Organizational Culture Essay

Since there are so many other competitors suddenly appear on the horizon, and Samsung have to create a lot of new creativity to face all the compete, they have to create their new organization culture. The new theme of corporate culture is â€Å"Creative†, to building a creative corporate culture, Samsung have to set a few characteristics to put into practice. Based on the research, Samsung adopting a program which is â€Å"Flexible Time† tp maximize employee creativity and another program is monitoring â€Å"Over-time Work† to help improve life quality o employees in year 2008. The material that issues regarding â€Å"Building a Creative Corporate Culture† was identified as : Samsung also promoting a creative organizational culture using some organization behavior concepts which are: * Encouraging Suggestions for Work Process Improvement Samsung Electronics implements various programs to support employees’ suggestions so that ideas can bear fruit. They offer incentives for the filing of patents, provide a knowledge management system to share expertise and knowledge amongst employees, and support community activities. They also offer incentives for idea suggestions to encourage their employees to proactively participate in knowledge sharing within Samsung Electronics. As a result, a total of 3,515 patents were filed in the U.S. in 2008. * Adopting a Flexible Time program Samsung Electronics adopted a â€Å"Flexible Time† test program in 2008 in selected business divisions to maximize the creativity of its employees. This test was the expression of their determination to shift from a time management-based corporate culture to a creativity-oriented corporate culture. Under the program, employees are empowered to flexibly manage their office hours as long as they work a total of eight hours each day. If this test proves successful, Samsung will expand the program to a company-wide level. * Work-Life Balance Because social norms have changed, an increasing number of female workers are participating in economic activities and retaining high potential employees has become the key to successful business operations. Happiness has become the overarching value of employees’ quality life, giving rise to greater social interest in balancing work and life. Therefore, Samsung Electronics also supports and encourages the employees to balance their work and life. In case anyone works overtime, their supervisor and the employee are notified to insure they comply with the legal overtime work requirements. For the creativity of the employees, Samsung Electronics also provides vacations for self-management and other vacation programs including family theme tour packages. * Welfare Programs Samsung Electronics shares and cares about its employees’ concerns over their health, children’s education and post-retirement life and helps them prepare for their future in order to enhance employee satisfaction and provide better working environments. In addition to the basic legal welfare programs such as premium subsidies for National Pension, Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance and Employment Insurance, they also provide medical subsidies, a corporate pension program, work-out facilities and condominium rental services. Samsung Electronics believe that a creative corporate culture grows out of the technological search for innovation and its application. , researchers inherently looked for â€Å"innovative† ideas and technologies. A number of failures and prejudices from the trials and errors of the development process were the largest obstacles in putting â€Å"innovative† ideas into practice. This barrier can be broken down to build stronger assurances through a number of verifications and databases. Nevertheless, these procedures can sometimes result in a waste of time. I think Samsung Electronics need to reduce the waste with more open-minded thoughts and perspectives. With an aim to realize a â€Å"Great Work Place (GWP),† Samsung Electronics has analyzed its corporate culture by utilizing the confidence index of âÅ'Å"The 100 Best Companies to Work For by Fortune Magazine since 1998. In 2007, Samsung concluded a global contract with the â€Å"Great Place To Work (GPTW)† of the U.S. for a confidence index survey of their domestic and overseas workforces, which contribute to building a corporate culture that fits their global stature. Based on the GWP analysis results, each division and department prepare and implement improvement plans to build a GWP by filling the gaps in the five survey categories which are of trust, respect, fairness, pride and solidarity. Also, 400 GWP officers supervise and implement corporate culture improvement activities at each workplace.

 Star Goup Essay

Investigation The modern time is about change in variables existing in the environment that surrounds any organization. The corporate therefore has to plan the uncertainty in a limited time span focusing on training and development of staff ( Delahaya,2011,p.2). The most critical component for success of the organizations rest on how competent and knowledgeable their staffs are. Likewise the investment has to made on the human resource so that they are efficient and effective enough to reach the company goals. HRDNI is a process that identifies the flaws in the incident that is happening in any organization. The main motive of HRDNI is to find out what is the defect that is preventing the organization to reach the target. Therefore HRDNI helps to identify the deviation between what is currently happening and what should be occurring. Star Group, a company which has a number of staffs to reach the goal of the organization has a global onboarding processes and the materials. It onboards new employees to the organization in order to make the entrants get familiar with the organization’s culture. As HRDNI focuses on gap analysis to reach the standards of the organization, the modern concept believes that HRDNI should be future oriented and positive rather than being reactive and negative. Star group therefore introduces Johnson & Associates to analyze the on boarding process to find out if the on boarding process is actually being effective to the new employees to get the overview of the organization. Like any growing company, Star group has faced many challenges in creating standard global processes and controls. Onboarding materials across the group reflect this, with the sites developing their own documents over a number of years. Consequently these artifacts vary greatly in style, branding, content, formatting and quality. Analysis of the process-related information and interviews with key stakeholders highlighted a number of â€Å"pain points’ commonly experienced with the existing onboarding process. The step of data gathering was further elaborated through a qualitative approach  i.e. developing a questionnaire and distributing it to the participants of the induction program because ‘the survey questionnaires can gather hard data that can be ana lyzed objectively from large groups of people’, (Sofo,2012,p.110). Finally the other data gathering process that was actually implemented was through the formation of the pilot group. The pilot group thus was interviewed with a number of questions to decide if the onboarding process was actually effective to new starters. Some of the ‘pain points’ were summarized in six common themes: 1. Lack of documented processes and procedures Each stake holder reported a worrying lack of documented processes and procedures, not just in onboarding but other Human resources and Shared Business Services functions. Particular concern was raised about visibility to geographically dispersed processes. 2. Quality and consistency of onboarding information The pilot group along with the stakeholders reported that onboarding materials had some flaws in it. Inconsistent content Lack of Standardization Lengthy induction presentations Time and accuracy challenges in manually copying employee details provided during the recruitment to other systems such as SAP and Active Directory Challenges in delivering the LOG ON information to non- PC or kiosks users. 3. Lack of manager accountability Managers believe that they do not include the responsibility for onboarding Managers do not receive training in successful onboarding practices, processes or strategies Onboarding commonly viewed as an HR function Onboarding commonly viewed as a series of administrative task rather than an opportunity to provide new starters with a great first impression No evaluation of the success of the onboarding experience for the new  employees. The review also suggested that the manager had to call the new starter to congratulate them which was rarely done by the managers. 4. Delay in conformation of commencement date The commencement date for a new starter is not negotiated in the recruitment process which led to the delay of other downstream processes such as SAP and network set up. 5. Lack of SAP training resources IT and systems training is not provided in any formal way due to resource and time constraints. One SAP trainer divides time between locations which results in inadequate training among new starters and existing employees. 6. Lack of Workflow No process exists to drive or track completion of onboarding tasks. Sites rely heavily on the use of checklists, follow-up emails and phone calls from the human resources. Specific pain points reported by the stakeholders included: Allowance of sufficient lead-time for pre-commencement activities such as visa and work permit applications Lack of mechanisms to ensure mid-year new starters were fully engaged in different program sessions. No controls or process to trigger onboarding processes for contractors, particularly non-payroll and short-term consultants such as PTA Timing of prerequisite compliance checks such as medical clearances.

Central Evaluation Unit Essay

The XIII Directorate of the European Union has a Central Evaluation Unit (CEU) which is tasked with evaluation of applications for grants from academics under its â€Å"cooperation and foundations† scheme. This scheme distributed relatively small grants to fund cooperative research between universities in the EU. All applications were sent to the CEU’s processing unit (CEUPU) by university liaison officers (ULOs) who are based in around 150 universities. The process flow of the CEUPU can be shown in the following page. As can be seen, the turnaround time can be shortened even more if the checkers will have direct access to the ULOs and coordination done directly. This can be achieved by use of email with the secretaries just copy-furnished. Also, the document tracking can be automated so that everyone knows where the documents are at any given time, using the identifier code that has been established for each application. In all, the application will be handled by the following people: 1. The ULOs who receive it and send to CEU. 2. Receipt clerk that checks that forms are complete. 3. Coding staff – set up a unique identifier for the application, encodes the data in the system. 4. Senior secretary that assigns the application to the next available checker. 5. Checker assesses the application. Half of the time, there is a need for additional information or data, and this must be conveyed to the secretary. 6. Secretary sends a query to the ULO 7. ULO secures the info from the applicant and sends back to secretary 8. Secretary sends to checker assigned 9. Checker decides 10. Auditor composes and sends acceptance/rejection letter. The problem of the CEUPU process is that there are too many steps and people involved in the process. First, the process can be automated and the application documents scanned. Then, the file can be sent electronically to the checkers so that they can be evaluated. Direct communication by the checkers to the ULO can be made for any inquiries/ additional data needed. Auditors prepare the acceptance or rejection documents ULOs receive application for grants Additional info and requirements sent back Request letter sent File sent to secretary who then makes a request for the collection of any information missing or additional information required Yes NO Checker evaluates the application Decision is made by the checkers to accept or reject Additional information needed? Senior secretary of the checkers assigns file to the next available checker 8 receipts clerks check each application for completeness of all necessary forms Applications arrive from 150 ULOs, placed in the â€Å"in-tray† NO YES Pro forma front sheet attached to documents 2 clerks place identifier on the form and encode it into the information system COMPLETE?

Effective Teaching Methods that can be Implored to Integrate a Child Essay

Effective Teaching Methods that can be Implored to Integrate a Child with Down's Syndrome into a Mainstream Primary School in Ir - Essay Example Thus, the application of qualitative research design is meant to match the requirements of the research topic, in that an in-depth understanding of the appropriate methods that teachers should apply to teach students suffering from this disorder is vital, for the benefits of the students. A vital aspect of qualitative research is that it emphasizes more on the particular case being undertaken, while making a few of general propositions (Stebbins, 2001 p60). There are various reasons as to why the research opted to apply qualitative research design. The research design is most appropriate for the topic under study, in that, qualitative research uses the natural setting as the source of information, where the settings and the environment of study is observed, described and interpreted based on neutrality (Wolcott, 1995 p25). Since the topic requires the observation of the educational needs of students suffering from Down's syndrome, and the consequent devising of the means, which the t eachers can apply to address these needs, then the research design remains most relevant for the study. ... rmation about the people and their environments, which is a necessity for this study, in that, there is a need to evaluate and understand all the relevance needs of students suffering from this disorder and the viable ways in which teachers can meet these special needs of the students. More reasons as to why qualitative research remains the most applicable method for this research, is the fact that, some aspects of study cannot be quantified. Additionally, there are those aspects, which are difficult to express in quantitative terms, such as the experiences that an individual has (Patton, 2002 p18). Therefore, qualitative research comes in handy to ensure that those relevant aspects of the study, which cannot be quantified, are investigated and their contribution to the study analyzed. Considering that fewer generalizations and assumptions are involved in qualitative research, then, it is possible to explore highly the area of study and generate hypotheses (Ziman, 2000 p86). Addition ally, the application of qualitative method ensures the comfort of the participants, in that, they are allowed to present their own ideas, information and experiences in their own words and style, which seems more appropriate to them. The advantages associate with qualitative method of study is the fact that it afforded an opportunity to deeply scrutinize the responds and obtain a deeper insight and understating regarding the nature and educational needs of children with Down's syndrome. The method allowed an opportunity to obtain advice from people who had greater experiences in dealing with the students suffering from the disorder, among them a 30-year-old girl with Down's syndrome, who have gone through the mainstream education system. Better still; the method was easier to apply in that

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

Biology - Essay Example (Johansen CA and Mayer D.F, 1990) The importance of pollinators like bees is such that in an extensive report prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN it has been found out that 90% of the food supplies that are used for feeding 146 countries, over 71% of the crops were cross pollinated by bees. Other insects included wasps, beetles and wasps. These insects can therefore be considered as critical agents in the food chain as it is responsible for the reproduction of flowers and food bearing crops. (Free J.B, 1993) Food production to a large extent will be compromised in the event of these natural pollinators fading away. A recent report from North America states that a disease called ‘Israeli acute paralysis’ viruses was responsible for the disappearance of a large percentage of honey bees in what was called ‘ Colony Collapse Disorder’ (CCD). The reasons were mainly attributed to the fact that the origins of the virus were contributed to by humans. (Kluser Stephane and Peduzzi Pascal, 2007) Decline of Pollinators Recent studies conducted in the UK and Netherlands as late as in 2006 suggests that there has been close to 70% reduction of insect pollination for a certain category of wild flowers. (Biesmeijer Jc et al, 2006) Part of the reason is that close to 3.4% of butterflies causing this pollination has become extinct with an equal decrease of 71% of butterfly species. (Warren M.S et al, 2001) Source: Free J.B, 1993, Effect of bees on food output. The other recorded significant event was that of the Colony Collapse Disorder in North America. In 2007 there was major decline of one third of the honey bee population which had a domino effect on the crop production. This is because a major portion of the food crops cultivated by farmers in North America relied on the pollination of bees, butterflies and flies. About 95 different types of food crops are being cross pollinated by these insects. (Morse R.A and Caldero ne N.W, 2000) Some of the factors that were attributed to this decline in North American bees included attack by parasites known as Varroa Destructor. Imports of African bees also lead to incompatibility issues. The unrestrained uses of pesticides in crops also lead to the death of these bees. (i) Symptom of CCD- Absence of adult bees in the hives was the primary symptom. The presence of a lot of immature bees along with abundance of food in the form of honey was also an indicator. The bee colonies started collapsing and sugar syrup that is fed as food was not being consumed. Further the task force was being limited to only young bees. (Kluser Stephane and Peduzzi Pascal, 2007) (ii) Causes of CCD (a) To overcome the attack from mites these beehives were being subjected to increased dosage of chemicals resulting in irreversible damage. (b) Pathogens like Paenibacillus Larvae and parasites had found their way into the bee ecosystem. (Kluser Stephane and Peduzzi Pascal, 2007) (c) The f itness levels of bees experienced major decline as was deduced by the release of stress proteins. (d) Use of Insecticides. (e) Theories have also suggested the radiations that were emitted by the towers engaged in mobile communication affect the bees in an adverse manner although this has not been substantiated

Research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Research paper - Essay Example Earthquakes are believed to be caused by different occurrences that include glacial rebounding, sliding of tectonic plates that lie over each other, and by sudden discharge of stored strain that is accumulated along a fault line. The severity of a shake from an earthquake is usually as a result of three factors i.e. its magnitude attenuation of a wave that causes the earth quake as it moves through the earth’s surface and the possible disruption caused by different rock structure (Hough par 9-12). These vibrations can be predicted before they happen in a place. When these vibrations happen also, they result in major disruptions to physical features. However, the major cause of investigation has resulted from the threat these vibrations cause to people. The ability to predict great causes of damaging events that are likely to face an area in future time is a basic element of risk reduction development practices. It becomes an important element when it is facing emergency and le ad to development of a good planning for such emergency (Albarello and Meletti 1-2). Earthquakes are caused by seismic waves. The intensity of these waves is measured with a machine known as a seismometer. The depth of the earthquake is another determiner of its intensity. Earthquakes are a major threat to life because if they happen with great magnitude, they lead to destruction of properties in which people live. When they happen on the water, they result to tsunamis that are likely to result in disruption of waters and seizing of ships. The commotion caused on the water also is extended to the coast, which causes major deaths of people at such coastal lands and destruction of property. Before the 1970s and 1980s, prominent scientists were optimistic that reliable prediction of earthquakes was possibly going to come. This was facilitated and motivated by the ground breaking prediction event of Soviet Union prediction of an earthquake and the successfully accomplished prediction of Chinese earthquake that happened in Haicheng. However, even with those optimistic achievements, there was a lot of pessimism because still many predictions were not reliable by then (Hough 34). Today, prediction of earthquakes is possible by scientists who agree that the understanding of ground motion attenuation relationships is an important aspect of predicting possibility of there being an earthquake. In March 2009, an Italian technician observed the radon and noticed some abnormalities and predicted that a great magnitude earthquake would be experienced. Although seismologists did not concur with that laboratory scientist, a fatal earthquake was experienced in L’Aquila barely a month after the prediction. The earthquake claimed many lives and were injured while a lot of property was destroyed and many were displaced from their places. Forecasting of earthquakes is faced with many debates about their occurrence once they have happened. For example, when it happened in cit y of L’Aquila a lot of questions and debates followed; scientists were fiercely faced by contradiction basing on their ability to forecast such dangers. This earthquake was so destructive such that everyone affected by it rose against the people who are responsible for predicting (Albarello and Meletti 3). Currently, there are many prediction methods for earthquakes developed such that one does not have to ask whether it is possible to

Romantic Relationships at Work Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Romantic Relationships at Work - Assignment Example 2.Productivity is regularly seen as being hurt by romantic relationships. However, it remains elusive whether the impact is negative or positive. In several case studies, romantic relationships lead to decreases in productivity, and this is attributed to the fact that, during the relationship, the participants are cognitively diverted, and are, therefore, more susceptible to mistakes and errors, are most likely to miss meetings, and are more regularly late. Current research on sexual harassment in countries such as North America indicates that team performance is affected negatively when a team member is sexually harassed. 3.Research on the consequences of workplace romance on the co-workers tends to indicate negative effects. If the workplace romance is viewed as exploitive, hierarchical, due to motives that are related to the job, it can minimize the productivity and morale of co-workers who may be afraid of the resulting unfairness in career and task rewards. This also results int o increased gossip among the co-workers. Gossip is defined as communication concerning someone, instead of communicating directly with the person. Although gossip can be non-threatening, it can be a manifestation of co-worker anxieties involving a workplace romance and a determination to create alliances with the partners involved. 4.Sexual harassment has been found to evolve after a workplace romance goes sour. Many concerns have been raised concerning the possible consequences of sexual harassment.

Evaluate the leadership of Steve Jobs Assignment

Evaluate the leadership of Steve Jobs - Assignment Example His, was a much-admired achievement, abate the extreme nature of his interaction and leadership. The result of his tenacity and visionary path was the unveiling of different products and services, which have further endeared Apple Inc., as a firm-entity, to consumers globally. Steve Jobs was a great influential figure of not only the past century, providing a platform for future leaders and visionary leaders. This is seen best, in his nurture of Apple Inc., from the small start-up venture it was, to the current global leader it is today. In the paper, focus will be placed on his early life and personality, in addition to his leadership at Apple Inc. both before and after his humiliating ouster from his creation. There will also be a discussion of his unique leadership style and management, in reference to existing theory and practice as found within contemporary society. The paper will also delve into his unique characteristics and personality traits. Finally, his contribution to society, especially in the Information Technology industry will be discussed in summation; concerning leadership and management. Steve Jobs, as an American inventor, entrepreneur and marketer, was responsible for the co-founding and ascend of Apple Inc., into the global success story it is today. He, as Simon and Young (2005) provide, was both the Chairman and CEO of the firm-entity, despite the tough times faced from the team present within the corporation’s boardrooms. His personality and role-play, was more of both a leader and manager as his rich entrepreneurial history provide. During 1985, when he briefly left Apple, founding neXT, a computer platform development firm, specializing in business and higher education markets. From then, just before going back to Apple Inc., he engaged in different ventures i.e. acquiring Lucas film’s computer

Media Diary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media Diary - Essay Example The trends accumulate and spread to individuals who then show different groups the same trend. This leads to a sense of popularity with a given association and the relationship that it holds to a main organization, allowing the central area to continue to grow because of the associations that have been used for networking and development. b. The concept of networking and growing with trends and ideals is one which is specific to professional associations that are working for civic engagement in American democracy. Different associations will have a specific agenda related to political leaders, rights, bills and other changes needed in society. The associations are able to take a specific issue and advertise this to society. As this is done, individuals are able to decide for or against the leader, policy or other issue from the association. This allows the democratic decisions and trends to take shape and to push specific issues into the center of politics. More important, different types of associations are able to create different trends and associations. Many of the associations will have a hierarchical structure based on the importance of the political engagement needed. These will be pushed to create a specific trend in society and to alter the way in which many respond to the given issue. This creates a sense of civic orientation within society and structures democratic issues and the level of responses and trends which are seen among groups of individuals (Schofer, Gourinchas, 806). c. The organizational concerns which occur over time happen because of the patterns and changes within society. Authors note that the changes which become of concern are based on both the internal and external environment. In the internal environment, there is a concern because of the employee dynamics and the diversity which is a part of the work force. Different cultural influences, personal preferences and understanding of the organization changes the dynamics of the worki ng area and what occurs within the organization. For most, this leads to the need to create an organizational environment which can match the needs of individuals and groups. More important, there is the need to create a sense of changes to ensure that there is organizational growth and which meets the challenges for competition and within the marketplace. The changes in organizational concerns are furthered by the societal trends which occur and which influence the patterns in buying habits. A business is primarily focused on providing products and services to customers. However, there are dynamics which change the success of this main goal. This includes alterations in societal demands, trends and behaviors, political alterations, belief systems by groups, advertisements and competition. There are also influences within the economy which changes the popularity of a corporation. The trends which are in society then influence the patterns of a businesses success and their ability to move forward with specific alterations that are able to build into the needs of societal trends (Coplien, 43). d. The impact which is given from professional organizations and civic engagement is based on the way in which each influences the other. Professional organizations develop with a specific purpose or need to influence society in a given manner. This is done by providing information and by showing the benefits or downfalls

The Creature in the book The Animalinside Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Creature in the book The Animalinside - Essay Example The combination of the images and the accompanying text take a reader through the experiences of the dog encountered. Since there is an outstanding harmony between the images and the text, the book stands on its own as an exemplary cultural event. The accompanying texts help the reader understand the journey undertaken by the dog as well as its future intentions when it is freed from the box. This paper will present a critical analysis of the meaning of the images in the book. The book titled The Animalinside comprises of 14 brief monologues accompanied by 14 outstanding images. A close analysis of the history of the book reveals that all the13 images are coming after the first one was painted in relevance to the first text. The first text came out as an inspiration of Neumann’s two-dimensional creature. The creature has features that make readers view it as a dog, although it tends to be in a leading position in a limited three-dimensional space. The creature highlighted in t he images does not qualify to be a human being. It has outstanding similarities to a dog but has not visible front legs (Ehrenreich 19). The texts accompanying the images reveal Krasznahorkai’s expertise in the use of language, which surpasses the normal skill of telling a story. The accompanying text is highly powerful and readers need to be keen to understand the meaning. After Neumann had produced his first image, Krasznahorkai developed the first accompanying text. In response, Neumann developed 13 more images that Krasznahorkai responded with accompanying the text. The book represents a multimedia collaboration combining expertise from art and literature. Krasznahorkai developed his text in prose form and focused on the creature depicted by Neumann (Pinker 187). The writer began by highlighting that the creature was willing to get out of the bondage in which he existed. Krasznahorkai helps the reader have a direct connection to the mind of the creature.

Compare and Contrast between Ethics and Law Essay

Compare and Contrast between Ethics and Law - Essay Example The fundamental purpose of both ethics, as well as the Law, is to moderate the behavior of the individual in the society. Both seek to regulate misguided human emotions from causing harm to the society and himself. Ethics has generally been considered as the â€Å"law of nature† or the â€Å"law of God†. From the beginning of civilization, man has always come to realize the dichotomy of right and wrong which is demonstrated by the universal thread of morality that runs through the worlds’ diverse cultures. Law in the present age has come to be extremely diversified. There is now a corporate lawyer to govern the interactions of business organizations, a civil law to tackle general affairs, international law to deal with the affairs of sovereign states and intellectual property law to deal with knowledge and knowledge dissemination. Correspondingly, there has come to be a Business ethics, biomedical ethics, corporate ethics and so on. All legal systems are derived from ethical systems of one kind or the other. Just as there are dissensions in the interpretations of the law, there are also different kinds of ethics. Hedonism, Cyrenaic Hedonism, Epicureanism, stoicism, utilitarian ethics, realism etc have extended their influence on significant subsections of the intellectual globe. This apparent absence of unity does not nullify the content of either law or ethics. It has been commented upon by various authors, that the ultimate interpretation of any law or statute rests on the presiding judge. In making his individual ruling, the judge relies to a large extent on his ethical convictions. In the famous Roe Vs Wade trial pertaining to the legality of abortion, five  judges ruled in favor while three dissented. These judges no doubt knew that there were no legal grounds to deny an abortion in the specific trial but they considered it a breach of morality to deny the right to life of a potential human being.

Method of Money Laundering Essay Example for Free

Method of Money Laundering Essay Structuring deposits The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 requires banks to report any deposits exceeding $10,000.01. This is not a problem for most of us, but it is a big barrier to money-laundering criminals looking to rid themselves of some cumbersome currency. Launderers will hire low-level lackeys to make multiple small deposits, either on different days or at various branches on the same day to work around this pesky law that attempts to deter money laundering, It is a complex, time-consuming way to launder money, and one that has been rendered even more difficult by computer algorithms that look for suspicious deposit behavior and raise an red flag when one is found. see more:speech on money for asl Banks Far more exciting and global in the practice of money laundering is the use of offshore and overseas banks. Nations like the Cayman Islands, Bahamas and Panama are very accommodating to criminals looking to legitimize their cash; these nations are unrestricted with regards to burdensome banking laws and anti-laundering procedures, which ultimately helps hide the launderers behind strict veils of secrecy. Opening accounts in a number of these offshore accounts allows launderers to move their money around and create a nearly impenetrable defense against curious investigators. Some countries (China and Pakistan among others) have a history of well-established underground banks that have been accepting deposits from sketchy clients for centuries. They legally operate outside of the mainstream banking system and outside the control of the government. There is often no paper work, just the reputation of the principals involved. Shell companies Enterprising criminals looking to legalize their cash can set up various companies that exist for the sole purpose of money laundering. These so-called shell companies often offer some sort of service that can easily be fudged and usually accepts cash as payment when doing legitimate business (beauty salons and trades like plumbing are commonly used). The dirty money is funneled into the company, made to look like legitimate income with fake invoices and receipts and then deposited into the shell company’s accounts as clean, wonderfully spendable cash money. Using these shell companies to stay one step ahead of â€Å"the man† is a shell game of its own. Forensic accountants can strip away layers of deceit and reveal the shady transactions below, which means that only true criminal masterminds with really good accountants should consider this as a laundering option. Legitimate businesses Criminals looking to clean their money can also be good corporate citizens by investing in legitimate business. Cash-rich businesses like bars and strip clubs are the most common, with the dirty money seeded in with the legitimate revenue and squirreled away in the business’ bank accounts. The safer method is to use the dirty money to â€Å"buy† the services offered by the legit businesses, but this necessitates lots of fake invoicing and troublesome number fudging and you can safely assume that most criminals choose the easy money of crime out of laziness, which makes this a decidedly unattractive alternative when looking for money-laundering options. Gambling With so many cash transactions taking place every day, casinos have become highly valuable money-laundering institutions because chips can be purchased anonymously with dirty money and after a period of time they can be cashed back in and turned into clean money. Even if the casino follows the letter of the law and asks for ID to record the transaction, the Feds are powerless to prove the money was ever dirty. Global criminal enterprises can even ask that the â€Å"winnings† be used as credit at the casino’s overseas franchises. With some games offering as much as 93% return on your money, certain criminals are willing to chance some losses and turn their illicit cash into legitimate money by actually gambling with it. One particularly popular method involves two associates at the roulette table. While one bets a substantial amount on red, the other places a similar amount on black. Provided neither zero nor double zero come up, one side doubles the money and turns it legit at the same time. However, sophisticated surveillance and casino security have limited this scheme in recent years. Down at the track, some crafty launderers will put the word out that they are willing to buy winning tickets at a premium. They then cash in the tickets as clean money and pass the bonus of cleaning the money onto the unsuspecting legitimate gambler, who is usually so stunned at their good fortune that they cannot appreciate their predicament. No money, No problems It is an enviable position that many would like to be in having so much cash that you do not know what to do with it. However, cleaning money is harder work than earning it. Criminals have to stay one step ahead of the law and they constantly run the risk of losing their cash to shady launderers or eagle-eyed cops. Often, it is not the drug dealing or the extortion that gets these law breakers busted, it is their attempts at concealing the money. So, if you ever decide to get in â€Å"The Game,† watch what you do with your money.

Scales in Music

Scales in Music â€Å"Life is like a piano, the white keys represent happiness and the black show sadness. But as you go through lifes journey, remember that the black keys also create music† â€Å"Unknown† Music was and will always be universal, personal, and close to millions of hearts anywhere in the world. Music would not have been created if it wasnt accompanied by musical instruments and the uniqueness of all the different scales that were and are used today in music. â€Å"A musical scale is a series of notes differing in pitch to a specific scheme.† Music is a universal language that people understand and is never outdated. Scales were originally formed in the early Medieval and Renaissance periods which date back to 500 AD. Everything was created in the early western classical music periods even though only primarily one scale was typically used during that time frame up until the Modern period. Two of the most common scales are called Major and Minor. Back in the Medieval and Renaissance periods, Major and Minor scales were used and coming from one specific term called â€Å"Church modes† or Gregorian modes. There are eight different types of Church modes: â€Å"The Lydian, Hypoaeolin, Hypolydian, Dorian, Phrygian, Mixolydian, Hypodorian and Aeolian.† One example of a Church mode would be a Gregorian scale. In natural major scales, typically the first solfege note begins and ends with Do. A typical Gregorian scale starts on Mi. The Gregorian model/scale is used for the piece â€Å"Song of Prayer†. This is an example of the Gregorian scale because the key starts on something else besides Do. The Gregorian scale itself starts and ends on a half step. Typically for most scales, there is a whole step between the first and second note. Every scale has their own sequence of half steps, whole steps and even thirds as well. â€Å"The Pentatonic scale dates back to Greece, and the word Pentatonic derives from Greek and means pente, meaning five.† â€Å"The Tonic meaning tone.† When you put both names together you get pentatonic and its referred to as a five-note scale. Its also quite similar to a Pentascale which is also a five note scale. The Pentatonic scale was also believed to be used in the past in ancient times. For example, Claude Debussy, who was very well known as an influential composer in the Romantic Period, used Pentatonic Scales in his own original pieces. One of his works, â€Å"The Sonata for Cello and Piano† used a Pentatonic scale in the key of D minor which was composed in 1915. When Major scales get transposed, they change into its relative Minor scale. For Minor Scales, there are 3 different types of scales: A Natural Minor, A Harmonic scale and a Melodic scale. All three scales are very different but still are very similar to each other. A Natural minor Scale is a sequence of whole and half steps where all the keys are all pure natural keys that are not sharped or flattened. A Harmonic minor scale is written just like a Natural scale but written with one added accidental. Accidentals are symbols which are: sharps, flats and naturals that ended on the musical staff by accident. A melodic minor Scale is just like a Harmonic minor scale except it has two added accidentals on the 6th and 7th note of the scale. The Minor scales are very commonly used in music and the easiest scale to incorporate is the Natural minor. The natural minor scale is also known Aeolian scale and its the complete opposite of a natural major scale. The qualities of the chords, the sound of the keys, and the whole and half pattern of notes are completely different. The sound of the natural minor scales are less high pitched than natural major scales. The tones of a natural minor scales are more darker and have a gloomier sound when you play the scale. For example, Green Days song â€Å"Holiday† is played in F minor and if you listen to the song you would automatically hear that it has a gloomy sound to the composition. When it comes to playing different scales and switching up the keys to make songs sound more unique, thats when you have your Harmonic minor scale. â€Å"The Harmonic minor scale derives its name from the harmonic function created by its 7th degree.† The Harmonic minor scale has a really pretty and soothing sound to it. Whenever I play the E harmonic minor scale, I think the scale sounds heavenly. Also, â€Å"The raised 7th gives this distinctly minor sounding scale a sense of authority.† Another example of a Harmonic minor scale would be â€Å"Easy Please Me† by Katy B, its solely based on the harmonic key in B flat minor. It doesnt really sound heavenly but It definitely has more out-there sound and is completely unique. The last type of a minor scale is the most complicated one out of all of them. The Melodic minor scale is quoted as the most commonly used minor scale. The Melodic scale is also quoted as the most complicated minor scale in Music Theory. The Scale has a nickname called â€Å"The Jazz Scale.† The Melodic minor scale has a raised 6th and 7th note in the scale to satisfy the harmonic part of the scale. One reason why the Melodic scale is difficult is because it creates conflict with the other scales. Another reason why the scale complicates things is because its in many different keys all at one. One example of the scale would be â€Å"Chelsea Bridge† by Billy Srayhorn because of its chords that sound dark and creepy. The first and most common scale that would come to peoples minds would be the major scale. The Major scale is one of the four most commonly used scales in music today. Major is always mentioned in any type of scale;Major Pentascales, Major Natural Scales, Major Triads etc. The Major scale is referred to as the joyful and happy tune when you play any major scale. For Example, in Taylor Swifts song â€Å"Ours†, Its a crush worthy song that makes a person smile about the guy that their missing. The song is played in C major. Another Example of a Major key is Taylor Swifts Song â€Å"Safe and Sound† featuring the Civil Wars. Despite its sound, its still written in major key even though its actually more on the gloomier and deeper side rather than the piece sounding cheerful. The song was written in G major. Imagine writing a song for key thats easy to read and then writing a song for a key thats so uncommon you have never heard of it. â€Å"The Octatonic Scale is a eight note scale that consists of starting off a scale with half steps rather than whole steps.† The Octatonic Scale is the one scale that has a fully Diminished sound to it and thats why its also called â€Å"The Diminished Scale†. One of the three modes of a Octatonic scale is a OCT (0,1) which starts off a half step to first and second note of the scale. The Second mode of the scale is an OCT (1,2) which is similar to the first mode because it starts off with a half to the first and second note as well. The last mode is called (Oct 0,2) which its pattern starts off with a whole step rather than half. In conclusion, Music has always been there for me and anyone else who loves creating and listening to music. Imagine if the world had no music, all of us would have a heart attack. Its really fascinating and wild how the generations have passed down music. Its interesting how much there is to learn in music despite how challenging it is. In the end, Its worth the stress to learn but to remember to never forget what you love the most: Music.   Works Cited Musicopoulos. Melodic Minor Scale. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. . The Freakiness of Melodic Minor. The Ethan Hein Blog. 31 Jan. 2011. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. . OctaveBox. OctaveBox. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. . Feist, Jonathan. Music Education Information and Articles. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.  . The Eight Gregorian Modes. Modes. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.  . Teorà ­a. Music Theory Web. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. . Web. 17 Dec. 2014. . Music Discipline Modes of the Major Scale. Modes of the Major Scale. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.  . The Community of Jesus | Christian Community | Benedictine Monastery. The Community of Jesus. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. .

Causes and Impact of Health Inequalities

Causes and Impact of Health Inequalities Background In todays world, the advancements in medical technology and its expansion have improved the overall health of the population. However, inequalities persist within health care and not all people have equal access to it. Why do these disparities still exist in the present day? Understanding why these inequalities exist despite modern advancements has a significant importance in reducing health care inequalities. Aim Understanding health care inequalities and its challenges are the aim of this assignment. It seeks to explain and understand the mechanisms underlying the associations that can be found between the socio-economic statuses of population groups and their quality of health. It also explores life course pathways which mould and influence a persons chances of having a healthy life along with advantages and disadvantages that can affect health from an early age into adulthood. In addition, other factors such as gender, mental illness and disability and ethnicity will also be discussed since they also have a major contribution to inequalities in health. The assignment will focus on research led in the United Kingdom (UK). The United Kingdoms long tradition of research on health inequalities The UK is a high-income society, where greater prosperity and better overall health have been successfully attained without narrowing health inequalities, it can therefore be taken as an example for other societies that manifest similar trends in inequalities (Graham, 2009). Health Inequalities Health inequalities are differences between people or groups due to social, geographical, biological or other factors. These differences have a huge impact, because they result in people who are worst off experiencing poorer health and shorter lives (NICE, 2012). Affordable health care During the 19th century, inequality in health was mostly due to factors such as overcrowding, insufficient availability to local treatment facilities and poor sanitation (Morning 2015). Nowadays, in our industrialized society, these disadvantages have essentially disappeared. Modern hospitals and treatment centres are now commonly accessible across the UK. But not everyone can afford treatment. A study led in 2004 has shown that wealth is correlated with longevity, which demonstrates a strong link between the socio-economic status and mortality. For example, Figure 1 exhibits a pattern of health across income groups in England in 2004. As seen below, the proportion of men and women who deem their health as not good increases from around 15 percent in the richest fifth of English households to around 40 percent in the poorest fifth of households. This significant rise is not only manifested in the majority white population but also in other ethnicities in the UK (Graham, 2009). Figure 1: Proportion of women and men aged 16 and over assessing their health as not good by income quintile based on equivalized household income, England 2003. (Graham, 2009) This can be explained by considering the advantages that people in the higher socio-economic groups have. These advantages can lead to more knowledge about their health and the care available through improved education, or better continuity of care without issues of complying with treatment regiments such as expensive medication. For example, a man with higher income and education levels will have improved health insurance, increased information about the availability of treatments and will more frequently visit the doctor. This can translate into receiving more screenings such as screenings for colorectal cancer and diabetes. Differences between social classes and how they affect health       Landmark studies such as the Black report have shown that not only do social class inequalities still exist, they are also widening over time (DHHS,1980). Social class inequalities have been observed in all ages for all the major diseases. To try and describe social class inequalities in health, various models have been introduced into the UK such as the behavioural/cultural model, the materialist model, the psycho-social model and the life-course model (Steinbach,2009; Bartley and Blane, 2008; Bartley, 2004; DHHS, 1980). These models differentiate the characteristics affecting health that can be observed in different social classes over the whole period of their lives. For example, by describing the differences in behaviour that distinct social classes have, i.e. the behavioural model. Such as their dietary choices between healthy and unhealthy food, their prevalence to being in contact with drugs, alcohol and tobacco or the inclination to pursuing active leisure time such as hobbies in addition to their approach to healthy life choices such as immunisation, contraception and antenatal services (Steinbach 2009; Bartley, 2004; DHHS, 1980). Another model is the materialist model which describes the differences between social classes to the exposure to health hazards. This encompasses hazards such as air pollution, mold, cold, infestations and respiratory hazards that can arise from bad housing for example. The Black report (DHHS,1980) claims that this model is the most decisive factor leading to health inequalities. But many experts outline that since, in the UK, somewhat disadvantaged people receive various kinds of state aids, therefore it can be argued that housing and other materialistic issues are insufficient to account for major inequalities in health outcomes (Steinbach, 2009; Barley, 2004, DHHS, 1980). The psycho-social model on the other hand describes the principle that what people feel can determine changes in the physiology of the body. For example, a stressful social environment produces an emotional response which alters the state of the body through biological changes and can lead to serious conditions such as heart diseases (ODonnell, 2008). Areas affected can be the social interaction that an individual has every day, the work environment and the balance between home and work paired with their efforts and rewards. It has been shown that people with better relationships with their family and friends and who engage in social activities have better prospects to a healthier lifestyle than those who are rather isolated (Campbell, 2010). The last model focuses on patterns of social, psychological and biological advantages and disadvantages that can occur during the lifetime of a person. Factors that can influence a persons life can arise as early as in-utero and in early childhood. These disadvantages can ultimately accumulate and worsen through childhood and adulthood (Steinbach, 2009; Bartley, 2004). For example, individuals who have experienced differences in autonomy or, on the other hand, shame and doubt in childhood will react differently throughout their adult life (Graham, 2009). These models are represented by landmark studies in social class inequalities in health in the UK such as the Black Report (DHHS, 1980), the Whitehall study of British civil servants (spans over 10 years starting in 1967) and the Acheson report (Acheson, 1988). How gender affects health inequalities Many studies and researches have proven that, in industrialized countries such as the UK, women live longer than men but present more prevalence to ill health (Scambler, 2008). Although men have a greater chance of mortality due to injury and suicide in earlier stages of adulthood coupled with common single causes of death in adulthood such as cardiovascular diseases and cancers, more women than men go through stages of disabilities, notably in older ages. Mental disabilities have mostly been commonly correlated to anxiety and depressive disorders (Steinbach, 2009; Bartley, 2004; Acheson, 1998). The World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2008 suggested that gender differences in health are a result of both biological factors and social factors such as employment, risk taking behaviour, smoking and alcohol (Campbell, 2010). How ethnicity affects health inequalities Unfortunately, the information on death certificates in the UK do not display ethnicity, and mortality data uses country of birth as a defining factor, therefore ethnical minorities born in the UK cannot be determined. But regular documented studies on ethnical inequalities in mortality (Kelly, 2008) have explained that factors such as, migration processes, defined socio-economic disadvantages and genetic and biological differences between ethnic populations account for differences in mortality. Inequalities in the accessibility to health care The access to health care is a supply concern which describes the quality and quantity of services provided to a person and are defined by the health care system itself. In the UK, the health care system is the National Health Service (NHS), a system that was founded on the principle of fairness, meaning people should get the care they need, not the care they can afford (Steinbach, 2009; Cookson, 2016). The inverse care law, first described by Julian Tudor Hart in 1971, states: The availability of good medical care tends to vary inversely with the need for it in the population served (Hart, 1971). Equality of access to health care can be achieved by communities by meeting certain requirements. Factors such as the distance travelled, the transport facilities and communication used, the hospital waiting times, the patient information and knowledge about available treatment and its effectiveness and the costs of all these are considered to contribute to a health care system which is equal to all (Steinbach, 2009; Cookson, 2016). Availability is a determining factor of inequalities in accessibility in health care. Some health care services have been shown to treat population groups differently, denying services to some people and preferring others for a certain treatment. For example, clinicians might have a bias in treating different patients based on individual characteristics even though they have identical needs. The equality in the costs of health care can also be disrupted by imposing costs which differ between people. Or even the information given to different populations can impact the patients outcome. For example, health care organisations who neglect or fail to ensure that everyone is equally conscious to the services available (Goddard and Smith, 2001). The NHS and current health inequality challenges The NHS regularly comes top of international league tables of fairness in health care but it is not perfectly fair. There are inequalities in the volume, quality and outcomes of NHS care received by rich and poor people. These inequalities could get worse as financial austerities start to bite more severely into NHS budgets and may contribute to wider health inequalities in society. These inequalities raise serious concerns about social justice and unfulfilled potential for disadvantaged people to live longer and healthier lives. A research project lead by Richard Cookson in 2012 focused on monitoring fairness of the NHS to make sure inequalities dont get worse and if possible get better. In 2012, the NHS still didnt monitor how inequalities were changing. And NHS decision makers knew that inequalities existed, but they had no way of telling if inequalities were getting better or worse or what influence their decisions were having on inequalities. By monitoring the fairness of the NH S, the results will make sure that everyone, rich or poor, can receive the care they need to live a long and healthy life (Cookson, 2016). Recently, research projects have provided methods of comparing the performance of local NHS areas in tackling inequalities in health care. Alongside similar indicators for wider determinants of health, such as the regularly updated marmot indicators (UCL, 2015). Which review the key areas that need to be improved to make a significant impact on health care inequalities such as strengthening the role and impact of ill health prevention. The methods will assess how well the NHS is tackling inequalities across a broad range of issues (Buck, 2016). An outcome from the Health Equity Indicators for the English NHS: Longitudinal whole-population study at small area level research project showed a great improvement in patient health care by monitoring key stages of the patient pathway (See Figure 2) (Cookson, 2016). Figure 2: Monitoring health care access, quality and outcomes at key stages of the pathway (Cookson, 2016). For example, Figure 3 shows that GP supply increased in all social groups, and the largest increases were in the most deprived areas. As seen below, the pro-rich inequality gradient was eliminated by 2011/2012 (Asaira, 2016). Figure 3: Equity of primary care supply, Patients per full time equivalent GP, excluding registrars and retainers, adjusted for age, sex and health deprivation (Asaira, 2016). Conclusion Health care inequalities most commonly arise from socio-economic conditions and are shaped by political, social and economic forces that can create or destroy a persons health and wellbeing. These problems are now seen as health problems that must be addressed to ensure everyone has an equal chance of a healthy life. Factors such as the costs of healthcare, social class, gender, ethnicity and accessibility to health care all contribute to the quality of life. Recently, projects have been undergone to help improve healthcare in the UK, for example, by monitoring the fairness of its services. In my opinion, the UK is one of the leading health care services in the world despite existing inequalities, but can be improved by further understanding and improving these inequalities, who have been only recently assessed. Total word count: 1966 References: -Acheson D (1998). Independent inquiry into inequalities in health report. London: The Stationary Office. -Asaria M, Ali S, Doran T, ferguson B, Fleetcroft R, Goddard M, goldblatt P, Laudicella M, Raine R, Cookson R. (2016). How a universal health system reduces inequalities: lessons from England. Epidemiology community health. 0 (1), 1-7. -Baker M, Mawby R, Ware J (2015). Health Inequalities. Engalnd: Royal college of general practitioners. 2-16. -Bartley M, Blane D (2008). Inequality and social class in Scambler G, Sociology as applied to medicine. Elsevier Limited. -Bartley M (2004). Health inequality: an introduction to theories, concepts, and methods. Cambridge: Polity Press. -Buck D (2016). The role of the NHS in reducing health inequalities: moving beyond fair access to care. Available: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/blog/2016/03/reducing-health-inequalities. Last accessed 1st Feb 2017. -Campbell F (2010). The social determinants of health and the role of local government. England: Investor in People. 5-68. -Cookson R (2016), Health Equity Indicators for the NHS, presented at Maximising the impact of the NHS in tackling health inequalities, London, 2016. -Cookson R (2016) Health equity indicators for the English final report to the NIHR HSDR Programme. HSDR -Cookson R, Propper C, Asaria M, raine R. (2016). Socio-Economic Inequalities in Health Care in England. The journal of applied public Economics. 37 (3-4), p371-403. -Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) (1980). Inequalities in health: report of a research working group. (The Black Report). HMSO, London. -Graham H (2009). Understanding Health Inequalities. 2nd ed. England: Open University Press. 1-20. -Goddard M, Smith P (2001). Equity of access to health care services: theory and evidence from the UK. Social Science and Medicine 53:1149-62. -Hart T J. (1971). The inverse care law. The Lancet. 297 (7696), p405-412. -Kelly M, Nazroo J (2008). Ethnicity and Health in Scambler G Sociology as applied to medicine. Elsevier Limited. -Morning, Roberts, Phelan (2015), Social inequalities in health, presented at Social Inequalities in Health, Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Lecture Series, Bethesda, 2015. -ODonnell, K.; Brydon, L.; Wright, C.; Steptoe, A. (2008). Self-esteem levels and cardiovascular and inflammatory responses to acute stress. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 22 (8): 1241-1247 -Scambler A (2008). Women and Health in Scambler G Sociology as applied to medicine. Elsevier Limited. Steinbach R. (2009). Inequalities in the distribution of health and health care and its access, including inequalities relating to social class, gender, culture and ethnicity, and their causes. Available: http://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/public-health-textbook/medical-sociology-policy-economics/4c-equality-equity-policy/inequalities-distribution. Last accessed 1st Feb 2017. -The National Institute for Health and Care Exellence. (Oct 2012). Health inequalities and population health. Available: https://www.nice.org.uk/advice/lgb4/chapter/introduction. Last accessed 1st Feb 2017. -UCL Institute of Health Equity. (2015). Marmot Indicators 2015. Available: http://www.instituteofhealthequity.org/projects/marmot-indicators-2015. Last accessed 1st Feb 2017.

Importance of Manners in Pride and Prejudice Essay -- Pride Prejudice

Importance of Manners in Pride and Prejudice Manners have survived throughout the many passing years of history and culture to influence the ways human beings interact even today in the way we relate to one another: what is acceptable and unacceptable social behavior. Proper manners in everything from conversation to eating have long been distinguishing mark of social status. Even now they are often important in business and social situations. But in the eighteenth century, manners were paramount. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, set at the end of the eighteenth century, explores the many humorous eccentricities in a world of etiquette and proper conduct. When love, pride, clumsiness and transparency are all run through the gauntlet of delicate manners, a whimsical sort of satire is achieved. The context of propriety creates the cunning irony that brings this book to life. A perfect example of the irony in Pride and Prejudice is seen in the relationship of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. While Mrs. Bennet is constantly theatrical and melodramatic, Mr. Bennet is very quiet and reserved. Mr. Bennet is always toying with his wife's tendencies to exaggeration. When Elizabeth Bennet refuses to marry the dim-witted and unattractive Mr. Collins, her mother is inconsolable. She bursts into a fit and tells Elizabeth that if she doesn't marry Mr. Collins, then she will disown her as a daughter. Mr. Bennet at this point steps in and provides the ironical relief: "An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. --Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do." (p... ...he irony. From the bumbling Mr. Collins, who means less than he says, to the ironical parries of Ms. Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice is certainly a comedy of manners. Each character, in their own way is either outside the traditional bounds of propriety, or bound within them so clumsily that even sincerity often comes across as humorous. In each situation shown, the characters began in a context of manners that set stage for the illuminating irony each character in some way sets forth. As shown through the situations and characters in the novel, Pride and Prejudice is a book brought to life by the context of propriety. Within this context are created the many ironical contradictions and pretenses exposed by its various colorful characters. Work Cited: Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Airmont Books, 1992.

Free Terrorism Essays: We Must Oppose Peaceniks :: September 11 Terrorism Essays

We Must Oppose Peaceniks There is a certain segment of the population on any contemporary college campus that is never satisfied unless it is dissatisfied. So addicted is this small minority to the rush one receives from righteous indignation that, after centuries of moral progress in what is by now a relatively just society, their lives are reduced to a desperate search for sufficiently eye-catching evils to combat. Sweatshops one year, the low wages of University workers the next - while collegiate activism addicts often find themselves fighting real and continuing injustices, their brief battles are mere momentary fads, reduced to being the political equivalent of bellbottoms or boy bands. In the middle of the 2001 fall fashion season, however - a season which was supposed to bring with it both shorter hemlines and renewed opposition to the IMF - Americans witnessed evil in its purest and most dramatic form. Here, finally, was a genuine need for immediate action. Habitual activists thus joined their fellow students in giving blood and helping to organize aid for the victims of the tragedy, and I applaud them for their good work. Horrified at for once being part of a moral majority, however, this coterie soon found that the relief effort was insufficient to satisfy its old addiction. A real jolt of righteous indignation, it seems, comes only from a stance directly opposed to that of the American mainstream, or, as they like to call it, the capitalist hegemony. The movementarians needed to find a new, less popular movement for themselves, and sure enough one was to be found with relative ease - a late '60s classic that never goes out of style, one by the name of "peace." Generally speaking, I too am in favor of peace. (For the record, I'm generally well to the left of Joe Lieberman.) Not only would I take a state of peace over a state of war any day, I am also opposed to such military tactics as the invasion of randomly selected developing nations or the wholesale slaughter of their innocent civilians. Except for those with a religiously grounded commitment to absolute pacifism, however, we can all agree that there are times when certain acts of war are both appropriate and just. The vast majority of the American people believe that now is one of those times, and they are right to do so.

Example of cover letter for support worker Essay

Dear Sir/Madam, I am very glad to apply for vacancy with your organisation and I believe I have the skills and personal qualities for the stated job. My various work experiences involved working in different environment, situation and country. I have carry out my duties efficiently wherever I am attached. As a teacher in abroad, I get opportunity to learn different language, cultures, and environment and mix up with different ethnic group of people. Currently, I am working in a residential home as Support worker where my main duties includes assisting with personal and social care, facilitating activities, promoting positive behaviour, assisting with medication and hospital appointments, giving physical and emotional support where necessary and help people to live fulfilling life with high spirits. This has made me realise that I love any work, I would get more satisfaction and enjoyment from working. In addition to my growing knowledge of job, I can offer many skills gained from study, work and other activities, for example: Analysing complex numerical and verbal information; Working enthusiastically and productively under pressure; Good knowledge of English writing and speaking; Dealing professionally with a wide range of people; Working in a variety of teams, Ability to lead and develop team; Overcoming obstacles and negotiating for support I need; Planning and organisational skills; Understand & able to complete the DWOR; Flexible for any additional job, shift and different site. I assure to work hard to give my best with sincerity to satisfy your team, if I get opportunity. Hoping for positive consideration of my sincerely request. Thank you. Sincerely

Is Decoherence a Solution for the Measurement Problem

Abstract—Decoherence is considered as one of the important topics in quantum computing research area. Some researchers stated that decoherence solved the measurement problem and on the other hand many researchers stated the opposite. In this paper we will prove whether decoherence is a solution or not through an exhaustive survey of the different ideas, methodologies, and experiments. Index Terms—Quantum computing, decoherence, measurement problem INTRODUCTION Decoherence is considered as one of the important research areas since 1980s.Quantum decoherence is the Loss of coherence or ordering of the phase angles between the components of a system in quantum computing superposition and the consequence of this is classical or probabilistically additive behavior†¦ (Zurek Today 10 (1991)) Wave function collapse is the reduction of the physical possibilities into a single possibility as seen by observer can appear in quantum decoherence also it justifies the framework an d can predict using classical physics as an acceptable approximation†¦ Namiki and Pascazio 1991). However, decoherence is a mechanism that emerges out quantum stating point also it determines the location of the quantum classical boundary moreover decoherence appear when the quantum system interacts with its environment in a thermodynamically irreversible way and that lead to prevent different factors in the quantum superposition of the system and environments wave function from interfering with each other†¦ Zurek Today 10 (1991)) Decoherence can be viewed in different ways such as flowing information from the system to the environment lead to lose information this is known as heat bath since each system is losing some of its energetic state because of its surroundings environments†¦ (Kumar, Kiranagi et al. 012) There is also another view of decoherence that is called isolation; which is the combination of the system and the environment which known as non-unitary ther efore the dynamics of the system alone are irreversible also as a result of combination of system and environment the entanglements are generated between them and that will lead to sharing quantum information without transferring these information to the surroundings†¦ (Lidar and Whaley 2003) Describing how the wave function collaps occurs in quantum mechanics called measurement problem. The disability of observing the process directly lead to different nterpretations regard quantum mechanics, also it rises too many qustions that each interpretation must answer. However there are some researches provides aprove that the decoherence solved the measurment problem and some other researchers prove the opposite thus in this paper we will make a comparasion between these two different point of views†¦ (Kumar, Kiranagi et al. 2012) PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION Decoherence is a real challenge that prevents implementing quantum computers; because the machines rely on undisturbed evolutio n of quantum coherences†¦ (Chen, Ang et al. 003), (Flitney and Abbott 2004) Decoherence provides an explanations for the appearance of the wave function collapse it does not generate actual wave function collapse and that is the nature of quantum systems it leaks into the environment and that done by decomposing the component of the wave function from the coherent system and then applying phases to the environment†¦(Flitney and Abbott 2004) P. W Anderson claimed that decoherence has solved the Quantum measurement problem while S. L Adler prove the opposite†¦. Adler 2002) In this paper, we will conduct a comprehensive survey of the different views and experiments to come up with a solution for the relationship between decoherence and measurement problem. Decoherence is the Solution Zurek (1991), Tegmark and Wheeler (2001), and Anderson (2001) stated that decoherence has solved the quantum measurement problem by eliminating the necessity for Von Neumann’s wave fu nction collapse postulate. Osvaldo Pessoa Jr. wrote an article titled â€Å"Can the Decoherence Approach Help to Solve the Measurement Problem? He concluded that decoherence could help to solve measurement problem in open systems. From that point, he wanted to count on the open systems to solve the measurement problem of individual systems. He also mentioned that decoherence helps to get an approximate solution for the statistical version of the measurement problem. Wallace (2011) mentioned that decoherence explains why the measurement problem is a philosophical rather than a practical problem and stated that decoherence could solve the measurement problem.He claimed that the quantum state continues to describe the physical state of the world. So, decoherence finds its natural role in the measurement problem as the process which explains why quantum mechanics can be fundamentally deterministic and non-classical, but emergently classical. It does not dull the aspect of Everett's pro posal, which states that all are equally part of the underlying quantum reality. Decoherence is Not the SolutionThe decoherence initiative was to explain the transformation from large to conventional by evaluating the relationships of a program with a determining program or with the environment. It is realistic to think about a large specialized substance or program of pollutants as a divided program boating in unfilled space. Dynamical Failing Styles Somehow do not like the idea of failure due to professionals trying to rig the pattern function improvement so to advantage loss of the situation vector in a well described way.One way is to say that the pattern function, or at least an element of it, consistently gets â€Å"hit† in such a way as to cause localization in the position base. Another way is to add a not unitary term into Schrodinger’s program. There are suggestions stated that we can infer using mind ability to get the collapse of the wave function Tohmas Br euer at 1996 try to investigate these suggestions and apply it to recent results of quantum machines regard restrictions on measurement from inside.Tohmas Breuer count on these restrictions to come up with a phenomena of subjective decoherence therefore he split his article into parts. The first part is â€Å"measurement from inside† and he makes a presentation to illustrate why it is impossible for an observer to make a distinction between all states in a system in which an observer is contained and that consider as restriction on the measurability from inside, he conclude that bigger system O need more parameters to fix its state.However, this will lead to situations that big O can be determined of each physically possible state by the state of a subsystem A together with some constraint. Second part is â€Å"EPR-Correlations† and he focus on situation which stronger results hold when we take into account particular features of quantum mechanical situations for examp le if we have two systems A and some environment R then the union of two system A ? R equal to Big O. also if both systems A and R have Hilbert spaces HA and HR as state spaces then EPR correlations can be obtained in the vector states HA HR .Therefore he conclude that A con not make a distinction between states of O which is make difference only in the EPR correlations between A and R. however observers can only be able to make a measurement of EPR correlations between A and R in A ? R†¦(Breuer 1996) David Wallace wrote his article to achieve two goals the first one is to present an account of how quantum measurements are dealing with in modern physics in other word quantum measurements does not involve a collapse of the wave functions also to present the measurement problem from that account perspective of view.The second part is concentrate on clarifying the role of decoherence plays in modern measurement theory and what affects it has on the different strategies that have been proposed to solve measurement problem. Wallace concluded that it seems not possible to have a complete understating of the microscopic predictions quantum mechanisms without interpreting the state in a probabilistic way and that because of interference since quantum states cannot be thought of as probability distributions in physical states of airs.Therefore it is allowable to try to resolve the incoherence by two ways, the first one by philosophical methods which means trying hard to think about how to make a full understanding quantum states so as to come out with a non-incoherent way, also the second way done by making modifications on the physics which means trying to make a replacement of the quantum mechanics by using some new theory which does not prima facie lead to the conceptual incoherence.Finally, Wallace state that the natural role of decoherence can be found in the measurement problem as the process which provides an explanations regard why quantum mechanics, inte rpreted can be basically not classical and deterministic, but critically classical†¦(Wallace 2011) Dan Stahlke based on application he made state that the most important point of decoherence theory is that it provides understanding about the process of wave collapse. Some systems need to be built in way that it stays in coherent superposition.However, tendency of system that been in superposition can be immediately calculated. Also he stated that decoherence does not give the ultimate solution in the measurement problem but it bring some light to the matter†¦(Stahlke 1999) Maximilian Schlosshauer makes a distinctive discussion regard the role of decoherence in the foundation of quantum mechanics, and focusing of the effectiveness of decoherence regard the measurement problem. He concludes that within a standard interpretation of quantum mechanics that decoherence cannot solve the problem of definite outcomes in quantum measurement.Therefore he mention the effectiveness of environment super selection of quasiclassical pointer states along with the local superposition of interference terms can be put to large use in physical motivation, assumptions and rules regard alternative interpretation approaches that can change the strict orthodox eigenvalue-eigenstate link or make modification on the unitary dynamics to account for the awareness of definite outcomes†¦(Schlosshauer 2005) Elise M.Crull mention in his article that it has been claimed that decoherence has solved the measurement problem. In other hand, some researchers stated that it does not solve the measurement problem. However, the Crull target is â€Å"Which measurement problem? †, thus he argue three questions depending on Max Schlosshauer which has neat catalog on the different problems which called â€Å"the measurement problem†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦(Schlosshauer 2008; Crull 2011) Harvey Brown stated that there are many attempts to proof the insolubility of the measurement problem in non -quantum mechanics.We can use these attempts for quantum mechanics. These proofs tend to establish that if mechanical interaction between object system A and measuring instrument B is described through a suitable defined unitary operator on the â€Å"Hilbert† tensor product space, so the final state of the A + B together cannot be described by a density operator of a specific kind in that space.Therefore this leads us to a resolution in terms of weighted projections which be useful to interpreted as mixture of pure A + B states, which are eigenstates corresponding to the â€Å"pointer position† that observable connected with the instrument†¦(Brown 1986) Ford, Lewis and Connell count on a book â€Å"Decoherence and the Appearance of a Classical World in Quantum Theory† †¦(Giulini, Joos et al. 1996) which state that ‘‘irreversible coupling to the environment seems to have become widely accepted ~and even quite popular!During the last decade, not least through the various contributions by Woljciech Zurek and his collaborators. ’’ And he conclude that general and simple formulation of quantum measurement gives a good method regard discussing quantum stochastic systems†¦(Ford and Lewis 1986) . Also authors stated that decoherence appear at high temperature with or without dissipation and the time for both cases are the same furthermore at zero temperature, decoherence occurs only in the presence of dissipation†¦(Ford, Lewis et al. 001) In 1980s and 1990s techniques are established to cool single ions captured through a trap and to control their state by using laser light and the single ion can be observed using photons with minimal interaction with the environment. Photons can observed without being destroyed during interaction together with atoms in designed experiment. That leads to make a study regard pioneers that make a test for basis of quantum mechanics also the transition between microscopic and microscopic world.The most important stage in controlling the quantum state regard ion is cooling it to the lowest energy of the trap using a common technique called sideband cooling†¦(F. Diedrich, Bergqvist et al. 1989) this technique consists of exiting the ion, increasing inside energy also decreasing the vibration energy†¦(SCIENCES 2012) Bas Hensen starting his discussion by defining the measurement problem and he stated that measuemet problem begin naturally from quantum theory’s success through describing the realm regard microscopic particles also permitting them to have definite values for quantities like momentum and position.Then he split the problem into several parts. The first two parts are â€Å"the problem of outcomes: Why does one perceive a single outcome among the many possible ones in equation? †, â€Å"The problem of the collapse: What kind of process causes the state of the system to ‘collapse’ to the outcome one percei ved (in the sense that a repeated measurement yields the same answer)? † in these two part he found that in quantum the world must be divided into a wave quantum system and the rest stays in some classical system.Also in accuracy point of view the division is made one way or another in a particular application. The third part is â€Å"The problem of interference: Why do we not observe quantum interference effects on macroscopic scales? † in this part author stated that the best way to illustrate this problem by using the double slit experiment. The experiment shows that the physical setup suggests that grouping the probability distribution gained with either one of the slit opened should occur in the probability distribution regard the two slits opened.For this situation of electrons as particles the probability distribution regard course differs, but regard a similar setup using macroscopic particles it doesn’t†¦(Hensen 2010 ) Dieks reviewed several proposa ls that solved the quantum mechanical measurement problem by taking into account that in measurement interactions there are many unobserved degrees of freedom. He found out that such â€Å"solutions† are unsatisfactory as they stand, and must be supplemented by a new empirical interpretation of the formal state description of quantum mechanics (Dieks 1989).Zurek mentioned in † Decoherence, Einselection, and the Quantum Origins of the Classical† that decoherence is caused by the interaction in which the environment in effect monitors certain observables of the system, destroying coherence between the pointer states corresponding to their eigenvalues. Then, he mentioned that when the measured quantum system is microscopic and isolated, this restriction on the predictive utility of its correlations with the macroscopic apparatus results in the effective â€Å"collapse of the wave packet†; which implicitly states that decoherence did not solve the measurement p roblem (Zurek 2003).Elby scrutinized the claim that the measurement problem is solved by decoherence, by examining how modal and relative-state interpretations can use decoherence. He mentioned also that although decoherence cannot rescue these interpretations from general metaphysical difficulties, decoherence may help these interpretations to pick out a preferred basis (Elby 1994). Janssen mentioned that the alleged relevance of decoherence for a solution of the â€Å"measurement problem† is subjected to a detailed philosophical analysis.He reconstructed a non-standard decoherence argument that aimed to uncover some hidden assumptions underlying the approach. He concluded that decoherence cannot address the â€Å"preferred-basis problem† without adding new interpretational axioms to the standard formalism (Janssen 2008). Busch et al (1996) explained decoherence using the many-worlds interpretation and stated the decoherence cannot solve the measurement problem. Legge tt (2005) concentrated on the paradox of Schrodinger's cat or the quantum measurement paradox to prove that dechorence is not a practical solution.Other researchers and scientists including Gamibini and Pullin (2007), Zurek (2002), Joos and Zeh (1985), Bell (1990), Albert (1992), Bub(1997), Barrett (1999), Joos (1999), and Adler (2002) stated that decoherence did not solve the measurement problem. Conclusion There is a serious and unresolved quantum measurement problem. Some, like Ghirardi, Rimini, and Weber (1986), try to solve it by modifying quantum mechanics. If successful, such attempts would result in a theory, distinct from but closely related to quantum mechanics, that is no longer subject to a measurement problem. That problem may be unsolvable (Healey 1998).

Anatomy, Atoms, Cells

Please define the terms anatomy and physiology. Explain the connection between anatomy and physiology within the human body; basically how do they influence one another? Then using the terminology of the anatomical landmarks/regions and directional terms, please write 2 example sentences with proper usage. For example, â€Å"the axilla region is superior to the cubital region of the body†.Anatomy is the study of internal and external structure and the physical relationship between body parts (which means cutting open). Physiology is the study of how living organisms perform their vital functions ( Another word for Greek). The connection between anatomy and physiology within the human body is that structure and function are always presented. You can not have physiology without anatomy because physiology is the study of the function of anatomical structures. Two examples: 1.) â€Å"The Abdomen is located in the Epigastria region of the body.† 2.) â€Å"The calf is inferi or to the hips.†2.Compare and contrast the two feedback mechanisms our bodies use to maintain homeostasis. What would happen if our thermoregulation (temperature control) used a positive feedback to maintain homeostasis?There are two feedback mechanisms our body uses to maintain homeostasis, they are negative feedback and positive feedback. Both feedbacks signal a response to the situation. Negative feedback however will correct the situation where positive feedback drags the process on or exaggerates the situation. If our thermoregulation used a positive feedback to maintain homeostasis our system would start to fail, malfunction or even produce a disease. This is because homeostasis would not be able to fully compensate itself correctly.3.Please define pH and briefly describe the pH scale. Do you think all of our body fluids (stomach juice or blood, as examples) are the same pH? Why or why not? How do pH changes affect protein (enzyme) function? How could this interfere with the body's physiology?pH is the negative exponent of the hydrogen ion concentration, expressed in moles per liter. The pH scale is a solution with a pH of 7 is neutral. pH above 7 is called basic or alkaline, pH below 7 is acidic. I do not think that all our body fluids are the same pH because some things have extreme acidic some are neutral and some are extremely basic. pH changes the shape and enzymes functions start to deteriorate. This is because the pH shifts out of normal limits. This could interfere with out body’s physiology by slowing down the reactions to support life. It could alter our chemical reactions to make them permanently change itself.4.The plasma membrane (cell membrane) is a dynamic component of the cell. What is the plasma membrane composed (made) of? Compare and contrast active and passive transport.Plasma membrane is composed of phospholipids, steroids, proteins and carbohydrates. Passive transport moves ions or molecules across the plasma membrane w ithout any energy expenditure by the cell. Active transport is the high energy bond in APT provides the energy needed to move ions or molecules across the membrane. Both active and passive transport can provide for the Carrier-Mediated Transport.5.What would happen to the cell and body function if there were damage to the mitochondria? Damage to the Ribosomes? Damage to the DNA? Damage to the receptors on the plasma (cell) membrane?If there were damage to the mitochondria the cell and body function would lose energy. This is because mitochondrion is a organelles that provides energy to a cell. If there were damage to the Ribosome the cell and body function would lose manufacture proteins. If there were damage to the DNA the cell and body function would not be able to collect genes or hold the information needed to synthesize thousands of proteins. If there is damage to the receptors on the plasma membrane the cell and body function would  lose the ability to bind materials togethe r or trigger the cells activity.

Obesity: Logic and Marion Nestle

â€Å"Obesity: Who is Responsible for Our Weight? † In the essay, â€Å"Obesity: Who Is Responsible for Our Weight? † Radley Balko explains his argument on obesity; we are responsible for what we eat. Overall, the strengths were clear and persuading in this essay. One strength in his essay was his main point, we are responsible for our own weight. He explains that we are in control of what we consume, and the government should not be responsible for that. This engages the reader to think, should we really blame the government, or is ourselves to blame. This main point validates all his reasoning.Another strength is his ability to explain why government intervention is irrelevant to obesity. For example, he mentions that Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown is conducting to have a Fat Tax on high calorie food, where food restaurants must list their fat, calories, etc. on each meal. And instead they should be promoting personal-sense awareness. Overall this essay had more weaknesses than strengths. Though his side of the argument is completely true, his reasoning weren’t clearly detailed. For example, Radley Balko only targeted the government’s intervention on obesity.But what should have followed that is the food industry businesses that allow this, not just the government. Not only did he lack detail, but also he didn’t consider the point of genetics. Some Americans do not become obese by choice, but by genetics. Those who are affected by genetics may be very conscience of what they eat, but it still does no justice because of their genes. This weakened his essay. Another weakness is that he focuses too much on the government’s intervention on obesity; instead he should have listed more reasons to why obesity is a personal problem.Taken as a whole, the essay was very short, and took a while to get to the point. â€Å"Are You Responsible for Your Own Weight? † I found this to be a very strong, interesting argumentative essay by Kelly Brownell and Marion Nestle. One strength relates to the fulfillment on attention grabbing in their opening sentence. Brownell and Nestle reminds us that the food industry is like any other business: they must grow. This makes a valid point, and grabs the readers attentions which leads to wanting to read more.Mentioning the counter-argument that obesity is a personal responsibility is also a strength. This tells the reader that she is understanding to the opposing argument, while making hers very clear. Another strength is the fact that gives several examples why personal responsibility isn’t to blame which includes; obesity is growing year after year, it’s human biology for humans to be attracted to good food with high calories, the default approach of promotion of eating better and exercising more has failed for multiple years, and how personal responsibility is a trap.Not only did they have multiple examples, they had clear reasoning for each example, which proves they thought out their argument on obesity. Although this was a very strong, convincing essay, there were a couple of weaknesses. The first weakness is the unawareness of government’s real role in business. In America, our policy towards business relies strictly on the concept of Laissez Faire. Laissez Faire means allowing industry to be free from state intervention, especially restrictions in the form of tariffs and government monopolies.This is a very known concept to many Americans, and this weakens her argument. Another weakness is Brownell and Nestle mentioning they’re attentive to personal responsibility, but didn’t clearly give any reasoning to that. Overall, they essay was very well structured and barely had any weaknesses. The essay â€Å"Are You Responsible for Your Own Weight? † gives a more persuading argument. First of all this essay was clearly structured, which made it easier to read. The first essay was not as easy to read, and not as structured.Brownell and Nestle listed their reasoning, which made their points clear reassuring no confusion. Where as to Balko, there were barely any explained points in his essay, which made it hard to follow. Also, Brownell and Nestle are much more persuasive. They provided clear explained examples of why we are not the only ones responsible for obesity while Balko had little to none examples of why we are responsible. Altogether, Marion Nestle and Kelly Brownell provided a more effective argument on obesity and whose responsible for it than Radley Balko.

Self Account

At my senior secondary level, I was surrounded by lots of art related competition or activities. Personally, I love drawing and designing. I have studied art and participated in lots of art competition in order to broaden my horizon. I am glad that I have got the champion in a competition organized by the Hong Kong Civic Education Foundation Ltd and an outstanding grade in drawing competitions organized by the Hong Kong Heart Foundation Limited. These awards really built up my confidence. In my opinion, drawing is not only a hobby but also a great way to improve your interpersonal skills and become more patient.In addition, I enjoy getting along with people very much. I was the peer counselor at senior secondary level and I join a community service group which help the needy once a month. I like meeting people and helping them through community service. Every month I went to the kindergarten or elderly home to do volunteer work, I play and chat with them. The experience enriches my l earning, enhances my communication skills and exerts a positive impact on my life. I also become more analytical, observant and aware of people’s needs. I hope my cheerful personality can bring joy to the needy and contribute to the community.Besides, I am intrigued by discovering something new every day, which makes me particularly interested in science. My most beloved subjects are Physics and Biology. Physic gives me the propensity to look in depth into the daily application of Physic, how they affect our life and theory behind. I have to admit that it is fairly a challenging subject and it trained me to have an inquiring mind and be conscientious to perform the best in my sheer ability. Biology allows me to learn about our own remarkable human body, I relish in learning the part regarding different types of diseases and the miracle of body structure.It is a paramount importance for the medical professionals when they are avidly performing their duty. We are able to compet e with others only if we are well-equipped. Hence, I think academic result is very important, so I would work very hard to achieve a good result, I hope I can enter a great university and pay back the community in the future. Also, I have set a career goal to participate in a service industry that could benefit the needy. I would try my best to love and serve the community to make us live a better world.