Soc 402 Outline for Final

Substance Abuse in the Workplace Contemporary Social Problems and the Workplace SOC402 Instructor: Douglas Nelson October 4, 2012 Substance Abuse in the Workplace Substance abuse is a growing problem in the workplace. â€Å"Substance abuse is the repeated use of alcohol or drugs to the point that users develop personal problems and distress related to use. † (Giraffe, 2011) I am going to discuss the major problems with substance abuse and outline some mind-boggling statistics.Furthermore, I will relate substance abuse to a work environment I have been associated with and express the chaos I have witnessed from co-workers abusing illegal substances and over-using alcohol. I am going to analyze ways this problem can be possibly solved or at least prevented to a certain degree. If substance abuse is prevented, I have determined several social and economic benefits that may occur. I. The major problem with substance abuse 1.Substance abuse in the workplace is extremely dangerous; the one abusing the substance increases not only their chances, but also increases the likeliness of their co-workers of injuries or possibly death depending on the situation. a. â€Å"Alcohol and drug abuse on the job is a serious issue for employers because it may cause lost productivity or dangerous conditions from mistakes, reduced efficiency, and increased absenteeism. † (Giraffe, 2011) b. â€Å"Alcohol use, although legal, also significantly contributes to workplace substance abuse problems. (Giraffe, 2011) II. Substance abuse related to my work environment 1. I have had co-workers come into work hung-over and possibly still drunk, I have seen them hide in the bathroom and sleep for several hours. a. â€Å"Furthermore, substance abusers are not only less productive, but they also use three times the number of sick days and file five times the number of workers' compensation claims as nonabusers† (U. S. Department of Labor, 1999). b. â€Å"Substance abuse also l eads to injuries† (Giraffe, 2011) III. Ways this problem can be decreased 1.Although the problem is abundant in the work-center, there are possibly solutions to minimizing substance abusers at work. a. â€Å"In 2005, for example, an estimated 17 million people used illegal drugs and nearly 75% of them were employed† (U. S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2011) b. â€Å"The Department of Health and Human Services study reported that almost 9% of full-time workers reported heavy alcohol use within the past month. The vast majority of those were between 18 and 25 years old† (Larson, Eyerman, Foster, ; Gfroerer, 2007). c. OSHA provides employers with recommendations for substance abuse prevention programs, including the drug-free workplace policy. † (Giraffe, 2011) d. â€Å"Training is an important component of a drug-free workplace to make sure supervisors understand how to enforce the policy without violating the law. Many companies offer empl oyee assistance programs (EAPs) as part of their benefits package. EAPs provide individual counseling services and are a resource for referral to rehabilitation programs, medical services, or other therapeutic services. † (Giraffe, 2011) e. This was followed by the Drug-Free Workplace Law of 1988, which has been amended several times to require federal contractors to actively promote a drug-free workplace and to have a substance abuse prevention policy in place† (Reagan, 1986). 2. Social benefits if prevented 1. The workplace will be a more socially accepted atmosphere is the problem was to be prevented. a. â€Å"According to a Department of Health and Human Services study, males are more likely than females to use illegal drugs, and employees with lower education levels are more likely to use drugs than those with college degrees† (Larson, Eyerman, Foster, ; Gfroerer, 2007). . Economic benefits if prevented 1. Companies will save a great deal of money if this pro blem were to be prevented. a. â€Å"can cause increases in health insurance costs† (Giraffe, 2011) b. â€Å"Estimates that the residual cost of substance abuse in the workplace is more than $80 billion in the United States. † (U. S. Department of Labor, 1999) Substance abuse in the workplace is a problem that has been around for years, and it has yet to slow-down, however, I noted several ways the problem can be prevented.I expressed why substance abuse is the extensive problem it is, and I related the problems I have seen inside my own work-center. If my solution to substance abuse in the work center is implemented, there will be many social and economic benefits. References Giraffe, V. (2011). Contemporary social problems and the workplace. San Diego, Bridgepoint Education,Inc. Retrieved from https://content. ashford. edu/books/AUSOC402. 11. 1 Larson, S. L. , Eyerman, J. , Foster, M. S. , ; Gfroerer, J. C. (2007, June). Worker substance use and workplace policies and programs (U.D. Services, Producer). Retrieved from http://www. oas. samhsa. gov/work2k7/work. htm#6. 1 Reagan, R. (1986, September 15). Executive Order 12564 Drug-Free Workplace. Retrieved from http://uscode. house. gov/download/pls/41C10. txt U. S. Department of Labor. (1999). How does substance abuse impact the workplace? Retrieved from http://www. dol. gov/elaws/asp/drugfree/benefits. htm U. S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2011). Workplace substance abuse. Retrieved from http://www. osha. gov/SLTC/substanceabuse/index. html

Coca Cola Organization

The Coca Cola Company, founded in 1886 in Atlanta, the United States, is the world’s largest nonalcoholic beverage company. Coca Cola currently owns and markets more than 500 beverage brands (Anonymous, 2010), including waters, sports and energy drinks, juices, tea and coffee, which are distributed in over 200 countries throughout the world.Along with Coca Cola, the company also owns Sprite, Fanta and Diet Coke, which are four of the world’s top five nonalcoholic beverage brands (Anonymous, 2010). As a company with a history of over 120 years, the Coca Cola Company now has an operating structure with seven operating segments and approximately 139,600 worldwide employees (Anonymous, 2010). Today, Coca Cola has subsidiaries around the world and has developed its own management and distribution system.The relative data and evidences shown in the following analysis will illustrate the effectiveness of the current structure model of Coca Cola and how managers of Coca Cola ap plied the hybrid structure to manage the subsidiaries in different regions efficiently and the strategy of decentralization to reduce the management cost and improve autonomy of these different departments. Furthermore, Coca Cola values its unique organizational culture and has set different mission, vision and values to guide the organization, the segments, and its teams.These invisible forces have been serving as the â€Å"Roadmap† for the company to achieve the long-term goals. In the second part of the report of the company culture, facts and stories mentioned would give examples and interpret how the â€Å"liability of a strong culture† could impact Coca Cola’s competitiveness and why it is so important for Coca Cola to understand customers’ needs in order to introduce more customer-orientated organizational culture rather than outcome-oriented culture. Organizational StructureCoca Cola is a typical complex organization by having seven operative unit s in geographic areas around the world, six functional departments being responsible for different tasks and a diversified labor force from different nations. Additionally, a combined characteristic of Mechanism and Organism is also one of most representative features of complexity. Under this structure, employees can not only improve their performance to the maximum level, but they also help the company expand global market and adapt the changing environment.The Coca Cola Company currently employs approximately 139,600 employees (Anonymous, 2010). According to a general organizational chart stemmed from the company’s website, the division of labor is based on diverse job designs which exist specific rules and regulations to direct employees and managers. There are at least 5 hierarchical levels in the corporate. At each level, for instance, one regional director supervises about 10 subordinates on average; therefore, the span of control is fairly wide.And based on the inform ation of its website, the geographic regions are broken down into the diverse units that are located round the world, which are mainly North America, Middle East, Asia, Europe, Eurasia, Latin America and finally Africa. And then, each subunit has its own organizational structure based on functional departmentalization. For example, in North America, its major departments are marketing, finance, and packaging, sales, and research and development administration.In addition to that, in terms of the division of the authority, originally, the company has a more centralized structure, which the decision is mainly made by a high-level management, and the communication is restricted due to the hierarchy of the authority. However, as Coca Cola encounters uncertain environments when it expands of its business, the organization realizes that it must meet the changing demands of its customers to win their business.Thus, Coca Cola began to push towards decentralization in the nineties and even m ore recently (Fox, 2007), which means that decisions are made on a more local level and communication can spread freely to quickly react to conspicuous market demands. Simultaneously, higher-level management can have the authority to take control of the overall strategies and concentrate on the company’s distal goal. The Coca Coca’s big success is not only due to its continuing effort on producing different beverage, but also its moderate organizational structure plays a salient role.Firstly, because the Coca Cola Company, based on the annual report, has over 400 products, the product structure seems to be too costly and unrealistic to implement. Therefore, the multidivisional structure is an appropriate structure and brings benefit for the company. A significant strength of this structure can allow the company to react to changing and uncertain environments while also maintaining a level of stability. Moreover, the specific decision and strategy can be made by regiona l managers to suit particular situation of one area without triggering some conflicts.For example, when one region wants to conduct a specific marketing promotional strategy which is not be appropriate for another region due to the diverse marketing environment, so decisions about specific marketing tactics are made closer to that region. And thirdly, within each region, the structure is mainly divided based on the functional departmentalization, and undoubtedly, communication among each functional unit’s members is free and efficient because of the same knowledge and expertise. Thus, the work and decision can be done more efficiently.Another big beauty of its structure is the mix of both centralization and decentralization to run the business. According to an article â€Å"Changes in the Organization of Work: An Empirical Assessment† stemmed from a journal of International Conference Proceedings, it concludes that a more decentralized hierarchy improves coordination a nd reduce monitoring costs. And eventually, since employees are guaranteed more flexibility from the workplaces, more job satisfaction can be acquired through more tasks autonomy and responsibilities.As a result, it will lead to complementarily effects, which productivity gains can arise. From this perspective, Coca Cola seems to get benefits from this structure change. On one hand, a centralized structure remained at top level is to help senior managers take control of power and provide a distal goal for the whole organization. On the other hand, pushing decentralization also works well in the local units. Because employees can perform tasks from beginning to the end, they can figure out problems and have opinions through the working process.And, additionally, under the decentralized structure, the communication is freely flowing. Employees are more encouraged to express opinions and provide recommendations for company’s operation at the weekly me eting, and gradually, a par ticipative and communicative environment is formed which leads to employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment. An article appeared in Business Europe (Bogomolny, 2004) had the following information: â€Å"According to Jon Chandler, director of communications for Europe, the responsibility for getting it right – and for profit – is firmly at the local level (p. ). † Obviously, productivity increased and company gets the profit in return via this structure. To sum up, it appears that the Coca Cola Company is pursuing for a hybrid structure, which take advantages of both mechanistic and organic structures, while trying to minimize negative effects of each. According to the research above, it seems that the organization works well after all the changes implemented. However, after the in-depth analysis of the organizational structure, one subtle recommendation can be addressed.According to â€Å"Committee on Management and Productivity†, i t is beneficial for all levels of company to put various customers’ needs into consideration when designing organizational structure So although the Coca-Cola possesses a hybrid structure, its structure does not adequately focus on the customer side. In order to delivering the best value to customers, a part of structure needs to serve the customers in terms of dividing them into different generations. The reason for this suggestion is that customers are picky and are facing abundant choices of beverage currently, and they also more care about their health. Jones, 2007) Thus, a more cautious decision will be made by customers while purchasing the beverage. Reasonably, if the Coca-Cola Company should focus more on customers to analyze their preference based on different segments, and provides adequate relevant training which guided the employees to deliver satisfied good and service to customers. Consequently, the company can produce the ideal beverage to reach the expectation of different generation, and may acquire a profitable benefit in return. Organizational CultureOne of the most important building blocks for the high success of the Coca Cola Company is its organizational culture. The culture of the Coca Cola Company is mission-driven: focused on refreshing the mind, inspiring optimism, and making a difference (thecoca-colacompany. com). This durable mission facilitates Coca Cola in creating innovation, people orientation, diversity and an aggressive culture since John Pemberton founded it in 1886. The Coca Cola Company has reached its current strong culture through decades’ effort.Employees share the common values that the company provides leadership, collaboration, integrity, accountability, passion, diversity, and quality (thecoca-colacompany. com). In 2004, the Coca Cola Company came to a reinvigorating stage. E. Neville Isdell was nominated as the new chairman of the board and CEO of the Coca Cola Company. Due to the health and wellness trend, increasing competition in the beverage industry and a series of top leadership changes, Coca Cola had been experiencing hugely decreasing soft drink sales.By engaging in an open dialogue about the company’s values and future development among 150 managers from worldwide divisions, a â€Å"new vision for the sustainable growth† has emerged (Andrew Martin, 2007). This new vision achieved an aggressive marketing strategy by refreshing the coke brand and laid particular stress on advertisement and product development (Andrew Martin, 2007). From the perspective of the dimensions of the culture, Coca Cola wants to be innovative while they are risk-averse. The company becomes more open and flexible since it gives its employees more rights.It remains aggressive at sales. Lastly, after the 2004 change, the company has become stable and gotten rid of its previous dysfunctional status (Andrew Martin, 2007). Ultimately, the company is measured by its stock value, which saw great increases through the rest of 2005 (see graph 1 in Appendix). In general, the current culture of Coca Cola Company is very effective. Based on the theory of organizational culture and effectiveness, a practical organizational culture has four fundamental traits: involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission (Denision and Mishra, 1995).Two of these traits, involvement and consistency, are indicators of openness, flexibility and responsiveness, and are strong predictors of growth. After the changes in 2004, Coca Cola Company favors increasing face-to-face interaction, providing more constructive feedbacks and generating an ideas sharing atmosphere. All of those improvements and changes allow Coca Cola getting open and flexible. Additionally, due to organization focuses more on the opinions and thoughts from lower level of employees, and grants them power to make their own choices under certain level.The communication and awareness in Coca Cola increase from 65% to 76% (Di anne, 2008). Openness and flexibility contribute significantly to the vision of driving long-term sustainable growth by accelerating innovation and employee’s engagement and satisfaction. The other two traits, consistency and mission, are not only indicators of integration, direction and vision, but also are better predictors of profitability (Denision and Mishra, 1995). The culture of Coca Cola is guided by its enduring mission, which is to be the largest beverage company in the world since it was founded in 1886.This clear objective directs both employers and employees to create values and make differences for organization. Besides, the vision of Coca Cola, which is people, portfolio, profit, partners, planet, profit and productivity, declares that the employees need to achieve sustainable growth and great profits. Overall, the culture in Coca Cola Company properly reflects four traits, and fosters the effectiveness in the whole organization. What is more, both before and a fter the change, the company has been emphasized the aggressiveness on sales for a long time.It is easy to arouse some immoral competitions between the companies and the employees. But after the implementation of the â€Å"manifesto for change† policy (Gordon, 2008), which is aimed to improve environment responsibilities, self-discipline at corporate level and social responsibilities. Therefore, the ethic of the organization has been improved significantly, which makes the Coca Cola Company a better and more stable workplace. However, there are two shortcomings in the current culture. First, the Coca Cola Company has hesitated to reinvest and take risks.In 2005, the Coca Cola Company introduced 2 new products, the Coke Zero and the Diet Coke. Luckily, the Diet Coke took the Pepsi cola’s place and became the No. 2 soda in the US. Unfortunately, the company only improved its product based on its original products. Although Coca Cola has raised the new missions of carryin g out health and fitness, due to its resistance to change and one step slower than Pepsi, it has merely no effect. This is exactly the liability of strong culture—resistance to change. Considering the long run sustainable growth, the company should encourage innovation and all employees’ participation.At first, reduce barriers of information flows within the organization. Managers must make sure that people can access resources whenever they need. Secondly, reward employees for practical ideas. Management should not only provide premium to creativity ideas, but try to find out and stratify employees’ internal needs. Thirdly, participation can always help to overcome resistance to innovation. When employees actually involve into the organization, they would realize some flaws of existing products. And this will stimulate them to get fascinating thoughts and ideas.Lastly, it is necessary to get supports and encouragements from managers. Moreover, company can intro duce new members to speed up the change because new blood can always bring fresh visions into organization. Second, currently, the Coca Cola Company is outcome orientation and aggressive on sales. In order to match with its new culture, the company should better move towards the strong establishment of basic values and assumption. Therefore, the company can turn to other direction and explode a new dimension of culture for a better fit.First of all, pay more attention to the customers and employees by fulfilling the healthy ideas and assumptions penetrated to them level by level and gradually, they can harbor those views to establish a norm which is to chase a healthy lifestyle. Secondly, since the brand has already been highly recognizable, what the company needs to do next is to animate the brand. By taking actions of inventing some rituals and create more stories, it can also set up some employee orientations to share the work experiences and internalize the organization basic as sumptions.Moreover, the company needs to bring in more new members in order to better change the aggressive culture to a friendlier one. In conclusion, it is always difficult for companies to change their business culture, especially for Coca Cola, a large and stable organization with a hundred years of history. In order to keep growing and thriving, Coca Cola should try to look ahead and make internal changes to adapt to the outer environment. In fact, whether introducing new cultures or changing the current culture, managers should first let these values or beliefs infiltrate the organizational members’ minds.Only when these values and beliefs are commonly accepted by the organizational members, can they form a new culture. However, people’s values are hard to change. By increasing communication with employees, rewarding desirable behaviors, encouraging participation and offering necessary support, Coca Cola’s managers can avoid unnecessary losses. Moreover, p roper structure design can benefit large multinational corporations like Coca Cola by allocating resources and assigning personnel more efficiently and effectively.Decentralization of the organization’s structure offers more flexibility to Coca Cola’s local subsidiaries in different regions and can also reduce conflicts between departments. A hybrid structure requires Coca Cola to develop more understanding of customers’ needs, which is the most important force to push the organization forward. Overall, the analysis mentioned above illustrates that a strong business culture should always remain responsive to change, and a well-designed corporate structure is important for the organizational effectiveness. Reference Bogomolny, L. (2004). â€Å"Thirst for change. Canadian Business, Vol. 77 Culhane, D. (2008, February). Blog logs a culture change: Coca-Cola's short-term Blog Blast takes the pulse of employees on key company values. Communication world. Retrieved f rom http://www. entrepreneur. com/tradejournals/article/173021690. html Denison, R. D. , ; Mishra, K. A. (1995). Toward a Theory of Organizational Culture Effectiveness. DOI: 10. 1287/orsc. 6. 2. 204 Fox, A. (2007, November). Refreshing a beverage company’s culture. HR Magazine, Vol. 52, No. 11. Retrieved from http://www. shrm. org/Publications/hrmagazine/PastIssues/2007/Pages/200711. spx Foust, D. (2006, August 7). Queen of pop. BusinessWeek, Retrieved from http://www. businessweek. com/magazine/content/06_32/b3996401. htm Gordon, D. (2010). Manifesto For Change. Retrieved from http://www. scribd. com/doc/24111308/Manifesto-for-Change Macarthur, K. (2004, May 10). Hiring of Isdell is classic Coca-Cola. Advertising Age. 75, 3-68. Martin, A. (May 27, 2007). Coke Struggles to Keep Up With Nimble Rivals. Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. com/2007/05/27/business/yourmoney/27coke. html? pagewanted=1;sq;st=nyt;scp=87 Martin, B. Wilcox, S. ; Harris, R. 2000). Committee on Manageme nt and Productivity. Transportation Research Board, NW: Washington, DC. McKay, B. , ; Terhune, C. (2004). Bottled up — behind Coke's CEO travails: A long struggle over strategy; although profits are strong, rivals are gaining cachet; all-star board calls shots; search for a red bull fighter. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), A1. Radic. D. (2004). An Enterprise Odyssey. International Conference Proceedings. p. I. 27. Solar site index. (2007). Retrieved from http://www. solarnavigator. net/sponsorship/coca_cola_chairman_neville_isdell. tm The Coca Cola Company. (2011). Retrieved from http://www. 123HelpMe. com/view. asp? id=148943. The Coca Cola Company. (2010). Retrieved from: http://www. thecoca-colacompany. com/careers/unique_culture. html http://www. thecoca-colacompany. com/ourcompany/mission_vision_values. html The Coca Cola Company. (2010). Forward Looking Statements. Retrieved from http://www. thecoca-colacompany. com/investors/pdfs/10-K_2010/03_Coca-Cola_Item1. pd f Appendix Chart 1 Quarterly Stock Price Chart (2001-2010) Retrieved from http://www. thecoca-colacompany. com/

Brighter Sunnyday

Of all the movies that I’ve seen, only â€Å"A brighter Summer Day† was the longest hours film of them all, a very large project for the Chinese-language film. This film was directed by a Taiwanese director, Edward Yang who made it all possible to direct 100 actors to portray different roles. â€Å"A Brighter Summer Dayâ€Å"was actually based on a true incident which happened during 1960. The story was also a mixture of Yang’s youth which can be seen in the film though there is a little variation from the original. In June 15, 1961, a Taiwanese high school male killed his girlfriend in Gulling Street without any reasons.â€Å"A Brighter Summer Day† was a personal vision which recalls both an actual street murder that shook the nation and Yang's own childhood at the same time. The story doesn’t mainly focused on the gangster’s street rival in Taiwan during 1960’s but it’s story goes behind a young man who was experiencing a ma jor upheaval in his own country in which he wants to overcome. This movie serves as an exploration of the novel which depicts the cultural identity of the Taiwanese. This film revolves around the life of S'ir, who was a high school student by then.The cast was filled with different characters which seem equally worrisome. His cast is filled with plenty of variables, but each character’s plight seems equally worrisome. His father was one of the Chinese mainlanders who went all the way to Taipei during the wake of civil uprisings in 1949. Since the film was set over the course in 1961, it gave a printed introduction which explains that state is now in uncertainty where gangs thrive on the streets so they should be careful about their children and keep them safe and under control at all times.The narratives of Yang jumps back and forth with different subplots which made it difficult to track, especially the shots that was taken from medium to long shots. Given that, the story te lling skills of Yang made it possible to recognize some cues for each sequence which lets the audience trail the story. The most memorable scenes that revolve around the gangster’s school-age girlfriend have been smitten with him. They wind up next door, while they cut classes, and get easily attracted with the looks of the girl.Upon forming an endearing bond, Si’rs friends warned him about being close to the girl and should not let her become the cause of any bad blood. This part is very thrilling, and mysterious enough to watch since you really want to know what the story behind the murder is as if you are really seeing how it happened. Yang sensed that when the dark historical moment happens, driving and being driven become one. I think that because of this feeling, it made a narrative filmmaking that creates a new genre of modern experience.Literary, this film had hypnotically built a single act of violence when it reaches and end of one’s life which is inev itable and shocking at the same time. â€Å"A Brighter Summer Day† emerged as one of the finest film made in Taiwan. Even though the cast were all non-actors, the film was still beautifully made- shots were good, houses especially the interior were great, even the schools and the dance clubs brought a real effect that happened in the countryside during summertime. The film also created a good effect by inserting violence and serenity alternately.The film is a rhythmic and poetic evocation of a particular era. Its ironic title (in that there is no â€Å"brighter summer day† for these characters) is taken from an Elvis song that one of the kids sings at a nightclub. It is a truly exemplary modern masterpiece that got no distribution in the West but deserves to be hunted out at all costs by those who love and cherish the film art. You can also see other characters with singing careers that has been the source of frustration and source of income of the gangsters.The song w hich was entitled â€Å"Are You Lonesome Tonight† was the source of the movie’s title a song by Elvis song which was sung by some nightclub kids. This song was one of the artifacts that appear in the movie though it did not originate from Taiwan. The song captures the audience through its melodic sound and its giving such goose bumps effect when you hear it while it plays as a particular scene was shown. There were also several important props in the film particularly the samurai sword, radio a flashlight and a tape recorder as well.Older characters appear to be strictly adhering to Taiwanese’s tradition or to something else like Christianity. The older characters, when they appear, either stubbornly adhere to Taiwanese traditions or have grabbed onto something else, such as Christianity while other older Taiwanese seemed to be powerless and weak. Children somehow understand this but perhaps cannot dig dipper to comprehend it and despite the murder that was insp ired by a true to life incident, this film sees a light of hope.S’ir’s father here was a civil servant with a high-ranking job and the accomplishments of his daughter. He often attends the best government-sponsored college and was very proud. If his son disappoints him, he butts his head against bureaucracy, hoping that he would get personal favors the system which he believes to have fair and firm regulations. Yang simplifies things by tossing a metaphor into the stew which made it so confusing in general when he narrates about the operation of the government against the people.The backbone of the narrative structure was formed by S’ir’s shifting morality when the tragedy befalls him seems to be heartbreaking which made the entire nation moved by it. The strain has been weighed down on him and at that time, his family seems to be epidemic in the country. According to my research, the film took over several years to finish because its preparation needed t o be meticulous on its construction as well as the feelings that community might have. Because the length is almost four hours, it definitely shows a remarkable film which gave an epic quality of the film.Since the there are more than hundred speaking parts in the film, you should really focus in watching so that you’ll keep on track of what was going on with the story, which is a good strategy on capturing the audience attention. Without looking into the contradictions that it may bring in a political discourse, Yang personalized the politics and its complexities. The style of the film creates a paradox. He used I little bit of close-ups, which keeps it far away from his subjects but not so far in order for the viewers to judge them objectively and doesn’t’ lose the grasp on their concern.The main accomplishment of Yang focused on the narrative that he made, as well as the political and emotional chaos. Familiarity arose from the running time that goes on with the consistent political attitudes which was evident in the script assures that audience concern were given focus where Yang wants it. This happens without using too much cinematic language which in turn prompts the viewer to barely identify the protagonists. Yang was never intimidated throughout the film although he made as a very expansive scope of a messy autobiographical of such territory.Attached with the film is a nostalgia but not to the point of intelligence. Yang created a manifesto which obviously shows conflicting attitudes about the history of his country. We can see in the film that it was seemingly limitless to examine the country’s lamentation which a storyteller like Yang has done to probe the history of a nation’s developing country and its progress. For me, â€Å"A Brighter Summer Day† sure stands as a monumental achievement, and could probably be the greatest film among all modern Taiwanese cinema.

The Slow Food Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Slow Food Movement - Essay Example This movement immediately gained widespread popularity and the manifesto was officially signed in Paris in the year 1989 by the delegates from the fifteen participating countries. The primary purpose of this movement is to counter the growing culture of fast food and that is why the movement has been given the name of ‘Slow Food’. The philosophy behind it is that everyone should have access to organically grown food that is not only good for the consumer but also leaves a greener carbon footprint on the entire planet. The members of the movement are determined to their cause of promoting regional cuisines and slow the accelerating growth of fast food culture. They organize events to promote the slow food culture, and seminars to tell about the health risks which the fast food poses to its consumers. Among many of their events is the ‘Ark of taste’. This event is organized at different regions of the world where the local at-risk food is promoted (Petrini, 20 07). The person should think about the taste and the content of the food that he is eating rather than being interested in only gobbling up what is present on his plate. The Slow Food movement aims to convey their agenda to the youth of different countries because they are the primary consumers of the fast food. The Slow Food Movement intends to create awareness regarding the importance of slow food.

NGOs performing governmental functions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

NGOs performing governmental functions - Essay Example However, there are cases where these NGOs work alongside or in collaboration with government organizations to pursue broader communal efforts that have various political agendas. In such instances, the NGOs ensure that it does not include any politicians or representatives of government in their organizational operations, thereby retaining its non-governmental position. This paper will cover how the non-government organization (NGOs) came into existence, their purpose, and how these organizations affect or help the government. The paper will also discuss the role of NGOs as a government subsidiary in performing important government functions, and will highlight key organizations that have performed humanitarian or development-oriented work in collaboration of various government agencies. History of NGOs Non-governmental organizations were present in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century fighting for women rights, and engaged in movements against slavery. The World D isarmament Conference was seen as the biggest showcase for non-governmental organizations, with the official term of NGO coming into existence with the United Nations Organization in 1945. The United Nations gave legal provisions to these organizations and they were categorized as neither government bodies nor a member organisation or state of United Nations; instead the United Nations defines a Non-Governmental Organisation as autonomous associations of people not obliged under any international treaty, working in humanitarian and charitable work, and bringing common people close to the governments (Chiang, 1981). It is imperative for NGOs to have extensive networking relationships across borders to be successful. It needs to incorporate various cultural, political and religious values of each country and operate according to the legal structures in which these countries allow these non-governmental organizations to function. They are broadly classified under four main groups globa lly, which include â€Å"Unincorporated and voluntary association†, â€Å"Trusts, charities and foundations†, â€Å"Companies not just for profit† and â€Å"Entities formed or registered under special NGO or non-profit laws† (Stillman 2007). Once the term NGO was coined, the western countries saw an extensive increase in the development of non-governmental organizations, as these countries were in a transitional period of structuring their country and defining it as a welfare state. The significance of NGOs increased even further with the fall of Communism, and rapid Globalisation, as many problems were seen having magnitude beyond the scope of a single nation and could only be dealt under an international enterprise (Langhorne, The Coming of Globalization 2001). World Trade Organization (WTO) and World Economic Forum are examples of such international treaties but they are capitalist in nature. Many feel that these organizations do more harm than aid thi rd world economies as they are used as tools to dictate western political agendas in these countries. Therefore, many NGOs have developed to counterbalance this trend, with emphasis in sustainable development, developmental aid, and humanitarian issues (Langhorne 2006). One example of such organization is World Social Forum, but yet there are criticisms as to the role the NGOs undertake. They

Cultural Conduct in Other Countries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Cultural Conduct in Other Countries - Essay Example The question that rises over here is how important role does a language play in cross border businesses? To run your business successfully in another country it requires a proper understanding of the culture of that country. And to understand the culture of that country, it is required to know and learn the language of that country. Every culture has different parameters and guidelines of thought. And the best way to understand the thought behind these parameters and guidelines is the language (Malt et. al, 1999). Language not only provides knowledge about culture, it also provides knowledge about economic and political situations. Knowledge of other languages has become very essential because now million of people share their ideas, common interests and communicate with each other across the world through internet and going cross border for businesses and study. All these things are possible due to the technological advancements. Here we take the example of America; the trade is gro wing rapidly here. Some business people are learning Spanish and Portuguese for there businesses. And now adays people are getting knowledge of other languages for economic integrations. Many Canadians have ability to speak English and French. And they have adopted these languages for the improvement of their jobs and businesses. So the knowledge of other languages gives us a unique thought and this thought helps us to make concepts and decisions correctly. Social Etiquette: Etiquette is a code of behavior or social behavior within the society, social class or group. Rules of etiquette generally based on social interaction within the society. It may be reflection of ethical codes, fashion and status of society, group or class. When someone is interacting with large social group or variety of people which have same interest, so there are some general rules to interact with them and these rules are socially acceptable. Business etiquette is similar to the social etiquette, but they ar e particularly for coworker’s interaction and vary from business to business (Johnson, 1997). When a businessman expands his business in other countries, he has to understand the language, cultures, taboos and etiquettes because different nations have different cultures and etiquettes. For example, in China if a person takes food item from a common bowl or plate without asking others that mean you are insulting the host. On the other side in America a guest has to eat all food in his plate as a compliment to the quality of food. In Korea and Japan, it is an old tradition for host and guest to fill their alcohol cups and encourage each other to take it, but if anyone doesn’t want to take alcohol for any reason, then it can become difficult for him to escape from it. So for a prospective businessman it is very essential to understand the etiquettes of other country. Because etiquettes provide help to interact with society. Basically etiquettes depend upon the culture. It may vary from culture to culture. If business people have knowledge about other country’s culture, language and etiquettes then they can easily create a good impression. Cultural Values: Cultural values are the ethical or moral values; values that reflect someone’s sense of good and evil or right and wrong. Cultural values are the reflection of attitudes and behavior of society or group. Norms are the behavior of people in a specific situation, and values are the judgment of this situation as good and

Reaction Paper (Political Psychology)- Perceptions & Attributions Essay

Reaction Paper (Political Psychology)- Perceptions & Attributions - Essay Example ons are not contrived in vacuum, but have a lot to do with the past held beliefs and prejudices, recent alterations motivated by the framing of political issues and the persuasion techniques used by the vested interests. Granberg aptly defines political perception as the â€Å"process by which people develop impressions of the characteristics and positions of political candidates, parties, and institutions (p.70).† I personally feel that political perceptions do play a vital role in determining outcomes and consequences in a democratic society. The perceptions of the masses towards political candidates and parties do often have a key role in the determination of the vital factors like the levels of satisfaction with the political institutions; trust in the state and the ensuing responses and actions by the citizens (Gadot, 2006). It seems that both the external features and the perceiver’s internal orientation tend to affect the ultimate nature and potency of such perceptions (Granberg, p.70). Moreover, an astute political candidate is often aware of the power that perceptions command in the overall process of the determination of the final political outcomes in a society. That is why it has been seen that political candidates do often tailor their messages to suit the audience they intend to address. For example, Lyndon Johnson often resorted to delivering fiery speeches, when faced with a highly stimulated audience (Granberg, p.71). Pragmatically speaking, political perception is an unpredictable entity determined and influenced by an array of factors that happen to be both subjective and rational at the same time. Still a thorough observance of the political campaigns facilitated by the developments in the digital media has established that persuasion by the political candidates does often have a crucial role in influencing the political perceptions. The paper by Iyengar establishes convincingly that the vantage point from which people perceive a particular

Service, Solidarity and social justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Service, Solidarity and social justice - Essay Example In the author’s view, social injustices and suffering do have an exact form of measure thereby making it difficult to quantify or minimize. The three personalities showed solidarity with the poor, fought for their rights and stood by them. However, the culprits oppressing the disadvantage take every measure to ensure they continue with their oppression; a good example being the killings of Romero and Gustavo when they were campaigning against the oppression of the poor. The author proposes that the best way to deal with suffering and violence is to lay down fundamentals such as schools and hospitals. Additionally, many other allies to join the fight against oppression the way Martin Luther and the predecessors have done in the past. In summary, the author views accompaniments as the best way of dealing with grief and loss. One of the author’s main point of argument is that fields such as medicine and public health are neglecting the issue of grief and loss. I think this is not true because one of the fundamental principles taught to medicine students is how to console their patients and make them feel at home even when they are facing the toughest challenges such as cancer. In my opinion, doctors and public health officials offer much consolation the same way the liberation fighters provide solidarity to the poor. On the other hand, I strongly concur with the author that indeed it is quite challenging to quantify the amount of suffering one experience. Suffering that causes grief and loss are subjective in that what I view as suffering may not be misery to another person. The controversial view of suffering makes it hard to dealing with it. Respecting and acknowledging the efforts that activists such as Romero, Gustavo, and Martin did put in liberating the poor from oppression is not inevitable as they impacted on the lives of the helpless at a time of

I) Outline the sources of the English Law in the order of their Essay

I) Outline the sources of the English Law in the order of their importance. (400 words) ii) How important is Equity in this respect (400 words) - Essay Example For instance the development of non-monetary amends like injunctions and decrees of specific performance was brought in by Equity. Legislation is the commonest source of new laws or of law reform after the Seventeenth century. The most vital legislation is Acts of Parliament which is known as primary legislation. This becomes binding only after approval in the House of Commons and the House of Lords; after which it gets the Royal Assent from the Queen. The doctrine of precedent is defined as ‘The common law principle which binds a judge or a magistrate to follow previous similar decision of higher courts in the same hierarchy; also known as stare decisis† (Vickery & Pendleton 2006). The doctrine of precedent derives from common law and law of equity, which is ‘English-made’ laws that aims to be fair and treat all equally, so that the decisions by the courts are predictable and consistent in resolving disputes. There are binding and persuasive precedents, which binding precedents are known as ‘ratio decidendi’ when the final order or ‘res judicata’ by the court is made to the immediate parties, and it has a legal effect based on the key reasons for the decision. This includes passed decisions by the higher courts in the same hierarchy in similar cases, will be used for future similar cases so there are consistent remedies or sanctions under common law. An example of a precedent bei ng used was in the final decision of The House of Lords case in 1932, for the ‘Donoghue V Stevenson case.1 The House of Lords case was similar as manufacturers have the duty of care when selling their products, and ensure they are safe to consume. Therefore this precedent was legally binding and enforced by common law for a similar outcome. English law prior to the intro of the rule of equity was chiefly ruled by Common Law. Blackstone (2001) specified Common Law as â€Å"the

Dear united nations Essay Example for Free

Dear united nations Essay For many children around the world, their early years are far from safe, a supportive environment they require to give them the best possible start in life is non-existent.  As well as the threats from poverty, disease, violence and war, children face commercial exploitation by adults who deny them their fundamental rights to protection.  Some 1.2 million children are now estimated by you (the UN) to be trafficked annually. Around 246 million children are also thought to be involved in child labour and an estimated two million children are currently enslaved in the global commercial sex trade. Everyday millions of children are exploited, abused, or are victims of violence. Bought and sold like commodities, children are forced to be soldiers, prostitutes, sweatshop workers, and servants, and the government sit around making predictions about child exploitation, but not doing anything to change it.  Poverty, conflict, HIV/AIDS, urbanisation and migration have led to the breakdown of families and support structures in communities. Families are struggling to cope. As a result, more and more children are at risk of violence, abuse, exploitation and being abandoned. Children are particularly vulnerable in emergencies because they are physically weaker than adults and risk being separated from their families. Food and water shortages do not happen suddenly and famine can be predicted and prevented, using surveys and early warning systems.  Children have particular needs in emergencies. They fall into three main categories: material (such as shelter and food), developmental (e.g., schooling and play), and emotional (protection and psychological healing). They have immediate needs that must be met, but some needs continue long after the emergency is over. These are things that we take for granted, but millions of children die every day from the lack of them. These simple things can be provided and can save the hundreds that die every minute. The main way to combat child exploitation and trafficking is by finding a solution to poverty. Poverty is a big issue in MEDCS around the world, particularly in Africa. Victims of child trafficking are mostly of poor families and from the developing nations. Think of how many victims are from the families of ministers, company directors and top politicians. The answer is negative, so the main problem is poverty. Emphasis should be on the distribution of wealth in developing countries. If the UN can cancel world debts to these poorer countries or wipe out the huge interest on them, then taxes in the countries can go down, and money can be spent on police services, schooling and providing a better quality of life.  The children of the world are the future of tomorrow. Should more be done to protect them? Definitely. Selling a child into slavery is the same as taking away their life. Those who traffic children should receive the same penalties as a rapist or murderer. Its inconceivable that most countries do not have laws that cover this, all Western nations should pass laws to make this a very serious crime it must stop!  The UN is in control and can stop all the madness, with a bit of time and effort then millions of innocent lives can be saved.  Yours sincerely

miRNA as Biomarkers in Forensic Body Fluids Identification

miRNA as Biomarkers in Forensic Body Fluids Identification miRNA profiling: What does not work for blood and urine identification Sarah S. Silva a, b, Teixeira, A.L b, MJ Carneiro de Sousa a,c and Medeiros, R.a, b a – ICBAS, Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal b – Molecular Oncology group, Portuguese Institute of Oncology, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal c _ National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, North Branch, 4050-167 Porto, Portugal Abstract In forensics, the identification of blood, semen or vaginal secretions can represent an important support for a criminal investigation. They can be used as a source of DNA but also can hold, only by their presence, the most probative value. Through the years many methodologies were used to identify them but all presented serious drawback. Lately, mRNA surged as a potential tool for body fluid identification but their sensibility were a serious disadvantage, even more pronounced in forensic samples. Since 2009, miRNA profiling surged as a possible tool as a confirmatory test in forensics due to their tissue specific pattern of expression. Unlike mRNAs they are much more stable due to their proprieties whose makes them less prone to degradation processes. In this report, we studied the expressional patterns of miR-127, miR-221 and RNU-48 in 50 samples of urine and blood in order to define whether or not they could be used as biomarkers for urine or blood identification. Even though our aim was to assess whether or not our miRNAs could be considered as biomarkers, we came across 2 others interesting conclusions: the impact of RNA purity in miRNAs quantification and which miRNA cannot be used as a normalisation gene for blood and urine identification. Key words: miRNA profiling, Forensic, Serology, body fluids, biological biomarkers 1- Introduction Human body fluids are important components to rely on a criminal investigation [1, 2]. As a matter of fact, a complainant’s body fluids present on items belonging to a suspect – or vice versa – holds the most probative value. For example, in a case of a sexual assault in a child, where a DNA profile recovered from the child bedding and underwear coincide with his father DNA profile, can we consider his father responsible for the sexual assault? In a case like this, it is not enough to recover a DNA profile but it is also imperative to acknowledge its source. If no serological test were done, in court, the presence of DNA could be explained as a result of the presence of epithelial cells in the child clothing which is totally common when it comes from a sibling. On the other hand, if serological tests linked the DNA profile to semen it would be way more difficult to explain its presence there. Beyond the probative value that body fluid may have in a crime scene, it is also important to acknowledge them to optimize protocols to conduct a reliable DNA profiling [3, 4]. For example, DNA extraction processes are different for blood and urine. If we conducted the protocol of blood extraction in urine samples it may result in a reduced quality of the extracted DNA e enable any conclusive DNA profile [3, 4]. There is why, body fluids identification is considered as crucial step in criminal investigation. For some, it seems easy to identify body fluids such as blood (colour), urine (smell) or even sperm (texture) however, when dried, washed or mixed with other components their identification may not be that easy [1]. It is important to highlight that in court, there is no such thing as â€Å"It seems to be sperm because it looked like it and have the same particular texture†, it is needed an undeniable proof that it is sperm. Serological test are used in forensic biology to allow the detection and identification of body fluids in both native form or as a residue left at a crime scene. Serological tests are divided in two major fields: Presumptive and confirmatory test. Presumptive tests rely on methodologies that are sensitive and performed quickly, yet they are not specific to the body fluid. Those tests can only indicate if the fluids might be present and do not unequivocally states its presence. On the other hand, confirmatory tests are indeed specific to the body fluid we s eek to identify. As presumptive tests, confirmatory testing is sensitive however, it takes a lot more time. Idealistically, we should have a battery of confirmatory test for all important body fluids in order to reliably detect and identify them. Unfortunately, there is a large cluster of presumptive tests and far less of confirmatory ones. Moreover, till date no confirmatory test is able to reliably differentiate blood from menstrual blood which is an unquestionably important body fluid in sexual cases. Over the last years, mRNA profiling became a target for body fluid identification due to its tissue specific patterns. Still, mRNA susceptibility to degradation by physical or chemical factors was an unquestionable drawback. In order to sidetrack this problem, miRNA surge with a real potential as a confirmatory test. MiRNAs are small non-coding RNAs with more or less than 22 nucleotides of length that, combined with the RNA-induced silencing complex, seems to regulate a major part of human gene (5 e 6 do meu artigo). Moreover, their tight relationship with Argonaute proteins, they are much less susceptive to both biotic and abiotic factors. In 2009, Hanson and colleagues were the first to introduce miRNA profiling and soon enough others followed. Those studies pointed out a large collection of miRNAs with potential as biomarker, however very few were confirmed by more than one group which revealed the lack of reproducibility of results. Moreover, when some tried to replicate the resu lts of others, they failed. For this report, we choose to test four miRNAs in both blood and urine of 50 healthy individual and study their behaviour within those body fluids. 2- Material and methods We conducted an expression profiling of 50 healthy individuals. The case group was composed by Caucasian individuals with no major pathological condition in order to erase a variable that could alter miRNAs profiles. Peripheral venous blood (Xml) and urine were collected from each subject following the obtainment of a written informed consent from all subjects. After collected the samples were processed. The samples were used for miRNAs extraction with GRS microRNA Kit (Grisp) according to the manufacturers instructions. Subsequently, miRNa priorly extracted were used as a template for cDNA synthesis using TaqMan ® MicroRNA Reverse Transcription Kit (Applied Biosystems ®). To quantify miRNA expression, real-time PCR assays were performed with a StepOneâ„ ¢ System using TaqMan ®Universal Master Mix II (Applied Biosystems ®). The target miRNAs were amplified by a set of designed primers for miR-127-5p, miR-221*, miR-222* and RNU48. miR-222* was used as a normalization gene miRNAs relative quantifications. The data analysis was performed using the StepOne Software v2.2 (Applied Biosystems ®). Statistical analysis was carried out by the computer software IBM ®SPSS ®Statistics (Version 22.0). In order to assess any statistical alterations in our normalized miRNAs expression we used 2−ΔΔCt method and Students t test. 3- Results 3.1- Cycle threshold vs RNA purity Urine samples were processed and the resulting pellet was diluted in 1ml of Tripure. Visually a wide range of pink colour was noticeable within our urine samples. Those with a deep pink were related with samples with a more substantial pellet unlike those with a less considerable pellet who presented themselves with a lighter colour. After miRNA extraction, we quantify miRNA expression of miR-222 in urine samples and perceived that only few of them were detected. Interestingly, only the ones with a lighter colour were indeed detected. This tricky situation could be explained by the ratio of absorbance at 260 nm and 280 nm which is used to assess the purity of RNA. In this case, lighter colour was also an indicator of a greater ratio, on the other hand, those with higher optical density had a very low ratio, far from the ratio of ~2.0 which is generally accepted as â€Å"pure† for RNA. In order to sidetrack this delicate situation, we choose a sample (MU26) that has an optimal 260/280nm ratio and diluted the other samples to equalize their optical density with Tripure. Posteriorly, we choose 5 samples to test and noticed a considerable decrease of Ct in the samples processed with the optimized protocol (Fig.1). The difference of Ct value is very significant, nearly 6 Ct, demonstrating that RNA purity is clearly a factor that challenge miRNA profiling. As showed, miRNA quantification goes with a low concentration or can go totally undetected when 260/280nm ratio is low however, when optimized, miRNA concentration increased significantly. As said previously, different reports indicated miRNAs as biomarkers for human body fluids identification though, when others tried to replicate them, they failed. Our results shows that for the same sample, different degrees of purity can decide whether or not a miRNA is detected, once it definitely affect their concentration. There is why, RNA purity needed to be optimal otherwise it may lead to unreliable results, which could explain, the failed attempts done by some authors when trying to replicate others results. Figure 1 Cycle threshold vs RNA purity. This figure presents the Ct values of miR-222 taken from 5 samples processed with both normal and optimized protocol (first and second column respectively). It is showed that the considerable fall of Ct values correlates with an increase of 260/280nm ratio. 3.2 – Normalization gene In qRT-PCR, data normalization is imperatively required for quantification analysis [5-7]. The integration of an invariant endogenous essay, also called as reference gene, has as its main objective correct systematic technical and/or experimental errors [6, 8]. For this essay, we choose to use RNU-48 as our reference gene for the data normalization. Widely used as normalization gene, RNU-48 is expected to have a stable pattern among samples. However, within our essay the opposite transpired. As showed in figure 2, RNU-48 was the one with a major standard deviation when compared with other 3 miRNAs analyzed which make it inappropriate as an endogenous control for our essay. Seemingly, we were not the only ones that concluded this, Sapre and colleagues also assumed that RNI-48 was inadequate as an endogenous control due to its systematic perturbation in its expression [9]. Remarkably, the unexpected miR-222 profile remained barely unaffected and presented no significant difference between urine and blood. miRNA-222 behaviour within our samples was surprising once, it is being aimed for its deregulation by many other groups. Here, it does not present any variation within samples, any variation among both body fluids, it did even remained stable within different stages of age and do not alter with gender. This particular behaviour is expected of endogenous controls. Therefore, we decided to use miR-222 as our reference gene in order to normalise our data. 3.3 – miRNAs as biomarkers Since 2009, miRNAs has been a target for forensic researcher, especially in forensic serology. The importance of both detection and identification for body fluids in criminal investigation is undeniable. Scientifically speaking, 5 years is such a short time to develop reliable new methodologies and, as already lay out by some authors, there is still so much to do. Here, we choose 4 miRNAs and decided to study their expression level in urine and blood samples. As stated earlier, we choose miR-222 as our endogenous control for our data normalisation due to its behaviour within our samples. As showed in figure 4, we can state that all miRNAs considered have different expressional patterns and all of them probabilistically significant (P RNU-48 is the one with a major difference between urine and blood. The one used numerous times as an endogenous control is upregulated about 141 times more in blood than in urine supporting our decision to not use it to normalize our data. Till now, a minor number of miRNAs have been acknowledged as tissue specific at least reliably. By definition, miRNAs are considered tissue specific when they’re found with high abundance in a specific tissue while it has low or non-existent expression in others. That differential profile patterns would allow body fluids reliable identification and serve as a significant confirmatory test. Considering our results, we can conclude that miR-127, miR-221 and RNU-48 are not suitable for neither blood nor urine identification. Despite a significant difference of expression, they do not present the expected expressional patterns to be considered as a good biomarker. Table 1 – miRNA detection in both urine and blood samples and its corresponding fold change within the body fluids. As we stated within our introduction, the miRNAs considered as biomarkers for body fluid identification in other reports have been difficult to replicate. We believe that those difficulties are linked to several factors as environmental factors, methodologies, age, gender, pathologies among several others. We know that miRNAs expression levels do alter with both biotic and abiotic factors, there is why we try to minimize the impact of those within our samples excluding, as example, acute pathological conditions. Despite considering that miR-127, miR-221 and RNU-48 are unsuitable for urine and blood identification, we wanted to study their expressional behavior within samples with different stages of age and gender. Figure 4A displays an overview of their relative quantification within female and male samples. Within blood, we did not notice any significant alteration in their expression (P>0,05). On the other hand, in urine, RNU-48 presented itself with a significant overexpression i n females (P When it comes to age, we divided our 50 samples in 3 categories: 20-40, 41-60 and over 60 years old. As it is shown in figure 4B, the relative quantification we achieved demonstrated no significant change in their expression profile (P>0,05). 4 – Conclusion and future perspectives More than just a source of DNA, body fluids sole presence can have the most probative value. Hanson and colleagues introduced miRNA profiling as a reliable tool to identify body fluids such as blood, menstrual blood, semen, vaginal secretion and urine due to their tissue-specific pattern and stability when conditioned by degradation processes. Here we focused our attention in four miRNAs: miR-127, miR-221, miR-222 and RNU-48. Soon enough miRNAs purity struck our attention when we notice that low value of 260/280nm ratio was associated with a poor degree of detection. When we upgraded our protocol the consequence reflected in a considerable decrease of the samples threshold. It would be irrefutably helpful to understand what threshold could affect miRNA profiling once, as it was shown, miRNA purity do affect considerably their quantification. It could even convey wrong outcomes once even miRNAs with high concentration within body fluids can appear with low concentration or totally inexistent. Our second result emphasised the importance of a normalisation gene. At first, we choose to use RNU-48 as our endogenous control but its behaviour within blood and urine make us reconsider our decision. RNU-48 is usually used as a reference gene due to its stable behaviour within samples however, our essay showed otherwise. Within the 4 miRNAs testes, RNU-48 was the one with a more pronounced variability within samples, which is opposed of what would be expected of a normalisation gene. Unexpectedly, miR-222 presented itself with the lowest standard deviation between blood and urine. Furthermore, we studied its expression levels and compared them within age and gender and concluded that no significant alteration was noticeable (P As stated earlier, normalisation genes are indispensable to validate qRT-PCR results however, till date, no normalisation gene is universally acknowledged. This problem is reflected in our case, where one of the most used normalisation gene proved to be unsuitable for urine and blood miRNA analysis. This subject is a very sensitive point in miRNA profiling. There is why it is imperative to focus our future line of work towards finding a reliable normalisation gene before anything else. Our main goal was to define whether or not miR-127, miR-221 or RNU-48 could have the potential to be considered as biomarkers for body fluids identification. In this case, we could establish that all four have different expressional patterns in urine and blood (fig.5) however, to be considered as biomarker it would expected a major difference within body fluids which do not happen with our miRNAs considered for this essay. There is why we conclude that none of this miRNAs have the potential to be considered as a biomarker for body fluid identification. Conflict of interest None.

A Swot Analysis Of American Airline

A Swot Analysis Of American Airline Abstract The airline industry has always been and continues to be the most fiercely competitive business sector in all facets of its operations. Operating on paper thin margins the drop in passenger traffic brought on by the events of September 11th, 2001 have affected domestic United States airlines as well as all global carriers. The events of that day have caused governmental intervention in the form of loan guarantees, compensation for terrorist attack losses, as well as insurance related to war risk (Shane, 2003). The Associate deputy secretary of Transportation stated that the industry is in its à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦worst financial crisisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(Shane, 2003), since the industry was deregulated in 1978. It is important to understand that two differing types of airline carriers exist in the United States. The majors refer to airlines earning revenues in excess of $1 billion USD annually and generally they provide national as well as international service. These airlines cater to the bus iness class customer and passengers who either expect or desire full in flight services such as meals and related amenities. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Air Lines, U.S. Airways, Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines fit these designations (Mayer, 2002). The discount air carriers have changed the face of the airline industry with their no frills, low-cost airfares and have put pressure on the majors in terms of eroding their market share. The preceding battle between discount carriers has further exacerbated the majors thin operating margins and has resulted in Delta, Continental, Northwest, United and US Airways (Beck, 2005) filing for protection under Chapter 11 of the United States bankruptcy laws while they restructure and renegotiate union contracts and creditor agreements. United States Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain has stated that the United States government should be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦reluctant to do anything that might keep inefficient businesses afloat (Shane, 2003). This is the climate in which the subject airline, American Airlines operates. Chapter 1 American Airlines PEST Analysis The utilization of a PEST analysis with regard to American Airlines takes into account the political, economic, social and technological (NetMBA, 2004) environment the industry is embroiled in and how this has, is and will threaten to impact its operations and profitability. It must be remembered that the number of possibilities concerning macro-environmental aspects is almost limitless, thus concentration will be paid to those areas perceived to have the highest impact. Political The political stability of the United States was severely shaken by the terrorist events of September 11, 2001, and this directly resulted in a catastrophic drop in business as well as personal air travel (Ito et al, 2003). The preceding along with the following areas have impacted negatively on earnings as well as profitability among the majors: Pricing regulations Wage legislation and union requirements Deregulation policies of 1978 Increased emphasis on national and airport security Economic The overall economic climate in the United States prior to the events of September 11, 2001 called for a mild recession and the airline industry was wrestling with discount carriers. The pre 9-11 airline climate forecast a slight contraction as a result of the reversionary climate which was dramatically impacted by the events of 9-11 and the resulting economic aftermath (Ito et al, 2003): Dramatic slowdown of the economic growth rate Increase in fuel costs Balance of trade accounts Inflationary and fluctuations of the dollars against the Euro, and Yen Social The emphasis on September 11th throughout these varied analysis is due to the sweeping impact that event had on global events in all theatres. The social implications thus shaped or amplified are as follows (Mayer, 2002): Increased layoffs impacting all income groups Sharp decrease in lower and middle class travel Decline in airline related vacations destinations Negative impact of air travel safety brought on by the events of 9-11 Decrease in general airline related travel plans by consumers Low-fare travel stigma attitude shift to an acceptable alternative Technological The Internets impact on business and consumer purchasing habits heralded in a new age of information exchange which changed the manner in which airline tickets are sold. Airline SABRE system Decrease in airline travel agencies Introduction of Internet airline ticket reservations and ticketing Entry of Travelocity, Orbitz, Cheaptickets, Expedia and other best price shopping services The availability of the Internet as a consumer and business fare and flight shopping tool Porters Five Forces Michael Porters Five Forces model (QuickMBA, 2005) provides a framework to view the airline industry from the perspective of five forces that influence it: Rivalry American ranks as the worlds largest airline in terms of passengers carried, however is rated number 11th in terms of overall airline quality (Holderbach, 2004). Low-fare airlines garnered three of the top four spots in airline quality ratings, 1. Jet Blue, 2. Alaska, 3. Southwest, 4. America West. All but Alaska Airlines are low fare carriers. The remaining airlines are 5. US Airways, 6. Northwest, 7. Continental, 8. AirTran, 9. United, 10. ATA, 11. American, 12. Delta, 13. American Eagle and 14 Atlantic Southeast (Holderbach, 2004). Some of the more important facets within this category of the Five Forces model are: slow market growth since 9-11 high fixed operating costs low relative levels of product differentiation among the majors inroads of the low-fare carriers in the changing perception of air travel shake out of the industry since 9-11 in terms of bankruptcies and failures Threat of Substitutes Within Porters model substitute services come into play when demand exceeds supply, or vice versa. In the airline industry the excess supply has been attacked by low-fare carriers who have continually gained market share. Buyer Power The airline industry suffers from oversupply as well as fixed costs which served as the foundation for low fare carriers who offer no frill flights in return for discounted fares. This approach effectively pulled the casual traveler and spread to frequent travelers and some classes of business travel for companies seeking to cut costs. Buyer demand is re-shaping the airline industry as a result of these options. Supplier Power In terms of this category, fuel is the single largest airline cost expenditure item which affects all firms equally. Low Fare carriers by eliminating frills lower their per flight operating costs which have and is attracting scores of travelers to their fold. Barriers to Entry / Threat of Entry Traditionally, the high cost of entry in the airline industry reduced the treat of entry by competitive companies. However the business model offered by low fare carriers exploited the lower end segment of the market via price and provided a foundation for the entry of Southwest, Jet Blue, America West and others (Ito et al, 2003). SWOT Analysis The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or threats internal to a company represent the strategic environment known as a SWOT analysis (QuickMBA, 2004). Strengths Some of the advantages that American Airlines has in comparison to its competitors are (American Airlines, 2005): Recognizable brand name Largest global airline in terms of passenger traffic National and International routes serving all corners of the globe Perception as a major carrier with the commensurate levels of service Weaknesses internal flight amenities draining profits inability to compete with low fare carriers on price lack of competitive pricing to attract casual traveler base vulnerability to pricing Opportunities (American Airlines, 2005). code sharing agreements with domestic and international airlines SABRE ticketing system Presence at most airports American Eagle regional routes Lucrative route structure Threats thin operating margins favoring low fare carriers public acceptance of low fare carrier concept customer quality perception of low fare carriers that exceeds the majors prolonged slow economy favors low fare carrier pricing structure segmentation of the industry into business and discount carrier classifications high fuel prices government intervention Chapter 2 Conclusion The intense competition in the airline industry along with thin operating margins and fuel costs along with other expenditures existed before the dramatic events of September 11th. The strengths of American Airlines in being the worlds largest airline provides it with a huge customer base that is familiar with the airline. This represents the core of all marketing, customer retention as well as the foundation to attract new customer trial. Customer retention and utilization represent the primary advantage that American Airlines enjoys and needs to utilize to protect its position as well as build upon. The American Eagle division provides the company with an additional customer convenience marketing tool via intra city (regional) destination traffic. In order to accomplish the preceding objective the company must increase its quality of service from its current 11th position to increase customer satisfaction. The 50/50 mix of business and leisure travelers that comprise its customer b ase has remained relatively constant and business class travelers contribute heavily to profits as a result of the higher fares paid for first class and business class seating (American Airlines, 2005). Utilization of target marketing with concentration on the frequent flier base represents Americans primary advantage to capitalize upon since is does not compete in a low fare platform. Tightened restrictions on fares has closed a lot of the gap, thus consumer perceptions in the higher income categories represent a huge customer base for American to capitalize on in stealing customers from the other majors as a primary strategy and eroding the fringe low fare customer base as a secondary target market. Technology in terms of software advances along with code sharing, peaking and Americans route and connection structures offer convenience. Increased international travel also helps the company as a result of its global routes and destinations. Americans size, reach, reputation, fleet and presence at over 154 airports reinforces the preceding (American Airlines, 2005). The companys corporate vision states its objectives are to: set industry standard for safety and security, provide superior customer service, produce returns for stakeholders and shareholders by increasing business and thus revenue opportunities for vendors and allied firms further solidify the brand name and image as a premier carrier increase creative ticketing, promotions, vacation packages and associated areas to distance the company from low fare carriers and thus minimize their effects, capitalize upon inherent advantages As the worlds largest carrier American Airlines business and leisure base provides the customer foundation to enable it to compete successfully against other majors as well as differentiate itself from low fare carriers. This ability to be the choice in the full flight service category along with the number of airports, seamless domestic and international route structure that enable it to offer direct service to the most destinations via its own branded airline represents a key convenience and thus marketing factor to garner success in this highly competitive environment.

Physics of Soccer :: physics sport sports soccer football

Physics of the Ball How and where you kick the ball is the most important aspect within the game of soccer. Lets say you kick the ball perfectly giving it no rotation (or spin), this means that you have given the ball a velocity (v) and an initial angular speed of zero. When the ball comes into contact with the ground it will begin to spin because the ground is not frictionless. The soccer ball will eventually begin to roll without slipping, which is when the balls center of mass is equal to its angular speed. Now assume that you want to strike the ball so that it immediately begins to roll without slipping. The diagram above shows us how we can accomplish this and the equaltion of s=R(theta) will give us the distance from the center of the ball that you need to kick. The answer to this problem turns out to be s=0.4R, so you would strike the ball a little less than half of the radius above the center line. Friction is a huge factor when considering the game of soccer. When a soccer ball is moving along the field there is constantly a frictional force working in the opposite direction of the balls movement. There is an equation that can be used to find the friction force working against the ball and it is f=mN. This is where f is the frictional force, m is the coefficient of friction, and N is the normal force pointing upward. The coefficient of friction is dependant upon the surface type and ball being used, it is not a constant. This tells us that the coefficient of friction will cause the ball to roll slower when it is large and not as slow when it is small. This also shows that the more friction there is between the ball and the field the slower the ball will roll. How physics students cheat! When dealing with projectile motion physics students are normally allowed the assumption of two things; 1) The free-fall acceleration g is constant over the range of motion and is always directed downward. 2) The effect of air resistance is negligible, meaning there is no air resistance on the projectile. With these assumptions we find that the projectile's path is always a parabola. How this cheating pans out! Physics of Soccer :: physics sport sports soccer football Physics of the Ball How and where you kick the ball is the most important aspect within the game of soccer. Lets say you kick the ball perfectly giving it no rotation (or spin), this means that you have given the ball a velocity (v) and an initial angular speed of zero. When the ball comes into contact with the ground it will begin to spin because the ground is not frictionless. The soccer ball will eventually begin to roll without slipping, which is when the balls center of mass is equal to its angular speed. Now assume that you want to strike the ball so that it immediately begins to roll without slipping. The diagram above shows us how we can accomplish this and the equaltion of s=R(theta) will give us the distance from the center of the ball that you need to kick. The answer to this problem turns out to be s=0.4R, so you would strike the ball a little less than half of the radius above the center line. Friction is a huge factor when considering the game of soccer. When a soccer ball is moving along the field there is constantly a frictional force working in the opposite direction of the balls movement. There is an equation that can be used to find the friction force working against the ball and it is f=mN. This is where f is the frictional force, m is the coefficient of friction, and N is the normal force pointing upward. The coefficient of friction is dependant upon the surface type and ball being used, it is not a constant. This tells us that the coefficient of friction will cause the ball to roll slower when it is large and not as slow when it is small. This also shows that the more friction there is between the ball and the field the slower the ball will roll. How physics students cheat! When dealing with projectile motion physics students are normally allowed the assumption of two things; 1) The free-fall acceleration g is constant over the range of motion and is always directed downward. 2) The effect of air resistance is negligible, meaning there is no air resistance on the projectile. With these assumptions we find that the projectile's path is always a parabola. How this cheating pans out!

War on Drugs = War on Terrorism??? Essay -- Essays Papers

War on Drugs = War on Terrorism??? The United States’ new claim in today’s world of propaganda and mind-warping media is that The War on Terrorism = The War on Drugs. Recently simple anti-drug slogans have been manipulated into aggressively and often erroneously exaggerated media assaults. (planetpapers.com) The United States claims that each person can help fight terrorism by choosing not to buy or use illicit drugs, and the government itself can help fight terrorism by implementing a more effective War on Drugs throughout the country. They claim that illicit drugs are the major monetary support of terrorist groups throughout the world, which in some respects is correct. Due to this claim, teenagers and drug users across the United States are seen as supporting these terrorists through their purchase and consumption of illicit drugs. The government has now stooped so low as to blame our own children for terrorism. The United States government’s claim, that if a person buys or uses illicit drugs then they are supporting terrorism, is outrageous and utterly false. President Bush claims, "It's so important for Americans to know that the traffic in drugs finances the work of terror, sustaining terrorists, that terrorists use drug profits to fund their cells to commit acts of murder. If you quit drugs, you join the fight against terror in America.† (peacecouncil.net) This is false because many of the illicit drugs being bought and consumed by the citizens of this country are being produced here in the U.S., so the purchase of these drugs cannot possibly be contributing to terrorism. Another reason why this claim is false is that many of the drugs being consumed in the U.S. are imported from count... .... advertisement and other propaganda to try and cover up their failures, and this should not be tolerated by the people of this country. Something needs to change and responsibility needs to be taken up. Bibliography Truth. Drugs and Terrorism. http://www.theantidrugwar.com. Hess, Michael. Mass Media Helps Distort Terrorism / Drugs Link. http://bbsnews.net/bw2002-02-05.html. 02/05/02 Coretnor. A War on Drugs Becomes a â€Å"War on Terrorism†. http://www.planetpapers.com/Assets/4989.php. Sept. 27, 2002 Anonymous Stoner. A toke from the Superbowl. http://smokedot.org/story/2002/2/4/1834/18948. 02/04/02 Bovard, James. The Bush Administration’s â€Å"Drugs = Terrorism† Fraud. http://www.fff.org/comment/com0204f.asp. April 2002 Moeller, Emily. The "War on Drugs and Terrorism": Madison Avenue Enlists. http://www.peacecouncil.net/709MadisonAve.htm

Biblical Worldview

Janelle Harris Theo 201 Prof. Gabriel Etzel January 19, 2013 Biblical World View One may wonder if God still has a hand on His creation today and if so, how? Take biology, without plants giving off oxygen we wouldn’t be able to breathe. How does the tree know how to produce oxygen? How do we know how to naturally breathe in and out? Look at Business. How does one know how to be ethical and moral? Well according to the Holy Bible, God is very much still active in His creation and in a variety of ways.First, God works in the universe. As a prophet of God, King David, said in Psalm 19, verse 1, â€Å"The heavens are telling the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. † One can hardly look at the beauty, the order, and the wisdom of the universe and not see how wise and powerful God is. The God who makes the sun shine and the flowers bloom, the God who regulates times and seasons has such great power and wisdom that it is truly beyond our underst anding.Paul declared in Acts 14, verses 16 and 17: â€Å"And in the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness. † Everything we have comes from the blessings of God. Second, God is at work answering everyone’s prayer. The Bible says in Isaiah 65, verse 24, â€Å"It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. God wants to hear your prayers. He is eager to hear our thoughts and request. He has a desire to have a relationship with His children. The Bible says in James 1, verse 17 that, â€Å"Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow. † God loves us enough to hear our prayers and to help us when w e need Him most.The apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians 3, verses 20 to 21, â€Å"Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, Amen. † Third, God is busy shaping our everyday lives. He works in us day by day second by second. The Bible says in Philippians 1 and verse 6, â€Å"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. God prepares His people to do His work, so that we may live an eternity in heaven with Him. What God is doing in us now prepares us for the life to come. This is happening to people in every major not just bible majors. The Bible says in Philippians 2, verses 12 and 13, â€Å"So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvatio n with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. God is shaping our hearts, our attitudes, our will, and our lives to conform to His will, so that we could live with Him and He could live with us forever. With a major in Business I know my God is active in every decision making process. Through hiring and firing, expanding or downsizing, and even though negotiations God is at work. The bible says in Deuteronomy 8 verse 18, â€Å"But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. All of our skills and special talents that we use in our businesses are all given to us by God. He gives us the ability to make money and cut deals. He did it for our parents and mentors and he does it for us too. Jesus is not only our Creator; He is also the one who keeps this whole world running together. The Bible says in Col ossians 1, verses 15 to 17, â€Å"And He [that is Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him.And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. † God’s power and wisdom created our seasons which cause the earth to rotate every 24 hours making night and day. He created the moon to revolve around the earth every 28 days and it also controls the tides of the oceans. God causes the earth to go around the sun every 365 and one fourth days determining our year and our seasons. There is no way this just happened by its self. No, God has been in control the entire time.

A Movie Review: Girl with a Pearl Earring

The movie is Peter Webber's adaptation of a novel by Tracy Chevalier about the brilliant artist, Johannes Vermeer.Girl with a Pearl Earring is wonderfully crafted and captivating. Much credit should go to the production people behind it, as they successfully made each scene look like a painting. That way, they are being faithful not just to the book where the movie came from, but to the brilliant artist who once lived in the person of Johannes Vermeer. The movie in general was an impressive work of art and a fitting tribute to a remarkable artist.What I like the most about the movie is their choice of music, which is just appropriate for the 17th century Delft. It is also noteworthy that they had a girl in the cast, Grit (Scarlett Johansson), who was made to really look like Vermeer’s painting, as if destiny (and perhaps good cosmetics) had made it happen.The movie effectively shows Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth)’s character as a generally silent man. He spent a lot of time just standing silently and studying his environment from different unnoticeable corners. This is perhaps symbolic of his innate traits as a man.In spite of his nature, Vermeer was coerced to attend grand gatherings for the purpose of his art recognition. However, he needed much solitude if he could only decide for himself. Except there was not a lot of choices for him. After all, he needed the pompous gatherings demanded by the elite Venetian society to earn a living for his family and himself. It is interesting to note that when he died in 1675, he already had eleven (11) children.Come 1665, Johannes Vermeer painted a mysterious masterpiece, a painting of an unidentified model who obviously posed for him. In the past, there had been a few guesses and detailed theories that settled on believing that the painting was that of one of Vermeer’s daughters. Nothing has been confirmed, though. This is where the movie spins with much interesting twists.Then Griet (Scarlett Johan sson) was introduced.Grit was lovely and attractive, and it shouldn’t be hard to imagine why an artist that is naturally drawn to beauty would be interested in her.Griet, like Vermeer, is one who is no stranger to solitude. But unlike the solitude of Vermeer, Griet’s solitude has a lot to do with her unfortunate status in the discriminating Delft caste system.Vermeer and Griet formed a bond, which culminated in his creating a painting of her. The scene where he shows her his work of art was moving. Both actors were very convincing and the lines they said were sensitive for the human mind.When Griet tells Vermeer, ‘You've seen into me,' the connection was more than exposed. It was celebrated.The film, overall, is remarkable and definitely worth watching. Some scenes — like when Vermeer was teaching Griet the trick of playing with the light for capturing realistic art — were unforgettable.The film’s cinematographer Eduardo Serra, production des igner Ben Van Os, and art director Christina Shaeffer, all deserve a round of applause for having created a moving picture out of the still paintings of a genius.

Lord of the Flies Compare and Contrast

Lord of the flies a book by â€Å"William Golding†. It’s about a group of boys who crashed landed and got deserted on an island way off their planned route, with no shelter, food or water. They must do whatever they can to survive. There are twists and turns but in the end it comes down to a very big life motive and a moral. In the beginning of the story, the boys were all separated from each other. Piggy picked up a shell typed object, and told Ralph to blow in it. This part of the story showed that Ralph can come up with ideas and knows his geological facts. Ralph decided to blow in it, which made all the boys come to one place. This showed that piggy’s idea was great but when the boys gathered around Ralph and Piggy, they thought it was Ralph’s idea which gave him a bit of an edge towards leadership. They were all deciding on a leader to take front of this survival issue. Jack and Ralph were the oldest so they went into debate. Ralph is a little bit more muscular and straight backed then jack was. On the other hand jack was a skinny, longed faced character and didn’t show much appreciation for the debate. One other thing that Ralph was doing that he was standing on a rock at the time, while jack was sort of with the group just standing on a side. This already gave Ralph the advantage on who looks more presentable and responsible of becoming a leader. Another fact is that Ralphs father is a commander which gave him even more reasons to become the leader of the group. For now jack really doesn’t care but later on things get physical. As we go on in the story it came to a point where jack was getting frustrated with Ralph’s rules and how things should run. One of their biggest fights were about if fire was more important than food. While jack wanted to find a way to kill a pig, Ralph wanted find a way to start fire. This part of the story shows a divide happening between them. This is sort of like our world, the two different types of government, communism and democracy. They have a divide between them about what you can do and cannot. After jack makes his own group with his set of rules and promised there will be food. An example I can give for this is the elections we have. There are different groups and leaders debating on who can offer what to the city and what benefits you will get a behalf of you a citizen.

Eradicating risk Essay

Judges, Chairman, Members of the Floor. Life is full of risks. Even in our day to day lives we encounter many situations which could include risk: playing sport or travelling to and from school. And it is of course important to understand this risk, whether that is by merely educating yourself of the risks attached to a specific activity, or by taking small steps to try to reduce that risk. Using the example of driving, there are hundreds of thousands of traffic accidents that occur in the UK each year. You could therefore say that it is purely common sense to wear a seatbelt when travelling in a car. However, I would argue that there is a huge difference between taking the sensible action of wearing a seatbelt and condemning the roads as just being too dangerous and deciding to stop driving altogether. I feel that, in our society, we are too quick to see the downside and the negative aspects of risk and not sufficiently tuned in to the need to see risk as something that occurs naturally and simply needs to be understood and taken wisely into account. School trips are arguably one of the most enriching parts of your education as they help to reinforce the curriculum that you learn in the classroom. However, there is a risk that the numbers of school trips will fall due to the huge amount of paperwork required. Before a school trip can take place, an extensive risk assessment has to be carried out, outlining all the possible hazards that might occur during this trip. And the claims culture that exists today only serves to worsen this problem. Teachers are rightly uneasy to participate in school trips as they are immediately liable for any injury, however minor, that may occur. We are at the point now where schools are considering removing playground equipment to avoid being sued when children suffer minor injuries. Kent County Council has paid out ? 700,000 to children since 2008 and claims have become so common that schools face mounting bills, even when children get hurt while breaking school rules by climbing walls or trees. To quote Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, â€Å"Schools become so risk-conscious they no longer present children with challenges and they are wrapped up in cotton wool†. The staggering number of personal injury lawyers offering â€Å"no-win no-fee† deals will attest to the fact that claims are so commonplace in our society that they only way for any organisation to reduce their liability is to attempt to eradicate risk involved. The huge popularity of insurance nowadays is just another example of how we have become obsessed with eradicating risk. There are not only many insurance companies, but also a huge number of different types of insurance. Gadget and mobile insurance, a relatively new industry, is now estimated to be worth ? 1. 24 billion across Europe. Even the scandal over PPI (payment protection insurance) was essentially due to banks frightening their customers into thinking that they needed insurance to ensure that they paid off their debt. In conclusion, risk is not something that we should fear, nor is it something that we should seek to eliminate completely from our lives, as I believe we, as a society, are increasingly in danger or doing. As I have demonstrated, risk is simply a consequence of the combination of a set of circumstances and this combination simply needs to be understood so that sensible precautions can be taken to manage or mitigate the risk, but there is certainly no requirement to eliminate this. Indeed, a life without risk would be a very boring life indeed. â€Å"This House believes society has become obsessed with eradicating risk†