the existence of a valid and legally enforceable contract. The subjective test focuses on the intention of the parties who entered into the contract, while on the contrary the objective test looks into what had been said, done, not done by the parties and what the intention of saying or doing was. An important evaluation on the principles of offer and acceptance can be seen from the evaluation of Professor Atiyah, whereby it was reasoned that offer and acceptance is determined by of one of the methods which is ‘reason forwards’ and ‘reason backwards’. Reason forwards takes into account of offer and acceptance and their existence at first and then goes on to reason out and conclude on the dispute at hand and as for reason backwards the most reasonable solution is made out and it then turns around to ascertain from that offer and acceptance. The definition offer is unequivocal willingness by the offeror that is the person making offer to be bound by certain terms and conditions subject to acceptance of the offeree that is the peron to whom the offer is made. There has been a clear distinction which has been drawn by the courts on the area of invitation to treat and offer , however, there have been times when the differentiating was a mere thin line. Invitation to treat has been defined as an expression of willingness to induce another party to enter into negotiations and to make an offer, however, the boundary is, the fact that it is conditional and is therefore not an offer. The case of (Fisher v Bell)2 clearly defined the fact that invitation to treat is merely an expression of willingness of one party to enter into negotiations with another party thereby hoping that eventually offer and acceptance would take place and a valid and legally enforceable contract would come into existence. The thin line and the distinguishing features between an invitation to treat and offer can be seen from the cases of of Gibson v Manchester City Council3 and Storer v Manchester City Council4. The facts in Gibson were that the treasurer in his letter to Mr. Gibson stated that the council was willing to sell Mr. Gibson the house and needed him to make a formal applic ation. The courts looked into the circumstances of the case and in particular the price factor and held to be an invitation to treat. Contrary to Gibson, in Storer the courts held that a valid contract had been created because of the fact that the transaction had moved one step further and was prior to exchange of contracts. Even though it was a very thin line the courts distinguished between the

Distance Learning Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Distance Learning Education - Research Paper Example There has been a recent explosion in the field of education of distance learning but the history of distance learning dates back to as early as 1728, when Caleb Phillips, who was a teacher of Short Hand method, published an advertisement in Boston Gazette to seek students to whom he would send lectures on weekly basis. (Distance Learning 2007).The Pioneers of distance learning relied on postal services in the 19th century to provide educational opportunities to students who were not able to seek education by attending conventional schools. An Englishman, Isaac Pitman, is regarded has an early pioneer in providing distance education. In 1840s, Isaac Pitman taught Short Hand using correspondence in the Great Britain. The University of London established its Eternal Programme in 1858, and became the world’s first university to provide the opportunity of attaining distance learning degrees to international and national students. In the United States, the concept of extended educat ion through satellite colleges was established in the University of Chicago, by William Rainey Harper, who was the University’s first president. In 1829, William Rainey Harper further promoted education by encouraging the concept of providing school courses through correspondence, an idea that was originally put forward and practiced by Columbia University. In 1911, the Department of Correspondence studies was established in the University of Queensland in Australia. In America, Charles Wedemeyer of the University of Wisconsin-Madison encouraged the use of methods other than the postal service in providing distance education. In the UK, Open universities were established in 1969, which initially provided distance educational courses through radio and television broadcasts and now some of these open universities have attained the status of ‘mega universities’. In the United States, Jones International University was established in 1996 and is the first university to provide all its educational services online. The University is accredited by an accrediting association. Today, undergraduate and post graduate distance education is provided by many private and public, as well as by for- profit and non-profit educational institutions. Following the recent explosion in distance learning, national government authorities such as Quality Assurance Agency in UK and Distance Education and Training Council in the US, have been established to provide accreditation to distance education providing institutions. (Lau et al 2000). Virtual High School: Virtual High Schools or online high schools refer to the institutions which provide K-12 courses, in which the instructor and students are not only separated by time but by distance as well. The instructor provides the course by employing various methods such as multiple course management applications, internet, and resources relating to multimedia and video conferencing. The students communicate and interact with the instructors by using these same methods. (Distance Learning 2004). Types of Online High Schools: I. State Sanctioned Online high schools: In America, online high schools in fourteen states have been sanctioned by the state government and are designated as the State’s own virtual high schools. Such as the Florida Virtual School which in terms of enrollments is the largest virtual school and has been providing online educational services since 1997. Since its establishment the institution has been funded by the

Appraising (Human Resource management) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Appraising (Human Resource management) - Essay Example ld base the annual performance appraisal on both the performance shown by the employee till this point since the start of the year, and that shown by the employee from this point in the year onward till its end. In other words, the performance shown by the employee for the previous objectives whose duration is from the start till the middle of the year does not go waste. However, since it is a little complicated for the employee to abruptly exercise a radical change in his/her work responsibilities, it is imperative that the meetings between the manager and the employee from this point onwards till the end of the year are made more frequent. This means that if previously, two meetings were arranged, then after the change, there should be four meetings from the middle to the end of the year. This would provide the manager with an opportunity to monitor more closely whether the employee is working to achieve the new assigned goals or

History of the U.S. Income Tax Essay Example for Free

History of the U.S. Income Tax Essay The income tax of the United States of America, be it federal, state and local, has changed over time. Different circumstances pushed the government to create taxation and to amend the existing taxation laws. During the pre-Revolutionary War era in the 1700s, taxes were not imposed by the colonial government as their need for tax revenue did not exist. The colonies, on the other hand, had greater responsibilities therefore, had greater need for tax revenue. Because of this, different types of taxes were imposed by the colonies. The southern colonies imposed taxes on imports and exports while the middle colonies imposed taxes on property and a poll tax on each adult male. The New England colonies, on the other hand, collected taxes through property taxes, income taxes and excise taxes. When the English Parliament realized the need for money to pay for the French war, it imposed different taxes to the American colonies through the Stamp Act which was enacted in 1765. Later on, this Stamp Act was revised to include taxes for permits, newspapers, legal documents and playing cards. The Townsend Act was later on enacted by the Parliament to include taxes for paint, tea and paper . After a decade of paying taxes, there was much resistance to the tax imposed by the Parliament. During the Boston Tea Party in 1773, colonists, dressed as Native Americans, threw 342 chests of tea from a ship of the British East India Company to the Boston Harbor. In 1775, Isaac Backus during the Massachusetts Assembly said that â€Å"It’s not all America now appealing to Heaven against injustice of being taxed†¦We are persuaded that an entire freedom from being taxed by civil rulers†¦is not mere favor from any men in the world but a right and property granted us by God, who commands us to stand fast in it† . Taxation is considered as one of the factors that led to American War for Independence hence, when America gained its Independence, Article 1, Section 9, Article 4 of the U. S. Constitution in 1787 declared that there be no capitation or any direct taxes imposed on the citizens. The national government had very little responsibilities during these times and relied only on donations given by the States for its revenue. However, in 1789, the Founding Fathers realized that it could not function at its efficiency if it relied only on other governments’ donations hence the Federal Government was granted the authority to impose taxes. The sensitivity to taxation was still existing at this point in time hence the government has to be careful on how it impose taxes so as to minimize resistance from its people. Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury in the 1790s, decided that a â€Å"sin tax† was imposed . Through the â€Å"sin tax†, only items which society thinks is deviant or vice were taxed such as distilled spirits, alcohol and whiskey. However, this still led to the armed revolt called Whisky Rebellion by a group of South Pennsylvania farmers. Still during the 1790s, the Federal Government imposed direct taxes to owners of houses, slaves and land. However, when Thomas Jefferson was elected to office in 1802, these direct taxes were removed and for the succeeding 10 years, only excise taxes were imposed. The reason for this was because he realized the inverse relationship of tax rates and tax revenue wherein the higher the taxes imposed on the citizens, the slower the economy grows hence the tax revenue declines. A cut in the rate of tax means that income for the family will become higher, expenditures become higher and hence, the economy experiences growth. During the 1812 War, the need for tax revenue resurfaced again hence taxes on the sales of gold, jewelry, watches and silver were imposed. Treasury notes were also issued to raise money. However, in 1817, the Congress revoked these taxes and for the next 40 years, government revenue was based on high customs duties and sale of government or public land . In 1861, when the Civil War erupted, the Revenue Act of 1861 was enacted. This Act restored the previous taxes on personal income. This tax was similar to the modern income tax because it was based on a gradual taxation of withholding tax from its source. A person earning $600 to $10,000 a year paid 3% tax. Persons with income higher than $10,000 paid a higher rate of tax. In 1862, the debt created by the war was rising at a rate of $2 million per day hence there was another need for the government to increase its revenue. Because of this, the Congress passed another tax imposition on items such gunpowder, playing cards, telegrams, iron, pianos, yatchs, drugs, among others. After the Civil War, the need for revenue declined and hence the income tax was abolished and only the excise taxes remained from 1868 to 1913. The War Revenue Act in 1899 was enacted to raise funds for the Spanish-American War. Government revenues, thru this Act, was raised through sales of bonds, tax imposition on recreational facilities, beer and tobacco. However, the Supreme Court realized that the people of America were becoming aware that the high tarrifs and excise taxes were not good to the economic welfare of the nation and that these taxes were usually paid by the less affluent citizens. Hence, there was an agreement that business income instead was imposed tax. By 1913, Congress enacted a new income tax law which imposes 1% to 7% for persons with income above $500,000. These people earning above $500,000 was only 1% of the total United States population . During World War I, the United States needed to increase its revenue again to fund the war. The 1916 Act raised the tax imposition from 1% to 2% and could go as high as 15% for those with income of more than $1. 5 million. By 1917, the government still needs further government revenue to pay for the war, hence the War Revenue Act of 1917 was enacted. Through this Act, exemptions were lowered and tax rates increased that those who earn $40,000 needs to pay 16% tax rate. In 1918, the tax rates were further increased. Those citizens paying 1% had to pay 6%. The highest rate in 1917 was 15% but during 1918, this was increased to 77%. Due to this increase in tax rates, government revenue increased from $761 million during 1916 to $3. 6 billion in 1918. After the war, the government revenue rose and the government decided to cut taxes to 1% bottom rate and 25% top rate . The Great Depression during the late 1920s and early 1930s pushed the government to once again increase the tax rates. The Tax Act of 1932 was enacted and by 1936, the bottom tax rate was at 4% and the top tax rate reached 79%. When the World War II came, another price hike came into place which altered the tax rates. Those with taxable income of less than $500 paid a bottom rate of 23% taxes while those earning taxable income of over a million dollars paid about 94% of taxes . The tax structure in the United States was also heavily altered in that the number of taxpayers increased from 4 million during 1939 to roughly 43 million during the World War II. Throughout all these years of implementing taxation, the government learned a very important lesson which until now is being valued by government officials and economists and has affected the tax laws enacted in the country – the marginal dollar is far more important to the economy compared to the tax rate being used. The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 was implemented with this important lesson in mind. Unlike the previous taxation laws, this Act was intended to focus on marginal tax rates and it also included consumption taxes. However, due to the deep recession experienced by the country in 1982, the government was once again faced with the need to increase tax rates to overcome budget deficits. Following the 1982 recession was an economic boom which lead the country to believe that marginal tax rates are very important for a strong economy. During the Reagan administration, tax rates were further reduced and had a broader base through the Tax Reform Act of 1986. This reduced tax rate from 50% to 28% while business taxes were reduced from 50% to 35% . In 1997, the Taxpayer Relief Actof 1997 was enacted. The significant party of this Act was the Per Child Tax credit which benefited the lower-income families. During the Bush administration in 2001, the government experienced a budget surplus of about $281 billion hence a tax cut was once again conducted . This tax cut included raising the Per Child Tax Credit from $500 to $1,000 per child, as well as increased the Dependent Child Tax Credit. Until now, this tax law is being implemented and is expected to boost economic growth for the country.

Rationale For Leadership Development

Rationale For Leadership Development This assignment will be assessed through the students own reflection towards leadership developments in future. This assessment helps student evaluate their current leadership abilities and create their own leadership development plan. 1. Develop a Personal Leadership Development Plan (LDP). 10 marks You are expected to develop a plan for improving your leadership ability. This plan could set two goals for your personal leadership development in future. It should also help you take more responsibility for your own future and life. The two samples of LDP layout are as following Ldp 1 (5 marks) Identify opportunities you have for leadership development (SHORT TERM) [1 mark] In reality, there are many opportunities to develop your leadership skills, both within your organization and externally. You just need to know where to look. Opportunities also exist outside the workplace. If you belong to a computer science or IT association, offer to serve on a committee. Or volunteer with a non profit organization, where you can develop your leadership abilities with a group that would welcome your assistance. Quality leaders are always in demand at IT organizations. You already have the advantage of experience within and knowledge about your firm, so by improving your leadership skills, youll make yourself even more qualified for advancement. Your rationale for leadership development [1 mark] Successful management requires more than just assigning tasks to the team. It calls for a leader who can inspire team members to achieve their full potential. People want to be guided by a person they respect, someone who has a clear sense of direction. To be that person, there are certain things that you must BE, KNOW and DO. And thats what developing leadership skills is all about. This could be a real eye opener, and the key to making changes to your leadership style. Employ a 360 degree approach wherein you receive feedback from your team members and peers. Let your team in on the objective behind the survey. A relaxed and open environment will help draw out their honest opinion. Take complete responsibility for how you are heard. Always rephrase your message to make it sound positive. Effective communication is a fine art. An integral part of developing leadership skills is to learn to respect your teams capabilities. Let the te am members take decisions on certain issues. Your team must believe in your integrity, and that you really mean what you say. Distribute tasks among group members depending on the situation and individual strengths. You become a better leader by involving more people in the leadership process. Your prime responsibility is to ensure success and development of the team. Focus on building their skills as this will enhance motivation and team performance. Describe your strategies for leadership development [1 mark] Tailor personal and 360-degree assessments to the business strategy. The first place to start is the assessments you use in any LD program, as these are the front end of leadership development work. For instance, maybe change is an important implication of your business strategy. Identify parts of existing assessments that can be emphasized and relate. Select development goals related to the business strategy. When people identify goals, have them describe in their plan how the goal ties back to the business strategy. This activity gets people thinking about how goals relate to the business and why they should tackle a particular development goal. Tie training to the business strategy. In general, you have a choice of training topics and the design of the training. With the topic choice made, you can design the training to be based on the business strategy. He or she can describe exactly how the training relates to the current business strategy. Select Action Learning projects directly related to the business strategy. Many organizations use Action Learning as part of their LD efforts. This allows participants to practice their development goals. The key decision is selecting the projects. Select those that best fit and push forward the business strategy. Create a hybrid LD strategy. The prior four strategies are independent. That gives you the opportunity to string them together. Depending on your particular situation, you may be able to combine all four strategies and take action in each area. Or maybe it is just tackling two of them. Timeframe required to accomplish your development(s) [0.5 marks] Bill Gates had an early interest in software and began programming computers at the age of thirteen. In 1973, Bill Gates became a student at Harvard University, where he meet Steve Ballmer (now Microsofts chief executive officer). While still a Harvard undergraduate, Bill Gates wrote a version of the programming language. Bill Gates company Microsoft became famous for their computer operating systems and killer business deals. For example, Bill Gates talked IBM into letting Microsoft retain the licensing rights to MS-DOS an operating system, that IBM needed for their new personal computer. Gates proceeded to make a fortune from the licensing of MS-DOS. Bill Gates company Microsoft became famous for their computer operating systems and killer business deals. For example, Bill Gates talked IBM into letting Microsoft retain the licensing rights to MS-DOS an operating system, that IBM needed for their new personal computer. Gates proceeded to make a fortune from the licensing of MS-DOS. Evaluation (How will you measure what you have accomplished?) [1 mark] In contrast, evaluation for program improvement reflects an approach we refer to as real-time evaluation or RTE. At the Packard Foundation, real-time means balancing monitoring and evaluation to effectively support learning and continuous improvement as our grant making strategies are implemented. In practice, this approach extends beyond evaluation, and represents our overall strategy to develop an appropriate monitoring, evaluation, and learning system for each subprogram. We integrate real-time monitoring and evaluation to regularly facilitate opportunities for learning and bring timely evaluation data-in accessible formats-to the table for reflection and use in decision making. Rather than focus solely on evaluation, we have been encouraging a culture that thinks evaluative throughout the grant making lifecycle of planning, implementation, monitoring, assessment, and course correction Resourcing required [0.5 marks] Ldp 2 (5 marks) Identify opportunities you have for leadership development (LONG TERM) [1 mark] By making the Leadership Development Institute available at your organizations site, you have the opportunity to positively affect the organization. Any of our open-registration programs can be tailored to fit your organizations requirements, or we will create a program that mixes the elements your organization needs. Our goal is to provide you and your organization with long-term foundation to create productive, results-oriented workplace relationships. Education and training efforts are best when considered as ongoing at all levels of the organization. Your rationale for leadership development [1 mark] It is almost impossible to find good feedback,green bay packers jersey5, which you can trust,green bay packers jersey8, but there are a few golden rules which will aid you to work your way through either good or bad criticism Lets touch on the heavier,green bay packers jersey2, more important and life changing decisions that we can make but dontstressed-by-wulfpst files,green bay packers jersey8, make sure you close the Outlook,green bay packers jersey3, as the files will not be copied What are you worried anymore? The sound that Razor e100 makes? You really don? have to worry about that; this Razor e100 is not going to make the noise when your child rides on it If these heavy structures are checked on a regular basis then it would help avoid any major technical defect in the futureOnce upon time,93552, garages were for cars Apart from being a personal chef,green bay packers jersey2, he also writes for different national culinary pub lications, hosts a TV show called Culinary Adventures,green bay packers jersey4, and can be heard on many radio stations in the upper Midwest as he talks about the fine art of barbecuing and grilling Moreover, there is no credit check process So Randy intended to go FSU on a full football scholarship He had been living with his grandmother,green bay packers jersey9, and it was said he was unhappy about this,green bay packers jersey9, wanting to live with his mother Qubilah in Texas While facilities have been put in place to allow soldiers on break to call their families and friends,green bay packers jersey9, these do not seem to make up for the lost timecom An MMA fighter must maintain his strength,green bay packers jersey8, power and endurance at an even level during the matchmy-ownPeople with fibromyalgia also may benefit from a combination of physical and occupational therapy,green bay packers jersey0, by learning pain management and coping techniques,green bay packers jersey9, and by properly balancing rest and activity Describe your strategies for leadership development [1 mark] . The definition of business strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal or set of goals or objectives. Strategy is managements game plan for strengthening the performance of the enterprise. It states how business should be conduct to achieve the desired goals. Without a strategy management has no roadmap to guide them. Creating a business strategy is a core management function.It must be said that having a good strategy and executing the strategy well, does not guarantee success. Organisations can face unforeseen circumstances and adverse conditions through no fault of their own. Timeframe required to accomplish your development(s) [0.5 marks] . Having a professional development plan is an important part of career development. A development plan will lay out your career objectives and the path you will take towards achieving them. It will also set up clear expectations between you and your manager.sit down by yourself and identify your career goals and objectives within your organization. Clearly write out your one-year and five-year career goals and what you need to do in order to achieve them. If you need additional support from your management and peers to achieve those goals, identify the people who will be keys in your career development. Evaluation (How will you measure what you have accomplished?) [1 mark] Resourcing required [0.5 marks]

Dynamic Characters and Survival in John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath

Dynamic Characters and Survival in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath In the American epic novel, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, there are pivotal and dynamic changes that occur in the various significant characters of Jim Casy, Ma Joad, and Tom Joad. Steinbeck specifically uses these characters to show their common realizations about all of humanity, in order to demonstrate his underlying meaning about the importance of people coming together, helping each other out, and surviving. Ma Joad illustrates this idea clearly when she speaks to Tom mid-way through the novel: â€Å"Why, Tom, we’re the people that live. They ain’t gonna wipe us out. Why we’re the people--we go on.† (350) Early in the novel we are introduced to a journeying preacher named Jim Casy, who has already been drifting for four years. He has gone through a dynamic change, and through the course of the novel he learns how to apply his new Emerson worldview of an Oversoul that all of humanity is a part of. Jim Casy sees the good in all things and people: â€Å"There ain’t no sin and there ain’t no virtue. There’s just stuff people do.† (30) He therefore shares a concern for and a need to be with the people. It isn’t until later in the novel, however, that Jim Casy becomes fully aware of the truth behind his ideas. When he sacrifices to go to jail for Tom, he learns in prison about the strength and power of men working together to reach their goals. Jim Casy is murdered after he gets out of jail, trying to put some of these new ideas into action. His message only comes into true realization after his death, as it branches out and attracts followers suc h as Tom Joad, but it can be seen in many of the actions of Ma Joad throughout the book. To... ... She comforts the Wilsons, feeds the starving nameless faces when she barely has enough for her own family, works together with the Wainwrights, and as the novel closes she is still directing her assistance to those who are in need any way she can, by helping the starving man and taking control of the situation. She feels that as long as she can hold on to some part of the family, she will see to it that they keep on going. Thus with the Joads and company, the journey West is also a journey from personal concern for oneself, to a larger concern for all of humanity. When there doesn’t seem to be anything left, at least you have each other, the people. That is what will endure, continue, live on, and populate the world. Ma reassures the family at the end of the novel that they are not going to die out, they may change a little, but they will go right on.

A Letter From Romeo and Juliets Lawyer :: William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet

Rosaline CapuletVerona, ItalyDear Madam Capulet:I am writing to inform you that you are hereby charged with the hannus crime of murder, as the cause of many deaths and misery. You are at fault for all that has happened in the fair Verona, Italy, and are now dually charged with the following crimes: Two counts of murder in the first degree, one count of false banishment, and a high amount of counts of disturbing the peace. The reason for this is lengthy and will be described in the following letter. First of all, you were the first love of the young Romeo Montague, my client. Because you refused to marry anyone, let alone my client, you cause him tremendous grief and suffering. You turned my client into the epitome of melancholy and depression. If not for his love of you, he would never have been so mournful.Second, you, unknowingly, forced him to meet up with his future wife, Juliet Capulet, your cousin, daughter of the Lord Capulet. The Lord Capulet sent a messenger to announce the celebration to all his guests. This messenger, being illiterate, turned to Romeo and his cousin Benvolio Montague, for help reading the list. When Romeo saw that you were to attend, he decided to attend also. Out of his love for you, he came to that party, and at this party, he met Juliet, his future wife.Now, we cannot put the blame for them falling in love on you. However, it is of the opinion of the court that you, Rosaline, tendered Romeo's heart, making him prone to fall in love easily. This may also have caused his easiness to slip in and out of moods. This is shown when he, at first was against all fights and was trying to keep the peace between his friend Mercutio, and enemy Tybalt. Soon after Tybalt slay Mercutio, Romeo suddenly had a change of heart and avenged his friends death, and for this reason was banished from his hometown Verona.

Credit Card Debt In America Essays -- Economics Analysis Debt Credit C

Credit card debt is one of this nation’s leading internal problems. When credit was first introduced, and up until around the late 1970’s, the standards for getting a credit card were very high. The bar got lowered and lowered to where, eventually, an 18 year-old college student with almost no income and nothing to base a credit score on previously could obtain a credit card (much like myself). The national credit card debt for families residing in the United States alone is in the trillions (Maxed Out). The average American family has around $9,000 in debt, and pays around $1,3000 a year on interest payments (Maxed Out). Many people have the concern today that these interest rates and fees are skyrocketing; and many do not understand why. Most of these people have to try to avoid harassing collecting agents from different agencies, which takes an emotional and psychological toll on them. While a lot of the newly recognized â€Å"risky† people (those with a doubted ability to make sufficient payments) are actually older people who have been customers of certain companies for decades, the credit card companies are actually consciously targeting a different, much more vulnerable group of people: college students. James Scurlock produced a documentary called Maxed Out on this growing problem, in which Senator Jack Reed of (Democrat) of Rhode Island emphasizes the targeting of college students in the Consumer Credit Hearings of 2005 James Scurlock strongly emphasizes this problem throughout the whole documentary. Students, ranging in ages from 18-22 primarily, are young, and naive. They are out from under their parent’s rule and free to make decisions on their own. This means that many are going to take certain steps necessar... ...edu/pqdweb?index=2&did=1202014091&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1224101276&clientId=7968 Kovak, Marc. â€Å"Survey suggests credit card companies unfairly target college students.† 31 March 2013. ProQuest. Mira Costa College Library, San Elijo. 15 Oct. 2014. &SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VN me=PQD&TS=1224101276&clientId=7968> Maxed Out. Dir. James Scurlock. Perf. Victims of credit card debt. DVD. 2012. McGeehan, Patrick. "Soaring Interest Compounds Credit Card Pain for Millions." The New York Times. 21 Nov. 2013. 15 Oct. 2014 . "Student Financial Management and Credit-Card Debt." Rutgers University Senate. 2012. 15 Oct. 2014 .

Research on alcoholic beverages Essay

In this research document I am going to discuss a couple of things concerning the packaging and marketing of alcoholic beverages, then I am going to discuss the target audience of the alcohol industry. there are many rules concerning the packaging and marketing of alcohol in South-Africa, this is due to the fact that we have a lot of car accidents and acts of violence connected to the consumption as evident in the Gauteng liquor policy. According to euromonitor.com the biggest trend at this stage in South Africa is Sustainability not only among manufactures but also among consumers more and more people are becoming more environmentally aware, and this leads to innovation of packaging solutions for the future. Another notable thing that is mentioned on euromonitor. com is that there is more detailed segmentation of international and locally produced products are being applied , stimulating our economic growth in the local alcohol industry. According to ttb. gov the only requirements for the packaging of alcohol in south africa is that it should include the name of the product where it was made and special instructions and warnings and as far as the rest of my research shows it is also a requirement to state on the product that it is not for sale to persons under the age of 18 accept for that there seems to be little constraints concerning the packaging of alcohol. Packaging of products that we produce in south africa sometimes has to relate to international standards due to the fact that we want to export our products but when it comes to advertising alcoholic drinks in south africa there is a couple of things I have to mention. According to the Gauteng liquor policy advertising alcohol increases the amount of alcohol consumed this is a hot debate at this current moment as there are people contesting against the current laws (Gauteng liquor policy, (2011) [pdf]. This shows that the rules regarding advertisement of alcoholic beverages will increase with time, keeping that in mind can be useful in the future regarding the marketing plans that companies that produce alcoholic beverages set up for the future. According to an article – the cost of harmful alcohol abuse in South-Africa; harmful alcohol use is very high in south africa and its stated that it is one of the main risk factors for poor health in South-Africa (http://www. ara. co. za) The target audience for alcoholic beverages is all people that are older than 18 due to law restrictions, the majority of adult do consume alcohol and thus the target audience is quite big the income level of the consumers of alcohol is very diverse but when it comes to specialized products like craft beer for instance the market is much more directed at the upper class, where there is cheaper alternatives for lower income classes. The target audience of alcohol is dependent on the personality of the brand due to the fact that consumers relate to brands and make their choices according to how they would like to portray themselves amongst other individuals. According to Craig Berman the people that drink the most are young men and he also states that men tend to drink more than woman, this is why so manny of the existing companies directly target younger men. (C. Berman 2012 chron . com) Sports fans are also a great target for the alcohol industry due to the fact that men and woman enjoy drinking whilst being entertained by sporting events. The alcohol industry is known for advertising by sponsoring sporting events sport teams and so forth, and in some cases the fans of sponsored teams are just as big fans of the alcohol brand that sponsors their team. So in conclusion the Target audience for alcohol is quite a wide group of individuals but mostly consists out of younger men aged between 18 and 49 and sports fans are also a big hit , the regulations in south africa concerning he packaging is not too strict but one still has to comply to some rules concerning warnings and so forth, the market is very specific and very segmented into various target audiences and lastly the biggest trend in South-Africa’s alcohol industry is focusing on sustainability . Reference list Craig Berman http://smallbusiness. chron. com/largest-target-markets-alcohol-advertising-66914. html http://www. ttb. gov/itd/southafrica. shtml http://www. euromonitor. com/alcoholic-drinks-packaging-in-south-africa/report http://www. ara. co. za/industry-tips/code-of-conduct http://www. ara. co. za/uploads/ban-on-alcohol-advertising/economic-impact-of-an-adban_econometrix_ara_chapter3. pdf.

Foundation and Empire 19. Start Of The Search

The lonely planet, Haven – only planet of an only sun of a Galactic Sector that trailed raggedly off into intergalactic vacuum – was under siege. In a strictly military sense, it was certainly under siege, since no area of space on the Galactic side further than twenty parsecs distance was outside range of the Mule's advance bases. In the four months since the shattering fall of the Foundation, Haven's communications had fallen apart like a spiderweb under the razor's edge. The ships of Haven converged inwards upon the home world, and only Haven itself was now a fighting base. And in other respects, the siege was even closer; for the shrouds of helplessness and doom had already invaded Bayta plodded her way down the pink-waved aisle past the rows of milky plastic-topped tables and found her seat by blind reckoning. She eased on to the high, armless chair, answered half-heard greetings mechanically, rubbed a wearily-itching eye with the back of a weary hand, and reached for her menu. She had time to register a violent mental reaction of distaste to the pronounced presence of various cultured-fungus dishes, which were considered high delicacies at Haven, and which her Foundation taste found highly inedible – and then she was aware of the sobbing near her and looked up. Until then, her notice of Juddee, the plain, snub-nosed, indifferent blonde at the dining unit diagonally across had been the superficial one of the nonacquaintance. And now Juddee was crying, biting woefully at a moist handkerchief, and choking back sobs until her complexion was blotched with turgid red. Her shapeless radiation-proof costume was thrown back upon her shoulders, and her transparent face shield had tumbled forward into her dessert, and there remained. Bayta joined the three girls who were taking turns at the eternally applied and eternally inefficacious remedies of shoulder-patting, hair-smoothing, and incoherent murmuring. â€Å"What's the matter?† she whispered. One turned to her and shrugged a discreet, â€Å"I don't know.† Then, feeling the inadequacy of the gesture, she pulled Bayta aside. â€Å"She's had a hard day, I guess. And she's worrying about her husband.† â€Å"Is he on space patrol?† â€Å"Yes†. Bayta reached a friendly hand out to Juddee. â€Å"Why don't you go home, Juddee?† Her voice was a cheerfully businesslike intrusion on the soft, flabby inanities that had preceded. Juddee looked up half in resentment. â€Å"I've been out once this week already-â€Å" â€Å"Then you'll be out twice. If you try to stay on, you know, you'll just be out three days next week – so going home now amounts to patriotism. Any of you girls work in her department? Well, then, suppose you take care of her card. Better go to the washroom first, Juddee, and get the peaches and cream back where it belongs. Go ahead! Shoo!† Bayta returned to her seat and took up the menu again with a dismal relief. These moods were contagious. One weeping girl would have her entire department in a frenzy these nerve-torn days. She made a distasteful decision, pressed the correct buttons at her elbow and put the menu back into its niche. The tall, dark girl opposite her was saying, â€Å"Isn't much any of us can do except cry, is there?† Her amazingly full lips scarcely moved, and Bayta noticed that their ends were carefully touched to exhibit that artificial, just-so half-smile that was the current last word in sophistication. Bayta investigated the insinuating thrust contained in the words with lashed eyes and welcomed the diversion of the arrival of her lunch, as the tile-top of her unit moved inward and the food lifted. She tore the wrappings carefully off her cutlery and handled them gingerly till they cooled. She said, â€Å"Can't you think of anything else to do, Hella?† â€Å"Oh, yes,† said Hella. â€Å"I can!† She flicked her cigarette with a casual and expert finger-motion into the little recess provided and the tiny flash caught it before it hit shallow bottom. â€Å"For instance,† and Hella clasped slender, well-kept hands under her chin, â€Å"I think we could make a very nice arrangement with the Mule and stop all this nonsense. But then I don't have the†¦ uh†¦ facilities to manage to get out of places quickly when the Mule takes over.† Bayta's clear forehead remained clear. Her voice was light and indifferent. â€Å"You don't happen to have a brother or husband in the fighting ships, do you?† â€Å"No. All the more credit that I see no reason for the sacrifice of the brothers and husbands of others.† â€Å"The sacrifice will come the more surely for surrender.† â€Å"The Foundation surrendered and is at peace. Our men are away and the Galaxy is against us.† Bayta shrugged, and said sweetly, â€Å"I'm afraid it is the first of the pair that bothers you.† She returned to her vegetable platter and ate it with the clammy realization of the silence about her. No one in ear-shot had cared to answer Hella's cynicism. She left quickly, after stabbing at the button which cleared her dining unit for the next shift's occupant. A new girl, three seats away, stage-whispered to Hella, â€Å"Who was she?† Hella's mobile lips curled in indifference. â€Å"She's our coordinator's niece. Didn't you know that?† â€Å"Yes?† Her eyes sought out the last glimpse of disappearing back. â€Å"What's she doing here?† â€Å"Just an assembly girl. Don't you know it's fashionable to be patriotic? It's all so democratic, it makes me retch.† â€Å"Now, Hella,† said the plump girl to her right. â€Å"She's never pulled her uncle on us yet. Why don't you lay off?† Hella ignored her neighbor with a glazed sweep of eyes and lit another cigarette. The new girl was listening to the chatter of the bright-eyed accountant opposite. The words were coming quickly, â€Å"-and she's supposed to have been in the Vault – actually in the Vault, you know – when Seldon spoke – and they say the mayor was in frothing furies and there were riots, and all of that sort of thing, you know. She got away before the Mule landed, and they say she had the most tha-rilling escape – had to go through the blockade, and all – and I do wonder she doesn't write a book about it, these war books being so popular these days, you know. And she was supposed to be on this world of the Mule's, too – Kalgan, you know – and-â€Å" The time bell shrilled and the dining room emptied slowly. The accountant's voice buzzed on, and the new girl interrupted only with the conventional and wide-eyed, â€Å"Really-y-y-y?† at appropriate points. The huge cave lights were being shielded group-wise in the gradual descent towards the darkness that meant sleep for the righteous and hard-working, when Bayta returned home. Toran met her at the door, with a slice of buttered bread in his hand. â€Å"Where've you been?† he asked, food-muffled. Then, more clearly, â€Å"I've got a dinner of sorts rassled up. If it isn't much, don't blame me.† But she was circling him, wide-eyed. â€Å"Torie! Where's your uniform? What are you doing in civvies?† â€Å"Orders, Bay. Randu is holed up with Ebling Mis right now, and what it's all about, I don't know. So there you have everything.† â€Å"Am I going?† She moved towards him impulsively. He kissed her before he answered, â€Å"I believe so. It will probably be dangerous.† â€Å"What isn't dangerous?† â€Å"Exactly. Oh, yes, and I've already sent for Magnifico, so he's probably coming too.† â€Å"You mean his concert at the Engine Factory will have to be cancelled.† â€Å"Obviously.† Bayta passed into the next room and sat down to a meal that definitely bore signs of having been â€Å"rassled-up.† She cut the sandwiches in two with quick efficiency and said: â€Å"That's too bad about the concert. The girls at the factory were looking forward to it. Magnifico, too, for that matter.† She shook her head. â€Å"He's such a queer thing.† â€Å"Stirs your mother-complex, Bay, that's what he does. Some day we'll have a baby, and then you'll forget Magnifico.† ‘Bayta answered from the depths of her sandwich, â€Å"Strikes me that you're all the stirring my mother-complex can stand.† And then she laid the sandwich down, and was gravely serious in a moment. â€Å"Torie.† â€Å"M-m-m?† â€Å"Torie, I was at City Hall today – at the Bureau of Production. That is why I was so late today.† â€Å"What were you doing there?† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she hesitated, uncertainly. â€Å"It's been building up. I was getting so I couldn't stand it at the factory. Morale just doesn't exist. The girls go on crying jags for no particular reason. Those who don't get sick become sullen. Even the little mousie types pout. In my particular section, production isn't a quarter what it was when I came, and there isn't a day that we have a full roster of workers.† â€Å"All right,† said Toran, â€Å"tie in the B. of P. What did you do there?† â€Å"Asked a few questions. And it's so, Torie, it's so all over Haven. Dropping production, increasing sedition and disaffection. The bureau chief just shrugged his shoulders – after I had sat in the anteroom an hour to see him, and only got in because I was the co-ordinator's niece – and said it was beyond him. Frankly, I don't think he cared.† â€Å"Now, don't go off base, Bay.† â€Å"I don't think he did.† She was strenuously fiery. â€Å"I tell you there's something wrong. It's that same horrible frustration that hit me in the Time Vault when Seldon deserted us. You felt it yourself.† â€Å"Yes, I did.† â€Å"Well, it's back,† she continued savagely. â€Å"And we'll never be able to resist the Mule. Even if we had the material, we lack the heart, the spirit, the will – Torie, there's no use fighting-â€Å" Bayta had never cried in Toran's memory, and she did not cry now. Not really. But Toran laid a light hand on her shoulder and whispered, â€Å"Suppose you forget it, baby. I know what you mean. But there's nothing-â€Å" â€Å"Yes, there's nothing we can do! Everyone says that – and we just sit and wait for the knife to come down.† She returned to what was left of her sandwich and tea. Quietly, Toran was arranging the beds. It was quite dark outside. Randu, as newly-appointed co-ordinator – in itself a wartime post – of the confederation of cities on Haven, had been assigned, at his own request, to an upper room, out of the window of which he could brood over the roof tops and greenery of the city. Now, in the fading of the cave lights, the city receded into the level lack of distinction of the shades. Randu did not care to meditate upon the symbolism. He said to Ebling Mis – whose clear, little eyes seemed to have no further interest than the red-filled goblet in his hand – â€Å"There's a saying on Haven that when the cave lights go out, it is time for the righteous and hard-working to sleep.† â€Å"Do you sleep much lately?† â€Å"No! Sorry to call you so late, Mis. I like the night better somehow these days. Isn't that strange? The people on Haven condition themselves pretty strictly on the lack of light meaning sleep. Myself, too. But it's different now-â€Å" â€Å"You're hiding,† said Mis, flatly. â€Å"You're surrounded by people in the waking period, and you feel their eyes and their hopes on you. You can't stand up under it. In the sleep period, you're free.† â€Å"Do you feel it, too, then? This miserable sense of defeat?† Ebling Mis nodded slowly, â€Å"I do. It's a mass psychosis, an unprintable mob panic. â€Å"Ga-LAX-y, Randu, what do you expect? Here you have a whole culture brought up to a blind, blubbering belief that a folk hero of the past has everything all planned out and is taking care of every little piece of their unprintable lives. The thought-pattern evoked has religious characteristics, and you know what that means.† â€Å"Not a bit.† Mis was not enthusiastic about the necessity of explanation. He never was. So he growled, stared at the long cigar he rolled thoughtfully between his fingers and said, â€Å"Characterized by strong faith reactions. Beliefs can't be shaken short of a major shock, in which case, a fairly complete mental disruption results. Mild cases-hysteria, morbid sense of insecurity. Advanced cases – madness and suicide.† Randu bit at a thumbnail. â€Å"When Seldon fails us, in other words, our prop disappears, and we've been leaning upon it so long, our muscles are atrophied to where we can not stand without it.† â€Å"That's it. Sort of a clumsy metaphor, but that's it.† â€Å"And you, Ebling, what of your own muscles?† The psychologist filtered a long draught of air through his cigar, and let the smoke laze out. â€Å"Rusty, but not atrophied. My profession has resulted in just a bit of independent thinking.† â€Å"And you see a way out?† â€Å"No, but there must be one. Maybe Seldon made no provisions for the Mule. Maybe he didn't guarantee our victory. But, then, neither did he guarantee defeat. He's just out of the game and we're on our own. The Mule can be licked.† â€Å"How?† â€Å"By the only way anyone can be licked – by attacking in strength at weakness. See here, Randu, the Mule isn't a superman. If he is finally defeated, everyone will see that for himself. It's just that he's an unknown, and the legends cluster quickly. He's supposed to be a mutant. Well, what of that? A mutant means a ‘superman' to the ignoramuses of humanity. Nothing of the sort. â€Å"It's been estimated that several million mutants are born in the Galaxy every day. Of the several million, all but one or two percent can be detected only by means of microscopes and chemistry. Of the one or two percent macromutants, that is, those with mutations detectable to the naked eye or naked mind, all but one or two percent are freaks, fit for the amusement centers, the laboratories, and death. Of the few macromutants whose differences are to the good, almost all are harmless curiosities, unusual in some single respect, normal – and often subnormal – in most others. You see that, Randu?† â€Å"I do. But what of the Mule?† â€Å"Supposing the Mule to be a mutant then, we can assume that he has some attribute, undoubtedly mental, which can be used to conquer worlds. In other respects, he undoubtedly has his shortcomings, which we must locate. He would not be so secretive, so shy of others' eyes, if these shortcomings were not apparent and fatal. If he's a mutant.† â€Å"Is there an alternative?† â€Å"There might be. Evidence for mutation rests on Captain Han Pritcher of what used to be Foundation's Intelligence. He drew his conclusions from the feeble memories of those who claimed to know the Mule-or somebody who might have been the Mule – in infancy and early childhood. Pritcher worked on slim pickings there, and what evidence he found might easily have been planted by the Mule for his own purposes, for it's certain that the Mule has been vastly aided by his reputation as a mutant-superman.† â€Å"This is interesting. How long have you thought that?† â€Å"I never thought that, in the sense of believing it. It is merely an alternative to be considered. For instance, Randu, suppose the Mule has discovered a form of radiation capable of depressing mental energy just as he is in possession of one which depresses nuclear reactions. What then, eh? Could that explain what's hitting us now – and what did hit the Foundation?† Randu seemed immersed in a near-wordless gloom. He said, â€Å"What of your own researches on the Mule's clown.† And now Ebling Mis hesitated. â€Å"Useless as yet. I spoke bravely to the mayor previous to the Foundation's collapse, mainly to keep his courage up – partly to keep my own up as well. But, Randu, if my mathematical tools were up to it, then from the clown alone I could analyze the Mule completely. Then we would have him. Then we could solve the queer anomalies that have impressed me already.† â€Å"Such as?† â€Å"Think, man. The Mule defeated the navies of the Foundation at will, but he has not once managed to force the much weaker fleets of the Independent Traders to retreat in open combat. The Foundation fell at a blow; the Independent Traders hold out against all his strength. He first used Extinguishing Field upon the nuclear weapons of the Independent Traders of Mnemon. The element of surprise lost them that battle but they countered the Field. He was never able to use it successfully against the Independents again. â€Å"But over and over again, it worked against Foundation forces. It worked on the Foundation itself. Why? With our present knowledge, it is all illogical. So there must be factors of which we are not aware.† â€Å"Treachery?† â€Å"That's rattle-pated nonsense, Randu. Unprintable twaddle. There wasn't a man on the Foundation who wasn't sure of victory. Who would betray a certain-to-win side.† Randu stepped to the curved window and stared unseeingly out into the unseeable. He said, â€Å"But we're certain to lose now, if the Mule had a thousand weaknesses; if he were a network of holes-â€Å" He did not turn. It was as if the slump of his back, the nervous groping for one another of the hands behind him that spoke. He said, â€Å"We escaped easily after the Time Vault episode, Ebling. Others might have escaped as well. A few did. Most did not. The Extinguishing Field could have been counteracted. It asked ingenuity and a certain amount of labor. All the ships of the Foundation Navy could have flown to Haven or other nearby planets to continue the fight as we did. Not one percent did so. In effect, they deserted to the enemy. â€Å"The Foundation underground, upon which most people here seem to rely so heavily, has thus far done nothing of consequence. The Mule has been politic enough to promise to safeguard the property and profits of the great Traders and they have gone over to him.† Ebling Mis said stubbornly, â€Å"The plutocrats have always been against us.† â€Å"They always held the power, too. Listen, Ebling. We have reason to believe that the Mule or his tools have already been in contact with powerful men among the Independent Traders. At least ten of the twenty-seven Trading Worlds are known to have gone over to the Mule. Perhaps ten more waver. There are personalities on Haven itself who would not be unhappy over the Mule's domination. It's apparently an insurmountable temptation to give up endangered political power, if that will maintain your hold over economic affairs. â€Å" â€Å"You don't think Haven can fight the Mule?† â€Å"I don't think Haven will.† And now Randu turned his troubled face full upon the psychologist. â€Å"I think Haven is waiting to surrender. It's what I called you here to tell you. I want you to leave Haven.† Ebling Mis puffed up his plump checks in amazement. â€Å"Already?† Randu felt horribly tired. â€Å"Ebling, you are the Foundation's greatest psychologist. The real master-psychologists went out with Seldon, but you're the best we have. You're our only chance of defeating the Mule. You can't do that here; you'll have to go to what's left of the Empire.† â€Å"To Trantor?† â€Å"That's right. What was once the Empire is bare bones today, but something must still be at the center. They've got the records there, Ebling. You may learn more of mathematical psychology; perhaps enough to be able to interpret the clown's mind. He will go with you, of course.† Mis responded dryly, â€Å"I doubt if he'd be willing to, even for fear of the Mule, unless your niece went with him.† â€Å"I know that. Toran and Bayta are leaving with you for that very reason. And, Ebling, there's another, greater purpose. Hari Seldon founded two Foundations three centuries ago; one at each end of the Galaxy. You must find that Second Foundation.†

Will E-Market Replace Traditional Marketing, in the Future

E-market or internet marketing is getting wider as the consumer only need the internet to buy or order the stuff they needed. They don’t need to go to the actual place to order but with just a single click they can have whatever they want. There are both advantages and disadvantages in e-marketing. However, as modernization occurs e-marketing is something many can’t live without. Everything is made easier with a click on the finger tips as the consumer have everything at their expense. However, if the E-marketing dominated the business world, it doesn’t mean that the traditional marketing will be replaced.Even though it is widely agreed by many that e-marketing will replace traditional marketing, but I think somehow that either one will work. Since internet nowadays is widely used by the people all around the world. This makes the Internet able to connect to others and target the customer is better as the customer are able to surf the Internet anywhere and anytim e. E-marketing is important and the ability to reach a targeted audience is better than the traditional marketing. According toB2B Magazine Survey (2005) as quoted by Harris in WebProNews, it says that there are 95% of purchasing agents use the web to research products and services.Most of the agent uses the web to research the goods and also to decide either to buy it or not. Furthermore, the customer also uses the web to search for the things that they wanted to buy or make the survey online to ensure that they have the best price and not cheated at the same time. With e-marketing websites such as, e-Bay, i. Send and Newzapp and mushrooming all over the cyber community, it is undeniable that in one way or another, its presence cannot be ignored. According to Ritu who is a freelance writer from Freelance. om says, â€Å"When it comes to marketing and advertising your services, it really is a jungle out there. Although there are many different forms of marketing, lately everybody s eems to be dancing to the tune of internet marketing not realizing the fact that traditional marketing isn’t out of beat yet, and I sincerely doubt it will ever be. † It has become booming business for them, as their business cater to the needs of many costumers, as compared to traditional marketing.Their products are economical, in which some people can get good quality products from USD 0. 9 dollars! Indeed, this is one of the major reasons that e-marketing appalled too many. Besides that, they are quick to promote their products too! With a click of a mouse, pictures and description of the particular product can be circulated quickly. Within minutes, their advertisement of this product has been viewed by hundred, thousand, and even millions! Hawkins (n. d) from Overstock. com once said this, â€Å"Every year the marketing landscape changes, every year the customers become more demanding, every year they’re wanting more things.You have to always be sprinting t o stay ahead of the competition. † That is the reason why the Internet marketing is used worldwide now; it is because of the customers being more demanding from day to day. Have you ever heard of Internet frauds? Some products do not appear to be as good as it looked like online. Images of the particular product can be photoshoped; camera lighting can be adjusted to make the product look better. Sometimes too, irresponsible sellers who are all out to make a fast buck may send the costumer a product that ceased to function.Only after paying a large amount of money, the costumer realized that it is actually a fraud! In the other hand, frauds are not so common in traditional marketing, as the costumer gets to choose and test the product well before buying it. According to the new statistics from San Francisco Chronicle written by Rosenberg (2007), victims of the 419-type scams had an average loss of $5,100 last year, an increase of $100 per incident compared with 2005 levels and an increase of $2,100 per incident compared with 2004.This shows that the e-marketing is not as safe as we thought it was. In the other hand, traditional marketing is slowly being forgotten as we step into the 21st century because the products are expensive! With products being handed down from the factory through a middle man, before it finally reaches the hands of the consumer, many additional charges have been added on. As a consumer, surely people prefer to get the same product for a cheaper price! Aside from that, traditional marketing too, can be demanding in another aspect.Have you ever been approached by promoters, all ready to give a lengthy explanations about the product they are about to sell to you? The con of traditional marketing is that it requires investment of time for promotion for the particular product. The seller themselves, approach the costumer to promote the product. In other words, traditional marketing can be considered inefficient. As logic tells us, how m any customers can the promoter approach a day? 30, 40 or 50 a day?Therefore, transmission of information for the particular product can be a slow to reach the customers when traditional marketing is used. According to the Harvard Business Review article written by Bill on August 2012, he said that the traditional marketing; including advertising, public relations, branding and corporate communications — is dead. It is because many people in traditional marketing roles and organizations may not realize they're operating within a dead paradigm. But they are. The evidence is clear that the traditional marketing era is almost end.However, it is agreeable that somehow, e-marketing will not take over traditional marketing. Why? According to Aronsky & Zchut (2011) from netlz. net, it says that one of the main reasons that traditional marketing appalled to many costumers is that there is human communication between the seller and the buyer. It is widely agreed that human communicatio n is essential to make a promotion for a product a success. While e-marketing depends solely on the advertisements circulated in the Internet, traditional marketing involves a human touch in the promotion of products.Demonstrations can be held to convince the costumer about the good qualities of the product, special discounts can be given. Haller (2010) from EzineArticles. com stated that trust is a huge factor of any business, regardless of how it is promoted. Laughter and jokes, and even personal stories of one’s experience using the product can be exchanged between the promoter and the costumer. Traditional marketing makes the business world less mundane and lively with the presence of human interaction, compared to the e-marketing world.Odden (2011) from TopRank quoted Ann Handley who is a Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs and co-author of Content Rules once said this, â€Å"Even when you are marketing to your entire audience or customer base, you are still simply speaking to a single human at any given time. Worry less about sounding professional and worry more about creating remarkable content that other humans can relate to. † What she was trying to deliver was that traditional marketing begins when there is communication between two human being.In brief, e-marketing and traditional marketing is important to us in the future as e-marketing will save us time and also transportation cost. According to What is eMarketing and how it is better than traditional marketing? Article from Quirk. biz, â€Å"Marketing was a stories they used to convince other humans to trade Human have come a long way since then, (Well, we like to think we have) and marketing has too. Traditional marketing is also very important to us as it is an irreplaceable business in the world nowadays or in the future. Both of the business is important and can’t be replaced as it has its own value and also its own benefits.

Disc Arthroplasty Essay

Degenerative disc disease have been a problem for many people as this disease brings about low back pain that seems to paralyze the working force,   the middle adulthood population (Smeltzer, 2004). Not only does it bring impaired quality of life to those who suffer from it, but Arvind Kulkarni adds large health care expenses to the list of problems brought about by this disease as seen in his article entitled Prosthetic Lumbar disc replacement for degenerative disc disease. Spinal fusion, which is the medical management for degenerative disc disease, has been criticized by several doctors in the practice due to its untoward effects in the patient’s overall recovery and lifetime improvement. Specialist in the field, Christoph Siepe, identified these unpleasant effects as accelerated adjacent system degeneration, pseudarthrosis, spinal canal stenosis, and donor site morbidity. Adjacent segment degeneration, as mentioned by Peter Ullrich in his article entitled Fusion versus Artificial Disc Arthroplasty for Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease, stated that this is the major complication of spinal fusion and the reason why most surgeons want this procedure replaced. Adjacent segment degeneration or ASD happens when mechanical stress is transferred to the adjacent segment, also mentioned by Peter Ullrich. But research showed that this procedure can be modified to show more positive results. An anterior lumbar interbody fusion showed a low occurrence of revision surgery needed, which meant low frequency of adjacent segment degeneration, all pointed out in Mr. Ullrich’s paper.   However, to achieve this outcome, Mr. Ullrich declared that there should be an improvement in patient selection and in the procedure. The patients should be those patients having degenerative disc disease in their 5th lumbar to 1st sacral segment, because there is minimal motion at this level. By doing so, he states that fusing these segments do not change the patient’s mobility as much.   But not all are satisfied of this result. Doctors and specialists are continuously making efforts to totally changing the primary medical management for degenerative disc diseases. Studies have been conducted, and several replacement procedures were approved by the FDA. Peter Ullrich stated in his paper that the total disk replacement procedure was approved for medical use by the FDA in the year 2004 using the Charite artificial disc but for only one level of the spinal vertebrae, being the L4 – L5 or the L5 – S1. This is not the first time that a total or partial disc replacement was done. The history of this procedure was mentioned in an article in a website by Spine-Health that disc nucleus replacement was done first in 1955 by David Cleveland by injecting methyl-acrylic. Ever since then, there have two other FDA approved products aside from the Charite, the website Spine-Health states that the Prodisc was approved on August 2006 and the Kineflex lumbar on June 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A total disc replacement is being described by Jose Reyna in his article, Advances in Artificial Disc Technology, as being composed of two pieces of plates made of metal that has teeth to be able to attach itself to the end plates of the vertebral bones above and below it. This means that the particular intervertebral disc that is causing pain has to be removed and replaced by an artificial disc. Several artificial discs have been developed by various manufacturers in the country and they only differ in design and composition. The Charite, as mentioned earlier, is made up of a unique sliding core with two metal alloy end plates. The Prodisc being based on spherical articulations is made up of cobalt chromium molybdenum alloy as stated in the website Spine-Health. Inventors Qi-Bin Bao and Paul Higham developed a hydrogel prosthetic nucleus made up of PVA powder and a solvent mixed together, as seen on the article, Hydrogel intervertebral disc nucleus with diminished lateral bulging. The total disc replacement procedure has its advantages and disadvantages. Even after some models being approved by the FDA, it is still being assessed thoroughly by specialists in the field. Charles Rosen and Douglas Kiester report poor results and complications in the total disc replacement procedure. As it was mentioned in their study, this procedure causes fractures, severe pain, dislocations, extrusion of the implant, facet joint degeneration, and unexplained radiculopathy. They attribute these substandard results to the fact that the center of rotation of segmented motion is erroneous. Jose Reyna Jr. also mentions several disadvantages of the procedure in his study, stating that the anterior approach to the surgery can cause injury to the aorta and the common iliac vessels, can cause retrograde ejaculation in men by injuring the superior hypogastric plexus, hemorrhage can result from the retroperitoneal approach, and infection can occur. However, he also stated some advantages, as this procedure is said to maintain range of motion in majority of the patients as a long-term outcome. There are still a lot of studies to be conducted, and patients to be experimented on. A three year study conducted by Christoph Siepe et al., entitled Clinical Results of Total Lumbar Disc Replacement With ProDisc II: Three-Year Results for Different Indications, intended to assess total disc replacement outcome in patients who actually underwent the operation. Their results showed that not all degenerative disc diseases can be treated with this medical management. The best outcome was seen in patients exhibiting degenerative disc disease condition plus soft disc herniation or nucleus pulposus prolapse. Outcome was measured against the patient’s improvement from their preoperative levels. There were inferior results from the patients who had bisegmental damages, and a higher complication rate. Also it was mentioned that the younger patients, more specifically those aged below forty exhibited better outcome than those older than forty. Technology like this is still being developed, studied and modified as we speak. What is important is that there are people out there who care and who try to make a difference, whether it is by inventing, criticizing or being the experimental person wherein these new devices will be made a reality. References Charles Rosen, Douglas Kiester, Thay Q. Lee: The Potential Biomechanical Etiology for Lumbar Disc Replacement Failures: Review of 24 Patients and the Rationale for Revision . The Internet Journal of Minimally Invasive Spinal Technology. 2007. Volume 1 Number 2. Medscape. (2002). Advance in Artificial Disc Technology. Retrieved January 22, 2008 from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/445057 Medscape. (2002). Clinical Results of Total Lumbar Disc Replacement With ProDisc II: Three-Year Results for Different Indications. Retrieved January 22, 2008 from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/542479 Neurology India. (2005). Prosthetic Lumbar disc replacement for degenerative disc disease. Retrieved January 22, 2008 from http://www.neurologyindia.com/article.asp?issn=0028-3886;year=2005;volume=53;issue=4;spage=499;epage=505;aulast=Kulkarni Neurospine. (no indicated year). Fusion versus Artificial Disc Arthroplasty for Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease. Retrieved January 22, 2008 from http://www.neurospinewi.com/newsletters/fusionvsartificial.html Patent Storm. (1996). Hydrogel intervertebral disc nucleus with diminished lateral bulging. Retrieved January 22, 2008 from http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5534028-fulltext.html Smeltzer, S. and Bare, B. (2004). Medical-Surgical Nursing. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Spine-Health. (1997-2007). Lumbar artificial disc surgery for chronic back pain. Retrieved January 22, 2008 from http://www.spine-health.com/research/discupdate/artificial/artificial01.html