Methodology of systematic review in health care ( Nursing ) Essay

Methodology of systematic review in health care ( Nursing ) - Essay Example The effectiveness of quality care can be measured through patient satisfaction levels. Providing quality of care in nursing is important because it determines the satisfaction of, patients, nurses and their families and the health care organization (Sherman, Clark & Maloney, 2008). Quality of care has been studied extensively. Research shows that standards must be upheld through comprehensive objectives and specific goals Al-Yousuf, (2002). As a rule it is important that nurses aim to deliver quality care at all times. In so doing patients’ psycho-social and physical well-being are enhanced and they have prompt discharge home from hospital. r. Unfortunately, quality of care is not always in evidence. Consequently patients suffer and feel dissatisfied (Daly et al., 2004) A case in point in the health care field is Dammam Hospitals. Although the quality of care being delivered is good, there is observational evidence from nursing leaders that this could be improved. This is furt her evidence by patients feed back obtained through survey results received from patient satisfaction. In Saudi Arabia, nursing organizations operate in a top-down fashion according to levels of authority. The structure of nursing starts with higher authority system control from the ministry and extends downward to the nursing directors in the hospitals, nursing supervisors, nursing staff, and finally, nursing assistants (nursing leaders does not seem to feature here) (Al-Yousuf, 2002). Since macro-politics do impinge on care, it is critical for nursing leaders to have a good grasp of political issues and how this in turn can impact on care. Parallel with this, nursing leaders needs to possess other specific attributes in the following domains such as decision-making skills, technology skills, interpersonal skills, team-building skills, organizational skills, and effective communication skills. As a nursing Leader

The Sociological Reactions to the Return of Vietnam Veterans Essay Example for Free

The Sociological Reactions to the Return of Vietnam Veterans Essay The Sociological Reactions to the Return of Vietnam Veterans Upon their return from the Vietnam War, many veterans were shocked upon the reaction (or lack thereof) displayed by the citizens of the States who had remained on the home front. When finally landing back on American soil, many veterans expected to be greeted with celebration and maybe even a parade, acknowledging their service and dedication to the Vietnam cause. However, veterans were instead greeted by protestors who did not agree with the United States’ participation in the war (ironically, not all veterans wholly supported the cause itself, but instead went out of respect and devotion to their country). In an article written by Vietnam veteran Bill Hunt, it is clear to see that not only were strangers hostile towards veterans, but even friends and family treated the returning soldiers with annoyance, anger, or at the best, apathy. He states that it felt like family members had not even known he was at war; they reacted to his return much like one would react to someone returning from the grocery store: with just a casual hello, disregarding the danger and the high level of devotion that had been experienced. Hunt’s family barely acknowledged that he had ever even gone to war. The experiences of Vietnam vets were simply viewed as a part of every-day life. The war was not even taken seriously by many people, and veterans (specifically Hunt) were appalled by the flippant and insensitive (though innocent and thoughtless) comments made by others, family included. To the vets, it had been a hellish experience, and many experienced Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and many became dependent on drugs and alcohol to get through the psychological after-effects of being involved in such stressful and torturous circumstances. However, appallingly, many were unable to get the help they needed. Medical aid was not made available to them right away, and a shocking percentage of Americans viewed them as crazy and dangerous to society. Some even thought that the veterans deserved their psychological conditions. Suicide became increasingly common as many veterans experienced completely unfounded hatred and degradation. Part of this is due to the younger generation, which had begun the hippie movement. The ideas of â€Å"peace† and â€Å"love† were emphasized. Because of this, many returning veterans were greeted with shouts of â€Å"baby killer† and other completely untrue and offensive things. They were also given stereotypes of overarching drug use. Additionally, television was available to households for the first time. Because of this, there was no watering-down or censorship of the conditions of the Vietnam War. Many veterans were portrayed incorrectly and much confusion was experienced by the public due to mixed messages. Regardless of the cause, the fact remains that the Vietnam veterans are one of the most unjustly maligned groups of people in American history. The war was politically unpopular and many veterans were accused of a lack of dedication and â€Å"not fighting hard enough†. The disrespect that had been shown towards these veterans was and still is disgusting: regardless of whether or not one agrees with the cause, it is inexcusable that these veterans were not commended for their sacrifice. Comparison to The Return of a Private and Currently Returning Veterans The Return of a Private

Chang and Eng :: essays research papers

During the 1850s, and again after the Civil War, Chang and Eng returned to public exhibitions. In 1860, they met the famed showman, P. T. Barnum and worked for a brief time at his museum in New York City to support their growing families. Barnum also sponsored their tour to Europe. While in Europe, the brothers once again investigated the possibility of separation. The danger was still deemed too great, and surgery was refused. As their health declined, the brothers desired to return home, and they came back to North Carolina in the early 1870s. On January 17, 1874, Eng was awakened in the middle of the night by a strange sensation. Looking towards his brother, Eng quickly realized that Chang had died. Eng called for his son William, who ran through the house shouting "Uncle Chang is dead!" Within hours, Eng was dead, too. Several weeks later, the bodies were brought to Philadelphia by a commission appointed by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. An autopsy was performed by Drs. Harrison Allen and William H. Pancoast at the MÃ ¼tter Museum. It was determined that Chang had died of a cerebral clot. It was unclear, however, why Eng had died. Some physicians suggested that he died of fright. Today, it is thought that Eng bled to death, as the blood pooled in his dead brother's body. Chang and Eng changed the way society viewed conjoined twins and people with profound physical differences. They proved that those who were different can have normal lives: jobs, spouses, and a healthy family. Chang and Eng introduced the term "Siamese Twins" into our language, and introduced the world to a side of nature that was usually hidden away, ignored, or feared. Chang and Eng led the way for numerous other conjoined twins who have since benefited from the acceptance they demanded and received from society at large. For further information on Chang and Eng Bunker, see Wallace and Wallace, 1978. THE "SIAMESE TWINS" AS CULTURAL METAPHOR By the time they died, Chang and Eng were among the most widely known people in the United States. They were the subjects of newspaper articles, books, poetry, satires, lithographs, and plays. They were also a popular subject for masquerade parties. But at that time, these United States were not so united, and in Chang and Eng, Americans saw their own political struggle embodied. Alison Pingree (1996) has documented the tensions surrounding the "Siamese Twins". Chang and Eng :: essays research papers During the 1850s, and again after the Civil War, Chang and Eng returned to public exhibitions. In 1860, they met the famed showman, P. T. Barnum and worked for a brief time at his museum in New York City to support their growing families. Barnum also sponsored their tour to Europe. While in Europe, the brothers once again investigated the possibility of separation. The danger was still deemed too great, and surgery was refused. As their health declined, the brothers desired to return home, and they came back to North Carolina in the early 1870s. On January 17, 1874, Eng was awakened in the middle of the night by a strange sensation. Looking towards his brother, Eng quickly realized that Chang had died. Eng called for his son William, who ran through the house shouting "Uncle Chang is dead!" Within hours, Eng was dead, too. Several weeks later, the bodies were brought to Philadelphia by a commission appointed by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. An autopsy was performed by Drs. Harrison Allen and William H. Pancoast at the MÃ ¼tter Museum. It was determined that Chang had died of a cerebral clot. It was unclear, however, why Eng had died. Some physicians suggested that he died of fright. Today, it is thought that Eng bled to death, as the blood pooled in his dead brother's body. Chang and Eng changed the way society viewed conjoined twins and people with profound physical differences. They proved that those who were different can have normal lives: jobs, spouses, and a healthy family. Chang and Eng introduced the term "Siamese Twins" into our language, and introduced the world to a side of nature that was usually hidden away, ignored, or feared. Chang and Eng led the way for numerous other conjoined twins who have since benefited from the acceptance they demanded and received from society at large. For further information on Chang and Eng Bunker, see Wallace and Wallace, 1978. THE "SIAMESE TWINS" AS CULTURAL METAPHOR By the time they died, Chang and Eng were among the most widely known people in the United States. They were the subjects of newspaper articles, books, poetry, satires, lithographs, and plays. They were also a popular subject for masquerade parties. But at that time, these United States were not so united, and in Chang and Eng, Americans saw their own political struggle embodied. Alison Pingree (1996) has documented the tensions surrounding the "Siamese Twins".

Do Illegal workers help or hurt the economy Essay

While growing up in Mexico, I heard many stories of people who were going to work in the United States, some illegally, so they could provide a better life for their families. To them, they were going to the land of opportunity, where jobs were plentiful for people who were willing to work hard. They planned to go to the United States and do the work that Americans didn’t want, while getting paid more than they could make in Mexico. Many of them sought work in construction, where their lower pay would mean cheaper homes and buildings for Americans. Although there was the risk of getting arrested and deported, it seemed like a risk worth taking to many people. Now that I live in the United States, I have seen the other side of the story. I have seen the economic difficulties that Americans face in their own country. It is even harder for someone like me, who came here legally, but faces challenges that many Americans don’t. I have met people here who are working illegally, and see their daily struggle to survive. I have also met Americans who were born here and have difficulty finding work. Instead of plenty of jobs for everyone, good jobs are scarce with many people fighting to get them. I see the resentment some people have toward those who are here illegally, and working for lower wages, making it harder for others to complete. These observations have made me wonder; do illegal workers help or hurt the economy? Dr. George Borjas, Professor of Economics and Social Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, found that the earnings of US born workers were reduced by an average of 3.7% by immigrant workers, both legal and illegal. The greatest effect was to US born workers without a high school degree as well as young workers. In his research, published in the paper Increasing the Supply of Labor Through Immigration, Dr. Borjas writes â€Å"The 10 million native-born workers without a high school degree face the most competition from immigrants, as do the eight million younger natives with only a high school education and 12 million younger college graduates.† In the study entitled The Economic Logic of Illegal Immigration by Gordon H. Hanson, Professor of Economics at University of California, Gordon discovered that immigration has a modest impact on the economy, pushing incomes slightly lower for low-skilled native workers, and pushing incomes slightly higher for highly-skilled native workers. However, because legal immigrant workers encounter more restrictions and delays in entering the work force, it is illegal immigrations that provide a fluid, low-skilled workforce that is needed during economic booms. Gordon states â€Å"It (Illegal immigration) provides U.S. businesses with the types of workers they want, when they want them, and where they want them. If policy reform succeeds in making U.S. illegal immigrants more like legal immigrants, in terms of their skills, timing of arrival, and occupational mobility, it is likely to lower rather than raise national welfare.† In June of 2011, the state of Alabama passed the strictest anti-immigration law in the United States, known as HB 56. Alabama is an unlikely state for such a law, since only 120,000 of the country’s 11 million illegal immigrants live in Alabama. However, politicians painted illegal workers as an epidemic, contributing to budget shortfalls and high unemployment. Included in the law, is a requirement for police to validate a person’s immigration status if they have â€Å"reasonable suspicion†. The law penalizes anyone who employs, transports, or rents to an illegal immigrant. As a result of this law, Alabama farmers, who opposed the law from the beginning, saw their workforce disappear. In an article appearing in Mother Jones magazine entitled Help Not Wanted, by Paul Reyes, Alabama farmers expressed their frustration with HB 56. Their problem is that the work they have is difficult and requires experience and training that most native workers don’t have or are unwilling to do. In the article, Jerry Spencer, who runs Grow Alabama, a community-supported agriculture (CSA) project, is quoted. During a single month, Spencer employed 75 Alabamians to work on a farm, picking tomatoes. Of the 75 workers, 15 of them showed up more than once and only 3 lasted for the whole month. Spencer says â€Å"A Mexican can honestly make $300 a day at the height of tomato season, but that’s based on $3 per box. The (Alabamian) workers we took up there couldn’t come close. I’m going to be generous and say $20 a day was average. I actually was proud to see how hard they did work, but they couldn’t live up to the efficiency, and therefore the speed and production, that Mexicans could† An earlier law that prohibited employers from hiring illegal workers was the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which was passed by congress in 1986. This act created penalties for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. However, illegal workers have found a way to counter this by obtaining fake Social Security numbers and green cards, which can be purchased easily in most immigrant neighborhoods for a small fee. These false documents allow employers to claim ignorance if caught hiring an illegal worker. This also means that the illegal workers are paid the same way as other workers, along with tax deductions. In an article appearing in Generations magazine entitled Not on the Radar: Illegal Immigrant are Bolstering Social Security, author Eduardo Porter provided the following statistic, â€Å"The estimated seven million or so illegal immigrant workers in the United States are now providing the system with a subsidy of as much as $7 billion a year.† It is important to note with this statistic, that illegal workers are not eligible for Social Security benefits. Their Social Security deductions are being paid to retired legal workers. While illegal workers with false documents are paying taxes and contributing to the Social Security system, illegal immigrant workers also add a financial strain on city and state budgets. For example, in states like California, where one third of foreign born people in the United States live, children of immigrants are affecting public schools. In the book Immigration in a Changing Economy: California’s Experience, authors Kevin F. McCarthy and George Vernez advocate that more education needs be provided in California public schools for English proficiency for immigrant children â€Å"lest they, and California with them, fall behind the rest of the country† warns McCarthy and Vernez. Illegal workers may have dreams of making lots of money while working in the United States, but the truth is that they will face low-level jobs with the likelihood of exploitation. In a study of illegal Mexican workers, which is documented by Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz in the study Undocumented workers in the labor market: An analysis of the earnings of legal and illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States, published in the Journal of Population  Economics, it was found that 93.2% of male illegal workers and 87.4% of female illegal workers worked in service occupations. Furthermore, they made significantly less income than legal workers performing the same functions. Although some of the pay discrepancy is due to their time spent in the United States and English proficiency, it does not explain all of the pay discrepancies. Rivera-Batiz writes, â€Å"The large proportion of the gap in wages between legal and illegal immigrants unexplained by differences in the measured characteristics of these two groups strongly suggests the presence of systematic discrimination against undocumented workers.† After conducting my research, I have been surprised to learn that illegal immigration has a minimal impact on the overall US economy. The most negatively affected are young, low-skilled, less educated native workers, who experience slightly lower wages due to illegal immigrant workers. Highly-skilled native workers actually receive a slightly higher income due to illegal immigrant workers. Illegal workers benefit of course, but they are also easy targets for exploitation, since they are often not paid the same as legal workers performing the same job functions, and do not receive the same benefits that legal workers do. The real winners from illegal immigration are the businesses that knowingly employ illegal workers. They receive a workforce willing to work for minimal wages, and perform jobs that many native workers are unwilling to do. Government agencies also benefit by receiving tax payments from illegal workers, while not having to pay out such benefits as Social Security. For these reasons, I foresee little change in Immigration laws, since the current situation benefits those with the most power and money. Works Cited (1) Borjas, G. J. (2004, May). In Increasing the Supply of Labor Through Immigration: Measuring the Impact on Native-born Workers. Retrieved Mar. 29, 2013, from http:// www.cis.org/articles/2004/back504.html (2) Hanson, G. H. (2007, Apr. 26 ). In The Economic Logic of Illegal Immigration. Retrieved Mar. 29, 2013, from http://www.cfr.org/content/publications (3) McCarthy, Kevin F., Vernez,  George. â€Å"Immigration in a Changing Economy: California’s Experience.† Rand, 1997: 338 EBSCOhost. Anoka Technical College, Anoka, Minnesota. 19 April 2013 http://www.ebsco.com (4) Reyes, Paul. â€Å"Help Not Wanted.† Mother Jones March/April 2012: EBSCOhost. Anoka Technical College, Anoka, Minnesota. 19 April 2013 . (5) Rivera-Batiz, Francisco L. â€Å"Undocumented workers in the labor market: An analysis of the earnings of legal and illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States† Journal of Population Economics (1999) 91-116 EBSCOhost. Anoka Technical College, Anoka, Minnesota. 29 March 2013 . (6) Porter, Eduardo. â€Å"Not on the Radar: Illegal Immigrants Are Bolstering Social Security.† Generations Spring 2005, Vol. 29 Issue 1: 100-102 EBSCOhost. Anoka Technical College, Anoka, Minnesota. 29 March 2013 .

Is Corruption-Free Society: A Distant Dream?

Once chanakya had said that honey would be kept on your tongue and you would not be allowed to taste; it is impossible. Corruption is the misuse of public power for private profit. It involves those behaviours on the part of government officials, whether politicians or civil servants, where they improperly and unlawfully enrich themselves or those close to them, by the misuse of the public power entrusted to them. Corruption in any where is threat to every here as the saying one rotten apple spoils the barrel. Harshad Mehta, Sukhram, Tehelaka, Telgi cases are the great example of corruption in India.Literacy and corruption are interlinked. Most literates are more corrupted in most of the cases and the most illiterate are the victims of corruption. As in India most of the people are illiterate so they are becoming the easy victims of corruption. Every patriotic Indian realizes that if there is one factor that is keeping India under the spell of perpetual poverty and which makes the li fe of the common citizen miserable, it is corruption. A citizen faces corruption practically at every level and every sector of life.It could be the local rationing department, police, municipal authorities or educational institutions like schools and colleges. In the industry inspector-raj has become a code word for regular bribes collected by the public servants at the cutting edge of administration of the various departments of Central and State governments. Corruption is anti-national, anti-economic development and anti-poor. Nevertheless we have perhaps come to take corruption as a fact and a way of life. This may be partly due to sociological reasons and partly due to a sense of helplessness and defeatism.Corruption is harmful in three different ways: Rajiv Gandhi once observed that out of every rupee meant for the anti- poverty programmes, only 15 paise reached the beneficiary. Out of the 85 paise may be 40 paise can be accounted for as administrative overheads. The leakage o f the remaining 45 paise is definitely due to corruption. Corruption is, therefore, anti-poor. Corruption is also anti-economic development. Political interference, reduced attractiveness of service and declining morale has all combined to whittle away officials’ will to remain honest. The biggest cost is political.Petty corruption is especially endemic at the lower, clerical levels of administration — precisely the point at which the ordinary citizen comes into daily contact with officialdom. People are forced to pay bribes for securing virtually any service connected with the government, even that which is theirs by right and law. People naturally tend to judge the entire structure of government on the basis of direct experiences with the agents of government. It would be difficult to exaggerate the revulsion felt by ordinary Indians toward the ubiquitous and institutionalized venality of public life. Evil social practices also promote corruption.One major social cau se that promotes corruption is the dowry system. Every public servant wants to see that his daughter is married off well and there’s continuous pressure for having a substantial level of dowry. This may be one of the reasons why one comes across cases where even public servants who have otherwise led a clean life become vulnerable to corruption towards the end of their career. Dowry system is definitely one of the social roots of corruption in our country. Equally important is the social pressure in a competitive society for ensuring that children get the best possible education.Right from kindergarten in every educational institution, there is pressure of competition, and education has become commercialised. This has been further accentuated by government policies about affirmative action resulting in a great incentive for self-financing colleges who charge a lot of donation fee and most of it is collected in black. Education pressure and corruption in the education sector i s another social factor contributing to corruption in our system. One of the social roots of corruption in India can be traced to our Indian culture of tolerance. Equally important is another psychological factor.Power is never demonstrated in a society unless it is misused. In certain communities, being as corrupt as possible and amassing as much wealth as possible is seen as a macho demonstration of â€Å"competence†. If this is the attitude, those sectors of society that did not have an opportunity to share the power cake in the past may also rationalize that they must emulate those who had earlier enjoyed misuse of their power and amassed wealth by rampant corruption. Thus, a vicious cycle of corruption is launched where a society tolerates amassing of wealth and does not question how that wealth is accumulated.Is eliminating corruption a myth or reality? If we believe corruption can be eliminated, it can be; if not, it will remain a reality. So is it a distant dream or c an this dream be fulfilled is a billion dollar question. In conclusion, corruption in India exists because of the unsatisfied basic needs of the general population. Corruption in India cannot be eradicated by questioning ethical standards of its population. Removal of corruption can only be achieved by right macro-economic policies and by reducing government control. Honest political leadership is a must as a first step.Opening the economy for the investors around the world can provide the needed capital. Fresh ideas and entrepreneurial spirit has to replace the bureaucratic government control for a wealthier society. Supply of basic commodities has to be higher than the demand for general population not to bribe any government officials. Only skilled entrepreneurs hired by public shareholders can bring the money losing monster public sector to profitability. An efficient tax collection mechanism supported by computerised revenue reporting systems of individual businesses would be a step in the right direction.Qualified political leadership is required to understand and implement such policies. Most importantly, political will of the leaders will be required to take such actions. In Japan and South Korea, former prime ministers and children of presidents have been jailed for corruption. In India, not one senior politician of the many who have been implicated in scandals – and they are numerous – has so far been convicted. The labyrinthine legal system is used to frustrate the course of justice. Three-points can be suggested to check corruption. The first is simplification of rules and procedures.Corruption is like malaria, handled by giving medicine to those affected and simultaneously preventing the breeding of mosquitoes. Many of our rules and procedures breed corruption. Orders have, therefore, to be issued to check and simplify procedures. One example is a ban on post-tender negotiations in government purchases, except with the lowest bidder. Such negotiations are a flexible source of corruption. The second step is empowering the public and bringing in greater transparency. Every office should have a board stating, ‘Don’t pay bribes.If anybody asks for a bribe, you can complain to the CVO, CVC. ’ This way we can educate the public who come to every small office of the GOI and other organisations like banks and public sector undertakings that there is a way out if they do not want to pay bribes. The third step is strong punishment to those who are involves in corruption. Corruption is the greatest hindrance in the development of ever-developing nation. If we want to replace the â€Å"developing† tag from our beloved country by â€Å"developed†, we have to take stringent measures and stand against the parasite of corruption together

Cheating at School essays

Cheating at School essays There's no doubt that many students cheat. Surveys across America show this. Students cheat from time to time, because to them this isn't a big deal. The pressures put forth in society to do well academically at times force students to do things they wouldn't ordinarily do. The weights and measures of getting good grades vs. risk of getting caught cheating are becoming more and more at risk. A recent study of a survey at Bucks show cheating is wide spread."Approximately 140 students have taken the survey, and approximately 50 percent of the student respondents to our survey on academic integrity have known other Bucks students to cheat and/or plagiarize on their college assignments," said Michael Hennessey, chairman of ad-hoc committee on academic integrity and Lang and Lit professor.At Bucks there is a survey you can take anonymously at:http://ctlsilhouette.wsu.edu/surveys/ZS5801Cheating has also become easier as the Internet savvy generation of students enter the academi! c world. New technologies make it even easier with the explosion of cell phones with email, pagers which are alphanumeric, and wireless devices. Doing a search on Yahoo for the terms research paper come up with 44,311 hits. School Sucks is one of many online cheat sites, where students can download prewritten term papers for free or for a modest fee. Cheater.com, created by 18-year-old Paul Roberts, averages about 60,000 page views per day.There are books out there that tell you how to cheat. The Cheater's Handbook: The Naughty Student's Bible by Bob Corbett which sells for $12.95 or Arco Real A+ College Term Papers by Mark Alan Stewart for $11.99. A study from Donald L. McCabe of Rutgers University shows that:On most campuses, over 75 percent of students admit to some cheating. In a 1999, and 2001 survey of 2,100 students on 21 campuses across the country, about 1/3 of the participating students admitted to serious test cheating and half admitted to one or mo...

The Old Man and the Sea1 essays

The Old Man and the Sea1 essays In The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway there are two characters who have a great friendship, the old man and the young boy. The old man has been fishing for many years and for the last eighty-four days has not caught a fish. Now the boy who looks up to him is not allowed to fish with him anymore. This boy looks up to the old man as a hero because the old man shows courage, perseverance, and respect. The old man shows courage just by going out all alone everyday and still fishing at his age. Although he showed the most courage when he had to fight the big fish. He could have let the fish go, by cutting the line, but instead the old man was willing to die trying to catch it. He had seen many that weighed more than a thousand pounds... Now alone, and out of sight, he was fast to the biggest fish that he had ever seen and bigger than he had heard of (pg 63) Yet he didnt fear the fish because he knew that if he fought the fish wisely he could beat it. However, if he lost his courage, then he would be done for and would never see the fish again. Not only does the old man show courage but he also shows perseverance. This man went eighty-four days without catching a fish. Yet he woke up every morning, way before dawn and get ready for a day of fishing. He knew that if he stuck with it, then his perseverance would pay off in the long run. Ever as hes fighting the fish he shows perseverance. Fish he said softly, aloud Ill stay with you until I die(52) This shows that he was in for the fight of his life and that he was willing for his life to end before giving up. And in the end his perseverance pays off and he finally gets the fish to the boat. The boy also looks up to the old man because of the old mans respect. He has respect for everything and everyone. He respects the boy by treating him like a son, the fish by realizing the beauty of it, and him self by no...

U.S. Birth Rate Hits All-Time Low in 2016

U.S. Birth Rate Hits All-Time Low in 2016 In a trend that has some demographers worried, the birth rate in the United States dropped to its lowest level ever in 2016. Dropping by another full 1% from 2015, there were only 62 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44. Overall, there were a total of 3,945,875 babies born in the United States during 2016. â€Å"This is the second year that the number of births has declined following an increase in 2014. Prior to that year, the number of births declined steadily from 2007 through 2013,† noted the CDC. According to an analysis issued by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), birth rates in all age groups under age 30 fell to all-time record lows. Among women ages 20 to 24, the decline was 4%. Among women ages 25 to 29, the rate fell 2 percent.   Drop in Teenage Pregnancy Drives Trend In an analysis issued by the National Center for Health Statistics, researchers report that birth rates declined to record lows in all groups under age 30. Among women ages 20 to 24, the decline was 4 percent. For women 25 to 29, the rate fell 2 percent. Driving the trend, the fertility and birth  rate among teenagers and 20-somethings fell by 9% from 2015 to 2016, continuing a long-term decline of 67% since 1991. While they are often used interchangeably, the term â€Å"fertility rate† refers to the number of births per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44 occurring in a particular year, while â€Å"birth  rate† refers to the fertility rates within particular age groups or specific demographic groups. Does This Mean the Total Population is Falling? The fact that the all-time low fertility and birth  rate puts the United States population below the â€Å"replacement level† - the balance point between births and deaths at which the population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next - does not mean that the total U.S. population is falling. The annual U.S. immigration rate of 13.5% in 2017 still more than compensates for the lower fertility rates. Indeed, while the birth  rate continued to fall consistently throughout the period from 1990 to 2017, the nation’s total population increased by over 74 million people, from 248,709,873 in 1990 to an estimated 323,148,586 in 2017. Potential Dangers of a Falling Birthrate  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Despite a growing total population, some demographers and social scientists worry that if the birth  rate continues to slide, the U.S. could face a â€Å"baby crisis† resulting in cultural and economic pathos. Far more than an indicator of societal trends, a nation’s birth  rate is one of the most significant gauges of its overall demographic health. If the fertility rate falls too far below the replacement level, there is a danger that the nation will lose the ability to replace its aging workforce, leaving it unable to generate the amount of tax revenue needed to keep the economy stable, maintain or grow the infrastructure, and become unable to provide essential government services. On the other side, if birth  rates get too high, overpopulation can strain the nation’s available resources such as housing, social services, and safe food and water.   Over the decades, countries like France and Japan, experiencing the negative effects of a low birth  rate have applied pro-family policies in attempts to encourage couples to have babies. However, in nations such as India, where fertility rates have fallen slightly over the last few decades, residual overpopulation still results in wide-spread starvation and abject poverty. US Birthrates Up Among Older Women The US birth  rate is not falling among all age groups. According to the CDC’s findings, the fertility rate for women ages 30 to 34 rose by 1% over the 2015 rate, and the rate for women ages 35 to 39 went up by 2%, the highest rate in that age group since 1962. The birth  rate among older women ages 40 to 44 also increased, up 4% over 2015. In addition, the fertility rate for women ages 45 to 49 increased to 0.9 births per thousand from 0.8 in 2015. Other Details of US Birthrates in 2016 Unmarried Women: Among unmarried women, the birth rate fell to 42.1 births per 1,000 women, down from 43.5 per 1,000 in 2015. Falling for the eighth consecutive year, the birthrate for unmarried women has now dropped by over 3% since reaching its peak in 2007 and 2008. By race, 28.4% of white babies, 52.5% of Hispanics, and 69.7% of black babies were born to unmarried parents in 2016. Preterm Birthrate: Describing babies born before 37 weeks of gestation, the preterm birth rate increased for the second consecutive year to 9.84% per 1,000 women from 9.63% per 1,000 women in 2015.  This slight increase in preterm births came after a decline of 8% from 2007 to 2014. The highest rate of preterm birth was among non-Hispanic blacks, at 13.75% per 1,000 women, while the lowest was among Asians, at 8.63% per 1,000 women. Use of Tobacco by Mother: For the first time, the CDC reported data on mothers’ use of tobacco during pregnancy. Of the women who gave birth in 2016, 7.2% reported smoking tobacco at some point while pregnant. Tobacco use was the most common earlier in pregnancy - 7.0% of women smoked in their first trimester, 6.0% in their second, and 5.7% in their third. Of the 9.4% of women who reported smoking in the 3 months prior to becoming pregnant, 25.0% quit smoking before pregnancy.

Functional Relationships Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Functional Relationships - Assignment Example Therefore production function interlink inputs and outputs as in the case provided. Taking for example the industrial production of sugar at a sugar mill. For production of sugar several inputs are required for production process to be complete. Although there are many inputs from labor, fuel, sugarcane supply, water and machinery the main inputs are sugarcane supply. To produce output y, input x1 and x2 are required for it to be produced. Therefore, such input set has the following effects on production of y. x is the sum input x1 and x2 referred to as the isoquant. Consider a situation where there are two main inputs x1 and x2 for production of sugar. Let x1 be sugarcane supply and x2 be labor. All these inputs work together for production of sugar. For Y quantity of sugar to be produced the firm need to use x1 quantity of sugarcane and x2 labor in the firm. Therefore, production process requires different inputs put together to produce a given output required. Inputs such as labor, capital and raw materials are equally important in the production process. In conclusion, addition of extra inputs in production clearly has great impact in production process. Production functions are determined by inputs that are used. Such inputs for example labor, capital and raw materials are used in the production process to determine the amount of outputs in

Federal Income Tax Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Federal Income Tax - Research Paper Example The total expenditure by Mr. Zimblist could be overviewed by his expenses like extending the garage area for vintage auto collection, donating a large amount to a university and collecting a professional certification by his wife. $45,000 has been invested for the garage area inorder to display the vintage auto collection which is debatable because 60% of it was paid by the company. Mr. Zimblist has donated an income of about $ 25000 to the university is on his behalf. Finally Mrs. Zimblist certification in advanced motivational psychology offered by the organization was worth $ 12,300, this includes the cost of the overall courses, bo foroks and marks. Efran lives in a house that is provided by the company. It is not only in his personal use bu,t also the requirement of the company to set it as an office house inorder to comfort, entertain and leave a good impression on the clients. House maintenance and others are also taken care by the company. His garage serves the same business purpose.  §162(a) states that the taxpayer is allowed to deduct the ordinary and necessary expenses paid in carrying a trade or business. In contrast  §262 provides no deduction to be made for personal expenses. However,  §162(a) (2) and  §280A apply of many restrictions on the expenses made on personal resident being used as office.  § 280A(c)(1)(B) allows deduction for a home office if it is in use for patient, clients or customers and they make meeting and dealings. The Green v. Commissioner, 705 F. 2d 404 (9th Cir. 1983) also claims how important it is to understand the use of the resident as personal or office.  

The California-Riverside Community Garden Essay

The California-Riverside Community Garden - Essay Example The purpose of establishing a garden within the campus was to ensure that the university and the community members had a place where they could grow fruits and vegetables. The location of the UCR community garden is next to the parking lot 30 close to the corner of Canyon Crest Drive, and Martin Luther King Boulevard. Notably, the Riverside region in California has a history of rigorous real estate activities. The California-Riverside community is one of the regions that experienced numerous adverse effects of the economic crisis. This factor triggered many community members to rely on soup kitchens and food banks. However, the main challenge was that the community lacked supplies of fresh produce. One of the graduates from the university named Fortino Morales initiated the idea of setting aside some space within the University for a Community Garden. In order to ensure that the idea was viable, the community coordinated by students from the University and carried a pilot project in 2009. Notably, the project faced certain challenges but proved to be successful (French). Currently, the university has a three-acre community garden that serves as evidence that the students and the community are promoters of the environmental agenda, as well as the global food initiatives. The University has proven to be environmentally friendly because of establishing this garden. When I visited the garden, a great percentage was all green while the remaining percentage was under preparation for planting. Fortino Morales, the concept developer of the UCR community garden envisioned an innovative project that would take place in phases. For this reason, the project began with a quarter an acre and later expanded to a current three acres. The garden has numerous plots ready for use by either the community members or students. Individuals willing to use the plots can access tools, seeds, as well as water free of charge. In addition, the compost used in the plots comes from the UCR dining services (French). For this reason, the community garden supports the recycling of kitchen wastes, which is a strategy of protecting the environment.

Imagination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Imagination - Essay Example In essence, the first gaze is all about the visual element of tourism in the sense that tourists will get what they see. Focusing too much of the visual aspects may not necessarily be the best way of enhancing tourism in a particular region. The commercial aspect of tourism is mainly concerned with ego in the sense that completeness and self-sufficiency are the primary driving factors in such form of tourism. In as much as Urry’s tourist gazes appear to make sense, it is important to note that the first gaze is far from monopolizing the tourism field. Concerning the second gaze of tourism as posited by John Urry, it is worth noting that there is a great contradiction with the first gaze. Usually what a tourist sees is not exactly what he or she will get. Therefore, they must understand that seeing may not necessarily lead to believing. It is not advisable to believe everything that one sees or encounters because even the most elaborate books or tourism guides have some hidden information that are not available to the public. In this regard, the presentation of any tourist attraction plays a primary role in the second gaze compared to the attraction itself. By presenting tourist attraction in an enticing manner, people are more likely to believe what they see even if what they have been told does not correspond with the actual situation on the ground. Runyon Canyon’ photo is okay only that it depicts scenes that most of the ordinary Americans are not familiar with. Although it is a good thing that the photo has not revealed the major landmarks of Los Angeles, it is also negative that most people will fail to identify with the photo. The photo is beautiful and acceptable in the sense that it shows the skyline of Los Angeles as the sun goes down. The image of Griffith Observatory at night creates a sense of peace to the viewers because of the beautiful

Comparative Paper Between the Bible and the Quran Research

Comparative Between the Bible and the Quran - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that one’s practical approach must be to agree on the issues on which there are no misunderstandings or disagreements. Be silent on other issues-either believe or disbelieve. Read them if you wish; do not read them if you do not wish. This is the practical example of mutual tolerance, which is applicable in the secular world also. Silence is the greatest virtue that can be practiced, when one senses tension on any issue, for human history is the witness—contentious issues have never been solved through violence or wars! This paper makes a conclusion that the differences and contentions about Noah’s flood etc. may not be a major issue as for the relationship between two faiths, but as we all know a tiny spark on religious misunderstandings may lead to a wild fire. The mind-level human sentiments are easily inflamed. This story about the flood and Noah’s Ark is one of the most read stories in the Bible. It involves tragedy and it is a story of salvation. The story of destruction of mankind and its re-growth kindles deep curiosity and gives the grim reminder as to what could have been the conditions and sufferings of all those affected, when a gigantic flood drowns them all. It raises serious questions about the then prevailing conditions in the society as to warrant such an action by God! It also instructs humanity to be away from the evil influences and lead a divine life, surrendering everything at the hands of the All-Merciful! He knows what is good for us in the given circumstances o f life!

Imagination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Imagination - Essay Example In essence, the first gaze is all about the visual element of tourism in the sense that tourists will get what they see. Focusing too much of the visual aspects may not necessarily be the best way of enhancing tourism in a particular region. The commercial aspect of tourism is mainly concerned with ego in the sense that completeness and self-sufficiency are the primary driving factors in such form of tourism. In as much as Urry’s tourist gazes appear to make sense, it is important to note that the first gaze is far from monopolizing the tourism field. Concerning the second gaze of tourism as posited by John Urry, it is worth noting that there is a great contradiction with the first gaze. Usually what a tourist sees is not exactly what he or she will get. Therefore, they must understand that seeing may not necessarily lead to believing. It is not advisable to believe everything that one sees or encounters because even the most elaborate books or tourism guides have some hidden information that are not available to the public. In this regard, the presentation of any tourist attraction plays a primary role in the second gaze compared to the attraction itself. By presenting tourist attraction in an enticing manner, people are more likely to believe what they see even if what they have been told does not correspond with the actual situation on the ground. Runyon Canyon’ photo is okay only that it depicts scenes that most of the ordinary Americans are not familiar with. Although it is a good thing that the photo has not revealed the major landmarks of Los Angeles, it is also negative that most people will fail to identify with the photo. The photo is beautiful and acceptable in the sense that it shows the skyline of Los Angeles as the sun goes down. The image of Griffith Observatory at night creates a sense of peace to the viewers because of the beautiful

Lee Miller Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Lee Miller - Essay Example Though it started and ended in tragedy, it was filled with excitement and several trail-blazing firsts. "Lee Miller - The Movie" would star: Miller's interesting supportive parents, two husbands, famous WWII figures, her son who was disappointed by his alcoholic mother, celebrities, and famous artists (including Picasso) and photographers. Major scenes would include the tragic childhood sexual abuse that left her with gonorrhea, the fairytale discovery of her by photographer Conde Nast, her New York modeling career, her two marriages, her experiences photographing World War II, and the disastrous effects the war had on her that ultimately lead to her own tragic demise. The final scenes would chronicle the world's amazing "rediscovery" of Miller through her son's book and her daughter-in-law's rummaging in Miller's attic, after Miller's death in the 1970s. Lee Miller was born "Elizabeth Lee Miller" in Ploughkeepsie, New York on the 23rd of April 1907 to parents Theodor and Florence Miller. She was the middle child, with an older brother John and a younger brother Erik. Theodore Miller, her Father was an engineer and a businessman. Like many of his time Theodor was a strong believer in science and technology - going as far as to run his household scientifically.2 He had several affairs and not much is known of his relationship with his wife Florence.3 On a visit to family friends at the ages of seven Florence left Elizabeth in the care of "Uncle Bob". This short visit changed her life as, though the exact details are unclear, "Uncle Bob" raped her.4 She was rushed home, and shortly after to a doctors when it became apparent that she had contracted gonorrhea from "Uncle Bob".5 The available treatments for the disease at the time - before the discovery of antibiotics - were painful, frequent, and took many weeks.6 Elizabeth was traumatized by the rape and the subsequent treatments. To help her emotional recovery, her parents took her to a psychiatrist. This doctor taught Elizabeth that love and sex were separate things - a fact that probably contributed to her many amorous liaisons later in life.7 Theodore, an amateur photographer, quite likely thinking that he was following the doctor's directions in helping his daughter separate her physical being from her emotional one began taking nude photographs of his daughter on her eighth birthday. She soon became proud of her appearance and was a good model. The photography sessions continued until she was twenty. The family was accepting of Theodore's new hobby, treating it as art.8 The camera loved Lee Miller and so did a lot of men. She was a beautiful woman and the true definition of American beauty with her golden locks and blue eyes. She was an independent woman; a true feminist who would break all rules if they were not to her liking.9 Though outwardly she led an independent life, there was a dark side to her that she hid from the world.10 She was undoubtedly one of the most intriguing and mercurial women of the twentieth century. Beauty is central to her story: it was her passport to the glamorous and artistic worlds she plunged into between the world wars. New York Modeling Career While in Manhattan, when she was 19, her life was saved by a magazine publisher, Conde Nast, who was so impressed by her beauty that he helped launch her modeling career. She thus became

Conflict Resolution Essay Example for Free

Conflict Resolution Essay Merriam-Webster (n.d) defines conflict as, â€Å"the opposition of persons or forces that gives rise to the dramatic action in a drama or fiction†. Interpersonal conflicts, whether they are between family members, students and teachers, employees and supervisors, or groups, have certain elements in common. Coser (1967) asserts that conflict is a struggle over values and claims to scarce status, power, and resources, in which the aims of the opponents are to neutralize, injure, or eliminate the rivals. (p. 8) Coser’s definition grew out of the cold war, when conflict between the United States and the former U. S.S.R. dominated Western method to conflict. Conflict was viewed as a win-lose solution. According to Dana (2001) there are only three ways to resolve any conflict; power contests, rights contests, and interest’s reconciliation. Power contest is based on Coser’s (1967) win-lose situation. Each party views their point as right each wanting power over the other. Rights contest is an orderly system which has rules, regulations, policies, precedents and a hierarchy of authority which is used in order to â€Å"win† again this model is a win-lose resolution. The solution to conflict resolution is interest reconciliation. This approach enlists support from both parties to find the best solution. All parties win with interest reconciliation model as their solution. Conflict in the workplace is a condition between or among two or more workers whose jobs are independent, who feel angry, who perceive the other(s) as being at fault, and act in a way that causes a business problem. Conflict has three elements feelings (emotions), perceptions (thoughts) and actions (behaviors). â€Å"Psychologists consider these three the only dimensions of human experience. So, conflict is rooted in all parts of the human nature† (Dana, 2001, p. 5) some confuse conflict with indecisi on, disagreement, stress, or some other common experience that may cause or be caused by a conflict. However, those elements are not best handled by conflict resolution. The question many ask, is conflict normal? Conflict is a fact of any organizational life. On the job, conflict is a stubborn fact of organizational life (Kolb and Putnam, 1992, p. 311). Rather than seeing conflict as abnormal, Pondy (1992) suggests we view organizations as arenas for staging conflicts, and managers as both fight promoters who organize bouts and as referees who regulate them (p. 259). In addition, Pondy states that in the company, agency, or small business, conflict may be the very essence of what the organization is about, and if conflict isnt happening then the organization has no reason for being (p. 259). One study surveyed workers and found that almost 85 percent reported conflicts at work (Volkema and Bergmann 1989). With an increasing awareness of cultural diversity and gender equity issues, it is essential that employees become familiar with issues surrounding promotions and harassment. In fact, one can see training in organizations as a form of preventive con flict management (Hathaway, 1995). The recognition of the frequency of conflict at work has led to books on mediating conflict in the workplace (Yarbrough and Wilmot 1995), showing how managers can learn conflict management skills to intervene in disputes in their organization. As employees, daily work with clients, customers, co-workers, or bosses can be a struggle. Conflict is as Wilmot (1995) wrote, What determines the course of a relationship . . . is in a large measure determined by how successfully the participants move through conflict episodes (p. 95). Conflict resolution has five styles, giving in, avoiding, fight it out, comprise, and work together style. No style is right or wrong; however some do work better than others. Accommodation, giving in to the others wishes or smoothing waves sacrifices ones own goals for the sake of the other person. Accommodators often use phrases like: Whatever you want is fine with me. When one party in a conflict genuinely does not care about the outcome of the conflict, accommodation may be the right choice for that situation. However, if accommodation is the only style a person utilizes, he or she is advised to learn more skills. Avoidance is characterized by behaviors that either ignore or refuse to engage in the conflict. While avoidance is by some consider a negative style that shows low concern for both ones own and the other partys interests, there are sometimes strategic reasons to avoid conflict. For example, when the relationship is short-term and the issue is not important or when the situation has a potential to escalate to violence, avoidance may be the prudent choice. Fight it out, competition, or win/lose, style maximizes reaching ones own goals or getting the problem solved at the cost of the others goals or feelings. While always choosing competition has negative repercussion s for relationships, businesses and cultures, it can occasionally be the right style to choose if the other party is firmly fixed in a competitive style or there are limited resources. While competitive strategy is not necessarily dysfunctional, competition can easily slip into a destructive situation. Understanding the methods and strategies of others who use competitive styles can assist conflict managers in neutralizing the negative consequences of competition and work toward a mutual gain approach. Compromise is a give and take of resources. The classic compromise in negotiating is to split the difference between two positions. While there is no victor from compromise, each person also fails to achieve her or his original goal. Finally, working together to collaborate is when parties cooperatively team up until a mutually agreeable solution is found. Compromise and collaboration are win-win solution where as the other styles are win-lose. Why do people avoid dealing with conflict? People have a natural instinct of fear and some let that fear overpower them. The fear of harm causes people to fight-or-flight. Individuals will choose the flight option when in a dangerous part of a city that they have never been in before in order to avoid danger, it shows wisdom or strength to get out a of physically abusive relationship, commendable to stay out emotionally abusive relationships. In spite of this, in some cases people have the response to flight to a false perception of harm. People overstress in their minds the emotional harm that someone can cause harm. The same is said for conflict in the workplace, people will avoid conflict for fear of being harmed by others. Some avoid conflict because of a fear of rejection from others. These individuals feel others will withdraw their friendship or push them away causing more hurt. People have the perception if they do not risk rejection they can suppress their needs and feelings. Loss of relationship is the fear of rejection taken up a level they fear totally losing a relationship. Others avoid conflict to mask their true desires because preserving a relationship is more important than getting what they want. These individuals are trapped into believing their worth is dependant on another accepting them. People avoid conflict for fear of anger. These people do not like listening to someone who is angry. They believe another will hurt them, reject them, or leave them, and they just cannot stand to witness anger. However, anger is just anger and it is not necessarily directed toward them. Individuals do not want to be seen as selfish. In some situations people are not afraid of others reactions, but rather their interpretation of the situation. They fear that they will appear selfish. However, is it wrong to have a need, feeling, or want and to express it? Society has sometimes had it seem that way. Although, there is nothing wrong with asking for what individuals want versus feeling they are entitled to always getting what they want. The truth is if one never asks, then they are depriving people around them from being able give to them effectively. Still, people who feel their wants should not be fulfilled, regardless of what others want, fall into the selfishness category. Sometimes people avoid conflict for fear of saying the wrong thing or something they will regret. Individuals will avoid conflict rather than risk putting â€Å"their foot in their mouth† they contain their anger and frustration which often leads to that which they fear. When people have conflicts in the past that have failed so they avoid future conflict for the fear of failing those too and begin to believe the confrontation is not worth the emotional energy it takes to deal with others. The fear of failing can impact other aspects of ones life. The fear of hurting another is more than just saying the wrong thing. These individuals are extremely sensitive and caring. They would rather hurt themselves than risk hurting another. The fear of success is a fear that most over look. However, it is much like the fear of failure. Some people are afraid to get what they want; they believe they will never get it. These people feel they do not deserve what they want, the consequences of getting of what they want is regret, or the responsibility is more than they need or desire. The fear of intimacy is the most subconscious of the fears. People do not want to share their dreams, desires, and wants with others. They feel they are private and do not want to be exposed. People do not want to appear weak. If resolution involves giving in, avoiding, or compromise they may feel they appear as though they do not have confidence. People do not want the stress of confrontation. They feel it is better to avoid conflict rather than deal with the stress it will cause them in the workplace between co-workers. Our society tends to reward alternative responses to conflict, rather than negotiation. People, who aggressively pursue their needs, competing rather than collaborating, are often satisfied by others who prefer to accommodate. Managers and leaders are often rewarded for their aggressive, controlling approaches to problems, rather than taking a more compassionate approach to issues that may seem less decisive to the public or their staffs. Conflict resolution requires profound courage on the part of all parties: It takes courage to honestly and clearly express one’s needs, and it takes coura ge to sit down and listen to one’s adversaries. It takes courage to look at one’s own role in the dispute, and it takes courage to approach others with a sense of empathy, openness and respect for their perspective. Collaborative approaches to conflict management require individuals to engage in the moment of dialogue in thoughtful and meaningful ways, so it is understandable if people tend to avoid such situations until the balance of wisdom tips in favor of negotiation. People have certain perceptions in conflict when dealing with different situations. Culture shapes and frames each individuals interpretation of appropriate behaviors during conflicts. Conflict across cultures, whether across nations or across the diverse cultures within a country, exacerbates the routine difficulties of conflict management (Fry and Bjorkqvist, 1997). There is no clear conclusion about whether men and women actually behave in different ways while conducting conflicts. However, gender stereotypes do affect conflict behaviors when individual s act and react based on stereotypes of how men and women will/should act rather than selecting behaviors appropriate for the individual one is communicating with (Borisoff and Victor, 1997). Parties respond to conflicts on the basis of the knowledge they have about the issue at hand. This includes situation-specific knowledge and general knowledge. The understanding of the knowledge they have can influence the persons willingness to engage in efforts to manage the conflict, either reinforcing confidence to deal with the dilemma or undermining ones willingness to flexibly consider alternatives. The person sharing the message is considered to be the messenger. If the messenger is perceived to be a threat (powerful, scary, unknown, etc.) the message can influence others responses to the overall situation being experienced. For example, if a big scary-looking guy is yelling at people they may respond differently than if a diminutive, calm person would express the same message. Additionally, if the people knew the messenger previously, they might respond differently based upon that prior sense of the person’s credibility. People are more inclined to listen with respect to someone they view more credible than if the message comes from someone who lacks credibility and integrity. Some people have had significant life experiences that continue to influence their perceptions of current situations. These experiences may have left them fearful, lacking trust, and reluctant to take risks. On the other hand, previous experiences may have left them confident, willing to take chances and experience the unknown. Either way, one must acknowledge the role of previous experiences as elements of their perceptual filter in the current dilemma. These factors, along with others, work together to form the perceptual filters through which people experience conflict. As a result, their reactions to the threat and dilemma posed by conflict should be anticipated to include varying understandings of the situation. This also means that they can anticipate that in many conflicts there will be significant misunderstanding of each others perceptions, needs and feelings. These challenges contribute to our emerging sense, during conflict, that the situation is overwhelming and unsolvable. As such, they become critical sources of potential understanding, insight and possibility. How do people respond to conflict? There are three responses to conflict emotional, cognitive and physical responses that are important windows into our experience during conflict, for they frequently tell people more about what is the true source of threat that is perceived; by understanding the thoughts, feelings and behavior to conflict, a better insight into the best potential solution to the situation. Emotional (feelings) are the feelings we experience in conflict, ranging from anger and fear to despair and confusion. Emotional responses are often misunderstood, as people tend to believe that others feel the same as they do. Thus, differing emotional responses are confusing and, at times, threatening. Cognitive (thinking) are our ideas and thoughts about a conflict, often present as inner voices or internal observers in the midst of a situation. Through sub-vocalization (self-talk), people understand these cognitive responses. Physical (behavior) can play an important role in our ability to meet our needs in the conflict. They include heightened stress, bodily tension, increased perspiration, tunnel vision, shallow or accelerated breathing, nausea, and rapid heartbeat. These responses are similar to those we experience in high-anxiety situations, and they may be managed through stress management techniques. Establishing a calmer environment in which emotions can be managed is more likely if the physical response is addressed effectively. Dealing with someone unwilling to negotiate can be difficult for the person who is trying to resolve the conflict. However, the 8 Step Model can be very beneficial, by focusing first on listening to the other person, and seeking to understand the sources of their resistance, the stage can be set for clarifying the conditions he or she requires in order to talk things out. This is not about being right or wrong in the situation, but a practical strategy for getting the other person engaged as a partner in the negotiation process. Another alternative is to focus on things we can do to influence conflicts in the future, rather than putting initial energy into understanding (or solving) problems we have had in the past. By remaining relatively flexible about the agenda taking on topics individuals care about, but not necessarily the most pressing issues – thus, creating an opportunity to reduce the fears associated with resistance. While the conflict may not be able to be truly resolved, some key issues that exist will be managed and will help to prevent the issues from getting worse. Power is an important and complex issue facing anyone seeking a negotiated solution to a conflict. Before negotiating clarify the true sources of power in the room: The boss has position power, associated with the carrots and sticks that come with the role. She or he may also have coercive power, supported by contracts or statute that compels employees to behave in certain ways and do certain tasks associated with the job. Some may have a great deal of expertise power, accumulated from doing your job over a period of time. Either conflict participants may possess normative power, through which they know the lay of the land in their department and, therefore, how to get things done. And either may possess referent power, through which others show respect for the manner in which the employee conducts themselves. Generally, referent power accrues to those who demonstrate a mature willingness to seek collaborative solutions. An impasse is the sense of being stuck. Impasse is the point within a dispute in which the parties are unable to perceive effective solutions. People feel stuck, frustrated, angry, and disillusioned. Therefore, they might either dig their heels in deeper, anchoring themselves in extreme and rigid poitions, or they might decide to withdraw from negotiation. Either way, impasse represents a turning point in our efforts to negotiate a solution to the conflict. As such, rather than avoiding or dreading it, impasse should be viewed with calmness, patience, and respect. Multi-party disputes are complex situations, and they require careful attention and persistence. However, the same 8 Step Model can be applied to the disputes. In spite of using the same process expect everything to take a bit longer than if there where only two or three people. Patiently make sure that all points of view are heard, that issues are clarified for all to see, and that all members in the group accept the agreements being negotiated. If there are limits to the groups decision-making power, then it is important to acknowledge those limits and understand how they are perceived by all members of the group. There are many different ideas of the steps for resolution, some claim five steps while others claim six or seven for the purpose of this paper Weeks (1992) eight step resolution style is identified. Step one – Create an Effective Atmosphere Creating the right atmosphere in which the conflict resolution process will take place is very important, yet most overlook its importance. The atmosphere is the frame around the canvas which will be painted the negotiations and building of better relationships (Weeks, 1992). Step two – Clarify Perceptions Perceptions are lenses through which a person sees themselves, others, their relationships, and the situations they encounter. Perceptions have a great influence on behavior of people. Once people perceive something in certain way, even if the perception is wrong, in the mind it is that way, and often base behaviors on that perception (Weeks, 1992). Step three – Focus on the Individual and Shared Needs This step builds on the previous step as needs as the conditions people perceive they cannot do without, those conditions critical to each persons wellbeing and relationships. However, step three focuses more on skills involved in the conflict partnership approach. There are several key points to keep in mind in this step. 1) Needs are the foundation of relationship and are an essential part of that foundation. 2) People sometimes confuse needs with desires. 3) Personal needs in relationships perceived by individuals must allow for respect of the needs or the relationship (Weeks, 1992). Step four – Build Shared Power Power is a part of every relationship. However, the way people perceive and use power is seen frequently as a dirty word. Such as when people use power as means to control or to manipulate some else to get what they want. Although, power is and of itself not corrupt, it is the way in which people use their power and whether they allow such power to corrupt. Developing positive self power through a clear self-image means that we base our perceptions of ourselves not on what others expect of us or want us to be but what we believe to be our own needs, capabilities, priorities and goals (Weeks, 1992, p. 152). Step five – Look to the Future, Then Learn from the Past. All relationships and conflicts have a past, present and future. Resolving conflicts requires dealing with all three. The conflict partnership process encourages the use of positive power to focus on the present-future to learn from the past. The past experiences people face set the landscape for present and future decision making and how relate to others (Weeks, 1992). Step six – Generate Options People have the ability to discover new possibilities in their relationships as well as conflict resolution. However, both are often impaired by the packaged truths and limited vision people hold onto in times of stress, insecurity, and conflict. Generating options breaks through the predetermined restrictions brought into the conflict resolution process. Generating options imparts choices which specific steps to resolve conflicts and enhanced relationship can be agreed upon (Weeks, 1992). Step seven – Develop â€Å"Doables†: the Stepping-stones to Action Doables are the necessary stepping-stones taken along the way to resolve conflict. Doables are explicit acts that stand a good possibility of success, meet some individual and shared need, and depend on positive power, usually shared power to be carried out. Working on and accomplishing some doables can help the conflict partners see more clearly where they need to go. Many conflict partners have changed their preconceived definitions of both the conflict itself and the expected outcome due to the lessons learned and clarified perceptions through working with doables (Weeks, 1992) Step eight – Make Mutual-Benefit Agreements Mutual-benefit agreements are the next step on the pathway to conflict resolution. Conflict resolution agreements must be realistic and effective enough to survive and the potential to develop further as challenges arise in the future. Mutual-benefit agreements replace the need or want for demands, see the others needs, shared goals, and establish a standard wherein power is identified as positive mutual action through which differences can be dealt with constructively (Weeks, 1992). Conclusion Conflict is an unavoidable aspect of everyday life whether it is with family, teachers, students, friends, or an organization. The best approach to resolving conflict is interest reconciliation. It joins both parties of the dispute to find the best solution. In so doing, all parties win. People respond to conflict in three ways emotional (feelings), cognitive (thinking), and physical (behavior). All are important to the conflict experience. They allow a better awareness to best furnish a solution to the situation. An important tactic to conflict resolution is to develop persuasion skills with the ability to clearly explain one’s point of view and to argue for their conclusions and convictions. Week’s Eight-Step Process is a valuable tool in helping people to become more strategic about resolving conflict. References Borisoff, D., and D. A. Victor., (1997). Conflict management: A communication skills approach, 2nd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Conflict, (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conflict Coser, L. A. 1967. Continuities in the study of social conflict. New York: Free Press. Dana, D. (2001). Conflict resolution. New York: Mcgraw-Hill. Fry, D. P., and Bjorkqvist K., (1997). Cultural variation in conflict resolution. Mahwah, N. J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Hathaway, W., (1995). A new way of viewing dispute resolution training. Mediation Quarterly, 13(1), 37-45. doi:10.1002/crq.3900130105 Kolb, D. M., Putnam, L. L. (1992). The Multiple Faces of Conflict in Organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, (3), 311. doi:10.2307/2488478 Pondy, L. R. (1992). Reflections on organizational conflict. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13(3), 257-261. Volkema, R. J., and Bergmann T. J., (1989). Interpersonal conflict at work: an analysis of behavioral responses. Human Relations 42: 757-770. Weeks, D. (1992). The eight essential steps to conflict resolution: preserving relationships at work, at home, and in the community. Los Angeles, J.P. Tarcher; New York: Distributed by St. Martins Press Wilmot, W. W. (1995). Relational communication. New York: McGraw-Hill. Yarbrough, E., and Wilmot W., (1995). Artful mediation: Constructive conflict at work. Boulder, Colo.: Cairns Publishing.

The Need Of Money To Be An Entrepreneur Business Essay

The Need Of Money To Be An Entrepreneur Business Essay Nobody can reject that money is really important in life , it helps us do whatever we like and a statement is given to discuss that all you need is money to be an entrepreneur. I do not totally agree with this statement because of some reasons and this essay will describe, indicate different elements and prove that money is not all for its success. With evidence of reading and researching I think that being an entrepreneur need more things such as: the passion, ability and experience. The passion it will help you a strong motivation to implement your ambition. Of course, an entrepreneur has to have good ability with many fields; they will run and manage their business right direction which they desire. Business always faces with many risks, suffers from pressures around and a leaders need get over them quickly. Moreover they need have innovative strategies and motivations for products services to compete with other companies. And the other important thing is experience, it will help a leader an overview about problems and troubles which brings many disadvantages for business are to assist you find suitable solutions .When experience has a lots , you can treat and control sudden situations more exactly. Being an entrepreneur need many different elements to support and money is not all. As Harold, G (n.d) said that: In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later. We can see that money plays an important role but it doesnt decide everything and entrepreneur should have and combine all elements together, they will get the better effects to maintain and develop their business. All you need is money to be an entrepreneur. The passion which is defined as the energy that can bring you more into what you do.I totally agree that the passion is the first element which helps us strong motivations to get the desire. You can get your personal satisfaction, financial purpose, stable attitude and enjoyment with what you want to put into your business. So if you do not have any passion with jobs, you will be difficult to succeed in running your business. You have to think of yourself as an entrepreneur so you will have a deep responsibility with your choices. You learn how to organize and maintain business through researching related resources and have right directions as real experts. As we know Oprah W (n.d) is one of the most famous entrepreneurs through her media and publishing interests. She is called as queen of media over the world. Her passion quotes was that: Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you or Ignoring your passion is like dying a slow deathà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦P assion whispers to you through your feelings, beckoning you toward your highest good. Pay attention to what makes you feel energized, connected, stimulated- what gives you your juice. Do what you love, give it back in the form of service, and you will do more than succeed. You will triumph or Donald T (n.d) is one of millionaires with quote without passion you dont have energy, without energy you have nothing or Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate of Jon Bon Jovi (n.d) is a famous musician, song writer. Through many famous quotes of successful entrepreneurs agree that the passion is really important to help you follow the dreams and ambitions so passion is one elements to contribute and build an entrepreneur. Moreover to be an entrepreneur need ability which is the second element, it is expressed with many aspects such as: skills, knowledge etc. As  Lou H (n.d) said that: ability is what youre capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it or Donald K (n.d) has quote that A man of ability and the desire to accomplish something can do anything. We can see the second element which is really important is ability. Firstly if you have ability, you will know how to run business right direction based on your skills. You have to create the great ideas and evaluate them how to impact to your business. Your business plans must be shown your goals, strategies; action steps and answers some questions such as: who is your customer? How is your business plans implemented? What are my objectives, strategies, action steps to get your goals? Can you think of ways to solve problems? How much money can yours earn? etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦( Tamara, M n.d) so you must be a creative mind if you want to become an entrepreneurs. Always think of costs, manufacture time, output and quality of products or services which bring benefits for yours. You need to take time, calculation, describe detail about your products or services which can satisfy customers. You have to analyze about market, demand and supply in order to you can give innovative strategy to compete with other competitors.   With your ideas investors will be interested in investment their money and bring many opportunities to develop yours. With problems and troubles, you are not able to forecast consequences which can happen to your business so an entrepreneur need know how to face with taking risks and suffering from pressures around. You always have to remember a sentence: Failure is the mother of success to take experiences and find how to get over them. Many businesses had serious problems but they did not know how to maintain theirs and their businesses were closed. So you should build business plans effectively and reduce risks. Being a success entrepreneur you need be brave to face with pros, research more to find the good solutions. Furthermore an entrepreneur is an independent person to make decisions on their own. You do not feel to be afraid of rejection from other colleagues. And a leader need have ability to persuade employees, partners, and customers  in order to support for your business plans whether challenges will happen to you. Besides, an entrepreneur needs identify opportunities for your business with steps such as: spotting, assessing, selecting and executing upon opportunities. You must be able to spot an unmet need which is potential for business. After sporting unmet need, you need analyze them to assess and determine marginal success of finance and human resources. Next step is selecting opportunities which play an important role to gain success and the last step is executing Upon Opportunities which step is combined among creativity, passion, persistence, focus, responsibility, intelligence, planning and energy. An entrepreneur has to know how to take and select opportunities for them to maintain and develop business day by day (anonymous, n.d).Moreover a leader should build a network system for business because nowadays technology plays a major role in the management and unlimited information. It helps business update and deal with any problems more quickly, exactly as well as save time for everyon e in business. Another advantage of technology is sure that it allows you to monitor progresses and helps limited risks (Tamara ,M n.d ). As we know Steve job is one of the fathers of the personal computing era and the founder of Apple. He has quote in 1996 that: These technologies can make life easier, can let us touch people we might not otherwise. You may have a child with a birth defect and be able to get in touch with other parents and support groups, get medical information, the latest experimental drugs. These things can profoundly influence life. Im not downplaying that or Bill ,G (n.d) said that: information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I dont think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without the talking about the other. Two of famous entrepreneurs emphasize how technology is important in business as well as life nowadays. The third element is experience which is known as the nature of events someone or something has undergone with any jobs will bring for you different skills such as : sales, marketing or managementYou have to face with people , difficult situations which you need to think of giving the best ways to support for your business. However if you do not have much experience in business , the limited information about market, sales, organization, management etc you will be waste of time, give bad solutions. On contrast if you have experience, you will run yours right direction, understand problems and deal with problems more quickly. Of course an entrepreneur really need much experience in order to get to speak to employees and answer all given questions. Doing work with experience you will show your ability, passion, interest, confidence and it will give you a good understanding of your strengths and weakness. As Tom K (n.d) quote that: there are no failures- Just experiences and your reacti ons to them or Donal T (n.d) said that: Experience taught me a few things. One is to listen to your gut, no matter how good something sounds on paper. The second is that youre generally better off sticking with what you know. And the third is that sometimes your best investments are the ones you dont make. Everyone needs experience with each field, it helps us get over difficulty easier and limit risks. Moreover an entrepreneur with much experience will be useful in selecting and recruiting employees in order to provide good human resources for yours through some steps such as: Planning includes: structure, focus, identity, prepare; Implementation includes: contact, motivate, evaluate and the last step is closure which includes : select, offer , candidate joining (anonymous, n.d). With each step your business will recruit many suitable employees for each necessary position in company. Furthermore, if an entrepreneur has much experience, he will build good relationship with partners or customers easier. As Bill, G (n.d) said that: Our success has really been based on partnerships from the very beginning relationship in business is really important for each company and just having experience can assist you to handle good partners. The partners will keep your business going and cooperate together in order to develop, bring benefits and compete with other companies. A  good  business  partnership has clarified responsibilities, expectations and how to cooperate effectively such as: investment, competition and manufacture products or services. Critical use. Entrepreneur is known as a person who runs a company or business. They finance or make decision which belongs to operation of business. All important problems such as: organization, arrangement, open new projects of business need be allowed by an entrepreneur and they need to find solutions when facing with the risks and disadvantages. An entrepreneur has to predict opportunities, make plans and manage the business in order to bring benefits and gain profits for theirs. We can see under framework of the Entrepreneurial Personality which supports more elements to be an entrepreneur. They include: internal locus of control, high need for achievement, moderate risk taking propensity. An entrepreneur must have ability to run business, reduce risks and disadvantages (both Jekyll, I 2005).You often thinks of ideas, innovative strategies and how to implement them to get achievement for company in future. http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/summer82/hild1.gif Figure 1: Framework of the Entrepreneurial Personality (Source: signed: DLA 2005 proceedings, Jekyll Island, Georgia, June 5-8, 2005). And One clear example about a successful entrepreneur is Mark Zuckerberg who set up networking site that has widened over the world: Facebook as well as Ceo and president of the business, he is one the youngest billionaires in the world. Mark Zuckerberg was born in a normal family but he showed his intelligence from an early age and was interested in computer programs. With his passion he arrived in Palo Alto in order to apply in college, established a social-networking site and created Facebook which is used popularly nowadays. From his childhood, he really inspired in computer and by following his desire he got achievement noticeably. His father said that Mark Zuckerbergpassion helped him be a successful entrepreneur so the passion plays an important role to get the desires for anyone. As well as Mark Zuckerberg Oprah Wfrey is well-known as the queen of media over the world however she was born in a poor family stayed with her grandmother in Mississippi. She undergoned so many diff iculties in her childhood but with her passion and ability she established her first talk show which was called people are talking in 1976 as well as worked as anchor and news reporter. With her ability, enthusiasm personality, passion she expanded some programs such as: The Oprah Winfrey etc. Besides with her experience she published two magazines: O, the Oprah magazines, O at home and extended her business as well as a partner of Oxygen Media, a cable channel . In the recent year, Oprah Winfrey is rank as one of famous entrepreneurs over the world and became the first Africa-American billionaire woman. All her achievements get today because her passion, ability and experience which help her have strong motivation to succeed. With these evidences, we can see that being an entrepreneur need include many elements and undergone difficult period get success like the. Conclusion. Based on elements which are reminded above we can see that money is not all to be an entrepreneur. Being an entrepreneur need have many different elements to support for running their business. This essay describes and indicates different elements and shows that just money is not enough to become an entrepreneur. These elements are referred such as: the passion, ability, experiences of an entrepreneur with the purpose proves to be a good entrepreneur need collect many faces. They know how to realize an overview about problems and troubles which brings many disadvantages for business to find suitable solutions . As Oprah Winfrey has quotes that: how do I define success? Let me tell you, moneys pretty nice. But having a lot of money does not automatically make you a successful person. What you want is money and meaning. You want your work to be meaningful, because meaning is what brings the real richness to your life Most of successful entrepreneurs have undergone difficulty and get th eir desire with the passion, ability, experience and meaningful money. And one more time I want to assert that being an entrepreneur needs many different elements to be complex and build a prosperous business in future.

Modern Western Thought :: essays research papers

Modern Western though has been shaped by emphasis on scientific thinking and reasoning from the time of Copernicus, Galileo and Newton. The scientific revolution gave birth to a new era of thought, in which observations were made to support an idea. This involved what man could prove through sense, not religion or superstition. Notable ancient Greek historians, philosophers and scientists, such as Thucydides, Socrates, Aristotle, and Hippocrates, laid down the seeds of modern Western thought.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An ancient Greek writer who demonstrated modern scientific objectivity was Thucydides. Over time, this type of scientific objectivity has become a valuable tool of modern Western thought. The vividness and detail of Thucydides’ description of the effects of the plague is striking. A doctor today would be very impressed by the accuracy and detailed description of the plague: â€Å"Externally the body was not very hot to the touch, nor was there any pallor: the skin was rather reddish and livid, breaking out into small pustules and ulcers.† This precise description of the plague would be comparable to any description written today. The scientific objectivity demonstrated by the ancient Greeks had a direct influence on our medical, and non-medical, description today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many ancient Greeks such as Socrates used logic, another invaluable tool of modern Western thought. Socrates, by asking simple questions, was able to draw answers from people that supported his argument. By thinking a problem through, step-by-step, Socrates was able to formulate answers to a problem or question. This laid down the foundation for modern logic. â€Å"Not at all, my dear Agathon. It is truth that you find impossible to withstand; there is never the slightest difficulty in withstanding Socrates.† This shows that Socrates merely saw himself as a guide to logic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aristotle, one of the very first scientists, used evidence to support his claims. Today, any argument made must be supported by evidence. Any argument not supported by evidence is not accepted as fact. Aristotle’s use of evidence made his arguments strong and convincing, even if he was quite wrong. When Aristotle writes â€Å"Again, if the earth as a whole is capable of floating upon water, that must obviously be the case with any part of it. But observation shows that this is not the case. Any piece of earth goes to the bottom, the quicker the larger it is† he is able to prove his point by the use of evidence. The method in which Aristotle supported his arguments is constantly used today as it shows that the point one is arguing is true. Modern Western Thought :: essays research papers Modern Western though has been shaped by emphasis on scientific thinking and reasoning from the time of Copernicus, Galileo and Newton. The scientific revolution gave birth to a new era of thought, in which observations were made to support an idea. This involved what man could prove through sense, not religion or superstition. Notable ancient Greek historians, philosophers and scientists, such as Thucydides, Socrates, Aristotle, and Hippocrates, laid down the seeds of modern Western thought.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An ancient Greek writer who demonstrated modern scientific objectivity was Thucydides. Over time, this type of scientific objectivity has become a valuable tool of modern Western thought. The vividness and detail of Thucydides’ description of the effects of the plague is striking. A doctor today would be very impressed by the accuracy and detailed description of the plague: â€Å"Externally the body was not very hot to the touch, nor was there any pallor: the skin was rather reddish and livid, breaking out into small pustules and ulcers.† This precise description of the plague would be comparable to any description written today. The scientific objectivity demonstrated by the ancient Greeks had a direct influence on our medical, and non-medical, description today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many ancient Greeks such as Socrates used logic, another invaluable tool of modern Western thought. Socrates, by asking simple questions, was able to draw answers from people that supported his argument. By thinking a problem through, step-by-step, Socrates was able to formulate answers to a problem or question. This laid down the foundation for modern logic. â€Å"Not at all, my dear Agathon. It is truth that you find impossible to withstand; there is never the slightest difficulty in withstanding Socrates.† This shows that Socrates merely saw himself as a guide to logic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aristotle, one of the very first scientists, used evidence to support his claims. Today, any argument made must be supported by evidence. Any argument not supported by evidence is not accepted as fact. Aristotle’s use of evidence made his arguments strong and convincing, even if he was quite wrong. When Aristotle writes â€Å"Again, if the earth as a whole is capable of floating upon water, that must obviously be the case with any part of it. But observation shows that this is not the case. Any piece of earth goes to the bottom, the quicker the larger it is† he is able to prove his point by the use of evidence. The method in which Aristotle supported his arguments is constantly used today as it shows that the point one is arguing is true.

Pricing policies Essay

1. In making promises that are not guaranteed by third parties and in imposing penalties that are not enforced by third parties, all of the following are credibility-enhancing mechanisms except 2. Essential components of a game include all of the following except: 3. A key to analyzing subgame perfect equilibrium strategy in sequential games is 4. When airlines post prices on an electronic bulletin board at 8:00 a.m. each morning, the decision-makers are engaged in 5. Credible promises and hostage mechanisms can support a continuous stream of cooperative exchanges except when 6. Firms that have a cover charge for their customers and charge for each item they purchase as well are exhibiting 7. The segmenting of customers into several small groups such as household, institutional, commercial, and industrial users, and establishing a different rate schedule for each group is known as: 8. Vacation tours to Europe invariably package visits to disparate regions: cities, mountains, and the seaside. Bundling, a type of second degree price discrimination, is most profitable when: 9. Which of the following pricing policies best identifies when a product should be expanded, maintained, or discontinued? 10. ____ is a new product pricing strategy which results in a high initial product price. This price is reduced over time as demand at the higher price is satisfied. 11. Which of the following is not among the functions of contract? 12. Mac trucks and their dealers would likely have an organizational form of 13. Contracts are distinguished from tactical alliances by which of the following characteristics: 14. Which of the following are not approaches to resolving the principal-agent problem? 15. When retail bicycle dealers advertise and perform warranty repairs but do not deliver the personal selling message that Schwinn has designed as part of the marketing plan but cannot observe at less than prohibitive cost, the manufacturer has encountered a problem of ____. 16. ____ occurs whenever a third party receives or bears costs arising from an economic transaction in which the individual (or group) is not a direct participant. 17. The antitrust laws regulate all of the following business decisions except ____. 18. The sentiment for increased deregulation in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s has been felt most significantly in the price regulation of 19. The Herfindahl-Hirschman index (also shortened to just the Herfindahl index) is a measure of 20. The lower the barriers to entry and exit, the more nearly a market structure fits the ____ market model. 21. If the acceptance of Project A makes it impossible to accept Project B, these projects are: 22. Cost-benefit analysis is the public sector counterpart to ____ used in private, profit-oriented firms. 23. The weights used in calculating the firm’s weighted-average cost of capital are equal to the proportion of debt and equity ____. 24. In order to help assure that all relevant factors will be considered, the capital-expenditure selection process should include the following steps except: 25. The social rate of discount is best approximated by: 1. Theoretically, in a long-run cost function: 2. The degree of operating leverage is equal to the ____ change in ____ divided by the ____ change in ____. 3. Which of the following is not an assumption of the linear breakeven model: 4. In the linear breakeven model, the breakeven sales volume (in dollars) can be found by multiplying the breakeven sales volume (in units) by: 5. In the linear breakeven model, the difference between selling price per unit and variable cost per unit is referred to as: 6. The short-run cost function is: 7. The problems of asymmetric information exchange arise ultimately because 8. A firm in pure competition would shut down when: 9. An â€Å"experience good† is one that: 10. In the purely competitive case, marginal revenue (MR) is equal to: 11. If price exceeds average costs under pure competition, ____ firms will enter the industry, supply will ____, and price will be driven ____. 12. Buyers anticipate that the temporary warehouse seller of unbranded computer equipment will 13. What is the profit maximization point for a firm in a purely competitive environment? 14. The practice by telephone companies of charging lower long-distance rates at night than during the day is an example of: 15. The demand curve facing the firm in ____ is the same as the industry demand curve. 16. Declining cost industries 17. Of the following, which is not an economic rationale for public utility regulation? 18. When the cross elasticity of demand between one product and all other products is low, one is generally referring to a(n) ____ situation. 19. Regulatory agencies engage in all of the following activities except _______. 20. Barometric price leadership exists when 21. A cartel is a situation where firms in the industry 22. The existence of a kinked demand curve under oligopoly conditions may result in 23. Some industries that have rigid prices. In those industries, we tend to 24. If a cartel seeks to maximize profits, the market share (or quota) for each firm should be set at a level such that the ____ of all firms is identical. 25. A(n) ____ is characterized by a relatively small number of firms producing a product.