Life of John D. Rockefeller and his legacy Term Paper

Life of John D. Rockefeller and his legacy - Term Paper Example One may criticize John D. Rockefeller for many things, like being one of the first to have started a monopoly or oligopoly businesses, yet when his services or assistance to communities and nations are taken into accounted, one can also say that his legacy of sustained philanthropy is probably unmatched for longevity and volume of assistance of assistance rendered. Yet not only is his own life is criticized for his role in history but the role of his descendants. John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil John D. Rockefeller Sr. , former school dropout and who became perhaps the richest person during his time, is the Rockefeller patriarch or the seed that produced other Rockefellers of great significance and who have equally created their own legacy by sustaining the legacy of John D. Rockefeller Sr. (PBS, 2000). The other Rockefellers who have contributed their important legacies or who have sustained the John D. Rockefeller Sr. Legacy are John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874-1960), son of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., and the Rockefeller brothers John III (1906-78), Nelson (1908-1979), Laurance (1910-2004), Winthrop (1912-1973), and David Rockefeller (1915-?), sons of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.The patriarch was â€Å"twenty-three years old and already a success in his profitable commission business when he decided to risk $4,000 in a speculative oil refinery operation in Cleveland† (Armentano, 1981, p. 58). This was probably in 1862. When John D. Rockefeller began his business, both the Petroleum industry and the Standard Oil Company were â€Å"inchoate† (Montague, 1904, p. 4). ... 4). However, according to Armentano (1981, p. 58), â€Å"the firm quickly prospered under the technical direction of Samuel Andrews, and a second refinery was constructed in 1866.† In a short while, â€Å"Maurice Clark, one of the original partners in the firm, was bought out (for $72,500), and Rockefeller brought in his brother William for entrepreneurial know-how and his shrewd and wealthy friend, Henry Flagler, for additional capital† (Armentano, 1981, p. 58). It was only in 1868, however, that John D. Rockefeller deployed his â€Å"complete and undivided attention† to the petroleum business (Armentano, 1981, p. 58). Armentano (1981, p 58) asserted that â€Å"the firm of Rockefeller, Andrews, and Flagler prospered quickly in the intensely competitive industry by the economic excellence of its entire operations.† The firm implemented a business that is relatively unique in the industry during the period. Armentano (1981, p. 58) revealed that â€Å"inste ad of buying oil from jobbers, they made the jobbers’ profit by sending their own purchasing men into the oil region.† Further, â€Å"they made their own sulfuric acid, their own barrels, their own lumber, their own wagons, and their own glue† (Armentano, 1981, p. 58). Armentano documented that that firm â€Å"kept minute and accurate records of ever item from rivets to barrel bungs† (1981, p. 58). In short, what Armentano has tried to narrate is that the firm organized by John D. Rockefeller Sr. implemented vertical integration as well as good management practices. Breakup of Standard Oil and Development Larson (1969) explained that from 1882 to 1950, the Standard Oil Company founded by John D. Rockefeller had been keen on vertical integration. Luck and shrewdness mattered but the oil firm

Primary education Essay Example for Free

Primary education Essay India has made large strides in educating its population of more than a billion people, yet a lot remains to be done. It is commonplace now that education is both intrinsically valuable and also instrumental for economic well-being, and this is true for individuals and entire nations. No country in the world has been able to develop without the spread of mass education. An educated population is a prerequisite for take-off into high economic growth. Table 1 in the appendix shows literacy rates for India as a whole and by sex. It also shows the decadal rates of change from 1901 to the present. 2 Literacy rates have increased for both males and females, and though the latter continues to lag behind the former, there has been a narrowing of the male-female gap in literacy: from 24. 8% in 1991 to 21. 7% in 2001. In 2001, the absolute number of illiterates declined historically for the first time by nearly 32 million. In terms of state-wise performance, Kerala continues to occupy first rank as it has done historically; on the other hand, densely populated states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar are yet to overcome their educational inertia. 3 The average figures for India as a whole hide a great deal of variation among states. Table 2 in the appendix provides literacy rates for states for the years 1991 and 2001, for the population as a whole, by sex and also provides the decadal rate of change. In 2001, Kerala, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh had more than 75% of their population of 7+ years literate. On the other hand, even in 2001, less than half of Bihar’s population of seven years and above was literate with female literacy rate only 33. 6%. In terms of zones, states in the South and West outperform states in the North and East. 2. Primary Education Primary education refers to the education of children between the ages 6-11 years (grades 1-5). Universalization of Primary Education (UPE) is a constitutional provision in India and there has been a steady expansion in the spread of primary education since Indian independence in 1947. The Indian educational system is the second largest in the world after China. In 2001-02, there were nearly 0. 66 million primary schools in India 1 This study has been undertaken as part of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Project. 2 Before the 1991 census, only those belonging to the age-group 0-4 years were excluded from the population in order to compute literacy rates and the basis of the computation was the entire population. From the 1991 census onward, literacy rates were computed based on the population aged 7+ years and above. 3 In Bihar, Nagaland and Manipur as well as Delhi and Chandigarh, the absolute number of illiterates has increased in the 1990s. 4 providing access to 84% of habitations with a primary school located within a distance of one kilometer. Between 1997 and 2002, the gross primary school enrolment rate4 for India was 111 for males and 92 for females. The net primary school enrolment rate5 on the other hand was only 78 for males and 64 for females. The net primary school attendance rate between 1999 and 2002 was 79 for males and 73 for females. However, of the children who entered primary school, only 68% reached grade 5 between 1995 and 1999 (UNICEF, 2004). Table 3 provides data on gross primary school enrolments by sex between 1950-51 and 2001-2002. As can be seen from the table there has been a steady increase in the numbers of boys and girls attending primary school over time. In Table 4, state-wise enrolment of boys and girls as a percentage of their age-group is provided for 1997-1998. Girls’ enrolment has been steadily increasing over time and in 2001-02, nearly 45% of girls in the age-group 6-11 were enrolled in school. These statistics are heartening because at least until the 1990s, one of the most dismal aspects of India’s education system was the large percentage of the population in the younger age groups that were out of school. Socio-economic disparities Despite the strong constitutional backing for the provision of primary education in India6 and its expansion over time, the system is characterized not only by low achievements but also by large unevenness of achievements. Huge gaps remain between rural and urban areas, and the probability of getting any education at all sharply depends on gender, caste and income. Women, scheduled castes and tribes and the poor are faced with formidable barriers when it comes to getting basic education. Of the 200 million children in the age group 6-14, it is estimated that 59 million are out of school. Of these 35 million are girls and 24 million are boys (Ministry of Human Development, GOI). Apart from socio-economic determinants, the educational infrastructure and the management and the governance of the educational system in India are far from efficient or sufficient. The government is the largest provider of education in India with only about 10% of primary schools owned by the private sector. 7 The quality of education provided by the public education system is low which translates into low educational abilities even for those who are able to complete primary education cycle. Moreover, there is a lot of ‘waste’ in the educational system with dropout rates as high as 40% for the country as a whole and in some Indian states, they are as high as 75%. Though the number of primary 4 Gross primary school enrolment rate is computed as the number of children enrolled in primary school regardless of age divided by the population of that age group. 5 Net primary school enrolment rate is computed as the number of children in that age group enrolled in primary school divided by the population of that age group. 6 In 2002, the Supreme Court of India decreed that free primary education was a constitutional right. 7 Around 3% of private schools are aided by the government, which makes government intervention in the education sector even greater. 5 schools in the country increased, more than 1 lakh8 habitations still do not have access to a primary school within a distance of one kilometer. Teacher-pupil ratios are inadequate: less than 2 teachers are available in rural areas to teach a class size of around 100 students. Teacher motivation and teaching incentives are also very weak. India perhaps has the highest rate of teacher truancy in the world. Poverty and Education. Empirical evidence strongly shows that, both at the level of the household as well as at the level of the country, there is a positive relationship between income (and wealth) and educational attainment. More income simply means more resources available to spend on the acquisition of education. With more than 250 million people in India living on less than a $1 a day, poverty remains a major barrier to educational access. Although education is provided ‘free’ by the government, the cost of uniforms, textbooks and transportation costs are beyond the reach of many households (Tilak, 2004). Added to these direct costs are the indirect (opportunity) costs of wage/domestic labor which children perform and the costs of acquiring education become considerable for households. Graphs 1 and 2 in the appendix show simple regressions of literacy rates for sixteen states against state poverty rates and state per capita income for 2001. As is expected, literacy rates decline with poverty and rise with per capita incomes. State per capita incomes seem to explain literacy rates better than poverty rates. Filmer and Pritchett (2001) using Demographic Health Survey data for India find that the gap in enrolment between the highest and the lowest wealth class is as much as 52 percentage points. Gupta (2003) using the 52nd round of National Sample Survey data finds that the percentage of people who have completed five years of schooling declines as one descends consumption deciles. In the lowest consumption decile, the proportion of people who have not completed the primary school cycle is greater than 80%. 9 While poverty status and income class are strong determinants of who goes to school and for how long, they do not make up the whole story. Indian states of Kerala and Himachal Pradesh even with fewer resources at their disposal have been able to achieve much better educational and health outcomes compared to rich states such as Punjab and Haryana in India. This is true even when we look at cross-country outcomes. For example, Sri Lanka and Botswana do much better in education and health terms than would be predicted based on their level of resources; the Latin American countries do much worse given their resources (Mehrotra and Jolly, 1998). 8 One lakh is equal to 100,000. 9 These graphs are meant to be illustrative of the association between resources and education and do not claim any direction of causality. The relationship between resources and educational attainment is bidirectional. The poor cannot afford schooling. With little human capital, the opportunities to escape persistent poverty are very restricted and the poor can be trapped in a low education, low income vicious cycle across generations. A large literature has analyzed both theoretically and empirically persistence of poverty inter-generationally due to lack of resources to invest in education.

sunrise medical Essay -- essays research papers

Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry General Foods Corporation was successfully manufacturing and marketing â€Å"Birds Eye† frozen food in the late 1920. They were also the original owners and incorporated in August 1938. By the 1940’s, a new owner, Unilever had a strong interested in the business and took over. He wanted to make this business innovative and profitable in the growing economy. There is couple of issues dealing with Birds Eye currently in the United Kingdom, which include market position and market shares. The industry was at 70 percent of the market share and over the years, the percentage decreased. In the 1960s, Birds Eye showed a decrease in market share and return of capital. The lack of sales was also a concerned for Birds Eye, which resulted negatively to their profit margin. Clearly, the frozen food industry is not growing as rapidly as its use to. They can regain there market share by evaluating and understanding different taste, style and trends of the consumer. There was many opportunities that Birds Eye past up that they could have benefited from. They past up the opportunity to create their own label of frozen food and market it to consumers who have freezers in the household, and caterers. This can be an advantage for their competitor but a threat for Birds Eye. Another opportunity that they steered away from was home freezers, which affected a great deal in the frozen food market. Among other leading firms striving to be the best, Birds Eye Foods Ltd. strived to be the leading provider of frozen foods in the growing market. By 1938, the company began their business in the United Kingdom. They have a strong brand name and recognition and have been a leader in the business for sometime. Birds Eye’s vision is providing the best products and raw material to consumers on a daily basis. The business will be successful on the demand of everyday products in the market and all over the world. This will help build the industry and help develop some of there main products. This industry as a whole will go all out to provide exceptional products and services to its consumers. The company’s objective is to make their products more convenient. Birds Eye promotes consumer loyalty, value and recognition for their goods and services. The industry increased dramatically from its main products such as fruit and vegetables, fish, and meat.... ...me any obstacles. Being able to implement strategy is beneficial but expensive and very time consuming. Becoming a leader in the marketplace does not mean producing top end products but being able to keep producing high and better quality products. In addition, Birds Eye must continue providing exceptional customer service to their clients. Providing the best quality products should come with the best quality service. Having a strong brand name and recognition should also result in strong customer loyalty. Clients and employee satisfaction is the ultimate goal to Birds Eye. The employees at Birds Eye need to plan, monitor and evaluate at all time. This process should be done periodically and by any employees with the company. Customers come first; implementing a strategy where consumers are receiving the right product at the right time and at the right price will have a great impact to the company. As well as making sure the employees are treated right and working in an environme nt that they enjoy. Strategic Implications: Strategic Implications: Managers at all levels need to posse’s strong communication, leadership and motivational skills at Birds Eye.

Reinhold Niebuhr :: essays research papers fc

Reinhold Niebuhr Theologian, ethicist, and political analyst, Reinhold Niebuhr was a towering figure of twentieth﷓century religious thought. He is well known and is appreciated for many reasons among American theologians. Niebuhr had a very strong opinion and much to say when it came down to man and violence in regards to peace and war. Although he thought of himself as a preacher and social activist, the influence of his theological thought on the field of social ethics and on society made him a significant figure. Reinhold Niebuhr was born in Wright City, Missouri, on June 21, 1892 as the son of Gustav and Lydia Niebuhr. His father, Gustav was an immigrant from Germany and became an ordained minister of the German Evangelical Synod after graduating from Eden Seminary at St. Louis, the training school for ministers of the Deutsche Evangelical Synod of North America. His mother was a daughter of German Evangelical Synod missionary, Edward Hosto. Gustav and Lydia had four children, Hulda, Walter, Reinhold, and Helmut Richard (who is as famous as Reinhold in theological circles). Thus Reinhold grew up in a religious atmosphere in his parents’ parish of St. John in Lincoln, Illinois. His father considered himself as an American and a liberal. It is not surprising that Reinhold aspired to have such liberal values and follow in his father’s footsteps to Eden Seminary in 1912. With a strong impression from his father’s ministry, Reinhold, the favorite child of his father, decided to be a minister. By his decision, Reinhold studied in the Evangelical pro-seminar, Elmhurst College, near Chicago, which provided him with foundations of liberal arts and languages, from 1907 to 1910, and then he moved to Eden Seminary at St. Louis, following his father’s path. After graduating from Eden Seminary, he encountered a serious money problem because of his father’s sudden death in the spring of 1913. In the same year, Niebuhr became an ordained minister of the German Evangelical Synod. Then he attended Yale Divinity School with a scholarship and received a Bachelor of Divinity in 1914 and his final degree of Master of Arts from Yale University in 1915. His professional life began with the ministry. In 1915, the mission board of his denomination sent him to Detroit as pastor where he served for thirteen years. The congregation numbered sixty-five when he arrived and grew to nearly seven hundred when he left. His witness of working class life in his ministry with American automobile industry laborers in Detroit gave him a critical view of capitalism and made him an advocator of socialism concerning social and economic reality.

How Does Orwell Explore the Theme of Education in ‘Animal Farm’?

How Does Orwell Explore The Theme Of Education In Animal Farm? ‘All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others’. George Orwell writes this toward the end of his highly acclaimed allegory, Animal Farm. From this single statement we can tell quite a bit about Orwell’s views on education which he puts across strongly throughout the novel. A message I see that this statement portrays is that everyone has the right to an education but some people were getting a better education than others at the time.During this essay I will be arguing that George Orwell was critical of the education system in 1945 (the year the book was written) and that he aired his views, hidden as they were, in many places through the book. One of the ways he used to put across his views was to use biblical references. Orwell was strongly anti-Christianity and he put this across in the novel partly through his reference to the bible’s ten commandments by creating a list o f rules that the animals must live by entitled ‘The Seven Commandments’. No animal shall kill any other animal without cause’. The last two words were added by Squealer under the orders of Napoleon, adding their own twist on Old Major’s original commandments thus tweaking them to their advantage. This was not the only commandment to be edited: in fact all of them were but only slightly, just enough so the pigs wouldn’t be breaking any and so the other animals wouldn’t notice. The pigs were able to use the fact that they were educated well as an advantage over the other animals in order to do what they liked and get away with it.The fact that Orwell used the commandments in this way, just that the pigs were changing them so regularly seemed to me rather disrespectful of the Christian faith and when seen like this, Orwell’s religious views are blatantly obvious. From this part of the book I remembered being taught about priests in the An glo-Saxon times and how they had been educated well before beginning their ministry. They would ask for money from the innocent but fairly foolish and uneducated people worshipping or just visiting the church and the priests would say if they hand over the money, they would avoid purgatory and go straight to heaven.To these poor people, this seemed like the perfect solution for the problem and hand over their money is just what they did. This links in with the book in that the priests would use the fact that they were educated in their favour to brainwash these unknowing people just as the pigs did to the other animals in the book. Another element of education Orwell is critical of is the private education system. ‘The pigs and dogs were educated separately to the other animals’.This brings in Karl Marx’s ideas of class and hierarchy in society. Marx’s writings formed the theoretical base for modern international communism, the idea of a classless society in which everyone is equal and nothing is privately owned. As we know Animal Farm is an allegory of the Russian revolution in 1917 during which Joseph Stalin (portrayed in the novel as Napoleon) and Leon Trotsky (Snowball) fought for power after the defeat of Tsar Nicholas II and the monarchy.When Stalin came to power and exiled Trotsky, he began to form the new Soviet Union around the basis of Marx’s writings and the fact that the pigs and dogs were educated separately to the other animals shows that before Stalin’s seizure of power, class and hierarchy still remained in Russia. The pigs and dogs represent the nobles and government who were all seen as superior to the lower, working class citizens and were therefore privately educated.If there was to be equality amongst the animals on the farm, they should all have been treated exactly the same and this would mean they should be educated in the same way. However, this wasn’t what happened and the pigs and dogs continued to see themselves as better than the other animals. Orwell really wasn’t a fan of the private education system, as I said at the beginning; he wanted an education for everyone and the same education for everyone at that. Orwell continues to represent class on the farm through the character of Boxer.Boxer represents the lower, working class who were uneducated and inferior to the nobles and government, in this case the pigs and dogs. ‘I will work harder. ’ and ‘Napoleon is always right. ’ his mottos show just how loyal and hard-working he was. Boxer would work and work until he was at the point of collapsing and this is just what the working class of Russia would do, slaving away their today for a better tomorrow. Boxer is key in building the windmill, which represents change, the change that Boxer wants to bring to the farm through his hard work and determination.Boxer may have had all these credits but what Orwell uses Boxer to say is that no matter how physically strong you are, it’s nothing compared to knowledge and mental strength. When Napoleon tells Boxer he is to retire after he collapsed whilst working, Boxer naively gets on the van that is not really to take him to where he will retire, but to the knackers’ yard to be killed. Even though Boxer was so driven and committed in what he did, he wasn’t able to spot that Napoleon was tricking him because he wasn’t nearly as well educated as Napoleon.So to cut a long story short, the fact that Boxer was poorly educated eventually lead to his demise. The pigs as we know by now, were the best educated but they gradually demoralise through the novel. ‘All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others’. This quote for me epitomises the whole part the pigs play in the book in that the great advantage they once had over the other animals because they were educated had now just become plain ignorance. Orwell uses the pigs in Animal Farm to tell us not to let education go to our heads but to respect it and appreciate it.Not only this but Orwell also wanted to tell us through the pigs the dangers of power and to appreciate it also. The pigs wanted to look like they strived for equality, to look like they were doing things for the good of everyone when really everything they said and did was for the benefit of themselves. Almost all of the seven commandments had something to do with the importance of not letting the pigs’ ways become human, which is exactly what had happened by the end of the book. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again: but already it was impossible to say which was which’. That the pigs had changed so much the other animals couldn’t identify them amongst the humans is pretty shocking. One of the most important points of the whole ideology of Animalism (which allegorically speaking refers to communism) is t hat the animals should always remain animals and never adopt human characteristics like drinking alcohol or sleeping in a bed and these rules were all layed out clearly in the seven commandments.In conclusion, George explores the theme of education in Animal Farm in many ways. He uses the allegory to refer to the different classes through different characters and how the classes were educated differently, some not at all. He uses Boxer to compare physical strength with mental strength and he also uses the pigs to warn us of the dangers of letting education ruin us and our morals. Animal Farm is a tragedy in my eyes; the original ideology of Animalism gradually fell apart piece by piece until the pigs had practically become human.It’s all well and good to have this great idea of a revolution to gain equality for animals but the pigs just couldn’t see past themselves to carry out Old Major’s plan and that’s what makes this story so tragic. Orwell thought th at everyone deserved an education, especially the working class but the people who actually got a good education just took it for granted and wasted it and I think that’s the overall point he tries to put across about education in the novel. Education is power but power corrupts. By James Lawrence, J7.

Private Retirement Scheme Essay Example

Private Retirement Scheme Essay Example Private Retirement Scheme Essay Private Retirement Scheme Essay With increasing life expectancy and rising living standards, many Malaysians find that their savings are inadequate to meet their retirement needs. PRS form an integral feature of the private pension industry with the objective of improving living standards for Malaysians at retirement through additional savings of funds. As long-term investment vehicles, PRS are designed to help enhance adequacy and expand coverage of retirement benefits to all segments of the population.It complements Malaysia’s mandatory retirement savings schemes. Contributions to the PRS are voluntary. Individuals (retail investors, self-employed and employees) or employers can participate as PRS contributors. Offering private pension benefits could be a tool for employers to attract and retain skilled talent. The PRS information set out in this publication includes a description of the framework, the key features of PRS and the regulatory safeguards. A number of frequently asked questions and answers are also set out in this publication. SPE CIM EN 3 PRS FrameworkThe retirement landscape in Malaysia has been given a boost with the development of a PRS framework, which is a major deliverable of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) under the Capital Market Masterplan 2. Key components PRS Distributors Consultants Private Pension Administrator (PPA) PRS Providers Schemes Trustees Schemes PRS are offered by approved PRS Providers. Each PRS will include a range of retirement funds from which individuals may choose to invest in, based on their own retirement needs, goals and risk appetite. The PPA functions as a record keeping and resource centre for data on all transactions performed by contributors.It will facilitate transactions and promote efficient administration. The PPA will also act as a resource centre for data and research relating to the PRS industry in Malaysia. The assets of each PRS will be segregated from the PRS Provider and held by an independent Scheme Trustee under a trust. The SC regulates and supervises all intermediaries in the PRS industry, namely the PRS Providers, the PPA, the Scheme Trustees and distributors of PRS to ensure the proper functioning of the PRS industry and protects members, via prudential and investor protection requirements. The SC is in the final stages of implementing the PRS framework – the PPA has been established and approvals have been granted to Schemes subject to the PRS Providers fulfilling certain conditions. The eight PRS Providers approved (as of 5 April 2012) are: AmInvestment Management Sdn Bhd; American International Assurance Bhd; CIMB-Principal Asset Management Bhd; Hwang Investment Management Bhd; ING Funds Bhd; Manulife Unit Trust Bhd; Public Mutual Bhd; and RHB Investment Management Sdn Bhd.Prior to the sale of PRS to the public by end-2012, this is an important period for potential members to understand how PRS fits into the rest of their retirement planning and to arm themselves with information about the different PRS Providers and Schemes before contributing to PRS. 5 Key Features of PRS Designed to provide choice and flexibility Encourages members to take control of their retirement savings PRSaredefinedcontributionsschemeswheretheaccruedbenefitstomembersare determined by the amount contributed plus investment returns thereon.The aim of savings in PRS is to make the members’ savings grow over the long-term. MemberswouldhavetheoptiontocontributetomorethanonefundunderaPRS or to contribute to more than one PRS, offered by different PRS Providers. Beingvoluntaryinnature,therewouldbenofixedamountsorfixedintervalsfor making contributions to PRS. A default option would also be made available for members who select their PRS Provider but do not specify a fund option. The default option would cater for different age groups.PRS Providers would need to ensure that the relevant members are switched to the default funds in accordance with the relevant age group as shown below Growth Fund Below 40 years of age Maximum 70% equites Investment outside M alaysia is permitted Moderate Fund 40 50 years of age Maximum 60% equites Investment outside Malaysia is permitted Conservative Fund Above 50 years of age 80% in debentures/fixed income instruments of which 20% must be in money market instruments and a maximum of 20% in equity Investment outside Malaysia is not permitted Age group Parameters Members choose PRS Providers and funds according to their risk appetite and investment profile or Individuals Default option for members who select their PRS Provider but do not specify a fund option Employer may channel contributions to a particular PRS Provider, with employees choosing the type of funds offered by that Provider or Employer may channel contributions to a particular PRS Provider, and where employees do not make a fund selection, contributions can be channeled to default option of that PRS providerEmployers 6 MemberswouldalsohavetheoptiontoswitchfundswithinaPRSatanytime, or change to another PRS Provider once a year subject t o terms imposed by the PRS Provider. The first transfer can only be requested by a member one year after making the first contribution to any fund under the Scheme. All contributions made to PRS will be split and maintained in sub-accounts A and B as follows: PPA Account 70% Sub a/c A Can be withdrawn upon reaching retirement age 30% Sub a/c B Can be withdrawn once a year The value of sub-account A and B can increase or decrease according to the unit price. The unit price is the worth of each unit held by a member from day to day. Units are priced daily. In order to provide efficiency and convenience for members, a single PPA is establised to keep track of their PRS contributions as well as to maintain records of all PRS related transactions made by members. It will not manage funds internally or accept contributions but will facilitate instructions from members.Individualinvestorswillhavejustoneaccountforbettermanagementofretirement savings as information from various sources can be consolidated within one account. Thediagrambelowshowsanexampleofanindividualchannellingcontributions to several funds under a PRS offered by different PRS Providers. 20 % PRS Provider 1 Fund 1 Fund 2 30 % PRS Provider 2 Fund 1 Fund 2 Fund 3 Fund 3 PRS Provider 3 Fund 1 40 % Fund 2 Fund 3 10 % PRS Provider 8 7 InadditiontothetaxdeductionpermittedforEPFcontributionstaxincentivesare provided to both employers and individuals as follows: Individuals tax relief of up to RM3,000 for the first 10 years from assessment year 2012; and Employers tax deduction on contributions to PRS made on behalf of their employees above the EPF statutory rate up to 19% of employees’ remuneration. A tax exemption is also provided on income received by the funds under the Schemes.Regulatory safeguards to protect interests of members TheregulatoryframeworksetoutundertheCapital Markets Services Act 2007 (CMSA), which includes the PRS Regulations, PRS Guidelines and PRS Eligibility Requirements f or PRS Providers, provide for high standards of regulation and conduct. Under the PRS Guidelines, PRS Providers must provide cost effective voluntary retirement schemes and ensure that Schemes are operated in a proper and efficient manner.The funds are segregated via a trust structure so that members’ assets are protected under the controls of an independent trustee company. PRSProviders,TrusteesandtheAdministratormustbylawactinthebestinterests of members. Prudential investment limits for funds within the Scheme are provided for under the PRS Guidelines. The investment policies of the funds under the Scheme must be consistent with the objective of building savings for retirement and ensure that there is a prudent spread of risk.Thedisclosureframeworkensurestransparentandfrequentinformationtomembers by requiring clear, concise and effective disclosures to be made to investors so that investors are fully informed of the investment strategy, the risks associated with the Scheme and all relevant fees and charges involved. Actionwillbetakenifthereareanyfalseormisleadingstatementstoinvestors. Reminder: Unit prices and distribution payable, if any, may go down as well as up. As with all investments, the returns from contributions made to PRS are not guaranteed and will depend on the performance of the PRS funds. 8 QA: Joining PRS 1. How do I (an individual) join PRS? To make contributions to PRS, just contact the PRS Provider of your choice and indicate your fund selection. At the same time or prior to contributing, you may open a PPA account by completing an account opening form that can be obtained from any PRS Provider or from the website of the PPA (www. ppa. my). Proofofidentificationisrequiredataccountopening: Identification card / Police / Armed Force ID (for Malaysians) or Passport (for foreigners). OncethePPAaccountisopened,youwillreceiveyourlife-timeaccountnumber and password. . How does an employer make a voluntary contribution on behalf of i ts employees? Where an employer seeks to contribute to PRS on behalf of its employees, the employer may enter into an arrangement with one or more PRS Providers of their choice. The amount of contribution is determined by the employer while employees choose the type of fund(s) under the Scheme offered by the relevant PRS Provider. Whereemployeesdonotmakeafundselection,theemployercontributions would be channelled to the default option of the chosen PRS Provider. 9 Employercontributionsmaybesubjecttoavestingschedulewhichmeansthe entitlement may only be vested to an employee’s account based on their terms of service. 3. What should I consider when choosing a PRS? When making your PRS contribution, you need to take into account various factors such as your age, personal and household income, risk tolerance, retirement objective as well as the suitability of the different funds under the various Schemes to meet your retirement needs as well as the fees and charges of the funds. Therearemanydifferenttypesofinvestors: ? ? ? Some may be looking for steady returns Some are happy to grow their retirement savings very slowly Some are keen to chase higher returns Theapproachmaybedifferentifyouare–single,youngemployee;double income young family, mid-career or already near retirement. For example: (i) if your retirement is remote you may consider investing in some higher-risk instruments that can potentially generate higher returns; ii) if your retirement is near, you may consider opting for some relatively stable and conservative investments; or (iii) if your retirement is some years away, you may consider investing in a balanced investment portfolio consisting of bonds and equities. Ourneedschangethroughdifferentstagesofourlives. Youshouldreviewyour PRS portfolio regularly to ensure that it matches your retirement objectives.Itisimportanttobearinmindthecostoflivingandinflationinsettingyour retirement goal as well as to think long-term; do not be overly co ncerned aboutshort-termmarketfluctuations. 10 4. Where can I obtain information when making a decision to contribute to PRS? Potential members must receive the following documents before contributing to any fund under the Scheme: ? Product highlight sheet, which provides a summary of the key information of the fund(s) under the Scheme written in easily understood language; and Disclosure document, either in electronic form or printed copy depending on the choice made by the potential member, which will provide more comprehensive information on the PRS.The objective is to enable the investor to make an informed investment decision. ? Contributors are advised to read and understand the disclosure documents and not solely rely on advertisements. 5. When can I start contributing to PRS? TheSCisinthefinalstagesofimplementingthePRSframework. In line with the SC’s investor protection mandate, a period of general education and awareness on PRS has been allocated before approved PR S may be offered to the public. This is to allow potential members to get advice on the need to save for retirement and more information on the features of PRS.AlistofapprovedPRSProvidersandtheirSchemeswillbepublished on the website of the PPA. 6. How do members keep track of their PRS investments? MemberswillbeabletocheckonlineviathePPAwebsiteorcontact the relevant PRS Provider. MemberswillreceivestatementsonaperiodicbasisfromPRSProviders and a consolidated statement on their investments from the PPA. This will include contributions held by every PRS Provider. 11 7. Can contributions be withdrawn from PRS? WithdrawalsfromPRSorfromanyfundsunderPRSmaybemadein part or

Fuddy Meers

Fuddy Meers Fuddy Meers by David Lindsay-Abaire is set during the course of one long day. Two years ago Claire was diagnosed with psychogenic amnesia, a condition that affects short-term memory. Every night when Claire goes to sleep, her memory erases. When she wakes up, she has no idea who she is, who her family is, what she likes and does not like, or the events that led to her condition. One day is all she has to learn everything she can about herself before she goes to sleep and wakes up wiped clean again. On this particular day, Claire wakes up to her husband, Richard, bringing her coffee and a book with information about who she is, who he is, and various other facts she may need throughout the day. Her son, Kenny, drops in to say good morning and go through her purse for some money that he says is for the bus, but is most likely to pay for his next round of pot. Once the two of them leave, a masked man with a lisp and a limp crawls out from under Claire’s bed announcing that he is her brother, Zack, and he is there to save her from Richard. He gets her in the car and throws away her book of information and drives her to her mothers house. Claires mother, Gertie, has suffered a stroke and though her mind functions perfectly, her speech is garbled and mostly unintelligible. The title of the play comes from Gerties garbled speech; Fuddy Meers is what comes out of her mouth when she tries to say Funny Mirrors. Once at her mother’s house, Claire meets Millet and his puppet Hinky Binky. The limping man and Millet recently escaped from jail together and are on their way to Canada. Richard soon discovers Claires absence and drags a stoned Kenny and a kidnapped policewoman to Gerties house. From there, the action devolves into a chaotic hostage situation where details of Claires past slowly emerge until she finally gets the whole story of how, when, and why shes lost her memory. Setting: Claires bedroom, a car, Gerties house Time: The Present Cast Size: This play can accommodate 7 actors. Male Characters: 4 Female Characters: 3 Characters that could be played by either males or females: 0 Roles Claire is in her 40s, and for a woman who has lost her memory, she is fairly happy and at peace. She is upset to see an old picture of herself in which she looks like a pathetically sad-looking woman and recognizes that she is much happier now. Richard is devoted to Claire. His past is shady and littered with minor crimes, drugs, and deceit but hes since turned his life around. He is doing his best for Claire and Kenny although he tends to become nervous and erratic when placed in stressful situations. Kenny was fifteen when Claire lost her memory. He is seventeen now and is using marijuana to self medicate. He is rarely clear-headed enough these days to connect and communicate with the world. The Limping Man announces that he is Claires brother, but his identity remains in question for much of the play. In addition to a limp, he also has a severe lisp, is half blind, and one of his ears has been badly burned resulting in hearing loss. He has a short temper and refuses to answer Claires questions. Gertie is Claires mother. She is in her 60s and suffered a stroke, which resulted in an inability to speak clearly. Her mind and memory are perfect and she loves Claire with all her heart. She does her best to protect her daughter and help Claire piece together her past in time to avoid repeating it. Millet escaped from jail with the Limping Man and a puppet named Hinky Binky. Hinky Binky says all the things Millet cannot and often gets Millet into trouble. While there were plenty of things in Millets past to land him jail, he was wrongfully accused of the crime that eventually imprisoned him. Heidi is introduced as a policewoman who pulls Kenny and Richard over for speeding and possession of marijuana. She is later revealed to be the lunch lady where Millet and the Limping Man were imprisoned and she is in love with the Limping Man. She is strong-willed, possessive, and mildly claustrophobic. Production Notes The production notes for Fuddy Meers focus on set suggestions. The set designer has a chance to utilize creativity and imagination in rendering the various settings. Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire explains that since the play is experienced through Claires eyes, the world that the designers create should be a world of incomplete pictures and distorted realities. He suggests that as the play goes along and Claire’s memory returns, the set should transform from representational to realistic. He says, †¦for example, each time we revisit Gerties kitchen, maybe theres a new piece of furniture, or theres a wall where there wasnt one before. For more of David Lindsay-Abaires notes see the script available from Dramatists Play Service, Inc. Besides the make-up the Limping Man needs for his burned and disfigured ear, the costume needs for this show are minimal. Each character needs only one costume as the time span of Fuddy Meers is only one day. Lighting and sound cues are also minimal. A full properties list is included in the script. There is also a translation of all of Gerties stroke talk at the back of the script. This is helpful for the actor cast as Gertie to understand exactly what she is trying to say and to find the best emphasis and emotions to attach to her garbled dialogue. The director may use his or her own discretion in letting the rest of the cast read the translations as their confused reactions to her lines may be more genuine if they truly do not understand her. Content Issues: Violence (stabbing, punching, shooting guns), language, domestic abuse Production rights for Fuddy Meers are held by Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

Fire Protection Systems essay part 2

Fire Protection Systems essay part 2 Fire Protection Systems essay part 2 Fire Protection Systems essay part 2Fire Protection Systems essay part  1Steam smothering systemOriginally steam was used to extinguish fires on ships. One of the first experiments on the steam extinguishing systems were conducted in the late 19th century, and at industrial sites they have been used from the mid 20th century. Water steam has been applied in stationary installations with limited openings, at process units for extinguish outdoor fire, in chemical and petroleum industries.Steam smothering system is based on the fact that the steam introduced into the room where the fire occurred, reduces the amount of oxygen in the combustion zone. Together with reducing oxygen concentration, there is a partial cooling of the combustion zone and a mechanical flameout with jets of steam. Extinguishing effect is achieved by 35% volume concentration of steam, provided that the equipment and building envelope are heated above the condensation temperature of steam at atmospheric pressure. Intense steam condensation occurs at lower temperatures, in this case the fire be can not extinguished. Preference is given to saturated steam, although superheated steam can also be used. Together with the dilution effect, the steam cools technological devices without causing sharp temperature stresses. In turn, the steam supplied as a compact jet, is able to mechanically detach the flame.In confined spaces, perforated pipe outlet pair of which must have a diameter of 4.5 mm, are used as internal distribution of steam pipelines of stationary steam extinguishing systems. For dripping from the supply steam inlets, there must be provided purgers, located in the most low-lying areas along the gradient of tubes.The steam supply into enclosed spaces, perforated pipes should be laid around the inner perimeter of the room at a height of 0.2-0.3 m above the floor. Pipe openings are arranged so that steam jets are directed horizontally into the room. The main indicator in calculation of stea m extinguishing systems is the flow rate of steam. Estimated time for extinguishing is the time from the moment of steam supply to the complete elimination of extinguishing fire. Note that it should not exceed three minutes.To prevent contact of flammable gas mixtures, resulting in accidents in the petrochemical and gas industry, with ignition sources, there is designed steam fire curtain. It must have sufficient density and range, exclusive breakthrough of combustible mixture into the protected zone of the object. Device for creation curtain of steam is an annular collector tube, along the axis of which the entire upper part of the same diameter is drilled. The collector can be placed on metal, concrete or brick piers. Collector must have drain valve for condensate discharge or precipitation. Along the axis of the collector, there is a rigid gas-tight enclosure to prevent slippage of the combustible mixture between individual jets in the initial section of the curtain. Openings in the enclosures must be closed by tight doors.Trajectory of the jet necessarily exceeds the protected zone. Outdoor steam curtain is started in the following cases: when the signal of the device installed on the furnace control of the flame on the stove burner; when signals from the gas analyzers (detectors) for combustible gases and vapors installed in hazardous locations; when visual detection of accidents involving flammable liquids, vapors and gases; when reporting on emergency gas contamination on adjacent process units.Steam smothering systems are typically used for cargo holds, storage for flammable materials of vessels which have boilers of sufficient capacity. Newly built riverboats don’t use steam extinguishing systems. The main drawbacks of the steam extinguishing systems are: dangerous to human life, resulting in damage to goods and mechanisms, can be used only indoors and under boilers.Fireline systemsAccording to the purpose, aqueducts are divided into: drinking and sanitary, industrial and fire line. In turn, fire lines are divided into high and low pressure lines. High-pressure fire lines create pressure required to extinguish a fire in the highest building without fire trucks in 5 minutes after report of a fire. For these purposes, pumping stations or other individual rooms are equipped with stationary fire pumps. Low-pressure fire lines use fire pumps on the fire hydrants during a fire to provide the required pressure.Plumbing facilities are designed, built and operated accounting a pass of flow of water for firefighting purposes, besides it is taken into account the maximum flow of water for drinking and industrial needs. Along with this, clean water tanks and water towers provide emergency supply of water for fire fighting, and second lift pumping stations are equipped with fire pumps. When extinguishing fires, pumping-sleeve systems assembled, which are also basic high-pressure fire lines, consisting of a water source, water intakes, suction line, pump station combined first and second lifting conduits, and water mains. In particular, culverts are designed for transporting water from the second lift pumping station to the water supply of the city or object. Water towers are used for regulating pressure and flow rate in the water supply network, and installed at its beginning, middle, or end. Water supply network is used for reliable and uninterrupted transportation of water to consumers in the required quantities under a pressure sufficient to supply water to the most remote and upstream point of the draw, as well as for fighting fires.Water supply networks are divided into: ring and dead-end. Ring network is most often used in urban and industrial water supply systems, and blind ones are used to supply small villages, cattle farms, etc. Ring water supply networks allow disabling emergency pipeline sections without interrupting water supply in the following areas. At the same time, the total length of ring netw orks and their cost is much higher than the cost and length of dead-end systems. Furthermore, they attenuate the hydraulic impact. At the same time, the overall length, and hence the cost of the ring network significantly exceeds the cost and length of dead-end networks. In order water in the pipes does not freeze in winter, they are paved below the freezing depth of soil.Fire pump systemFire centrifugal pump is a device for supplying water to the place of extinguishing fire. Pumps are mounted on special fire equipment motopumps, pumping stations, fire tankers. Fire pumps depending on the nature of the pressure may be of several types: normal pressure (pumps create outlet pressure to 2.0 MPa), high pressure (outlet pumps create pressure above 2.0 MPa) and combined (pumps consist of series-connected normal and high pressure pumps, which have one common drive).The structure of fire pump system includes: impeller, body with outlet diffuser, body of bearing supports, body cap, discharg e manifold, foam shifter, shutoff valve, drive shaft and sealing device, device for determining the frequency of pump control panel, and a vacuum pump. The pump is not self-priming, so before starting to work it must be filled. If the water source is an outdoor pond, first start vacuum device that sucks water into the fire pump. If the work goes from the pump tank of fire engine, it is possible to fill by the opening of valves. For normal operation of the pump, you must have the tightness of internal working cavities. Therefore, pumps are periodically checked for leaks by vacuum. Pump is not easy to make, it is a complex and time-consuming process. Most of its parts are cast through a complex and costly casting tooling. Pump parts in most cases are made of aluminum. The main problem facing the pump manufacturers is to ensure the accuracy and positioning of the internal surfaces of the flow of the pump’s body and wheels.All systems are designed to protect people and property f rom the effects of fire hazards. This helps to minimize the dynamics of increase of fire hazards, evacuation of people and property to a safe area and extinguishing the fire. The main requirement for the above fire safety systems is the reliability and resistance to fire hazards. System of fire safety and protection of object includes: fire protection system, fire prevention system and a set of organizational and technical measures to ensure fire protection.

Accident victim interview report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Accident victim interview report - Essay Example Rubinow (1969) states that, â€Å"One has only to think of the peculiar dangers which a structural iron-worker must face daily in the construction of modern skyscrapers† (p.71). The victim clarified that steel bars must be handled by skilled ironworkers. Usually, most of the construction companies make use of safety measures while handling steel bars. For instance, structural ironworkers make use of cranes to lift steel bars. To be specific, co-ordination and mutual understanding among the ironworkers reduce the scope of accidents. The victim’s co-worker pointed out that the victim was in a hurry because he was asked to complete the work within deadline. So, the victim was forced to ignore safety measures and it resulted in the accident. While hoisting a steel bar, one of the cables happened to get loose and the victim’s hand was trapped under the steel bar. The safety officers started rescue work and the victim was transported to the hospital in no time. The doc tor’s diagnosis proved that the victim’s left hand was fractured. The timely rescue measures adopted by the safety officers saved the victim from further injury. The victim was forced to discontinue his work for more than 2 months to deal with the fracture. But the injury was not so severe to keep the victim away from his job for a long time. The company authorities and the doctors provided ample importance to the victim’s treatment because the accident and related issues may weaken the company’s reputation. The doctors pointed out that the fracture is not that much severe and can be cured within 2 months. The victim further added that he feels much better and is expecting an early recovery. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) authorities visited the site, investigated the case, and the company was forced to pay reasonable fine. Besides, the company authorities agreed to provide

The Role of Oxidative Stress in Diabetic Retinopath Dissertation

The Role of Oxidative Stress in Diabetic Retinopath - Dissertation Example Insulin is an important component in the regulation of the glucose pathway in humans as well as some other animals. Because of this, the inability to effectively create or use insulin results in significant health problems, and also has the potential to create diabetic complications as the disease progresses (Hartnett et al. 2000). Diabetes dramatically increases the chance of obtaining either a vascular or a microvascular condition (Pennathur and Heinecke 2004). The first form of diabetes is type I, where individuals are unable to produce insulin. People with this form of diabetes make up approximately five to ten percent of the diabetic population. They are also known as insulin-dependent (IDDM), and the two terms can be used interchangeably. In contrast, the remainder of diabetes patients are able to produce insulin but do not have the correct cellular response to the hormone. This is known as type II diabetes. Individuals with this form of the disease are non-insulin-dependent (N IDDM). As diabetes progresses, a number of different complications can develop, including diabetic retinopathy, which results in permanent loss of vision due to tissue damage (Hartnett et al. 2000). ... Because this occurs, the oxidative species are able to significantly damage the tissues of the body (Evans et al. 2003). It is argued that this is strongly related to the development of hyperglycemia (Cvetkovic et al. 2009). The development of complications has significant impact for people suffering from diabetes, resulting in significant decreases in quality of life, among other effects. One particularly strong effect of diabetic retinopathy is that at the current time it is incurable, meaning that people with this complication must life with its effects for the rest of their lives. Currently, diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common complications that occurs as the result of diabetes, and the majority or all suffers will end up with the complication after having diabetes for between 15 and 20 years (Bucolo et al. 2012). Because of the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy and its significant effects, it is crucial to understand the way that this complication develops, and wheth er these mechanisms are able to be used in the development of preventative or curative treatments for the disorder. As with other diabetic complications, oxidative stress is believed to play a crucial role in the development and maintenance of diabetic retinopathy. The aim of this paper is to examine recent research in the field of oxidative stress in diabetic retinopathy, and consider the strengths and weaknesses of current knowledge. It is hoped that the conclusions of this paper will help to inform future research and determine the gaps present in the research on this area. 2. Oxidative Stress in Diabetes Oxidative stress is the underlying factor in most mechanisms of diabetes (Neri

Reducing Secondhand Smoke on Children Research Paper - 4

Reducing Secondhand Smoke on Children - Research Paper Example So the one sure shot and authentic way of curtailing second hand smoke in the case of children is to convince the adults and guardians to quit smoking. Once the parents and guardians quit smoking it automatically removes the source of secondhand smoke at home and in the family car where the children are most vulnerable of catching on secondhand smoke and fumes (Harutyunyan et al., 2013). If this is not possible than the second best option is to request the family members and people in general not to smoke at home and in the family car (Harutyunyan et al., 2013). Besides the parents need to make it a point to assure that the people who take care of children like babysitters and nannies do not smoke around children. The others possible place where children could get exposed to secondhand smoke are the places, including the public places where smoking is allowed (Gordon, Friel, & McGranachan, 2012). Any child visiting such a place, including say a public space is poised to get exposed to secondhand smoke. So parents and guardians should look to it that they do not visit such places with their children where smoking is allowed. Keeping children away from public places where smoking is allowed is one salient way of cutting the secondhand smoke on children (Stosic, Milutinovic, Lazarevic, Blagojevic, & Tadic, 2012). This includes choosing such restaurants and recreational places which are smoke free or where smoking is not allowed (Stoic et al., 2012). This also tends to include such indoor places where smoking is allowed and where children are more likely to get exposed to secondhand smoking. It is a known fact that secondhand smoke causes greater harm when it is inhaled at such places which are c losed or are not well ventilated. The parents and guardians do need to understand the fact that secondhand smoke is utterly hazardous and could wreck havoc on the health and well being of

Shakespeare Hamlet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Shakespeare Hamlet - Essay Example Through the characterization of Hamlet, Shakespeare is able to investigate and illustrate the nature of insanity in its various forms. In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare portrays the character of Hamlet in a way that supports both the idea that Hamlet is insane and that Hamlet is not mad. In so doing, the author explores the duality of the single human brain, whereby the person shows the due ability of being both mentally unstable and mentally stable all at the same time. This is displayed by Hamlet as being probably very divergent in nature and complex to comprehend in Shakespeare’s understanding of insanity. Readers view Hamlet as a man of reflection rather than a man of action. The notion that Hamlet is not insane is supported by the proposal that he only exhibits insanity so that he can say and behave in the manner he wants and get away with it. In the play by Shakespeare, Hamlet is able to rebuke the marriage of his mother and uncle without getting in trouble. He has for a long time snow had a sneaky suspicion that his uncle could have indeed killed his father to inherit throne and marry his mother. In fact, he calls Polonius a tedious fool and a fishmonger but he walks scot-free. By faking insanity, Hamlet is not only able to get away with whatever he utters, but he is also able to act in cruel manner towards Ophelia. Ophelia, his girlfriend is in fact convinced beyond doubt that Hamlet has gone crazy. Hamlet is scolded by Gertrude for upsetting his uncle but Hamlet is able to evade the situation by letting his insanity as he conducts an investigation on what could have actually happened to his father. However, Hamlets ability to think and speak in a lo gical way shows that he is not really insane as portrayed throughout the play. Hamlet is as rational as everyone else when he is around his friend Horatio. In various instances throughout the play, Hamlet shows his trust in Horatio. Moreover, Hamlet acts irrationally and speaks out his opinions about

Vancouver supervised assisted injection facility Essay

Vancouver supervised assisted injection facility - Essay Example It had strategic purposes to support its mission listed as; improving quality of life for the illicit drug users and their environment, harm reduction and health promotion, empowerment of the illicit users to live productively. This led to the formation of safe injection centers that administer the drugs safely to the addicts. This essay will present a sustained analysis of social and economic impact of the assisted injection facility located in Vancouver. In particular, I argue out the pros and cons of the facility using a two part survey, chronological order. First, I will consider materials crediting this facility, then to those that show its disadvantages written from 2000 till recent. I will show give brief accounts that indicate the demand for these facilities. A rough estimate of 15,000 people inject illicit drugs, this excludes the occasional users. Injection drugs are often accompanied with severe health and social consequences for the users and their society at large. Increased infections, death and the accompanying costs are the distressing indicators of harm experienced within our society. These problems have grown immensely over the years and drastic measures should be taken. Safe injection facilities have remained an integral part of effective harm reduction strategy placed in Europe. They are associated with an array of positive health and social results including; less drug use, fewer drug related overdoses, reduced disease transmission, less public nuisance associated with drug abuse, less drug related crime and more drug users referred for treatment. These centers also help in sustaining contact with the most marginalized and chaotic users who inject in public. Let us now view the Vancouver context. Estimated 10-20% injective drugs users reside in Vancouver. This population has experienced increased HIV/AIDS prevalence, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and other

Shakespeare Hamlet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Shakespeare Hamlet - Essay Example Through the characterization of Hamlet, Shakespeare is able to investigate and illustrate the nature of insanity in its various forms. In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare portrays the character of Hamlet in a way that supports both the idea that Hamlet is insane and that Hamlet is not mad. In so doing, the author explores the duality of the single human brain, whereby the person shows the due ability of being both mentally unstable and mentally stable all at the same time. This is displayed by Hamlet as being probably very divergent in nature and complex to comprehend in Shakespeare’s understanding of insanity. Readers view Hamlet as a man of reflection rather than a man of action. The notion that Hamlet is not insane is supported by the proposal that he only exhibits insanity so that he can say and behave in the manner he wants and get away with it. In the play by Shakespeare, Hamlet is able to rebuke the marriage of his mother and uncle without getting in trouble. He has for a long time snow had a sneaky suspicion that his uncle could have indeed killed his father to inherit throne and marry his mother. In fact, he calls Polonius a tedious fool and a fishmonger but he walks scot-free. By faking insanity, Hamlet is not only able to get away with whatever he utters, but he is also able to act in cruel manner towards Ophelia. Ophelia, his girlfriend is in fact convinced beyond doubt that Hamlet has gone crazy. Hamlet is scolded by Gertrude for upsetting his uncle but Hamlet is able to evade the situation by letting his insanity as he conducts an investigation on what could have actually happened to his father. However, Hamlets ability to think and speak in a lo gical way shows that he is not really insane as portrayed throughout the play. Hamlet is as rational as everyone else when he is around his friend Horatio. In various instances throughout the play, Hamlet shows his trust in Horatio. Moreover, Hamlet acts irrationally and speaks out his opinions about

Role of Job Designs in Managing Human Resources Essay

Role of Job Designs in Managing Human Resources - Essay Example From the technological perspective, the workplace is defined through the production processes, which take place in a discrete area of production. Essentially, the hierarchy of managers, supervisors, and workers defines the workplace organizationally. The orientations of workers and managers to the particular area define the social limits of a workplace. Such a definition need not be limited to manufacturing. The workplace can also be a department in a bank or university or a school within an education system. What is important is that the work area is discrete, has some technological or production unity which marks it off from other workplaces, and it is recognized as such by workers and managers. Therefore, it is evident that the field of Human Resource Management has evolved into a strategic, technical, and measurement-oriented area in the past few years. Predictably, this field will continue to grow in sophistication and complexity as a reflection of the world in the 21st century, presenting solutions to difficult dilemmas that could affect the workplace massively. An organization's core values are manifested by its culture; that is, in the basic ways that business is handled, such as how decisions are made and how rewards are distributed. Employees learn these ways of doing business through observing co-workers and leaders. If no expectations are established and effectively communicated, employees will "make it up" as they go along when faced with ethical dilemmas. Thus, management strategies are essential in human resource management, organizational behaviour, or organizational design because it could specify its own model or framework of the key elements. In determining the appropriate job designs for a specific company, all models and theories could be deemed as one consolidated set of behavioural elements. In building the working framework, four elements had been identified to underlie most work behaviour models: 1.) Capability - The skills, knowledge and abilities necessary to execute an action associated with the objectives of the organization. 2.) Opportunity - When individuals are provided or encounter situations in which actions can be executed with the desired effect. 3.) Motivation - The drive to execute those actions, created by a perception that they are linked to desired outcomes and rewards. 4.) Understanding - Knowledge of how an individual's actions affect the system and overall goal achievement. The first three components are derived from a long research tradition suggesting that individual performance is a multiplicative function of ability and motivation (Cummings and Schwab 1973), critiques of the simple model (Campbell and Pritchard 1976) that suggest that the environment determines the expression of ability and motivation (Dachler and Mobley 1973), and recent work suggesting that situational constraints and opportunity (e.g., advances in technology and changes in the political, social, and economic environment) are key to a theory of work performance (Campbell 1999, Howard 1995, Ilgen and Pulakos 1999). The fourth component was incorporated to help describe organizational management and HRM practices. These and other human issues have the potential to "move the needle," that

The Art of Procrastination Essay Example for Free

The Art of Procrastination Essay Have ever experienced that moment when you should do something, whether it is e-mailing back your great grand aunt from some lost country, cleaning up your room because you can’t even find your bed in that unbelievable mess, taking your obnoxious dog on a walk in the freezing cold weather, or just simply finishing your more than annoying homework in a class you can’t even stand, but instead you’re totally doing something else to hold up the fatal deadline? Don’t lie to me, I know you have. Our generation is victim of a particular disease that slows millions of people down against their weak wills : procrastination. Procrastination is the art of putting things off until tomorrow, and there is no need to tell you how good I am at that. Even the idea of this topic came up after long hours spending doing nothing.  «Nothing  » isn’t really the exact word, because the procrastinator always find something more appealing and stupid in most cases than what he or she should actually do. Access to entertainment has became amazingly easy in the last few decades and there are now thousands of ways to have fun exist nowadays. What normal person would honestly like better calculating the derivation of Pi instead of watching a funny movie under her or his warm blanket while eating rich, unhealthy and incredibly good food ? Every human behavior occurs for a reason, and procrastination is the witness of a society ruled by irksome people ignoring the pleasures of life. Facebook is another example of a procrastinator’s occupation. This website is the devil and poses as a huge ocean where Net surfers get lost needlessly. Nothing exceptional ever happens but people are ready to stay on it, stalking random strangers they will never meet for hours instead of undertaking something smart. Mark Zuckerberg succeeded in diverting millions of good people from the right path by putting his finger on a universel human trait : our weakness. Replacing high-priority actions with tasks of lower priority doesn’t always mean that those lower priorities activities are pointless. While thinking about a topic for this column, I felt the sudden need to clean up my room. Let me tell you that I don’t often enjoy doing it, but in this case it seemed more distracting than scratching my head looking for something you might like to read. I also took the opportunity to paint my nails, to e-mail back some members of my family worried about my survival in Fat-Land a.k.a America, to count my pairs of shoes, to look everywhere for the forever missing sock undeniably eaten by the washing machine, and to prepare my upcoming trip to Barcelona by learning some dirty words in Spanish. You know you procrastinate when you discover the enormous entertainment potential of a paperclip, when you spend more time calculating the time you would have left if you start working right now than actually working and when you are reading this column instead of doing what you’re supposed to do.

Obesity Strategies in the US

Obesity Strategies in the US Abstract The meaning of obesity is having too much body fat. It is a difference in being overweight and weighing too much. In some cases, genetics seem responsible; in others, various combinations of hormonal, metabolic, and behavioral factors appear to play a role. But in most cases, its hard to determine the exact cause of obesity. It mainly occurs when a person takes in over the amount of calories that he or she is currently burning. A person’s weight may come from muscle, bone, fat, and even body water. These terms both mean that a persons weight is greater than what is considered healthy for a person’s height. Obesity increases the likelihood of various diseases. The rates of being overweight in the United States have had a drastically increased since the 1970s. About two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. It is very difficult enough for a doctor to figure out why an individual patient has accumulated excess body fat. Obesity among adults was defined as a BMI of 3 0 or higher; extreme obesity was defined as a BMI of 40 or higher. In this paper we will learn about obesity, from what it is, the meaning and calculations of BMI, the history of this American disease, why it still affects Americans, and discuss what can be done to possibly control this epidemic. Obesity in the United States today has become an enormous problem. In the last 3 decades, the number of people overweight has increased dramatically (Hill and Wyatt et al.). According to researchers at RTI International, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Prevention a study was conducted between 1998 and 2006 on the cost of obesity. One third of our adult population has become overweight. America is the richest but also the fattest nation in the world and our obesebacksides are the butt of jokes in every other country (Klein 28). Obesity is especially common in African Americans, some Hispanic populations, and Native Americans. Obesity is most common in women, and overweight is more common in men. The difference between obesity and overweight is that the term overweight refers to body weight that is at least 10 percent over the recommended weight for a certain individual. Obesity is generally defined as an excessive amount of body fat in relation to lean body mass. In numeric terms, obesity refers to a body weight that is at least 30 percent over the ideal weight for a specified height. Obesity was first recognized as a medical disorder by Greeks. In the Middle Ages and also Renaissance periods obesity was a common sign of wealth for the people. Throughout the 20th century when the populations in America reached their genetic potential for height, weight began increasing much more than height, resulting in obesity. In the 1950s increasing wealth in the developed world decreased child mortality, but as body weight increased heart and kidney disease became more common. Weight is viewed as an ideal issue has become lower since the 1920s. Obesity is still seen as a sign of wealth and well-being in Africa. Weight gain and obesity are caused by consuming more calories than the body needs – most commonly by eating a diet high in fat and calories, living a sedentary lifestyle, or both. The imbalance between calories consumed and calories burned can also be caused by a number of different physiological factors, including genetic and hormonal problems related to deficiencies in internal body functions. Obesity can begin at a very young age. Many children in our society are overweight, setting themselves up for serious health problems later in life. Type 2 diabetes, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, and heart problems are just some of the risks. Children who are overweight also tend to feel less secure, less happy, and be stressed more than normal weight children do. They get teased, criticized, and judged. In many cases, the problem is not the child’s fault. Being overweight may run in that child’s family, or their parents do not encourage them tobe active and get enough exercise. Many children spend too much time indoors wasting away in front of the TV, playing video games, or spending time on the computer, and consuming high fat snacks, soft drinks and candy at the same time (Weight Management) More than half of all US adults are considered overweight or obese. The prevalence of obesity-related comorbidities emphasizes the need for concerted efforts to prevent and treat obesity rather than just its associated comorbidities. Figures in this Article Recent estimates suggest that 1 in 2 adults in the United States is overweight or obese, defined by a body mass index (BMI) of higher than 25, an increase of more than 25% over the past 3 decades. These dramatic increases have occurred among the 3 major racial and ethnic groups and include both sexes (Must, Spadano, Coakley, Field, Colditz Dietz). BMI provides a reliable indicator of body fatness for most people and is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems. With being overweight their may come illnesses/diseases like diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, Metabolic Syndrome, dyslipidemia, and Thyroid Conditions. Obesity is connected with diabetes because carrying extra body weight and body fat go hand and hand with the development of type 2 diabetes. People who are overweight are at much greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than normal weight individuals. Being overweight puts added pressure on the bodys ability to properly control blood sugar using insulin and therefore makes it much more likely for you to develop diabetes. Almost 90% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight. The number of diabetes cases among American adults jumped by a third during the 1990s, and more increases are expected. This rapid increase in diabetes is due to the growing prevalence of obesity and extra weight in the United States population (Must, Spadano, Coakley, Field, Colditz Dietz). Heart disease is an increasing illness in adults that are obese and overweight, which causes the victim to fall into a heart attack, congestive heart failure, sudden cardiac death, and abnormal heart rhythm more often than those that maintain a healthy body mass index. Obesity can often raise the risk of heart disease because of its negative effect on blood lipid levels, something which increases in obese patients, and increase triglyceridelevels and decrease high-density lipoprotein, also known as HDL or â€Å"good cholesterol.† Obesity continues to be one of Americas most mentioned topics in the media today. The cause of this is because Americans eat out entirely too often. We do not make the right menu choices, and most importantly we are not active enough to compensate for the intake of high calorie foods consumed every day (Jay Sorensen). Even though obesity is currently rising in America there are ways to control it because obesity in some cases is heredity. You can usually lose weight through dietary changes, increased physical activity and behavior changes. In some cases, prescription medications or weight-loss surgery may be options. Exercise is more useful to burn fat as it speeds up metabolism. Exercise in any form like walking, swimming, cycling, playing football ,workout with machines or yoga just for 30-35 minutes per day will not only helpful to control weight but also reduces risk of serious cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, arthritis etc. Some people go dieting or on very strict diet regime to control obesity but that is not safe solution because after some days the person get bored and dont want to be on control regime . Maintain regular meal times and have balanced meals. Uncontrolled eating habits also contribute to weight gain. Unhealthy diets and physical inactivity are among some of the leading causes of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including cardiovascular diseases (CVD), type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. 2.7 million deaths are attributable to diets low in fruits and vegetables. With today’s technology, physical activity is not very hard to get access to. You have different systems this like Nintendo Wii, Kinect for Xbox 360, PlayStation Move for PS3, Video games are often the source of hours of fun not just for little kids but for big kids as well. The big problem is the strong correlation of sitting for long periods and the development of obesity. (Video Games And Obesity, n.d.). Many different studies have to children and young adults to prove that movement has been the result in weight lose. According to a study done by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition which was to evaluate the effect of active video games over a 6 month period on weight, body composition, physical activity, and physical fitness. A total of 322 overweight and obese children aged 10–14 year old, who were current users of video games, were randomly assigned to receive either an active video game upgrade package or to have no change. The primary outcome was the change from baseline in body mass index. Secondary outcomes were changes in percentage body fat, physical activity, cardio respiratory fitness, video game play, and food snacking. The result was that after 24 weeks, the treatment effect on BMI favored the intervention group. The change in BMI from baseline increased in the control group, but remained the same in the intervention group. There was also evidence of a reduction in body fat in the intervention group. The change in daily time spent playing active video games at 24 weeks in creased with the intervention accompanied by a reduction in the change in daily time spent playing non-active video games. An active video game intervention has a small but definite effect on BMI and body composition in overweight and obese children (Maddison, Foley, Mhurchu, Jiang, Jull, Prapavessis, Hohepa Rodgers). The National institutes of Health states video games have become increasingly popular among young adults. The purpose of this study was to determine if interactive video games, requiring physical activity to play, increase the energy expenditure (EE) and heart rate (HR) of young adults enough to elicit a training response (Siegel Shannon). Thirteen male and female participants were in the study. Participants were familiarized with equipment and allowed to practice with three games, moving and striking lighted pads, riding a bike to increase the pace of a race car, and boxing against a video simulated opponent. A portable metabolic cart and HR monitor were attached to participants to measure baseline and exercise values. Participants could play any of the three games for 30 minutes while metabolic and HR data were collected. Exercise data were compared to baseline measures, and the 3 games were compared for EE. Paired sample t-tests showed baseline and exercise values differed for HR. The boxing game provided the highest. Participants achieved 60% or better of their HR reserve well within the guidelines for training HR. Caloric expenditure during the 30-minute exercise session is also within the recommendations for daily physical activity. Thus, interactive video games that require physical activity to play can be utilized as part of an overall aerobic exercise program (Siegel Shannon). The Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) is a nearly 50,000 member-strong 501(c)(3) National non-profit organization dedicated to giving a voice to the individual affected by the disease of obesity and helping individuals along their journey toward better health through education, advocacy and support. The Obesity Society is the leading scientific society dedicated to the study of obesity. Since 1982, The Obesity Society has been committed to encouraging research on the causes and treatment of obesity, and to keeping the medical community and public informed of new advances ( Dea). The Obesity Societys membership reaches more than 2,000 basic and clinical researchers, who have published extensively, and care providers in obesity treatment and prevention ( Dea). Shape Up America! Is a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit organization committed to raising awareness of obesity as a health issue and to providing responsible information on healthy weight management? . Reference Hill, J. O., Wyatt, H. R., Reed, G. W., Peters, J. C. (2003). Obesity and the environment: where do we go from here? Science, 299(5608), 853-855. Obesity Costs U.S. About $147 Billion Annually, Study Finds. (n.d.). RTI International: Obesity Costs U S About 147 Billion Annually Study Finds. Retrieved February 20, 2014, from http://www.rti.org/newsroom/news.cfm Understanding Obesity. (n.d.). Obesity In America. Retrieved February 24, 2014, from http://obesityinamerica.org/understanding-obesity/ Must, A., Spadano, J., Coakley, E. H., Field, A. E., Colditz, G., Dietz, W. H. (1999). The disease burden associated with overweight and obesity. JAMA: the journal of the American Medical Association, 282(16), 1523-1529. Ravussin, PhD, Eric , and Donna Ryan, MD. Your Weight and Obesity . Obesity Society . N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. . Obesity and Heart Disease. Obesity and Heart Disease. N.P., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. Sorensen, J. (2014, January 3). Obesity In America. Obesity In America. Retrieved March 1, 2014, from http://www.foodandnutrition.net/nutrition/obesity Body Mass Index. (2013, December 6). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved March 1, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing Helpful tips to control obesity. (n.d.). Helpful tips to control obesity. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from http://netties.net/control.htm Video Games And ObesityAddiction or Entertainment. (n.d.). Video Games And Obesity. Retrieved March 23, 2014, from http://www.helpcurechildobesity.com/video-games-and-obesity.html Maddison, R., Foley, L., Mhurchu, C. N. (2010, November 25). The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Effects of active video games on body composition: a randomized controlled trial. Retrieved March 30, 2014, from http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/94/1/156.short Siegel, S. R., Haddock, B. L., Dubois, A. M., Wilkin, L. D. (2009). Active video/arcade games (exergaming) and energy expenditure in college students. International journal of exercise science, 2(3), 165. Obesity. (n.d.). Obesity. Retrieved April 14, 2014, from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/123702-overview

Geothermal Energy: The Alternative of the Future Essay -- Economy Tech

Geothermal Energy: The Alternative of the Future When the energy crisis hit Americans in the 1970's, people were scrambling to find ways to conserve energy. The crisis brought to attention the very real shortage of fossil fuels. Gas and oil prices skyrocketed, and Americans looked for ways to save energy. They started producing smaller cars, driving less, and turning down their thermostats. Also, they started to examine alternate energy sources, such as solar, geothermal, and biomass. For a while, Americans were making a conscious effort to cut back on the use of fossil fuels. However, when gas and oil prices started to go back down in the early eighties, many of the conservation ideas were forgotten. In the minds of most Americans, the energy crisis had been solved because they could now afford to use fossil fuels again. Looking into the next century, we can see energy shortage problems starting to resurface. The possibility of another energy crisis is very real; however, this one will be different. It will not be a matter of fossil fuels being too expensive, it will be a matter of fossil fuels no longer being a resource. Our gas-powered cars, factories, and heating systems are using fossil fuels much faster than the dinosaurs are turning to coal. The way things are going now, we won't make it through the next century before running out of our fossil fuels. The problems with fossil fuels go beyond their rapid depletion. The pollution from burning fossil fuels is really taking a toll on the environmentand the atmosphere. Factories in the United States spend millions of dollars on filtration systems to try and cut down on the amount of harmful emissions, yet the environment just isn't getting better. Converting fossil f... ...[WWW]. Available: http://eren.doe.gov/geothermal/gep.htm. Geothermal energy will fill energy gap. (1998, October 6). First Search. Online. Fast DOC Geothermal Energy Technical Site. (1998, November 12). [WWW]. Available: http://geothermal.id.doe.gov/goethermal/faq/q01.html Geothermal heat increases our energy supply. (1998, October 27). [WWW]. Available: http://www.crest.org/renewables/geothermal/grc/supply.html Geothermal technologies. (1998, October 13). US Department of Energy, 1-6. Available: http://www.eren.doe.gov/geothermal/history.html Graham-Rowe, Duncan. (1998, October 6). Resources: Energy: Deep down at the earth's core. Academic Universe. Online. Mclarty, L., & Reed, M.J., (November 15 1998). The U.S. geothermal industry: Three decades of growth. [WWW]. Available: http://geothermal.id.doe.gov/geothermal/articles/mclarty/index.html

Muddy Waters :: Blues Music

Blues as an art form gave Blacks a medium to manifest their feelings. Feelings ranging from humorous to silly to depressed. Fortunately for a entire genre of music, the only way for Mckinley Morganfield to express himself was through song. Morganfield better known as Muddy Waters became a legendary blues vocalist /guitarist. When the Blues industry saw commercial success many of its artists also saw rising fame. Muddy Waters enjoyed success in the industry up until and even after his death in 1983. Morganfield was born April 4, 1915 to Ollie Morganfield and Bertha Jones. He was born in Rollingfork, Mississippi. Near their two room shack in Rollingfork there was a creek, Deer Creek. As a youngster he used to play in the creek and get all dirty and muddy. It was at this point when his sisters gave him the nickname ‘Muddy Waters’. Bertha died when he was about three. After her death he had to move in with his grandmother in Clarksdale. Raised in Clarksdale, he also went to school there. He went to school until he was old enough to work in the fields. Much like all of the other field laborers Muddy Waters hollered in the fields to pass time or just to get things off of your chest. Waters would also teach himself to play instruments. When he was fifteen he knew how to play the harmonica and he would later teach himself the guitar. The young Waters followed in his fathers musician footsteps. He was part of a band at fifteen, with Scott Bowhandle on guitar and Sonny Simms playing the violin. They would play some Saturday nights in downtown Clarksdale and others he would sell fried fish on nights. And other nights he would watch the greats like Son House, Robert Johnson and Charlie Patton were great musical influences on Waters. The main influence on Waters was Son House, although Waters style of play was more similar to that of Robert Johnson. Muddy Waters was first recognized by word of mouth. Alan Lomax of The Library of Congress went to Clarksdale to r ecord Robert Johnson. But to his dismay, he found out that Robert Johnson was dead and had been for two years. The word on the street at that time led Lomax to Muddy Waters. Waters would record two songs with them in 1941, far before he became famous.

Management of Information System Essay

Supply chain management is the general, strategic interaction of the business functions within a particular firm and throughout businesses within the supply chain with the aim of improving the long-term performance of individual firm and the supply chain as a whole. The functions of logistics are key operating elements of a firm that need design and management agreeable with corporate strategy and changing competitive scenarios. The functions of purchasing focus on various processes such as contract writing, buying, demand planning, budgeting, supplier base and vendor management, and customer relationships. A firm may execute an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system in order to automate its inventory management as well as sales and order process, including the related approval process. The ERP system is an extension of manufacturing resource planning and material requirements planning (MRP) systems, which link a firm’s demand side with its supply side by categorizing demand into requirements for components and parts. The ERP system provides a complete set of supply chain functionalities, including the planning and implementation of marketing activities, inventory and shop floor management and the potential of authorizing ordering and receiving to the end-user. It has also the capability of Internet integration and enterprise application integration through customized interfaces and XML. Customer relationship management analytics are capable of determining the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, projecting customer trends, identifying unprofitable clients, up-sell opportunities and clients who are likely to defect, measuring the effectiveness of incentive programs to meet overall sales goals, monitoring the performance of the sales staff, distributing resources in terms of customer needs and value, analyzing the cost-to-service ratio per client segment, and delivering the more suitable levels of customer service. Reference . Themistocleous, Marinos (2005). Enterprise Resource Planning and Enterprise Application Integration. United Kingdom: Emerald Publishing Limited.

Information Technology Coursework Essay

Input – The Keyboard The keyboard is essentially based on the standard QWERTY keyboard used by typists. The main differences are the additions made by computer manufacturers. The first thing to notice is that the keyboard has three main sections. The first section is the main QWERTY keyboard, which has three extra keys. The most important of these extra keys is usually marked â€Å"ENTER† or â€Å"RETURN†. The enter key is on the right side of the keyboard and is used to tell the computer that you have finished typing and wish either to move to a fresh empty line or that you want the computer to carry out the typed instruction. The other two additional keys are the â€Å"ALT† and the â€Å"CONTROL† keys (â€Å"CTRL†). These act in the same way as the shift key on the typewriter and so allow normal keys to have a number of different effects. The second part of the keyboard is the FUNCTION keys. There are always at least ten and sometimes twelve of these labelled F1 to F10 or F12, which are grouped together on the left of the keyboard or along the top of it. They are used by programs like word processors or spreadsheets to give instructions to the computer. They do not normally produce an effect on the screen but can do in some programs. The third part of the keyboard is the numeric key pad. This is situated on the right of the keyboard and serves two functions. Firstly, to move the cursor and secondly to type numbers into the computer. The keys on the keypad usually contain the numbers 0 to 9, the decimal point and the mathematical symbols. The key marked â€Å"NUMLOCK† is used to tell the computer if the pad is used to enter numbers (NUMLOCK ON) or to move the cursor (NUMLOCK OFF). Input – The Mouse A mouse is a device, which can provide an alternative to the keyboard. The mouse itself has a small ball in its base which, when pulled across a smooth surface, moves a special â€Å"cursor† across the screen. This cursor can be used to draw or point and is especially effective in providing an easy to use interface for those who have difficulty with keyboards etc. Processing – The Central Processing Unit Inside the microcomputer is a tiny silicon chip called the Central Processing Unit or CPU: this can be regarded as the â€Å"brain† of the entire system. With the help of the computer’s internal memory it executes the instructions in a program by performing simple logical operations at very high speeds – typically an instruction will be performed in millionths of a second. The chip containing the Central Processing Unit or CPU is the place where the computer does its â€Å"thinking†. The CPU processes information by fetching a program instruction stored in the computer’s memory, executing the instruction and proceeding to the next step in the program. The CPU contains (1) a program counter that tells the CPU where it is in the program. (2) an instruction register that stores the current program instruction. (3) a control unit that decodes the contents of the instruction register. (4) data registers that store the small units of information the CPU is currently processing. (5) a memory address register that holds the address or memory location of the information in its data registers. (6) an Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) that actually performs each small step in the program, and (7) a status or flags register that reports on the work of the ALU. The size or power of a CPU is determined by the length of its registers: 8-bit processors wor k on information in 8-bit groups; 16-bit processors have registers that hold 16 bits and are twice as fast. 32-bit processors provide even more computing speed, and so on. Internal Memory – RAM and ROM Because the central processing unit only works on small pieces of information at a time, the computer needs a way to store information while it is not being processed. Two kinds of silicon chips serve as the computer’s internal memory. Random Access Memory or RAM chips store information temporarily, and the computer can write, read, and erase information on them. RAM chips are erased every time the computer is turned off, so Read Only Memory or ROM chips act as the computer’s permanent memory: they store the instructions the CPU needs when you first turn it on. External Memory – Disks and Disk Drives External memory devices like floppy disks, hard disks, and CD-ROMs store programs and data when the computer is turned off. When a disk is inserted into a disk drive, the computer can read information from it or write new information onto it. Only certain types of CD-ROM can have information written onto them. Output: The Printer Printers receive electrical codes from the computer and then print the corresponding letter or number on paper. The result is called hard copy. Plotters and some printers can even reproduce computer graphics on paper. Types of Printer Ink Jet Printers Ink jet printers work as their name suggests, by squirting jets of ink onto the paper through tiny nozzles. Ink-jets provide good quality output (on average 600 dots per inch) at reasonable speed and at relatively low cost. Laser Printers A laser printer is essentially a photocopier attached to the computer as an output device. Laser printers are capable of high quality output (around 720 dots per inch), at high speed. They can be bought from as little as around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100. Output – Monitors (Visual Display Units) Monitors (V.D.U.s) are the most frequently used output device. The display is transmitted from the computer to the surface of a cathode ray tube, which is rather like a television screen. Slim, flat screen monitors are also available. The display consists of very small phosphorescent dots combined in different patterns to form words, numbers, and pictures. Monitors vary in their resolution (clarity), more dots on the screen means a higher resolution but obviously costs more. The range of resolutions are CGA, EGA and the highest resolution VGA. Software – Computer Programs A program is simply a set of instructions, which the programmer wishes the computer to obey. The computer blindly obeys any instruction which it is given – it possess no abilities to determine whether an instruction (so long as it is framed correctly) is the correct instruction for any given situation. Programs tell the computer how to turn the input you provide into the output you want. A program is therefore a detailed set of instructions for performing a particular task. Because you cannot actually touch programs they have become known as â€Å"software†; this contrasts with the hardware of a computer system – monitors, chips, printers etc. – which you can touch! Software takes many forms – the computer system itself is co-ordinated by a special resident program called an operating system (you can read more about this program below), programs to carry out specific tasks for the user are termed â€Å"application programs†. Stock control, word processing, payroll and accounting functions are typical areas, which are serviced by application programs. Input/output Media – Mass Storage Floppy Disks A floppy disk is 3 1/2 inches square. Inside its protective case or sleeve, each floppy disc is a circle of flexible plastic whose surface is covered with magnetic oxide. When you use a disc for the first time, you must use a special program called an operating system to format the disk’s surface by creating circular tracks divided into pie-shaped sectors. A hole punched near the hub of the disk lets the computer know where the first sector is. A track on each disk stores a directory that tells the computer where to find what information. This means that it can go directly to the correct part of the disk instead of wading through all of its contents to find the information it wants. A typical floppy disk can store around 200 pages of typewritten text, depending on how tightly the information is packed. If pictures are stored on disk, they take up a lot of room. Care of Floppy Disks Information is stored on floppy disk by means of magnetism. The information stored on a disk can be lost if the magnetic surface of the disk is damaged. When handling a disk you must be careful not to bend it or touch the exposed portions. Moisture, extreme temperatures, and exposure to magnetic fields or equipment can also ruin disks. You should keep back-up copies of all important disks to insure that your data will not be lost if a disk is damaged. You can guard against the possibility of accidentally writing over and erasing important data and programs by moving the small write-protect notch on the side of the disk. When this notch is closed, a sensor inside the drive prevents the head from writing onto the disk. Hard Disks All modern PCs have hard disks, which can store vast amounts of information – this varies depending upon their size. Although they operate on the same basic principles as floppies, hard disks spin many times more quickly allowing the read/write head to pass only fractions of an inch over the disk’s surface. Hard disks are hermetically sealed in special chambers to prevent dust particles from ruining the disk’s surface. Disk Drives: Read/Write Heads To use a disk, you place it into a disk drive so that the circular hole in the centre of the disk fits into a cone in the drive. This cone spins the disk allowing all of its sectors to come under a window cut into the sleeve. As the disk spins around, a read / write head moves back and forth over the exposed portion of the disk. The head works like the head on a tape recorder. It reads information on the disk by translating its magnetic fields into electrical signals that are sent to the computer; information is written onto the disk when the head converts the electrical signals from the computer into magnetic fields on the disk’s surface. Operating Systems A computer is really a system of interconnected parts: a keyboard or input device; internal memory (RAM and ROM); a processor; disks and disk drives; output devices like a monitor and a printer; and, of course, software. A special kind of program called an operating system controls the flow of information between these different components. One of its most important jobs is to enable your hardware to understand the instructions of your software. When you buy a computer, you must be sure that its design or architecture is compatible with the operating system for which the software you want is written. The operating system manages the files on your disks and offers utilities such as formatting blank disks, listing the directory of files on a disk, as well as copying, renaming, and deleting files. Sometimes operating systems are permanently installed, but if the operating system is pre-packaged on a disk, its contents must either be loaded separately into the computer or written onto ev ery disk used, during the formatting process. Windows 95 and Windows 98 are the most common operating systems used today. Modems and Networks With the help of a modem, your computer can link up and communicate with other computers all over the world. The modem translates the computer’s language of ons and offs into tones of different frequencies, which are then transmitted across telephone lines. At the receiving end the process is reversed: a modem converts tone variations back into the computer’s digital code. Computer networks are systems of computers linked together in this way: they are used to send and receive electronic mail, and to allow small personal computers access to the vast data libraries of larger computers, via the Internet. COMPUTER APPLICATIONS Application Packages These are programs that actually perform the tasks that the user wishes to be done. The tasks are usually so complicated that several programs are required and these are collectively called a ‘suite’ of programs. Typical examples of applications are Stock Control, Databases, Order Processing, Word Processing, Airline Booking Systems, Spreadsheets, Viewdata Systems and Point of Sale Systems. Each package will now be discussed in turn, to give a general explanation of what they are, when they are used and for what purpose. Stock Control A stock control system keeps track of all the stock currently held by the company. The computer is informed through the till when each item is sold. It is then an easy matter to deduct the number sold from the current stock level to give a new stock level. If this level is below a re-order level which again is held by the computer, then the computer can automatically print a re-order letter to the supplier. The number of each item to be supplied is stored and when the supplier delivers, the number of items delivered is added to the amount in stock. Therefore the company, in theory, should never, through its own efforts, run out of any item of stock and should at all times know how much stock it has, in the warehouse, in storage at a retail outlet and on the shelves. Losses through theft are easily calculated through a manual shelf count, and corrective action to reduce losses can be implemented quickly. Database A database is a store of information made up of records. A record contains information relating to one person or one company and is made up of individual pieces of information called fields. For example, you may create your records having the following fields: company name, address, telephone number, credit limit, amount owed, payment due etc. When all the information has been entered the database may then be used by searching for particular information, called cross-referencing (e.g. to find out at the end of the month who the company owes money to and how much, in order to settle their accounts). New information can be fed in and the database is changed (updated) to include the new data, so that it is always up to date. Large databases are best used with static information (remains the same), with new records being added to the end. An example of this type is a Library with records on all the books in stock. The computer operated by the DVLA in Swansea (Driving Vehicle Licensing Authority) might be an example of a large database. Information relating to every motor vehicle in the U.K. is stored on computer and can be sorted or searched to find out, for example, who owns a particular car. Word Processing In word processing a computer behaves like a much enhanced form of typewriter. Facilities are provided for entering, manipulating, storing and retrieving blocks of text. This means that standard letters and lists of names and addresses can be generated separately and then letters to everyone on the list can be printed without retyping the document. The processor retrieves the letter and the first name and address, prints the letter, retrieves the next name and address, changes the information in the letter, prints the next letter and so on. Real-Time Systems An example of a real-time system is Airline Booking. This is a system which updates the data immediately it changes. All the terminals in all the booking offices are connected via a telephone line to a large computer in the head office of the company. This is so that information can be accessed immediately and be changed on confirmation of a booking immediately. For example, if you wanted to book a flight, you would feed details into the terminal about the flight, and back would come a message saying perhaps that only two seats remain on that flight. If you then take these seats by sending that information back, confirmation would take place and then no-one anywhere in the world would be able to book a seat on that particular flight (even if they tried to book only ten seconds after you). Spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a special application package, which allows the user to set up tables of information and add up rows and columns which make up the table. They are used mainly for displaying cash forecasts of companies, in the form of a table where all the figures are interconnected. Each intersection of a row and a column is called a ‘cell’. The cells are filled with figures and then changes can be made and the spreadsheet calculates all the related cells, alters and reprints them. Figures can be changed and the overall effect on the complete table can be seen immediately.