Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Jesus Essays - Christology, Prophets Of Islam, Jesus And History

Jesus There has never been a man like Jesus. He is considered to be the most unique person of all time. Jesus' teachings have influenced many people and have changed mankind. According to Marcus J. Borg in Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Jesus was in a way four different people fused into one. He was a spirit person, which is a person with a deep unexplainable connection with the spirit of God. Jesus was a teacher of wisdom. He used parables and one-liners to teach about the Kingdom of God. These parables and aphorisms are the only direct connection we have with the historical Jesus. We get to read what came from him directly and we get a better sense of whom he really was. Borg also describes Him as a social prophet, which is characterized as a person that has conflicts with authority, that criticizes the elites of his time, and that promoted a different "social vision." The last identity that Borg gives Jesus is that of a movement founder. He started a renewal movement for Judaism that went past the social barriers of his time. We do not know much about Jesus until he was about thirty years old. We do however know that Jesus was a Jew, which is surprisingly not known by quite a few Christians. He grew up in Galilee and spoke Aramaic, or Hebrew. The Torah was his primary reading in school and he probably became a tekton, a Greek word that means carpenter. Borg explains that Jesus probably went to follow a prophet named John, but when John was arrested he carried on with God's Word. The historical Jesus was nonmessiac, which means that we do not know if He thought of himself as the Messiah or the Son of God. His message always pointed away from Himself and towards God. Borg give some major impressions of Jesus and what kind of a person he was. For example, Jesus was a right and left-brained thinker. He was an eloquent speaker that was great at debate and story telling. Jesus was not always liked. People would try to trick Him with questions, but he always managed to come back with an amazing answer. He used extraordinary actions to make statements, like eating with social rejects and the diseased. He was an amazing healer that always had a crowd. Jesus healed Simons mother-in-law, a Roman officer, a servant, a crippled woman (just to name a few) and even raised the dead. Another thing that we know about the historical Jesus was that he did not live a long life and died in his thirties. Jesus was a remarkable teacher. His main teachings were of God's kingdom, prayers, wise and foolish lifestyles, and love and forgiveness. Jesus challenged people to question their values and that is why He was an effective teacher. There were many ways that Jesus would teach the Kingdom of God. He would wander around, heal, and eat with people. He would have table fellowship with anyone because He refused to see any abnormalities in someone. David Kantor explains on his website that Jesus had very effective techniques to teaching. One technique was social contact with people to draw them into the story with questions. Another technique that He used was telling parables and using symbolism. Jesus made the heroes of the stories that he told a person that the people detested. He always built on what the people already knew and did not over teach. He taught with authority and used memorable illustrations to reinforce his point. Jesus' teachings were more influential that any part of His life. Stephen Johnson explains on his website that the essence of Jesus' teachings were "love and unselfish social service." In teaching people the Kingdom of God and how He led His life, Jesus led people to God. There were five main teachings of Jesus. He taught the "Fatherhood of God," which is that God is our Father that loves all as a whole and as individuals. He knows us all, knows what we are thinking, and gives us the free will to know Him back. Jesus taught the "Brotherhood of Man," or to "love our neighbors as ourselves." He said that through exercise of faith we can experience God's kingdom. Jesus characterized the Kingdom of Heaven in many ways, one example is Him saying, "the Kingdom of Heaven is within you." Another teaching of Jesus was the importance of an individual's personal relationship with God. He taught that God's love

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Leaellynasaura - Facts and Figures

Leaellynasaura - Facts and Figures Name: Leaellynasaura (Greek for Leaellyns lizard); pronounced LAY-ah-ELL-ee-nah-SORE-ah Habitat: Plains of Australia Historical Period: Middle Cretaceous (105 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 10 feet long and 100 pounds Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Slim build; long tail; relatively large eyes and brain About Leaellynasaura If the name Leaellynasaura sounds a bit odd, thats because this is one of the few dinosaurs to be named after a living person: in this case, the daughter of Australian paleontologists Thomas Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich, who discovered this ornithopod in 1989. The most striking thing about Leaellynasaura is how far south it lived: during the middle Cretaceous period, the continent of Australia was relatively cold, with long, dark winters. This would explain Leaellynasauras relatively large eyes (which need to be that big in order to gather in all the available light), as well as its relatively small size, given the limited resources of its ecosystem.   Since the discovery of Leaellynasaura, many other dinosaurs have been unearthed in the southern polar regions, including the vast continent of Antarctica. (See The 10 Most Important Dinosaurs of Australia and Antarctica.) This raises an important question: while the weight of opinion is that meat-eating dinosaurs had warm-blooded metabolisms, might this also have been the case for plant-eating ornithopods like Leaellynasaura, which needed a way to protect themselves from plunging temperatures? The evidence is inconclusive, even given the recent discovery of ornithopod dinosaurs bearing feathers (which are generally evolved by warm-blooded vertebrates as a means of insulation).

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Compare the Funerary Mask of Tutankhamen and that of Lord Pakal Essay

Compare the Funerary Mask of Tutankhamen and that of Lord Pakal - Essay Example The mask depicts a face of a young and good-looking man. It has been acknowledged that the mask has little to do with actual facial expressions of the king (Renfrew 164). It is a perfect mask of a perfect face. This perfection is achieved through proportionality and, of course, materials used. The eyes are highlighted with the help of lapis lazuli and there are two symbols of the king’s power (cobra and vulture) on the mask. Admittedly, the mask reveals the power, wealth and glory of the king. More importantly, the mask stands for the divine nature of the pharaoh. According to Ancient Egyptians’ beliefs, pharaohs stopped their earthly existence and turned into gods. Gold was the symbol of this transformation. Therefore, after his death, Tutankhamen was no longer a mortal but became a god and the mask depicted the divine features of the deceased. The major purpose of the mask was to stress the divine nature of the diseased or rather his transformation into a deity. As far as Lord Pakal is concerned, he was buried in 683 CE (Carrasco 113). Unlike Tutankhamen’s funeral mask, Lord Pakal’s funerary mask is not made of gold. It is primarily made of jade with the use of albite, conch shell, veined quartz, stucco and obsidian. The mask is a mosaic of perfectly fitted stones. Just like the mask of the Egyptian king, the mask of Lord Pakal can be regarded as quite a schematic representation of the great warrior’s face. More so, the prolonged nose (that starts on the forehead) can hardly be a facial feature of the Mayan king. Again, the mask is not aimed at depicting the actual man but rather the king who transformed into a deity after his death. Precious materials are used to reveal the divine nature of the king. More so, the mask was a symbol of transition from life to death and back as it was a symbol of eternity (Sharer 453). Notably, the elaborate mosaic could also embody another important belief of the Mayas. The people of Mesopotamia believed in

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

A musical score of Citizen Kane utilizing Gorbman methodology Essay

A musical score of Citizen Kane utilizing Gorbman methodology - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that Ð µhe notion that music in films usually has powerful effects on its viewers in indisputable. However, the careful examination of the reason behind the effects is greatly ignored. People tend to correlate previously unassociated pieces of drama to what is heard in a film music. Basically, any kind of music played in a film has to have a purpose. Every spontaneous melody or pre-composed piece is a potential option for a cinematic soundtrack (Patrik 45). One has to ask how and why people are so interested in combining drama and music in a film. While it is evident that the full emotional effect of a movie scene is carried through the successful interpretation of audio and visual information, the music in the movie still carries a significant effect for the interpretation of the director’s intent and style. The objective of this paper is to provide an analysis of the musical score of the movie Citizen Kane by utilizing Gorman and Kassabian methodologies.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Building a Cyber Security Pipeline to Attract, Train, and Retain Women Research Paper

Building a Cyber Security Pipeline to Attract, Train, and Retain Women - Research Paper Example al, 2010). The focus is training for the positions that do not require the candidate to have a college or university degree. The education is very convenient as it takes the form of online training and women can train as they perform their daily duties. Some of the most important training will be in mitigating risk solutions and networks mapping. The training will assist in the protection of the information for various users such as companies, organizations, as well as individuals and governments and ensure that women remain in the cyber security job for long. Cyber crime rates are very high challenging security in many countries including the US and training many adult women is a strategy that will help reduce the menace. The talented women will have all the skills concerning cyber security, which will improve the cyber security and reduce the labor shortage in the cyber security markets. Targeting adult women for the training programs in cyber security is important since most of them will have a chance to further their studies and earn extra income. Adults are also more available and responsible for the job than children in the high school and other levels. Current information on the US professional workforce shows that women comprise a small percentage of the employees in the Information Technology (IT). Targeting adult women for the cyber security training will, therefore, increase the number of women in the sector and encourage more to enroll. One major reason for the few adult women in the cyber security jobs is that lack of focus in education and interest in sciences, engineering, and technology for women. A strategy that targets adult women to join the cyber security course will be very effective, as they will realize their potential and encourage other to venture in the same career. There are several resources available for adult women on such issues as education, training, and careers in cyber

Friday, November 15, 2019

Benefits and Strategies of Performance Management

Benefits and Strategies of Performance Management Armstrong and Baron define performance management as a process which contributes to the effective management of individuals and teams in order to achieve high levels of organisational performance. As such, it establishes shared understanding about what is to be achieved and an approach to leading and developing people which will ensure that it is achieved. They go on to stress that it is a strategy which relates to every activity of the organisation set in the context of its human resource policies, culture, style and communications systems. The nature of the strategy depends on the organisational context and can vary from organisation to organisation. In other words performance management should be: Strategic it is about broader issues and longer-term goals Integrated it should link various aspects of the business, people management, and individuals and teams. It should incorporate: Performance improvement throughout the organisation, for individual, team and organisational effectiveness Development unless there is continuous development of individuals and teams, performance will not improve Managing behaviour ensuring that individuals are encouraged to behave in a way that allows and fosters better working relationships. Armstrong and Baronstress that at its best performance management is a tool to ensure that managers manage effectively; that they ensure the people or teams they manage: know and understand what is expected of them have the skills and ability to deliver on these expectations are supported by the organisation to develop the capacity to meet these expectations are given feedback on their performance have the opportunity to discuss and contribute to individual and team aims and objectives. It is also about ensuring that managers themselves are aware of the impact of their own behaviour on the people they manage and are encouraged to identify and exhibit positive behaviours. So performance management is about establishing a culture in which individuals and groups take responsibility for the continuous improvement of business processes and of their own skills, behaviour and contributions. It is about sharing expectations. Managers can clarify what they expect individual and teams to do; likewise individuals and teams can communicate their expectations of how they should be managed and what they need to do their jobs. It follows that performance management is about interrelationships and about improving the quality of relationships between managers and individuals, between managers and teams, between members of teams and so on, and is therefore a joint process. It is also about planning defining expectations expressed as objectives and in business plans and about measurement; the old dictum is If you cant measure it, you cant manage it. It should apply to all employees, not just managers, and to teams as much as individuals. It is a continuous process, not a one-off event. Last but not least, it is holistic and should pervade every aspect of running an organisation. How does performance management work? Because performance management is (or should be) so all-pervasive, it needs structures to support it. These should provide a framework to help people operate, and to help them to help others to operate. But it should not be a rigid system; there needs to be a reasonable degree of flexibility to allow people freedom to operate. Performance management is a process, not an event. It operates as a continuous cycle. Corporate strategic goals provide the starting point for business and departmental goals, followed by agreement on performance and development, leading to the drawing up of plans between individuals and managers, with continuous monitoring and feedback supported by formal reviews. Tools of performance management It is impossible to go into details of each of the tools used by performance management, so the following paragraphs simply provide an outline. Performance and development reviews Many organisations without performance management systems operate appraisals in which an individuals manager regularly (usually annually) records performance, potential and development needs in a top-down process see our factsheet on performance appraisal for more information on this topic. Go to our Performance appraisal factsheet It can be argued that the perceived defects of appraisal systems (that line managers regarded them as irrelevant, involving form-filling to keep the personnel department happy, and not as a normal process of management) led to the development of more rounded concepts of performance management. Nevertheless, organisations with performance management systems need to provide those involved with the opportunity to reflect on past performance as a basis for making development and improvement plans, and the performance and development review meeting (note the terminology; it is not appraisal) provides this chance. The meeting must be constructive, and various techniques can be used to conduct the sort of open, free-flowing and honest meeting needed, with the reviewee doing most of the talking. Learning and development Employee development is the main route followed by most organisations to improved organisational performance, which in turn requires an understanding of the processes and techniques of organisational, team and individual learning. Performance reviews can be regarded as learning events, in which individuals can be encouraged to think about how and in which ways they want to develop. This can lead to the drawing up of a personal development plan (PDP) setting out the actions they propose to take (with the help of others, not least their managers) to develop themselves. To keep development separate from performance and salary discussions, development reviews may be held at other times, for example, on theanniversary of joining an organisation. Increasing emphasis on talent management also means that many organisations are re-defining performance management to align it to the need to identify, nurture and retain talent. Development programmes are reflecting the needs of succession plans and seeking to foster leadership skills. However, too much of an emphasis on talent management may be damaging to overall development needs and every effort needs to be made to ensure that development is inclusive, accessible and focused on developing organisational capability. Coaching Coaching is an important tool in learning and development. Coaching is developing a persons skills and knowledge so that their job performance improves, leading to the achievement of organisational objectives. Coaching is increasingly recognised as a significant responsibility of line managers, and can play an important part in a PDP. They will take place during the review meetings, but also and more importantly should be carried out throughout the year. For some managers coaching comes naturally, but for many they may not and training may be needed to improve their skills. See our factsheet oncoaching for more information. Go to our Coaching factsheet Objectives and performance standards Objectives (some organisations prefer to use goals) describe something to be accomplished by individuals, departments and organisations over a period of time. They can be expressed as targets to be met (such as sales) and tasks to be completed by specified dates. They can be work-related, referring to the results to be attained, or personal, taking the form of developmental objectives for individuals. Objectives need to be defined and agreed. They will relate to the overall purpose of the job and define performance areas all the aspects of the job that contribute to achieving its overall purpose. Targets then need to be set for each performance area, for example, increase sales by x per cent, reduce wastage by y per cent Alongside objectives are performance standards. They are used when it is not possible to set time-based targets, or when there is a continuing objective which does not change significantly from one review period to the next and is a standing feature of the job. These should be spelled out in quantitative terms if possible, for example, speed of response to requests or meeting defined standards of accuracy. Competences and competencies Some organisations, but by no means all, use competences and competencies as components of performance management. Competences describe what people need to be able to do to perform a job well (the descriptions in National Vocational Qualifications are examples of competences). Competencies (more helpfully, behavioural competencies) are defined as the dimensions of behaviour that lie behind competent performance. Though the language used does not help in making the distinction, to perform well it is necessary both to be able to do a job at a technically competent level and to have behaviours that reinforce those technical skills; an obvious example of behaviour is the surgeon who needs a good bedside manner and to be able to communicate with colleagues, in addition to surgical skills. There are various techniques for measuring competence (some organisations prefer to use capability) and once an analysis has been made, it provides a tool for measuring performance and, of course, for pr oviding development activities to help people meet the required standards. For more information, see our competencies factsheet. Go to our factsheet on Competency and competency frameworks Measurement To improve performance, you need to know what current performance is. Measurement provides the basis for providing and generating feedback, and thus can build the platform for further success or identify where things are going less well so that corrective action can be taken. But what gets measured? Measure the wrong things, perhaps simply because they are easy to measure, and an entire performance management system can fall into disrepute. Use too many measures and you cant see the wood for the trees. For measuring performance, the achievement of objectives, levels of competency, standards of performance, and work outputs are used but the emphasis varies according to categories of staff for example, a senior manager would be mainly measured by meeting objectives, but a production worker mainly by achieving outputs. Increasingly organisations are using more sophisticated measuring techniques such as balanced scorecards or ROI (return on investment). Individual and team performance needs to be capable of being linked in an understandable manner to organisational performance, and there are various approaches to this. They include the balanced scorecard, a set of measures that looks at the business from customer, internal, learning and financial perspectives; the European Foundation for Quality Management, which indicates that customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and impact on society are achieved through leadership; and other economic measures, including traditional financial measures. Measures used will depend on the organisation; for example, public service organisations are likely to use different measures from private companies. Pay Performance management is often linked with performance-related pay (PRP), although by no means all organisations claiming to use performance management have PRP. Nevertheless, PRP is an important element in many performance management schemes because it is believed to motivate; it is said to deliver the message that performance and competence are important, and it is thought to be fair to reward people according to their performance, contribution or competence. Others, though, believe that other factors are more important than PRP in motivation; that it is usually based on subjective assessments of performance, that it inhibits teamwork because of its individualistic nature, and that it leads to short-termism. See our factsheet for more information on performance pay. Go to our performance-related pay factsheet An alternative to PRP is competence-related pay, which provides for pay progression to be linked to levels of competence that people have achieved, using a competence profile or framework. The difficulty here is measuring competence, and some organisations use a mix of PRP and competence-related pay. Further possible pay systems are team-based pay, a kind of PRP for teams; and contribution-related pay which means paying for results plus competence, and for past performance and future success. Performance may be used to determine all or some aspects of pay. In many instances only non-consolidated bonus payments are linked to performance which tend to reflect organisational, team and individual performance whilst salary progression is linked to service, market rates and pay scales. Many organisations believe that when performance management is linked to pay the quality of performance discussions will inevitably deteriorate. Teams Team working has become an important part of life in many organisations, and where teams are permanent or for longstanding projects, measures can be based on team performance. They will mainly be concerned with output, activity levels (eg speed of servicing), customer service and satisfaction, and financial results. Indeed, team measures are not very different from those for individuals, and of course team members need to agree their objectives and receive feedback in the same way as if they were not part of a team. Other team members can contribute towards this, in a process of peer review. See our factsheet on wrking in teams. Go to our factsheet on teamworking 360 degree feedback 360 degree feedback became increasingly talked about in the 1990s, if not widely used. It consists of performance data generated from a number of sources, who can include the person to whom the individual being assessed reports, people who report to them, peers (team colleagues or others in the organisation), and internal and external customers. It can also include self-assessment. 360 degree feedback is used mainly as part of a self-development or management development programme, and is felt to provide a more rounded view of people, with less bias than if an assessment is conducted by one individual. See our factsheet on 360 feedback for more information. Go to our factsheet on 360 feedback Performance problem solving Performance management is a positive process, and good systems will create a culture in which success is applauded. Nevertheless, poor performance will exist. It may be a result of inadequate leadership, bad management or defective systems of work, and if so, remedies (often involving learning and development) can be put in place. But individuals may under-perform and improvements can be achieved through continuing feedback and joint discussion between them and their managers, involving analysing and identifying the problem, establishing the reasons for the shortfall, and deciding and agreeing the action to be taken. If all this fails, disciplinary action may need to be taken, as in any organisation. CIPD viewpoint Performance management is not easy to implement. It should be owned by everyone in the organisation, and especially line managers it is emphatically not about guardianship by personnel departments. Surveys suggest that individuals and managers in organisations with performance management systems quite like it, and especially its emphasis on personal development, although performance-rating (often linked to PRP) often provokes hostility. Schemes can be over-detailed and require too much form-filling, and there can be a lack of definition in terms of what is meant by performance and how to achieve it. Schemes can be less successful than they might be because of lack of training, especially at the beginning. In its most positive form, performance management will help individuals not only to understand what is expected of them but also how they contribute to achieving organisational goals. The keys to the successful introduction and application of performance management are: being clear about what is meant by performance understanding what the organisation is and needs to be in its performance culture being very focused on how individual employees will benefit and play their part in the process understanding that it is a tool for line managers and its success will depend on their ability to use it effectively. References ARMSTRONG, M. and BARON, A. (2004) Managing performance: performance management in action. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

The Importance of Leadership Essay -- student leadership program

When I first found out about the school's leadership program, I thought it was something I wanted to do. However, I almost did not apply for it. I filled out the application on the last day it was due and waited in anticipation for an answer. The leadership program has been a positive experience in my life. It has helped me to experience new things and change my way of thinking; it has helped me to become more direct, open and sincere; and it has introduced me to new, interesting, and wonderful people. Â   Through The leadership program, I have experienced many different things and have been introduced to new and different ways of thinking. The new and different experiences I had include working on a community service project with 25 of my peers (with help from our instructors and mentors) and working on an individual leadership project. The numerous and diverse speakers that taught the class each week brought with them unique perspectives. The speaker that I found most enlightening was Lance Brunner because his presentation awakened new emotions in me. Lance Brunner's session was about Mindfulness. The way he taught was attention grabbing. It focused the whole class's attention on what he was talking about. I especially like the point he made about thoughts being impermanent and how we should not let them control what we do. Lance taught me that a thought is as permanent or impermanent as everything else... ... leadership project and the group project helped me very much in my evolution as an Emerging Leader (Individual). I have become fond of all these people, and will know and work with a lot of these individuals throughout my college career, and maybe life. Â   Through the experiences I have had in the leadership program, such as the weekly sessions that featured speakers on diversity and individual ethics, and working on individual and group leadership and community service projects, I have learned to look at things from different perspectives and experienced new and different things that I will carry with me and use the rest of my life. I am glad I filled out that the leadership program application.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Cigarettes: United States Constitution and American Medical Association Essay

Should the production and sale of cigarettes be made illegal? Cigarettes have had a declining reputation ever since they were linked to various forms of cancer, and other debilitating conditions. Cigarettes were not seen as harmful until public awareness was raised about the issue. Now, there are many advocates for cigarettes and many against them, but does the government have the right to make decisions for the public? Sadly, in the democracy we live in today, there is not much democracy at all. If the government wanted cigarettes to be banned, cigarettes would be banned. The government follows its own agenda, regardless of the general public opinion. The government will always find a way to put a facade over the law and argue that no rights are being violated. According to the United States Constitution, under the authority of Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3, better known as the commerce clause, it reads, â€Å"The congress shall have power †¦ To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This states that the federal government has the authority to govern and regulate any commerce within the states. Article one also states, â€Å"The congress shall have power†¦ provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . So if the government decided to ban cigarettes they could use this Article to argue that they are looking out for the best of the public. It is under this law that the government is able to place bans on uncontrolled substances as well. So, if the Supreme Court holds power to ban an uncontrolled substance, like marijuana, but not cigarettes, it would be inconsistent. If it has the power to ban one, it has the power to ban both, under United States law. Both marijuana and cigarettes are considered parts of commerce amongst the states, so the federal government is able to place bans where they find applicable on both. How constitutional this is is infinitely arguable, and all bans placed on uncontrolled substances have been narrowly constitutional; however, it is the law. Cigarettes should not be banned because of the amount of money the government would lose from tobacco taxes. The government makes a considerable amount of money every year from cigarette taxes. Banning cigarettes would also create a black-market for the product and cause more trouble than good. Also, a ban on cigarettes would cause an increase in unemployment worldwide. Even with tens of thousands of people becoming unemployed, the potential for black-market cigarette retail, and a proportional loss in revenue for the government, critics argue cigarettes need to be banned. The problem with these critics is that their points of argument are thin at best, and fail to give substantial reasons for banning cigarettes. Most notably, the outcry of non-smokers claiming they have to pay extra taxes for old-aged smokers that have acquired costly health problems. An interesting proposal when there are so many studies that suggest the opposite. An article from The Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that in order to have full fairness, smokers should be paid between 22 cents and $1. 28 by non-smokers for each pack smoked. This would balance out the societal costs and savings from the smokers habits (Manning 261:1604). So, while statistics say smokers get cancers, heart disease and other conditions that require costly care at a younger age, the same statistics state that smokers die at an earlier age. Therefore, they are not collecting their full potential of pension and social security benefits in their older age. They also do not cause long-term geriatric or nursing home bills like non-smokers do. Another point to make is that when a non-smoker gets lung cancer it is blamed on genetics, but when a smoker gets lung cancer it is assumed it was from smoking. Who is to say that the smoker’s lung cancer was not genetics as well? It should also be noted that lung cancer is a quick, degenerative form of cancer that kills fast which again, supports the claim that smokers cost less for taxpayers. The American Medical Association was not the only organization making these claims. Later in 1993, The U. S.  Office of Technology Assessment stated, â€Å"Reduction or elimination of smoking would improve health and extend longevity, but may not lead to savings in health care costs. In fact, significant reductions in smoking prevalence and the attendant increase in life expectancy could lead to future increases in total medical spending, in Medicare program outlays, and in the budgets of the social security†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (OTA 60). If that is not enough to convince one, the Congressional Research Service conducted a similar study with similar conclusions in 1994 which was then published in 1997 in the reputable New England Journal of Medicine. The Congressional Research Service stated, â€Å"Health care costs for smokers at a given age are as much as 40 percent higher than those for nonsmokers, but in a population in which no one smoked the costs would be 7 percent higher among men and 4 percent higher among women than the costs in the current mixed population of smokers and nonsmokers. If all smokers quit, health care costs would be lower at first, but after 15 years they would become higher than at present. In the long term, complete smoking cessation would produce a net increase in health care costs† (Barendregt et al 337). If you are interested in learning more about cigarette smokers and their cost to the public, read From Cash Crop to Cash Cow, by W. Kip Viscusi. So smokers end up not costing as much as the public thinks in terms of healthcare, but what are some other reasons cigarettes should not be banned? How about the large chunk of money the government would lose from tobacco taxes? This is a very valid point seeing how revenue from tobacco taxes are used by the government as funding for hospitals, schools and other public amenities. Banning cigarettes would directly affect the amount of money the government has for these building costs. This would have a negative effect on the general public, particularly, their wallets. According to the United States treasury, in their fiscal year 2013 budget planning documents, the total federal revenue for tobacco is mentioned at over fifteen billion dollars for 2011. (U. S. Dept. of Treasury 16). With a lack of money coming from tobacco sales, the government would have to find another way to get funding for these projects and that would become evident with increases in property, income or alcohol taxes. Banning cigarettes would cause a general disturbance amongst smokers. To be able to smoke freely one day then for it to become illegal the next day would cause a lot of commotion. Harmless people in society would soon turn to illegal activities, such as smoking a cigarette, and be prosecuted for it. People are addicted to cigarettes, so a ban would not stand in the way of a lot of smokers trying to get what they want. Not only would there be a lot of irritable citizens, there would be a lot of productive and useful citizens being booked for petty crimes like possessing cigarettes. A black-market would ensue the ban and cause more trouble for the government than good. Foreign countries notorious for black-market activity would hop on the bandwagon as soon as they got word of the ban and start selling cigarettes illegally to under the table distributors in the United States. In the end, the government would end up spending more money monitoring the illegal sales of cigarettes instead of spending it on more beneficial things to society like finding and prosecuting murderers, kingpins, and organized crime. Overall, it would not be worth it. Loss of jobs needs to be accounted for as well. Not just the cigarette industry but also all the workers that contribute to the process of making a pack and selling it to distributors. There are people employed to make the cardboard-like cigarette boxes, people employed to make the paper that wraps around the cigarettes, people employed that make the designs on the packs, people employed to make the cellophane that wraps the outside of the pack. Also the truck drivers that deliver the cigarettes, and the engineers that keep the machines running in the cigarette factories, and the people who harvest tobacco, and all of the executive positions within all of these companies. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services stated 662,400 people are employed with tobacco related jobs in the United States alone and worldwide, in the tens of millions (NCDA&CS 2). What people against cigarettes do not realize is how far the ban would reach and affect the livelihoods of a massive amount of people across the globe. Banning cigarettes would cause more problems and be another thing to worry about for the government and the citizens. The government would lose money from its tobacco tax, a black-market for cigarettes would be made, forcing the government to take action, and most importantly tens of millions of employed people would be without a job. It would not make sense to stir up commotion because a few people are concerned about health risks or smokers causing extra taxation for healthcare. As stated before, smokers cost less than non-smokers and a complete cessation of smoking would cause an increase in health care taxes in the long run. For the critics saying how bad smoking is for someone’s health, they have no authority to tell people how they should live their lives. People have the freedom to choose what they do to their bodies. The general public is able to make their own decisions and the government should not be able to make decisions for the public in regards to what they put in to their bodies. Even though constitutional law saws congress has the power to make choices for the welfare of its citizens, it still should not be allowed. What personal freedoms do we have if the government starts telling us we cannot smoke cigarettes? Soon they will be telling us to stop eating so much and sleeping so little. The government will say it is for the better of the people and that they are trying to keep the public healthy, but since when does the government genuinely care about the public? The government runs its own agenda regardless of the public. It is well known that the government is not planning on banning cigarettes anytime soon. Whichever party is responsible for that decision will lose a very large amount of its support network and neither political party is willing to take that risk. Plus why take that risk when there is a chance for the government to make more money by increasing cigarette taxes? The government just wants money. The government is addicted to cigarette taxes as much as smokers are to cigarettes.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Operation Linebacker in the Vietnam War

Operation Linebacker in the Vietnam War Operation Linebacker took place from May 9 to October 23, 1972 during the Vietnam War (1955-1975). In March 1972, with the United States working to transfer responsibility for fighting on the ground to the South Vietnamese, the North Vietnamese launched a major offensive. With South Vietnamese forces under pressure and giving ground, Operation Linebacker was launched with the goal of slowing the enemy advance by striking transportation and logistical targets. These air attacks proved effective and by June, North Vietnamese units were reporting that only 30% of supplies were reaching the front. An effective campaign, Operation Linebacker helped halt the Easter Offensive and aided in restarting peace talks. Fast Facts: Operation Linebacker Conflict: Vietnam War (1955-1975)Dates: May 9 to October 23, 1972Force Commander:United StatesGeneral John W. Vogt, Jr.Seventh Air ForceTask Force 77Casualties:United States: 134 aircraft lost to all causes Background As Vietnamization progressed, American forces began handing off responsibility for fighting the North Vietnamese to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). In the wake of ARVN failures in 1971, the North Vietnamese government elected to move forward with conventional offensives the following year. Beginning in March 1972, the Easter Offensive saw the Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN) attack across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) as well as east from Laos and south from Cambodia. In each case, PAVN forces made gains driving back the opposition. Debating the American Response Concerned about the situation, President Richard Nixon initially desired to order three days of B-52 Stratofortress strikes against Hanoi and Haiphong. In an effort to preserve the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, National Security Advisor Dr. Henry Kissinger dissuaded Nixon from this approach as he believed it would escalate the situation and alienate the Soviet Union. Instead, Nixon moved forward with authorizing more limited strikes and directed that additional aircraft be dispatched to the region. As PAVN forces continued to make gains, Nixon elected to push forward with a large escalation of air attacks. This was due to both the deteriorating situation on the ground and the need to preserve American prestige prior to a summit meeting with Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev. To support the campaign, the US Seventh Air Force continued to receive additional aircraft, including large numbers of F-4 Phantom IIs and F-105 Thunderchiefs, while the US Navys Task Force 77 was increased to four carriers. On April 5, American aircraft began striking targets north of the 20th Parallel as part of Operation Freedom Train. A US Air Force F-4 Phantom II during the Vietnam War. Photograph Courtesy of the US Navy Freedom Train Pocket Money On April 10, the first large B-52 raid struck North Vietnam and hit targets around Vinh. Two days later, Nixon began allowing strikes against Hanoi and Haiphong. American air attacks largely focused on transportation and logistics targets, though Nixon, unlike his predecessor, delegated operational planning to his commanders in the field. On April 20, Kissinger met with Brezhnev in Moscow and convinced the Soviet leader to reduce military aid to North Vietnam. Unwilling to risk an improving relationship with Washington, Brezhnev also pressured Hanoi to negotiate with the Americans. This led to a meeting in Paris on May 2 between Kissinger and Hanois chief negotiator Le Duc Tho. Sensing victory, the North Vietnamese envoy was unwilling to deal and effectively insulted Kissinger. Angered by this meeting and the loss of Quang Tri City, Nixon further upped the ante and directed that the North Vietnamese coast by mined. Moving forward on May 8, US Navy aircraft penetrated Haiphong harbor as part of Operation Pocket Money. Laying mines, they withdrew and additional aircraft conducted similar missions over the next three days. F-105D Thunderchief. Photograph Courtesy of the US Air Force Striking at the North Though both the Soviets and Chinese frowned on the mining, they did not take active steps to protest it. With the North Vietnamese coast effectively closed to maritime traffic, Nixon ordered a new air interdiction campaign, dubbed Operation Linebacker, to commence. This was to focus on suppressing North Vietnamese air defenses as well as destroying marshaling yards, storage facilities, transshipment points, bridges, and rolling stock. Commencing on May 10, Linebacker saw Seventh Air Force and Task Force 77 conduct 414 sorties against enemy targets. In the wars single heaviest day of aerial combat, four MiG-21s and seven MiG-17s were downed in exchange for two F-4s. During the early days of the operation, the US Navys Lieutenant Randy Duke Cunningham and his radar intercept officer, Lieutenant (j.g.) William P. Driscoll, became the first American aces of the conflict when they downed a MiG-17 (their third kill of the day). Striking targets across North Vietnam, Operation Linebacker saw the first widespread use of precision-guided munitions. MiG-17. US Air Force This advance in technology aided American aircraft in dropping seventeen major bridges between the Chinese border and Haiphong in May. Switching to supply depots and petroleum storage facilities, the Linebacker attacks began to have a telling effect on the battlefield as PAVN forces saw a 70% drop in supplies through the end of June. The air attacks, coupled with increasing ARVN resolve saw the Easter Offensive slow and finally stop. Unhampered by the targeting restrictions that had plagued the earlier Operation Rolling Thunder, Linebacker saw American aircraft pound enemy targets into August. Aftermath With imports into North Vietnam down 35-50% and with PAVN forces stalled, Hanoi became willing to resume talks and make concessions. As a result, Nixon ordered bombing above the 20th Parallel to cease on October 23, effectively ending Operation Linebacker. In the course of the campaign, American forces lost 134 aircraft to all causes while downing 63 enemy fighters. Considered a success, Operation Linebacker was critical to halting the Easter Offensive and damaging PAVN forces. An effective interdiction campaign, it began a new era of aerial warfare with the mass introduction of precision-guided munitions. Despite Kissingers proclamation that Peace is at hand, American aircraft were compelled to return to North Vietnam in December. Flying Operation Linebacker II, they again struck targets in an attempt to force North Vietnamese to resume talks.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Day of Infamy by Walter Lord essays

Day of Infamy by Walter Lord essays (New York: Henry Holt Walter Lords Day of Infamy traces the drama of the massive aerial attack of Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941. In this book, Lord painstakingly reconstructed not just the why and the way of the attack, but also how it happened, how people could have been so unaware of what might happen, and the slowness to regroup when it did. He begins with the innocence (and evils) of the night before the tragedy. He ends with the famous national radio address of President Franklin D. Roosevelts speech before Congress the following day. Lord is also known for his bestselling book A Night to Remember, which was written in the same style as this book, with minute-to-minute accounts of the sinking of the Titanic. Walter Lord reminds the reader of just how innocent people are in the moments before history is changed forever. How untrained they are at putting the clues together, and just how unprepared they can be, until after the fact- when they become fiercely patriotic and regroup. He does not spend a lot of time pointing fingers or placing blame, but remains on the raw human experiences of the day. As author James Michner wrote in The New York Times, It stuns the reader with the weight of reality. Lord shows the way Americans believed that no one had the ability to reach them, let alone attack the U.S. This is obvious in Chapter VIIs title: I Didnt Even Know They Were Sore At Us!, p 64. He illustrates how everyone was oblivious to extreme nature of events going on around him or her, even after the bombs were dropped. Lord goes into meticulous detail to recount the day all the way from the Japanese build up of a secret mission, to the Americans living and stationed on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. He interviewed 577 people to recount the events from as m ...

Sunday, November 3, 2019

McDonald's company in the world. History and business Research Paper

McDonald's company in the world. History and business - Research Paper Example The intention of this study is McDonald as one among many international companies looking for great opportunities to establish and find business partners in rapidly growing countries for instance China, Asia, Central Europe and not forgetting India. McDonalds was established in 1940 in California by two brothers Dick and Mac McDonald. The restaurant became trendy hangout for teens in the post war affluence. In order to feed the teens the brothers made a menu in form of perennial much-loved hamburgers then expanded to four restaurants by 1953 using the assembly line system of food production. In 1955 entrepreneur Ray Kroc bought the right to franchise McDonald after noting the great success of the brothers. Ray Kroc opens his first McDonald's 0n April 15 1955 in Des Plaines, lIIinois. In 1960, Kroc renamed Mcdonald’s Corporation then he focused on marketing of McDonald products especially the family meals and children, advertisements particularly though the television that prom otes a child friendly smiling clown brand mascot, Ronald McDonald. To date the franchise has more than 30,000 restaurants worldwide in more than 119 countries serving more than 50million daily (Nayar). According to Stanton et al., the introduction of the Speedee service System in the 1948, Speedee became the company logo hence introduction of the principle of the fast food modern restaurant. In 1963 Speedee was replaced with Ronald McDonald. Due to the much trust in the success of the company Kroc suggested for the franchising of the restaurant around the country. The brothers where not ready to risk it all in the franchise of the company throughout the country so Kroc took it as his responsibility and volunteer to return to his hometown outside Chicago. With the license to open up other McDonald in the country, apart from other territories in Arizona and California licensed already by the McDonald’s brothers. As already mentioned the first restaurant was opened in Des Plaine s, Illinois by Kroc then he incorporated his company as McDonald’s corporation in April 1955. Kroc encountered a number of challenges in the new ventures. The first challenge particularly was adapting the McDonald’s building that was design for the climate in the northern. Installation of a basement was required to house a furnace, also it was difficult for the adequate ventilation, as warm air in the winter were sucked out by the exhaust fans and cool air in the summer. However, the most frustrating hurdle was the failure by Kroc to reproduce the delicious french fries initially. Kroc sought for franchisees for the McDonald’s chain once the Des Plaines was operational. The other snag came closely in 1956 he discovered that the brothers had given the license of franchisees to the Cook County, Illinois to the Frejlack Ice cream Company. Kroc was angry because the McDonald’s brothers had not informed him of the arrangement. Consequently he purchased the rig ht back five times higher than Frejlack originally paid for. He made a decision that it is best for the restaurant to be established first before they are franchised out, this will enable him to have control over the uniformity of the McDonald’s stores. In the early years the McDonald’s restaurants were mainly situated in the suburbs. In order to accommodate his U- shape

Friday, November 1, 2019

Brand management unit , (apple) brand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Brand management unit , (apple) brand - Essay Example In terms of market capitalization, the company represents the largest publicly traded corporation world over. Any company that designs and develops products of innovation is bound to receive threats from the market by other entrepreneurs; Apple, too, faces a large amount of competition from companies like Samsung, Nokia, as well as Google and Microsoft. These are some of its biggest competitors in the market, yet Apple remains the most admired company in the United States of America (surely, in other countries too), as stated by the Fortune magazine from 2008 to 2012. A number of critics are of the idea that the biggest competitor that Apple has is itself because the company never fails to bring something new to the table. The software that it designs has a very high ease of use, thus, appealing to a large consumer market. The existing product line always poses a challenge to the company so as to bring something more innovative the next time. Every time that a product is launched, ev en if it is a subsequent generation of the previous one, it does not fail to surprise the customers. The best part is also that consumers have an option of upgrading their existing software in the products that they already have and this makes it easier for them to remain in awe of the company. It may be said that Apple has one of the most unusually interesting fan followings in the world that any company has; it literally has a cult of people following it and buying the company’s products religiously. The customers that have once used Apple products remain loyal to the company for its excellent service as well as product sharpness. When the company launches its new products, thousands and thousands of loyal customers flock to the stores the day before the opening with a view to be the first ones to buy the product. According to the Guardian, â€Å"People talk about technology, but Apple was a marketing company. It was the marketing company of the decade.† 1 Apple exud es a brilliant image to the world; over the years, it has attained a large amount of goodwill, mostly because of the hard work that Steve Jobs has put in the past decade. The brand image that the company has mustered for itself has been through the efforts of the marketing and the advertising that it has done which have appealed to consumers so much that there are hundreds of pages on the internet dedicated to them. The marketing has been so innovative that customers feel the need to buy an Apple product in order to make their lives simpler and more convenient.2 The brand identity refers to the unique set of functional and mental associations that the brand aspires to create as well as maintain for itself in the eyes of the public. These associations are an indication of what the brands stands to be in the minds of customers as well as the potential targeted customer base. This includes the logo and the slogans, not to forget the name. Over the years, Apple has changed its logo thri ce – now it is a simple apple symbol which people all over the world recognize and associate with the company. It has some very interesting and simple slogans such as â€Å"Think Different† and â€Å"Say hello to the iPhone† that are so catchy that people immediately associate it with the company. Apple has maintained these slogans to be the same over the years and the customers do not seem to mind it either. The idea behind