Utilizing Online Social Networking Sites Paper

Utilizing Online Social Networking Sites Paper Class: BSHS/352 Technology is constantly expanding and making it easier and more convenient to communicate and network with individuals and various organizations that we may not otherwise of had the opportunity to connect with. One area of technology that is growing at a fast rate and offering individuals and businesses, rather it be their professional life or personal the opportunity to make lasting connections is social networking sites. Social networking has become an excellent tool for businesses and individuals to connect and share information that can prove vital to their business.Sites like Facebook and LinkedIn are becoming popular and are an effective way to grow your business whether it is through networking with similar organizations and getting beneficial information from them or expanding your cliental by reaching out to those who may need or want your services. LinkedIn has become a vital tool used by the working profession al, assisting them with making connections or linking up with other working professional to share what work and what doesn’t work as well as connecting them with local or online support groups or networking groups.Members of LinkedIn are able to create a profile that gives a detail list of their educational background as well as their work experience. Users are able to browse the social networking site to view the profiles of other individuals, organizations, or companies within their field and follow the organization of choice and their postings. My ultimate dream is to create a nonprofit organization that is geared toward targeting at risk youth and their families.The whole concept is to help the whole family and not just focus your attention on the youth that may be having emotional or behavioral issues but offer mental and emotional support for the entire family, implementing various programs and workshops that will assist the entire family in growing, working, and playin g together. Networking sites like LinkedIn can prove to be vital as I take the steps necessary to make this dream a reality. As I was browsing through the site I came across a few groups in my local area that met up monthly for lunch to discuss the ideas and challenges of those looking to start a nonprofit.I also took the time to search for companies or organizations that were geared toward working with and advocating for children. I was really quite excited to be able to look at their profile, view their web pages and doing so helped me to get some ideas and get my juices flowing. I have considered making connections with the various organizations I have seen on LinkedIn in hope that they could link me to information, people, and training opportunities that could possibly put me one step closer to my dream.I am also interested in going to the next luncheon for nonprofit communicators in Raleigh just to get feedback regarding my idea and you never know someone at one of these lunche ons could either help me get closer to making my dream a reality or can link me to an individual or organization who can. I have found sites such as LinkedIn can prove to be extremely beneficial in making lasting connections within the business community and it gives those with businesses the opportunity to link up with other businesses to get feedback, advice, and possibly connect you with someone who can help you take your organization or company to the next level.This site also enables professionals to come together with the common ground of helping and motivating each other. Within the human service field this site can connect you to so many resources that can only assist in providing your clients with the ultimate experience. Having a site where human service workers from all fields and from all areas can come together online and share their experience, advice, and resources can prove to be helpful to the community as a whole.LinkedIn not only connect likeminded people but it o ffers an opportunity to share information regarding training and workshops that could assist organizations in staying up to date with the latest software and/or regulations. Such training and workshops can keep your organization competitive and allows you to offer your clients the best possible service. The best way to keep any business or organization growing is to continue to gain knowledge in your particular field.Always be willing and open to learning and growing, this is what the training and workshops are there for to assist businesses and organizations in improving their techniques and staying relevant and competitive. Sites such as LinkedIn can offer you the ability to gain knowledge and training from some very successful people. Human service workers who use online social networking sites such as LinkedIn can find being affiliated with professional groups and connections to offer more than just sharing experiences, advice, training, and connections to resources.Another bene fit to being a part of an online community such as LinkedIn is the ability to request referrals from the connections you met online. Users can also request sponsorships or recommendations from other users. Human service workers who are affiliated with sites such as LinkedIn may also be able to connect with local churches that could assist connecting the human service worker to the communities that need their assistance the most. Employers often look at profiles on these online social networking sites to assist them in finding employees as well.Although social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn are excellent tools to stay connected to various resources there are other technical tools that can be used to expand and maintain your connections. Smartphones have proven to be a vital tool to use as well with various applications directed at making the life of professionals easier. The goal of a human service worker is to effectively and efficiently assist the client in improvin g their lives and often times this requires connecting them to other resources.Social networking sites such as LinkedIn can assist human service workers in making numerous connections all at the touch of a mouse to various resources and training opportunities. Having online support that provide advice, training, and encouragement, of the human service worker can assist them in helping their clients meet their goals. Reference: 2012. LinkedIn. com. Retrieved from http//www. linkedin. com/home? trk_tab_home_top

Psychology Generalization and Discrimination

fig. 1. Stimulus generalization gradient for subjects that were trained to identify the target length which is of 75 as the dimension of length and were tested in the presence of the other dimensions of length. fig. 2. Effect of intradimensional discrimination training on stimulus control. Subjects received discrimination training in which the S- was 85 as the dimension of length, keeping the S+ 75 as the dimension of length. 2 . In Figure 1, it shows the comparison of the stimulus generalization gradients of two different subject groups, between the class average and me as an individual. To commence with, lets talk about the curve representing the class mean. The shape of the graph is basically symmetrical between 55 and 80, which these numbers are the indication of the length of the line presented. Though 75 is the target length, the highest rate of response occurred in response to the length of 65 and 70, both encountering 100% of responses. The subjects also made substantial numbers of responses when length of 60 and 75 were tested. However, when length of 55 and 80 were tested, response rates decreased quite dramatically, only 20% of the total responses were recorded, making the graph a bell-shaped one. As for length of 85 or above, no responses were detected. For the curve representing my own result, it is more or less a symmetrical graph as well. The highest rate of response occurred in response to the original length of 75. Once again, substantial numbers of responses were also detected when length of 70 and 80 were tested. Yet there is a huge decrement of response for much shorter or longer lengths (i. e. , 55-65 and 85-95), no responses were detected. These two curves both serve to indicate the phenomenon of stimulus generalization, though the individual result better explains it. The peak of response rate lies on or around (for the class mean) the target length,75. But quite a similar percentage of total responses were also made to the lengths around the target one, this indicates that responding generalized to the 70 or even 65 and 80 stimuli, therefore a gentle gradient could be plotted. On the other hand, as the length of the test stimuli became increasingly different from the target length, progressively fewer responses occurred. It is because the difference between the tested length and the target length was significant enough to be recognized and differentiated, thus quite a ramatic decrement of responses occurred when a comparatively very short or very long line were tested. The results shown a gradient of responding as a function of how similar each test stimulus was to the original training stimulus (target). One reason for not having the highest percentage of responses at 75 for the class statistics would be because it was reflecting the class avera ge responses and there might be out-lyers whose results affected the norm. Stimulus generalization gradients provided precise information about how much a stimulus has to be changed to produce a change in behavior. A gentle slope shows the variation in the stimulus is not significant enough to produce a respond to the variation while a steep slope shows the variation in the stimulus is large enough for the subjects to respond to it. In Figure 2, it shows the comparison of the intradimensional discrimination gradients of the two subject groups (me as an individual and the class average). To commence with, I will first talk about the curve representing the class mean. The shape of the curve is asymmetrical, with the highest percentage of response again occurred in response to the length of 65 and 70, achieving 100% responses. But this time, once the length increased gradually from 70, the percentage of response decreased steadily until it reached 0% when the length of 85, which is the S- (discriminative stimulus), is tested. Although the target length was again, 75, there is a counterintuitive phenomenon known as the peak-shift effect to explain the peak of response lying on 65 and 70 instead of 75. Quite high percentages of response were occurred when 75, the target length was presented. Yet the percentage of responses was higher to 65 and 70 than to 75. This shift of the peak responding away from the original S+ is recognizable after discrimination training with the length of 85 as S-. This shift of the peak has an explanation other than the generalization. During the earlier phase of discrimination training, responding was never reinforced in the presence of the 65 and 70 stimuli. However, because the target stimulus and the discriminative stimulus are similar in intradimensional discriminative tasks, the generalization gradients of excitation and inhibition will overlap. This is due to the inhibitory response learnt when S- is presented in the discriminatory training. Moreover, the degree of overlap will depend on the degree of similarity between S+ and S-. Since then, generalized inhibition from S- will suppress responding to S+ resulting this peak-shift effect. As for the curve representing my own result, the graph is more or less like symmetrical, with the peak occurring at the length of 75. The percentage of response increased significantly from the length of line varies from 65 to 70, creating a steep slope. For lines which differed from the target length comparatively much, like 55-65 and those above 90, no response were made, therefore 0% of the total response were recorded. Though I have also gone through the discrimination training, the absence of peak-shift effect may be due to individual difference, or insufficient training, therefore I still responded most to the S+ stimulus (target length,75) and responded progressively less as the length of the test stimuli deviated from the S+ stimulus.

Informative Explanatory Synthesis Green Power Assignment

Informative Explanatory Synthesis Green Power - Assignment Example The threat of environmental degradation can be significantly eradicated because nature has provided mankind with alternative sources of sustainable or renewable energy and the power to exercise discretion in policy making. There are several features of the environmental crisis, as a result of the burning of fuels. One of the features of burning fossil fuels is the release of an array of pollutants such as carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere. The crux of the matter is that carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide are greenhouse gases which directly generate the Greenhouse Effect. While the Greenhouse Effect may be important in supporting life, the significant increase in the quantity of greenhouse gases causes global warming (an increase of temperature on the earth’s surface) (Gartland, 42). Again, since burning fossil fuels releases sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide, it is clear that pulmonary and non-pulmonary diseases and health conditions are bound to ensue. Asthma is the commonest pulmonary disease which may emanate from the burning of fossil fuels. Conversely, burning petrol and diesel releases lead in the atmosphere, yet lead deters mental development. It is also important to note that burning fossil fuels in the environment brings about the cocktail effect. The cocktail effect refers to a situation whereby harmless gases combine with other gases in the atmosphere and become harmful. It is a fact that there are alternative sources of energy as has been envisioned by Lemonick, Friedman and Gore. Nuclear power, compressed natural gas, biomass, geothermal power, radiant energy, hydroelectricity, wind energy, solar power, wave and tidal power are some of these alternative sources and forms of energy. Compressed natural gas CNG) as a fossil fuel, is also considered as a viable alternative to diesel, gasoline and propane fuel. CNG is environmentally cleaner, safer (since it does not spill

Occupational Safety and Liability Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Occupational Safety and Liability - Case Study Example According to the case study, Behavior Based Safety focuses on the behavioral initiatives an employee recruits to ensure they are safe in the workplace. The safety technique and set programs hold the employees accountable for their safety. An employee gets blamed for incidents or accidents that occur when it comes to this form of the safety technique. Engineering controls are defined by the act of creating ways to fix and handle matters pertaining safety. The technique prevents hazards from occurring and re-occurring. In engineering controls, an employee applies ways of protecting themselves from harm, for example, wearing protective gear while at work or handling equipment with extra care. Lack of engineering controls leads to poor safety and exposes the employee to great risks making them vulnerable to fatal and disabling accidents. Management accountability is defined as the participation of an organization’s management level in ensuring safety to its employees. The management of an organization needs to intervene in its employee’s safety by providing protective gear as well as health insurances. The involvement of management in employee safety plays a significant role as it reduces cases of accidents or incidents at the workplace. On the other hand, the absence of the management in the implementation of employee safety leads to poor working conditions. Lack of participation in the management causes ignorance of safety precautions and measures hence making it poor. I support advocates of Behavior-Based Safety. The safety of an employee mostly lies in the personal decision an employee makes to protect their health. An employee bears more knowledge on their health and with or without the presence of the management safety precautions, safety lies in the personal decision of the employee (Hickman, 2007). Before an employee joins an organization, he or she ought to have trained in safety and health precautions under certain fields to maintain and enhance safety in the workplace.  

Jetblue airways corporation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Jetblue airways corporation - Research Paper Example The company core values are commitment to safety of its customers and the crewmembers, ensures respect between the passengers and crew members, achieving passion this is by striving to meet the needs of passengers and the crew members and integrity this is by honesty demonstration mutual trust and commitment to JetBlue improvement. The company is ranked tenth in the United States airline by traffic. The company top management is made up of CEO ( David Bager), Rusell Chew and President &COO, Chief Financial Officer, Executive VP and CAO( Edward Barnes), head of legal department and Ex. VP of corporate affairs( James Hnat), Sr VP of customer services(Rob Maruster). Problems/ strategic issues Labor unions contract has been the major complication that the airlines are facing. The labor unions objective is maximizing the welfare of the members thus they end up taking a long period of time negotiating for better remuneration of the members. If the results of the negotiation are below the e xpectation of the labor unions the labor union officials may result in requesting their members to participation in industrial action The cost of fuel and consumption has been rising annually this has been due to increased number of flights and increased oil prices. The level of obesity as also contributed to the high cost of fuel and consumption. ... A chart showing increase in price per gallon A table illustrating increase consumption of fuel as at 31st December 2008 2007 2006 Number of gallons consumed 453000000 444000000 377000000 Total cost of gasoline $1352000000 $929000000 $752000000 Terrorism has been a concern in air security in the United States the congress has taken charge for airlines security.in November 2002 the transportation security administration (TSA) took charge of all the airports. The (TSA) installed detectors of explosives in the airports. Almost all airlines worldwide experience delays in their flights, for one reason or the other. Some of reasons attributed to the delay include, airport congestion, flight maintenance, bad weather conditions, unsafe environment and emergencies on the tarmac. Financial analysis of the company Analysis of the company financial statement is essential in order to ascertain the financial soundness of the company. Under this section we will carry out a ratio analysis in order to analysis the financial health of JetBlue Airways Corporation. Profitability analysis Profitability analysis assist in determining whether the firm has the ability of generating profits on the funds invested. The gross profit margin for the company in April 2009 was 26.18%. This is an indication of the firm returns on costs, as compared to the industry it shows that the firm sales have the highest capability in the industry of generating sales, since the industry gross margin is 22%. Liquidity analysis The company has quick ratio of 0.82 while the recommend ratio is 1:1, therefore, this figure is shows that the company can be able to meet its current obligations as the fall due. This led the

Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Football Industry Assignment

Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Football Industry - Assignment Example Weaknesses of the Football Industry The football industry has problems with transparency in governance. There have been several issues of match fixing that goes against the doctrine of fair play. Match fixing is much common in highly competitive tournaments such as the World Cup, EUFA Champions League and the Premier League (Hopkins & Treadwell 2014, p. 117). In addition, there have been issues with buying new players and transfers where football clubs enroll underage players or evade taxes. Another weakness of the industry is overreliance on a single source of income. Football teams rely on funds from subscriptions of supporters. The situation implies that the financial position of teams is dependent on the number of tickets sold. However, ticket sales are not constant and are affected by several factors such as team performance, weather, and the economic situation. In this regard, football teams have an uncertain future unless the industry diversify its sources of income. The football industry is reliant on the media for coverage and publicity. This means that the industry must maintain good relations with the media. People who cannot visit stadia often follow matches through television. The media houses benefit from broadcasting the football content by paying the teams specified amounts of money. However, the media houses benefiting from the content desire more control in the sport (Chadwick & Hamil 2010, p.249). The industry can suffer greatly if there are wrangles with the media and may lose supporters.

Reflection and skills practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reflection and skills practice - Essay Example I will also describe my feelings about coaching and mentoring and what questions that arose to me from course activity. In the end of this paper I will talk about what I hope to gain from this course. From my experience in this field I found that coach and mentor should try to generate enthusiasm for the change by sharing their goals and visions. They are responsible for engaging their clients to create the change needed and support them. As the book of Coaching and Mentoring at Work: Developing Effective Practice states, â€Å"the coach or mentor is a facilitator, not an instructor. They support and challenge the client to learn and to develop. The client learns by acquiring new awareness, insight, skills, ideas and knowledge† (Connor & Pokora, 2007, p9). In addition, the coach and mentor should help the trainee develop their skills. They also should know what does the client needs or what they want? As the book of Coaching and Mentoring at Work: Developing Effective Practice states, â€Å"the client may want or need to improve their work performance in the short term, or they may be concerned with broader issues of personal, professional and career development† (C onnor & Pokora, 2007, p7). From my perspective, coaching and mentoring will help us to handle new business challenges. Based on my own experience I think active listening still persists in the work. Fortunately some people have good skills to analyze the problem however those people are usually doing something wrong, why? Based on what I have learned in this course a good example would be that they usually are trying to solve the problem, which is not acceptable for coach. Based on our discussions about coaching and mentoring I found that the coach is a partner in decision making process as well as an educator who provides valuable inputs to the client. As stated by Garvey, Stokes & Megginson, (2009) in Coaching and Mentoring: Theory and Practice , â€Å"in

Difference between a Metteurs-en-Scene and an Auteur Essay

Difference between a Metteurs-en-Scene and an Auteur - Essay Example Distinction on this basis has been a cause of the difficulty faced on whether to classify managers as either auteur or Metteurs-en-scene since it is not a clear-cut distinction (Wollen 1972). The distinction between art cinema and classical cinema is quite clear. While art cinema is the most famous under film studies through the recognition it gets out of famous film makers, specific films or specific kinds of cinemas not forgetting some writers and the audience it targets. They are common with the auteur kinds of films with a sample of its film being the films include LAvventura (1960). David Bordwell and other filmmakers on the other hand coin the term classical film. They largely stress on the Metteurs-en-scene kind of arts or film, classical cinema is widely spread due to the dominance of these kinds of films and the choice that has been made by most filmmakers to follow in the making of such films. The art cinemas are presented in small film theatres as compared to the classical, which are conducted on large picture palaces. Art cinemas screen new films with repertory functions drawing their audiences form highly educated urban intelligentsia as opposed to the class ical cinema, which is rich in culture and attracts the rural uneducated folks (Kolker 1980). Movie brats such as Michelangelo Antonioni (b. 1912), Federico Fellini (1920–1993), Jean-Luc Godard (b. 1930), and Ingmar Bergman (b. 1918); the films include LAvventura (1960), 8Â ½ (1963), À bout de souffle (Breathless, 1960) and Det Sjunde inseglet (The Seventh Seal, 1957) play a critical role when it comes to the impact that auterism has in relation to film production. According to the lectures, it is evident that a new generation of movie brats has the controls of the production of their films (Grist 2000). Â  

Normalcy to the New Deal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Normalcy to the New Deal - Essay Example With this backdrop, the 1920s election was conducted commencing the resurgence of Republicans with the selection of Warren G. Harding as the new president together with Calvin Coolidge as vice president. Warren G. Harding is often quoted for his flea for normalcy: "America's present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration...not surgery but serenity." Normalcy is known as the new president's thrust for the restoration of "good old days" before the World War I and its resolution to focus on internal affair. Thus, the Harding administration maintained its opposition on the League of Nations. Among his notable contributions is the promotion of conservative opinions marked by appointment of Taft to Supreme Court. Andrew Mellon, one of the senators supported lower taxes and lower government spending. A tax cuts for wealthy households was also implemented. Though these measures were indicative of tight fiscal policies, the Republicans also highlighted the existence of a balanced budget. The Republican's conservatism was reflected on the high tariffs levied on imported products. The difficulty of recovery during the period after the Great W ar is often attributed to this domestic industry protectivism. The Harding administration became involved with the Tea Dome scandal. ... He strongly advocated "letting the business cycle run their course." Coolidge approved the proposed McNary-Haugen Farm Relief Bill which was designed to allow the government to purchase agricultural surpluses. During his reign as the president, the country "experienced a wildly successful period of economic growth: the so-called 'Roaring Twenties'" (Calvin Coolidge). The president also mad a significant effort in lowering taxes and national debt. One of the most important contributions of Coolidge is the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 which committed signatories including the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan to "renounce war as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another" (Calvin Coolidge). It should also be noted that the commencement of the Great Depression happen during the Coolidge administration. This crisis is attributed to rise of consumer culture, automobile craze, slump in farm prices, McNary-Haughen Tariff Bill, and welfare c apitalism. Another Republican was elected in 1928 to replace Coolidge. The presidency of Hoover brought a negative imprint in the economy as he reigned during the onset of Great Depression. During this crisis, the stock market collapsed together with the whole financial system. Making matters worse, these tragedies were pointed out to structural flaws and corruption in the government. Hoover received criticism from Democrats who labeled him as "do-nothing" president due to his laissez faire policies. Free market advocates, on the other hand, criticized him for market interventions. After the collapse of the stock market, the president made enormous efforts to boost the economy through various reforms. In order to

Competition Energy Drinks Essay Example for Free

Competition Energy Drinks Essay The beverage industry, like most food service industries in these economic times, faces many challenges. Not one company is excluded from the challenges of economic conditions, demographics, social and global forces, and regulatory, political, and legal factors. The global economic conditions affect the energy drink industry in many ways. This industry depends highly on the disposable income of its customers. People are very cautious with their money these days and if additional income does not exist to purchase these items, then the companies suffer. In recent projections, however, this does not seem to be the case. The global industry factors show a projected growth of $20 trillion in sales between 2009 and 2014, and demand for these alternative beverages is expected to increase globally as customer purchasing power increases. Social factors play an important part in the industry’s strategy, as well. With customers concerned with healthy lifestyles and exercise, the alternative beverage industry has increased sales in the last decade. Customers demanding low calorie, energy vitamin-enhancing drinks turn to these types of beverages for their needs instead of carbonated soft drinks. Alternative drinks are consumed by a slim demographic. These products are generally used by young adults, college and high school students, athletes and exercise aficionados. Another branch of these drinks are the energy â€Å"shots,† which have become very popular in the last decade. With new legislation and changing regulations, it is very important for companies to stay abreast of all changes. There has been an increase in negative reports on what affects energy drinks have on people that use them, from high blood pressure to arrhythmia, which as forced some companies to include warning labels on their packaging. There is also a concern with the consumption of these drinks contributing to the obesity issue, many of these drinks contain high fructose corn syrup, and many additives that can contribute to weight gain if consumption is not limited. Competition is fierce in this industry; not only between the two biggest competitors, Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo Inc., but also Red Bull GmbH, Hansen Natural Corporation and privately owned regional brands. The two major companies, Pepsi and Coca Cola, are strong competitors within the alternative beverage market and use both the introduction of new products as well as the introduction of existing products in new markets to increase sales. Pepsi has introduced several new products Charge, Rebuild, and Defend three new brands available to consumers interested in vitamin-enhanced drink alternatives. Pepsi has also recently agreed to distribute the â€Å"Rockstar† brand drinks in Canada and the United States. Coca-Cola Company’s strategy is to distribute their existing brands in the new markets of Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and other Asia/Pacific countries. In order to compete with these two major companies, Red Bull relies on sponsorships and promotion as well as celebrity endorsements. By using advertising in this manner, Red Bull is able to use its slogans and logos in a variety of ways to get their name out into the public. Hansen Natural Corporation utilizes a different approach to boost sales. This company increased their package size and still maintained a competitive price compared to Red Bull. Like Red Bull, Hansen also uses celebrity promotion and sponsorship as a marketing tool. This is not to say that PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Company do not utilize this method of advertising, as they both spend billions on advertising promotions, celebrity, and sporting endorsements. The competitive edge in this case lies with PepsiCo Inc. , whose sales of energy and alternative beverages have surpassed its competitors in the past few years. New entrants are not a strong competitive pressure for this industry. The dominating companies are unsurpassed in their strong brand names and great distribution channels. The industry is fully saturated. These factors make it difficult for new companies to compete against them. Any new company wanting to get into this industry would face high capital start-up expenditures and would surely fail due to the high cost. Substitution of products is also an area where the competitive force is low. With brand loyalty, the market for substitution is very low. Consumers want the brands they are used and won’t accept substitution. Suppliers for the industry do not hold much competitive pressure either. Suppliers to this industry are bottling equipment manufactures and secondary packaging suppliers. The suppliers have little bargaining power, as the two major brands own their own bottling centers. As discussed earlier, changes in this industry’s long-term growth rate is a positive one. Growth is high in this market and is expected to continue to grow. One of the reasons for this is the increasing globalization. Coke is expanding its operations to be more global as are some of its competitors. The changing spectrum of the customer base is not really a factor here. Most of the demographic has not changed much since the introduction of these alternative beverages. Marketing and innovation has to continue to grow so that the company can grow. Regulatory influences and government policy changes are a huge factor in this industry. As the customers call for increased legislation and regulation of the ingredients, the companies have to make adjustments to their drink formulas, and this could prove costly if not monitored closely. Society is constantly changing and this industry needs to transition with these changes. By the introduction of new products and the re-tooling of existing products, all of the competitors can be successful. This industry has several success factors, product marketing, product differentiation, brand name, a strong distribution network and the ability to adapt to change. PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Company have strong aspects of all of these factors which is what has made both of them so successful. PepsiCo Inc.has branched into the food market as well as remaining in the soft drink and alternative beverage markets. Coke has had a similar strategy and relies heavily on their brand name and product recognition. All of the companies have unique and successful marketing techniques such as sponsorships, promotions, and celebrity endorsements. In order to achieve a successful strategic plan, a company needs to establish a group of people to discuss the goals and objectives of their company, sometimes called a task force. The task force should then decide what the company’s goals and objectives are. By drafting Mission and Vision statements, this task force can begin to convey their goals and objectives. Strategic planning is an on-going task for every company. When a plan is established the implementation and monitoring phases begin. To be successful a company should be constantly monitoring its goals and objectives and changing them when the need arises. With competition so high in this industry, a strong strategic plan is critical. In viewing these companies one can see that their plans are very strong. In order to continue to grow and compete in this market all companies need to look forward at the changing times, attitudes and cultures. All of the companies in this market, as with any market, need to maintain their competitive advantage and find new and different ways to achieve it. A comprehensive action plan needs to be put into place and reviewed often. By doing this all companies have a better chance at keeping their competitive advantage and enjoying better profits for their shareholders.

Effects of Music on Plant Growth

Effects of Music on Plant Growth Miguel Cintrà ³n Ryan Cabral Humberto Michel The objective of this experiment is to determine if the different types of music affect the growth of the Euphorbia Miliiplant. If we put three Euphorbia Milii under the same conditions, with three different types of music, then the three plants will grow exactly the same, because we speculate that music does not have any effect on plant growth. We predicted that the three plants will grow to be exactly the same. We might have different results from what we expected as: one plant will grow larger than the other 2, because of its type of music; one plant will grow smaller than the other 2, because of its type of music, etc. Depend of the results this experiment will have an importance, because people will be able to make grow larger or smaller their plants. This is a benefit when it comes to control the growth of your plant. Farmer Chris Beardshaw claims that booming Heavy Metal band Black Sabbath has thoroughly increased the disease resistance of the plants in his greenhouse, though making them shorter. This could mean that music could be used as a method to make crops grow more efficiently. Euphorbia Miliiis a species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaciae, native to Madagascar. Theoretical Framework The scientist of (all science fair projecs.com) they put in there hypothesis that the classic music will help with the growth. Of the plants, at the end, the hypothesis holds true and they observed and conclude that music is able to speed up seed germination and enhance plant growth. Although there may not be an available scientific explanation as to why music is able to enhance plant growth, the results are there for us to take advantage of. Music can be used in plant nurseries to speed-up seed germination and help us grow healthier plants. The scientist of USCB SCIENCE LINE, they observed and conclude that music affects plant growth has been the subject of many, many science fair projects. It seems as though it is uncertain whether music really does have an effect. Sound is a wave traveling through air and it may be possible that changes in air pressure may affect plant growth but also they planted that was difficult to test this because there a lot of variables that need to be controlled i.e. soil composition, water, light, etc. The scientist Dr. Singh (1962) published that when you switch on your radio, the sound wave will create vibration that will then cause your eardrum to vibrate. This pressure energy will be converted to electrical energy for the brain to translate into what you understand it as musical sounds. Dr. Will Warner (2014) published that if the frequency of sound increased, then the growth of plants will increase. He conclude that his hypothesis was incorrect â€Å"the frequency of the sound was increased, and the classical music group grew the shortest†. A scientist that published his report (answers.com) said that plants are not intelligent. In fact, they dont have a central nervous system. Music can only affect you if you understand it, and plants cant understand anything and plants have no auditory organs. They cant hear any more than you could hear through your skin if you had no ears. A scientist of (kidslovekits.com) find out thatwe think that the classical music will help the plant growth and that the rock music will hinder its growth since studies have showed that classical music even concentrates the human brain and is good for you. After one week of experimenting, the following were the results. The one that was in the best condition was the plant that was in the room with classical music. The second best plant was the one in the room with no music and the one that didnt do so good was the one in the room with rock music. DorothyRetallack(1973) penned down her research. For her laboratory experiment in her studies for the degree in music she chose to study the effects of music in plants. After her researchRetallackdiscerned that the genre of music did not have anything to do with the response; it was the kind of instruments used and their resonance that probably made the difference. Her book says that loud frequencies of music played havoc with the health of the plants, resulting in a very slow and stunted growth; even death in some cases. Dr. Matthew DavidFleischacker(2012) hetested the biological effect music would have on plants. The link above shows what was done in the experiment, but basically what they found was a direct relationship between the sound vibrations and the growth of the plant. Joel Sternheimer(1991) studied and investigated the vibrational frequencies of amino acids. Ribosomes plays an important role in the creation of proteins from a variety of twenty amino acids depending on the need of the cell and its organisms. He also conclude When the frequencies are recognized, each of these notes can then be recorded into a sequence, or melody. Sternheiner successfully replicated the recorded melodies for the selected proteins. When these melodies were played, he noticed that it increased the manifestation of the corresponding protein and accelerated the growth of the plant. Sternheiner affirms that tomatoes grew two and a half times larger when his melodies were play. A South Korean scientist Mi-JeongJeong(2007) would play Beethovens Moonlight Sonata to rice plants and he conclude that due to exposure to music, the chemical changes that took place within the plant, could be studied and harnessed in order to throw better light and increase the blossoms of other crops, too. Dr. Don Robertson (1973) he saw thatthe plants showed no reaction at all to country and western music, similarly to those in silent chambers. However, the plants liked the jazz that she played them. He tried an experiment using rock in one chamber, and modern classical music of negative composers  Arnold Schà ¶nberg  and Anton Webern in another. These two scientists Creath and Schwartz (2004) have reported significant effects of music on the germination of seeds when compared to untreated control plants. Similarly, there also have been other reports on the enhancement of physiological conditions of the plants because of exposure to sound and music. It can be concluded that plants enjoy music and they have better effect when exposed to the appropriate style. Dr. Lee. Patrick (2009) he published Silence grew the best and healthiest followed by spoken word (Harry Potter). Classical music (Vivaldi concertos) ended up just under spoken word. Bringing up the rear was a very small and unhealthy plant that was listening to heavy metal and (harsh) world music (Mudvayne and Rammstein). He also concludes, â€Å"From my twenty days of information gathering, I have drawn the conclusion that all music/spoken word affect plant growth negatively. Some plants were affected more negatively than others were. Therefore, I can just repeat an old saying, Silence is golden.† Scientists of (omgfacts.com) published that, differentkinds caused different effects. Plants responded best to classical and Indian devotional music. In a controlled environment, plants exposed to these kinds of music had lush and abundant growth and good root development.They observedplants that listened to rock did poorly, showing signs that they were in the dying stage. Plants exposed solely to white noise died quickly. Scientists of (The handy science book.com) reported thatplants responded best to Indian classical and devotional music. In a controlled environment, plants exposed to these kinds of music had lush and abundant growth and good root development. Exposure to country music or silence brought about no abnormal growth reaction, while jazz produced growth that is more abundant. With rock music, plants did poorly. Their roots were scrawny and sparse and they seemed to be in a dying stage.Plants exposed solely to white noise died quickly. Scientists and researchers have long studied the effects of music on plant growth. Chronicling how music, from hard rock and boogie-woogie to the most refined classical pieces, may or may not stimulate plants to grow fascinates both the most-educated botanist and youngest science fair participant in elementary school. Whether or not classical music has any effect on urging or retarding plant growth is a hot topic. Also most scientist said thatwhile most mainstream scientists and botanists believe that no irrefutable evidence exists to prove whether classical or any other music stimulates plant growth, some researchers entertain the notion that sound waves may agitate the air around planets just enough to stimulate plant growth. In a question-and-answer section of the Science Centre Singapores Website, one researcher quoted a United Kingdom biologist who suggested that a fan running in place of a loudspeaker blaring music would probably generate the same agitating effect. Some researchers believe that the frequencies of music played to plants need to be kept at or near 5000 Hz in order for it to be beneficial to plant growth or, more important, larger fruit size and more vibrant and fragrant flowers. Also Russian researchers conducted experiments on onion plant roots that received consistent exposure to classical music. The music, composed by classical greats such as Mussorgsky, Chopin, Mozart, Wagner and Schubert, was chosen for its complex, rhythmic accents. The onion listened to the selected classical music six hours a day for 10 days. After 10 days, the onion roots were measured and examined at the cellular level. The scientists in charge of the experiment determined that the plants responded favorably to classical music by growing longer, roots that are more vigorous. Plants that listened to music with lyrics grew even longer roots. A students from the Marshall middle school published thatthe plant that had to listen to music did in fact grow much, more than the plant that did not have to listen to music. The plant that had to listen to music grow about 8cm and the plant that did not listen to music grow 5.5cm which is about 3.5cm less than the plant that had to listen to music and this experiment in fact support our hypothesis. These scientist (NuranEkici,FeruzanDane, LeylaMamedova,IsinMetinand MuradHuseyinov) reported thatstudy effects of strong, complex, rhythmic accent classical Music withsekundaandKvartaintervals. The frequently reprised and opus with rhythmic dynamically changing lyrics which Contain more EXTENSIVEKvintaoktavasepta intervals on mitotic index and root growth were Investigated in onion root tip During germination cells . For This aim, samples music from Wagner, Mozart, Mussorgsky Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Schubert Were Chosen. We found correlation between root elongation and Mitotic Index. Both kinds of music have positive effects on root growth and mitotic divisions in onion root tip cells but rhythmic dynamically changing lyrics affected much better. In This study, light microscopy techniques were used but ultra-structure of root tip cells will be studied with electron microscope in the following study. A scientist from Australia has reported thatevery plant has a mouth, in fact more than one mouth. These mouths are called stomata’s and over a year ago at the University of California in San Diego, United States, scientists discovered a single mechanism that controls plants stomata. There are two cells that make up the stomata and these two cells are connected to the resonant frequency of calcium, when the cells come in close contact with this frequency of calcium they close. However, what these scientists found was if the frequency were change slightly the plants stomata would open again after an hour even if the presence of calcium were still strong. This proved that exposures to high tones, music and bird songs stimulated the plant to vibrate and keep their stomata are open to increase the exchange of gases, therefore increasing growth because plants absorb fertilizer via their stomata. In addition, heincluded whatDorothyRetallackdo, that was held one of the first and most famous experiments performed on the effect of music on plants. Her experiment found that plants grew better under the influence of classical music compared to rock and roll and when jazz music was played some plants would lean towards the speaker and others would lean away. She found these findings whilst she studied her degree in music. She later went onto pen that it was not perhaps the type of music but the instruments played. She also stated that loud frequencies of music had negative effects on plants where the plant sometimes even died. A scientist ofmallstuffs.composted thatwhen the plants were beam with acid rock music, all the plants leaned away from the direction of music. When Mrs.Rattallackrotated the pots 180 degrees, all the plants leaned away in the opposite direction. Plants hate i.e. acid rock music. When the level of rock in the music was reduce, the movement of plants leaning also reduced. For EX : when Spanish tune , La Paloma was played , the leaning was only 10 degree from the vertical, very less than the 60 + degree of rock music . Plants fiddling with music beamed 15 degrees Leaned Towards the source of music. These experiments were done using continuously 25+ days for eighteen plants per chamber. All varieties of plants like squash, seed, flowers, leafy vegetables etc. Methods The materialswe used in this experimentare:ThreelabeledEuphorbiaMiliispecimens, a onehourWaltzplaylist, aonehourReggaetonplaylist,a one hourElectronicaplaylist,a journal fordocumenting, gardening tools,rulers (cm, inch,) to measure the plants, a camera, to take pictures of the experiments stages.To start we will take all threeEuphorbiaMiliispecimens (each already labeled according to their music type) and keep them in a controlled environment out in the sunlight. All plants will be given the same amount ofcare and water, and every day for one hour they will be each put to listen to their respective musicfor one hour, we already have playlists set up for this.Every change will be documented with rulersand cameras. Wewill write down all size and color changes as well as take pictures for demonstration, This process will take from the start of the experiment to approximately two or threeweeks before the Science Fair. References All Science Fair Projects http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/print_project_1301_143?print=1 UCSB Science Line http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=1495 Hub Pages http://hubpages.com/hub/the-effect-of-music-on-plant-growth Google Documents https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1mxwiSK_4LVr9X4apl7T5tqflmXo5fEg8UpKPGsvssEY/embed?hl=ensize=s#slide=id.p13 Answers.com http://www.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_effects_of_music_on_plants Kids Love Kits http://www.kidslovekits.com/projects/plantmusic/index.html Ehow http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4596442_does-music-affect-plant-growth.html Info.com http://topics.info.com/How-do-different-kinds-of-music-affect-plant-growth_2902 Buzzle.com http://www.buzzle.com/articles/does-music-affect-plant-growth.html The Independent http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/want-bigger-blooms-blast-your-plants-with-black-sabbath-and-avoid-playing-cliff-richard-8579013.html SiOWfa12 http://www.personal.psu.edu/afr3/blogs/siowfa12/2012/10/music-can-help-your-plants-growseriously.html Dovesong.com http://www.dovesong.com/positive_music/plant_experiments.asp California State Science Fair 2005 https://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2005/Projects/J1631.pdf Omg Facts http://www.omgfacts.com/lists/15202/Music-affects-plant-growth-and-now-we-may-know-why-Not-all-music-has-the-same-effect-though?%2Fl%2F15202= Deerfield Patch http://patch.com/illinois/deerfield/bphow-do-different-kinds-of-music-affect-plant-growth#.VCYEM_l5MnM Wikipedia (2014) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphorbia_milii Gardenguides.com http://www.gardenguides.com/116597-classical-music-its-effects-plants.html Plantingscience.com http://www.plantingscience.org/index.php?module=pagesetterfunc=viewpubtid=2pid=2829 Scialert.net http://scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=ajps.2007.369.373 Ecocitizen Australia http://www.ecocitizenaustralia.com.au/affect-of-music-on-plants/ Mallstuffs.com http://www.mallstuffs.com/Blogs/BlogDetails.aspx?BlogId=393BlogType=SpiritualTopic=How%20music%20effects%20plant%20growth

Essay --

Animal testing is a very controversial topic, especially among animal rights activists. Unsually, animal testing is used to test pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and many other products that humans use in their everyday life. Scientists use animals in medical research more as a matter of tradition, as opposed to the fact that testing on animals has proved to fail time after time again. Animal testing has proved to be less accurate and unsuccessful in comparison to other means of testing and experimentation. There is a growing awareness to the limitations of animal research and its inability to be a reliable source of predictions about human health. Reasons on why and how animal research is wrong, and unpredictable are endless, animal studies do not predict human outcome, nine out of ten drugs that appear to be promising in animal research later goes on to fail in human trials, as well animal studies are flawed by design and lacks regulation. Many scientists have come to the conclusion t hat animal testing is very outdated, and should be starting to consider modern ways of testing. They believe that our generation should be looking to the future and creating computer programs, this has many benefits; such as not having to wait as long for a result, and is much more cost effective. Animal studies do not predict human outcome for many reasons. There are obvious and subtle differences between humans and animals, whether it is appearance, the way the body operates, anatomy, and even mental differences. The two species are on completely different end of the spectrum in comparison to how the body works. Taking a healthy animal, artificially inseminating an illness that most animals would never normally get, keeping it in an unnatural and st... ...nimal testing. There are laws which give a simple guide line, but they are so general and broad that they can easily be worked around. Any experiment performed on rodents, reptiles, birds, or fish are not required by law to be reported, this means that it is even more likely for these experiments to involve unnecessary cruelty. Many of the animals used for lab testing are the dogs and cats that many of us keep as pets, and the same ones who eventually love us unconditionally, even sometimes more than they love their selves. Animal testing should be banned for no other reason than the fact that few of us would never volunteer our cats, dogs, or any other pet to a life as a lab subject . It has been proved that there are different more effective ways of testing whether or not a product can be safely used for the use of human consumption without using animals.

Free Essays - Ernest Hemingways A Farewell to Arms :: Farewell Arms Essays

  Farewell to Arms A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, is a typical love story. A Romeo and his Juliet placed against the odds. In this novel, Romeo is Frederick Henry and Juliet is Catherine Barkley. Their love affair must survive the obstacles of World War I. The background of war-torn Italy adds to the tragedy of the love story. The war affects the emotions and values of each character. The love between Catherine and Frederick must outlast long separations, life-threatening war-time situations, and the uncertainty of each other's whereabouts or condition. This novel is a beautiful love story of two people who need each other in a period of upheaval. Frederick Henry is an American who serves as a lieutenant in the Italian army to a group of ambulance drivers. Hemingway portrays Frederick as a lost man searching for order and value in his life. Frederick disagrees with the war he is fighting. It is too chaotic and immoral for him to rationalize its cause. He fights anyway, because the army puts some form of discipline in his life. At the start of the novel, Frederick drinks and travels from one house of prostitution to another and yet he is discontent because his life is very unsettled. He befriends a priest because he admires the fact that the priest lives his life by a set of values that give him an orderly lifestyle. Further into the novel, Frederick becomes involved with Catherine Barkley. He slowly falls in love with her and, in his love for her, he finds commitment. Their relationship brings some order and value to his life. Compared to this new form of order in his life, Frederick sees the losing Italian army as total chaos and disorder where he had previously seen discipline and control. He can no longer remain a part of something that is so disorderly and so, he deserts the Italian army. Frederick's desertion from the Italian army is the turning point of the novel. This is the significance of the title, A Farewell to Arms. When Frederick puts aside his involvement in the war, he realizes that Catherine is the order and value in his life and that he does not need anything else to give meaning to his life.

The Truly Tragic Shakespeares Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Macbeth: Truly Tragic Macbeth is the epitome of what the literary world regards as a "tragic hero". His admirable qualities are supplanted with greed and hate when three witches dupe him. The three witches enter with the first scene from William Shakespeare's, Macbeth, a tragic tale of one man's quest for power that leads to his ultimate defeat. The story revolves around our tragic hero, Macbeth, and how an admirable and noble man, so established in society, can fall so greatly. Throughout the play, he is driven by an obsession to become King of Scotland, and in the process commits acts of betrayal and treachery to achieve this goal. However, Macbeth is not the only character involved in this sordid affair. His wife, the manipulative Lady Macbeth, three prophetic witches and members of the Scottish aristocracy all play pivotal roles in the drama. Lady Macbeth, the great woman of influence behind the Macbeth, plots, schemes and propels her husband into a nightmare of falsehood and guilt. The witches, or w eird sisters, (Shouldn’t â€Å"weird sisters† be in quotes and cited?) embody the supernatural element of this tragedy. With their imperfect predictions and calculated duplicity, they created chaos in Macbeth's mind as they toy with his sense of security. (Be careful of matching tenses. â€Å"Created† is past tense and â€Å"toy† is present.) The Scottish aristocracy comprises of King Duncan, the two princes - Malcolm and Donalbain, and various other thanes and nobles, including Macbeth's friend Banquo. They all serve as barriers for Macbeth and, regardless of friend or foe, he chooses to either fall down or overcome these hurdles. However, one hurdle that proves too great is his nemesis: Macduff. After Macbeth's false sense of security is shattered, a mighty swipe of Macduff's sword releases Macbeth from a tangled web of desire, design and deceit. (What is your thesis? That Macbeth is the epitome of a tragic hero? Make sure you stick to your topic a nd don’t get sidetracked.) Macbeth has, as his wife says, the milk of human kindness, the kind of affection that many people have for others when self-interest is not rampant. He has a high regard for Duncan and Banquo, defaming the latter only once (III.i.74 ff.). He differs from Duncan in that the King's charity is of a quality that works to transform human society into a family and that makes the spirit of Duncan persist through the play after his death. The Truly Tragic Shakespeare's Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework Macbeth: Truly Tragic Macbeth is the epitome of what the literary world regards as a "tragic hero". His admirable qualities are supplanted with greed and hate when three witches dupe him. The three witches enter with the first scene from William Shakespeare's, Macbeth, a tragic tale of one man's quest for power that leads to his ultimate defeat. The story revolves around our tragic hero, Macbeth, and how an admirable and noble man, so established in society, can fall so greatly. Throughout the play, he is driven by an obsession to become King of Scotland, and in the process commits acts of betrayal and treachery to achieve this goal. However, Macbeth is not the only character involved in this sordid affair. His wife, the manipulative Lady Macbeth, three prophetic witches and members of the Scottish aristocracy all play pivotal roles in the drama. Lady Macbeth, the great woman of influence behind the Macbeth, plots, schemes and propels her husband into a nightmare of falsehood and guilt. The witches, or w eird sisters, (Shouldn’t â€Å"weird sisters† be in quotes and cited?) embody the supernatural element of this tragedy. With their imperfect predictions and calculated duplicity, they created chaos in Macbeth's mind as they toy with his sense of security. (Be careful of matching tenses. â€Å"Created† is past tense and â€Å"toy† is present.) The Scottish aristocracy comprises of King Duncan, the two princes - Malcolm and Donalbain, and various other thanes and nobles, including Macbeth's friend Banquo. They all serve as barriers for Macbeth and, regardless of friend or foe, he chooses to either fall down or overcome these hurdles. However, one hurdle that proves too great is his nemesis: Macduff. After Macbeth's false sense of security is shattered, a mighty swipe of Macduff's sword releases Macbeth from a tangled web of desire, design and deceit. (What is your thesis? That Macbeth is the epitome of a tragic hero? Make sure you stick to your topic a nd don’t get sidetracked.) Macbeth has, as his wife says, the milk of human kindness, the kind of affection that many people have for others when self-interest is not rampant. He has a high regard for Duncan and Banquo, defaming the latter only once (III.i.74 ff.). He differs from Duncan in that the King's charity is of a quality that works to transform human society into a family and that makes the spirit of Duncan persist through the play after his death.

“No damn cat, and no damn cradle”: Truth and Meaning in Cat’s Cradle Essay

In Kurt Vonnegut’s apocalyptic novel, Cat’s Cradle, the end of the world has been realized. Plant life crunches underfoot, as though it has undergone a deep freeze. The tropical seas surrounding the fictional island of San Lorenzo have solidified, assuming a dull, frosted appearance. Grand waterfalls flowing from the majestic peak of Mount McCabe become lifeless. The once-scenic island horizon is transformed into a pale, sickly yellow. The introduction of ice-nine into the environment leads to radical weather patterns and global chaos. Ice-nine is a crystal form of water, much like standard ice, but with a melting point of 114.4 degrees Fahrenheit. When the compound makes contact with water, the liquid instantly freezes solid, turning a frosted blue. The novel begins with a brief but telling preface: â€Å"Live by the foma* that make you brave and kind and happy and healthy† (Vonnegut VII). â€Å"Foma† are defined as â€Å"harmless untruths† (Vonneg ut VII). While this brisk preface may merely seem to be a comical play on the standard disclaimer found within most fictional novels and therefore hold little significance, it sheds considerable light on the murky relationships between truth and meaning, as well as science and religion. Each train of thought has its own way of understanding and explaining the jumbled universe humans inhabit, and each claims to possess a high degree of truth. It is in this vivid and terrifying landscape that Vonnegut conveys to the reader through humor and symbolism that pursuing truth, whether through religion, science, or other pathways, is not an inherently positive or beneficial and does not aid one in the search for meaning in life. For hundreds of years, science and religion have been at odds. From the execution of the Greek philosopher Socrates to the Renaissance in Europe to modern times, the two opposing forces have always had an abrasive relationship. The beginning of the Enlightenment movement in Europe in the early 17th century marked a turn toward science, knowledge, and reasoning. It is from this era that modern society derives the notion that truth, along with the quest for it, is intrinsically constructive for humanity, along with the belief that lies are detrimental to the cause. In Cat’s Cradle, this is shown not to be the case. At the General Forge and Foundry, scientists and researchers work tirelessly â€Å"‘†¦to increase knowledge, to  work toward no end but that’† (Vonnegut 41). It is here that Felix Hoenikker, the father of the atom bomb and of ice-nine and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize (a prime example of Vonnegut’s trademark humor), spends the final twenty-eight years of his life toiling away in the confines of his lab. Felix is a very childlike character, incapable of caring for himself and struggling with interpersonal interactions. Following the death of his wife Emily while in labor with Newt, his daughter Angela assumes the maternal position of the disjointed household due to Felix’s childlike nature. She forgoes any social interaction with peers in order to hold the family together. Frank Hoenikker, the middle child, follows suit, becoming an antisocial figure in the book. He becomes known as â€Å"secret agent X-9† on account of his perpetual business-like demeanor. Felix neglects his parental duties, opting instead to spend time on research and scientific pursuits. John Tomedi views the scientist symbolically: â€Å"Hoenikker serves as a symbol of scientific irresponsibility, a man so withdrawn from humanity and so focused on childish play with nature that he has no perspective on the effects of his crea tions and a total apathy for theirs uses† (Tomedi 41). As a direct result of Felix’s actions, his children suffer from the lack of true parental figures. The Hoenikker children can be considered casualties of science and truth. It is at the General Forge and Foundry that two major scientific advancements are made: the nuclear bomb and ice-nine. While both represent cutting-edge scientific knowledge, the culmination of countless hours of research and development, neither invention represents the progression of humanity. As Vonnegut himself says, â€Å"It’s a law of life that if you turn up something that can be used violently, it will be used violently† (Allen 97). The atom bomb leads to the death of tens of thousands in the events at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, while ice-nine leads to the destruction of the entire world. The destructive nature of ice-nine and the atom bomb, inventions that were fostered by science, is in direct contradiction to the concept that science and knowledge benefit humankind due purely to their foundation in truth. Following the ice-nine catastrophe, John, the narrator and protagonist, finds himself in an underground fallout shelter with another resident of the island. John offers to share with her â€Å"‘One of the secrets of life man was a  long time understanding: Animals breathe in what animals breathe out, and vice versa’† (Vonnegut 268). One with basic knowledge of science would immediately notice an error in the writing. The text should read something to the effect of â€Å"animals breathe in what plants breathe out.† This inconsequential error proves Vonnegut’s point: the truth is irrelevant. The misinformation changes nothing. This â€Å"factoid† proves useless, not due to its false nature, but rather to its real world application, or lack thereof. One Another parallel experience occurs at the bar in the town of Ilium. While John is enjoying a drink, he poses a question: â€Å"‘What is the secret of life?’ I asked. ‘I forge t,’ said Sandra. ‘Protein,’ the bartender declared. ‘They found out something about protein’† (Vonnegut 25). Again, this piece of information has little relevance in the real world. It is not going to improve humanity or save one’s life. It is merely a fact to satisfy one’s curiosity. Vonnegut also uses humor to prove his point: â€Å"How can anybody in his right mind be against science?’ asked Crosby. ‘I’d be dead right now if it wasn’t for penicillin,’ said Hazel. ‘And so would my mother.’ ‘How old is your mother?’ I inquired. ‘A hundred and six. Isn’t that wonderful?’ (Vonnegut 234). The use of the word â€Å"wonderful† is questionable. A long life does not equate to a quality one. Science, being founded on truth and knowledge, does not benefit humanity. On the tropical island of San Lorenzo, the denizens of the country would be faced with t he depressing truth if it were not for the deliberate lies of Bokononism. In 1922, two friends, Lionel Boyd Johnson and Earl McCabe, shipwreck on the island shortly after setting sail. The state of the nation is so poor, no one attempts to prevent the foreigners from taking power. Initially, the duo resorts to a form of communism. They amass the entire wealth of the nation and divide it equally among its many residents. Each islander’s share amounts to approximately six dollars. Realizing the futility of their efforts to advance the island economically, they turn to another solution: religion. Johnson devises his own religion, which becomes known as Bokononism. To add some zest to the monotonous life on the island, the partners develop roles to fulfill in a sort of play. Johnson becomes known as Bokonon, while McCabe becomes a violent dictator whose sole mission is to capture and kill Bokonon. This drama contributes greatly to the popularity of the religion, thus benefitting the island population. The islanders are subject to substandard  living conditions: poverty, pestilence, and famine are prevalent. The island lacks the necessary resources to develop. They face a bleak and hopeless future. Rather than facing the reality of day-to-day life, they adopt the fabricated religion of Bokononism: †¦when it became evident that no government or economic reform was going to make the people much less miserable, the religion became the one real instrument of hope. Truth was the enemy of the people, because the truth was so terrible, so Bokonon made it his business to provide the people with better and better lies. (Vonnegut 172) Following a similar form to the beginning of the actual novel, the Books of Bokonon, the religion’s equivalence to the Bible, warns the reader: â€Å"‘Don’t be a fool! Close this book at once! It is nothing but foma!’† (Vonnegut 265). This line establishes the illegitimate nature of the Books of Bokonon, and, subsequently, the religion of Bokononism in its entirety. The lack of truth is beneficial because â€Å"When people believe that they have the ‘Truth,’ they seek to impose their beliefs on others, and religious wars are the inevitable result. The highest truth in Bokonon’s religion is that all spiritual truths are actually useful fictions, creations of the imagination that do not exist outside of the human mind. The meaning of life is not something we can discover in the outside world. We must create it for ourselves† (Marvin 89). The religion is openly founded on falsehoods. In spite of this, the residents of San Lore nzo experience a real, tangible benefit. The stark reality of life on the barren island is too much to bear; therefore, Bokonon feeds the residents compounding lies. Bokononism proves more beneficial to the residents of San Lorenzo than the alternative: science. Though at its foundation Bokononism is series of untruths, that fact does not limit the religion in its ability to aid those in need. Vonnegut portrays all religions as unreliable texts despite claims to the contrary. The island’s dictatorial president, Papa Monzano, is dying a miserable death from cancer. As his death nears, Papa undergoes his last rites with the aid of a †¦Christian minister, who was ready to take care of â€Å"Papa’s† spiritual needs as they arose. He had a brass dinner bell and a hatbox with holes drilled in it, and a Bible, and a butcher knife- all laid out on the bench beside him. He told me there was a live chicken in the hatbox. The chicken was quiet, he said, because he had fed it  tranquilizers†¦ He turned out to be an intelligent man. His doctorate, which he invited me to examine, was awarded by the Western Hemisphere University of the Bible of Little Rock, Arkansas†¦ He had said that he had had to feel his way along with Christianity, since Catholicism and Protestantism had been outlawed along with Bokononism. â€Å"So, if I am to be a Christian un der those conditions, I have to make up a lot of new stuff.† (Vonnegut 214) Much like Bokonon, the Christian minister fabricates new aspects of the religion to suit his needs.   Daniel Minguez offers a thorough inspection: â€Å"This examination implies that one may rely upon an iteration of Christianity with the same confidence of its truth as one may rely upon their own guesswork at the workings of the universe†¦ It shows that Christianity is just as effective without the accepted dogma of the Catholic or Protestant church and renders the text as inconsequential to the enactment of Christianity itself†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Minguez 9) The Christian minister offers a distorted and absurd version of the religion. He makes additions to the religion with little regard for its supposed sanctity despite having been well educated. By doing so, he strips Christianity, in addition to all religion, of its credibility. Religion and science are used as vehicles to pursue a deeper question regarding humanity: what is the purpose of life? The world inhabited by humans is mysterious, unpredictable, and ultimately meaningless. The characters in Cat’s Cradle are in search of purpose and meaning. In an attempt to find such, they supplement religion and science for true understanding. Bokononism and science strive to create meaning and purpose for the lives their followers. Bokononists believe â€Å"†¦that humanity is organized into teams, teams that do God’s Will without ever discovering what they are doing. Such a team is called a karass†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Vonnegut 2). This is the stated purpose of Bokononism: to carry out God’s will. Though Bokononism does not explicitly condemn the attempt to understand God, it merely states that â€Å"such investigations are bound to be incomplete† (Vonnegut 4). One cannot understand or comprehend God: I once knew an Episcopalian lady in Newport, Rhode Island, who asked me to design and build a doghouse for her Great Dane. The lady claimed to understand God and His Ways of Working perfectly. She could not understand why anyone should be puzzled about what had been or about what was going to be. And yet, when I showed her a blueprint of the doghouse I proposed to build, she said to me,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I’m sorry, but I never could read one of those things.† â€Å"Give it to your husband or your minister to pass it on to God,† I said, â€Å"and, when God finds a minute, I’m sure he’ll explain this doghouse of mine in a way that even you could understand.† She fired me. I shall never forget her. She believed that God liked people in sailboats much better than He liked people in motorboats. She could not bear to look at a worm. When she saw a worm, she screamed. She was a fool, and so am I, and so is anyone who thinks he sees what God is Doing. (Vonnegut 4) This does little to satisfy m an’s natural desire to know and understand his environment because â€Å"†¦any invented sense-making system is continually disproved by man’s immediate experience of the world, and the arbitrariness of events perpetually defeats any system of alleged causalities† (Bloom 91). Man must learn to accept such a situation: Tiger got to hunt, Bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder, â€Å"Why, why, why?† Tiger got to sleep, Bird got to land; Man got to tell himself he understand. (Vonnegut 182) In man’s attempt to create meaning, he may weave fiction to appease his desire for purpose, though such systems are deemed invalid. It is man’s responsibility to forge purpose and meaning for one’s existence. Vonnegut’s writings in Cat’s Cradle show that truth is not innately positive, and that lies are the opposite. Science, sharing an intimate relation to truth and knowledge, is the source of significant regression and damage to humanity in the form of the nuclear bomb and ice-nine. The atom bomb produces suffering, death, and environmental damage on an unprecedented scale, while ice-nine utterly annihilates all life on the planet. On the other hand, the fabricated religion of Bokononism, while founded on falsehoods, brings hope to the otherwise hopeless. It creates a veil to mask the otherwise unavoidable reality of life on the barren island of San Lorenzo. Bokononism and science are used by their followers to create meaning and purpose in their lives. This leads to the final conclusion that it is ultimately up to man to create meaning for an otherwise meaningless existence. Works Cited Allen, William R., ed. Conversations with Kurt Vonnegut. Jackson: University of Mississippi, 2001. Print. Bloom, Harold, ed. Modern Critical Interpretations: Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle. Broomall: Haights Cross Communications, 2002. Print. Marvin, Thomas F. Kurt Vonnegut: A Critical Companion. Westport: Greenwood, 2002. Print. Minguez, Daniel. â€Å"Cat’s Cradle: The Apocalypse of Human Thought.† OxyScholar. Occidental College, 1 Apr. 2009. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. Tomedi, John. Great Writers: Kurt Vonnegut. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2004. Print.

Philosophy of Mind Essay

Since centuries, our philosophers have been trying to unravel mysteries of our memory, thought processes, different emotions, will power and imaginations culminating into what is known as different intellectual and conscious part of our personality.   Our mind, as our great literary figures have posited, is a stream of our consciousness and is a part of our brain’s inherent processes. Our mind is a place where our reasoning power gets the shape and takes the practical form. As also said in Indian Vedic philosophy, He who knows the receptacle (Ayatana) verily becomes the receptacle of his people. Mind is verily the receptacle (of all our knowledge).† – (Chhandogya Upanishad, V-i-5.) Different studies by our philosophers have been compounded into various theories each delving into the depth of various aspects of our mind processes. Its earliest studies have been found in the works of Zarathushtra, Mahatma Budha, Plato, Aristotle, Adi Shankara and many more ancient Greek and Indian Philosophers.   Many of the pre scientific philosophers based their theories on relationship between the mind and the soul, supernatural elements of faith, having a feeling of closeness with divinity or god, but on the other hand modern theorists based their theories on their research and scientific studies of the brain. These theories rely heavily on the fact that the mind is a phenomenon of the brain and is a tantamount of consciousness. The study of the relationship between the body and mind is the most central aspect to the philosophy of mind, despite of the fact that there are number of issues related to the nature of the mind which does not take into consideration its relationship to the physical body. The most crucial and complex differences of thoughts are arising among different theorists regarding the exact and most appropriate theory of mind. Though various theorists have developed their own different versions to make us understand our own functioning of mind yet as more and more theories are coming up, more and more it is getting difficult to come out with the best theory of all. As all theories are able to capture the intensity of readers to make us understand the core of our mind and thoughts, yet it is very challenging to understand â€Å"Which is the best?† Here I am trying to unravel the mystery to understand which theory-Dualism, mind-brain identity or functionalism is a correct theory to understand all about mind. Dualism is a most important school of thought that has tried to solve the most paradoxical and most important relationship of mind and body problems. It has tried to make several attempts to sure that mind and body in some way or the other detach from each other. Roots of Dualism dates far back to Plato, Aristotle and the Sankhya and Yoga schools of Hindu philosophy but in a most precise way it was understood by Rene Descartes only in the 17th century. His philosophical disposition is based on the fact that the mind is independent in itself and constitutes two different kinds of substances like â€Å"res extensa meaning extended things, physical things† and â€Å"res cogitans means thinking things†, (Descartes, Online Edition ). The thinking things are beyond the dimensions of time and space and are thus separate in itself whereas Property dualists thinks that there are several independent properties known to us. It is quite clear from his disposition that he is trying to explain the importance and concept of soul, giving religious discourse. But in this all, he has tried to explain that there is an interaction of mind in pineal gland, from where there is a control on bodily actions and receive sensory perceptions. But this approach of Dualism is not without criticism as its properties are more of dubious in nature. Their theory is based on religion and their ardent faith but no element of scientific fact is found in this. If we visualize and understands that if there is a soul in our physical body and the soul can have drastic effect then it is quite natural that it should be able to generate new energy to bring the bodies into moment.    It is argued that if the soul exists and it can affect the body then it must be able to create new energy to move the body, but this is sheer violation of the theory of the conservation principle.   Owen Flanagan, in his The Science of the Mind says,†If the mind according to Descartes is not a physical system therefore it also could not have any energy to prove herself but in-order to increase this physical energy, the need of the hour is to get it transferred from other physical system but it is not possibl†e. (Owen Flanagan, pp. 21, Mind creators.com). To overcome the limitations of the Dualism, several philosophers and psychologists began to ignore the very concept and existence of mind itself and by doing so their expectations to touch the cord of mind began to flow towards the realistic parts of our lives. Therefore in the beginning the new generation of philosophers came up with what is known as Type Identity Theory.  Ã‚   They posters the view that though the structure of every person’s brain is similar yet in the brain of every person there are certain differences therefore it is not possible to find oneself in a position of same neurological state. Therefore this theory soon took the shape of Token Taken theory implying that if there are two people having different neuropsychological states, then what is it that brings them into the same mental state? And to this they answered that it is due to the function of those two states only that had created them same. This leads to functionalism theory, which says that, â€Å"Two different brain-state tokens would be tokens of the same type of mental state if the two brain states had the same causal relations to the input stimulus that the organism receives, to its various other â€Å"mental† states, and to its output behavior†. (Functionalism, online edition). In simple words, he said that there were supposed to be two thoughts, which are same, and all of the inputs, internal and external, lead to the same output. With this statement, psychologists tried to bring all the conditions of the mind set in equilibrium. This leads to the functionalism theory. Though there are several problems to this approach too yet we can very say that if this theory of functionalism is adopted, it will take us into next major breakthrough, but all is not well with Functionalism too as it failed to explain in clear terms the fact that even if there are conditions of different physical states which gives different material phenomenon, then there is no possibility of different physical structures to regain equality.  Ã‚   . While there is a great controversy to come at the concrete conclusion about which one is correct â€Å"theory of mind,†, but it is a matter of fact that functionalism is the most popular theory among scientists as well as philosophers of today. According to this theory, all the aspects of mental state like beliefs, pains, hopes, fears, etc. depends and are divided on the bases of their activity and are characterized by the jobs they do, or in other words according to the functions that they perform. Just like computers understands the main idea behind our thoughts process in the same way our brains captures our thought processes from our mind and induces us to act accordingly. WORKS CITED Anderson, David. â€Å"Introduction to Functionalism† Consortium on Mind/Brain Science Instruction. Internet. (2006) Available: http://www.mind.ilstu.edu/curriculum/functionalism_intro/functionalism_intro.php?modGUI=44&compGUI=1403&itemGUI=2447, March 5, 2008   Cofer, David. â€Å"Dualism† MindCreators.Com Internet. (2002) Available:   http://www.mindcreators.com/Dualism.htm, March 5, 2008 Cofer, David. â€Å"Functionalism† MindCreators.Com Internet. (2002) Available: http://www.mindcreators.com/Functionalism.htm, March 5, 2008 McAdoo, Oliver. â€Å"Critically discuss the idea that mental states are identical to physical states† arrod.co.uk Internet. Available: http://www.arrod.co.uk/essays/mind-brain-identity.php, March 5, 2008 Chance, Tom. â€Å"Mind-brain identity theory† Internet. Available: http://tom.acrewoods.net/research/philosophy/mind/identitytheory, March 5, 2008 Swamy   Sivananda, â€Å"Mind – Its Mysteries & Control†, The Divine Life Trust Society, 1994, World Wide Web Edition, 1998, A Divine Life Society Publication, Internet Available, http://www.dlshq.org/download/mind.htm Flanagan, Owen (1991). The Science of the Mind, 2nd edition. MIT Press. pp. 21.

The Job Description of A Budgeting Manager

One of the most important functions that budgeting accounts for is the planning function1. We will be arguing for the importance of the planning function in the overall budgeting activity and will be arguing for the many ways the budgeting planning function is coordinating with the company's strategic planning. First of all, the planning function in terms of budgeting refers to the planning activities that the company, starting with the financial department, needs to (1) determine what the company's long-term strategy is, (2) determine what projects bring most added value to the company and (3) determine what priority these projects should have. Let's refer to each of these steps in part and determine how they impact the budgeting strategy of a company. The long-term strategy for a company is essential in determining the overall objective of a company. For the long run, this may be increasing the volume of sales or increasing the market share or promoting the company's image. In any case, these differ in terms of the projects they will imply and the ways they will be affecting the budgeting strategy. For example, increasing sales will perhaps only include increasing spending on advertising and the promotion budget, while promoting the company's image may include costly promotion campaigns that will have a significant impact on the company's budgeting management. The second issue is a project portfolio management issue. The economic theory tells us that the resources are always limited, while the needs are not. Applied in this particular case, this means that we are always likely to have a greater number of projects we will wish to perform than the financial resources the company will have at a certain point. This is where the selection issue, corroborated with the budgeting strategy comes in the game. The top management, working with the financial department, will need to establish which are the projects that bring highest added-value to the company and spend the company's budget on those alone. The selection phase can only come hand in hand with a proper planning of the budgeting activity. On one hand, we have the projects the company wishes to perform, on the other, we have the budgeting restrictions. In terms of budgeting planning, the company and the top management needs to ensure that projects deriving from the current selection will also have sources of financing. An example will properly elucidate this perspective. We will simply take a software project. In the beginning, the primordial activities refer to selecting the working team and creating a project on which work will be done (following the customer's requirements). On the other hand, while the initial part of the project is strictly related to the programming stage, one mustn't ignore the fact that, after the project is completed, a tester also needs to be hired in order to test the project's performances. This means that the initial budgeting scheme will need to be created so as to include several other subsequent factors, factors that are likely to appear at a certain time in the future. Finally, the third phase of the selection phase, correlated with the budgeting procedures, involves deciding on the projects' priority. This is basically an issue of deciding which of the projects bring added value to the company and to the company's activities. This means that planning your budgeting policy also needs to consider the future plans in the company. If the company will want to develop different areas into the future, then the budgeting campaign needs to be designed so as to cover any future needs of the company. This is practically what the planning function in terms of budgeting refers to. The argumentation we have previously presented practically comes forth so as to demonstrate the close connection existing between budgeting and budget planning and the company's overall planning strategies. Indeed, the budgeting policies serve to help the company fulfill its long-term plans and projects, as well as short-termed ones. In this sense, the company planning strategy needs to be fully correlated with the budgeting planning, otherwise there will be no financial support for those plans. Among the management functions we already know about we can also include the budgeting function because, in my opinion, all the others cannot properly function without it. You cannot have a successful planning or organizing within a company without correlating these with the budgeting function, in order to obtain the realistic backup of any project. Budgeting and planning go, in this sense, hand in hand, and you cannot really have one without the other in the company.

Childhood Obesity: Parents dilemma Essay

Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal discomforts are some of the many serious health effects that should be the nightmare we all avoid. So why it is that in today’s society we are faced with the alarming fact of half of our population being obese, which are the causative agents to these malicious health problems? It seems as if this is an ongoing problem that may never cease to exist. Why? If the quandary of obesity isn’t realized and address it would not be acknowledged as a problem, therefore it would not be corrected. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, child obesity is defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) at or above the 95 percentile to children of the same sex and age. Obesity is an excess proportion of total body fat. A child is considered obese when his or her weight is 20% or more above normal weight. The most common measure of obesity is the body mass index or BMI. Obesity is rapidly becoming a world wide epidemic, and is starting with our children. Stanford (2001) proposes that the escalation of obesity could be the greatest health threat the world will face in the 21st century. Stanford is highlighting that childhood obesity is a growing health dilemma with a deadly prospect, but who are to blame? In this world today the roles of parents are becoming more demanding than ever before. Our basic knowledge of a parent is one that guides and teaches how to live and survive in this complex world. They are the ones that influence and set out lessons to learn and morals to live by, they are the ones to protect you from harm and detour you from their previous mistakes. Becoming a parent one takes on endless responsibilities and countless blames. However, a parent is only human and can only take full responsibility for certain decisions and behaviors made by their child or children. According to Oxford, a child is defined as a young human being below the age of full development which is 18 and childhood is the period of being a child. Obesity is one of the many hefty misconceptions placed on parents, as we over look the alliance with genetics, environmental and psychological factors. Childhood obesity is in fact highly associated with genetics. A child is in its developmental stage; therefore, genetics plays an accommodating position in the development of obesity. Hills (2011) assume that â€Å"recent studies of genetic syndromes of obesity in rodents have provided insights in to the underlying mechanisms that may play a role in energy homoeostasis. In recent years, research has begun to identify human disorders of energy balance that arise from defects in these or related genes [42]. These mutations have been shown to result in morbid obesity in children without the developmental features that commonly accompany recognized syndromes of childhood obesity. Most children probably have some genetic predisposition to obesity, depending on their family history and ethnicity.† There is no denying that genetic alone is the cause for childhood obesity but it is a major fact that it is a large contributor to this chief health hazard. Harvard (2012) remarks â€Å"subsequent work on the relationship between the FTO gene, physical activity, and obesity yielded contradictory results. (16-18) To arrive at a more definitive answer, investigators recently combined and re-analyzed the data from 45 studies in adults and 9 studies in children—nearly 240,000 people in all. (19) They found that people who carried the obesity-promoting FTO gene variant had a 23 percent higher risk of obesity than those who did not.† Nonetheless, genetics is a contributing factor, and the reality of it is that it can be controlled by means of healthy eating habits and exercise regiments. However, why should parents be blamed for uncontrollably giving their child the â€Å"obesity curse† which was given to them? Determination of a healthy choice is not an easy one for a child when there are a variety of endless environmental factors that alter decision making. Children spend time away from their parents almost 50% of the time in a day which can be spent at school, child care and community environments, while parents meet the demands of world. The development of a child can be a very confusing one based on decision making. It is difficult for many children to make healthy food choices when the environment they are exposed to encourage great availability to high-energy-dense foods and sugar drinks. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stipulate, â€Å"a recent study among children showed that a high-energy-dense diet is associated with a higher risk for excess body fat during childhood. Sugar drinks are the largest source of added sugar and an important contributor of calories in the diets of children in the United States. High consumption of sugar drinks, which have few, if any, nutrients, has been associated with obesity. On a typical day, 80% of youth drink sugar drinks.† Today the schools provide students with vendor machines, school stores, canteens or snack bars lighted up like candy land where you can eat to your hearts content. Cafeterias and lunch programs are no different; Hoang Do Wendt (2009) explains a report by USDA in the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study shows that typical school lunches derive 35% of their energy from fat and 12% of their energy from saturated fat, which is higher than the recommended levels of 30% and 10% respectively (USDA 2001). Various lunch vendors and programs want to meet the satisfaction of their buyers, which are the children. Lehmann (2010) proposes that â€Å"even in the face of an obesity epidemic, cafeteria directors say they need the brand-name meals to keep their programs running. Schools and other food distributors are concerned with purchasing and distributing food that would be appealing to children. The choices made by most of the lunch vendors doesn’t exactly encourage healthy eating h abits, as their goal is to reinforce children’s taste for fast food for that golden dollar. In close relation to environmental factors, the additional causative agents of childhood obesity are psychological factors. The weight of depression, low self esteem, and social anxiety plays a major role in childhood obesity. Acceptance for a child, in relation to his or her peers places pressure on their mind and in their bodies. Lawson alleged that at the center of obesity-depression link is biology, notably the hormonal pathway known as the HPA axis. It is the route of communication between the hypothalamus, the peanut-sized part of the brain that governs parts of the nervous system, and the pituitary and adrenal glands, which secrete a variety of hormones, which work together to maintain chemical equilibrium when the body is under stress. The HPA axis is responsible for releasing cortisol, the so-called â€Å"stress hormone.† It plays a critical role in energy metabolism as well as other functions. The problem is, cortisol prompts the body to deposit fat around the abdome n, a pattern that is especially hazardous to health. Chronic stress also begets depression. â€Å"Obesity, depression and behavioral disorders have all been linked to abnormal functioning of the HPA axis,† says Mustillo. It is a fact that many children today battle depression due too many environmental stressor at home, school and friendships. Depression is coped many ways, however in relation to obesity, the comfort is found in food. This over loveable obsession for food in relation to depression contributes to an unhealthy lifestyle followed by an extension of psychological factors. Low self-esteem is also a contributing factor of obesity. When a child suffers from this disorder, what ever discussion, education, talk on caring for their body would travel through one ear and out the next. Eating may become a source of reassurance in reference to how they are feeling. Lawson discloses by acknowledging that there is an interaction between what’s outside your body and what’s inside. â€Å"Obesity carries a large social stigma and may bring on depression if it negatively affects self-esteem, body image or social mobility. It may even disrupt the normal hormonal pathways. Then again, depression may also bring on obesity, if a child lacks the energy to exercise or is immobilized by stress.† Dealing with social ills, social anxiety is one strongly associated with children and their social relationships. Children greatest fear in their psychological development is rejection from their peers. Some children shy away from the normality of having peers for different reasons. Many children are victims of bullying and social discrimination, for many, there only source of comfort is food. Martyn-Nemeth et al (2009) found that low self esteem is clearly associated with over eating and weight gain in adolescents. Many other studies indicate t hat overweight and obese children and adolescents have moderately lower self esteem than non obese peers. There are numerous types of psychological factors and they play with different approaches to obesity. In one study, 70% of obese children had at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor and 39% had two or more. It is heartrending to announce that there is a substantial amount of children affected by obesity today. We are all knowledgeable of health risks caused by obesity which includes physical and emotional dilemmas. These health risks can also create a shadow to follow children in adulthood. If children are overweight or obese, when in adulthood the affects are likely to be more severe. There are multiple factors in this occurrence of childhood obesity which makes food preferences and consumption questionable. Those factors does however, include parent influence and education. It is not denied that parents are totally out of being the causative agents of childhood obesity. They are however a massive contribution with this underlying problem, but we have to think out the box. Think about a thirteen year old girl entering puberty, whose parents love her unconditionally and her mother prepares all meals according to the national food guide, but yet still battles obesity. Are her parents overweight? What kinds of foods does she have access to at school? Is she suffering from depression or social neglect? One can’t look at an obese child and say I blame the parent. For all its worth that parent maybe the only struggling for help and answers. Obesity is a worldwide crisis, affecting millions of children from different ethnicities, cultures and religions. Does this mean that the millions of children affected, parents are to blame? Obesity can only be corrected by addressing all possible contributions to this dilemma. Therefore, the blame for childhood obesity needs to be lifted of the heads of parents and tackled by the world at large. Works Cited Fernando L. Vazquez and Angela Torres. Behavioral and Psychosocial Factors in Childhood Obesity. Hills, Andrew. â€Å"Genetics of Childhood Obesity.† Journal of Obesity 11 (2010) Lawson, Willow. The Obesity-Depression Link Philadelphia Lehmann, Deborah â€Å"Why School Cafeterias are Dishing Out Fast Foods† Intechopen Retrieved from http://www.intechopen.com/books/childhood-obesity