Apple †Strategic Management Essay

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad. Vision Statement Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 19805 with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals, and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software, and Internet offerings. â€Å"Man is the creator of change in this world. As such he should be above systems and structures, and not subordinate to them.† Mission Statement Apple Computer is committed to protecting the environment, health and safety of our employees, customers and the global communities ‘where we operate. We recognize that by integrating sound environmental, health and safety management practices into all aspects of our business, we can offer technologically innovative products and services while conserving and enhancing resources for future generations. Apple strives for continuous improvement in our environmental, health and safety management systems and in the environmental quality of our products, processes and services. Objective The Company is committed to bringing the best user experience to its customers through its innovative hardware, software, peripherals, and services. The Company’s business strategy leverages its unique ability to design and develop its own operating systems, hardware, application software, and services to provide its customers new products and solutions with superior ease-of-use, seamless integration, and innovative design COMPETITION When it comes to Apple‘s competitors I believe ther e is no one. The innovation,development and the trendsetting technique that Apple has introduced in electronics worldcannot be matched with any of other companies. If you do not agree with me I would suggest you to search for Apple‘s competitors on Google or anywhere else but you will hardly find any original Apple‘s competitor. According to Tim Bajarin, Apple‘s competition is coming from the likes of Amazon, Google, Real Networks, and to some degree, Sony, because of their strong investment in content. But I do not agree with his viewpoint. Products like iPad,iPhone, iPod and services like iTunes and Apple stores have no competition at all and most importantly Apple is not a company that satisfies customer needs but it manufactures those products that become customers need

Freedom to live Essay

During the ancient times before imprisonment, there were executions and executions only which were rather completed by stoning. There were consisted of several reasons as to why the capital punishment was needed. The United States inherited its use of capital punishment from the European settlers in the seventeenth century but in the eighteenth century, German philosopher Immanuel Kant appealed that execution was the â€Å"fairest punishment for murder†. He presented that it is the most suitable punishment for those who have committed murder and that a person who has done wrong should suffer for it. Arguing that killers should â€Å"die in order to gain release from their suffering†, including that the crime must fit the punishment. Arguments against the death penalty expose capital punishment for what some believe is a reasonable punishment, while others view it as revenge disguised as justice but overall, is continuously an issue that would not be equally discussed an d abolished world-wide. Disagreements about the death penalty mostly turn on issues of fairness, morality and effectiveness. There consists of endless reasons as to why the death penalty is to be abolished. One of many is that executions cost more than life in prison. According to Statistic Brain, it costs nearly 2 million per person to be executed, all which consists of maximum security, counsel for defense and others. Another popular point is that the innocent may be wrongly executed. This is a high risk because evidence, DNA, and witness statements are not one hundred percent reliable. A slightly relevant case was a falsely executed man named Cameron Todd Willingham. He was executed in Texas, known to be the number one state with the highest rate of executions. He was accused of allegedly setting his house on fire that killed his three young daughters. He repeatedly claimed his innocence and the arson investigator was questioned right before Willingham’s’ execution. After his execution, an investigative report discovered the fire was an accident. Several reasons include that the death penalty punishment does not  necessarily decrease the crime rate, that life in prison also guarantees no future crimes, some religions forbid death penalty, killing is wrong even through a punishment, that it violates international human rights laws and that it promotes killing as a satisfactory solution to a difficult problem. A common factor as to why people oppose the death penalty is because of the cruelty of the act itself, such as the common contemporary methods of execution, such as by shooting, hanging, using gas, electrocution and lethal injection. According Amnesty International who are strong non-advocates of the death penalty, capital punishment is the decisive rejection of human rights. It is the â€Å"premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state†. Half the amounts of US States have banned the death penalty for example New York, finding it unconstitutional. In Just Revenge by Mark Costanzo, he states that most Americans are supportive of the death penalty in the abstract by simply wanting the government to take care of it, â€Å"cleanly and efficiently, in a distant prison†. He questions that â€Å"is it morally acceptable to subject murderers to psychological torture before we kill them?†. While others assure it is a harsh, inhuman and undignified punishment done â€Å"in the name of justice†, including that inflicting punishment on wrongdoers discourages others from wrong doing. Some may say that the death penalty is a way to lash back at those who have harmed us, but coo peratively we must be more reasonable and humane than those who commit the act themselves. Those who favor the death penalty argue that if there were no death penalty to hold over the head of prisoners, those who have been sentenced to life without parole would be free to commit whatever crimes they chose without fear of increased punishment. Death penalty supporters often press two claims of executing murderers. The first is that it is injustice to the victims of murder if we do not execute their murders. The second claim is that the death penalty is needed to frighten potential murderers. Fear of the execution chamber will restrain potential murders, knowing they could face the executioner and that those who otherwise kill will stop and innocent lives would be saved. Another factor as to why the death penalty is justified is it giving closure to victims’ families who have suffered tremendously from the loss of their loved one. And also a prisoner can escape prison and give them another chance to kill. The death penalty is said to be needed to protect society from those who would kill again. Many of these factors which relate back to revenge. In some cases, the capital punishment is a â€Å"risk taker†. There are certain cases in which killing a criminal can lead to questioning as to whether or not the individual was guilty of the crime. The death penalty fails to effectively build up a society that is free from crime. Furthermore, it does not relieve the pain and loss of the victims or their families. States have made many proposals as to why capital punishment is wrong. As citizens, the death penalty does not alleviate the fear of violent crime or better safe-guard the people and is not imposed with fairness. Pope John Paul II made a very clear point in a statement he made about the death penalty. He stated â€Å"the death penalty does not allow the opportunity for the spiritual and human reconciliation with the victim† and also that â€Å"we cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing†. This quote is a very good example to supporting the idea of abolishing the death penalty that we cannot teach that murdering an individual is wrong by killing a criminal. Depending on the country, there are different views as to whether the death penalty should be abolished or not. The factors on both sides of the argument have led to the abolition of the death penalty in Eastern Europe. For example, Ukraine has put a pause to its punishment of the death penalty, as well as South Africa, whose parliament voted to formally abolish the death penalty, which had earlier been declared unconstitutional by the constitutional court. Their constitutional court believes that death is the most extreme form of punishment. They believe every individual has the right to life, dignity, public opinion. Not only is this an issue in the United States, but very well around the world. In India, the Indian Penal Code authorizes the imposition of the death sentence as a penalty of murder. Although it is nearly impossible for the abolishment of the death penalty to be equalized and understood by both sides of the arguments, the ideas and opinions shall never fade. With several states not having the death penalty, the real question is whether or not we need the death penalty. Capital punishment is not the core of our criminal system; its only one aspect of it. Only a small percentage of murderers are sentenced to death, and only a small percentage of that are executed. The real question is whether we insist on keeping the death penalty even though we don’t need it. WORK CITED â€Å"End Capital Punishment.† Abolish the Death Penalty. Amnesty International USA, 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. Costanzo, Mark. Just Revenge: Costs and Consequences of the Death Penalty. New York: St. Martin’s, 1997. Print. Bureau of Justice Statistics. â€Å"Death Penalty Statistics.† Statistic Brain RSS. Statistic Brain Research Institute, 6 Aug. 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. Kronenwetter, Michael. Capital Punishment: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2001. Print.

Articulate Thought Essay

â€Å"Articulate speech marks [people] out as [individuals] and in some settings, this can be rather dangerous because people are often suspicious and frightened of articulateness. † (Humanities). Articulateness describes a person’s ability to express an idea coherently. A well articulated idea, concept or opinion, does not use proof based on a fallacy to back up its view. When people speak or write articulately, they are able to convey a message to others in a way that cannot be distorted. It can even be said, â€Å"[a]rticulateness builds the human community. † (Humanities) Without the ability to understand each other there would be no way for a society to function. Each person would not be able to communicate a message from his or her thoughts to another person, thus any sort of teamwork would be impossible. It is the understanding of others’ ideas told to a person in a way more specific than basic gestures or grunts that allows humans to be more successful in groups than any animal. Properly expressed thoughts are the best way to communicate in any form of society, because failing to articulate properly often leads to misinterpretation. A lack of articulation, and thus a lack of complete understanding, leads to people being misinformed. Sometimes people in power use the ability to misinform others to their advantage. By deliberately explaining campaigns vaguely so that the general public does not fully understand, people in power, or people who wish to be in power, can skew facts in their favour. â€Å"We are taught to read and write so that we can obey the traffic signs and to cipher so that we can make out our income tax† (Humanities), but people are deliberately expected to maintain only a level of intelligence sufficient to allow them to participate in society at a minimal level. People are kept in a docile state so that they will not question generally accepted ideas proposed by the government. People are only provided with education to a level insufficient to challenge the inarticulate ideas of those considered superiors. The general public is expected to automatically respect the opinions of superiors, and the people considered more powerful in society are thus able to fool the unintelligent general public. If campaigns proposed by governments were explained articulately, the people would be able to understand the true intent and make fully informed decisions. Privileged to all of the information, the general public would be able to spot any deceptions and each campaign would be subjected to scrutiny. Inarticulateness is nearly as powerful a tool as true articulateness, in some respects. By extending the human capacity of knowledge further than allowed in fundamental schooling, it is possible to overcome the system that attempts to keep society unintelligent. People are able to absorb and think about ideas of others that they have not physically met or spoken to through reading well-written literature. The more people read and are able to understand literature, the more they will develop their own articulate ideas. â€Å"As we challenge ourselves to read more and more difficult literature, we become able to extend ourselves further† (Literature). Literature allows people to â€Å"[leap] over the boundaries that usually separate us from other selves and worlds† (Literature) and increase each person’s base of knowledge substantially. It is only with prior knowledge of a subject that humans are able to intelligently articulate their ideas. However, society is not quick to embrace the powers that articulate thought gives individuals. People do not wish to pick up books unless they are necessary for their immediate success in a submissive society. â€Å"A society like ours doesn’t have much interest in literacy† (Humanities). Governments work to keep society in a level of cautious unintelligence, and are hesitant to embrace articulate ideas because they are truly powerful things. Powerful and well articulated ideas often lead to change, and change is something most people are apprehensive of. People with individual thoughts are marked out and scorned by the masses, and in many less democratic countries than Canada radical thinkers are silenced by means of intimidation or imprisonment. â€Å"Understanding and articulateness lead to [government’s] destruction† (Humanities). The government, as we know it, the system that works in a way which is not always beneficial to the general public because society remains afraid to challenge, could not exist. A well-articulated idea that goes against the government can cause upheaval in society. If people were to act on those ideas and rebel against laws put in place by the government, any sort of order would be in a state of constant flux, moving from one extreme to another. Without radicals, there would be no forward movement in humanity. Radicals such as Aristotle, who believed that there was a proper way to think and that many of the things society automatically accepts as truths are nothing more than fallacy, were scorned during their lifetimes. Many scholars’ ideas were immediately dismissed because people were frightened of their ability to articulate ideas that were radically different from those commonly held. In society there is a nature ingrained into each person, a feeling that one singled from the group will be defenseless and vulnerable. This instinct may be a result of evolution, something that humans needed in order to survive. Now it could be said the need that humans feel to conform to a group because it is presumed safer, is holding society back. Radical thinkers move humanity forward. The need for acceptance, and the desire to fit in rather than stand out in a community is something common to each person. â€Å"Young adolescents today often betray a curious sense of shame about speaking articulately† (Humanities). There is an almost paralyzing fear shared by many people, most noticeably in school children but in adults as well, of not only public speaking but also even raising their hands in a classroom setting. A child asked to give a speech to a classroom of peers about a topic, to share ideas and opinions unique to that child, will often become frightened that his or her opinions will not be shared by the rest of the class. The need for acceptance is often greater than the need to articulate and stand out. People in many cases would rather believe and agree with an idea that they have valid reason to believe to be false in order to be part of a community than voice their own opinion and be rejected. Fallacies are a barrier created by the structure of society in order to discourage articulate thought. People are often afraid of articulateness because it conveys well-formed and direct ideas, something uncommon in society. Humans are naturally afraid of something that is unfamiliar to them. An intelligent individual who thinks differently from the masses, even if his or her idea is perfectly valid and conveyed in such a way that makes their reasoning clear, are often ridiculed because society tends to accept fallacies as proof of validity. An example of a commonly believed fallacy is Circulous probando, or â€Å"thinking in circles† (Think). This term created by Aristotle, â€Å"often entails joining an intellectual herd charging round and round† (Think). The drive that humans have, the instinct to stay equal with the group both in a physical sense and an intellectual respect, leads society to want to believe in fallacies. The notion that if â€Å"everybody thinks such and such; it must be so for the simple reason that everybody thinks it is so† (Think). is safe. If everyone in the group believes a fallacy, those people are all on the same level intellectually, and there is safety in numbers. No one in the group will be singled out. The more people believe in something, be it fallacy or truth, the more likely it is that other people will believe the same simply because it is commonly accepted. This way of thinking can be detrimental to a group of people, because if the group believes in commonly held fallacies over intelligent articulate thought. â€Å"The surest way to destroy freedom is to destroy the capacity to articulate freely. † (Humanities) Without articulate freedom, human society will never progress or evolve.

M5 Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

M5 Reflection - Essay Example Therefore, it follows that if the administrator motivates his teaching staff, the same concept can be transferred by the teaching staff to students (Skretta, 2007. The underlying concept is that the administrator will be able to perceive and direct his individual efforts towards connecting professionally with the larger teaching and learning community. Staff experience is critical in hiring effective teachers (Melnick & Meister, 2008). An experienced staff can design interview questions during hiring and determine levels of effectiveness. Essentially, this means he staff can also participate in the development of the new teachers. Teacher development knowledge can be related to staff members by ensuring it is an ongoing process (Bloom, 2007). Equally importantly, professional development will need to be differentiated from academic development. Ethical decisions during hiring include just and unprejudiced judgments. Teachers will be hired strictly on merit rather than vested interests. This also entails having the right recruitment and hiring teams in place. Guiding principles that ensure interaction with teachers is fair and characterized by integrity must be based on teacher support systems (Perez-Katz, 2007). The essence of this approach is apparent when viewed from the angle that such relationships must stem from the need of d eveloping teachers, creating appropriate learning environments and ultimately aimed at improving student performance. One strategy to improve teacher support is to first identify the different levels of support needed by different teachers (Skretta, 2007. Again, the key tool is differentiating professional from academic development. It is also crucial for the school to own the curriculum and then pair teaching time in which teachers learn to work collaboratively (Perez-Katz, 2007). Differentiated, learner-centered can be used

Learn to Cherish Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Learn to Cherish - Essay Example Unable to cope with the loss, my father swiftly degenerated into a hopeless drunkard. Friday morning was the last time we would see him in the week. After work on Friday he no longer came home. Instead he went on a drinking spree with his friends, a spree that would last till Monday morning. Then we would come back home very early in the morning to take a shower, change and go to work. Apart from paying the bills and buying food, he simply no longer cared about what was happening at home. From what I heard, he had become irresponsible even at work and was threatened with being fired anytime. For me, and I guess for the whole family, what made the experience even more painful was the knowledge that my mother had eloped with a man who was not just our neighbor, but also the father of my childhood friend and first playmate. I hated her passionately. Given the worsening situation at home, one of our maternal aunties took custody of our last born while one of our elder sisters, already married at the time, took me in. As I left home I could not help but worry about my father. My younger sibling and I had found refuge in my aunt and sister, respectively. As for my father, now left alone at home, no one seemed to care for him; it was though he had been left to drink himself to death. In the few months that followed my leaving home, I learned from my sister that my uncles had tried to intervene in my fathers situation, but given up shortly afterwards after they had concluded that he could not be helped. In the days and months that followed, my sister avoided my fathers story every time I brought up: she was not interested. She was even opposed to me visiting him. For the decade that followed my mother’s elopement, I have since lived with two of my sisters and a host of other relatives. In all my wanderings amongst my siblings and relatives, I will never forget the unceremonious way in which my first sister who took me in

Discuss the differences between 'world cinema' and Hollywood cinema Essay

Discuss the differences between 'world cinema' and Hollywood cinema. Explain why the term 'world cinema' has gained popularity in recent years - Essay Example Economic status of the country is one of the major factors that influence the film text of a country's cinema. An example is the cinema of Vietnam. French trained Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung, most of his cinematic context was inclined about the ongoing war in Vietnam (Johnson 2003). His movie titled Cyclo (1995) was set in the 90's Vietnam, even it was a gangster movie, hints of war were still traced in the background (Ko, 1999). In 1986, Vietnam's economy plummeted. This greatly affected the filmmaking industry as they cannot respond anymore to the need of cinematic development prevailed during the 80'up to the 90's, started by the Hollywood cinema. The text expressed in Cyclo was very rich and realistically executed as the film portrayed the destituteness of the citizens in the country (Johnson 2003). It was played and recognized in many countries. The movie Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (2005) (The Blossoming in Womanhood of Maximo Oliveros) is from the Philippine cinema. The film garnered handful of recognition and awards from various independent film award-giving bodies of different countries. The movie is a dimensional portrayal of the Philippines' condition in allusion. The hero is a homosexual boy that is set to bloom in womanhood, whereas he supposed to get developed in manhood. The discrepancy is suggestive in the very title of the movie about the contrariety of the development of the country regarding poverty and hunger (Thomas 2006). The expected development of the country towards rise of its economy was never portrayed, but the citizens were depicted already adjusted with its economic condition as though being softened, as juxtapose of the main character's nature. Using a homosexual for main character gives a new perspective yet more precise of depicting the country in its economic slum, and the effect of its modernization to the people (Thomas 2006). Cinema of Morocco produced a film titled Jawhara. The movie was noted internationally and has been reviewed online by various critics. Hachim Raji of Babel Med, an independent multi-cultural website for journalists in Mediterranean, stated that Jawhara is movie that was "practically the first film to tackle the dark period of the lead years in Morocco". The film was about a little girl borne and raised inside a prison cell all through out her mother's incarceration term. The cruelty of the country's former administration was strongly depicted in the movie, but delivered presently as reflection of the current administration of its any possible stir (Raji 2007). By the depiction of the situations in the very movie you can easily tell how Morocco as a nation is. Police brutality and suppressed human rights reflects the economic status of the country (Raji 2007). Technological equipment in making film of a nation can also affect the film and define the country's technological development as well. Other country can afford to use more advance technology in making their film, even the very theatrical venue of representation of the film. Hollywood can provide a film that is polished by computer technologies in graphics and animation-required text. Hollywood legendary films like the saga of Star Wars by George Lucas, and Extra Terrestrial of Steven Spielberg

RESEARCH PROPOSAL Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

RESEARCH PROPOSAL - Article Example Therefore, the need of today is to explore the importance of restructuring the administrative procedures in terms of improved policies and legislation in improving the performance of public school teachers and students. For this research study, the aim is to explore the role of improved administrative policies and legislation in improving the performance and motivation levels of public school teachers and students. The administrative procedures to be studied in the research include pay for performance, student services, and interactive learning environment. The researcher will also study the current policies and legislation which govern the working of public schools. The researcher will study the factors in detail in order to come up with justified and evidence-supported conclusions, as well as to provide feasible recommendations to the administrative authorities of public schools. Administrative procedures play a considerable role in improving the performance of public sector schools. Some administrative procedures, such as, implementation of pay for performance program, student services, and improvement in the learning environment are critical for bringing improvement in the performance of both teachers and students of public schools. Pay for performance programs are directly linked with the performance of teachers. Teachers like to be a permanent part of such schools, which value their efforts by implementing appropriate compensation and benefits packages for their employees (Lavy, 2007). Student services, such as, sports training, practical work training, and provision of extracurricular facilities also play a significant role in improving students’ performances (Griffith, 1996). Generally, such services are not paid the due amount of attention because of which most of the parents prefer to choose private schools for the schooling of their children. If such services are made

Is Learning a Skill so Necessary in Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Is Learning a Skill so Necessary in Life - Essay Example I will argue this statement, learning a skill does not necessarily mean understanding it. My essays have a consistency of the message that claims the clarity and logic of my reasoning (the logos rule) which enables me to impact my audience through a logical appeal. With these skills, it is comfortable to say that I am an excellent persuasive essay writer as going to be discussed. Usually, the statements that writers would tend to make to express themselves, there is always someone who had already made them better. I make sure that the quote is connected to the topic in some easily identifiable way. While writing I usually like to ask a question this is my favorite technique since it could be applicable to any topic at any time. Additionally, it has a strong rhetorical effect on readers: people are conditioned to think about questions because answers are often expected of them. When I ask a question in my essay, readers are more likely to consider my ideas. As of writing, I use attention catcher that makes my readers want to take their time making a good decision that supports my proposal and by doing this can persuade my audience immediately. The analogy that could be used to explain this is that of a criminal prosecutor in a criminal case. The attorney cannot just state that â€Å"There were some blood drops in the defendant’s car,† and finalize the argument. He has to provide more evidence as that is not sufficient to base an argument. Likewise, writers need to explain what their evidence shows to make the connection. I do not make the readers draw their conclusions; that is my job for example; â€Å"The West has always been perceived as the land for better opportunities by the rest of the world. The overwhelming population in most Asian countries especially in China force people to migrate to western countries especially the US.

Counseling male rape victims Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Counseling male rape victims - Research Paper Example The victims are also required to process the rape and the possible experiences they may face after the ordeal with their formal and informal providers of support. Second, observations made from evaluating therapeutic techniques show that cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) can work quite well in the reduction of the short term post rape anxiety and fear symptoms. Though, feminist therapies focus on the long term issues in dealing with self blame and guilt, they are known to work at times for the short term issues. Finally It is common for the mental health practitioners who deal with the male rape victims to also experience disturbing feelings that are similar to those experienced by the rape victim. These symptoms are referred to as Secondary Traumatic stress usually experienced by practitioners who deal with a high number of sexually assaulted victims, thus, the need for the application of self-care strategies for these therapists. Introduction The term rape/sexual assault are usu ally defined in many different ways, but, it is explained that rape is the unwanted sexual acts that range from touching to penetration. Usually it is assumed that phrase ‘victims of sexual abuse’ or ‘rape victims’ usually refer to women, but contrary to that, men and boys are also victims of the vice and research shows that in America 10% of the rape victims are men and boys. According to the mental health practitioners who dealt with them, men and boys suffer post-traumatic stress similar to those experienced by women, but are not willing to accept that they are rape victims and need assistance. For some time now practitioners, researchers have tried to find out how sexual assault on males impacts the individuals health psychologically and to create therapies that efficient in enhancing the recovery of these male victims. This essay seeks to explain the research results on three major issues for the practitioners who deal with the male rape victims. These issues are: one, the experiences of the male rape victims and the issues they may put forward in therapy, two, the therapeutic techniques and methods that have yielded success in enhancing recovery of the victims, lastly, the effects of dealing with the male rape victims on the health practitioner dealing with them. The experiences of the male rape victims and the issues they may put forward in therapy Currently, research focuses mainly on putting down and explaining the post traumatic impacts ion the male rape victim’s way of life. The research findings show that the victims struggle with the effects of the assault directly and the effects of the assault on the people who are close to them, that is family and friends. Thus, these results shows that the male rape survivors may share a variety of concerns in therapy and the therapists must be informed of the various negative impacts of sexual assault (Odem & Warner, 1998). Sexual assault/ rape are devastating and normally it wrecks the survivor’s ability to maintain a consistent illusion of safety at the personal level, their invulnerability, and threatens some of the beliefs and assumptions the victims identify with and the larger community that surrounds them. The victims are likely to display extreme levels of psychological distress, guilt, fear, shame, tension, anxiety, anger among others. These different psychological symptoms are usually viewed as an exhibition of the

Diploma Biology Notes Essay Example for Free

Diploma Biology Notes Essay DNA is a huge information database that carries the complete set of instructions for making all the proteins a cell will ever need! Although there are only four different bases in DNA (A, C, G and T), the order in which the bases occur determines the information to make a protein, just like the 26 letters of the alphabet combine to form words and sentences: Compare: RAT TAR ART same 3 letters; completely different meanings. And with DNA: GAC AGC CGA same 3 letters; completely different meanings to the cell (specifies the amino acids Aspartic Acid, Serine, and Arginine) Q: Review: What are genes? A: The DNA in each chromosome that DOES provide the instructions for a protein is called a gene. * In the 1940s, scientists proposed, fairly correctly, that each gene codes for (contains the instructions for) one protein. This is referred to as the one-gene, one-protein hypothesis. * One gene will code for perhaps two or more related proteins. * Scientists realized that we had only about 30,000 genes, coding for 100,000 different proteins rather than the 100,000 genes that had been estimated for the human genome * The basic hypothesis is still the same, but we know a lot more details. Q: If DNA is in the nucleus and proteins are synthesized in the cytoplasm, on ribosomes and in the RER, how to they get together? A: The answer: use a messenger to carry the instructions from DNA out into the cytoplasm. A nucleic acid very similar to DNA, called mRNA or messenger RNA, is a copy of a gene, and serves this function the bridge between DNA and protein: The Central Dogma:DNA encodes the information to make RNA and RNA molecules function together to make protein| II. What is RNA and how is it different from DNA? Two big differences between DNA and RNA: * 1. The sugar in DNA is deoxyribose; in RNA it is ribose * 2. The nitrogenous base uracil (U) is used in RNA in place of T (they are very similar bases; in RNA U= A just like T = A.) III. Transcription: Re-writing DNA into RNA DNA has a sense strand and an antisense strand. The antisense strand is complementary to the sense strand. It is also known as the template strand, as this is the strand, which is used for transcription making mRNA. DNA is transcribed or re-written into RNA in a very complicated process called transcription. Simply stated, during transcription, one gene (DNA) is re-written into RNA in the nucleus: * A team of enzymes and proteins binds to the promoter, or starting region, of a gene. * These enzymes and proteins unzip the DNA double helix just at the region of the gene. * The enzyme RNA polymerase uses one of the DNA strands to make an RNA copy of that one gene. * This copy, which contains the instructions to make 1 protein, is called an mRNA or messenger RNA. * After the mRNA is made, it is trimmed down to a final size, and shipped out of the nucleus. * When the mRNA gets into the cytoplasm, it is made into protein * Complete transcription of an RNA molecule. 1. The resulting RNA nucleotides are added on the 3’ end of the growing of mRNA strand. 2. RNA polymerase detaches itself and mRNA is released. 3. Eukaryote pre- mRNA contains exons and introns: * Introns are non-coding regions that need to be removed before translation The structure of tRNA matches its functions : Funtion : to bring amino acids from the cytoplasm to the growing polypeptide and to attach them in the current location. tRNA is activated by a tRNA activating enzyme. tRNA delivers amino acids to the growing polypeptide chain in translation. It picks up new amino acids when activated by a specific tRNA activating enzyme. IV. Connection between mRNA and protein: The order of the bases in the DNA specifies the order of bases in the mRNA, and The order of bases in the mRNA specifies the order of amino acids in a protein.| The genetic code is a triplet code (handout) 1. Nucleotides on mRNA are read three at a time by the ribosome. * Every three nucleotides in an mRNA (a codon) specify the addition of one amino acid in a protein. * For example, a 600 nucleotide mRNA will code for a 200 amino acid protein. 2. The amino acids corresponding to all 64 codons have been determined. All proteins start with the initiation codon AUG (Met) * All proteins end with stop codons -either UAA, UGA, or UAG * Some codons that differ in the third nucleotide can still code for the same amino acid The genetic code chart represents the sequence on the mRNA codon. V. Translation = De-coding RNA into protein During translation, the mRNA transported to the cytoplasm is de-coded or translated to produce the correct order of amino acids in a protein. Translation requires numerous enzymes. rRNA = ribosomal RNA; these RNA molecules associate with other proteins to form the ribosomes. Each ribosome can accept two tRNAs at a time (carrying amino acids) and one mRNA. tRNA = transfer RNA; small RNA molecules that carry a specific amino acid at one end and an anticodon region that recognizes and binds mRNA at the other end. The tRNA that binds to that mRNA codon determines what amino acid is added to a protein chain. The Three RNAs (mRNA, tRNA, and rRNA) all work together to turn the information in DNA into a 3-dimestional protein. The steps of translation: 1. Initiation: mRNA enters the cytoplasm and becomes associated with ribosomes (rRNA + proteins). tRNAs, each carrying a specific amino acid, pair up with the mRNA polys inside the ribosomes. Base pairing (A-U, G-C) between mRNAcodons and tRNA anticodons determines the order of amino acids in a protein. 2. Elongation: addition of amino acids one-by-one: As the ribosome moves along the mRNA, the tRNA transfers its amino acid to the growing protein chain, producing the protein codon by codon! 3. Termination: when the ribosomes hit a stop codon UAA, UGA, or UAG the ribosome falls apart. The same mRNA may be used hundreds of times during translation by many ribosomes before it is broken down by the cell.

Impact of the Enron Scandal on Accounting Standards

Impact of the Enron Scandal on Accounting Standards Abstract Every firm and its managers are expected to maximize investor returns while complying with regulatory standards, avoiding principal-agent conflicts of interest, and enhancing the reputational capital of their firms. However, in practices, being ethically is not just about giving large sum of charitys money but recognizing and acting on potential ethical issues before they become legal problems are more important aspects to taking care of. Enron collapsed as the result of unethical management practices such as the equivocation of taxes and fraudulent accounting practices. The Enron scandal is the most significant corporate collapse in the United States since the failure of many savings and loan banks during the 1980s. This scandal demonstrates the need for a close look at the ethical quality of the culture of business generally and of business corporations in the United States. Organization need to infuse ethics and integrity throughout their corporate cultures as well as into their d efinition of success. Unethical and illegal business practices at Enron led to the creation of Serbanes Oxley Act of 2002. This report will discuss and find out illegal and unethical activities, impacts on stakeholders and lessons from the Enron case. The Enron Scandal and Ethical Issues Enron Corporation is an energy trading, natural gas, and electric utilities company located in Houston, Texas that had around 21,000 employees by mid-2001, before it went bankrupt. Its revenue in the year 2000 was more than $100 billion and named as Americas most innovative companies for six consecutive years by Fortune. Enron was a company that was able to profit by providing the delivery of gas to utility companies and businesses at the fair value market price. Enron was listed as the seventh largest company in the United States and had the domination in the trading of communications, power, and weather securities (Corporate Narc, nd). At first sight, Enron looks like an excellent corporate citizen, with all the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business ethics tools in community (Sims Brinkmann, 2003). However, the scandal of Enron has been the largest corporate scandal in history, and has become emblematic of institutionalized and well-planned corporate fraud; the Enron scandal involves both illegal and unethical activities. According to Carroll and Buchholtz (2008), the CFO Jeffrey Skilling and the CEO Ken Lay played major roles in the Enron scandal. Both of them committed securities fraud and conspiracy to inflate profit. In disguise debts of Enron, Lay and Skilling used off-the-books partnerships, after that they lied to investors and employees about the companys disastrous financial situation while selling their own companys shares (Carroll Buchholtz, 2008, p. 256). Enrons top level management has violated several accounting laws, SPE laws, and bent the accounting rules to satisfy their own desires of profit in the short term but ignoring long term repercussions for investors, stockholders, employees and the business itself. The close relationships that were formed among top leading executives and the board of directors grew arrogant, thinking they were invincible and causing them to act in an unethical manner. Enron allowed Andrew Fastow, the Chief Financial Officer to control two SPEs (special pur pose entities) that were knowingly connected to Enron, and gave him an opportunity to abuse his power. Enron also parked some of its debt on the balance sheet of its SPVs and kept it hidden from analysts and investors. When the extent of its debt burden came to light, Enrons credit rating fell and lenders demanded immediate payment in the sum of hundreds of millions of dollars in debt (Sims Brinkmann, 2003). It means that Enrons decision makers saw the shuffling of debt rather as a timing issue and not as an ethical one. They maintained that the company was financially stable and that many of their emerging problems really were not too serious, even though they knew the truth and were making financial decisions to protect their personal gains. No discussion of the Enron scandal would be complete without a discussion of the involvement of Enrons accountants, the firm Arthur Andersen. Arthur Andersen was one of many causes of the Enron collapse when they were the conflict of interest between the two roles played for Enron, as auditor but also as consultant. Andrew Fastow, the Chief Financial Officer of Enron pushed many deals across where he had a vested interested on both sides of the deal. By creating and knowingly participating in these deals, he put his financial greed above the responsibility to his position for the company. According to Paul and Palepu (2003) in 2000, Arthur Andersen earned $25 million in audit fees and $27 million in consulting fees, this amount accounted for roughly 27% of the audit fees of public clients for Arthur Andersens Houston office. The auditors methods were questioned as either being completed solely to receive its annual fees or for their lack of expertise in properly reviewing Enrons reve nue recognition, special entities, derivatives, and other accounting practices. Due to these relationships that Enron had with Arthur Andersen, it was just too easy for both Enron and the accounting firm to work together in covering up financial losses and debt. Andersen was also responsible for some of Enrons internal bookkeeping, with some of Andersens employees eventually leaving to work for Enron. The result of the accounting scandal was that many of the losses that Enron encountered were not reported in its financial statements. In November, 2001, Enron revises financial statements for the previous five years to account for $586 million in losses (Corporate Narc, nd). After a series of scandals involving irregular accounting procedures bordering on fraud involving Enron and its accounting firm Arthur Andersen, it stood at the verge of undergoing the largest bankruptcy in history by mid-November 2001. As Enron was considered a blue chip stock, this was an unprecedented and disastrous event in the financial world. Enrons plunge occurred after it was revealed that many of its profits and revenue were the result of deals with special purpose entities (Corporate Narc, nd). Enrons leaders also ignored, then denied serious problems with their business transactions and were more concerned about their personal financial rewards than those of the company. When the companys stock price began to drop as the problems were becoming public, the company was transitioning from one investment program to another. Impacts on Stakeholders Every business has a moral obligation to serve its stakeholders, whether they are business partners, customers, stockholders, or employees. Enrons bankruptcy has injured several parties including banks, stockholders, former employees, customers, suppliers, communities, and also the United States. Impacts on Employees The first thing, and most important thing the Enron scandal had an effect was the job situation. Carroll and Buchholtz (2008) argued that when Enron went bankrupt and then the Arthur Andersen accounting firm went out of business in 2002, employees were displaced and significantly affected (p. 47). Enrons financial implosion has cost thousands of employees their jobs, left thousands of people still employed by the bankrupt trader and left 5,600 employees jobless and facing retirements with no nest eggs (Carroll Buchholtz, 2008, p. 256). Many employees had their entire pensions vested in Enron stock, Kenneth Lay advised employees keep their Enron stock when the firm was crashing, and he was selling his own. While the employees were unable to sell their stock, Lay and other executives were quickly selling off many of their shares. The lives and savings of thousands employees were destroyed. They also were deprived of the freedom to diversify their retirement portfolios; and they had to stand by helplessly while their retirement savings evaporated at the same time that top managers cashed in on their lucrative stock options. Impacts on Investors and Stockholders As the result of Enron scandal, individual and institutional investors lost millions of dollars because they were misinformed about the firms financial performance reality through questionable accounting practices, and all of the shareholders lost the money that they had invested in the corporation after it went bankrupt. Shareholders lost nearly $11 billion when Enrons stock price, which hit a high of US$90 per share in mid-2000, plummeted to less than $1 by the end of November 2001 (Answers.com, 2010). Investors those who were hurt can never be made totally whole once again after the terrible experiences of Enron. Impacts on the United States and Communities Political parties, such as the Bush administration, who accepted contributions from Enron, were finding themselves in positions where returning the funds to Enron or donating them to a charitable. Enron also affected the United States in several important ways. If anything positive can be said about the Enron scandal, it is that the scandal itself heightened awareness of the importance of integrity in Accounting and business in general, and led to the creation of new safeguards to make sure that something like this would not happen again, or at least not to the full extent of the Enron damage. Enron cynically and knowingly created the phony California electricity crisis of 2000 and 2001. Between 30 percent and 50 percent of Californias energy industry was shut down by Enron a great deal of the time, and up to 76 percent at one point, as the company drove the price of electricity higher by nine times (Corporate Narc, nd). Impacts on Other Stakeholders The Enron scandal also harmed other stakeholders. For example, Enron top managers pressured Arthur Andersen to certify maximum-risk; questionable accounting practices in part to retain their consulting business and, by acceding to this pressure, Arthur Andersen won huge contracts in the short run however ultimately lost their professional credibility and client base. Some investment banks such as Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, and Merrill Lynch made over $200 million in fees from deals that helped Enron and other energy firms boost cash flow and hide debt, and, by failing to exercise their own adequate due diligence, they multiplied the harm done to other stakeholders. Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase in particular appeared to have significant amounts to lose with Enrons fall. Punishment Thousands of aggrieved employees, investors, and other stakeholders were waiting to find out what punishment will be meted out to those who covered up Enrons true financial position so successfully for so long. Three individuals that participated in the various frauds that were committed by Enron included the former president and CEO of Enron, Jeffrey Skilling; former chief financial officer in charge of LJM, Andrew Fastow; founder, former chairman, and CEO, Kenneth Lay. At first, in 2002, Enrons former chief financial officer, Andrew Fastow, and three other current and former Enron executives exercise their Fifth Amendment right not to testify at a congressional hearing. He was charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy. It is alleged that Fastow and others devised a scheme to defraud Enron and its shareholders (Cbsnews.com, 2006). Fastow, his wife Lea Fastow and nine other former executives faced 31 more charges and 98 counts of fraud an d they were also indicted on a host of fraud, insider trading, and other counts (Associated Press, 2006). Andrew Fastow pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy. The plea called for a 10-year sentence and his aid in targeting former top Enron executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. Lea Fastow pleaded guilty to filing false tax forms. Finally, in March 2006, Fastow had already pleaded guilty and faced up to 10 years in prison on two counts of conspiracy. Lay and Skilling went on trial for their part in the Enron scandal in January 2006 in Houston. Skilling faced 31 counts ranging from fraud to lying to auditors for allegedly lying about Enrons financial state. Lay faced seven counts of fraud and conspiracy for allegedly perpetuating the scheme. After six days of deliberations, on May 25, 2006 a verdict was reached in the Houston trial of former Enron chiefs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. Skilling was convicted of 19 of 28 counts of securities fraud and wire fraud and acquitted on the remaining nine, including charges of insider trading, making him the highest ranking former executive charged in the collapse of Enron. He was sentenced to 24 years and 4 months in prison for his role in one of the biggest corporate scandals in U.S. history (Cbsnews.com, 2006). Lay was convicted of all six counts against him, including conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud and he faced a total sentence of up to 45 years in prison. However, be fore sentencing was scheduled, Lay died on July 5, 2006 due to a heart attack (Answers.com, 2010). Lessons from the Enron Case In the new economic, the Enron scandal has been being the morality lesson. The case will teach executives and the American public the most important ethics lessons. The first lesson it that both individuals and organizations or firms should only earn money by providing goods or services that have real value in the new economic. Moreover, executives who are paid too much can think they are above the rules and can be tempted to cut ethical corners to retain their wealth and perquisites. Every firms need to demonstrate that they have eliminated all off-books accounts which distort the publics understanding of the financial health of the organization and they should to pledge that they will not suspend the companys code of conduct, or at least report to the public when they do. In order for companies to prevent an Enron-like scandal, there needs to be supervision over managers and executives as they exercise their own business judgments about what is in the best interest for an organizat ion. Kirk Hanson (2002), executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, explained that the Enron scandal demonstrates the need for significant reforms in accounting and corporate governance in the United States, as well as for a close look at the ethical quality of the culture of business generally and of business corporations in the United States. Due to the accounting frauds that occurred in the Enron scandal, several accounting firms should reorganize their employees towards remaining loyal to the ethical standards demanded by the SEC. In order for companies to prevent an Enron-like scandal, there needs to be supervision over managers and executives as they exercise their own business judgments about what is in the best interest for an organization. On the other hand, when accounting firms have been moving to sever in both auditing and consulting services for their consulting businesses, the SEC should probably adopt additional disclosure requirements. Government regulat ions and rules need to be updated for the new economy, not relaxed and eliminated. Conclusion Looking at the Enron scandal from the retrospective viewpoint of history, essentially most of the problems faced by Enron derive from the immoral and unethical actions taken on by the board of directors in their attempt to achieve personal profits. The Enron scandal changed the lives of everyone in America and perhaps just as importantly, it forced everyone to look at themselves and fully realize the consequences of reckless greed and the breakage of laws on a whim. Most of individuals and organizations had been receiving proper punishment and lessons for their relevance.

Experiment on Effect of Music on Driving Performance

Experiment on Effect of Music on Driving Performance Research shows that listening to music is mostly common in an automobile (Wikman et al., 1998). Moreover, compared to other activities that might cause a distraction, there is a popular misconception that listening or singing to music while driving on the road causes little-to-no-risk (Dibben and Williamson, 2007). Several types of research and experiments have studied the effects of music on the performance of the operator in different controlled environments and under different conditions (Beh and Hirst, 1999; Baldwin and Coyne, 2003). On one hand, research has continuously supported the idea that under certain conditions, listening to music does increase alertness by countering sleepiness when driving (Braitman et al., 2008; Bellinger et al., 2009; Brodsky and Kizner, 2012). Experiments have also shown that music played close to a persons comfort volume level (72 Dba for male and 66 dba for female ) will induce faster reactions to signals (Turner et al., 1996). On the other hand, listening to music accompanies several behaviors that take the drivers attention. These include changing songs, scrolling to a playlist, fine-tuning a radio station, and swapping CDs which directs the drivers eyes away from the road and leads to single-handed driving (Horberry et al., 2006). Listening to music while driving might also have another drawback as it will cause less auditory acuity for the sound of the music caps road noises (e.g. sirens, horns, vehicle warning signs) (Consiglio et al., 2003; Brodsky and Slor, 2013). This would considerably decrease the operators overall awareness of a situation (Lee et al., 2012). Additionally, momentary loud peaks in music disrupt vestibulocochlear control leading to a decrease in the reaction time of the driver thus increasing the risk of collision (Wikman et al., 1998). An important note is that previous research showed that some music genres like Pop, rock, and dance contain more frequent peaks in the tracks than o ther genres like classic, vocal, and rap (Hughes et al., 2013). Moreover, research has shown that the drivers perception of moving objects can be altered based on the pace of the background music (Brodsky, 2001). Furthermore, research done at the University of Negev in 2012 showed that although drivers that listened to their favorite music songs had elevated positive moods and enjoyed the trips, they exhibited more steering inaccuracies, aggressive driving patterns, and traffic violations compared to drivers that listened to songs they are not familiar with (Brodsky and Slor, 2013). A lot of research have considered effects of music based on its familiarity with the driver (Cummings et al., 2001), loudness (Ayres and Hughes, 1986), and pace (Iwamiya, 1997). Music genres are mainly categorized into Pop, Rock, Dance, hip-hop, and Rap (ÃÅ"nal et al., 2012). This categorization is based on the most popular music for individuals aged between 16 to 30. To our knowledge, there is no research that tests whether the effects of different types of music genres on driving performance(Oron-Gilad et al., 2008). The aim of this study is to test if there are any different effects of genres of music on the driver performance. The objective is to set the genres that enhance the drivers performance and the those that predict the worst outcome.(Ho and Spence, 2005; McEvoy et al., 2006) In this research, we seek to study the effects of the 5 different genres presented earlier on driving performance while controlling all other effects of in-cabin music like volume, familiarity, pace, and tempo. Hypothesis 1: Given that Pop, rock, and dance music have more peaks/climaxes than other music genres, we predict that they will have a negative effect on the performance. Hypothesis 2: On the other, we predict that listening to hip-hop and rap will have a positive outcome when it comes to the drivers performance. The proposed project will be a multivariate experimental design. The first independent variable in this study is the type of music the driver is listening to. These include 5 different genres compare to a control situation, which is when the driver is not listening to any music. 20 popular tracks (4 for each genre) will be chosen to be played during the experiment. The tracks will be chosen from a website called Grooveshark (Grooveshark.org) which contains top charts from each genre. The choice of tracks is very important to this experiment since as mentioned above the pace/beats per minute (BPM) of a song, and familiarity does affect the driving performance, thus all the tracks were chosen should have 120-125 BPM rate and should popular so that every participant will know one of these three tracks. The second independent variable will be the type of incident the driver must respond to. For the current study, a simulated world of the roads in London was created. The setting is intercity roads and highways. Incidents that the participant will face were designed specifically to mimic the possible scenarios that a London driver would experience (National Survey, 2016) they are characterized by 2 groups : Highway incidents Traffic Pileup Car following Monotonous driving Intercity Road incidents Car coming from the left violating the giveaway rule Parked car suddenly driving off Intersection crossing The dependent variables will be mental effort value and the driving performance. The former will be assessed using The Rating Scale Metal Effort (value from 0 to 150 where 0 indicates no effort and 150 indicates extreme effort) (Zijlstra, 1993) at different intervals during the study . In a series of studies by Zijlstra demonstrated that the scale is sensitive to changes in task load and correlates well with physiological changes based on task difficulty. Therefore, the scale is a valid and reliable measure for subjective ratings of mental effort, and an indicator of workload and information processing during the driving task. Throughout the experiment, the driving simulator will log relevant driving performance indicators during a series of 6 incidents that the participants will undergo them twice, once with no music as a control and another while listing to different music genres. More detailed description of the performance indicators will be mentioned in the measurement description. The experiment requires 85 participants that should have the following requirements: Participants should be between 18 and 65 years old A valid driving license for more than 6 months No hearing deficiencies Not persecuted by traffic court Participants will be selected to ensure a representative sample of the population in London. The ratio gender and age should be statistically similar to the drivers in London. According to the national transport, survey done in 2010, the gender ratio was 58% males and 42% females, and the mean age was 40 years. Finally, upon completion of the study, the participants will be rewarded a 20Â £ amazon voucher. All participants will be given a detailed information about the experiment prior participation and will be asked to sign a consent form. This document will include the risks and potential benefits, information about the researcher, and ERGO contact information. Also, the consent form will inform the participants that they have the right to drop out of the study at any stage, and withdraw their data after the study have been completed with no negative impact on them. The study will only be conducted with the approval of the ERGO committee at the University of Southampton. Finally, the participants will be each given a number that will be used in all data logging, questioners, results, and reports so that participant confidentiality is preserved. All soft data will be kept on a secure hard drive and all hard copy data will be kept in a locked cabin under the supervision of the principal investigator. Participants will go through all highway and intercity incidents twice (6 incidents as a control with no music, and another 6 with different music genres playing in the car). When the participants arrive, they will be debriefed and then guided through consent form. Once the participants agree to join the study, they sign the consent form. After that, they will undergo a 3-minute online Hearing deficiency test designed by the Royal institute of Deaf People (www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk) to check for any hearing deficiencies. If they pass the test they will go through a 10-minute training session in the driving simulator so that they will get to know the driving simulator. If the researchers observed any participants having simulation-sickness they would exclude from the experiment at this point. Moving on, the participants will choose 5 songs (one from each genre) that they are familiar with, and they will be informed that they should respond with a single value from 0 to 150 when a research asks them about their mental effort during the driving task. At this point, the participants will be asked to go through the 12 different scenarios with a 5-min break between each 6 incidents. The scenarios will be generated in a random order for the different participants using randomgenerator.org. Such that everyone gets a different sequence of the scenarios with different music genres. Avoiding the effect of sequence on the outcomes. To achieve a controllable environment a couple of measures will be taken. Firstly, the only songs played to the participant are the ones he/she chose before he started the driving simulation.Secondly, the music will be played at a moderate sound level throughout the experiment (72 Dba for male and 66 dba for female ) to exclude any effects of the different volume levels on the drivers performance. Thirdly, road noises simulated road noises will not be played during any of the tests because the research is solely interested in the effects of different music genres on driving performance. A pilot study will be conducted prior to the main study to ensure all the information given to the participants are clear. In addition, a pilot study will allow the researchers to address any possible factors that might affect the outcome and thereby produce a non-replicable result. The pilot will be made up of 10 individuals who will go through the whole experiment and afterward sit with the researchers and address their concerns in a focus group. The feedback will be taken into consideration and the study procedure will be adapted to try to avoid any problem that might arise during the data collection phase. Each incident will last 2 minutes, so each participant will be in the car simulator for an average of 40 minutes (including a 5-minute half-time). Including the debriefing talks, 10-minute training session, consent form, hearing test, and music selection music selection the whole experiment should last an average of one hour for every participant (Strayer et al., 2003; Sheller, 2004; Patel et al., 2008) The experiment will be done in the Southampton University Driving Simulator (SUDS) with a 135-degree field-of-view which contains a Jaguar XJ saloon vehicle linked to the STISIM Drive simulation software, it has an interactive driving simulator with three driving displays supporting a 135-degree driver field-of-view (University of Southampton Driving Simulator, 2016). 1000 Watt Panasonic speaker was used to play the background music that was linked to an iPod. A digital sound level meter was also used to measure the loudness of the music and keep the loudness level on 72 Dba for male and 66 for female participants. To measure driver mental effort the researchers will use The Rating Scale Metal Effort and will log the values on an excel sheet. For the hearing deficiency test, the researchers will use the online hearing deficiency test. For the driving performance monitoring, the SUDS will record specific values for each tone of the 12 of scenarios. The research will use relevant indicators used in other driving simulator experiments that test driver performance because of their effectiveness to portray the overall driver performance in each of the designed incidents.(ÃÅ"nal et al., 2012) Traffic Pileup: Mean minimum headway which is the time needed for the following car to reach the lead car. Absolute minimum headway time. Car following: Mean speed while following the car Standard Deviation of speed Monotonous driving: 2.a 2.b Car coming from the left Maximum deceleration Minimum velocity Maximum Break percentage Parked car suddenly driving off Time to contact the moving car 4.a 4.b Intersection Crossing Distance to the approaching car when the driver crossed the intersection The results will be analyzed using the MANOVA analysis. The two dependent variables will be mean values on the driving performance and mental efforts. The output of those will be compared across the 12 different scenarios. In addition, interactions between dependent variables will be analyzed (in the MANOVA analysis). Bonfornni posthoc tests will allow pointing where the exact difference is between the different scenarios. Finally the . SPSS version 24 will be used for analysis. References Ayres, T.J. and Hughes, P. (1986) Visual acuity with noise and music at 107 dbA. Journal of Auditory Research. Baldwin, C.L. and Coyne, J.T. (2003) Mental workload as a function of traffic density: Comparison of physiological, behavioral, and subjective indices Proceedings of the Second International Driving Symposium on Human Factors. 19-24. Beh, H.C. and Hirst, R. (1999) Performance on driving-related tasks during music. Ergonomics, 42 (8), 1087-1098. Bellinger, D.B., Budde, B.M., Machida, M., Richardson, G.B. and Berg, W.P. (2009) The effect of cellular telephone conversation and music listening on response time in braking. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 12 (6), 441-451. Braitman, K.A., Kirley, B.B., Mccartt, A.T. and Chaudhary, N.K. (2008) Crashes of novice teenage drivers: Characteristics and contributing factors. Journal of Safety Research, 39 (1), 47-54. Brodsky, W. (2001) The effects of music tempo on simulated driving performance and vehicular control. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 4 (4), 219-241. Brodsky, W. and Kizner, M. (2012) Exploring an alternative in-car music background designed for driver safety. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 15 (2), 162-173. Brodsky, W. and Slor, Z. (2013) Background music as a risk factor for distraction among young-novice drivers. Accident Analysis Prevention, 59, 382-393. Consiglio, W., Driscoll, P., Witte, M. and Berg, W.P. (2003) Effect of cellular telephone conversations and other potential interference on reaction time in a braking response. Accident Analysis Prevention, 35 (4), 495-500. Cummings, P., Koepsell, T.D., Moffat, J.M. and Rivara, F.P. (2001) Drowsiness, counter-measures to drowsiness, and the risk of a motor vehicle crash. Injury Prevention, 7 (3), 194-199. Dibben, N. and Williamson, V.J. (2007) An exploratory survey of in-vehicle music listening. Psychology of Music, 35 (4), 571-589. Ho, C. and Spence, C. (2005) Assessing the effectiveness of various auditory cues in capturing a drivers visual attention. Journal of experimental psychology: Applied, 11 (3), 157. Horberry, T., Anderson, J., Regan, M.A., Triggs, T.J. and Brown, J. (2006) Driver distraction: The effects of concurrent in-vehicle tasks, road environment complexity and age on driving performance. Accident Analysis Prevention, 38 (1), 185-191. Hughes, G.M., Rudin-Brown, C.M. and Young, K.L. (2013) A simulator study of the effects of singing on driving performance. Accident Analysis Prevention, 50, 787-792. Iwamiya, S.-I. (1997) Interaction between auditory and visual processing in car audio: simulation experiment using video reproduction. Applied human science, 16 (3), 115-119. Lee, J.D., Roberts, S.C., Hoffman, J.D. and Angell, L.S. (2012) Scrolling and driving how an MP3 player and its aftermarket controller affect driving performance and visual behavior. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 54 (2), 250-263. Mcevoy, S.P., Stevenson, M.R. and Woodward, M. (2006) The impact of driver distraction on road safety: results from a representative survey in two Australian states. Injury prevention, 12 (4), 242-247. National Survey (2016). Department of Transport. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/8933/nts2010-02.pdf. Oron-Gilad, T., Ronen, A. and Shinar, D. (2008) Alertness maintaining tasks (AMTs) while driving. Accident Analysis Prevention, 40 (3), 851-860. Patel, J., Ball, D.J. and Jones, H. (2008) Factors influencing subjective ranking of driver distractions. Accident Analysis Prevention, 40 (1), 392-395. Sheller, M. (2004) Automotive emotions feeling the car. Theory, culture society, 21 (4-5), 221-242. Strayer, D.L., Drews, F.A. and Johnston, W.A. (2003) Cell phone-induced failures of visual attention during simulated driving. Journal of experimental psychology: Applied, 9 (1), 23. Turner, M.L., Fernandez, J.E. and Nelson, K. (1996) The effect of music amplitude on the reaction to unexpected visual events. The Journal of General Psychology, 123 (1), 51-62. ÃÅ"nal, A.B., Steg, L. and Epstude, K. (2012) The influence of music on mental effort and driving performance. Accident Analysis Prevention, 48, 271-278. University of Southampton Driving Simulator (2016). Available from: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/engineering/research/facilities/driving_simulator.page. Wikman, A.-S., Nieminen, T. and Summala, H. (1998) Driving experience and time-sharing during in-car tasks on roads of different width. Ergonomics, 41 (3), 358-372. Zijlstra, F.R.H. (1993) Efficiency in work behaviour: A design approach for modern tools. TU Delft, Delft University of Technology.

Propaganda and Democracy Essay -- essays research papers

What is the impact of propaganda on our democracy? When examining the relationship between propaganda and democracy it important to define each term. Propaganda is a protean term, its definition varies widely. The word propaganda could refer simply to an active process of mass persuasion or it could carry more negative connotations. In general, a distinction is drawn between propaganda and persuasion. Like persuasion, propaganda is designed to influence opinion rather than purely communicate fact; however, there are several important differences between the two. Persuasion utilizes critical argument and weighs all sides of an issue. On the other hand, propaganda is entirely one sided. While a persuasive message works best with a focused and active recipient, propaganda depends on a mindless audience. Propaganda manipulates symbols as well as and basic human emotions and prejudices in order to influence opinion. Democracy is the form of government in which the laws and government institutions are under the control of the people. In a democracy decisions are made by the citizens or their elected representatives. Propaganda has many effects on American Democracy. Many people claim that our democracy has been â€Å"cheapened† by the media and, in particular, propaganda. Some of the negative effects of propaganda on democracy are that it prevents discourages debate and allows people to listen only to those opinions that they agree with. One of the main goals of propaganda is to preve...

Essay --

We are all familiar with hospitals. Depending on our condition we see many different doctors and nurses. Manny patients think their primary care giver is their doctor, however they are wrong. The primary caregiver is their nurse working every hour, the nurse is checking their vitals, and assessing their condition. Now let’s go to a patient in critical condition. Andrew, a thirty-three year old man who had been badly burned, and lost his leg to the trauma. Andrew was in such pain his attending nurse gave him the max and the nurse was very worried of respiratory collapse. Andrew spent eight weeks in the critical care department, but said he would not have survived it without his attending nurse Ellen. The patient is taken care of, but the patient doesn’t know how the nurse is doing, who is providing their care. That patient doesn’t know if he or she feels overworked or if he or she has had a break in the last twelve hours. The patient probably doesn’t know that the critical care nurse is taking care of seven other patients. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing, â€Å"critical care nursing is that specialty within nursing that deals specifically with human responses to life-threatening problems. A critical care nurse is a licensed professional nurse who is responsible for ensuring that acutely and critically ill patients and their families receive optimal care.† (American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, 2010) In summary critical nursing is a daunting task one where one individual would be overworked and trying to be in too many places at once. In addition nurses are feeling an even extra strain because hospitals’ intensive care units are understaffed. Now, this is not an extreme situation, however is a direct iss... ...ge, this is a vicious circle. A circle that needs to be broken by the administrations to provide better care for our nurses which will result in better care of patients. Ultimately something needs to be done to better protect the rights of individual nurses bringing the shortage and patient deaths down. As stated early, nurses are primary caregivers in hospitals. Nursing will never be an easy profession, but it is an admirable one. Nurses aren’t nurses because they receive worthy pay or have decent schedules. Nurses are the ultimate care givers because they are compassionate and have a passion for helping others. Unfortunately, the lack of respect and shortage makes it difficult for nurses to truly see the gift they are giving their patients. In summary it is all about finding solutions to better our healthcare organizations who can better the lives of all nurses.