Military Spending in the US Essay

The majority of college students in the US today, do not know what it is like to live in a nation that is not at war, and this is no different for myself. One of my own memories in elementary school was the attack on the world trade center on 9/11. I am sure that I share that memory with many others. Throughout our lives, we have known our country to be one that is constantly fighting with another. As I grow older, I realize how surrounded we are by issues concerning our military presence in other countries. I also begin to feel the consequences of our actions as a country. Much of our politicians’ time and effort is put into figuring out how to â€Å"bring our troops home† or how to â€Å"support our troops† while still keeping taxes down. In the end it is the American public who are funding our war with our taxes as well as paying the consequences with things such as raised oil prices. For my research paper I am going to discuss American military economics; it’s effects on the American public, and our current presidential candidates’ stances on military spending. The military budget is a portion of the United States’ federal budget. It is used to pay the salaries, training, and health care of military personnel. It is also used to maintain arms, equipment, facilities, funds operations, and develops and buys new weapons. According to the Department of Defense Budget for the 2010 fiscal year, the president’s base budget for spending on overseas operations was $663. 4 billion. The 2009 U. S. military budget accounts for approximately 40% of the total global arms spending. The US’s 2012 budget is 6 to 7 times larger than the $106 billion of the military budget of China. It is greater than the next twenty largest military spenders combined. Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts claims â€Å"if we do not make reductions approximating 25 percent of the military budget starting fairly soon, it will be impossible to continue to fund an adequate level of domestic activity†. Some argue that now is not the time to cut military spending. Republican historian Robert Kagan argues, â€Å"A reduction in defense spending this year would unnerve American allies and would be taken by the world as evidence that an American retreat has begun. The increased military spending since 9/11 has stimulated the US economy to a degree. However the jobs and income that it has created is offset by the massive increase in debt created. According to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, the defense budget has increased from $432 billion in 2001 to $720 billion in 2011, an increase of around 67 percent. Increased military spending has been funded almost en tirely by borrowing. There are many reasons why the debt has grown so much since 2001. These reasons include tax cuts, increases in other government spending, and the largest postwar recession the US has experienced. However, military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have raised annual deficits by about 1 percent of GDP, a trend that is expected to continue through 2020. Since we decided to borrow money instead of increasing taxes or cutting other spending, if war spending continues as forecasted, the country can expect to have paid about $1 trillion in interest by 2020. If the investments in the military over the last decade had been made in U.  S. education, it would represent an 18. 5 percent boost in terms of capital improvements nationwide. This would finance the investments in public school facilities required to return the country’s schools to good condition. Traditionally the Republican Party has been the more inclined towards increased national security and previous presidential candidate Mitt Romney described Obama’s plan as a â€Å"hollowing out† of the military. 2012 running mates Ryan and Romney make the point that it is Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security that are the majority of the deficit. Though they are right, the American public still wants to cut spending even more than the $487 billion already cut by the Obama administration. Romney and Ryan had a plan to go in the exact opposite direction if they had won the election. They planned to boost defense spending by $100 billion, or nearly 20% in 2013. The Republican Party, otherwise known as the grand old party or GOP, traditionally follows Ronald Reagan’s stance on national defense. That stance is represented by the motto of peace through strength. Today, that means protecting America’s homeland by confronting terrorism and maintaining a defense against arising threats of nuclear power. The Republican Party is fully committed to America’s Armed Forces to make sure that they are prepared for any challenges they may need to face. While the United States is involved in various international organizations, which serve the cause of peace and posterity, the Republican Party argues that these organizations must never substitute for principled American leadership to protect our vital national interests. All of the information I gathered about the GOP’s stance on national defense was pulled directly from their official website, www. GOP. com. Current president Barack Obama has sought to end the war in Iraq and accelerate the transition in Afghanistan in part to lower defense costs. He has proposed a number of defense cuts over the next decade. Rather than following the words of a president who was in office over 20 years ago and during the cold war, the Democratic Party feels that as our threats have evolved over the years, so too should our ability to respond to them. President Obama has made significant steps to restore America’s image around the world by rebuilding strategic alliances with countries that share our values and face common threats. As far as the situation overseas, the President plans to bring home 10,000 troops by the end of this year, 33,000 by next summer, and complete the transition by 2014. Just as I did for the Republican Party, I got all of this information directly from the official website, www. democrats. org. What originally inspired my interest in this subject is when I began to notice issues such as how much our educational system is suffering across the nation. Also, with a little bit of research, I learned that the NASA budget has been cut about a billion dollars in the last three years. Yet, at the same time, the military budget is increase by about the same amount as the entire NASA budget. Maybe it’s just my nature, but I feel that it is a huge waste of time and assets to be spending most of our money fighting other countries, when we could be exploring and making discoveries for the betterment of mankind. As I mentioned earlier, the US has funded all of our wars solely on borrowing, and we have racked up quite a large amount of interest in doing so. On the other hand, a paper written by Douglas A. Camstock, Director of Innovative Partnerships Office, NASA Headquarters, and Daniel P. Lockney of Innovative Partnerships Office, NASA Headquarters, the return rate for NASA research can be as high as 32 times the initial investment. At the very lowest, they estimate that for every dollar invested in NASA, there is a return of at least seven dollars as a result of technological advances. Not only is the lack of support for research a shame for the curious minded, but it is bad fiscal planning as well. Single bombs can cost the military about one million dollars each. Here in the state of California, an average teacher’s salary is about $40,000 a year; this is one of the states with the highest averages. For the price of one bomb or missile, twenty-five teachers can be paid to work for a full year. It doesn’t take a professional economist to tell you that investing in education is well worth it. Educated adults grow up to become working, contributing members of society. Politicians seem to always be looking for ways to create jobs. What better way than for an educated individual to go out and become an entrepreneur, start a business, and hire people to work for them? A study from the University of Massachusetts in 2011 says that for every billion spent in education, about 26,700 jobs are created. Among the different departments that were researched were health care, clean energy, tax cuts, and of course education and defense. Of those five, the military had the least amount of jobs created per billion spent at 11,200 jobs. Once again, it doesn’t take an economist to recognize a poor investment. Over the course of my research paper, I learned about the details of our defense budget and military spending trends in the US as well as our overall deficit. I also found the effects that war has had on the American Public as well as on our economy. During the election I paid close attention to our current presidential candidates and their plans for our defense budget. Only the future will tell if these trends continue or whether our president will take action against our deficit and the fate of national security. I was also able to look into what sparked my interest on the topic in the first place. I got to compare our spending on the military with other departments like education and NASA research. With the President’s plan to begin our transition out of the Middle East in these upcoming years, we will see if we begin a shift to a more progressive, intellectually motivated America. As a member of our educational system as well as a proud American, I sure hope we do.

Andy

Hello everyone, and thank you for coming today. I start this meeting at Second. II. Explain activity . Motion. A. Today we are going to be making scented sachets, or Axing ABA in cell abortion of the Dragon Boat festival which is on June 2nd. Also, for those of you who are l. Here for the extra credit, you must stay for the entire activity and show Mrs†¦ Hung your finished product before you leave b.So that you are all familiar with what the dragon boat festival is we will be itching a video about the history of this festival, why it is celebrated, and what people do on this day. Pay attention because we will be asking questions after the video Is over. L. What Is this festival know as In Mandarin? A. Duane Joel ii. On the Chinese lunar calendar, when is the festival held? A. May 5 Who's death is this festival commemorating? Iii. A. Qua Yuan iv. Why did he commit suicide? A. The capital of his kingdom was overrun by the enemy v. How did he commit seclude?He commuted suicide by d rowning himself In the river vi. What do people eat when celebrating this day? A. Gong xi or Rice dumplings vii. How did the tradition of the dragon boats come to be? A. The legend that local people paddled out on similar like boo tats to retrieve Qua Yuan's body What are the Axing ABA believed to do? A. They are believed to ward off evil x. What are some fillings that are put inside the gong Uzi? A. Bean paste, ham, and egg yolk x. What are Axing ABA traditionally made of? A. Colorful silk cloth, Silk Ill. Activity a.You all should have gotten 2 two felt cut outs, a needle, and yarn. Is anyone missing anything if you are raise your hand and one of our counsel me members will come and give you whatever you're missing. IV. Directions a. Try to follow along with me as I read you the directions, and project what 1 . First, Thread the yarn through the needle, and meet the end together and tie them in a knot. 2. After you have done that, starting from the edge of the right ear, weave the needle through all of the holes until you get to the edge of the right ear. 3. Oh should have al received cotton, and some scented material Put the cotton in and then put the scented material in 4. Once both the cotton, and the scented material are in, continue weaving until you reach the point in which you started 5. Tie a knot to prevent your Axing ABA from opening. 6. A pair of scissors will be passed around to cut off the excess yarn. V. Finish meeting a. Okay, that's it. If you came here for extra credit don't forget to show Mrs†¦ Hung before you so that you leave and sign out. B. I sojourn this meeting at . Motion. Second

The importance of database systems in today's information technology Term Paper

The importance of database systems in today's information technology paradigm - Term Paper Example One must understand that the database systems are deemed as pivotal when one wants to comprehend the real essence behind the Information Technology domains because the database systems echo the need of the Information Technology paradigm that is constantly on the move and brings about changes and amendments within its folds. It is important to define what a database system in reality is. A database system is a terminology that takes into consideration the construction of data models, the database management system (DBMS) and the database itself. The database system is therefore the basis of acquiring data which is valuable, and which shall form the cornerstone of achieving results within the related settings of the Information Technology realms (Anjard, 1994). The database systems therefore collect the data, analyze it from different angles and manifestations, make them available as and when required, present it in sequential, hierarchical and network structures, get embedded within the retrieval and maintenance platforms, are made use of by different software programs and controls, and offers an array of choices to the intended users of the Information Technology as and when needed. ... The database systems are essentially shells which take into perspective a database or even a sequence of the same through which a number of interactions take place with respect to this database itself. The interactions which come about due to the same are catered by most DBMS that exist today and are essentially divided into four significant categories (Rob, 2009). These are the data definition where new structures for a database are defined. Data definition also removes data structures that exist within a database as well as modifies it as and when needed so that the existing data is made use of in a proper way (Kapetis, 1999). The second main category is the data maintenance which inserts new data within the already existent data structures and later on updates the same within these existing data structures. Also the data is deleted from these data structures which are current and manifest complete harmony for the sake of the data maintenance realms. The third main category is the data retrieval which has the essential link of querying existing data through the incorporation of the end users. It also finds out data which could be used by the different application programs and software. The last main category here is that of the data control that has the task of creating and monitoring the users that are present within the database as well as limiting access to certain data within the database and not to forget the monitoring of the performance of the databases in entirety. Since the four main categories are manifesting the data in one way or the other, their individual roles as well as the collective inputs are important for the sake

Impact of Demand and Supply on Price and Quantity Essay

Impact of Demand and Supply on Price and Quantity - Essay Example For ringing out the inverse relationship between price and quantity, we have to assume that other things are equal which means that all the factors, other than the price of the goods remain unchanged. This is called the ceteris paribus assumption. In the diagram, the line ABC is called a demand curve which shows the inverse relationship between the price and quantity demanded. The demand curve will always slope downwards to the right. The most important reason for the demand curve sloping downwards is the operation of the law of diminishing marginal utility. The law of diminishing marginal utility explains that the consumer will buy more and more of a commodity only at a lesser price. The term supply means the quantities of goods and services which a seller is willing and able to offer for sale at a price during a period of time. Thus, supply is always at a price, at a particular point of time and at a certain quantity. The law of supply states that other things being equal higher the price greater will be the quantity supplied by the producer and lower the price smaller will be the quantity supplied. There is a direct and positive relationship between price and quantity supplied.. ... LAW OF SUPPLY The term supply means the quantities of goods and services which a seller is willing and able to offer for sale at a price during a period of time. Thus, supply is always at a price, at a particular point of time and at a certain quantity. The law of supply states that other things being equal higher the price greater will be the quantity supplied by the producer and lower the price smaller will be the quantity supplied. There is a direct and positive relationship between price and quantity supplied. ABC is the supply curve. The relationship between the price and quantity supplied is depicted by the supply curve. When price remains constant producers or sellers may come forward to supply less or more at a particular price. This is referred to as a shift in supply. DEMAND INCREASES and SUPPLY INCREASES When both the demand and supply increases the quantity will not be much affected because an increase in demand will be met by an increase in supply. This situation mostly is found during the long period when the firm will have adequate time and resources to meet the increase in demand. In the long run, all the factors are variable. Under the long period, supply and demand fluctuate freely and they become equal. Therefore there will not be much increase or decrease in price and price will remain stable. During the long period, there is ample time for the firm to increase the capital for the expansion of plant and machinery to increase the quantity of output, according to the increase in demand. Therefore supply can be changed to meet the increased demand of any commodity.  

Organizational stucture, processes, and functions Essay

Organizational stucture, processes, and functions - Essay Example This is, however, the focus but other areas of investment is the upper economic class whose products are a little expensive and attracts the interests of them all in the market through the packaging size and manner (Ajami, 2006). Executive Summary DJ Company is established in consideration of the different requirements that people have in order to conduct their daily lives with ease by spending according to their ability. The company will have its headquarters in the city of New York considering the ease of transport within through railway, air, connection to water, roads and through air, but also, it will have other offices and stall in other parts of the world. The company will have a strong networking system that will link different centers in the various parts of the world where it will have stall and offices and will establish a reliable system through which customers will receive services like online purchase of products. The company will put into consideration the need for eff iciency in supply of consumer products in the world and the focus on low-income earners who may not have a lot of money to spend on very high cost products. Through this, the DJ Company will supply diverse products and services to, majorly, middle class population observing the quality standards needs as well as making the products affordable. Projected Budget Items Year one Year two Targeted (Amount in million US Dollars) Actual (Amount in million US Dollars) Targeted (Amount in million US Dollars) Actual (Amount in million US Dollars) Income Sales Shares Partnerships Others Total Spending Products Labor Warehousing and transport Offices and systems Others Total Balance 2435 4550 750 2500 10,235 800 900 750 500 250 3200 7,025 4300 5500 1200 3000 14,000 1600 1500 1200 600 300 5200 8800 2435 4550 750 2500 10,235 800 900 750 500 250 3200 7,025 The budget will be outsourced from partnership and other acquisition of loans from different companies as well as the sale of shares of the com pany to any interested individuals. This will ensure that all that the company requires will be provided and this will foster expansion to other parts of the world and consequently increasing productivity and profitability of the DJ Company. The company will spend a lot of money on offices and systems because in many parts of the world, it will start in rented places before it obtains its own premises in the specific operational locations (Kanki, Helmreich & Anca, 2010). Personnel Listing DJ Company will have its five major departments, which will be led by executive officers that will manage different plans of the company for the success and profitability of the company. These departments include the executive, budget office; office of IT, human resource and marketing and under their respective officers, the departments will facilitate the progress of the company as whole through designing of organization strategies to meet the various departments (Bhattacharyya, 2009). To facilita te adaptability and profitability of the DJ Company in different places in the world, the company will have other personnel that will enhance business activities in those specific areas of operation. Among the personnel, include the branch managers who will be situated in various points of operation and

Acetic acid from methanol Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Acetic acid from methanol - Essay Example This piece of art also showed me how hard work pays as the person swinging is enjoying herself due to the luxury presented by the surrounding. Personally, I can suggest that social values have a greater echo than political issues as presented by this art. First, the art portrays how the world should appear in terms of neatness and how things should be arranged in the modern world or society. It also shows the class differences without requiring much explanation as it is easy to interpret. â€Å"This is the most recent piece of art which was created in 2011 to tie in with the screening of the film ‘The Exit to the Gift Shop’† (Kok 19). The scene where the art was created is some distance away from where community members reside. They were trying to raise some money by converting the parking lot into a modern park with a good playground. It is one of the strongest examples of my artistic work that has been nicely decorated to capture almost all aspects of the modern artistic work. This is because of the color used, outward appearance and the shape of the art. Its outward image also gives more than one representation of what the artist was trying to explain unlike his first artistic work that showed only one meaning. The girl swinging and the writings on the wall are features that qualify this piece of art to have more than one meaning explained in the same piece of art. It is worth noting that the space used is small but the meaning is broad and can easily be understood from the first impression by viewing the image. At first as I observed the image, it gave me a different meaning after which it changed completely when I observed it critically. It influenced my way of thinking to give both the inner and outward meaning to any artistic work before drawing a conclusion. This work is therefore modern as compared to other works by other artists. The given work illustrates some technical background skills where the artists was able to balance all his elements.

Impact of Domestic Violence on Children Research Proposal

Impact of Domestic Violence on Children - Research Proposal Example successfully, the researcher has to have a clear schedule of the activities to be carried out, choose the best data-collection method, and have a clear budget plan that matches the targeted population and the sampling design. The researcher should have knowledge on how to present and analyze the data collected. The researcher should keep the right level of ethical standards and carry out the research without any bias. He should at the same time accord the respondent the highest level of confidentiality and ensure honest response from the respondents. In this regard, the best method will be either face-to-face interviews or online (phone call) interviews. The questions can be both open ended and closed ended questions that can give the respondent opportunity to elaborate on their response. The project begins from 4th November 2014, where the research proposal is prepared for the next one week. Using the data collected, data analysis begins on 18th November to 24th of the same month. The researcher then engages in project compilation and gets presented between 2nd and 8th December. Domestic violence is defined as a situation whereby one party in a relationship controls the other and may even assault them sexually, mentally or physically (Summers, 2002). The family to which a child belongs to plays a major role towards determining the well-being of that child physically and mentally. Domestic violence affects children emotionally and psychologically. The effects of the child’s experience at home are reflected on other activities such as the child’s relationships with other children and the child’s education (Summers, 2002). Cases of domestic violence have significantly increased, and it has turned into a matter of concern especially due to the effects directed to the innocent children (Summers, 2002). In a family where domestic violence occurs often, the likelihood of there being peace and happiness is very low (Summers, 2002). A child in such a home

Advertising plan for Vodafone Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Advertising plan for Vodafone - Assignment Example In the current world, it’s not only about sending text messages and vocal communication; there is also the need to send photos, videos etc.  Vodafone  provides all these options. Because of all these facilities more customers are attracted to  Vodafone. Their Broadband services are also used by most of the customers. Apart from the products and services they offer, they have started a Vodafone Group Foundation. The fund of this foundation is collected from the Vodafone Group annually. The Foundation has been started in more than 25 countries and they are involved in many community involvement and social activities.   Vodafone was awarded the UK's first mobile license in the year 1982. They started the first international mobile roaming service in the year 1991.In 2002 they started providing the facility to access internet in mobile. Apart from all these, recently they started the Vodafone money transfer service through mobile. Through this the customers can send and re ceive money through safest and easiest way. Vodafone have around 45% stake on Verizon Wireless services. They acquired a company named Telsim from Turkey in the year 2006 with an investment of around 2.5 billion Euros. In 2007 they acquired a company Vodafone Essar and entered into the Indian Mobile Market with an investment of around 5 billion Euros. The Vodafone Group is listed in the Stock Exchanges of London and NASDAQ and the headquarters of Vodafone is in London. Vodafone is mainly based on Middle East, Europe, Africa, United States and Asia Pacific. They have expanded their network in other countries also. Partner Market Agreements were made between Vodafone and their partners. With their co-operation, they entered into the marketing of global products and services with different levels of brand. By this strategy  Vodafone  enters into different countries and expanded their network and made their partners and customers getting more values and services. Also for the Vodafo ne customers who are travelling to other countries, they no need to invest again in that country because of this facility and they can make use of their partner network. The main products of Vodafone are  Vodafone live,  Vodafone Connect to Friends, Vodafone Euro-traveller,  Vodafone Mobile Connect USB Modem,  Vodafone 710,  Vodafone Freedom Packs, Vodafone at Home and Vodafone Money Transfer. In 2009 Vodafone launched a new business unit for health named as mHealth.   In 2010, they launched another product named  Vodafone 150. It is labelled as the world's cheapest mobile phone. Some of the main markets of Vodafone are Germany, Spain, UK, Netherlands, Turkey, Portugal, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand etc. In these countries Vodafone have 100% ownership. In South Africa 94% of the stake is owned by Vodacom Group and from these 94%, 65% is owned by Vodafone Group. In Italy 76% of stake is owned by Vodafone. In India 65% of stake is owned by Vodafone. Voda fone also invested in a company named  Safari com  it is a market leader in Kenya and it has an ownership of 40%. They have around 25 million subscribers. They have an indirect investment of 4% in Bharti Airtel. Product & Service A wide range of services are offered by Vodafone. A few of them are 1) Voice 2) Messaging 3) Data and fixed line solutions and devices to assist customers in meeting their overall communication

The Responsible Electorate Essay Example for Free

The Responsible Electorate Essay Election returns identify which candidate gets the most votes from the electorate, but in essence, thats all it really tells us. Why does one candidate get more votes than another? We cannot assume its because of his past record or promises for the future. Its interesting to examine what make the electorate vote as it does. Instruments such as the Gallup Poll have helped experts determine voting behaviors of a large number of people. Preliminary findings many years ago lead researchers to believe that people voted according to where they were socio-economically. However, there were exceptions to the rule, often dependent upon how optimistic or pessimistic a person was. A persons political foundation and background also played a key role in how he voted.  Many feel today that the electorate does not always make informed decisions. Rather, they are manipulated by candidates who play on the electorates origins, occupations, residence, etc. Voters are looking for a certain image or characteristic. Politicians look to see what the electorate might be responsive to and then provide it worth obvious neglect for political substance. Ultimately, Key points out that voters are not fools. He does feel that some voters approach the task in strange ways, but the majority of the electorate approach decision making as rationally and responsibly as we should expect, given the clarity of the alternatives presented to it and the character of the information available to it. He does not feel that todays American electorate is easily manipulated. Instead, it studies the issues, evaluates the governments performance, and assesses personality and a  potential leaders character. We can have faith that the electorate will continue to take its voting right seriously and use it to maintain and strengthen our democratic form of government.

Personal Identity - Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Personal Identity Philosophy Essay It is easy to see oneself as the same person we were ten, twenty, or fifty years ago. We can define identity through our physical presence, life experiences, memories, and mental awareness of self. One can testify our persistence as a person through our existence as a person. But what makes us the same person? In this paper, I will argue for the â€Å"simple† view of the persistence of identity – that it is impossible to determine what single thing that makes us the same person over time. I will support my claim with the refutation of the main complex view claims of the body, brain and psychological continuity criterion. Entrenched in the â€Å"simple† view is the idea that personal identity, and the persistence of personal identity, cannot be measured through philosophical discourse or scientific investigation. There are a number of opposing arguments, known as complex theories of personal identity. In each of these arguments, the central claim is that either the body, the brain, or the psychological continuity of an individual determines how they persist as the same person (Garrett, 1998, p 52). To call them complex is a misnomer – for each is far too narrow to properly define and explain personal identity. Complex argument 1– Psychological continuity John Locke defines a person as a ‘thinking, intelligent being, that has reason and reflection and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking thing, in different times and places’ (Locke, 1689, p 1-6). This statement suggests that, in order to persist as the same person, we must have a mental consciousness which persists through time. We can say that a person is psychologically continuous if they have a mental state that is descendent from their previous mental states. For example, this theory states that a five-year-old will be the same person when they are a 25-year-old, because their mental state in later years is descendent from their earlier years. Counter argument By its very nature, the idea of psychological continuity is flawed. It is not uncommon for an individuals mental state to be changed so drastically that they could not truly be considered the same person. Several examples have been made by Waller: sufferers of cognitive impairments such as dementia, people who have gone through stressful or traumatic situations, and war eterans that are affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (Waller, 2011, p 198-210). In any of these cases, it would be difficult to argue that the individual has a continuous mental state – more accurate would be to describe them as a â€Å"snap† or â€Å"break† that, effectively, creates a new person. The only conclusion is that these individuals do not persist, as their psychological states become radically different from their previous psychological states. Complex argument 2 – Persistence of the body Another expression of the complex view is the body criterion. Put simply, a person is said to persist if they exist in the same physical body over time. In this case, the previously mentioned dementia or PTSD sufferers would be considered the same people, as their physical body has continued. The theory suggests a â€Å"brute physical relation† between body and identity (Korfmacher, 2006). Without regard for mental state, an individual is considered to have a persistent personal identity as long as their body survives. Counter argument This theory lends itself easily to thought experiments, and they quickly expose some problems. If individual A receives an organ donation from individual B, can it be said that individual A has taken some of Bs identity? Surely not. It would be absurd to suggest that having the kidney or liver of another person would affect ones persistence as an individual. Similarly, if individual C had their body cloned, it would not make their clone the same person. There is much more to personal identity than can be defined by something so comparatively insignificant as the physical body. Complex argument 3 – Persistence of the brain The brain is the functional centre of the human body; the place where memories are stored, feelings are felt, and environmental signals are processed. It is unsurprising, therefore, that the brain is so often considered to be the â€Å"home† of personal identity. This theory is a staple of many science fiction texts – as a convention, the cognizant â€Å"brain in a jar† or brain transplant recipient is fairly common. Proponents of this â€Å"we are our brains† theory claim that, so long as the brain persists, so does the person. Counter argument This theory seems to refer to consciousness rather than the physicality of the brain, so it is important to make a clarification between the two. Julian Baggini suggests that we should view the relationship between consciousness and identity similarly to the relationship between a musical score and the paper it is written on (Baggini, 2005, pp. 112-114). In other words, the brain is simply a storage space for our memories, thoughts, and self-awareness. Should it not, therefore, be so that an individual could simply persist as a brain in a jar, provided they could be sustained in that state? If the entirety of personal identity is stored in the brain, there must be no need for the rest of the body beyond keeping the brain alive. Such a theory could not possibly be true – life experiences and interactions with the world are such an intrinsic part of identity that we could not persist without them. The theory that consciousness plays a significant role in the persistence of personal identity is appealing, but it can not be said that the brain alone could sustain consciousness. Conclusion  To call the simple view of the persistence of personal identity â€Å"simple† is almost deceptive; deep consideration on the subject quickly turns towards the complex. It is easy to grasp at the categories of body, brain, and mental state, but it would be wrong to say that the persistence of any of those equates to the persistence of an individual. Personal identity is something so much harder to define, and it is harder still to find definitive measures of its continuation. Personal identity is evasive, and fleeting; it is intangible, ever-changing. Its persistence is so much more than can be determined.

Royal Mail Group: Human Resource Structure

Royal Mail Group: Human Resource Structure The Royal Mail group belongs to the UK government. It is a public limited company which has seen lot of success in past years. The degree of success was clearly reflected in the account of its annual turnover.Inspite of its success in the past, Royal Mail group have also witnessed higher degree of competition through its years. As it is not the time when King Henry (eight) established Royal Mail back in 1860s, it was very much necessary for the company to grow with the new advancement and sophisticated technology. The strategy they made and implemented was restructured according to the new level of demand and necessity of their customers. It was in 2006 the company first introduced the online postage system in which the customers can pay online. The stiff competition from the competitors sided by the change in status of the monopoly which the company have enjoyed before 2006 weakened the strength of the company. Modernisation was a major necessity to defend the pressure of competitio n from the competitors but company was not able to procure much fund for restructuring. Company have seen deficits in pension funds too. In 2003, a part of the Royal Mail group was privatised. In 2006, about 14 private operators were allowed to participate in the working of the company. HUMAN RESOURCE STRUCTURE An organisation should hold the unique strength of efficient recruiting which steps it out to a new level of development. It should involve group co ordination sided by developing leading power and talent. Innovative ideas should be given room for development and should create an environment to develop that culture. As this sort of organisation requires lot of effort from their staffs to stick on to their strict time lines, HR management should be the top priority management agenda. A company with good reputation helps it to attract the cream of the labour market. Identification of the core requirements by the Royal Mail enabled them to frame a new set of HR strategies from 2005, HR management in Royal Mail is mainly divided into 3 functional areas. It worked with People and Organisational Development Services. The organisation mainly focused on developing the prior HRM skills such as leadership quality, diversity and developing the organising talent. Business partners were the HR managers and they were assigned to different business locations. Combining with the strength of HR strategy, Royal Mail believed that they can reap the benefits of identification of the areas where the improvements should be made. Current state of the organisation can be closely studied with evidence based HR management approach. Employee assessments have been made and their performance was made into account. The findings were as follows which turned to be the organisations HR strategy; HR functions should include some hard skills relating to finance. It is essentially a quantitative aspect of human resource management.HR manager should be successful in knowing the operations which is being done in an organisation. This focuses mainly on calculative aspects.HR manager should prove his credibility in business development too. He should have the ability to manage the employees in a rational manner. Basic HR function should posses some soft skills which is essentially a qualitative aspect of human resource management. It is mainly confined with employee feedbacks, assessing works and reporting their performance. Good leadership is an essential characteristic of soft skill. Good communication with the workers boosts the relationship of manager to the workers to a great extent. Soft skills help to achieve higher work motivation and commitment. Congruence or a state of agreement should be present in the organisation as the workers in the Royal Mail should be fully content with their positions. MODE OF RECRUITMENT The criteria used by Royal Mail organisation for selecting a suitable candidate are as follows; Through advertisements job vacancies are communicated. Each job has a reference number. In Royal Mail website, using this reference C.V can be uploaded. If the reference number is unknown then candidate can search through and find out the suitable post to apply. If there is no job available at a certain point of time, provision for dropping of email id is given as when such vacancies are open, candidates are communicated through mail. It is cheap, focussed and quick mode of selection. By this method applications are selected, screened and interview is conducted by HR managers for recruitment. Human resource strategies developed by Royal Mail organisation was subtle. Professional development is given more importance with the effective use of business tools and technical skills. Hence training of the employees is done and performance is monitored. Performance appraisal is regarded as one of the top agenda of HR management. Training is structured in such a way that it includes class room training, seminars, teaching and the specialised coaching of encouraging the employees to understand their potential and hence upgrade their skills. They have given many supports and services like performance related pay bonuses and pension scheme. They have failed in the implementation of strategies due to the following reasons; Pressure from the trade unions. Deficits in pension fund. Bad communication. lack of fund to pay salaries. Inefficiency in managing work force. Redtapism EMPLOYEE BENEFIT RELATED ORGANISATIONAL FUNCTION To improve the commitment and psychological satisfaction of the work group, monetary considerations were channelized in such a way that it improved the motivation and role perception. Employees are given opportunity to pursue academic study which is seemed to be helpful for their position. They are paid in their study leave too. Financial support is given for the study. Independent support is provided by the organisation for health of employees in relation to the job, traumas, debt etc. Employee consideration was taken into account while framing the HR strategy. As one of the topmost organisation in UK, employees got discounts and offers in a wide range of products and services. The Royal Mail is located in easy location which helps the employees to come to work very easily.While working, some roles are paid shift allowances and mostly in flexible hours. Pension plan was developed and employees were made to contribute. Based on contribution, employee pension was paid by the organisation. After joining the Royal Mail, an employee is entitled to 4.5 weeks paid holidays per year and 8 bank holidays for the first five years.Option for purchasing extra holiday is given to employee to raise the entitlement upto 6 week maximum. By framing this sort of relaxation avenues, employees are likely to be more productive in work life devoid of stress. Flexible timing is developed by the organisation in which the employee can choose the timings as it allows them to adapt the time to meet their family needs too. The remuneration for the employees was not a standard one as per employee reviews as there was protest from the part of union regarding pay, modernisation and conditions in the organisation. Apart from the HRM core issues, secondary issues like health and safety, employee welfare etc should be taken into consideration while framing the HR strategies of the organisation. For gaining good competitive advantage, the satisfaction of employees should be reaped and this should be attached to the corporate plans while framing a HR strategy. Royal Mail was not very successful in reaping these benefits due to inefficient strategy formulation and lack of finance. For example: deficits in pension fund made the existing employees very much concerned about their future in the company. Belief in the organisation tends to decline which resulted in lack of motivation and commitment to work. Employee relation based on expectation and understanding failed. CHANGES IN HR PLANNING Human resource is the vital component of an organisation. The approach taken for the implementation of HRM should be adapted according to the business environment rather than a traditional defensive mode taken by the Royal Mail organisation as before. According to the economic view of implementation of human resources, Labour input cannot be measured purely in terms of workers employed in a particular job. It is not at all necessary that the labour input is directly proportional to the quantity produced in a production scenario as there is law of diminishing returns. To acquire the full efficiency of human resources in the organisation, there was some HR planning put into effect in 2005.The organisation was very successful in reducing the money spend on human resources by fifty seven million pounds in just 2 years. It was framed as a part of business transformation which included reducing absence rates, slashing head counts in HR etc.There was a significant improvement in HR to employee ratio from 1:75 to 1:130. HR planning was fruitfully implemented in the area of education sided with training and improvement in sickness absence. A three point plan was framed to prevent inefficiencies and introducing HR business partners into each area. The job description development and person specification is found to be the unavoidable part of HR planning. The repetition of tasks were monitored and prevented. A central shared service was created which brought all the experts towards the head office human resource team to point on strategies. The HR structure was restructured with business partnership and management change. In 2008, the Royal Mail organisation has become the toughest arm by employing 200000 plus workers. RIVALS AND COMPETITION Royal Mail was facing competition for many years. Counting from DHL , TNT the Royal Mail organisation has got a long list of rivals. Common complaints about the Royal Mail organisation were the unsatisfaction with the delays of the couriers, very short working hours, low level of customer service and unplanned delivery without a proper tracking system. The competitors in the field utilised these drawbacks and worked on it to made it as their main advantage. They concentrated in building up a business structure which was mainly build upon the basement of customer satisfaction and identification of their need. The work force in the company was trained and developed in such a way that the blend of HR ideas reflected in their working. Group coordination and subtle implementation of business strategy made them more powerful in capturing the market share more easily. Many of large organisations were looking for a better service provider so that their package are delivered in a better and s afe way. This became a concern to Royal Mail. For example, TNT managed to get high profile esteemed customers like Centrica and BT within a short span of just 6 years.It is continuously investing more funds in the sorting and processing technology. The Royal Mail have introduced the online stamp systems as a part of modernisation but the studies on customer reviews made it clear that the idea was subtle but the steps or the procedures involved in the purchase process is horrible. Improper implementation of ideas also counts very bad in the world of business. As now TNT handles more than 270 million items in a month and it is looking for more efficiency by building up a centralised distribution hub. As in the case of Royal Mail, a well established organisation which have a good history is still working on to improve its efficiency in all aspects of its working. Developing a competitive work force was the only solution for Royal Mail to raise from the edge of disaster. New HR strategies were framed and the focus fall upon the workforce. The need of transformation was identified and HR was a priority for them. Recruiting was done to get the competitive work force and training was given to them to make them adapatable to the changing environment. Expert team was employed to know the weaknesses. The main weakness which was figured out was the lack of customer focus and the dissatisfaction of them derived as a result. WITHSTANDING RIVAL COMPETITIONS The quality of work and the scaleability of costs were discussed among the executive committee. The pressure of competition was well known by the Royal Mail groups. To better their current position the trade off between the quality and efficiency were pointed out in the organisation and greater care was invested to perform the task specifically by taking into consideration the scopes and the risk involved in the business. It was leadership which was given importance to asses and develop operational managers. As a reform to introduce more technical tools, a computer based operational organisation simulation was set up.It identified the needs for development and the steps needed for improving the existing plan or replace the current plan with some other advanced plan. Next step was the design of leadership workshops which involved mainly scoping the identification of the current market situation and industrial relation for this time.Changes in the business plan of Royal Mail sided by the change in the management approaches and their practical implication was pointed out. These steps which were taken provided the foundation of the approaches they have taken later. Knowledge about the business and its new scope has to communicated with the managers. Inspite of great competition and regulation, the need for the managers to become more creative and make them ready to face the challenges was necessary. The operation manager played an important role in the management structure. They are actual backbone of performance. For stimulating high performance in the organisation, more concern was given to capability of the managers. Further concern was focussed on whether they are able to work with the surroundings if they are good in doing their job in high standard. So the need of making the workers more supportive with group coordination was also given attention. New performance standard was set up through lot of research and assessment. The prority was given to regain the operational control.they were investing their time to get the best output. Assessment is often a tough task in a management structure. There are various tools and methods to find it out. However, the Royal Mail was very much careful in the process as it wanted to be fit for the purpose and should involve realistic time demand both for the people involving in assessment and the people who asseses. The final step was to develop a selection process to fetch new managers as per vacancies. The key qualities was identified and developed. Performance appraisal was well designed to assess the performance level too. Some sort of changes in approach taken by organisation were as follows, Protection of the universal service   The need of the customers was taken into consideration and covered issues which ranged from the services provided to customers, its affordability to them the quality of service through efficient use of human resources. Market analysis investigation of existence of any failure in operation of organisation. Regulatory safeguards Giving more concern to the necessary protections for the people and the other companies in the same field. OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE Royal Mail made a performance improvement programme which was sponsored by its management and union. Root cause for the operational failure was closely analysed and studied. Based on the studies new methods and approach which has to be used in the three years programme to put in track the new action plans jointly by the Royal Mail group and the union to contribute to greater performance in the working. Training the internal project teams in the working process was made to build up models for efficient working. Strategic HR solutions was developed in the organisational development, learning and managing talent, development which gives light to business plans. Front line managers, staffs and union members were involved in the business meetings. This contributed to make the employees feel like they are the vital part of organisation which in turn boosted their commitment to the organisation and greater motivation level in working with the group. A new corporate strategy function was created and implemented. This mainly involved: coaching of directors. Planning and integration in the strategic programmes conducting capability testing on a pilot basis in divisions of management. Creating more realistic and practical approach to alter the working in various division. EFFECT OF RECESSION Royal Mail had seen a dramatic down trading in its business in the country. Customers began to abandon the first class post as it was not affordable in recession. Even the Royal Mail organisation had admitted the truth. The recession trends shown the volume of customers sending letters began to shrink at a steady rate or switching on from first class services to second class postal services. The situation had become even worse as the customers were switching on to emails and internet based social networking sites. In addition to the chaos created by the strikes, the recession made the organisations position even worse. However a combination of modernisation which accounted in cost reduction and slight price changes sided by good product mix helped the company to increase its profit. As the company was undergoing a very tight financial position, it was not possible to increase the wages. The reward system existed at the time was unlikely to change. In 2008, the mail market in United Kingdom fell by eight percent. Royal Mail was intending to cut up 16, 000 jobs as a part of huge cost cutting plan. Quality of service of the organisation would be hampered by such a plan. WITHSTANDING RECESSIONS EFFECT Royal Mail organisation planned to raise the price of the first class and second class stamps. Another important decision was to cut down the middlemens commission. These decisions were prone to pressure from four walls which made the condition of organisation even worse. The recession had given opportunities for organisational development in the company. The professional development was made possible. Flexibility and the knowledge of the employees was boosted. Training was given to employees at the time of recession so that they got time for skill updating. Many new developed sorting machines were introduced by which more than eighty percent of the mail were sorted automatically. Modernisation was given priority which resulted in installation of intelligent letter sorting machines. New technology was introduced to sort more A-4 sized mail which also included magazines and some catalogues. Hand held scanners were introduced which recorded the confirmation of delivery within a short span of time. Reading of bar codes of special delivery was made possible with these scanners. As a part of nurturing development Heathrow world wide distribution centre was set up which involved high technology facility for the mailing services. The importing and exporting of the mail was done systematically removing the unsatisfaction of the customers which existed before. Flexible working hours was designed so that the workers get greater commitment to work as they get time for their family too. This enhanced their motivation level. SWOT ANALYSIS SWOT is the method used to evaluate the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat an organisation possess. SWOT analysis of Royal Mail carves out the following attributes; Strength Monopoly it has enjoyed for 350 years count its goodwill and brand name. Good location of organisation, good benefits package that is being provided to the employees. Weakness    Inefficient senior management, too much politics, bad communication, bad delivery, delay in delivery due to inefficiency, lack of control. Opportunity Lack of opportunity of business development in post mail market. The number of people depending on mail services decline at a faster rate. Threat High competition from strong competitors like TNT, DHL etc. Modernisation remained as a question mark as there were deficits in fund for paying salary and pensions. The financial position of the Royal Mail has become more worse in the time span of 2005 to 2010.It was in 2008, one of the high profile human resource director, Kevin Green walked away from the Royal Mail organisation. Previously it was Tony McCarthy. Lack of healthy interaction with the trade unions resulted in poor industrial relation. Every employee seeks to improve their returns from the organisation and when such promotional aspects are absent in an organisation it is more likely that the employee move from one organisation to another. This might be the thing what happened in Greens case. Privitisation of the Royal Mail has become a necessity as the mail volumes were falling at a faster pace, low investment, low efficiency and there was huge deficits in the pension fund too. In march 2009 the defecits in the pension had been figured around 10 billion pounds. At the time organisation had about 176000 employees. The sorting and delivery process were decided to be handled by a new independent firm.It was obvious that outside investors maintained majority of share and the rest was given as a share to Royal Mail staff. This was a good practical application of HR strategy as it helped the employees to work more efficiently as they have to work for their own company. CWU trade unions opposed the privatisation decision as they feared that the plan would devastate the services given by Royal Mail. The trade union was even more concerned about privatisation as there were possibility of job losses for staffs and more pricing for the customers. Still chaos continuous in the Organisation.

Wildlife Preservation Essay -- Environment Nature Ecology Essays Paper

Wildlife Preservation You hear about it all the time, and you read bout it in newspapers and magazines on how some nearby wildlife habitat is going to be torn up by an army of machinery and turned into a Super Wall Mart with a parking lot that’s big enough to fit five thousand cars. Is this really necessary? Is there a need to take every last bit of our wildlife at the expense of our capitalist society? It seems that humanity’s interactions with wildlife has been based on ignorance and the self-interest of the persons involved. The termination of wildlife and it habitats must be reversed for the sake of all of us, the land and wildlife, and future generations to come. If you are a true believer in the preservation of wildlife, here are some organizations that have the same view as you. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is an organization that has currently set aside thousands of acers of land to enhance the habitat of wildlife. Inventors of the National Heritage Project, which was created for protecting threatened and endangered species as well as natural areas in danger of being taken over by the next Wall Mart Corporation so to speak. Over 10,000 acres have been declares TVA land for the use of ecological studies areas, naturel habitat areas, and wildlife observation areas. It takes much time and effort from many people to have the ability and power to preserve and dedicate land for it’s natural growth. And unfortunately, it also takes a lot of money as a key component to make a change in preservation. The Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society runs fund-raising campaigns which contribute to its cash flow and success in preserving land. The Green Ribbon Campaign is one of a few fundraisers that is offered ... ...ttle help from a lot of us to make a difference when it comes down to cological issues like preserving wildlife. If there is some personal desire to help out any local organization in any way shape or form, it should not be shied away from. It’s something that can’t be overlooked. It’s peoples love for their environment that motivates them to take action and make a move towards a healthier, more safe and clean area they live in, along with peotecting all wildlife. The sooner we contribute, the more land we will save not only for the better of our wildlife, but for generations to come. RESOURCES Greenpeace Homepage http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/news/ Tennessee Valley Authority Homepage http://www.tva.gov/environment/land/habitat.htm Wildlife Preservation Trust Canada http://www.wptc.org/ Wildlife Preservation Essay -- Environment Nature Ecology Essays Paper Wildlife Preservation You hear about it all the time, and you read bout it in newspapers and magazines on how some nearby wildlife habitat is going to be torn up by an army of machinery and turned into a Super Wall Mart with a parking lot that’s big enough to fit five thousand cars. Is this really necessary? Is there a need to take every last bit of our wildlife at the expense of our capitalist society? It seems that humanity’s interactions with wildlife has been based on ignorance and the self-interest of the persons involved. The termination of wildlife and it habitats must be reversed for the sake of all of us, the land and wildlife, and future generations to come. If you are a true believer in the preservation of wildlife, here are some organizations that have the same view as you. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is an organization that has currently set aside thousands of acers of land to enhance the habitat of wildlife. Inventors of the National Heritage Project, which was created for protecting threatened and endangered species as well as natural areas in danger of being taken over by the next Wall Mart Corporation so to speak. Over 10,000 acres have been declares TVA land for the use of ecological studies areas, naturel habitat areas, and wildlife observation areas. It takes much time and effort from many people to have the ability and power to preserve and dedicate land for it’s natural growth. And unfortunately, it also takes a lot of money as a key component to make a change in preservation. The Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society runs fund-raising campaigns which contribute to its cash flow and success in preserving land. The Green Ribbon Campaign is one of a few fundraisers that is offered ... ...ttle help from a lot of us to make a difference when it comes down to cological issues like preserving wildlife. If there is some personal desire to help out any local organization in any way shape or form, it should not be shied away from. It’s something that can’t be overlooked. It’s peoples love for their environment that motivates them to take action and make a move towards a healthier, more safe and clean area they live in, along with peotecting all wildlife. The sooner we contribute, the more land we will save not only for the better of our wildlife, but for generations to come. RESOURCES Greenpeace Homepage http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/news/ Tennessee Valley Authority Homepage http://www.tva.gov/environment/land/habitat.htm Wildlife Preservation Trust Canada http://www.wptc.org/

Until All The Men Are Back :: essays research papers

Until All The Men Are Back 'Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and goes after the lost sheep until he finds it? 'And, when he finds it, he puts it on his shoulders and goes home. 'Then he calls [everyone] and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep''; (Jesus Christ: Luke 15:4-6).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For some thirty years, two thousand four hundred thirteen (2,413) souls have been crying out for freedom, but they are waiting as lost sheep for their shepherd to find. The title, whether Prisoner Of War, Missing In Action, or Killed In Action b.n.r. (body not recovered) matters not. There is terrible wrong that continues to be allowed to perpetrate the halls of the United States Congress and the office of the President. The United States government considers these men and women more easily pronounced dead than becoming stuck within the quagmire of Vietnam investigations again. The majority attitude is to remember them in a past tense manner, a manner of 'out of sight, out of mind.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The POW/MIA personnel took an oath upon entry into the armed forces, which the United States government needs to reciprocate. Within the context of this oath are phrases such as 'I am prepared to give my life in [my country's] defense.'; There are sworn words such as 'I will never forget that I am an American and dedicated to the principles which made my country free.'; The men and women falling under the aforementioned titles of POW, MIA or KIA (b.n.r.) need the same commitment shown them as the sheep in the scriptural quote above. The shepherd, the people of the United States, should commit to finding the lost and bring them back to the flock. This must be our mutual oath to the ones sitting day and night, year after year in the dejection and despondency of a prison.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As written by Dennis Johnson in his poem 'Missing in Action,'; he speaks in the first person tense of one missing: I am an MIA still waiting here today. In a war that no one wanted I was lost and left behind. I did nothing to dishonor yet you still dishonor me. How can you disremember when my soul is not yet free? I am here because you left me. It's so simple, don't you see?

Cultural practices that affect health Essay

To be able to gauge the prevalence of female circumcision, the perception of immigrants on its occurrence and benefits, as well as the actual activity that allows it to happen in these communities, an investigative research should be launched to gather information. Since many states have outlawed female circumcision, its occurrence has become an underground activity (Gibeau, 2006). To be able to fully understand the beliefs behind this practice and to determine how prevalent it is, and the circumstances by which it is conducted there is a need to find out where and who is involved in the practice of female circumcision in the United States. The purpose of this study is to investigate the occurrence of female circumcision in the United States and to determine the following: (1) Who practices female circumcision and promotes its occurrence in the community? (2) Where is female circumcision conducted and in what conditions? (3) What is the attitude and opinion of immigrants and first generation Americans toward female circumcision within the migrant community? This study will focus on the occurrence of female circumcision within the migrant communities of African ethnic decent. Because the goal is to determine how the cultural practices specific to an ethnic group has continued within the migrant community, the study sample will consist of immigrants and their offspring or first generation American-born individuals. The study will be conducted through a series of interviews. Interviewees will be chosen based with primary criteria being they are Africa-born individuals who have successfully migrated in the United States as adults, and continue to live with a family or plan remain to have a family in the United States. Face-to-face interviews will be conducted with the assurance of anonymity for interviewees. A structured questionnaire will be created consisting of open ended questions relating to their views regarding female circumcision and their experience or witness of its occurrence. Reference List Gibeau, A. M. (2006). â€Å"Female genital mutilation: When a cultural practice generates clinical and ethical dilemmas. † Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing 27(1). Blackwell Publishing.

Week 3 Bis/320 Weekly Reflection Outline

University of Phoenix Material Applying Information Security and SDLC to Business Your team has been researching and discussing three bookstores throughout the course to apply the concepts presented. For this assignment, you will continue to apply those concepts in a final paper. Write a paper of no more than 3,000 words in which you discuss one of the bookstores, use the SDLC method to implement a new technology into the bookstore, and detail a disaster recovery plan for the bookstore. Discuss one of the three bookstores based on the research and evaluation in your Learning Team. Introduce your selected bookstore. oWho and what is the bookstore? What is their mission? oWhat products do they sell? oWho are their customers? oExplain their website. †¢Color †¢Navigation †¢Ease of using the tools; for example, using credit cards for purchases †¢Discuss your selected bookstore. oInclude terms such as hardware, software, databases, data communications, Internet technolo gies, collaboration tools, and security. oInclude how they use hardware and software components. oDiscuss the types of database information used by the bookstore based on what you see on their website.Identify any additional information the bookstore could have added to enhance their database. oIdentify their data communication technologies. oDiscuss how they address security issues. †¢Address the following questions in your analysis. oWhat hardware, software, networks, and data does the organization have? oWho manages it? oWho uses it? oWho owns it? oWhere is it located? oWhere is it used? oDoes the technology fulfill the business objectives? Use the SDLC method to implement a new technology into your selected bookstore.Examples include a collaboration tool or the use of cloud computing. †¢Research SDLC methodology. †¢Include the below five phases of the SDLC method: oSystem definition oRequirements analysis oComponent design oImplementation oMaintenance Detail a dis aster recovery plan for your selected bookstore and include the following: †¢Types of disasters and threats †¢People involved and their roles †¢Assets to protect including information †¢Data policy definitions †¢Necessary response plans in case of a disaster Cite at least five references in your paper. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines

My Ideas Essay

Australian vision means that which are seen or imaginative image and people mind. Therefore the phrase †Australian vision† simple means something which are seen or imagined on people’s mind to describe Australian as a unique country. On the film â€Å"Strictly ballroom†, show Australian vision on every figure’s vision was obvious on the mind. One of the ideas about Australian is the multicultural; it’s obvious vision of the film about Australian’s vision. The vision show on the part of Scott dance Paso doble on Fran’s home, that Australian vision is multicultural. Fran’s family come form Spanish, is different to Scott’s cultural, Scott is a local of Australia, they are living on different cultural, even so they are make friendly and respect each other, happy dance together, enjoy a freedom steps world, Scott looked like a part of the Spanish family, in effect he not a real a Spanish, but it relevantly show sense of Australian is multicultural. We can saw very clearly, Scott is a professional dancer, he always dance wears colorful clothes, dance on dance hall, but in the film of part of dance on Fran’s home, Scott just wears comfortable clothes and dance on the backyard of a house, near railway, the very noise when the train passing. He is happy and enjoys it, dance with Fran’s family, and integrate with the Spanish family. Can be got idea about the vision, the vision for Australian, are multicultural country. On the life in Australia many different colors of people, many different cultural of people, and many different languages of people, the country just like a palette, many different come together, many possibility.

A Rhetorical Approach to Interpersonal Communication File

In the theory of a rhetorical approach, three primary ways are identified in order to achieve the goals of interpersonal rhetoric. They are rhetorical reflector, rhetorically sensitive person and Nobel self. In this paper, the applicability of these three ways will be discussed since their applicability is different in Hong Kong culture. First, the way that works best in Hong Kong culture is the Nobel self, who is unwilling to change for others. This theory works best because of the way that parents taking care of their children. The average number of children in each family in Hong Kong has decreased compared to the families in the past, which have nearly doubled the average numbers of children in each family, so parents can pay more attention on each child. Also, parents tend to build up a positive parental relationship with their children by satisfying most of the wants of the children and putting their children at the first priority. Since the children are used to be the center of their parents, they become self-centered, that is they put their own feelings in the first priority, as a result, their abilities to change for others are reduced. The example to show that Nobel self works best in Hong Kong is a group of teenagers in Hong Kong who the society described them as â€Å"a group of people having the illusion of being a princess or a prince. † These teenagers believe that they should be treated as princesses or princes that they don’t have to do anything or to bear any responsibility. The main cause of this group is stated above. These teenagers are unwilling to change for others especially their relational partners because they think that everyone will change for them just like their families do. This type of teenagers shows that the Nobel self work best in Hong Kong. The part of the theories that does not work in Hong Kong is the rhetorical reflector, who is willing to change to please their partners. In Hong Kong, people are trained to possess a critical thinking skill, which means they should have their own judgment towards an issue, instead of influencing by others, for example, in the relationship of boss and employees, if the boss ask his employee to do illegal work, the employee will judge the situation using his value of right or wrong to decide doing it or not. He will not sacrifice themselves by changing their value and doing the work in order to lease the boss. This critical thinking skill enables the people in Hong Kong to think independently, so that their values and thoughts will be influenced by others. They are not willing to change to please their partners, but if there are strong evidences or supporting materials, they will change. Therefore, the rhetorical reflector theory does not work in Hong Kong. Finally, rhetorically sensit ive person works in modified way in Hong Kong. The theory is applicable in the situation that there is a difference in power, such as the teacher and student relationship, which the teacher is having a higher power. The student who has lower power will be rhetorical sensitive, for example, the student believes that he has done nothing wrong for being late to school, but when explaining to the teacher, he will change his discourse by not stating his judgment towards the issue. Instead, he will give excuses to blame it on other things. The hidden value of the excuses is that the student has done nothing wrong in this issue. However, if there is no difference in the power in the relationship, such as siblings, the student will not change his discourse. He will express his value directly to his siblings. This approach is the application of Nobel self. Since the student know that they have equal power in the relationship, that means they have equal control over the definition of the relationship, so the first priority, which is his own feeling, will come first. He is unwilling to change for others once there is no difference in power in the relationship. Hong Kong culture is a complex, so the applicability of the three primary ways in the rhetorical approach is different in Hong Kong culture even though they are developed from the same theory.

Adoption and indian society

Adoption and indian society Disclaimer: This work has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work produced by our Law Essay Writing Service . You can view samples of our professional work here . Adoption and indian society Adoption provides a very important function in Indian society. India has long tradition of child adoption. In older days, it was restricted within the family and was covered by social and religious practices. But with the changing times, adoption beyond the contour of family has been institutionalized and legalized. Adoption is the institutionalized practice through which an individual belonging by birth to one kinship group acquires new kinship ties that are socially and legally defines as equivalent to the congenital ties. These new ties supersede the old ones either wholly or in part.   [ 1 ]    To protect abandoned and destitute children, goal is to find a family for as many orphan children as possible and to safeguard their interest as visualized in the UN Convention on child rights and Hague Convention on Inter country adoption ratified by India government. One of the motivations to adopt a child could be a desire to give a home to a child who needs one, wanting a child of the other gender, or for the welfare of the destitute and abandon child.   [ 2 ]    The dictionary meaning of the term ‘adoption’ is the act of taking and rearing of the child of other’s parents as one’s own child. Attitudes and laws regarding adoption vary greatly. Not all cultures have the concept of adoption. One of the biggest examples is Adoption is permitted amongst Hindus under statute. The fact that adoption means legal affiliation of a child, it is subject of personal law. The attempt to bring in the concept of secular adoption has gone into vain several times. Article 44 of the Constitution declares that ‘The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India.’ In the year 1972, the Adoption of Children Bill was not approved as the Muslims opposed it. Then again in year 1980 a similar attempt was made to bring in all communities under one regulator y body except the Muslims that too was opposed. The enactment of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 is definitely a significant effort of the legislature towards recognition of adoption of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children by people irrespective of their religious status. This has been a major leap forward. This paper deals with a comparative study of adoption under Hindu law and Muslim law and various other aspects relating to adoption. To expand a family, adoption is the most basic reason that stimulates the desire in individuals to adopt a child provided that parents cannot bear a child owing to some reasons. Most common requirement in order to adopt a child is that a person should be a major and of sound mind. In order to adopt a child under Guardianship and Wards Act, 1890, guardian who is appointed to a child, the age of majority is 21 years. Position Under Hindu Law Hindus are allowed to legally adopt a child. Other communities could onl y act as legal guardians of the children. Under Shastric Hindu Law, two main aim of adoption are as follows:

Capacitance (Timing Circuits) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Capacitance (Timing Circuits) - Essay Example For capacitance derived unit is useful for expressing the charge (unit of charge is Coulombs)that can be transferred to an object per unit of voltage ( unit of voltage is in Volts) and thus a unit which we got from this ratio is known as Farad. Each capacitor having two parallel plates and will have capacitance equal to  8.85 Ï F/m, times the area of one of the plates, divided by the distance between them. When sharing the charge applied to one capacitor with a second capacitor, charge is conserved, therefore Vf * (C1 + C2) = Vi * C1. When discharging a capacitor through a resistor, V(t) = V0 * e-t/RC. When charging a capacitor through a resistor, V(t) = Vf – Vf * e-t/RC (â€Å"Courseworkbank†). In timing circuits there are two possibilities either we are controlling the rate of response of the capacitor or controlling the rate of voltage across the capacitor. If a series combination of a resistor and capacitor are present such type of circuit is simplest timing circuit. The amount of time to charge the capacitor to 63% of the input voltage as well as it is equal to the resistance times the capacitance is known as time constant T=RC.Varying the values of resistance and capacitance ultimately results in time ranging from microseconds to weeks. The important characteristics of capacitor are: This timer circuit is similar to the 5 to 30 minute timer except that when switch S1 is closed, the on/off action of the circuit will continue indefinitely until S1 is opened again. A 7555 time and low leakage type capacitor for C1 must be used. The 6 way rotary switch S3 adds extra resistance in series to the timing chain with each rotation, minimum resistance point "a" maximum point "f". The 7555 is wired as an equal mark/space ratio oscillator, the timing resistor chain R1 to R6, being connected back to the output of the timer at pin 3.The output pulse duration is defined

Commodity Chain Research Paper with Map of Chain

Commodity Chain with Map of Chain - Research Paper Example Some of the production factors considered when evaluating a business process entails the availability of raw materials and all the factors that surround the raw materials like the required transport charges and the nearness to the raw materials source. On the other hand, the consumption process has to be analyzed to evaluate the various factors that influence the market pattern of the products. This brings us to the juncture of studying the production commodity chain (Bair 46). Commodity Chain of China’s Honey This commodity chain is focusing on the production of Chinese honey, its export process and all the social, economical and the political aspect surrounding it (Gereffi 75). Chinese honey is produced in the central Guangzhou province. Guangzhou province is the second largest and most populated province in the People’s Republic of China. The leading economic activity in this region is crop production. Guangzhou province is also the leading producer of Chinese honey that is illegally transported to the US through India. The exact location of honey production in Guangzhou province is the Xue Xing County. The residents in this region have been practicing honey production as their major cultural activity (Gereffi 88). Bee keeping in this region is facilitated by the environmental conditions, which include availability of water from the great Xue Xing River. Since honey production evolved into a lucrative business in China, many venture capitalists have invested in mass production honey exercises. Honey production proved to respond to the economic needs of the local population. Mass production of honey in this region has maintained the cultural practices of the local community (Stringer and Heron 241). The province is also known to attract political attention in the country because of the population and the economic strength attributed to honey exports. The local workers benefits from the wages they collect and most of them are known to be practici ng small scale bee farming and selling the honey to large companies for processing. Therefore, honey production is a social as well as an economic activity in this Xue Xing County (Hu-DeHart 76). Honey production is encouraged by the local authorities because of the economic viability of the honey industry. Mass honey production is carried out by large established local companies in Xue Xing County. The largest producer of honey is the Xue Xing Honey Company. Honey production and harvesting is carried out by local casual workers employed who are the local residents. Upon maturity, honey is harvested and taken to the company’s processing facilities near the harvesting sites where they are processed and packed in large quantities. After packing and branding, the honey is loaded into train containers and transported to New Delhi, India. India allows the importation of Chinese honey into their country. The honey imported to India is meant for local human consumption and other ind ustrial uses of honey. However, the price of honey in India is not high compared to the market in Australia and America. Therefore, the honey barons from China would want to secure another lucrative market in the international platform. The labeling process is suspected to be carried out in Xue Xing subordinate company in India’s New Delhi (Hu-DeHart 34). The honey is removed from the containers and repacked into small quantity cans meant for export product. This process of labeling is not authentic and is normally carried out

Analysis of Greek Mythology Annotated Bibliography

Analysis of Greek Mythology - Annotated Bibliography Example The article exposes the falsities that surround the historical and ritual sense if the Greek cultures, which were hidden under a smoke-screen. The author is critical in giving a graphic exposition about the childishness that he discovered in these myths by using a classification that led to the discovery point. The precedent example that the author uses is about the stories of Hyacinthus and Narcissus. He uses these stories to depict the falsity that embedded some of the historical Greek myths, which did not depict the real happenings of the historic period or stories. In this work, the author analyzes different articles about Greek mythology. The author is insightful and incisive in bringing out the facts and falsities that are explained by the articles. The critique provided in the article is informative and educative on many aspects of the Greek mythology. In this work, Bremmer Jan provides a great collection of studies that reveal new interpretations of the best themes and protagonists in Greek mythology. It reflects the fascination and complexity that encapsulates the Greek imagination. The successive chapters of this work follow various analyses about the myths conceptualizations and the immense influence of â€Å"the Orient† on the vast Greek mythology scope. The chapters also reveal the threatening appearance of werewolf and wolf as well as familiar figures in Greek mythology such as Orpheus, Narcissus, and Oedipus. The obscure relationship between ritual and myth is also elucidated on by an in-depth discussion of the ambiguities that characterize the Kronos’ traditions. The article analyzes the numerous conventions, aspects, and transitions of the Greek mythology in the novel â€Å"Les Caves du Vatican† by Gide. The author describes the allusions found in Greek mythology that the book used. The importance of Greek mythology in the book cannot be dismissed since the novel used largess of Greek mythology information to complete the novel.   

Urban Politics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Urban Politics - Research Paper Example According to pluralism, the power is split between the different actors of urban political arena. Robert Dahl, in his book â€Å"Who Governs† explains this theory very well and states that specialized influence exists according to which different leaders dominate different areas. Power is not only in the hands of one group of individuals. It can be stated that the study of urban politics is not similar to that of comparative national politics. The reason is that urban politics is in abeyance whereas comparative national politics is flourishing and widely in use. Stone does not distinguish urban politics within the wider field of American politics or comparative politics. Clarence Stone’s research shows that how unfortunate it is that Comparative Politics sections comprises of double the members as that of urban politics of APSA (American Political Science Association). Clarence Stone supports Lanyi’s balloon which can be depicted form his various research essays. He believes that politics, civil society and business are knitted together in complicated ways. So, urban regime analysis is an effort to observe how these various sections are linked together which sums up to a greater part analysis. Stone keeps on pointing to intersections to the forces, the need to differentiate each political regime from another, the varied analysis of historical trajectories, the governing differences in various cities, the resources and interests of the political actors and many other ways to resolve complexities without simplifying.

The member of the wedding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The member of the wedding - Essay Example Jasmine and proceeds to try grown up things, like going to a bar and drinking, making a date with a much older military man, and dresses nicely with perfume. It is noticeable that both of these personas – Frankie and F. Jasmine – have the same obsession, which is to leave the town. In the end, Frankie seems to settle into her own identity of who she is in that moment, which is neither a boy, a woman, nor an adult, but is, in fact, an adolescent girl and it is only then that Frankie stops obsessing about leaving the town and settles into the normal life of schoolwork and hanging out with a best friend. Frankie Addams, while ostensibly a tomboy is also confused, as she is perched on the boundaries of childhood and adulthood, as well as straddling the lines between masculinity and femininity, while being subjected to sexuality that is presumably beyond her tender years. The masculine/feminine dichotomy is shown by the fact that Frankie has a boy’s name, and is, by all accounts, a tomboy, yet also puts on Sweet Serenade perfume (White, 1985, p. 89). In one scene, Frankie is cussing like a man, and threatening to shoot every person who said that she â€Å"smelled bad† with a pistol, then John Henry repeats that Frankie smelled like â€Å"a hundred flowers† because of her perfume (McCullers, 1946, pp. 610-611). The feminine side is further shown when Frankie dreams about changing her name to F. Jasmine Addams (McCullers, 1946, p. 616), although this name is still a blend of the masculine and feminine. The Jasmine part is definitively feminine. Yet calling herself à ¢â‚¬Å"F. Jasmine Addams† denotes a certain sound of masculinity. According to Groba (1994), in quoting Simon de Beauvoir, this is to be expected when young girls who rebel against society and refuses to accept the roles that others have thrust upon her, yet does not have the courage to completely repudiate the roles. This leads the young girl to either take flight from reality, as

Personal statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

Personal Statement Example My excellent interpersonal skills help me to communicate business information to my target audience by preparing crisp and well thought out presentations. I consider myself a social person for I like spending time with my families and friends. Being the part of the local community, I also like providing my assistance at local events and for other social causes. I am currently studying at Mt San Antonio College and this is my third year of school. Most of my subjects in the school are business related and therefore my interest in this particular field of study has grown with time. Within all this while I have learnt that my courses are much more than business management. They are providing an experience to the customer that is not less than exceptional; while motivating the employees to deliver their best by fulfilling their responsibilities. The basic responsibilities of the employees should be the maintenance of loyal customer base, providing exceptional customer service, guiding the customers on the product information and applications, handling new merchandise and working as a team to achieve mutual organizational objectives. All these factors contribute towards the success of an organization and therefore I have tried my level best to learn these skills through practical and theoretical knowledge. My father is an entrepreneur and is running his own business for almost 15 years. As a child I accompanied my father to various business meeting and negotiations. I heard my father and his employees discussing about the current economic conditions of the country and status of the stock market. Although as a kid I did not have much knowledge about all this but as I grew up, I started finding this subject interesting. I eagerly started waiting for my father to ask me to accompany me at the business meetings or negotiations. It was in the first year of my high school that I started watching businesses news for studying the position of several

Biography of Labor Rights Leader Cesar Chavez Research Paper

Biography of Labor Rights Leader Cesar Chavez - Research Paper Example Chavez was a strong and efficient leader with high organization power. He could effectively influence the farm workers and convince them about the necessity of organizing and challenging the biased practices prevailed in the American socioeconomic systems. Chavez’s strong desire for freedom and his unmanageable resentment towards employee discrimination encouraged him to overcome every barrier before him. Cesar Chavez was posthumously awarded the US Medal of Freedom by the former President Bill Clinton. During the award presentation ceremony, Clinton said that Chavez faced â€Å"violent opposition with dignity and nonviolence† (as cited in The story of Cesar Chavez). Chavez’s life gives the message that hard work together with perseverance will certainly assist one to achieve one’s ambition. Cesar Estrada Chavez, the Mexican American, was born on 31st March 1927 at Yuma in Arizona in a middle class family of six children. At the age of 10, Chavez’s family lost its land due to the Great Depression, and therefore they became migrant farm workers. Chavez migrated across southwest throughout his youth and interacted with labors at vineyards and fields, where he witnessed the stressed facet of farm workers’ life. He left his education after his eighth grade and became a full time worker in the field in order to support his family. His education spread over 30 elementary and middle schools. Although he left the school after achieving the formal education, his insatiable intellectual curiosity motivated him to gain more knowledge. This intrinsic motivation influenced Chavez to continue to be genuine reader throughout his life and he was self-taught in many areas. In 1946, Chavez joined the US Navy and served the military in the Western Pacific. His military servi ce lasted almost two years and he returned to marry Helen Fabela who was a farm worker in the central California. As reported in the Congressional Record, V. 149, Pt. 1

Patient Education And Epidural Pain Management Essay Example for Free

Patient Education And Epidural Pain Management Essay The term pain pertains to a sensation that is communicated by the sensory neurons that are located around the human body to the brain. This sensation is described as an unpleasant feeling that is generally related to a form of damage to a particular tissue in the body. Pain thus activates a specific physical and psychological reaction that tends to find a mechanism to terminate the unpleasant feeling. The ability to sense pain serves as the body’s warning system that informs us of any form of injury to our bodies. Pain is generally described in terms of its intensity and its duration. Intensity can be expressed through a range of descriptors from slight to agonizing, while the duration of pain may be depicted as constant or intermittent. Other characteristics that are commonly employed to describe pain include sharp, dull, throbbing and nauseating. The threshold of pain varies among individuals hence a numeric rating scale, with rating from 1 as the least painful situation to 10 as the most painful condition, has been employed for a more specific quantification of pain in patients. The numeric rating scale identifies level 4 as the cut-off score for pain that impedes an individual from performing his normal functions (Krebs et al. , 2007). In order to relieve an individual from pain, pain management is often provided at hospitals and clinics. In cases wherein the patient only suffers from acute pain, temporary medications are commonly administered to correct the medical problem. However, if the patient is experiencing chronic pain that is related to a condition that is currently being treated or is still undiagnosed, pain conduits are often put up to alleviate the sensation of pain in the patient. These conditions generally include cancer and neuropathy, wherein the pain is distinguished from the major medical condition of the patient. Pain management usually employs that administration of pharmacologic drugs such as analgesics and pain modifiers. In addition, other non-pharmacologic treatments may also be provided, which as normally interventional methods such as physical therapy, heat or cold compression and psychological therapy. One of the major interventional methods for pain management involves the administration of epidural analgesia, which is provided through the introduction of a catheter into the epidural space which is the space between the spinal cord and spinal canal. The effect of the injection of pain medications is to essentially remove the pain that the patient is experiencing by inhibiting further conduction of pain signals along the nerves or the spinal cord. Epidural analgesia is considered as a common technique for pain management because aside from reducing the pain felt by the patient, it also promotes vasodilation of blood vessels. Such result is actually a side-effect of epidural analgesia, yet it still benefits a patient if he has been diagnosed with a peripheral vascular medical condition. In addition, the utilization of epidural analgesia extends the effect of the pain medications for several days, instead of just a few days. In specific conditions that have associated pain such as childbirth, epidural analgesia is the favored pain management regimen because it does not cause any changes in muscle movement or power and it still retains its main role in pain conditions that may or may not require surgery. Epidural analgesia is also commonly used as an accessory to general anesthesia to decrease the patient’s need for opioid analgesics. Its use as an adjunct pain management scheme has been applied in a broad range of surgical procedures including hysterectomy, hip replacement, laparoscopy and open aortic aneurysm repair. Epidural analgesia is commonly used as the primary method for surgical anesthesia especially is Caesarean sections, which keeps the patient conscious during the entire surgical obstetric procedure (Halpern et al. , 2004). However, in such situations, the amount of anesthesia administered is generally much higher that what is usually employed for analgesia. Post-operative pain management may also involve epidural analgesia for the first few days after the procedure, which involves the introduction or retention of a catheter. There are certain situations when the patient is allowed to regulate the amount of pain medications that will be passed through the catheter. Such patient-controlled analgesia makes use of an infusion pump which the patient himself controls. Epidural analgesia is also used as remedy for back pain, as well as for palliative care. It has been established that epidural analgesia is most effective for the treatment of pain in specific regions such as the abdomen, pelvic and legs. This pain management technique is less effective in treating pain in chest, neck or arms, and is not effective for pain treatment in the head. It has been proven that epidural analgesia is more effective in relieving pain than intravenous narcotics and has been identified as the second most frequently used pain medication (Leighton and Halpern, 2002). Majority of women who give birth in hospitals are usually given only two options with regards to pain management, namely epidural analgesia or intravenous narcotics. It should be noted that alternative pharmacologic treatments for pain are also available, such as nitrous oxide and paracervical blocks. In addition, there are also doulas and continuous labor support, which typically requires less medical treatment and results in better outcomes with regards to the health of the mother and child. Also, these women are generally more satisfied with the results they observed after such alternative treatments. However, these alternative options are generally much more expensive (Simkin and OHara, 2002). It is interesting to note that even though epidural analgesia is reported to be significantly effective and common treatment for pain during child labor, there are a number of major side-effects that are associated with such use. It has been reported that epidural analgesia prolongs labor for an extended and considerable duration. In addition, its administration also influences the need for operative vaginal delivery and increases the chances for perineal laceration (Lieberman and ODonoghue, 2002). It has also been observed that the administration of epidural analgesia during obstetric procedures causes the mother to run a fever, which then results in the provision of antibiotics to the newborn child, as well as monitoring for symptoms and signs of sepsis in the infant. To date, great controversy envelopes the issue of whether epidural analgesia increases the risk of delivering a baby through Caesarean section as well as induces difficulty during labor. Research surveys show that most women have not been educated with regards to the possible side-effects of epidural analgesia (Declercq et al. , 2002). Hence the role and need for patient education has been an issue of close scrutiny in the past 5 years. Specific medical and non-medical groups have expressed their concern over the risks and benefits of epidural analgesia. More importantly, there has been concern that such type of patient education of pain management regimens should be given during pre-natal visits, and not during the actual labor stage of pregnancy. Hence, there is an urgent need to determine the amount of information that mothers know in relation to pain management and epidural analgesia because this option strongly influences the behavior of the newborn child, the breastfeeding conditions and the bonding between the mother and infant. In the United States, the dominant delivery method is composed of the induction of labor, administration of epidural analgesia, constant electronic fetal monitoring and Caesarean section. It has been analyzed that when the frequency of epidural analgesia is high, the alternative methods for childbirth are usually not available in the medical institution. These include sessions in childbirth education, doulas, non-pharmacologic pain management regimens, as well as the provision for nurses especially trained in assisting in medication-independent childbirth. Hence what is observed now in most of the hospitals are labor stages that are mainly supported by epidural analgesia and parenteral analgesics. In addition, medical healthcare professionals providing labor support are often overworked due to the huge number of delivery cases in a week. The issue of the shortage of nurses in the healthcare industry has also complicated the problem on the usage of epidural analgesia in hospitals. There are certain obstetricians who prefer to maintain a patient at labor that is supported by an intravenous line in order that they still find time to monitor their other patients in the hospital. It has been considered that the availability of healthcare professional during a patient’s labor and delivery is a luxury. More so, the inability to provide epidural analgesia to a patient during labor has often been a topic that has frequently been investigated in court malpractice cases. The importance of patient education with regards to epidural analgesia as the pain management scheme is thus very important in order to provide the patient with more than the regular two pain management choices that could be administered during her delivery. Patient education should also include the provision of information on the Caesarean delivery, wherein the patient must be able to carry enough knowledge to know that it is her right to request for a Caesarean delivery even when it is normally not recommended if there are no maternal or fetal complications for childbirth. There has been controversy with regards to the competence of smaller hospitals to could not universally provide epidural analgesia. It is unfortunate to know that not a single medical organization supports the concept of establishing a wide range of support methods during labor and pain management schemes, which is strongly associated with patient education and choice. In other countries, Caesarian delivery is the preferred delivery method by women because they are aware the other forms of labor and delivery schemes are not associated with sufficient medical care and attention (Behague et al. 2002). At the same time in the United States, women perceive that epidural analgesia is the sole and effective method for pain management. Actually, family physicians are not the main healthcare professionals that are responsible for the unbelievably high rates in the use of epidural analgesia during labor and childbirth. This medical professional observes when the patient is experiencing pain during labor and he relays this condition to the attending nurses, who in turn, will communicate the information to the anesthesiologist. Such relay of message from the patient to eventually the anesthesiologist is generally comprised by a simple nod from the family physician, which then triggers a battery of messages that eventually end with the administration of epidural analgesia to the patient. Such translation of patient pain to epidural analgesia administration is actually inappropriate and this is where patient education related to epidural analgesia comes into the picture. It is actually the family physician responsibility to educate his patient with regards to the choices in pain management. Instead of having a family physician that advocates epidural analgesia because it provides him freedom to look at his other patients while a particular patient is in labor, the family physician should be an advocate for the patient herself. Patient education entails spending time to teach and coach his patient which pain management schemes are currently available, as well as describing to the patient the effectiveness, side-effects and complications of each pain management scheme. The patient should also be educated of the limitations of each of the available pain management options. It is also ideal that the patient knows that she has the right to choose which pain management scheme she wants to receive, but this can only be done if the patient has sufficient understanding of pain management. It is also ideal that family physicians learn more of the details of the other alternative methods in managing pain. It has been observed that such patient education regarding pain management choices are important so that the patient has knowledge of what to expect during the actual medical procedure (Marmor and Krol, 2002). Patient education also involves the explanation of patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA), which is a labor and delivery pain management option that uses bupivacaine with or without opioids. The theory behind PCEA is that the patient can personally adjust the amount of epidural anesthesia that is needed to remove the pain he is experiencing. Such option for pain management often results in a high degree of patient satisfaction because it allows the patients to be free of the uncomfortable sensation of pain, as well as provide a way for the patient to feel a sense of control over the entire hospital procedure (Standl et al. 2003). It is thus important the patient education be provided to a patient, in order for him to understand the entire scenario of the procedure as well as to help him draw an image of the expected events that could unfold during his stay at the hospital. PCEA is currently in high demand because the patients often want a quick solution to the pain they are experiencing. In addition, these patients are not patient enough to wait for the next round of administration of pain killers when they are experiencing constant pain. It is also essential that patient education in relation to epidural analgesia must explain that PCEA is inefficient during the first stages of labor and thus a higher concentration of epidural analgesia is needed to relieve the patient from pain. Patient education also diminishes the expectations of patients that PCEA always results in the complete removal of the feeling of pain when they choose PCEA. Knowledge and understanding of epidural analgesia will thus result in patient satisfaction in terms of pain management. Patient education as related to epidural analgesia also includes a description of the possibility that an extensive spinal block in the positioning of the catheter may happen (Bernard et al. , 2000). This event often results in the decrease in the motor abilities of the legs and that once the patient observes this, he must inform a healthcare professional immediately for medical attention. In addition, patient education should also alert the patient that the catheter employed in epidural analgesia has a chance to migrate within the blood vessels, which is also known as intravascular migration. Such event is associated with a slower rate of infusion of analgesia which in turn generates systemic effects. The patient should also be educated with regards to the toxicity of epidural analgesia. Providing patient education in relation to epidural analgesia often results in patient satisfaction because the patient has a better understanding of the mechanisms and principles behind the pain management scheme, as well as its similarity and difference to other pain management options, such as continuous epidural infusion (CEI). Patient education also involves explanation on the receptors that are involved in controlling pain. These include the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) which acts in the central sensitization of the patient. Simple explanations regarding antagonists that decrease the sensitization for pain without reducing hemodynamic or respiration activity should also be included, and the other options that results in negative physiological effects such as opioids should also be described. The provisions for instruction is especially important to patients that suffer from pain due to general musculoskeletal tumor resections and those that have other medical conditions that are related to wakefulness and full orientation. There are also options in combining a N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonist such as dextromethorphan with PCEA, which often circumvents the issue of sedation in PCEA (Weinbroum et al. , 2004). Reports have described that such combination generally results in better feelings of well-being in the patient. Dextromethorphan is relatively safe for orthopedic oncological patients who are commonly administered massive dosages of analgesics. There has also been reported the patients could not distinguish the feeling of PCEA and dextromethorphan, although there is a significant difference in a lack of inhibition of motor abilities using this combination. CONCLUSION This report suggests that patient education in relation to epidural analgesia results in patient satisfaction. Patient education generates a better understanding of the principles and mechanisms behind pain management schemes. In addition, the patient is given the right to reject or accept epidural analgesia based on his own comprehension that was earlier provided by the healthcare professional. Patient education also supports a PCEA setting that improves analgesia, as well as patient satisfaction during labor. This supports a better setting for the patient himself and decreases the need for rescue analgesia. Also, the increase in analgesia consumption can also be controlled through patient education, thus minimizing the side effects that are generated by particular pain killers. More importantly, patient education removes the discontent and disappointment that the patient may experience from insufficient knowledge and understanding of epidural analgesia.