Financial services ( Derivatives ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Financial services ( Derivatives ) - Essay Example In United Kingdom, derivatives can be traded by two methods: either through an over-the-counter (OTC) or organised exchange. The exchange traded derivatives market is controlled by Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Euronext.LIFFE that is based in London. Exchange traded derivatives are always bought and sold in an exchange setting that is totally regulated and transparent. On the other hand, OTC exchanges takes place when trader prefer to trade directly with each other. Between both types of trade, there are two main differences: Firstly, exchange traded contracts increases liquidity. Secondly, traders enter into a contract through the exchange clearing house which gives them a guarantee that the contract will be adhered to. Over-the-counter trade do not have that lavishness because there is always the risk that one of the contractors will fail to honour the original agreement thereby going into liquidation (Reid, 2013, p.1). This paper will focus on the list of bank and companies maki ng losses from using derivatives and what are the risks and benefits of different types of derivatives contracts. Bank and Companies Exposed to Losses There are some banks and companies which are exposed to losses due to derivative contracts. ... The financial disorder with its rigorous liquidity and credit crunch seemed to detain to financial markets and institutions in the UK. It resulted in the failure of the key businesses, downturn in the economic activity and reveals a quick drying up of liquidity following a huge expansion in credit issued to consumers and financial institutions. Metallgesellschaft AG engaged in a wide range of activities from engineering to trade and mining and financial services. The firm was exposed to large derivatives related losses at its U.S. oil subsidiary which is known as Metallgesellschaft Refining and Marketing. It had accounted a loss of $1 billion. Metallgesellschaft AG losses were attributed to its wrong hedging program. Risk of Derivative Contracts Risks associated with derivatives are market risk, credit risk, counterparty credit risk, transparency risk, legal risk and basis risk. Counterparty Credit Risk It is the risk that a party to a derivative contract will be ineffective to perfo rm on its obligation. AIG tinted weakness in the supervision of counterparty risk and thus less clearable, OTC derivatives. AIG’s counterparties had decided to only require collateral to cover counterparty risk of American International Group if AIG were downgraded. When American International Group did experience the difficulties simultaneous liquidity squeeze and collateral calls at AIG resulted in its ultimate bail-out to evade systemic outcome. Posting to collateral either through upfront margins or mark-to-market margins is used to minimise counterparty risk to which they are exposed (Fsa, 2009, p.5). Transparency Risk The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers tinted that positions and disclosure of firms in OTC derivative market were

Management in context Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Management in context - Essay Example 1).† I have noted that the explanation presented by the author for the unique theory makes it all common sense in management practice. I find the author’s labels on the third theory as a proactive one suitable, because it brings up a new way of establishing the link. I concur with the author that in management practice, accumulated academic knowledge can be used as an engagement tool rather than applied as a theory. Case studies are used to expose how a proactive theory can work when managers engage academic knowledge within their management practice activities to improve their performance (Ghoshal, 2005; pg. 1). The case studies shows how scholarship applied together with academic theory in the management practice of inquiry is relational and provides opportunities for evidence based management. The implication of my observations is in relation to the fact that using a proactive approach in management practice creates a link between academic theory and relational skills of managers. Surprises in JA 2 The author has taken an in – depth analysis of how the application of management theories affects organizations business culture. I can observe that according to the author, business schools have enhanced the development of such management theories. ... am surprised with the author’s comments that academic research, which studies the conduct of organizations and management, has generated serious negative effects on the practice of management. I am also surprised that the author seems to be suggesting that graduates from business schools lack common sense of moral responsibility. The author has used the pretense of knowledge and the application of system – based gloomy vision to explain his assertions (Ramsey, 2011; pg. 82). The observations I have made in this article has serious implications in relation to the belief that business schools ought to teach excellent management theories and should not be blamed for negative aspects of business culture. The Evidence The author has used Mike’s learning and Kieran is learning to show the application of academic theory within management practices. The two articles show three elements of academic theory when engaged in management practice (Ramsey, 2011; pg. 12). The ele ments revealed in the learning’s include â€Å"an engagement with ideas, a practice of inquiry, and an emphasis on moment-by-moment relating within practice (Ramsey, 2011; pg. 23)†. The writer has used suggestions from other authors to show that the most significant aspect of this link pertains to the place of the evidence that is applied in the academic theory. The writer quotes other authors to strengthen his arguments for the application of evidence-based management. This management approach places decision-making initiatives on evidence that can be gathered and assessed. The author argues that action analysis tool known as Provocative Theory Cycle of Inquiry is critical to the engagement approach in the practice of management. The author has presented information that the pretense of knowledge

Contact Lens Case Study Analysis

Contact Lens Case Study Analysis Contact lenses Contact lenses are a suitable substitute for correcting vision in a number of scenarios. There are hundreds of different contact lens types out there in today’s market with the figure growing extensively every year. With the advancement of research and technology, manufactures are always attempting to better their own product lines to suit a variety of needs a person may have, whilst also attempting to 1-up their competitors. The patient we are attempting to fit with lenses has never worn them before so as far as options go, we are open to explore different lens types and materials amounting to 100s of different combinations. She is a nurse who works long shifts in a hospital and desires fulltime CL wear of up to 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. To do this, we must assess each aspect of the test and result and cater lens choice to match intended wear time and to also correct her vision for both distance and near. The prescription that we have been presented with is a high myopic prescription so we need to compensate for the change in distance as the contact lens will sit on the cornea and not 12mm away. The compensated contact lens prescription equates to: Soft lenses come in many forms and for this patient, a silicone hydrogel (SiH) lens material would be the one to choose due to its high oxygen transmission (Dk/T) levels, much higher than hydrogel, like the SiH AirOptix Aqua, [Dk 138, 33% water, 8.6 base curve, 14.mm diameter, (AIR OPTIX ® AQUA Contact Lens, no date)] lens vs. the Frequency 55, [Dk 21, 55% water, (Frequency 55 aspheric | CooperVision UK, no date)] hydrogel lens. The Dk/T should be at a level where enough oxygen is passing through to the cornea, avoiding hypoxic conditions and preventing neovascularisation and oedema of the cornea which can lead to permanent corneal damage. SiH lenses however are not as comfortable as regular hydrogel materials due to the rubbery nature of the lens, and also the lenses hold less moisture compared to regular hydrogel. Silicone is not a wettable material so corneal hydration is an issue. (Sweeney, 2004, pp. 3 – 3). Manufacturers combat this by incorporating technology into the lens such as AquaGen found in Clarity 1 day toric [Dk 57, Water 56%, 8.6mm base curve, 14.3mm diameter (SAUFLON, no date)] .This allows the lens to stay hydrated and increase overall comfort wear-time, something extremely important for this nurse. Soft lenses drape over the cornea and range between 13.8mm-14.5mm sizes in order to cater for the patient’s measurements. A well fitted soft lens will ensure that the lens has corneal coverage in all directions of gaze. The lens should have movement of at least 1/4mm when blinking, not more because of the variable vision it will cause, or less as it will cause discomfort and should also allow adequate exchange of tears behind the lens to allow debris removal (Gasson and Morris, 2010, pp. 227-227). Rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses are much more complex to fit than soft lenses They are tailor made to the patient’s prescription and measurements such as horizontal iris diameter (HVID) and pupil size. RGPs are smaller than soft lenses and smaller in diameter than the cornea itself, with diameters ranging from 8mm to 11mm. RGPs float on the tear film and can create a lens made out of tears. (Gasson and Morris, 2010, pp. 137 – 139) Practitioners need to take this tear lens into account as it can negate the need for toric lenses or require prescription adjustments through over-refraction (Gasson and Morris, 2010, pp. 137 – 139). RGPs offer superior clarity than their softer counterparts and are much more durable and longer lasting, however are mostly overlooked in modern times (outside of therapeutics) due to the patient’s impatience of adapting to the initial uncomfortable fitting. RGPs are also easier to lose as they can pop out of the eye much easier and are more difficult to completely cleanse, something important for this nurse considering her working environment. Assessing her slit-lamp examination results such as her tear break up time (TBUT) and tear prism, I would be looking at a lens that plentiful hydration to the cornea. This is because her TBUT of less than 10 seconds at 7 seconds and her tear prism of 0.2 mm indicate that she suffers from dry eyes (Dryeyesmedical, no date). Having dry eyes and not addressing the issue will result in significantly reduced wear time due to great increase in discomfort. High water content lenses; whilst more comfortable than most other lenses at first, deteriorate in comfort as the day progresses due to evaporation (Efron, 2012, pp. 87 – 87). These lenses then proceed to draw water from the next available source being the tear film through osmosis will cause discomfort for this nurse as she does suffer from dry eyes, reducing wear time considerably. Her TBUT and tear prism will influence the lens choice as she does intend full time lens wear, such as a SiH lens like the Acuvue Oasys toric lens [Dk 147, Water 38%, 8.4mm base curve, 14.3mm diameter, (JJvisioncare, no date)] or a RGP lens. The astigmatism present in her prescription will necessitate toric lenses which allow practitioners to correct astigmatism. Most popular toric lenses available on the market such as the Biofinity toric lens corrects astigmatism only up to a maximum of -2.25DC and the axis is only correctable to the nearest 10 ° meaning that contact lens practitioners must sometimes compromise the vision slightly when the prescription is unavailable in exact power and axis specifications such as this nurse (Ruben and editor., 1978, pp. 212 – 213), where an axis of 180 ° would need to be given for both lenses. An ideal lens for this nurse such as the Clarity 1day toric employs prism ballast which places 1-1.5Δ of base down prism at the base of the lens for stability. Stability of the lens reduces lens rotation and ensures toric lenses stay on axis. This does increase lens thickness and causes a reduction of Dk/T at the base of the lens, increasing risk of hypoxia at the zone (Efron, 2012, pp. 221 – 221). Acuvue Oasys toric lenses employ peri ballast aka accelerated stabilisation designs which have 4 stability zones. This design is claimed to provide more rapid settling on the cornea; within 1 minute, and achieve correct orientation within 5 ° of the anticipated position in 90% of cases (Gasson and Morris, 2010, pp. 266 – 266) Prism Peri ballast designs (Methods of Stabilisation | Optometry by Catherine Care, no date) RGP lenses would be a serious candidate due to her corneal astigmatism (K) readings gained from the keratometer. Her measurements gained were: RE: [emailprotected] [emailprotected] LE: [emailprotected] [emailprotected] Every 0.05 of difference between the 2 readings gained by each eye corresponds to 0.25DC, so comparing her corneal astigmatism to prescription, we can deduce that the difference equates to -0.75DC in her right eye and -1.25DC in her left eye. This means that when the lens is fitted on the flattest K, the difference between the K readings will create a negative powered tear lens that will correct the astigmatism completely in both eyes for his nurse, negating the need for toric lenses (Gasson and Morris, 2010, pp. 137 – 139). Multifocal contact lenses are an excellent way to correct presbyopia and exist both in soft and hard lens designs. Simultaneous designs such as concentric ring multifocals (MF) are fairly common such as the Oasys for presbyopia lens, [Dk 147, Water 38%, 8.4mm base curve, 14.3mm diameter, (JJvisioncare, no date)] which provides both distance and near vision in one lens. They do this based on pupil size and often are split up between centre distance (CD) lenses for the dominant eye in most cases and centre near (CN) lenses for the other eye. Depending on the level of illumination, a certain working distance will be favoured over the other as the concentric rings are positioned at intervals which the pupil size will coincide with. This MF design does increase the amount of glare experienced by the patient due to the rings and can also decrease contrast sensitivity due to superimposed retinal image sizes if CD and CN are given (Gasson and Morris, 2010, pp. 277 – 282). I would not recommend a MF soft lens for this patient as it will not correct her astigmatism. Daily MF toric lenses do not currently exist, however monthly soft MF toric lenses do exist with one lens type being the Proclear multifocal, a hydrogel lens with low Dk and high water content [Dk 42, 62% water content, (Coopervision, no date)] something definitely less than ideal for our patient’s desired wear schedule. Bifocal RGP lenses exist providing excellent distance and near vision and use the lenses movement on the cornea. The lens moves up as the eye rotates down, bringing the segment into the pupil’s path and allowing the patient to read. As the eye rotates back up, the lens moves down and the segment moves out of the pupils path and distance vision is restored. (Gasson and Morris, 2010, pp. 277 – 282) RGP bifocals such as the Boston Multivison lens would be an excellent choice for this patient if she were to adapt to them due to correcting astigmatism through the tear lens, allowing her to see distance and reading in one package and allowing plenty of oxygen to pass through the lens. Another successful form of CL correction for presbyopia is monovision (MV), in which one eye is optimally corrected for distance acuity and the other is corrected for near vision (Weissman, 2006, pp. 20 – 20). MV does not compromise lens fitting options and is a highly versatile option and is the least complicated method of dealing with. The distance prescription would be worn in the dominant eye and the reading prescription would be worn in the non-dominant eye, with the brain suppressing images from one eye depending on the working distance. The issue with MV however is that stereopsis is lost as binocular vision is not being utilised. This can be an issue for this nurse if she is required to carry out tasks that require accurate judgement of depth like administering an injection to a patient or driving. If the concept is thoroughly explained initially, there is a much higher chance of acceptance of MV and seeing that she hasn’t worn CLs before, she is very likely to adapt. (Gasson and Morris, 2010, pp. 277 – 282) The other alternative to this would be just to correct her distance prescription with contact lenses and to give her a separate pair of +1.75DS reading spectacles which although a viable solution, can be inconvenient for her and defeats the purpose of replacing glasses with full time CL wear. Some special advice for this patient would include managing her grade 1 blepharitis, which in its current state will not impact lens choice or length of wear if managed correctly. I would advise her to apply hot compresses to her lids and recommend a gel like Blephagel in order to accelerate debris clearance. I would advise her against using baby shampoo which is a surfactant, as it will break lipids in her tear film and will further detriment her dry eyes. I would advise her to administer artificial tears into her eyes which are CL compatible in order to maintain extended comfort all day. I would advise her to thoroughly clean her lenses daily if choosing a non daily lens by rubbing and rinsing in preservative free multipurpose solution, or alternatively recommend peroxide solution and let the lenses fully be cleansed without the need to rub and rinse. My overall recommendation after all things considered would be to fit this patient with the soft bi-monthly Acuvue Oasys toric lens with HydraClear technology to permanently lock a high volume of wetting agent inside the contact lens (JJvisioncare, no date). I would utilise monovision with distance dominance to correct for presbyopia, thoroughly explaining to her the mechanics of monovision and what to expect, as not to be overwhelmed by loss of stereopsis and to increase the overall likelihood of acceptance. I’d also tell her to take precaution if driving. My reasoning for this is heavily based off her wearing schedule in tandem with her dry eyes and her working environment. In order to achieve the wear schedule that she desires, it is extremely important that the lens has a high Dk/T lens in order to prevent hypoxic conditions and a high wettability in order to maintain corneal hydration, minimising discomfort and thus allowing said wear schedule taking into account her dry eyes. She is a nurse so automatically this puts her at a higher risk of infection, hence a lens more frequently replaced would be ideal to prevent deposit build up from affecting her too much and overall decrease the risk of infection. I would recommend her the peroxide solution to further clean the lenses and to decrease the risk of infection and to apply artificial tears for extra comfort. 2199 words Bibliography AIR OPTIX ® AQUA Contact Lens(no date) Available at: http://www.airoptix.com/contact-lenses/aqua.shtml (Accessed: 28 April 2015) CooperVision (no date)Proclear multifocal toric. Available at: http://coopervision.com/practitioner/our-products/proclear-family/proclear-multifocal-toric (Accessed: 25 April 2015) Efron, N. (2012) Contact lens complications. Third edn. Edinburgh: Saunders (W.B.) Co Frequency 55 aspheric | CooperVision UK(no date) Available at: http://coopervision.co.uk/contact-lenses/frequency-55-aspheric (Accessed: 28 April 2015) Gasson, A. and Morris, J. (2010) The contact lens manual: a practical guide to fitting. Edinburgh: Elsevier Health Sciences JJvisioncare (no date)ACUVUE ® OASYS ® for ASTIGMATISM. Available at: https://www.jnjvisioncare.co.uk/contact-lenses/all-acuvue-brand-contact-lenses/toric/acuvue-oasys-for-astigmatism (Accessed: 25 April 2015) JJvisioncare (no date)ACUVUE ® OASYS ® for PRESBYOPIA | Johnson and Johnson Vision Care. Available at: https://www.jnjvisioncare.co.uk/contact-lenses/all-acuvue-brand-contact-lenses/multifocal/acuvue-oasys-for-presbyopia (Accessed: 25 April 2015) MEDICAL, D. E. (no date) Diagnostic tests. Available at: http://www.dryeyesmedical.com/diagnosis/diagnostic-tests.html (Accessed: 25 April 2015) Methods of Stabilisation | Optometry by Catherine Care (no date) Available at: http://optometry.catherinecaregroup.com/method-of-stabilisation/ (Accessed: 29 April 2015) Ruben, M. and editor. (1978) Soft contact lenses: clinical and applied technology. New York: John Wiley SAUFLON (no date)Clariti ® 1day toric. Available at: http://www.sauflon.co.uk/eye-care-professionals/products/clariti-1day-toric (Accessed: 25 April 2015) Sweeney, D. F. (2004) Silicone hydrogels: continuous-wear contact lenses. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Weissman, B. A. (2006) OPTOMETRIC CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINE CARE OF THE CONTACT LENS PATIENT. 2nd edn. St. Louis, MO: American Optometric Association

Darwinism in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Essay -- Social Darw

Few people argue that Great Expectations, one of Dickens’s later novels, is a Darwinian work. Goldie Morgentaler, in her essay â€Å"Meditating on the Low: A Darwinian Reading of Great Expectations,† is one of those few. She argues primarily that Darwin’s Origin of the Species was a major topic of discussion in Dickens’s circle at the time he wrote Great Expectations, and that Great Expectations â€Å"marks the first time that Dickens jettisons heredity as a determining factor in the formation of the self† (Morgentaler, 708). This fascinating insight draws one to read more of Morgentaler’s essay. It does not, however, compel the reader to admit that Dickens became Darwinian. Morgentaler’s main argument, though useful, could point just as well, if not better, to Dickens’s growing maturity as a Christian. Dickens gives very little emphasis to effects of heredity in Great Expectations. Three major characters, Pip, Estella, and Magwitch, grow up without any contact with their biological parents. Pip’s parents, in fact, never make an appearance, except as a tombstone in the first several paragraphs of the book, and the reader knows as little about them as Pip does. It is impossible to tell what traits Pip might have inherited from them, and such facts seem irrelevant to the plot. Estella, of course, is raised by a vengeful Miss Havisham. In fact, her true mother, when she is discovered, turns out to be capable of violent passion and murder – quite the opposite of Estella’s calm, almost heartless personality. And Magwitch, constantly in and out of jail, â€Å"was took up, took up, took up to that extent that [he] reg’larly grow’d up took up† (Dickens 321). These three characters’ environments and upbringings, not their parental her i... ...roughout her essay, but she stretches them to make them fit a Darwinian reading, and she ignores Christian wording that attributes the course of Great Expectations and the growth of characters to the influence of the Judeo-Christian God. Rather, in direct opposition to Darwin, Dickens denies that inherited genetic traits control a person. If all people are equally low, they are also equally capable of a Christian love, goodness, and grace. And if Dickens emphasizes this theme more distinctly in Great Expectations than in previous works, the effect is only to create a novel that is more, not less, profoundly Christian. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. New York: Bantam Books, 1981. Morgentaler, Goldie. â€Å"Meditating on the Low: A Darwinian Reading of Great Expectations.† Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 38.4 (Autumn 1998): 707-721.

Internet Cafes Essay

WITHIN a few months China will overtake America as the country with the world’s largest number of internet users. Even when you factor in (include s/t as a relevant element when making a decision) China’s size and its astonishing rate of GDP growth, this will be a remarkable achievement for what remains a poor economy. For the past three years China has also been the world’s largest exporter of information and communications technology (ICT). It already has the same number of mobile-phone users (500m) as the whole of Europe. China is by no means the only emerging economy in which new technology is being eagerly embraced. In frenetic (fast and energetic) Mumbai, everyone seems to be jabbering (talk rapidly and excitedly) non-stop on their mobile phones: according to India’s telecoms regulator, half of all urban dwellers have mobile- or fixed-telephone subscriptions and the number is growing by 8m a month. The India of internet cafà ©s and internet tycoons produces more engineering graduates than America, makes software for racing cars and jet engines and is one of the top four pharmaceutical producers in the world. In a different manifestation of technological progress, the country’s largest private enterprise, Tata, recently unveiled the â€Å"one lakh car†; priced at the equivalent of $2,500, it is the world’s cheapest. Meanwhile, in Africa, people who live in mud huts use mobile phones to pay bills or to check fish prices and find the best market for their catch. Yet this picture of emerging-market technarcadia (ideal techno paradise) is belied (fail to give a true notion) by parallel accounts of misery and incompetence. Last year ants ate the hard drive of a photographer in Thailand. Last week internet usage from Cairo to Kolkata was disrupted after something—probably an earthquake—sliced through two undersea cables. Personal computers have spread slowly in most emerging economies: three-quarters of low-income countries have fewer than 15 PCs per 1,000 people—and many of those computers are gathering dust (1). And the feting (celebration) of prominent technology projects in emerging economies is sometimes premature. Nicholas Negroponte, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has long been championing a $100 laptop computer, presented with most fanfare at the World Economic Forum in Davos two years ago. The laptop was supposed to sweep through poor countries, scattering knowledge and connectivity all around (2). But the project is behind schedule, the computer does not work properly and one prominent backer, Intel, a  chipmaker, has pulled out. So how well are emerging economies using new technology, really? Hitherto, judgments have had to be based largely on anecdotes. Now the World Bank has supplemented the snapshot evidence with more comprehensive measures.

The Life and Work of Alan Greenspan

Alan Greenspan, in all of his 81 years, is a key figure among public officials, not only because of the responsibility he holds over the country’s money but also because of his other endeavors in philosophy, business and writing. This paper provides an overview of Alan Greenspan’s life, work and contribution as an economist.Greenspan was born on March 6, 1926, the time of the Great Depression in a Jewish immigrant community. His early interest was in music, a love he inherited from his mother. In fact, he enrolled in the Juilliard music school after high school and later became a member of a jazz band as a saxophone and clarinet player and also as the group’s bookkeeper (Tuccille 23).However, this other interest in math and statistics compelled him to finally enter the university. His father was a Wall Street stockbroker and encouraged him to follow in his footsteps.He enrolled in economics at the New York University, earning his bachelor degree there, summa cum laude. When he graduated, he wanted to continue on to masteral studies but because of financial difficulties, he had to look for work at the same time. He got employed as a staff economist in the National Industrial Conference Board and stayed there for 5 years.The NICB was considered â€Å"the premier economic research institution in the world†, providing vital data for economic forecasting and industry solutions to problems and Greenspan’s experience there, he said â€Å"proved invaluable in later life† (Tuccille 39).Economic forecasting is interpreting information with regards to the spending habits of families in the country into the index of consumer optimism which will forecast how many of the main products available in the market would be bought in the succeeding times and how this future spending will affect the economy (Answers.com). Other statistical data on unemployment and employment, individual income, production and others are also used to determin e the direction of the economic cycle.In his early 20’s and single, his full time job in the office and his studies at night did not give him the time to go out with friends, much less date women, but his passion be a successful economist was his sole motivation, a characteristic that defined the manner in which he dealt with the positions he would hold later on.After his masteral, he again enrolled for his doctorate this time at Columbia University under Dr. Arthur Burns, who was well known as a business cycle economist, consultant to the government and chair of the Federal Reserve Board. He served as one of Greenspan’s greatest influences in the shaping of his career and his economic philosophy. Burns believed in extreme laissez-faire economics or the absence of government regulation on economic matters but later tried to find middle ground between laissez-faire and Keynesianism (Tuccille 94). The latter states that the both the government and business should have ro les in the economy.Before this, Greenspan had also collaborated with William Townsend in setting up an economic forecasting firm, the Townsend-Greenspan Company. His hectic schedule finally bore down on him physically so he dropped out of Columbia University to focus on his job instead. By then, Greenspan had married Joan Mitchell, an artist still in the process of making a niche of her own. However, they divorced a few months later because of irreconcilable differences (Objectivism Reference Center).Through his former wife, Greenspan was introduced to the philosophy of objectivism, developed by Ayn Rand and propagated by an objectivism movement. Objectivism is the thought that puts individual or corporate/private interest above all others, a commendation for capitalism and the free market (Objectivism Reference Center).Involvement in this movement inspired him to write several articles and to foster a long-term friendship with Rand herself. Rand’s influence is said to be the reason why Greenspan denounced his beliefs in Keynesianism.His political stint as economic adviser began when he worked for then Vice-Pres. Nixon’s presidential campaign and later as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, a position he also held under Pres. Ford and because, gaining a PhD was essential for career movement in Washington, he enrolled again at the New York University and graduated around the same time that Pres. Carter was sworn to office (Objectivism Reference Center).

The Philosophy of the Matrix essays

The Philosophy of the Matrix essays The Matrix: The Problem of the External World The film The Matrix addresses the philosophical problem of the external world in a manner that few have ever even remotely considered. Many people casually question what is real, and what are we actually seeing. However, few develop in depth theories and answers to this question. It takes a very popular film on the subject to stimulate peoples thought process to the point of developing their own perspective on what actually is real, and if what we see in our everyday lives can even be considered real. In the film, the problem is resolved by asserting that what we see everyday is not actually real, but that we are simply plugged into machines that stimulate our brains to project a certain reality. In The Matrix, humankind developed machines that could think for themselves, or artificial intelligence (A.I.). These machines then turned on mankind and a war between humans and machines ensued. At the time, the machines were dependent on the light of the sun to function, so the hu mans scorched the sky to deprive the machines of sunlight. After this, the machines began using actual human embryos and human living human bodies for energy. To prevent human resistance, the machines developed a world, essentially a computer program, and fed it into the human brain electronically. According to the movie, we are deceived into thinking that we are living in a reality, but it is actually a computer program used to enslave humankind so that we can be used for a source of energy. The basic philosophical problem addressed by the movie is the fact that if we are not, in fact, dreaming, or being deceived, at any given time, then how can we know that we are actually awake? There are several different answers to this problem, none of which seem to prove absolutely that we can be sure that we are not living a dream or a lie. The philosopher Rene Descart...

Free Essays on Fear Appeals And EPPM

Witte’s Extended Parallel Processing Model addresses the effectiveness of fear appeals and the subsequent reactions people have to these certain messages. A fear appeal is effective if it successfully generates the emotion of fear within a person. Not all fear appeals are successful, however. Some contain too great a threat, and some contain too little threat. These appeals can be simple threats from a friend or teacher or a commercial, television or magazine ad. The effectiveness of a fear appeal is greater if one perceives that they are directly susceptible to the perceived threat. With the recent rise in the use of the drug ecstasy among young adults, this original commercial would be effective in generating fear within this group of people. A group of teenagers are getting ready to go out to what appears to be a club. The scenes flash back and forth to different girls putting on makeup and skimpy clothes. It is apparent that they are preparing to go to a rave. One of the girls smiles and takes out a plastic bag with a number of white pills in it. All of the other girls gather around her while the holder of the pills allots each girl 2 pills. They all take them willingly and smile. The next scene shows the girls dancing and having a good time at a club. The lights are intense and the crowd keeps thickening. Suddenly, the camera zooms in on one of the girls and starts spinning circles around her, illustrating that she is dizzy and loosing consciousness. Her feeble attempts to grab her friends for help are brushed off. She falls on the ground and is s wallowed up by dancing ravers. The camera focuses in on the girl being trampled underneath the shoes of the other club patrons. Despite her attempts to get someone’s attention, she is not heard. The camera fades to black although the music and laughter can still be heard. The next scene shows the girl on the ground, completely disheveled and unconscious. Black ... Free Essays on Fear Appeals And EPPM Free Essays on Fear Appeals And EPPM Witte’s Extended Parallel Processing Model addresses the effectiveness of fear appeals and the subsequent reactions people have to these certain messages. A fear appeal is effective if it successfully generates the emotion of fear within a person. Not all fear appeals are successful, however. Some contain too great a threat, and some contain too little threat. These appeals can be simple threats from a friend or teacher or a commercial, television or magazine ad. The effectiveness of a fear appeal is greater if one perceives that they are directly susceptible to the perceived threat. With the recent rise in the use of the drug ecstasy among young adults, this original commercial would be effective in generating fear within this group of people. A group of teenagers are getting ready to go out to what appears to be a club. The scenes flash back and forth to different girls putting on makeup and skimpy clothes. It is apparent that they are preparing to go to a rave. One of the girls smiles and takes out a plastic bag with a number of white pills in it. All of the other girls gather around her while the holder of the pills allots each girl 2 pills. They all take them willingly and smile. The next scene shows the girls dancing and having a good time at a club. The lights are intense and the crowd keeps thickening. Suddenly, the camera zooms in on one of the girls and starts spinning circles around her, illustrating that she is dizzy and loosing consciousness. Her feeble attempts to grab her friends for help are brushed off. She falls on the ground and is s wallowed up by dancing ravers. The camera focuses in on the girl being trampled underneath the shoes of the other club patrons. Despite her attempts to get someone’s attention, she is not heard. The camera fades to black although the music and laughter can still be heard. The next scene shows the girl on the ground, completely disheveled and unconscious. Black ...

After the Sirens

As soon as the radio is switched on it is described as screaming and it startles the man. He also recognized the radio announcers voice but it this was the first time his voice did not sound upbeat and happy as it usually was during his morning show. The author also describes his voice as Cracking with hysteria (Hood, pig. 161) which clearly sets the mood in the story. The way his voice is described stresses the role that the announcer plays in this story.The radio announcer uses repetition right from the beginning of the story and creates suspense, when he repeats This not an pig. 160) three times. He also repeats This Is an air raid pig. 160) twice right after the radio Is turned on. He continues with the count down right until ten seconds before the bomb hit. The radio announcer sets this man Into action to save himself and his family. The man responds Immediately by telling his wife not to ask questions and to dress her self and the baby In many layers of heavy clothing.While she Is doing that he gathers up food, Hater. Canned goods and two can openers. The radio announcer also helps the man to decide where they should take cover in the house because he reported the target and the man knew where the blast would be coming from. The radio announcer helped them survive. I was captured immediately by his voice and was taken on a Lorene of anticipation and suspense.

Abolitionist Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Abolitionist Movement - Essay Example Christian advocates, economic changes and intellectual growth gave rise to abolitionist campaigns within Europe and America (â€Å"A Brief History of the  American†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). Spain began the first European law that abolished slavery after Dominican religious leader Baryolome de las witnessed the mistreatment of natives, but the laws became weak in 1545. In 17th century Quakers and the enthusiastic religious members began crusades citing that slavery goes against Christian requirements. The England Sommersett’s court case that occurred in 1772 influenced most decisions that led to elimination of slavery. It is clear that France did away with slavery in 1789 however; through the leadership of Napoleon he introduced it later in most colonies. Additionally, Britain banned the sourcing and importation of African slaves in all its colonies around 1807. The British Empire on its part eliminated all forms of slavery in 1883, after the approval of the Slavery Abolition Act while France followed 15 years later (Ferrell 7). The initial calls to end slavery (colonial-era) in America appeared in 1688 by Quakers of German and Dutch heritage from Germantown, Pennsylvania who wrote letters to other Quaker church groups condemning the practice. The Society of Friends was a major contributor to this movement but they did not make much impact on slavery centers. However, their influence was felt in 1787 when the federal government eliminated slavery in the Northwest region and trans-Atlantic slave trade was forbidden in 1808 (â€Å"A Brief History of the  American†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). It is evident, that the most influential part of the Abolitionist movement started in 1830s through religious resurgence of the commonly known Second Great Awakening. The religious leaders at this time viewed slavery as a sin and requested people to renounce it to receive repentance. In 1833, the American Anti-Slavery Society recruited many members while they preached that slavery was morally wrong and advocated for

A Study of Lean Management 2034 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

A Study of Lean Management 2034 - Essay Example Secondly, value stream is identified as the main source of information for the whole process. Thirdly, lean management assists in assuring that the customers receive the right products. Customers pull is important and hence it is the fourth principle for lean management. Fifthly, through lean management there is continuous improvement in productivity and quality of products (Schonberger, 2007). The report explains the operational process in Toyota and how it has helped the company to prosper in the present market. The different approaches that are undertaken by the company to reduce waste, increase productivity and efficiency are also highlighted in the report. In light of this, the report also gives emphasis on the usefulness of lean management in order to satisfy the customers. The success of Toyota is dependent on its reduction system, which focuses on just-in-time management and continuous improvement. The company has developed decentralised structure; the structure encourages team work and employee participation. It has incorporated techniques such as inventory and supply chain management for producing the high quality automobile. Through these techniques it has increased the competitive edge in a competitive automobile market at international level. The success of the company revolves around achievement of high productivity and employment of unique approaches that can solve problem. Toyota Motor Company manufactures vehicles which are sold in 170 countries. However, the company operates worldwide by partnering with 50 overseas manufacturing companies. It manufactures sells and even exports hybrid, passenger, four-wheel drive, sports and commercial vehicles. Customer satisfaction is regarded as the top priority for the company in a competitive automobile market. It aims at building products, which reflect value and satisfy their needs. The customers are general public who have the desire to own a

Incident Response, Business continuity, and Disaster Recovery Plans Research Proposal

Incident Response, Business continuity, and Disaster Recovery Plans - Research Proposal Example It thus becomes imperatively necessary to provide evidence and research based guidelines for effective implementation of incident response and disaster recovery plans for organizations which have employed the use of information and communication technology in their operations. It is due to the increasing incidents of attacks to information systems and the related security challenges that it is necessary for organizations to achieve maximum precautionary plans for response and recovery from incidences without having any significant impact on the business processes. The lack of effective implementation of incident response and recovery plans has been caused by lack of specific approach and strategies for establishment and application of these plans within the organization. This paper presents a case study proposal with a view of enabling organizations to implement effective response and recovery plans for business continuity. Nonetheless, it is necessary to note that there are cost and time implications which are associated with the implementation of the incident response and recovery plans for the advantage of business continuity. ... In the light of this argument therefore, it is suitable that business organizations are guided in the proper planning of the response approaches and recovery process in cases of attacks to their information systems. The benefit of proper and organized response and recovery plan for various attacks to organizational computer systems is the reduction of the costs and time related to failure of continuity of business processes (Haddow, Bullock and Coppola, 2011). All organizations require an information system policy which provides the step by step procedure for response to attacks of the system and the recovery from possible attacks (Kuonqui, 2006). Without such a policy, businesses are likely to fail in attaining recovery from various attacks of their information systems (Jennex, 2012).Organizations often have incident response teams which help them to effectively manage various attacks to their information systems (Omar, Alijani and Mason, 2011). These teams are accredited with the r ole of following standard procedure for response and recovery from incidences. In this regard, the teams a significant function of protecting the organization from loss of the continuity of business processes (Kuonqui, 2006). It is notable that regardless of the postulation of information system policies as the solution to the response and recovery from incidences, there is no clear presentation of the contents of such polities. Moreover, the incident response team composition has not been defined clearly. This can be attributed to unprofessional response to attacks of organizations’ information systems (West, 1996). Additionally, actual steps which should be taken in the procedural response to an incidence and recovery from such incidences have not been provided in a distinct

Compare Film Composition and Its Function and Meaning in the Work of Essay

Compare Film Composition and Its Function and Meaning in the Work of Akira Kurosawa and Kenji Mizoguchi - Essay Example To begin with, there will be a discussion of film composition and it varied elements. This section will focus on the various aspects of film composition that help portray a realistic and in some cases, larger than life picture of things so as to put across a certain message. From here, the paper will delve into a discussion of the lives and works of the two filmmakers in question so as to demonstrate the use of film composition techniques as used by them. In this regard, two films have been studied by each of the filmmakers. The films of Akira Kurosawa include Seven Samurais and Ikiru. The two films of Kenji Mizoguchi include Tales of Ugetsu and Sansho the Bailiff. From here, there will be a focus on the comparison of film composition styles of these two filmmakers. In this section, the basic focus will be on the portrayal of the quality of the use of these elements in the portrayal of various situations and scenarios through their films. The parallels drawn in this section will be reflected in the conclusion through a brief summation of the commonalities and diverse styles of film composition. Films are a medium and an art form rolled into one. They have the capacity to transport viewers and put across messages that can transform the lives of entire audiences. The power of cinema is one that has been hailed as the hardest hitting of art forms, even from the days of silent movies. The term or phrase, 'Motion Pictures' is literally the most accurate definition of the most powerful element of cinema. Moving pictures are the most powerful form of expression in art. This art form called cinema relies on the use of pictures that move in order to hold the interest of entire audiences. Yet, the sole activity of recreating moving pictures to depict scenarios and messages, is not enough. To match the voice of one's heart and sensibilities, moving pictures need to be rendered in various ways, and with the exact play of various elements. These elements include lighting, sound, and above all aesthetics. While most believe that aesthetics mainly cater to the play of light and sound in the film, this is not entirely true. Aesthetics revolve around the play of dialogue that can be rendered in perfect light, shadow, setting as well as a background score where necessary. In order to help audiences as well as every individual in the audience to literally 'get the picture', there is a need to deviate from the ordinary in an endeavour to portray that ordinary aspect of people's lives in a manner that can be dramatic, humorous and many other things depending on the vision of the filmmaker. Vision is a key word in the arena of film composition. The technicalities of film making aside, the vision of the filmmaker and the story that he or she wants to tell is the single most important factor in the portrayal of facts as well as fiction. The vision of the filmmaker is one that springs from the following factors: Personal Life Experiences Hard Hitting influence of a particular story The basic social, personal and professional sphere within which the filmmaker defines his or her capacities and influences. The genre of films and art forms that affect the filmmaker to the highest degree. The experience of the

Case analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Case analysis - Essay Example apacity of other top flying English Premiership league clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United, and Arsenal, who are the main competitors of Tottenham Hotspur. For this reason, the club plans to build a new stadium that can have a capacity of more than 36,500 so as to remain competitive as the other premier league clubs. Daniel Levy, the current and longtime chairman of Tottenham Hotspur football club, was therefore contemplating on building of the new stadium. He believed that by building new Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur will be able to accrue additional revenue that will make them have a voice in the transfer market for good players. The Tottenham Hotspur football club has a stadium whose capacity is small as compared to the stadium capacity of other top competitors such as Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United. This makes them disadvantaged as they are not able to accrue enough revenue from the stadium attendance as compared to their competitors. This is evidenced because despite having 20 million of fans worldwide and 2.1 million of fans in the United Kingdom, few attendance revenues are always raised as the stadium has no capacity to accommodate all the fans who are willing to watch a Tottenham Hotspur match. For instance, when all the 36500 seats are occupied during the match day, 20,000 people are always on the waiting list for the tickets. Because of the limited stadium capacity, the club accrues less revenue as compared to the other top competitors. The fewer revenues accrued make the club less competitive in the transfer market as compared to the other clubs like Arsenal and Manchester United. For this reasons, the club will not be able to purchase good players who can make the club be top four in the league. Lack of top four positions in the league makes the club lose television broadcast revenue and champions league revenues. To increase the attendance revenues of the club, the club intends to build a new stadium that can increase the stadium

The American Frontier Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The American Frontier - Assignment Example These settlers and the Native Americans were mythologized in terms of their cultures and economic activities. In this mythological era, the white settlers got two opportunities; to practice slavery and extend their ranches and farm lands. Most Southerners were whites who had settled earlier to cultivate land and mine precious metals for economic gains. Historical studies reveal that the Southerners created a myth which justified that the uncivilized black slaves were meant to labor for the white planters since the white communities catered for the needs of the so-called inferior beings. In addition, they claimed that both societies lived happily and in an orderly manner since everyone knew their social positions in the community. With the aid of this myth, the white settlers had the opportunity to exploit the cheap slave labour and exercise powers over the blacks (Slatta, 2010). Another prominent mythological belief is that the ranchers needed to secure large tracts of land in order to pursue their livelihood. The myth justified that the extensive tracts of land were to be made available for commercial farming for the ranchers. They claimed that the produce from the ranches supported them and the loyal black slaves, as well. Most arguments made by the mythologized settlers were based on the ideology that as far as they are benefiting in the New World, no law was to be made to remove such benefits. Some of the beliefs about ranching may include; ranchers would protect the land, livestock benefits the wildlife, public lands support the rancher, rangeland would stay healthy if were grazed, and more (Slatta, 2010). In other words, the ranchers didn’t consider the environmental impact of extending ranches such as imbalance of the ecosystems and climatic changes. Instead, they used that opportunity to enrich themselves with many herds of cattle at the expe nse of environment. As stated earlier, the closing of the American

Case analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Case analysis - Essay Example apacity of other top flying English Premiership league clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United, and Arsenal, who are the main competitors of Tottenham Hotspur. For this reason, the club plans to build a new stadium that can have a capacity of more than 36,500 so as to remain competitive as the other premier league clubs. Daniel Levy, the current and longtime chairman of Tottenham Hotspur football club, was therefore contemplating on building of the new stadium. He believed that by building new Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur will be able to accrue additional revenue that will make them have a voice in the transfer market for good players. The Tottenham Hotspur football club has a stadium whose capacity is small as compared to the stadium capacity of other top competitors such as Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United. This makes them disadvantaged as they are not able to accrue enough revenue from the stadium attendance as compared to their competitors. This is evidenced because despite having 20 million of fans worldwide and 2.1 million of fans in the United Kingdom, few attendance revenues are always raised as the stadium has no capacity to accommodate all the fans who are willing to watch a Tottenham Hotspur match. For instance, when all the 36500 seats are occupied during the match day, 20,000 people are always on the waiting list for the tickets. Because of the limited stadium capacity, the club accrues less revenue as compared to the other top competitors. The fewer revenues accrued make the club less competitive in the transfer market as compared to the other clubs like Arsenal and Manchester United. For this reasons, the club will not be able to purchase good players who can make the club be top four in the league. Lack of top four positions in the league makes the club lose television broadcast revenue and champions league revenues. To increase the attendance revenues of the club, the club intends to build a new stadium that can increase the stadium

CAPE Industrial Services - case study Essay Example for Free

CAPE Industrial Services case study Essay 1.0 Introduction In response to the increased importance of services, numerous articles on issues related to the effective management of service operations have appeared in both academic and practitioner based publications (Chase and Hayes, 1991; Karmarker and Pitbladdo, 1995; Kellogg and Nie, 1995; Lovelock, 1992; Roth and Van Der Velde, 1991). Several of these articles present typologies of services and provide directions for improving quality, productivity and operating efficiency, however relatively little has been done to test the proposed ideas. In order to understand more of these various service management typologies, an actual business organisation that focuses on providing services will be observed and analysed. In the discussion, the design and strategies of the selected company in the Oil Industry service sector will be taken into account. Recommendations for improvement will also be provided at the end of the discussion. 2.0 Model of the Service The variety of the service sector makes it complicated to come up with useful generalisations concerning the management of service organisations. Therefore, a considerable amount of research has been focused on developing service classification schemes. For example, Judd (1964) classified services according to three categories: rented goods, owned goods and non-goods services. Similarly, Rathmell (1974) categorised services according to type of buyer, buyer motives, buying practices, type of seller, and degree of regulation. Even though these classifications show how some services are different from the others, they do not provide much useful insight into the design and management of service processes from an operational perspective. More recent classification schemes have explored the complex nature of service delivery systems with the goal of identifying differentiating characteristics, which affect quality and process improvement, as well as service design. For example, Shostack ( 1977) and Sasser, Olsen and Wyckoff (1978) developed the concept of product-service-package based on the tangible versus intangible nature of services. More recent researchers however believe in an integrated approach to service management. For example, Thomas (1978) argues that a large part of manufacturing experience is irrelevant to the management of service operations because the supply services are very different from that of manufacturing. Sullivan (1981) and Bowen and Cummings (1990) also advocate an integrated approach to service management and suggest that operations management researchers must include organisational behaviour and marketing constructs and techniques to address service operations problems adequately. The means of classifying service models are indeed varied. For this particular analysis though, the model proposed by Schmenner (1986), also known as the Service Process Matrix (SPM), will be used. The SPM expands the customer-contact model and categorises services on two dimensions. One is labour intensity, and the other is customer contact and service customisation. Schmenner (1986) proposed a two-by-two service process matrix that classifies services as service factory, service shop, mass service, and professional service. Under these models, CAPE Industrial Services can be classified under the Professional Service category. Professional service is described as the provision of services with high customer contact and or customisation and high labour intensity. Labour intensity on the other hand is defined as the ratio of the labour cost incurred to the value of the plant and equipment. A high labour intensity business involves relatively small plant and equipment investment relative to a considerable amount of worker time, effort, and cost. The second dimension in the classification scheme combines two distinct concepts: customer interaction and customisation. A service with a high level of interaction is one in which the customer can actively intervene in the service process. A service with high customisation will work to satisfy an individuals particular preferences. The joint measure has a high value when a service exhibits both a high level of interaction and a high level of customisation for the customers. In the selected business, CAPES Operations management has a high contact with customers who need to be kept informed of the service range being delivered to them. Thus, high customisation or high selection on the services occurring in this type of Industry. Also, CAPE employ a high labour intensity as the Oil Industry service sector is located globally, in short the service range offered by CAPE is readily accessible, incurring fewer costs for equipment and labour. 3.0 Service Design and Delivery The contracts that are held by CAPE require daily customer contact on a personal level, having designated Business Delivery Managers for these contracts assist the customers with what they need for their services. So as to maintain the efficiency and speed of service, there are also designated project managers. These managers have constant contact with the offshore or onshore facility, this is handled in such a way that both the customer and the CAPE Business Delivery Manager are aware of all the daily operations that are on going. The services rendered by CAPE Industrial Services are a vast range of Multi-Disciplined Fabric Maintenance and Access techniques to Oil and Gas Sector. Charges built into the contract rates cover the costs of the additional project management. At times, services are requested that are not of the norm for CAPE, to service these Third party companies are brought in under the CAPE banner. While the cost of these services may vary much from the standard contract rates, excellent service is a must. Thus, extra costs are incurred for additional time and effort put into the contract by the CAPE managers. So as to make the services offered by CAPE more affordable and viable for their customers; the company tends to work on providing innovative ideas that will improve work ethics. Typical innovative ideas are the Introduction of Industrial Rope Access; this is a benefit to the customer as it cuts out the need for Scaffold or other means of conventional access solutions. Like other service companies, one of the common strategies of CAPE is to offer a volume discount or a reduced rate if the period of the contract can be extended. 4.0 Service Strategy Service companies in the Oil and Gas Industry have numerous strategies on how their rendered services can be better than competitors. Aside from maintaining quality and safety in service, one of the aims of the CAPE Industrial Services is to provide innovative ideas to their customers that will keep them ahead of their competitors whilst at the same time providing cost savings and improvements in quality to the customer. Improvements in the equipments and materials that are available in the Oil Industry also help in achieving the quality of service. Industrial Rope Access for instance, helps in reducing time scales for accessing work sites. Hence, this reduces costs to the customer. Using the appropriate tools in the work-site also helps to improve quality and time-scales. This goal of the company does not only facilitate in serving the customer appropriately, but most importantly it shows that the Oil and Gas Industry service area prioritises its customers. This in turn results to high customer satisfaction and loyalty. 5.0 Service Encounter: People in the Service Personnel working for CAPE Operations include Operations managers, Project Managers, QA/QC and HSE Managers, Technical Clerks and Secretarys. Each of these employees has their own designated duties and responsibilities in the area. This way, efficiency of service is maintained in the Company. Of course problems might occur in any type of businesses, a company is bound to make mistakes if there are no careful observations to their businesses. One of the problems that a company like CAPE might encounter is the companys personnel or human resource mistakes. The reason for this is the lack in the training it provides for its personnel. The training and development of each employee is very significant as this does not only help in providing confidence in work performance, but it also helps in maintaining quality service. So it is advisable for CAPE Industrial Services to train their employees well to provide their customers with better satisfaction. 6.0 Managing Service Expectation and Capacity In times when demands for services increase, CAPE Industrial Services tries to cope by conducting reliable forecasts. The company so as to keep track of its activities regularly keeps records of previous business operations. This aids the managers from predicting sudden increases of service demand. In order to cope with peak months for ad-hoc services, the customers managers are advised to make their project plans ahead of time. Through this system, CAPE is able to plan ahead for availability of equipment, consumables and personnel that will be used for upcoming projects. 7.0 Recommendations One of the problems that the organisation might face is the mistake their site personnel are committing because of their lack of training and development. As previously mentioned, this is a vital factor so as to maintain efficient service in the company and lessen the number of mistakes which can be made on one of the sites. In order to remedy this problem, the managers can plan an effective and appropriate program for each employee based on their respective duties within the company. The managers can also implement a system at the sites wherein the older workers with more site experience can assist newly hired employees. This can be a more appropriate method of training as the exposure of the workers to the actual work area can help them adjust to the nature of their job. Regular evaluation of the workers can help in improving the skills of the workers and keep them up to date of their current work performance. In this way, quality of service is maintained and skills are enhanced. Overall, the performance of CAPE Industrial Services is efficient. Considering its effective strategies and significant goals for quality service, it is enough to say that the services provided by CAPE are good and successful. However, there are other factors that are to be considered in this type of service. The consideration of these factors will not only help the company in serving their customers better, but it will also help them maintain quality and service provided to existing and potential new customers. 8.0 Operational Improvement Through the Use of Technology In reality, the world of a service company in the Oil and Gas Industry is changing. The expectations of people are different than those of past generations, Safety and Quality are becoming more important features of the industry each year, cost pressures continue to mount, and new information technologies have changed operational functions (Cushman and Shanklin, 1996; Bowers, 1987). As a result, the captive market plan concept is declining and the services are being exposed to a greater amount of competition than in the past. Due to these changes, the old strategies of a service company system must also adapt. This adaptation will definitely contribute to sufficient flexibility that will meet customers needs in an ever-changing environment while retaining the beneficial aspects of a Multi-Disciplined service provider. As CAPE is focused on giving their customers a quality service, one of the possible strategies that can be employed by the company is the application of the One Stop Sh op Fabric Maintenance service provider. As information technologies have advanced, the virtual organisation concept has been promoted as an alternative too traditional, vertically integrated organisational structures (Goldman et al, 1995). In virtual organisations, a lead entity creates an alliance with a set of other organisations (Grenier Metes, 1995). The tasks performed by the virtual organisation are divided among the entities that comprise it, based upon their respective competencies. Virtual organisations can produce superior results because they harness market forces to combine competencies in ways that traditional organisations, using internal mechanisms, cannot (Chesbrough Teece, 1996). Once constituted, the lead organisation operates the virtual organisation by co-ordinating parallel tasks through the use of sophisticated information technologies and management systems, thus creating a coherent system. A virtual organisations membership changes over time as market conditions and technologies shift and the strategies and resources of the constituent organisations evolve. While virtual organisations are most often found in high technology industries such as the development of new computer systems, some characteristics of CAPE Industrial Services make it amenable to the successful operation of a company that services the needs of the Oil and gas Industry. 9.0 Conclusion While CAPES Operations may take a lot of resources to maintain the business and the quality of service provided, the benefits that it can provide outweigh the expense incurred. Aside from that, the services offered by CAPE will definitely increase in quality, hence, greatly contributing to the goals of the company. Through careful and effective planning, budgeting and implementation, CAPE Industrial Services can begin on making little changes, improving the company one step at a time. The important thing is that constant adaptation to change is being done and that the Operations management is coming up with ways on how to improve the services that are provided by the company and keeping the customer coming back. 10.0 References Bowen, D.E., and Cummings, T.G. (1990). Suppose we took service seriously. In Service Management Effectiveness, New York: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1-4 Chase, R.B., and Hayes, R.H. (1991). Beefing-up operations in service firms. Sloan Management Review, 33 (1), 15-26 Chesbrough, H. W., and Teece D. J. (1996, January-February). When is Virtual virtuous?: Organising for innovation. Harvard Business Review, 65-73 Goldman, S. L., Nagel, R. N., and Preiss, K. (1995). Agile Competitors and Virtual Organisations: Strategies for Enriching the Customer. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Grenier R., and Metes, G. (1995). Going Virtual: Moving Your Organisation Into the 21st Century. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR www.soc.napier.ac.uk/module.php3?op=getlecturecloaking=nolectureid=1935516 Karmarkar, U.S., and Pitbladdo, R. (1995). Service markets and competition. Journal of Operations Management, 12 (4), 397-411 Kellogg, D.L. and Nie, W. (1995). A framework for strategic service management. Journal of Operations Management, 13, 323-337 Lovelock, C.H. (1992). A basic toolkit for service management. In Managing services: marketing, operations, and human resources 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Roth, A.V., and Van Der Velde, M. (1991). Operations as marketing: A competitive service strategy. Journal of Operations Management, 10 (3), 303-328 Judd, R.C. (1964). The case for redefining services. Journal of Marketing, 28, 1 Rathmell, J.M. (1974). Marketing in the service sector, Cambridge, MA: Winthrop Schmenner, R.W. (1986). How can service businesses survive and prosper. Sloan Management Review, 27 (3), 21-32 Shostack. G.L. (1977). Breaking free from product marketing. Journal of Marketing, 41 (4) Sullivan, R.S. (1981). The service sector: Challenges and imperatives for research in operations management. Journal of Operations Management, 2 (4), 211-214 Thomas, D.R.E (1978). Strategy is different in service businesses. Harvard Business Review, 56 (4), 158-165

Ray Charles Contributions To Popular Music

Ray Charles Contributions To Popular Music Ray Charles has been described by many of his contemporaries, Such as Frank Sinatra, who said, Ray Charles is the only genius in the business. I am going to discuss to what extent Ray Charles contributed to popular music. Ray grew up alongside both gospel and country music and was heavily influenced by these two genres. I am going to discuss how through his integration of gospel and rhythm and blues in releases such as I Got a Woman helped Ray create his own musical identity but ultimately helped to create a whole new musical style Soul. Finally I will discuss how his fusion of white country music through Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music helped to break barriers and introduced country music to a mainstream audience. Nat King Cole and pianist-singer Charles Brown, much to similar style of Cole had a great effect on Ray Charles. Ray closely imitated these artists as a teenager and during his time with Swing Time Records, headed by Jack Lauderdale. However, for Ray too be more successful he would have develop his own musical identity. During the 1950s Ray Charles would begin to blend RB and secularise gospel styles, which would ultimately lead to birth of Soul. He would begin to incorporate the chord changes, song structures, call and response techniques, and vocal screams of gospel. The influence gospel had on Ray is present from an early age. Ray grew alongside church music and would listen to Wings Over Jordan and the Golden Gate Quartet. During his time at school he would regularly sing in a choir and also organise his own informal singing group, which would sing rhythmic gospel music. In 1953 Whilst recording for singer Tommy Ridgeley at the JM Studio, New Orleans, Ray would play a couple of tunes after the session. He performed Feeling Sad funeral march and Guitar Slims and Rays I Wonder Who. His performance is characteristically blues, as ray weeps his way through the lyrics as horns drone sombre chords. However as Micheal Lydon states that after re-listening, Ray opens his voice in baby steps, exploring how to shade his vocal textures. This recording shows that Ray would need to push himself further with his emotional range. Around his birthday after Ray begins to widen his emotional range his friends in New Orleans would notice a change he began to sound like a gospel singer. Trumpeter Wallace Davenport recalls The first time I heard him I thought he was Charles Brown, then he started getting into that church thing. As Ray began to incorporate gospel into his music he would listen to gospel radio and read the Braille bible he carried. Renald Richard explained how Ray loves the blues singers like Joe Turner, but most of all he loved gospel singersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦He used to talk about Archie Browne, the lead singer with the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, how much he liked them. He would then begin to sound like them by turning and playing around with his notes, which would be much to the enjoyment of the audience. Later on in December 1953 whilst with Atlantic Records, Armet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler would listen to four arrangements Ray had made on radio station, WDSU. In this you can hear three distinct elements: Jazz, Deep Blues and fervid Gospel, coming together in an early stage, not a sound which is fully refined but one that sounds like Ray Charles. If there was a single turning point in the career of Ray Charles, it probably occurred on November the 18th 1954 at a radio station in Atlanta. It was here Ray and his recently formed band would record I Got a Woman. This was his first hit Ray had with a gospel influence. In October 1954, Ray was touring with his first band toward Indianna. Whilst searching the radio stations he would stop when he found a gospel station. Renald Richard remembered vividly a gospel tune that came on with a good groove and started singing. Ray sang something like I got a woman and I answered yeh she lives cross town then shes good to me. Renald then wrote the song for the next morning to the satisfaction of Ray. I Got a Woman is an archetypal 16 bar secularisation of My Jesus is all the World to me. Others have seen it as a straight rewrite of I Got a Saviour. The songs Ray had performed before like The Suns Gonna Shine had the hortatory tones of a preacher in the pulpit. I Got a Woman was a preacher a t a picnic. Light heartened gospel spiritual joy into sexual delight. It would lift the listener with each of its 4 bar chord change, confirming his optimistic lyrics. Just as the church would joyfully celebrate the glory of God. I got a woman was a record for every happy couple in America, black, white and in-between. The band first performed I Got a Woman for Ahmet and Jerry as they arrived at the Peacock club in Atlanta. Ahmet described how the power and precision had stunned Jerry. Jerry stated that something fantastic had happened, Ray had hatched, ready for fame. Through blending gospel with blues, Ray had the first time fused two strict idioms. In the African-American community the blues and gospel are both part of their culture. However a blues singer didnt sing gospel and a gospel singer didnt sing the blue. It was taboo. Many people believed that it was sacrilegious to mix blues with spirituals says Big Bill Broonzy and American blues singer. However, it quickly rose to the top of the charts in early 1955, the success of I got a woman being down to good attention from both white and black markets. Before, Ray had recorded songs like Mess Around by Ahmet Ertegà ¼n, which were big in the RB charts but not the white charts. A year after its first recording, Elvis Presley would confirm the impression it made by his own cover of I Got a Woman at RCA. In Jan 1955 Billboard quotes as I Got a Woman as one of the most infectious blues sides to come out since the summer. At the following recording session for Atlantic in Miami. Rays defining sound would be clearly and precisely heard. Ray recorded four charts, two straight blues and two gospel charts. The gospel songs This Little Girl of Mine and A Fool For You would reiterate Rays push of his gospel influence. This Little Girl of Mine is an up-tempo shouter with a rhythmic Latin feel based on the gospel song This Little Light of Mine. A Fool For You is a 6/8 double time waltz with Rays sanctified singing but without the heavenly lyrics, accompanied by piano gospel licks and preaching horns. Although, like I Got a Woman these two gospel and RB charts was seen as sacrilegious, the mix Ray had created appealed to so many audiences across the nation, and introduced a new music that would have a lasting effect, which would be later labelled as Soul music. As the 1950s progressed vocal groups following Ray Charles, began to add a sense of urgency and meaning- Soul, to their style of music resulting in the groups of Motown and others, including groups like the Chicago based family band called the Staple Singers who had hit songs which were centred around Gospel and RB. Their success followed on into the 1970s. In the late 1950s into the 1960s girl groups joined male Doo-Wop and RR groups, which resulted in groups like The Shirelles, Marveletess and The Supremes. Their material was largely written by the Brill Building writers and received hit records but never usually lasted. As Ray Charles added the gospel influence to his music, such as the call and response backing vocal groups like the Raylettes so too did Aretha Franklin. She reinfused her female backing groups with a gospel influence, which are present in her mid 1960s Atlantic recordings. Other artists like James Brown, who started his career as a singer with the Gospel Starlighters, following the style of Reverends Julius Cheeks and Claude Jeter added RB to their style. The vocal urgency and syncopated dance rhythms of gospel along with top notch RB house bands came together most clearly in the music of James Brown. Combining a Little Richard- style act with other theatrics from Joe Tex and a pleading version of Ray Charles gospel/soul. He then recorded his hit Please, Please, Please. In 1959 Ray released Whatd I Say, a song that became a top ten pop hit and would be one of his last singles with Atlantic before his move to ABC. There are clear gospel influences combined with the sexual innuendo in the song made it not only widely popular but very controversial to both white and black audiences. In the middle of the song. Charles indicated that The Raelettes should repeat what he was doing, and the song transformed into a call and response between Charles, The Raelettes, and the horn section in the orchestra as they called out to each other in ecstatic shouts and moans and blasts from the horns. This improvised interchange between himself and the Raylettes and between the band and audience is much like that of a Preacher and his congregation. Ray also uses gospel dialouge with unuh-uhnnh over charles moans and cries. He also uses phrases like shake that thing and I feel alright, and expression for the body instead of the lord. During Rays early life the influence of country and western music is ever present. When Ray Charles was growing up, the south was full of Country or Hillbilly music. Ray explains how there wasnt a single Saturday night that he wouldnt listen to the Grand Ole Opry on the radio. I loved Grandpa Jones and other characters. I could hear what they were doing and appreciate the feeling behind it. Ray would listen to Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff, Hank Snow, Hank Williams and later Eddie Arnold. I listened to them all the time, I certainly dug it and paid it some mind. In 1948 Ray joined a Hillbilly band called the Florida Playboys. It took just one audition to convince the Playboys that Ray could play country music with genuine flavour, and they hired him, no questions asked about race. For seven months he gigged with the band, playing current country hits of the day like Kentucky Waltz and Anytime in white honky-tonks in and around Tampa, learning to yodel and singing, Waiting All for You. Even as black, blind man, Ray was accepted and applauded just like anyone else by the audience. I could play the music right and I could do country music with as much feeling as any other southernerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. I had been hearing it since I was a baby. Long before the birth of his own country music, Charles looked back with pride on his stint with the Playboys.Lydon. In an outtake of a 1950s recording, Ray plays a limpid country lick. The producer chuckles over the studio intercom and says that he didnt know Ray could play Nashville. Ray then replies Man, Didnt you know I gigged with the Florida Playboys His time with the Florida Playboys, though brief would plant a seed in his mind that would rise during the 1960s. After leaving Atlantic Records in 1959, Ray joined ABC and at the end of 1961. He asked Sid Feller to get together 40 country hits from the last twenty years with the idea to record a country album. Sid Feller had not know at the time that Ray liked County and Samuel Clark and Larry Newton the executives at ABC Records were adamantly opposed to the idea that Charles brought to them. The ABC executives said, You cant do no country-western things.Youre gonna lose all your fans! However Feller believed that Ray understood Country music. He describes how Ray loved the simple plaintive lyrics, and he felt that giving the music a lush treatment would make it different Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music is a dozen tunes that runs the whole scope of Nashville from the traditional Careless Love to the rock and roll Bye Bye Love and from Hank Williams to the B-side fail of I Cant Stop Loving You. The tracks alternate from big band to string and voice. However regardless of all the jazz and symphonic effects present, the heart of every arrangement is a simple strummed guitar. Rays bluesy melismas wring every tear out of the country weepers, all the poetry out of their monosyllabic lyrics. I Cant Stop Loving You has a folk song strength, major scale melody, marching up and down over 3 chords and operatic grandeur created by his baritone voice and orchestra. He also uses his trademark letting the chorus lead the lyric with his voice following. Ray sings County in his own way, expanding the country sounds without distorting its colour. Rays own blend obscures the fact that Modern Sounds was his boldest album, which breaks many barriers. Invading white country music in the 1960s was something black pop-jazz singers didnt do. You had to be Country in 1962. After Modern Sounds it became a major player in Rays repertoire and on popular music. His unique blend of Country, Pop, Jazz and RB introduced country music to people of the city and showed to record companies and producers how to arrange their music to reach a much wider audience. Ray Charles played a pivotal role in shaping the course of a seemingly very different genre of popular music. In the words of his good friend and sometimes collaborator, Willie Nelson, speaking before Charles death in 2004, Ray Charles the RB legend did more for country music than any other living human being. The landmark album that earned Ray Charles that praise was Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, which held at number 1 for 14 weeks and stayed in the charts for 2 years. His single release I Cant Stop Loving You ruled at number 1 on RB and Easy Listening charts for weeks in the summer of 1962 dipping to 3rd in July and beginning to fall in august. As Charles told Rolling Stone magazine a decad e later, But Charles recognized the quality of songs like I Cant Stop Loving You by Don Gibson and You Dont Know Me, by Eddy Arnold and Cindy Walker, and the fact that his version of both of those country songs landed in the Top 5 on both the pop and RB charts was vindication of Charless long-held belief that Theres only two kinds of music as far as Im concerned: good and bad. Following the massive commercial success and notice of Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, country music experienced an immediate increase in popularity. According to music writer Daniel Cooper, the album raised the genres profile, specifically Nashville sound, of which Charles had covered. Benefiting from this were songwriters, music publishers and country singers who covered the subgenres material. As noted by Cooper, by the end of 1962, Nashville country publishers were being held as the hottest source of music material in the record business these days. Ray Charless success with the stylistic fusion of country and soul on Modern Sounds later lead to country soul efforts from performers, such as Candi Staton and Solomon Burke who were both greatly influenced by Charless Modern Sounds recordings. Many country music artists, such as Willie Nelson and Buck Owens, have cited Charless take on country music and Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music as their major influences. In an interview for Country Music Television, Nelson said of Modern Sounds influence that the album did more for country music than any one artist has ever done. Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music has also been perceived by many critics and writers as a landmark album in American music, as the record was the first to blend the two racially distinct genres of country and soul. Ray Charles all-embracing attitude toward music was one that he developed during his childhood and early career. Ray was immersed in the sounds of jazz, blues, gospel and country in his youth, playing in RB bands and a Country Hillbilly band. Ray Charles pioneered soul music, which had a great effect on popular music. In secularising certain aspects of gospel music with RB, Ray received his first gospel and RB hit I Got a Woman, which received attention from both black and white audiences. Subsequently, further releases like Whatd I Say and the Hallelujah I Lover Her So album attracted a large mainstream audience. His fusion of white country music earned Ray mainstream and crossover success, with his album Modern Sound in Country and Western Music which broke racial stereotypes and exposed country music to city dwellers. It also helped other country artists; particularly them orientated around the Nashville sound, reach a wider audience, raising the genres profile. To him, the bounda ries between those styles of music were made to be crossed, and he made a career out of doing just that having a great effect on popular music.

Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay -- essays research papers

Love and Marriage   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is a novel about a Southern black woman and her experiences through life. Janie, the main character, is forced at a young age by her grandmother, into an arranged marriage with a man named Logan. Janie is told to learn to love Logan, but the love never comes for Logan in Janie's heart so she leaves him. She meets a man named Joe. Soon after they are married. Joe was sweet at first, then his true feelings about women come out and Janie looses her love she thought she had for him. He soon dies after their separation. Janie then falls in love with a man named Tea Cake. He is the man with whom she has a wonderful, loving, happy marriage. Janie, through youth and lack of empowerment, is mislead to believe other people's definitions of love and marriage until she is strong enough to find a relationship on her own which satisfies her personal definitions of love and marriage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nanny, Janie's grandmother, leads her to believe that love comes after marriage though love is secondary to the security marriage provides. Nanny feels marriage was simply for security and to start a family. 'Taint Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have baby, it's protection.';(pg. 14). Nanny says this to Janie before her arranged marriage to Logan. Nanny wants Janie to be financially set with her life before she dies and leaves Janie to fend for herself. Nanny wants her to start a f...

Truthful Horatio of Shakespeares Hamlet :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Truthful Horatio in Hamlet Horatio's role in Hamlet is minor, however he serves two purposes central to the drama. Horatio provides the truth. It is through Horatio that the actions taken by Hamlet and other characters gain credibility. He is the outside observer to the madness. Hamlet could soliloquize to no end, but it is his conversations with Horatio that ground the play in reality. Horatio believes Hamlet and thus we have permission to believe. He sees the Ghost and so we can believe that Hamlet has seen the Ghost. If Horatio were not there, Hamlet's sanity would truly be in doubt. Horatio's second purpose is to be Hamlet's one true confidant. Apart from Hamlet's soliloquies, his conversations with Horatio are the only insight we have into what the Prince is really thinking and feeling. But why Hamlet chooses Horatio to become the sole person on whom he can rely is of primary concern here. From the first scene we see that Horatio is calm, resolute, and rational. Not afraid to confront the Ghost, Horatio demands that it speak if it knows what future awaits Denmark or if it has come to make a confession: If thou art privy to thy country's fate... O, speak! Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life Extorted treasure in the womb of earth... Speak of it, stay and speak! (I.i.133-9) Hamlet admires Horatio for the qualities that Hamlet himself does not possess. He praises Horatio for his virtue and self-control: "Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man/As e'er my conversation cop'd withal" (III.ii.56-7). Horatio's strength of character is unwavering, and Hamlet longs for the peace of mind that such stoicism must bring to Horatio: Dost thou hear? Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice, And could of men distinguish her election, Hath seal'd thee for herself, for thou hast been As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing, A man that fortune's buffets and rewards Hast ta'en with equal thanks: and blest are those Whose blood and judgement are so well commedled That they are not a pipe for fortune's finger To sound what stop she please. Give me that man That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart, As i do thee. (III.ii.65-70) Thus Horatio has reached an apex that Hamlet recognizes is the freedom from emotional upheaval.

Comparing and contrasting lease versus purchase options Essay

It is important to know the difference between lease purchase and lease option. The use of leases can also have an impact on a company’s liquidity profitability ratios (Schroeder, Clark, & Cathey, 2005). First the organization should study the expenses of what it would cost to lease as to what it cost to purchase this can be done with a reduced cash flow evaluation. The study would compare the expense of the alternatives by taking into account the scheduling of payments, tax benefits, and interest rates on any loans, and other financial arrangements. To make an evaluation, the company has to be sure about the financially viable lifespan of equipment, this would also include the salvage value and depreciation of such equipment. Here is a brief description of what debt financing is referred as. Debt financing is when money is borrowed by an organization and has to be repaid back with interest. Debt financing does dilute the ownership of the company. Debt financing can be looked at as either a long-term debt or short-term debt. Two examples of debt financing are the issue of Bonds and a Line of Credit. Line of Credit is a bank loan where a company can draw out funds when times are slow, and money is needed. Bonds can be issued as form of debt financing. Bonds are usually long-term and come with a maturity ranging from seven to 30 years. These bonds are usually underwritten by a bank or securities firm who assist in the sales of these bonds. Equity financing is another method of raising money by selling company stock to outside investors. In return for their interest in buying stock, the shareholder receives ownership interest in the company. An advantage to using debt is that the debt helps to produce and hold greater investment returns for the company’s equity holders. When using debt financing the primary advantage is that it allows the founders to hold ownership and control of the company. The disadvantage to this is that it  requires smaller business to make monthly payments of both principal and interest. The use of capital structure depends on what a company can afford some small companies cannot afford debt financing like larger corporations. I think equity financing is a good way for smaller companies to raise capital because the owner can still hold on to control and raise money at the same time. Reference Schroeder, R.G., Clark, M.W., & Cathey, J.M. (2005). Financial Accounting Theory and Analysis (8th Ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

AIDS 3rd revision

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS as we commonly know it, is a life threatening condition a person wouldn’t want to be caught into. It was discovered in the United States way back in 1981.   Since then, it has been a major problem of the world.Until now, there is no known cure for AIDS, a very alarming fact because anyone could get infected. AIDS is caused by a virus know to kill or damage cells of the body’s immune system.That virus is what we commonly know as HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). Because of its destructive behavior against the cells of the immune system, HIV disables the body’s capability to fight infections and cancer causing agents.When a person has AIDS, he or she is prone to getting life-threatening ailments because their bodies cannot fight the build-up of infections (â€Å"Women, Children and HIV†, 2006).Reports show that dating back to 1981, there has been more than a million cases of AIDS recorded. Statistics show that 2 5% of these people are unaware of the HIV infection. Because of this, they are likely to infect other people and transmit the virus (â€Å"HIV infections†, 2006).Symptoms of HIV InfectionIf not diagnosed early, HIV is hard to detect. Upon infection, you will not experience any symptoms. But it is possible to feel a flu-like ailment after 1-2 months of exposure to HIV. It could include fever, headache, enlarged lymph nodes and a certain feeling of tiredness.These symptoms are gone after one week to one month and are usually associated with other diseases. At this time, people can easily infect others, and the virus is greatly concentrated in the genital fluids. This is a very critical time for infecting other people because you don’t know that you have the disease.And when you have multiple sexual partners, it is likely to infect them with the virus. This is the period where you need to wear protection, in order not to infect others. The next set of symptoms may not sur face for 10 years or more after you first got infected with the virus. This is varying for some people.Some may experience these symptoms just after a few months while others may not and continue living normally for more than 10 years. This is known as the asymptomatic period.During the asymptomatic period,   the cells of the immune system are slowly being killed by the rapid multiplying and infecting of the virus.   Infected cells serve as hiding places of the HIV and lays there for some period of dormancy.The most evident outcome of the viral infection is a decrease in a component of the blood, the number of CD4 positive T cells drastically decreases. These cells are the immune system’s infection fighters. These cells are destroyed slowly without any symptoms. Because of this, the situation of the immune system gets worse, where various complications begin to surface.The primary signs of infection are swollen lymph nodes all over the body lasting for about three months. Other symptoms that occur before the onset of AIDS include lack of energy, weight loss, frequent fevers and sweats, rashes, flaky skin, memory loss and inflammation of the pelvis in women.   Others could develop sores in their mouth, sex organs or in their anus.Raising Doubts against AIDS and HIVNot everyone is convinced about the HIV/AIDS theory. The explanation was HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system and then matures into AIDS, thus further destroying the immune system until there is nothing left to destroy.Some researchers question the credibility of this theory on many accounts. One of them is Peter Duesberg, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley. He is concerns are on the field of virology and wrote about HIV/AIDS in 1987. As these issues continued to shock and amaze the world, Duesberg was unmoved.He accepts the fact that HIV is real, but poses no real harm on people, and that AIDS is caused by some other factors which are not infectious and cann ot be contacted to other people. There are also other people that rebuke the theory about HIV/AIDS. They are known as denialists by their enemies.These people include a group of medical scientists and researchers from Australia known as the Perth Group. They claim that nobody has yet discovered any proof for the existence of HIV, so there is basically no foundation on claims that HIV causes AIDS.Defining AIDS: What is and what is notAIDS doesn’t show specific symptoms. There is only a distinct characteristic of the human body when it has AIDS. It lacks a certain type of white blood cells, which is very important in order to live a healthy life. These white blood cells are the ones responsible in fighting infections off the body.Normal people usually have around 600 to 1,500 CD4+ Cells, or the helper T cells, per cubic millimeter of blood. People with AIDS have much lower levels of these helper T cells in their blood, causing immune deficiency, responsible for their vulnerabil ity to ailments.Way back in the 80’s, no one knows what really caused AIDS. They based their definition on the findings of one of 13 diseases of high rarity, which is connected to immune deficiency.As years passed, the definition was sharpened by thousands of similar occurrences that have been recorded, though sometimes it involves other ailments, but are related thru the same immune deficiency.