Saturday, August 31, 2019

Goals of Education

Ani Antonyan Goals of Education Education has been playing a rather important role in the development of mankind since the genesis of humanity. It has passed through different time periods and, consequently, through different modes. Even kings and queens of unmemorable times attached great importance to education as in it they saw the future of their nations. We also should realize what a great role it plays in our lives and in the future of our countries.In fact education is essential for every individual to develop its personality and find its place in the society, meanwhile, as we know, each society and nation, consists of individuals , thus it is significant for progress of countries as well. Educated people are more confident and normally know what they want from this life. Education helps to form character and develop personality. It shapes critical thinking , and analytical abilities which are substantial for each person who wants to achieve heights .The more you study, the mo re you need to study , thus an endless process of learning starts. Whilst you study your brain is working. And this is the pledge of staying young and energetic. After all let’s not forget that it gives us special qualification to find jobs and earn our living. Educated people are needed in each sphere of life and there is no way out without them, because they are able to demonstrate professional treatment.It is a general knowledge that the whole consists of parts. The same way the society consists of individuals, who live, work and communicate within the scopes of that society . Therefore the many educated people form the kernel of society the more it is prone to advance. That’s why so many governors are concerned to have educated generation who will worthily appreciate the inheritance they have and add to it innovations in order to leave it for next, hopefully more educated generation.Thus , the main goals of education are helping people to be more literate and self- confident and keep the brain in healthy condition . Having received worthy education you can necessarily be useful to your country and such people as you. Besides, being educated you have more possibilities to find a good job and to provide a worthwhile living for yourself and your family. Finally let’s keep in mind that it is interesting to communicate with a person who’s educated. Therefore, it is impossible to ignore the significance of education.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Jack Greenberg, Inc.

Family owned business is a business that is owned by one family, most of the shareholders are from the same family. One of the major problems in this type of business is a conflict in interests among the family’s member. The auditor should be careful and observe the type of the relationship among the family’s member. There should be a written agreement to specify rights, duties, and obligations for each member, the auditor should read those documents for further information.One issue that faced the auditor is to understand the attitude of each member, the risk of manipulating facts can be existed due to the close relationship. In the case of Jack Greenberg, the son has manipulated the numbers in the record for his father’s sake and no one would be able to prevent him since he is one of the owners. The possibility of hiding facts is high in this kind of business because of the close relationship among the family’s member.I believe the family owned business demands more effort from the auditor to check and discover misstatements. 2. For the prepaid inventory I would recommend that the auditor should focus on the following objectives; existing, occurrence, valuation and allocation, completeness, and right and obligation. Prepaid items represent a complete listing of the company’s costs that are allocable to future periods and that can reasonably be expected to be realized through future operations.As for the merchandise, the auditor should physically observe the inventory to verify the amount recorded, the most important part of the observation of inventory is to determine whether the physical count is being taken in accordance with the client’s instructions. The audit objective related to merchandise are; * Existence: Inventory as recorded on tags exists. * Completeness: Existing inventory is counted and tagged. * Accuracy: Inventory is counted accurately. * Realizable value: Obsolete and unusable inventory items are excl uded or noted. Rights: The client has rights to inventory recorded on tags. * Classification: Inventory is classified correctly on the tags. * Cutoff: Transactions are recorded in the proper period. 3. Internal evidence is created, used, and retained within the client’s organization and without the help of outside parties for example; sales invoices duplicate copy, employees’ time reports, inventory reports, and purchase requisitions. On the other hand, external evidence originates outside the client’s organization for example; bank statement.This type of documents generally prepared in the ordinary course of business activities and form part of its records whether of accounting or non-accounting nature. Sometimes obtained directly from source such as bank, debtors, and creditors confirmations. External evidence and the internally generated evidence circulated externally are more reliable than the internal evidence. 4. Walkthrough is simply the act of tracing a transaction through organizational records and procedures, a commonsense approach to learning how a process works.The purpose of walkthrough procedure is to evaluate the reliability of the client's accounting system. The auditor looks at the supporting documentation for a transaction from its starting point and then proceeds to examine the accounting system steps thereafter until ultimate disposition of the item. The walk-through examination is one of the tests that is important for the auditor to obtain an understanding of the client’s business. The U. S.Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has drawn attention to a fundamental audit procedures, one that is so common that auditors may take it for granted is the walkthrough procedure. Most auditors traditionally have viewed walkthroughs as the procedure of choice when attempting to develop an understanding of key processes and internal controls of a client. Now, walkthroughs are required when certifying financial reporting controls under Section 404 of the U. S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. As it relates to Audit Standard No. from the PCAOB, the standard includes a requirement that the auditor must perform a walkthrough for each of the company’s significant processes. 5. I would highly recommend that the auditor should extend the scope of substantive test and increase the sample size in order to discover other misstatements that existed. The auditor also could trace documents to testify whether the inventory has been listed accurately. Analytical procedure and test of detail as part of substantive test to find the relationship between the inventory account and other accounts in the financial statements.Cut off test with physical observation to the inventory would help to discover fraud and any misstatement in the inventory account. In addition, the auditor may use confirmation to confirm amount listed in the record with third parties. 6. I think the audit firm responsibility is to info rm the client that there are weaknesses in their current internal control however the audit firm does not have the right to force the client to do some action regarding those deficiencies. The auditor should try to persuade the client and reveal the risks of having such a weak internal control system.In case the client did not cooperate with the auditor, the auditor should resign from performing audit services to the client; he or she should disclose that decision. The general Accepted Auditing Standards -AU 150 paragraph 2- require the auditor to maintain independence as a general rule, the auditor must also exercise due professional care in the performance of the audit and the preparation of the report therefore, in order to maintain the auditor independence, the auditor should have his or her own voice and not just follow the client’s rule.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

High School Dropouts Essay

It’s been known for years that young people who do not earn a high school diploma face many more problems later in life than people who graduate. Dropouts are more likely to be unemployed, have poor health, live in poverty, be on public assistance, and be single parents. It all began in the 1960’s when students started to drop out due to the racial discriminations and gang violence. . High school drop outs have been a very serious problem in the United States. Here in this essay I will clarify how high school dropouts is a problem that should be solved. High school dropouts have been a continuous matter for many generations. Pregnancy, poor grades, truancy, low income, and bad behavior are the main causes of dropouts. Which leads for young people to more likely to unemployed, live in poverty and be depending on the help of the government. Approximately 7,000 high school students drop out every school day, which translates to one in three students. Once students make the decision to drop out, they lack the tools to compete in today’s society and diminish their chances for greater success in the future. Many years of failure and frustration can also lead for a person to dropout. The loss of motivation, source of support and encouragement lead students to not believe in them selves and only find the solution to drop out. Now in days, there are many options for high school dropouts. The government offers students to enroll themselves in vocational and trade school or non traditional schools. Which allow students to finish the rest of their credits or receive there GED. Vocational schools allow for students to study the field in which they are interested in. This is an effective option as most students that drop out struggle with some classes, but excel in a class that they enjoy. Of course the best solution is for students to stay in school, but if a student is going to drop out there are options to help him or her get the education and experiences to help him or her to succeed. There is defiantly many advantages in these programs. Dropouts have the opportunity at a second chance to be successful. The only disadvantage there can possibly be only relies on the individual. The person is the only responsible one and it is up to them if they truly want to commit themselves to an education. If the person does not commit themselves they will only loose the chance and go back to the possibility of being unemployed or getting paid minimum wage for the rest of there life. It is important for young people to take school seriously in order to prevent a very unfortunate future. In my opinion I think that the best solution is to stay in school. It will prevent people from having to deal with unemployment and poverty. Staying school will allow students to achieve there goals and most of all make others feel proud of you as well. High school can defiantly open many doors only if he or she is committed to their education and motivated. It is time for people to make a difference and speak to future generations regarding there education. Preventing dropouts can certainly change the world in the future.

Godfather Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Godfather - Movie Review Example According to the movie review "Godfather" findings, the remarkable thing about this movie is the way the writer has been able to portray the character that is starting from the inside proceeding with to an outside view of the setting. Also how the characters have been given priority, like for instance the Godfather himself even is not the main character of the movie, that role has been given to his youngest son called Michael who has appeared in the movie as a very intellectual person. Michael understands his father’s way of life and methods in which his father conducts business while still revising his father’s old-fashioned ways (Ebert, 2010). Michael at first rejects being involved with his family ways of life, which are the mafia-like lifestyle. This demonstrates that he wants to be with Kaye and not the family way of doing businesses. This resistance afterward comes to diminished when his family’s power and influence comes under threat from outside forces, w hich later puts him in a position to intervene. This is because he is the only one who is capable of upholding it. By doing this, the writer gives the viewers, as the sense of growth to the main character. The change of heart by Michael, in that he stops in believing that what his family does is wrong to believing that the crimes that his family commits are necessary evils that must be committed. By this, the main character emerges and the main character position is resolved towards the viewers (Ebert, 2010). The main character is portrayed in the movie as a practical person who prefers to solve the family problems from an outside approach. This seen when he arrives from home as a World war II war hero claiming that he can solve the† Turk† (Sollozo) problem in which he does by killing Sollozo and the police captain. Another instance where the main characters approach is seen as doer. is when falls in love with Apollonian from afar and later proposes to her for marriage even before meeting her. He is seen to always prefer solving his problems externally rather than internally which leads to many murders being committed such as the† baptism of blood† where Michael eliminates every threat when assuming his title place in the family (Ebert, 2010). Michael uses a linear, cause and effect manner at looking at problems. He sees all the families that are involved with him as different link to one hierarchy of power. He can be seen not to care about the young ones who look up to them and the women. He is seen to take a bilateral approach to those people in the family and those people who are not in the family. That is why he warns people to take sides and to ever be loyal to the family. The main characters role is that of a male dominance, we can see Michael being able to convince himself that his wife should not know anything concerning his businesses and should not ask him anything concerning his dealing (Ebert, 2010). In this movie, Godfather, Functionalism,

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

International Corporate Reporting Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

International Corporate Reporting Issues - Essay Example As the financial statements contain information about different aspects of the business that include revenue, assets, liabilities, equity, expenses, along with details and in a complete standardize format, further these statements are also audited which further add reliability to these financial statements, but the basis upon which these financial statement s are prepared involve some factors that may hinder the effective decision making process these factors include, Accounting estimates that are uses by preparers of financial statements while preparing these financial statements are subjective decisions, which is one of the big limitation of the financial statement as due to this factor the users of financial statements may be misled. Professional judgment uses by preparer of financial statement is also one of the reason which undermine theuses of financial statements, as it involve judgment in preparation of financial statements that may be wrong and can ultimately hit financial decision taken by users of financial statements on the basis of these financial statements. Verifiability of these financial statements through audit is not an absolute verifiable factor so one cannot take decisions like take over just on the basis of these financial statements while assuming that these are audited accounts, Historical costing is also one of the reason that may cause users of financial statements to be misled as in historical costing asset are carried in the books as cost of asset less accumulated depreciation that may not be the market value hence it may miss lead the users. Measurability is also one of the reason that undermine the uses of financial statements because it involve only those areas that can financially be measured and areas that cannot be valued or out of financial statements hence like good will and employees performance cannot be seen while reviewing financial

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Strategic Marketing Audit for Marks and Spencer UK Essay

Strategic Marketing Audit for Marks and Spencer UK - Essay Example The report will also offer recommendations according to the findings with a purpose of assisting the company to maintain and increase market share in the world. Marks and Spencer is one of the leading retailers of clothes, home wares, financial services, and food in the United Kingdom. The company owns over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and 300 across 40 countries in the world. Marks and Spencer has been operational since the year 1884. The company offers high quality, stylish, home products, and exceptional value clothing. Marks and Spencer employ over 75,000 people in the United Kingdom and abroad. The company is the leading provider of women’s lingerie and wear in the United Kingdom, and it is rapidly growing worldwide. Marks and Spencer home wares and clothing account for 49% and the other 51% is in fresh produce, groceries, and food. Marks and Spencer  is listed on the London stock exchange, and it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. The company, which is colloquially known as â€Å"Marks and Spencer †,â€Å" M&S or â€Å"Markies†, was characterized in the early 20th century of selling British made goods giving it a reputation. For the purpose, of the study the company in last few faced with economic turmoil’s hence moving towards â€Å" back to basics† strategic while trying to survive the competitive market. The company’s back to basic strategies has not been successful in solving the problems thus necessitating an overhaul in their marketing and strategic audit (Gordon, 2009). In so doing the company will be able to gain a broader understanding of market structures while setting standards in values quality, innovation, customer trust and value services. Through strategy audit, the company will be able to answer financial crisis and the economic recessions. For marketing mix, Marks and Spencer is just in place in that their mix conforms to the products, place, price, and promotion. The company is averse to marketing because of convection

Monday, August 26, 2019

Shipping Laws Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Shipping Laws - Essay Example Important aspect regarding dangerous goods could be gained from the IMDG Code but these also give more prominence to what kind of items dangerous goods and how they could be dealt with rather than expounded about dangerous goods and the damages they are capable of perpetrating on the high seas. In the case of dangerous goods, it needs to be distinguished whether the inherent constituents of the goods are dangerous, thereby possessing damaging qualities , or under set of circumstances, in combination with other extraneous and internal agencies, it is capable of causing fire, corrosion, explosions, diseases etc. Under English law, there is an implied clause in a contract of sea carriage that the goods are seaworthy per se, and dangerous goods would not be shipped. English laws do not concern themselves with the classification or class of dangerous goods, but is more interested in whther there is a real threat that dangerous goods may bring about. It could be said that dangerous goods n eed not be shipped except with the expressed consent and acceptance of all the concerned parties to the contract. From the viewpoint of the carrier, the dangerous goods are those which are capable of causing physical and material damages and or/losses. It needs also to be said that dangerous elements in a particular cargo need not be presupposed, and therefore, the possibility of cargo turning dangerous is a real phenomenon. It is really the Shipper who has intimate knowledge about the goods, and the fact that there is latent danger present in the goods. It is necessary for him to disclose this to the carrier or charterer, if he has reasons to believe tht the goods were, are or may become dangerous and also have it noted it in the Bill of Lading and labelled. The Carrier is responsible for damages, if he or his crew has acted negligently or without sufficient care or prudence, but he may not be able to physically know what the contents of the container are, except what is informed t o him. The Charterer has almost the same knowledge about the cargo, as the carrier, and can be only held responsible if there is a breach of contract, or a differentiation in the handling of the cargo, which is a contributory factor for the damages. The holder of the Bill of lading is not a party to the original contract and is not a de facto owner.  

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Historical facts of Texas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Historical facts of Texas - Essay Example In the book, ‘A memoir of a Texas childhood’ by Horton Foote, the themes of poverty, fear, depression, racism, marital strife and injustice are clearly highlighted in the text. The book tells of the author’s early formative years as a child in rural Texas where he grew up in an extended family. In the book, the reader learns of the Foote’s experiences in life, and lessons learnt from his diverse familial relations. Horton was able to experience first hand the physical, emotional, and psychological suffering that slaves had to go through in their life. In the book, the reader is given an insight into his thoughts in the excerpt where he narrates about the slave girl who begged his sister to buy her mother’s freedom (Foote 120). According to Foote, this scenario got Horton thinking about what kind of man his grandfather was because he was a church minister and at the same time involved in the sale of other human beings. Horton is faced with many dilemm as, which are brought about by conflicting loyalties for his friends and family. The theme of racism and inherited wealth comes through when he faced with the making the choice of upholding his family or friends. This is because he had to uphold his family’s legacy as slavers in the perspective of the Ku Klux Klan or to remain friends with his black friends from his childhood (Foote 98). This burden came from the fact that he was part of the people that inherited their grandfather’s estate and assets; therefore, it was their duty to uphold his legacy. The great depression saw Horton strengthen his conviction that America needed to change the way it related to own citizens. This because the great depression, significantly affected their huge farm in Texas because did not want the help of the minorities a fact that was being fueled by racism and discrimination. Horton reasoned that the collective and equal participation of all American citizens in the economy was the onl y way to successful recover from the effects of the depression. Horton’s principles and philosophies made him the first person, in his extended family, to become

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Staying Put by Scott Russell Sanders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Staying Put by Scott Russell Sanders - Essay Example According to the research findings it can therefore be said that in terms of the perspective of theologians and religious experts, the concept of God is the center of the universe and talks about enlightenment like a zen master once said indirectly that the personal level of consciousness is the best place for enlightenment or to be the center of own universe of understanding. Awareness is the first important point to make directions toward a good future as people throughout centuries had dealt with difficult circumstances to study and create varying fields of studies to make solid patterns and knowledge on how to direct towards a better future for the entire humanity. Divergence in the specializations in knowledge reflect varying paths and mongrel realities like in the United States wherein culture, religions, beliefs, races and ideas mix in varying proportions. In relation to the dilemma of the future path of the world, it cannot be denied that there are three things that are const ant: everything changes, everything has basis and everything is interconnected. Everything changes can mean that life is dynamic while having basis means everything happens for a reason. On the other hand, everything is interconnected shows the concept of unity which most religions teach to their faithful. The downside on the current trend of the world is that people are heading toward different directions and many are caught in the complexities that cause confusion as seen in ecology.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Assignment #2, Leadership Issue, Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assignment #2, Leadership Issue, - Essay Example Even though unemployment problems and home prices are going high, many of the Americans do believe that Obama is trying his best to solve these problems. Many voters believe that Obama is the ideal candidate to lead America in this difficult period. In their opinion, the conditions could be worsened if anybody lese lead America during this period. On the other hand, according to Christopher Altchek (2012), â€Å"The more legal-oriented Obama is not equipped to deal with the rigors of the Great Recession, nor is he able to solve critical issues like unemployment or the nation’s mounting debt problems† (Altchek). It is a fact that unemployment problems are getting worsened as time goes on even though Obama is taking many steps to solve it. Drastic measures are necessary to solve America’s current problems. Obama is not ready to take drastic measures. Obama is trying to solve America’s problems with the help of economic theories and principles published through books. It should be noted that economic theories may not help always to solve practical problems. â€Å"Change† was the slogan put forward by Obama when he contested first time for the president post. Even though Obama has almost completed his first term in the president’s office, Americans do not feel any changes in political, economic or social circles. In other words, Obama has given false promises to the people and he failed to rise to the expectations of the people. Many people thought that Obama might declare an end to war on terror. it should not be forgotten that Obama criticized war on terror on many occasions before his election as president of America. However, after assuming president ship, he swallowed many of his earlier words and opinions. In other words, he failed to bring any political changes in America or in other parts of the world. Many of the foreign policies are imitations of the previous republican

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Business and International Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business and International Law - Essay Example One of them is that a flag state must have an established maritime organization capable of enforcing all international and national regulations and secondly is that a flag state must be a member of International Maritime Organization (IMO) that adopt the IMO's maritime safety Resolutions and Conventions. Mr. and Mrs. Lowell boarded one of the Diversified Worldwide Industries Inc. DWI's Small cruise ships known as Minnow for a week long journey from Miami. The Minnow flied the flag of Liberia. They returned to their cabin one of the nights and found two ship employees removing cash and Mrs. Lowell jewellery from their luggage. This paper discusses my duty as the VP for Risk Management of Diversified Worldwide Industries Inc. It will discuss how I will develop knowledge and expertise in all areas of business law, consult with corporate and outside counsel on legal matters, advice the board as to available options to reduce or minimize the risk and liability of DWI in its ongoing activi ties Mr. and Mrs. Lowell boarded one of the Diversified Worldwide Industries Inc. DWI's Small cruise ships known as Minnow for a week long journey from Miami. The Minnow flied the flag of Liberia. They returned to their cabin one of the nights and found two ship employees removing cash and Mrs. Lowell jewellery from their luggage. Mr. This paper discusses my duty as the VP for Risk Management of Diversified Worldwide Industries Inc. It will discuss how I will develop knowledge and expertise in all areas of business law, consult with corporate and outside counsel on legal matters, advice the board as to available options to reduce or minimize the risk and liability of DWI in its ongoing activities Business and International Law Mr. and Mrs. Lowell boarded one of the Diversified Worldwide Industries Inc. DWI's Small cruise ships known as Minnow for a week long journey from Miami. The Minnow flied the flag of Liberia. They returned to their cabin one of the nights and found two ship employees removing cash and Mrs. Lowell jewellery from their luggage. Mr. Lowell struggled with the robbers until he collapsed and suffered a fatal heart attack in the process. Mrs. Lowell was later locked inside the cabin restroom as the robbers escaped. The ship docked in Grand Cayman a few hours later and the robbers escaped with the cash and the jewellery stolen from Lowell's'. Mrs. Lowell was rescued after the ship left Grand Cayman and she identified the two employees who robbed them in a photo line up. My duty as the VP for Risk Management I will develop knowledge and expertise in all areas of business law, consult with corporate and outside counsel on legal matters, advice the board as to available options to reduce or minimize the risk and liability of DWI in its ongoing activities Despite the fact that the DWI cruise had a "flag of convenience", it had to comply with SOLAS standards and other international conventions monitored by the port states and the flag. For this case, DWI should be aware that the flag state has a key responsibility of ensuring that the cruise has all the requirements and guidelines established internationally. An annual ship examination is required whereby the cruise is thoroughly inspected to ensure that its safety systems are operational. 1 The DWI ought to be aware that since its cruise had a "flag of convenient", they are governed by a regulatory agency of maritime experts that ensures that the shipping firm is compliant with the laws of commercial vessels that are registered in that country in areas of practices and operational procedures. (International Council of Cruise Line, 2006) DWI also ought to be aware that the interest of a small cruise like Minnow with a passenger capacity of 16 is represented by an International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) that serves as a consultative non governmental organization to the International Maritime Organization. Its aim as a trade association is to ensure there is development of regulatory and policy

Research on adolescent girls who attend different schools Essay Example for Free

Research on adolescent girls who attend different schools Essay The study consists of research on adolescent girls who attend four different schools. These researchers emphasis on social behavior would be reflected in both quantitative and qualitative measures. The research question ‘Is social experiences are central to the adolescent experience in girls. The hypothesis is social experiences are central to the adolescent experience in girls. The methods the study consists of are orientation session at school that day for the girls who participate in the study. Then they were told that via email to go to study’s website and complete the forms. The girls were given instructions to complete the activities questionnaire and the writing sample online. They are given till 8:00pm that night to complete the online forms after school. There were two measurements or instruments that were used in the study, Activity assessment online and writing sample online. The activity assessment online was revised of Passmore and French’s (1998)Lessure questionnaire/revised for their age group. Example from the article was leisure turned into activities less common modified to tell or describe their activities for that particular day (Feyberg, 2009). The activity assessment consisted of three domains, sense of accomplishment often through competition or a personal challenge (achievement activities). The second domain is those that are social in nature (social activities). Lastly, the third domain is that promotes relaxation and is often solitary (relaxation activities) (Feyberg, 2009). The participants were allowed to report up to ten activities for each domain. Then they had to tell the three they spent the most time doing, most enjoyed, most meaningful, and how much they engaged in the activity. Then they were to rate them from 1 to 5. This scale that was used is known as the five point Likert Scale from 1 is being less than 30 minutes and 5 being more than four hours (Feyberg, 2009). Then they were added up to a maximum points of 15 per domain. Participants reported their enjoyment of up to three achievement, social, relaxation activities on a 4 point Liker Scale from 1 (not enjoyable) and four (very enjoyable) for a maximum of 12 points per domain. The next one is degree of meaningful based points of Likert Scale 1 (not meaningful) and 4 (very meaningful). The last one is to choose if they are engaged in certain activities. They would mark 1 if they were engaged in it and 0 if they are not engaged in it for a maximum of three points (Feyberg, 2009). The second  activity is a writing assessment written online. Previous research proves that words use convey extensive information about social and emotional processes. The writing samples would provide meaningful information about personal experience and not to be captured by self- report scales. Writing examples is to be written on a website by the author for the study. They were to think about a personal experience that you participated and have a good recollection of (Feyberg, 2009). The written sample is was needed to be a descriptive of the experience include feelings and could write as much as they wanted. The written sample examines different in affiliation, achievement, or power themes. Each theme was composed of four subcategories and if the written sample contained at least one of them, it was awarded one point and if all three was in the sample then four points were awarded (Feyberg, 2009). The three themes were afflication, achievement, and narratives. Afflication consisted of four subcategories, positive effect, dialogue, commitments, and surrender of code. Achievement theme consisted of achievement imagery, anticipating success, world block, and negative feelings. Narratives theme consisted of general power imagery, increased prestige, lower prestige, and effect. Particapants consisted of 57 adolescent girls who attended four different schools. They ranged from ages 11 to 19 years of age and in grades from 6th to 12th. The girls age ranged from 12 girls; 11 to 13 (early adolescent), 22 girls; 14-16 (middle adolescent), 23; 17 to 19 (late adolescent). 49 describe themselves as white, 4 as African American, 2 as other, and 1 as Hispanic (Feyberg, 2009). The results were evualted by ANOVA. ANOVA showed significant differences for reported time, enjoyment, meaningfulness, and choice in achievement, social, and relaxation activities. Follow up contrast demonstrated spent more time in achievement then relaxation. The trend for spending more time in social then relaxation. No significant different in achievement and social. Employment results showed significant main effect found. Follow up reported greater enjoyment in relaxation then achievement. Reports show higher levels of enjoyment in social than in achievement. No significant differences in the amount of enjoyment reports for social and relaxation. Meaningfulness results show higher levels of achievement than social activities. No reports for meaningfulness for social and relaxation. Significance of social behavior in adolescent girls by the use of two  methods, self-reports, and narrative analysis. Recalling social behavior for adolescent girls, the two methods, which were diffe rent in their approaches to understanding adolescent experiences. Although it was predicted that both methods would provide similar information about adolescent social experience. According to the narrative analysis demonstration that participated used more afflication themes than achievement or power theme. the strengths of the experiment was too asked to describe a personal experience, so researches could identify their narratives. The weakness is that they only test this on girls. The limitations of the study were that they examine one gender due to likelihood of an invalid across-group comparison.† Study demonstrated that quantities and qualitative methods were not significantly correlated with one another (Feyberg, 2009). One suggestion I could say would benefit is examine this same study on boys. Reference Freyberg, R. (2009). Quantitive and Qualitive Measures of Behavior in Adolescent Girls. Adolescene, 44(173),33-54.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The Relationship Between Money And Happiness Philosophy Essay

The Relationship Between Money And Happiness Philosophy Essay In todays world without exception everyone wants a happy and fulfilling life. The people around us, the society which we belong and even media tells us daily that the only way to reach a happy and fulfilling life is to have a higher income. But, is it true? Firstly we have to examine the meaning of happiness. Most commonly, happiness is known as a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy. For years, a great amount of researches have been done to answer this question. In this investigation, while some of researchers are supporting that attaining wealth and possessions is good for us, on the other hand some people are saying it is not. For example, In The High Price Of Materialism Tim Kasser says, No matter how many fancy designer clothes, cars, or jewels they might obtain, no matter how big their house or how up-to-date their electronic equipment, the lost opportunity to engage in pleasurable activities and enjoy each others companion ship will work against need satisfaction, and thus against their happiness. Annie Leonard also supports her idea through her video about consumerism and happiness. In this video the most important thing missed is people and their satisfaction. And again Juliet Schor claims that with statics National income has been rising for the last 20 years, but measures of the quality of life and happiness have fallen. Although all of these statements prove that happiness doesnt come from wealth and possessions, according to Peter Saunders Why Capitalism is Good for The soul, In some companies when workers start to get more profit, it results in higher living standards for workers as well as cheaper and more plentiful goods and services. And this improvement leads to a good life for workers. Although without money and wealth life seems difficult, too much focusing on the possessions affects our mental health, self-control and satisfaction badly as well as damages our relationships and lead to un happiness. Happiness is the most valuable aim of human being. While the earth is getting complicated and changing day by day, almost all people are trying to have a happy and fulfilling life. During this pursuit of happiness, our relationships play a crucial role. In pace of life, when we have encountered with some stressful or disappointing situation or cases, in order to take a breath we always consult our families and fly into our familys arms. If we have our own families and their real support, it is the most reliable way to reach the happiness and relief. But sometimes people can be in a dilemma between possessions and relationships. This is the point of collapsing real happiness, because when the passion of money comes to a person, he starts to abandon his family. He thinks as if money will bring them happiness and good life. But it wont. As Tim Kasser says in the article of Mixed Messages a focus on materialistic values detracts from well-being and happiness. For example when spouses spe nd most of their time working to make money, they neglect opportunities to be with each other and do what most interests them. And again in Downshifting in Britain Difficulties in managing work-life balance can have a detrimental impact on the quality of the relationships between parents and children and the parents responsiveness to the child, with implications for child outcomes. This is particularly important for every young children, with evidence suggesting that it is best for children if they can receive intensive parental contact for the first months(HM Treasury DTI 2003, p 13-14). As you can see in these sentences as long as people dont allocate enough time for their families, there is no way to make them happy. The same situation is also acceptable for peoples friends. Friends are known as a second family; even for some people they are the first. A friend can help us in every tough situation, they can back up us in everywhere. So always we want to have a good friend. If we select and take care of our friends carefully, as well as we have to be careful to maintain our relationships with them. The money, possessions, wealth shouldnt be our friends. While we are establishing a friendship, it mustnt be based on materialistic values or we mustnt let money to interfere our friendship. When money comes, it might hurt our friends and us. Furthermore, if we look at the richest people in the world, we see that the loneliest people are these rich people because of money. According to lots of people, money means high status, greedy and responsibility. With these prejudices, rich people cannot make friends easily, by this way they cant be happy. We associate this situation with food pyramid, if assume t hat there are richest people at the top of chain, and the chain is getting narrowed with the rate of friends, so if we are at the top of the pyramid we wont have friends who makes us more and more happy. To give an example, John Jacob Astor 3 bemoans, money brings me nothing but a certain dull anxiety. So even if you have too much money to spend, as long as you dont have friends and family you cant be happy. The other most important step to reach the happiness is our satisfaction. Because actually the money doesnt make us happy, it can help us just by providing some satisfaction. When we lost our satisfaction, it means we lost our happiness and this is exactly what our possessions do. Lots of people in consumer countries and societies think that they always need more money than they have now, even if they are wealthy and rich people. In the book of Clive Hamilton, this situation is stated with this sentence: The trouble with the rat race is, even if you win, you are still a rat. Because of the society that they belong to, they are convinced that more money means always more happiness. So without exception all people are trying to have more possessions to be satisfied by being able to buy what they need. But there is an insidious fact they always forget, and it is that at the same time they are raising their threshold of sufficiency, and decreasing their rate of happiness. The answer of h ow they can raise their threshold is meanwhile their needs change as incomes rise. While this is being happened, usually most of people are unaware of this situation. So no matter how they are wealthy, unconsciously it is working against their satisfaction and happiness. According to the Affluenza, studies shows that most people would prefer an income of $50 000 if the average is $40 000 to an income of $70 000 if the average is $100 000, that is, most people would rather be poorer, provided others are poorer still. Moreover, in late 2002 when a newspoll survey asked Australian people (richest) whether they can afford to buy everything they need, the answer investigators got is that sixty-two per cent of Australians believe they cannot afford to buy everything they need. If we consider Australia is one of the richest countries, it is a really good example of dissatisfaction and rat race. Self-control is the ability to control ones emotions, behaviors and desires or is the capacity of efficient management to the future, in this process without any control mechanism is it possible to have a good life or live peaceful. Of course NO, because the failure of self-control can cause immense personal and societal repercussions on people. So in this world everyone has to have self- control to handle with obstacles and bad effects of our environment but our possessions are such a dreadful nightmare for self-control that when we look at the whole world suffering of lack of self-control results from more money people have. Because as long as you have more money your ability to prevent yourself from doing something false is getting weaken. For example, using of drugs are known as a way of escaping from stress and most of people dont use it thanks to their self-control because they can see the results of this addiction after usage, but if there is a person who is rich and cannot be happy no longer with his possessions, due to dissatisfaction his/her self-control couldnt work. And at this point he/she lose themselves in drugs and also their happiness lose in it. Beside their happiness their physical health also can be harmed like the brain, heart, and other important organs. We can give more general examples to this case like consumption and credit card debts. If you dont have more money, by fear of debts and overconsumption while you are buying something or spending your money you try to be careful because you can imagine the results of overconsumption thanks to your self- control, but when you lose it, you plunge into debts immediately. So without the self-control we cannot be happy because it is most effective way to be careful about the harmful things. And money is the main enemy of the self-control. On the contrary there is some people claim that money can buy happiness with its benefits in terms of providing higher living standards. Peter Saunders stated that when workers start to get more profit, it results in higher living standards for workers as well as cheaper and more plentiful goods and services. And this improvement leads to a good life for workers. Yes until a certain limit it is true because this world which has capitalist system is not suitable for living without money. Because money provides you necessities like shelter, education, health etc. Furthermore if you have a family, without a good income you cant imagine a good life while you are trying to be alive in this world. But when you have enough money and you are able to supply what you need, after this point moneys importance suddenly decrease and remains only one way to be happy which is not money, just our relationships and our health. According to the Journal of Happiness Studies by Fischer, Claude S. Although Americans wealth increased substantially over the last few decades, their happiness did not. Because as I said before this is not the case of money after a certain point. So no matter without enough money we cannot be happy, it doesnt mean happy comes from wealth and possessions. To conclude, if you have enough money for your basic necessities, after that happiness doesnt come from money. On the contrary, as long as you have a great amount of money or try to have more money than you have, in the pursuit of wealth and possessions you can lose your most important relationships with your friends and family which make you really happy, furthermore your mental and physical health can be affected very badly because of dissatisfaction and lack of self control. Briefly attaining wealth is not essential for our fulfillment even it is against. Work Cited (HM Treasury DTI 2003, p 13-14). The high price of materialism / Mixed Massages By Tim Kasser Why Capitalism is good for the soul By Peter Saunders Journal of Happiness Studies by Fischer,

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Jury Nullification :: Jury Jurors Court Justice System Essays

Jury Nullification Jury nullification means that a jury finds a defendant innocent because the law itself is unjust, or is unjust in a particular application, and so should not be applied. So really what this means is that no mater what the law says the jury will pretty much have the right to choose weather the person is going to be guilty or innocent and that is kind of ok in some cases but then again its not in others so we should not expect our juries to judge our laws only the case that person is being tried in and they should only judge that person on all of the facts given. Amendment VI This is the sixth amendment and this tells you about what juries can do in cases of law. â€Å"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.† What all of this means is that everyone that gets convicted of a crime gets all of the same benefits weather its a misdemeanor, felony, or capital crime. Everyone get the rights to a speedy trial and an impartial jury. Some of the people in the world always ask themselves this question when in the court room â€Å" WHY DID OUR FOUNDING FATHERS EXPECT CITIZEN JURIES TO JUDGE OUR LAWS AS WELL AS THE GUILT OF THE INDIVIDUAL ?† Well the answer is really simple its Because: "If a juror accepts as the law that which the judge states then that juror has accepted the exercise of absolute authority of a government employee and has surrendered a power and right that once was the citizen's safeguard of liberty." (1788) (2 Elliots Debates, 94, Bancroft, History of the Constitution, 267) "Jury nullification of law", as it is sometimes called, is a traditional American right defended by the Founding Fathers. Those Patriots intended the jury serve as one of the tests a law must pass before it assumes enough popular authority to be enforced. Thus the Constitution provides five separate tribunals with veto power -- representatives, senate, executive, judges and jury -- that each enactment of law must pass be fore it gains the authority to punish those who choose to violate it.

Monday, August 19, 2019

The Moonstone Essay -- Literature Review

Wilkie Collins portrayal of a cursed diamond in The Moonstone, this Victorian era detective fiction book is still recognized globally today. Although, this novel was written in the nineteenth century Collin effortlessly distinguished the novel for viewers of all ages. The novel is not only a detective fiction but also has some elements of action and romance. Collins not only writes novels but also poetry and has been recognized internationally for all his work. Collins can with ease characterize all his characters in the novel. There are many contradistinction aspects in the moonstone but the most fascinating one is viewing the novel in a psychological approach. The reason is because in the novel Franking Blake unconsciously steals the cursed diamond away from his beloved Rachel. This novel is mainly about a diamond that became cursed when it was stolen away from its Hindu temple. The diamond was also the most expensive diamond in existence at that time. The diamond is said to curse anyone who receives it and keeps it and it will bring unhappiness to his or her life. The curse has been shown to be true throughout the novel. For example, the relationship between Rachel and Franklin Blake although, they have loved each other the moonstone has only brought unhappiness to there lives. Despite the love between Rachel and Franklin Blake the stone has cursed their lives the moonstone is best understood to be a curse, because both of these individuals took possession of the diamond their love and friendship was cursed until the diamond was returned to its holy Hindu temple. The diamond belongs to a Hindu religion, which worshiped the diamond and praised it. The moonstone was so extremely profitable that some of the members in society in... ...giver’s generosity rather than his or her rapacity† (Blumberg 4). This is why at the end of our novel the stone was returned back to its Hindu temple. Works Cited Blumberg I. Collins's "Moonstone": The Victorian Novel as Sacrifice, Theft, Gift and Debt. Studies In The Novel [serial online]. Summer2005 2005; 37(2): 162. Available from: MasterFILE Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 3, 2012. Collins, Wilkie. "The Moonstone." New York: The Century Co, 1904. 3-515. The English Comedie Humaine. LitFinder. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. Duncan, Ian. "The Moonstone, The Victorian Novel, And Imperialistic Panic." Modern Language Quarterly 55.3 (1994): 297. Education Research Complete. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. Gooch, Joshua. "Narrative Labor In Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone." LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory 21.2 (2010): 119-143. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Apr. 2012.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Analysing a TV Advertisement Essay -- Papers

Analysing a TV Advertisement The TV advert that I am going to analyse is advertising Comfort, the clothes washing liquid. This advert is very, very unusual. It is about a family made out of fabric, a little bit like rag dolls. I am going to analyse this advert shot by shot so it is easy to understand. The first shot is set in the bathroom of the 'Clothes family'. Little Lisa cloth is extremely upset that her boyfriend is leaving town for a little while. At the start of the advert she is standing in the bathroom looking extremely upset. Her mother then comes in. This first shot is a tracking shot as it moves with the mum as she enters the bathroom and walks forward to talk to her daughter. The set is the bathroom of the house and it is in fact very plain and minimalist. The bathroom is a simple cream colour but it looks as if this is made out of cloth, for the reason that it has stitches all around the edges of the whole room. I believe that the writers have created the bathroom to be this way so that the people stand out, as they are bright colours. The mum is made out of orange and brown material and the girl is purple, pink and lilac. The lighting used in this advert is also very important. If the lighting was dark or there was no lighting at all, then no body would be able to see the advert or the people in the advert and the whole advert would be useless. Therefore, the lighting is very bright, lively and cheerful. Nothing is dark. The reason for this is maybe because the advert is set in the daytime. Nevertheless, it may give connotations of the product making people jolly and cheerful even when they might be upset. ... ...till standing their hugging. Lisa then says in a fed up sort of way, "Darren you're creasing me now!" Once this phrase is said the Mother appears on the screen from behind the door. She looks at the couple in an 'I told you so' look. This is a shot reverse shot looking into the house from the road, onto the girls face and her Mother. I think that this advert is very clever. It gives the connotations that the product will basically make clothes feel fresh and cool without damaging them in any sort of way. I like the way that the writers have used people made out of clothes and that the comfort is used like a moisturiser to make the clothes soft. The comment about the creasing at the end of the advert is also quite funny. The music throughout the advert is light and bouncy. It makes the advert seem bubbly and lively.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

The Work-Study Program of Full-Time and Part-Time Students

There are many similarities and differences between full and part-time students. Each student is trying for the goal of educating themselves to become more successful in life. As students begin their education there is a sense of motivation and eagerness. Knowing the possible compensations and honor that comes with this achievement. There can be a feeling of tension and uncertainty that comes with this new adventure. If an individual does not become discarded, and is willing to except the challenge of this feat, there is no limit to the success one can attain in their life. Students receive their degree at different times in their lives depending on their finances, responsibilities and time restraints. Full-time students are generally younger, and just out of high school. Full-time students must take a minimum number of courses, generally 12 or more semester hours. They normally have a set semester schedule of daytime or nighttime classes to choose from. They are often eligible for financial aid, or work-study programs because of the higher cost for a higher education. They may also receive a number of scholarships to help pay for their education. Full-time students usually do not have a family or as many outside responsibilities. They usually only have a part-time job and still live at home with their parents. The time restraints that full-time students have are homework, studying and fitting their job schedule into their school schedule. These students can complete a full degree program in about 4 – 5 years. Part-time students are generally older, and living on their own. For part-time students it takes a longer time to achieve the goal of graduation. Many students can not afford to go to college on a full-time basis because of the cost of education. They are often not eligible for financial aid or work-study programs because they take as few as 1 – 3 semester hour courses. Scholarships are usually not offered to part-time students. They do not normally have the problem of course overload, unless they are taking too many courses at once, while trying to work full-time. At times even one course can be too much to handle, depending on the student†s home situation. Part-time students often have additional responsibilities of home and family, and must handle their other responsibilities in addition to school. Often, part-time students are taking classes to help them in their career. Some professions require taking classes to continue their education and are taken on a part-time basis to enhance their work skills. These types of classes are normally taken evenings, weekends or holiday breaks. Part-time students sometimes have a difficult time finding the courses they need at the time they need them. It may take months or years before needed courses are offered. Whether the student is going to a university or a community college, they must consider all possibilities before entering college. If you have a full-time job or career, one would usually become a part-time student. If money in not an issue, a full-time route would probably be taken. If family is an issue, a student may decide to go part-time. Either way a student goes, the goal of a diploma can be achieved. Both full and part-time students consider their finances, responsibilities and time restraints to accomplish a higher education. Regardless of the time frame in which each person may fulfill this goal, there is usually a feeling of success, pride, and relief in knowing that graduation is at hand. Through many hours of strenuous research and sacrifice, an individual can put their knowledge towards their desired profession. This accomplishment of success is not only measured by financial rewards, but also knowing that this knowledge will help many others.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Price Elasticity of Demand

The demand for corn as an ingredient for an alternative energy source has had a profound effect on its supply as a core food ingredient. So, what has been the effect on the supply of corn and its substitute such as the soybean? The answer can be found by examining the five demand determinants and five supply determinants to see which ones will shift demand and supply. The demand determinants are known as T-I-P-E-N, which stands for Taste of preference, Income, Price of complements and substitutes, Expectation of consumer, and Number of buyers in the market. The supply determinants are known as P-R-E-S-T, which stands for Producers (number of), Resource price, Expectation of business, Subsidies and taxes, and Technology. The farming industry has had to ramp up production of corn to satisfy the demand that was caused by the increase in the number of buyers. More buyers will generate more income, so most likely farmland will be used to produce more corn. The determinants of Number of buyers and Income are responsible for this demand shift. The land available for soybean crops will decrease, resulting in a reduction of supply. This supply shift is the result of Producers (number of). What will the effect of these shifts have on the price of corn oil? As the production of corn used for energy alternatives is increased, the available production for other corn products such as corn oil will obviously decrease. Less production will mean a decrease in corn oil supply. Because of a consistent demand for the product, the price will increase due to the lower supply. The demand determinant of Expectation and the supply determinant of Producers (number of) will govern this shift. The only way to modify the shift and keep prices from increasing would be to develop the supply determinant of Technology to overcome the decreased production capacity. In what way does the price elasticity of demand for corn oil influence the quantity-demanded of corn oil and the Total Revenue earned by sellers of corn oil? The answers can be found by referring to the characteristics of a typical demand curve. Price and quantity demanded move in opposite directions. When the quantity demanded falls, the price of a commodity such as corn oil will rise. When the quantity demanded increases, the price of the commodity will fall. The total revenue of sellers of corn oil will increase and decrease in correlation with the quantity demanded due to the supply determinant of Resource price and the demand determinant of Number of buyers. With the information presented thus far, it is interesting to note that a unique shift in the corn and corn substitute market will be occurring in the near future. According to a Bloomberg Businessweek article (McFeron, May 2011) the inventories of produced corn and soybean for this year will be much larger than expected. Therefore, the prices will fall as concerns of the public are eased. This is the shift of the demand determinant Expectation of consumer. Soybean inventories are also much larger for the coming year than expected. References McFeron, Whitney, (May 11, 2011) Bloomberg Businessweek,   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Corn, Wheat, Soybeans Drop as USDA Supply Outlook Tops Forecasts†, retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-05-11/corn-wheat-soybeans-drop-as-usda-supply-outlook-tops-forecasts.html Price Elasticity of Demand Price Elasticity of Demand is used to measure the responsiveness of the quantity demanded to the change in price. It is measured by the percentage of change in quantity over the percent change in price [% ? in quantity demanded/ % ? in price]. Price elasticity of demand (PED) does not have any units as all the units cancel out while calculating it. Also,  ¦PED ¦ is usually negative because the value of quantity demanded will always be inverse to its price (i. e. when price gets high, quantity demanded decreases and vice versa).This is also a reason why  ¦PED ¦ is written as an absolute value. When the value of PED is more than 1, it is a relatively more elastic demand, when equals to 1, it is unit elastic and when less than 1, the demand becomes inelastic. The slope of a demand curve cannot indicate the PED because the slope and elasticity are two different concepts. Slope measures the steepness and flatness of the curve and give units of price and quantity at a point. On the other hand price elasticity of demand measures the responsiveness of quantity to the changes in price.In a demand curve, the slope decreases by a constant unit while In PED, elasticity is different at each point. As shown in the picture above, PED changes at every point. At the change in quantity from 2. 5 to 3, and change in price from 15 to 14, the PED is  ¦2. 64 ¦ while at the change in quantity from 7 to 7. 5, and change in price from 6 to 5, the PED is  ¦0. 38 ¦. On the other hand, while seeing the slope of the line, it is changing by 2 units throughout.This shows that while the slope remains constant, the elasticity keeps varying on the curve. This is also one of the reasons that elasticity is relatively more elastic on the upper portion of the demand curve compared to the lower portion of the curve which gradually gets perfectly inelastic when the demand curve intersects the horizontal axis. Thus, the frequent change in elasticity at every point and the slope being c onstant determines that the slope of the demand curve cannot indicate Price Elasticity of Demand.

Motivation to Join Emba Essay

Describe your current duties and responsibilities and how you expect the AUBG EMBA Program to help you improve your performance. In my recent role as Business manager for Media and peripheral for Central and Southeast Europe with Sony Europe Limited I had the responsibility to drive and maximize the media and energy business on the market territory of 20 countries in the Central and Southeast Europe. The main duties were Net Sales and Gross Profit Budgeting, product strategy, distribution, channel and account strategy planning and implementation. As main interface with the business groups in Paris and Tokyo I had to coordinate the sales plans and profit delivery with 14 collaborators (trade marketing managers and key account managers) across 20 countries in cooperation with the local branch heads. In parallel I had to conduct product management for over 800 active SKUs and perform product trainings for internal and external customers. My decision to enroll in the EMBA program of AUBG is based on several objectives that I have set for my personal development. Broaden my view by studying a number of industry wide cases and explore different business realities. Enhance my background with comprehensive, cutting edge business and management theory knowledge and renown and well recognized certification. Expand my professional and social network among wider business environment and group of successful individuals. The strong academic reputation of AUBG and the demanding American curriculum convinced me that the EMBA program of AUBG is the right choice to make in my personal development.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Metro Manila Development Authority’s New Traffic Scheme Essay

THE Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has proposed a new traffic scheme that would segregate bus stops in Edsa to ease road congestion and lessen accidents. MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said they will replace the current scheme wherein the two types of city buses in Edsa — A for Alabang routes and B for Baclaran routes — can load and unload passengers on all stops in the said major road. In the proposed scheme, Tolentino said they are planning to designate every other stop to either only A or only B. â€Å"For example, only Buses B can stop at Taft, while A can only stop at Magallanes,† Tolentino said. The MMDA chief added that a certain percent of each bus fleet will be labeled as â€Å"all-stop† buses, which will load and unload at every bus stop to accommodate short-distance travels. â€Å"As of now, what we’re thinking is that the all-stop buses will be able to accommodate those at Bus A stops who want to get off at Bus B stops and v ice versa,† he told the operators. The agency expects that with the new plan, bus congestion in the yellow lane as well as accidents will be reduced. â€Å"There won’t be a reason for all buses to fight over one bus stop anymore. Plus, it will increase travel time for our commuters,† said Tolentino. Tolentino assured that several consultations with bus operators and an extensive information campaign will be conducted before the implementation of the scheme. According to the MMDA, about 3,000 buses ply Edsa every day but they are only allowed to use the two rightmost lanes, commonly called yellow lanes. In 2005, the Edsa Bus Route Revalidation Survey funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency showed that there is an oversupply of 420 to 690 bus units in Edsa. A 2009 study of the World Bank also revealed that there is an oversupply of buses in Edsa relative to demand. It also cited a survey in late-2007, which indicated a day-long average load factor across all routes operating on Edsa. The survey said it takes an average of five hours to complete a round trip along the 24-kilometer Edsa, at an average speed of about 15 kilometers per hour and one minute stop at each of the more than 15 designated bus stops. The congestion in bus stops is also caused by the â€Å"intense competition† among drivers who â€Å"jostle for space and tend to stay longer† at designated loading and unloading stops to get passengers.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Main Divisions Between Mainstream and Critical Social Psychology

One of the main divisions between mainstream and critical social psychology is that of the methods adopted. Discuss with reference to the cognitive social and at least one other social psychological perspective. Social psychology has existed for about 100 years, before which psychology was a branch of philosophy. Social psychology studies individuals in their social contexts. It is a diverse discipline made up of many theoretical perspectives and variety of different methods are used in social psychological research. This assignment explores the main principles of different methods in social psychology. It will look at the underlying theories or perspectives that organise contemporary social and discursive psychological research and knowledge and critically evaluate different theoretical perspectives and methods. Cognitive social psychology studies the information processing individual in a social context to analyse individual cognitions in controlled social conditions. It is a quantative approach. It dominates psychological social psychology and emerged from the critique of behaviourism in the mid twentieth century. Researchers use an experimental approach involving controlled experimental conditions to produce quantitative data that can be measured and analysed to produce statistically valid conclusions. Discursive psychology focuses on the external world of discourse, its meaning and effects and studies the socially constructed, situated and contingent identity. It is a qualitative approach. It emerged in the 1970s with the linguistic turn, and was influenced by sociological social psychology. Researchers use discourse analysis to produce qualitative data by conversational and textual analysis. Phenomenological psychology focuses on the detailed description of social experience derived through the senses. It is a qualitative approach using the rich description of experience. It studies the internal world of the psyche in relational settings and its effect on action using first-person written account of experience, interview and literary text. It originated in the philosophy of Husserl in the late nineteenth/ early twentieth century. Social psychoanalytical psychology or psychosocial studies the internal world of the psyche in relational settings and its effects on actions. It is a qualitative approach. It looks at the conflicted psyche in dynamic relation with the external world. Using case study and free association narrative, interviews and observation qualitative data is evaluated through interpretation of what is unsaid as well as said. Its original development was in the clinic and it became an area of academic study in the late twentieth century. There are four overarching themes that can be used to interrogate a set of value issues that permeate social psychology. These are known as interrogative themes and they are outlined below. Power relations are central to the way that all knowledge is produced and interpreted. Power permeates everything we do and all our relationships . Power is neither good nor bad but it is what is done with it that determines this. Power is relational and the balance changes in different contexts. It is contextual and situated rather than absolute. Questions of power were first raised in relation to the deception of participants in the name of science. For example in Stanley Milgram’s (1965) experiment where participants were required to give increasing levels of electric shock to Milgram’s colleagues who posed as recipients of the electric shocks. The focus was on power relations between the scientist and participants, many of whom performed, as they believed, harmful and sadistic acts on the instructions of the scientist. Ethical guidelines in social psychology have been hugely influenced by this. The question of who has the power to interpret people’s experiences applies to all social psychological research. We need to be careful how we base interpretations on evidence, and we must interrogate how that evidence and those meanings came to be produced: within what assumptions and power relations. Power relations raise the issue of the relationship between the researcher and the participants. Another interrogative theme is situated knowledges. Knowledge always comes from a belief or view point Knowledge is always situated somewhere and sometime – it changes with time and is situated in terms of values, cultures, belief systems and history. It changes with social change. Knowledge production needs to be situated at the level of every piece of research. Methods are highly influential in the knowledges that are produced. Another interrogative theme is individual-society dualism. The most enduring theme in social psychology is whether individual or society is privileged in the explanation of social psychological phenomena and derives from the wider dualism of explanations that have characterised western thought since the Enlightenment. Individual-society dualism often manifested in a reduction of explanation to either biological (often genetic) or social causes. Sometimes ‘both/and’ explanations also suffer form this dualism because they behave as if there is no other level of explanation, only an ‘interaction’ between biological and social factors. Genuinely social psychological explanations get squeezed out. Agency-structure dualism is the twin problem of individual-social dualism. The binary terms ‘agency’ and ‘structure’ mirror the terms ‘individual’ and ‘society’ in the following way: if individuals are seen as relatively independent of social influence, they can be theorised as agents of their own destinies. On the other hand, if social structures are overwhelmingly influential in individual action, people’s choices and desires would be irrelevant. Traditional social theory placed such emphasis on the power of social structures in governing peoples actions that this led to self determinism. A challenge for social psychology is to be able to understand the dynamic tension between desires and actions that are relatively free and ones that are heavily constrained by circumstances, rather than fall into assumptions on either side of the agency-structure binary. This interrogative theme will help us remain aware of dangers which, like individual-society dualism, have strong political and ethical implications. All of these interrogative themes are useful in evaluating social psychological research and theories. There are differences and similarities between the four perspectives on social psychology that have been defined in this essay. They all have reflexivity because the researchers are prepared to put themselves in the picture of knowledge production. They are all explicit about the way their approach is appropriate to the object of analysis. A difference between the qualitative and quantitative approach is whether the object of analysis is hidden from view. This is highlighted as an advantage of the cognitive social psychology experimental method and is also central to the free association narrative interview method which draws from the psychoanalytic concept of unconscious dynamics. Phenomenological psychology, whose object of analysis is conscious experience, aims to elaborate qualities previously hidden form view through rich description. In contrast, discourse analysis is not interested in underlying significance but in words. Whereas discourse analysis is interested in emotion terms, social psychoanalysis looks for emotions themselves , while the object of phenomenological analysis is the emotions that people are aware of and can therefore describe. Social psychoanalysis and the experimental method look for causes of actions, but discourse analysis rejects this, and phenomenology focuses on experience rather than its causes or motives. Control of the research setting is the issue that most clearly differentiates quantitative and qualitative approaches. Experimental psychology ‘models’ social processes in order to control them. The other three approaches seek ecological validity by researching in social settings. Within the qualitative approaches there are differences in emphasis. Discourse analysts prefer to collect discourse as it can be found, although they also conduct interviews. The social psychoanalytical and phenomenological approaches rely in eliciting experience, often grounded in a narrative of actual events. Narrative is becoming an overarching theme in qualitative social psychology, partly because of the critique of unstructured interview techniques on the grounds that they dictate the terms in which participants can give their accounts. When interviews are relatively unstructured, participants have a tendency to give accounts in narrative form. It is useful to compare the different methodological approaches in relation to their analysis of The Guardian’s story published on 24 May 2004 about an Iraqi family, a mother an her children. The woman’s husband ( the children’s father) had died in detention during the American/British invasion and the newspaper quoted the woman’s response – ‘I will always hate you people’. The Cognitive Social Psychology Experimental approach outlined by Russell Spears states that experimental evidence is the lifeblood of psychology and experiments provide the control to assess causal relations and patterns among variables that may not be apparent to the naked eye. Whist acknowledging that we cannot reproduce in the lab the conditions that foster this kind of hatred, we can model some of the proposed processes and test implications of theories. The psychoanalytical perspective referred to by Wendy Hollway is a clinical rather than a research method. Free association interviewing is used to reach beyond the structured interviewing that dominates qualitative research and risks constraining interviewees with assumptions provided by questions. Derek Edwards discussion of discursive social psychology proposes looking at the report and how the words and, descriptions and accounts are assembled and put to work. He focuses on the reports themselves , how they provide for causal explanations, invoke psychological states and build implications for politics and policy. This approach examines how people deploy commonsense psychological ideas. Darren Langridge explores phenomenological social psychology as a descriptive enterprise. Data is collected though first person written accounts or interviews. The rush towards explanation is avoided. The aim is to identify structural qualities that are invariant across the experience, as well as those that are more idiosyncratic, focusing on the reasons but not the causes behind the phenomena in the hope of providing new insights that may enable us to effect change. In conclusion, there are similarities and differences between the methodologies used to explore the four perspectives in social psychology that have been discussed. Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses, and all can contribute to the continuing development of theories and approaches within social psychology. References Milgram, S ( 1974) Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View, London, Tavistock. Spears , R. , Hollway, W. and Edwards, D. (2005) ‘Three views on hate’, The Psychologist, vol 18, no 9, September, pp. 844-7. Social Psychology Matters Book 1, Chapter 2 by Wendy Hollway, Book 2, Chapter 1 (Introductions) – Open University Press. DVD 1 Social Psychology : Critical Perspectives on Self and Others.

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Differences between Ethics and Law From Bioethical Point of View Essay

Differences between Ethics and Law From Bioethical Point of View - Essay Example Although there is a boundary between laws and ethics, the boundary does not separate them sufficiently. This paper seeks to define law and ethics and in the process try to bring out the difference between the two. Ethics comes from the notion of rights and wrongs within a given society. These wrong and rights are based on actions we would expect others to do for us in return. We are thus forced or expected to do to other people, as we would wish them to do to us. With time, these expectations have been developed into principles that define ethics in a given society. On the other hand, laws are developed and imposed by the government to enhance harmony among members of a given society1. This implies that laws are generally accepted in a given society as guiding principles if they create a difference between wrongs and rights. The government, through peoples representatives, creates laws for a given society and not the vice versa. For these laws to be generally acceptable, they must fu lfill the society’s requirements for wrongs and rights. Laws are therefore developed from existing ethics and imposed by the government to mediate the relationship between members of a particular society. An example of a common ethic in medical practice is treating emergency cases urgently. A similar law created by the government would state that all emergency cases brought to a hospital should be attended within the shortest time possible. The law would continue and give penalty for defaulters. Similarly, ethics have attached consequences that stipulate actions to be taken on defaulters. Laws are therefore developed from existing ethics for them to be generally accepted by a given society2. The development of laws from existing ethics implies that laws are just extensions of ethics and hence related. Due to general acceptance principle, ethics are unwritten rules that mediate between people of a given society. On the other hand, laws have a wider coverage and varied interpre tations that require preservation in writing. Ethics of a given society do not require to be kept in a written format since people are aware and ready to commit to them. Ethics are therefore established on people’s conscience eliminating the requirement of written a document. For a code of conduct to be accepted as an ethic in a given society, people must have the ability to recall it when a need for application arises. Therefore, some institutions have a written document that stipulates the code of ethics that must be upheld by the members of such institution. For example, health institutions have a code of ethics document for medical practitioners. Elimination of ambiguity and preservation are the two main reasons for writing down laws. Ethics on the other hand are preserved in people conscience and passed from one generation to another. This factor weakens the difference between written and unwritten rules. Writing of laws is done objectively while ethics are preserved in people‘s consciousness for a similar objectives. This implies that the existence of laws as written rules and ethics as unwritten rules does not create sufficient difference between the two implying that laws and ethics are similar. Laws have to be approved by all arms of the government before being put into application. On the other hand, ethics do not require approval by any party since they are generally accept

Monday, August 12, 2019

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, Essay - 3

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you - Essay Example One day, when I stood to address the crowd I heard the voice of my leaders and developed some coldness. I started stammering, a sweat swept through my face and I wished that the earth could open and swallow me. That event changed my qualities in the Girl Scout movement. I started developing courage to address dignitaries. When the camp meetings were organized, I knew it was my time to enjoy. I like meeting people and exchanging ideas, so the camp meeting would provide my needs. The camp lessons brought Girl Scouts together. During the lessons, I listened keenly to the instructors because I knew I would need their information in answering questions. We had to make presentations after the lessons. I took the opportunity to address the crowd about environmental issues that the scouts could tackle. As I spoke, the crowd became still, I was disturbed, but took courage of a lion. I knew I had drummed the right message. I got a Gold Award because of my exemplary duties in the Girl Scout movement. When I left scouting, I joined women movements, which addressed matters affecting women in the society. The interpersonal and leadership skills that I developed while I was Girl Scout have helped me to cohabit in the society. The society has recognized my efforts in championing for rights of the environment. I had never imagined that I could influence many people in the society to vote for me or do whatever I could ask them to do. I am proud because am the president of the National Honor Society. Wooing women in the society is not easy, but I do it with a lot of ease. I developed the feeling of championing for the women rights. My position exposes me to arguments with people who do not believe in the movement. The courtesy that I learnt while in the Girl Scout movement has been a great asset to me since I take my time to respond to people with the utmost respect that they deserve. I believe in the principle of making wise

Sunday, August 11, 2019

Writing Analysis (Graphology) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Writing Analysis (Graphology) - Research Paper Example Handwriting involves coordination of the eyes and hand muscles. The muscles contract and release alternately, with an upstroke requiring a releasing movement, and a downstroke using a binding or contracting movement. If both motions are well balanced, the writing appears rhythmic and harmonious (Nevo 61). Predominantly contracted movements will produce writing that appears rigid and cramped, while completely expanded writing appears disintegrated and unclear. The essential concept of handwriting analysis theory is that the type of movement producing the handwriting projects the personality of the writer (Lewinson 321). Contemporary graphology dating back around 130 years is different from its ancient roots and long history. Michon’s laws of graphology formulated by Jean Hippolyte Michon, the founder of European graphology in 1875, continue to be valid today. His concept of the involvement of the brain and psychology in the process of handwriting forms the basis for the research conducted by modern graphologists. Michon believed that since the human being is a complex unit with a complete unity to the entire being, it was necessary to examine every minute element in detail. Thus, writing formed â€Å"the art of speaking to the eyes† (Bernard 4). Michon’s pupil Jamin emphasized the overall picture composed by the signes or elements in graphology. German scientists were forerunners in the field of graphology towards the end of the 19th century. Ludwig Klages who founded the first German graphologoical society in 1896, was the acknowledged leader in the field. He used his own philosophical theories as the basis for establishing laws and principles of graphology, characterology, and expressive behavior. He considered a rhythmic flow of handwriting to be most important. Klages introduced the term form niveau as an indicator of the writer’s intellectual level and cultural background. A high form of niveau indicated an

Controversy of Real Name Policy on Facebook Research Paper

Controversy of Real Name Policy on Facebook - Research Paper Example More so, the Real-Name Policy on Facebook is a measure that has been endeavored to ensure that people know for sure whoever it is that they are connecting with, and in so doing, the whole Facebook community then remains safe, through effectively curtailing cyber-bullying (Meganmeierfoundation.org., 2014). In this respect, Real-Name Policy on Facebook requires that several identity measures should be observed. First, individuals should use the real name that they use in real life, when establishing a Facebook account, without adding numbers, unusual capitalization, symbols, punctuations or repeated characters (Facebook.com., 2014). Secondly, individuals establishing a Facebook account should refrain from adding characters from multiple languages, while at the same time refraining from adding any titles such as their profession or religion (Facebook.com., 2014). Finally, the individuals interested in joining Facebook should also ensure to avoid the usage of words, phrases or nicknames that are not part of their real names, while at the same time refraining from using any offensive or suggestive words, titles or phrases as part of their identity on the networking site (Facebook.com., 2014). This way, it will be possible for the Facebook community to remain safe, owing to the fact that p eople will only interact on the basis of knowing each other authentically, thus avoid the incidences of cyber-bullying that has been a characteristic of the social networking (Gà ¶rzig & Frumkin, 2013). Cyber-bullying has been defined as the application of the information technology tools in order to harass or harm others deliberately (Gà ¶rzig & Frumkin, 2013).  

Saturday, August 10, 2019

Lab report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Lab Report Example They reported seeing a man in jeans, trainers and a T-shirt running away from the house, down Leek Road. The police were informed and responded immediately. The back door of the house had been broken and the sunroof of the VW Polo. Paint and glass of both the car and the property had been damaged. Both of them were damaged so as to allow entry in the property. The police later arrested a suspect who matched the description of the neighbors, two streets away. His clothes were taken for further analysis in the laboratory. This is because clothes might have had contact with the broken glass and damaged paint; hence some of them might have been left on the clothes. The control samples from the broken glass and damaged paint were taken for analysis. The aims of this experiment included to investigate whether the debris recovered from Mark’s clothes had any fragments of glass and paint from the damaged property. The experiment was also meant to determine any kind of relationship between the recovered materials/fragments from the suspect’s clothes with the control samples collected; broken glass of the back door and the damaged paint of the VW sunroof. The final aim of the experiment was to discover any evidence that showed or qualified Mark Jones and the perpetrator of the crime in question. 1. Preparation work: Several petri dishes had been provided that contained the debris from the suspect’s clothes. The contents were observed and described, while the observations were recorded on the results sheet. The identity of each of them was also suggested. Low power microscopy was used to view the contents, while much attention was paid to any presence of glass and paint. The observations were also recorded, and the magnification used. 2. Physical Examination of Evidence: The suspect items were collected carefully, and a physical examination was done as the observations were recorded on the results sheet.

Friday, August 9, 2019

Sustainability in global business-Meeting the Challenge of Sustainable Essay

Sustainability in global business-Meeting the Challenge of Sustainable Business - Essay Example The human interactions that are pre-industrial with the natural system and the social system usually cause changes to the short-term and local scale. The present socio-ecological interactions are generating a wide spread in the global changes with changes that are temporary and far into the future. The harmful consequences that we face because of human forcing on the ecological and social systems may never find the solution required through single issues like solving the global poverty or resource efficiency (Blowfield, 2012, p. 18). The current processes and the societal structures are structured in a manner that they contribute systematically to the current directions that are unsustainable and causing the people to face the difficulty to inspire global unity around safeguarding the probabilities of the future options. The development of sustainability signifies the increase of the people’s room for maneuver. This requires an approach that is systematic in solving of problems and the strategic planning by identifying control for restoration in both ecological and human (Stoner and Wankel, 2010, p. 32). Many organizations are adopting policies and practices that are sustainable and they integrate them with the strategies in their organizations for the purpose of organization development (Schmidheiny, 1992, p. 214). Research has indicated that that most of the changes in the organizations efforts plateau after the initial period Research has of passion and was not able to become an integrated and sustained approach to the planning strategies and development. It is determined that changes that are unstained can be related to the current disclosure on the developments that are sustainable and focuses on the establishment of the evolving technology and instrumental policies such as what to do (Blowfield, 2012, p. 58). A complementary research

Thursday, August 8, 2019

What will it take for you to be where you want to be 25 years from now Essay

What will it take for you to be where you want to be 25 years from now - Essay Example It must be obvious to see that the goal require investments now and this would prompt me to make a list of where will I get the resources to finance my education in school. The minimum kind of education that a successful psychologist should have should include finishing a graduate and post graduate degree. I will take up my undergraduate degree in psychology at University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) in the fall. The resources during my undergraduate which would have to come primarily from my parents and loved one with some self-help in case I will decide to work as well as study. More than the financial resources, of course, is the emotional support of my parents and loves ones to build on virtues for success which I will discuss in this paper. After finishing my undergraduate degree I plan to get a work experience of two to three years before I will make graduate degree to be followed by a post-graduate.1 This is a long journey and it would take a combination of patience and perseverance as necessary virtues to be able to be what I want to be 25 year from now. What it means to be patient can be seen in the life of a turtle. The turtle may be slow moving but its every move is calculated and it can use its scales for survival and protection as well as adjustment. By comparing my desired characteristics to be successful to that of a turtle, the same would mean having to use my â€Å"scales† which I equate with my positive outlook in life with high sense of realism. If I would have to burn the midnight oil when I have to do my school works and assignment, I will have to. In school I know there would be many assignment, research works and projects that must be accomplished before deadlines and impatient people cannot simply have them accomplished. I believe the best way to prepare for them is the virtue of patience. A

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Evaluate the effectiveness of substitutes for leadership Essay

Evaluate the effectiveness of substitutes for leadership - Essay Example One type of these factors is that of substitutes, which comprise subordinate, task, and organization characteristics. Subordinate characteristics can reduce the need for a leader because their instructions are either irrelevant or do not add value to the workplace. If employees have prior experience or training, then they likely possess the needed skills and knowledge to perform a task without input from a superior (Yukl, 2008, p.236). One example of a profession that would make use of this is that of professional sportsmen. Once they are able to perform to a high standard of play, the effectiveness of a leader, or coach, lessens. What highly skilled people like this need is a type of manager to get them to perform to the best of their abilities consistently. Task characteristics often don’t require a leader simply because of the mundane nature of the job. Low skilled labor jobs are likely to make leaders ineffective because employees are able to guide themselves. Feedback may still be an important part of a job, but it is not necessary for a leader to do this. It may be that a technologically advanced system can judge an employee’s work, or peer review could provide feedback from fellow employees. The key premise to this type of substitute for leadership is that subordinates are able to follow instructions by themselves and are high motivated individuals (Yukl, 2008, p.237) Organizational characteristics also can be used in place of a leader because the organization as a whole is more efficient than one person. Once employees because used to a company’s organizational structure and daily work tasks, there are many things that can be completed without consulting top management first. Also, the concept of team work can be enhanced so that group discussion can occur horizontally rather than vertically. Despite the number of leaders decreasing, the initial concept of what a leader was

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) Essay Example for Free

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) Essay HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) that disables the immune system.  It was discovered in 1983 .HIV enters the body through the bloodstream and duplicates itself rapidly.  The victim is susceptible to infectious diseases that eventually are fatal (1). Statistically, HIV/AIDS is the number one killer of African-American women ages 25 to 34, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Between 2000 and 2003, they were nineteen times more likely than White females and five times more likely than Hispanic females to contract the disease.   African-American men were seven times more likely than White men and three times the rate of Hispanic men to contract HIV/AIDS (2). In 2008, there is still not a cure for AIDS.  Instead, scientists have discovered drugs that can slow down the progression of the disease. Protease inhibitors (PIs) are antiviral drugs that slow down the spread of HIV (1). The virus produces a protein called protease so that it can replicate itself.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Protease cuts long chains of proteins and enzymes into shorter chains, the first step in the process by which HIV infects a cell† (1).  If this doesn’t happen, replication does not continue. In 1987, AZT was the first anti-HIV medication that was created.   It showed hope and kept people healthier longer.   However, the side effects were very high for men.   Since that time, more HIV medications have evolved.   Antiretroviral therapy usually consists of combinations of nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease inhibitors, or fusion inhibitors, which are prescribed in the later stages of HIV (19). Dual protease inhibitor therapy is also being used clinically (3).  They are also associated with improving morbidity and mortality of HIV-positive persons (5).  Although these drugs are expensive, they have proven to be the most successful therapy in managing HIV.   However, some patients don’t comply 100% with their treatments.   This is largely due to the side effects. Sometimes they make a patient feel worse than the actual disease. The most commonly reported ones are abdominal pain, abnormal bowel movements, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, and nausea.   Children usually develop a skin rash. The more serious side effects are liver problems and pancreatitis.   Some patients have also seen large increase in triglyceride ad cholesterol levels.   Diabetics saw an increase in their blood sugar levels.   Other patients developed diabetes while taking protease inhibitors (16). Presently, nine PIs have been approved for use in the United States and Europe:   amprenavir, atazanavir, fosamprenavir, lopinavir, indinavir, ritonavir, saquinavir, tipranavir, and nelfinavir. Three non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) are used for treatment of HIV:  nevirapine, delavirdine, and efavirenz (7). Drug treatment selection depends on factors such as drug resistance, tolerability, drug interactions, and effectiveness. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) â€Å"has been proposed so that practitioners may better maintain appropriate plasma concentrations of drugs in their patients by identifying interactions with other medications and assessing medication adherence   (7). Figure 1 shows the structures of these compounds. Fig. 1. Chemical structures of protease inhibitors and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. About 50% of â€Å"treatment-naà ¯ve patients† don’t have continued antiviral response after one year of therapy (18). In some cases, there is a development of drug resistance and metabolic complications.   Also, â€Å"there is increasing evidence that virological treatment failure is correlated with variations in the pharmacokinetic parameters of drugs (20).   This can be due to drug interactions, low bioavailability, and variations in metabolic enzyme activity.   Atazanavir (ATV) has good oral bioavailability and a favorable pharmacokinetics profile (18).   With this in mind, patients can mostly take a once-daily dose. A separate analytical method has been recently published for quantifying ATV in human plasma using solid phase extraction and HPLC with PDA (photodiode array) detection at 201 nm (18).   This method provides excellent separation of ATV from its internal standard, clozapine (CLZ) and the other PIs, thus, obtaining an accurate measurement of the drug (see figure 2). CLZ elutes at 8.9 minutes, and ATV elutes a 24.4 minutes. A 40-ml injection resulted in a recovery yield of 100%. Fig. 2.   Chromatogram of ATV with PIs/NNRTIs (8000 ng/ml) spiked with CLZ Nelfinavir mesylate has been shown in phase III controlled clinical trials to significantly reduce viral load and increase CD4+ cell counts when used with reverse transcriptase inhibitors. It’s prescribed as part of triple drug combination therapy (9). CD4+ are helper T cells.   They are important for immune reconstitution in patients that are receiving antiretroviral therapy (10).   After a large number of these cells are destroyed, AIDS develops (7). Six clinical trials was conducted in the past ten years using 2, 148 HIV-infected children enrolled in the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group treatment trials (10).   Patient ages varied from 2 to 7 years of age.   The focus was to observe short-term variability of CD4 percentages.   The study found that 49% of patients had CD4 percentages above 25%.   32% of patients had CD4 counts between 15% and 24%; 19% were less than 15%.   Finally, 5.4% had a CD4% of less than 5% (10). In June 2006, Darunavir (DRV) was licensed in the United States.   It is a promising PI that is active against HIV strains that are resistant to the other PIs that currently on the market (17).   It is prescribed in 600-mg doses that are taken twice daily with 100 mg of ritonavir that acts as a booster. Protease inhibitors are associated with unfavorable pharmacokinetics and many side effects such as gastrointestinal disturbances and lipid abnormalities (5).  Four of the most common PIs used are indinavir, ritonavir, saquinavir, and nelfinavir (3).  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Monitoring blood concentration of PIs, which can indicate both therapeutic and toxic levels of the drugs as well as patient noncompliance with the medication, may improve the care of both HIV-infected adults and children† (3). When ritonavir was first introduced, it was given in doses of 600 mg every 12 hours. â€Å"However, patient intolerance of full doses led to its primary use as a pharmacologic enhancer to increase the concentrations in plasma of a second protease inhibitor to improve the convenience of antiretroviral regimens by extending the dosing interval, reducing pill burden, and /or eliminating food-induced reductions in pharmacokinetic exposure† (8).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Researchers used High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to determine concentrations of PIs in blood.  Various methods have been used to study the pharmacokinetics and drug interactions. Interpreting plasma levels can be used to â€Å"individualize drug dosage of antiretrovirals (4). Quality control (QC) procedures must be done to ensure that these methods are accurate and precise.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Such procedures usually include intralaboratory (internal) method validation, intralaboratory QC procedures, and participation in an interlaboratory QC program for antiretroviral drugs† (4). Since the latter hadn’t been done before, it was established so that laboratories can obtain better measurement results of antiretroviral drugs. Nine laboratories participated in the first part of the program.  The first part of the experiment involved the measurement of the protease inhibitors:  indinavir, nelfinavir, ritonavir, and saquinavir.  All had a specified purity of 99% or higher.  QC samples were prepared by spiking blank plasma from HIV-negative volunteers with PI standard. The low concentrated standards ranged from 0.087 to 0.15 mg/L while the intermediate concentrated standards contained ranged from 2 to 3 mg/L of all four PIs.  Finally, the high-concentrated standards contained approximately 5 to 11 mg/L of drug.  All drugs were dissolved in methanol following accurate weighings and diluted with blank plasma (4). High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used to analyze twelve samples.  All laboratories measuring more than one protease inhibitor used as assay for â€Å"simultaneous determination† (4).  Six laboratories used HPLC/UV and three labs used HPLC-MS/MS. Mass spectrometry detection is often recommended for measurement of low concentration levels.  Also, this type of analysis is usually faster and â€Å"does not require complete resolution of drugs for detection and quantification† (5).  Only five laboratories were able to measure all four PIs.  Three laboratories were not able to determine nelfinavir.  One laboratory only measured indinavir (4). Acceptable accuracy results are between 80% and 120%.  Only indinavir resulted in an acceptable accuracy of 80%.  The remaining PIs had between 36% and 74% accuracy.  These results should encourage laboratories to improve their analytical methods and QC procedures.  Other PIs, such as amprenavir and lopinavir, can be analyzed as well (4). HIV-positive plasma samples are heat inactivated before analysis, approximately 58 °C for 40 minutes, to decrease the risk of infection to the operator.  They may also go through a freeze/thaw cycle. As with the QC study, blank plasma was spiked with seven PIs (indinavir, amprenavir, atazanavir, ritonavir, saquinavir, lopinavir, and nelfnavir) at low, intermediate, and high concentrations measured in ng/ml.  Certain assays only require 100  µl of plasma for analysis.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"This is advantageous when measuring PI concentrations as part of clinical studies as they often necessitate hourly sampling to generate complete PK profiles; therefore less blood can be drawn from the patient† (5).  In addition, seven PIs can be quantified in one assay, but impossible to assay all seven in a single preparation. â€Å"The use of liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) has emerged as the developmental method of choice supporting clinical and pre-clinical pharmacokinetic studies† (13). Recovery for the HPLC-MS/MS methods was above 87% for all seven drugs at all three concentration levels (5).  It was successful in quantifying seven PI concentrations in plasma of HIV positive persons that participated in a run time of nine minutes.  Therefore, the assay may be used for determining PI concentrations in semen, lymphocytes, and cerebrospinal fluid (5). A fast and highly-sensitive LC-MS-MS method was developed that could analyze five protease inhibitors (amprenavir, indinavir, nelfinavir, ritonavir, and saquinavir) in one run using an internal standard.   Sample sizes were small (ng/ml) and run times were approximately 5 minutes.   Recoveries for all five PIs were between 87% and 92%(11). Tipranavir is part of a class of non-peptidic PIs that works against both â€Å"wild-type virus and variants resistant to current PIs†(6).  It also has a high genetic barrier.  Tipranavir is prescribed in a 500-mg dose taken in combination with 200 mg of ritonavir twice daily as part of antiretroviral therapy for patients with HIV-1 strains that are resistant to multiple PIs (6). Fig. 3. Tipranavir chemical structure   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An HPLC-UV method has been validated and is currently applied when monitoring tipranavir (TPV) plasma levels in HIV patients.  Samples were prepared for solid phase extraction (SPE) by conditioning the cartridges with 0.1% phosphoric acid, pH 7.  TPV stock solutions with a concentration of 5 mg/ml were diluted from with 50% methanol. Samples were spiked with TPV at 1.875, 7.5, 18.75, 37.5, 60, and 75  µg/ml in triplicate. QC samples were diluted with blank plasma and phosphate buffer to 5.625, 22.5, and 67.5  µg/ml.  Clozapine was used as the internal standard (6).  5-ml aliquots of blood samples were obtained from HIV infected patients.  The plasma obtained from centrifugation was heated at 60 ° C for one hour in a water bath. TPV in plasma was measured at a UV absorbance of 201 nm with a retention time of 32.2 minutes. Its internal standard, clozapine (CLZ) has a retention time of 8.3 minutes (6). Figure 4 below shows the chromatogram of TPV, its internal standard, and all other PIs and NNRTIs  present.   Figure 5 shows TPV and its internal standard CLZ only. Fig. 4. Chromatogram of plasma control sample of TVP (22.5 mg/ml) spiked with internal standard and all PIs and NNRTIs. Fig. 5. Chromatogram of calibration sample of TVP (37.5 mg/ml) spiked with internal standard CLZ. Isocratic HPLC methods combined with the use of UV and fluorescence detection produces more sensitivity. Amprenavir is a fluorescent compound.   Its internal standard PR25 can also be seen under fluorescence (see figure 6). Fig. 6.   Blank plasma with 100 ng/ml amprenavir and 1000 ng/ml of PR25 seen under fluorescence. In conclusion, much progress has been made in the development of protease inhibitors and other antiretroviral therapy. HPLC with UV detection has been the most commonly used method of analysis.   It is rapid, simple, and highly sensitive.   LC-MS-MS has been noted at the developmental method of choice for clinical and pre-clinical pharmacokinetic studies (13).   More compounds can be analyzed in less time.   Also, they can be used for methods using other human biological matrices. For the majority of protease inhibitors, all side effects are not known. In 2007, darunavir was the new HIV protease inhibitor with eleven other antiretroviral agents on the market.   They can affect patients that have diabetes, liver problems, and hemophilia; their conditions can worsen as a result of taking PIs. Only a patient’s health care provider can determine the best treatment option REFERENCES Nagel, Rob. 2007. Protease Inhibitors. UXL Encyclopedia of Science; [cited 2008 May 8], Available from http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/SciRC?ste=1docnum=cv2644301082. Health Hotline:   HIV and Genital Herpes [cited 2008 May8]; Available from http://www.ebony.com. â€Å"HPLC Assay for Common Protease Inhibitors Developed.†Antiviral Weekly; [cited 2008 May 07; Available from http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/SciRC?ste=1docNum=A60069570. Aarnoutse, Rob E., Verweij-van Wissen, Corrien P.W.G.M., van Ewijk-Beneken Kolmer, Eleonora, W.J., Wuis, Eveline, W., Koopmans, Peter P., Hekster, Yechiel A., and Burger, David, M. 2001. 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