Lack of Parental and Primary Care Control in Pediatric Asthma Essay

Lack of Parental and Primary Care Control in Pediatric Asthma - Essay Example Indoor as well as outdoor air quality consists of agents such as tobacco smoke, dust mites and cockroaches, which are responsible for asthma exacerbations (Platts-Mills, 1999). Children have narrow airways and rapid respiration rates. This puts them at an increased risk of asthma as compared to adults. The disease is much more widespread then it is believed to be. About 5.3 million children in America suffer from asthma (Adams, 1998). There are many advancements in asthma research and availability of medicine, yet morbidity and treatment costs are still extremely high (Fairfield, 2010). The high treatment costs can lead to a lack of proper parental care. The lack of health insurance in some families has also been shown to present an issue with lack of primary care control for pediatric asthma. Asthma can be properly controled if parents and primary physicians work together to properly plan and care for the affected child. Through, literature review, news articles, and treatment optio ns lack of proper pediatric asthma care will be shown, as well as, how proper care can ensure a lower asthma incidence in the child and lower morbidity. Literature Review Recent studies have indicated that most of the asthmatic children are notable to achieve the optimal level of asthma control that can be obtained (Szefler, 2005). The difficulty with the treatment of asthma and the prevention of its exacerbation has been the widely different perceptions of what is meant by asthma control. Primary care and the ambulatory settings have been identified as the most efficient and effective level of care in order to prevent the exacerbation of asthma. A necessary component of asthma care includes the mitigation of the triggers-both indoor and outdoor that has been associated with the exacerbation of asthma. There has been evidence found through research that there is a direct relation between the socio-economic status of an individual and the exposure he faces to the various risk factors. Children who are staying in poor households and belonging to lower economic strata are more likely to suffer exposure to triggers responsible for asthma, as well as suffe r from improper parental and even physician care. No detailed study has been available in the literature review which specifically deals only with the different aspects associated with the treatment of asthma. Most studies that have been associated with asthma deal with the triggers that have been responsible for exacerbations of asthma (Andrew Harver, 2008). A research paper conducted by L.Kay Barthlomew and other does talk in detail about the benefits of inhaled corticosteroids and their effectiveness (2006). News Articles The Chicago Sun Times reported that a family is suing three hospitals due to the death of their seven year old child as a result of improper asthma care (Korecki, 2011). The mother stated that no one explained anything regarding her son’s treatment just that they had to transfer to another hospital. The second hospital made the mother and son transfer again to a hospital thirty minutes away. Unfortunately before the boy reached the third hospital he died in the ambulance. The mother indicated she knew the routine they would have to sit in the hospital while her boy was treated and once given the treatment he would be fine. They were prepared to wait at the hospital as they had before. The boy was treated at home with an inhaler, but this treatment option did not always help resolve the more severe attacks. According to Perry, Texas it is one of the worst states and

The mi Adidas Case Study Mass Customization Essay

The mi Adidas Case Study Mass Customization - Essay Example The brothers opposing personalities complement each other well: Adi the quiet, pensive designer, and Rudolf the extrovert salesman (Adidas, 2011, pp 1-26). Adidas shoe: 1932 German athlete Arthur Jonath wins the 100m bronze medal at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, wearing Dassler shoes. This marks the first major Olympic success for the Dassler brothers and fuels the further development of their already thriving company (Adidas, 2011, pp 1-26). A Second Factory: 1938 Adi Dassler buys his second factory in the centre of Herzogenaurach. By that time, the company produces 1,000 pairs of shoes a day. Three Stripes: 1948 Adolf and Rudolf Dassler part with Rudolf founding Puma. Adi introduces Adidas as the official company name, by combining his nickname and last names. At this point, Adi also gives his shoes the unmistakable trademark of the Three Stripes (Adidas, 2011, pp 1-26). The Olympics in Helsinki: 1952 Adidas is the most worn German sports shoe brand at the Olympic Games an d track shoes with removable spikes are used for the first time. Emil Zatopek wins three gold medals – for the 5,000m, the 10,000m and the marathon - all in one week, wearing Adidas shoes, an achievement that has not been repeated since (Adidas, 2011, pp 1-26).

Effects of Leadership in Contemporary Organization

Effects of Leadership in Contemporary Organization The practice shows that there is no any single factor that provides a greater benefit for the organization than an effective leadership. Leaders are needed in order to define goals and objectives for the organization, coordination, promote interpersonal contacts with subordinates and determine the optimal, effective solutions of various problems. Obviously, the organization with leaders can achieve all these much faster than an organization without them. Every action in the organization is associated with the manifestation of leaders power. Power is shown through the channels of power, which include: the power of coercion, influence, competence, information, official conduct, credibility, authority to award. When an individual affects the behavior of group members without the use of coercive forms of power, it is the manifestation of leadership. Leadership is important for any organization because of the need to select and nominate individuals for leadership positions, most suitable for management functions. The nature of leadership includes the persons personal qualities and the environment in which the company has its activities. A good leader should study both these issues for an effective management of the company. Leadership is a process of influence on individuals or groups of individuals to achieve the goals. Leadership is an important factor in the management of organizational management (Casimir 2006). It is a historically evolved social need of people in the organization of their joint activities. Leadership involves influence, it occurs among people, those people intentionally desire significant changes, and the changes reflect purposes shared by leaders and followers (Daft 2008). Leader is a member of organization, who has a high personal status, strong influence on the opinions and behavior of the people in the organization, and carrying out complex functions. I agree with the statement that an effective business leader is one who is well informed of the latest research which impacts upon leadership and who is also capable of applying this to their own organization within an ethical framework. As it is known, information is very important in modern business activity, it rules the world. The business leader of contemporary organization who is well informed of newest research, new technologies can lead his team and the whole organization to success. The leaders main task is not just to be aware of appropriate information and be able to apply it. His other functions are: the definition of goals and means of achieving them, coordination of team members, planning their work together, rewards and punishments, informational, controlling, representational function, etc. The process of influencing people due to the occupied position in the organization is called a formal leadership. However, the official head can not rely only on his position and the related power. The process of influence based on authority, trust, respect, skills or other resources needed by people is called informal leadership. The ideal situation for the management is a harmonious combination of the two foundations of leadership. Leadership is based on the specific needs of complex organized systems. These include the need of self-ordering and ordering the behavior of individual elements of the system to ensure its life and functional capacity. This ordering is achieved through vertical (management subordinate) and horizontal (single-level correlative connection, such as division of labor and cooperation) distribution of functions and roles, and especially the allocation of management functions and exercising its structures, which for its efficiency usually requires a hierarchical, pyramidal organization. The top management of such a pyramid is a leader (Ramsey 2004). The clarity of allocation of leadership position depends on the type of community that makes a part of the system and its relationship with the environment. In systems that are characterized by low group integration and a high degree of autonomy and freedom of the various elements and levels of the organization, functions of a leader are weak. With the increasing of the needs of the system and people in it, the functions of leadership and its structural, institutional segregation increases. In small groups, based on direct contacts of their members, the institutionalization of the leading positions can not occur. In this situation the main is the individual personality qualities, his ability to unite a group, to lead it. In big groups, the effectiveness of collective action which requires a clear functional role differentiation and specialization, as well as operational management and the rigidity of subordination, the institutionalization and formalization of (formalized) leading positions, giving them a relatively more power are required. The contemporary organization is of this type of association. It is characterized by the pursuing the certain stable goals, the realization of which requires the coherence of many people, their coordination and regulation on the basis of labor division. As a result of it, the contemporary organizations need the institutionalization of leadership that based on the positions of power goes to the forefront of management (Messeghem 2003). Analysis of the nature of leadership shows that it derives from the particular needs and requirements of people and their associations, which the leaders should meet. Leadership classically is understood as a special quality, a model of human or companys behavior, providing advanced positions (Ridder 2004). As a result, the leadership is a new model of management that can ensure the survival of the company in terms of changes. In social science model does not mean the description of natural law or law of the functioning of the company, but a certain set of ideas and beliefs. In sociology of management it is a set of representations of managers, researchers, consultants about the success or failure of organizational management. Leadership is one of the management models in modern business. Leadership as a management system should encourage the innovative behavior of employees, providing a constant creation and use of new knowledge at all levels of the organization. Thus, there are two features of this management system: providing an innovative behavior of employees; providing leaders at all levels of the organization. The leaders are those people who have eyes light up from the new ideas, who want to develop and who is interested in everything new. One of the slogans, which can be found in the literature on modern trends in business management, is: Leadership in each, resulting in the leadership of the organization (Hall 2001). Leadership implies autonomy, independence, originality. The leader must demonstrate an innovative behavior, his task is to change, improve efficiency, impact the staff, encouraging them to action. On the mechanism of the nomination, the leader may be formal and informal. In the first case, he is appointed from headship or be nominated and elected and obtain the official status of the leader. Informal leader can emerge and gain recognition in the collective of the organization because of his distinct individual, social, political, psychological and other qualities. The informal leader having the prestige and influence the behavior of people can be oppositional to a formal leader. Force and coercion under the leadership is often replaced by an incentive and inspiration. As a result, the impact of leadership approach is based on peoples acceptation of leaders demands without an explicit or direct manifestation of power. Leaders ability to influence people allows him to use the power and authority derived from his followers. In general, the leadership means that the followers accept the leader as a part of the organization only if he has proved his competence and worth. The leader gets his power from the followers, because they recognize him as a leader. To maintain his position, the leader should give the followers the opportunity to meet their needs, which can not be achieved in another way. In response, they satisfy the need in leadership in the ruling them, as well as providing the necessary support to achieve organizational goals (Kornik 2005). Leaders can have failures because of different reasons, but the success of leaders comes in many ways if they are of sufficiently similar abilities and skills. Studying the experience of many leaders shows that for the success they need the ability to create an image of the future state of the organization and bring it to the followers. Also a successful leader gives the followers the respective rights and powers to implement the vision expressed in the goal; can recognize his weaknesses and involve necessary resources. For improvement of enthusiasm and commitment, the leader may use the effective communication. Leader is a key figure in contemporary organization. But not everyone can become a leader. Here are the main three factors that are needed to become a leader of the organization in the modern world: 1. The personal desire to take a higher position and a willingness work for it; his ambition. 2. The ability to work with people. A successful leader is not always technically or economically the most trained professional. His task is to set goals and find the most suitable people to achieve them, ensuring the proper motivation. The ability to organize people to carry out their tasks is one of the most important qualities of the leader in contemporary organization. 3. The ability to assume responsibility and risk in combination with a high emotional stability. Haven taken the decision, the leader should not be sure in it. The risk is always present in the leaders work. 4. Leadership experience in rather young age (up to 35 years), when the basic behavioral patterns are formed. 5. The ability to generate and adopt new ideas that increase the efficiency of the collective. 6. The flexibility of behavior, the ability to reject erroneous strategies and adopt new solutions. 7. Good technical and commercial training, according to the specifics of the company. In the list above the fist places are taken by the personal characteristics of person, well ahead of those that are provided by education or work experience. This indicates the predominant role of psychological factors in management (Plsek 2001). Successful leaders are characterized by business features: self-confidence and the ability to take decisions in an uncertain situation, the instinctive feeling of the most important in each case, the ability to forge the right dating service, effective communication skills, advanced training and the ability to maintain poise and composure. Leaders losers are characterized by excessive softness in dealing with people, lack of theoretical and practical training, inability to succinctly and accurately articulate their thoughts, and the lack of attention to their appearance. T. Peters and R. Waterman identified eight common characteristics based on survey of 62 major successful corporations in search of effective management. For example, 8 general characteristics are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Orientation to the energetic fast action; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Permanent contact with the consumer; autonomy of executants; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Consideration of people as the main source of growth in productivity and efficiency; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Increased focus on one (or several) key lines of business; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Restriction of activities that are familiar and known; dedication to the business; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Simple forms of management and a small number of administrative personnel; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Combination in the management of freedom in one (autonomy and entrepreneurial performers and structural units), and stiffness in the other (a few fundamental values; corporate rules and traditions, product reliability, etc.) (Woodruffe 2004). The principal functions of the leader in contemporary organization usually include: 1. Setting goals. Goals, assigned by the leader must be realistically achievable and at the same time, be prestigious and inspire the staff. 2. The distribution of tasks, organization of joint work and responsibility for its results; recruitment. 3. Controlling the joint work of all members of the team and individual activities of subordinate employees. 4. Planning and coordination of joint activities. 5. Motivation of subordinates, rewards and punishments. 6. Keeping external relations and communications within the organization. 7. Representational functions (Dunne 2010). The main difficulties in the work of leaders are with carrying out functions associated with psychosocial stress: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Leadership of subordinates; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The motivation, finding the appropriate task for everyone; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Recruiting and firing the staff; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Conflict solving in the team (Shelton 2002). The leader of contemporary organization can not always afford to be gentle and kind. In the interest of the team he must be tough, and sometimes insensitive. The most important thing in his work is to cause enthusiasm among subordinates; otherwise it is difficult to achieve high performance of the team. It is even possible to say that the product of a leaders activity is a special atmosphere in the team, forcing everyone to work more efficiently. A true leader knows how to make any work interesting and important; he can help employees realize their talents in their work. Leadership in contemporary organization consists of three components: personal characteristics, socio-professional tools, technology of leadership. The leader can not be an altruist. Selfishness of the leader is manifested in the fact that the achievement of socially significant goals is only the background to solve his personal problems. He is often aggressive; he has a unique resource of thinking, when the world around him is perceived primarily as a resource for achieving the goal. The socio-professional tools include the power and mentality (social and national peculiarities of character and worldview), education and special training. There are two directions of leaders power use: self-affirmation and self-realization. The second option is constructive. The technology of leadership in contemporary organization involves the use of any of three his styles: 1) Aggressive; 2) Informative and technological; 3) Creative (Robbins 2002). At first style, includes the formation of relations of leaders superiority over the staff. This is an effective style, but very energy-intensive. The second style of leadership involves the creation of leaders team, his closest aides. The third style of leadership requires a focus on setting goals and specific targets for their achievements. In the 1980s the subject of particular interest in the theory of management was the mechanism of leaders attraction, the so-called charisma. This phenomenon is associated with the person, who has personal qualities that evoke admiration and faith in his ability(Ritter 2002). Some experts believe that some leaders such as President Reagan and the famous manager and president of Chrysler Corporation Lee Iacocca, won success through some specific personal qualities, personal charm, attraction, even magnetism. Studies of American scientists distinguish five main factors of behavior that are typical for charismatic leaders: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ focus on key issues in order to involve other people in analyzing, problem-solving and action planning; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The ability to take risks, but only based on careful calculations of the chances for success; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Skillful two-way interaction with people through the mechanisms of understanding, empathy, active listening and feedback; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Demonstration of consistency and reliability in behavior, the open expression of thoughts; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Expression of active concern for people and strengthening their self-esteem through the mechanism of involvement in the adoption and implementation of important decisions, the formation of high self-esteem and self-esteem (Zenger 1993). Talent of leadership is based on the whole complex of social and psychological qualities. An important role is played by trust and love of the group members to their leader. The credibility and trust to the leader is recognition of his high merit and competence, recognition of the need, correctness and effectiveness of his actions. This is an internal agreement with a leader to act in accordance with his plants in productivity of organization. So, in modern business world an effective leadership is not an iron or hard hand, but a high sensitivity to the needs of followers, which is manifested in the development of employees, their involvement in group activities, and assistance in achieving personal goals. Leaders play a very significant role in contemporary organizations. I agree, that an effective business leader is one who is well informed of the latest research which impacts upon leadership and who is also capable of applying this to their own organization within an ethical framework. Leaders carry out a lot of functions, such as the definition of goals and means of achieving them, coordination of team members, planning their work together, rewards and punishments, also informational, controlling, representational function, etc. The success of any organization depends on its leader. So, he is the one who sets up the goals, knows how to achieve them, how to use his human resources in the best way in order to get success. Thus, an effective leadership is a key to success of contemporary organization. Work Cited: Casimir, G., Waldman, D. A., Bartram, T., Yang, S. (Jan. 1. 2006). Trust and the Relationship between Leadership and Follower Performance: Opening the Black Box in Australia and China Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies. P. 5. Daft, R.L. (2008). The Leadership Experience, 4th Ed, Thompson, Australia (RLD). p. 4. Dunne, S., Spoelstra, S. (Apr. 1. 2010). The Gift of Leadership. Philosophy Today. P. 12. Hall, B.P. (2001). Values development and learning organizations. Journal of Knowledge Management. No. 1. pp. 19-32. Kornik, J. (Dec. 1. 2005). With Leaders Like TheseTraining. p. 8. Messeghem, K. (May. 1. 2003). Strategic entrepreneurship and managerial activities in SMEs. International Small Business Journal. P. 18. Ramsey, R. D. (Nov. 1. 2004). Real Leaders Evolve. Supervision. P. 11. Ridder, D., Jan, A. (Jan. 1. 2004). Organisational communication and supportive employees. Human Resource Management Journal. P. 17. Ritter, T., Wilkinson, I.F. (2002). Measuring network competence: some international evidence. Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing. Vol. 17. No. 2. p. 7. Shelton, C.D. (October 2002). Leading in the age of paradox: optimizing behavioral style, job fit and cultural cohesion. Leadership and Organization Development Journal. No. 7. pp. 372-379. Plsek, P. E., Wilson, T. (Sept. 29. 2001). Complexity, leadership, and management in healthcare organizations. British Medical Journal (International edition). p. 14. Robbins, S.P. (2002). Organizational Behavior. New York: Prentice-Hall. 10th Ed. p. 56. Woodruffe, C. (Oct. 1. 2004). The psychology of leadership: six main approaches. Training Journal. Pp. 14-15. Zenger, J.H., Musselwhite, E., Hurson, K., Perrin, C. (1993). Leading Teams: Mastering the New Role. Irvin Professional. pp. 14-15.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee contain a very engaging family who are the Cunninghams. The Cunninghams are very poor; they are people who live in the woods. They are a family who depend highly on crops. Walter Cunningham, the 'father' of the family has to work hard on the cultivation of crops because crops is the only form of wages for them. The Cunninghams have no money. Their only way to survive is through paying others with their crops. The Cunninghams are not main characters in the book, but they are characters who 'brought out' other characters' personality. Harper Lee displays that there is a lot of prejudice going on in Maycomb by putting the Cunninghams in the book. "The Cunninghams [were] country folks, farmers"(21) who are very honest people in Maycomb, they "never took anything they [could not] pay back"(23), but they are unfairly mistreated by part of the society in Maycomb. The Cunninghams are very poor people, but very honest as well. The Cunninghams have no money at all, as Scout was describing them, "[they] have probably never seen three quarters together at the same time in [their] life"(23). It is certain that the Cunninghams live a poor life, but that does not stop them from being honest. The Cunninghams do not take anything from anyone if they do not have a way to repay them. In the class when Ms.Caroline was giving Walter a coin, Walter did not take it because he knew that it was impossible to reimburse her. I judged that it is really mature for a child to act that way. I also admired how the Cunninghams were able to endure by giving crops to people as a form of payment. When Atticus helps Sr.Walter with his entailment, Walter does not pay him back with money, but with crops. The Cunninghams are mistreated by part of the society in Maycomb. Aunt Alexandra, who mistreats them the most, is prejudiced toward the Cunninghams, she does not like them. She thinks that her reputation, and social status are going to be stained if Scout plays with Walter Jr.. Scout wants to invite Walter over, but Aunt Alexandra does not like Walter, she says that they are folks from different class. She thinks it is best if they do not see each other. She once talks to Scout about how different they are, "Because - he - is - trash, that's why you can't play with him.

The Globalization of the American Furniture Industry

American furniture manufacturers have struggled with making cost-competitive products over the past decade. Several have closed U. S. facilities and built plants overseas or hired companies to make the goods in foreign countries and ship them here. Many factors have influenced the decision to move production over seas including, labor costs, price of materials, freight costs, time in transit, overall time to make a product and get it to market, and the amount of training needed for employees. A decade ago, nearly 100 percent of the dinette sets, cabinets, dressers, armoires and other wooden pieces sold in the United States were produced here. Today, 75 percent to 80 percent is made in China, Taiwan, Vietnam and other Asian countries. † (Chavez)In addition to production, many companies are also outsourcing their human resource functions. â€Å"Many companies today view human resource outsourcing as one of the most viable options to save money and improve services while also mak ing a strategic contribution to the business. (Clinton) High Point, North Carolina is often regarded as the furniture capital of the world. Every six months High Point hosts The International Home Furnishing Market, which is the centerpiece to city’s economy. Thousands of sales representatives, buyers, and designers attend the event. The massive trade show is the largest, most well-known, and most important furnishings industry trade show in the world. But, a new study shows that North Carolina has lost nearly 80,000 jobs to China since 2001. Associated Press) Economist Michael Walden recently said, â€Å"There is no question that North Carolina has lost jobs – particularly in textiles and furniture manufacturing – due to international trade agreements signed during the last 15 years. Prior to the World Trade Agreement, North Carolina's textile and apparel jobs were protected from lower cost foreign producers. † (Associated Press) To compete some companie s are looking to sell their products overseas. A group of high-end custom furniture manufactures created an organization called American Furniture Exporters.Their goal is to find cost effective ways to export their goods overseas. The idea arose from the High Point market. â€Å"We saw some decent (international) traffic in our space with buyers from Venezuela, Greece, Israel, Quatar, Mexico and elsewhere† said Rick Moose the sales manager for Designmaster. (Gunin) La-Z-Boy Inc. , the nation's second-largest furniture manufacturer, faced sales declines with it’s wood furniture, so they terminated much of their U. S. production and moved the work to China.In an April press release, the company came out again to announce that they were moving much of their upholstered furniture manufacturing to Mexico. A Mexican-based facility is practical for La-Z-Boy because they rely heavily on custom orders in their upholstered segment and with it’s close proximity to the U. S . , orders will be shipped much faster on land, rather than if they had to travel by ship from China. Speed to market for custom orders is a tenet of our brand promise to the consumer and the strength of our U. S. facilities enables us to deliver on that promise.We made the decision to transition our domestic cutting and sewing operations while streamlining the assembly aspect of production in the United States. Our new Mexican facility will be able to rapidly supply our domestic plants with cut-and-sewn fabrics and leather for custom orders and will complement the existing cut-and-sew program from China, which supplies our U. S. manufacturing operations. (La-Z-Boy) The U. S. is not alone in the shipping of manufacturing of production overseas; furniture giant IKEA found it to be cheaper to manufacture furniture in Ohio rather than producing it in Sweden and shipping it to the U.S. Ironically, the company IKEA came to, Sauder Woodworking Company, had shipped part of its production o verseas to China to stay competitive. The company’s president, Kevin Sauder, said, â€Å"We are to IKEA what China is to a lot of furniture companies. † (Chavez) Many people are fed up with the federal government’s stance on international trade. James Copeland of Copland Industries/Copland Fabrics of Burlington, N. C. said, Deeply flawed U. S. trade policy toward domestic manufacturing is the single most important root cause of the illness.Every American deserves the right to provide for his family, to own a home and to educate his kids, but our flawed manufacturing and trade policies are taking this away. † (McCormack) Copeland is upset because he is competing against foreign companies who do not have to pay workman's compensation, unemployment insurance, overtime, benefits; nor do they have to deal with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Regulations (OSHA) regulations or abide by child labor laws. None of these things a lone drove jobs overseas. But each increased the cost of doing business and made a move overseas just that more necessary for some American companies. † (Hall) Because we live in a modern, civilized nation we realize that there is a need for laws and rules that protect employees, but we also need to realize that businesses exist for the sole purpose of making a profit. â€Å"Increasingly, well-intentioned government regulations also drive up costs—and drive out jobs. † (Hall) There may be relief in site for the American worker.During his campaign President-elect Barack Obama expressed support for tax benefits for companies that keep jobs on American soil. Obama introduced the Patriot Employer Act of 2007 in the Senate last year to reward companies that create jobs with benefits for American workers. (Maltby) Much like North Carolina, Mississippi has also been greatly affected by the outsourcing of American manufacturing. Jay Moon, president of the Mississippi Man ufacturers Association, hopes that lawmakers will do away with the inventory tax businesses pay on raw materials, works in progress, and finished goods.Because China using favored-nation status to flood the American market with cheaper goods, such moves would help American manufacturers better compete with overseas companies making the same types of products. (Ayers) There are many other issues affecting the furniture industry, high gas prices increase shipping costs, job layoffs, and most directly, the nationwide housing foreclosure crisis. When people are unable to keep a roof over their head, it is unlikely that they are worried about the furniture in their home.The logic is simple, â€Å"retail stores aren't selling any furniture because people aren't buying furniture,† (Ayers) Since I am in going into the field of Interior Design I have seen the results of shipping production overseas first hand. This past summer I did an internship in a furniture store and nearly everyd ay we received a fax from an upholstered furniture company with a list of fabrics that had been discontinued due to the closing of U. S. mills.This causes there to be much less selection and variety, which creates problems when one furniture store wants to stand out from another or when a customer wants something new and different than what everyone else has. No one wants to pay a thousand dollars for a sofa when their neighbor can buy a similar one at Big Lots. Our store worked very closely with La-Z-Boy until they began to reduce their warranties and increase delivery time due to much of the production being done in Mexico. It is very difficult for an independently owned business to stay competitive and also provide customers with quality goods.In our store, we carried both American made products and imports in order to stay competitive and satisfy a wide range of customers’ needs. Many people would ask if we carried American made products, but when they compared the prices they opted for the cheaper imported goods instead. I also noticed increases in shipping costs over the course of the summer, which translated into higher prices for our customers. To cope with the financial strain, we began to only make deliveries 2 days a week and encouraged customers to pick up their items when possible.An advantage a small business has over large companies or a foreign firm is customer service. I believe that that is what keeps many businesses going, because a locally owned store is more likely to work with you personally and understand your needs. I find myself torn over the issue of outsourcing. Part of me wants to stick with the belief that the best quality goods are American made, but as I grow older and are paying for things myself, I enjoy the benefits of lower costs due to outsourcing.I think that the United States should take certain steps to improve business here domestically, such as tax benefits for businesses, so that prices can be lowered and more p eople will buy locally. Because the future of industry and manufacturing jobs in America is unknown, I believe that we should focus more of our efforts on education and training employees in fields that cannot be outsourced, such as teachers and health professions.Works Cited Associated Press. â€Å"N. C. has lost nearly 80,000 jobs to China since 2001, report says. 30 July 2008. Local Tech Wire. 24 Nov. 2008 . Ayers, Jeff. â€Å"Manufacturing Takes Hit. † 19 Oct. 2008. Clarion Ledger. 24 Nov. 2008 . Caplan, Jeremy. â€Å"Ikea CEO Anders Dahlvig on Surviving a Bad Economy. † 18 Nov. 2008. TIME Magazine. 23 Nov. 2008 . Chavez, Jon. â€Å"Overseas competition challenges furniture industry. † 22 Mar. 2007. Toledo Blade. 17 Oct. 2008 . Clinton, David. â€Å"Study: 76% Of Major North American Companies Outsource One Or More HR Functions. † 15 Apr. 2006. Rent To Own. 23 Nov. 2008 . Gunin, Joan. â€Å"N. C. based American Furniture Exporters makes progress. â €  19 Nov. 2008. Furniture Today. 24 Nov. 2008 . Hall, Robert A. â€Å"Who sent American jobs overseas? † 11 Nov. 2008. American Chronicle. 24 Nov. 2008 . La-Z-Boy Furniture. â€Å"LA-Z-BOY ANNOUNCES MOVES TO STRENGTHEN ITS NORTH AMERICAN OPERATIONS. † Press release. 2 Apr. 2008. 24 Nov. 2008 . Maltey, Emily. â€Å"Overseas outsourcing heats up again. † CNN Money. 11 Nov. 2008. 11 Nov. 2008 . McCormack, Richard. â€Å"The Free-Trade Debacle: Domestic Manufacturers Vs. Multinationals. † Manufacturing and Technology News 15 (2008).

Baby Formula

One of the main goals of technological breakthroughs is to provide the best heath care for the general population. In line with this goal, the introduction of infant milk formulas was a complete success to immediately compensate the lack of nutrition substances for babies which were experienced in the early 20th century. Back then, it was necessary since problems in keeping babies nourished were a big concern. However, such condition paved the way for a seemingly problematic outlook in today’s modern infant health care.A huge number of the world’s population is becoming more and more dependent on infant formula products compromising the health of millions of babies. On a personal perspective, it is definitely the responsibility of infant formula companies to implement the most appropriate use of their products. The extent of their advertising campaign and hunger for profit undermines the capacity of the population to conduct critical thinking due to the extent of trust and reliability they impose as their general image.As these companies have already shifted their market platform to Third World Countries, it cannot be denied that they are capitalizing on the innocence and lack of information of the people who belong in these economic segments. Companies seem to have no respect for the concept of accountability as long as they generate profits out of their campaigns that the products they offer are definitely for a client’s advantage. On the other hand, it is also a responsibility of the developing nation governments to provide what infant formulas truly are as they are mere substitute for breast milk.They should open the fact that commercial milk would never be able to replace the natural nutrients and antibody components of a mother’s milk which babies ultimately need if they were to survive healthily. In the Philippines, the promotion of breast feeding by the Department of Health has been a good head start to counter the significan tly bad habit of mothers in relying on commercial infant formulas (Cerojano, 2007). However, much more needs to be done as the country heavily relies on commodities manufactured by multinational companies.In another perspective, the health care professionals also have the responsibility in terms of ethical considerations. Doctors, nurses and health care personnel should have the initiative to provide the best unbiased information about using infant formulas. The mere fact that the hospitals and clinics in developing nations promote ad campaigns for these products in exchange of commissions can prove to be a very disastrous aspect of profit-over-life matters.They very much know that a mother’s milk is the ultimate source of nutrition for babies but they still would like to get their fair share of profit margin from companies that have lured them to promote commercial products. Lastly, it is the responsibility of the mothers to take in charge of how they would like their babies to get a decent and healthy life. It is always a matter of personal choice for them whether they would succumb to the commercialization of health care in providing nutrition to their infants.A responsible and caring mother will always become critical and hungry for information especially if it is for the benefit of her baby. There are so many segments involved as to who is truly responsible in the commercialization of health care due to the widespread availability of infant formulas. However, it is very obvious that the companies which manufacture them are at the very high notch of ethical and moral responsibility.It is always an option for the consumers to purchase and use products as they like. But capitalism can always cloak out of their true hidden desires for profitability since the general public always put their trusts to entities that they thought would provide them the best benefits. References Cerojano, T. 2007. Philippines: 3,608 Mothers Breast-Feed at Same Time. ABC New s. Retrieved May 1, 2008 from http://abcnews. go. com/International/wireStory? id=3133147.

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Managers of oil firms like Exxon should personally oversee that strict oil spill prevention and control policies, as recommended by government and non-profit environmental organizations, are implemented at all stages. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS) greatly affected the animals and humans living there, the economy of Alaska (and the United States), and the environment in the surrounding areas, and the company Exxon was responsible for all this. It was March 1989 when the oil Tanker Exxon Valdez underwent an accident in Prince William Sound (PWS) in Alaska. (US Environmental Protection Agency, n.p.) This accident resulted in a massive oil spill, where more than 11 million gallons of crude oil leaked into the sea and no such oil spill had previously occurred in the history of the United States. (US Environmental Protection Agency, n.p.) A large number of features made the cleanup of this oil spill difficult. The scale and intensity of this oil spill and the remoteness of the site wer e noteworthy features that hindered the efforts of cleanup teams. This was a real test of existing contingency plans for such situations. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this oil spill threatened the commercial fishing business in the area. (US Environmental Protection Agency, n.p.) Moreover, several types of fishes, mammals, birds, and other animals were in danger too because of this oil spill. Alyeska, an organization that represented Exxon, started to cleanup the oil spill. (US Environmental Protection Agency, n.p.) To avoid damage to the ecosystems, some steps were taken to save sensitive surroundings from the effects of the oil spill. Vulnerable environments were recognized and prioritized. However, the effects on the surroundings, especially on animals, were devastating. The means required for a successful cleanup were missing, and necessary resources could not be brought to the accident site in time. Oil ingestion, exposure to oil, and scarcity of edible resources led to a large number of deaths in both mammals and birds. As a reaction to the EVOS accident, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. This Act necessitated that the Coast Guards should ensure oil vessels and oil firms are following the regulations and rules in this regard. Nowadays, tank hulls are used, which improve the safety of oil vessels in case there is an accident that can cause oil spill. Moreover, due to advancements in technology, communications during navigation have also improved, which makes navigation in seas more secure. Major Effects of the Oil Spill Archaeological Resources Over 3,000 archaeological and historically significant sites were damaged by the oil spill. The clean-up process, pillaging and harm caused by the oil spill all contributed to the destruction twenty four other well known public archaeological sites. The damage assessment survey conducted after the accident was only restricted to public land. Other archeological sites which were on private property also received significant damage. However, the final report was not planned to indentify all of them. Apart from oil contamination caused by the spill, other Reported damages included surface artifacts looting, masking of subtle clues used to identify and classify sites, abuse of ancient burial locations, and destruction of evidence in layered sediments. Designated Wilderness Areas Wilderness or Wilderness Study Areas was the designation of the spill affected waters and tidelands given by Congress or the Alaska State Legislature. In 1989-1990, a huge cleaning process began in the area. A variety of hardware and a huge workforce were employed from different parts of the country. This process caused a drastic and extraordinary increase in population, noise and activities in that quite and undeveloped countryside. By the end of the process, the human concentration and activities in the area went back to its former level. Yet, however, lingering oil is still being witnessed at some sites. Quantitative investigations of lingering oil are still lacking, however, over time, the amount of oil that was left behind after the clean up process is reducing, and the affected areas are in the recovering process. The affected areas were: designated wilderness in the Katmai National Park, wilderness study areas in the Chugach National Forest and Kenai Fjords National Park, and Kachemak Bay Wilderness State Park. Intertidal Communities More than 1,400 miles in Prince William Sound, the Kenai and Alaska peninsulas and in Kodiak Archipelago were badly affected by the oil spill. Around 220 miles of this coastline were heavily affected. Exxon carried around 11 million gallons of crude oil. Researchers believe that about 40-45 percent of the total shipment was washed ashore in the intertidal area. Both the plants and animals living in that environment were significantly affected by the spill that occurred in 1989 and also by the cleaning process that followed in 1990 and 1991. The initial impact covered the entire tidal levels and the complete set of habitats all over the affected site. Residue toxicity testing, documenting abundance and distribution of intertidal organisms and sampling ecological parameters of community structure were all part of the evaluation conducted to examine the spill effects. Blue mussels, periwinkles, oligochaete worms, speckled limpet, common rockweed and several barnacle species were all among the main type of algae and invertebrates that were directly harmed by the spill. At the same time, the normal level of sediment organisms and calm densities decreased. On the treated beaches, a number of moribund calms were found dead. However, the later effects are mainly due to the combination of hot washing water and the oil toxicity. The density and biomass of fish in the affected sites was also decreased as shown by studies conducted in the area against reference figures recorded before 1990. Commercial Fishing Commercial fishing operations suffered huge losses as a result of the spills impact on the fish concentration in the affected waters and also due to the emergency fishing ban that followed the incident. Fishing for salmon, herring, crab, shrimp, rockfish and sablefish was banned in 1989 all over Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet, the outer Kenai coast, Kodiak and the Alaska Peninsula. The ban on Shrimp and salmon commercial fisheries was extended through 1990 in some parts of Prince William Sound. Passive Use Passive use is the admiration of the artistic and natural values of undisturbed sites and the value is a resultant from plainly realizing the resource existence. Damages to passive use are coupled to civic view of damaged resources. The oil spill disaster affected an area considered by the majority of Americans as an undisturbed territory.   The disaster cause great damage to beaches, wild and sea life. Around $2.8 billion are the estimated losses suffered by passive use as a result of the oil spill. This figure was estimated by the state of Alaska and it reflects how much the people are ready to pay in order to protect that territory and prevent another similar accident from occurring in the future. Recreation and Tourism As a result of the oil spill, tourism and recreational access to the affected areas was restricted. Tourism activities in Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet and the Kenai Peninsula were reduced to minimum. Finishing and hunting activates were banned. Access to beaches was also frozen. Tourism shifted from the affected areas to those areas that were safer and as a result, some of the sites lost their old glory. Subsistence The local fifteen main Alaskan native inhabitants who lived in the oil spill affected locality (with a total population of about 2,200 people) relied entirely on natural resources for their daily life. The disaster affected all the available food and water resources which in turn affected the living conditions of the local communities and raised concerns regarding possible health damage that may arise as a result of eating oiled fish, drinking or even bathing in contaminated water. The clean up process that followed the incident also affected the local life style and comfort. Results from Various Researches The crude oil effects on fishes and other living organisms were lead by the Auke Bay Laboratory and its staff. This laboratory, which was established in 1973, was involved in studying similar ever since its establishment. Immediately after the incident, the lab was also involved in studying the effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS). The effects of the oil spill on wild and sea life were examined by the ABL. The lab also monitored the oil level in the territory. Today, after more than 14 years, oil is still impacting the life of the affected areas. Salmon and herring fisheries never returned and the fabric of the bionetwork is still out of sync. The deaths of aquatic mammals and birds resulting from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill are far greater than the deaths in any other such incident. A few species were already becoming extinct before the incident; so the oil spill accelerated the extinction for such species. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council (EVOSTC) examined around 26 classes of animals (including birds), and only 2 out these 26 classes had recovered till 1999 (ten years after the oil spill). According to Dr. Michael Fry, an authority on seabirds, The Exxon Valdez spill killed nearly ten times as many birds as any other U.S. or European oil spill. The oil spill led to the death of approximately 500,000 birds. Remains on the beaches were found for more than 30,000 birds that belonged to the 90 classes of birds affected by this oil spill. Even then, as noted by Piatt, Lensick, Bulter, Kendziorek, and Nysewander (1990), the real number of marine birds that died was far greater than this 30,000 figure. And the impacts on marine birds did not fade away sooner. Even in the article by Miller in 1999, it is evident that impacts on birds were continuous and also reduced the reproduction in these birds. Fishes also died because of this oil spill. However, the most noteworthy effect on fishes was the long-lasting negative impact on their spawning and rearing environment. Exxons Statement According to the official website of ExxonMobil, The environment in Prince William Sound is healthy, robust and thriving. Thats evident to anyone whos been there, and it is also the conclusion of many scientists who have done extensive studies of the Prince William Sound ecosystem. However, independent studies show that this claim is wrong, as discussed in this paper. According to Page et. al (1996), researchers who were sponsored by Exxon have frequently rejected the proof of continuous impacts of the EVOS to the wildlife. Exxon’s denial of the negative impact of the EVOS is highly unethical and unprofessional. It is also against the concept of corporate social responsibility, which is a major trend in contemporary organizations worldwide. Companies like Exxon should pay attention to corporate social responsibility practices. If such an incident happens, it becomes the company’s ethical, social and professional responsibility to make a formal apology to the whole nation. The responsible personnel should be fired and compensation should be given to all people affected by the incident. Moreover, the company should also pay additional funds to researchers who are studying in this field, so that such incidents can be better prevented and controlled in future too. Recommendations and Conclusion Oil firms like Exxon should realize that the effects of a single oil spill can be devastating for people, animals, marine life, and the environment for a long, long time. Considering this, the managers of oil firms should be aware of the recommendations and suggestions like that government bodies and non-profit environmental organizations give in this regard. This is the ethical and professional responsibility of all oil firms, especially those that transfer oil in bulk volumes. A proper system should be made to educate all concerned employees about the consequences of oil spills on humans, animals, and environment. Similarly, all employees should know how they can play their part in preventing oil spills. This should be given top priority and formal training should be given to employees regarding this matter. Finally, the top management should personally administer the implementation of oil spill prevention strategies and actions. One more thing is that although firms have contingency plans, they rarely practically test such plans. It is necessary to test contingency plans to see if they are still effective or not. In addition, as technological and environmental changes occur, such plans should be revised accordingly to reflect the latest techniques that can be used to control oil spills. The recommendations of government and non-profit environmental organizations should be utilized here too. Oil spill prevention and control procedures must be formally defined by oil firms as these steps will more likely stop oil spills from happening.

Top 5 Jobs in 2017 That Dont Require a College Degree

Top 5 Jobs in 2017 That Dont Require a College Degree when you’re looking for a job, you may see the same theme over and over: bachelor’s degree required; associate’s degree, minimum. if you don’t happen to have that degree in hand, it can be very disheartening. you know you have valuable skills and experience, but what will those get you if employers see that diploma as the baseline? don’t despair and resign yourself to a job or career you hate just because you think it’s your only option. we’re here to help you help you open doors and find a great job in the new year that works with the skills, experience, and goals you have. there are many jobs that don’t require a college degree. that being said, you can get a headstart on getting your gameplan in order for the coming year by taking a look at the information below. where do i start?of course, you can always just dive into job listings and start combing for jobs that don’t require a college degree. but it’s always a good idea to have an attack plan, if only to save yourself some time and aggravation as you get your hunt underway.get your resume together.a great resume is the entry point to any if you don’t have a degree, you should be packaging the skills and experience you do have, to package yourself as a superstar before you even start applying to jobs. we’ve got you covered on how to create your resume masterpiece:resume format guide: what your resume should look like in 2017the jobnetwork resume librarywhat is the best format for a resume?5 super tips on how to get your resume noticedavoid the resume black hole with these tipshow to create a resume packed with action words11 steps to writing the perfect resumethe ultimate resume guide for every job seeker5 things you should never put on your resumetarget your search.what are your interests, career-wise? do you already have particular skills or experience? use this information to figure out where you want to focus your job s earch.develop your skills.once you know where you want to focus your job search, make sure you have the skills necessary to succeed in that line of work. need to improve those typing skills? take a course! want to have a more solid understanding of how excel works? try an online tutorial. the more legwork and prep work you do up front, the better able you’ll be to package yourself for a given job opportunity.if your chosen job path involves certification or some kind of educational/training requirement, now’s the time to start looking at what that means, and whether you’re willing (or able) to make that commitment.be prepared for the long haul.getting a job is never easy, and it can be even more challenging at times if you don’t have a degree. but remember that employers value skills and experience highly as well- the degree isn’t everything. it’s about packaging yourself, and not giving up, even when it seems like â€Å"degree requiredâ₠¬  is the common denominator in all of the job postings you’re seeing.let’s look at 5 top jobs you should be looking at if you’re looking for a new career path or job opportunity:vet assistantparamedicnursing assistanttruck driverinside sales representativeall of these can be great entries to a new industry or profession, and let you start building the skills and experience you need to make it your career.the healthcare industryhealthcare is booming, with no real end in sight for a few reasons, including that people are more health-minded these days than ever before, and the baby boomer generation is aging and needs diverse kinds of medical and wellness care. becoming a doctor or a nurse will always require advanced education, but there are lots of great healthcare jobs out there that require only a high school degree (plus possible job-specific training, which in many cases you can get on the job). let’s look at five of the top healthcare jobs for 2017: veterinary assistanthumans aren’t the only ones who need great healthcare. if you’ve always been more partial to animalkind, this could be the career path you’re seeking.the job: vet assistants, sometimes also known as laboratory animal caretakers, are responsible for the care and treatment of animals in a clinical setting- often either a veterinary practice or a lab setting. their duties might include feeding and weighing animals, monitoring their vital signs, making sure they have clean cages/spaces, and providing nursing care before or after procedures. they might also assist the veterinarian or vet technicians during surgery or other procedures.the pay: median salary of $24,360 per year, or $11.71 per hour, per the u.s. bureau of labor statistics.the requirements: high school diploma or equivalent, on-the-job training.the outlook: this field is expected to grow by at least 9% by 2024.interested in this growing profession? search veterinary assistant jobs in your area of the country!paramedicif you like bursts of adrenaline, are incredibly calm under pressure, and don’t pass out at the sight of blood, becoming a paramedic is a great option.the job: paramedics are first responders when anyone needs medical care. they’re sent by dispatchers to provide emergency medical care for accidents or acute illness, or to transport people to the hospital who unable to transport themselves.the pay: median salary of $24,360 per year, or $11.71 per hour, per the u.s. bureau of labor statistics.the requirements: high school diploma or equivalent, cpr training, plus certification and completion of a non-degree training program (typically less than 2 years).the outlook: this field is expected to grow by at least 24% by 2024.paramedics are always needed nationwide.  search paramedic jobs in your area of the country!nursing assistantnursing assistants provide very necessary care for patients, helping them with daily tasks to support recovery or independence.the job: nursing assistants, also called nursing aides, work in hospitals or long-term care facilities like rehabilitation centers or nursing homes. as part of the medical and nursing team, they provide basic care like assisting with feeding, bathing and other personal care tasks; monitoring vital signs; and ensuring patients take medication as prescribed.the pay: median salary of $25,710 per year, or $12.36 per hour, per the u.s. bureau of labor statistics.the requirements: high school diploma or equivalent, plus a training program. certified nursing assistants (cnas) will also need to meet additional licensing requirements.the outlook: this field is expected to grow by at least 17% by 2024.this career is definitely on the rise. if you want to hop on while it’s on the upswing, search nursing assistant  jobs in your area of the country!the logistics industrypeople in logistics are responsible for getting things done. whether that’s making sure goods get from point a to point b, or managing inventory with deadly precision, these roles often require specialized training, but are usually open to those without a degree.truck driveryou don’t need a degree to hit the open road- just a commercial driver’s license, a clean record of responsible driving, and a love for meeting demanding schedules. it’s not a glamorous job, but it’s a very necessary one for our commercial economy.the job: truck drivers are responsible for moving large, heavy loads from one place to another. with online sales and delivery booming, this is an especially necessary field. it can be solitary (it’s often just you, the radio, and the aforementioned open road), but it’s a job that allows you to travel, be creative on the fly when there are obstacles, and be fairly independent.the pay: median salary of $40,260 per year, or $19.36 per hour, per the u.s. bureau of labor statistics.the requirements: high school diploma or eq uivalent, plus a training program. many trucking companies offer on-the-job training. you will also need to have a commercial driver’s license (cdl) and a clean driving record.the outlook: this field is expected to grow by at least 5% by 2024.truck drivers are needed in many industries nationwide. search for truck driver jobs in your area of the country!  the sales customer service industrysales is a field where your people skills and experience tend to outweigh a college degree. the ability to connect with people and sell them successfully on a product is something that can’t necessarily be taught in a classroom. this is also an industry that continues growing all the time- and once you have sales skills, you can apply them to all different kinds of jobs.sales representativesales representatives are responsible for getting (and keeping) customers for their product.the job: sales representatives are tasked with selling products, yes, but they’re also the keep er of the customer relationship. a major part of this job is cultivating relationships, and providing stellar service to keep those relationships going. exact duties and responsibilities vary depending on which industry you’re in, but once you have the skill set, it’s highly adaptable throughout many industries.the pay: median salary of $ $75,666, or $36.37 per hour.the requirements: high school diploma or equivalent.the outlook: this field is expected to grow by at least 9% by 2024.sales reps are also needed nationwide, and the career is on the upswing.  search for sales representative jobs in your area of the country!  all of these industries are expected to grow in 2017, which offers great opportunity. if you’re looking to change jobs, or are just starting out, you don’t need to be scared away by listings that have a degree as the minimum barrier to entry. you have lots of opportunities open to you- you just need to come up with a plan of attack, a nd seize them

Countries of Central America and the Caribbean

Countries of Central America and the Caribbean Central America is a region at the center of the two of the American continents. It fully lies in a tropical climate and has savanna, rainforest, and mountainous regions. Geographically, it represents the southernmost part of the North American continent and it contains an isthmus that connects North America to South America. Panama is the border between the two continents. At its narrowest point, the isthmus stretches only 30 miles (50 km)Â  wide. The mainland portion of the region consists of seven different countries, but 13 nations in the Caribbean are also normally counted as a part of Central America. Central America shares borders with Mexico to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west, Colombia to the south and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The region is considered part of the developing world, which means it has issues in poverty, education, transportation, communications, infrastructure, and/or access to health care for its residents.The following is a list of the countries of Central America and the Caribbean arranged by area. For reference the countries on the mainland portion of Central America are marked with an asterisk (*). The 2017 population estimates and capitals of each country have also been included. All information was obtained from the CIA World Factbook. Central America and the CaribbeanCountries Nicaragua*Area: 50,336 square miles (130,370 sq km)Population:Â  6,025,951Capital: ManaguaHonduras*Area: 43,278 square miles (112,090 sq km)Population:Â  9,038,741Capital: TegucigalpaCubaArea: 42,803 square miles (110,860 sq km)Population:Â  11,147,407Capital: HavanaGuatemala*Area: 42,042 square miles (108,889 sq km)Population:Â  15,460,732Capital: Guatemala CityPanama*Area: 29,119 square miles (75,420 sq km)Population:Â  3,753,142Capital: Panama CityCosta Rica*Area: 19,730 square miles (51,100 sq km)Population:Â  4,930,258Capital: San JoseDominican RepublicArea: 18,791 square miles (48,670 sq km)Population:Â  10,734,247Capital: Santo DomingoHaitiArea: 10,714 square miles (27,750 sq km)Population:Â  10,646,714Capital: Port au PrinceBelize*Area: 8,867 square miles (22,966 sq km)Population:Â  360,346Capital: BelmopanEl Salvador*Area: 8,124 square miles (21,041 sq km)Population:Â  6,172,011Capital: San SalvadorThe BahamasArea: 5,359 square miles (13,880 sq km)Population:Â  32 9,988Capital: NassauJamaicaArea: 4,243 square miles (10,991 sq km)Population:Â  2,990,561Capital: KingstonTrinidad and TobagoArea: 1,980 square miles (5,128 sq km)Population:Â  1,218,208Capital: Port of SpainDominicaArea: 290 square miles (751 sq km)Population:Â  73,897Capital: RoseauSaint LuciaArea: 237 square miles (616 sq km)Population:Â  164,994Capital: Castries Antigua and BarbudaArea: 170 square miles (442.6 sq km)Antigua area: 108 square miles (280Â  sq km); Barbuda: 62 square miles (161Â  sq km);Â  Redonda: .61 square miles (1.6 sq km)Population:Â  94,731Capital: Saint Johns BarbadosArea: 166 square miles (430 sq km)Population:Â  292,336Capital: BridgetownSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesArea: 150 square miles (389 sq km)Â  Saint Vincent area: 133 square miles (344 sq km)Population:Â  102,089Capital: KingstownGrenadaArea: 133 square miles (344 sq km)Population:Â  111,724Capital: Saint GeorgesSaint Kitts and NevisArea: 101 square miles (261 sq km)Saint Kitts area: 65 square miles (168 sq km); Nevis:Â   36 square miles (93 sq km)Population:Â  52,715Capital: Basseterre

The Diabetes Issue Prevailing in South Asian Indian Women Term Paper

The Diabetes Issue Prevailing in South Asian Indian Women - Term Paper Example Kanaya et. Al (2010) stated that South Asians have a prevalence of diabetes despite their low body weight. This may be because of the difference in the culture that needs to be analyzed. Based on the study conducted by Kanaya et al, it was found that South Asian Indians immigrants are more likely to have diabetes than other US ethnic Groups. The discussion aims at highlighting the health issue prevailing in South Asian Indian women in Los Angeles County in the United States along with developing a health care program to curtail the health issue to an extent. Gielen, Bone (2008) stated that the quality of life is often affected by these health issues along with affecting the social and economic environment in the present as well as in the future. The health problem to be assessed in this particular discussion is diabetes using Precede-Proceed Model as a public health theory The study would be conducted in Los Angeles County by collecting data and information on South Asian Indian wome n suffering from diabetes. ...Wulffson (2011) stated that diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death and the ninth leading cause of premature death in Los Angeles County. The impact of diabetes has been severe on South Asian Indian women compared to any other ethnic group in the United States as per the study conducted by Kanaya et. al (2010). The data reflected that a total of 29% of Asian Indians had diabetes, after the full research and analysis, Indians still had high cases of diabetes compared to whites and Latinos. However, diabetes cases of South Asian Indians were similar to African Americans: Indians [odds ratio (OR), 1.0], whites, 0.29; Latinos (0.34) African Americans (0.77 ;) South Asian Indians have a different lifestyle compared to other ethnic groups in terms of nutrient intakes. Chowdhury and Hitman (2000) stated that the primary cause of diabetes is obesity that increases the weight of the body along with making it defunct up to an extent in terms of performing no rmal usual tasks. Along with this, hypertension and proclivity towards oily and rich food often affect the body mass index of South Asian Indian Women.  

Imagery and Symbolism in Surfacing by Margaret Atwood Essay

Imagery and Symbolism in Surfacing by Margaret Atwood - Essay Example From this research it is clear that authors use symbolism because of their hidden and deeper meanings. Atwood uses American images showing how Americans were invading and ruining Canada. The Americans put missile silos, filled the villages with tourist cabins, and left trashes everywhere. Atwood describes the growth and expansion of American as the cause of cultural infiltration. The narrator of the story calls Americans having a brain disease, relating their identity with behavior disregard rather than of nationalism. According to Atwood, an American is someone who involves himself in unnecessary violence, likes technology, and misuses resources. David argues that he hates Americans, but he likes baseball and he tends to imitate Woody Woodpecker, a funny human like cartoon character. Atwood further describes American expansion as psychologically corrupt and destructive. On the contrary, she believes she should have acted as one. In page 24, she says, â€Å"†¦.I see I’ve made a mistake, I should have pretended to be an American†. The narrator keeps on mentioning power several times in his story showing that he is actively in such of it. In the fourth chapter, Atwood remembers her thoughts that a certain plant seeds would make her more powerful. In Chapter 19, the narrator also says that doctors pretend that children’s birth is because of their power and not the mothers’ ability. The authors asserts, â€Å"the power from my father’s intercession wasn’t enough to protect me, it gave only knowledge†¦.†. This shows how the author presents men as more powerful. ... The authors asserts, â€Å"the power from my father’s intercession wasn’t enough to protect me, it gave only knowledge†¦.†(Atwood 168). This shows how the author presents men as more powerful In the fifteenth chapter, Atwood remembers herself pretending to be a powerful and helpless animal. She later puts much emphasizes on the quest of â€Å"the power†. She claims that, ever since her birth, she has been receiving isolations and emotional disturbance from the unfair religious and gender roles. She later gains her say by promising not to be powerless. She later comes to understand that, for one to be a good member of the society, one must learn on how to love and communicate. Symbolism The Barometer Atwood portrays barometer’s symbol through Paul’s wooden barometer. In page 40, she says, â€Å"†¦like the wooden man and woman in the barometer house at Paul’s†. Assessment of the barometer symbolizes her attitudes towards marriage. Atwood finally compares the barometer couples with Paul and Madame, which according to her means empty marriage. She notes that Paul and Madame seem wooden. The narrator even compares the image of barometer symbol with that of her parents sawing a portion of birch. The birch image is good because Atwood relates birches with the undestroyed nature. The image of the barometer also symbolizes unrealistic and unattainable type of romance, although her parents have true love. The Hanged Heron The use of Hanged Heron represents the America way of a destructive nature. The narrator keeps on thinking about the senselessness of her slaughter, knowing that it was hanged instead of being buried. Atwood uses the Heron’s death to

Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Business Strategy - Essay Example There are other products and services that were added which include Shops, sothebys.amazon.com, electronics, home improvement products and many others. Their continued broadening of spectrum is directly related with their goal of making customers find anything they want online. Huge market capitalization of Amazon.com enabled it to stage an aggressive expansion in the market through introduction of several products and services. Websites were opened in several countries and are expected to continue by also forging partnerships with other internet service providers around the globe (Paavo, Arash, and Alain 2013). The amazon.com in United Kingdom and Germany are listed as the leading sites in sales. In Amazon.com followed a strategy of developing software specialized to their type of business and acquiring commercially made applications. 2,461 million dollars’ worth of assets with inventories representing 7 per cent of total assets was realized in 2002. This shows the strength of the company significantly in that year even before they had began their expansion process in France and Japan. The Amazon.com Commerce Network strategy basically leads the company to earn high revenues with high margins which is also risky provided it acts as a venture capitalist. The company reduces significantly the cost of goods sold by increasing their own distribution channels which allows to the company concentrate on their main focus which is customer service. Ravi suria an analyst at Prudential Securities Company was concerned Amazon was not generating good cash flow essentially because it was swiftly expanding from less than 10 million dollars cash out lay. He also had a genuine worry about the reducing stock turnover of the company as it increased their distribution channels in 1999. Despite of Amazon being one of the largest online retailers, they had been able to hold on to profit making and had fallen in the eyes of the investors. (Rainer, Turban,

Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Justice - Essay Example These two characteristics, the concern for practical applications of his philosophy and the use of reason to supplant theological directives, distinguished Socrates. His was an attempt to teach people how to better define the highest good, how to attain justice, and therefore how to attain happiness both individually and socially. This essay will examine Socrates’ notions of a highest good and justice, his linking of the individual and society through an integrated philosophical approach, and the implications of different choices regarding public administration and public order. As a preliminary matter, it is important to note that Socrates’ teachings were most directed at the individual. The highest good, therefore, was a condition that each individual was capable of attaining; however, this highest good could only be known through reason and a knowledge of one’s self. Socrates equated this highest good with knowledge and happiness. Significantly, though, he went to great lengths to distinguish true happiness from illusory pursuits of happiness. He did this by drawing distinctions between absolute levels of ignorance and fancy ideals of true knowledge. These distinctions, often grounded in Socrates’ claims that he knew nothing, provided the intellectual framework for subsequently exploring ultimate questions of goodness, justice, and proper forms of public administration. In effect, he tore down common assumptions, challenged certain modes of thinking, and in the process attempted to redefine both the proper focus and method of philoso phical inquiry as well as the practical application of philosophy to man’s life and to social affairs. Central to man’s pursuit of happiness was the intellectual process by which he confronted choices and made decisions. In many ways, Socrates reduced the highest good to a

Overuse of Acronyms in Professional Writing Research Paper

Overuse of Acronyms in Professional Writing - Research Paper Example cronyms which may be seen in scientific literature include ACE for Angiostensin Coverting Enzyme, BUN for Blood Urea Nitrogen, and CAT for Computerized Axial Tomography. On the other hand, intialisms like ACTH for Adreno-CorticoTrophic Hormone, PTST for Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, and RT-CR for Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction are also frequently used in the same field. Acronyms are used in the highly technical world for the following purposes: However, acronyms may be overused in scientific writing to the point that the advantages are overshadowed by confusion (Ibrahim 27). This paper will examine the extent by which acronyms are being used in the scientific field with recommendations to prevent the overuse of acronyms in scientific writing Two studies were conducted to investigate the extent to which acronyms are overused in scientific literature: one by researchers Hong Yu, George Hripcsack, and Carol Friedman at Columbia University, and another by Dr. Everett Shocket, from the University of South Florida and the Bay Pines VA Medical Center. Using a computer program they developed, Yu, Hripcsack, and Friedman mapped acronyms in scientific journals to their respective long forms. Results revealed that only 25% of acronyms were defined in scientific articles. The remaining 75% of undefined acronyms were mapped to one of four online acronym databases. The study found that the acronyms had different meanings in each database (Yu, Hripesack, and Friedman 262). An acronym which stands for various meanings in the same field of expertise is a clear indication of irresponsible use and overuse of acronyms even in scholarly works. Findings of the study suggest that concerns about the prevalence of the overuse of acronyms are founded. The fact that an automated intervention to help readers match an acronym in a scientific journal to its correct long form had not been very successful implies the gravity of the problem on the overuse of

Different Aspects of Statistics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Different Aspects of Statistics - Research Paper Example man about his likes and dislikes. For these different methods of statistics like sampling, probability, index numbers and others are used. Different aspects of statistics There are various aspects of statistics that are used in the business and cover different areas. All those aspects differ in their use and application. From policy making to administration and from raw material to the final production and sales, from demand forecasting to the supply of the product, statistical methods are required in every kind of business. However, the fact cannot be denied that there are certain limitations of statistics as well where it cannot work however in most of the cases the use of statistics has been made possible by the renowned statisticians and policy makers. Statistics is not only used by the private entrepreneurs but also by the government entities in formulating the policies. Those include both the short term and long term policies. (Keller, 2008) Demand forecasting Demand forecastin g is an analysis about the demand of a specific product in a given locality. Many factors likewise per capital income and economic condition of the country and similar others are considered before forecasting the demand. This is mainly done by the sales and marketing departments of the entity. This enables the production department to work more effectively. The due care must be taken before doing such a forecast because if it is underestimated it means the company has lost its sales and if it is over estimated this can result in waste of resources. Therefore it is recommended that demand forecasting must be done by specialists after reviewing all the necessary information available with them. Though the forecasting is very difficult and seems impossible however if information available with the forecasters is accurate and also they possess the required skills they may forecast the demand up to almost accurate level. This makes the company competitive in the market and helps in bette r provision of services and meets the real demand of the market. Some unusual factors like seasonal changes, promotional schemes and discount for valued customers may also cause an error in accurate forecasting of demand as these would attract more customers. All such factors should also be considered before collecting any kind of data. Concept of demand forecasting can better be understood by the following example. (Keller, 2008) Example: The demand for a product in each of the last five months is shown below. Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Demand 10 13 18 27 29 26 20 We can see that demand for a specific product is increasing slowly for the first three months but there is a sudden increase in the demand in the 4th month. This may be because many factors like seasonal change, a promotional scheme or some other however demand starts decreasing from the 6th month. At the time of forecasting demand professionals consider all the factors that what would be the demand of the product in a particula r time. Decision makers then use different kinds of statistical methods which are

Overuse of Acronyms in Professional Writing Research Paper

Overuse of Acronyms in Professional Writing - Research Paper Example cronyms which may be seen in scientific literature include ACE for Angiostensin Coverting Enzyme, BUN for Blood Urea Nitrogen, and CAT for Computerized Axial Tomography. On the other hand, intialisms like ACTH for Adreno-CorticoTrophic Hormone, PTST for Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, and RT-CR for Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction are also frequently used in the same field. Acronyms are used in the highly technical world for the following purposes: However, acronyms may be overused in scientific writing to the point that the advantages are overshadowed by confusion (Ibrahim 27). This paper will examine the extent by which acronyms are being used in the scientific field with recommendations to prevent the overuse of acronyms in scientific writing Two studies were conducted to investigate the extent to which acronyms are overused in scientific literature: one by researchers Hong Yu, George Hripcsack, and Carol Friedman at Columbia University, and another by Dr. Everett Shocket, from the University of South Florida and the Bay Pines VA Medical Center. Using a computer program they developed, Yu, Hripcsack, and Friedman mapped acronyms in scientific journals to their respective long forms. Results revealed that only 25% of acronyms were defined in scientific articles. The remaining 75% of undefined acronyms were mapped to one of four online acronym databases. The study found that the acronyms had different meanings in each database (Yu, Hripesack, and Friedman 262). An acronym which stands for various meanings in the same field of expertise is a clear indication of irresponsible use and overuse of acronyms even in scholarly works. Findings of the study suggest that concerns about the prevalence of the overuse of acronyms are founded. The fact that an automated intervention to help readers match an acronym in a scientific journal to its correct long form had not been very successful implies the gravity of the problem on the overuse of

The Psychological Dangers of Unemployment Essay Example for Free

The Psychological Dangers of Unemployment Essay Work is inexplicably bound to human existence. Since the dawn of time, human beings had to live by the sweat of their brows in order to ensure their survival. The advent of technology did not change this reality – the former only diversified work, as well as made it faster and more convenient. So closely linked is work to human existence that entire schools of thought were actually built around this association. The Prussian philosopher and political economist Karl Marx (1818-1883), for instance, argued that an individual’s identity was based on what he or she did for a living (Sayers 39). A person’s occupation supposedly reflected his or her faculties. The loss of work would therefore have an adverse effect on all aspects of a person’s life. In his article The Consequences – Undoing Sanity (2006) Louis Uchitelle argued that unemployment translates to more than just the loss of an occupation. When an individual becomes unemployed, he or she loses not just economic security but also his or her self-esteem (Uchitelle 299). This observation is very much true in the United States, a country whose culture strongly emphasized independence and individual achievement. Since its institution, the US has created an image of itself as an egalitarian society. Every American, regardless of race, creed or social status, had to work for their own survival. Consequently, when meeting someone for the first time, the question â€Å"What do you do? † is not far from the American’s lips. In American culture, a person’s job provides other people an idea about his or her personal background – educational attainment, upbringing, tastes, gender preference, etc. (Seguin 14) Furthermore, American culture associates work with personal accomplishment (Seguin 14). The egalitarian nature of American culture brought about the latter’s philosophy that diligence and industry are the tickets to better times. It is therefore not unusual for the average American to hold two or three jobs at the same time. Most Americans were first exposed to work through part-time jobs during their teenage years. Globalization, however, shattered the aforementioned ideals. Eager to cut down on operational expenses, many US enterprises resorted to downsizing. Minor operations, such as telemarketing and customer assistance, were transferred to Third World countries. For these companies, downsizing made good business sense – the Third World was a source of cheap but highly-skilled labor. But the American workers did not share the same belief. For them, downsizing meant the closure of firms and massive layoffs. Employees who faithfully served a company for many years suddenly found themselves out of work. Worse, they were unable to find a new job. Simply put, downsizing spelled poverty – decreased household expenditures, searching for a cheaper place to live, selling of properties that took many years to obtain just to make ends meet. Numerous studies have already been conducted on the damaging effects of joblessness, particularly on unemployment brought about by layoffs – decrease in family cohesion, a rise in the divorce rate, the unwinding of communities and guilty feelings among employees who dodged a layoff. But Uchitelle pointed out that the layoff in itself is already a very damaging blow (Uchitelle 301). Most employees who have been laid off often attribute their misfortune to their â€Å"mediocre† performance as workers (Uchitelle 301) – they were fired probably because they always reported late for work, they called in sick even if they really were not, their employers were not satisfied at their outputs, etc. Others, meanwhile, convince themselves that it is the company who has the problem and not them (Uchitelle 301). They may rationalize that the company is having financial trouble, hence the need to reduce the number of hands that it had to pay. Or maybe layoffs were simply commonplace, given the dismal state of the economy. Despite these elaborate justifications, the feelings of diminishment would still surface (Uchitelle 301). How come they were fired, while their co-workers were not? This sense of diminishment, in turn, has very destructive psychological effects. Despite encouragement from friends and family members, those who have been laid off may no longer feel any enthusiasm about pursuing a new job. This lack of interest has two sources – low self-esteem and the fear of failure (Uchitelle 302). A person who lost his or her job because of a layoff may feel that he or she is too incompetent for any kind of work. Such self-pity, consecutively, generates the fear that they will end up getting fired from the next job that they will avail themselves of. Layoffs can be more psychologically damaging for men, who are still traditionally expected to become the breadwinners of their respective families. One of Uchitelle’s respondents, Stacey Brown, was very much distressed over the negative personality changes in her husband, Erin, after he was laid off from his job as a mechanic in United Airlines. Prior to the layoff, Erin was a hardworking, ambitious man who was devoted to his job and had many future plans for his family (Uchitelle 299). But according to Stacey, he was unable to pick up his life after he became unemployed. She believed that â€Å"the layoff destroyed (her husband’s) self-esteem† (Uchitelle 299). Since Erin lost his job, he no longer had the self-confidence to look for a new job or pursue any other endeavor. His wife had to prod him into applying for a job as a technical specialist in a Rolls-Royce engine plant in Indianapolis. Erin, however, did not get hired. Stacey sensed that this incident made him averse to work of any kind (Uchitelle 303). For one, he described the plant’s human resources manager in a resentful and insulting manner. According to Erin, â€Å"I was well-qualified and I went through a lot of effort to get (the job)†¦and it turns out the guy who was doing the hiring had not bothered to understand the nature of the job he was in charge of filling† (Uchitelle 303). In addition, he was no longer interested in fulfilling his former plans of opening his own business. In order to lift his spirits after getting laid off, Stacey insisted on purchasing a rundown three-bedroom house located near their residence (Uchitelle 300). She hoped that in buying the house, she would be able to help him fulfill his dream of renovating and reselling rundown houses (Uchitelle 300). It proved to be a false hope. Although Erin started construction work on the house, he completed only the exterior part. Despite his excuses such as having to take care of their son, Kyle, Stacey knew the real reason behind his inability to finish reconstructing the house – he was afraid of another failure. According to Stacey, â€Å"(He) did not want to take the risk of actually finishing the (house) and then somehow (losing it like his former occupation)† (Uchitelle 304). No amount of support and understanding from Stacey helped Erin. Although he had just completed a two-evening-a-week course in air condition repair, he did so for the wrong reasons. â€Å"I know that I will be overqualified for the next position that I take,† Erin said (Uchitelle 305). Simply put, the layoff made him feel that he was too incompetent for any gainful employment. Thus, he contented himself with low-paying, dead-end jobs, such as air condition repair. Aversion towards work is another common response among those who experienced a layoff. Getting fired despite dedication to a particular job and or company may make them disillusioned with the point of working for a living (Barling, Kelloway and Frone 291). For them, working no longer makes any sense – they would probably get fired anyway. Losing a job is indeed very tragic, as the absence of livelihood would definitely spell poverty for a person or a family. But the tragedy associated with a layoff is even worse. An employee who gets laid off from work ends up losing not only his or her economic security, but also his or her self-esteem. He or she would most likely think that his or her incompetence led to the loss of his or her job. But wallowing in self-pity will not get anyone anywhere. After a period of mourning over loss, an individual will have no other choice but to move on with his or her life. Time, after all, never waited for anyone.Furthermore, a person who is down has no other way to go to but up. Works Cited Barling, Julian, E. Kevin Kelloway, and Michael Robert Frone. Handbook of Work Stress. London: SAGE, 2004. Sayers, Sean. Marxism and Human Nature. New York: Routledge, 1998. Seguin, Robert. Around Quitting Time: Work and Middle-Class Fantasy in American Fiction. Durham: Duke University Press, 2001. Uchitelle, Louis. The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences. New York: Knopf, 2006.

Yann Martels Life Of Pi 2001 Literature Essay

Yann Martels Life Of Pi 2001 Literature Essay Yann Martels Booker-Prize winning novel Life of Pi (2001) narrates the nine months odyssey of Piscine Patel on the Pacific Ocean. Far from being only a fascinating adventurous tale, this novel addresses important issues such as faith, identity, universalism, religion, and areas of cultural contact. Although the plot may seem to revolve mainly around Pi and Richard Parker, Life of Pi deals extensively with the great human project of trying to live together. By using Pi as his trans-cultural hero, Martel seems to insist on the need to constructively reformulate the human mind in relation to cosmopolitanism, absolute truth and religious identity. This papers aim is to bring out the cosmopolitan message that Martel seeks to transmit to his readers and to show how the latter focuses on that part of our common human identity that links us, instead of stressing on those identities that only partially define and differentiate us. A cross-reference is also going to be made to Homers The Odyss ey so as to highlight the idea of the equal treatment of all human beings, regardless of religion, culture, ethnicity and values, as prescribed by cosmopolitanism. Life of Pi is a novel which can be read in many different ways; as an adventurous story, as an allegory of power, as a reflection on the superiority of imagination over reason, as an explanation of the intricate and complex life of humans and animals, and, of utmost importance to this essay, as a spiritual journey or a quest for identity and as a metaphor of the cultural and religious conflicts that characterize every known human society. Culture and identity play a key role in many contemporary wars. Many philosophers and cultural theorists argue that the resolution of protracted ethnic and religious conflicts lies in the fostering and nurturing of cosmopolitan identities. First of all, what makes Life of Pi an interesting platform for exploring trans-cultural and interfaith relationships is not merely Martels cosmopolitan background, but also the novels portrayal of the protagonists life before and after the shipwreck. Pi Patel grows up in Pondicherry, a former French territory on the Indian subcontinent, where Eastern and Western cultures inevitably exist in close contact. To the dismay of grownups, particularly the representatives of different religions, the wise men as they are almost satirically referred to in the novel, Pi shows devotion to Hinduism, embraces and practices Christianity and Islam simultaneously. After his nine months in the lifeboat, he is hospitalized in Mexico and the author finally encounters him as an Indian immigrant in Toronto. Pis hybrid, multiple faiths and open-mindedness not only help him survive emotionally and physically but are also strengthened after the events. His house in Canada can be used as a proof to support this statement; the author describes the devotional articles that he finds in the protagonists house, ranging from a framed picture of Ganesha, a plain wooden cross, a small framed picture of the virgin Mary of Guadalupe, to a framed photo of the black-robed Kaaba, holiest sanctum of Islam. Pi is therefore presented as a cosmopolitan, a citizen of the world, as he not only practices three religions but is also at home in the worlds of science and theology, having achieved university degrees in both fields. Martel juxtaposes the young Pi Patels receptiveness to other cultures and religions to the intolerance of the three religious figures encountered on the beach; the priest, the imam and the pandit, each convinced of the singular truth of the path he taught. Each of them apoplectically try to impose the superiority and validity of their respective faiths after discovering that Pi shows devotion to three different, opposing, and often conflicting religions; The priest looked askance at both of them. Piscine, he nearly whispered, there is salvation only in Jesus. Balderdash! Christians know nothing about religion, said the pandit. They strayed long ago from Gods path, said the imam. Wheres God in your religion? snapped the priest. You dont have a single miracle to show for it. What kind of religion is that, without miracles? It isnt a circus with dead people jumping out of tombs all the time, thats what! We Muslims stick to the essential miracle of existence. Birds flying, rain falling, crops growing-these are miracles enough for us. Feathers and rain are all very nice, but we like to know that God is truly with us. Is that so? Well, a whole lot of good it did God to be with you-you tried to kill him! You banged him to a cross with great big nails. Is that a civilized way to treat a prophet? The prophet Muhammad-peace be upon him-brought us the word of God without any undignified nonsense and died at a ripe old age. The word of God? To that illiterate merchant of yours in the middle of the desert? Those were drooling epileptic fits brought on by the swaying of his camel, not divine revelation. That, or the sun frying his brains! Whereas Pi just [wants] to love God, the three religious leaders represent those who insist on believing in one, absolute truth. This situation of world-wide coalition of cultures as Claude Levi- Strauss termed it, can be further elaborated using Richard Burtons famous words; All Faith is false, all Faith is true; Truth is the shattered mirror strown In myriad bits; while each believes His little bit the whole to own. Like Burton, Martel implies that absolute truth is inaccessible to human beings, who will probably never be able to understand it fully. Therefore, adhering slavishly and blindly to one faith without taking an interest in the practices and beliefs of others only contributes to [obstruct] empathy and [makes] ethnocentrism inescapable. The problem with most human beings and civilizations, as highlighted in Life of Pi and as extensively discussed by Appiah, appears to be that everyone believes that their particular faith is the all-comprehending and absolute truth. Everyone seems to be holding their little bit of their shattered mirror, guarding it protectively (almost jealously) from others and trying to see as much as they can in it. Gilroy describes such a situation as being one in which we are all sealed up inside our frozen cultural habits and where there is no workable precedent for adopting a more generous and creative view of how human beings might communicate or act in concert across racial, ethnic, or civilizational divisions. What Appiah in turn proposes to cultural and religious differences reflects Pis own ideologies. For Appiah therefore, there is no agreed-upon answer- and the point is there doesnt need to be. He urges that it is of central importance for the benefit of humanity that we all learn about people in other places, take an interest in their civilizations, not because that will bring us to agreement, but because it will help us get used to one another. In this sense, Pis behavior towards Richard Parker can be read as a metaphor used to promote or idealize a cosmopolitan ideology among human beings. Appiah also carefully points out that we can perfectly live together without agreeing on what the values are that make it good to live together. If the world could share their myriad bits, human beings would have definitely been able to see a lot more clearly. Similarly, there exists no singular truth. There are many truths, depending on our moralities and experience. As Pi reproaches to Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba twice at the end of the novel; Tigers exist, lifeboats exist, oceans exist. Because the three have never come together in your narrow, limited experience, you refuse to believe that they might. Yet the plain fact is that the Tsimtsum brought them together and then sank. And at some later point in the same conversation, Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe? Pi here implies that openness and the taking of interest in others lives and experiences are more enriching to human beings rather than further entombing themselves in what they believe is the absolute truth, thereby turning their own lives into yeastless factuality. Inspite of all his misadventures though, Pi not only remains faithful to all three religions but also admires the religious as well as the irreligious. Readers cannot disagree therefore with Pis statement that to choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation. Similarly, closing ourselves into our set of beliefs and closing all doors to the appreciation of other cultures, civilizations and people is akin to living without any enriching human and cultural progress. Sharing a lifeboat with a tiger for 227 days is considered as quasi-impossible both to believe and as a thing likely to occur. However, Martel beautifully uses imagination over reason to drag his readers in a kind of magical realism tour which requires a strong yet willing suspension of disbelief so as to show that such a thing is plausible and was actually experienced by the hero of his novel. Pi renounces to the initial idea of murdering Richard Parker because he realizes that if he does so, he will have no one to provide for, no one to depend on him and no reason at all to live. Thereupon, the tiger shifts from being a source of fear and a mortally threatening creature to a source of peace, purposeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ even wholeness. What Pi does therefore is that he uses his understanding of animals, acquired at the zoo, so as to establish a peaceful cohabitation between himself and Richard. According to June Dwyer, Pis success lies in the fact that he respects the Others instincts, n eeds and values and gives him equal consideration; it is acceptance of the Other without imposing change on him.Since Richard has already claimed his part in the lifeboat, Pi decides to negotiate. So, instead of killing, he shares and instead of giving up his authority he makes it clear to the tiger what is his by also urinating on his territory. The tiger in turn, much to Pis surprise, reacts positively to the latters whistle-blows. What Martel is trying to show here is that the human and the tiger are capable of living together (even in a lifeboat with limited space) as long as each respects the others space. If two completely different creatures are able to live together peacefully, by making compromises and respecting each other, then it becomes very much possible for cosmopolitanism among humans to be completely disregarded as a mere set of utopian ideals, as is often claimed by many,or, put in simpler terms, to be seen as a realistic utopia, as Nancy Fraser puts it. Likewise, Homers most enduring hero, Odysseus, celebrates someone seeking adventure and valuing the unfamiliar and the strange.According to one definition, cosmopolitanism represents the attempt to exhibit a familiarity with, or appreciation of many parts and peoples of the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ This definition aptly applies to both Life of Pi and The Odyssey. Much like Pi himself, Odysseus is also shipwrecked, which leads him to encounter different people, civilizations, cultures and languages. We witness for example his admiration for the Phaiakians at some point in the book, and we see how he admires the latters polity. The simple swineherd Eumaeus, remarkable for his apparent striking similarity to Odysseus, also helps to better understand the shared human condition at that time. According to Patrick Deneen, Eumaeuss understanding of the situation of humanity relative to the gods is similar to that of Odysseus himself. This understanding leads to his realization that the human con dition leads one to recognize that the parts of our human identity that link us outnumber those identities that differentiate us. As he says to Odysseus, whom he meets as a begger, upon their first encounter, Stranger, I have no right to deny the stranger, not even if one came to me who was meaner than you. All vagabonds and strangers are under Zeus, and the gift is a light and dear oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Readers are thus able to see how Eumaeus, as well as Odysseus, recognize the protection that Zeus accords to all human beings, even to the most desperate ones. Since readers are able to travel through different civilizations, cultures, mindsets and values in The Odyssey, comparisons between those who show kindness to strangers and those who do not (such as in the case of Polyphemus, Poseidons son) are made possible. In this sense, Telemachuss meetings with Nestor and Menelaus also allow Homer to explore the Greek code of xenia, or hospitality. As Bernard Knox argues in the introduction to Robert Fagless translation of The Odyssey, the obligation of attending to and entertaining travelers is the closest The Odyssey comes to affirming an absolute moral principle. This also reminds of Nussbaums most explicit description of the duties or obligations of any citizen of the world; Our task as citizens of the world, and as educators who prepare people to be citizens of the world, will be to draw the circles somehow toward the center, making all human beings like our fellow city dwellers. In other words, we need not give up our special affections and affiliations and identifications, whether national or ethnic or religious; but we should work to make all human beings part of our community of dialogue and concern, showing respect for the human wherever it occurs, and allowing that respect to constrain our national and local politics. Likewise, the social code of ancient Greek necessitated that one expresses kindness to strangers in foreign regions by receiving them into ones home. This social expectation of hospitality was so culturally crucial and significant that it was believed to be implemented by Zeus, the king of the gods. Both hosts offer their guest a warm welcome even before they learn Telemachuss identity. Furthermore, this adherence and respect for the social norms enforced by the gods sharply demarcates Penelopes careless wooers plundering of Telemachuss home in Ithaca from Telemachus and Odysseus. Homer sets the right against the wrong by portraying the latter as hero and the suitors as villains. Although it is set in 700 BC, The Odyssey certainly sheds light on contemporary debates about cosmopolitanism. Martel on the other hand beautifully uses Pi as the hero of his novel, so as to transmit the innocent yet strong cosmopolitan and universal visions of a child, thereby providing more hope for a cosm opolitan future for the new generations. On a conclusive note, it can be noted that what Martel in a way wants his readers to know is that the persistent barriers of doubt, fear of the Other, ignorance, close-mindedness, racism and imaginative, long- held stereotypes are only vicious obstacles to the creation of a cosmopolitan world and fruitful human relations. In order for the human experience to progress therefore, these constant obstacles have to be destroyed. Indeed this book seems to suggest that the most appropriate and beneficial perspective to be adopted in the 21st century is one of cosmopolitanism.