Music during WW2 and how it played a role Essay

Music during World War 2 was made to help get people through depression and motivate the men and women fighting in Europe and Asia. Everyone was into patriotism at this time including the music they listened to. At this time music has expanded its demographic to younger audiences, before it popular music was mainly appealing for adults. It contained many uplifting styles of music such as swing, be-bop, and country. For example Frank Sinatra became very popular to the young teenage demographic. He was the first singing teen idol. He created more swinging music to help with the war with songs like â€Å"The Birth of the Blues†. Jo Stafford also became famous with her romantic World War 2 ballads. Most of her songs helped the troops overseas remember their wives and girlfriends back home. Other songs also helped like â€Å"America Calling† by Meredith Willson, which helped boost morale of the country and convinced men to enlist into the armed services. It reminds them about what this war is about and to support it. â€Å"Angels of Mercy† by Irving Berlin, which was created after the bombing of Pearl Harbor dedicating the American Red Cross nurses, portraying them as Angels of Mercy wounded victims overseas. â€Å"Back Home For Keeps† by Carmen Lombardo, which is about a wife waiting for her husband to return home. This song gave a good mood and also helped support the war. â€Å"Cowards Over Pearl Harbor† by Fred Rose, which gave great American Spirit by talking about how America will over Japan, the evil country. â€Å"G. I. Blues† by Floyd Tillman, which describes the view of an American Soldier at war. It describes them as being lazy and doing nothing, which makes him depressed and wanting to come home. His thinks that if they continue to have lazy soldiers, America will not be able to win. â€Å"Hello Mom† by Eddie Dunstedter, which was about more about the propaganda during the war and gave more morale. Plus, it also supported the war bonds. It helped the parents who had a son in the war make them feel better. â€Å"Ma! I Miss You Apple Pie† by a G.I. at a training camp, which summed up what America is fighting for. The Apple Pie symbolizes Americas Freedom and how a soldier misses his Apple Pie. â€Å"Wonder When My Baby’s Coming Home† by Kermit Goell and Arthur Kent, which is yet another  song about a wife or girlfriend waiting for her lover to come home, waiting in her house. â€Å"I’ve been Drafted Now I’m Drafting You† by Lyle Moraine & Chuck Foster, which is about the pains about separation and a soldier convincing his girlfriend to be proud to so him in uniform. In conclusion, the music during World War 2 where mainly about the war, patriotism, propaganda, and much more with lyrics that helped Americans get through the war years.

Motorcycle Diaries Film Exam Essay

The movie Motorcycle Diaries is about to friends Ernesto Guevara who has the nickname â€Å"fuser† and Alberto Granado. Ernesto is a doctor in the process; he has taken a break from his studies to go on a trip, and Alberto is a biochemist. These two friends set off on a journey that starts off in Buenos Aries to travel across the whole region of South America on a motorcycle. From the beginning these two friends have the same idea, to go have fun and just have sex with the beautiful women they come across on the way. With many troubles to come they find themselves with new challenges that they must overcome. Through out the journey they begin to realize that there is more going on through out the world than what is seen by the human eye. Motorcycle diaries showed the neo-colonialist take over of foreign countries and powers. The example that showed this was that of the American mining company: Anaconda mining company. The reason for the American mining company to go to South America was because they can find cheap labor as well as cheap raw materials because the country needs to find a way to enhance its own economic struggles. By finding a country that is in dire need to raise some funds for themselves the companies see a chance to corrupt the deal, whether it being by making child labor, low wages, no benefits, and countless others. It also showed the traditional colonialism because from the anaconda mining company the workers that choose which men they will allow to work place themselves as a higher power so they are creating hierarchies, they are coming from an other country: taking the land to use for their needs, and taking the raw materials from the foreign country to grow for their own nation. It is basically both forms of colonialism combined. In the beginning of the movie Ernesto is only occupied with one thing, to have sex with beauties around South America; he is a sex addict sort of speak. Ernesto being born into a family that is well off has a good house, healthy family, and almost no problems to worry about. In the start of the travel he experiences just mechanical problems with the motorcycle and emotional conflicts with Alberto. When the bike constantly starts to break down they are forced to hitchhike on the back of trucks filled with poor indigenous natives, sees how they have to sleep, how they live and the basic problems of being poor. More through out their travel Ernesto instead of just realizing what is going on with the poor people he begins to care and wonder. While he is in a village he is asked to treat a sick woman even though he takes a look at her and knows that he can not do anything he leaves her medicine to try and help her for at least a little while. He begins to ask everyone he meets what has happened to his or her village and as to him or her as well. While staying with some of the people who are not in the greatest place he reads stories and books written from the poor persons point of view and own experiences. With the care towards the people with the least he starts to join the poor and sick. The first action that leads to this is when he gives his 15 dollars he has received from his ex girlfriend to a homeless and poor couple that has to keep traveling to get work to survive. His final step through the journey was that he joined the people who have close to nothing, in a figurative sense. While at the institute for the sick patients he beings to bond with them even more, starts talking to the sick patients about his personal life and giving them surgeries that will help them recover. He realizes that through out the world there is many boundaries that have been created but not by companies but by mankind themselves. To prove that these boundaries can be broken on the night of his birthday he decides to swim across a huge river separating the sick and the healthy to celebrate with them all; brining them together.

County Government Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

County Government - Term Paper Example Hence, this paper seeks to explore the sphere of county government, and establishes facts on matters of a county government. Brief History of County Government Way back from the early years, a county or shire has already existed and established. A county is a political body or a division within the bounds of particular country. Tracing back to the English about a thousand years ago, counties have been serving a dual function: it acted as the administrative arm of the national government and regarded as citizen’s local government. In addition, along the eastern seaboard of North America, the structural form of the county was embraced and adopted by the colonists; they also acclimated its structure in order to better satisfy the needs of colonies geographically and economically (â€Å"Overview of County Government†). However, in the aftermath of World War I, what strengthened the role and function of each political subdivision are the factors such as suburban development, the government reform movement, and the increase in rate of population growth. In fact, these awesome developments opened the door for post World War II urbanization. Moreover, there were ‘catalysts’ that led in a new era for county government: the great changes in the structure of counties, appreciating revenues, greater freedom or autonomy from the states, and the stronger political accountability (â€Å"Overview of County Government†). Exploring County Government The term â€Å"county† has been widely used all over the world, and has given various definitions. One definition of county is that it is a political subdivision of a state, and power and importance of which varies from one state to another (â€Å"County†). It is created with a purpose and function, and role and objectives, though not all has functioning governments. In the United States, there are 3, 068 counties, and all of which differ greatly in range, population and other aspects. Counties are mechanisms for states to use in order to deliver programs within geographic limitations (DeSantis and Renner). To name some are the Arlington County, Va., North Slope Borough in Alaska, Loving County in Texas, and Los Angeles County in California. In addition, there are only forty-eight among the fifty states in the United States have operational county governments (â€Å"About Counties†). 1.1 Roles of County Government Counties are nothing without purpose and roles. What leads to the development of a country is mainly derived from counties. Where autonomy is given, counties perform several roles (Sellers 6.): county finance (which describes the procedure for the adoption of the budget legal taxes and assessment, and defines allowable debt limits and special funds like capital improvement funds), zoning and land use (which defines county’s authority to obtain, hold, and sell public land or expropriation); in roads, bridges, and transportation (analyzes the system of construction, maintenance, and improvement of road system); in recreation, leisure, and culture (county’s powers in the creation of parks and recreational facilities as well as its function to create facilities empowered by the government). Moreover, in terms of public safety, health, and sanitation (county has the authority to perform procedures about public safety like fire protection, and power to promote public health through construction of health departments, hospitals, and ambulance services). However, the role of a county does not

Gone Girl by David Fincher Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Gone Girl by David Fincher - Movie Review Example The movie is the screen version of the best-seller by the former television critic Gillian Flynn. The critic Scott Smith wrote about it: â€Å"I cannot say this urgently enough: you have to read Gone Girl. It’s as if Gillian Flynn has mixed us a martini using battery acid instead of vermouth and somehow managed to make it taste really, really good. Gone Girl is delicious and intoxicating and delightfully poisonous. It’s smart (brilliant, actually). It’s funny (in the darkest possible way). The writing is jarringly good, and the story is, well†¦amazing. Read the book and you'll discover - among many other treasures - just how much freight (and fright) that last adjective can bear† (Smith). Flynn wrote the script for a movie herself. She says that her main goal was to keep the spirit of the novel. This spirit is gloomy and depressive. Therefore, it is no wonder that the author of movies Seven, The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo David Fincher decided to make the screen version. For now, his only optimistic picture is "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". In all the other works Fincher tells us about maniacs, mental pathologies, etc. Certainly, we shouldn't forget about his "Social network", but it also cant be called optimistic. It is interesting that Gone Girl is a feminist and anti-feminist movie at the same time. For example, Fincher's "The girl with the dragon tattoo" was absolutely feminist. However, as a new movie of the director is in general anti-human, it contains two opposite doctrines: the sacrifices women make for men are great and dramatic, but women also mock at men so much that it depreciates their own sacrifices. The ps ychological thriller is a genre that is very popular in the modern world, but the movies of this genre are usually very pessimistic. The inner world of every person is dark and frightening, thus this genre appears to be the most difficult and not every director decides to work with it.                  Ã‚  Still, there is one thing that makes Gone Girl less gloomy. One of two main characters seems to be too specific, not corresponding to the ideas of an average person. Rothman states: â€Å"Gone Girl† is a fantasy, of course, and it takes place in a dream world, not reality. Leaving the theatre, you have to ask yourself how connected these ideas are in real life. And you can’t miss the fact that, fundamentally, â€Å"Gone Girl† is a farce. There is no  real  crime or horror in the Dunne household. Amy and Nick hurt one another, but in unexceptional ways; Nick’s affair with a sexy student - Emily Ratajkowski, of the â€Å"Blurred Lines† music video - is played for comedy. In fact, it’s the creation of a heightened atmosphere of suspicion around those banal â€Å"crimes† that leads, eventually, to the real ones. Maybe â€Å"Gone Girl† is just playing around-making up, rather than finding, connect ions within our imaginative lives†. The movie is a fantasy; therefore, it is not necessary to make frightening generalizations. But they still can be made. And this really frightens.      

Greece Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Greece Economy - Essay Example World wars and other local wars highly affect a market and it gives a bad impact on currency and bond of country. They badly affect on asset pricing. During Second World War it has been observed that bond prices of Australia, Japan and United States were badly affected. Other historical events also have a great significance on bonds and other assets. Important events urging U.S civil war has also showed a great impact on bond pricing and asset pricing. Wars highly affect markets and capitals as a result of which bond pricing and assets pricing faces downfall. The New York central exchange is one of the largest bond markets in world and its number of traded issues increased from 1000 to 6000. Currency has a great significance in country's economy. In past few years U.S dollar has faced lots of rise and downfall, same its rise and downfall highly affects U.S economy. Every currency's value and its related factors have direct impact on country's economy. In the past few years, U.S dolla r has been declining and facing troubles in international market with which U.S current account deficit has expanded. U.S. dollar declining and current deficit are linked together tightly. Internal and external environment highly affect on country's currency. Same in case of U.S. dollar in past few years U.S economy and U.S political issues highly affected its currency, that is the only reason U.S dollar is facing number of problems about rates in international market. Deficits only exist if a currency moves above its real exchange rate and such deficit can be removed by real depreciation. Short fall, high returns and other deficit affected a lot on U.S dollar and its rates. These are the basic facts by which U.S dollar has faced a mark able decline in past few years. All above mentioned factors have influenced dollar rate in past few years. All over, the recent and current situation U.S economy has influenced a lot in U.S economy and U.S deficit in past few years. Dollar is an offi cial currency in several parts of world. Dollar also refers as "smaller unit, seneiti, equates to "cent". In number of countries dollar is used as official currency for inner and outer money transaction.In finance, yield curve is a relationship between currency rates and its maturity dates. Treasury securities are closely concerned with yield curves and it is usually plotted on graphs. The curve is commonly known as "the yield curve". Term structure of interest rates" There are three types of yield curves: normal yield curve, steep yield curve, flat or hampered yield curve, inverted yield curve. There are number of theories for yield curve some of them are as follows: Market expectations (pure expectations) hypothesis, Liquidity preference theory, Market segmentation theory, preferred habitat theory. Chosen Currency: Dollar. U.S dollar in an official currency of United States of America, it is generally donated as "$". It is divided in 100 cents. Below is a yield curve of U.S dollar according to rates and date. Yield Maturity Fig: 1. Yield Curve is closely related to economic situations and it also helps a lot in obtaining future economic rates and market activities. This interest line helps a lot in examining the interest rates according to recent currency value and according to its maturity date. The yield curve is specially deigned keeping in mind the needs and current requirements. Yield curve shows current currency decline or rise in

Women and The Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Women and The Law - Essay Example Women and The Law One actually had mixed opinions in the article given that through the experiences of three women who opted out (Chimerine Irvin, Kuae Kelch Mattox, and Sheilah O’Donnel), some of these women turned out more advantageous for being accorded with the opportunities of finding more rewarding employment when they opted to return on the work force; despite obviously lower compensation. However, others who are not so fortunate could face greater anxieties for having to look for more productive endeavor at an age where they could in fact be discriminated on for entering the labor force at a much older age where younger, healthier and equally qualified contenders could be more than willing to accept positions at considerably lower pay. However, through the experiences that were relayed, it was commendable that those who were able to establish a network of professional colleagues while at their prime of the career, could still tap these network and resources to find rewarding opportuniti es to enter the labor force. The difference of having taken the class is that one is more cognizant of theories and their applications to contemporary settings. As such, much appreciation is taken in crucial concerns, especially those affecting women in the workforce and their abilities to sustain supporting their respective families despite the challenges of balancing work and family life.... d even facing serious consequences, especially when divorce had left women without support, without money, and without resources to support the growing needs of the children. Description of Personal Reaction to/Opinion of the Article One actually had mixed opinions in the article given that through the experiences of three women who opted out (Chimerine Irvin, Kuae Kelch Mattox, and Sheilah O’Donnel), some of these women turned out more advantageous for being accorded with the opportunities of finding more rewarding employment when they opted to return on the work force; despite obviously lower compensation. However, others who are not so fortunate could face greater anxieties for having to look for more productive endeavor at an age where they could in fact be discriminated on for entering the labor force at a much older age where younger, healthier and equally qualified contenders could be more than willing to accept positions at considerably lower pay. However, through the experiences that were relayed, it was commendable that those who were able to establish a network of professional colleagues while at their prime of the career, could still tap these network and resources to find rewarding opportunities to enter the labor force. Statement of What Difference, if any, Taking the Class Had on Reaction to the Article The difference of having taken the class is that one is more cognizant of theories and their applications to contemporary settings. As such, much appreciation is taken in crucial concerns, especially those affecting women in the workforce and their abilities to sustain supporting their respective families despite the challenges of balancing work and family life. The lessons provided ample opportunities to be apprised of how theories are applied and how,

Experimental economics summary paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Experimental economics summary paper - Essay Example The article describes how two variations on similar experiments test consumer behavior of people put in different market-type situations. The first variety of the game takes place between two people who are put in multiple sessions of a staged bargaining situation. They are to divide a sum between themselves and their acceptance or rejection of the proposed division determines what they get. One of them takes the lead and makes the other an offer of division. If the other person accepts the offer, they keep the money according to that division. On rejection, both participants get nothing. The second variety places a group of up to nine people in a bidding session against a ‘seller’. The seller’s acceptance or rejection of individual offers determines earnings in this case. The ‘buyers’ each make an offer for an object that is of the same monetary value to them and is of no value to the ‘seller’. If the seller accepts the highest offer, he gets the money and the buyer receives the difference between the highest price and the value of the object. On the seller’s rejection, nobody receives anything.

WHEN THE BOYS FIND THEMSELVES STRANDED ON A REMOTE ISLAND, THEY Term Paper

WHEN THE BOYS FIND THEMSELVES STRANDED ON A REMOTE ISLAND, THEY QUICKLY BEGIN THE PROJECT OF BUILDING A ROUGH APPROXIMATION OF SOCIETY AND ATTEMPT TO CREAT A PARADISE - Term Paper Example Right from building fires for the purpose of creating signals to losing out on all the hope that the boys had, the small group tries to stick together and aspire for a better tomorrow where they would eventually be found by someone and taken back home. However, the flames quickly take over the entire forest due to negligence on part of the young boys and that leads to some more trouble for them to face. The boys have no experience in living life or reality on their own; they have always lived under the shadows of their parents and have grown up with comfort and assistance beside them. Getting trapped on an island, the way they were, opened up their eyes to the world and helped them to embark upon a journey full of maturity. They soon begin to miss their parents even though at first the entire sense of being away from parental guidance envelopes them with happiness and excitement. They begin to understand the kind of responsibility that their parents had to shoulder in order to help them grow up into civil and beautiful human beings. (SparkNotes Editors.) The boys try to create a family of their own among themselves because they soon begin to realize that if they do not stick with each other, they will not be able to escape from the place. With time, they also begin to realize how vital team work is in carrying out any activity. They begin to understand the need for having each other around and quit bickering. Much the same way, society was born at some point of time and has failed in some areas to grow and develop because of the differences that people have created among each other. This book is an excellent example of how tribal groups were created in the past and still are in the modern world. It shows a clear picture of how people learn to survive with each other and how a presence is required in order to be able to live and survive on this planet despite a person not liking other people as much. One of the boys, Jack, is an example

Cenozoic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cenozoic - Essay Example Solar radiation change was one of the prime causes of this glaciation during the Cenozoic Period. The later part of this glaciation took place in the high altitudes. Some of the main landforms on this planet were created during this particular period. Among them the mentionable ones are: Tibetan Plateau, Andes and the Himalayas. (Menzies 47) The Mesozoic Extinction survivors continued to live during the Cenozoic Period. This was the time when modern birds appeared for the first time during of their evolutionary journey. Savanna grasslands were seen in many parts of the world. Most of the vertebrates lived in the sea. However, there were insect eaters and herbivores in the lands. A complete extinction of the dinosaurs took place on the course of Cenozoic Period. The Scablands was the main creation in the state of Washington by the flood from Lake Missoula in the Cenozoic Period. The floodwater went to Pacific Ocean from Lake Missoula during this age. According to the records, the rate of flow of this water was 60 times more than the regular flow of Amazon water. The Eastern Washington was entirely flooded by the water which rushed throughout the land at a speed of about 50 miles per hour. Today, the 'Scablands' is the main evidence of this phase in the state of Washington. Cenozoic Period is considered as the recent most period in the world. Therefore surprises with evidences of this era are still found on our planet. One such incident took place in Denmark when a fossil of Cenozoic parrot was discovered there. The wingspan of this parrot is said to be about 20 feet. Northwestern Jutland is the place where the fossil has been discovered. According to the scientists, the fossil belongs to a time period, which is almost 55 million years from now. They have also said that this is one of the oldest parrot species that have been discovered so far. The genus of this parrot, according to the researchers, is known to be Mopsitta. However, the men who discovered it have named it "Danish Blue". (United Press International 2008) References 1. Fossils. University of Waikato, 2008, retrieved from: http://sci.waikato.ac.nz/evolution/FossilCenozoic.shtml on November 17, 2008 2. Age of Mammals: Cenozoic. Te Era, 2005, retrieved from: http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/Geology/Fossils/4/en on November 17, 2008 3. Menzies, John. Modern and Past Glacial Environments: Revised Student Edition. Butterworth-Heinemann. 2002. 4. "Cenozoic Fossil Parrot Found in Denmark". United Press Inter

Olympic games and Chinese economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Olympic games and Chinese economy - Essay Example Next year, that distinction belongs to Beijing, an ancient city north of China, which is in the forefront of China's surging economy and the center of its political power. In the history of the Olympic movement, China is only the third Asian country - after Tokyo in 1964 and Seoul in 1986 - to host the prestigious Games. The International Olympic Committee chose Beijing over several other aspirants that included Toronto, Paris, Istanbul, and Osaka. The cities of Bangkok, Cairo, Havana, Kuala Lumpur, and Seville also submitted bids to host the Games, but failed to make the shortlist in 2000. Beijing is the fourth city - after Berlin (1936), Mexico City (1968), and Moscow (1980) -- under authoritarian rule to host the games. Its officials welcome the selection as an opportunity to showcase its newfound economic prosperity and to project a more positive image to the rest of the world. While economists believe Beijing is certain to achieve its grand objective of showcasing its vibrant ec onomy and projecting a more positive image in the eyes of the world, they are in disagreement over the Games' immediate impact on its economy. Soon after the announcement was made on the choice of Beijing as the next Olympic site, (Beijing Olympics 2008) the Chinese government announced that it will earmark $20 billion to modernize the city's infrastructure and facilities to improve its woefully polluted environment in time for the Games. That announcement alone is enough assurance that the Olympic Games is bound to spell a dramatic transformation for Beijing, although this figure has already doubled as of the latest count. It is commonly assumed that the scale of an Olympic event and the scale of the preparations for it will create large and lasting economic benefits to the host city. Economic impact studies confirm these expectations by forecasting economic benefits in the billions of dollars. Goldman Sachs Asia has made one of the more aggressive forecasts, predicting that the Games will increase China's GDP growth by 0.3 per cent annually between 2002 and 2008, citing service sectors such as tourism, transportation, information technology services and logistics as the areas for the greatest growth. On the other hand, JP Morgan said the event would increase GDP by no more than 0.05 per cent per year, a figure that hardly makes a difference in China's impressive double digit annual economic GDP growth. "The divergent views are due to different assumptions," said Huang Yiping, an analyst at Salomon Smith Barney. Those who are unmoved by the Games' economic drawing power claim no evidence of positive economic impacts from mega-sporting events even remotely approaching the estimates in economic impact studies. In a study of the impact of Super Bowls on local economies, (Robert A. Baade and Victor Matheson, 1999) found "no measurable impact on spending associated with the event." Their explanation is that capacity constraints in the hotel industry cause room prices to increase with no change in occupancy rates. Higher rates contribute to the crowding out of regular traffic and net spending in areas other than hotel rooms changes little, if at all. The same report claims that longer term sports programs, usually involving stadium subsidies to attract or keep professional teams, have also failed to deliver on projected economic benefits. Even for cities that usually are considered success stories for sports development strategy, such as Baltimore and

Costco Wholesale Essay Example for Free

Costco Wholesale Essay 1. Executive Summary Costco Wholesale Corporation founded in 1983 by Jim Sinegal in Seatle Washington with a vision mission â€Å"to continually provide members with quality of goods and services at the lowest possible price control inventory.† Part of their strategy include direct buying relationship that ensures an efficient strong SC management, high standard staffing plans, high quality products at lower prices and assessable to members who are considered more loyal. Efforts are made to develop strategic options in line with these strategies while focusing on the supply chain parameters that span from order placement to receipt of goods at the warehouse and made available to customers in the warehouse shop floor using the most cost effective processes in order to ensure they support the mission of the company. By assessing Costco’s external opportunities and threats as well as the internal strengths and weaknesses (using SWOT Porter’s Five Forces analysis), one can infer they are doing well within their industry. More options were generated to increase sales and awareness of the retail warehouses. The report concludes with recommendations for Costco to sustain it’s market edge and advance by expanding into the European Asian markets more as their presence is still very weak in these regions as well as add other services goods to their already existing list. 2. Introduction Costco Wholesale Corporation founded in 1983 within the retail industry is the largest warehouse club in the world based on sales volume. A major wholesale business offering three levels of membership and the largest wholesale club operator in the US with membership/warehouse locations spread across Asia, Europe, North South America with headquarters based in Washington, US. Their main competitors operating membership warehouses include Sam’s Club BJ’s wholesale club. Jim Sinegal, the founder defines the company vision as â€Å"giving the best to the customer at the best value possible†. Here best value (in quality of goods services offered) at low prices are the driving force. Costco backs up it’s products with a return policy within a time frame of average 90 days, a highly endearing attraction to it’s members. The business model focuses on low prices volume purchase in order to achieve profit at low margin with stores offering discounts on an average of 4,000 products out of which roughly a thousand are ‘treasure hunt’ referring to goods that are scarcely available for purchase always. Volume purchase from few vendors yielding further reduction in price and lowers cost in marketing. With low prices, quality goods in limited selection based on forecast lead to quick turnover in inventory. The high volume purchase and efficient network distribution yield efficiency in operations for Costco. With a stipulated membership fee, Costco warehouses are designed to help small to medium size businesses reduce purchasing costs as well as serving large families with the goods packaged in bulk ranging from alcoholic beverages, electronics, fresh food/produce, household office supplies, pharmaceuticals tires. Also available are special memberships with services like car home insurance, m ortgage and real estate services, and packages for travels. 3.Purpose and Main Areas Of the Research (Concepts Techniques) Analyzing the supply chain operations at Costco wholesales, in line with the business focus while limiting to it’s supply chain operations strategy for maintaining a competitive edge as it relates to SC operations (from sourcing to arrival on pallets and or display at their various warehouses racks), their challenges and options for improvement will be the focus of this report. The following issues will form questions that will give a frame for this report: †¢ What are the key issues facing Costco in line with (efficient) Supply Chain Operations? †¢ What would be options to compete with these issues?  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Which options best suits the business focus and would yield better growth financially? The sections thereafter will consider trying to answer the questions above by applying SWOT analysis (see appendix 1) and Porter’s five forces framework (see appendix 2). Areas needing improvement will be obvious from such, options that would generate better performance after localizing issues peculiar to Costco. These would ultimately lead to clear recommendations for Costco’s improvement. Due to inaccessibility of authentic and current data for successive years on sales, further analysis could not be carried out to compare Costco for accurate sales assessment in the last three years or compare with the other two leading club wholesalers (Sam’s BJs). Identifying, analyzing key parameters with Supply chain operations processes at Costco and suggest areas of possible improvement. Inventory Management: Since good are moved straight to the selling floor and inventory is not held by Costco but managed by vendors, inventory labor cost of handling is avoided. In their meat grocery section for instance, they focus on low-price high volume strategies hence, Costco carry very limited amounts of grocery perishables whereas Wal-Mart is known to have weakness in the area of perishables (Petrak, 2006) Partnership/Collaboration with suppliers: Costco has buying relationships with many producers of national brands and are supplied directly from suppliers routing to the warehouses of docking points that serve as distribution points. Partnership market is an attribute of Costco, for instance by partnering with American Express to create a Costco-AMEX credit card, discounts cash cards as offered to customers while Costco markets Amex cards, thereby helping them to acquire more customers. Distribution Strategies/Transportation: The redesign of product packages to fit into pallets and thereby maximize space has led to reduction of trucks used to transport goods. Cross-docking of goods by delivering directly to Costco stores while some are kept in the distribution centers saves a lot of time cost along the SC. Utilization of buzzers for truck drives at delivery points to indicate when trucks have been unloaded can save time as against the truck driver’s physical movement within the warehouse is a time saver. Their warehouses are not situated on prime locations hence cost is saved from unnecessary high property cost; again, they own over 80% of the warehouses. Green Logistics: Costco Kirkland signature has launched eco friendly cleaning products. It maximizes the use of solar power in it’s warehouses, it’s delivery trucks are better packaged to allow maximization of space so as to reduce fleets of transportation and hence environmental pollution. Energy is better conserved with timed lighting and construction of warehouses that can maximize skylight during the day. Food products are packaged in recyclable and more environmentally friendly materials. Customers are paid to recycle their old electronics at the green sight. Information Technology: This retailer prides itself in it’s connection of all warehouses to the headquarters in Washington. By using the EFIM which provides real time information, manages control systems and inventory management system. The ECR is used to achieve profitability, improvement in efficiency, logistics, procurement and overall cost control. Kumar (2008) records that approximately $6 billion in a year is lost in the USA by supermarkets due to out of stock products among 25 top retailers as a result of inefficiency in their logistics. Vertical Integration: Costco practices a partial vertical integration with it’s cross-dock distribution. By gaining control of either its inputs or its outputs or both in sourcing directly from suppliers they have more control over innovation delivery of those services. Cost is also reduced which is ultimately transferred to customers. Further optimization of operational performance through SC operations options that can sustain a competitive edge and improve customer satisfaction through service improvement and cost reduction. 4. Description Of The Separate Areas 4.1Description of The SC Operations Performance Improvement. The measurement of SC performance can be based on profit, customer service or sales maximization (Chow, 1994). While the traditional method majorly measured product costs, identification of costs related to customer service is key. Elimination of various extraneous costs like plastic shopping bags, fewer shop floor staff, limited product variety brands on shelf and also slowing down on capital expenditure like expansion, Costco has been able to focus on improving buying power for achieving greater output. Since inventory rates are quickly turned over, payments to suppliers is fast tracked hence they are able to benefit from discounted early payments. Cost is involved in sourcing products from suppliers, shipment to depots warehouses, distribution to warehouses storage in inventory. By considering the concept of avoidable cost (possibly considering packaging storage), efforts can be made to improve on SC performance by implementing better SC integration program. Partnering with more suppliers and or service providers for better flow of operations as well as building keener competition can enhance better efficiency leading to more profit in the long run. More side business services can be added at Costco like money order and cash transfers to attract more customers and make Costco a one stop store. Aside from email messages being sent to existing members on promotions, greater awareness can create a more organized means to lure more customers on the expanding array of products services such that new more revenue streams are attained. 4.2 Issues Affecting Supply Chain and Possible Solutions Analysis of SC at Costco using SWOT analysis (appendix 1) reveals Costco is doing really well. Growth opportunities exist for business by entering the European Asian markets as these have not been exploited. From present methods of operations, the high staff salary and low margins maintenance amongst other issues need to be looked into for future prospects. The aging and close exit of the CEO along with growing competition and other threats in intended foreign markets such as political and religious wars, foreign exchange bank issues are threats to consider. In dealing with these issues, it will be important to assess briefly lead time management, product handling, transportation, quality, inventory as well as possible process solutions. Where possible, promotions should be done to enhance more sales though with the low prices and already highlighted low margin high employee, this may eat into the profitability but if well planned can create more publicity for the company which can yield quick inventory turnover. Since low overhead tight operation is the practice, better savings can be passed on to customers in form of promotion or otherwise. Exploration of overseas market is still a strong force and will yield greater profit considering the existing reputation Costco has and understudying how business is executed in such regions. Development of more private labels on wider product range and increased focus on customer loyalty programs are worth considering as well. It is advisable the board of management put in place a business plan before the exit/retirement of the CEO. Porters Five Forces analysis (see appendix 2) could identify an overall attractive industry, with the following power and threat situation: The buyer power was determined to have a positive potential impact on Costco business as it portray that buyers have the requisite level of expendable incomes to provide effective demand for goods services. In a similar manner, low threat of new entrants and substitute products portray an attractive industry whereas moderate internal rivalry and supplier power have a positive impact on Costco operations as it kept the company alert and devoid of complacency. 4.3 Analyzing The Contribution Of SCOM to Competitive Business Performance To further highlight the role of SCOM in enhancing business performance and maintaining a competitive edge, a few activities like volume purchasing, efficient packaging distribution, supplier integration customer integration have contributed to give a close picture of Costco capabilities and business level performance with each activity having unique benefits and detriments. Again, constant review of SCM practices may further help management in Costco to further match demand with SC requirements like efficient, lean SC (Cook et al , 2011). Their Network design, JIT resource planning distribution, optimization of transport replenishment policies have impacted positively and should be subject to constant review for sustaining a competitive edge. 5. Conclusion Finally, it is believed that some useful contributions are being developed to improve supply chain and it’s operation in line with the objective of Costco in delivering quality at lowest cost to customers on time with the aim of sustaining a more competitive advantage. Some useful SC options have been suggested above which support these objectives. While the ultimate goal remains to sustainably increase market share by achieving more qualitative growth and at the same time expand on the earning base through exploitation of the European market and already existing markets, Mascarehas et al (2004) adds that â€Å"competitive advantage must be won again and again† in other words, giving the current ever changing business world we live in, customer tastes and priorities are changing hence the need for Costco to be better positioned in order to respond always to it’s members needs while expanding on new fronts.

Relationships Between Language And Culture English Language Essay

Relationships Between Language And Culture English Language Essay The relationships between language, thought and culture have been one of the myths of language for centuries. This paper will assess the power of language and the mutual influence between language and culture by observing cognition of different language speakers. The aim of this essay is to find out the influence they have on each other, and to evaluate the relationship between language and culture. The mutual influence between language and culture will be the major focus of this essay. The main argument would be discussing whether language really influences culture or it just reflects culture. One of the definitions for language was established by Harcourt (2005): communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols. Such a system includes its rules for combining its components, such as words. Such a system as used by a nation, people, or other distinct community; often contrasted with dialect (p. 633) Thinking is often understood as an intra-mental activity inside an individual mind. In the process of thinking, language is used as a tool with inner speech representing vocalized thinking. Language is therefore possible to be a variable influencing thought. The grammar, syntax, limitations and traits of a language may shape the thinking style of the language speakers. Anthropology theories/concepts (200-250 words) In this thesis, ethnolinguistics, the study of the relationships between language and culture, and how they mutually influence and inform each other (Haviland, 1999), will be the main focus. Two anthropological theories, linguistic relativity and historical particularism (historicism), will be discussed as the first is the main theory of this study and the second one will function as a backup. Linguistic relativity The main theory, linguistic relativity, is the idea that distinctions encoded in one language are unique to that language (Haviland, 1999). Under the theory of linguistic relativity, users of markedly different grammars are pointed by their grammars toward different types of observations and different evaluations of externally similar acts of observation, and hence are not equivalent as observers but must arrive at somewhat different views of the world (Whorf and Caroll, 1956). In other words, people speak in different languages would have different thinking styles and cognition of the world. Furthermore, the schools of thought can be represented by two extremes, linguistic determinism and universalism. There are two forms of linguistic relativity according to their interpretation of the power of language, linguistic determinism and linguistic relativism, while universalism is an opposite idea to linguistic relativity. These concepts will lead to the main argument of this thesis. Determinism is the strongest form of linguistic relativity. It suggests that language can affect thinking, linguistic relativity holds that speakers of different languages think differently. Relativism is the modest form of linguistic relativity. Its idea is that, language can affect thinking, linguistic relativity holds that speakers of different languages think differently (Wolff and Holmes, 2010). In contrast, universalism is an opposite concept. In the idea of universalism, cultures, or at least languages, vary in innumerable ways; but there are patterns of variation that reflect universal properties that we might call the nature of language (Croft, 2010). Apart from linguistic relativity, the theory of historical particularism will be used as a backup theory in this thesis. Historical particularism Historical particularism is a school of anthropology prominent in the first part of the twentieth century that insisted on the collection of ethnographic data (through direct fieldwork) prior to making cross-cultural generalizations (Ferraro and Andreatta, 2011). It emphasizes that each culture is a unique result of its distinctive past, which makes cross-cultural generalizations questionable (Bailey, G. A. and Peoples, J., 2010). Culture influences language According to historical particularism, each culture has its own shape and is partially composed of traits diffused from other cultures since each society has their own past and they are a representation of that unique past. Since that culture and history are interrelated, and language is a tool to record and carry forward the history of a society. There is an often-cited example of linguistic relativism, Eskimo words for snow. It is a claim saying that Eskimos have an unusually large number of words for snow in their language. In English, we add adjective, participles or preposition phrases to modify the word snow, like falling snow, snow on the ground, snow packed hard like ice, slushy snow, wind-driven flying snow, etc. However, the word snow is too inclusive to an Eskimo, they use different words for different kinds of snow instead. From the Eskimo words for snow claim, it was discovered that some languages may rich in words and expressions describing a specific thing. And the vocabulary of a language can be a peephole for us to look into that culture. The concept of jade in Chinese literature In literary Chinese culture, jade has some metaphorical meanings. The concept of jade vastly appears in various contexts of Chinese poetry and idioms. Even among most of the common vehicles of Chinese metaphors, jade deserves special attention. The literary concept and image Chinese attached to the word jade (à §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °) reflect Chinese jade culture in their tradition. The concept of jade has appeared in the content of various types of Chinese literature, such as poetry and idiom. In Chinese language, there are many idioms linked with jade. The use of jade in those idioms usually is to symbolize beautiful and fine things. The followings are some examples: Idioms à ¨Ã‚ ±Ã‚ ¡Ãƒ §Ã‚ ®Ã‚ ¸Ãƒ §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ Ã‚ ¯ à ©Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ ºÃ‚ «Ãƒ §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ »Ã… ¸ à ¦Ã‚ Ã‚ ¡Ãƒ §Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ…“à ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ã‚ ·Ãƒ §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ ° à ¥Ã¢â‚¬  Ã‚ °Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ãƒ §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ ½Ã¢â‚¬  à ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ §Ã‚ £Ã… ¡Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ ° Implications of jade luxury beauty talent stainlessness valuable contributions Additionally, there are hundreds jade-related characters take jade (à §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °) radical, despite jade (à §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °) itself. Most of those characters have descriptive meanings of some specific kind of jade ¼Ã‹â€ Ãƒ §Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¾Ã‚ ¼Ã…’à §Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ…“ ¼Ã…’à §Ã‚ Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ¼Ã…’etc. ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °, knocking sound of, the color of or even the stains on a jade ¼Ã‹â€ Ãƒ §Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ½Ã‚ ¼Ã…’à §Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¼Ã…’à §Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ¢ respectively ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °. Jade-related characters à §Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ…“ à §Ã‚ Ã‚  à §Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¤ à §Ã… ½Ã‚ ¦ à §Ã… ½Ã‚ ² à §Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ¾ meanings fine jade joint jade precious jade panannular jade ring tinkling of pieces of jade jade used as tally From the above examples of the literary use of jade, we can notice that the concept of jade is attached with numerours good features and enjoys a high position (as Chinese people created a lot of jade-related characters) in Chinese culture. It is said in the Book of Rites, one of the Chinese Five Classics of the Confucian canon, that since ancient time, all gentlemen wear pendants of jade-stones, and that they should never be without them unless there is sufficient reason (à §Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ®Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ ¨Ã‹Å" ·Ãƒ §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ ¨- »). Jade has played a very important role in traditional Chinese culture. (Yang, 2011) The above example about literary concept of jade in Chinese literature shows cultures influence on language. It evidences that language is a reflection of culture. Japanese terms for rain Similar with the Eskimo words for snow claim, there is another word myth in Japanese. There are unusually many different terms which can be used to express different types of rain in Japanese. These terms categorize the rain into different types, by intensity, season, duration and even characteristics. Here are some expressions of rain or related to rain in Japanese. Types of rain in Japanese Pronunciation in Japanese Meanings à §Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ hakuu rain shower à ¤Ã‚ ¿Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ niwakaame rain shower à ¥Ã‚ ¼Ã‚ ±Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ jakuu weak rain à ¥Ã‚ °Ã‚ Ãƒ ©Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ Ãƒ £Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã…   koburi light rain à ¥Ã‚ °Ã‚ Ãƒ §Ã‚ ³Ã‚  Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ konukaame fine rain à §Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ enu misty rain à ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ °Ã‚ · uhyou freezing rain à ¦Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ¾Ã…’à ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ harenochiame clear then rain à ¦Ã‚ °Ã‚ ·Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ hisame very cold rain or hail à ¥Ã‚ ¤Ã…“à ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ yau night rain à ¦Ã‚ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨Ãƒ ¥Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ Ãƒ §Ã‚ ·Ã… ¡ baiuzensen seasonal rain à ¦Ã‹Å" ¥Ãƒ ©Ã…“- shun rin spring rain à §Ã‚ ·Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ ryokuu early-summer rain à ¥Ã‚ Ã‚ Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ juuu refreshing rain once in ten days à ¦Ã‚ Ã‚ µÃƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ keiu welcome rain à ¥Ã‚ ¤Ã‚ ©Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ ³Ã‚ £ tenkyuu rain from a cloudless sky à ¦Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ ¦Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ °Ã‚ Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ hareichijikosame brief light rain à ©Ã…“- nagame long rain à ©Ã…“-à ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¨ rinu long rain à ©Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ °Ãƒ ©Ã…“- inrin long rain à ¥Ã‚ ¤Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ §Ã‚ «Ã¢â‚¬ ¹ yuudachi sudden evening rain The above expressions for rain in Japanese reflect the rain culture in Japan. Japanese society and culture are affected by the climate there. Frequent rain is a prominent feature of Japans climate. Japan has a high precipitation. The average rainfall in Tokyo is around 1,800 mm, nearly double the global average of 1,000 mm. The intensity of rain is also strong and varies from season to season. It rains a great deal in Japan, therefore the society, culture and even language of Japan are affected by rain. According to the theory of linguistic relativity, phenomena and things that play important roles in a given society and culture are often subdivided into various types and described using a wide variety of specialized terms. By the examples of jade in Chinese literature and rain in Japanese language, the idea that culture influences language is evidenced. Considering culture to be a product of human thought, we can deduce that language is influenced by human thought, but not unilaterally influencing culture (linguistic determinism). The theory of linguistic relativism is basically proved, but how about language influences culture? Does language only reflect culture? In the following paragraphs, the idea that language influences culture will be discussed to find out whether language and culture really have mutual influence on each other (linguistic relativism) or language does not do much in culture. Language influences culture The idea that the way we view and feel the world is, to a certain extent, dependent on the language we use. Each language contains a peculiar and unique world view, which causes speakers of that language to see and think in a characteristic way, different from the speakers of other languages. This has become known as the principle of language relativity. In this part, different cognitions of different language speakers will be shown as examples of languages influence on culture (language shapes thought) Perception of eye-witness memory and blame There is a study conducted by Caitlin Fausey at Stanford. In that study, Fausey found that eye-witness memory differ depending on the language one speaks. The way that a person records events is depending on the language who speaks. The grammatical structure of a language affects our thinking pattern and even our eye-witness memory. In that paper, a cross-linguistic difference in how English and Spanish speakers describe the same events is identified, a corresponding cross-linguistic difference in eye-witness memory is also found. For speakers of an agentive language like English, if they see someone accidentally brush against a flower vase and the vase ends up in pieces on the floor, they can easily remember who broke it. When asked about what happened, they might say, Someone (the agent) broke the vase. They can easily notice the agent of an action. In agentive languages, descriptions like this are typical and appropriate for clearly accidental events. By contrast, non-agentive language speakers description of the same event/action often sounds evasive. Even if they see the same event, when asked about what happened, they might not remember who did it, and just answer The vase is broken Furthermore, the influence of language is not only on eye-witness memory, but even on blame. A canonical non-agentive description (e.g., the vase is broken) is intransitive and does not place the person as the subject for the change-of-state event. People are sensitive to this distinction between agentive and non-agentive frames. Linguistic framing influences ones judgment about blame and punishment. In financial liability, agentive descriptions will lead to 30%-50% more in requested financial damages than non-agentive descriptions do. Judgments and blame can be affected by linguistic frame. Tetraphobia in Southeast Asian countries. Tetraphobia refers to the fear of four. It is a common superstition throughout Southeast Asian countries, for examples, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. The fear of the number 4 is simply come from its pronunciation in Southeast Asian language. In Mandarin, its pronunciation of 4 is very close to that of the word for death, as both of them are pronounced as shi. And in Japanese and Korean, the two words are even perfectly homophonous. The superstition of tetraphobia has permeated all aspects of society in these countries, from architecture to communication norms. Here are some examples of tetraphobias impact: Many building in Hong Kong are typically built without 4-related floors, including offices, hospitals, hotels, apartments and skyscrapers. One famous example is the Vision City in Hong Kong, which is missing floors 40 through 49 The Chinese avoid phone numbers and addresses with fours, especially when theyre combined with another number that changes the meaning. Example: 94 could be interpreted as being dead for a long time. The number four was banned from license plates and can only be used once in ID numbers in Taiwan. The official sound of 4 in Japanese language is shi, but Japanese people usually use the alternate pronunciation, yon, that far away from its official sound, when talking about phone numbers and dates. The names of military aircraft and vehicles in China often start with the number 5. And South Korean and Taiwanese navies also avoid 4 when naming their ships. Table 4 is often eliminated at engagements, weddings, birthdays and other celebrations. People in society in this culture always avoid using 4 in verbal speech during holidays and when a loved one is sick or dying. From the above examples, the theory of linguistic relativism is further evidenced. The power of language is significant for sure. The language a person uses can shape whose thought. The thought of a group people forms culture. The language of a place is reflective to the culture of that place, at the same time, language promotes the culture of there. Conclusion (400-500 words) Form this study, it is clear that linguistic relativism is an evidenced theory. The relationships between language and culture are bilateral. Language is created to fulfill humans need. Therefore different society created there languages in different ways. The traits of a language are shaped by the culture of a society that created the language. The communication styles, vocabulary, grammar of a language, are all able to reflect a unique culture of a place. Language can be the epitome of a culture, and even a society. Language is a tool to express human thought and spread culture. The traits and limitations of a language affects the thinking style and cognitions of its speakers. When time goes by, it can shape the culture of a single place. Language shapes human thought and brings culture to society while it is also attached with cultures influence.

Strategies for Staff Shortages in the NHS

Strategies for Staff Shortages in the NHS Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Background: British National Health Service (NHS) has experienced a sensitive shortage of qualified nurses. This has placed retention issues on the political agenda. Nursing shortage is one of the greatest problems for the hospitals in the UK. Hospitals are placing greater importance on retaining their current registered skilled staff. It’s a difficult process and to do this they required to have deep knowledge of the needs and wants of the nursing staff .Management have to know what motivates nurses to stay. From that point of view, many hospitals carry out retention or exit surveys to understand the causes of leaving. According to Seccombe and Smith (1997), from 1987 to1995, within nine years nurse training fell gradually from 19,600 to 14,200 per year. An study (Lader 1995) of the 1991 Census proved that only 68% from them with nursing qualifications in U.K were actually working in nursing profession. Also the research found that 16% of the remaining were working in another profession and 15% out of paid work. Vacancy rate in NHS is very high now. Because of poor recruitment and retention system NHS have been forced to operate with vacancy rates for registered nurses up to 20% which was national vacancy rate of around six thousand six hundred in 1996(Review body for Nursing Staff 1997, cited by Maylor et al. 2000). Suggett (2003) reported that Wandsworth Primary Trust care has 15% vacancy rate for the nursing post at present and same vacancy rate exist for Health Care Assistants. Lowest vacancy rate(8%) exist for Allied Health Professionals. Nursing have the highest vacancy rate (35.9%) of the current labor force within the Trust. Gray and Phillips(1996) said currently NHS facing turnover and it stands at around 14% per annum for registered nurses (RGNs). Supported by (Seccombe and Smith,1997), he also added that it was far higher for nurses who have finished their training in recent times. Research found on turnover which supports these statistics, with around 40% of nurses had a great intention to leave nursing job from NHS within the next three years (Beishon et al., 1995). The reality is that turnover is maximum for nurses under 35 years of age. Hence it is an important economic problem, considering the standard cost of  £50,000 that taxpayers pay to train a RGN(Audit Commission, 1997). Suggett(2003) said from April 2002 to March 2003, statistics report showed that nursing post has turnover rate of 16.3%. Also Allied Health Professionals had 25.2% and Health Care Support Workers had 11% turnover rate. He also said that it was a big issue for the Trust because huge proportions of recruits left the job within two years after appointment. After first two years of employment 22 Allied Health Professionals and 23 Nurses left. Actually from this report it can be found that Nurses are not satisfied with their job and they are leaving early stage of their joining. As a result it creates serious problem for NHS. According to Maben (2008), London has the highest vacancy and turnover rate in the UK, with a dependence on agency and international staff. For example, vacancy rates in London were reported to be twice as high as the NHS average for some occupations, within 2016 the population of the London is projected to grow by 700,000, and well-trained, skilled and motivated nurses are very essential to meet shortage of the city. The Jonas Centre For Nursing Excellence (2006, p.9) reported that substantial attention has been given on improving nurses working environments as a principal approach for improving retention. The Magnet Recognition Program developed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) based on The 1983 Magnet Hospital Study’s findings, have largely supplied the criteria by which such supportive environments are defined and evaluated. According to Kramer and Schmalenberg (2005), the original Magnet study commissioned by the American Academy of Nursing, observed the characteristics of hospitals that enjoyed reputations as good places to work and which, even though a large-scale nursing staff shortage at that time, were successful in retaining nursing staff. One of the Magnet program objectives is recognize nursing services that use the Scope and Standards for Nurse Administrators to build programs of nursing excellence for the delivery of nursing care to patients Nurses across the nation are reporting that stress and dissatisfaction increased significantly with nursing (Boyle et al. 1999). Nurse-physician conflicts add to an already stressful work environment (Rosenstein 2002). One in five nurses plan to leave the profession within the next 5 years (Letvak 2002). Considering all these issues, it becomes vital to search for ways to retain experienced nurses. Researchers are trying hardly to solve the retention problem of NHS. One research (Newman and Maylor, 2000) found on retaining nurses in London region. This study identified the factors of nurse satisfaction and recommended a retention strategy. They recommended improving pay policies, management techniques, training facilities, career progression opportunities, service quality and patient satisfaction 1.2 Why is this area important within the NHS: Audit Commission (1997) reported that High staff turnover and recruitment is a problem for NHS trusts. It causes critical posts to stay vacant for long periods of time with direct consequences for patient care. They explained that Replacing staff can be an expensive business, costing trusts up to  £5,000 for each position filled. There is an also hidden cost of taking on new staff; who may take a year to learn to do the job efficiently and need extra training. Trust managers need to understand why staffs leave, shape the staff attitudes that influence job loyalty, and implement practical measures such as improving opportunities for training, so staffs dont have to leave to increase their skilled. Local and national economic factors may be out of the control of the NHS. The National Health Service is the largest employer in Europe and it has 142,000 staff in London alone .United Kingdom did not have enough doctors and nurses to meet demand. Though, there are staff retention challenges in all the NHS, but the major problems were mainly heard in some busy cites, particularly London(Maben 2008) Finlayson et al.(2002) said that government always feels the pressure of NHS nurse turnover problem. The problem is gradually rising. Government declared to recruit additional 20000 nurses in NHS hospitals within 2004. The demand were to be fulfilled by bringing back nurses who left the NHS, recruiting skilled nurses from abroad and increasing the quality training plan for nurses. Government recruited 6000 and 5797 nurses respectively in 1999 and 2000. In 2001, 713 nurses were recruited. According to The Royal College of Nursing(2000), at present 22000 nursing job are vacant which is whole time  equivalents. The college also reported that NHS will require to recruit more than 100000 nurses by the end of 2004 if retirement levels and other losses remain unchanged. Through training less than half of the demand will be met. From the above report it can be seen that retention is a very big issue for NHS. NHS skilled staffs are leaving their job. Nurses are doing the great job for the society. Those who qualify in Nursing have already demonstrated their intelligence, application and dedication to the sick by undergoing a usually arduous professional training. So, it is our duty to keep the skilled nurses in their profession for the benefit of society by proper retention policy. NHS is concern about how to overcome this problem. Researchers are trying to solve this problem in different ways. Recruiting new people is more costly than retention. Moreover they are not trained and it also time consuming to train them. So it is better to try retain the skilled nurses to reduce the pressure. Considering this situation writer of this report feels the importance of staff retention in NHS. 1.3 Rational: Nurses are the lifeblood of any hospital. The NHS in England employs qualified nurses always. From last 10 years, recruitment and retention of nursing staff has taken on crucial importance; therefore any study that demonstrates that the working environment has an impact on nurses’ recruitment, retention and performance is of importance to the further success of the NHS. NHS facing challenges to retaining nurses at both national and local level. According to Sugget(2003), The local NHS Plan had an aim for Wandsworth primary care trust include 40 nurses and 18 Allied Health Professionals within 2005.The South West London Workforce Confederation recommended that to accomplish these figures Trusts need to attract and support newly qualified nurses and return to practice clinical employees. This means that NHS is trying hard to keep their skilled nurses. Purpose of this research is not only introducing a standardised pay structure but also have a target to improve retention and staff morale. Employees will be identified as facing recruitment and retention problems like works officers or qualified manager. The object of this research is to examine current retention problems for facilities staff experienced by NHS Trusts.  The key purpose of this research is to find out the best Nurse retention strategy for NHS that can be helpful for the other researcher to carry out their future research. As I made my mind to build my carrier as a HR manager, I have chosen research area on staff retention. Staff retention will give me vast experience on HR management. In retention strategy there is a vast scope to gain some practical managerial knowledge and experience relation between manager and staff. Observing the NHS staff problem, I have chosen NHS to carry out my research on staff retention. 1.4 Aims and Objectives: Aim: Aim of this research is to identify good practice in order to make recommendations on how the NHS could retain their nursing staff with a range of skill and experience. It is known that any organisation will have more success in the HRM task if it is committed to valuing its employees by promoting their professional and personal development Research Objectives Review the existing literature on nurse retention Examine the factors that affect retention like pay policies, reward, working flexibility, work-life balance, workload etc. Identify the key retention factors Key theories to be Use: This research will focus on existing HRM model and Retention strategy to achieve the aims and objectives. The conception of new retention strategies will be a major spotlight for nursing administration as a lack of nurses recurs and turnover of staff becomes a strong problem. 1.5 Chapter Outline: Chapter Two provides a critical review of the literature on retain skilled staff working within NHS employment in order to create the context for the research. Key points of this chapter are nurse satisfaction, cause of leaving and retention strategies Chapter Three explains the research methodology, provides information on research process, strategy, data collection, data analysis (qualitative and quantitative) and ethical dilemmas encountered. Chapter Four begins with an data analysis on the research questionnaires. Both qualitative and quantitative analysis was presented. Also analysis findings were presented here. Chapter Five re-evaluates the findings by referring back to the research objectives. It then provides a short review of the research including recommendations for both NHS. It provides an evaluation of the study and suggests areas for further research. It also includes some limitations and shock of the researcher. Chapter-2 Literature Review 1.Introduction: Employee turnover is known as a most important organizational/business phenomenon. Employee turnover is very crucial to organizations, individuals, and society. Employee turnover can cause a considerable cost in terms of socialization, recruiting, training, and disruption. From the company’s point of view turnover also represent the range of indirect cost. Given the impact of turnover, it is vital for the manager and future manager to be able to analyze, recognize, and successfully deal with employee turnover (Mobely 1982). Here he tried to focus on the importance of employee turnover control for an effective management in case of saving cost. (Dell and Hickey 2002) added that turnover has huge economic impact on the organization, both in direct and indirect costs. Translating turnover into numbers that executives understand is essential because they need to appreciate the true costs. Managing retention effectively is a continuous challenge for any business organization. The retention issue had been highly focused since the last decade, and, from all indications, the problem will increase more in future decades. Most HR executives find retaining talent to be big problem even in slow economic times (Phillips and Connell 2003). In a survey during the 2001-2003 recession, ninety percent of 109 executives reported that they were finding it difficult to attract and retain the best people in the organization (Dell and Hickey 2002). Newman and Maylor (2000) reported that National registered Nurse has declined by more than 14,000 leaving the NHS with the worst nursing shortage in 25 years with a record 8-17000 shortfall of qualified nurses. Buchan(2000) said that from 1990 to 1998, the number of qualified nurses decreased by 8000 . This chapter is designed to focus on the existing literature on nursing retention. At first some definition is given. Then cause of nurses’ leaving is focused. Finally some retention strategies are discussed. 2. Definition: An understanding of basic distinctions between retention and turnover is very important. Phillips and Connell (2003, p 2) defined the retention and turnover in following ways: 2.1 Retention: is the percentage of employees remaining in the organization. High levels of retention are desired in most job groups. 2.2 Turnover: On the other hand turnover is opposite to the retention, refers to the percentage of employees leaving the organization for whatever reason(s). 2.3 Turnover rate: refers to the rate of individuals leaving. 2.4 Tenure: is the length of time an individual is employed by the organization and usually related to the concept of the employee loyalty. A loyal employee usually remains with an organization for a long period. In many organizations it is desirable to have long tenured employees, although this situation taken to extreme can also create problem. 3. Retention As a Critical Issue: Retention is a strong critical issue for any organisation. The theory of employer-of-choice has intensified in the last decade. Employees always want to work for best employers. Phillips and Connell (2003, p3) said organisations struggle to be the â€Å"the best company work for†. The statement â€Å"the best company work for† translates into lower rates of turnover. Levering and Moskowitz (1993) supported stating that many companies attempt to build the type of organization that can at least meet the preferred standards. Becoming an employer -of -choice often involves the issue of acquiring the best talent for the organization, motivating employees to improve performance, Keeping them satisfied and loyal, developing employees so they can grow and contribute skills, and ultimately retaining those employees( Fitz-enz 2000) 4. Cause of leaving : 4.1 Social Environment: The social environment of the workplace is the initiator of a nurses plan to stay or leave. Moreover social environment is a determinant of work disappointment (a depressing influence), and work excitement (an encouraging influence). Moos(1994) said that these factors directly influence workplace stress, leading to job satisfaction or dissatisfaction . According to Bratt et al.(2000), Job satisfaction or dissatisfaction is the powerful forecaster of intent to stay or leave the job. 4.2 Burnout: Burnout can cause job dissatisfaction. Garret and McDaniel(2001) said that enviro- nmental uncertainty are very important in all features of burnout. Aiken et al. (2002) reported that nurses with the lowest nurse-to-patient ratio experience less burnout and dissatisfaction than those with highest ratios. The researchers claim that 43% of nurses who said strong levels of burnout and disappointment intended to quit their jobs within a year. Only few nurses did not complain of dissatisfaction. When nurses work rotating shifts, there is a significant decrease in job satisfaction (Bratt et al. 2000).Newer nurses experiencing more job stress as compared to experienced nurses. 4.3 Autonomy: Nurses always desire increased autonomy working environment. (Nevidjon and Erickson 2001).Aiken et al.(2002) claim that autonomy is one of the factors which has decreased emotional exhaustion of nurses in American magnet hospitals. In another research on this hospital showed that autonomy had influenced the managerial trust, their appraisal of the quality of patients care and also job satisfaction (Laschinger and Thomson 2001). Davidson et al. (1997) established the value of autonomy by representing that decreased job satisfaction is connected with decreased autonomy. Bruffey(1997) said autonomy is ultimately influenced by the leadership of their managers. There is a positive connection between job satisfaction and nursing leadership. Management system, allow the nurses to do their jobs effectively, was related to job satisfaction( Bratt et al.,2000). Tumulty et al (1994) found that though autonomy had a significant impact on job stress, it was not a major determinant of stress as task orientation. Also Ingersoll et al. (2002) said that autonomy was a positive observation of task orientation related with increased job satisfaction and aim to stay. This idea is supported by Davidson et al. (1997) with the result of increased scheduling and decreased work load leading to decreased job stress. The researchers argued the advantages of better communication improving the awareness of nurses concerning autonomy burn out, work pressure and task orientation. Some researcher stressed the significance of management or leadership behaviours. Managers or leaders perceived as equitable decreased staff perceptions regarding work pressures and increased perceptions regarding autonomy(Taunton et al. 1997). Bruffey(1997) said these factors collectively led to lower job stress and its expected association with intent to quit. 4.4 Work Pressure: Bratt et al. (2000) identified the work pressure as the most familiar and important factor of organizational work satisfaction/dissatisfaction. McNeese-Smith(1999) identified several factors of work load which bring job stress for nurses. These were: (a) overload due to heavy patient assignment, too many patient needs, and/or too few staff members to meet these needs. (b) exhaustion; (c) fear of making a mistake due to exhaustion and (d) high patient acuity. Bratt et al. (2000) reported some additional work stress factors which influence the nurses to leave the job. These include rapid turnover of patients, shift work, lack of available equipment, managerial pressures, excessive noise and lack of space. According to Aiken et al.(2002), Nurses with increased patient loads in workplace were more likely to explain experience of burnout, job dissatisfaction and emotional exhaustion than their colleagues with less patient loads. So autonomy is a key factor to reduce work stress for work load. Because work load is a originator of nurse intention to leave 5.1 Job Satisfaction of Nurses: There is a lack of agreement on the meaning of nurse satisfaction (Hale 1986, cited by Maylor et al 2000).Two definitions stemming from the 1980 stand out. The first one highlights psychological factors according to Bush(1988), the perception that one’s job fulfils or permit the fulfilment of one’s significant job values, providing and to the extent that those values are congruent with one’s requirements. The second one highlights workplace factors like recognition of achievement, enough staffing, appreciation, autonomy, childcare facilities and quality patient care.(Butler and parsons,1989). Nurse satisfaction can be depends on effective patient care. Maylor et al.(2000) noted that it is very crucial to have ability to give good patient care. 5.2 Determinant of job satisfaction: Job satisfaction analysis is driven by attempts to concentrate on the issues of industrial action, leaving or turnover and personal joy at work. Researchers are interested in the bond between job satisfaction and efficiency and financial and non-financial reward. According to the influential work of Freeman (1978), job satisfaction can be separated into those considering labour force as a whole, those analysing qualified groups such as lawyers, nurses and academics, those which inspect the impact of individual characteristics like age, sex, race/education and those which explore the outcome of job-related features such as trade union membership, self employment and establishment size. Some important determinants of work place satisfaction have been recognized which may be supportive in the thought of job satisfaction in nursing. Diversity of individual characteristics have been identified to have special effects on reports of job satisfaction. That diversity includes gender, race, age, marital status, children and education. The major effects are usually connected with gender and age. According to British Household Panel Survey (Clark and Oswald 1996), Females are highly satisfied with their job in the UK. Earlier proof recommends that age has either a linear or U-shaped bond with job satisfaction (Clark et al. 1996). That means older workers usually being more satisfied with their current job. A set of studies have focused on the analysis of comparison effects on job satisfaction. Comparison effect means, staff may have several idea of relative or ‘comparison’ earnings which enters their utility function. So job satisfaction is not only influenced by a staff’s personal total earnings, but also by their earnings that is comparative to some comparison group/desired level. Clark and Oswald (1996) summarized that satisfaction or dissatisfaction can be created in workers mind because of individuals’ comparison of their present job with the other job. So, job satisfaction is not only affected by individual earnings but also by their earnings related to expected level. Both absolute and comparative incomes have positive influence on the job satisfaction of staff (Sloane and Williams 1996). Clark and Oswald (1996) gave some proof that expectations are influenced by staff’s age, educational background and profession. Determinant of job satisfaction can be found from the inconsistent job features of staff. Working hours, establishment size, union membership and profession have important effects on job satisfaction. In the case of nursing staff, it is very crucial to evaluate the impact of improved working environment on their job satisfaction. Clark (1997) discovers a important influence of ‘work values’ on job satisfaction. More exclusively, staffs that highlight the importance of payment are more likely dissatisfied with job whilst staffs that highlight job place relations are associated to support job satisfaction. Nurses are more likely dissatisfied with their job because they are normally considered as low-paid staff. 6. Nursing in Multi ethnic minority: The racial harassment of ethnic minority nurses continuous to be a regular feature of their working lives in the NHS. This racial harassment from patients could be broken down into two distinct forms. According to (Beishon et al. 1995) First, there was a form of harassment where racial motivation in the incidents was clear because of accompanying verbal insults or because the patients had made it clear they did not want to be ‘nursed’ by an ethnic minority nurse. Secondly there, there was a more subtle form racial harassment where white patients did not explicitly mention nurse’s ethnicity, but rather treated ethnic minority nurses in a relatively unfavourable way to their manners with white nurses. A black nurse reported how differently she was treated from her white colleagues (Alexander and Dewjee 1984). However the things have begun to change and NHS training authority has taken on training projects directed specifically at race issues (Beishon et al. 1995). 7. Retention Strategies: 7.1 Creating A Motivating Climate: Because the organization has such an impact on the factors that extrinsically motivate employees, it is important to examine organizational climates or attitudes that have direct influence on worker morale and motivation. Huston and Marquis(1989) said that frequently organizations overtly or covertly reinforce the image that each and every employee is expendable and that a great deal of individual recognition is in some way harmful to both the individual and the individual’s productivity within the organization . Just the opposite is true. Individuals who have a strong self-concept and perceive themselves to be winners are willing to take risks and increase their productivity to achieve their productivity. Peters and Waterman(1982) stress that organizations must be designed to make individual employees feel like winners. The focus must be on degrees of winning rather than on degrees of losing Another wrong attitude held by some organizations is at the opposite extreme. Korman et al (1981) supported that if a small reward results in desired behaviour, then a larger reward will result in even more of the desired behaviour. That means an employee’s motivation should increase proportionately with the amount of incentive or reward. Nurse managers should think excellence and achievable goals, and reward performance in a way that is valued by their staff. These are the cardinal elements for a successful motivation-reward system for the nursing organization (Kirsch,1988). To the contrary, more incentives or reward systems were actually less motivating, as they produce a felling of distrust or being bought. Increasing incentives may be perceived as a violation of individual norms or of guilt (Bowin,1987). Managers can also create a motivating climate by being positive and enthusiastic role models in the clinical setting. Studies by Jeskins and Henderson (1984) demonstrated that managers’ personal motivations are the most important factor affecting their staffs’ commitments to duties and morale. Positive outlooks, productivity and accomplishment are contagious. Radzik(1985) stated that employees frequently determine their job security and their employer’s satisfaction with their job performance by the expression they see on their manager’s face. That means unhappy managers frequently project their unhappiness on their subordinates and contribute greatly to low unit morale. 7.2 Managing Career Development in nursing: Some philosophies about responsibilities for career development have been reflected in nursing. Donner and Wheeler(2001) have argued that nurses do require to take greater responsibility for career planning and development. They should follow a framework discussed by King (2001) which includes identifying opportunities, developing and implementing a good career progress. Donner and Wheeler(2001) added that to deliver high quality of caring service all educators, employers and professional business organizations should work with nurses on their career development plans and activities . According to (UKCC 1999 ), in UK, for long period it has been known that continuing professional development (CPD) has an significant function in nurses’ individual career development and retention. It also enhances the quality of patient care. There was a debate for a long time that local health service employers must recognize and understand the value of appropriately controlled CPD programmes in attracting, motivating and retaining high quality staff (DH 1998). Strategy for CPD for nurses were set out in Making a Difference ( Robson and Banett 2007) in which it was debated that CPD should include not only attending courses but also learning at work through experience, critical incidents, audit and reflection, maintained by peer review ,mentorship and clinical supervision. It was a matter of great concern that practitioners and employers were puzzled by the creation of new courses and lack of apparent links to career paths and that a more determined structure was needed 7.3 Working Condition: From a human resource management viewpoint, it can be said that working conditions have an affect on staff morale. Good working conditions will contribute to improving retention staff (DH 1997). The different ways in which working environment can affect nurses and manipulate their decisions about direction and retention in the occupation have raised from a substantial body of study on job satisfaction and workplace stress. Reconsidering the previous history on stress among general nurses, McVicar (2003) expressed that the major sources of stress identified are leadership, work pressure, management style, coping with emotional or touching demands of care, and relationships between occupational groups. He also added shift working and lack of reward also emerging from more recent research. Deep study on job or workplace satisfaction in nursing profession has exposed that aspects of work which recognized in the stress literature also come into view as sources of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Nolan et al (1999) said, staffing levels enough for nurses to feel confidence to offer better quality care if there are availability of supplies and equipment. And it also depends on the nature of work place relationships with colleagues and nursing managers. Positively it has long been acknowledged that both physically and mentally nursing is a challenging work (Davies 1995). Handling and lifting patients and ‘being on one’s feet’ every day is not very easy. It can cause not only work stress but also bodily injury like strained backs. The emotional element of nursing can be equally important and demanding, involving caring for patients when they are dealing with death and dying and loving for upset patients and relatives. Rise of these demanding emotional elements to overcome the challenge can be a source of satisfaction. On the other hand, low moral and work stress can be created when nurses feel under-supported and under resourced in working environment, particularly in relation to staffing. (Cameron and Masterson 2003). McVicar (2003) said study on stress has exposed the level to which a range of physiological and psychological symptoms have been linked with diverse sources of stress and that distress is very much correlated with absenteeism, ill-health and poor retention . Shields and Ward (2001) expressed that Job frustration has been reported as the distinct most vital cause of intention to leave among NHS nurses. In US, it was suggested that when staffing levels are decreasing there is low levels of job satisfaction which causes poor effects on work stress and quality of patient care (Aiken et al 2002). He also added it also affect the retention of nurses in clinical practice. According to Coomber and Barriball (2007), a current review of the international literature illustrates that stress caused for workload, workload scheduling and leadership issues influence disappointment and retention for nurses. From policy development, a range of strategies have been identified and impl

English Learning in China and Foreign Language Acquisition :: Foreign Language Acquisition

1. Introduction Nowadays English  an international language plays a more and more important role in the world . China wants to communicate well with the outside world and CEnglish has become the most useful instrument. The Ministry of Education has made the policy on English teaching in the primary school. Their reason is that English should be taught as early as possible. It 's true that we need more people who can speak good English and communicate with other countries so as to bring economic profit to our country  and introduce China to the world Cand to improve the country 's image in the world , but is it the truth that teaching English in primary school is well prepared Cor is everything ok for English learning? In the present day society, competition is becoming fiercely. Some parents are sending their children to the English training school to learn English. The parents want their children to be priority to others in the future. But is it necessary to learn English as early as possible? Many people agree with this. As for my part, I do not agree with this thought. Some children are too young to learn a foreign language in their own age. It is not necessary to have a child to learn English at a very young age. First, with the deepening of reform and China's entry into WTO, English teaching has drawn the attention of the whole educational world. To cater for the economic development, the Ministry of Education required that English should be taught from the third year onward in all primary schools in urban areas from the fall of 2001 and the following year in rural areas. (5) Meanwhile, a New English Course Requirement at Compulsory Education Stage (on trial basis) was published. Second, in t he last two years in primary school, the children have the ability to master and make full use of his mother tongue. So it is easy to have a good command of English learning in both listening and speaking. The overall aim of the New English Course Requirement at the basic education stage is to develop the children's general language ability. The development of the general language ability is based on the overall development of the children's language skills, language knowledge, emotion and attitude, learning strategies and culture awareness. Among them, language knowledge and language skills are the foundation; culture awareness is of help in using language appropriately; emotion and attitude are the important factors influencing children's learning and development; and learning strategies can help to enhance learning efficiency and develop learners' autonomy.

Genetically Modified Foods: To Label or Not To Label? Essay -- Genetic

Plants or animals that are created through gene slicing techniques of genetic engineering are called genetically modified organisms or, GMOs. This technique for creating plants and animals was first done in the 1970s. According to Non-GMO Project, â€Å"This experimental technology merges DNA from different species, creating unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and viral genes that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding.† (Non-GMO Project). This type of genetic modification has started to worry people. Companies are currently not required to label their products to inform customers that their product contains GMOs, and only a few of the many companies voluntarily label their products as GMO-free. Many such as, Journalist for the Santa Fe New Mexican, Jessica Emerson, feel like it is our right to know what companies are putting in the foods we are buying. There are others that disagree such as, physician and molecular biologist Henry Miller; he argues that it is unnecessary and unconstitutional for companies to be required to label their products. This has made quite a controversy. Products sold in Oregon that contain GMOs should be required to be clearly labeled so consumers can make healthy and informed choice on the foods they decide to purchase. The use of GMOs in foods has drastically risen in the United States. The Non-GMO project, a non-profit organization supports this by saying, â€Å"In the U.S., GMOs are in as much as 80% of conventional processed food†(Non-GMO Project). I decided to go shopping to try and find as many products as I could that were labeled GMO-free, I only found one product labeled GMO-free. Many people that purchase vegetables or fruits at the store are unaware that the foods they ar... ...ael. "Why GMO Labeling Won’t Increase Food Prices." Grist.org. Grist, 13 Oct. 2013. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. Miller, Henry I., and Gregory Conko. â€Å"Labeling of Genetically Modified Foods Is Unnecessary and Unconstitutional.† Genetic Engineering. Ed. Noà «l Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. "Labeling Food and Ingredients Developed from GM Seed." Monsanto.com. Monsanto, Mar. 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. â€Å"MRSA.† CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. Weise, Elizabeth. â€Å"Washington State Voters Reject Labeling of GMO Foods.† USA Today. Gannett, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 29 Nov. 2013. Tady, Megan. â€Å"Genetically Modified Foods Should Be Labeled.† Genetic Engineering. Ed. David M. Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.

INFLUENZA Essay -- essays research papers fc

Influenza, also known as â€Å"the flu,† is a virus that infects the respiratory tract. Although Influenza is not as severe as many viral infections it's almost the worst for viral infections of the respiratory tract. Typically, when someone is infected with influenza they experience fever (usually 100 ° to 103 °F in adults, but even higher in children) and causes a cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, and also headaches, muscle aches, and usually extreme tiredness. There are sometimes other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea but usually only in rare cases with young children. One other note: The term â€Å"Stomach flu† isn’t really caused by the influenza virus. The average recovery time from the flu is about 1-2 weeks, although some patients do develop more severe complications such as pneumonia, which are capable of being life threatening. On average, influenza is associated with more than 20,000 deaths nationwide and more than 100,000 hospitalizations. These are usually from patients who develop complications and they are usually children or the elderly, although complications can develop at any age. There are three types of influenza viruses, Groups A, B, and C. Only Groups A and B are responsible for causing the epidemics of flu that occur almost every year. Influenza C is different in several ways because it causes mild to no symptoms and doesn’t cause the yearly epidemics. Scientists put out most of their effort to control influenza A and B because of their huge impact on the nation and the world. Influenza type A viruses have two proteins that determine their specific type. Take Influenza A(H1N1) the H stands for hemagglutinin and the N stands for neuraminidase. The current types of Influenza A are A(H1N1) and A(H3N2). Influenza A(H1N1), A(H3N2), and Influenza B strains are included in each year’s vaccines. Influenza A viruses are very hard to control because they undergo changes, making it harder for human’s immune systems to detect them. There are two types of changes. The first is a series of mutations that occur over time and cause a gradual change in the virus. This is called antigenic â€Å"drift.† This process allows the virus to make a more stable change yet still evade the immune system. The second type of change is an abrupt change in the hemagglutinin and/or the neuraminidase proteins. This is called antigenic "shift.† It isn’t as s... ...uenza vaccines, since the vaccine is prepared from influenza grown in eggs. The most common side effect is mild soreness at the injection site. Serious side effects such as such as life-threatening allergic reactions or Guilain-Barre syndrome are rare (fewer than 1to 2 cases per million vaccine recipients). Although the virus will continue to change and we will continue to try to defeat it, we never will. Just in the past three years two new strains have been discovered but were isolated and wiped out quickly. Maybe next time we won’t be so lucky but maybe we will. After all, it’s only the flu and humans didn’t get this far by worrying about it. Works Cited (I did it in MLA Format so be happy):P References: â€Å"Influenza A(H5N1).† Who.gov. Online. January, 1998. â€Å"Isolation of Avian Influenza A(H5N10 Viruses from Humans.† CDC.Gov. Online. Hong Kong, May-December, 1997. Larson, Erik. â€Å"The Flu Hunters.† TIME. February 23, 1998. Britannica.com. Simao, Paul. â€Å"Flu Season.† Rueters. Thursday March 22, 2001. Britannica.com. Stannard, Linda M. â€Å"Influenza Virus.† 1995. Uct.ac.za. By Grant Wade April 22, 2001 Fayetteville, Arkansas Email me at Buzbom99@aol.com if you use this paper please.