Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Psychology - Essay Example According to Sacks, â€Å"Does the mind run the brain or the brain the mind?† This poses an interesting question regarding the development of mental abilities, which runs parallel to that of the nature vs. nurture debate. Are cognitive abilities the result of the neurology and brain development of the person, or does what a person learns influence brain development? The question is similar to that of the chicken and the egg. Thus, the question of whether our abilities are biologically driven or if they are environmentally driven are laid as a foundation to human growth and development. The compendium of human knowledge and consciousness is seated within our skulls as the brain. The brain is the most vital organ in our body in that it controls everything, both voluntary and involuntary. It is a vast collection of neurons, which work together to rely, process, and send out information. It is organized into different lobes that govern different cognitive tasks that develop with a ge. As a person ages, these parts of the brain become more complex and eventually start working together in order to processes and integrate things together. The conscious and the unconscious merge here with the storage of memory and the performance of cognitive tasks. One of the most unique features of the brain is in its adaptability (plasticity). If a part of the brain becomes injured, it will rewire itself by creating new pathways in order to bypass the damaged tissue. As a person learns, the brain rewires itself in order to make new connections to make the pathways of thought more efficient and complex. However, the reason that a person is able to learn is due to the fact that these pathways have already been created. Even as the brain develops, there is a certain threshold that is met in which the neurons will eventually lose productivity and die off. Because of this learning is hindered, however recent studies show that additional cognitive exercises can keep these neurons al ive longer, thus showing how an environmental, or rather external stimulus, can play a part in being able to alter the physiology of a person. The first basis that psychology looks at is from the biological/physiological standpoint. Innately, humans are born with traits, which are derived from a genetic code. These discrete units, called genes, are passed down from generation to generation. The genetic code, DNA, encodes for proteins and other chemical components in the brain. As a result, some behaviors and physiological functions are affected by errors or mutations in the DNA. These mutations can occur as the result of random probability as well as through interaction of environmental effects. Thus, the behavior of an individual can result from these inherent features, which are determined by biology. For example, in cases of aggression, researchers find that amounts of testosterone in an individual can effect how aggressive an individual is. Both male and female individuals have testosterone in their body (except in the case of some genetic disorders). However, there are factors in which the levels of testosterone in the body can either be abnormally high or abnormally low. Thus, we see deviations from the normal patterns of behavior. From this example, it can be shown that biology and genetics does play a role in influencing human behavior. Another important basis in biopsychology is the development of the

Essay Example for Free

Essay Introduction Catering services provided vary depending on the event and can include: cooking and delivering food to an outside location; cooking, delivering and serving food; and full-service (preparing food, providing service staff, decoration of event location, prep and clean-up). In some cases of full-service catering, the caterer is called an event managing company. When most people refer to a caterer, they are referring to an event caterer who serves food with waiting staff at dining tables or sets up a self-serve buffet. The food may be prepared on site, made completely at the event, or the caterer may choose to bring prepared food and put the finishing touches on once it arrives. The event caterer staffs are not responsible for preparing the food but often help set up the dining area. This service is typically provided at banquets, conventions, and weddings. Any event where all who attend are provided with food and drinks or sometimes only hors doeuvres is often called a catered event. Many events require working with an entire theme or color scheme. A catering company or specialist is expected to know how to prepare food and to make it attractive. As such, certain catering companies have moved toward a full-service business model commonly associated with event planners. They take charge of not only food preparation but also decorations, such as table settings and lighting. The trend is towards satisfying all the clients’ senses with food as a focal point. With the correct atmosphere, profes sional event caterers with experience can make an event special and memorable. Beautifully prepared food alone can appeal to the senses of taste, smell, and sight perhaps even touch, but the decorations and ambiance can play a significant part in a successfully catered event. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The main problem of this study is to find out what is the most effective way of getting a good quality of food in a catering services. 1. What is the satisfaction of the guest in getting a good quality of food. 2. Are they satisfied for the price that they pay for the food. 3. Why customer choose catering services. This study is design to know the reasons of catering services in handling a good quality of food. OBJECTIVES * To find out how to increase the number of customer using these two types of reservation system. * To find out what is more effective way for catering reservation. Whether manual or computer reservation system Hypothesis Based on our research or study if catering services provide a good quality of food to the customer many people would choose the catering service on that catering business. To make sure that the food is delicious and well cooked and also the materials needed is available and well sanitize and the importance of the proper hygiene of the waiters and waitresses in giving food to the customer. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The research study mainly focuses on the reservation system on Villa Salud, Andatoria, Duo Stake house and wine bar for education, since the manager is not always and, the assistant manager and the operation manager is being. Responsible to manage all transactions happened on reservation system in the establishment. Aside from the manager and assistant operation manager, there are two personnel which are involved in this establishment. When the customers inquire for reservation, anyone of the personnel who is not busy will be the one to accept the customer’s inquiries for reservation process because they are having this multi-tasking role. The personnel will give the brochures for the services offered, the menu list for the customer’s order and the packages.. Then the personnel will also give the price list to the customers for them to refer. In reservation process, if the customer wishes to reserve, the personnel who is doing reservation process will be the one to give the reservation form paper. SCOPE AND LIMITATION This study aim to develop a catering service for the good quality of food in respective catering services. Only authorized personnel will be allowed to serve food. 1. The Manager 2. The Waiter/The Waitresses TERMINOLOGIES Catering To provide a supply of food; to supply what is required for desire. Reservation Act of reserving something. Lucrative Producing wealth. Profitable Yielding advantageous returns or result. Purported Repeated alleged. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES Gen. Ave

The molecular gastronomy

The molecular gastronomy What is molecular gastronomy? Who are its main proponents? Is it simply a fad or new culinary movement The molecular gastronomy term appeared in 1988 presented by a scientist Hungarian physicist Professor Nicholas Kurti and French physical chemist Hervà © This. Molecular gastronomy embraces science about food. It is a scientific investigation on food with new technological equipment and use of natural gums and hydrocolloids. The chefs use modern thickeners, sugar substitutes, enzymes, liquid nitrogen; cooking methods such as sous vide, gastrovac (a vacuum chamber), dehydration; a hold-o-mat (an accurate low-temperature oven) and cryogenics; tools as centrifuges, desiccators. There is no general definition what molecular gastronomy means. Lets have a look at few definitions: The application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of domestic and gastronomic food preparation. (Peter Barham) The art and science of choosing, preparing and eating good food. (Thorvald Pedersen) The scientific study of deliciousness. (Harold McGee) Herve This stated that the term ‘molecular gastronomy’ is misinterpreted and misused by media. The top three chefs by the British magazine Restaurant: Ferran Adria from El Bulli in Rosas; Spain, Heston Blumenthal from the Fat Duck in Bray, UK; and Pierre Gagnaire from restaurant in Paris, France, are usually associated with molecular gastronomy. Especially Ferran Adria is considered a father of it. However, these chefs are not very keen on this term and they made a general statement: â€Å"We embrace innovation: new ingredients, appliances, information, techniques and ideas; whatever can make a real contribution to our cooking. But we do not pursue novelty for its own sake. It is, after all, just cooking.† (Heston Blumenthal, 2006). They think that molecular gastronomy is a new approach to cooking. And Heston Blumenthal is concerned that â€Å"the danger is that technology overtakes the value of the dish†. He worried that ‘someones going to do something really stupid and then everyone will point’ to him and say that its all his fault. A science about food helps to understand how to cook healthy and nutritious food, how to make it more attractive. The cooking tools remained the same through the many centuries but educational programmes cannot rely on traditional recipes because cooking products, ingredients and methods changed over time. If cooking would be explored scientifically, the educational health programmes would benefit from it. The scientific exploration of cooking helps chefs to create a new dishes and inventions. All sciences: chemistry, physics, biology, history and sociology are important in cooking. To surprise and delight his customers with exciting, tasty and healthy food is the main objective for all chefs. According to Herve This (2006), ‘a dish can be cooked perfectly, but if it is not presented in an appealing way, all the art and science will mean little to the customer or guest’. The science about food could help to feed the worlds population creating and developing genetically modified food. Nevertheless, some chefs think that molecular gastronomy is ridiculous. Catalan chef, Santi Santamarà ­a, thinks that those using chemicals to experiment with food are just â€Å"playing with food. Jun Tanaka, a British Japanese chef, thinks molecular gastronomy has acquired a poor reputation. To do it properly, you have to understand the science behind the food.† For example, Ferran Adria has been attacked by critics who claim his food is pretentious, elitist and even poisonous in its use of colourants, gelling agents and emulsifiers. Nevertheless, this form of cookery is very expensive, demands high quality ingredients and intensive manpower. The diners raise ethical questions about how the food is produced. Many chefs think that molecular gastronomy term will die in future or will be changed into avant garde cuisine as it is only a fancy name and doesnt describe their cooking. Chefs cook and do not analyse molecules or their movement. Some dishes that are creative, push boundaries of texture, or out-of-the ordinary get the label of molecular gastronomy. For example, fake caviar made from sodium alginate and calcium, burning sherbets, spaghetti made from vegetables. It is a question of time when molecular gastronomy term will disappear. Many chefs think that molecular gastronomy is just a fancy name which was created to attract investors and it doesnt describe their cooking. Chefs cook and dont analyse molecules and their movement. ‘Molecular cuisine’ does not exist, the term means nothing. I have been explaining this for the past five years but the media continues to insist, Adria said in the interview. Ferran Adria is going to close his ElBulli restaurant next year and open a non-profit foundation from 2014. The private foundation will grant between 20 -25 scholarships annually for chefs and other industry professionals who will be interested in food science or ‘contemporary cuisine’. Is it ethical to experiment with food using chemicals ingredients having in mind that the poorest countries suffer from malnutrition? Do chefs need food science knowledge about food if their want to be excellent in their cooking? Bibliography AFP (2010) Worlds top restaurant to become a foundation [online] Available at: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h-DCnRuKjNnpEejrHh6Dicn9L10w Accessed on 22/02/2010 Arnold, D. (2009) Molecular Gastronomy is just a long four letter word [online] Available at: http://cookingissues.wordpress.com/2009/06/01/molecular-gastronomy-is-just-a-long-four-letter-word/ Accessed at 21/02/2010 Callaway, E. (2009) Science is vital ingredient at worlds best restaurant [online] Available at: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16811-why-science-is-elbullis-vital-ingredient.html?full=true# Accessed on 22/02/2010 Caterer and hotelkeeper (2010) Molecular gastronomy and beyond [online] Available at: http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2010/02/12/332183/molecular-gastronomy-and-beyond.html Accessed on 16/02/2010 Cousins, J. OGorman, K. Stierand, M (2009) Molecular gastronomy: cuisine innovation or modern day alchemy? [online] Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=ArticleFilename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/ijchm-feb-2009-0010_rtc_cl_final.pdf Accessed on 24/02/2010 Edgecumbe, L. (2010) Turning point: El Bullis closure not the end of molecular gastronomy [online] Available at: http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100131/LIFE/701309986/1196 Accessed on 16/02/2010 Espinoza, J, (2010) The state of molecular Gastronomy [online] Available at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126532946414240915.html?mod=WSJ_World_MIDDLENews Accessed on 16/02/2010 Herve This (2006) Food for tomorrow? How the scientific discipline of molecular gastronomy could change the way we eat [online] Available at: http://www.nature.com/embor/journal/v7/n11/full/7400850.html Accessed on 16/02/2010 Highfield, R. (2009) An adventure in molecular gastronomy [online] Available at: http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2009/03/an-adventure-into-molecular-ga.html Accessed on 22/02/2010 Pierce, J.(2008) Food careers, glorious food careers [online] Available at: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19826582.000-food-glorious-food.html Accessed on 22/02/2010 The Observer (2010) ‘Molecular Gastronomy is dead’. Heston speaks out [online] Available at: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/futureoffood/story/0,,1969722,00.html Accessed on 16/02/2010

emily dickinson :: essays research papers

One of America's greatest poets, Emily Dickinson, wrote more than 1,700 short lyric verses, of which only 7 were published in her lifetime. Dickinson was an obsessively private writer and withdrew herself from social contact at the age of 23 and devoted herself into writing. Dickinson's personal life, writing career, personal beliefs, and personal trials are perceived throughout her poems that shape today's modern poetry. Dickinson's work has had a considerable influence on modern poetry. Today, Dickinson's work has contributed her reputation as one of the most innovative poets of the 19-century American literature. Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born in Amherst on December 10, 1830, the second child of Edward and Emily Dickinson. The Dickinsons were an important family in Amherst. Her father was an orthodox Calvinist, a lawyer and treasurer of Amherst College, and he also served in Congress. As a parent, her father was known to be short tempered and harsh. "†¦..and Father, too busy with his Briefs to notice what I do-He buys me many Books-but begs me not to read them-because he fears they joggle the Mind"(Eliot 452). However, when her father died in 1874, Emily was deeply distressed. A year later, her mother became diagnosed with paralysis and became sick for the rest of her life. Mrs. Dickinson died in November 1882. Emily attended school at Amherst Academy , studying Latin, French, history, rhetoric, botany, geology, and mental philosophy. She then attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary at South Hadley where she engaged more in the tangible study of history, chemistry, Latin, physiology, and English grammar. Her official education became deprived because of her constant illness and poor health. Her life was lived entirely in a small New England circle, in which Amherst was the center. Emily did not explore; she saw what could be seen from her window, from her garden, from next door, and sometimes from the church. She chose to live this way and this way took over and became the rest of her life.

Advantages of Starting Up a Business

Advantages of Starting up a Business * Being your own Boss  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ you can make your own decisions, keep your own time and not have to answer to â€Å"The Boss† * Hard Work & Know How  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ If you are a hard worker and / or have immense industry know how, you may want to benefit from the long hours you do or the knowledge that you have acquired over time. * Financial Independence  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ One day, you may realise your dream of financial independence * Creative Freedom  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ no more restrictions, you can do what you like and have the freedom to work, design, create, build what you think is best – your way! Goodwill  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ you don't have to pay for it (as if your would if you were buying a business) – you get to build it * Location, Premises, Building Fitout  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ you get to choose it all * Staff  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ your not lumped with staff you don't want. You hire and train from scratch – your way * No Bad Name  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ a fresh bu siness, a fresh start. Your name has no bad history with suppliers or customers. If you buy a business, you may find some people just won't deal with the business because of past dealings * Business Image  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ you create the business image you want. Your way. Disadvantages of starting your own small or medium business can include: * Cash Flow  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ your business may not have a positive cash flow for two years – how are you going to cover that? * Competitors  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ you may invest all this time, money and effort into your business and a large competitor targets your customers and offers them a similar product / service at below your cost – until your business has failed. While this may be anti – competitive and contravene sections of  The Trade Practices Act 1974, it may be too late for your business * Homework  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ have you done it? You may do it all and then find when you are all set up, that something from left field becomes apparent and significantly alters the outlook of your business * History  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ If you buy a business, you are buying something. You are buying history of the business trading, you have staff in place, equipment and premises in place, customers ringing in with orders on your first Monday morning. If you start a business, you have no history. Everything must be generated from scratch. * Married to the Business  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ this is a common hrase from small business owners. It basically means, your hours of work and level of commitment is such that you cannot take a holiday, your business is always with you (day, nights ; weekends) and basically your neck is on the line. You can't just throw the keys back and give it all away if it gets too hard! * Suppliers  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Suppliers may not extend you credit as your business has no history, so you may have to pay upfront for your goods, and you may not collect money from your customers for those goods for 90 – 120 days. This is very detrimental to cash flow. Can you sustain this? Have you factored it into your budget? * Family  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ is your family situation such that you can undertake this huge venture of starting a small business from scratch? Think carefully about starting a business from scratch. It often means a huge sacrifice with no guarantee of reward. Your current employed situation may actually be a better position than starting a small business. Good luck, in whatever you may decide. Please think about the advantages and disadvantages of starting a small business. Our list above is only a starting point, each situation will be different. If you are seriously considering starting a small business, Rogerson Kenny Business Accountants offer a free initial consultation, so you can discuss with us your ideas! Advantages and disadvantages of buying an existing business Advantages * Some of the groundwork to get the business up and running will have been done. * It may be easier to obtain finance as the business will have a proven track record. * A market for the product or service will have already been demonstrated. There may be established customers, a reliable income, a reputation to capitalise and build on and a useful network of contacts. * A business plan and marketing method should already be in place. * Existing employees should have experience you can draw on. * Many of the problems will have been discovered and solved already. Disadvantages * You often need to invest a large amount up front, and will also have to budget for professional fe es for solicitors, surveyors, accountants etc. * You will probably also need several months' worth of working capital to ssist with cashflow. * If the business has been neglected you may need to invest quite a bit more on top of the purchase price to give it the best chance of success. * You may need to honour or renegotiate any outstanding contracts the previous owner leaves in place. * You also need to consider why the current owner is selling up and how this might impact the business and your taking it over. * It's possible current staff may not be happy with a new boss, or the business might have been run badly and staff morale may be low. Advantages and disadvantages of franchising Advantages * Your business is based on a  proven idea. You can check how successful other franchises are before committing yourself. * You can use a recognised  brand name  and  trade marks. You benefit from any advertising or promotion by the owner of the franchise – the ‘franchisor'. * The franchisor gives you  support  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ usually including training, help setting up the business, a manual telling you how to run the business and ongoing advice. * You usually have  exclusive rights  in your territory. The franchisor won't sell any other franchises in the same territory. Financing  the business may be easier. Banks are sometimes more likely to lend money to buy a franchise with a good reputation. * You can benefit from communicating and sharing ideas with, and receiving support from, other franchisees in the network. * Relationships with  suppliers  have already been established. Disadvantages * Costs  may be higher than you expect. As well a s the initial costs of buying the franchise, you pay continuing management service fees and you may have to agree to buy products from the franchisor. The franchise agreement usually includes  restrictionson how you can run the business. You might not be able to make changes to suit your local market. * The franchisor might go  out of business. * Other franchisees could give the brand a  bad reputation, so the recruitment process needs to be thorough * You may find it difficult to  sell  your franchise – you can only sell it to someone approved by the franchisor. * All profits (a percentage of sales) are usually shared with the franchisor.

Free Essays on Hypochondriasis

Hypochondriasis, a somatoform disorder, takes tremendous tolls on patients, doctors, and medical facilities every year. Hypochondriasis is the persistent belief that one is or is likely to become ill, often involving symptoms when illness is neither present nor likely, and persisting despite reassurance and medical evidence to the contrary. The diagnosis of hypochondriasis is simple and is not debated among doctors. The cause and treatment of hypochondriasis is where doctor’s ideas and processes differ. The possible causes and the different approaches on treatment of hypochondriasis are compared. Hypochondriasis not only affects the victims, but it affects doctors and medical facilities as well. Researchers estimate that a low of 3% to a high of 14% of all medical patients have Hypochondriasis.(Moglia p888) They tend to burden their physicians with frequent visits that take up excessive amounts of time. According to one estimate, Hypochondriasis racks up some twenty billion dollars a year in wasted medical resources in the United States.(Lemonick, 2003) With hypochondriasis, the problem is the patient’s excessive worry and mental preoccupation with having or developing a disease, not the disease about which the patient is so worried. The diagnosis of Hypochondriasis is made when the patient’s dread about the disease or diseases impairs normal activity and persists despite appropriate medical reassurances and evidence to the contrary. Neuropsychiatrist Dr. Brian Fallon believes that it is easy to identify a hypochondriac as long as the doctor is aware of the dis order and â€Å"has the right antenna out.†(Lemonick, 2003) The treatment of hypochondria can vary from doctor to doctor, but the key is to disrupt the cycle. Fallon realized a similar comparison in obsessive compulsive disorder and hypochondriasis and decided to test Prozac and similar drugs used for the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder on hypochondriac patien... Free Essays on Hypochondriasis Free Essays on Hypochondriasis Hypochondriasis, a somatoform disorder, takes tremendous tolls on patients, doctors, and medical facilities every year. Hypochondriasis is the persistent belief that one is or is likely to become ill, often involving symptoms when illness is neither present nor likely, and persisting despite reassurance and medical evidence to the contrary. The diagnosis of hypochondriasis is simple and is not debated among doctors. The cause and treatment of hypochondriasis is where doctor’s ideas and processes differ. The possible causes and the different approaches on treatment of hypochondriasis are compared. Hypochondriasis not only affects the victims, but it affects doctors and medical facilities as well. Researchers estimate that a low of 3% to a high of 14% of all medical patients have Hypochondriasis.(Moglia p888) They tend to burden their physicians with frequent visits that take up excessive amounts of time. According to one estimate, Hypochondriasis racks up some twenty billion dollars a year in wasted medical resources in the United States.(Lemonick, 2003) With hypochondriasis, the problem is the patient’s excessive worry and mental preoccupation with having or developing a disease, not the disease about which the patient is so worried. The diagnosis of Hypochondriasis is made when the patient’s dread about the disease or diseases impairs normal activity and persists despite appropriate medical reassurances and evidence to the contrary. Neuropsychiatrist Dr. Brian Fallon believes that it is easy to identify a hypochondriac as long as the doctor is aware of the dis order and â€Å"has the right antenna out.†(Lemonick, 2003) The treatment of hypochondria can vary from doctor to doctor, but the key is to disrupt the cycle. Fallon realized a similar comparison in obsessive compulsive disorder and hypochondriasis and decided to test Prozac and similar drugs used for the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder on hypochondriac patien...

When Brothers Share a Wife by Melvyn C. Goldstein Essays

When Brothers Share a Wife by Melvyn C. Goldstein Essays When Brothers Share a Wife by Melvyn C. Goldstein Paper When Brothers Share a Wife by Melvyn C. Goldstein Paper Essay Topic: O Brother Where Goldstein is an American Anthropologist and Tibet scholar whose mall focus Is on the Tibetan society. In this article, It speaks about these three brothers who are Tibetan living in Limb, Nepal. They are all to marry one wife who leaves her home to live with them. All of the brothers share working and having sex with their wife. Unlike our own society, Tibetan society allows a variety of marriage types: monogamy, fraternal polyandry and polygon. They have these family plans for each type of marriages. Monogamy Is when the three brothers take three wives and each have three sons and so on. Polyandry Is when the three brothers take one wife and have three sons. In my opinion both these types are wrong. Im not sure of anyone being in their right mind, would think its okay for brothers to marry one wife together. Its odd to think the wife doesnt seem to care, she thinks of it more as a way that three husbands are better and more helpful than one. This article reminds me of the video we watched in class only a little different. The video had to do with men who had more than one wife; each woman would watch their own area near their hut. The one message to receive and get out of this article is the culture relativity. It goes to show that each culture is valid in its own way. The Tibetan society were grown up to learn that their relationships are okay Just as how weve grown up in our own society to think it isnt normal and that are way is the right way.

Causes Of The Great Depression Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers

Causes Of The Great Depression Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers Causes of The Great Depression The Great Depression was the worst economic slump ever in U.S. history, and one which spread to virtually all of the industrialized world. The depression began in late 1929 and lasted for about a decade. Many factors played a role in bringing about the depression; however, the main cause for the Great Depression was the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920's, and the extensive stock market speculation that took place during the latter part that same decade. The maldistribution of wealth in the 1920's existed on many levels. Money was distributed disparately between the rich and the middle-class, between industry and agriculture within the United States, and between the U.S. and Europe. This imbalance of wealth created an unstable economy. The excessive speculation in the late 1920's kept the stock market artificially high, but eventually lead to large market crashes. These market crashes, combined with the maldistribution of wealth, caused the American economy to capsize. The "roaring twenties" was an era when our country prospered tremendously. The nation's total realized income rose from $74.3 billion in 1923 to $89 billion in 1929(end note 1). However, the rewards of the "Coolidge Prosperity" of the 1920's were not shared evenly among all Americans. According to a study done by the Brookings Institute, in 1929 the top 0.1% of Americans had a combined income equal to the bottom 42%(end note 2). That same top 0.1% of Americans in 1929 controlled 34% of all savings, while 80% of Americans had no savings at all(end note 3). Automotive industry mogul Henry Ford provides a striking example of the unequal distribution of wealth between the rich and the middle-class. Henry Ford reported a personal income of $14 million(end note 4) in the same year that the average personal income was $750(end note 5). By present day ezdards, where the average yearly income in the U.S. is around $18,500(end note 6), Mr. Ford would be earning over $345 million a year! This maldistribution of income between the rich and the middle class grew throughout the 1920's. While the disposable income per capita rose 9% from 1920 to 1929, those with income within the top 1% enjoyed a stupendous 75% increase in per capita disposable income(end note 7). A major reason for this large and growing gap between the rich and the working-class people was the increased manufacturing output throughout this period. From 1923-1929 the average output per worker increased 32% in manufacturing(end note 8). During that same period of time average wages for manufacturing jobs increased only 8%(end note 9). Thus wages increased at a rate one fourth as fast as productivity increased. As production costs fell quickly, wages rose slowly, and prices remained conezt, the bulk benefit of the increased productivity went into corporate profits. In fact, from 1923-1929 corporate profits rose 62% and dividends rose 65%(end note 10). The federal government also contributed to the growing gap between the rich and middle-class. Calvin Coolidge's administration (and the conservative-controlled government) favored business, and as a result the wealthy who invested in these businesses. An example of legislation to this purpose is the Revenue Act of 1926, signed by President Coolidge on February 26, 1926, which reduced federal income and inheritance taxes dramatically(end note 11). Andrew Mellon, Coolidge's Secretary of the Treasury, was the main force behind these and other tax cuts throughout the 1920's. In effect, he was able to lower federal taxes such that a man with a million-dollar annual income had his federal taxes reduced from $600,000 to $200,000(end note 12). Even the Supreme Court played a role in expanding the gap between the socioeconomic classes. In the 1923 case Adkins v. Children's Hospital, the Supreme Court ruled minimum-wage legislation unconstitutional(end note 13). The large and growing disparity of wealth between the well-to-do and the middle-income citizens made the U.S. economy unstable. For an economy to function properly, total demand must equal total supply. In an economy with such disparate distribution of income it is not assured that demand will always equal supply. Essentially what happened in the 1920's was that there was an oversupply of goods. It was not that the surplus products of industrialized society were

Corporate social responsibility provides greater benefits to the Assignment

Corporate social responsibility provides greater benefits to the organisation than it does to society and other stakeholders - Assignment Example The rationale of CSR has been articulated in numerous ways, which emphasize on building of sustainable businesses, which require stable economies, markets and communities (Roberts and Baker 7). Needless to mention that, most individuals ranging from students, managers or even employees are conversant to Corporate Social Responsibility, in businesses, community, and media. Although, CSR has various definition that are given in accordance to the organizations and or companies that practise it, it is clear that social responsibility is a mandate that decision makers ought to make in protecting and improving the welfare of the society in respect to their own interests (Cosans 396) Constituents of Corporate Social Responsibility: benefits to the organisation Corporate Social Responsibility is made up of constituents, which are necessary in making an impact in both the companies and the society. To begin with, companies have responsibilities other than the usual production of goods and ser vices to make a profit. Basically, the responsibilities entail assisting in solving important social challenges particularly those that they have contributed towards. Moreover, corporations have wider elements as compared to stockholders where the impact goes beyond market transactions to serve a larger population of people in the society (Mulligan 266). Never the less, CSR in companies can be tricky especially when it comes to application of ethical standards. For instance, most of the morals standards present in companies tend to conflict with each other because it is still unclear which standards should take priority. Somewhat, companies have the responsibility of respecting ethical values and principles in relation to pursuing company objectives, which translate to high profit margins. Of importance to note is that, the ethics of business make a company socially responsible. Once a company practise good business ethics, then it becomes easier for companies to participate in soci al responsibility (Roberts and Baker 8). Enhancing Brand and Image Reputation CSR in an organization or a company ensures that its reputation and brand continuously grow in reference to their practise. Hence, CSR programmes are bound to provide numerous chances especially when they want to communicate to the stakeholders by use of messages. In relation to reputation, CSR is involved in ensuring that it management any reputation risk that may tend to harm the image of the company in one way or another (Bejou 3). Additionally, companies involve themselves in projects within the society that enhance awareness from the public, a situation that translates to an improved reputation. Consequently, companies should be conversant with the needs of the customers, partners and suppliers. The action and behavior of the company toward these three stake holders automatically enhances the company’s brand. Once a company has a good perception in terms of image reputation and brand, a culture of understanding is created between the society and the company (Mulligan 268). For instance, it is the business of companies to works in the interest of behaving responsibly especially when some groups of activists are not comfortable with some of the aspects that have been put forward by the company. Thus, CSR plays a crucial role in ensuring that the company benefits through brand and image reputation. Increased Sales and Customer Loyalty It is evident that CSR does not only entail social

African american life through 1865-1920 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

African american life through 1865-1920 - Essay Example Thesis The establishment and crash of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company influenced on social and economic life of African Americans starting from 1865 to 1874. A great contribution the FSB has made into genealogical research and records of the lives of African Americans during that period. The post Civil War period and the way African Americans have spent these years can be traced via documentation about each depositor and his family recorded by the FSB. Introduction A period to be considered in the essay is 1865-1874 years. This period was marked by the establishment of the Freedmen's Savings and Trust Company in 1865. This landmark was essential for further improvement and establishment of community bonds and social advancement of African Americans. These people have experienced numerous complexities and challenges starting from 1861, though 180,000 served in the army (The Long Walk, 2008). The first signs of the Freedman’s savings bank occurred during the Civil War a nd were initiated by the American officers. With the help of monetary savings, establishment of communal savings communities the African Americans wanted to support their relatives and families in economically hard times (Cox, 2008). Moreover, the deposit bank establishment provided key documentation and now it is possible to trace the actions of African Americans activities before and after war. In other words: â€Å"In many ways the FSB records document various aspects of collective economic activities in the transition from slavery to freedom† (Josiah, 2004). Bank’s establishment A specific nature of the FSB and its direct relation to African Americans can be explained by the nationality of depositors. The depositors consisted of veterans, ex-slaves and their families. The main goal of the FSB establishment is its influence on the social life African Americans. These people had a hope to deposit their savings and in such a way to invest in their future. Moreover, di fferent institutions and organizations received a chance to increase their financial power and expand their activities. Therefore, the interest of African Americans and an overall cooperation of this nation at all levels signify a strong social tendency to integration for a common good. For example, during that period such kind of organizations has occurred: ‘different hospitals, schools, the St. Elizabeth Home for Colored Children and the St. Francis Xavier Church’s Orphan Aid Society† (Josiah, 2004). Another important fact that means a trustful attitude of African Americans to the FBS is that the leading positions in the bank were occupied by the community activists: â€Å"A large number of African American soldiers and veterans of the Civil War held savings accounts in the banks; the management of their funds was organized through an allotment system supervised by the officers of the respective army regiments† (Joseph, 2005). As far as we can see, Africa n Americans were devoted to the FSB on the basis of a secure deposit management and supervision. A military background of the bank establishment and operation served as a perfect guarantee of a safe nature of deposits and was appealing for representative of any occupation among African Americans. Therefore, this bank has turned into â€Å"the largest single repository of lineage-linked African-American records with more than 480,000 names† (Joseph, 2005). At the highest point of its success, the FSB held assets that mounted up to $3.7 million. What is Freedman’s Savings Bank? African American

Menu Selection Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Menu Selection - Assignment Example Menu driven interfaces refer to interfaces which enable users to make interactions with computers or technological devices through menus, leading in a series of different screens. The various commands provided by the device enable the user to navigate through the devices and perform various desired functions. The aspect of communication remains the most essential element in ensuring an individual’s capacity to operate a computer or device. In enhancing communication, a dialogue must become established between the person and the device. Within a menu-driven interface dialogue with users becomes established through the information contained within the device, which provides options to users, from which to choose from (Ong & Tan, 2000). Upon the pressing of each button the device provides a predetermined response, subsequently displaying the next screen, as desired by the user. The dialogue element provides the user with different options regarding the services being sought. The device offers guidelines towards ensuring the user performs the desired function. The screens are designed in a sequence which leads the user towards achieving the desired purpose. The modern age has seen tremendous improvement in the utilization of menu driven interfaces among many technological devices. The increased utilization of these interfaces could be attributed to the following reasons Simplicity – menu driven interfaces remain relatively easy to utilize as individuals only have to follow prompts provided by the device. This makes it possible for individuals without previous knowledge of the device become able to use these devices (Gudur, Blackler, Popovic, & Mahar, 2013). All an individual requires in knowledge of the language which the interface communicates with, and following the commands. No commands – the users do not have to enter commands into the device to produce certain information. The use of commands requires

Daddy by Sylvia Plath. How does the language in the poem reveal what Essay

Daddy by Sylvia Plath. How does the language in the poem reveal what you think the poem is all about What is your opinion of that main idea Why do you believe as you do - Essay Example Plath's father died when she was eight, and the poet herself stated that the poem is about a woman (presumably herself) who is plagued by an Electra complex regarding her father that she cannot entirely admit to. The Electra complex is the female equivalent of the Oedipus complex, and involves a girl wanting to make love to her own father. This theme of unrequited love and hatred is reflected within the language of the poem that starts with two seemingly enigmatic lines: "You do not do, you not do/ Any more, black shoe" (Plath, 1-2), and continues with the fact that she has had to wear this "shoe" for thirty years, The "shoe" in this case is apparently Plath's life which, as a reader today knows, she is about to end. The second stanza starts with two lines that are both shocking and yet ironic, as Plath states that "Daddy, I have had to kill you./ You died before I had time." (Plath, 6-7). Plath casts a decidedly modern context upon the age-old conflict between parents and children. In the modern age the father has died before his time and so Plath essentially has to "kill" him through the words of her poetry. The image of Germany and eventually of Nazism appears with the end of the third stanza and the inclusion of "ach, du", which translates to "ah, you". Much of the rest of the poem explores this "daddy as Nazi and Sylvia s Jew" context in a number of ways. She first imagines that her father looks at least a little like Hitler, "and you neat moustache, / and you Aryan eye, bright blue", and continues with the remarkable assertion of a kind of sexual obsession with the man. Thus Plath states: Every woman adores a Fascist, The boot in the face, the brute, Brute heart of a brute like you. According to Plath women are turned on in some manner by the kind of cruelty exhibited by this kind of man. Near to the middle of the poem she states that there is a normality to this vision of "daddy", so he has "ac left in your chin instead of your foot", showing that he looks like a normal human being rather than a cloven-hoofed devil. Plath's previous suicide attempt is linked to her Daddy, as well as the fact that she may have been raped. Her attempt to kill her self at twenty was, according to the poem, an attempt to "get back, back, back to you." The repetition of the word "back" shows how futile the attempt was but how it still is a constant matter within her mind. If Daddy, along with the other poems in the book "Ariel" can be seen as a kind of extended suicide note, then this central part of the poem suggests that part of the reason for her death may have been this longing to be with her father. Of course going backwards in time is possible, so Plath takes the next bets thing, "I thought even the bones would do". As the poem nears an end, Plath starts to compare her father to a vampire, stating that "if I've killed one man, I've killed to." This can be explained by the fact that a vampire, in order to be a vampire, must have once died. Then, if one kills the vampire, he has been killed twice. The last stanza of the poem takes the reader into a vampire novel or film in which the "villagers never liked you" and have put a "stake in you fat black heart". The final line of the poem, "daddy, daddy, you

American Constitution of 1787 and pluralism Essay

American Constitution of 1787 and pluralism - Essay Example The constitution took effect on March 4, 1789. The delegation intended to amend the Article of Confederation and set up a new scheme of government. Through intensive debates, the delegation came up with a brilliant federal organization that had a complicated system of checks and balances. They came up with a bicameral legislature that had equal representation in the upper house as well as a relative representation in the lower house. Thus, the main outcome of the convention was a federal government that worked through a constitution that ensured that freedom equality and order prevailed in the country. The American constitution of 1787 promotes the application of pluralism in the USA thus giving the citizen power to govern their nation. Pre constitution America In the 1970s USA did not exist but there were just thirteen colonies under the Great Britain. In the 1970s, not everyone in the United States of America had the same opportunities. Blacks, women, Native Americans, and poor men had no voting rights and could not hold any elective posts. The British colonies in North America adopted their form of governance even after independence. The early leaders of Americas believed that everyone had basic rights that they referred to as natural rights. The natural rights included the right to liberty, life, and property. The founding fathers believed that the only way to ensure that everyone got their basic rights was to form a government that operates under certain laws. The founding fathers studied governments in the history. Most of their interest was in the Roman Republic, a government that existed about 2000 years before the USA was founded. This must have really influenced the drafting of the American constitution of 1787 states (Guide and Reader for American Government and Politics in the New Millennium 187). Rights and freedoms The fact that the authors of the 1787 constitution valued freedom in regards to the pursuit of freedom to own property and contentment , represented 12 of 13 states, and knew the importance of order is an indication that they would create a pluralist democracy. All fifty-five states delegates who went to Philadelphia to make the constitution believed that the people had to have economic and religious freedom in which they can express their opinions to make the USA a better place to live. Moreover, they had the understanding that ownership of property was an individual right and neither the state government nor the federal governments could deny the people such rights. â€Å"Their vision was that individuals would be to define their interests in terms of the national government and strengthen it† (American Government and Politics in the New Millennium 56). The authors of the constitution â€Å"realized that without a strong national government, the U.S. would implode because of the failure of the state governments to cooperate and look beyond their parochial interests† (states Guide and Reader for Amer ican Government and Politics in the New Millennium 54) Branches of the government Federalism advocates that the constitution made a pluralist democracy by creating separate levels of government so that the laws made by the officials would represent many interests from diverse states. Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances create a pluralist democracy through purposely making four institutions of government that are chosen in a staggered selection so that they would not be loyal not only within themselves but certainly not to others. The constitution purposely separated the national government into three parts- executive, judicial, legislative- and provided them with shared powers. Madison realized that â€Å"Besides separating the government into t

Panera Bread Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Panera Bread Analysis - Research Paper Example This is because customers’ needs keep changing. According to most analysts, consumers needs keep on changing because they like eating different types of bread (ABA, 2013). Bread industry is in its maturity stage. This is because according to IBIS world (2013), revenue for bread production has been decreasing for the last five years up to 2013. This because most consumers are watching their diets, so as not to became obese. In connection to this they prefer taking low carbohydrate diets. However, the trend is expected to change because most companies are now innovative and have started producing a wide range of products (IBIS, 2013). In addition, the demand for bread also went down because of the recession the country was experiencing. In regards to this, the flow of money was reduced drastically. As a result consumers, started buying low cost wheat products such Paleo. In fact, some of the largest consumers of bread like hotels and schools, also started buying alternative products to bread. This is because they are also trying to reduce their budgets (IBIS, 2013). In connection to this even the largest consumer products stores and supermarkets also reduced their storage for the bread products. There have been many healthy campaigns on the media, and with the recent reports that 52% of Americans who are between 35 years and 45 years are obese. It is not surprising that most consumers have been forced to change their diets. Also, with the entrance of free gluten diets into the market, most Americans have therefore preferred to buy the free gluten diets to bread (Solms, 2009). According to a recent report by IBIS world (2013), during the recession which caused the demand for bread in some of the largest consumer stores to reduce, resulted in the decrease of per capita income by 0.3%. However, marketing analysts, expect this trend to change in 2013. It is expected that by introduction of low gluten products the revenue will increase

Daddy by Sylvia Plath. How does the language in the poem reveal what Essay

Daddy by Sylvia Plath. How does the language in the poem reveal what you think the poem is all about What is your opinion of that main idea Why do you believe as you do - Essay Example Plath's father died when she was eight, and the poet herself stated that the poem is about a woman (presumably herself) who is plagued by an Electra complex regarding her father that she cannot entirely admit to. The Electra complex is the female equivalent of the Oedipus complex, and involves a girl wanting to make love to her own father. This theme of unrequited love and hatred is reflected within the language of the poem that starts with two seemingly enigmatic lines: "You do not do, you not do/ Any more, black shoe" (Plath, 1-2), and continues with the fact that she has had to wear this "shoe" for thirty years, The "shoe" in this case is apparently Plath's life which, as a reader today knows, she is about to end. The second stanza starts with two lines that are both shocking and yet ironic, as Plath states that "Daddy, I have had to kill you./ You died before I had time." (Plath, 6-7). Plath casts a decidedly modern context upon the age-old conflict between parents and children. In the modern age the father has died before his time and so Plath essentially has to "kill" him through the words of her poetry. The image of Germany and eventually of Nazism appears with the end of the third stanza and the inclusion of "ach, du", which translates to "ah, you". Much of the rest of the poem explores this "daddy as Nazi and Sylvia s Jew" context in a number of ways. She first imagines that her father looks at least a little like Hitler, "and you neat moustache, / and you Aryan eye, bright blue", and continues with the remarkable assertion of a kind of sexual obsession with the man. Thus Plath states: Every woman adores a Fascist, The boot in the face, the brute, Brute heart of a brute like you. According to Plath women are turned on in some manner by the kind of cruelty exhibited by this kind of man. Near to the middle of the poem she states that there is a normality to this vision of "daddy", so he has "ac left in your chin instead of your foot", showing that he looks like a normal human being rather than a cloven-hoofed devil. Plath's previous suicide attempt is linked to her Daddy, as well as the fact that she may have been raped. Her attempt to kill her self at twenty was, according to the poem, an attempt to "get back, back, back to you." The repetition of the word "back" shows how futile the attempt was but how it still is a constant matter within her mind. If Daddy, along with the other poems in the book "Ariel" can be seen as a kind of extended suicide note, then this central part of the poem suggests that part of the reason for her death may have been this longing to be with her father. Of course going backwards in time is possible, so Plath takes the next bets thing, "I thought even the bones would do". As the poem nears an end, Plath starts to compare her father to a vampire, stating that "if I've killed one man, I've killed to." This can be explained by the fact that a vampire, in order to be a vampire, must have once died. Then, if one kills the vampire, he has been killed twice. The last stanza of the poem takes the reader into a vampire novel or film in which the "villagers never liked you" and have put a "stake in you fat black heart". The final line of the poem, "daddy, daddy, you

Panera Bread Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Panera Bread Analysis - Research Paper Example This is because customers’ needs keep changing. According to most analysts, consumers needs keep on changing because they like eating different types of bread (ABA, 2013). Bread industry is in its maturity stage. This is because according to IBIS world (2013), revenue for bread production has been decreasing for the last five years up to 2013. This because most consumers are watching their diets, so as not to became obese. In connection to this they prefer taking low carbohydrate diets. However, the trend is expected to change because most companies are now innovative and have started producing a wide range of products (IBIS, 2013). In addition, the demand for bread also went down because of the recession the country was experiencing. In regards to this, the flow of money was reduced drastically. As a result consumers, started buying low cost wheat products such Paleo. In fact, some of the largest consumers of bread like hotels and schools, also started buying alternative products to bread. This is because they are also trying to reduce their budgets (IBIS, 2013). In connection to this even the largest consumer products stores and supermarkets also reduced their storage for the bread products. There have been many healthy campaigns on the media, and with the recent reports that 52% of Americans who are between 35 years and 45 years are obese. It is not surprising that most consumers have been forced to change their diets. Also, with the entrance of free gluten diets into the market, most Americans have therefore preferred to buy the free gluten diets to bread (Solms, 2009). According to a recent report by IBIS world (2013), during the recession which caused the demand for bread in some of the largest consumer stores to reduce, resulted in the decrease of per capita income by 0.3%. However, marketing analysts, expect this trend to change in 2013. It is expected that by introduction of low gluten products the revenue will increase

Cognitive Effects of Early Bilingualism Essay Example for Free

Cognitive Effects of Early Bilingualism Essay The American educational system has fallen behind other leading nations in the world in many respects, one of which is in bilingual instruction. This has traditionally been overlooked in the United States until the high school level. Children in today’s society should be made more prepared for the growing globalism and technological advances throughout the world instead of losing educational opportunities due to economic downfall and lack of resources. This includes a second language acquisition introduced earlier in the program. On top of political reasons, the positive effects to the cognitive development of the brain when introduced to a second language are many. The age of acquisition is crucial due to the plasticity of the brain which, according to the critical period hypothesis, begins to plateau after five years of age. The current policy in early education limits greatly the amount of extracurricular lessons provided in accordance with government policies such as No Child Left Behind, which restricts school funding based on standardized testing only in certain subject areas. School programs, realistically beginning in elementary education, should include foreign language study due to the strong evidence that bilingualism in children can develop higher cognitive abilities which can be enhanced with proficiency and positively influence skills in other areas. Old arguments suggest that, â€Å"children who are instructed bilingually from an early age will suffer cognitive or intellectual retardation in comparison with their monolingually instructed counterparts† (Diaz 24). Much of the research from the past supporting this argument focused on older bilinguals, mostly adults who may have shown competent abilities in a second language but who had much later ages of acquisition and who usually acquired the second language outside of the home. Many early studies in this field worked with children of immigrants who showed lower abilities in cognitive tasks most likely because of the lack of proficiency in the second language (L2) and lack of proper schooli ng in relation to this deficiency (Kovà ¡cs 307). In correlation with poorly chosen test subjects, the studies were typically done with orthographic representations of words that would have been more difficult for younger test subjects to work with. For example, a study done by Ton Dijkstra, Professor of Psycholinguistics and Multilingualism at the Donders Institute, which focused only on adult English/Dutch bilingualsthe youngest being fifteen years old, all of whom studied their L2 in a middle or high school level. This study included only written examples of words and had the subjects determine if the word was English or Dutch. The results were able to somewhat prove Dijkstra’s theory of Bilingual interactive activation (BIA) which underlines the effects orthography has on L1 and L2 word retrieval that is â€Å"assuming, of course, that the same orthography is used in the input† (Dijkstra 217). If this study were done on younger children, it is sure they would not have performed as well since children are typically less familiar with the written language than with the spoken. Older language learners would make more use of the written approach to learning, such as a textbook, while younger learners typically lear n more from a speech-based approach, like conversationally in the home. The textbook approach is a symbolic processing which differs from the more embedded cognitive retrieval of the speech-based learning approach utilized by younger children to understand the two languages. There have been many studies over the past few years that have proven the opposite of these older arguments. Many of the studies have tested the cognitive abilities of young children, usually aged six and under in accordance with the critical period hypothesis, with both monolingual and bilingual proficiency. These experiments are concerned with cognitive tasks including false-belief tasks and grammar testing to determine the ability to hold abstract thought in the L2 as well as phonemic testing in order to find if there is an ability to distinguish between the phonemes of the different languages. The majority of these studies have tested subjects using visual representations and vocal experiments with proctors who have experience working with children and are trained in both languag es being tested. The more useful subjects are usually taught implicitly, or passively in the home. Although some make use of explicitly taught subjects, meaning they learned actively in a class setting. It has been proven that an infant of four months has the incredible linguistic discrimination abilities to distinguish languages with different prosody and phonemes (Kovà ¡cs 303). An infant is then better equipped to attain more native-like proficiency later in life when exposed this early to the sounds and rhythm of the L2. Doctor in Communication Sciences, Karsten Steinhauer explains, â€Å"that late L2 learners stabilize at some point short of native-like attainment [which] most recently has been discussed in terms of phonological/prosodic interference from L1† (Steinhauer 15). When a young child is introduced to two separate languages, the mechanisms of attention, selection, and inhibition become more fine-tuned due to the experience of attending to one language and ignoring the other (Kovà ¡cs 303, 308). The training in encoding and the association of two correspondi ng words with a common concept underlines the superior representational abilities a bilingual retains especially when the L2 is entrenched in the brain the way early acquisition allows. Linguist à gnes Melinda Kovà ¡cs presents research proving that monolinguals typically attain these abilities at the age of four years while young bilinguals gain these skills much earlier (Kovà ¡cs 316). The brain’s plasticity allows the young child to hold and use the two languages without interference and with continued usage the child will be more likely to attain full native-like proficiency in both languages. Kovà ¡cs also explains that since the brain remains active during demanding tasks, the brain may take on the extra load of two languages as a constructive challenge. The young, malleable brain may possibly â€Å"greatly adapt to [the challenge], for example, by changing its morphology† (Kovà ¡cs 308). A type of adaptation has been proven in studies done by neuroscientist Andrea Mechelli, which were concerned with the grey matter surrounding the left inferior parietal cortex, the general area associated with language use containing the Broca’s are a. These studies confirmed that the grey matter in this area is denser in early-acquired bilinguals. The density decreases in correlation with proficiency in the L2 with monolinguals having the least dense matter (Mechelli 757). This may be the case because a later acquired L2 is held at a more surface level of the brain and requires the use of the declarative memory instead of the procedural memory. Many tests have been done to determine the amount of brain activity associated with language in the left inferior parietal cortex through the use of event-related brain potential, or ERPs. Dr. Steinhauer describes ERPs as â€Å"reflecting the real-time electrophysiological brain dynamics of cognitive processes with an excellent time resolution in the range of milliseconds,† and that ERPs â€Å"have been hypothesized to be linked to rule-based automatic parsing† (Steinhauer 16). Measurements of ERPs are taken while subjects perform syntactically poignant tasks. Since it is thought that syntactic processes are generally automatic or a part of â€Å"implicit grammar processi ng† (Steinhauer 17), the ERP components would be more difficult to elicit in later acquired bilinguals. Steinhauer et al. performed several studies in this area, working with many real and one artificial language labeled BROCANTO 2. In each case, the subjects were given grammaticality judgment tasks in the given language, such as subject-verb agreement violations and lexical anomalies. For each group, the early acquired or implicitly taught subjects educed the same type of ERP responses as native speakers. Late-acquired or explicitly instructed subjects showed more shallow responses, if any at all in this area. These findings show that â€Å"syntactic processes appear to be sensitive to delays in L2 acquisition† (Steinhauer 19). One of the most prominent issues in L2 proficiency is attaining the phonemic boundary between the two languages. Monolinguals are usually unable to distinguish the sounds of a language other than their own. The more proficient a bilingual is in their L2, the more able they are to perceive the two types of phonemes and to determine which is correct in a given phonological circumstance. The phonemic boundary is the least likely area to be fossilized in a late-acquired bilingual. There have been several studies done which have proven this, including a 2008 study done by Adrian Garcia-Sierra, professor of Communications at the University of Texas. In this study, the voice onset time, or VOT, of thirty college students was tested. Half of the students were English monolinguals while the other half were English/Spanish bilinguals who described themselves as fluent speakers of both languages and who learned their L2 at home. This study was done in Austin, Texas where some Spanish is integrated into the daily culture. The results showed that the more fluent bilinguals were more apt to â€Å"a perceptual shift†¦associated with high level of confidence in English and Spanish†¦[and] that highly confident L2 bilinguals are more likely to possess a double phonemic boundary† (Garcia-Sierra 378). This shows that more proficient bilinguals will have a stronger ability to determine different phonemes, which also underlines the effects bilingualism has on a dvanced discrimination and attention skills. Another recent study performed on early bilinguals was done by a group of psychologists headed by Michael Siegal. The experiments tested the pragmatic skills of 41 children in northeastern Italy. All were between the ages of three and six years old, with 19 Italian monolinguals and 22 Italian/Slovenian bilinguals who attended the same preschool taught only in Italian. The children were tested on the Gricean maxims of conversational understanding. These are four basic rules which provide a foundation for pragmatic competence including quality, quantity, relevance, and politeness. The groups of children were shown cartoons with characters having conversations that contained one response created in order to break one of the maxims. The children were then asked which of the characters said something strange or rude and to provide a more appropriate response when the statement was positively identified. The main thesis in this study was that bilingualism requires â€Å"the capacity for flexibility in the representation of language and objects [which] suggests that early bilingualism should be accomp anied by advanced meta-pragmatic skills† (Siegal 115). This theory was upheld by the results of these tests in which the bilingual children outperformed the monolinguals by much more than a chance margin, especially in the maxims of politeness and quality even though many bilinguals had a delayed vocabulary in their L2. The psychologists behind this study suggest that bilingualism can be â€Å"accompanied by an enhanced ability to appreciate effective communicative responses† (Siegal 115). The results of this research seem to highlight the idea that the acquisition of a second language allows a child to remove themselves from the comfortable context of their native language and to realize that it is more necessary to provide useful information and use polite tones for more a successful exchange in both languages. Recently, studies have been performed concerning the effects and importance of early-acquired bilingualism in patients with neuropsychiatric disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Research in this area shows that it is less likely for a bilingual individual to be affected by these types of diseases. The majority of the hypotheses behind this statistic pertain to the activity in the brain that is needed to think and speak bilingually. This constant activity exercises the brain in a way that is counterintuitive to the deterioration involved with these disorders (Paradis 216). The research behind Parkinson’s disease explains that the procedural memory is affected greatly sometimes causing a loss of the L1. This is partnered with a tendency to â€Å"produce a smaller portion of grammatical sentences†¦and exhibit deficits in comprehension of complex syntactic forms† (Paradis 217). This is likely linked to the deterioration of the left inferior parietal cortex, the same area in the brain discussed earlier, which is associated with syntactic processes and holding the L1. On the other hand, bilingual patients with Alzheimer’s show a loss in t heir L2 as well as in semantic abilities and a gradual loss of pragmatic, phonological, and syntactic structures. More common in this type of dementia is a puzzlingly inappropriate mixture of the two languages (Paradis 222). This is due to the break down of the declarative memory caused by the dementia. The declarative memory is involved with metacognition, which is why it affects such things as the less familiar language, pragmatic skills, and the selective attention abilities of bilinguals. The major finding in these studies is that â€Å"the differences observed in psychotic conditions as well as in dementias are caused by the increased reliance on declarative-memory-based (and hence consciously controlled) explicit metalinguistic knowledge† (Paradis 222). The advances made in early bilingual research have been great over the past few decades. Through these studies and so many more, it has been made clear that bilinguals with early ages of acquisition not only achieve more native-like proficiency but also tend to have more advanced cognitive abilities than their monolingual peers. These include but are not exclusive to increased analytical, representational, selective, and control abilities. Bilingualism also implies more developed metalingustic awareness and mental flexibility. Early bilinguals have also shown greater abilities in pragmatics and phonemic discrimination. In opposition to old arguments, Kovà ¡cs writes, â€Å"The bilingual condition could be stimulating for the highly plastic developing mind of the child, and induces specific changes in the brain and cognitive systems† (Kovà ¡cs 317). The higher development has been seen in ERP testing and in the density of grey matter involved in the linguistically apt area of the brain. Educators and policy makers should consider this information when planning early education programs. Those enriched with the benefits of a bilingual education are not only better off cognitively, but in the modern world, would be more prepared for the global society and workplace. Works Cited Diaz, R â€Å"Thought and Two Languages: The Impact of Bilingualism on Cognitive Development.† Review of Research in Education 10 (1983): 23-54 Dijkstra, Ton. â€Å"Task and Context Effects in Bilingual Lexical Processing.† Cognitive Aspects of Bilingualism (2007): 213-235. Garcia-Sierra, Adrian, Randy L. Diehl, and Craig Champlin. â€Å"Testing the double phonemic boundary in bilinguals.† Speech Communication 51 (2009): 369-378. Kovacs, Agnes Melinda. â€Å"Beyond Language: Childhood Bilingualism Enhances High- level Cognitive Functions.† Cognitive Aspects of Bilingualism (2007): 301-323. Mechelli, A., Crinion, J. T., Noppeney, U., O’Doherty, J., Ashburner, J., Frackowiak, R. S., and Price, C.J. 2004. Structural plasticity in the bilingual brain. Nature. 431: 754. Siegal, Michael, Laura Iozzi, and Luca Surian. â€Å"Bilingualism and conversational understanding in young children.† Cognition 110 (2009): 115-122.

Public Attitudes Towards Asylum Seekers Sociology Essay

Public Attitudes Towards Asylum Seekers Sociology Essay Immigrant Killer, Paedo Asylum Seeker, Asylum perv. Just three examples from the 1415 asylum and immigration articles reported in The Sun from 2003 to 2007. Is it any wonder that the general publics opinions on such issues are generally very prejudice. In 1951, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established by the Refugee Convention, which gave a definition of a refugee. It states that a refugee is someone who is outside the country of their nationality, and is unable to, or unwilling to, avail themselves to the protection of that country due to a fear of being persecuted because of associations with race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion (UNHCR 2001-2013a). Although often confused, an asylum seeker is in contrast, someone who says they are a refugee but their claim for asylum has not yet been definitively evaluated. Therefore they are someone who is seeking asylum/refuge but their status is not yet confirm ed (UNHCR 2001-2013b). The mass media creates panic amongst the public through the false or misleading stories which cast asylum seekers in a negative light. The mass media industry is one of the most powerful sources of providing information on a large scale, and has been utilised throughout history as a tool to appeal to large public audiences. Eldridge (1997, p65) states that The media, wittingly or unwittingly, reproduces the definitions of the powerful. Suggesting that the media feeds information to the public making society believe what the powerful bodies what them to believe. However, there is a shared relationship between newspapers and their audiences. This means that the papers report on what they assume the people think, supporting and reinforcing general attitudes on strong issues. This in turn sets off a chain reaction where escalation of reflection and enhancement buries the truth and reality under myth and prejudice. Cohen (1972) coined the term Moral Panic to which he describes the media a s causing extra or unwarranted worry to society about particular values and principles that may already be a turning the issue into a national catastrophe. Cohen (1972, p9) describes the features of a moral panic to be a condition, episode, person or group of persons who become defined as a threat to societal values and interests. This essay will look at the moral panics created by the media towards the issue of immigration and asylum seekers and assess the extent to which public attitudes towards asylum seekers and refugees are a reflection of negative and hostile media reportings of migration issues. An interest in public attitudes towards immigration, asylum seekers and refugees has been around for several decades. However, Finney and Peach (2004) argues that it wasnt until the immigration dispersal policy was put in place in 2000, and the introduction of policies for accommodation centres, that a concern for public attitudes was amplified. Jowell and Airey (1984) suggest that the first survey on social attitudes in the UK came from the 1983 British Social Attitudes Survey. It was launched to collect attitudes on social, economic, political and moral issues including race and immigration, in the UK. From this report Airey (1984) found that there was a considerable amount of opposition in the UK in the 1980s towards ethnic minorities and race differences, with 60% of participants wanting less Asian and Black settlers, 90% believed there was racial discrimination in Britain against these two categories. Surprisingly 40% of people described themselves as being intolerant towards et hnic minorities. Young (1992) found that the 1994 British Social Attitudes Survey produced similar results. For example 60% of respondents still wanted less Asian and Black immigration throughout the 1990s.This is supported by results found in the 2011 British Social Attitudes Survey, 75% of respondents wanted a reduction in immigration overall and 51% wanting a large reduction in immigration (Park et el, 2012, p26). However, Crawley (2005) states that surveys such as this, often assume that the public have some level of knowledge about the issue. When in fact misleading questions may ill inform the public and therefore disfigure their attitudes on asylum seekers and refugee issues. The amplification of the interest in immigration and asylum may reflect the actual increase in the number of immigrants entering the UK. As the net flow of migrants into Britain over the last 15 years being the largest in British history, (Park et al, 2012, p26) but the increase in media coverage is huge ly disproportionate to the numbers of immigrants coming into the country. Public attitudes towards asylum seekers and refugees are a reflection of negative and hostile media reporting of migration issues, especially when those media sources are mainstream television broadcasters. Prime examples of how the media represents public attitudes is the 2001, Channel 4 programme named Bloody Foreigners. The Andrew Smith production investigated British attitudes towards asylum seekers and Immigrants living and working in the UK. Hardcashproductions.com (n.d) summarises the production as, an exposà © of the culture of how asylum seekers are physically and verbally abused on a daily basis due to pretence of xenophobia. Programmes such as this reflect and reinforce the hostility and attitudes of the British public toward asylum seekers and immigrants. By broadcasting such programmes the media is not only displaying existing negativities of public attitudes, it also encourages other members of the public to obtain these views which are becoming ever increasingly antag onistic. Public attitudes are often negative and hostile towards asylum seekers, due to the little amount of research that has been done to inform the public about how the complex asylum system works, and how issues surrounding asylum and immigration receive no compassion or sympathy. Reputable broadcasters such as the BBC try to report on the facts to try and make the public aware of what happens in the Asylum process and how Asylum Seekers and immigrants feel and are treated. This is particularly shown on the BBCs Asylum day in July 2003. The BBC ran several programmes including face the nation. On this programme Beverley Hughes, the minister for asylum and immigration at the time, faced the nation to debate some of the issues raised on the day (BBC News Online, 2003a). This programme brought out some very conflicting opinions from the public on the issues of Asylum and immigration. One such opinion is I am appalled by the way that some sections of our press demonise asylum seekers when the y themselves have not suffered the terrible hardships that these people have gone through. (Haworth, 2003). An extreme conflicting argument was expressed by Colemen (2003) How dare you allow these people in to our country? How dare you let them exploit our failing NHS? How dare you allow them to exploit our benefits system?. These two conflicting opinions show the difficulty and complexity of the public in understanding a complex issue. You the judge was another programme broadcasted. This depicted an interactive programme where audiences stepped into the roles of immigration officials to discuss real life immigration cases. However, it was argued by the immigration officer Minister Beverly Hughes that this programme turned the issue of asylum into a gameshow (BBC News Online, 2003b), making the asylum process more of a way to entice audiences rather than actually trying to educate the public of how complex the process can be. The most controversial programme aired on the day, was a panorama special The Asylum game. Where reporters posed as immigrants to see what happens as they pass through the complicated asylum process. The report details the reasons why there are so many people seek asylum in the UK and how and why the UK system is flawed and cannot cope with them (BBC news online, 2003c). The home secretary at the time of this broadcast, David Blunkett, accused the panorama programme as uncritically using claims from the right-ring anti-immigration pressure group, Migration Watch (BBC news online, 2003d). This suggests the BBC didnt take into account the reasons behind the complexities considering why things appeared to be flawed and just reported on figures. News papers and online news sources can also be a reflection of negative and hostile public attitudes. One such online source is the BBC. The BBC is known for displaying the accurate facts on certain issues in a way that attracts the attention of the reader. The headlines expressed, regard immigration as a real world issue, rather than influencing the public to create false perceptions around immigration issues. Headlines such as Romania Rejects British Scrounger Stereotype (BBC News, Morris, 2013) and Boston Protest Held over Immigration Levels (BBC News, 2012), do not use emotive language to draw the reader in. They simply state what has happened and then go on to further report the incidents in more detail within the article. In a further article Asylum seeker Assaulted on Plane During Deportation (BBC News, Eckleford, 2013), an account of the injuries through an interview with the victim is reported, but no conclusions about what happened and why are stated. It simply reports tha t several agencies were being involved and investigating the incident. Other liberal newspaper sources e.g. The Guardian express a balanced stance on issues of asylum seekers and refugees, in order to present their audience with the facts. The Guardian tends to report on the politics side of immigration, issues that are causing government concern leading to policy changes. Headlines such as David Cameron: Justice for all unless youre an immigrant (Jowit, 2013a) draws the attention of the reader, and in the article goes onto say that legal support and aid will be axed from April 2013 and a revision of other systems, housing, health and benefit will stop Britain being a Soft touch when it comes to immigration issues. This could be seen as a purely political move in order to keep voters happy, as the media have always implied that Britain is too soft when it comes to immigration issues. This is an example of where the media can not only influence public attitudes but can influence policy making at state level too. Negative and hostile media and public att itudes towards particular ethnic groups are not reflected by all members of the general public. The UKs approach to Bulgarian and Romanian immigration makes me sick with shame (Hanson, 2013) is one example of a recent headline that displays opposite views to migration issues. There have always been conflicting views on sensitive issues regarding asylum seekers and refugees. Opinions reflected in articles may then encourage and influence the general public attitudes towards these immigrants in a harmful and aggressive way. Immigrants are too often taking advantage of UK public services, says Cameron (Jowit, 2013b), this headline suggests that the government are hostile towards migrants which could filter down through the media causing the public to hold the same views as the government, and therefore view immigration in the same negative light. Although many articles express the disappointment towards the government and the UK public on wider immigration issues, they can also be tied towards issues on asylum seekers and refugees, as they are often confused to be economic migrants. Buchanan et al (2003) found that the most conspicuous features of the media coverage of the asylum issue is the confusion generated by the inaccurate use of language, the media often confuses immigrants and asylum seekers within the same article, leading to the public also holding confused views. This is because the British population do not see the reasons behind the people coming into the UK seeing them as just another statistic. They do not give asylum seekers a voice and therefore they are all targeted and branded the same by the mean, tight-ward, mendacious, xenophobic and bad mannered society we have (Hanson, 2013). The media demonstrates, reinforces and maybe even influences the negativities surrounding the immigration and asylum debate in Britain. Certain types of published media are staggeringly hypocritical on sensitive issues such as immigration and asylum, in order to influence public attitudes, for example tabloid newspapers such as, The Sun. Headlines such as Swan Bake (The Sun 2011) and Now their nicking fish (Diggines, 2007) accuse asylum seekers as being gangs plundering and snaring creatures from rivers to slaughter and eat (Diggens, 2007; The Sun, 2011). This negative and hostile media report, of what turned out to be a made up story of an innocent event, caused public outrage, creating an ever increasing antagonistic view by the public towards asylum seekers and refugees. This is supported by Mollard (2001) who found that most of the 253 news items she examined were negative in nature and had been partially based on false assumptions about asylum seekers which sustained a high leve l of hostility. Medic (2004) investigated the claim by The Sun and found that the police could not confirm any arrests, charges or cautions over the event and an unfaithful transcript of an interviewees words was used. In addition, it could not be confirmed that an incident described by The Sun ever happened. This story influenced the general public to believe that asylum seekers are selfish cruel animal killers that have no respect for English culture and monarchy heritage. Asylum seekers are characterised as being criminals and are entrapped by the criminal justice system of a host country resulting in a system that is punitive rather than protective (Amnesty International, 1999). However, they are not criminals but are treated as such being imprisoned you cannot be trusted to live freely because you are a cheat (Kundnani, 2001, P45). They are not seen as people who need help and refuge they are seen and treated as people who are a threat to host countries. A statement in The Suns article Taken to the Cleaners reported by Lister (2007), Most of us are hard-working taxpayers yet these people live in luxury compared to us. I wish I could afford to go to a gym and have a personal laundry service and cleaner suggests that confusion in the general public between immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees is reflected and reinforced in the media and classing them all as cheats, money grabbers and illegals. Rather than finding out about their personnel circumstances in the countries of origin. Buchanan et al (2003) also found that news articles regarding asylum issues often fail to provide a context for the articles by not effectively explaining the background issues and reasons for their flight. Refugees and asylum seekers face extreme difficulties, not just in the uncertainties about their future in a country, but when they arrive and live in host countries. Race and racism can become a big issue in the lives of these people. The policies on immigration can be seen as quite racist by large groups of people and therefore public attitudes towards asylum seekers and refugees are a reflection of negative and hostile media reporting of migration issues. Racism is reproduced by the mass media giving it a broad public exposure (Smitherson-Donaldson, 1988). It is a big issue faced by asylum seekers and refugees and gets a huge amount of media attention. Between January 2010 and March 2013, 2460 racism articles were published by the more conservative Daily Mail, it must be said that not all of these articles are based directly on asylum seekers and refugees, but it goes to show the importance of a contemporary issue and the influence the media can hold over publishing such articles. Buchanans (2003) study looked at how the story of Sangatte became central to the immigration and asylum debate in the media. It showed that the media reported on the negative attributes to rising numbers of asylum seekers and the ways, in which they arrived in Britain, allegations were made against the loss of control over UK borders and the treatment of refugees in comparison to British citizens. This is seen in further issues expressed in the Daily Mail, in particular is the reporting of so many headline figures about refugees and asylum seekers. Up to 80,000 bogus asylum seekers granted amnesty' Slack (2006), Migration IS killing off jobs: 160,000 Britons have missed out on employment because work was taken by foreigners (Slack, 2012) Enough illegal migrants to fill three cities the size of Newcastle: Home Office reports that 863,000 are living in the UK. These three headlines suggest that the amount of migration of asylum seekers and refugees is staggeringly high, which will in fluence and may already reflect the publics perceptions of a large amount of immigration into the UK. However when these numbers are put into context by more reliable sources such as the UNHCR (2001-2013c) who state that in 2011 the UK was the eighth largest recipient of asylum seekers with 25,455 considerably behind that of the USA who receive USA 76,000 and Africa where one tenth of asylum seekers go. In conclusion, the main aim of the media is to sell papers in order to generate profits. Therefore, it comes to no surprise that headlines and stories are exaggerated, falsified and even made up in order to attract the reader to buy more copies of the particular newspaper. Controversies about their articles will always be present as conservative and liberal political views will always be conflicting. Public attitudes towards asylum seekers and refugees are reflected, enhanced and even produced by negative and hostile media reporting of migration issues, due to the powerful nature of media devices. A lack of education, about the facts of asylum and immigration, of the general public cause media reports to become huge societal problems and issues, which, in turn, can lead to the backing up of racist views that have always been held in society. However, this lack of education stems from the media twisting the facts and not distinguishing between different types of migration in their art icles, leading to a view that all migration is bad. Therefore, a vicious circle is created and public attitudes towards such issues are warped and twisted to reflect those of the media. Word Count: 2989

Admissions Essay - I Will Not Be Stopped :: Medicine College Admissions Essays

Admissions Essay -  I Will Not Be Stopped    It is a late summer night and I have just gotten home from work. I work at a meat packing plant where I load tractor-trailers. Since my dad is permanently disabled as a result of a heart attack that occurred two years ago, I feel fortunate to have the job. I've been there three years now and have grown tremendously as a result.    The guys I work with are typical blue-collar workers in that they are poorly educated and lower middle class. Because I am an aspiring physician, many of them share their problems and anxieties with me. Through many interactions, I feel that have become very sensitive, compassionate and understanding. My job is very fulfilling because men of all ages look to me for support and as a role model for their own children.    I relate to the guys at work so well because I was raised in a lower middle class neighborhood and my dad was a blue-collar worker. Most of my neighborhood friends are now unemployed, doing manual labor, or in trouble with the law. I was fortunate to have parents who knew the value of an education and were willing to sacrifice to send me to excellent catholic schools. In retrospect, this was a turning point in my life because I was introduced to a new group of people of different races and different socio-economic backgrounds. Eventually, I became aware of the limitations that my background imposed and I was determined to overcome and far exceed those limitations.    I became interested in medicine through my grandfather who was an unlicensed veterinarian. He had no formal education and relied solely on practical experience; nevertheless, he was quite competent. I would go with him as a young boy to treat animals in our small community. The relief my grandfather provided and the subsequent gratification has left a lasting impression on me. Since his death nearly four years ago, I find myself with a profound desire to vindicate the educational shortcomings that so often frustrated him.    In the summer of 1983, before my college matriculation, I attended Xavier's Stress On Analytical Reasoning (SOAR) Program. The Program's main objective was to prepare students for college level math and science courses. One of the moderators was my cousin who is a Xavier graduate and now a senior at Louisiana State University Medical School.

Physics of Pool :: physics sport pool billiards

Physics is the science that allows us to understand the fundamental behaviors of the universe. It can be explored at the macroscopic and microscopic levels, giving insight into the way objects interact. Here we will take a look at how physics can be applied to the game of pool. Almost all of the different aspects of pool can be explained through physics, and a better understanding of these fundemental principles can aid in performance playing pool. In the game of pool there are sixteen balls, one cueball and fifteen physically identical numbered balls. While there are many interactions between all the balls on the table, in order to simplify things we will only look at the interactions between the cue ball and the first ball it strikes. These principles can be expanded to evaluate the entire system of balls on the pool table. In order to evaluate the physics of pool, first the measurable values of the system must be collected. Parameter Symbol Value Cue ball mass m1 1.6x10-1 kg Cue ball radius r1 2.79x10-2m Ball mass m2-m16 1.7x10-1 kg Ball radii r2-r16 2.86x10-2 m Coefficient of friction  µk 0.027 Knowing these values the Motion, Work, and Energy can all be derived. The motion of the balls can be catagorized into two general catagories which are collisions and spin or rotation. Here the focus will be on collisions between the balls. The spin can have a significant effect on the motion of the ball, but due to time constraints and complexity of the science of it it will not be addressed to much detail. "An elastic collision between two objects is one in which the total kinetic energy (as well as total momentum) of the system is the same before and after the collision." (Physics for Scientists and Engineers) In a collision between the cue ball and another ball, since the masses are so similar the resulting angle between the vectors of the balls is approximately ninety degrees.

Terrorism: An Emergency?

The September 11th terrorist attack on the World Trade Center will forever be in the minds of every American. It is a reality which tells us that it can happen again, anytime and anywhere. The impact of such act also tells us that it is something the government and the nation must pay attention to and be prepared for.For many years now, terrorism is still an existent problem which gobbled up a substantial amount from the government resources. Not only that, but it also caused countless fatalities and destroyed properties. It has also put the government in an unsure position as to how it can be eliminated. The worsening situation regarding terrorism has the government taking up drastic steps for the nation’s security and considering it an emergency by which every nation must be prepared to face.The Office of the Press Secretary of the United States (2007) announced about additional grant guidance and application kits for three grant programs (Port Security Grant Program (PSGP), Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP), and Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG)), which totaled to $827 million this year. According to Michael Chertoff, Homeland Security Secretary, the additional influx of federal dollars will be for the enhancement of security measures. Additionally, the money will enable the emergency managers to have more tools to â€Å"build on national preparedness goals.†Allotment of these funds shows us how serious the prevention of terrorism is. The United States government will prioritize funding for training and public awareness campaigns, reducing the risks of improvised explosive devices and radiological, biological and chemical weapons, and securing transit systems. Moreover, grant funding will further improve the government’s emergency management capabilities.According to the American National Red Cross (2001), there are many things which could happen after a terrorist attack which calls for emergency action. First is that the re can be casualties and damages to properties such as buildings. Second is the involvement of the local, state and federal units due to the criminal nature of the event. Third is the possibility that the health and mental health resources can be strained or overwhelmed. Next, the prolonged existence of public fear, international implications and consequences and extensive media coverage. Fifth is the possibility of evacuation. And lastly, the clean-up which may take up very long.With regards to weapons of mass destruction (WMD), Taylor (2000) analyzed the use of WMD as protective measure against terrorism. The author cited the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Act, which the U.S. Congress passed in 1996, and which requires the local and state governments to have access to equipment and training needed to fight against acts of terrorism. It involves access to the use of WMD such as chemical, radiological and biological. A large amount of money is funded for the program in order to train law enfor cement and emergency response agencies in dealing with terrorist attacks.Taylor (2000) added that the production of WMD might increase the number of casualties from terrorist attacks as the US population was vulnerable to such attacks. The Legionnaire’s disease alone, which struck American Legion conventioneers, tells us of the worst possible outcome of bioweapons. As this shows that the public can be attacked with these weapons, the enemies could use these for their terrorist attacks.Weapons of mass destruction include chemical, radiological and biological weapons. Their effects could be enormous. Lives will be lost with the deployment of such dangerous weapons. And as terrorists have access to these weapons and more, they can use it to further their attacks, resulting to more and more casualties. This is clearly an emergency both ways because the 40 percent of terrorist attacks around the world is targeted at the United States despite the fact that the country has no quarre ls with other countries.   The population is even more vulnerable to an attack using WMD.According to John Bolton (2002), Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, there are risks in using WMD. The worst thing that could happen is when the weapons fall into the hands of terrorists. To prevent this from happening, a strategy called the New Strategic Framework was formed. Under the framework, defensive systems which aim to protect against missile attacks will be created, nonproliferation and counterproliferation measures will be enhanced, nuclear weapons will be reduced and cooperation with Russia to eliminate terrorism will be prioritized.John Wolf, Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation (2002), added that these weapons of mass destruction are a threat to the United States forces around the world. The primary concern, according to Wolf, is protection and security from WMD. This entails some steps. First, there should be reduction and cessation of WMD production. The United States’ objective is to control and dispose excess materials of WMD. The second step is stopping Iran’s acquisition of these materials.It is believed that Iran wants to improve and develop its WMD and missile programs. Third step is stopping the proliferation of nuclear and missile in and from South Asia. Wolf stated that approximately one million troops face off on the India-Pakistan border. Concerns were raised over the possibility that the WMD and missiles there might fall in the wrong hands.Several actions are needed to be taken to prevent further proliferation of WMD and missiles. One is to make sure that the suppliers of WMD materials and missiles end their cooperation. Another is to ensure that security is at its maximum against WMD and missile proliferation. The effectiveness of the export control of the states should also be enhanced. They should also secure their WMD and missiles and help other states that do not have enough res ources.Terrorism is a rare phenomenon that must be put in perspective. Everyone knows that one attack using WMD can cause massive casualties. According to Pete du Pont (cited in Taylor, 2000), 15 terrorist incidents happen each year in the United States. Statistics also showed that approximately 42 Americans die while 115 are injured from international acts of terrorism since 1982. What the United States should do, Taylor noted, is to implement military restraint overseas but respond to terrorist incidents against U.S. targets.Should there be a terrorist attack using WMD, there are three things that the government must address. First, responses of the government must minimize the injury and death and implement actions which prevent the public from harm. This means that the attack site should be isolated, the agent class is identified, exposure levels is evaluated and those who are exposed evacuated to facilities where they can be treated. The government must make sure that the indiv iduals in the attack site cooperate with it (Taylor, 2000).Second, evidence should be gathered which will be used for later prosecutions. This should be the primary concern of law enforcement officials. They should identify the attackers. Third is mitigation. How to prevent such incident from happening should be determined (Taylor, 2000).The magnitude of these terrorist attacks and the use of WMD call for every emergency measures from both the state and local levels. One problem which hinders to the success of emergency management, according to Taylor (2000), is the difficulty of getting public support. Effective emergency management program will be the solution to the program, and this requires public support. The public should be educated about what they can do in case terrorist attacks happen. Additionally, they should be taught about the WMD and what they should do in each case.Considering the effects of terrorism, and the things it can do to a country, it should be seen as an e mergency alongside other types of disasters. This paper does not posit that terrorism should be prioritized over other disasters, but the government must also allot resources and actions to prevent or be ready in case it happens.ReferencesAmerican National Red Cross. (2001). Terrorism: Preparing for the unexpected. Retrieved on December 16, 2007 from http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0_589_,00.htmlBolton, John. (2002). The new strategic framework: A response to 21st century threats. U.S. Foreign Policy Agenda, 7, 2.Office of the Press Secretary. (2007). DHS announces additional $260 million in supplemental grants funding. Retrieved on December 16, 2007 from the Homeland Security web site, http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1187294574562.shtmTaylor, Eric R. (2000). Are we prepared for terrorism using weapons of mass destruction? Government’s half measures. Policy Analysis, 387, 1-17.Wolf, John. (2002). U.S. approaches to nonproliferation. U.S. Foreign Policy A genda, 7, 2.