Diversity Case Study Essay

Is a term used to differentiate groups and people from one another. It means respect for and appreciation of differences in ethnicity, gender, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, education, and religion. What is diversity? Everyone is a unique person. Even though people have things in common with each other they are also different in all sorts of ways. Differences include visible and non-visible factors, for example, personal characteristics such as background, culture, personality, and work-style, size, accent, language and so on. A number of personal characteristics are covered by discrimination law to give people protection against being treated unfairly. The ‘protected characteristics’ are race, disability, gender reassignment, sex, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion and belief, sexual orientation and age. Equality and diversity is becoming more important in all aspects of our lives and work for a number of reasons: * We live in an increasingly diverse society and need to be able to respond appropriately and sensitively to this diversity. Learners in the healthcare setting will reflect this diversity around gender, race and ethnicity, disability, religion, sexuality, class and age. * Your organisation believes that successful implementation of equality and diversity in all aspects of work ensures that colleagues, staff and students are valued, motivated and treated fairly. * We have an equality and human rights legal framework covering employment practices and service delivery and qe need to ensure we work within this and avoid discrimination. What is equality? Equality is ensuring individuals or groups of individuals are treated fairly and equally and no less favourably, specific to their needs, including areas of race, gender, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation and age. Promoting equality should remove discrimination in all of the aformentioned areas. Bullying, harassment or victimization are also considered as equality and diversity issues. Equality is about ‘creating a fairer society, where everyone can participate and has the opportunity to fulfil their potential’ Inclusion Inclusion is a state of being valued, respected and supported. It’s about focusing on the needs of every individual and ensuring the right conditions are in place for each person to achieve his or her full potential. Inclusion should be reflected in an organization’s culture, practices and relationships that are in place to support a diverse workforce. Inclusion is about all learners and about taking action to remove barriers to participation and learning. Inclusion also involves eliminating discrimination and promoting equality. It is described by some as the practice of ensuring that people feel they belong, are engaged, and connected. It is a universal human right whose aim is to embrace all people, irrespective of race, gender, disability or other attribute which can be perceived as different. a sense of belonging: feeling respected, valued for who you are; feeling a level of supportive energy and commitment from others so that you can do your best.† It is about valuing all individuals, giving equal access and opportunity to all and removing discrimination and other barriers to involvement. 1. The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, esp. on the grounds of race, age, or sex. 2. Recognition and understanding of the difference between one thing and another.

Kraft Foods and Corporate Social Responsibility

Global Challenges Individual Assignment: Kraft Foods and CSR. 2012 Global Challenges Table of Contents Table of Contents1 1. 0Introduction2 2. 0Application3 2. 1Kraft Foods Inc. 3 2. 2PESTEL Analysis3 2. 3SWOT Analysis5 2. 4Porters Five Forces5 2. 5Management at Kraft Foods Inc. 6 3. 0Corporate Social Responsibility6 3. 1Impact of CSR on Kraft Foods Inc6 4. 0Conclusion7 5. 0Recommendations7 6. 0References8 1. 0 Introduction Management is a term that is used and heard of every day and a role that is undertaken everywhere you go. It’s the ability to maintain and produce the best from a team or from a task, the activity of completing a task using the resources that are available and taking responsibility of the situation in hand. Even as individuals everyone participates in management in one form or another, whether it’s in a work environment or simply from the everyday running of life. In a business sense however, ‘management is the jobs within an organisation charged with running the organisation on behalf of the beneficial owner’ (Pg no 294, Martin, 2005). This report is going to examine the different principles and models of management, how it can be applied to individual companies and businesses and then go on further to examine Corporate Social Responsibility and how firms use this. ‘According to Mintzberg (1973) there are ten management roles, these are ‘Monitor, Disseminator, Spokesperson, Figurehead, Leader, Liaison, Entrepreneur, Disturbance handler, Resource allocator and Negotiator’. Mintzberg proposes that every manager’s role combines a number of roles, rather than ten individual roles. (Boddy, 2009) For example a CEO of a company could be a figurehead, a spokesperson, a leader as well as the negotiator; but he would assign the other roles to other specific managers or colleagues. Management involves a vast amount of planning as its sets out the direction of the work that needs to be done and the objectives that need to be achieved. According to Boddy (2011) ‘SMART acronym summarises criteria for assessing a set of goals’. This covers: Specific – Does the goal set specific targets? Measurable – Ensure you can measure the progress towards the attainment of the goal Attainable – Assuring the goals are challenging but reachable Rewarded- A reward is obtained for succeeding the goal Times – The time scale of which the goal is to be achieved in Boddy (2010) proposes that ‘’goals and objectives are the same’’. However in cases like this it could be argued that they are different in which the goal is the overall target or aim, and the plan which looks at what is involved to obtain this goal is made up of individual objectives at each level. A widely used management model used within virtually every company is the Competing Values Framework. ‘’It has been named as one of the fifty most important models in the history of business and has been studied and tested in organisations for more than twenty five years’’ (CVF, 2009). The model is made up of four components and each quadrant represents a different model and the roles that are played within the model; which can be seen in the diagram below in Figure 1. 1. The following section will demonstrate how the framework can be applied to individual companies. Figure 1. 1 Competing Values Framework. Source: Octogram. net (2005) 2. 0 Application 3. 1 Kraft Foods Inc. Kraft Foods Inc. is the second largest food company in the world generating annual revenue of ? 54. 4 billion. The company was founded in 1903 in Chicago, North America, where their headquarters are still based, and shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in 1991. They have over 126,000 employees in over 70 countries and they sell products to consumers in 170 countries. Kraft’s products are divided into five categories: snacks and cereals, beverages, cheese and dairy, grocery, and convenient meals. Popular household name brands include Philadelphia, Oreo and Cadburys, which they recently acquired in 2010 for $18. 5billion. The acquisition created the world’s largest confectioner, and confectionary now makes up for 28% of their net revenues. (Kraft Foods, 2012) In 2011 Kraft announced its intent to create two independent public companies by the end of 2012 as a strategic approach for growth; one being a high growth global snack business and the other a high margin North American grocery business. 3. 2 PESTEL Analysis ‘PESTEL analysis is a useful tool to understand the macro-environment in which Kraft Food Inc. perates and how these factors affect the company. PESTEL framework helps evaluate the risks associated with market growth or decline, and the position and direction of the company. ’ (Bender and Ward, 2008) It examines six different segments, which are: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal. Although there are many factors which fall under each of the segments of the PESTEL analysis it is important to analyse them and select the most significant factors which have the greatest effect on the company. POLITICAL Kraft Foods Inc. s subject to various federal and state laws in the U. S relating to the protection of the environment. They also have manufacturing facilities in 70 countries and consumers in 170 countries which subjects them to individual environmental laws, health and hygiene regulations in every country which they operate. ECONOMIC As Kraft operates in 170 different countries, currency fluctuations and unfavourable exchange rates can put pressure on the company’s earnings, particularly with the current Eurozone crisis. ‘Increased unemployment in the U. S and other countries will lead consumers to cut spending on premium quality products’ such as those made by Kraft Foods Inc. (Bloomberg,2010) SOCIAL Diet patterns are rapidly changing in emerging economies like Brazil, China and India. The people in these countries are spending more on packaged food and this social drift has provided companies like Kraft to look towards emerging markets to increase revenues. (Yahoo Finance, 2010) Consumers are also getting increasingly aware about health implications of food which can cause obesity. ‘Federal Trade Commission reported that child obesity in the U. S has quadrupled in the last four decades’ (RWJF, 2008). Food and Beverage companies need to respond to these changes to maintain its market share and profits. TECHNOLOGICAL ‘Kraft is investing heavily in new technology to reduce carbon dioxide emission and protect the environment. They have adopted a policy where there is increased use of rail and barge transport instead of using trucks. ’ (Kraft Foods, 2010) ENVIRONMENTAL There is increased pressure from governments and the general public about the way companies operate and their effect on the environment. ‘In 2008 Kraft Foods Inc. ame under pressure when Rainforest Action Network asked companies such as Kraft Foods Inc. to stop buying palm oil from Indonesia to prevent deforestation. ’ (CNN, 2008) LEGAL Kraft operates in a highly regulated environment with a constantly evolving legal and regulatory framework around the world; particularly when selling products for human consumption involves inheren t risks such as contamination. ‘Cadbury, now owned by Kraft Foods Inc. had to recall 11 chocolate types in China in 2008 when at least 50,000 babies fell ill and 4 died by milk tainted with an industrial chemical. ’ (BBC, 2008) 3. SWOT Analysis Another approach that companies implement is the SWOT analysis. ‘’The core of this approach is a simple and eminently reasonable strategy that is concerned with identifying opportunities in the enterprises external environment’’ (Pg No 721, Linstead, Fulop & Lilley, 2009). This analysis examines the strengths and weaknesses internal to the company and then the external opportunities and threats. In Kraft Foods Inc. case the strengths that can be identified are that they are the world’s second largest food company and they have strong brand equity with over 100 years heritage. However their weaknesses are that the Cadburys acquisition resulted in added debt pressure and they are subject to cut throat competition from rivals such as Nestle. From the external point of view an opportunity for the company is that they could centre new products in the health related market such as introducing low fat or organic products. But on the other hand a threat for Kraft is that the Cadburys acquisition resulted in a lot of protests and bad media from the British which resulted in a drop of profit margins. 3. 4 Porters Five Forces Porter’s five forces is an analysis framework that identifies the competitiveness intensity and the five forces most relevant to the profitability of the company. ‘According to Porter (1980a) the ability to earn an acceptable return depends on five forces – the ability of new competitors to enter the industry, the threat of substitute products, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers and the rivalry amongst existing customers’ (Boddy, 2008, Pg No 93). This framework is demonstrated in the diagram below in Figure 2. 1. Figure 2. Porters Five Forces. Source: Wikepedia When looking at the bargaining power of suppliers with Kraft Food Inc. suppliers do not hold much power to enforce the company to extract their profits due to the competitive nature of the industry. Buyers however have an opportunity to extract firm profits as demand changes over the period of time. Due to intense competition in the market, there is a low possibility fo r new entrants to capture the market, and the threat of substitute products is medium as Kraft Foods Inc. hold such a large market share in the industry. Finally competitors such as Nestle and Kellogg’s are spending enormous sums of money for the promotion and advertising of their brands yet Kraft Foods Inc. is still the second largest in the world. 3. 5 Management at Kraft Foods Inc. As previously mentioned in the introduction, every business’s management model can be applied to the Current Values Framework. When analysing Kraft’s business strategy and management it is evident that their current dominant model is the Rational Goal Model. This model focuses towards maximisation of output and making a profit. Of course, the vast majority of companies would be dominantly working from this model as every company needs to make a profit in order to survive; although successful models of management relate to all four of the segments. ‘’The basic assumption of the Rational Goal Model is that clear direction leads to productive outcomes. There is a continuing emphasis on processes such as goal clarification, rational analysis, and action taking. All decisions are driven by consideration of the bottom line†. (Taylor, 1911) Kraft Foods Inc. hows elements of dominantly using this model from their hostile acquisition of Cadburys and with their intent to create two independent public companies as a strategic approach for growth. 3. 0 Corporate Social Responsibility ‘’Corporate Social Responsibility is the business contribution to sustainable development goals. Essentially it is about how business takes account of its economic, social and environmental impacts in the wa y it operates – maximising the benefits and minimising the downsides. ’’ (CSR, 2009) 4. 6 Impact of CSR on Kraft Foods Inc Kraft Foods Inc. as thrown into the media in 2010 with their hostile acquisition of Cadbury’s. Cadbury’s unions opposed to the take-over in fear that there would be big job cuts, and UK politicians even weighed in voicing their concerns. ‘Following the acquisition five senior executives of Cadburys quit and only 30% of the leadership positions were made available to Cadburys staff. ’ (FT, 2010). By the end of the acquisition over four hundred jobs had been cut by Kraft, this was deemed as an extremely bad case of CSR, particularly in the social aspect; and the company have been portrayed negatively in the media ever since. However, it is not all negative when it comes to Kraft’s CSR. ‘Over the past 25 years they have donated more than $770 million in cash and food to those suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Kraft Foods ranked 23rd in the 2011 Corporate Social Responsibility Index and were recently awarded the Gold Award for Environmental Excellence at the 4th Global CSR Awards 2012. ’   (Kraft, 2012) They work with non-profit organizations such as Feeding America in the U. S. and Save the Children in Southeast Asia as well as helping develop healthy lifestyles programs for children in the U. S. , Russia and many other places. 4. 0 Conclusion In conclusion the above shows us how the management theory helps us to analyse an organisation, and we can see how Kraft Foods Inc. operates successfully using the Rational Goal Model. They do however operate in a highly competitive food sector, where margins are diminishing, and they have to face tough competition from branded food as we ll as generic food manufacturers, particularly in this economic slowdown. Although the company does partake in a lot of CSR activities, a bad image always remains with customers for a lot longer than a positive one, and they still have a negative image portrayed on themselves from the hostile takeover of Cadburys. 5. 0 Recommendation Kraft Foods Inc. could benefit from repositioning their brand image in the markets to communicate with customers to remove the negative thinking from their minds which arose after Cadburys acquisition. They should also consider moving towards the Human Relations model in the CVF which emphasises commitment, cohesion, and morale. The key values are participation, conflict resolution, and consensus building. In this model the organisation takes on a team-oriented climate in which decision making is characterised by deep involvement. ’ (Quinn, 1988) This would be beneficial in gaining trust and respect from the employees after all the conflict and job losses that arose from the acquisition of Cadburys. Another option for t he company, as mentioned before in the SWOT analysis, is the expansion into new and developing markets which will aid the company in earning more profits to meet their debt requirements. With the consumer market becoming more health and environmentally conscious, organic and reduced fat content products could be a niche in the market for a confectioner such as themselves. 6. 0 References BBC (2008). Melamine found in Cadbury goods. September 2008. Available: www. bbc. co. uk Accessed 12 May 2012   Bender, R. and Ward, K. (2008). Corporate financial strategy. 3rd Ed. London: Macmillan p. 52-55. Bloomberg, Homan, T. R. (2010). U. S. Employers Add Fewer Jobs Than Forecast. December 2010. Available: www. Bloomberg. om Accessed 24 April 2012. Boddy, D (2011). Management, An Introduction. 5th ed. Essex: Pearson. CNN, Gunther, M (2008). Eco-police find new targets. August 2008. Available: www. money. cnn. com. Accessed 23 May 2012. CSR. gov. uk (2009). Available: http://webarchive. nationalarchives. gov. uk/+/http://www. berr. gov. uk/whatwedo/sectors/sustainability/corp-responsibility/page45192. html/ Accessed 22 May 2012. CVF. (2009). Competing Values Framework: An Intr oduction. Available: http://competingvalues. com/competingvalues. om/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/The-Competing-Values-Framework-An-Introduction. pdf Last accessed 12 May 2012. FT. Elizabeth Rigby. (2010). Kraft hit by exodus of Cadbury executives. Available: http://www. ft. com/cms/s/0/1dad970a-69c1-11df-8432-00144feab49a. html#axzz1viuO14PA. Last accessed 18 May 2012. Kraft Foods, About us (2012) Available: http://www. kraftfoodscompany. com/About/who-we-are/index. aspx Last accessed 28 April 2012 Kraft Foods CSR (2012) Community Involvement Available: http://www. kraftfoodscompany. om/About/community-involvement/community-involvement. aspx Accessed 22 May 2012. Kraft Foods, Document Sheet (2011) Available: http://www. kraftfoodscompany. com/SiteCollectionDocuments/pdf/kraft_foods_fact_sheet. pdf Last accessed 20 May 2012 Kraft Food Q1 Financial Figures – http://phx. corporate-ir. net/phoenix. zhtml? c=129070&p=irol-EventDetails&EventId=4756026 Linstead, S, Fulop, L and Lille y, S. (2009). Management & Organization. 2nd ed. London: Palgrave McMillan. Pg No 721. Martin, J (2005). Organizational Behaviour and Management. London: Thomson Learning. Octogram. (2005). CVF Framework. Available: http://www. octogram. net/quinn-model Last accessed 6 May 2012. Porters Five Forces, Wikepedia. Available: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Porter_five_forces_analysis Accessed 22 May 2012. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2008). Food and Beverage Marketing to Children and Adolescents: What Changes are Needed to Promote Healthy Eating Habits? October 2008. Available: www. rwjf. org Accessed 22 May 2012 Taylor,

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Pros and Cons of Bitcoin Digital Currency Research Paper

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Structure and Development of Victorian (VELS) Curriculum Essay

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Art Philosophy - Plato - Essay Example In short, Plato argues the fact that a proper speech, or rhetorical work of literature, must necessarily work together as a creature and is body parts all work together. Plato discusses this as the head of the creature leading into the body which is been supported by a series of appendages. Although this is necessarily a reduction with regards to the way in which a proper outline should help to support core arguments that the author seeks to make, it is nonetheless a useful way of helping to provide a metaphor with regards to the entire writing process. Although many writers seeking merely right from the top of their head without any clear indication of where their work is going or how they assume it should include, Plato is obviously of the mindset that a work of literature and/or speechmaking must rely upon the core fundamentals of the outlining approach that the illustrates and discusses. This should not be seen as odd due to the fact that none of Plato’s works, or the work s of his contemporaries, were done in haste. Rather, they were thoughtfully analyzed, put together within an effective shell and presented to the viewing/listening/reading audience. Within such a way, seeking to abide by the very same rules of conduct and approach that Plato specified has a definitive level of benefit for the writer or artist within the current era. Although the outlining process may seem as something of a laborious one that is not necessitated by an accomplished writer, the mere fact that Plato himself referenced the outlining process as something of such a great importance helps to underscore the fact that even a writer of the highest order and/or one that is most certainly a genius is still not good enough to compose any of their arguments and/or works off the top of their head. 2. Plato's view on writing is related to his views on art, especially literature. Discuss Plato's views on art, and also mention the dialogue in which these views are discussed. Although the preceding analysis might be viewed as somewhat formulaic, it should not be understood that Plato’s view on writing is ultimately related to a step-by-step recipe of how such a process should be affected. Whereas it is oftentimes understood that the mastery of any subject or art can effectively be accomplished merely by following something of a recipe for success, the fact of the matter is that many exhibitions of human knowledge are more of an art form than they are merely the combination of a certain recipe of component facts and information. In this way, Plato’s â€Å"Phaedrus† illustrates the way in which Plato had an alternative view with regards to the process of writing and how he expected the divination of art as a simple step-by-step process through which the individual merely followed rote memorization in order to achieve a given function. In this way, Plato advocates rather than following something of a script to achieve effective dialogue, it is n ecessary to appreciate core tenets of what it means to be human. These, according to Plato, include the following: an understanding of madness, divine inspiration, and the practice and mastery of art. Although this may seem as a nebulous answer to the question above, the fact of the matter is that rather than championing a formulaic approach, Plato

The National, Regional and International Consequences of the US Essay

The National, Regional and International Consequences of the US Invasion of Iraq on Egypt - Essay Example This war took place within twenty-one days and was characterized by maximum combat involvement. Economic and political impacts of the United States Invasion Before the war, Saddam and the Baath Party had ruled Iraq and resulted to dictatorship. Their success was attributed to the good opportunities that are in the country, like oil wells and good business. However, the invasion brought various changes on both the economic and political happenings in the Iraq state in relation to other countries for example Egypt (Austine 23). Economic effects of the American invasion to Iraq on Egypt The United States of America invasion on Iraq has caused many negative effects among a lot of countries all over the world. These impacts can be identified with the help of assessing trends threats, and opportunities in some countries in the Middle East for example, Egypt. According to analysts, Egypt government opposed the invasion in Iraq but continually offered its military as a major lever of the Uni ted States influence in the Middle East. It has been considered that Egypt is among the main counterterrorism allies that quietly supported the nuclear war on the Iraq state but publicly opposed it. This is due to their commitment in maintaining strategic relationship with the United States of American during the war (Gordon 21). Probably, their support for this war can be attributed to economic completion mostly in the world of business. Iraq had almost similar strengths as Egypt because of its availability of oil and the tourism industry in Egypt. According to most reports, the American invasion of Iraq had less economic impacts on Egypt than that many economists had foreseen. The main loss was experienced in the oil-food program that was between Egypt and Iraq and led to the government’s announcement of working to involve Egypt’s companies instead. These two countries had exchange programs based on their strengths but had to seize after the invasion. As it is well k nown, Egypt has various historical sites that improve its tourist attractions. The Iraq war caused the tourism industry in Egypt to experience quite a number of negative effects. Egypt is among those countries that rely on tourism as a major economic empowerment especially due to its opportunities. For instance, the availability of Pyramids of Giza that are known to attract tourists from all over the world. The war in Iraq resulted to negative thought about touring with most people thinking of nothing but war. Tourists had fear of visiting because as a result of war, most Egyptians had resulted to demonstrations (Keane 31). Egypt’s peak season is usually in March and April, which is consequently the same time of war. According to statistics, a forty percent reduction in trade activities and advantages was experienced in Egypt. This reduction has resulted to continued regression of the Egyptians economy with effects being felt by the ordinary Egyptians. According to numerous e conomists, this war has resulted to a close to eight billion dollars losses on Egypt’s economy leading to requests for the World Bank to fund the country. The main reason for this reduction is the detachment from Iraq, yet, for a long time Iraq has been the main Egypt’s trading partner. With the rise of war in iraq, a lot of

Problem of Obesity Essay Example for Free

Problem of Obesity Essay Think about your classmates or schoolmates and try to describe them! Do it! Now count how many of them you described as FAT. You can always name one, cant you? At least I can. Obesity can cause a lot of disease like diabetes and high blood pressure, which may cause the overloading of Hong Kongs healthcare system. Thats what makes obesity not just a problem of patients but also a problem of the public. So, what causes obesity? Sure youve heard ‘being fat is cute and healthy and brings good luck from different TV programmers or even your parents or grannies. Thats one of the reasons why 13. 4% of boys and 10. 5% of girls between the ages of 6 and 18 are overweight. Adults, especially the old ones, love rewarding kids with snacks, usually the unhealthy one like chocolates, chips, etc. Not just obesity it caused, but also diabetes. These snacks contain a large amount of energy, sodium, and fat, which they get 35 – 45% calories from. Remember Augustus Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Yes, hes the fat boy who loves chocolate and ends up being sucked out of the chocolate river. Do you want yourself or your children look like Augustus? Sure nobody wants to look like Giant be? r, so stop rewarding them with snacks, but whole grains, vegetables, and fruit instead. Now, count the total time of your exercise in a week. I got about 120 minutes, what ? bout you? Less than 30 minutes? Youre just like most young people in Hong Kong. This is also the main cause of obesity. According to a survey make by HKU, 69% of local secondary school students dont do enough exercise to achieve health benefits from it and almost 20% got NO exercise at all and somehow they think they can maintain good health with little or no physical activity. Ridiculous isnt it? Or you have the same thought? Dr. Jack Hodgins from the Chinese university said that a large percentage of children have no exercise. He said that children were spending too much time on activities such as playing computer games and watching TV. Dr. Hodgins said young people ought to include more physical activity in their daily routines. Exercise was particularly important for young people because it helped to build and maintain strong bones and muscles. With too little exercise their bones and muscles would not develop properly. How many sit-ups can you do in 5 minutes? 10 years ago, children in Hong Kong can do 100, now they can only do 50. Children are becoming less and less fit. When youre not fit, your heart gets weaker and needs to work harder to keep your body going and if it has to work too hard for a long period of time, you can develop serious problems such as heart disease and high blood pressure. Dont let this happen to you! Keep fit! Stay healthy! We got lots of homework and exams; we got no time at all, students said. Well, no time is never a reason since WALKING IS ALSO A KIND OF EXERCISE. Walking home is quite a good way to do exercise if youre not living too far away from school Do you eat your breakfast every morning? Do you know that skipping breakfast is also a cause of getting fat? People who skipped breakfast usually become so hungry by mid-morning that they need to fill up on high-fat or high-sugar snacks and beverages. As a result, they consume too many calorie and gain weight. So dont forget to have a healthy breakfast every day. In conclusion, we should always have a healthy breakfast every morning, have a b? lanced diet, and, most importantly, do enough exercise so we can stay? way from obesity and diabetes.

The Performance Appraisal: Advantages and Disadvantages

The Performance Appraisal: Advantages and Disadvantages Shari M. Kern   The performance assessment is the procedure through which employee performance is assessed, feedback is provided to the employee, and corrective action plans are designed (Youssef, 2015, Section 6.2, What is Performance Appraisal and Why is it Important? para 1). Performance appraisal is deemed an important means for decision-making needs of todays businesses. The performance appraisal is the method by which businesses appraise job performance. Typically, a performance appraisal system involves a manager to assess each employees performance corresponding to performance benchmarks that have previously been set up over a period of time. Performance appraisal methods also present a foundation for forecasting improvement, as well as a means for determining merit, raises, new positions within the business and even dismissals. Strategic Advantage of Performance Appraisals One of the several advantages of performance appraisal is, in the hustle and hectic working life, it extends a valuable opportunity for a manager and subordinate to have break for a private conversation about matters positive or negative that otherwise may not be spoken about. Performance appraisal proposes a good effort to focus on job accomplishments and targets, to discern and improve current problems, and to inspire improved future performance. For example, performance appraisals can have a profound effect on motivation and morale, it offers an excellent opportunity for managers to recognize and reach an agreement on individual training and development necessities, and it can examine the success of a businesss recruitment and orientation procedures. The Potential Forms of Bias Within Appraisals Systems Bias can impact employee performance appraisals in extraordinarily damaging ways. A good manager must be impartial about the performance of their workers. A performance appraisal bias can misrepresent a managers and a businesss assessment of how a worker is doing. Some biases are stereotyping (inaccurate results against certain employees belonging to a group), halo effect (erroneous judgments about an employee based on a limited number of performance dimensions), self-fulling prophecies (We tend to see what we expect to see. Research shows that when other things are equal, if managers poorly judge employees to be failures and expect these employees to fail, then the employees are likely to fail. On the other hand, if a manager believes in an employee and expects him or her to succeed, then he or she will be likely to succeed), and the fundamental attribution error (Employee blames others for their failures but do not give them enough credit for their successes. If left unchecked, thi s common attributional bias can be detrimental to performance appraisal) (Youssef, 2015, Section 6.6, Opportunities, Challenges and Recent Developments in Performance Management, para 16). Performance Appraisals Contribute to the Achievement of Strategic Objectives The success of a performance appraisal can be assessed in how good it accomplishes its strategic objectives. Performance objectives determine how a business strategy will be attained. Performance objectives also perform a key function in distinguishing the final outcomes required because of employees intense work and commitment. Performance objectives are a requirement in aligning well-defined objectives for employees. Performance objectives challenge employees to attain the greatest outcomes to encourage business development and make constant progress to meet the challenges and shifting demands of the marketplace. Performance objectives should be well-defined and direct engagement. Knowing the strategic objectives in performance appraisals can support a business to modify performance appraisals to meet business desires. In conclusion, performance appraisal is deemed an important tool for decision-making needs of todays businesses. The performance appraisal is the method by which businesses appraise job performance. When done successfully, employee performance appraisals are incredibly advantageous to the efficiency of a business. Performance appraisals offer a business with the methods to gather data and share business and specific objectives to each employee. These appraisals are methods that can make all employees more beneficial and involved in their work and thus make the business more prosperous. References Youssef, C. (2015). Human resource management. (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.

Thalamic Glutamate as a Marker of Global Brain Pathology -MS

Thalamic Glutamate as a Marker of Global Brain Pathology -MS Author contributions: LP design conceptualisation of the study, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the manuscript for intellectual content. JR design conceptualisation of the study, data collection, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the manuscript for intellectual content. IRB analysis and interpretation of data, revising the manuscript for intellectual content. GS analysis and interpretation of data KZ data collection RN design conceptualisation of the study, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the manuscript for intellectual content.[LP1] Disclosures: LP no disclosures. JR no disclosures. IRV no disclosures. GS no disclosures. KZ no disclosures. RN Bayer, Biogen, Genzyme, Merck Serono, Roche honorarium for speaking, advisory boards. Biogen, Genzyme, Novartis funds for organising education, staff. Biogen, Novartis Principal investigator.[LP2] [LP3] Multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterised by demyelination and variable degrees of axonal loss and gliosis. People with MS (pwMS) present with sensory disturbances, spasticity, fatigue, ataxia, pain and urinary dysfunction1. The most common form of MS is relapsing-remitting and 85% of pwMS initially present with it, with most eventually progress to a secondary, progressive phase2. Without adequate treatment, 25% of pwMS become wheelchair-bound3. Charcot was the first to describe the inflammatory demyelinating plaque as a hallmark of MS in the late 19th century4. While white matter lesions (WML) contribute to disability5,6, they are likely not its only drive. Recent evidence supports the concept that grey matter lesions (GML) and atrophy are likely contributors to disability7,8. Furthermore, recent studies have looked at diffuse axonal loss and support the notion that this process drives long-term disability, due to a combination of focal inflammation and cortical damage driven by meningeal inflammation9-13. Large clinical trials in MS infrequently correlate the effect of therapies with brain lesion volumes and atrophy. This is due to the fact that as of today, no automated software exists which is able to consistently calculate WMLs14 and GMLs are grossly underestimated as they are not readily visible on MRI15,16. Lastly, brain atrophy is hard to quantify, can only be measured longitudinally and is subject to non-tissue related (pseudo-atrophy) volume loss subsequent to disease modifying treatment17,18. There is an unmet need for a simple biomarker that can act as a surrogate for neuronal damage in MS for use in observational and interventional studies. Natalizumab Natalizumab (Tysabri) is a disease-modifying treatment given intravenously as a monthly infusion19. In the UK it is licensed as a second-line treatment for severe, rapidly evolving, relapsing-remitting MS. It is directed against the ÃŽÂ ±4 subunit of integrin on lymphocytes and acts as an immune-modulator by inhibiting their migration to the brain20,21. Compared to placebo, it has been shown to reduce relapse rate by 68%. Furthermore, it reduced the risk of disability progression by 42%, defined as a change in EDSS score sustained for 24 weeks21. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a non-invasive MRI sequence that allows identification and quantification of in vivo metabolites present in a small, preselected brain region. Proton nuclei (1H) are most commonly used in studies of the human brain due to their abundance and high sensitivity. MRS sequences distinguish between different metabolites by measuring the frequency at which 1H nuclei flip, which is in turn dependent on the molecular group carrying the hydrogen atom22. Measuring these metabolic changes allows researchers to gain an insight into changes at a cellular and molecular level in the brain, which cannot be acquired using conventional MRI techniques23. The thalamus is a subcortical hub, with multiple reciprocal connections to both white matter tracts and cortical grey matter24. Previous studies evidenced the fact that it is sensitive to pathology occurring in other brain regions25. We speculated that by using the thalamus as our region of interest (ROI), investigated metabolites would give a measure of global neuronal damage. Aims We investigated thalamic MRS as a biomarker for global brain neuronal damage in MS by comparing baseline metabolite concentrations between pwMS and HCs. Metabolites that were found to be statistically significantly different between these two groups at baseline were investigated further. To additionally support using MRS imaging as a surrogate for global central nervous system pathology, we investigated the correlation between these metabolite concentrations in pwMS and total lesion volume. In order to investigate whether thalamic MRS can be used to monitor treatment response, we measured changes in their concentration following treatment with the disease-modifying drug natalizumab. Population Participants aged 21-65 underwent inclusion criteria screening. For the pwMS group, this included satisfying the McDonald criteria 2010, having highly active MS and having been scheduled to initiate natalizumab treatment as part of routine NHS Case. Following ethics approval and written informed consent from participants, 17 pwMS and 12 HCs were recruited to the study. HCs underwent an MRI baseline scan while pwMS underwent a scan at baseline, and follow-up scans at 10 and 56 weeks after initiation of natalizumab treatment. Acquisition of MRS data All experiments were carried out in the same Siemens 3T Magnetom Verio with a 32-channel receiver head coil[LP4], used to acquire combined MRI and 1H-MRS scans. A magnetisation-prepared rapid gradient-echo sequence (MPRAGE) was used to obtain high-definition T1 weighted scans with the following parameters: (repetition time (TR)= 2300s;echo time (TE)= 3ms; inversion time (TI)= 900; 160 sagittal sections; slice thickness 1.0mm; in-plane resolution of 1x1mm2 . A single voxel was placed over the left thalamus. In order to acquire the single-voxel scans, a Point-RESolved Spectroscopy sequence (PRESS) was used which had variable power and optimized relaxation delays (VAPOR) water suppression (TR/TE, 2000/30ms) on a single 15-mm slab. This was aligned to the T1 sequence sections (Figure 2). Four reference transients were used to align the data. The average of 96 transients was used for water suppressed spectra. The volume of interest was 15x15x15mm, voxel size was 3.4mL. These parameters we re also used to acquire reference MRS datasets without water suppression. This was done to obtain an internal water reference, which was used to scale metabolite signals. Double inversion recovery pulse and phase sensitive inversion recovery sequences were also acquired. Lesion volumes White and grey matter lesions were identified on 160-slice T1 scans with co-registered double inversion recovery sequences. Lesions were manually segmented in T1 space using the Imperial College software ImSeg. The images obtained by this process [LP5]were used to derive proportions of grey matter, white matter and total lesion volumes. T1, double inversion recovery pulse and phase sensitive inversion recovery sequences were used to check for presence of lesions in the thalamus. Data processing T1 and spectroscopy data were initially obtained from scans in dicom format (dcm). A modified MATLAB (v.2015b) script was used to convert the T1 scans into nifti format (nii), the single voxel spectroscopy scans into rda format (rda) and to generate mask files in rda format. LCModel (v.6.3-1K) was run by using a second modified MATLAB script, in order to obtain spectroscopy data from 0.2-4.0 ppm. The software is a user-independent fitting routine that works by superimposing spectra obtained in vivo with high-resolution model spectra. It is an accurate and reliable method to quantify MRS data with short echo times (ETà ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤30ms)28,29. Partial volume corrections to explain different concentrations of water in the grey matter (GM), white matter (WM) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were conducted by converting T1 sequences from dicom to nifti format, and segmenting the obtained images using MATLABs SPM8 toolbox. This allowed scaling metabolite concentrations obtained from PRESS sequence with water-suppression, to the waters internal reference signal from the unsuppressed water PRESS-sequence. The segmentation was used to calculate voxel proportions of GM, WM and CSF, which are in turn needed to obtain the water concentration (WCONC) value from the unsuppressed water reference signal used to estimate absolute concentrations of metabolites. Total WCONC values for each voxel were computed in accordance with Section 10.2.2.3 of the LCModel manual29.Eddy-current correction was performed by using LCModel. Relaxation effects were not corrected for, and therefore reported metabolite concentrations will differ from actual ones by an unknown factor. The latter is likely to be negligible, as all reported concentrations will deviate from actual concentrations by this same, unknown factor. As per LCModels manual, metabolite concentrations were multiplied by a factor of 1.04, which amounts to the specific gravity of brain tissue29, and were reported in mmol/L (mM). Data exclusion A heat map (Figure 4, right side) was created in order to check for voxel placement by using FSL view v.3.2.0. T1 sequences and mask files were reoriented to match the Montreal Neurological Institute standard template, followed by brain extraction from the surrounding tissue. T1 sequences and mask files were registered to standard space using the Montreal Neurological Institute template, which consists of 152 averaged brain T1 scans of 2mm resolution. The heat map is a depiction of each voxel mask overlaid onto the che2better template for T1 sequences taken from the mricron software.[LP6] No MRS spectra were removed from the analysis owing to minimal inter-scan variability. Spectra generated by LCModel were checked for overall data quality in accordance with the softwares instruction manual29. 2 baseline HC and 2 pwMS spectra were excluded from data analysis (Table 1). For a metabolite to be investigated, it had to be relevant to MS pathology as evidenced by previous studies, as well as to demonstrate sufficient data quality, measured by having Cramà ©r -Rao lower bounds ratio of 75% of individual scans. Five metabolites were investigated: choline-containing compounds (Cho), glutamate (Glu), myo-inositol (Ins), total creatine (tCr) and total n-acetylaspartate (tNAA) (Table 1). In a given subjects scan, metabolite concentrations with a Cramà ©r-Rao lower bounds (CRLB) value of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥15% were excluded from data analysis, as per LCModels manual of instructions. Concentrations exceeding 2 standard deviations (2SD) out with the group mean were also excluded. QCa for entire spectra QC for individual metabolites Participant group Before spectra QC (n) After spectra QC (n) Metabolites (marker of)6 Participant group Before metabolite QC(n) After 1st QCf (n) After 2nd QCg (n) HCsb 12 10 Cho1 (membrane turnover) HCs 10 9 9 pwMS BLc 17 15 pwMS BL 15 12 12 pwMS 10wd 16 16 pwMS 10w 16 16 16 pwMS 56we 16 16 pwMS 56w 16 15 15 Glu2 (metabolism and neurotransmitter activity) HCs 10 6 6 pwMS BL 15 9 8 pwMS 10w 16 14 14 pwMS 56w 16 15 14 Ins3 (glial marker) HCs 10 7 7 pwMS BL 15 14 14 pwMS 10w 16 15 14 pwMS 56w 16 15 15 tCr4 (metabolic activity) HCs 10 10 10 pwMS BL 15 15 14 pwMS 10w 16 16 15 pwMS 56w 16 16 16 tNAA5 (neuronal loss, mitochondrial activity) HCs 10 10 9 pwMS BL 15 15 14 pwMS 10w 16 16 16 pwMS 56w 16 16 15 Statistical analysis Prism GraphPad (v.7) and IBM SPSS Statistics 24 software were used to conduct statistical analysis. Participant demographics results are reported as mean and standard deviation (SD). Metabolite concentrations are reported as mean, standard error of measurement (SEM) and 95% confidence intervals. Parametric tests were used after testing for normal distribution of the data. Unpaired t-tests were used to compare metabolites between pwMS and HCs cross-sectionally. Pearsons coefficient was used to correlate between metabolite concentrations and bilateral lesion volumes. A linear mixed model was used to quantify longitudinal changes in metabolite concentrations in pwMS. MRS data were obtained from 17 pwMS (mean age (SD) was 41.6 (10.6), range 21-58 years) and 12 HCs (mean age (SD) was 41.9 (8.3), range 29-61 years). Mean time since diagnosis in years was 12.1 (10.6) and mean Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) was 4.1 (1.1). People with MS, n 17 Age, mean (SD) 41.6 (10.6) Sex, n (%) M 6 (35) F 11 (65) Years since diagnosis, mean (SD) 12.1 (10.6) EDSS score, mean (SD) 4.1 (1.1) Healthy controls, n 12 Age, mean (SD) 41.9 (8.3) Sex, n (%) M 9 (75) F 3 (25) Lower concentrations of glutamate are found at baseline in the thalami of people with highly active MS A statistically significant difference in the concentration of glutamate was found between the two groups (7.67 ±0.3456 in HCs and 6.55 ±0.232 in pwMS, p=0.016). No significant difference was found between the two groups using other metabolites. Metabolite Healthy controls (n=10) People with MS (n=15) 95% CI Cho 1. 69 ±0.0826,n=9 1.75 ±0.25, n=12 -0.232 0.216 Glu* 7.67 ±0.346, n=6 6.55 ±0.232, n=8 * -2.00 0.253 Ins 3.98 ±0.250, n=7 4.45 ±0.281, n=14 -0.452 1.380 tCr 34 ±0.134, n=10 5.42 ±0.150, n=14 -0.350 0.510 tNAA 8.60 ±0.134, n=9 8.46 ±0.178, n=14 -0.656 0.375 Baseline thalamic glutamate concentrations in pwMS correlate negatively with total lesion volumes Baseline glutamate concentrations in pwMS negatively correlated with T1 scan total lesion volumes (n=8; r=-0.80, p=0.017; Figure 6). No other thalamic metabolite correlated with lesion volumes. Lesion volumes in HCs (n=6) were assumed to be zero and are depicted in Figure 6, but this parameter was excluded from statistical analyses. No lesions were found in the thalami of pwMS in this study. Glutamate concentration correlated even more strongly with left hemisphere lesion volumes (p=0.0091), an expected finding given that the left thalamus was used as the studys ROI. The correlation was least significant when using right hemisphere lesion volumes (p=0.030). These results are reported in Table 3. Sampled lesion load location r, correlation coefficient p-value Left hemisphere -0.84 0.0091 Right hemisphere -0.75 0.030 Both hemispheres/Total -0.80 0.016 Thalamic glutamate concentrations increase following natalizumab treatment Glutamate concentrations measured in the thalami of pwMS increased significantly (p=[LP7]) between the 10 and 56 weeks (n=12 pairs of data-points) follow-up scans. At 56 weeks, no significant difference between the pwMS and HC groups was recorded, suggesting that glutamate levels had normalised[LP8]. No significant difference in glutamate concentration was recorded between baseline and 10 weeks follow-up scans (n=7 pairs of data-points) and between baseline and 56 weeks follow-up (n=7 pairs of data-points).[LP9] This observational study used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) to compare metabolite concentrations in 17 pwMS and 12 HCs. Study findings indicate a lower baseline concentration of glutamate in the thalami of pwMS compared to HCs. In pwMS this correlated negatively with total baseline brain lesion volume, which supports our initial hypothesis that thalamic MRS specifically measuring glutamate can be used as a surrogate for global central nervous system pathology. An increase in glutamate concentrations was recorded following natalizumab treatment between 10 and 56 weeks of follow-up. To our groups knowledge, this is the first 1H-MRS study to identify baseline cross-sectional differences in thalamic glutamate, correlate glutamate concentrations with total lesion volumes, and report longitudinal changes in thalamic glutamate following natalizumab treatment. Thalamic glutamate is a potential surrogate for total brain neuronal damage in highly active MS Glutamate, the chief central nervous system excitatory neurotransmitter is mainly synthesized from glutamine31,32. In addition to its neurotransmitter role, glutamate concentration is closely linked to the Krebs cycle, which reflects the cells metabolic activity. Previous proton MRS studies in MS reported higher levels of glutamate in lesioned white matter of pwMS compared to HCs33,34. One of these studies also reported lower levels of glutamate in lesioned grey matter regions34. The limitation of using white or grey matter lesions as ROIs is the high heterogeneity of these brain regions. With regards to WMLs, their definition includes- among others- active, inactive and remyelinating lesions. As for grey matter, this can be affected by exposure to cytokines from meningeal follicle-like structures or, similarly to WMLs, demyelination13,35,36. Current MRS imaging is unable to discriminate between these different pathologies. Therefore, metabolite concentrations obtained from these ROI s are likely to reflect the aforementioned local pathological changes, rather than global MS pathology. In contrast, the potential advantage of thalamic MRS is that the thalamus is rarely affected by local inflammation in MS37,38. Given that it is a subcortical hub highly connected with numerous other brain areas, this study hypothesised that the thalamus could be used as a biomarker of total brain neuronal damage in highly active MS. Two results in our study support this hypothesis: the decreased concentration of glutamate in pwMS and the negative correlation between glutamate and total brain lesion volume. Lesion volumes in MS have been found to correlate with axonal loss39 and disability40. Moreover, glutamate is mainly found in synaptic vesicles, therefore the decreased thalamic glutamate recorded in pwMS in this study could represent neuronal degeneration and synapse loss. Thalamic glutamate increases following natalizumab treatment Between 10 and 56 weeks of natalizumab treatment our group recorded a significant increase (p=,) in the concentration of thalamic glutamate in pwMS. At the end of the follow-up period, glutamate levels normalised, with no significant difference being recorded between pwMS and HC groups. No significant differences in glutamate concentration were found between baseline and 10 (n=x pairs?) and baseline and 56 weeks (n=x pairs?)[LP10] follow-up scans. It can be hypothesised that the limited sample size of pairs of data-points between baseline and 56 weeks follow-up glutamate prevented us from recording an existing statistically significant difference. With regards to changes in glutamate between baseline and 10 weeks, there could be a significant change in glutamate concentration within this timeframe, which was not picked up due to our limited sample size. It also cannot be excluded that thalamic MRS may take longer to respond to treatment. Previous published literature has shown lower glutamate concentrations in lesioned white matter of pwMS at baseline, which increased following treatment with natalizumab41. This effect can be attributed to the anti-inflammatory proprieties of natalizumab. By preventing production of nitrogen oxide and reactive oxygen species by macrophages, the drug could reduce axonal damage otherwise caused by these compounds42,43. Study limitations The algorithm used my SPM8 is incapable of accurately differentiating between the brighter grey and surrounding white matter, as the image intensity in the thalamus is very close to the intensity of white matter. Therefore the software records a higher white matter proportion in the thalamus than the true one. It should be however noted that this inaccuracy in measuring white/grey matter ratio should not cause any systematic error that would affect overall results. The studys HCs were adequately age-matched but poorly gender-matched to pwMS. Previous studies however reported no significant differences in any of the metabolite concentrations in the brain between different genders44. Therefore, no correction for a gender effect was made. The HC group only had a baseline scan, with no longitudinal data recorded. A useful longitudinal control group may be untreated pwMS. The absence of such a control group is currently however a common limitation, as people with highly active MS are nearly always on treatment. Having no information on the natural history of thalamic MRS in pwMS, it is difficult to interpret the significance of longitudinal changes in glutamate seen in this study. Lastly, albeit the thalamus is seldom affected by inflammatory activity in pwMS, the presence of inflammatory lesions has been previously described45. Such lesions are a confounding factor as they directly influence measured metabolite concentrations. However, based on T1, double inversion recovery pulse and phase sensitive inversion recovery sequences, no thalamic lesions were observed in our study. Future work Studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm our baseline findings, as well as to confidently interpret longitudinal changes in glutamate concentrations following natalizumab treatment. The presence of a pwMS untreated control group is not justifiable on ethical and legal grounds, however fu

Architectural Study at Cal Poly :: Architecture

Architectural Study at Cal Poly Lost in the hills of Poly Canyon lies a land filled with bizarre structure built by past students that make up the architectural study area. This chunk of land is designated for architectural students to build their senior projects on. In the true Cal Poly spirit of learn by doing, students have been building inventive structures as senior projects. However, before 1963, most of these projects were torn down after completion. So the Dean of the college of architecture at the time, asked for land just for the students to build on. After being denied several times, he finally went to the boss for land and got it. After the campus president, heard of this, he gave nine acres of land in poly canyon for the students to build on. The first of eighteen student built structures is an enormous stone arch that marks the entrance. Here there is a map showing all of the projects and their locations. Past the arch is a rock wall where the faces of the creators are engraved in the stone. This wall marks a path leading to Techtite Bridge which was another student project. The next project on the path is the flower. While visiting I was fortunate enough to meet one of the creators. Because the original project is currently falling apart, he funded a group of students this year to rebuild a new one. The project is finished and it was rededicated October sixteenth of this year. Behind the flower, lies the Geodesic Dome. This dome is made of aluminum pipes and is fifty feet in diameter. When I first came across this dome, it looked to me like something I used to play on at the park as a kid. As I walked closer I saw that it was about thirty feet high and that it was no toy. Across from the dome is the sundial which, unfortunately, is no longer standing.

An Examination of the Second Meditation of Descartes :: Essays Papers

An Examination of the Second Meditation of Descartes Baird and Kaufmann, the editors of our text, explain in their outline of Descartes' epistemology that the method by which the thinker carried out his philosophical work involved first discovering and being sure of a certainty, and then, from that certainty, reasoning what else it meant one could be sure of. He would admit nothing without being absolutely satisfied on his own (i.e., without being told so by others) that it was incontrovertible truth. This system was unique, according to the editors, in part because Descartes was not afraid to face doubt. Despite the fact that it was precisely doubt of which he was endeavoring to rid himself, he nonetheless allowed it the full reign it deserved and demanded over his intellectual labors. "Although uncertainty and doubt were the enemies," say Baird and Kaufmann (p.16), "Descartes hit upon the idea of using doubt as a tool or as a weapon. . . . He would use doubt as an acid to pour over every 'truth' to see if there was anything that coul d not be dissolved . . . ." This test, they explain, resulted for Descartes in the conclusion that, if he doubted everything in the world there was to doubt, it was still then certain that he was doubting; further, that in order to doubt, he had to exist. His own existence, therefore, was the first truth he could admit to with certainty, and it became the basis for the remainder of his epistemology. In his "Synopsis of the Following Six Meditations," Descartes writes the longest paragraph by far on the Second Meditation. This is hardly surprising, since it is the one most critical to his methodology -- the one without which, his entire system of reasoning would collapse. In the first sentence of it, he presents exactly that conclusion which, as we have just seen, Baird and Kaufmann discussed: "In the Second Meditation," he says (p. 23), "the mind uses its own freedom and supposes the non-existence of all things about whose existence it can have even the slightest doubt; and in so doing the mind notices that it is impossible that it should not itself exist during this time." He goes on to say that this will enable the mind to distinguish itself from the body. At this point he spends a good deal of space speaking of exactly why he will not attempt to prove the immortality of the soul in this section, though perhaps some of his audience might have expected him to.

Disabilities Awareness Program :: College Admissions Essays

Disabilities Awareness Program    As the first student editor of this Disabilities Awareness newsletter for high school students, I was initially wary of the task. I had virtually no contact with anyone who faced a disability. I believe the fact that I was not familiar with the subject made me more curious about whom I would meet and what stories I would encounter. As editor, I presided over a group of students who helped develop and write this first edition. We have all learned a great deal from one another about people with disabilities and our attitudes toward them. Responding to a request sent out to English teachers, we came together to try something new which I hope you will enjoy reading as much as we have enjoyed writing.    My first job as student editor was to attend a ceremony last June at the Executive Mansion celebrating the inclusion of students with disabilities in New York State schools. I was completely awestruck at the determination of the students I met there. They had so willingly separated the myths of disabilities from the facts. These young students did not look at the disabilities that other students had, but saw through them and saw the person.    At the ceremony some special people came together to celebrate not only the success of inclusion, but the acceptance of inclusion. The day brought smiling faces for many children and adults alike who had participated in some way by including a person with a disability in some aspect of their lives. At the ceremony in the Executive Mansion, First Lady Libby Pataki presented achievement awards to both students and teachers. The Mansion was filled with the sounds of laughter.    It was after this ceremony that a group of students got together to write articles included in this publication. There were many stories submitted of inspiration and hope. Many of them parallel what was shown at the ceremony. Yet the thing which stands out the most is the concept that these are people. They are not the disability but they are the person. It is often forgotten that there is more to see than the disability. The personal struggles and acceptances point out what is really important.    Classrooms in 23 schools across the State participated in the Disabilities Awareness Program last year. Many more schools will join the program this year.

Advancement in computer graphics

Since the dawn period of video graphics, graphics developers had to depend on complete knowledge of the hardware they were working with. This knowledge came from lots of experimentation and electronics know-how. (Rickitt, Richard. 2000.)Games, such as Pong or Asteroids, graphic designers had to have a good knowledge of what every chip on the game motherboard could provide them.They were required to be fully aware of the amount of memory they might require like colors and sounds etc. some times they had to get through with the manufacturers to get assistance in designing chips that cater to their requirement.Sound and graphics were primitive at best, but they worked. Since these early games were in fact a pioneering attempt, they also had to generate new user controls to work with. (Ritter, R. (2002)Early DOS games were dependent on knowledge of machine and assembly languages to enter the OS’s lower levels. With the passage of time, more intelligible languages were introduces, such as BASIC and LOGO; though, they didn't have the potential of assembly language.Next innovation in language world was Pascal and C. With C, game developers could design advanced code routines devoid of having to work with tons of assembly code, therefore making graphics easier. Very soon C language became the preferred language of graphic designers. (Timo Aila, 2003)With these language changes, one difficulty remained. To develop high-quality games, developers still required a thorough knowledge of the hardware they were running with. There was no need to know every chip's capabilities, however they had to know things such as video cards, sound cards, and input devices. They also had to cope with memory constraints, which were turning out to be a hindrance to graphic designs.Along Came WindowsAdvancement in computer operating system it turned out to be very easy to maintain specific standards in the computer industry. These standards consisted hardware interfaces, video memory s tandards, sound standards, and CPU memory specifications. Yet, there was still a lot of conflict within the industry, and lots of hardware turned out to be unsatisfactory. Consequently, numerous games developed in Windows faced a lot of problems.Microsoft understood this problem early on and emphasized its efforts on improving its environment and working to improve performance for the parts of the operating system that cater to game and multimedia requirements.These efforts were obvious in Windows 95, one of the first operating systems that produced reliable hardware-software interaction a reality. Since all hardware companies had to meet a comparable standard and Microsoft controlled how its operating system responded to the hardware.In the DOS days, you had to build your own drivers for every type of video card, but with Windows, you had to develop to only one standard. In spite of spending time producing and understanding numerous hardware specifications, designers relied on Micr osoft to do all that for them and wrap up it for their use in the OS.There was one flaw with all of this. Windows was initially designed for homes and offices not for professional multimedia development. It lacked little necessary items that had become trademark in the multimedia market mostly graphics speed, DOS was better then windows.It was the same hardware, but there were many more layers between the developers' code and the hardware they wanted to control. The effect was that a lot of developers deserted the idea of Windows game development and depended on the Windows capability to disburse to DOS.After Microsoft understand that game developers agreed with its idea but reluctant to give up the performance they had become used to in DOS, Microsoft started exploring ways to facilitate developers to reach that hardware layer. Some of the initial attempts involved WinG, WinToon, and OpenGL.Wings become popular at the time of Windows 3.1 and Windows for WorkGroups. WinG was the fir st try at a complete graphics API (Application Programming Interface) library to eradicate the limitations of the Windows API.WinG rendered high-performance graphics system that could be accessed through Windows game development world to that community who worked completely in DOS.WinToon worked as first API system for Windows 95 that supplied the potential of easy animation playback. API also provided better performance as compared to existing Windows 95 APIs. Thus it aided to improve the multimedia playback capabilities of animation programs for instance kids' games and educational programs.OpenGL is a powerful set of APIs that let the developers to cut through the Windows red tape to integrate some of the hardware procedures of 2D and 3D graphics. Unexpectedly, OpenGL was not the product of Microsoft; instead it was introduced by Silicon Graphics, Inc.These technological advancements were an enormous boost, but eventually turn out to be short. As the game market boosted and the r equirement for more games on the Windows 95 platform rose, Microsoft developers went back to work.What they came up with was the Windows 95 Game Software Developer's Kit (SDK), which introduced the first version of DirectX. DirectX was actually restricted for the computer game industry but has evolved to embrace other areas, for instance, improvement in the arcade business and handheld Windows CE devices.As DirectX has improved, Microsoft rendered network support, in addiction with force feedback support, and 3D graphics capabilities. When ever improvements are required, the DirectX team has gone on to improve the performance of this amazing software library. (John Owens. 1983.)Video graphics games fueling hardware growth and hardware in turn fueling games will continue on. Thus the future of video games will most likely be tied to the future of graphics hardware and tactile hardware. With the introduction of the DirectX 8.0 API and same type functionality in OpenGL, GPUs increased programmable shading to their functions.The entire pixel could now be achieved by a short program that could involve additional image textures as inputs, and every geometric vertex could similarly be processed by a short program before it was shown on the screen. nVidia introduced chip capable of programmable shading, the GeForce 3 (widely known as NV20).By October 2002, with the introduction of the ATI Radeon 9700 (also known as R300), the world's first Direct3D 9.0 accelerator, pixel and vertex shades could implement looping and lengthy floating point math, and in general were soon becoming as flexible as CPUs, and orders of magnitude faster for image-array operations. (Dan McCabe 1998)Nowadays, parallel Graphics Processing Unit have   started computable graphic inroads against the operating system, and a subfield of study, dubbed GPGPU for General Purpose Computing on GPU has paved its way into areas as diverse as oil exploration, scientific image processing, and even stock opt ions pricing determination.There is increased pressure on GPU manufacturers to update hardware design, generally emphasizing on adding more flexibility to the programming modelBibliographyBartle, Richard A, 2003,Designing Virtual Worlds , 1st Edition, New Riders Dan McCabe and John Brothers. DirectX6 Texture Map Compression. Game Developer Magazine,   August 1998John Owens. EEC 277: Graphics Architecture. Technical report, 2005 Lance Williams. Pyramidal Parametrics. In Computer Graphics (Proceedings of ACM SIGGRAPH 83), pages 1–11. ACM, July 1983.Ritter, R. (2002). The Oxford Style Manual. Oxford University Press. Rickitt, Richard. Special Effects: The History and Technique. New York: Billboard Books, 2000.Timo Aila, Ville Miettinen, and Petri Nordlund. Delay Streams for Graphics Hardware. ACM Transactions on Graphics,, 2003

Family Meal Essay

In her essay, â€Å"The Magic of the Family Meal,† Nancy Gibbs, explains the important role of having meals plays on children. Gibbs begins her essay by telling us how valuable having a family meal is and the positive outcome. She believes that having a family meal, more than three times a week, with no interruptions, can have a great power over a family’s communication skills. Gibbs then explains that children who eat meals with their families, are less likely to get into trouble and eat healthier. She writes, â€Å"Studies show that the more often families eat together, the less likely kids are to smoke, drink, do drugs, get depressed, develop eating disorders, and consider suicide, and the more likely they are to do well in school, delay having sex, eat their vegetables, learn big words, and know which fork to use†(209-210). Gibbs then starts explore the negative effects of not having family meals. She writes that 45 percent of all family dinners have the TV running at the same time as the meal is being eaten. This is part of the reason kids feel like their parents aren’t proud of them as well as why there is tension among that particular family Gibbs states. She then concludes that back in the day dinner was a very precious event for most U. S. families. Overtime however, Gibbs believes this has dissipated due to social, economic, and technological factors. As a result, families became busier with these factors, which made it harder for families to sit down. Meanwhile, the message embedded in the microwave was that time spent standing in front of a stove was time wasted,† (211) Says Gibbs. She explores the effects of the fast food business and what role it played in destroying family meals and its importance. Overall Gibbs concludes that every family needs to have an uninterrupted family meal time, whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner, family meals are important, and writes, â€Å"So pull up a chair. Lose the TV. Let the phone go unanswered. And see where the moment takes you† (213). After reading Nancy Gibbs Essay, I looked back at my life and all the family dinners I have had. My parents got divorced when I was really young. Even though I lived with my mother and my sister, we stopped eating as a family every night. My mother got a job as a banker, where she left at 7 am and didn’t come home until around 7 pm. Thus, all of our meals were at the babysitter’s house, sitting by ourselves. After my father moved to Lincoln city and got married, we went to his house to visit every weekend. We sat down as a family to have a meal every night. We did not have phones, TV’s, or any other interruptions. At the dinner table we always had pretty in depth conversations which brought us closer as a family. It always made my sister and me feel like we were important and our dad was proud of us. After my father and his wife had their second child, my father cut us off and he didn’t have us come over very much anymore. My sister and I both started acting out in the beginning of middle school year getting into trouble, experimenting with drugs and hanging with the wrong crowds. Regardless of what we had been told, we didn’t care. Soon my mother got married to my step dad. We started having family dinners again, and my sister and I straightened up. Now that I look back, I do see how important it was for my sister and I to have family meals. These days, it is hard with the world moving so quickly, with jobs and school to sit down and have family dinner. However, we manage to make an effort successful or not, it brings us closer together and we know how important it really is now.

Apocalyptic Literature

The immediate thought most of us have when hearing the word apocalypse is destruction. From modern doomsday novels to movies like the Viet Nam era Apocalypse Now, we associate the word with war and destruction. The word apocalypse actually comes from a Greek word meaning to reveal or to uncover. So, right off the back we have to adjust our view of Biblical apocalyptic literature. In and of itself, it does not refer to disaster and hopelessness. Instead, it refers to an unveiling of something hidden. In this case, it is the final chapter in the story of Jesus Christ and His victory over sin and evil. In this paper I plan to shed some light on the understanding apocalyptic literature, the characteristics of apocalyptic literature, and how a person should interpret biblical apocalyptic literature. How to understand apocalyptic literature? Understanding the meaning of the word apocalypse is key to grasping apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic, as a term in the common language or dictionary definition, means something that is written in a warning and threatening way. It is scary, awkward, and about boding evil. The dictionary tells us it is presaging people of imminent disaster, exaggerated predictions, or allusions of the last days. However, this is not what it meant in the original Greek or Hebrew or in the time this term was penned. What did it mean? It means â€Å"discourser of events,† and that is what it literally and truly means to us today, too. It also means an â€Å"uncovering† or â€Å"unveiling,† and â€Å"Revelation† means â€Å"discourser of the apocalypse. † Apocalyptic is not meant to scare us or keep us away from interpreting Scripture; rather, it is meant to help us understand God, victory, hope, grace, God’s plan, and that He is indeed in control. The only people who should be scared are those who reject and hate Christ. When we see how this literature operates, it will help us greatly as it discloses for us the unfolding of historical events past, present, and future, with God’s plan and purpose being the ultimate goal. There for, if we take the time and effort to understand this type of genre, it will make things clearer for us it will expose, not conceal what God has for us. We need to realize that all languages use symbols and metaphors including Greek and Hebrew. If we assume a word is literal when it is not, we will make a wrong conclusion that will lead us and others away from the correct teaching. Then, if we teach it, we lead others astray from the correct teaching all because of our pride or ignorance of not correctly interpreting Scripture or reading the Bible for all that it is worth. For example, a parable should not be treated as history, nor should poetry (both of which contain many symbols) be treated as straightforward narrative; the same goes for apocalyptic literature. Most of the apocalyptic literature in Daniel and Revelation came to the writer as inspired by the Holy Spirit in visions. These are visions that came to them from God and or an Angel, with imageries that need to be put into human based words, but no words have the power or substance to contain the meaning. Therefore, a metaphor is used, as it is able to contain far more information about the â€Å"secrets† of Heaven and End Times than what a few sentences could. These images are usually explained and known to the writer and audience, but not so much to us today (Dan. –12; Rev. 4:9). What are some of the characteristics of apocalyptic literature? Apocalyptic literature is written in symbolism, poetry, and imageries, as well as in an Old Testament prophecy style (Matt. 24-25; Mark 13; Luke 21; Rev. 1:2-4; 19:9; 22:7-19), all intertwined as a textile to describe literal events but with a twist, using language with symbols that are cataclysmic, words that are exaggerated, a nd metaphors that may be lost to a 21st century person. Such imagery is often used for God’s judgments and the end of days. These forms of language are often combinations of narrative and poetry written in vivid imagery and rhythmical phrases that are intended to express a deeper but not necessarily a hidden meaning that a regular word would not convey. Take our English word, â€Å"bull. † It normally means a male cow, but in context, it refers to not just a farm animal, but also could mean someone who is aggressive, an upswing in the stock market, someone who is clumsy, or slang for someone who is telling a lie. This simple word can be exaggerated for a purpose just as Daniel and most of Revelation uses language to express a point. Apocalyptic writing is also found in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Matthew 24. Apocalyptic literature is a combination of narrative and poetry written in vivid imagery and poetic phrases that are intended to exaggerate for a purpose, such as in Daniel and most of Revelation. Apocalyptic writing is a more specific form of prophecy. Apocalyptic writing is a type of literature that warns us of future events, but the full meaning is hidden to us for the time being. Apocalyptic writing is almost a secret, giving us glimpses of what is to come through the use of symbols and imagery. We may not know the meanings now, but time will flush them out. How to interpret apocalyptic literature? We have to be careful how we interpret the Bible. Most of the time, we are to take his word literally; it means what it means and says what it says. However, in the genre of apocalyptic literature, the language is clear, such as the word, â€Å"lamb,† which is used often. We know what a lamb is and we know that Christ is described as a lamb, but do we also know that Jesus is the lamb been slain which means that Christ is the sacrifice? A lamb is the common animal that was slain and sacrificed for the atonement of sin and used for trade. Jesus replaces this lamb as the ultimate sacrifice, the sacrifice for our redemption. When you see the word, lamb, it is most likely referring to sacrifice and our Lord who offers us salvation (John 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:18-20). In contrast to the image of a lion which means sovereign and judge, the lamb was considered the weakest of all animals, needing constant attention and care just to survive. A lamb would die in the wild, whereas the lion would thrive. The image of the lamb was common in apocalyptic literature, also meaning victory and power through, and sometimes over death (Ex. 12:12-13; Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29; 21:15; Rev. 17:14). You can see that these images and themes have or will have history and significance. When we come to words that seem peculiar to our modern minds, such as stars, the first-century Jews would know that it meant â€Å"angels†. Lampstands meant â€Å"churches;† the phrase, â€Å"wife of the Lamb† meant â€Å"Jerusalem,† and the great prostitute was a covert slogan to refer to â€Å"Nero† or any corrupt leader in power. Babylon usually referred to Rome (Rev. 1:20; 17:1-5, 18; 21:9-10). Babylon the Great mainly referred to Isaiah’s mockery of sin and those who follow it as a harlot does. It is a contrast of evil governments in resentment to God and God’s Kingdom, the captivity of the Jews under Babylon and its moral decadence, and the early Christians under Rome, which was also steeped in immorality. This is also a reference to how people are led captive into sin. It was a metaphor that meant to sin and fall into seduction, meaning what lures us away from faith and what replaces faith. The application of this phrase is that seduction becomes corruption; this can range from pagan worship and atheism to following what is fruitless and meaningless while ignoring our Lord. This is not necessarily referring to one specific person or entity or political system, but pointing the faithful to what is evil in general. Nor, does this mean that Babylon will be rebuilt or restored in some way. This theme is about enmity to God and people’s participation in it which is in direct contrast to what Christ offers and is—Pure and Holy (Is. 1:9; Jer. 51:7-8; Dan. 2:35, 4:30; 44; Rev. 13:1-18; 16:19; 17:1-5; 18:3; 18:2, 10, 21, also 4 Ezra). Another apocalyptic word is star. A star in ancient cultures was a popular expression for divinities or angels; context is the key. Is it talking about messengers, things to come, or stellar events such as astrology? If it is a message being delivered, it could refer to a mighty angel, or refer to a cosmic disturbance, an Angel or ser vant, or an instrument of God (Rev. 8:10; 9:1-11; 20:1). Context and commonsense are the keys. These images are metaphoric, or symbols of specific themes in judgment. The obvious is that the actuality of this passage is pointing to God’s power, but these events are not necessarily verbatim, as it would be seemingly impossible. How could one star, much less billions upon billions land on this plant that is a billion times a billion smaller? The answer is, it is figurative, and it is a mystery how this will be eventually played out and what we will see. This is a depiction, just as a first century Jew would read and write. What we do know is that it will not be the same! The point of this metaphor is that no one is immune from experiencing God’s judgment. The entirety of the universe will bear witness to God’s will as an incredible phenomenon, displayed in the cosmos, that will herald Christ’s Second Coming (Mark 13:24-26; Luke 2:25-27). Overall, it is important to note that 28 percent of the Old Testament is prophecy, most of which came to pass in the life and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The New Testament has over 20 percent of some form of prophecy too, of which most (although this is debated) has not yet come to pass. Therefore, apocalyptic literature is important because God has dedicated a significant portion of his word to it. Again, do not read in what is not there. We are given a clear warning in Revelation 22:18-19 not to add in our ideas or take a way His precepts and then teach what is false. I believe it is ok to speculate academically, research, and argue and deliberate over the views, but we are not to seek or read in what we want and then miss what he as. Bibliography Stein, Stephen L. , ed. The Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism. Vol. 3, Apocalypticism in the Modern World and the Contemporary Age. New York: Continuum, 2000. McGinn, Bernard, ed. The Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism. Vol. 2, Apocalypticism in Western History and Culture. New York: Continuum, 2000. Himmelfarb, Martha. The Apocalypse: A Brief History. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Cook, Stephen L. The Apocalyptic Literature. Interpreting Biblical Texts. Nashville: Abingdon, 2003.