Thursday, October 31, 2019

Which tiotropium device to use and why Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Which tiotropium device to use and why - Essay Example Health practionaers have noted that COPD belong to large group of disease that badly injursed the lungs and airways such as chronic bronchitis, in such condition air passage that lead to the lungs gets swells and in a condition like emphysema air sacs of the lungs are badly damaged (2). Tiotropium device is green-colored small inaler and it is useful for controilling COPD, but it is not meant for curing this disease, also it does not provide any benefit instantly, but it takes few weeks to make a patient remain for 24 hours and help relief symptoms for one day (3). There are two types of Tiotropium devices, on with capsulesm which contain medicated powder termed as Tiotropium bromide, medically named as Spiriva. It is a white or yellowish powder and it has specifically for muscarinic receptors (4). Another type of Tiotropium device is a cartridge type with liquid used in therapeutic dose (1). Advantages of Tiotropium Device Asthmatic patients are benefitted from tiotropium device as it is handy and easy to carry everywhere along. Tiotropium device containing Spirivia is much effective to increase the functioning of the lungs in COPD sufferers. Another advantage of its use over other competitive devices and similar methods is that it is used only once in a day unlike other drugs those are needed to be taken at least three times in a day. The content of one capsule is 18 micrograms. Its use also decreases exacerbation that ultimately reduces hospitalization procedures for the patient (4). Disadvantages of Tiotropium Device Some of the predicted disadvantages of the tiotropium device use are that some patients can experience appearance of white patches on their mouth or throat. Sometimes, patients suffer swallowing or bitter taste problems while eating as tiotropium increases the likelihood of a sore throat. Additionally, users of tiotropium can also be subjected to problems like blurred vision

Monday, October 28, 2019

The prices of college Essay Example for Free

The prices of college Essay The prices of college tuition have increased yearly, and not much of an effort is put forth to try to lower the costs. For example, colleges in the state of Pennsylvania have a high tuition. Moravian College’s tuition is about $32,931, and after receipt of grants and scholarships for one year it will be $22,900. East Stroudsburg University’s tuition is about $6,240, and after receipt of grants and scholarships for one year it will be $12,500. I can barely afford Community College, and I know for a fact I wouldn’t be able to afford any of these colleges or universities either. In this essay, I will explain through facts and opinions, why the cost of college tuition should be lowered. Many people decide to start off first in Community Colleges after they leave high school because it’s cheaper. Even though, some may have the money to move on to the college or university that they dreamed about attending, or to the exact college or university that acquire the major they want to complete. Some don’t start college after high school because they’re working on saving up enough money to attend one. Through these different experiences, I’ve realized why the cost of college tuition should be lowered. By lowering the prices of college tuition, many people can actually go to a certain college or university that contains the major they want. Others can keep up with their studies and actually have a bright future ahead of them. Most people can even study and work hard to be able to have a wealthy job and not even have to worry about this problem with costly colleges. Personally, I am going through issues with my college tuition. I try to pay off my college tuition with the help of my seasonal job at Dorney Park, and my parents, and the financial aid I received as well. My main problem is that even with all the help I get, I still end up paying a big amount of money for my college tuition at Northampton Community College. According to a website I recently found, it showed what the total annual cost of the school. The website also says that the total annual cost is without grants and scholarship. Paying off the cost can be hard for most people, especially some who just got out of college and it’s hard Moravian’s total annual cost comes out to be in $44,069, and that is also without adding any grants, loans, or scholarships. Also, East Stroudsburg’s total annual cost comes out to be in $15,299, and again that is without adding any grants, loans, or scholarships. Even in where I am at, Northampton Community College, there total annual cost comes out to be in $14,684, but I don’t commute at home so it’s a little less then that price, still there is barely a difference. These prices of college tuitions have been skyrocketing, and will keep going higher if no change is made. In conclusion, the cost of college tuitions has to go down, because many people in the world today are becoming poor, or are in financial debt, or in the recession because of these outlandish prices. Also, a big problem is the dreams of many people around the world to move on in life, and go forth to achieve goals are being traumatically ruined because of the prices of college tuition. I am one to say, college is getting way to pricy, and if these prices keep going up more, then my dreams would go down more of having the job I always wanted, having enough money to support my family and children in the future, and about even having a future at all. The government already takes enough money from every individual through taxes, we need a financial change, we need college to be cheaper, and we need it now! http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/08/30/smartest-students-community-colleges/ http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2012/05/30/5-reasons-community-colleges-make-sense-right-now

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Merger of Cadburys and Kraft | HR Analysis

Merger of Cadburys and Kraft | HR Analysis Cadbury being one of the top lead and almost 200 years old confectionery company having chocolate, gum and candy brands in the portfolio , with a power of making brands like Cadbury, Trident and Halls, that people love. John Cadbury, in 1824 started cocoa and chocolate selling shop in Birmingham. Since then the business kept expanding over time around the world, and today operates in more than 60 countries, with over 35000 direct and indirect suppliers and having more than 45000 employees Cadburys HR department Cadbury operates in more than 60 countries all around the world. Each of the factories has its own HR department that deal with the demand of the workers of the region according to their local situations and demands. Like all other HR departments, it deals with the efficient and effective utilization of resources available. The HR department actively takes care of the following: Recruitment of new staff that must have good skill level or past experience of working at factories of similar kind. Provision of training to new and existing staff so that they are fully equipped with knowledge of any new equipment or procedure brought in and will be able to use it efficiently. Helping the existing workers with problems that they may have at work place. The problems that Cadburys HR department is most likely to face are: Potential employees have in adequate skill or knowledge creating a skill gap. Other factories create competition among staff and creating a deficiency of new staff. Increase in staff turnover in different situation affect production GUEST MODEL: Through statistics and evidences we can easily identify the active management at Cadbury that not only seek betterment of its business but continuously strives for development for the people it holds and for the people that looks forward in joining hands with the company. In this way the Guest model fits in the best with the companys strategies and outcomes. The Cadburys powerful organizational policies can be understood by any good marketer through the managerial decision it takes in the market all over the world. The utmost emphasis on human resource development has helped Cadbury to gain the loyalty of its employees. The employees that are working with the company have created a good will of the company in market such a way that new graduates seek opportunity to work with the company. (Cadbury) The proactive approach of providing equal opportunities to the workers for their development and encouragement packages that the existing employees are enjoying helped to maximum decrease in the turnover and absenteeism percentage. The flexibility employees get during their tenure help them enjoy their work. The organizations communication system is well operated. The management gives a platform to its employees and not only that, they assure the employees that they have a devoted audience that will welcome whatever they place upon that platform. This strategy has helped tremendously that it has not only reduced the grievance level but have also again helped in the reducing the absences. Thus, all the statistics, feedback of employees and consumers and the well known companys market reputation indicates the companys conformance best with the Guest Model. KRAFT: ABOUT KRAFT: A US manufacturer, Kraft, being the second largest food company with approximately $ 50 billions revenue, doing business in more than 160 countries. A company that grew out of cheese whole sale and delivery business started in Chicago in 1903 by James L. Kraft. It later on incorporated as Kraft Bros, Co. in 1909. It acquired Philip Morris Cos in 1988 and later on renamed it as Altira Group Inc., in 2003. THE CULTURE: At Kraft, being open and inclusive a simple concept to follow that has became a part of their core company value in action and that guides their behavior. Being open and inclusive is critical to creating a delicious work experience for our employees and business partners. And its the foundation of our strategy to build a high-performing culture. (Krafts management) Their business style: Two words open and inclusive has become the core code of all the business Kraft do everyday, from training and development programs to the accountability in leadership objectives. THE HR PERSPECTIVE: The Kraft believe in attaining heights through their diverse workforce is one of the modern day technique. Krafts Human resource approach revolves around the same perspective. The management claimed to be providing equal opportunities and rights to different races and color people working at Kraft. At Kraft, following key points are emphasized and are followed religiously: Provision of training for every employee to value the diversity creating a sustainable culture of welcoming differences and values. Their diversity-focused council aligns objectives with the business strategies in order to enhance the impact. HARVARD MODEL: Kraft Foods Company fits in with the Harvard model for HRM. The reviews, feedbacks and statistics indicated that the company emphasis on the company as a whole with respect to its employees. The Kraft management is working with the situations of the worlds market in formulation of policies and making organization wide decision. It works in interest of all the members i.e. stakeholders, of the company. Although the model is weaker than the others and has a fair vulnerability to Unitarianism but it is a much more appropriate model of reference. The decisions the company have made over time had given us the idea that the company works in between constraints and choices that made the company a successful and still growing one. The influence of company itself on the unique contribution within the environmental and organizational parameters not only depicts the management as the real actor but also confirms its conformity with the model. The hr perspective also indicates the active HRM the company has that gives the 4 C outcome that is obvious enough through the employees feedbacks that have been reviewed. In the last the model gives three types of long term consequences i.e. individual based, organization based and societal level. At individual (employee) level, the psychological rewards a worker receives in exchange for efforts. At organizational level, increased effectiveness that ensures the survival and growth of organization. These two levels in turn, enable the societal level as; these two levels make its possible for fully utilization of human resource available and thus, societal goals like employment and growth are easily attained. STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: CADBURY: Strategic human resource management aims at the improvement of the way human resources are managed strategically within organizations, with the definitive goal of improving organizational performance, as judged by its impact on the organizations declared corporate strategy, the customer or shareholders. It is a philosophy of people management based on the belief that human resources are uniquely important to sustain the success of a business. It can also be defined as the process of linking the human resource functions with the strategic objectives of the organization in order to improve performance. Strategic human resource management involves the linking of HRM with the strategic goals and objectives of the organization in order to achieve a progressive business performance and achieve an organizational structure that promotes innovation and flexibility. Strategic HRM according to text published in 2004 has emerged as a major approach to improving the competitive advantage of the firm. The strategic management is concerned with policy decisions effecting the entire organization, overall objective being to position the organization to deal effectively with its environment. Strategic HRM aims to provide a sense of direction in an often turbulent environment so that organizational and business needs can be translated into coherent and practical policies and programs. It provides competitive advantage over the others. (Malik, 2009) The goals and objectives of HRM are aligned with the strategic objectives and plans of the organization. The case referred presents a clear picture of an organization that works with clear business objectives i.e. to deliver shareholder performance. The company works with the aim at dividends. The company policy works with the vision that the people it holds are the most important asset that not only works for the company but also integral in achieving the desired goals. Through different papers and journals we saw that the management is managing its human resources in a contingent manner. Thus, we can say that they are following the contingency approach.ÂÂ   Many advocates of the contingency theory of SHRM a company can only be effective if its policies and strategies align with the other key factors and strategies of the firm. According to journal HR must be closely integrated into the planning process of a firm. They also believed that a firm can achieve success if it is able to develop HR policies and practices that complement and support other HR policies and practices and other elements of the organizations strategic plan. (TME) Thus it is evident enough in the case that Cadbury considers its people as a source of competitive advantage and believes that they work as the main contributors to the companys success. The company also seeks and welcomes changes. The goals and objectives are clear and in order to achieve the goals and set objectives it must be aligned with the efforts of its people. The only way to observe such a trend is through Strategic Human Resource. As the company requires active and effective communication with its human resource and it plays the most important role in the companys approach, and in conveying all the policies, plans and strategies so that people at work can synchronize their efforts. The mere fact that Cadbury Schweppes has an HR director on the main board and that HR is represented at every regional business unit make it obvious that the company recognizes the strategic importance of human resources and takes HR issues and concerns seriously. (Cadbury) Cadbury is a resource based company. The company core competencies make it a resource based company. Cadburys unique strategies and policy, the working conditions and the development opportunities it provides to its employees that in turn becomes the key asset or its edge over its competitors. (TME) KRAFT: Kraft unique style of providing training and development opportunities at all level and point of time during an employees tenure makes it a best fit, best practice based company. Through analysis we can see that all the employees from top to bottom have a particular thing to be on that position. The core strategies that are followed at Kraft begin with the aim of building a high-performing organization (Kraft Foods). The provision of best fit entitles an employee for his reward in terms of promotion or training or even other means of rewards and appraisals. It also provides the top management the opportunity of enjoying a decentralized decision making power. The best fit eventually leads to best practice where a good healthy employee who is psychologically satisfied through rewards and encouragements strives to work for better tomorrow. All these practices are observed in Krafts foods operations making it Best Fit, Best Practice based company. LITERATURE REVIEWS: Kraft wins BBC Big Challenge Award for Gloucestershire (Kraft Foods, 2006) Kraft Foods today announced that it has won the BBC Big Challenge Health Works Award for Healthiest Large Employer in the BBC Radio Gloucestershire area. This award is presented to employers who have made health in the workplace one of their top priorities in 2005 and beyond. Kraft won the award for its commitment to creating a working environment that encourages and supports employees in their efforts to lead a balanced, active and healthy lifestyle. Since its launch in July 2004, Krafts employee wellbeing programme has offered advice on living a healthy lifestyle, supported activities that promote wellbeing such as pilates and yoga, provided healthy options in its staff restaurants, and offered all employees the opportunity to obtain periodical health checks through the companys occupational health team. The programme also demonstrates Krafts commitment to being a global leader in Health and Wellness, and its vision to Help people around the world to eat and live better. Christine Harrop, Occupational Health Sister at Kraft Foods won the BBC Big Challenge Unsung Hero Award for Gloucestershire an award presented to employees who have done something to inspire and encourage their colleagues to lead healthier and fitter lives. Christine won the award for her commitment to the health and wellbeing of Kraft employees, and her role over the past 18 years in participating and encouraging Kraft employees to take part in the annual London to Brighton Bike Ride. Christine regularly manages to recruit up to 60 employees to participate in the initiative and has raised thousands of pounds for the events chosen charity, the British Heart Foundation. Commenting on the two awards, Jim Beaty, HR Director stated Its a terrific achievement and recognition for the efforts of all employees who have contributed to the success of the employee wellbeing programme. Kraft Foods Names May to Global Human Resources Post. (Busniess Wire, 2005) NORTHFIELD, Ill. Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:KFT), a global leader in branded foods and beverages, announced today that Karen May, 47, is joining the company in October as Executive Vice President, Global Human Resources. May will provide leadership for all of Krafts human resources disciplines, including benefits, compensation, diversity, facilities management, labor and employee relations, human resources strategy, safety and security, and talent management. She will report to Roger Deromedi, Chief Executive Officer of Kraft Foods, and join the Kraft Executive Team. May replaces Terry Faulk, who is retiring after more than 38 years with the company. She will work closely with Faulk to ensure a smooth transition, prior to his retirement at the end of the year. We will truly miss Terrys vast experience and sound judgment, said Deromedi. I want to thank him for his many significant contributions to Kraft throughout his long and distinguished career, and wish him and his family the very best in his retirement. Karens broad range of experiences and thorough understanding of the Human Resources function will serve her well in this role, Deromedi noted. Im confident that shell play a key role in driving Krafts transformation to a more consumer-focused, innovative and nimble company in the years ahead. May joins Kraft from Baxter International, Inc., where she has been Corporate Vice President of Human Resources since 2001. She joined Baxter in 1990 as Director of Corporate Audit and held several positions of increasing responsibility, including Vice President of Corporate Audit and Vice President of International Finance. In 1998, she became Vice President of Global Talent Planning and Staffing at Baxter and, prior to her most recent assignment, was named Vice President of Human Resources in 2000. May began her career in finance, with PricewaterhouseCoopers. She has a BS in accountancy from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Kraft Foods markets many of the worlds leading food brands, including Kraft cheese, Maxwell House and Jacobs coffees, Nabisco cookies and crackers, Philadelphia cream cheese, Oscar Mayer meats, Post cereals and Milka chocolates, in more than 155 countries. CONCLUSION: After all the research it can be concluded being key players of same consumer good category companies, and apart from the merger or acquisition, both the companies have their own unique set of competitive advantage over each other. Challenges in Highway Construction | Research Proposal Challenges in Highway Construction | Research Proposal Dissertation Proposal Challenges in Highway Road Construction in Nigeria. Research Questions: Why is there a high number of highway roads in poor conditions especially in the eastern part of the country? Why is there abandoned highway roads across Nigeria despite huge investments in highway construction? Why this there a poor maintenance culture of roads across the country? Hence, this proposed dissertation would aim to address this gap in knowledge by challenges facing the highway road construction, focusing more on the supervision of highway roads of indigenous construction companies. AIM To review and identify the challenges facing the construction of highway roads in Nigeria and to provide relevant recommendations for minimising these problems. The objectives of this research proposal are: To clearly identify the challenges facing highway construction in Nigeria through literature review. To conduct a questionnaire survey and interview of professional bodies and engineers and obtain their perceptions on highway construction challenges in Nigeria (particularly professionals with 30years and over of experience). Analysis of the survey data. To recommend possible changes in the supervision of highway construction in Nigeria. Background Introduction Nigeria is the largest country in Africa in terms of size and population of 174 million with landmass of 923,768 sq. km with diverse ethnic and cultures. It has 36 states with the Federal capital at Abuja with commercial states at Kano, Lagos, and Port Harcourt representing the northern, southern and eastern parts of the country. The Construction industry contributes about 7% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in Nigeria annually and the GDP per capital was about $2,800 in 2013 and is made up of small, medium and large scale companies. It is dominated by foreign companies controlling about 95% of the construction works across the country with top construction companies namely Julius Berger, Dantana Sowoe, Borini Prono, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, etc. OVERVIEW OF HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION IN NIGERIA Nigeria has the largest road network in West Africa with a total of over 193,000km length which is generally funded and managed by government. Road transportation is the major means of movement in Nigeria and it accounts for about 90% of movement of goods and services (Akpogomeh, 2002). In terms of scale and value, the transport infrastructure sector is dominated by the roads and bridges which make up about 17.2% of the total construction industry in 2014. However less than 20% of the road network is paved. With the government’s commitment to development, large investments in highway roads has been awarded across the country and the sector is expected to grow. The road network in the South and eastern part of the country are denser than the other parts owing to the high population densities in the areas (Ubogu et al, 2011). For example, the population in Lagos is about 6 million which was the former capital state and is the commercial and production part of the country and hence the volume of usage of the highway roads to and fro Lagos is quite high. The total highway roads are separately owned with the responsibility for construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation.The Federal roads are about 17%, State owned roads 16%, rural and Local Government Areas (LGAs) about 67%. The funding of the construction of the highway roads comes from the allocation of budget and also revenues from excess crude oil sales. Also, some states generate funds through private partnering which is used in Lagos States. However, only about 27% of Federal roads are reported to be in good condition, of which a major cause is likely to be the instability of the country during the military regime, which later became civilian rule since 1999. Annual loss to the economy is estimated in the region of N175b (N75b due to reduction in asset value; N88b due to increased vehicle operating cost; N12b due to increased turn around and increased travel time). Due to the high cost of construction of highway roads especially in the southern part of the country characterized with poor soils, high cost of labour, the Federal government relies heavily on international aid especially from China and the World Bank. With the World Bank, funding erosion projects across the country worth over $500 million. In October 2012, in the Northern part, Kaduna State approved $176million for 31 rural and township roads, and the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed a loan of $170million for roads as part of the Nigeria Agriculture Transformation Agenda (NATA), which targets rural development. Also, a 128km road contract in Zamafara state worth $43.47million was awarded in 2013. Over in western part of Nigeria November 2012, in one of the biggest road developments, Ogun state awarded four companies a share of $568million for road contracts. Borini Prono, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), Hi Tech and PW Construction will complete eight new roads by 2014, with a second phase of construction worth over $250 million. Also, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is one of the major road projects under development. The Infrastructure Bank Plc. is to raise NGN117bn for the reconstruction of the 127km road. Over in the Middle part of Nigeria, Delta where the country gets its crude oil from, a road construction contract worth $1.07 billion has been awarded to China Railway Construction in Nigeria. The Ministry of Delta Affairs of Nigeria awarded the package of works for Section V of the A121 East-West highway to China Civil Engineering Construction, a division of China Railway Construction with a 5 years duration to connect the main North-South highways. ITS route runs from the A1 highway at Shagamu in Ogun State to the A2 highway at Benin City in Edo State. More recently, in 2014, the governments of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) of which Nigeria is strong member approved a $50million six dual lane road projects to link Lagos, Abidjan and Dakar together cutting across Benin, Togo and Ghana. Also, the African Development Bank is expected to provide $16million for the construction and rehabilitation of roads across Africa linking the major cities. In general, the present condition of the Nigerian roads require urgent attention, in terms of rehabilitation and had a negative effect on the cost of production, lengthy travel time and standard of living ((Ubogu et al, 2011). For example, travelling from Benin to Lagos normally should take 5hours, but due to the bad road, the journey takes 8hours. Table 1.0 showing highway construction projects, value in US dollars, capacity, contractors and status. Project Name Value(US$) Capacity/length Companies Status Benin-Sagamu Highway 156 9.93km NA Under construction from 2013 Edepie-Tombia road Reconstruction 63 13km Shell Petroleum Development Company Under construction Niger Delta East- West Highway 2,175.69 338km Setraco Limited Under construction from 2013 Akwa Ibom State roads reconstruction 726 266km NA Planning stage Six lane Rig road in Niger Delta Port Harcourt 1,000 125km Africa Finance Corporation, China Harbor Eng. Company Contract awarded in 2008 East-West Road Project 2,276.3 338km Setraco Nigeria Ltd, Reynolds Construction Company Ltd, Gitto Costruzioni General Nigeria Ltd. Under construction since 2012. 51% of work completed. Ibadan-Ilorin highway upgrade 292 52km Shikin Binui Housing and Construction Under construction awarded 2010 and includes new dual carriage with interchanging bridges. Lagos- Ibadan Expressway 1054 127.6km Julius Berger, Reynolds Construction Company Ltd. Awarded 2013. Concession awarded to Bi-Courtney Highway Services ltd and was terminated and granted to Messrs Julius Berger Plc, Reynolds Construction Company. Gbongan Akoda Omoluuabi Motorway widening 185.8 30km RATON construction Nigeria Awarded May 2013 Magami-Dangulbi Dankurmi, Sabon Birni, Bagega Anka road 94.91 128km Bonny Prono Awarded Nov. 2012 Charanchi Ganuwa-Rawayau road 8.18 17km Mothercat Under construction from Oct 2013 Kaduna roads 178.1 NA NA Project Finance Closure(Funding Approved) NA-Not Available Source- Nigeria Infrastructure Report 2014 (BMI key Projects Database) SUPERVISION IN HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION IN NIGERIA In Nigeria, supervision of highway construction is done by consultant engineers and middle level supervisors with few highway field experience, for example in the construction of say 10km rehabilitation in rural areas. A major factor affect supervision of highway projects is low knowledge of highway design and construction, understanding and interpretation of drawings, which is impossible to supervise what ones does not have knowledge of. Some processes in highway construction requires proper supervising such as the road alignment, soil tests, laying of asphalts or macadam as the case maybe. Also, the supervision should involve checking of quality of the material used for construction such as sand, laterite in accordance with the specifications in the highway drawings. In the awarding of highway roads contracts, the construction and supervision are awarded separately with competitive biddings. For example, Julius Berger, a foreign based company which specializes in highway construction which major works in Abuja city capital. The major issue is that for some construction works supervision contracts are awarded based on connection instead of actual knowledge of the supervision and hence there are no checks. But in general, most of the construction of highway roads by the foreign companies have stood the test of time. The case is not the same for home based construction companies who have limited resources and technical knowledge are awarded huge highway road contracts, with home based consultants supervising. Another issue is that the bill of the consultants supervising the construction is often times added to the entire contract and hence responsibility rests in the hands of the contractors and hence the consultants are often times forced to cut corners and save costs such as not putting a resident engineer to supervise daily and give reports. LOW KNOWLEDGE BASE. A major problem facing the highway construction is the lack of knowledge passage from the old and experienced engineers to the young, inexperienced engineers. Often times, due to the lack of availability of supervision works, most consulting firms do not employ and train engineers, engaging them in design and interpretation of drawings on site. Often times, when consulting firms get work, they employ contract based engineers to supervision leaving a huge gap of knowledge passage to the younger engineers and hence in Nigeria, most graduate Engineers have little or no construction experience. Also there is a lack of modern method of road construction especially the home based construction companies and hence many highway projects, such as highways and bridges, do not meet cost and time performance requirements. There is a poor maintenance culture of highway roads across the country and with the huge investments in highway construction, the average Nigerian lacks maintenance culture. In some cities across the country, some of the highways are constructed without the side drains and in some other cases only one side of the drains are constructed, which later causes failure of the roads. Also, litters can be seen in some of the highway roads especially in the eastern and western parts of the country which is a very serious issue which should be addressed. In the rural areas, most of the side drains are completely blocked especially in the eastern part which is prone to erosions. Another major issue within the highway construction in Nigeria is the failure of the Federal Government in paying contractors. For example, in the reconstruction of the 125km Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which was re-awarded to Julius Berger and R.C.C in which the construction is due to start due lack of payment by the government which is one of the reasons for abandoned highway projects across the country. Nigeria still uses the traditional contracting approach in which procurement is done through advertisement and bid processes has failed in performance in both the quality of construction and the management of the highways, in many developed countries adopting performance-based contract in road construction and maintenance. The Federal Ministry of Works which has branches across the 36 states with head office in Abuja the capital is responsible for all the federal highways construction which involves planning, design, construction, and rehabilitation. It is responsible for awarding for major highway contracts across the country. It also supervises and monitors construction and maintenance of the federal roads. In terms of quality, the choice of materials used, methodology and supervision are key in improving the quality and life span roads. In this regard, (Arumala 1987; and Akpododje 1986) investigated how the design standards, poor supervision and the failure of highways and found little or no evidence supporting it. Also, studies on road failure caused by use of sub-standard materials and knowledge on the geotechnical properties of the soils in which the roads are built (Ibrahim 1980; and Ola 1978). For example, the cost of road construction in the south and eastern part of the country is higher than that in the northern part mainly on the bad conditions of the soil, high cost of labour and availability of construction materials. The British code of Highway practice (BS codes) are still used in Nigeria for both in highway construction and buildings as it was a former colony of the Britain and currently a member of the Common Wealth. The Federal ministry also supervises the activities of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) which is responsible for carryout maintenance works on the federal and state highways across the country. Research Method My proposed research method would be a qualitative research (questionnaire and interview survey). Interview survey for consultant engineers who have over 30 years’ experience in highway construction and questionnaire survey for contractors in highway construction in Nigeria. The reason being that the research requires an in depth perspective and in terms of numbers there are few engineers with over 30 years’ experience I can meet. The structure of the interview would be semi structured to allow for flexibility for 3 consultant engineers home based medium scale firms. Possible Problems Potential Solutions Possible limitations to my proposed study is the firstly the time management and a timetable has been drafted as shown below. Also the responsiveness of the interview survey could be challenging finding professional engineers and consultants with over 30 years’ experience. The research limited to home based construction companies and professionals. Conclusion Hopefully, at the end of research work, solutions could be recommended in the highway construction industry in Nigeria especially in the supervision area which would help in future planning of projects. References Alaba Adetola, et.al (2011) A critical appraisal of road transport infrastructure management in Nigeria International council for research and innovation CIB, pp.77-95. Abdulkareem, Y. and Adeoti, K. (2003), Road maintenance and National Development available at unilorin.edu.ng Adams, O. (1995) Indigenous Contractors’ Perceptions of the constraints on Contractors Performance and Development Programmes required in Nigeria. Habitat International, 19(4), pp.599-613. Adetola, A. (2011) A critical appraisal of road transport infrastructure management in Nigeria. International council for research and innovation CIB, pp.77-95. Aibinu, A. and Jagboro, G. (2002) The effects of Construction Industry, international Journal of Project Management. 20(8), pp.593-599. Nigerian Infrastructure report, 2013; 2014. (2014). A.E Okezie (2013) A case for Performance based road maintenance in Nigeria available at www.nseph.org Odeh, A. and Battaineh, H. (2002) Causes of construction delays: traditional contracts. International Journals of Project Management, 20, pp.67-73. Okigbo, N. (2012) Causes of Highway failures in Nigeria. International Journal for Engineering Science and Technology, 4(11).

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Use of Imagery in Daddy by Sylvia Plath Essay -- Poetry Analysis

As a modern female poet, Sylvia Plath played many roles in her art: she was the fragile feminist, the confessional writer, the literary innovator. As a woman, Plath found herself with one foot in her past and the other in an uncertain future, her present an often uncomfortable combination of the two. She was at once a daughter desperate to make her parents proud and a wife eager to please her husband; an overworked, depressed teenager and a lonely, sick mother; a child who lost her father and an adult who lost her hope. Plath’s confusion between her memories and her fantasies produced the creative inspiration that spawned much of her work; the losses she suffered had the same effect. The death of her father became a theme in her poetry on which Plath would often spin her words. In the poem â€Å"Daddy,† Plath uses imagery to compare her father to a shoe, God and a vampire, to establish similarities between her father and her husband and to describe the lack of communica tion between her and her father. â€Å"You do not do, you do not do/Anymore, black shoe,† proclaims Plath in the opening lines of â€Å"Daddy† (222), introducing the world to her father, ominous in the color black and consistent in his inability to â€Å"do† anything for Plath â€Å"anymore.† This depiction of the father as an shoe instead of a man also presents Plath’s deft use of imagery to color the character of her father, this time with the shade of a black shoe. This image makes the father sound â€Å"stifling† (â€Å"Slayer† 1). The imagery of the black shoe is also powerful in explaining the nature of Plath’s posthumous relationship with her father. Shoes usually protect the foot, provide warmth for it (Goelzhaeuser 1). Shoes in the poem, however, do not invoke the sheltering, caring ... ...ountry. However, it seems likely that she died as she lived, haunted by a combination of the two, her deceased father pointing out her failures from far away in her childhood and her substitute husband becoming another one of those failures from another woman’s apartment. The imagery of â€Å"Daddy,† of her father and her husband, each her protector and her abuser in one, stands a testament of words to just that. Works Cited Barnard, Caroline King. Sylvia Plath. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1978. Goelzhauser, Nicola. â€Å"Imagery in Sylvia Plath’s ‘Daddy.’† Online. http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/8984/daddy.htm. â€Å"Oedipus Complex.† Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. 10th ed. 1993. Plath, Sylvia. The Collected Poems. Ed. Ted Hughes. NewYork: Harper Perennial, 1972. â€Å"Sylvia the Vampire Slayer.† Online. http://members.aol.com/raisans/plath.htm. Use of Imagery in Daddy by Sylvia Plath Essay -- Poetry Analysis As a modern female poet, Sylvia Plath played many roles in her art: she was the fragile feminist, the confessional writer, the literary innovator. As a woman, Plath found herself with one foot in her past and the other in an uncertain future, her present an often uncomfortable combination of the two. She was at once a daughter desperate to make her parents proud and a wife eager to please her husband; an overworked, depressed teenager and a lonely, sick mother; a child who lost her father and an adult who lost her hope. Plath’s confusion between her memories and her fantasies produced the creative inspiration that spawned much of her work; the losses she suffered had the same effect. The death of her father became a theme in her poetry on which Plath would often spin her words. In the poem â€Å"Daddy,† Plath uses imagery to compare her father to a shoe, God and a vampire, to establish similarities between her father and her husband and to describe the lack of communica tion between her and her father. â€Å"You do not do, you do not do/Anymore, black shoe,† proclaims Plath in the opening lines of â€Å"Daddy† (222), introducing the world to her father, ominous in the color black and consistent in his inability to â€Å"do† anything for Plath â€Å"anymore.† This depiction of the father as an shoe instead of a man also presents Plath’s deft use of imagery to color the character of her father, this time with the shade of a black shoe. This image makes the father sound â€Å"stifling† (â€Å"Slayer† 1). The imagery of the black shoe is also powerful in explaining the nature of Plath’s posthumous relationship with her father. Shoes usually protect the foot, provide warmth for it (Goelzhaeuser 1). Shoes in the poem, however, do not invoke the sheltering, caring ... ...ountry. However, it seems likely that she died as she lived, haunted by a combination of the two, her deceased father pointing out her failures from far away in her childhood and her substitute husband becoming another one of those failures from another woman’s apartment. The imagery of â€Å"Daddy,† of her father and her husband, each her protector and her abuser in one, stands a testament of words to just that. Works Cited Barnard, Caroline King. Sylvia Plath. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1978. Goelzhauser, Nicola. â€Å"Imagery in Sylvia Plath’s ‘Daddy.’† Online. http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/8984/daddy.htm. â€Å"Oedipus Complex.† Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. 10th ed. 1993. Plath, Sylvia. The Collected Poems. Ed. Ted Hughes. NewYork: Harper Perennial, 1972. â€Å"Sylvia the Vampire Slayer.† Online. http://members.aol.com/raisans/plath.htm.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been -Joyce Carol Oates

Nightmare or Reality? Joyce Carol Oates creates an inquisitive plot that causes the reader to question events in the story, â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? † She develops this story featuring a girl named Connie, who has an encounter with a boy at a restaurant that she doesn’t know. â€Å"He wagged a finger and laughed and said, â€Å"Gonna get you, baby,† and Connie turned away†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Oates 210). Startled Connie only saw this boy once that night, but the story goes on, and a few days later he comes to her house where she learns that the boy’s name is â€Å"Arnold Friend. She is unaware how the boy knows anything about her, where she lives, and the fact that he knows all about her family and friends. In the short story, â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? † Joyce Carol Oates creates significant details that some readers might miss, revealing that Connie is actually having a nightmare where Arnold Friend is an im aginary character. The day that Arnold Friend came to Connie’s house she had been left at home alone, while her family went to a barbecue at her aunt’s house. â€Å"Connie sat with her eyes closed in the sun, dreaming and dazed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Oates 211).This is when Connie begins to fall asleep in the story as she is laying outside in a lawn chair. Joyce Carol Oates never directly states she is now dreaming but provides the reader with clues to suggest it. The story reads â€Å"when she opened her eyes she hardly knew where she was, the back yard ran off into weeds and a fence-like line of trees and behind it the sky was perfectly blue and still† (Oates 211). When a person is dreaming they can be in an unacquainted place and sometimes unaware of where they are. Connie is experiencing these happenings as she â€Å"wakes up† or begins the journey into her nightmare. The asbestos â€Å"ranch house† that was now three years old startled her- it looked small. She shook her head as if to get awake† (Oates 211). Oates included this in the story as a clue to readers that Connie is still asleep. The phrase â€Å"as if to get awake,† indicates that she shook her head, but it did not wake her up. Arnold Friend shows up at Connie’s house to convince her to come take a ride with him in his car. He seems nice at first, but she soon realizes how creepy and unusual this boy really is. She keeps telling him to leave and that she does not want to go for a ride, but that doesn’t stop Arnold from attempting to persuade her.Connie refuses to step outside and stays in the house. While she is inside Joyce Carol Oates says, â€Å"The kitchen looked like a place she had never seen before, some room she had run inside but that wasn’t good enough, wasn’t going to help her. The kitchen window had never had a curtain†¦ † (216). This is another example that during a nightmare the place you live can loo k different and unfamiliar, and some things look a bit strange. This is what Connie is experiencing in the story as she examines her surroundings, and these details are information that proves she is dreaming. â€Å"Seen you that night and thought, that’s the one, yes sir.I never needed to look anymore† (Oates 217). This is a flashback in Connie’s nightmare where she is remembering the reality of seeing the boy in real life that triggered the nightmare she experiences in the story. The reader has to infer that things that frighten a person in their life have the ability to develop nightmares because we are worried or fearful, which makes it hard to forget them. Arnold threatens to come inside multiple times if she touches the telephone to call the police. Having a nightmare gives us the capability to create ways to keep the â€Å"bad guy† or in this case, Arnold, away from us.Connie is able to stay safely inside away from him as long as she does not touch the phone. In reality Arnold Friend might come running inside regardless of if she touched the phone, and drag her out to the car. The very last sentence in the story says, â€Å"so much land that Connie had never seen before and did not recognize except to know that she was going to it† (Oates 219). This is the ending of the story right after Connie gave up and agreed to go with Arnold, and she is describing her view as she walks out the door and into his arms.Joyce Carol Oates creates the idea that Connie does not recognize anything around her house, and she had never seen it before. This is an important detail the reader needs to catch in order to realize that Connie is in fact, in a dream. In conclusion, there are several details throughout this story to support the argument that Joyce Carol Oates develops her story portraying Connie experiencing a nightmare. To thoroughly understand this story I had to reread the vital parts that indicate she is in a dream. Analyzing th e story gave me the advantage of nterpreting and discovering this information, because before I explored the text I did not believe it was about a girl having a nightmare. It is important for any reader to do the same, because the author never directly points out these possible aspects of the story. There are clues to indicate that Connie was also not in a nightmare, but I found more indications leading towards the fact that she was. One clue being that Oates never specifies Connie being fully awake or asleep. So the story is still a mystery in the idea that, is it a nightmare or reality?

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Fahrenheight 451

Fahrenheight 451 Analogy of the birds The novel focuses on the suppression of the masses through the media and censorship. Books have been outlawed and consequently, the fire department has been allocated a new role: burning books (Bradbury, p.1). Guy Muntag, the main protagonist in the novel, is a firefighter who is tasked with incinerating books. He is a troubled man since his job does not afford him happiness. Though he burns books, his conscience constantly haunts him. That is why he hides some of the books so that he can read them later.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Fahrenheight 451 specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More At the beginning of the novel, a moving description of one of the book-burning escapades is brought to the fore (Bradbury, p.1). The exercise nearly drives Muntag berserk. His whole body and mind is engrossed in the exercise and as he throws book after book into the raging inferno he has created, the books seem to come alive. They are transformed into birds before flapping their way into the fire. This comparison is significant. Books contain knowledge, which can easily be lost when they are destroyed. Once that happens, it will be difficult to retrieve the lost knowledge. In the same way, once birds are threatened, they fly away and it is almost impossible to recover them. It is also important to note that books, just like birds, are alive. This is because they enshrine knowledge, which is important in man’s life. The importance of books is illustrated in the novel when a woman chooses to die rather than watch her most prized books set to the flames (Bradbury, p.1). It is clear that people cannot do without books since they lend meaning to their existence. Symbolism: Kerosene Kerosene is used to accelerate the burning of the written materials. Naturally, its smell sticks on the users long after coming into contact. Therefore, Clarisse, being very observant, is able to tell that Montag is a fireman responsible for burning books. This implies that the agents of suppression can never quite shake off the guilty conscience that follows them everywhere they go. In as much as they may justify their actions in whichever way, they lead disturbed lives. This fact is not lost on captain Beatty, Montag’s boss, who states that it is common for a fireman to make off with one or two books during the burning exercise (Bradbury, p. 2). Beatty seems to understand the guilt that the firemen experience and, therefore, allows them to have some books so long as they are destroyed within 24 hours. This is the reason why Beatty expects Montag back at work the same day that the latter takes a sick leave (Bradbury, p. 25). Guilt is the source of unhappiness in Montag’s life. He leads a plastic life, devoid of any feeling – or so he would have liked to believe. He discovers that he is not happy after all; he has been wearing a false smile all the time. It is his encou nter with Clarisse that forces this discovery on him (Bradbury, p. 2). Consequently, he decides to drop the faà §ade and look for the true meaning of life. This would involve quitting his job, which he eventually does.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The assertion that kerosene can never be washed off completely also points to the inevitability of reality. One can never quite escape the reality. Montag is jerked back into the harsh reality by Clarisse while his wife’s attempts to block out the real world by immersing herself in electronics seems to fail as she constantly has to resort to sleeping pills. The contrast between Mildred and Clarisse The author introduces Clarisse before Montag’s wife in order to underline the stark contrast between the two women. For once, Clarisse has been described as vivacious: full of life and a passion for everything around her. When Montag encounters her at night, she is having a walk just to enjoy the gifts that Mother Nature has provided. She confides in Montag that at times she stays awake all night in order to watch the sunrise and even the moon (Bradbury, p. 4). She further informs him that were he to look closely, he would see the man in the moon (Bradbury, p. 4). This is in stark contrast to Montag’s wife, Mildred who has totally no interest in nature and the immediate environment. She spends most of her time in front of the TV and the few times she ventures out are to do speed-racing. She has lost all personal contact with others, including her own husband. Her eyes are glued to the screens and her ears shut to the outside world as they are perpetually plugged by ear pieces, listening to music continuously. Clarisse is a member of a happy family consisting of herself, an uncle and her parents. They spend ample time talking to each other. They rarely watch the â€Å"parlour wall s† and they hardly go to speed races (Bradbury, p. 3). They have maintained their human touch and, therefore, are able to enjoy their lives to the full. Generally, Clarisse is happy and contented with life, unlike Mildred who has to resort to drugs to make life bearable. The contrast between the two women is important because it helps the reader to understand why Montag is drawn to Clarisse rather than his wife. He is completely devastated when he learns about her death. The contrast also serves to heighten the estrangement between Montag and his wife. He is unable to relate freely with his wife the way he does with Clarisse. The contras between the Montags and Clarisse’s house It is evident that life in Montag’s house is radically different from life in Clarisse’s house. In Montag’s house, family values have been replaced with TV and radios. Consequently, Montag and his wife are inexorably alienated from each other. Familial love is completely non- existent and the few times they interact are to disagree on every issue. Basically, they lead separate lives; sleep on separate beds despite being man and wife.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Fahrenheight 451 specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In Clarisse’s house, however, family love is held supreme. The members of the family spend enough time talking and sharing with each other. They have the TV and the radios, but do not allow such devices to compromise their relationship. Due to the constant interaction, Clarisse has benefited a lot from her uncle and parents who have evidently done a commendable job in molding her. In her conversation with Montag, she makes reference to one of the things she has learnt from her uncle: at seventeen, she is most likely crazy. The import of this is that she has learnt to tread carefully. This is essentially a happy family. Unlike in Clarisse house where there is warmth, Mont ag goes back to a cold house. When he gets into the house, he does not wish to draw the attention of his wife. So, he plans to walk quietly to his bed without turning the lights on (Bradbury, p. 5. In a strange twist of fate, it is his attention that is drawn to his wife, who has overdosed herself with sleeping pills (Bradbury, p. 6). The lack of warmth in this house further aggravates Montag’s unhappiness. The two houses are indeed radically different from each other. Bibliography Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheight 451. Dokuz Eylà ¼l University, n.d. Web. http://kisi.deu.edu.tr/murat.goc/451.pdf.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Free Essays on Job

This book of the Bible is about Job, a God fearing man who was righteous and wealthy. Job was born in Uz and was blameless and upright. He has seven sons and three daughters and had many sheep, oxen, and camels. He was the wealthiest and greatest man in the entire East. One day Satan wanted to test Job to see how faithful he was, so God agreed and told Satan he may not lay a finger on Job himself. One day while Job was at his house, a messenger came and told him that many of his servants had been killed and thieves carried off his oxen and donkeys. Then another came and informed him that his sheep and servants were burned in a fire from the sky and his camels were swept off by raiders. Then the last messenger came and told him that while his sons and daughters were feasting a mighty wind came upon the house and it crashed upon them. Nevertheless, Job, being a God serving man, tore his robe and proclaimed â€Å"Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord taken away, may the name of the Lord be praised† (Job 1:21) and in this. Job did not sin or turn from God. On another day, Satan came to God and said â€Å"Skin for skin! A man will give all he has for his own life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Job 1:2, 4) .So God agreed and told Satan he may do anything but take Jobs life. Therefore, Satan inflicted Job with sores and boils from his feet to his head. After seeing the sores, and the pain Job was going through, his wife pleaded with him to just curse God and die. Job replied, â€Å"You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?† (Job 2:10). Therefore, Job did not sin, and did not turn his back on God. In the next few chapters of Job, we see some of the greatest poetry ever written. Job is seen in utter despair and asks God why he is being punished. We see Job asking what many people today ask when they suffer. He speaks with his friends about his pains and why he is being punis... Free Essays on Job Free Essays on Job This book of the Bible is about Job, a God fearing man who was righteous and wealthy. Job was born in Uz and was blameless and upright. He has seven sons and three daughters and had many sheep, oxen, and camels. He was the wealthiest and greatest man in the entire East. One day Satan wanted to test Job to see how faithful he was, so God agreed and told Satan he may not lay a finger on Job himself. One day while Job was at his house, a messenger came and told him that many of his servants had been killed and thieves carried off his oxen and donkeys. Then another came and informed him that his sheep and servants were burned in a fire from the sky and his camels were swept off by raiders. Then the last messenger came and told him that while his sons and daughters were feasting a mighty wind came upon the house and it crashed upon them. Nevertheless, Job, being a God serving man, tore his robe and proclaimed â€Å"Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord taken away, may the name of the Lord be praised† (Job 1:21) and in this. Job did not sin or turn from God. On another day, Satan came to God and said â€Å"Skin for skin! A man will give all he has for his own life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Job 1:2, 4) .So God agreed and told Satan he may do anything but take Jobs life. Therefore, Satan inflicted Job with sores and boils from his feet to his head. After seeing the sores, and the pain Job was going through, his wife pleaded with him to just curse God and die. Job replied, â€Å"You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?† (Job 2:10). Therefore, Job did not sin, and did not turn his back on God. In the next few chapters of Job, we see some of the greatest poetry ever written. Job is seen in utter despair and asks God why he is being punished. We see Job asking what many people today ask when they suffer. He speaks with his friends about his pains and why he is being punis... Free Essays on Job Who Won? My first thought was that Satan had won the wager, by Job questioning God. Which he does question God but all he wanted to know was the answer to the question. Job wanted to know why he was put into the circumstances that he was in when he knew he had done nothing wrong. He knew that he was a righteous man and by him knowing that he did not understand why he was put into those circumstances, so he wanted an answer from God. Now you may think that Satan won but God was the one who won the wager. My first argument is based on the fact that throughout the whole book of Job, he does not curse God. That was the main purpose of the wager, Satan bet God that his humble servant would curse him if he would take everything away from him and also take his health. Through all that, Job knew to never curse God. Especially in the part of the book where Job’s wife tells him to curse God and Job says no. He then told his wife that you need to take the good and the bad that God gives you. All Job wanted to know was why was this done to him, so he was questioning God and his authority. Throughout the story no one can help Job in figuring out what the answer is to the question that he wants answered. The comforters try to talk to him but it does not work, they do not answer the question for Job. Job knows that he has done nothing wrong to deserve these circumstances that he has been put in. Who would think that this man would not curse God after what God puts him through. An y other man would curse without even thinking about it. That is why Job is a righteous man and he is the humble servant of God. Well God knows that and that is why he picked Job. Elihu trys to tell Job that he adds rebellion to his sin but Job knows that he has not sinned. Well in those times they only understood that if you were punished in some way that you must have sinned. So Job is not happy with what Elihu is telling him about why this is being ...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Free Essays on Man and Machine

Visual Analysis Paper For this assignment I chose to do the paper on Man and Machine. This is a painting that was a huge mural that was located in the Detroit Institute of Art. In the early 1930’s, Edsel Ford hired Diego Rivera to paint tis massive mural on the marble walls. Man and Machine shows a factory and the hard-working men that work in it everyday. In the front of the mural are a diverse group of men on a line. They strain and their arms are flexed as they are hard at work trying to get their job done. Behind them it extends into the rest of the factory. Thelarge machines, compared to the size men that run them. On the level above are a couple more men and the fire burning energy source for the factory. This is one of Rivera’s most popular works of art that is presented in a public place. This way it has a huge impact on everyone, even ordinary people. The large-scale piece of work uses color, linear perspective, and implied motion to get an idea across. Rivera wanted to emphasize the lives being sacrificed in factories in order for the growth of technology. The artwork is almost like a cartoon with its exaggerated size of machines and the unique facial expressions of the men. When one looks at the artwork their eyes are immediately drawn to the focal point which is the men in front. They stand out compared to the silver of the machines in the background. The relationship between man and machine in the 1930’s is depicted as being hard and almost like a war between man and machines. The use of color in this piece really helps to define the content. The dull colors, the grays, navy blues, and off-whites of the uniforms the men are wearing blend in with the machines. Blending the colors shows that the men in the factory didn’t really have an identity while they were there. They were thrown together within the factory and worked as one in order to get the job done. This â€Å"blending† of grays, ... Free Essays on Man and Machine Free Essays on Man and Machine Visual Analysis Paper For this assignment I chose to do the paper on Man and Machine. This is a painting that was a huge mural that was located in the Detroit Institute of Art. In the early 1930’s, Edsel Ford hired Diego Rivera to paint tis massive mural on the marble walls. Man and Machine shows a factory and the hard-working men that work in it everyday. In the front of the mural are a diverse group of men on a line. They strain and their arms are flexed as they are hard at work trying to get their job done. Behind them it extends into the rest of the factory. Thelarge machines, compared to the size men that run them. On the level above are a couple more men and the fire burning energy source for the factory. This is one of Rivera’s most popular works of art that is presented in a public place. This way it has a huge impact on everyone, even ordinary people. The large-scale piece of work uses color, linear perspective, and implied motion to get an idea across. Rivera wanted to emphasize the lives being sacrificed in factories in order for the growth of technology. The artwork is almost like a cartoon with its exaggerated size of machines and the unique facial expressions of the men. When one looks at the artwork their eyes are immediately drawn to the focal point which is the men in front. They stand out compared to the silver of the machines in the background. The relationship between man and machine in the 1930’s is depicted as being hard and almost like a war between man and machines. The use of color in this piece really helps to define the content. The dull colors, the grays, navy blues, and off-whites of the uniforms the men are wearing blend in with the machines. Blending the colors shows that the men in the factory didn’t really have an identity while they were there. They were thrown together within the factory and worked as one in order to get the job done. This â€Å"blending† of grays, ...

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Issues in corporate finance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Issues in corporate finance - Assignment Example Most important, companies have to understand the value of trading-off aspects of capital because such practise results to better performance. The trade-off theory of capital structure maintains the positive relationship between earnings and leverage. Empirical evidences, however, argue that such observation is fallible (Sarkar and Zapatero, 2003). Despite the contradicting outcomes, trade-off has considered as valuable mechanism in gauging corporate revenues. In most instances, the trade-off theory has consistently predicted information related to debt structure. The theory suggests that weak firms are more inclined to finance exclusively with bank debts. Apparently, weak firms tend to ignore other debt sources in particular public debts. Another important idea posited by the theory is that the optimal debt structure seen among strong firms pertains to combinations of bank and market debt. Basically, strong firms have become adept in successfully managing both bank and market debts. It has to be noted that the nature of both debts are differently perceived. Strong firms have the capacity to acquire different forms of debt instruments because of their financial scope. In uncertain markets, the strategy of using varied debt mechanisms allow strong firms to be more flexible in handling risks. According to Brealey and Meyers (2000), the trade-off theory pu... Furthermore, critics claim that the theory is ill-equipped to justify relevant practises. The concept developed by Modigliani and Miller (1958) revolves on the market imperfections that eventually affect capital structures. Indeed, market imperfections occur in several forms. The most prominent observed among firms include taxes, market distresses, and agency costs. For most firms, the challenge is to create an optimal capital structure when these market imperfections emerge. The theory assumes that after a certain firm establishes the optimal combination of financial resources all succeeding financing is raised in the same proportion of debt and equity financing. This, however, is expected to vary in the method of reporting and practising. Among publicly trading companies, Houston and James (1996) observed that there is an insignificant use of market debt. The percentage of non-market debt among listed companies is greater in value as evident in the majority of firms preferring non-market debt. In addition, the listed firms that use market debts show that non-market debts still occupy the most shares on the overall debt. Johnson (1997) pointed out that the long-term debt structure suggests better use of market debts. Among the users of market debt, more than half of the total long-term debt is considered as market issued. Trade-off has usually been used to determine financing decisions. Traditionally, firms either maintain a target capital structure or follow the hierarchy of financing. Pinegar and Wilbritch (1989) conducted a survey on firms belonging to the Fortune 500 on their financing preference. Based on the results, majority of the firms listed in Fortune 500 have been using target capital structure to

Friday, October 18, 2019

Topics in cultural studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Topics in cultural studies - Essay Example Another strong reason of degradation of Latin in the 12th century was associated with the emergence of unitary nations.  The 12th century was the era of national development, the basis of which was laid by the previous evolution of feudalism, especially within its last period, when the distinctions between towns and villages became sharper; there was a rapid growth of crafts, trade; and when migration of people broke the isolated nature of separate feudal states. New national cultures, that required unity and full understanding of all members of new societies, could not just preserve the former language practice with its bilingualism, fragmented local dialects and dead literary language.  In contrast to the linguistic fragmentation of the feudal period, a language unity throughout a nation was required, and that common language could not be dead, it had to be capable of flexible and rapid development (Ruhlen, 1996). Three major problems, related to languages, appeared: 1) creatio n and development of vernacular languages; 2) studying and mastering different languages on an international scale; 3) review of the Ancient linguistic heritage (Greenberg, 1972). At different peoples the process of formation of nations and vernacular languages progressed at different epochs and environments, at different speed and with different results. It depended primarily on the intensity of growth and decay of feudal relations in a country, composition of its population and its geographical range. A significant role in the process belonged to lines of communication and cross-cultural companionship: so, maritime states (Italy, Holland, Spain and later on France and England) entered  the path of transformations first (Baldi, 1983). The first eminent herald of the Latin language downfall in literature was Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), who wrote the book of poems Vita nuova (The New Life,1290), dedicated to beloved Beatrice, in Italian, not Latin, and later defended the use of th e new  national language in the Latin tractate De vulgari eloquentia (On the Eloquence of Vernacular) and Italian II convivio (The Banquet), where he wrote that out of one thousand people who know Latin, only one is wise, others just use their knowledge seeking  money and honors. So, he wrote not in Latin but in Italian, as it was not the language of chosen ones but of the vast majority. According to Dante, the vernacular language was nobler than Latin, as it was natural and Latin - artificial.  The Divine Comedy by Dante, Petrarch’s sonnets and The Decameron by Boccaccio, are a brilliant proof of the convenience and superiority of the new national language (Wendell, 1980). In the new vernacular language the records of the great journeys of Columbus and Vespucci were written.  A philosopher Giordano Bruno and Galileo, a scientist, also switched from Latin to the national language.  Galileo, defending his position, said that he saw no necessity in Latin books and wor ks, as an ordinary person with a good native wit could not read them anyway. He also stated that by no means all technical trade terms could be expressed in Latin; at the same time even the worst artisans and peasants knew that terminology in the national lang

The Corinthian Community and Paul Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Corinthian Community and Paul - Essay Example Let me now try explaining what the Apostle means by prophesies and prayer. The prophesying that is being referred to by the Apostle is the gift of reception and speaking direct revelation from the Lord Himself, particularly regarding future occurrences. Nevertheless, the Bible is not in support of the stance of those who assert that this word also means preaching. Of course, praying continues, however, I now have to ask what according to me, is a significant question: Why did the Apostle only name prophesying and praying, leaving things such as preaching, speaking in tongues, exhortation, speaking the directly revealed knowledge, and singing or even teaching? The meaning of all these things is just the same. This means that they are all of a way of speaking confidently; either giving or direct revelation, calling to action on the basis of revelation, proclamation of revelation, or even the explanation of revelation and its application, or worshiping via singing or praying. For sure, there can never be a reason as to why the Apostle chose prophesying and praying except for the fact that they are two cases in point from the list. Similarly, it is true that the Apostle would come to an agreement that it is not just as right for a man to teach or preach with a cover on his head as it is for him to prophesize and pray with his head under cover. The Apostle simply used the two Christian assembly’s activities to signify all. In most cases, people like to cite First Chronicles 25:1-3 and First Samuel 10:5 as confirming that singing and prophesying is the same thing, but this is not stated anywhere in the respective verses. The most common comprehension of that what is stated by these verses as regards connection between prophesying and singing is that a prophesy may be sung by a prophet. However, not all singing, even that in the saint’s gathering is regarded as prophesying. For the women, prophesies and prayer refers to their position in the gathering, w hich is done in privacy. The context of First Corinthians is the Christian gathering, and not some kind of prophesying or praying beyond this. In the First Corinthians 11, the Apostle is not talking about the matter of women speaking. In addition, it is not what he is thinking; he has the gathering’s activities in mind or consideration, but does not tackle the question of the speaking of women in First Corinthians, Chapter 11. Their silence, in this chapter is implicit. But in some other places, the Apostle directly asserts that women are supposed to maintain silence in the gatherings. In the text, Paul also talks about the Christian gatherings, and he teaches the men about prophesying and speaking in tongues and says the women should remain silent. In the book of First Timothy 2, the Apostle again teaches about good behavior in the gathering and instructs the men how they are supposed to pray in public and asserts that women should take part by being silent and dressing in a n appropriate manner. Going back to the First Corinthians 11, we find that the Apostle is not trying to refer to prophesies and prayer in a restricted and strict sense, but to represent some other things, like teaching and preaching, and also not to merely be speaking, but the silent taking part also. In the gatherings, it

Jaws and the Growth Machine Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Jaws and the Growth Machine - Movie Review Example At a time when there is little growth of the economy in general and that of cities n particular, it is worth re-looking at the idea of the city as merely an engine for growth. This movie seeks to enlighten us that what binds alll the eople in cities s their desire for growth. This seems a plausible argument because after all, people move to cities to seek employment opportunities and access other services that villages might not offer. Even more provocative however, is the attemt by the movie to suggest that the city mostly serves the interests of a few elite at the expense of the majority. This will be a provocative idea for all of eternity. The idea that people who apply themselves to the same extent cannot reap the full benefits vis a vis some who barely apply themselves is hugely controversial and for good reasons. America is knon as a land of opportunity. Those who work the hardest should be most rewarded! On the whole, this is a controversial movie that is worth watching from time to time. It suggests that the desire for growth seems to have overtaken the desire for equality and fairness. It is even more so because in the current economic climate, brought about by unbrided capitalism, remedies should be sought to correct the ever-growing poverty

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Immigration and how it effects Unions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Immigration and how it effects Unions - Essay Example This is when a division appears on the opinion of the American public over the impact of immigration and how best to manage it. One of the difficult issues tackled in the public debate is the issue of unauthorized migrants. Surveys on public opinion reveal both ambivalence and anxiety with most Americans expressing distress concerning the phenomenon of illegal immigration, which they attribute as a sub-set of immigration in the first place. The attitude most Americans have is that since the immigrants are people, and they are in the country anyhow, it is not a bother to let them stay even though begrudgingly. In recent polls run by organizations from across the economic, social, and political spectrums, the unequivocal illustration is that a large portion of the American populace support immigration reform’s smart solutions as opposed to mass deportation. They support a pathway that will lead to citizenship for the immigrants who truly have become part of the community in America, pay back taxes, learn English. On humanitarian grounds most Americans are against tearing apart of immigrant families, whi ch they feel not threatened by in any way. Immigration is not ranked as among the top priority by Americans as opposed to issues like external aggression threats and the economic well-being of the nation. Having lived with immigrants as neighbors, schoolmates, colleagues, as well as friends, the average American does not have any opposition to the presence of immigrants in the country and does not feel at all threatened by the immigrants. Public opinion is divided on the grounds of education, political ideology, gender, race, as well as age. The current population of unauthorized immigrants is the major issue of concern with most Americans opting for their legalization. Support for this opinion is diminished among older Americans as well as those who lack college

CIPD ' understanding the organisations and the role of HR Essay

CIPD ' understanding the organisations and the role of HR - Essay Example Purpose and Goals The organizational goals are discussed below: The ABC Food Plaza will fulfill the needs and demand of customers through high quality food products. The employees of the organization will try to retain potential customers and target new customers through effective customer service. The organization will undertake sustainable business operation strategies in order to overcome several conflicts. Business priorities for 2014: 1) The organization will expand its outlets throughout the country in next three years to fulfill the market demand. 2) The organization will focus on business profitability in order to break even within three years of its business operations. Organizational chart of ABC Food Plaza The number of employees is 50 while company mainly targets the youth. The organizational chart is a sort of diagram that reveals the relation of a specific employee with another employee in an organization. This means the CEO or the director of the organization with all other employees of the departments such as strategy department, finance department, manufacture, Human resource, planning, operations and many others. In ABC Food Plaza, hierarchical organizational chart is followed in which, all sorts of plans and innovative ideas are given from the top-most authority. The same is presented in a graphical order as in the appendix. Impact of External Factors on Business Activities Political The government of the UAE is motivating the new entrepreneurs to start their business as it can help the country to reduce the challenges like increasing unemployment rate. Recently the government developed several policies for the fast food chains. Economical Global economic environment has been highly affected due to recent financial crisis and economic recession. People are trying to avoid the consumption of high priced products. Social Fast foods are quite popular among the people of UAE. Slowly and gradually, the demand for healthy food products is significa ntly increasing. Technological The organization is going to operate in a technologically developed country. The organization can get the access of advanced technology for the business purposes. Structure and Functions of the Organization The organization has board of directors, president and vice-president at the top of the structure. According to the decentralization structure, the managers of all the departments have the decision making authority. The organization has four functions, such as sales and marketing, operation, human resource and accounts. Impact of Different functions on performance of the Organization All the functions within the organization will work together in order to optimize the organizational performance. Effective strategy development of marketing managers and in-store operation activities will help ABC Food Plaza to meet the satisfaction level of the customers. Culture of the Organization The organization is following decentralizing structure. The organizat ion believes that effective and employee friendly organization culture can develop a conflict free workplace

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Jaws and the Growth Machine Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Jaws and the Growth Machine - Movie Review Example At a time when there is little growth of the economy in general and that of cities n particular, it is worth re-looking at the idea of the city as merely an engine for growth. This movie seeks to enlighten us that what binds alll the eople in cities s their desire for growth. This seems a plausible argument because after all, people move to cities to seek employment opportunities and access other services that villages might not offer. Even more provocative however, is the attemt by the movie to suggest that the city mostly serves the interests of a few elite at the expense of the majority. This will be a provocative idea for all of eternity. The idea that people who apply themselves to the same extent cannot reap the full benefits vis a vis some who barely apply themselves is hugely controversial and for good reasons. America is knon as a land of opportunity. Those who work the hardest should be most rewarded! On the whole, this is a controversial movie that is worth watching from time to time. It suggests that the desire for growth seems to have overtaken the desire for equality and fairness. It is even more so because in the current economic climate, brought about by unbrided capitalism, remedies should be sought to correct the ever-growing poverty

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

CIPD ' understanding the organisations and the role of HR Essay

CIPD ' understanding the organisations and the role of HR - Essay Example Purpose and Goals The organizational goals are discussed below: The ABC Food Plaza will fulfill the needs and demand of customers through high quality food products. The employees of the organization will try to retain potential customers and target new customers through effective customer service. The organization will undertake sustainable business operation strategies in order to overcome several conflicts. Business priorities for 2014: 1) The organization will expand its outlets throughout the country in next three years to fulfill the market demand. 2) The organization will focus on business profitability in order to break even within three years of its business operations. Organizational chart of ABC Food Plaza The number of employees is 50 while company mainly targets the youth. The organizational chart is a sort of diagram that reveals the relation of a specific employee with another employee in an organization. This means the CEO or the director of the organization with all other employees of the departments such as strategy department, finance department, manufacture, Human resource, planning, operations and many others. In ABC Food Plaza, hierarchical organizational chart is followed in which, all sorts of plans and innovative ideas are given from the top-most authority. The same is presented in a graphical order as in the appendix. Impact of External Factors on Business Activities Political The government of the UAE is motivating the new entrepreneurs to start their business as it can help the country to reduce the challenges like increasing unemployment rate. Recently the government developed several policies for the fast food chains. Economical Global economic environment has been highly affected due to recent financial crisis and economic recession. People are trying to avoid the consumption of high priced products. Social Fast foods are quite popular among the people of UAE. Slowly and gradually, the demand for healthy food products is significa ntly increasing. Technological The organization is going to operate in a technologically developed country. The organization can get the access of advanced technology for the business purposes. Structure and Functions of the Organization The organization has board of directors, president and vice-president at the top of the structure. According to the decentralization structure, the managers of all the departments have the decision making authority. The organization has four functions, such as sales and marketing, operation, human resource and accounts. Impact of Different functions on performance of the Organization All the functions within the organization will work together in order to optimize the organizational performance. Effective strategy development of marketing managers and in-store operation activities will help ABC Food Plaza to meet the satisfaction level of the customers. Culture of the Organization The organization is following decentralizing structure. The organizat ion believes that effective and employee friendly organization culture can develop a conflict free workplace

An Alternate Reality Essay Example for Free

An Alternate Reality Essay The Chinese, among others, used it for medicine thousands of years ago. The first settlers of America used hemp for paper, clothing and rope. So far this so called â€Å"Evil Weed† does not sound so harmful. In fact, it is not as harmful as it has been made out to be over the years. Everything from prejudice to misinformation has been the reason for this plant to be made illegal. In actuality, society can benefit from Marijuana being legalized and decriminalized. Today, there are thousands of Americans flooding our legal system because of petty marijuana charges, costing taxpayers millions of dollars. We know that it helps cancer and aids patients live a much more comfortable life because of the properties it holds. If it is a â€Å"Gateway Drug† then it is because of how it has to be obtained, on the street where drug dealers would be happy for you to try there other dangerous products such as crack and heroin. If compared to the legal drugs, alcohol and tobacco, and their risks, Marijuana seems like a â€Å"Walk in the Park†. At least it could make for a nice enjoyable one. The reality here is, the legalization of Marijuana could benefit society. If the people of our country could look beyond politics, discrimination, and passed misjudgments to see the true benefits Marijuana carries, the decriminalization of the so called â€Å"evil weed† could have a great and positive impact on our society with medical marijuana, reducing unnecessary costs in our legal system and by being a taxable commodity. Through all of history, man has known about and used Marijuana. Some believe that if it were discovered today, it would be considered a miracle drug for it’s medicinal properties. The use of Marijuana can be traced back before 7000 B. C. when it is believed that the first woven fabrics were made of hemp (Pete Guither, 2002). Growing Marijuana even has history with some American Presidents. George Washington’s main crop at Mt. Vernon was hemp, and it was Thomas Jefferson’s second largest crop at Monticello. â€Å"Marijuana has been illegal for less than one percent of the time that it’s been in use†¦and it was legal as recently as when Ronald Reagan was a boy (Pete Guither, 2002). So if Marijuana has such a long history and has very legitimate uses, why did it become and why does it remain illegal? In the 1900’s there was a huge number of Americans addicted to drugs. Many more than there are today. Depending upon whose report, or whose assessment you accept, there were between two and five percent of the entire adult population of the United States addicted to drugs in 1900 (Whitebread, 1995). You can imagine that there was some worry. Most of these addictions involved morphine and it’s derivatives, being used for legitimate medical practices. What happened is, Marijuana being a relatively unknown substance in the early 1900’s, got mixed up in the problems America was having with Morphine, Alcohol and even Cocaine. At the time there had not been any studies or anything of the like, to prove that Marijuana was a harmful substance, but there was racial prejudice and fear of substitution. In the 1930’s Marijuana was very new to the national scene yet some states prohibited it along with narcotics and alcohol that were prohibited nationally. Why? Unfortunately racial prejudice played a major roll in making Marijuana an â€Å"evil weed†. Increases in Mexican immigration at the turn of the century brought on sizeable Mexican-American minorities in the western states and these people were thought to become criminals when they ate â€Å"the killer weed† (Bonnie, Whitebread 2005). The following is a recording from a Montana newspaper, â€Å"The Montana Standard†, when giving full cover to a proposal to create a separate marijuana statute on January 27, 1929. There was fun in the House Health Committee during the week when the Marihuana bill came up for consideration. Marihuana is Mexican opium, a plant used by Mexicans and cultivated for sale by Indians. When some beet field peon takes a few rares of this stuff,† explained Dr. Fred Fulsher of Mineral County, â€Å"He thinks he has just been elected president of Mexico so he starts out to execute all his political enemies. I understand that over in Butte where the Mexicans often go for the winter they stage imaginary bullfights in the ‘Bower of Roses’ or put on tournaments for the favor of ‘Spanish Rose’ after a couple of whiffs of Marihuana. The Silver Bow and Yellowstone Delegations both deplore these international complications† Everybody laughed and the bill was recommended for passage (Bonnie, Whitebread 2005). In the Eastern states Marijuana was even less known. It did carry a stigma though with nothing to back it up. On July 29, 1914, an article in the New York Times stated, â€Å"This narcotic has practically the same effect as morphine and cocaine, but it was not used in this country to any extent while it was easy to get the more refined narcotics† (Bonnie, Whitebread 2005). It is quite obvious by this statement that there was little known about Marijuana but because it is referenced with morphine and cocaine and not yet prohibited, we have the â€Å"fear of substitution†. In other words, when hard narcotics become hard to get, the â€Å"evil weed† will take its place with addicts. Marijuana didn’t have much of a chance from the beginning. Another stumbling block is marijuana has is its reference to being â€Å"The Gateway Drug†. This term means that if you try Marijuana you are going to use other more dangerous drugs. It may be true that individuals that use Marijuana, at some time, turn to harder drugs, but why. Could it be that because it cannot be purchased in a corner store, individuals are forced to the streets and introduced to harder drugs by the dealers? There is not something in Marijuana that causes someone to crave cocaine. â€Å"Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the United States today. Therefore, people who have used less poplar drugs such as heroin, cocaine, LSD, are likely to have used Marijuana (Dr. Zimmer Dr. , 1997). This term is a scare tactic and works well. If Marijuana is looked at as being a gateway drug, what about alcohol and tobacco. There should be less emphasis on the drugs themselves and more to what factors shape a persons behavior. More time should be spent, for example, on parenting skills and a child’s environment. This is where the prevention of true drug abuse should start. If Americans as a whole cannot agree that Marijuana should be legal to possess and use by responsible adults, then we need to, at the very least make it legal for medical purposes. Many Americans that suffer from AIDS and cancer can benefit from this drug. It helps with anything from loss of appetite to the relief of pain. Why would we want to keep a drug illegal that is known to make peoples lives more bearable? The Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) own Administrative Law Judge, the honorable Francis Young, stated in 1998, â€Å"Marijuana is the safest therapeutically active substance known to man†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He went on to say, â€Å"The evidence clearly shows that marijuana is capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people, and doing so with safety under medical supervision†¦it would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for the DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance (Carter G. T. MD; Mirken B. 2006). It is fact that Marijuana smoke contains many of the same toxins that cigarette smoke does. However, the adverse effects of marijuana use are within the range of effects tolerated for other medications (Joy J. E. , Watson, S. J. Jr. Benson J. A. Jr. , 1999). New studies are showing that THC, the key compound in marijuana, may also be the key to new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease, because it blocks the formation of brain-clogging plaques better than current Alzheimer’s drugs (DeNoon, 2006). This study is nowhere near it’s final stages but so far the findings are incredible. It was found that THC blocked an enzyme named acetylcholinesterase, which speeds the formation of amyloid plaque in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s (DeNoon, 2006). When compared to the Alzheimer drugs Cognex and Aricept, which were tested at double the concentration of THC, Aricept blocked plaque at only 22% and Cognex blocked plaque at only 7% as well as THC. That study is sounding good so far. We really don’t have that far to go with other studies to show that Marijuana has great health benefits. In fact we should be about finished after decades of study. It seems as though one major negative influence in the complete legalization of marijuana is the FDA itself that as recently as April 20, 2006 claimed that â€Å"no sound studies† support the medical use of marijuana contradicting a very large amount of scientific literature (Carter, Mirken 2006). Politics I tell you, politics. What else could it be? In actuality, thank goodness, there are states in the U. S. that have already made this bold and humane move of legalizing medical marijuana. â€Å"Since 1996, twelve states have legalized medical marijuana use: AK, CA, CO, HI, ME, MT, NV, NM, OR, RI, VT, and WA. Eight of the twelve did so through the initiative process (2004). What happens if we don’t? I can tell you. We will continue to fill our legal system with petty misdemeanors that cost taxpayers billions of dollars a year. Since 1990 the war on drugs has made its primary focus on low-level marijuana offences. This is probably due to ease of arrest. There is a decent bit of our population that enjoys marijuana. If there is an easy way to get numbers up and make the war on drugs look like it is actually making a difference than that would be the way to do it. There were nearly 700,000 arrests for marijuana in 2002 and only 1 in 8 resulted in a felony conviction, which translates to roughly four billion dollars per year for petty marijuana offenses alone (King Mauer M, 2006). It is truly a waste of money and police allocation to still concentrate on this plant called marijuana. Caught up in politics, discrimination and the bashing by the uninformed, marijuana has really had a bad rap since the beginning of the 20th century. If there are drugs such as alcohol and tobacco considered legal, taxed and regulated, there is absolutely no reason marijuana should not be handled in the same way. I must say that I in no way condone under age drug use, to include all drugs. I do condone a responsible adult being able to enjoy a joint of this wonderful plant created by nature itself. Even President Clinton enjoyed a puff, although he might have enjoyed it more if he had inhaled. I also believe that marijuana as a medicine is by far, more safe than most of our â€Å"over the counter† meds, to include one of our favorite liver destroyers, Tylenol. There are mounds and mounds of evidence that prove marijuana to make life much more bearable for AIDS and cancer patients. Please pull marijuana out from under the blanket of lies that keep it from being some help and relief to society. Relieve some of the costs it incurs within our legal system. Tax it and make more money available possibly for some real education on the destruction of drug addiction. Regulate it so a person who wants to smoke it, knows exactly what they are getting. Most important, take it out of the hands of drug cartel that become millionaires, kill and take advantage of countries with little money. Legalize it! Legalize It! Decriminalize It!