Explain the Biological Mechanisms by Which Stress Can Induce Depressive Behaviour

Explain the biological mechanisms by which stress can induce depressive behaviour. Introduction Depressive behaviour is a core feature of several major psychological disorders, most obviously major depression (MD) and depressive episodes of bipolar depression (BP). Depression is also frequently found to be co-morbid with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and with anxiety-related disorders (e. g. social phobia or OCD). Depression is the biggest major risk factor for self-harm and suicide, thus posing a real clinical problem to try to understand and reverse the mechanisms involved.Traditional anti-depressant treatment has only shown a modest benefit to placebos in treating the disorder; therefore, more effective drugs that target the right biological mechanisms are imminently needed. The majority of experimental research in the area has used rodents to test medication and model known psychopathological aspects of depression in humans, such as learned helplessness, cognitive def icits and increased co-morbidity with anxiety-related behaviours. There are many factors that may explain why some people (around 16% of the population) will experience a depressive episode in their lifetime and others won’t.Genetic vulnerability and epigenetic changes, psychosocial support, socioeconomic status or even climate-related factors all have to be considered in considering the right treatment for individual cases. Whilst the causal link between many of these and the onset of depression is somewhat inconclusive, the strong association between chronic mild stress (CMS) and depressive behaviour is now a huge area of research, resulting in the stress-induced model of depression.Even where there is evidence for the role of genes in depression, such as allele variants for the 5-HTT promoter region, it is shown to vary as a function of exposure to stressful life events. The mechanisms by which environmental stressors can lead to depressive behaviour have been explored tho roughly, with a strong focus on the role of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis and its dysfunction in depression. The consequent rise in levels of the glucocorticoid hormone cortisol, following HPA activation, has been shown to become chronic increased in depressed patients.This is thought to be due to the development of glucocorticoid resistance, whereby high levels of cortisol are present in the bloodstream and peripheral tissue but negative feedback to shut down the HPA axis no longer works. Due to the numerous roles of cortisol within the body, several biological processes may be affected as a consequence of CMS that may lead to depressive behaviour. Direct and indirect effects of HPA dysfunction include changes in immune response, neuronal damage, decreased rates of neurogenesis and the serotonin pathways.These processes tend to interact and exacerbate one another; therefore, understanding each proposed biological mechanism of stress-induced depression and their impa ct upon each other is likely to lead to a better treatment outcome. Acute Stress and the HPA Axis The experience of acute mild stress is a normal and adaptive process, triggered by an environmental ‘stressor’ deemed to be potentially harmful. From an evolutionary perspective, this serves to protect the individual from danger via activation of the sympathetic nervous system, preparing the individual for ‘fight or flight’ mode.Stress, as well as input from the amygdala, hippocampus and midbrain, directly activates the ‘stress response’ via the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. The first immediate response is the release of corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) from the hypothalamus, which travels to the pituitary where it binds to CRH Receptor 1 (CRHR1). CRH can also act directly on other brain regions, e. g. the amygdala at this early stage. CRH1 activation stimulates the release of adrenocorticotrophin release hormone (ACTH), which tr avels via the bloodstream to the kidneys, stimulating the delayed release of the glucocorticoid (steroid) cortisol.Cortisol acts throughout the body in all cells, via binding to cytoplasmic glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors (GR and MR) (see Figure 1). Figure 1: Cortisol can pass through the cell membrane due to its lipophillic properties. Binding of cortisol to the GR complex in the cytoplasm causes dissociation of GR from the complex, resulting in an active GR monomer. Two GRs then dimerise to form a GR dimer. This can act as a transcription factor in itself by attaching to Glucocorticoid Binding Elements (GBE), or it can interact with other Hormone Binding Elements and transcription factors to initiate gene transcription. http://jimlund. org/blog/? m=200910] A rise in cortisol levels, alongside CRH, leads to adaptive changes in behaviour, cognition and immune function. Importantly, this rise is followed by a negative feedback loop of cortisol and CRH acting upon its o wn receptors (NC3R1 and CHR2, respectively) to shut down the HPA axis once the ‘threat’ has been resolved. This homeostatic mechanism terminates the production of any more CRH and therefore brings cortisol levels back to baseline (pre-stressor), vital for returning the individual back to a normal ‘resting’ state.It is this negative feedback mechanism which has been shown to be disrupted in patients with depression. Chronic Stress and Glucocorticoid Resistance In a situation of CMS, the prolonged activation of the HPA axis leads to abnormally elevated cortisol levels. However, chronically elevated cortisol can be dangerous, due to its role in suppressing the immune system and increasing vulnerability to infection. It is possible that in order to counteract the constant influx of circulating cortisol causing potentially unwanted downstream effects, GRs in lymphocytes become unresponsive or resistant to glucocorticoids.This dysfunction of GRs is typically seen in depressed patients and has been shown numerous times using the dexamethasone suppression test (DST). Dexamethasone (a synthetic glucocorticoid) mimics cortisol by binding to GRs and shutting down HPA activity in healthy controls. Therefore, dexamethasone-treated individuals have almost no detectable cortisol over the course of the following day. On the other hand, in depressed patients, the DST doesn’t show any significant repression of HPA activity.Whilst they already show significantly higher overall levels of cortisol, they also show reduced suppression of dexamethasone during the DST. This shows that the GRs are unresponsive to glucocorticoids, leading to the typical feature of glucocorticoid resistance in depressed patients. The Inflammation/Cytokine Hypothesis Glucocorticoid resistance has important implications for immune system function. Under normal acute stress, cortisol suppresses lymphocytes in peripheral tissue from producing pro-inflammatory cytokines by act ivating intracellular GRs and leading to transcription of downstream regulatory genes.Key targets of GR-mediated transcription related to immune function include the upregulation of anti-inflammatory genes annexin-1, IL-10 and I? B? (inhibits NF-? B) and down-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine genes, such as IL1-6, 9, 11-13, 16-18 and TNF-?. However, glucocorticoid resistance following chronic stress can mean that lymphocytes stop responding to cortisol, so there is an increase in the proliferation of leukocytes and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines.The proposed mechanism for how these peripherally-generated cytokines are able to affect the central nervous system (CNS) involves several pathways. These cytokines (IL-1? , TNF-? and IL-6) cannot typically diffuse across the blood-brain-barrier, but they can enter the CNS in regions of high BBB permeability or be actively transported across the BBB by endothelial cell transporters. Additionally, without crossing the BBB, cyt okines are able to activate endothelial cells to produce soluble factors (e. g.PG-E2) to indirectly activate neurons, as well as activating certain afferent neurons (e. g. the vagus nerve) that carry information to the CNS about the inflammation. In these ways, peripheral inflammation can cause typical changes in the CNS and ‘sickness behaviour’ seen in depressed patients: lethargy, anhedonia, reduced locomotor activity and sleep and weight disturbances. Support for this proposed mechanism comes from findings that clinically depressed patients show an abnormally high production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1? IL-6 and TNF-? ), cytokine-based immunotherapy often causes depression in cancer or hepatitis C patients and cytokine administration causes depressive behaviour in animal models. Reversal of this depressive behaviour can be seen by administration of anti-depressants, which target and reduce the inflammatory response in both patients and animal models. In a sim ilar fashion, anti-inflammatories such as cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors or omega-3 have strong anti-depressant effects on behaviour. Inflammation-Induced NeurodegenerationAnother approach to modelling stress-induced depression has focused on the controversial findings of clinically depressed patients show changes in volume of structural brain regions, including the hippocampus, amygdala, anterior cingulated, prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia. The mechanisms by which some brain regions, in particular the hippocampus as implicated in stress-induced depression, might decrease in volume appear to be a combination of both neurodegeneration (increased apoptosis of neurons) and a decrease in adult neurogenesis in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus (DG).Stress-induced HPA hyper-activity may explain the atrophy seen in some brain regions of clinically depressed patients. Glucocorticoids stimulate the breakdown of tissue into glucose for the quick release of energy; therefore, ch ronically increased levels may result in brain tissue loss in regions where cortisol acts, such as the hippocampus. Furthermore, the link between stress, inflammation and an increase in oxidative stress may also explain a large portion of the neurodegeneration apparent in depression.Inflammation has been shown to increase oxidation and the fact that the CNS has no proper defence against oxidative damage makes it very vulnerable to oxidative stress (OS). This has been demonstrated as a key feature in neurodegenerative diseases and depression, implicating a causal role of stress-induced inflammation in triggering degeneration. The damage caused by OS can lead to mitochondrial dysfunction, which can lead to further intracellular build up of damaging oxidised proteins.The only way for cells to cope in this situation is to activate programmed cell death (apoptosis), or in less controlled circumstances, necrosis can occur, leading to a decline in cell numbers and lateral effects on the ne ural network. This mechanism of oxidative stress-induced neurodegeneration can be slowed down and treated by the application of antioxidant enzymes, which serve a neuro-protective role. These enzymes eradicate free radical oxidising particles and also suppress pro-inflammatory cytokine action.A further damaging feature seen in neurodegeneration and depression is nitrosative stress (NS), which may contribute to neurotoxicity and therefore cell death. An increase in the production of cortisol after acute stress will temporarily cause a suppression of neurogenesis in the DG. Neurogenesis in the DG has been demonstrated to be vital for healthy cognition and memory, impacting mood, the sleep-wake cycle and appetite; all affected in depression. Therefore, CMS leads to prolonged suppression of neurogenesis and may explain the behavioural outcomes typical of depression.The decrease in neurogenesis following exposure to stress may possibly involve the neurotrophin Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), shown to be greatly reduced in regions that also show a decrease in neurogenesis and related to brain regions typically affected in depression. Animal models exposed to CMS show decreased neurogenesis and BDNF levels in overlapping brain regions and elicit depressive behaviours associated with dysfunction of these regions. Furthermore, anti-depressant treatment that successfully increases BDNF levels also leads to recovery from depressive behavioural symptoms.However, the causation here is not clear; whether the BDNF levels dropping are a result of other stress-induced mechanisms or whether it is partly the cause of the behaviour. Some evidence suggests that anti-depressants can work independently of BDNF restoration. Hagen and colleagues set out to control for possible variables such as age, time of cortisol readings and overall brain volume. Whilst there has been no robust evidence for a link between baseline cortisol levels and hippocampal volume, this study did fi nd that hippocampal volume was negatively correlated with length of depressive episode pre-hospitalisation.Furthermore, better responsiveness (lowering of cortisol levels) after treatment was predicted by greater hippocampal volume (relative to overall brain volume). b) antineurogenic effects and reduced brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels; and c) apoptosis with reduced levels of Bcl-2 and BAG1 (Bcl-2 associated athanogene 1), and increased levels of caspase-3. Stress-induced inflammation, e. g. increased IL-1? , but not reduced neurogenesis, is sufficient to cause depression. Antidepressants a) reduce peripheral and central inflammatory pathways by decreasing IL-1? TNF? and IL-6 levels; b) stimulate neuronal differentiation, synaptic plasticity, axonal growth and regeneration through stimulatory effects on the expression of different neurotrophic factors, e. g. trkB, the receptor for brain-derived neurotrophic factor; and c) attenuate apoptotic pathways by activating Bc l-2 and Bcl-xl proteins, and suppressing caspase-3. It is concluded that external stressors may provoke depression-like behaviours through activation of inflammatory, oxidative, apoptotic and antineurogenic mechanisms.The clinical efficacy of antidepressants may be ascribed to their ability to reverse these different pathways. Neuronal damage and apoptosis Activation of the Kynurenine Pathway (KP) 5-HT Accumulated evidence indicates a role of the hippocampal 5-hydroxy-tryptamine (5-HT) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the response to stress and modulation of depression, but it is unclear whether and how the hippocampal 5-HT and NPY systems make contributions to chronic unpredicted mild stress (CUMS)-induced depression.Here we observed that rats receiving a variety of chronic unpredictable mild stressors for 3 weeks showed a variety of depression-like behavioral changes, including a significant reduction in body weight, sucrose preference, and locomotion, rearing and grooming in open fiel d test, and a significant increase in immobility time in forced swimming test. These CUMS-induced behavioral changes were suppressed or blocked by intra-hippocampal injection of 5-HT (31. 25 microg/microl) or NPY (10 microg/microl). These data suggest a critical role of reduced hippocampal 5-HT and NPY neurotransmission in CUMS-induced depression.

Patterns in Strategy Formation Essay

A critical summary of the article â€Å"Patterns in strategy formation† written by Henry Mintzberg, published in Journal Management Science Vol. 24, No. 9, (1978) A short overview The paper,†Patterns in strategy formation†, outlines a new kind of description to the much misunderstood process of strategy formation in organizations. After giving a short summary of the theme, the author, Henry Mintzberg, describes the term â€Å"strategy† and shows how the definition leads to the choice of a research methodology. Following this, he details the four steps of research methodology. With to completed, major studies about two organizations (Volkswagenwerk and the United States government in Vietnam) Mintzberg analyzes three central themes. The first is that strategy formation can be viewed as the interplay between a dynamic environment and bureaucratic momentum, with leadership mediating between the two. Second, that strategy formation over periods of time appears to follow distinct regularities, for example life cycles or change-continuity cycles within life cycle. And third the study of the interplay between intended and realized strategies may be central to the strategy formation process. Definition of strategy and the research methodology In the first section of the paper, Mintzberg describes the term †strategy†. Strategy is generally defined, whether in game, military or management theory, as a deliberate, conscious set of guidelines that determines decisions into the future. In common terminology, a strategy is a plan. Mintzberg illustrates that defining strategy as a plan is not sufficient, because if strategies can be intended, surely they can also be realized. A definition that encompasses the resulting behavior is therefore required. The author proposes to define strategy in general as a pattern in a stream of decisions. To clarify this definition of strategy, he introduces a few illustrations. For example, when Picasso painted blue for a time, that was a strategy †Blue Strategy†. This definition of strategy necessitated the analysis of decision streams in a organizations over time periods to detect the development and breakdown of patterns. Therefore Mintzberg subdivided the analysis of the studies into four central steps. 1st step: Collection of basic data. 2nd step: Inference of strategies and periods of change. 3rd step: Intensive analysis of periods of change. 4th step: Theoretical analysis. After giving a brief review of the periods of strategy in two organizations, using the terminology of the research, the author comes to the core of the paper, which is the presentation of some theoretical conclusions about strategy formation. Strategy formation as the interplay of environment, leadership and bureaucracy Mintzberg outlines strategy formation in most organizations as the interplay of three basic forces revolving around the dynamic environment that changes continuously but irregularly, organizational management or bureaucracy that attempts to stabilize the actions of the organizations whilst operating in the dynamic environment, and leadership of the organizations whose role is to mediate between the two forces. From this point of departure, the author provides a definition of strategy and of strategic change. †Strategy can then be viewed as the set of consistent behaviors by which the organization establishes for a time its place in its environment, and strategic change can be viewed as the organization’s response to environmental change, constrained by the momentum of the bureaucracy and accelerated or dampened by the leadership†. Mintzberg illustrates, that the two organizations (Volkswagenwerk and U.S. government in Vietnam) are stories of how bureaucratic momentum constrains and leadership dampens strategic change. In 1965, for example, when the United States government escalated the Vietnam war in a way that made the escalation inevitable, the new leadership, named Johnson, dampened the strategic change, under the environmental and bureaucratic pressures. Also in 1960, when action was needed in the face of an increasingly changed environment, the central leadership of Volkswagenwerk was not forthcoming. Patterns of strategic change According to Mintzberg, patterns of strategic change are never steady, but rather irregular and ad hoc, with a complex intermingling or periods of change, continuity. Even so, he recognizes some patterns in strategy formation that may enable organizations to understand better their strategic situations. The first pattern is the life cycle of an overall strategy, based on four phases: conception, elaboration, decay and death. The author illustrates that the case of Vietnam represents the classic strategic life cycle. The second pattern is the presence of periodic waves of change and continuity within the life cycle. This second pattern suggests that strategies do not commonly change incrementally. Rather, change takes place in spurts, each followed by a period of stability. Mintzberg notes, that nowhere is the change-continuity cycle better demonstrated than in the stepwise escalation of the Vietnam metastrategy. According to the author, the reason for the periods of change and continuity is that human do not react to phenomena continuously, but rather in discreet steps, when changes are large enough to be perceived. In a similar manner, strategic decision processes in organizations are not continuous, but irregular. Based on both studies, Mintzberg notes, that there are dangers in incremental changes. He argues that strategy-makers seem prepared to assume positions in incremental steps that they would never begin to entertain in global ones. On the other hand, global change is very difficult to conceive and execute successfully. According to the author, this is perhaps the strategy-maker’s greatest dilemma. The danger of incremental changes versus the difficulty of global changes. Interplay between intended and realized strategies The author identifies two kinds of strategies: intended and realized. He illustrates, that these two can be combined in three ways: Intended strategies that get realized, which are called deliberate strategies (e.g. the Volkswagen strategy of 1948 to 1958). Intended strategies that do not get realized, which are called unrealized strategies (e.g. Kennedy’s intended strategy of 1961 of advising the Vietnamese). Realized strategies that were never intended, which are called emergent strategies (e.g. the U.S. strategy of finding itself in a fighting instead of advising role). Furthermore, Mintzberg argues that it is possible to find a number of other relationships between intended and realized strategies, such as intended strategies that, as they get realized, change their form and become emergent; emergent strategies that get formalized as deliberate ones; or intended strategies that get overrealized. This view challenges the tenets of planning theory, which postulates that the strategy-maker formulates from on high while the subordinates implement lower down. Mintzberg argues that this dichotomy between strategy formulation and strategy implementation is a false one under certain conditions – e.g. the formulator isn’t fully informed or the environment isn’t sufficiently stable -, because it ignores the learning that must often follow the conception of an intended strategy. According to Mintzberg, another important point is that the formalization of an emergent strategy as the new, intended strategy is hardly incidental to the organization. The author states that the very act of explicating an implicit strategy changes fundamental the attitude of the bureaucracy and of the environment. He further argues that the very fact of making a strategy explicit provides a clear and formal invitation to the bureaucracy to run with it. But the author also notes that sometimes it can be risky to make strategy explicit, notably in an uncertain environment with an aggressive bureaucracy. He makes the point that the strategy-maker may awake one day to find that his intended strategy has somehow been implemented beyond his wildest intentions. It has been overrealized. Conclusion and critique on the paper In my estimation, the paper †Patterns in strategy formation† is very well-written. The author, Mintzberg, first describes what the paper will be all about. After that, he introduces the theme, strategy as a pattern in a stream of decisions, and shows how this definition leads naturally to the choice of a research methodology. After that, he explains the four steps of the analysis he will use to reviews the major periods of two organizations (Volkswagenwerk and U.S. government in Vietnam). By using these major studies he arouses the reader’s interest and creates a fundamental basis to examine and prove aspects, that strategy formation can be viewed as the interplay of environment, bureaucracy and leadership, that that strategy formation appears to follow distinct regularities and that the study of the interplay between intended and realized strategies may be central to the strategy formation process. Furthermore, he admits that this studies constitute a limited data base, but they do call into question a number of assumptions about the process of strategy formation in organizations, e.g. that a strategy is not a fixed plan, that dichotomy between strategy formulation and strategy implementation is a false one under certain common conditions or that it can sometimes be risky to make strategy explicit. Some general conclusions suggested by these studies are complex and very difficult to understand but, nevertheless, the well-disposed reader understands the approach. This is mainly because, he explains his statements on this two studies closely. To sum up, the paper is well-structured and of a good concept. Furthermore, the paper ties in with very important and interesting research-fields in strategy management.

Based on a long common law history and once an important measure in sales contracts, s.13 Sale of Goods Act 1979 has now become unnecessary and irrelevant.’

Introduction Section 13 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 was previously considered an important measure in sales contracts. It now appears irrelevant and unnecessary and therefore in need of abandonment.This essay will discuss why s.13 is no longer relevant by analysing its flaws and demonstrating how the requirement that ‘goods must match their description’ can be enforced elsewhere. Overview of Section 13 Sale of Goods Act 1979 Section 13 of the Sale of Goods Act (SGA) 1979 states that where there is a contract for the sale of goods by description, there exists an implied term that the goods will correspond with that description. This section only applies to goods that are sold by their description only. If the buyer has the chance to see the goods before making their purchase, then this section cannot be relied upon. An example of this can be seen in the case of Harlingdon & Leinster v Christopher Hull Fine Art [1991] 1 QB 564 where goods were described as a Gabrielle Munter painting in an auction catalogue. Both the buyers and sellers were London art dealers, yet the sellers were not experts in German paintings whilst the buyers were. The buyers also sent there experts to inspect the painting before agreeing to purchase the painting for ?6000. The buyers sought to rely on s.13 when it was found that the painting was a fake, but it was held that the sale was not by description because an expert had been s ent to inspect the painting. This indicates that even if goods are originally being sold by description, once a buyer has had the opportunity to inspect the goods they can no longer seek protection under s.13. Rejection of Goods not Matching Exact Description In Arcos v Ranaason [1933] AC 470 it was demonstrated that the duty of the seller is extremely strict (Atiya et al; 2010: 154). Here, a buyer was entitled to reject goods that were described as being 1/2 an inch thick on the basis that some of them were slightly less than this. Even though the quality of the goods was not affected, it was said that the goods were not as described and could therefore be rejected. This is likely to cause many problems as the purchaser in the Arcos case had simply changed his mind about purchasing the goods and then sought to rely on s.13 to reject them even though the description did not prevent him from using the goods for their intended purpose. As s.13 is narrowly interpreted, it is capable of being used in circumstances that would seem inappropriate. In Re Moore & Landauer [1921] 2 KB 519 it was held that the purchaser was entitled to reject goods that were described as being packed in cases of 30 when they were packed in cases of 24. This was des pite the fact that the overall number of goods was correct. Arguably, s.13 is interpreted very strictly and a slight deviation from the description of the goods will be enough for a purchaser to reject them. Narrow Interpretation of Section 13 As pointed out by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills; â€Å"Description takes on a very narrow meaning, referring only to the commercial characteristics of the goods† (BIS, 2010: 24). Statements that have been made about the goods, or aspects of the specification of the goods are not covered by s.13, illustrating it’s restrictiveness (Ashington Piggeries Ltd. v Christopher Hill Ltd. [1971] 1 All ER 847). This section also appears to conflict with the European Union Directive 99/44/EC which provides that the â€Å"description† of goods will also include the â€Å"description given by the seller†. The Directive thus appears to encompass a wider range of characteristics, thereby providing extra protection to the sale of goods. Sections 3, 8, 11C and 11I of the Supply of Goods and Services Act (SGSA) 1982 and s.9 of the Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act (SG(IT)A) 1973 also have identical provisions to s.13. Because of this, it is questionable w hy s.13 is needed given that its application is extremely rigid. The requirement that goods must match their description can be found in other pieces of legislation, thus demonstrating that s.13 is no longer necessary or relevant. Section 13 Unnecessary and Irrelevant Section 13 was originally only supposed to apply to commercial sales of unascertained or future goods (Brown, 1990: 561). In such instances, a description of the goods would have been a necessary requisite which sellers would have provided to purchasers before a sales contract was entered into (Sealey and Hooley, 2008: 401). Since the Harlingdon & Leinster case, however, it seems as though s.13 is now being applied to sales of specific goods. Reliance upon description is not an essential ingredient, which is unjustifiable in that contracts can be rescinded in circumstances which they would not otherwise have been. The parties will also be required to demonstrate that they intended for the description to be a term of the contract if they want to find a breach of contract; Drake v Thos Agnew & Sons Ltd [2002] EWHC 294 (QB). Consequently, s.13 is no longer relevant in the 21st century as protection can be sought against wrongly described goods through other provisions. Conclusion Overall, it seems as though s.13 is in fact irrelevant and unnecessary in the 21st Century. Whilst it was previously thought to be an important component is contract sales, it is no longer required as a result of superseding legislation and because of its narrow interpretation by the courts. It could be argued that s.13 therefore needs abandoning as it seems to prevent purchasers from rescinding a contract if they had a chance to inspect goods even if they were later found to be fraudulent. This is largely unfair as a fraudulent painting may not be easily identifiable at first and may require a more thorough inspection which could not be achieved without first making a purchase. Whilst goods must always match their description, goods which fail to do so will be protected through other legislative provisions. As such, s. 13 is no longer needed and does not seem as relevant as it once was. References Atiya, P. S. Adams, J. and Macqueen, L H. (2010) Atiya’s Sale of Goods, Pearson Education, 12th Edition. Brown, I. (1990) ‘Forgery, Fine Art and the Sale of Goods’ Law Quarterly Review, 561-564. Department for Business Innovation & Skills. (2010) ‘Consolidation and Simplification of UK Consumer Law’ BIS, accessed 08 December 2014. Sealey, L. S. and Hooley, R. J. A. (2008) Commercial Law: Text, Cases and Ma terials, OUP Oxford, 4th Edition. Case Law Arcos v Ranaason [1933] AC 470 Ashington Piggeries Ltd. v Christopher Hill Ltd. [1971] 1 All ER 847 Drake v Thos Agnew & Sons Ltd [2002] EWHC 294 (QB) Harlingdon & Leinster v Christopher Hull Fine Art [1991] 1 QB 564 Re Moore & Landauer [1921] 2 KB 519.

Paper 2 Health Pamphlet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Paper 2 Health Pamphlet - Essay Example AIDS has no definite cure and the world community has only been able to reduce its spread and/or reducing its effect rate on a victim already infected. For this reason, HIV/AIDS has been described as a worldwide disaster. According to National Institute of Health (NIH) (2011), as an example, more than one million US citizens live with HIV/AIDS so far. Worse still, AIDS is one of the leading killer diseases of the world (NIH, 2011). Since the disease can be controlled both medically and morally, it becomes important to let different societies know of its nature. HIV/AIDS symptoms AIDS is more of a health condition than a disease – it only destroys the immune system – and it is difficult to tell recently infected people from healthy ones. However, victims start progressively becoming weak as time goes by (NIH, 2011). Similarly, the victim’s body becomes vulnerable to most human diseases. Sooner, the victim starts getting various illnesses that do not heal easily du e to the weakened immune system. As the disease advances, each illness is manifested by distinct symptoms. In general, according to NIH (2011), early likely symptoms (2-3 months after infection) include headache, fever, tiredness and enlargement of lymph nodes around the neck and groin areas while later symptoms (4 months and more) include: speedy weight loss; constant fever; constant tiredness; prolonged and pronounced lymph glands swellings in neck, armpits and groin; constant diarrhea; sores around anus, genitals and mouth; pneumonia; blotches around major orifices; loss of memory; stress; and depression among various other neurologic disorders. Risk factors The HIV virus is found in four kinds of body fluids: semen, blood, vaginal fluid and breast milk. Activities that lead to direct contact with these fluids are the risk factors. They include but not limited to: engaging sex with multiple partners or with strangers without protection; recklessly sharing of intravenous injection equipment; having other sexually transmitted infections (for example, genital herpes, gonorrhea and syphilis among others); having illnesses such as tuberculosis and hepatitis; prostitution; and unknowingly passing HIV from mother to fetus, during birth or during breastfeeding. It is important to note that HIV virus cannot survive for too long outside the body (it is a parasite in living body cells only) and that any other activity that does not result in direct contact with infected body fluids named above cannot lead to infection at all (NIH, 2011). Quality of life Often, AIDS is mistakenly taken as a bad omen in many societies. HIV victims tend to give up their dignity and thus they mostly suffer from depression, have low self esteem, and, of course, their health condition deteriorates. This leads to poor quality of life at personal level and low life expectancy in general. However, although AIDS is an incurable condition, there are several mechanisms that are used today to redu ce AIDS effects so as to lengthen life of the victims and/or to stop the HIV spreading. These include: advising victims and their caregivers on the right diet; health education for the public awareness; use of medication such as antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) (ARVs suppress the number and activity of HIV viruses in the body); and social motivation. With proper

LNG & LPG vs. Kerosene in Fueling Aircrafts Essay

LNG & LPG vs. Kerosene in Fueling Aircrafts - Essay Example Indeed, there are high-tech types of aircrafts in the world that use different forms of energy, improved technology, and carrying many passengers. Nevertheless, there are other factors that affect the operations in the aviation industry that include environmental factors, price of fuel and other aircraft equipment, and the development of more effective and convenient sources of energy (Federal Aviation Administration, 2009). However, this paper will address the issue of fueling different types of aircrafts in different parts of the world and at different environments. More so, the paper will compare all relevant factors that relate to the usage of kerosene, LPG, and LNG in fueling aircrafts. Ideally, powerful piston engines and jet turbines that run aircraft engines require more combustible and complicated engine fuels than other engines including vehicles. Most importantly, the technological development of aircraft fuels and other relevant technological advancements have a huge impa ct on the engine fuels that aircrafts use today. Indeed, the invention of jet engines propagated a big challenge for engine designers since such engines require fuels that take time to vaporize not like Avgas that turns to gaseous state so easily. Nevertheless, the newly invented equally have other requirements thus mandating the aircraft engineers to use kerosene or a kerosene-gasoline mix instead of gasoline alone. Furthermore, certain types of aircraft operations require specific types of fuel to operate. However, regardless of the used type of jet fuel, all jet fuels must attain the standards aircraft turbine engines and fuel systems requirements. Actually, all aircraft engine fuels must be free from oxidation deposits in high-temperature zones and must be pristine. In the aviation industry, aircraft engineers rate the effectiveness of jet fuels according to its level of octane (U.S Centennial of Flight Commission, n.y). In fact, aircraft engineer prescribe high amounts of octan e in jet fuels as they effectively permit a powerful piston engine to burn its fuel. For many years, the aviation industry used the same kind of gasoline to power aircraft engines. However, after various studies and engine technological developments, they realized that gasoline was not efficient for powering the large, powerful engines used by piston-driven airplanes. Hence, the introduction of JET B fuel in civilian aviation. Though expensive, JET B fuel performs superbly in cold-weather performance and is in the class of naphtha-kerosene. Nevertheless, JET B fuel has a lighter composition making it dangerous to handle and thus not applicable in cold weather. Notably, aircraft combustors demand for jet fuels that are smokeless, that atomize and combust at low temperatures, and release adequate heat. Such fuels should also ignite with controlled radiation and cause no attack to hot turbines (ALGLAS, 2012). Furthermore, long-duration flights, and high altitudes equally necessitate fo r jet fuels with specified requirements. However, flight engineers use petroleum to manufacture almost all jet fuels in the world today. Nevertheless, we still have a small percentage of jet fuels from oil sands, shale oil, natural gas, and coal. Actually, kerosene and paraffin oil-based fuel are the most common jet fuels mostly known as JET A-1.Indeed, JET A-1fuel draws world recognition as it complies with international standards of jet fuel specifications (ALGLAS, 2012). There are concerned efforts to develop other jet fuel plants and move away from the high cost synthetic fuels manufacturers. Indeed, the United States America imports synthetic fuel since it does not have Fischer-Tropsch plants to manufacture jet fuel. Assuredly,

Paragraph Answer Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Paragraph Answer - Coursework Example The latter was overthrown, but there emerged a need to develop new rules for living in the community. Moreover, these rules had to be followed by all the parties and suit everybody. After the patrimonial aristocracy was defeated, Cleisthenes became the head of Athens, 508 BC. He immediately embarked on reforms that were to consolidate the victory of the demos and put an end to the danger of the revival of the power of one person or aristocracy. In fact, there occurred the democratization of the political system of Athens. By the middle 5th century BC, Athens developed a complete and in own way perfect form of the ancient slave-owning democracy. Athenian version of democracy to a certain extent made possible the expression of every citizen of the state; while the main aim remained was the power and prosperity of the state. The elimination of the king’s regime in the Ancient Rome marked the end of the process of destruction of the patrimonial organization of the previous epoch, whose speakers were the aristocracy, and the establishment of the civil society and early state (civitas). Republican victory over the clan aristocracy showed the victory of slave ownership over the classical patriarchal ownership (family household). It also signed the radical change of the role of the Senate. In the royal era, the Senate was the council of elders of the kings. They determined the fate of the Senators and the Senate individually and spontaneously. Kings either increased the number of senators or eliminated them all. In the era of the republican Senate, it was the supreme governing body in the state, a stronghold of nobility. The resulting Roman Republic was not democratic state (slave-owning democracy). It became an aristocratic republic, in spite of the fact that all positions in the state were elected. All decisions were taken by Senate. In this respect, there ended an era of the kings and began the era of the domination of the nobility. Nobility was a new aristoc racy that formed as a result of the equalization in rights of plebeians and patricians and the merging of the patricians’ families with plebeians top. So, the prevention of the tyranny of the single rule of one person did not work accurately, because the newly formed nobility gradually seized the leadership of the Senate and the senior civil posts. After the elimination of the tyrannical regimes in the Ancient Greece and Rome, the societies were aiming to prevent the establishment of such regimes in the future. According to the Ancient conception of democracy, equally free people had to be equal in all respects; oligarchy arises from the fact that in some respect superior people claim too much. From the above, it is clear that both, in Athens and in Rome, they established a kind of democratic regimes that contained a number of the core features of the modern understanding of democracy. Among the latter was attracting people to the most important political decisions through th e citizens’ assembly. The access to the assembly had all the citizens of the certain age. All citizens were formally equal in their right of participating and managing public affairs. The ancient

Monopoly Is against Public Interest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Monopoly Is against Public Interest - Essay Example The rigid requirements of pure monopoly make it rare in the real world. It has a number of unfavorable features due to which whenever the government sees that monopolization may occur, they intervene to prevent it or to limit monopolist’s pricing decision. Following is the comparison of different forms of market ATTRIBUTES OF DIFFERENT FORMS OF MARKET Market Form Number of Firms in the Market Frequency in Reality Entry Barriers Public Interest Results Long Run Profit Equilibrium condition Perfect Competition Very many Rare (if any) None Good Zero MC = MR = AC = AR = P Pure Monopoly One Rare Likely to be High Outputs not optimal May be high MC = MR Monopolistic Competition Many Widespread Minor Inefficient Zero MC = MR AC= AR Oligopoly Few Produces large share of GDP Varies Varies Varies Varies Source: Baumol William J., Blinder Alan S., 2007. Microeconomics: Principles and Policy, 10th ed., OH: Cengage Learning. In this table, the attributes of pure monopoly appear to be again st public interest in comparison to other forms of market hence this idea will be discussed in further detail. Monopoly and Public Interest The reason of monopoly of a particular firm might be legal protection such as copyrights, patent or license. There could be higher barriers of entry or distinguished factors of production that are possessed by a particular firm only or economies of scale; higher volume of production make firms more efficient through cost advantage. In such cases, we may say that the firm has a natural monopoly (Braun 2003). Once a firm becomes big enough in comparison to the size of the market of the product, its cost advantage may drive other firms out of competition. In this way, it is the size of the firm relative to the total market demand for the product that creates monopoly of a particular firm. For example, a bank or a petrol pump or gas station located in a rural area may be natural monopolies due to its presence in a location where there is no competit ion (Eisenach, Lenard, Progress & Freedom Foundation (U.S.) 1999). Whether it is pure monopoly or natural monopoly the question arises, what might be the public interest? Theoretically, consumers want to get maximum benefit from their money or want to pay relatively the lowest price to get relatively highest benefit. Consumers also seek higher quality of products and consumption. They also look for a range products and manufacturers. Consumers may fail to rule the market as in monopoly they have only little or no alternatives available. Conventionally, monopoly is considered as a harmful market structure that brings unfavorable consequences to consumers and the economy at large. Competition is always encouraged in the market. The monopoly power of firms threatens the public interest. Monopolistic power is defined as the ability of a firm to earn higher profit by elevating and keeping the price of their products considerably above the levels at which those products would be offered i n competitive market. Firm with monopolistic power always enjoys market dominance irrespective of the fact that they are pricing their products really high as they have no competitors to grab their share of market. The reason that goes against public interest in monopoly is always the higher level

MANAGING ORGANIZATIONS & LEADING PEOPLE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

MANAGING ORGANIZATIONS & LEADING PEOPLE - Essay Example Among them are golf clubs, fine dining, and boating. It also provides parasailing, yacht charters, luxury lodging and unmatched concierge services. All the hotels under Shangri-la are branded five-star Shangri-la and four-star Traders. The hotel was founded in Singapore by a Malaysian-Chinese tycoon named Robert Kuok. Its growth is also attributed from quick differentiation that management of the company engaged in, distancing it from the competition. Differentiation enabled Shangri-la Company to provide distinctive Asian standards of hospitality and services. After some time in service, the company garnered popularity and recognition internationally. It received awards and recognition from prestigious publications and industry partners. By the year 2006, the hotel had expanded its jurisdictions to hotel ownership and operations. It accommodated property development, and hotel management services. Rapid expansion of the companies began in the 1980s in Asia. By the year 1999, Shangri- la had 35 hotels across Asia. In the year 2000, Shangri-la began expanding its territories of operation beyond Asia. In 2003, the Traders Hotel Dubai established Shangri-la in United Arab Emirates. It was also established in Sydney, Australia, North America, and Europe. In order to achieve expansively and effectiveness, Shangri-la used a 5- level organizational design. Each level had separate guidelines and discretion. The name Shangri-la was adapted do reflect the company philosophy for hospitality for caring people. The theory is strongly supported in every branch of the company and all employees of the company from top most-senior employees to the junior employees. The Shangri-la hotel primary leaders act to change rather than direct. Normally, the primary leader is involved in influencing others so that they can all work together. Shangri-la advocates for their functions to maintain three functional pillars (Martin, 2006). The functional pillars are the leadership

Scale Construction Evaluation Project and report Essay

Scale Construction Evaluation Project and report - Essay Example A., & Lefcourt, H. M. ,1983; Miczo, N, 2004) It alleviates stress and can be resorted to in building stronger interpersonal relationships. Studies on humor’s implications on physical health have likewise been done and it shows that â€Å"there is very little evidence of stress-moderating effects of humor on health-related outcomes, using existing self-report measures of sense of humor and life events measures of stress† (Martin, 2001, conclusion, para. 13). However, it was also contended that certain types of humor may be effective with certain types of stress. Self-report measures of humor have been developed and used in studies on humor. The Situational Humor Response Questionnaire (SHRQ), (Martin & Lefcourt, 1984) measures respondents’ degree to which they smile and laugh in a wide variety of situations. The Coping Humor Scale (CHS), (Martin & Lefcourt, 1983), participants evaluate how they use humor as a coping strategy. The Sense of Humor Questionnaire (SHQ-6), (Svebak, 1996) evaluates different components of the humor process and the Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale (MSHS), (Thorson & Powell, 1993) investigates different humor behaviors such as humor creation and humor appreciation. In 1999, Martin and associates (Phulik-Doris and Martin, 1999) developed a humor scale measuring four humor styles: Social humor (tendency to share humor with others to put them at ease and enhance relationships); Self-enhancing humor (tendency to maintain a humorous outlook on life even when not with others, to cope with stress or to cheer oneself up); Self-defeating humor (tendency to amuse others by self-disparagement to hide one’s true feelings from self and others); and Hostile humor (tendency to use offensive humor to put down or manipulate others). This 60-item Likert-type format questionnaire has been developed and validated by Puhlik-Doris and Martin (1999) in a large Canadian sample. This original version of the Humor Styles Questionnaire was

The country of Armagede Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The country of Armagede - Essay Example A wild animal refuge spans an area of some 1500 miles to the south. This refuge is heavily guarded against poachers and contributes more than three million dollars a year in tourism dollars that offset the cost of the reserve and contribute to the hospitality and cultural art industries in the country. The country supports a population of 4,763,271 Armagede nationals with about population of 3,445,192 who are largely subsistent farmers with a per capita income of about population of $223. The largest concentration of citizens is in the two largest cities in the north and south where residents are employed in government jobs. There is a population of approximately 544 people per square mile. In the past decade the country has begun to maintain vital statistic and economic records that help show a continuing improvement in the country’s economic indicators. The per capita income has increased by nearly 5% per household over the past decade, as represented by the graph below. The re is one university, Aduine University, in the north, a state sponsored university staffed largely by well educated professors from countries that offer incentives for foreign academic services. Most of the graduates go on to work for the government and in state sponsored elementary, middle schools and high schools. A large number of graduates leave the country for graduate studies in medicine and law, but statistics support the fact that these individuals return to Armagede upon completion of their studies.

Video game Essay Example for Free

Video game Essay Video game is one of the popular medium used by children and young adults. Aside from the Televisin and movie, video game is also used by the public as a way of entertainment. Due to its profound way of entertainment the popularity of video games had increased its rating. Video game is a form of entertainment, which application requires interaction with the person playing it. The use of video game is applicable to all ages, meaning everyone is capable of playing video games. However, over exposure to video games have negative effect to life of an individual Just like the television and movie, video games has the ability to influenced its audience. Decades of research clearly indicates that violent television shows and movie can create negative effect on the behavior of a person. At present time, most of the video games are portraying violence. Also, violent video games has negative psychological effect on the person like the movie and television. Violent video games can effect sudden psychological changes on the person engaged to it. Research shows that the effect of violent video games can be seen on the increse of agressive behavior of those who are exposed to it. Statistics show that most of the person exposed with violent video games had develop aggressive with the way they – talk, think and feel. Among children the effect of violent video game is negative. Most children are spending more time playing violent video games everyday than studying. Research shows that violent video games promtes violence to children than learning healthy ways to deal with other people to resolve differences in a peaceful manner. Also. due to excessive violent video game habit of children the statistics of failing marks in schools had increased. Violent video games has a negative effect in the society. Like any violent movie and television shows, violence in video game also has negative effect in the society. Through violent video games, the people in some instances gather violent ideas. Effect of violent video game can be related to death or crime among students. Also, effects violent video games affect the number of street violence involving weapons – guns, baseball bats and knives. Violent video games also has an effect to the life of students. Due to violent video games the students tend to play more violent video games than study their lesson. According to latest research effects of violent video games can be related to argument with teachers and poor performance in school. Also, increased number of physical fight incidents inside the campus is the effect of violent video games among students.

Esistance and conductive putty Essay Example for Free

Esistance and conductive putty Essay The aim of this investigation is to find out the relationship between resistance and conductive putty, and to see how length of putty affects this relationship. The Experiment: Conductive putty is specially designed to be a conductor; this is achieved by adding carbon black. This can easily be used to prove the concept of resistivity because it is malleable and so the cross-sectional area, length and shape can easily be changed. This experiment will show the effects on resistance in a circuit, as the length of putty decreases. I will be using 30cm of putty, and decreasing it by 5cm each time. First the voltage of the battery will be taken using a voltmeter, and this will be recorded at the start of the experiment. Then a circuit will be constructed containing the battery, the ammeter and putty. See diagram. For each different length of putty, a reading will be recorded from the ammeter and when the practical has been completed, I will work out the resistance using the formula R=VI. From those results I will draw a graph and then evaluate and conclude my experiment. Diagram: Constants: My constants include the weight of my putty I am going to start each experiment with 50g of putty. I will also sustain the same thickness of putty throughout my experiment, and the same battery will be used constantly. Variables: Possible variables in this experiment are temperature, voltage, cross-sectional area, mass, surface area and length. My variable is going to be the length of my putty, which will decrease by 5cm each time. I am going to start each experiment, using 30cm of putty. Fair Test: To ensure my results are as accurate as possible, I will make sure my experiment is a fair test. For this, there should only be one variable. Other procedures can ensure it is a fair test, such as accurately measuring the putty to make sure it is decreased by 5cm exactly every time. The same battery should be used throughout the experiment and to guarantee no results are anomalous, the experiment will be conducted three times and a mean average will be taken from each result. Prediction and Hypothesis: I predict that the resistance will be directly proportional to the length of the conductor so that if the length is doubled, the resistance will double providing all other factors remain constant. My hypothesis for this is that conductors have lower resistance when they are shorter because the electrons have a shorter distance to travel so more energy is conserved since there are fewer collisions, and the current is higher. In the longer lengths, as free electrons move from atom to atom some energy given off to heat. The longer a conductor is, the more energy is lost to heat. The additional energy loss subtracts from the energy being transferred through the conductor, resulting in a decrease in current flow and an increase in resistance Safety: The conductive putty is a harmless, non toxic and non-staining, however if gloves are not worn, your hands become black and you will need to wash them. A lab coat should be worn to minimize marks on clothes and the experiment is conducted on a tray to reduce the possibility of a messy workspace. Apparatus list: 50g of conductive putty 2 coins Tray to work on Knife Ammeter Ruler Voltmeter Wires Crocodile clips Gloves Method: Put on gloves and rolled putty into 30cm long piece on the tray, trying to keep the thickness consist ant. Used voltmeter recorded the voltage of the battery. Connected battery to ammeter, and connected ammeter and other terminal of battery to putty by putting crocodile clips on the ends of the wires, clipping them to coins and placing coins at either end of the putty, this was done to make a reliable connection. See circuit diagram. Recorded reading from ammeter. Measured 5cm of putty with ruler and cut with knife. Re-attached putty to circuit. Repeated process, deducting 5cm from puttys length each time, recording the reading from the ammeter. Repeated experiment three times, which will enable me to spot anomalous results. Results: I have calculated the resistance using the formula: R=V/I. Resistance is measured in ohms and the unit uses the symbol ?. Experiment 1 battery voltage = 6. 12V: Length of putty in cm Amps in A Resistance in ? Analysis of Results: This graph shows me the results for all three of my experiments, and there is a line of best fit for each experiment. There are some inaccuracies as the voltage was slightly different for each experiment, and I feel that points for the later experiments are also out. This is visible in my results and is maybe due to the fact that the same piece of putty was used for all three experiments, and so heat from my hands must have affected results. I have taken the averages of my results. Length of putty in cm Resistance in ? These are my average results. These results were plotted on a graph (see graph) and they show a visible decrease in resistance as the length of putty decreases. This would prove my prediction and hypothesis to be correct, as it states that the putty will have lower resistance when the length is shorter rather than longer or the resistance of a conductor is directly proportional to its length; due to factors such as loss of energy to heat, higher rate of collisions etc.(see prediction and hypothesis) However, when looking at my graph I noticed that the two points representing the shortest lengths of putty were out. This could be because as the putty was being worked, rolled and cut throughout the experiment it had become warmer and softer due to the heat from our hands; this could have affected the resistance. Evaluation: My results have proven my prediction and hypothesis to be correct, in that resistance is directly proportional to the length of the conductor, in this case the conductive putty. I think my results were quite accurate, but what may have let them down was the fact that the batterys voltage was slightly different for each experiment and the coins used to connect the wire to the putty, did not stay in place very well. I also noticed there was often a big jump in amps and resistance between 10cm and 5cm of putty. This can be seen by looking at my results and the graph, and I have concluded that this is probably caused by my hands transferring heat to the putty by means of conduction, as the putty is regularly in contact with my hands during the experiments. I expect this could be separate experiment, in which we could investigate how temperature affects resistance. If this experiment was going to be redone, then I think I might use a new battery for each experiment, and record the voltage as constant for all experiments. Also I would maybe use a different method to connect the wires to the putty, like maybe sticking the wires directly and vertically into the ends of the putty. Another thing to do would be to use temperature or even cross-sectional area as a variable alongside length, and to do a series of experiments involving increasing the length while decreasing the cross-sectional area, and vice versa. Conclusion: I think this experiment was a success in that it proved the theory that resistance is lower with shorter lengths of conductor and my hypothesis declares that as the electrons have a shorter distance to travel if the length is shorter, there are fewer collisions and less energy is lost to heat unlike in a longer length of conductor, so the putty will have lower resistance. Therefore my hypothesis was correct and I have successfully concluded my experiment proving that resistance is directly proportional to the length of conductor. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Electricity and Magnetism section.

Construction Procurement Methods Compared

Construction Procurement Methods Compared Procurement is comes from the word of procure which is means to bring about and to acquire. Method is about organized method, technique, process or procedure (Rosli Abdul Rashid 2006). Procurement method is an overall management structure and specific management practices used in the project such as houses, office buildings, shopping complex, roads, bridges etc. Traditionally, clients who wished to have projects constructed would invariably commission a designer, normal an architect for building projector an engineer for civil engineering projects. The designer would prepare drawings for the proposed scheme and, where the project was a sufficient size, a quantity surveyor would prepare estimates and documentation on which contractors could prepare their prices. Each of the different methods has been used at some time in the industry. New procurement systems will continue to be developed to meet new requirements and demands from clients, contactor and the professions (Allan Ashworth, 2008). There are many more types of procurement systems used in the construction industry nowadays. However, the focus is only on the type of procurement systems that commonly used in Malaysia for example traditional system, design and build, management contracting and construction management. 2.1 Concept of Traditional System Traditional System is also known as Design-Bid-Build (DBB). It is most common use in the construction industry. With this option, the client appoint an architect to prepare a brief, a scheme outline and working drawings, and to invite tenders and administer the project though issuing instructions, inspecting the work under construction and preparing certificates for payment. In another word, architect is to prepare design proposals to meet the client requirements. The architect may also, with the clients approval, appoint other consultant such as quantity surveyor and structural engineers. The contractor, who has no responsibility for the design, will usually be selected by competitive tendering. The design team work independently from the contractor, who is responsible for executing the construction work in accordance with the teams of the contract (Allan Ashworth, 2008). 2.1.1 Contractual relationships of Traditional System The client is in direct contractual relationship with the consultants on the one hand and the contractor on the other. Any contractual links for only where they clients make nominations is it advisable to recommend collateral agreements to protect his interests in respect of any matters which might lie outside the building contract (Stanley Cox and Hugh Clamp, 2003). 2.1.2 Management Relationship of Traditional System The figure 2.3 is the management relationship of the traditional system. Architect is as the lead designer to coordinate with Engineers on the part of M E works. Architects are also to ensure that the design complies with the local authority requirements. Besides that, Architects is to manage the whole project and supervise the works. Contractors to execute and complete the building works based on the design and specifications in the contracts. Contractors are to coordinate with the nominated Sub-contractors (NSC) on specialist works. 2.1.3 Advantages of Traditional System The quality of work is control by Client. Client can achieve the best price through competitive tendering. Clients can easily request any variation of the works. Clients interest is protected by the Consultants who serve as advisors and independent certifies in the building contracts. 2.1.4 Disadvantages of Traditional System From inception to completion of the project need relatively longer period. The communication channel among various consultants may be incompetent. Client maybe too difficult to coordinate with the various consultants. 2.2 Concept of Design Build Design Build (D B) is a procurement system where a single organization undertakes the responsibilities and risks for both the design and construction phased. There may be various levels of employer involvement in the design: in the pure form of D B, the client engages a building contractor at the outset who is then responsible both for the design and the construction of the work. The typical payment method for D B is a lump sum, payable in monthly installments, based on a cost document that forms part of the Contractor s Proposals which is itself a tendered or negotiated response to the Employers Requirements, documents that form the basis of the contract (W.Hughes, 2006). With D B, it is likely that in the absence of in-house professional staff, the client will wish to engage outside consultants to advise on the preparation of requirements and to evaluate and select tenders etc. the main contractual link is between client and the contractor and the clients agent or representative has only a limited role. The contractor might also have a contractual link with his own design consultants, and with sub-contractors and suppliers. As the contractor is wholly responsible for their performance, both in terms of design and construction, there might be less need for collateral agreements between them and the clients (Stanley Cox and Hugh Clamp, 2003). 2.2.1 Contractual relationships of Design Build With a design and build arrangement, instead of using and architect or engineer for a separate design service, the client chooses to employ a contractor directly for an all-in design and construction services. It may also be necessary and desirable to employ independent professional advisers to monitor the progress and quality of the contractors work and to agree the value of interim certificate for payment purposes (Allan Ashworth, 2008). 2.2.2 Management Relationship of Design Build The figure 2.5 is the management relationship of the D B. Clients state his requirements through his consultants who prepares the Employers Requirement or conceptual design. D B Contractor is prepares the details design and prepare the cost proposals to the client. Therefore, successful D B contractors are responsible for designing, planning, organizing, constructing and controlling the whole project. The scope of the design obligation needs to be set out as clearly as possible. 2.2.3 Advantages of Design Build Ease of communication- Client only needs to liaise with one party i.e DB Contractor, it is direct contact with the client. Saving in time and cost of construction. The contractors experience with the project from inception. The option for contractor s to include their constructing capability in the proposed design. No claim for possible delays due to a lack of drawn information. 2.2.4 Disadvantages of Design Build Design possibilities are not explored in full and tend to be restricted by the D B Contractors standard design and construction method. Quality of materials may be compromised in view of the D B Contractors profit. Client is discouraged to order any variations of works. Client must select only D B Contractor with good reputation and track record. 2.3 Concept of Management Contracting The term management contracting is used to describe a method of organizing the project team and operating the construction process. The management contracting acts in a professional capacity, providing the management expertise and buildability requirement to the overheads and profits involved in return for a fee. The contractor does not therefore participate in the profitability of the construction work itself and does not directly employ any of the labour and plant, except possibly for those items involved in setting up of the site and the costs normally associated with preliminary works. Because the contractor is employed on a fee basis, the appointment can take place early during the design stage. The contractor is therefore able to provide a substantial input into the practical aspects of the building technology process. Each trade required for the project is tendered for independently by subcontractor, either upon the basis of the measured work packages or a lump sum. This should therefore result in the lowest cost for each trade and thus for the construction work as a whole. The management contractor assumes full responsibility for the control of the work on site (Allan Ashworth, 2008). 2.3.1 Contractual relationships of Management Contracting The contractual relationship in a management contract is between the client and the management contractor, with all works contactor in direct relationship with the latter. It may also be desirable to establish a contractual relationship between the client and each work contactors by means a collateral agreement. In construction management the contractual relationship is between the client and the construction manager, with all trades contractors in direct relationship with the former (Stanley Cox and Hugh Clamp, 2003). 2.3.2 Management Relationship of Management Contracting The figure 2.7 is the management relationship of the Management Contracting. Management contractor (MC) is to manage construction works for a management fee that comprises a percentage for profit and fixed overheads. Normally MC does not undertake the construction works by himself. Consultants prepare the design; MC determines construction/management method. This method is popular used in UK. 2.3.3 Advantages of Management Contracting Early appointment of contractor as a member of design team to provide management skill. Better coordination control of project through improved management qualities. Shorter project period because increase speed of design and construction 2.3.4 Disadvantages of Management Contracting Pressures on design team in preparation of various tender documentation and tender evaluation. 2.4 Concept of Construction Management The contractual arrangement and services rendered by a construction management firm are not dissimilar from those under management contracting. But relieving such an organization of contractual risk for the performance of sub-contractors is much more effective if they are not contractual intermediaries. Thus, the most significant characteristic of construction management is that there is no general contractor; instead there is a series of direct contractual links between the client and the trade contractors, making the role of the construction management more like a consultant than a contractor. The arrangement is used particularly by experienced clients on projects with short lead-times (W.Hughes, 2006). The construction manager is responsibility for the overall control of the design team and the various trade contractors, throughout both the design phase and the construction phase of the project (Allan Ashworth, 2008). 2.4.1 Contractual Relationship of Construction Management The construction manager is appointed after a careful selection process and is paid a management fee. One basic difference from a management contract is that the trades contracts, although arranged and administered by the construction manager, are direct between the client and the trade contracts. The construction manager is a coordinator, and usually cannot guarantee that the project will be finished to time or cost. The clients direct the project and the client is also likely to carry the greatest burden of the speculative risk (Stanley Cox and Hugh Clamp, 2003). 2.4.2 Management Relationship of Construction Management The figure 2.9 is the management relationship of the Construction Management. Construction Management is separating consultants/designers from management of the project. Construction Manager (CM) replace designer in administration of contract except design/ certification matters. CM concentrates on managing time/ cost using his unique construction expertise. Clients selects all trade contractors and CM managers the project for a fee. 2.4.3 Advantages of Construction Management: Independent management function. Reduction in project durations and costs. Design team able to concentrate on design. No conflict of interest between design and production. 2.4.4 Disadvantages of construction Management: Additional management cost. Erosion of Architects power and responsibilities. 2.5 Summary Traditional Speed: Not the fastest of methods. Complexity: Desirable to have all information at tender stage. Consider two stages or negotiated tendering. Quality: Basically straightforward, but complications can rise if the client requires that certain sub-contractors are used. Clients require certain standards to be shown or described. Contractor is wholly responsible for achieving the stated quality on site. Design and Build Speed:Â  Relatively fast method. Complexity:Â  Pre-tender time largely depends on the amount of the detail in the clients requirements. Construction time reduced because design and building proceed parallel. Quality:Â  A sufficient single contractual arrangement integrating design and construction expertise within one countable organisation. Client has no direct control over the contractors performance. Contractor design expertise may be limited. Client has little say in the choice of specialist sub-contractors. Management Contracting Speed:Â  Early start on site is possible, long before tenders have even been invited for some of the works packages. Complexity:Â  Design and construction skills integrated at an early stage. Complex management operation requiring sophisticated techniques. Quality:Â  Client requires certain standards to be shown or described. Managing contractor responsible for quality of work and materials on site. Construction Management Speed:Â  Relatively fast method. The individual trade contractors are in direct contract with the client. Complexity:Â  Design team able to concentrate on design.Construction Manager concentrates on managing time/ cost using his unique construction expertise. Quality:Â  Construction Manager replace designer in administration of contract except design/ certification matters. 2.5.1 Summary Traditional Flexibility: Clients control design and variations to a large extent. Certainty: Certainty in cost and time before commitment to build. Clear accountability and cost monitoring at all stages. Responsibility: Can be clear-cut division of design and construction. Confusion possible where there is some design input from contractor or specialist sub-contractor and suppliers. Design and Build Flexibility:Â  Virtually none for the client once the contract is signed, without heavy cost penalties. Flexibility in developing details or making substitutions is to the contractors advantage. Certainty:Â  There is a guaranteed cost and completion date. Responsibility:Â  Can be clear division, but confused where the clients requirement are details as this reduces reliance on the contractor or design or performance. Limited role for clients representative during construction. Management Contracting Flexibility:Â  Client can modify or develop design requirements during construction. Managing contactor can adjust programme and costs. Certainty:Â  Client is committed to start building on a cost plan, project drawings and specifications only. Responsibility:Â  Success depends on the management contractors skills. An element of trust is essentials. The professionals team must be well coordinated through all the stages. Construction Management Flexibility:Â  Clients selects all trade contractors and CM managers the project for a fee Certainty:Â  Usually cannot guarantee that the project will be finished to time or cost Responsibility:Â  Success depends on the Construction Manager. 2.5.2 Summary Traditional Advantages: The quality of work is control by Client and Client can achieve the best price through competitive tendering. Disadvantages: From inception to completion of the project need relatively longer period. Summary: Benefits in cost and quality but at the expense of time. Design and Build Advantages:Â  Saving in time and cost of construction. Disadvantages:Â  Quality of materials may be compromised in view of the DB Contractors profit. Summary:Â  Benefits in cost and time but at the expense of quality. Management Contracting Advantages:Â  Increase speed of design and construction, hence shorter project period. Disadvantages:Â  Pressures exerted on design team in preparation of various tender documentation and tender evaluation. Summary:Â  Benefits in time and quality but at the expense of cost. Construction Management Advantages:Â  Reduction in project durations and Design team able to concentrate on design. Disadvantages:Â  Additional management cost and erosion of Architects power and responsibilities. Summary:Â  Benefits in time and quality but at the expense of cost. 2.6 Conclusion As a conclusion, the traditional approach to construction has been to appoint a team of consultants to prepare a design and estimate, and to select an independent constructor. The final would calculate the actual projects costs, develop a programme to fit within the period laid down in the contract, organise the workers and materials deliveries and construct to the standards quality specified in the contact documentations. The client would prefer single point responsibility and a truly fixed price and for projects to be completed as required. Procurement procedures remain is a dynamic activity. They will continue to develop to meet the changing and challenging needs of society and the circumstances under which the industry will find itself working. There are no standard procurement solutions, but each individual projects needs to be considered independently and analysed accordingly. However, is a need to evaluate more carefully the procedures being recommended in order to develop good practice in procurement and to improve the image of the industry.

Perceptions of Anomalous Cognition :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Why Psi: Perceptions of Anomalous Cognition Why would I risk the ridicule of my peers to explore a topic as controversial and inflammatory as that which is known as "psi" phenomenon? And more importantly how and why is it relevant to the study of neurobiology? Given the nature of the topic, it may not always be easy to discuss such scientifically or diplomatically. It is my contention; however, that serious review of the scientific evidence, legitimate scientific discourse and funding for research has been seriously impeded because of its controversial nature. And, furthermore, that it is as relevant a topic for investigation as are other methods by which information is perceived by humans. There are some valid reasons for the prejudice that surrounds this topic. Often when one thinks of psi phenomenon some strange themes come to mind such as UFO's and Alien Abductions, ESP, crop circles, Astrology, Ghosts, Mediums, Channeling and Angles. Most of these come under the heading of "paranormal" and are decidedly difficult to examine scientifically. The plethora of information on such subjects that floods the internet is more likely to reference mysticism, faith and spiritually than offer scientific theory or experimental outcomes and I will leave such to those realms. I, therefore, in this paper will not be referring to alien astrologers channeling their horoscopes through mediums who have been abducted. Only the concepts that comprise that which is known as "anomalous cognition will be discussed." Its components are telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition (1). My first exposure to the term "anomalous cognition" came as a result of my research for this paper. I just had always called it "knowing." Ever since I was a little girl, however, I have been repeatedly told that my experiences were "all in my head." That had been exactly my position also. But what my critics, who included my family members, friends and my husband, really meant was that my experiences existed only in my imagination. They argued, as is commonly believed and sometimes verified, that experiences like mine could be caused by selective or faulty memory, wishful thinking or subliminal clues (2). And for many years, I tried to believe that one of those explanations applied to me. My husband the scientist, engineer and amateur magician has been telling me for years what he believed to be the prevailing opinion about psi within much of the scientific community. The picture was not very flattering.

C. Vann Woodwards The Strange Career of Jim Crow :: Woodward Strange Jim Crow Essays

C. Vann Woodward's The Strange Career of Jim Crow C. Vann Woodward’s book The Strange Career of Jim Crow is a close look at the struggles of the African American community from the time of Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Movement. The book portrays a scene where the Negroes are now free men after being slaves on the plantations and their adaptation to life as being seen as free yet inferior to the White race and their hundred year struggle of becoming equals in a community where they have always been seen as second class citizens. To really understand the motivation of C. Vann Woodward’s motives of his book, The Strange Career of Jim Crow, one must look at Mr. Woodward’s life. Comer Vann Woodward was born and raised in Vanndale, AK in Cross County on November 13, 1908. The town was named after his mother’s aristocratic family. He attended Henderson- Brown College in Arkadelphia, AK for two years before transferring to Emory University in Atlanta, GA in 1930, where he graduated. He received his PHD in history at the University of North Carolina and after he took graduate classes at Columbia University where he was introduced and influenced by the Harlem Renaissance. Woodward taught at Johns Hopkins University from 1946-61 and at Yale University from 1961-67. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1982 for Mary Chestnut’s Civil War and won the Bancroft Prize for Origins of the New South*. It was when he was teaching at Johns Hopkins when he wrote the book, The Strange Career of Jim Crow. It was during the court ruling of Brown vs Board of Education in 1954 that Woodward started his lectures, which lead to his book, at the University of Virginia. His audience was more or less surprised about the race relations of the old south during reconstruction; most thought that the two races have always been separated with hatred. Woodward argues that the Jim Crow laws of the 1890s were a new concept of separating the two races. Throughout slavery and during the reconstruction period, the two races were fully integrated working on economics and political problems; the separation of the two races would lead to an insufficient and ineffective plantation. â€Å"The typical dwelling of a slave-owning family was a walled compound shared by both master and slave families.

Affirmative Action is Reverse Discrimination Essay -- Argumentative Pe

Affirmative Action is Reverse Discrimination    When the Civil Rights Bill was being debated on the floor of the Senate, Barry Goldwater predicted that this particular bill might be abused. Herbert Humphrey, however, stated that he would eat every page of the bill if ever it were used to justify discrimination against anybody on account of race or sex. The bill eventually passed and became the Civil Rights Act. From college admissions to government contracts, the Civil Rights Act has been grossly abused by giving race and gender primary consideration in admissions and hiring, resulting in blatant reverse discrimination. Paul Craig Roberts and Larry Stratton, co-author of The New Color Line: How Quotas and Privileges Destroy Democracy, document the silent change of the 1964 Civil Rights Act from a statute forbidding preferences based on race and gender into a weapon to coerce employers to adopt and implement quotas. This change is not so silent today. Roberts and Stratton show that, "quotas are based on an intentional misreading of Title VII and are strictly illegal under the 1964 Civil Rights Act." An explicit example of this intentional misreading, or abuse, of the Civil Rights Act is when a person is fired to fulfill a quota. On August 8, the Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals agreed. The court ruled that the Piscataway, N.J. Board of Education violated the Civil Rights Act when it fired Sharon Taxman, an "overrepresented" Jewish female school teacher, to make room for a black woman under the school system's affirmative action plan. The school district was ordered by the court to pay $144,000 in back pay. The judges' decision was based on their own investigation into the legislative history of Title VII ... ...they are black? There is no question that racism did exist in our society and still does today, but the solution is not reversing the discrimination. It is hard to imagine that segregation of our schools was still legal in California as late as 1974, it is even harder to imagine that university admissions are still based on race in 1996. The solution to preferences in hiring and college admissions should be stricter penalties to those who discriminate based on race or gender. Also, it is a little late in the game to squeeze unqualified students into graduate school. We should be working with these students in grade school. Our universities and our government will unlikely look at any logical solutions because of their reputation of putting bandaids on social problems. There is no doubt, if Herbert Humphrey were here today, he would be eating a lot of paper.

Constructive Discharge Memo

Memorandum To:Mike Bigg, CEO From:HR Manager Date:10/14/2012 Re:EEO CONSTRUCTIVE DISCHARGE CLAIM Constructive Discharge Constructive discharge occurs when an employee is forced to quit because the working conditions have become unbearable. According to Black’s Law Dictionary a constructive discharge is â€Å"a termination of employment brought about by making the employee's working conditions so intolerable that the employee feels compelled to leave. â€Å"These conditions would include harassment or discrimination or receiving a negative change in working conditions or his pay for reasons that are not work related.A litmus test for this is to determine what a reasonable person would do in this scenario. If a reasonable person would have resigned due to the unbearable conditions, and if the employer had actual knowledge of the intolerable actions or conditions and could have remedied them but did not, then the employee would be considered constructively discharged. In a case where an employee feels the employer made the job so unbearable that he cannot remain there, a wrongful termination suit can be filed.In legal terms, being compelled to quit is legally similar to being unfairly discharged. In the case we are facing now, the complainant feels that our schedule change would not allow him to continue his employment with us due to the fact the rotating schedule would force him to occasionally work on his religious holy day. In our situation, this law could have some merit if it can be proven that we changed the schedule in an attempt to target any specific individuals. In that case, we could be deemed at fault.However, due to company growth, the work schedule was modified to reflect a new production requirement. Since the changes were due directly to the need to change the entire production schedule and not aimed specifically at a single employee, this situation should not apply. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII of the Civil Rights A ct of 1964 is an act that was passed by congress to provide citizens protection against discrimination by employers based on race, religion, color, sex and national origin.In Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the law stipulates that it shall be an unlawful practice for an employer to discharge any employee, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of his employment because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This is the primary federal law that prohibits discrimination in the workplace. In basic terms, this act prohibits employers from making employment decisions based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.Age discrimination and disability discrimination are not included in this act and are now covered by subsequent laws enacted by congress. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 relates directly to our case as the employee in question has char ged that we violated his rights under this act based on religion discrimination. His claim that we are making him work on his religious holy day brings Title VII into focus and it needs to be reviewed to see if his claim can be substantiated.Upon review of the entire operation and in light of the growth the company is experiencing, it does not appear that we have violated his civil rights as claimed under this act. With all personnel being affected by the schedule change and each employee treated equally in the scheduling, it would not seem likely that one individual has been singled out for his religious beliefs. Recommendation In reviewing the facts surrounding this case, it is apparent that we are not guilty of the charges levied against us and I suggest that we proceed forward and litigate this case.Since the decision was made to change shifts due to company growth and the need for a revised production schedule, I do not feel that we handled the situation incorrectly and recomme nd that we continue on the same course. Making strategic operational decisions and mitigating supply chain process risks is an important part of the business model. Our decision was based solely on the need of the business to remain competitive in the marketplace, and not focused on changing our schedule to impede the religious freedoms any single employee.The only schedule that remained unchanged was for the office employees. Since the employee in question was not an office employee, and as we did not have any openings in that area, a move to the office would not be prudent or equitable for any other employees. Finally, at no point before the employee contacted the EEOC were we made aware of his religious beliefs and needs. Because of that lack of knowledge, we could not have made any accommodations for this employee to assist with his situation. We should feel comfortable informing the EEOC that we are not guilty of the charges that were alleged.Legal Support The most defining leg al support that is available is the Civil Rights Act of 1964 itself. In Title VII of this Act, clear guidelines are given as to what protection employees are given against unlawful employment practices. In SEC. 2000e-2 of Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964, it indicate that it shall be illegal for an employer to†¦discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment, because of such individuals race, color, religion, sex or national origin.This employee has alleged that he was forced to follow the new policy on shift work that he was discriminated against as he would now be required to work on his religious holy day. Courts stipulate that a reasonable person test should be utilized to help determine this. By using the reasonable person test – would a reasonable person quit due to conditions that were intolerable at the workplace – I would suggest that would not occur. Many people’s religio us holy days were affected by the new schedule as the schedule demanded a rotating four day on, four day off schedule.While it may be inconvenient to some, it would not necessarily require an individual to resign his position. This employee at no time informed the employer of any conflicts based on his religion prior to his resignation. There could even be the possibility of utilizing vacation or personal days when the religious holy days fell on specific work required days. In Lawson V. Washington, 2001, a state trooper cadet resigned after realizing he would have to salute the flag and swear an oath to the state – both of which are against his religion. He felt he would be terminated if he failed to comply with the academy’s manual.At no point did anyone in command at the academy indicate that he would be terminated, although they also never indicated they would make any accommodations for him in regards to this issue. In this case, Lawson was able to make a prima fa cie case on 2 of 3 points. He was able to prove his religion was legitimate and the demands were based on that religion. Secondly, he did inform his employer of his religious beliefs and the onus was then on the employer to make reasonable accommodations for him. He could not prove the third point where the academy would have terminated his employment if he did not comply.In our case, the employee never made it known that his religion would not allow him to work on specific days. Because the condition was not known, accommodations would have never been made available to him. This point alone eliminates our responsibilities in this case. In Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Plaintiff-appellant, v. University of Chicago Hospitals, Defendant-appellee, (2001) a case where an employee believed she was targeted specifically for her religious beliefs, eventually resigned due to the pressure and hostile environment she felt at work.Her employer made specific comments to her regarding her recruiting persons for employment from her church. The employer even told her superior to fire her if she did not end the practice of recruiting from her church. The EEOC was able to prove constructive discharge, where the employee felt as she must quit to avoid being fired. However, the courts stipulate it must be proven that the constructive discharge was motivated by discriminatory intent. Basically, it must be proved that not only was she forced out, but the reason behind the action was religious discrimination.The courts disagreed with this point and believed that the hospital’s actions were not motivated by religious discrimination. The relationship of this case to ours is significant. While the complainant may believe he was forced to quit due to our perceived infringement of his religious beliefs, there was no premeditation in regards to forcing any employee to leave because of their religious beliefs. In addition, since the employee never made it known his need for special accommodations, we would never have been able to foresee this issue with him.Steps for the future We can take a number of steps to strengthen our defenses against violations of Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the future. A primary strategy is to do an internal review of all company policies and procedures to see if any potential risks can be identified (Jenkins, 2004). If they are, steps can be taken to decrease the potential for exposure to lawsuits by eliminating practices that are deemed wrong. Another tactic is to implement a formal complaint system and encourage employees to make use of it.These systems could help us reveal and rectify any problems, real or perceived, before they lead to lawsuits. Training all members of the management team in all aspects of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is an imperative step in a proactive stance against potential wrongdoing. Developing diversity committees could help the entire organization gain a better u nderstanding of the needs of employees. Effective communication is the final step to help avoid issues in the future and is tantamount to successful and happy employees.Open communication from employee to employer cannot be stressed enough. If we listen to our employees and treat them all fairly, avoiding harassment and discrimination charges in the future will be much easier and possibly eliminated at all. A regular review by the Human Resources department will be necessary to insure continued compliance with appropriate policies and procedures that will keep us from committing violations of Title VII.Annual harassment and discrimination retraining for all personnel will help everyone gain a better understanding on what is and is not acceptable and problems may be avoided. Finally, regular communication with the EEOC can help by answering any questions we might have regarding the fair and equal treatment of all employees. Black’s Law Dictionary (N. D. ). Retrieved from http: //thelawdictionary. org/search/? cx=partner-pub-4620319056007131%3A7293005414&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=discharge&x=0&y=0 Constructive Discharge (N.D. ), Retrieved from http://jobsearch. about. com/od/jobloss/g/constructivedischarge. htm EEOC V. University of Chicago Hospitals 276 F. 3d 326 Lawson v. State of Washington, 319 F. 3d 498 – Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit 2003 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, SEC. 2000e-2. [Section 703] Jenkins, Lin (2004), Avoiding title VII violations – employment policies and procedures. Retreived from http://goarticles. com/article/Avoiding-Title-VII-Violations-Employment-Policies-and-Procedures/2759944/

We Are Becoming Increasingly Dependent on Computer Technology

As we move into the twenty-first century, it is clear to see that we have become more and more dependent on computers and information technology. This technology now reaches into almost every area of our lives and it is easy to predict that this phenomenon is only going to grow. My personal belief is that this presents a variety of dangers. It is highly likely that in the future there will be comparatively few aspects of our lives that will not be influenced by computer technology.The probability is that it will control more and more forms of communication, transforming fields such as education and business when video-conferencing platforms become more stable. It might even affect romance with more people forming relationships online. While there may be benefits to this technological revolution, there are also a number of potential dangers. Perhaps the most serious of these would be that if people rely on computers too much for communication, they could in fact begin to communicate l ess well.For example, if every member of a family had their own computer screen and smart phone, they might speak less and less often to one another and simply look at a screen. This would be serious because our ability to communicate is an essential part of our humanity. My conclusion is that the growth of computer technology is inevitable, but that this may not be entirely positive. Just one area in which it is possible to foresee dangers is communication, and if we are going to ensure that computers do not become a negative influence, we need to think carefully how we use them. (273 words)