Critical Thinking Essay

Today is the era of information culture and most facts come from critical thinking. More and more people are faced regularly with information they have to make proper decisions about. Critical thinking is the vital component of decision-making process and business world. Critical thinking is defined as the process of determining the accuracy, authenticity and worth of data and information, arguments, knowledge and claims. Critical thinking is generating, analyzing and examining ideas, learning to be cautious and sympathetic, learning to manipulate. The key point of critical thinking is to find and marshal good arguments and information, to avoid distortion and manipulation, to define truth and fallacies before product advertising. Actually, it helps expert to develop new approaches, to attract new customers and to retain the power on the old ones. Decision-making should be critical in its thinking and deliver properly selected and analyzed promotional plans, find technical solutions to existing problems, design new production lines, etc. (Feldman 2002) The purpose of critical thinking is rather three-fold: it has to be relevant to the segment of target market; it has to be memorable and recognizable beyond the moment of its exposure; it has to attract attention of indented viewer. In decision-making process critical thinking is a generative and lateral force, because it allows: to examine all ideas and arguments, to separate the ideas from their vehicles, to define false from true, and to separate accurate from distorted, incomplete from complete, etc. (Harris 1998) Example from Personal Experience I really appreciate the role of critical thinking in decision-making process. Sometimes, decision may seem less effective, though in perspective it will appear a winning one. Such situation happened to me. Once I had been working at confectionery. The idea was to put cake mixes on the market and manufacturers decided to put the highest quality into mixes. Women were required simply to add water, but, unfortunately, mixes fail to be sold good. I had to refer to my critical thinking to realize the women might feel guilty for not being good wives as they had to take shortcut to make a cake. I thought it would be better to take off milk and eggs as it would allow women to do something. Despite the fact that solution appeared to less efficient in theoretical terms, it was more practical. It was the first time I admitted the importance of critical thinking in decision-making. (Harris 1998) Benefits and Importance of Critical Thinking Critical thinking gives business experts and employees an opportunity to develop new fresh solutions to problems. Critical thinking gives the possibility to enjoy analyzing data and information and then to develop opinions and conclusions. In many cases employees analyze what is wrong with the idea or on-going process and then try to point out how to make this process right. Critical thinking in decision-making is used when it is necessary: to increase brand loyalty, to increase visibility and awareness of the goods and services that are being delivered, to stimulate increase in sales, to create opportunities to display products, to be socially responsible, and to entertain customers and prospects. (Harris 1998) Critical thinking is used when it is required to develop the habit of analyzing and to think about problematic issues instead of reacting to them. Thus, critical thinking sets them apart and then sees what is going on with them. One more benefit of critical thinking is developing attention. Critical thinking is necessary when paying attention to the opportunities opened ahead. It is a matter of fact that many original ideas are lost because of lack of attention and lazy attitude towards information. Critical thinking helps employees to find the best words and phrases to create a strong impression and impact on customers. Further, critical thinking develops awareness in decision-making process. It means that employees are able to look a round and to encompass the universe of thought. Employees possessing developed critical thinking won’t be fixed within the narrow confines of own perspective. They will be aware of different approaches available to problem solving. Critical thinking together with strong imagination is the best combination for a strong leader, because they allow him/her to play with data and to sort it in many different ways. Simply saying, critical thinking is optimistic curiosity, because really critically thinking employees want to know things. (Feldman 2002) Critical leaders are able to view opposing arguments with interest and sympathy. They prefer to listen thoughtfully and patiently to other workers and consider them carefully. Therefore, critical thinking provides them with knowledge what is going on in information society and with possible ways of verbal and non-verbal manipulations. They will create different meanings and impressions. It is a matter of fact that critical thinking gives the opportunity to form independent judgments that are based good evidence. Critically thinking people are able to not only to collect necessary data, but also to put them together into something new and meaningful. (Feldman 2002) Critical thinking is necessary for decision-making process, because it gives excellent possibilities to expand their own boundaries of thoughts and to broaden their ideas and perspectives in many ways by talking to people whose point of view is completely different, by listening to customers with respect to their needs and desires, by reading books and articles with deeper understanding of changes in society, by understanding different lifestyle and different cultures. (Harris 1998) Critical thinking is useful for driving growth in corporate and social marketing strategies, for building and maintaining markets and to make positive social contribution. What is more important is that critical thinking is the showcase of social responsibility. Employees with critical thinking can find ways how to increase influence and impact on customers’ behavior and how to contribute ethical reputation of the company or organization. (Feldman 2002) References Feldman, Daniel. (2002). Critical Thinking: Strategies for Decision Making. Boston, MA: Thomson Place. Harris, Robert. (1998, July 1). Introduction to Critical Thinking. Retrieved January 30, 2007, from http://www. virtualsalt. com/crebook1. htm

How will future changes affect Human Resource Management Essay

Introduction Human Resource Management (HRM) has become more important to society in the past twenty years, going through many changes already. But how will it adapt in the future. What are the predictions for the future and how will HRM cope? The forthcoming document analyses the history of HRM, predicts what will happen in the future of employment and the changes that HRM will have to consider to be able to keep functioning. The History of HRM According to Winning (Online), Personnel Management has been around since the early 1920’s but mainly just to support employees and also keep them away from being part of unions as it wasn’t in the company’s interest to encourage unions then. It was the 1960’s where Personnel Management started to get recognised slightly more, at this time it was still being called Personnel Management. This changed in mid 1980’s when Personnel Management started to be seen as something that is actually important to a company. The image of Personnel Management got given a face-lift and was now referred to as Human Resource Management or HRM. The reasons for this being that the powers of the trade unions were decaying slowly. Staff functions also began to change with more technology being introduced, which introduced the start of HRM (Mullins, 1999) Personnel Management was recognised on a low level before the introduction of HRM, but still had a part to play in the negotiations of machinery in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The introduction of HRM brought around many questions about the similarities and differences between HRM and personnel management. The main differences are stated that Personnel Management is an employee centred activity including more opinions than facts, and that HRM is a resource centred activity with more planning, monitoring and control. Functions of HRM The HRM department varies from organisation to organisation. But there are some specific tasks that need to be completed by every organisation. Some organisations are just too small to have a separate HRM department, but they still need to complete these specific tasks by whichever means. All organisations have to recruit employees by going through the recruitment and selection process. Larger organisations will have specific guidelines by which they follow to complete this process; some smaller companies may not have these guidelines, but they still have to abide by the law. Any staff that are employed need to be trained in their job with compliance to any laws relating to the role. Larger companies will offer a development plan to run along side the training, but even smaller companies need to train staff. The HRM function in the company adheres to any legislation set by the Government. All organisations must have a motivation and reward scheme or the employee turnover will be high as everyone has needs, whether it is basic or social needs. Employee records need to be maintained in accordance with the data protection act. If things are not kept legal in the organisation then it will be in trouble. The HRM department/function sees that everything operates correctly. Specific HRM departments looks after the employees and their welfare in the organisation, taking care of wages and dealing with personal issues that may arise with particular employees. Although many line managers will carry out such functions in smaller organisations. Predictions for the future and how it will affect HRM HRM has come along way over the years. Since the 1980s there has been a significant but gradual change from Personnel management to HRM, being recognised as something that is becoming more important to organisations. With many people not joining unions and expecting more care from companies, it is something that had to happen to keep good relations. The key issues to discuss are the acceleration of technology and homeworkers having an affect on HRM in the future. Such issues such as outsourcing, planning and future attitudes also need to be considered. The future is always hard to predict but an issue that is becoming obvious is that technology will play a huge part of what is to come. The Internet and computer technology is moving very fast, one business year is seven Internet years according to Dr Patrick Dixon (online). With growth like this, the Internet will be a backbone for society before long. In 2000 62% of all businesses functioned with Internet access as table 1.1 shows in Appendix 1. This demonstrates how important the Internet has become to businesses and the way they operate. 50% of businesses in the UK have their own web site now as well, so only 12% of the businesses with Internet access don’t choose to have a web site. Having a web site catches another corner of the market and makes a company grow considerably, this would allow employees to work from home and brings lower costs for the businesses. E-Commerce is beginning to take off as table 1.3 shows in Appendix 1, 16% of businesses trade in this way over the Internet. E-Commerce is quite a new concept and the fact that 16% of businesses trade this way already is shocking. Since 1999, table 1.4 on Appendix 1 shows that the supply of ICT products has escalated by 150%. This is a very clear indication that technology is growing at a very high speed. Therefore the future of HRM will have to work around this and face the facts that with the lower costs for businesses and job losses HRM will have to seriously change the way operations are conducted. The question is where do they start making changes. Perhaps an Internet based solution could be planed and trailed, but part of HRM is face-to-face communication with employees, which is also something else that will need to be considered when bringing in any changes. Home and work integration is already starting with 0.7% of the population in 1996 working from home (Appendix 2a), this figure is practically unchanged from 1996 with the 2000 figure being the same. But in 2001 there are some significant findings, the figure not being vastly different from the above but, as the Office of National Statistics states (Appendix 2b), â€Å"Homeworking is most common among women, but among men it is the associate professional and technical occupations where homeworking is most common.† Office of National Statistics (Online) This means if technology keeps progressing like it is today, more and more people will work from home. As most men that are homeworking have professional and technical occupations, the growth of technology keeps the doors firmly opened for men to easily work from home (Appendix 2b). The impact on HRM is huge, it will have to keep up with this and find a way to be able to carry on functioning. But with homeworkers, if they are located all around the country, communication is hard. HRM may have to become like door-to-door salesman, having HRM representatives knocking on employees door for a review. Some organisations are already predicting this in the future and have taken certain measures to try and either delay or combat the problem. For example Google, ironically an Internet based company, keep their workers on-site and have brought in excellent benefits for employees, a few examples being a free gourmet lunch five days a week and a doctor, dentist and massage therapists on-site (Google job opportunities, 2004) In the past employers have been thinking of schemes to try and boost the company and its profits, but before long schemes will have to be brought in to retain and motivate employees. Employees are the way of the future whether they work from home or stay on-site. On-site workers will need an incentive to stay on-site and home workers will need support with the issues that arise from homeworking such as motivation, friendship and fulfilment. Has Google set the trend for the future? There are other issues that have to be considered such as outsourcing, planning, and future attitudes. Outsourcing, according to Deloitte Research (Appendix 3), by 2008 will have two million financial service jobs moved to India, as it is cheaper for companies to locate there. If other companies follow the trend that financial services has started, lower paid jobs may become reduced to a minimum in the UK leaving unemployment at an all time high. HRM will be cut in this case and only used in the higher paid jobs. Another alternative for HRM is being told by employers to still look after branches in India. How will this be achieved? Perhaps Video Conferencing or relocation for many workers is an option. If more people are having to think about highly paid jobs in the future, things such as friends and family may have to become very planned out for people. The society we live in may become false with everyone focused on getting a job leaving things in our lives, such as finding friends, being all about getting into a certain job. HRM employees will have to be very careful; they may find they are finding many new friends that are very interested in where they work. HRM will have to become a very tight profession to go into, everything being planned to the fine detail, even perhaps who your friends can or cannot be. Future Attitudes will pave out a lot of what the future will be like. Some jobs may become redundant if no one in the future wants to do it. What will happen when young workers cannot get onto the house ladder? Many people now work to support their family and cannot afford to leave a job, will workers of the future feel the same, if they have no house and no young family, what will attitudes be like? How will the HRM department stop young workers from leaving and moving from job to job? How will HRM try and get employees to have company loyalty. These are issues to be addressed for the future if social attitudes hit an all time low. The effect of these changes on traditional HRM functions If people will be working from home the whole recruitment and selection process will have to change. Perhaps a home visit interview will have to be deliberated by companies to find the correct candidates. How will training be issued and measured? Possibly by post, email or web site even. Will HRM representative have to go to employee’s houses to deliver a training package? HRM will have to investigate what would be the most effective measure. How can HRM deliver motivation to a self-motivated homeworker? There is no way possible that HRM can motivate homeworkers when they work at home on their own all day. A homeworker just have to motivate themselves, but HRM can think of social activities designed to get homeworkers out of the house and perhaps targets that they get rewards for. Personal issues and employee welfare will be the hardest thing to monitor. If the HRM department are not getting to know employees through the work place, they do not know what this person is like which makes it harder to get to know them let alone assess their needs. Conclusion HRM will face many problems of how they are going to plan and organise people in the company, facing difficulties of how and where people are working and monitoring this. As HRM is also responsible for employee well-being, but without being in a specific work place more issues of motivation, friendship, respect and fulfilment will have to be addressed and dealt with in a specific manner. If the predictions come true HRM will be under a lot of stress to completely change over the next few years. The operations they undertake from day to day will have to be managed in such a way it incorporates every eventuality.

Pleurotus spp

The fungi are a group of eukaryotic organisms. Due to their microscopic cellular dimensions, they are of great interest to microbiologists. Multicellular fungi is familiar to each and every one of us. The velvety blue and green growth on rotting oranges and lemons as well as on stale cheeses, the whitish grey furry outgrowth on bread and Jam, and the mushrooms in the field. These are the bodies of a variety of fungi. Fungi are heterotrophic organisms†They need organic compounds for nutrition.The classification of fungi, unlike that of bacteria, is based primarily on the hracterstics of the sexual spores and fruiting bodies, present during the sexual stages of their life cycle. However, the sexual spores and fruiting bodies are produced only under certain environmental conditions, if they are known to produce them at all. Pleurotus is a genus of gilled mushrooms which includes one of the most widely eaten mushrooms. Species of pleurotus may be called oyesters, abalone or tree mu shrooms and are some of the most commonly cultivated edible mushrooms in the world.They have been very much useful in mycoremediation of pollutants such as petroleum and polycyclic aromatic ydrocarbons. The name pleurotus has been derived from the greek word pleure (side) + otos (ear) which means â€Å"Side Ear†. The following are the details of Pleurotus Genus scientific classification: l. The kingdom of pleurotus is Fungi, II. Phylum is basidiomycota, Ill. class is Agaricomycetes ‘V. Order is agaricales V. Family is pleurotaceae The basic structure of oyster mushroom includes a capwhich may be laterally attached (with no stem).If there is a stem, it is normally eccentric and the gills are extended downward along it. The term pleurotoid is used for mushrooms having this eneral shape. There are certain cylindrical spores which are smooth and elongated. Where hyphae meet, they are Joined by clamp connections. Pleurotus is not considered to be a bracket fungus and most of the species are monomitic (with a soft consistency). Pleurotus Ostreatus Specifications Scientific name: Pleurotus ostreatus Oacq. ) P. Kumm. Derivation of name: Ostre- means â€Å"oyster† and atus means â€Å"resembling. † Synonyms: Agaricus ostreatus Jacq.Common name(s): Oyster mushroom. Phylum: Basidiomycota Order: Agaricales Family: Pleurotaceae Occurrence on wood substrate: Saprobic or parasitic; olitary to more typically in overlapping clusters on living or dead deciduous trees, on rotting logs and stumps, sometimes on conifers; April all the way through November, year-round during mild periods. Dimensions: Caps 5-20 or more cm wide; stipes 0. 5-4 cm long and 0. 5- 3. 5 cm thick. Stripes may be absent. Cap: Moist or dry; smooth; variable in color: whitish to cream, greyish to brown, some with lilac tones; oyster shell- shaped to fan-shaped or semicircular.Gills: Decurrent or glowing from point of attachment; broad; whitish, yellowish in age. Spore print: White t o pale lilac-gray. Stipe: Sometimes absent or rudimentary. If present, lateral to eccentric or even central if fruitbodies are on top of a log or stump; whitish; hairy at base. Veil: Absent. Edibility: Edible, rated as choice. The oyster and abalone mushrooms belong to the genus pleurotus. They have a high saprophyte colonizing ability and can grow on virtually any agricultural waste. They rank among the top six mushrooms produced in the world.It should be noted that the availability of a good strain of mushrooms, suitable substrate for cultivation and control of saprophytic and parasitic microorganisms are the three most important spects for mushroom cultivation. The world production for this genus was 169,000 tons in 1986. The consumption and production of edible mushrooms in developing countries have occurred for many years. There has been a high upsurge of interest in cultivation of this mushroom in the last decade. Because of their spicy flavour and their medical effects in dro pping plasma cholesterol, mushrooms are widely consumed in Europe, the U.S. A and Japan. Many of the fleshy sporocarp species of the many acomycetes and basidiomycetes can safely be eaten while only a few poisonous species of the fleshy fungi can be found . However more than one thousand mushrooms are known, about one hundred mushrooms are edible and only a few are considered of a commercial value. Pleurotus ostreatus is relatively easy to grow. A few trials to produce the mycelium of oyster mushrooms in Egypt using some agro industrial wastes were only recently carried out. The goal of this work was to study the cultivation of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus spp. emphasizing the effect of different media and organic substrates on production. Mushrooms of Pleurotus spp. are commonly known as oyster mushrooms which occupy the second osition among cultivated edible mushrooms worldwide due to their nutritional values. They are widely cultivated all over the world. Its production is remarkab ly affected by the environmental conditions like temperature and relative humidity. In this study, we investigated the production of four species of oyster mushroom: 1 . ) Pleurotus ostreatus 2. ) P. florida 3. ) P. aJor-caJu and 4. ) p. High king Cultivated in every season( January to December) in Bangladesh. The temperature (in C) and relative humidity (%RH) ot culture house in each month, and parameters ot ushroom production were recorded. In all of the selective study of this species, the minimum days required for primordial initiation, and the utmost number of fruiting bodies, biological yield and biological efficiency were found during December to February (14-27 oc, 70-80% RH). The production was found minimum during the cultivated time August to October.We suggested cultivation of selected Pleurotus spp. in winter (temperature zone 14-27 oc with relative humidity for better production and biological efficiency. The environmental factor is very important for the production of oyster mushrooms. Various mushrooms are known to be very sensitive to the climatic conditions. The major environmental factors like temperature, humidity, fresh air and compact materials affect in mushroom production. Pleurotus spp. grows in wide range of temperature (15-30 oc) which also varies from species to species.Oyster mushrooms Pleurotus spp. draw their nutritional requirement from a host substrate or from the agricultural wastes rich in lignin, cellulose and hemicelluloses used for their cultivation. Due to varying nutrients in the substrates, different mushroom yields have been recorded by various workers. Oyster mushrooms are grown from mycelium (threadlike filaments that become interwoven) propagated on a base of steam-sterilized cereal grain (usually rye or millet). This cereal grain/mycelium mixture is called spawn and is used to seed mush-room substrate.Most spawn is made with mycelium from a stored culture, rather than mycelium whose parent was a spore. This is beca use spores are likely to yield a new strain and performance would be unpredictable. Spawn-making is a rather complex task and not feasible for the ordinary mushroom grower. Spawn of various oyster mushroom species may be urchased from com-mercial spawn makers who usually provide instructions for its use. Spawn frequently is shipped from the manufacturer to growers in the same aseptic containers used for spawn production.Inoculum for spawn production is frequently produced in polyethylene bags containing a micro porous breather strip for gas exchange. Most commercial spawn production companies produce spawn only from inoculums that has met strict quality control standards. These standards include verification of inoculums production performance before it is used to produce spawn and assurance of the spawn's biological purity and vigour So ariable in size, shape and colour are the many kinds of oyster mushroom that confident recognition of some species is tricky without resorting to m icroscopic analysis.The process is not helped by the fruiting habit of many Pleurotusspecies that seem to delight in emerging beyond reach, sometimes high up in the crowns of trees. For the most part the various oyster mushrooms are saprophytic on deciduous trees, and only very rarely are they found on conifers. Distribution Pleurotus ostreatus, the Oyster Mushroom, occurs throughout Britain and Ireland as well as in most parts of mainland Europe. It is also widely distributed throughout much of Asia, including Japan, and is present in parts of North America.Several similar species within the Pleurotus genus are often confused, and so distribution data for individual species in this complex group are inevitably subject to some uncertainty. Taxonomic history The Oyster Mushroom was first described scientifically in 1775 by Dutch naturalist Nikolaus Joseph Freinerr von Jacquin 7) and named Agaricus ostreatus. (In the early days of fungus taxonomy most of the gilled mushrooms were inco rporated in the genus Agaricus. ) In 1871 German mycologist Paul Kummer transferred theOyster Mushroom to the genus Pleurotus (a new genus that Kummer himself had defined in 1971), giving it its currently accepted scientific name. Synonyms of Pleurotus ostreatus includeAgaricus ostreatus Jacq. , Crepidopus ostreatusoacq. ) Gray, and Pleurotus columbinus Quel. The blue-grey-capped form of this mushroom is referred to by some authorities as Pleurotus ostreatus var. columbinus (Quel) Quel. Etymology The generic name Pleurotus is Latin for ‘side ear' and refers to the lateral attachment of the stem;ostreatus is a reference to oysters, and in shape the fruitbodies often do esemble oyster shells.The specimens shown on this page show Just how changeable Oyster Mushrooms can be – not only in colour and form but also in their growing habitat. From the top: on a dead Beech trunk; next on a standing live (but surely dying) Cabbage Palm; and at last on a dead branch broken fallen f rom an old Ash tree. Importance of nitrogen sources for the growth of pleurotus spp. :- i) Nitrogen is an essential element for cellular functions, for growth and various metabolic activities, particularly protein and enzyme synthesis. i') The nitrogen content of mycelium ranges between 3-6%. i) Cereal straw used for cultivation of oyster mushroom is a poor source of nitrogen (0. 5 to 0. 8%) and at the time of fructification when most of the nitrogen is utilized for mycelia growth, the depleted nitrogen in the substrate becomes inadequate and limits mushroom yield. ‘v) In the present studies seven dissimilar nitrogen sources : wheat bran, rice bran, soya bean floor, de-oiled soya bean meal, mustard cake, cotton seed cake and cotton seed meal were evaluated for their effect on mushroom yield. v) Cotton seed cake and de-oiled soya bean meal gave significantly higher yield than unsupplemented bags.Review of literature : The oyster mushroom Pleurotus spp is a saprophytic fungus co mmercially cultivated throughout the world because of its tasty basidiocarp and simple cultivation technology. It is also one of the choicest white rot fungi for research scientists to investigate. Pleurotus spp's lignocellulolytic enzymes for bioremediation (Arisoy and Kalan Kayan 1997, Walter et. al. 1997), its flavour compounds, (Mau et. al. 1998), its synthesis of diterpene and polysaccharide (Gutirrez et. al. 1996) and its natural pigment extraction (Shirata and Kato 1998) make it a promising subject for study.Oyster mushrooms are mainly cultivated on residues from agricultural crops such as wheat, paddy, cotton, sugar cane or soybean (Sohi and Upadhyay 1989, Savalgi and Savalgi 1994). Pleurotus spp also have the potential to mineralize and grow on industrial wastes such as tea (Upadhyay et. al. 1996), apple pomace (Upadhyay and Sohi 1988) or non-conventional substrates containing lignin, cellulose or hemicellulose such as dried Populus leaves. (Upadhyay and Verma 2000). These residues are low (0. 5 to 0. 8%) in nitrogen content. Several workers have reported varying fresh oyster mushroom yields using crop residues (Sohi and Upadhyay 1987,Madan et. al. 1987). The variations may be due to the nutrient status of the substrate used for cultivation. The production of oyster mushrooms after the first flush is drastically reduced and there is a tlusn break ot 10 to 20 days depending upon the species of oyster mushroom. The yield turn down could be due to either depletion of nutrients or accumulation of toxic substances unfavourable to fruiting. In Agaricus bisporus, increased yields have been reported by supplementing with various proteins, carbohydrate or oil rich supplements like soybean meal, cotton seed meal, alfalfa meal or corn gluten meal.Sinder and Schisler 1962, Gerrits 1983). In the present studies seven different organic nitrogenous materials were evaluated to find out their effect on yield. The best substrates were further evaluated for their optima l dose with maximum yield. Materials and Methods Prewetted chopped wheat straw (2-3cm) was mixed with calcium sulphate (4% w/w) and carbendazim 50% w. p. (1 5g/quintal) and a rectangular pile prepared. It was given two turnings on alternate days for four days so that the temperature did not exceed more than 600C during fermentation.After four days, the partially fermented traw was pasteurized in a tunnel at 700C for 6h and subsequently conditioned at 450C for 36h. Supplements (wheat bran, rice bran, cotton seed meal, cotton seed cake, soybean meal, de-oiled soybean cake and mustard cake) were separately treated in a answer of carbendazim (100ppm) for 16h. The rate of adding up of all the supplements was 5% (dry wt. ) except wheat and rice bran (10%). Treated supplements were thoroughly mixed at the time of spawning with pasteurized straw. Twenty-day-old spawn of P. ostratuas var florida was added at a 3% wet wt.Five kg spawned substrate was filled into 45x30cm polyethelene bags with 10 holes (5mm ia. ). Each supplement had six replications. Spawned bags were incubated in a dark cropping room (temp. 13-18'C). Colonized bags were opened after 25 days. A relative humidity of 70-75% was maintained by spraying water twice a day; 6-8h light was provided with fluorescent tubes; and carbon dioxide concentration was maintained at 700-780 ppm in the cropping room. Mushrooms were harvested daily before spraying and data were recorded. Biological efficiency (BE) was planned on the basis of fresh mushrooms from 100 kg dry substrate weight.In the second experiment, cotton seed cake and de-oiled soybean cake were further evaluated r their effective optimum dose. The supplements were treated as before, at a rate of 1, 2. 5, 5, 7. 5 and 10% substrate dry weight. Table 1. Effect of organic supplements to wheat straw on fresh mushroom yield of Pleurotus ostreatus var florida in 60 days. S. No. Substrate + Supplements Average Yield (kg) per kg substrate Biological efficiency (BE) (%) Percent increase (+) or decrease (-) from control Wheat straw + wheat bran (10%) 0. 860 86. 0 +20. 6 Wheat straw + rice bran (10%) 0. 838 83. 8 +17. 5 3.Wheat straw + cotton seed cake (5%) 0. 946 94. 6 -12. 2 4. Wheat straw + cotton seed meal (5%) 0. 46 64. 6 5. Wheat straw + soybean meal (5%) 0. 732 73. 2 2. 6 6. Wheat straw + de-oiled soybean cake (5%) 0. 928 92. 8 +30. 1 7. Wheat straw + mustard cake (5%) 0. 532 53. 2 -25. 3 8. Wheat straw (control) 0. 713 71 . 3 CD at 0. 21 1 Table 2. Effect of different doses of de-oiled soybean cake on fresh mushroom yield and dry matter of Pleurotus ostreatus var florida. S. NO. Rate of supplementation (Dry wt. ) % increase over control % dry matter content in 1st and 2nd tlusnes Wheat straw 1% soybean 92. +21 9. 85 10. 04 2. 2. 5% soybean 84. 8 +11. 57 9. 45 10. 0 5% soybean 84. 5 +11. 18 10. 29 10. 25 7. % soybean 87. 8 +1 5. 52 8. 8 9. 75 10. 0% soybean 83. 2 +8. 15 9. 3 10. 55 76. 0 6. 9 The dry matter content of mushrooms harvested from both the supplements at different doses are shown in Table 2 and Table 3. Soybean supplementation generally yielded heavier mushrooms in the first flush than cotton seed cake supplementation. Maximum dry matter content was recorded from bags supplemented with 5% de-oiled soybean cake and further increase in supplementation did not yield heavier mushrooms.In cotton seed cake, the heaviest mushroom truit bodies were observed with 0% dose in the first tlusn, while in the econd flush, the lowest rate of application gave the heaviest mushrooms. The dry matter content in the second flush was generally more than the first flush for both the supplements. Interestingly the spore print colour of the mushrooms from 10% soybean was a creamy yellow. The nutritional analysis of mushrooms attain from different supplements is under investigation. The addition of cotton seed cake gave the maximum yield increase (+47. 7%) while soybean cake gave heavier mushroom fruit bodies than cotton seed cak e.The use of supplementation increased the substrate temperature (Figurel and Figure 2) from the fourth day onwards to the ixteenth day. Bags with de-oiled soybean cakes showed a rise in temperature from 3 to 90C over room temperature and 3 to 50C over unsupplemented bag temperature. Cotton seed cake addition showed less temperature rise compared with similar doses of soybean cake. The utmost rise in temperature was between the fourth day and the ninth day. Table-3: Effect of different doses of cotton seed cake on fresh mushroom yield and dry matter of Pleurotus ostreatus var florida.Substrate used Biological Efficiency (%) % Dry matter content in 1st and 2nd flush Wheat straw + cotton seed cake 1% 90. 4 +18. 94 7. 3 10. 5 Wheat straw + cotton seed cake 2. 5% 100. 3 +31 . 97 8. 1 9. 82 Wheat straw + cotton seed cake 5. 0% 112. 0 +47. 36 7. 8 9. 49 Wheat straw + cotton seed cake 7. 5% 105. 3 8. 0 Wheat straw + cotton seed cake 10% 112. 3 +47. 7 9. 01 9. 0 9. 28 CDat5% DISCUSSION Alth ough commercial cultivation of oyster mushroom Pleurotus spp started very late compared to Agericus bisporus (1650 A. D. ), Lentinula edodes (1100 A. D. and Auricularia spp (600 A. D. ), it occupies the third place in the world among the cultivated mushrooms. Successful cultivation of oyster mushroom using cereal straw was reported in 1962 by Bano and Srivastava from India. Still, it is not widely cultivated due to inconsistent yields. The fresh mushroom yield or biological efficiency of a species is directly related to strain, substrate nutrition and growth conditions. Sustainable oyster mushroom production can be achieved by employing cultural practices which optimize and integrate nutrient management.Agricultural residues used for oyster mushroom farming provide most of the nutrients and vitamins for growth. Carbon is readily available from cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin from straw, but nitrogen occurs mostly in a bound form and is not available until it is enzymatically rel eased. Various workers have also reported that Pleurotus spp have the capability to fix atmospheric nitrogen (Rangaswamy et. al. 1975, Jandaik and Rangad 1977) but this has not been proved conclusively. In the cultivation of A. isporus the addition of protein rich supplements is a common practice, which indicates that either the compost is deficient in nitrogen or the bacterial proteins present in the compost are inadequate.Rinker (1989) found 37 and 42. 6% more total yield in P. ostreatus from supplementation with barley straw with brewer's grain and 17, 27, 65 and 118% more yield by addition of alfalfa hay at 5, 10, 20 and 40% (dry wt. basis). He also found that supplementation prior to pasteurization increased the total yield, but mushroom size was negatively affected with increased supplementation. In our studies we have not found any significant effect on mushroom size. Influence of supplementation is also species and strain-specific.Somycel 3200 reacted poorly to alfalfa meal and negatively to chicken manure, and Somycel 3001 reacted positively to rice bran and alfalfa meal at the time of filling (Visscher 1989). Upadhyay and Vijay (1989) also observed cotton seed meal as better supplement for P. fossulatus and rice bran for P. ostreatus. Supplementation is absolutely necessary for getting fructification is some strains of P. eryngii (Royse 1999, Upadhyay and Vijay 1991). With supplementation came a rise in substrate temperature, possibly due to faster metabolic activities riggered by extra nitrogen.Royse and Schisler (1986) also observed overheating (from 300C to 470C) in bags where Spawnmate was applied without benomyl treatment, and proposed that it could be due to the growth of competitor moulds. GurJar and Doshi (1995) did not find any effect on yield of P. cornucopiae with 5 and 7. 5% addition of soybean meal in wheat straw and assumed this could be due to a rise in temperature. We identified increases in the temperature of beds from 5 to 90C over room temperature. Therefore, supplements should be cautiously used, because excessive bed temperature (more than 350C) may kill the mycelium.OverstiJns (1995) observed an increase of 19% in mushrooms with the addition of only 0. 5% corn steep liquor and recorded a rise in temperature from 0. 3, 1. 4 and 2. 30C with the addition of only 0. 5, 1 and 2% corn steep liquor. Higher supplement doses gave even higher temperatures, which were harmful and attracted growth of Coprinus sp (Guna segaran and Graham 1987). In A. bisporus, the addition of formaldehyde-pretreated 1 and 2% cotton seed meal and soybean meal at the time of casing produced 20 and 30% higher yields respectively, but higher doses of supplement attracted a lot of contamination (Gupta and Vijay 1992).Supplementation has also been found to facilitate higher mushroom yield in other mushrooms such as Agrocybe aegerita and L. edodes (Zadrazil 1994, Jong 1989). Higher supplementation (3 to 4% w/w) of NPK in rice husk, melon husk and coconut fruit fibers did not give either mycelium growth or basidiocarp from the tubers of P. tuberregium (Isikhuemhen and Okhuoya 1998). Supplementation with de-oiled soybean and cotton seed cake not only gave higher biological efficiency but the fruit bodies were significantly heavier than in unsupplemented bags.

An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley Coursework

An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley - Coursework Example The entire play, based on three acts, takes place on the same evening of 1912 at the Birling residence in Brumley, which is described as ‘an industrial city in the north Midlands’. The Birlings are having dinner when they are interrupted by an Inspector Goole who insinuates that they are responsible for causing the death of a young working class woman called Eva Smith. In the interim there are many instances where we get an insight into the nature and attitudes of the characters, which the playwright has so cleverly indicated as he intersperses events with anecdotes about them. Thesis Statement Priestley’s play ‘An Inspector Calls’ gives a good glimpse into the decadent values and attitudes held by British society. He underscores the differences between the erudite facade of composure they maintain while they are really at ill-ease with themselves and their place in society. In other words, they are more concerned with outward appearances, while this masks and hides many a skeleton in their closet. The differences between the social classes are clearly indicated, and the apparent superiority of the Birling household is ridiculed. Discussion The real significance of Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’ is not really in the plot, but in the story that unfolds between the lines. Priestley has aimed his salvos here at upper class British society, mainly the nouveau-rich social strata like the Birlings. It appears that the Birlings have indeed come into contact with Eva at various junctures in the recent past and all of this is recollected as the play unfolds. Their attitude in dealing with Eva on these occasions in fact reflects on their own character and values as well-â€Å"†¦what happened to her then may have determined what happened to her afterwards, and what happened to her afterwards may have driven her to suicide. A chain of events† (Inspector Goole: Act One)1. The patriarch of the family, Mr. Art hur Birling is described as a ‘heavy looking, rather portentous man in his 50s’. He is the picture of the capitalist, and loves to describe himself as a ‘hard headed businessman.’ As would be expected of this character type, Birling is arrogant and self centered, while being morally blind as well. At no point in the play do we find him repentant or soul searching. He dismisses any inclination of guilt or blame in Eva’s death, although he recalls that he had dismissed her about 18 months ago for stirring up trouble at his mill. He was concerned with quelling dissent and lowering labor costs at the factory, both of which were accomplished by Eva’s dismissal. Arthur is displeased with Inspector Goole’s visit, this having materialized just when they were celebrating the engagement of his daughter Eva to Gerald Croft, the son of a business competitor. This he is overly concerned with his family’s social standing and cannot stand to se e it tarnished by Goole’s accusations. The last thing he wants is a public scandal†¦ â€Å"You'll apologize at once ... I'm a public man† (Mr. Birling: Act Two)2. Sybil Birling is Arthur’s wife and comes from a higher social status than her husband. As the head of a women’s charitable organization, she looks down upon the working class and regards the deceased Eva and her ilk as being dishonest, greedy and immoral. She also stands by her husband’s side and tries to protect the family name. On the last occasion she saw Eva, the latter had been

Critically discuss the extent to which the defence of loss of control Essay

Critically discuss the extent to which the defence of loss of control in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 compares to the defence of provocation - Essay Example 2 This was supplanted by the defence of loss of control that had been induced by a triggering event, under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. 3 The principal changes effected by the new act are; absence of a requirement for the loss of control to be abrupt; exclusion of sexual infidelity as a qualifying trigger; requiring a qualifying trigger to pertain to fear of violence from the deceased or to things said or done. 4 With regard to triggers that are based on things said or done, the requirements are that the extenuating circumstances should be very grave in character, and these circumstances should have justifiably made the defendant believe that he been wronged. In the event of such fear having been incited by the defendant, then it is to be ignored. 5 The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 specifies that loss of control has to be on the basis of one of the qualifying triggers, if the defence is to be successful. These are loss of self – control that can be attributed to a fear of serious violence, as provided under section 55(3); or on account of circumstances of an extremely serious nature, which result in a justifiable sense of having been wronged. The latter qualifying trigger has been provided under section 55(4)(a) and 55(4)(b) of the Act. 6 The difficulty associated with the provisions of this Act is that a defence wherein the defendant has probably acted out of danger is placed in the same category as a defence attributed to fear. However, there is some improvement, as the law has now come to recognise that loss of self – control can be occasioned by emotions other than rage.7 This is of great benefit to battered women who kill or grievously injure their tormentor. Under the provisions of the Homicide Act 1957, the defendant should have experienced a loss of self – control. The 2009 Act has clarified that loss of self – control was not required to be spontaneous. However, the presence of the

Thank you for Smoking the comedy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Thank you for Smoking the comedy - Essay Example In my opinion, the movie â€Å"Thank you for Smoking† has applied agenda setting to capture the public’s attention on the smoking behavior, which is the issue of concern in this movie. In this movie, Nick, a lobbyist for alcohol and pro-gun association is connected to the merchants of death squad and the media paints him as a public enemy and he loses his job. In another incidence, Nick visits Jeff, a marketer and questions him about the incorporation of cigarettes in films and its moral implication. By making frequent address to the moral integrity of Jeff, Reitman poses a challenge to the public to identify the ethical concerns of cigarette smoking, which I feel is an agenda well set up. Diffusion of Innovations Diffusion of innovations is a theoretical explanation for the mechanisms and the speed through which information is relayed in a society set up through the available communications channels (Rogers 49). One of the major role players in the information diffusion process in the social systems is the opinion leaders who have a high level control of flow information. This category of people is close to information sources and has many followers who are willing to obtain information from them. Therefore, opinion leaders will make a judgmental decision and pass information innovatively to their followers given that they have the power to control information flow between the people. They form the category of early adopters who receive more attention from the public as opposed to laggards who form the least innovative group. Laggards are ignored by the media since they are the conservative group that adopts the innovation very late and have little followers. In the comedy ‘Thank you f or Smoking’, I feel that Nick plays the role of an early adopter in the entire film by forming part of the social system that can access first-hand information in the society. The whole public has all its eyes set upon him as he meticulously convinces Jeff on his moral implication of advertising cigarettes. When he struggles to convince his 12 year old Joey he points out that he is not actually after convincing his son, but the public on the need for moral flexibility. By rolling out information on the media concerning the use of tobacco I find him a rather excellent first adopter. Today, the public has over a hundred alcohol commodity choices and well over thirty cigarette varieties to choose from. The media coverage of alcohol, cigarettes and guns has intensified and has paid attention to the elite in the societies to pass information to the societies, as a strategy to engage innovation diffusion to hammer critical issues in the society. Knowledge Gap Hypothesis The knowled ge gap hypothesis refers to the diversity of the economic status of the society and how it influences their ability to access information from the media. The poor in the society have little contact with media information while the rich access the most current information (Hwang and Jeong 535). Given the power that comes along with information, I believe that those who acquire information first benefit more that those who receive it when it is almost obsolete. In this view, I feel that it is a political necessity to care for the poor by bridging the information gap that exists in the social systems. Films such as ‘

Computer Assisted Audit Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Computer Assisted Audit Techniques - Essay Example Auditing is the process by which something is examined with a view to form an opinion. This allows users of that opinion to gain assurance that the opinion, process or the information can be trusted. The purpose of assurance services is to increase the confidence and reduce the risk of the user of those services. The main purpose of auditing is to ensure that financial statements are free from material misstatement or error. An auditor carries out two types of assurance engagement with one being the reasonable assurance engagement and the other being the limited assurance engagement. When giving out a reasonable assurance engagement, the auditor gathers sufficient appropriate evidence to support his conclusion and to make a stronger conclusion. On the contrary, a limited assurance engagement gives out a negative assurance report and the evidence gathered in such assurance engagement is only related to the specific subject matter that is being audited rather than the entire financial statement. Such assurances help the users of the financial statements to decide upon their investment in any particular company or venture. The use of computers in business information systems has fundamental effects on the nature of business transacted, procedures followed, risks occurring and measures to reduce the impact of risks. Manual processing and computer based processing of transactions are well differentiated from each other and they have their own benefits.

Exam question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Exam question - Essay Example While it is irrefutable that not everybody can be creative, it is universally accepted that everybody can be rational. Andrews’ definition, therefore, exploits the very essence of every employee. Employees use logic on a daily basis, but they do not frequently express themselves in a creative manner. If reason is the most common attribute in employees, and creativity is scarce, then a majority of corporations rely on logic more than creativity. Andrews is, therefore right: strategy is a rational process that is accompanied by implementation based on administrative acumen. Ohmae’s views are only just starting to be embraced at the highest echelons of the corporate world (Wit & Meyer, 2010). For example, companies like Google and Apple have adopted strategies that emphasize creativity as much as logic. Organizational strategy is no longer about structures and efficiency. In the past, when logic dominated creativity, senior management was considered to be the preserve of business majors only. However, nowadays engineers can be found managing large business organizations and delivering results. While conventionalism and rigidity typified earlier management, the current corporate setting features and offers endless management opportunities to creative minds. While the balance has shifted in favor of creativity, the jury is still out as to whether it can match the proven record of logic. In past and current studies conducted on this subject, consensus has been that the generative approach to strategy needs logic to guarantee success, while the rational approach can deliver desired results – as it always has – in the absence of creativity. In the contemporary organizational environment, creative people are still dominated by rationally-inclined individuals (Lafley & Martin, 2013). For example, advertising agencies often have departments that are in charge of developing all the creative

How can hotels be more profitable by using recycling material Essay

How can hotels be more profitable by using recycling material - Essay Example Apart from the food wastes, materials like plastics, broken glasses, aluminum utensils and cardboards are often produced in the hotel industries. Some of these materials when disposed into the environment are harmful to biotic life and eventually result into health problems. The surrounding of the hotel will not be very pleasant and this alone is necessary to drive away clients into other competing hotels. The costs of proper disposal of the waste are also high in some instances causing the overall production cost to be high. A better approach to manage the disposal of waste in order to reduce the overall production cost by the hotel and other industries is through recycling of the waste products. Recycling is the process where by the waste materials from an industry are collected and channeled back as raw materials for the production of new products (Townsend, 1993, p10). These materials would otherwise be buried or burnt as a means of disposal. The recycling process has three main steps. The first is to collect the materials that can be reused. There are those materials that seem to be too won out that do not need to be recycled. The next step is to process the materials into a form that can be reused and the last step is to obtain and use the recycled materials. These are basically the processes involved in recycling in hotels (Townsend, 1993, p10). A point of concern is then to consider how recycling of materials can be effectively adopted by the hotels and how this adoption helps them in maximizing their returns. This is the major issue addressed in the paper. 2. Literature Review The cost of production in barely all sectors of the economy has increased posing economic challenges to organizations in various industries. The cost of raw materials as well as that of transportation has increased in the recent past largely contributing to this increase in the cost of production. Various industries produce wastes which are discharged to the environment posing he alth problems. The supposed consumers of the products of a given company will develop a negative image of the company if it has a filthy surrounding. It is then required that the industries adopt a system of disposal of waste that does have adverse effect on the environment. Unfortunately, the modern means of waste disposal is not always cheap resulting into yet another increase in the cost of production. Besides, some of the materials that are often discharged by companies can be still processed and used for the similar or other purposes by the company or the surrounding community (Townsend, 1993). Recycling of materials in industries is one of the strategic approaches to ensuring sustainability in the organization. The materials that would otherwise be wasted can be put back to the same or different use after some reprocessing. The process has several advantages not only to the organization but also to the community in which the organization is established (Townsend, 1993). Materi als like cardboard, plastic, glass, and aluminum are often produced in hotels and can be recycled. This will yield some saving to the hotels management. The management will liaise with some company that offers the recycling services which will in turn supply the hotel with the recycled products at a reduced cost. Alternatively, the waste products can be sold to the recycling companies providing yet another source of revenue. The recycling of mate

Global study-xxx Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Global study-xxx - Essay Example Overall, the issue is really complicated because on the one hand the Confederate flag is the part of the American history, and one the other hand it is not correct to have it on the Capitol due to the latest events. This debate being one of the pages of American history is greatly influenced by western imperial and colonial legacies. In fact, the legacy of western imperialism and colonialism is felt in many of today’s conflicts in regard to ethnic or religious questions, and the issue of the Confederate flag is one of them. The roots of this conflict go deep in history up to the times of slavery, and this is here that western imperialism and colonialism enter the problem. The matter is that the notion of racism, which gave birth to the current debate as well as numerous hate crimes and other issues similar to them, originates from western imperialism and colonialism, and mostly from westerner’s desire to expand the territories they had and to exploit free labor of slaves. In fact, the main reason why the notion of racism does take place in modern America is that it is imperialism and colonialism that set the boundaries between races and established the idea of differences between races and of submission of one race to another. Therefore, it is possible to say that western imperialism has given rise to animosity between people, which resulted in racism and, consequently, the issue under consideration as well. In addition to this, as it follows from Peter Frankopan’s article Go East, Young Knight, western imperialism is seen in the tendency of shifting focus when it comes to historical events. In particular, it appears that very often history is written in the way particular personalities want it to be. This is why the Confederate flag is the issue of discussion which needs clarification as there is no agreement on its meaning and role because of the differences in points of

Fast Food, Fat Food Essay Example for Free

Fast Food, Fat Food Essay Nowadays, fast food is a very popular trend in Thailand. Teenagers think it is very smart when they go into the fast food restaurant, especially, the restaurant which is a part of foreign franchise restaurants. Not only teenagers that like fast food but also children and adults. In the busy schedule of modern times people have no time to prepare nutritious food during the day so fast food becomes a very convenient choice. However, there are several health issues related to consuming fast food; one serious concern is the connection between fast food and obesity. Because of the growth of fast food restaurants, you can see them located anywhere in daily life. For example, on the first floor of MBK Centre, there are numerous fast food restaurants, such as KFC, McDonald’s and Burger King situated not far from each other. However, at lunch time, you cannot find any seats if you arrive late. Similarly, at Chulalongkorn University there are more than 5 branches of 7-eleven, which is a shop where you can buy fast food such as sandwiches, hot dogs, and hamburgers. You would think that there are not many people there. Although there are many branches, students also have to wait in a long queue. This can show how popular fast food is. Fast food is very popular not only in Thailand but also all over the world. The information from Wikipedia showed that â€Å"Burger King has more than 11,100 restaurants in more than 65 countries, Pizza Hut is located in 97 countries with 100 branches in China, KFC is located in 25 countries and McDonald’s is located in 120 countries on 6 continents and operates over 31,000 restaurants worldwide. † Although fast food is very popular, it is not good for health because fast food is often high in carbohydrates, fat and sodium. Common menu items at fast food restaurants are fried chicken, French fries, hot dogs and ice cream. All of them are made of dangerous ingredients such as low quality bread, high fat meat and salt. The fast food bread is made from refined grains that have been modified from their natural composition, so a fraction of the nutrients in grains are removed, remaining only excessive starchy. Next ingredient is the high fat meat which can cause several health problems. Fat from animal sources is saturated fat that increased the bad cholesterol (LDL) levels which results in adverse negative effects on the health of person’s heart (â€Å"The Importance of Dietary Fat and Cholesterol†). The last dangerous ingredient is the thing that makes fast food has a delicious taste; it is salt or sodium chloride. Scientists from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition recommend only 4 grams of salt per day because overconsumption of salt will cause high blood pressure and obesity (qtd. in â€Å"Salt†). In fact, according to the CASH survey, a Pizza Hut meal deal, which consisted of a Cheesy Bites Meat Feast, a medium Super Supreme, a portion of garlic bread, a portion of potato wedges, chicken wings, and a cheesecake dessert shared equally between four, could contain 12. 3 grams of salt per person (qtd. n â€Å"Fast food salt levels shocking†). â€Å"People are increasingly being warned against the ill effects of fast food and the potential damage they pose to human health† (Manohar). Many publications write about health problems from fast food such as nutrition deficiencies, increased cholesterol levels and diabetes. However, the most concern is obesity because this can link to many other dangerous health problems. One reason that fast food can cause obesity is because of its high calories. In one day, men need about 2,700 calories and women need about 2,000 calories but you can get excess calories from only one meal with fast food. For example, a KFC meal set includes KFC famous Bowls (Rice and Gravy), a breast of fried chicken, a box of French fries and a 32-oz Gulp of Pepsi. You can gain 790 calories from the bowl, 370 calories from the chicken, 500 calories from French fries and 425 calories from Pepsi, so from all of these you will have about 2,085 calories (â€Å"KFC Nutrition Guide†). As a consequence from the warning in many publications, the danger of fast food is widely known. However, no matter people know how it is linked to many health problems, it is also the popular choice. We cannot avoid fast food completely in our day-to-day life considering its taste, convenience and instant delivery. Fast food is suited to our everyday lifestyle, but, as we know, a little bit of everything is always good while overexposure to that â€Å"little bit† is disastrous more often than not. Fast food is not an exception to this.

Human Arrangements Essay Example for Free

Human Arrangements Essay The increase of poverty in the recent years is one of the major problems which the United States has to face. As the survey shows, the highest poverty rates in the United States were witnessed during the years of recession, for example 1960, 1975, 1983 and others. However, the poverty rates increased dramatically through 2001-2003. In 2002, the number of people in poverty reached 34. 4 million, which is 12. 1% of the population. The poverty rate was at its lowest level between 1970-1980 years, but since that time it never decreased until that level. In the last years, it was the lowest in 2000 (at the level of 11%) but since that time it kept increasing annually. In 2003, poverty rate reached 12. 5% which is 0. 4% higher than in 2002. The dynamics of poverty in the United States also shows that the most vulnerable members of the society are people under the age of 18 (17% of them are in poverty). Citizens aged 18-64 have had the lowest poverty rates up to 2002, when the level of poverty rates of seniors (aged 65 and older) reached their level. According to the regional characteristic, states in which poverty rates increased the most included Florida, Illinois, Utah, South Carolina and others. It is also necessary to analyze the dynamics of poverty rates among different races. According to the survey, poverty rates increased greatly among all of the races present in the United States. At the same time, the income level of White, Asian and Black households remained unchanged while the income of Hispanic households experienced some decrease. Among these groups, Black households have the lowest level of income and thus have the highest poverty rates among the groups in the society. In 2003, the median income of Black families reached only $30,000 which was only 62% of the $48,000 income of White households (non-Hispanic origin). The group with the highest income level, and thus the smallest number of people below the poverty line was Asians. Their average income reached $55,000 in 2003. It is possible to conclude that among all of the groups, Blacks are experiencing the most problems with obtaining income. Asian households receive almost the double income of what Black households receive. Due to the fact that poverty rates are increasing with years, it means that Black citizens are going to become more and more vulnerable in the society. In 2003, 24. 4% of Black people were below the poverty line, and the percentage has increasing by 2005. For comparison, only 11% of Asian people were below the poverty line in 2003. There are many reasons why the poverty rate among Blacks has changed the most during the recent years. First, due to discrimination, many Black people are still unable to get high-paying jobs which people of other origins get easily. The experience of New Orleans shows that despite the hopes of African Americans hat discrimination would be reduces with time, this process is very slow. Most of the people affected by hurricane in New Orleans lost their houses and jobs, and it will be very difficult for them to achieve their previous level of income in the following years. Unfortunately, the government did not take any measures to assist the people whose houses were devastated by the hurricane. Situation with New Orleans is only one of the examples of how discrimination occurs in the United States and Black population is unable to reach the same income level as other races. Another reason of high poverty rate among Blacks is their inability to enter prestigious establishments of higher learning. Due to the low income level of their families in comparison with other races, they are often unable to obtain good education which would lead them to high-paying jobs. At the same time, it is necessary to mark that due to the introduction of Civil Rights legislation, the poverty level of Blacks in the recent years is much lower than it was before the adoption of legislation. Even though the poverty rate has been increasing during the last years, the average rate is much lower than it was in the 50s. Despite the fact that Blacks are still experiencing some sort of discrimination, it is much less noticeable as it was before the adoption of Civil Rights legislation. Owing to the legislation, they finally got an opportunity to have the same rights as white people and thus the overall poverty level among Blacks declined dramatically in comparison with previous decades. Bibliography. 1. Poverty in the United States- 2002. Issued September 2003. Available at URL: http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/popula.html 2. Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States 2003. Issued August 2004. Available at URL: http://www. census. gov/prod/www/abs/income. html.

Key Elements Of Webers Idea Of Sociology Sociology Essay

Key Elements Of Webers Idea Of Sociology Sociology Essay In my essay I argue that the key element of Weberian sociology is perception of the society as a complex system of individual actions, forming up the certain blocks of social life. Understanding of the attached meaning to these actions makes possible understanding of complex social phenomena, what ends up in the understanding of the whole process of historical development of the Western civilization. From the point of view of Max Weber historical process is understandable and its main tendency of development is constant movement from irrationality to further rationality. Understanding the society and its parts was a key element of Webers sociology that is why he needed to create an effective reference frame, in order to place different social and historical phenomena in corresponding locations on the big scale of social development of humanity. Max Weber looked at the society as at a very complex system of social interconnections, which are very difficult to be clearly understood. That is why it was very important for him to break down difficult social phenomena to single social actions and their subjective meanings. Development of the theory of Ideal Type gave an opportunity for Weber to categorize social phenomena, what favored to better understanding of social processes. In my essay I would like to analyze the key elements of Webers idea of sociology. I have divided this essay into three parts. Each of the parts analyzes different dimensions of Webers key elements of sociology. The first part covers the fundamental for Webers social research ideas, such as social action, ideal type, value-freedom conception, the notion of rationality. The second part of the essay is analyzing the most important ideas of Weber on the influence of religion (particularly Protestantism) on the development of the society. The third part of the essay covers the ideas of Weber in the political sphere legitimating of power, social stratification, phenomenon of bureaucracy. Part I. General Ideas of Max Weber. Max Weber perceived the world and society as a very complex and unpredictable system. This extremely broad and difficult system of social interactions could be brought down to single social action of an actor such social action represented for Weber a basic unit of social life. From the point of view of Weber, the main goal of sociology as a science is understanding of this basic social action, and what is more important understanding of subjective meaning or intention the actor attaches to his action. The dimension of understanding is crucial in Webers sociology he even calls this science understandable sociology. According to Ray (1999) Weber was mentioning that social sciences are very different from natural sciences as the object of social sciences can not be understand from simple observation, because of complex subjective meaning of social actions. In order to understand complex social structures and the whole picture of society Weber developed an idea of so called Ideal Type which represented different social units, categories and types of behavior united by common features. These Ideal Types were a certain categorization and generalization of social structures according to Weber, they did not exist in society in such a clear and pure form, but presence of such an instrument helps to categorize the phenomena of social life. The next important idea of Weber on sociology is a concept of value-freedom, which practically means that the social scientist should not make any interference into social processes in order to make them change their development. Ray (1999) mentioned that Weber was an advocate of an idea of separation of vocation of scientist and politician Weber believed that the scientist should conduct his researches being moved away from his partisanship and affiliations. The concept of value-freedom meant warning the actors of the consequences of their actions, but not influencing them to change their behavior the scientist should observe and study social processes, and his interference into them can harm the interests of the science. It is important to notice that Weber conducted his researches in very difficult for Europe times, and very often he showed his strong political position and sometimes to persuade others in its truthfulness it is very difficult for any social scientists to be ful ly away from influencing the other people. The key tendency of social development in Webers sociology is constant development of human society from irrationality to rationality. The whole history for Weber is a process of continuous movement towards rationality, which is showed up in intention attached to basic social action. The human society is very irregular on its way to rationalism the biggest progress was achieved by the Western civilization, which became a locomotive of rationality spreading in the world. The highest stage of social development for Weber is a shift within the types of rationality from value-rationality (taking decisions on the basis of established beliefs and values not considering the consequences) to purposive rationality, when a social action is performed by an actor on the basis of his knowledge and with consideration of the consequences of this action. From the point of view of Weber, such an evolution to purposive rationality made possible further development of Western civilization establishm ent of well-functioning capitalist system and appearance of modern states and science. Part II. Religion and Society. One of the most central questions in the sociology of Weber is the questions of origins of modern Capitalist system and the question of the fate of the West (Ray, 1999). According to Ingram (1987) Weber conducted a deep research to answer the question why was it Judeo-Christian civilization, that gave birth to modern Capitalism and modern society. He compared different kinds of societies organized around major World religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity) and tried to find the reasons for such successful development of capitalism in the West. Collins (1986) mentions that Weber could see the elements and features of capitalism and trade in all historical times and all geographical regions, but it was the West in the Middle Ages and after which gave birth to unique system of social and economic relations, unknown and impossible for any other society in the World. Webers sociology shows that modern type of Western capitalist society is a unique product of long-term evolution of Western society which could be born only in case of direct match of the long number of indicators and social tendencies. In his researches, Weber tried to name these most important factors that made possible the birth of modern capitalistic society in the West. The message of Webers Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism is often understood in such way, that it Protestantism was the only important element for the establishment of capitalism. Such understanding is far from Webers reality, as after Collins (1986) Weber perceived Protestantism as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ only the last intensification of chain of factors leading to capitalism. In other words, Protestantism is a very crucial factor for the establishment of capitalist system in Europe, but there were a number of other very important historical steps that made capitalism possible. According to Collins (1986) Weber conducted a deep research on Medieval Europe, and came to conclusion, that there were two major chains of historical conditions that enabled the development of capitalism in Europe political sphere and social networks. All these spheres were deeply influenced by religion, but were not limited to it. There were a large number of factors not connected with religion that influenced the establishment of capitalistic system Weber was talking about certain trichotomy of economic, political and cultural factors, influencing the Western society (Collins, 1986). The role of religion in general and Christianity in particular, from the Webers point of view had two dimensions. On the one hand, it is institutional role of organized religions Collins (1986) mentions that Weber paid big attention to analyzing of the Church as separate and very influential economic and bureaucratic structure, which in the Middle Ages was the only well-organized social organization in Europe. On the other hand, Weber was concentrated on the key ideas and world-view patterns of major World religions, and the interactions between those ideas with the economy. The most significant thesis of Weber is the statement that the appearance and spreading of Protestant ethics has been one of the most important factors for the establishment of capitalist system in the West. In general the role of any religion was positive for Weber as it moved people to rationalism (in this case value-rationalism). For Weber the character of Protestantism is fundamentally different from other religions that kept believers in frames of value-rationalism. Protestantism was the religion that moved people beyond the borders of value-rationalism towards purposive rationalism. Ingram (1987) says that the most important normative factor shaping consciousness of the West was Protestant work ethics. Indeed, Weber studied carefully the messages of Protestant religious doctrine, and he came to the conclusion, that it was this Protestant doctrine that became the final condition for establishment of modern capitalist system. According to Weber, the Protestant doctrine considered a man as the most important act of creation of God, what made the world to be submitted to mankind. Ray (1999) says that unlike other world religions, that were either escaping from the world or resigned themselves to their fate, Protestant doctrine aimed its followers at the world mastery. Weber stressed the role of Calvinism, and especially its doctrine of predestination. This doctrine made a significant switch of religious zeal towards secular life. That time the believer could prove himself and other people that he was selected by God to be saved in order to prove it would be enough for such a believer to achieve professional and financial success in his life. In other words, before Protestantism people were dividing secular and sacred. Ray (1999) formulated this idea in the next way: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦once sacred goals become secular. Protestants start to treat their professional activities with religious zealotry once their everyday work became a real worshipping of their Creator and an evidence of their predetermined selectiveness to salvation. Weber also stressed the Protestant conception of calling or vocation where every believer had his personal assignment in his life, prepared for him by God. It means that for such a believer diligent realization of his everyday work was a religious duty. Additionally, Protestant religious doctrine included conceptions of asceticism and strict self-discipline of a believer. The combination of all the above mentioned conceptions of behavior gave birth to a new type of human who changed the entire world ideal capitalist. According to Weber, this ideal capitalist fanatically followed the doctrines of Protestantism, realizing them in his personal and professional life. This person works very hard, achieving high level of mastery in his profession, acquires high social position and what is most important, saves large amount of resources and keeps reinvesting it. Such Protestants were seeking profits, but they did not spend their money, but became investors (Ray, 1999). It was a turning point in the final establishment of capitalist system. Schluchter (1996) says that we can mention Benjamin Franklin as an example of spiritual father of Modern Capitalism, with his message of hard work, saving and reinvesting these requirements have a reli gious value for ideal Protestant-Capitalist. Part III. Politics and Society. According to Schluchter (1996), the work Politics as Vocation helps to understand the position of Max Weber on major questions of political sphere. For Weber politics is one of the most dynamic parts of social life and political processes is a very important area for social research. Weber lived in a very difficult time for the German state, and the challenges standing before Germany found their reflection in the ideas of Weber. Collins (1986) mentions that the question of legitimacy played the central role for Max Weber. Weber pointed out three types of legitimacy of power traditional (based on the faith in legality of the model because it has always existed), rational (conscious subordination to recognized and established laws and regulations) and charismatic (belief in extra-ordinary possibilities of the leader). As the society was constantly going through evolution towards rationality, the political sphere also introducing more and more rationality. By Weber, this evolution of political sphere ended in appearance of rational bureaucracy and new type of state state where the bureaucrats do not owe the state mechanisms of influence, but are hired by citizens to perform their will. Bureaucracy for Weber is a controversial phenomenon and can be a danger for the development of the state, as bureaucrats do not effectively hold responsibility and monopolize political decisions in the society (Siedman, 1998). State represents for Weber an institution that has monopolized the legal usage of power. After Weber, responsibility should be the main requirement for a politician only people with strong vocation to politics should participate in the rule of state. Weberian politician is a person thinking about long-term goals of the society, and strictly following the interests of the state, ignoring sometimes the needs of the citizens, in order to reach larger goals. Schluchter (1996) cites Weber where he says that political communication is always filled with the spirit of war this citation shows that Weber had very realistic view on political competition. Ray (1999) touched a question of relationship between charismatic leadership and bureaucracy two struggling between each other forces. According to Weber during the process of political competition charisma is never stable when it gets the power and start owe resources it gradually turns into bureaucracy or patrimonialism (Collins, 1986). In contrast to Marx, Weber determined multiple axes of social stratification social class, status, and party affiliation of a person. These three parameters Weber called social chances of a person. According to Collins (1986) status of a person was crucial for Weber it strongly determined the social mobility, market opportunities, and other influential factors. Social class is rather economic membership of a person; status is determined by social prestige and honor, and the party affiliation is an indicator of closeness of a person to the ruling in the country political force. The views of Weber on political sphere were largely influenced by the history and situation of the German state. Weber was a strong supporter of the idea of strong middle class, and he believed that the future of Germany strongly depends on the situation of middle class (Siedman, 1998). The ideas and views of Weber have been important not only for sociology, but also for political forces in Germany during his life and after death. Conclusion. The ideas of Max Weber have influenced the sociology in a very strong way. Summing up the key elements of Webers idea of sociology, I should mention the following: 1). In Webers sociology history and social development have a deep sense, and this sense can be understood. The society is developing in a certain direction overcoming certain stages of its social advance. It is very important to find out the real sense of social development and to keep in mind that all the human history has specific mission and goals in itself. 2). Understanding of social action and social phenomena become the main goal for Webers sociology and such understanding is possible. A sociologist should move himself away for judgments of the social processes, but he should precisely observe and try to understand irrational meanings attached to individual social actions in order to understand more complex social phenomena. 3). There is a criterion that determines the progress of society on its way of historical and social development and this criterion after Weber is constant movement towards Rationality. First this movement is represented by the shift from irrationality to rationality, and the second part of this movement is shift between value-rationality to purposive-rationality. Such a purposive rationality in individual social action would give to a sociologist an opportunity to understand clearly the meaning attached to such social action, as it will not be subjective any more. 4). Ideas influence economy in a very strong way it is one of the most important key elements of sociology of Weber. After the study of major world religions, he came to the conclusion, that it was the Protestantism, which made possible final establishment of capitalist system in the West. It is religion that shapes the most fundamental world-view of the people, and in different parts of the world ideas, through religions, produced different types of the societies and economic and social relations. 5). By Weber the political sphere and the society represent a very complex and interconnected system, with multiple axes of social stratification and different patterns of power legitimization. Political sphere is a subject of social development and under certain historical conditions (as it happened in the West) it can move towards larger rationality, producing a new type of state and switching to rational type of power legitimization.

Hypochondria and Prozac Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Hypochondria and Prozac: A Pill For All Ills? Right now, my shoulder really, really aches. It's a dull, uncentralized sort of pain, and over the past few days, it has spread to my neck and upper arms. My wrists hurt too, especially when I twist them a certain way. I'm tired all of the time, and thirsty. I'm not worried about these symptoms. Their cause is obvious. I've spent the last four days hunched over my computer until early morning, furiously typing reports for finals week (this one included). I get an average of four to five hours of sleep a night, and the rest of the time, only a constant stream of caffeinated beverages can keep me awake. My back/shoulder/neck pain is caused by my stance at the computer; my tiredness is a result of---what else?---lack of sleep; I'm thirsty because all I'm drinking is soda. If I were a hypochondriac, though, I'd probably think I had cancer. Don't laugh. Hypochondria, or the attributing of benign symptoms such as backache and fatigue to serious illnesses, occurs in 1% of the population and 5% of America's medical outpatients ((7)). These people, while usually genuinely healthy, interpret every minor pain as indicative of something serious. They travel from doctor to doctor seeking treatment; if one doctor refuses to acknowledge their illness, or gives them a clean bill of health, they simply move on ((7)). This process can go on for anywhere from six months to years ((6)). The symptoms they feel are not delusions, nor are they purposefully-created fakes. Pretending to experience nonexistant symptoms is a behavior associated with a different disorder, Muchausen syndrome. Hypochondriacs' pain is very real. It's just not, as its sufferers assume, a sign of some fatal illness ((7... ...iety for what it was, and know that it was a mental rather than a physical problem, and therefore fixable. Most importantly, I would know that I wouldn't have to rely on pills for my recovery. That being said, I'm going to go pop a few aspirins. Internet Sources: 1)http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinion/ 2)http://www.uib.no/med/avd/med_a/gastro/wilhelms/hypochon.html 3)http://www.columbia.edu/cu/record/archives/vol21/vol21_iss24/record2124.24.html 4)http://www.columbia.edu/cu/record/archives/vol21/vol21_iss24/record2124.24.html 5)http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/healthcare/2002-03-19-hypochondriacs.htm 6)http://healthsciences.columbia.edu/news/journal/journal-o/archives/jour_v15n2_0002.html 7)http://www.helenair.com/articles/2003/09/13/health/c01090903_04.txt 8)http://www.uib.no/med/avd/med_a/gastro/wilhelms/wallstr.html

Women In Slavery in Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the life of a Slave Gi

The notion of slavery, as unpleasant as it is, must nonetheless be examined to understand the hardships that were caused in the lives of enslaved African-Americans. Without a doubt, conditions that the slaves lived under could be easily described as intolerable and inhumane. As painful as the slave's treatment by the masters was, it proved to be more unbearable for the women who were enslaved. Why did the women suffer a grimmer fate as slaves? The answer lies in the readings, Harriet Jacob's Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl and Olaudah Equiano's Interesting Narrative which both imply that sexual abuse, jealous mistresses', and loss of children caused the female slaves to endure a more dreadful and hard life in captivity. It is a difficult predicament to be in when one is held in captivity. The situation is that much worse if a child finds himself held as a slave. From a young age the child must endure the fact that he is owned and not free to live life on his own terms. A child slave is already denied his freedom and childhood in the sole fact that he is a slave. However, female child slaves had to endure yet another hardship that made life that much more difficult. Young African girls that were enslaved were sexually abused from an early age. Olaudah Equiano, in Interesting Narrative, tells of misfortunes that the female slaves met with at the hands of white men that he witnessed aboard a ship that belonged to his master, he writes: "I have even known them gratify their brutal passion with females not ten years old" (p. 483) Equia... ...re taken advantage of, put down, and stripped of their dignity after they were victimized and sexually abused. Jealous and enraged mistresses, who were dismayed at the fact that their husbands were living a life of infidelity, mistreated them. In some cases, they were deprived of their most prized possessions, their children. This kind of life for the female slaves was overwhelmingly painful. They dealt with many circumstances that were not a part of the lives of male slaves. For this reason, it is fair to say that the lives of female slaves were harsher than the lives of male slaves. Works Cited Jacobs, Harriet A. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself. 1861. Ed. Olaudah, Equiano. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Yassa, Written by Himself. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995. Women In Slavery in Harriet Jacob's Incidents in the life of a Slave Gi The notion of slavery, as unpleasant as it is, must nonetheless be examined to understand the hardships that were caused in the lives of enslaved African-Americans. Without a doubt, conditions that the slaves lived under could be easily described as intolerable and inhumane. As painful as the slave's treatment by the masters was, it proved to be more unbearable for the women who were enslaved. Why did the women suffer a grimmer fate as slaves? The answer lies in the readings, Harriet Jacob's Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl and Olaudah Equiano's Interesting Narrative which both imply that sexual abuse, jealous mistresses', and loss of children caused the female slaves to endure a more dreadful and hard life in captivity. It is a difficult predicament to be in when one is held in captivity. The situation is that much worse if a child finds himself held as a slave. From a young age the child must endure the fact that he is owned and not free to live life on his own terms. A child slave is already denied his freedom and childhood in the sole fact that he is a slave. However, female child slaves had to endure yet another hardship that made life that much more difficult. Young African girls that were enslaved were sexually abused from an early age. Olaudah Equiano, in Interesting Narrative, tells of misfortunes that the female slaves met with at the hands of white men that he witnessed aboard a ship that belonged to his master, he writes: "I have even known them gratify their brutal passion with females not ten years old" (p. 483) Equia... ...re taken advantage of, put down, and stripped of their dignity after they were victimized and sexually abused. Jealous and enraged mistresses, who were dismayed at the fact that their husbands were living a life of infidelity, mistreated them. In some cases, they were deprived of their most prized possessions, their children. This kind of life for the female slaves was overwhelmingly painful. They dealt with many circumstances that were not a part of the lives of male slaves. For this reason, it is fair to say that the lives of female slaves were harsher than the lives of male slaves. Works Cited Jacobs, Harriet A. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself. 1861. Ed. Olaudah, Equiano. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Yassa, Written by Himself. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995.

Analysis of the Paul Cronan Case Essay -- Legal Analysis Discriminatio

Analysis of the Paul Cronan Case I. Legal Analysis, Issue 1 Issue: Does party bringing suit (Plaintiff – Paul Cronan) qualify under the ADA for disability? Rule: In Review of ADA and the principles set forth at that time, there are several relevancies to consider here. A disability is described as follows: â€Å"For purposes of nondiscrimination laws (e.g. the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Section 188 of the Workforce Investment Act), a person with a disability is generally defined as someone who (1) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more "major life activities," (2) has a record of such an impairment, or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment. Have a severe disability (or combination of disabilities) that has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months or result in death, and which prevents working at a "substantial gainful activity" level. State vocational rehabilitation (VR) offices will find a person with a disability to be eligible for VR services if he or she has a physical or mental impairment that constitutes or results in a "substantial impediment" to employment for the applicant. Some of these definitions include words or phrases that have been the subject of lawsuits, as individuals, agencies, and courts try to clarify the terms used in some of these definitions of disability. If you want to find out if a particular disability or condition gives you certain rights, contact the federal or state agency To be found disabled for purposes of Social Security disability benefits, individuals must that enforces the law in question. If you want to find out if you qualify for a particular program or service, contact the federal or state agency that administers the program to find out the specifics of the disability definition they use.† This information is readily available on the World Wide Web at the following l ink: http://www.dol.gov/odep/faqs/federal.htm Analysis: Does the disease of AIDS/ARC/HIV qualify as a disabling condition under the ADA requirements? Is this disease and the effects it has on capacity for life activities a disability? Yes, now, since 1998, when the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Bragdon v. Abbott, the disease of HIV/AIDS does indeed qualify as a disability. However, this is legislation to late for Paul Cr... ...he hostile environment that was occurring was in direct relation to the violated privacy of Mr. Cronan. NET internal management it is believed could see for itself the exact nature of the harassment and fear problem. NET failed to recognize or react to either situation. It is imperative to understand that NET was liable for its employees but the employees, as individuals were also liable for their actions. NET lacked the system controls necessary to keep the company liability to a minimum on this issue. Usually with failures such as these, the system internal controls are this company is lacking the most. Ethical behavior among management is key to ethical behavior among employees. Overall Conclusions: After review of the legal and ethical implications associated with the Paul Cronan Case, we need to understand that the laws in place today to protect someone in Mr. Cronan’s situation were not in place at the time of incident. AIDS/HIV were not considered a disability until many years after this occurred. The Company NET did indeed violate the employee’s rights. NET compromised Mr. Cronan, both ethically and legally. Mr. Cronan was within his rights to file suit against NET.

Age Related Changes That Occur in the Cardiovascular System

Age Related Changes that Occur in the Cardiovascular System Age Related Changes that Occur in the Cardiovascular System In the normal conduction of the heart the electrical impulse starts in the SA node, also called the pacemaker of the heart. The electrical impulse travels through the right atrium and through the Bachmann’s bundle into the left atrium. This stimulates the atria to contract. Next the signal travel to the AV node. The AV node slightly delays the signal. This delay is needed for the heart to beat properly.The Cardiovascular SystemWithout this delay the atria and ventricles would beat at the same time. The electrical signal then travels to the Bundle of His where it is split into the signals going to the right and left ventricle. The signal travels through the left and the right Bundle Branch to contract the ventricles. As the body ages there are changes in the cardiovascular system. Some of these changes include major changes in heart rate, blood vessels become more stiff and thicker, heart valves become thicker and more stiff, the SA node loses cells and developes fibrous tissue.One major change is the decrease in the elasticity of the aorta and great arteries. The normal aorta allows for normal expansion during systole. Left ventricular ejection creates a pressure wave which travels the length of the aorta to the periphery. The pulse generated at a peripheral vessel is the result of this pressure wave and is not a reflection of blood flow. The velocity of the pressure wave is termed the pulse wave velocity. Age-related aortic stiffening causes an increase in the pulse wave velocity.The wave velocity in the elderly results in an elevation in the systolic blood pressure. The pulse wave is faster resulting in the reflected wave reaching the ascending aorta in the late systole rather than early diastole. Coronary artery disease also called CAD is the leading cause of death in both men and women. CAD is the leading type of heart disease in th e United States. CAD is the hardening and build up of plaque inside the arteries that supply the heart with blood. The main part of plaque is cholesterol followed by other minerals.This type of build up is called atherosclerosis. As this grows it occludes the arteries which in turn decreases the amount of oxygen reaching the heart. This can lear to chest pain and heart attacks. The risk of CAD increases with age. 37% of people in the age range of 65-74 years old and 48% of those over the age of 75 (REF 1) reported having this type of illness. In the 75 years and over, more than one third of men and approximately one quarter of women are currently living with coronary artery disease. Hypertension is more common in the 60 and over range.Hypertension is define as a blood pressure of 140/90 or greater. Hypertension is related to the loss of elasticity in the aorta. Blood pressure mainly systolic pressure rises with age. In a community based study 90% of midlife adults with normal blood pressure developed hypertension in late life. (Ref 2) Arrhythmia is an abnormal heart beat. It’s more common in the aging adult. Arrhythmias occur when the electrical signals on the heart are not working correctly and making the heart beat in irregular rhythm. Many different things can lead to arrhythmias.Cardiac arrhythmias can be caused by a heart attack, scarring from prior heart attack, blocked arteries (CAD), hypertension, changes to your heart's structure, such as from cardiomyopathy. Most common arrhythmias in the elderly are tachycardia and bradycardia. Tachycardia is a heart rate greater than 100 beats per minute and bradycardia is less than 60 beats per minute. Tachycardia is most commonly caused by age-related deterioration of the heart or an underlying medical condition. It is a disruption of the normal electrical signal. Bradycardia is caused by changes to the heart related to aging.It is also a disruption of the normal electrical signal. Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a condition caused by the weakening of the heart and the cardiovascular system. It develops when the heart is not able to pump enough blood. Some causes of CHF would include, narrowed arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle – coronary artery disease, past heart attack, or myocardial infarction, with scar tissue that interferes with the heart muscle’s normal work, high blood pressure, heart valve disease, primary disease of the heart muscle itself, called cardiomyopathy.High blood pressure is the leading cause of CHF in the elderly. High blood bressure put high demands on the heart to pump blood. This prolonged demand weakens the heart muscle over time. The heart doesn't pump as efficiently as it should, the blood slows down and less blood is pumped. The blood returning to the heart backs up in the veins forcing fluid from the blood vessels into tissues of the feet and legs. The swelling that results is call â€Å"edema†. Bibliography Medline Plu s, Aging changes in the heart and blood vessels, Retrieved April 1, 2013 From http://www. nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/ency/article/004006. htmJenkins, Kemnitz, Tortora (2010) Anatomy and Physiology From Science to Life Danvers, MA: John Wiley and Sons Inc Pat Joiner-Myers, Mosby’s Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions 8th Edition Medscape, Cardiovascular Physiology- Changes With Aging , Retrieved April 1, 2013 From http://www. medscape. com/viewarticle/450564_2 References 1. Office for National Statistics: General Lifestyle Survey (2007) www. statistics. gov. uk/statbase/product. asp? vlnk=5756 2. Vasan RS, Beiser A, Seshadri S et al. Residual lifetime risk for developing hypertension in middle-aged women and men. JAMA 287, 1003–1010 (2002).