My Journey Essay

I want to take this time to share my story about my transition back in the civilian world. In 1990, I was honorable discharge from United States Army this was during peace time in which I had to leave the military due to family hardship. At this time I received changes of duty station to return back to Korea which was my second tour of duty. I just had my fourth child and she was only 10 months old. My only option was to leave fourth children with my mother. I felt that was just to much for my mother at that time. While out the military I have a difficulty time adjusting back to civilian life. During this time I was married to a soldier, so I was still connected to the military life. But transition back to civilian living was hard for me. I did attended a class on resume writing and I obtained a job as a Certified Nursing Assistant at the local Nursing homes were I did my training at. My emotions was somewhat abnormal in which I felt like I was abandon and depression was their also. Even though I was working in civilian job I crave the advantage that I experience with my military job. My transition took about seven months for me fully accept the civilian sector way of life. Since I like the medical field I enrolled at Central Texas College and received a diploma as a Licensed Vocational Nurse. But I still missed being in the military. But the military provide me with a solid foundation for employment, because I the military helped to adapt to any situations.

Thank You for Smoking by Nick Naylor

Sneha Maknojia Professor Christopher Dunn English 1302- Essay One 27 February 2013 Thank You for Smoking Thank You for smoking is about a lobbyist name Nick Naylor who is the vice-president of Academy of Tobacco studies. The movie revolves around how Nick smooth-talks everyone into believing that Tobacco is not very harmful. Nick Naylor's main job was to make people aware of the research his academy does and answer questions on television regarding health claims against tobacco. Nick believed everyone has some sort of talent and he has the talent to talk people in or out of an argument.He always knew what to say and when he needs to say it. In the movie Thank You For Smoking the main character Nick Naylor shows the power of how argument when it is done in a correct manner, which can make everything seem right. There were many instances in the movie when Nick showed the power of argument. In the movie he argued himself out of some other argument. Throughout the movie Nick showed the p ower of art and power of argument from the smallest of things to very serious matters.The first instance I thought he showed his knowledge about argument is when he is with his son in Los Angeles and teaching him how you do not have to be right to win an argument. He is teaching his son an art of argument by saying that to win an argument all you have to do is to prove other persons argument wrong. The reason why I thought it was kind of an interesting philosophy of Nick Naylor is because it is kind of true sometimes you do not have to prove yourself right.All you have to do is that prove the other person wrong which will automatically make you correct. The second time I thought Nick Naylor showed his power over arguing is at the beginning of the movie when he is at a television talk show and he was being criticized of how the academy is not doing anything to prevent the number of deaths of children because of tobacco. Here again using his great skill of smooth talking saying that w hy would a tobacco company would want their customers to die. Again he made a point which I thought was very logical.He put an end to this argument by claiming how academy is putting their own money to help persuade kids not to smoke. Nick again using the power of his argument skills by putting the on us on the other guy instead of himself and let the other guy prove his case instead Nick trying to prove his. The third evidence of Nick’s argument abilities is shown at the congressional hearing towards the end. When he was arguing on the issue of people being not informed enough about the dangers of tobacco, he was asked to come in to prove that otherwise.Here again instead of proving his own point, Nick Naylor brought up a whole new argument to get peoples focus off from the tobacco argument. He made another valid point by saying that if tobacco’s hazardous warning needs to be more prominent on its packaging because it is great danger to American people health than che ese have to have hazardous warning too. He argued that a lot Americans died because of cholesterol so they should put a more prominent danger warning on cheese related products too.Nick gave a great analogy about people being knowledgeable enough to make their own decisions. Just like cheese do not need a warning sign because people are aware of the danger of cholesterol by eating too much cheese, people who smoke are aware of the harm of tobacco. It’s a person own choice what they want to consume and what they do not, people are knowledgeable enough to know what is harmful to them and what is not. These claims that Nick have made about the beauty of arguing supports my thesis about how throughout the Nick Naylor showed the power of argument if it is done correctly.He argued with his counter parts in a manner that it never looked like he was arguing. He talked in such a soft, smooth tone that sometime he was not the one who was defending the argument and it is the other way a round. Some people think arguing never brings any good, but in this movie Nick Naylor showed how arguing, if done correctly, can persuade people to change their way of thinking. I thought the last dialogue of Nick Naylor sums up his talent of arguing quiet brilliantly. â€Å"Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I talk. Everyone has a talent. †

Discussion Board Post Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Discussion Board Post - Assignment Example Christian educators mainly spell out the procedures involved in the total structure of the school curriculum. This means that all processes and procedures are anchored on a distinct theory of knowledge (Rieger, 2009). Furthermore, Christian schools are set up on the premise that every truth is God’s truth. They also believe that God is the key aspect in the passing of knowledge. It is vital to note that a majority of all education received from Christian schools somewhat has a Christian basis (Rieger, 2009). This, however, does not mean that Christian schools use the Bible in everything they do, but they refer to the Bible in order to evaluate all areas and sources of Knowledge. It is correct to conclude that the purpose of as a Christian school is mainly two-fold. To offer Bible content is the main purpose and an educational service in other areas of knowledge is the second purpose. These are the main characteristics of a Christian

Trade patterns in China and Hong Kong Research Paper

Trade patterns in China and Hong Kong - Research Paper Example (National Council on Economic Education) But some countries like Hong Kong plays an intermediation role for the trade of land lock countries such as China. Hong Kong acts as an entrepot for China. Hong Kong supplies semi-manufacturing goods as well as raw materials to Mainland China by importing from rest of the world. In exchange, it re-exports the manufactured goods from China to rest of the countries of the world. (Schoen, 2010) The two basic theories of trade flows are the absolute advantage and comparative advantage. Absolute advantage believes that a country should only produce those things which it can by using least possible resources. The absolute advantage China has in comparison to Hong Kong is China’s low-paid workers who are very beneficial in production of labor-intensive goods. Hong Kong comparatively have high cost of living due to which people of Hong Kong are hardworking. However, sometimes the effects of comparative advantage theory outweigh Absolute advanta ge as countries focus on goods with least opportunity goods as mentioned above. In this situation, a country with a comparative advantage can export same goods to a country in which the later country have an absolute advantage. Hong Kong does have a major comparative advantage over Mainland China in Publishing Industry, Demonstration Industry, Cultural Experience tourism industry and Child rearing industry. (Liu) China, being the leader of low-priced manufactured goods obviously does have a comparative advantage over Hong Kong because of its cheap labor. These labor-intensive processed goods allow China to produce almost anything from house hold products to daily usage goods, and clothing, electronic items etc. Almost all day to day products are manufactured by China today. (Oblad, 2009) Both the governments of Hong Kong and China should encourage the development of those industries in which they have a comparative advantage so that their exports should flourish and trade among them would increase. China should rely on its clothing industry, low cost electronic items and daily products from battery cells to laptops to sell them at a cheap rate to Hong Kong and attract people from there as Hong Kong relatively has a high cost of living as compared to Mainland China. (China Global Trade). The Government of Hong should play a proactive role in development of Demonstration Industry as Hong Kong does have an advantage over China in this sector. People from China can visit Hong Kong for Demonstrations for human rights, etc. and in exchange Hong Kong can take rent from Chinese people for these demonstrations. There are a lot of books which are not allowed to be published in Mainland China and thus Hong Kong can produce these books with its growing Publishing Industry. Also, the people of China can have as many children they want in Hong Kong as there is no restriction as such one-child-policy of China in Hong Kong. The Government of Hong Kong will take care of raisin g the child but Chinese do have to pay fees obviously. Â  The cultural experience tourism industry also offers to Chinese the books, newspapers, movies, and websites that are banned in China. Thus both the countries could benefit by focusing on their comparative advantages (Xanga. 2012). The Government

Breakthrough career aspiration Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Breakthrough career aspiration - Research Paper Example This is by first being able to identify existing barriers to the medical practitioners of not being 100% compliant with the VAP bundle. Contrary to numerous researchers who normally concentrate on the patients by alleviating their pain first, my first step would be to deal with the practitioners’ case (Fitzpatrick & Kazer, 2012). This is because the patients’ relief in this research would only be realized if only the healthcare providers are able to comply effectively or 100% to VAP bundle. This is because my core aim in this pathfinding research will entail seeking absolute solution towards healthcare providers being able to comply 100% with VAP bundle (Koenig & Truwit, 2006). Hence, being able to decrease incidences of VAP complications and attain zero rate occurrences as per the medical theory (Koenig & Truwit, 2006). This will shun increasing of both the morbidity and mortality rates that are evident presently in the ICU, which I have witnessed all through my career . In addition, my research’s breakthrough will also aid in lessening days that an individual normally stays in the ICU. Consequently, this has prompted both the healthcare and caregivers incur substantial expenses during the patients’ prolonged hospitalization (Doyle, Fletcher, Carter, Blunt & Young, 2011). 2. The uniqueness of my pathfinding research The success of my pathfinding research will yield to numerous benefits especially in achieving zero VAP rate targets, which the  hospital organization has always anticipated to achieve (Pneumatikos, Dragoumanis & Bouros, 2009). This is because Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) cases have always prompted to both the hospital facility and patients’ caregivers to incur untold expenses owing to prolonged stay in ICU. For example, statistics have confirmed that Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) mortality rates range between 24% and 76% despite the efficiency of medical practitioners (Pneumatikos, Dragoumanis & Bouros, 2009). This is an alarming rate, which might trigger fear to patients or their caregivers especially when an ailing person develops VAP complications. Since studies reveal a higher mortality rate of 46% of VAP complications compared to 32% of the ventilated patients (Pneumatikos, Dragoumanis & Bouros, 2009). Therefore, this breakthrough will be remarkable in the medical field where besides decreasing mortality and morbidity rates, it will also relive patient’s pain. Besides, it will also lessen healthcare’s high expenses that are evident currently due to extended hospitalization. 3. Theoretical path that I took Behavior change theory In improving compliance to VAP bundle, the application of behavior change theory proved to be of significant importance where I utilized Prochaska and DiClementes’s change theory (Kritsonis, 2005). This theory offered the theoretical framework required to execute this change though it contends that people usually undergo di verse stages in realization of any transformational transition. According to Prochaska and DiClementes’ theory, intervention is essential in all its five stages to effect the required or anticipated change (Kritsonis, 2005). The initial stage entailed shifting people’s perception from precontemplation to contemplation via organizing educational programs. Precontemplation is where the people owing to their ignorance are

Literary Elements of the Film (Pan's Labyrinth) Essay

Literary Elements of the Film (Pan's Labyrinth) - Essay Example Thesis statement: The analysis of Pans Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro, based on literary elements like plot, symbolism, and conflict proves the futility of hatred/war and the role of motherly tenderness in reducing violence and bloodshed in the mortal and immortal worlds. This section is divided into three: Plot (the theme of motherly tenderness), symbolism (war and violence), and conflict (between real and imaginary worlds, and internal conflict related to dual personality). First of all, motherly tenderness is the most important theme unearthed by the director in the film. To be specific, the heroine (Ofelia) who sacrifices her own life for the wellbeing of others is symbolic of motherly tenderness. As pointed out, the film’s plot is interconnected with military/ political history of Spain, especially during 1940s, after the Spanish Civil War between the Republicans and Nationalists. In the film, the director provides ample importance to the internal turmoil in Spain. Charles Derry makes clear that â€Å"Where as Pans Labyrinth takes places after the end of the Spanish Civil War, the violence still continues† (323). Military posts were established to stamp out the resistance. In the film, Captain Vidal is portrayed as a brave character that fights against the rebels. From a different angle of view, the film is a fanciful after the end of the Spanish Civil War, the violence still continues. Military posts were established to stamp out the resistance. In the film, Captain Vidal is portrayed as a brave character that fights against the rebels. From a different angle of view, the film is a fanciful on the background of fascist repression and violence, the heroine is drawn into a mystical, old labyrinth and uncovers a tale that has long been forgotten. In the film, Ofelia realizes that Captain and his fascist allies try their level best to bring down the rebels who fight for freedom. This attempt destroys Ofelia’s world and she wants to have an escapade

Ethics in History Film Response Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethics in History Film Response Paper - Essay Example Much of the cast consists of Algerians. The film is available in three versions of different lengths: 120, 125 and 135 minutes respectively. This paper attempts to interpret the films political connotation in light of historical developments since the colonial period. Much of the film is a flashback of Ali, the Algerian Front de Liberation (FLN) leader. The flashback begins when the French generals corner him in 1957. Some three years before the French hunt him down, Ali was a mere thief who made the decision to be part of the secretive organization (FLN) with the hope that he could rescue Casbah from the atrocities of the colonial government. Pontecorvo goes to the roots of the liberation struggle and unearths the stringent measures that the French government resorted to in a bid to calm the situation before it reached a national scale. When Ali’s flashback is done with, the French murder generals him alongside other notorious FLN leaders. Thereafter, the film resumes a more general focus that eventually culminates in the independence declaration for the African nation in 1962. Imperialism has been a strange issue to most filmmakers. In fact, Pontecorvo did a great job to highlight some of the thorny questions surrounding Western colonialism in the Battle of Algiers. He paints out the picture of imperialism even as the West is fighting hard to eradicate terrorism and rebel tactics of indigenous people. Pontecorvo drives home the point that even though the French torturous operations earned them defeat against the Algerian rebels during the war, the rebels finally had the last laugh as the French could not hold on to the colony for long. This contrast raises the debate as to whether the use of violent means is effective enough to deal with acts of terrorism currently growing worldwide. The film should not be underrated because of its underlying implications. The United States is particularly on the limelight owing

Business Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Information Systems - Essay Example Data and information are critical components of information systems that utilized by firms. The innovation of information systems has enabled commerce to thrive since it allows organizations to be cost-effective, gain competitive edge, and efficient in their industry. Hence, the usage of information has drastically been enhanced since the advent of systems design. One cannot understand the importance of information systems without comprehending what actually an information systems. An information system is a collaborative effort that strives to connect people, network, software, hardware, and data in order to facilitate the daily operations of a business (Foulds, 2006, p. 9). There are many types of information systems that consist of: manual, informal, formal, and computer-based. Information systems in essence give valuable data to organizations that can be given evaluated upon, analyzed, and enhance the value of the key goals that the organization possesses (Nocera, 2007, p. 9). In formation Systems are important because establishing a foundation for responsible use of technology. Managing information systems stems from internetwork enterprises. Hence, the field of information systems has become critical aspects of business administration. One of the key innovations that business professionals implement is an IS Framework (Pradhan, 2010, p. 13). IS Framework is used by business professionals who need to gain competitive strategies (Pradhan, 2010, p. 14). Thus, this competitive advantage allows firms to be cost-effective by becoming cost leaders. A primary example of a company that uses IS Framework is Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart excels in providing products and services at a very low competitive price. In addition, IS Framework allows businesses to be headfirst as the leader in technology as synchronization of software and data management of customer information (Pradhan, 2010, p. 17). Likewise, the IS framework allows businesses to communicate the whole supply managem ent that is heavily associated with the customers’ demands. For instance, the order to cash process in a business requires several steps (Pradhan, 2010, p. 20). When the customer places the order, the sales order department requires credit approval from the credit department. The credit department then informs the sales order department disposition of credit request. At these stages, the use of technology is extensive (Cameron, 2009, p. 7). The credit and sales department can use of point-of-sale technologies to scan the barcode of products. In addition, the innovation of technologies can use barcodes to process the order (Cameron, 2009, p. 10). Next, sales order department acknowledges customer order notifies warehouse, revenue collection process, and payroll process. In essence, it each step of the horizontal information flows consists of heavy utilization of technology (Cameron, 2009, p. 11). Another key issue that information systems addressed was an organization’s problems regarding differentiation. Prior to the introduction of these systems, few companies possessed the ability to deliver different products and services (Foulds, 2006, p. 10). With the help of automation systems as the result of information systems, companies were able to customize products based on customer needs. Companies were able to take prototypes and then enhance the functionality features due to high levels of customization that systems had to offer (Foulds, 2006, p. 11). This idea was essentially non-existent, but was quickly

The media’s recent focus Essay Example for Free

The media’s recent focus Essay Every year, the number of obese Americans is increasing dramatically, and it’s spreading all over the nation like an epidemic. But this is old news – this issue has been talked about decades ago, as it spread rapidly across all the states during the 1990s. Despite all the efforts by the government to solve this epidemic, people continue to grow fatter and fatter. What could be the key to solving this problem? Lately, the issue has been given special attention by the media. They’re not only calling for individual initiative to solve obesity, but also for changes in the physical education programs of our country in order to cope with this matter. But can media attention really affect change on this one? Annual national reports on obesity showed that instead of decreasing, adult obesity rates in the country rose in 31 states as of last year. Obesity policies are really failing in the United States right now, despite all the efforts by the government to stop the problem (Gutin, Riggs, Ferguson, Owens, 1999). According to the reports, there has been a major breakthrough in terms of drawing the attention of the people to the obesity epidemic. All eyes and ears were on the issue, yet the mouths continued to feed. What the country need is a breakthrough in terms of policies and results, as the poor nutrition practices and physical inactivity of most Americans are making the case much worse, affecting the people’s health and productivity (Labbe Welsh, 1993). Because of this, the approach shifts from the individual American, towards various groups and institutions like families, communities, schools, employers, food and drinks companies, health professionals, and government at local and national levels. There were some recommendations given in order to solve the problem of Obesity. One is the involvement of the federal government, by developing and implementing a national strategy that would clearly define the roles and responsibilities of the state and of the localities in dealing with these concerns (Hart, 2005). Another is the promotion of a healthy lifestyle by giving Americans the necessary tools for them to achieve the recommended levels of physical activity, like in schools and offices. Additional researches on how to promote these healthy choices are also being encouraged. There are various strategies that could encourage people to make healthier decisions, but more research is needed for it to be effectively promoted (Crawford, 2005). In the heat of the obesity epidemic issue, Physical Education programs is one of the ways that authorities see as a means to solve the problem. The current Physical Education programs in various institutions may be assumed ineffective in curbing the obesity problem. It is expected that these programs would be changed in such a way that it could deal with the problem of obesity. It will be intensified to accommodate the need of the Americans to shed off fats. With a lifestyle such as ours, it is impossible not to grow fat, so the best way to counter this is enough amount physical activities. This is hard to impose on every individual, that’s why the government should effectively plan on how to get every American moving. With the media’s attention focused on the obesity epidemic, we are able to see the real situation that we have in hand. The media served as a mirror to reflect our fat, bulging bodies, and hopefully, it would make us realize that we have to act quickly, or else. The success of any government effort to curb obesity doesn’t lie much on the policy or the policy makers, instead, it is up to the people to decide whether it’s effective or not. References: Crawford, S. A. (2005). Has the decline of intramural sports contributed to the youth obesity epidemic?The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation Dance, Vol. 76(Issue 1), 3p. Gutin, B. , Riggs, S. , Ferguson, M. , Owens, S. (1999). Description and process evaluation of a physical training program for obese children. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 5p. Hart, M. A. (2005). Influence of a physical education methods course on elementary education majors knowledge of fundamental movement skills. Physical Educator, 7p. Labbe, A. E. , Welsh, C. (1993). Children and running: changes in physical fitness, self-efficacy, and health locus of control. Journal of Sport Behavior, Vol. 16(Issue 2), 13p.

Food Globalization in China Essay Example for Free

Food Globalization in China Essay In most Chinese traditional families, family members would sit around the dining table and dine together. Everyone would talk about the day and bond as a family. Usually, it would be the mother who would buy groceries after work and return home to cook for the family. Sometimes, the father, the children or even the grandparents would help out in the kitchen. The mother of the family would always consider the nutrition, thus for every dish, it would be well-prepared, making sure that every family member would not have any health problems, such as getting sick or malnutrition. This was what a Chinese traditional family would be like in the past where fast food restaurants and â€Å"instant† food were scarce. Today’s Chinese family has altered tremendously. Purchasing meals at fast food restaurants is such an easy task compared to the loads of work and preparation for cooking at home. As a result, a mother has lost her chance to increase her energy expenditure that she would have spent on traveling to the grocery store, choosing and purchasing items, and returning home to cook. In addition, the bonding time for the family has decreased due to lack of interactions such as cooking and dining together. Instead, a mother has found other ways to provide food for the family. She would often go straight to a nearby fast food chain, make a take-away order or purchase instant French fries or noodles from a nearby supermarket. Likewise, compared to the traditional way of Chinese dinners, where families sit around a table of different dishes, fast food menus are mostly set for individuals, the amount of time that a family spends together is again decreased, and this unhealthy diet may slowly lead to unpredicted illnesses. In a matter of time, whether you are sitting in a restaurant or walking along the shopping districts of Shanghai, you look around and you could see humongous people with waist like pillars, arms that looks like thighs and thighs that rub against each other when they walk, one hand holding a cup of Pepsi and the other feeding themselves with McDonald’s cheese burger. There will be no more people with wrinkles and white hair. The life expectancy has dropped to fifty. This is not an illusion but an anticipated look of the future: The Fat China. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, globalization is the development of an increasingly integrated global economy, which is marked by the increase in cross-border flows of goods, services, money, people, information and culture. It brings the world together by spreading different ideas, making foreign products easier to access, speeding up the pace of life, and increasing the understanding around us. Most countries welcome the rush of globalization, which symbolizes advancements. However, the negative consequences on Chinese culture are deniable and are not worth the consequences. Food globalization is spreading through the world’s diverse cultures in the form of fast food restaurants, high-caloric beverages, supermarkets supplying instant food and high-caloric imported products, and culture changes that affect family bonding time. These changes have resulted in unhealthy diets, a decrease of energy expenditure, and illnesses such as obesity. Food globalization is causing a negative effect in China. Since the 1980s, China’s openness has led to the growth of foreign fast food chains in China. Coca-cola, Starbucks, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Hà ¤agen-Daz, Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin-Robbins, Pepsi, DQ, Pizzahut, Papa John’s and Mcdonald’s can be found almost everywhere in China (Popkin). According to Wen Dale, a member of the International Forum on Globalization, McDonald’s alone has opened up to at least 235 restaurants in China, excluding 158 Mcdonald’s franchises in Hong Kong. Every time when I go by McDonald’s in China, I can see the long lines of people, waiting for their turn to purchase the high-caloric food. When I visited Hangzhou (a city next to Shanghai) at the age of six, I already saw many KFCs around Hangzhou. Today’s Hangzhou is way different compared to twelve years ago, it is more modernized, and at the same time, it is crowded with fast food restaurants. In the shopping district of Hangzhou, there are not only Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton but also McDonald’s, Pizzahut, Hà ¤agen-Dazs, Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin-Robbins, Papa John’s, Starbucks and many other fast food chains. Globalization brought westernization, prosperity into China as well as fast food chains. According to A.Michelle Mendez, a nutritional epidemiologist who received her master’s in epidemiology at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, supermarkets, for example, have â€Å"accounted for 48 percent of the urban food markets in China, an increase beyond the 30 percent level in 1999†. With this increase of urban food markets in China, the traditional markets that provide fresh and unprocessed products has started to decline, leading to a higher consumption of processed food. Furthermore, these urban food markets are not only found in large cities but also in poorer areas. (Mendez) The growing presence of Carrefour and Metro that imports foreign products brought giant stores that offer a wide variety of high caloric snacks and soft drinks, increasing the availability of unhealthy products. For example, the direct imports of French fries from the United States has increased tenfold between 1995 and 1999 (Mendez). Food globalization that increased the number of foreign investments produces negative changes to the Chinese Cultures (Dale). Globalization has brought large foreign supermarket firms and fast food chains into China. All of these has resulted in lifestyle changes which include a shift from natural-homemade food and beverages consumed to processed ones, a higher consumption of foreign food, a driving dietary change, an increase intake of caloric sweeteners, a reduced food preparation time and an increase in intake of pre-cooked foods. These led to an increase in obesity rate in China. For foreign food chains to produce large amount of ingredients and products and ship them all the way across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, unhealthy chemicals are often added during production. The contemporary world is characterized by â€Å"an intense, continuous, comprehensive interplay between the indigenous and the imported†. (Jackson) This is demonstrated through the importing and exporting of fast food ingredients. According to John Andrew, a citizen journalist, these chemicals are sometimes known as â€Å"food additives† and not all food additives used are foods. Instead, they are â€Å"chemical that are generally recognized as safe† (Andrew). Almost all of these additives are nowhere to be found in a local supermarket, instead, some are found in â€Å"inedible products like tox antifreeze, silicone caulk, soap, sunscreen and play sand† (Andrew). As reported by Riddhi Shah, a writer for the website Salon, Sally Davies, a New York photographer started a â€Å"part-art, part-food† science experiment. Davies documented a McDonald’s Happy Meal every few days until it spoiled. Even at day 137, â€Å"the meal still looks pretty great† (Shah). After reading this experiment, how would people still feel safe and happy consuming these â€Å"Happy Meals†? Consuming foods with chemicals or food additives may damage long-term health. Globalization brought changes that I have personally encountered. In 2007, the number of foreign franchises in China could be counted with ten fingers. There were only a few Starbucks and McDonald’s opened their first outlet near the downtown Wulin Square, the shopping district in Hangzhou. However, after only three years, the number of Starbucks has quadrupled. Today, there are at least eight Starbucks in Hangzhou compared to the only one less than five years ago. Because Starbucks is present everywhere, it is easy for individuals to grab a cup of Caramel Frappuccino (which is about 430 calories) whenever passing by. This availability has brought about a rush of coffee addicts in China as well as weight gains. Likewise, the newly opened Starbucks near Hangzhou International School where I attended high school attracts many students and faculty daily. This situation also happens to the McDonald’s near the school. The increase in availability has caused a tremendous increase in junk food consumption among the staff and students. It is easy for students and faculty to grab a coffee, or a muffin before or after school. In most countries, especially the United States, Asians are often stereotyped as skinny. However, this perception will have to be altered in the coming decade. In the past, malnutrition has been the main health problem in China. According to James. A Levine, a professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, more than 60 million people have become obese in China (Levine). The data presents 23 percent of Chinese population is overweight. 12 percent adults and 8 percent children have obesity (Levine). The more serious problem is that Levine has predicted by 2020, the obesity population in China will exceed that of the United States. The Chinese population is one of the largest in the world and if as predicted by Levine, the Chinese obesity rate rises, the whole world will be affected by this change. Misra points out â€Å"that the obesity and the metabolic syndrome are immediate cursors of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease†, thus as China’s obesity rate increases, the well being of the Chinese population is evidently threatened. The increase in obesity rate will lead to maladaptive consequences such as an increase in other illnesses, and these studies provide a strong correlation with the growing of foreign fast food chains. Consequently, the increase of foreign fast food chains has affected everyone living in China. Easy accessibility to these restaurants and supermarkets reduces Chinese’s physical activity and labor intensity in both the urban and rural areas (Jackson). This increase number of foreign supermarkets has also resulted in a rise in the average intake of vegetable oil from â€Å"14.8 grams per person in 1989 to 35.1 grams per person in 2004, adding an extra 183 kcal to the population’s daily diet† (Popkin) (see table 1). In table 1, the availability for consumption of total calories has been going upslope since the 1961 and has no inclination of slowing down. Thus, these changes result in an increase in Chinese adults’ consumption on high-fat which rose from 33 percent to 60.8 percent in urban areas and 13.5 percent to 29.3 percent in rural areas (Mendez). Table 1 Regional Trends in Availability for Consumption of Total Calories, 1961-2000†¨Source: Misra, Anoop and Lokesh Khurana. â€Å"Obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome in Developing Countries†. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2008. Web. 8 November 2011. By switching from Chinese traditional diet to a Western diet, Chinese are consuming goods that are much higher in calories. In a Chinese traditional family, a dinner often included a few dishes of vegetables, a few dishes of meat (normally less than the number of vegetable dishes), a soup, and lastly a bowl of rice for each family member. One or two of the family members freshly cooked all of the food. This kind of traditional dinner included all components of a healthy meal for a well-balanced diet. For centuries, the only beverages Chinese consumed were tea, water, and breast milk after birth. â€Å"Because water has no calories, the human body did not evolve to reduce food intake to compensate for beverage consumption†, thus, adding sugar into new beverages will increase the caloric intake of an individual. (Popkin) Table 2 displays the short history of caloric beverage for humans. From breast milk, water consumption, the human as evolved to consume soda, coffee, juice, liquor and other beverages that contain sugar. Thereby, when people consume any beverage other than water, their total calorie consumption increase (Popkin). Table 2 Remarkably Short History for Caloric Beverages: Might the Absence of Compensation Relate to This Historical Revolution? Source: Popkin, Barry M. â€Å"The World is Fat.† The World is Fat (2008): n. pag. Web. 8 December 2011. The increase in availability of foreign food restaurants has led to a significant decrease of home-prepared food according to Popkin, an â€Å"obvious shift in home-prepared food and home-based meals to ready-to eat meals, often consumed away from home. With this consumption, Chinese are spending less time with their family members and more time outside of their homes. Even though families may eat out at a fast food restaurant together, as the food is served â€Å"fast†,, the social time that an individual spend with his family is still decreased. It is true that food globalization has presented positive effects on Chinese culture, such as the bringing a diverse of cuisines into China, satisfying the Chinese’s curiosity, the increase in their pace of life and the step of taking Chinese a leap forward into the understanding of the outside world. However, the negative consequences, such as the increase in health risks, and the diminishment of traditional culture that come together with food globalization are inevitable and are worth much more of the attention. These negative consequences may not seem worthwhile at this moment but when they do become serious problems, it will be too late to ameliorate. The question that is left for everyone to ponder is that do a higher standard of living, a higher pace of life worth the sacrifice? Work Cited Dale, Wen. â€Å"The Fast Food Invasion†. China Copes with Globalization: (2005): n. pag. Web 14 November 2011. Jackson, Peter. â€Å"Local Consumption Cultures in a Globalizing World†. Royal Geographical Society (2004): n. pag. Web. 13 November 2011.Levine, James A. â€Å"Obesity in China: Causes and Solutions†. Chinese Medical Journal (2007): n. pag. Web. 13 November 2011. Mendez, A. Michelle and M. Popkin. â€Å"Globalization, Urbanization and Nutritional Change In the Developing World†. Globalization of Food Systems in Developing Countries: Impact on Food Security and Nutrition (2004): n. pag. Web. 13 November2011. Popkin, Barry M. â€Å"The World is Fat.† The World is Fat (2008): n. pag. Web. 13 November 2011.Watson, L. James. â€Å"Chinas Big Mac Attack†. Foreign Affairs (2000): n. pag. Web. 12 November 2011. Wong, Seanon. â€Å"Whats In A Dumpling†. University of Chicago (2006): n. pag. Web. 13 November 2011 Wu, Yangfeng. â€Å"Overweight and obesity in China†. BMJ (2006): n. pag. Web. 13 November 2011. Tan, Cheryn. â€Å"Curry Origins and History†. Suite101, 2009. Web. 13 November 2011. Shah, Riddhi. â€Å"The Secret to the Immortality of McDonalds Food†. Salon, 2010. Web. 13 November 2011. Andrew, John. â€Å"Surprise Ingredients in Fast Food†. Natural New, 2010. Web. 13 November 2011. Misra, Anoop and Lokesh Khurana. â€Å"Obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome in Developing Countries†. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2008. Web. 13 November 2011.

Legal and ethical issues of discrimination

Legal and ethical issues of discrimination In an effort to curtail discrimination, implementing new strategies and proposing these new hiring practices are vital. It is not a good ethical policy for employees to be able to screen and pick and choose who gets to be interviewed, as in this case. Company hiring practices if done with good judgment and a strong moral and ethically correct agenda, can benefit the organization as a whole. Furthermore, discrimination in the workplace is disruptive and harmful to the effects on business operations and its culture, whether in the present or the past. By getting rid of old outdated policy and allowing for more diverse interaction with employees, we can create a multi-cultural environment. Also reciprocating this is the fact that managed correctly, the atmosphere will cause increases in retention rates and reduce turnover. Because our time was put into defining specific goals of the organization, that needed to be met to receive consideration for employment. Therefore, this organization needs a more efficient way to determine the necessary steps in the hiring procedure. The current process of hiring prospective employees is based on a biased view that too much diversity is a bad thing. New employee assessments are needed to help predict whether potential hires are motivated by the factors associated with a particular job. It is true that companies have to be cautious and should be concerned about negligent hiring but outright discrimination is an undesirable practice. Making sound hiring decisions and performing detailed background checks on qualified potential employees can decrease employment risks later caused by premature termination. (Berris, 2009) This company is small but can benefit from forming a streamline, non-negligent hiring process, by setting up a structured, non-discriminatory process for existing and new hires. Negligent hiring means the company can be put into legal trouble if it could have foreseen a potential issue but acts negligently by not d oing a thorough check of the new employee, before hiring. This company had a tendency to overlook steps to reduce the likelihood of a hiring mistake. This company looks past a lot of qualified employees due to its biased hiring practices and may hire problem employees unknowingly. This potential failure is heightened because management chooses to hire off of appearance and fails to accurately assess a potential employees way of thinking and handling situations or their particular skill needed for the job. Quality, knowledge and skill sets need to be the reason for hiring/not hiring someone, not their appearance and this is how you decide who to hire. (Aly Shields, 2010) When individuals are discriminated against because of defining characteristics such as their race, gender or age, this is some of the most blatant forms of discrimination. Personally, I believe the most qualified person should receive the job, regardless of race, ethnicity. If discrimination does not exist, it certainly has a solid historical foundation for its existence. As evidenced in this scenario, a potential employee is shut out of the hiring process, based solely on his ethnicity. When employers violate workplace discrimination laws, legally they can be sued by the person or persons and receive bad publicity and other consequences. Discrimination occurs when an employee suffers from unfair treatment due to their race, religion, national origin. Proving discrimination is difficult as is can occur in a number of work-related areas, during your initial hiring phase, during training or even after you get the job and have to participate in job evaluations. According to Smith, unfai r treatment does not necessarily equal unlawful discrimination, treating a person differently from others violates Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws only when the treatment is based on the presence of a protected section under discrimination, rather than on the job performance. As far as ethnicity goes, Americans come in every colour shape and size and a successful business is one that understands its customers and knows how to meet their needs. (2010) The more diverse an organization is, the more likely it becomes a center piece of the community. Affirmative action helps to cut down on discrimination, past and present, but it is not a complete solution. The objective of its policies include the elimination of hiring and advancement discrimination; ensuring multicultural employment and to achieve a diverse and much more representative workforce. The results guide a prospective manager about how best to motivate, manage and develop potential employees in a new role. It has helped but the effort to increase the number of minorities in upper management and leadership roles in educational institutions is still a struggle and needs to continue. Needless to say there is a long history of racism and discrimination against blacks and minorities, which went unnoticed. Where was the need to strive for equality then as it is now? The evidence of all types of discrimination against minorities led to a decisive need for action, ethics and morals were the same then as they are now. Ethics are the societal application of what is right and wr ong while morals are an individuals belief of what is right and wrong. Is one to say that the U.S lacked morals and good ethical practices and this is why the need for affirmative action gave rise? Morals are instilled in every man woman and child, it is a sense of what is right and wrong and good ethical behavior builds off of good morals. There is no doubt that affirmative action has helped with the vast gap between blacks and whites in areas such as education, employment. Those that do not share positive views on affirmative action will state that it is discrimination to harbor or give away special considerations and benefits on the foundation that people have certain characteristics. Affirmative action programs that benefit minorities have been under attack in the halls of Congress and scrutinized for reverse racism against the whites. This is a valid argument but how can one ignore the imbalance of societal benefits that are obviously lacked by minorities. (Devata Kappelman 20 10) Ethically this is thesible but morally this argument should have never existed. For years the morality of America went unquestioned in the treatment of minorities, years beyond slavery and what individual or group has a right or an ethic ground to stand against affirmative action. Legally government has tried to mandate it and courts have tried to uphold its presence but to no avail. Again I ask where the outrage was when affirmative action was white. The opposition to affirmative action argues that the foundation that the U.S is built upon requires that government treats all of its citizens as individual persons without regard to their ethical status, and again I ask where this creed was during slavery and years after. This is truly a divisive issue and one cannot employ the constitution when needed and dismiss it when not.

Artists Should not be Resposible for Explicit Lyrics and their Impact on Kids :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Artists Should not be Resposible for Explicit Lyrics and their Impact on Kids "Turn that music off! I don't want you listening to that kind of music." Many teens these days are experiencing this kind of thing almost every day. Many parents, in general, have complained and tried to regulate the music that teens are listening to these days. They complain that the music industry shouldn't be able to sell and produce the explicit CD's. The music industry gets a lot of criticism about the music that they put out on the market. Most of the criticism comes from the parents. There are bills passed, such as the "Parental Advisory Program," which enforce that CD's with explicit lyrics have to have a label on them that state, "Explicit Lyrics" or "Explicit Content" (Parental Advisory). This sticker cautions the person who buys the CD that there is bad language or content. The recording industry takes serious responsibility to help parents identify the music with explicit lyrics. The battle between the parents and the music industry still continue to this day. The Parents' Music Resource Center (PMRC) still thinks that there should be more of a regulation on the music than what there is now. "The 'gangsta rap' is just to vulgar for young teens to be listening to. It brainwashes them and sometimes even persuade them to do unlawful things" (Hip-Hop Lyrics). On the other hand the music industry has the "Parental Advisory Program." Therefore if the CD's with the explicit lyrics were restricted in any way it would bring unconstitutional restrictions on the First Amendment right of artists to express themselves freely, and their fans' right to hear what the artists express whatever the subject might be" (Explicit Lyrics). Many say, "What about 'Cop Killer' doesn't that depict that they go out and gunning down cops as a hobby of some sort." Rapper Ice-T himself comes back with, "'Cop Killer' is a work of musical fiction used in the hip-hop world" (Hip-Hop Lyr ics). Some people argue that the explicit lyrics label actually boosts the sales by drawing attention to the labeled album. "Warning labels sell albums. A lot of groups want warning labels" (Between...Place). Many believe that stores should have more of a restriction on which they sell the explicit CD too.

Documentation and Fabrication in Phonography :: Music Essays

Documentation and Fabrication in Phonography ABSTRACT: In most general terms, my paper is about the mixture of agendas in the recording industry, where documentation, with its apparently educational implications, becomes difficult to distinguish from a range of distinct, even opposed, goals—which I group under the heading "fabrication." After a few historical remarks, I develop the concept of what I call works of phonography (WPs)—that is, sound-constructs created by the use of recording machinery. (Examples: rap music recordings, electronic compositions for tape machine, sonic pastiche's by pop groups such as Art of Noise.) I detail their ontological characteristics, as contrasted the features of ordinary musical works. WPs are—I claim—replete. (Their finest sonic details are constitutive of them.) They are autographic. (Authenticity of their instances is not tested by the allographic criteria we associate with ordinary musical works, namely, compliance with scores.) And they are phono-accessibleâ⠂¬â€that is, accessible only through playbacks of authentic instances of their record artifacts, e.g., cassette tapes, CDs, etc. I then turn to Theodore Gracyk's recent study of rock music (in his book Rhythm and Noise), arguing that his account is formally similar to my account of WPs. This raises the question of whether there be counter-examples to Gracyk's account—particularly of the sort that show his view to be too broad. I bring this to a focus finally by a comparison of rock recordings with jazz recordings—two classes that Gracyk tries to keep ontologically distinct. I argue that many classic jazz recordings are artifacts of the recording studio, no less than those Gracyk identifies as pure cases of rock music. In the same vein, I argue that, once recorded, the improvisational music of jazz is deformed—indeed, that it acquires features of WPs. This has the further implication that Gracyk cannot preserve his sharp distinction between rock and jazz records that he want's to maintain. I. Like Evan Eisenberg, who argued that sound recording has opened up entirely new kinds of musical experience unknown in the age of mere live performance,(1) Ted Gracyk has opened his ears to what Walter Benjamin had to say about mechanical reproduction. Both see sound recording not as a mere convenience but as fraught with broader implications. In his recent book, Gracyk has brilliantly described, not only the phenomenology of rock sound, but how the technology has made possible a type of musical work unknown in the age of mere live music.(2) The recording industry has lived mainly by what might be the called transparency perspective, according to which the analogy for a sound recording is a transparent window pane through which we can view, undistorted, the object of our interest.