Inventories Research Essay

1. SUMMARY In this research, group members are required to choose any company from bursa Malaysia and study about their inventories, during this coursework, we mainly focus on the general study about inventories and the inventories of the company- Ajinamotoâ„ ¢ 2. INTRODUCTION Inventories refer to a company’s merchandise, raw materials, and finished and unfinished products which have not yet been sold. These are considered liquid assets. There are various means of valuing these assets, but to be conservative the lowest value is usually used in financial statements. The LCM rule is applied. 3. CONTENT * Types of inventories There are mainly 5 types of inventories for Ajinomotoâ„ ¢ raw materials (eg. Raw husk monosodium glutamate etc.) amounting to RM34,445,868, consumables amounting to RM 4,536,693, work-in-progress amounting to RM2,374,316, and finished goods amounting RM21,445,751. These are the closing inventories for Ajinomotoâ„ ¢ * Manufacturing process. Ajinomotoâ„ ¢ uses green technology such as bio-cycle technology which improves amino acid, maximizing the usage of natural resources, such as water and energy, the above diagram show the manufacturing process. The main raw materials are raw husk. * Valuation methods Ajinomotoâ„ ¢ uses weighted average method. Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost incurred in bringing the inventories to their present location and condition are accounted for as follows : * Raw materials : purchase costs on a weighted average method. * Finished goods and work-in-progess : costs of direct materials and labour and a proportion of manufacturing overheads based on normal operating capacity. These costs are assigned on a weighted average method. Net realisable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business less estimated costs of completion and the estimated costs necessary to make the sale. * Amount of Closing Inventories The amount of closing inventories is RM 62,802,628. This can be acquired from the financial statement of Ajinamotoâ„ ¢ of year 2011 4. ADDITIONAL CONTENT * FIFO(First In First Out) is an asset-management and valuation method in which the assets acquired first are sold, used or disposed of first. FIFO may be used by an individual or a corporation. For taxation purposes, FIFO assumes that the assets that are remaining in inventory are matched to the assets that are most recently purchased or produced. * Weighted Average Cost is a method of calculating Ending Inventory cost. Inventory valuation method used where different quantities of goods are purchased at different unit costs. Under this method, weights are assigned to the cost price on the basis of the quantity of each item at each price. It is also known as AVCO It takes Cost of Goods Available for Sale and divides it by the total amount of goods from Beginning Inventory and Purchases. * Taxation is a means by which governments finance their expenditure by imposing charges on citizens and corporate entities. Governments use taxation to encourage or discourage certain economic decisions. For example, reduction in taxable personal (or household) income by the amount paid as interest on home mortgage loans results in greater construction activity, and generates more jobs. 5. Conclusion After done this research, my group members and I increased our knowledge and comprehension about the company’s annual report. This can help us more understand about the accounting for inventories. This are useful for us as a future accountants. We get more extra information that can’t learn from the class. It also increase our leadership and communication skills with other group members. Besides that, before start our assignment we also learn how to build up a group successfully. We put a lots of efforts and times in order to make this assignment more wonderful. We sincerely hoped that our efforts is worthful. 6. Reference http://www.ajinomoto.com/about/history/index.html http://www.ajinomoto.com/about/ http://www.ajinomoto.com/ir/stock/info.html http://www.ajinomoto.com/ir/financial/financial_summary.html http://www.investorwords.com/2589/inventory.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/taxation.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/weighted-average-cost-of-inventory.html http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/inventory.asp#axzz1fSj9WniT http://www.ehow.com/ehow_radlinks_ads.html?term=Inventory+Example&channel=biz_business_management,text,suggested5&google_rt=ChBOiX2xAAdWbgriAMoOXR1TEhFJbnZlbnRvcnk http://www.agecon.purdue.edu/crd/localgov/Second%20Level%20pages/topic_inventory_tax.htm

Gender Criticism Essay

The study of human behavioral pathways can intensify the scope of how each individual is grouped according to preferences. In this aspect, it would be important to study the role of gender ideals in molding the society. Gender criticism is the overall approach in understanding the ideas about the complete make up of men and women (Bedford 1). This includes the notion acceptance of what is masculine and what is feminine. It regards sexuality as a very complex method of classification which basically becomes a reflection of a particular culture based on what is feminine and what is masculine relative to that society’s norms. The study does not regard sexuality as mere classification of heterosexuality and homosexuality. On the other hand, feminist criticism is a study on how the current status of the female segment came to be. The main approach of the study is to utilize literary or language based mediums of social structure to look for certain causalities which lead to the portrayal of females to be that of an inferior species. Moreover, the study intends to look for proofs of segments which can be derived from the literary complexities of cultures as to why male domination came into being. The offset of gender criticism may be coursed upon how feminist criticism came into being. Basically, these two concepts are not really opposites of each other but intertwined in terms of relative scopes of matters (Bedford 1). Many experts argue that the two notions are too complicated to be separated because one factor influences the other in a continuum of understanding towards gender, tradition, sex and culture (Bedford 1). In summary, feminist criticism is actually a variation of gender criticism only that the former specifies what could have provided the avenues to let feminism achieve a kind of status delegated in most societies today. Works Cited Bedford, â€Å"Critical Approaches. † Virtual Lit. 1998. 3 Feb 2008 .

Analyze Informational E-Mail (Ch 5) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Analyze Informational E-Mail (Ch 5) - Essay Example The planning of the Gamma Fall Training Conference that will be held in Kendall Campus of Miami Dade College is underway. The speakers for the training session are Nicole Gold (e-mail: m.gold@etc.com) who whose training topic is â€Å"using e-mail and IM effectively† and scheduled to be training on 12th November. The other speaker is Anthony Mills (tony.mills@sunbelt.net) has confirmed to be speaking on 13th November about â€Å"Lading groups and teams.† Please assist us with contacting each of these speakers via the provided e-mail addresses and confirming with them about the dates and topics they will be presenting. This has to be done before 1st September in order to print the program in time. In case of any queries, contact me on my cell number 1653643. Thank you for your time and assistance and sorry for any inconveniences. There should be a subject line which explains what the email is specifically about (report on what). She should rephrase and organize her opening with proper introduction. The body should contain the suggestions made by the speaker and finally the closing should be officially presented. The workshop discussed on issues to do with workplace violence including suggestions on how to reduce them. The presenter was Kit Adkins who provided three suggestions on how to prevent workplace violence. The first was on how to prescreen job applicants including conducting a background check before hiring them. The second was that all companies should have employee handbook with guidelines on the steps employee should take when they suspect workplace violence and lastly, the companies should train managers on red-flag behavior that is on how to recognize potential workplace violence. In case more research is required about prescreening techniques, please inform me and also inform me by 18th November whether I will be required to prepare a report about the same during the

Military intelligence ethicist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Military intelligence ethicist - Essay Example The first solution, of taking no action, will leave tribal warfare unchecked and rampant in the area. Without a reason to stop, the warlords will continue raising armies, hording needed supplies, and violating international law. The second solution, of extensive intervention, leaves open the possibility of all-out warring between Americans and Kapawa fighters, with untold devastation on civilian populations. The third solution, a middle ground, will commit a small contingent of American troops to fighting the violence. However, this third option may do nothing more than put American forces in harm’s way for a mission that may end up being too small to be of great effectiveness. From the consequentialist point of view, the third option of engaging in limited strikes is out of the question, insofar as it does not solve the underlying problem of warlords. The problem in the case of Kapawa is institutional, not merely an armed conflict. There are deep political and ethnographic problems in the state, which cannot be resolved by a minimal engagement on the part of American soldiers. Deciding from there, the consequentialist looks at the first option: to take no action. Although this option saves the lives of American soldiers, the loss of Kapawa life and infrastructure may be far too great of a cost. If the commander leaves the Kapawa people to deal with warlords by themselves, people will continue to die from the fighting and the resulting famine. Although help can be delivered from non-governmental entities, the underlying problem remains Logically, the second option, of full-scale intervention, makes the most sense. It eliminates the institutional and political problems affecting the Kapawa people. It gives American the opportunity to establish a stable and functioning government, and settles disputes between the warring tribes. It reestablishes the opportunity for the fair distribution of resources inside the country and

Lowe's vs. home depot Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Lowe's vs. home depot - Essay Example That is one of reasons that statistics show more sale revenue for Home Depot which is more accessible due to more branches! Lowe’s and Home Depot, being in the same business, have distinctly differentiated market strategy. Lowe’s is more focused to the needs and requirements of women and housewives who are more incline to buy dà ©cor accessories and unique products that can make a fashion statement for them. Home Depot, on the other hand, caters to the bulk buyers like contractors and retail customers, men especially, who are seriously into DIY (do it yourself) products. Home Depot has a better competitive image because they not only have more stores but they have also realized the need to improve on their quality and customer service. They are also thinking of expanding their product line to cater to wider customer base. Lowe’s, on the other hand, is just intending to improve on its customer service which is inadequate in the current scenario of recessive trend and highly competitive business

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Project Management - Essay Example Microsoft Project is one of the most widely used tools for Project Management as well as for Work breakdown structure. However, there are other alternate software available as well that could facilitate the project managers in managing the project. This report discusses about the use of alternate Project Management software, Project Libre. Project Libre has been one of the most downloaded project management tools in different countries. The software is used in a number of geographic locations as presented in the image below: (Project Libre a, 2013) With 99,770 downloads of the software, this software was one of the most used project management software (Project Libre a, 2013). Therefore this software has been selected in order to compare against Microsoft Project. Project Libre is alternate software to Microsoft Project. Project Libre can also breakdown the project into smaller tasks just like Microsoft Project. Project Libre has also been awarded "Best of Open Source" or BOSSIE awar d by InfoWorld (Project Libre b, 2013). Thus, this confirms the quality of the software and how helpful the software has been around the world particularly for project managers. This report uses the software Project Libre and then a comparison has been presented using the two tools, Microsoft Project and Project Libre. Evaluation of the techniques used have also been presented in this report for the project Enterprise Rent-A-Car. MICROSOFT PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS USED In order to accomplish the project of ‘Enterprise Rent-A-Car’, the project management team has divided the overall project into following smaller tasks. By dividing the smaller tasks, the project management team can better manage the project and make sure that each of the tasks is handled well. By doing so, it will allow the project management team to make sure that the project is completed within the time. The following table shows the activities that are to be completed for this project of Enterprise Re nt-A-Car along with their duration and their predecessors: No. Task Days Predecessor 1 TM Team Development 1 week 2 E-learning Software Purchase 2 weeks 3 E-learning Courses Design 2 weeks 2 4 Hacks Portal 4 weeks 5 Portal Content Set Up 2 weeks 4 6 Trainer Contract 4 weeks 7 TL Training 16 weeks 6 8 Current Training Evaluation 8 weeks 9 Retraining (Current Staff) 16 weeks 7;8 10 PBL Evaluation 8 weeks 9 11 Training (New Trainees) 26 weeks 7 The above tasks are used on two different software; Microsoft Project and Project Libre. The techniques for both the software are evaluated and discussed. Gantt Chart Using Project Libre and Microsoft Project Gantt chart is used to present the tasks of the project along with the starting date and the ending date of that particular task (Cleland, and Gareis, 2006). Modern Gantt chart has started to include the predecessor as well that shows the dependency of that particular task. This allows the project manager to identify the starting as well as the ending date of each task and thus the project can be analyzed. Both the software Microsoft Project as well as Project Libre allow the users to create the Gantt Chart. Project Libre has a similar style and user experience than Microsoft Project. Both the software when starts show a tabular form along with the space for Gantt Chart. As activities or tasks are added in the tabular form, the Gantt chart starts to fill up. As all the information about the activities are added, the Gantt chart

Resolving Shyness in Children to Enhance Performances Research Paper

Resolving Shyness in Children to Enhance Performances - Research Paper Example Teaching and interacting with children from different grades in the primary level, I have often identified persistent shyness among children in classrooms and playgrounds, which have been problems that tend to affect their general performances. Specific children demonstrate low confidence when expressing themselves, are less talkative, or even withdrawn. Some are extra self-conscious, self-reliant, nervous, or tend to take longer periods adjusting to new situations (where the rest already easily embrace). While shyness apparently appears to be a normal and temporal behaviour at a specific stage during development, its persistence and interference with children performances (class/playground interaction, inactivity, communication etc) is a challenge and problem in their development and education. Looking into their behaviour and struggle, without appropriate measures to assist the children overcome the shyness, it would end up obstructing their academic performances. I am convinced th at if I get to understand the root causes of their shyness, I could develop suitable strategies to overcome their shyness and enable them to be more comfortable and confident to improve their affected performance areas in learning. Shyness is a common behaviour among children. However, teachers need not ignore persistent shy behaviours among their students, because it may generate certain negative effects in their learning process. Shyness is a simple word used to when describing a person with its’ behavioural traits.

Addison's Disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Addison's Disease - Essay Example Autoimmunity remains the chief cause of Addison’s disease in Europe and in Africa, although the incidence rates in Africa are comparatively low. The key immunological finding in most patients is the presence of autoantibodies against cytochrome P450 21-hydroxylase, an essential enzyme in the biosynthesis of adrenal steroid hormones. Inadequate amounts of adrenal hormones present symptoms such as hypoglycemia, fatigue, vomiting, and hyperpigmentation among many others. A careful examination of morning cortisol levels and amounts of ACH aid in giving correct diagnosis for patients with Addison’s disease. The only treatment available is replacement therapy using synthetic glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids. However, it is vital that diagnosis is made early enough to ensure that the patients start treatment on time and enjoy productive lives. Key Words: Addison’s disease; Adrenal insufficiency; Autoimmunity Introduction Addison’s disease is an endocrine an d immunological disorder that leads to adrenal insufficiency. The pituitary gland secretes excess adrenocorticotropic hormone to make up for the reduced amount of cortisol in the adrenal glands (Burk et al. 215). Autoimmune Addison’s disease occurs due to adrenal inadequacy because of immune mediated destruction of the adrenal cortex (Rottembourg et al. 309). In 1849, Dr. Addison illustrated a form of anemia that had been overlooked. This ailment was common in men between the ages of 20 and 60. It was characterized by a slow onset and took several weeks or even months to display alarming symptoms such as immense fatigue, paleness, and mental and physical incapacitation (Bishop 35). A postmortem of three cases revealed a diseased condition of the suprarenal capsules, which Dr. Addison believed was not a happenstance. He, therefore, decided that the suprarenal capsules were indirectly or indirectly involved in the events that led to the diseased condition. In 1855, Dr. Addison published a monograph addressing the consequences of disease on the suprarenal capsules. It sought to establish the actual functions and impact of these cells. The monograph associated the similarities of the renal suprarenal capsules with the spleen, thyroid body, and thymus to the embellishment of blood (Bishop 36). He further described the progression and key symptoms of the problem and explains that all cases defied curative endeavors and ended lethally. It is worth noting that during that time the functions of the supra-renal capsules were unknown. Later on in 1856, Trousseau called the condition â€Å"La Maladie d’ Addison† (Bishop 37). Charles Edouard Brown-Sequard collected a number of rabbits, cats, and dogs and deprived them of their adrenals. He thought that if the animals did then they would have died because of Addison’s disease. A pressor substance was discovered in the adrenal medulla in 1894 after which Takamine and Aldrich separately isolated th e crystalline form of adrenaline in 1091. Having been synthesized in 1904, adrenaline became the first hormone to be isolated chemically, characterized, and synthesized (Bishop 38). It was then discovered that cortical extracts contained substances that preserved life. The clinical syndrome as described by Dr. Addison was later called Addison’s disease following his relation of adrenal insufficiency to the symptoms. Addison’s disease is prevalent in Western countries compared to African countries as established by Ross et al. during a cohort study of South Africans (292). Etiology There are several causes of Addison’s disease such as marred steroidogenesis, adrenal dysgenesis, and diseases that lead to the destruction of the adrenal cells (Burk et al. 215). Autoimmune destruction of t

Synopsis final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Synopsis final - Essay Example These indicators should be reliable and based on a sound frame work. They should also be Feasible and linked to data sources; Focused on the interests and justice needs of the people, neutral and administered by unbiased stakeholders. They should be nonjudgmental; track data over time and identify trends, establish benchmarks in key areas and contribute to improve implementation of the basic values of the EU, such as the rule of law, justice and fundamental rights. The rule of law plays a very important role in human life. It brings the value of fundamental human rights. The rule of law ensures respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy and equality. It also creates institutional trust among EU Member states. It eliminates vices such as unfair laws, unequal application of the law, corruption and violation of fundamental rights. The rule of law also ensures justice. People, organization’s and business firms enjoy protection when disputes arise. Fair dispute resolution is attained. Human, economic and social development is also attained through the rule of law and measure of property. Waldron’s also argued that citizens can bring out the best in themselves if their rights and interests are respected and protected. He also stated that the rule of law should protect personal property. The society which fails to protect property rights against legislative restrictions is failing to support the rule of law and the measure of property. Waldron’s argument rejects the idea that the rule of law privileges property rights over other forms of law, but instead claims that the rule of law should endorse the use of legislation to achieve valid social objectives. Waldron’s argument considers some of the implications of the law in economic matters and legislative impacts on property through appropriate balance between private property rights and

Colonization of Latin America and North America Essay Example for Free

Colonization of Latin America and North America Essay When Christopher Columbus led a Spanish expedition in 1492 to India, he came across a land that would change the world forever. This region was called the Americas, a land the Spanish, Portuguese, French and English saw as their own to change and rule. However, the two regions, Latin America and North America saw two vastly different yet similar colonization processes from the Europeans in their social, political and economic systems. North America and Latin America both developed a form of ethnic mixing and a caste system for social structure and stability. However, Latin America’s caste system was more based on skin color while North America’s social structure wasn’t defined by ethnic groups. The two of these regions were both colonized by Europeans but had different ways of being colonized. A similarity in these two regions would be the development of European migrants, leading to the emergence of two societies. Latin America and North America’s political processes were also a huge part of colonization. While in North America the decisions of who would rule and control the lands was in the hands of private groups in Latin America, however, the choice of who would take control was in the hands of viceroys or governors. Both of these regions were ran by Europeans who would make the decisions. Latin America was ran by European peninsulas and North America governed by higher class merchants, deciding for themselves who they wanted to be controlled by. Latin America and North America shared the similarity in political colonization of both wanting to have some sort of control in their lands creating a stronger society and community to live in. The importance of future rulers would also have a major influence in the economic process and future economies in both areas. The economic process during colonization in both regions led to better social ways and interaction with lands having an influence on the colonization process greatly. In both Latin America and North America both had produced cash crops. While Latin America developed maize, a sugar production, and rice, North America planted tobacco creating a need for coerced labor. However, the difference in the coerced labor needed for the new production of these items was varied. In North America, slavery was a much needed acquirement to keep the production of these items needed while in Latin America indentured slaves and slavery was their way of production used by the Europeans in these regions. In Latin and North America, the Europeans didn’t go there to look for raw materials such as gold and silver like the other explorers who thought the Natives had it everywhere and weren’t completely using it to their own advantage. The Natives living there, however, were more amazed at what the Europeans had and vice versa. In conclusion, I have stated the different and similar colonization processes of North America and Latin America. The political, social, and economic processes were all similar and different in the mixing of ethnic groups, the need for control of their lands, and the regions using coerced and indentured labor to stabilize their lands.

Mycobacterium Marinum Treatment Literature Review

Mycobacterium Marinum Treatment Literature Review Abstract Background Mycobacterium marinum is an atypical mycobacterium that can be found in water environment. It is the agent of a characteristic skin disease known also as fish tank granuloma. In some occasions it can spread as a nodular lymphangitis, extend to deep structures as well as in exceptional cases disseminate systemicaly . The infection is adquired after contact with fish or contaminated water mainly from aquaria or swimming pools. Although the real incidence is understimate, it is a uncommon infection that needs high clinical suspicion to be diagnosed. As a consequence, delay in the diagnosis is common. Mycobacterium marinum is intrinsically a multidrug resistant mycobacterium.There is no clear consesus in the management of this infection. Usually it is managed either with monotherapy or with combination of antibiotics plus surgery in selected cases. Methods Retrospective study of cases of fish tank granuloma collected from 2000 to 2009 in the dermatology surgery of The Hospital of Tropical Diseases (HTD) of the University College London Hospitals. Systematic review of the literature with the terms Mycobacterium marinum and fish tank granuloma from 1999 to 2009. Results From the HTD dermatology surgery were collected 7 cases. Identification of M. marinum was possible only in 5. The response to treatment was good at least in 5 of them. In the literature review there were reported a total of 516 cases. From those 133 could be analyzed as individual cases. Identification was possible in 89.5% of the cases. Cured was reported in 82% of the cases. Conclusion The key of the diagnosis is to collect accurately the history of exposure. Histology, although no pathognomonic, will rise the suspicion if granuloma formation are found and will facilitate the differential diagnosis. Identification is done after culture with classical biochemical tests. Molecular biology techniques have the advantage of accelerate the procedure. There is not enough evidence to propose any specific treatment. Currently, recommendations are based in experts opinions. A prospective, randomized controlled clinical trial would be valuable to propose a base evident treatment. Contents Pages Introduction M. marinum is an environmental atypical mycobacterium ubiquitous in fresh, salt, and brackish water. It is known that infects temperate and tropical species of fish of at least 150 species, including ornamental fish. But also affects frogs, eels, oysters, aquatic mammals, toads and snakes [2, 11]. It cause tuberculosis-like disease in fish, its natural host [129]. The infection in fish has an average incubation period of 3 months. It affects viscera and produce anorexia with emaciation, skin defects, distension of the abdomen, being cause of sudden death [11, 12, 66]. In 1904, Alexander described for first time lesions in a cod fish that were associated with acid fast bacilli. But it was Aronson in 1926 that isolated the bacteria from tubercles of fish that died in an aquarium of Philadelphia. He described the bacilli as acid fast, chromogenic, pleomorphic and growing best at 18 º-20 ºC. Aronson suggested the name of Mycobacterium marinum [130]. M. marinum is as well the causative agent of the human disease called fish tank granuloma, also known as swimming pool granuloma or fish fancier ´s finger syndrome. In 1951 Norden and Linell reported for the first time the human disease in a swimming pool outbreak in ÃÆ'–rebro, Sweden. They described the lesions as chronic papulous ulcerations, usually located in the elbows. The pathogen was isolated from the walls of that swimming pool as well as from the lesions of the patients. They called the pathogen isolated Mycobacterium balnei [131]. It was not until 1959 when Bojalil demonstrated that M. marinum and M. balnei were in fact, the same mycobacterium [132]. M. marinum is the most frequent cause of skin infection among the environmental mycobacterium that affects humans [86, 133]. Nowadays the frequency of human infections is mainly sporadic. But in the past, outbreaks related with swimming pools were not uncommon [134]. As an example, one of the biggest epidemics was in Glenwood springs pool, Colorado in 1956 with 262 cases reported [135]. That was before chlorination became a common practice. Chlorination makes water safer. As was seen recently in Bologna, were water from swimming pools were free of M. marinum. But still could be isolated in 4.5% of the samples from the shower floor of the same [136]. The real global incidence of the disease is not know because the number of cases are underreported, due probably to the difficulties in the diagnosis [94]. It is world wide distributed but with a tendency to aggregate geographically [137]. Like in Chesapeake bay, Maryland, where there is an incidence of 4 cases per 100000 population per year [138]. Meanwhile in California was estimated in 0.27 cases per 100000 adults [139]. Or in Satowan, Micronesia, with an estimated prevalence of 10% of the population [115]. Apparently the global annual incidence remains small and stable [140]. Even though an increase number of reported cases has been noticed in The United States, going from an average of 40 cases per year in the 80s to an average of 198 cases per year in the 90s [141]. What seems clearer is that differing from other atypical mycobacteria the prevalence of M. marinum has not increased with the HIV epidemic [140]. Opposite to humans, the incidence in fish is increasing in hatchery fish, probably due to the high population density of fish. Transmission is possible fish to fish and between fish and amphibians. In addition it has been proposed transmission through eggs and through practice of feeding fish with fish carcasses [140]. There are 2 groups or clusters of M. marinum with different pathogenicity. Cluster I is characterized by producing acute disease and death in fish and also for affecting humans. On the contrary, cluster II only affects fish producing the classical chronic disease with granuloma formation [9]. This is also supported by a study done in Israel were it was seen that only certain strains of M. marinum affected humans. They also demonstrate that in Israel strains affecting humans came from ornamental fish and not from local fish for consumption [5]. The mode of transmission to humans is mainly waterborne and fish borne. Person to person transmission has not been documented [137]. However, It has been described indirect transmission via fomites in at least 3 cases. Two very small children and one infant who acquired the infection after bathing in containers that were previously used to clean the family fish tanks of tropical fish [27, 40, 142]. As other environmental mycobacterium, M. marinum has commonly low pathogenicity. For this reason in normal conditions only affects disrupted skin [8]. The main risk factor to contract the infection consists in having lesions or abrasions in the skin with exposure to non chlorinated water or marine animals infected [140]. The most frequently nowadays is the exposure to private aquaria. But some times the source of exposure is unknown. As a consequence, after the description of cases following injuries with plants, it has been suggested the possibility that could be other reservoirs different from water and fish. Although at the present moment this possibility has not been demonstrated [30, 43]. The incubation period is usually 3 to 4 weeks [135]. Following, the most common manifestation is a cutaneous lesion at the site of inoculation. It initiates as a solitary nodule or pustule that eventually evolutes to an ulcer , abscess or verrucous plaque [143]. It affects more frequently the extremities, probably because the pathogen grows better at low temperatures [144]. The severity of the disease depends, among other factors, on the number of microorganisms inoculated [134] In 20% of the cases the cutaneous lesions spread along ascending lymphatic vessels. This is called sporotrichoid spread or nodular lymphangitis [143]. As a result of direct extension invasion of deep structures as tendons, articulations and bones occurs in 29% of the cases [144]. Systemic dissemination is unusual but has been described in immunocompromised patients [140]. Spontaneous resolution , usually with scaring , has been documented from months after the infection up to 2 years [133, 135]. The diagnosis is based on the history of exposure and risk factors along with the characteristic clinical features. It is supported with histopathology, culture and bacteriological identification that in some cases require molecular biology techniques [94, 120]. The fact is that the diagnosis is not easy and in most of the cases is either delayed or remain being presumptive based in the history and response to treatment. The objective of the treatment is to increase the speed of resolution and prevent progression of the disease [1]. With this purpose different combinations of antibiotics plus the support, in selected cases, of surgery are the common practices in the treatment of this infection. Although the election of the drugs still depends of the preference of individual authors and is not based on controlled evidence [143]. Aims and Objectives The overall aim of the project is to determine the current state of evidence for the diagnosis and treatment of M. marinum infection. Being the specific objective to review the literature and the series of HTD cases with the purpose of suggest appropriate diagnosis and case management of Mycobacterium marinum infection. Material and Methods Cases with diagnosis of fish tank granuloma were review. The cases were diagnosed and treated from 2000 to 2009 in the dermatology surgery of The Hospital of Tropical Diseases of the University College London Hospitals. There were included patients with either culture positive for M. marinum or clinical diagnosis plus response to appropriate treatment. The files of those patients were reviewed and data were collected in a questioner that included: anthropological data, past medical and drug history, risk factors and exposure, description and location of the lesions, spread or deep extension of the infection, incubation period , delay in diagnosis, diagnosis, treatment and evolution (see questioner in annex). Additional information considered relevant was as well collected. A literature review in Medline and Cochrane databases was done. The review included the combination of the following terms: Mycobacterium marinum or fish tank granuloma. It was limited to papers from 1999 to July 2009, English and Spanish literature and humans. The papers obtained in the search were divided in 3 categories. First, case reports in which it was possible to collect data from individual cases. Information of those papers was collected in the questionnaire previously mentioned. Second, case series of 14 or more cases in which data from individual cases was not reported. And finally, a miscellaneous category of papers that were considered relevant for the diagnosis and treatment of this infection. The information gathered in the questioners was computerized in Microsoft Excel 2007. No statistical analysis was done in view of the cases were publish not with this purpose. As a consequence probably important reporting bias would invalidate any statistical outcome. Simple description of the results was done. Results Cases of The Hospital of Tropical Diseases From 2000 to July 2009 there were collected 7 cases with diagnosis of Mycobacterium marinum infection. The 7 cases included 6 males and 1 female and their ages ranged form 31 to 65 years. All the cases admitted to have had contact with an aquarium. In two cases the exposure was occupational. One of them worked in the London Zoo being responsible of the management of the aquaria. The second was a cook in a restaurant that store crustacean in an aquarium. All the cases presented nodular lesions located in one of the upper limbs, six of them with sporotrichoid spread and one with a solitary nodule (see photos is annex). One patient that was taking oral prednisolone due to severe atopic eczema presented with tenosynovitis of the left hand, sporotrichoid spread and palpable regional lymphonodes. The rest of the patients were not immunosuppressed. Biopsy of the lesions was performed in all the cases. However AFB were found just in one case. Whereas cultures were positive in 5 cases for M. marinum. In the other two cases the diagnosis was done based on history of exposure, clinical characteristics and positive response to treatment. Different combinations of antibiotics were used with no clear advantage of any regimen in particular. In 4 patients it was need to change the regiment. The reasons were drug intolerance in one case and lack of improvement in the rest. There was also one case that initially was improving with a regimen of rifampicin plus minocycline. But after simplification of the regiment to clarithromycin monotherapy presented worsening of the lesions. This case was eventually controlled switching to minocycline plus ethambutol. There was one patient who presented a relapse after one year of the previous infection. Finally it was cured with 6 months of rifampicin plus clarithromycin. Susceptibility test was done in 3 cases. It was detected resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and rifampicin in one case and susceptibility to clarithromycin, ethambutol and doxycycline in 3 cases. The average time of duration of the treatment was 6 months with a range of 2 to 9 months. Surgery was not required in any patient. The final outcome was good in 5 patients being the other 2 lost of follow up (see table 1). Case No Age(y) /Sex Medical history Drug history Exposure Location Clinical characteristics Histology AFB results Culture Treatment Duration (months) Evolution 1 9/M No Aquarium Upper limb Multiple nodules sporotrichoid spread Granulomatous inflammation AFB + 1-RIF+DOX 2-RIF+EMB+DOX 3-RIF+EMB+CLR 7 Cured 2 61/F Psoriasis Chronic paronychia Aquarium Upper limb 3 nodules Sporotrichoid spread AFB + 1-MIN 2 Improving Lost of follow up 3 64/M No Aquarium Upper limb Multiple nodules Sporotrichoid spread Noncaseating granuloma 1-EMB+TET 2-RIF+EMB+INH 9 Relapse after 1year 3(*) 65/M Fish tank granuloma Aquarium Upper limb Multiple nodules Sporotrichoid spread 1-RIF+CLR 6 Cured 4 59/M Severe atopic eczema Systemic steroids Aquarium Upper limb Multiple nodules Sporotrichoid spread Tenosynovitis AFB + 1-DOX 2-RIF+EMB 3-RIF+EMB+CLR 4-ERI+MIN ? Lost of follow up 5 44/M No Aquarium Upper limb 5 nodules Purulent discharge Sporotrichoid spread Necrotizing granulomatous inflammation AFB- + 1-RIF+MIN 2-CLR 3-MIN+EMB 3.5 Cured 6 31/M No Aquaria (London Zoo) Finger Solitary nodule AFB + 1-CLR+EMB 4 Cured 7 49/M No Aquarium (Restaurant) Upper limb 5 nodules Sporotrichoid spread + 1-RIF+EMB 5 Cured (*) Notice that case number 3 is repeated. It belongs to the same patient that the one above but one year later. The patient presented a relapse after one year of being cured. Results from the literature review From 1999 to July 20009 there were found 233 results in Medline database and zero In Cochran Library. From those, 127 were considered relevant and consequently analysed in this review. From the 127 papers reviewed, 108 contained case reports and the 19 remaining were a miscellaneous of reviews or original articles covering issues related with diagnosis and treatment. No clinical trials or randomized control trials were found. In those years the literature reported a total of 516 cases of M. marinum infection. From those cases reported only 133 could be analyzed as individual cases. The rest of cases were reported as series of cases (See figure 1). The number of cases reported per year since 1999 up to July 2009 have been variable with a minimum of 6 cases per year in 2004 to a maximum of 88 cases in 2000. No clear tendency to increase neither decrease has been notice (see Figure 2). The majority of the cases have been reported in Europe, North America and South East Asia. No cases have been reported in Africa and only one case in South America (see Figure 3). Results from papers that could be analyzed as individual cases The reports included 82 men and 51 women. The average age was 46.7 years with a minimum of 18 months and a maximum of 87 years (see Figure 4). 70% of the patients had no relevant past medical history. 9% of the patients were immunosuppressed: 5 patients had HIV infection, 4 were recipients of solid organ transplant, 1 patient had a myelodisplastic syndrome, 1 had Non-Hodking Lymphoma and 1 had Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia. Among other relevant pathologies were reported 12 diabetic patients, 11 with rheumatic diseases and finally 5 that were suffering from other problems as: asthma, bullous pemphigoid, myasthenia gravis, Cronh ´s disease and sarcoidosis. The majority of the patients were not taking any relevant drug. However, 20 of them were on systemic steroids, 12 had received steroids as local injection, 10 took methotrexate and 9 TNF-blockers. The most frequent exposure referred was the contact with an aquarium usually of tropical fish, it was reported in 51% of the cases. It was followed in 26 cases (20%) by other kind of contact with fish mainly referred as contact while cooking or cleaning fish. Finally 16 cases (14%) had other kind of contact with water environment. That included mostly fishermen or recreational sailors. Opposite to papers from the 60s, only in 2 patients referred contact with swimming pools. In 15 cases (11%) the source of exposure was not recall or reflected in the papers. Injury related with plants was reported in 3 cases. In one case the exposure was a bucket. The bucket was used to bath a child of 18 months after being used to put fish from an aquarium. As a result the child got infected [40]. History of trauma with skin barrier impairment was referred in 46 cases (71%) of the patients. Among those, 18 cases (39%) recall direct injury with either fin fish, fish hook or crab bite. Occupational exposure was reported in 20 cases (15%). The most frequent occupational risk was to be cook and have injuries while cleaning fish. Another common job of high risk was to work in a pet shop, with the duty of cleaning aquaria. Finally fishermen are evidently in direct contact with water and fish and prone to suffer injures with fish hooks. The incubation period was documented only in 30 patients. It went from 1 day up to 4 months with and average of 48.9 days. The cases that presented an incubation period less than two weeks had in common to have suffered penetrating injuries with fish (figure 5). The upper limbs were affected in 120 case (90.2%), being the fingers the most frequent location. The lower limbs were affected in 11 cases (8.3%). The face in 7 cases (5.3%) and that included delicate locations as nostrils, eyelid and cornea. Finally, cutaneous dissemination was reported in 7 cases (5.3%). Sporotrichoid spread was found in 53 cases (39.8%). Lymphonodes affectation was recorded in only in 7 cases (5.3%) of the cases. The lesions were described as nodules in 63 cases (7%), plaques in 23 (17.35%), papules in 13 (9.8%) and ulcers in 22 (16.5%). There was purulent discharge in 32 cases (24.1%), as well as swelling and tenderness in 37 (27.8%) and 42 (72.4%) cases respectively. Involvement of deep structures was referred in 45 cases (33.8%) of the cases being the most frequent tenosynovitis with 34 cases (75.6%), followed by arthritis with 12 (26.7%) and osteomyelitis with 6 (13.3%). Systemic dissemination with documented bacteraemia was reported in 3 cases. The 3 of them were males from 66 to 87 years. In 2 cases the patients were on systemic steroids, due to myasthenia gravis[103] in one case and polymyalgia rheumatica[62] in the other. Sadly the third case that initially was not taking drugs, after being misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis was put on systemic steroids, infliximab (TFN blocker) and methotrexate [59]. From the patients with invasive disease, including involvement of deep structures or systemic dissemination, 21 (46.6%9 were taken some kind of immunosuppressive drug. Meanwhile only 13 (15.5%) of the rest of the patients were taken them (see figure 6). Other interesting characteristic of the patients with invasive disease was that 15 (33.3%) of them referred direct fish injury. Only 3 (3.4%) of the rest had this exposure (see figure 7). Patients that for any reason were taken immunosuppressive drugs presented different characteristics from the rest of the patients. More than half of them presented invasive disease compared with only 20% of the rest (see table 2). Patients taking immunosuppressive drugs (*) Patients no taking any drugs Number of patients 36 91 Average age (years) 53.2 44.9 Female % 14 / 38.9% 36 / 39.6 % Sporotrichoid spread 13 / 36.1% 39 / 42.8% Involvement deep structures 21 / 58.3% 19 / 20.8% Systemic dissemination 3 / 8.3% 0 AFB positive 19 / 52.7% 33 / 36.3% Culture 33 / 91.6% 75 / 82.4% Bad evolution 2 / 5.5% 3 / 3.3% (*)Immunosuppressive drugs including: TNF-Blockers, systemic steroids, local injectable steroids, methotrexate and azathioprine. The time of evolution until the patients presented for consultation was as short as 4 days and as long as 18 years with an average of 8.6 months. The time until the diagnosis was finally done was only reflected in 17 patients. However the delay went from 21 days to 2 years with an average of 6.3 months. Tuberculosis skin test was only done in 19 patients. From those 86.4% were positive. Biopsy of the lesions was done in 120 cases (90.2%). Aspirate was reported only in 19 cases (1 4.3%). Histology characteristics suggestive of mycobacterial infection with granuloma formation were found in 45.5% of the biopsies. However, only 21% of those were described as caseating granulomas. Other frequent finding reported was mix infiltrates with chronic and acute inflammatory cells. In some cases a wrong diagnosis was done due to confusion with rheumatoid nodules, Sweetà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s syndrome, foreign body granuloma or interstitial granuloma annulare (See table 3). Table 3: Histology Findings Histology description Number of patients Non caseating granuloma 19 Caseating granuloma 12 Granuloma( type not specified) 26 Infiltrates of chronic and acute inflammatory cells (lymphocytes , neutrophils, histiocytes) 18 Granulation tissue 6 Abscess formation 9 Necrotizing folliculitis 1 Focal dermal necrosis 3 Fibrinoid degeneration 1 Necrotizing paniculitis 2 Cystic degeneration 1 Pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia 4 Acute suppurative paniculitis 1 Fibrinous exudates 3 Lichenoid inflammation 1 Acanthosis in epidermis 2 Necrotic Corneal Stroma 1 Dermal fibrosis 2 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Pseudocarcinomatous hyperplasia of follicles à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Nodular and perifollicular infiltrate of neutrophils and histiocytes à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Dermal fibrosis à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Collections of neutrophils within follicles 1 patient with lesions of 18 years evolution Confusion with other pathologies Rheumatoid Arthritis ( rheumatoid nodule) 2 Sweet ´s syndrome 2 Foreign body granuloma 2 Interstitial gra nuloma annulare 2 In the samples collected AFB was found in 41.7%, was negative in 34.6% and was not reported in 23.6%. In total identification of M. marinum was possible in 119 cases (89.5%). Culture was positive in 114 cases (85.7%). The time until the cultures grew went from 8 to 56 days, with an average of 23.3 days. Identification with PCR was done in 19 cases (14.2%). The imaging techniques were useful to diagnose extension of the infection. Radiographies were used in 25 cases (18.7%) to rule out bone involvement. Magnetic resonance imaging was used in 16 cases (12%) resulting in the diagnosis of tenosynovitis, abscess, join effusions or osteomyelitis. About the treatment, 126 patients were treated with antibiotics; in the rest of the cases the management is not mentioned. Surgery was need in 38 patients (84.4%) with affectation of deep structures and in 21 patients (25%)with cutaneous lesions. Monotherapy was used in 54 cases (42.8%), bitherapy in 38 cases (29.4%), triple therapy in 20 cases (15%) and combination of 4 or more drugs in 5 cases (4%). Finally combinations of drugs that included classical tuberculosis treatment were used in 10 cases (8.7%). In 41 patients the regimen of drugs needed to be change, either for non effectiveness or non tolerance. The regiment was change one time in 29 cases (21.8%), two times in 10 cases (7.5%), and up to 3 times in 2 patients (1.5%). The drug more frequently used as monotherapy was clarithromycin, followed by minocycline, doxycycline, ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. The combinations of drugs more frequently used were rifampicin + ethambutol followed by clarithromycin + rifampicin and clarithromycin + ethambutol. (Effectiveness of the different regimens depending of the extension of the disease can be seen in table 4) Susceptibility test were reported in 34 patients. Rifampicin was susceptible in 86.4% of the test, ethambutol in 91.3%, clarithromycin in 95% and minocycline in 62.5%. Isoniazid was resistant in 100% of the tests done and streptomycin in 66.6% (see table 5). The average time of duration of antibiotic treatment was 5.4 months, with a range of 12 days to 15 months. After completion of the treatment the final evolution of 109 patients (81.9%) was reported as good outcome or cured. Only in 8 patients (6%) the evolution was reported as bad outcome. No mention about the evolution was done in the rest of cases. Among 12 patients in which long follow up was reported, only one patient presented recurrence of the infection after 3 months course of doxycycline. (Characteristics of the cases with bad outcome are resumed in table 6. Table 4:: Antibiotic Combinations Used Depending On The Extension of The Disease Patients with only cutaneous lesions Patients with Invasive disease Number of patients Effectiveness Number of patients Effectiveness Monotherapy 38 52.5% 16 75% CLR 8 75% 5 100% MIN 10 70% 1 100% DOX 8 50% 1 100% CIP 4 25% 2 50% CTX 2 100% 3 33.3% AZI 3 0% 0 AMK 1 0% 0 ERI 0 1 0% LEV 0 1 0% MOX 1 0% 0 OFL 1 0% 2 50% Combinations of 2 drugs 26 92% 11 83.3% CLR + EMB 6 100% 2 100% CLR + CIP 1 100% 0 CLR + MIN 1 100% 0 CLR + RIF 5 80% 0 CLR +CTX 1 100% 0 RIF + EMB 9 100% 5 60% RIF + CTX 0 1 100% RIF + INH 0 1 100% CIP +DOX 1 100% 0 CIP + EIR 1 0% 0 DOX +CTX 0 2 100% CIP + EMB 1 100% 0 Combinations of 3 drugs 13 72.7% 7 66.6% CLR + EMB + CIP 0 1 0% CLR + EMB + RIF 2 100% 5 100% CLR + EMB +RFB 0 1 0% CLR +CTX + CIP 1 0% 0 EMB + AZI + MIN 1 0% 0 RIF + CLR + AMK 1 100% 0 RIF + INH + CLR 1 0% 0 RIF + EMB + CTX 5 100% 0 RIF + EMB + DOX 1 0% 0 RIF + EMB + MOX 1 0% 0 Combinations of > than 3 drugs 2 100% 3 33.3% CIP+RIF + EMB + CLR + RFB + AMK 0 1 100% CLR + DOX + RIF + EMB 0 1 0% RIF + EMB + CLR + AMK + IMP 0 1 0% RIF + EMB + AZ I+ CTX 1 100% 0 RIF + EMB + CLR + CIP 1 100% 0 Combinations with TB treatment 1 100% 9 55.5% INH + RIF + EMB + CLR 1 100% 1 0% INH + RIF + EMB 0 3 100% INH + RIF + EMB + PZA 0 4 50% INH + RIF + EMB + PZA + CLR 0 1 0% TABLE 5: PATTERN OF SUSCEPTIBILITY Drug Number of patients Susceptible Resistant Indeterminate Isoniazid 9 9 Rifampicin 22 19 3 Ethambutol 23 21 2 Pyrazinamide 1 1 Streptomycin 6 1 4 1 Rifabutin 2 2 Azithromycin 4 1 3 Clarithromycin 20 19 1 Minocycline 8 5 1 2 Doxycycline 6 6 Tetracycline 2 1 1 Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole 6 5 1 Ciprofloxacin 11 6 1 Levofloxacin 1 1 Moxifloxacin 4 4 Gatifloxacin 1 1 Amikacin 9 9 Linezolid 1 1 Imipenem 2 2 Erythromycin 2 1 1 Cefotaxime 2 1 1 Kanamycin 3 3 Ethionamide 3 3 Ansamycin 1 1 The table reflects in how many patients each drug was tested and in how many it resulted as susceptible, resistant or indeterminate. TABLE 6: CHARACTERISTICS OF CASES WITH BAD OR POOR OUTCOME References Age Sex Past medical history Type of infection Treatment Duration treatment (months) Evolution [25] 67/M DM Cutaneous disseminated RIF+EMB+CLR+CIP 3.7 Deceased Secondary bacterial infection [26] 50/M No Tenosynovitis RIF+EMB Synovectomy 3 Dysfunctional index finger [46] 62/F No Tenosynovitis CLR 4 debridements 6 Amputation index finger [46] 26/M No Tenosynovitis DOX+CTX 4 debridements 3.5 Persistent infection Need of grafting [73] 56/M No Tenosynovitis Local gentamicin Synovectomy 3 drainages ? Deformity [83] 47/M HIV infection Osteomyelitis 1-INH+RIF+EMB+PZA 2-Avobe + Fluoroquinolone 3-RFB+EMB+CIP 4-RFB+CIP ? Amputation Knee [88] 60/F NHL Systemic steroids Cutaneous disseminated 1-Ofloxacine 2-RIF+EMB+LEV+CLR 3-Above+STR+IG 4-CTX+MOX ? Continue with signs of active infection [103] 81/M Myasthenia gravis Systemic steroids Cutaneous and systemic dissemination 1-CIP 2-Hyperthermia 3-DOX intravenous 5 Deceased Bone marrow infected by M.marinum Results from papers that contain series of 14 or more cases There were 14 papers that contained series of cases with no available information of individual cases. As a consequence, individual cases could not be analyzed separately. There were 2 papers that reported the same series of cases in different years, the cases were counted just once. The principal characteristics of the papers are described in the table 7. There were 363 cases reported, 68% were males with an average of 44.3 years. In most of the cases the past medical history was not relevant; only 4 cases of HIV infection were reported. The most frequent exposure was to own an aquarium in 134 cases (37%). There was other kind of contact with fish in 37 cases (10%), swimming pool contact in 7 cases (2%) and other kind of contact with water in 58 cases (16%). In the rest of cases exposure was not mention. Finally occupational exposure was referred in 68 cases (19%). The incubation period was not reported. The upper limbs were affected in 245 cases (67%), the lower limbs in 78 cases (21%), the face in 3 cases (0.8%) and there was cutaneous dissemination in 10 cases (3%). Sporotrichoid spread was reported in 46 cases (12%). The lesions were described as plaques in 92 cases (25%) and nodules in 54 cases (15%). Deep structures were affected in 45 cases (12%): 41 tenosynovitis (91%), 8 arthritis (18%) and 3 osteomyelitis (6%). There were no cases of systemic dissemination described in any of the series. The average in the delay until the diagnosis was done was 3.8 months. The drugs more commonly used as monotherapy were doxycycline, minocycline, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and clarithromycin. The combinations more prescribed were rifampicin plus ethambutol, rifampicin plus clarithromycin and clarithromycin plus ethambutol. The effectiveness of the treatments were not frequently reported. Consequently is not possible to point the advantage of any concrete regimen (see table 8). The average duration of the treatment was 5 months. Surgery was reported in 73 cases (20%). The evolution was good in 225 cases (62%), poor in 15 cases (4%) and not mention in the rest. There were 5 papers that contained series of cases of atypical mycobacterial infecti

Karl Marxs Communist Manifesto and Its Impact on Society Essay

Karl Marx's The Communist Manifesto and Its Impact on Society According to the humanities based themes, autonomy and responsibility are defined as â€Å"the individual person has the ability to make choices; with those choices comes a responsibility for the consequences of those choices.† [i] This can be related to the Communist Manifesto, which was written by Karl Marx in the 1800’s. Even deeper though, it correlates the class struggles that were apparent in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Marx knew there was a division of classes; the bourgeoisie was the wealthy upper class and they proletariats were the lower working classes of Europe. This is where the theme of autonomy and responsibility steps in and plays a role in the changes that were made in society. The proletariats recognized that they were treated unfairly, which led them to the decision of stepping up and taking a stand. Through the Communist Manifesto, they took responsibility and attained the equality they felt they deserved. The problem with society during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was the equality of all persons was few and far between. The bourgeoisie was in control of all the power and the proletariats were basically under their control. It was as if the bourgeoisie â€Å"originated out of the old medieval peasant class, in opposition to the medieval titled aristocracy.† [ii] They had taken over everything; the oppressed class lived by their rules and ways of life. Their way of life was not a happy one; family was based upon money instead of love. â€Å"Capital developed in the same proportion as the class of laborers developed.† ii Life then seemed simple for those living the life of the bourgeoisie, b... ...http://www.as.udayton.edu/hbase/themes.htm > (10 Mar 2002). [ii] Marx, Karl. â€Å"Manifesto of the Communist Party. I. Bourgeois and Proletarians.† 4 May 2002. (10 Mar 2002). [iii] Elizondo, Sonny. â€Å"Classic Note on Communist Manifesto.† 17 July 2000. (10 Mar 2002). [iv] Elizondo, Sonny. â€Å"Classic Note on Communist Manifesto.† 17 July 2000. (10 Mar 2002). Other links: http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~socappeal/150years/ http://www.classicnote.com/ClassicNotes/sources/communist.html http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/hum_303/manifesto.html

John Proctor in The Crucible :: Essay on The Crucible

Crucible Paper The Puritans had many values that everyone must know and completely obey. One of those values is to know, and obey the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were one of the most important things for all Puritans to know and obey, because without them there would be no order. For a Puritan not to know his Commandments by heart was nearly unheard of seeing how the Commandments are the basic rules for them. Although almost all of the Puritans knew the Commandments there were a few who didn’t know them all by heart. John Proctor was one of these who didn’t know them all by heart. Its not just the fact that he didn’t know them all by heart that lets him fit into the category of not being a good Puritan because he lacks the Puritan characteristic of knowing and obeying the Ten Commandments. One way he shows that he doesn’t obey the Ten Commandments is the fact the he rarely attends church anymore. This is breaking one of the Ten Commandments, ‘Th ou shall remember the Sabbath Day and keep it Holy’ this Commandment states that on every Sunday you must attend church. Yet John doesn’t, which isn’t following what he should do. Another example of not obeying the Commandments is by having an affair with Abigail, who was his housekeeper and who happened to be eleven at the time. In committing this act he directly disobeyed the Commandment ‘Thou shall not commit adultery’. This Commandment states that when one is married to someone they should only be active among themselves. The finally way John shows that he is not a good Puritan is by not knowing all the Commandments when asked to say them by Mr. Hale. John says them all but adultery. These three things made John Proctor ‘an unworthy Christian’ by Puritan standards. When John was asked to repeat the Ten Commandments by Mr. Hale he was off to a good start but he forgot adultery completely and said one twice (page 63-64). This shows Mr. Hale that in fact John doesn’t know the Commandments, which means he is not a good Puritan. The reason for Mr. Hale’s presents at Proctor’s house was because Elizabeth Proctor, John’s wife, was accused of witchcraft early that day at court. Hale didn’t come representing the courts, but purely to gain knowledge of the people of Salem so that he may gain knowledge of how to get rid of the Devil if he truly is in Salem.

‘Popular’ Music

‘Popular music' is the broadest and as the name would suggest most popular genre of music today. The term ‘Popular Music' was first used in the 19th century but it is the twentieth century that has seen the most developments in popular music. , the technology it uses and the media it is conveyed in The start of ‘Pop Music' is generally thought to have been in the 1950's with the advent of Rock ‘n' Roll. This is when music was first really brought to a mass audience watching on television. By the end of the 1950's over half the population owned a television. Millions more than at the start of the decade. Popular bands were made ‘popular' because they were being brought to the masses. The 1960's saw a broadening in ‘popular music' with TV shows such as ‘Top of The Pops' showing a selection of hits from the top 40 of the singles chart. This use of the media brought most styles of music that were popular to a mass audience. Later in the 1970's and 80's pop magazines were introduced. Some such as ‘Smash Hits! were aimed at the younger early teen end of the market while others such as ‘NME' or ‘New Musical Express' were aimed at older more refined music fans to popular music. The late 1980's saw a flurry of new popular music magazines, many of which are still popular today, rock magazine ‘Kerrang! ‘ being a leading example. I believe that the 1990's has seen a ‘dumbing-down' of some magazines such as ‘Smash Hits! à ¢â‚¬Ëœ. Now aimed at an even younger possibly pre-teen audience it is little more than a promotional vehicle for the groups and artists represented in it's pages. The featured groups in these magazines are often from a new sub-genre that has developed from the 1980's to now and is known as the manufactured band. In recent years the idea of manufactured bands or artists has been embraced into the reality TV format with shows such as ‘Pop Idol' showing the development of a band or artist live on TV. I believe this innovation has been bad for music in general as the top 40 chart is now flooded with either reality TV winners, reality TV losers or artists who have gone through a similar process but have not been televised in doing so. In recent years music television has risen to the fore as a major part of an artist's success. When MTV was launched in the early 80's who could have thought that the music video would become the phenomenon it now is. Artists spend millions of pounds and hundreds of hours making sure their video is just right. In the early 21st century there are now over 20 music channels showing every thing from rock to rap, from classical to teen pop. However nowadays all artist's videos are so good that the music video seems to have gone full circle and now the music is more important again. In the pop music industry there have been thousands of innovations over the years but no genre has surpassed the sub genre of rap for innovative ideas. Originating from street corners where young black males would ‘battle' against each other using lyrics rap is now a multi-billion pound industry with the leading players earning vast fortunes. Rap has certainly come a long way since it's humble beginnings. The 1980's were a massive decade of innovation for rap, a genre that had begun in the 70's. the start of the 80's rappers were still using manual mixers to combine beats and mix tracks in the way that has become a hallmark of rap. By 1990 rappers were using digital mixers to blend beats more harmoniously. The result a more clear-cut sound that has perhaps made rap the music of the 90's. Pop music has come a long way since it begun in the 1950's. Technology and the media have perhaps had as larger part in pop music's success than the music itself. However I believe the media ha s become too involved nowadays by creating stars themselves while not playing other artist's music. After all ‘popular music' should be about the music not making things popular. However there is one dark cloud that looms over the organisations that run the music industry such as record labels and the media. The Internet. Technology has now come so far that music files can now be swapped over the Internet through such software such as ‘Napster' or ‘Kazaa'. Now when a teenager hears a song he or she likes on the radio they don't rush to the record store. They rush to their computer. It is not just teenagers either. Millions of adults indulge in this type of music piracy every day. Even though they are ripping off the very artists they love. I believe however that the problem is not with the designers of ‘Kazaa' or with the people who are downloading it. After all millions of people use these services, law abiding ordinary people. The reason for this I believe is because people see record companies as big faceless corporations who don't really care about music or people, just making money. I think it is the music companies responsibility to stop people using these ways of obtaining music by making ‘popular music' mor about music and less about money.

Diana: Story of a Princess

Princess Diana was paradoxical human personality that epitomizes determined humanitarian figure and a beautiful woman who hankers after fame and luxurious lifestyle. She was born as Lady Diana Frances Spencer on 1 July 1961 at Park House near Sandringham, Norfolk. She was the daughter of 8th Earl Spencer of Althorp. She was the youngest among two sisters, Sarah and Jane, and had a younger brother, Charles. She got her primary education at a preparatory school, Riddlesworth Hall at Diss, Norfolk, and further at a boarding school, West Heath, near Sevenoaks, Kent.Diana married Prince Charles on July 29, 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral but separated her ways in 1992. She held an important place in history due to her royal marriage with Price Charles and pathetic parting of ways. She is also acclaimed as an international humanitarian figure. Her marriage is the most celebrated and cherished marriages of the world as the Archbishop of Canterbury rightly said, â€Å"Here is the stuff of which fairy tales are made. † But it also brought her the pathos and afflictions. Prince Charles still had an amorous affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles.This betrayal shattered her whole self and she attempted suicide several times. Later she diverted her attention to the charity work and soon became an international aid worker. She worked assiduously for charitable causes around the world and charity. In the domestic sphere, she worked to expose the problems of homeless and also disabled people. While in the international sphere, she vigorously worked for a ban on the production and use of land mines. For this purpose, she visited Angola and other countries affected with land mines but her decision to visit Bosnia was a daring step as country was afflicted with war at that time.Although she possessed a complex and intricate personality but her overall personal aura, her renowned and distinct style and her charitable works enabled her to win the status of a celebrity rather than a m ere royalty. Her charitable work, especially to support the humanitarian services for the third world countries, is the most admirable characteristic of her personality. â€Å"Diana: Story of a Princess,† by Craig and Clayton offers a balanced view about Princes Diana.It is not mere a eulogy and plain fact narration but it delves deep into the motives of Diana’s acts. It further provides the other side’s view for example the inconvenience that Charles experienced he entered in marriage with Diana. It further narrates her motivations to join charity services i. e. to get fame and to divert her from matrimonial worries. Overall, this book encompasses all the events and psychological turmoil of Diana’s being in an illustrative and lucid way. References Clayton, Tim. & Craig, Phil. Diana: Story of a Princess. Atria. 2003

More testing, More Learning Essay

All students wish to finish their college year with a good grade. There is a lot to learn in every chapter of textbooks. Even if a student spends most of his time studying, he will get very stressed when a midterm or final comes. These exams will judge how well that student is doing for the whole entire semester. Patrick O’ Malley in â€Å"More Testing, More Learning† mentions that more testing provides students better learning opportunities because more testing forces students to have good study habits. It also helps students to focus on every unit in the textbooks and encourages them to learn from their mistakes. Providing exams more often makes students have good study habits. Students need good time management in order to balance between their college lives with their study lives. According to O’Malley’s essay â€Å"Greater frequency in test taking means greater frequency in studying for tests†. Giving students more exams is a way to keep them in track and force them to focus more on class. Although students are adults and should be able to manage their own lives, they still need a teacher to coach them. If professor gives students more frequency in-class exams, it will force them to do more practice and students will learn better. Having an exam at the end of the unit helps students deeply focus on what is in the classroom. There is a lot of information in a textbook and if students have a chance to have quizzes after the major chapters, it will help them to deeply understand the materials. From Patrick O’ Malley’s proposal â€Å" This solution would have the advantage of reducing students’ anxiety about learning every fact in the textbook, and it would clarify the course goals, but it would not motivate students to study carefully each new unit, concept, or text chapter in the course†. Students who understand the concept in their textbooks will do well in class and satisfy with their college lives. Having an opportunity to review the in-class exams benefits students to focus what they have missed. From O’ Malley suggestion â€Å"It makes sense that in a challenging course containing a great deal of material, students will learn more of it and put it to better use if they have to apply or â€Å"practice† it frequently on exams†. Student should be able to see how well they are doing in class before their major exams. Practicing with more exams releases students’ anxiety. Their lives are not depending on only one or two exams. More in-class exam gives students the opportunity to study and learn from the mistakes that they did in the past tests. Being a student is not easy. A good student is the one who can maintain the student activities, work and grades. There are many ways that professors can encourage students to study. Providing students more of the exams before midterm and final is a way to help student learn. More testing helps them to focus on the contents, decrease their anxiety, keep them focused in school and also helps students learn from their own in-class exam.

Purpose of an Operating System

CPU and memory requirements are the most glaring but even hard rive partition size and what kind of disc drive present matters. Within the generations of Windows there is a long list of features that separate them. Windows XP was introduced with personalized start menu options per user using the PC. XP was the first Windows SO to self-adjust the task spacing as the user opened more programs. Windows Vista introduced Area, Sidebar, and Gadgets in an effort to enhance the users experience but also to make it easier to interact with the main system through the mini-application based Gadgets.Simple services like displaying pictures, turning wireless on or off, ND music playback were available that prior to Vista required a running program. Windows 7 further enhances the user experience with modification to Windows explorer and how it organizes the files and folders in an easier to use format. The use of Libraries enables the SO to index files by content and therefore able to group in a w ay where the user is able to locate a file even if the file is saved in an unrelated folder. The second largest of the major ASS is used exclusively by Apple.Mac SO is a proprietary system that has a very strict requirement for what hardware will work with the system. Despite the hardware limitations to only Intel Cups and approved motherboards, it remains a huge favorite to certain groups of users like multimedia designers, graphic artists, and music producers. One potential reason for this is because Apple was the first to utilize a simple a graphical user interface (GU') therefore making it easier to use the system instead of driven by often hard to use and complex DOS commands.With later versions of Mac like SO X, various technologies, such as Anti-Aliasing and Colors are used to dramatically improve the user interface. Another difference is that a user can pen PC files like . Doc and . AXIS within Mac without problem, while Windows requires conversion software to open Mac files . By doing this, Apple has in effect broken down many important barriers while the average PC user has resisted in adopting a Mac over a PC. Despite some advantages, Mac usage is low, roughly 10% or lower of the entire computer market in the U.S. The smallest market share among the ASS belongs to Linux. Users have been slow to adopt it since its inception in October of 1991 by Lines Dorval. Despite little use by average users, there exists many a version or distributions which ghastly dominate the area of computers known as servers, main frames, and super computers. Linux is also the system of choice on much smaller devices like phones and tablets. What makes Linux exciting to use for some is also what keeps most users away; Linux has splintered to over 300 variations.Most are specialized for the devices which it is meant to be installed on, but even for use for the mass market of users there are still four major variations such as Bunt, Use, Red Hat, and Knops. Common trait within Linux is that it has a very small footprint compared to larger ASS like Windows. For computer enthusiasts, one can run a distribution of Linux on hardware that is otherwise vastly outdated or run alongside Windows on the same computer.Another advantage of Linux is the well-established and openly accessible documentation on the commands but also how to configure the System best for the user or the use of the SO as well as how to troubleshoot issues. For software hobbyists and professionals this means that they can basically tailor the system to their needs and cut the dependence on what Microsoft or Apple may offer. Because of the open source nature of the SO, they can both upload fixes and receive enhancements from other users and the committees that oversee Linen's development.Despite the differences between operating systems a common thread among them is that they help shape the user experience of a computer. By doing so it enhances our desire to continue using computers and their many benefits. Without development of operating systems things such as modern day networks or communications wouldn't be possible. Since new technologies are constantly bringing us new and better hardware, it's the operating system and its development that will continue to encourage the user to ultimately enjoy the device.

Digital Media Purpose

Digital media purposes * ENTERTAINMENT AND LEISURE: This is the industry which makes the largest use of digital media. Films, television and radio use video, audio and animation to tell stories and entertain. Computer games also fall into this category. Computer games are masterpieces of multimedia, using all aspects to create immersive environments. This industry I think makes a lot of money billions in fact because it’s in everybody's interest, for example music concerts or watching the Olympic sports live. EDUCATION AND TRAINING: Digital media is a great tool for teaching this gives the student maybe even the teachers a better way of understanding a type of work set out to be a very hard task, digital media helps improve on your functional skills for example My maths is a great way of learning maths and it’s on the internet. Digital media also helps in training and it’s a great way to learn something if you are a beginner for example learning how to ride a bik e you could search the WWW, (World Wide Web).For example using media to teach different subject, another example would be in training a new worker in a work place. * MARKETING: When advertising the use of digital media increases. The main reason for this is because if you want to have a great effect on people trying to buy your item or property you are advertising you are going to need to put it on the net or at least take a picture to put it on showing billboards outside. An example of marketing would be billboards leaflets and information hand-outs for the public to see to buy whatever you are trying to sell. VIRTUAL REALITY (VR): Virtual reality would not have been made without the use of digital media it is basically a world of entertainment/games inside of a computer there are a variety of virtual reality games for example Runescape, fifa 13, call of duty. These are the man virtual reality games there are also thousands maybe millions more being played whilst you are reading th is slideshow. * PUBLISHING: Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature, music, or information — the activity of making information available to general public.In some cases, authors may be their own publishers, meaning: originators and developers of content also provide media to deliver and display the content for the same. Publishing includes the stages of the development, acquisition, copyediting, graphic design, production – printing (and its electronic equivalents), and marketing and distribution of newspapers, magazines, books, literary works, musical works, software and other works dealing with information, including the electronic media. COSTUMER SERVICE: Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase. According to Turban et al. (2002), â€Å"Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation. † Customer support is a range of customer services to assist customers in making cost effective and correct use of a product. It includes assistance in planning, installation, training, trouble shooting, maintenance, upgrading, and disposal of a product.

Is the purpose of prisons to punish criminals, or to help them Essay

Is the purpose of prisons to punish criminals, or to help them - Essay Example However, there are some cases when punishment is applied as the most effective strategy in addressing criminals. This paper will explore factors that should prompt prisons to exhibit efforts towards rehabilitating prisoners. The paper will also analyze why the punitive approach proves more efficient in some situations. There are many theories developed to explain why prisons should focus on rehabilitating criminals rather than punishing them. Most of these theories surround a close analysis of the factors that prompted an individual to indulge in crime (Binder 2013, p. 296). A psychological analysis of the factors that prompt an individual to indulge in crime reveals that he or she may undergo effective therapy through rehabilitative programs, hence increasing the chances of transforming the individual. Without doubt, there is an existing complexity of the factors that motivate people towards crime. These complexities only seem to trigger controversy when considering the effectiveness of rehabilitation of criminals (Bierschbach & Bibas 2013, p. 407). If prisons are to help criminals, they must adopt a certain attitude and have the faith that it is possible to get the criminals back to the right track. One reason why criminals are locked in prisons is to protect the public from further criminal activities. Therefore, helping criminals in prison targets to help them transform and stay away from crime. Efforts of rehabilitation seek to convert criminals to better citizens who have the potential to contribute positively to the success of the society. After the effective transformation, then prisons can release the transformed criminals back to the society (Bierschbach & Bibas 2013, p. 411). After release into the society, there is the need for positive reintegration by the other members of the society. Governments that focus on

Choose an issue surrounding capital punishment (deterrence, innocence, Research Paper

Choose an issue surrounding capital punishment (deterrence, innocence, cost, racial bias, etc.) and use it to argue why or why n - Research Paper Example Many other states in America also released similar reports with respect to the expenses of capital punishment. Billions of Dollars are spent yearly for implementing capital punishment in America. Normal court procedures are impossible in the death penalty cases. The court needs to double confirm that the criminal is eligible for death penalty because of the value associated with human life. â€Å"The essence of American criminal justice system is that â€Å"partisan advocacy of both sides on a case will promote the ultimate objective that the guilty be convicted and the innocent go free† (Ferdic et al, p.37). So, before implementing death penalty, the criminal went through for a series of expensive trial procedures including state and federal supreme courts. The criminal can question the punishment several times in different courts before the final judgment of the Supreme Court. All these court procedures are highly expensive because of the various expensive services (Smart a dvocates, Forensic experts, Investigating officers, witnesses, etc) needed for it.

GMO the Necessary Evil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

GMO the Necessary Evil - Essay Example The discussion of whether Genetically Modified Organisms are good or bad for consumption can go on without a conclusion. My goal in this paper is to bring out both the negative and positive effects genetically modified organisms have and to show how essential they are. To achieve this goal, we shall start by looking at the negative or the health risks associated with genetically modified organisms citing evidence from different authors, and then I will discuss the reason why genetically modified foods were introduced and why I think they are a necessary evil. Now that we have introduced GMOs, let us look at the health risks associated with this kind of food. Although Genetically Modified Organisms were introduced in 1996, their side effects on human health have already been noticed; there have been increased reports of allergic reaction, toxic hazards (Wald and Michael 46). These side effects may be seen as minimal, the most worrying are the long term effects which may be more drastic. Children with life threatening allergies are associated with GMOs increased intake. There have been 37 reported deaths of people associated with the side effects of GMOs (Smith 258). Moreover GMOs have been associated with birth defects, stillbirth, infertility, cancers and miscarriages (Bodiguel 45). Researchers claim that glyphosphate found in GMO are the cause of malformation chicken embryos and these effects were evident to human birth defects in areas associated with genetically modified soy production. To be precise the researchers found malformation of the head were the new borne had a single eye (Wald and Michael 44). With long term exposure to genetically modified organisms the data  relating to the diverse effects will only increase as we continue to feed on GMOs without giving thought the negative effects they can have on our health and reproduction of future

DIscussion questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

DIscussion questions - Assignment Example Getting paid more than your fellow employees gives you a psychological advantage and one is made to believe that is getting treated special. But keeping in mind the tasks I had to deliver and the number of hours I was forced to work in order to meet deadlines never gave me personal satisfaction. I had friends in others companies in the same industry and they were getting paid almost as much as me but there was one major difference. The difference was that they were only responsible for accounts related work. They had a separate tax department that handled tax related works and had a storage supervisor who was responsible for checking and maintaining the stock level. So that meant I was doing task of three people all alone. Although the level of pay made things look reasonable, the level of commitment, focus and hard work always made me feel that I was being over worked and the incentive giving me was comparatively less. This feeling and heavy schedule went on forcing me to resign fro m work and opting for a different place. Technology has really made it easier for us to gather information on compensation; explore the Glassdoor website at http://www.glassdoor.com Click on the Companies and Reviews, then Best Places to Work feature and check out some of the company reviews and salary information, remembering that this is unsubstantiated, anonymous information. What did you find on this site? How useful do you think it is? The website contains a vast number of things related both, to the companies and the employees. The overview of the company is given along with a list of salaries being taken by employees at different positions. The average salary and the range of salaries for each department/position are given. This gives a fair idea of what starting pay should one expect and as time goes on how much raise in pay scale should be expected while staying at the company. A percentage of number successful, unsuccessful and waiting list (neutral) candidates are also gi ven. A prospective employee may analyze his chances of getting through in the interviews. Reviews of employees is also an important aspect, as one may get to know how well a company is treating its employees and understand whether he/she can adjust to such an environment. The number of jobs and positions available along with the job description helps one to assess whether to apply for the job or not. The thing that I found most useful was the information and split in categories of how people manage to get an interview. Most prospective employees don’t know how to apply and what is the best mode of applying. Some may simply use the online portal while others may try getting a referral in a company before they even apply. They may be some individuals who go straight up to recruiting agencies and ask for their help and guidance. By analysing the information on people actually getting an interview, the possibility of managing to get an interview becomes much higher. Using Table 1 2.1, which two programs for recognizing employee contributions do you feel are most worthwhile from an employee motivation standpoint and why? Table 12.1 Employee Motivation Merit Pay Incentive Pay Profit Sharing Owner-Ship Gain Sharing Skill-Based Design features Payment method Changes base pay Bonus Bonus Equity Bonus Change in base pay when skill Frequency at payout Annually Weekly Semiannually or annually When stock sold Monthly or quarterly When skill or competency Performance measures Supervisor’

Antitrust Legislation in the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Antitrust Legislation in the USA - Essay Example The company had employed predatory strategies to ensure that other market players cannot operate freely without considerably favoring Microsoft.   In identifying instances of antitrust violations, the Free Trade Commission (FTC) is responsible for determining whether a given market player has, either intentionally or unintentionally, manipulated the market to either mitigate or limit entry of competitors into the market (Hylton, 2003). The FTC has the duty of quantifying to what extent the given market player has violated the freedom of entry into the market. FTC controls this by regulating the issuance of patents and enforcing the legality of these patients.   The Stark Act prevents antitrust within healthcare by ensuring that physician referrals of certain DHS (Designated Health Services) for Medicaid and Medicare patients cannot be executed if, and only if the physician in question or an immediate or close relative of the physician has a vested financial affiliation with the patient in question. (Leslie, 2011) This ensures that physicians cannot refer one patient from one medical institution to another if they stand to gain financially. Similarly, the Anti-Kickback law has made it illegal to refer a patient to another Medicaid or Medicare-covered services and receiving financial compensation   In conclusion, the main aim of the antitrust legislation is to identify instances where one market player has immense market power to the point where they control and manipulate the market to gain abnormal profits and limit access into the given market or industry.

Needs assesment, use of needs assessments, influence of modeling and Essay

Needs assesment, use of needs assessments, influence of modeling and exploring ones own paradigms - Essay Example However, the dominant approach to data collection and analysis so far- learning what is wrong with young people- is fundamentally flawed as it fails to investigate the factors in a young person's life that we know lead to healthy development.1 It does not tell the full or even the correct story about our kids. There is need to explore more deeply into the factors that are instrumental in shaping the positive development of a child and more scientific work needs to be done to responsibly advance the youth development field. In general this field aims at supporting and promoting processes assumed essential for the health and well-being of a child. Most of the studies of national importance conducted till recently , with the exception of a few like the one by America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being and Trends In the Well-Being of America's Children which incorporated some of the indicators of positive youth development, were focused towards finding out and measuring the deficit indicators in our children's lives primarily because the studies were conducted either for- measuring, analyzing or understanding and reporting on social changes or for- decision making and evaluating and assessing governmental social programs and policies. The continuation of such programs depended, of course, on data to monitor their effectiveness. How those indicators have co... As the cost of rehabilitation programs mounted, prevention instead of treatment of social problems became the mantra to policy makers. However, there was a tricky problem to decide as to who should be included in prevention programs. Many attempts to decide on the basis of persons "at risk" or the persons with some specific precursor behavior could not give right perspective as there is no significant evidence in research to conclude as to who needed these programs the most. (can you contact me at my email address mabha2001@yahoo.com. I need to talk to you urgently.) The prevention approach or model lays emphasis on finding an effective way to prevent a given problem from happening to or among young people and is based on the principle that absence of problems means that young people are developing appropriately. From the developmental perspective, there are several flaws in this approach. First, while there are plenty of evidence that negative behaviors or conditions impede the positive development of young people, there is hardly any evidence that absence of such behaviors in itself equates with positive development as in the words of Karen Pittman, a leading youth development advocate " problem-free is not fully prepared." Moreover, it is difficult to measure behaviors that could have happened but did not happen because of a prevention input. Secondly, these prevention programs target only a fraction of our young people who are considered to be "at risk" and not all.. The development perspective offers a different approach and asks three common sense questions : What kind of human beings do we want all our children to be What skills do we want them to possess What do we want them to be able to do to

TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION TO SPANISH SPEAKERS Research Paper - 1

TEACHING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION TO SPANISH SPEAKERS - Research Paper Example The literature review chapter discussed about the speech sounds, vowels, consonants, speech organs, and production of sounds in a critical manner. The literature review served the purpose of dealing with the research topic in an in-depth manner. It was found that the correct pronunciation is dependent on positioning of tongue and lips and also the movement of air within and outside the mouth and nose. The literature review added great deal of value for the later chapters. The research methodology chapter explained the reason behind selecting the anti-positivism research philosophy and inductive research approach along with the use of questions and graphics for enhancing the pronunciation of students in a well planned manner. This chapter explained the methodology to be used in analysing the major outcomes of the research. The proposed framework chapter explained the framework to be used in enhancing the pronunciation of students. In this regard, Kenilworth’s English Pronunciation Skills as a form of questions along with a number of graphs highlighting the lips and tongue movement, speech organs, and how vowels and consonants are produced and pronounced were used in an illustrative manner. The conclusion and recommendation chapter concluded that enhancing English pronunciation is requires continuous effort along with proper understanding over the production of speech sounds, sound movement, and vowels and consonants production and pronunciation . English has emerged as one of the main languages being spoken in different parts of the world. The global environment seeks people having command over English in terms of communication and exchange of ideas and views. English is a global language that is used for the purpose of communication in countries where it is not a native language. However, with global boundaries shrinking and people exploring different opportunities in different parts of the world,

Priorities and setting clearer goals Essay Example for Free

Priorities and setting clearer goals Essay In the benefit of effective style, the democratic leadership style shall be the most successful style for an organization. If every company could benefit and endure this leadership style, they are becoming more successful and flexible. Leaders could both interact with subordinates and progress good development in discussions. This gives control and influence to the leader.  Other approaches to leadership success would be the trait approaches as well. Traits are the personal factors that distinguish the leader, such as intelligence and appearance. Everyone has a unique blend of qualities, such as courage, patience, ambition honesty and others and these care qualities are the real sources of leadership success. When these qualities are well-recognised, a leader can draw upon them with greater confidence, this also leads to discovery of which qualities leader lack. With this leaders can decide what needs to developed and therefore now future performance can be improved.  Trait approaches are break down into several parts. Firstly, would be the physical characteristic where looks, appearance and dressing take place. Social characteristic plays a part in the personal factors. This can create more ability for leaders to get with others. In this characteristic, communication plays a big rate. All of work and social exchange depends upon communication. It also means for sharing ideas, feelings and resources. When communication breaks down, disagreement and misunderstanding immediately occur. Listening and speaking are the foundations of communication. They both contribute in equal measure to the development of socially skilled information exchange. Researchers highlight five essentials features of clear and effective communication and refer them as social skills. Socially skilled communications are divided into 5 categories. Firstly would be the goal-directed category. When there are clear goals for the exchange of ideas or information. It is easier to recognize when communication is complete. Discussion is far more satisfying when participants have something they wish to achieve through communication because they can then work to accomplish.  Telling a joke is an excellent of goal-directed communication. The narrator knows the communication is successfully completed when the listener starts to laugh.  Taking time to consider the purpose of sharing information influences the choice of words and contributes o a more confident presentation. The coherent category refers to behavioral which makes a single, consistent overall impression as well as to the clarity and logic of the message. For example, when presenting serious information that could alarm a listener, a socially skilled speaker controls eye contact, facial expression, tone of voice and body language so that they can blend to give a single message. Nervous smiling or a hesitating manner when information is urgent detracts from the speakers credibility and potential distorts the message. Appropriate to the situation skilled communication coordinates words, behavior and timing so that presentation of information matches the needs of the situation. While coherence refers specially to personal style when delivering a message, this additional skill requires thinking about when and how a message is best delivered. This means choosing the right method, such a telephone, handwritten note, electronic means or face-to-face speech. One example of this social skill is a leader who critics a colleague face to face in private rater than in a public place. Controlled social skilled refers to the leaders self-discipline rather than the ability to discipline others. On occasion, leaders make decisions which benefit the group rather than reflect their personal preference. An example of this kind of behavior is the leader who resists taking over a task once it has been delegated. It takes enormous control to watch a younger colleague struggle to learn a task which leader could complete in just a few minutes. The reward for this kind of self-control is a stronger team. Control in this example means choosing to be silent.  The ability to learn is a vital social skill and most communication behaviour is learned by absorption and copying rather than by conscious choice. A speakers voice, gestures and movements are the end result of a lifetime of conditioning. Leaders can improve these skills when they evaluate their own performance towards discovering new ways to express themselves. This process is aided by examining the strength of the other four social skills. When there is a gap in the ability to set a goal for discussion, to be coherent, to time the delivery of information, or to maintain self-control, then leaders need to focus attention on social skill development.  In leading, create understanding in between leaders and colleagues are important as well.  It is the leaders responsibility to open a debate, encourage colleaguescontributions and guide discussion so that a common understanding emerges within the group. This understanding enhances a groups sense of purpose and contributes to their sense of unity. When leaders are committed to creating understanding, they show this through attentive listening and setting a tone of tolerant discussion within the group. Not only do these leaders gain benefit from their colleagues ideas, they also encourage group loyalty and commitment. It has already been suggested that respect generates respect. The leader has the power to begin this positive spiral of mutual appreciation. Another step to effective leadership is decision making, Whether leaders do this alone or within a group, it is essential that they act with confidence. Further, when the discussion of a decision is complete, it is the leader who signals that it is time to take action. Decision making skill are improved by focusing what are the priorities and setting clearer goals. Frequently leaders are required to make several decisions at the same time. Because full attention cannot be given to each issue simultaneously, they need to coordinate and manage information with considerable skill. Decision makers must determine the extent of interdependence among a variety of issues even as they are estimating their degree of importance.  This requires identifying priorities and making decisions about the most pressing issues first. This takes discipline, because some decisions appear to require immediate attention and yet lack genuine urgency or importance for the long term. Alternatively, some truly vital issues may be delayed or even forgotten because they lack glamour or enough noisy advocates to press for their attention. Setting cleare goals allows leaders to focus on the urgent and important decisions first, the successful outcome of these decisions first. The successful outcome of these decisions that depends upon setting clear goals. This can seem an obvious point because the priority itself would seemingly provide the goal. However, goals at the outset of a decison making process are often too vague and general to give sufficient direction. Goals give direction to the decision making process. Even so the need to achieve a specific outcome must also be balanced with flexible attitude. Conclusion: All the above approaches are discussed well proper. In leadership, all three aspect of approaches are generally important. The four most important factors influencing leadership styles would be the democratic way of leadership style, goal directed communication skills, create understanding among colleagues and leader and decision making. All its characteristic have been well-discussed and explored above. The four influencing factors are essential for successful leadership. This factors will improve leadership performance in both major and minor roles by recognizing what needs to change and practicing the necessary skills.