The Steps to Be Taken Towards a Green Future

My Grandfather says, â€Å"Looking out the window is not what it used to be†. I was not a 100% sure what he meant, so I asked him. He was talking about the whole concept of â€Å"Going Green†, the fact that there is a limited amount of the earths’ oil left and that landfills are emitting tons of greenhouse gasses into our atmosphere. No one knew about clean alternatives to petroleum such as palm oil and Biodiesel, which is produced from waste cooking oils instead of using gas or diesel or that just having a compost garden in your backyard could reduce the world’s garbage even just a fraction which is helping. This paper will go over ways to lower the consumption and usage of fossil fuels. Also, discuss ways of; lowering pollution rates, eliminating nuclear power and introducing clean energy alternatives to gas and electricity. Solar Energy and Windmills are a big part in the clean energy movement that people are starting to fight for and my Grandfather’s generation has no knowledge about. In the words of Xavier Rudd â€Å"Thank you for your message but I don’t understand, no I won’t understand. † People like my Grandfather never knew about what pollution could actually do to the environment. Wind energy is a step that is being taken throughout Europe (Krueger pg1). Many countries have started to switch their electrical consumption to clean energy and not the modern way of producing electricity, with magnets or nuclear, which use gasoline to power the engines. All the world needs is the wind and sun to provide enough electricity to power the people who inhabit it. Today’s power plants run on fossil fuels and that pollutes the environment, which waste valuable resources. Either in a steam or gas turbine power plant they all rely on coal, petroleum or biomass to power at least one thing in the plant. But, in a wind, geothermal, or hydroelectric powered power plant the turbine is turned by the wind, water or steam produced from the earth to produce the electricity. Even though nuclear power plants don’t burn fossil fuels to create the electricity they are still polluting the earth and are a danger to mankind. Just recently, Japan was hit by a tsunami and a nuclear powered plant was hit. Nuclear reactor after nuclear reactor broke and started to become a problem for the environment and threaten the lives of not only the Japanese citizens, but of the world. With clean energy the electricity can be created by home owners, farmers and the government. Everyone can get into the electrical game and even get paid for the electricity that they do not use and it can go to power someone else’s home (Krueger 2). Pollution has gone on for a long time and started basically at the beginning of the industrial revolution and it’s time for it to be put to rest. With the industrial revolution came automobiles, which are the biggest part of the pollution problem. Another part of the problem is the amount of paper that is used. The paper industry is why marijuana is illegal, it is because the hemp from marijuana could be used for paper, rope, clothing, ect†¦ that they made the government make it illegal. People don’t realize how much paper is wasted in toilet paper, paper towels, tissue paper, books, magazines, newspapers, and office paper. All of those things are made from trees and no one even thinks about the trees. They have been here on this earth longer than use and we are cutting them down, just to make paper it seems. If the amount of paper used stays at this rate then we are going to be all out of trees and plants to but down to make paper without effecting our oxygen levels. The companies weren’t even planting the trees back until recently when some started to plant new trees to start to try to create a sustainable paper supply for the future. Garbage is another main pollutant that is ruining our earth. In the garbage there is too much recyclable and compost able goods that should be in recycling factories or compost piles. Also, there is plastic, which was another invention from the industrial revolution (Calandri 235). Plastic is a non-biodegradable compound which means that it cannot decompose with natural processes. Plastic is overflowing the landfills of the world and something has to be done. People have to start recycling their plastic in-order to protect the planet. We also must lower the amount of waste that we put into our landfills, both homes and restaurants must do this (McCaffree 205). People have to start conmposting and conserving water to save the world. Another way that companies are going green is that they are using algae to filter the on the CO2 from the power plants’ exhaust gases to make the power plants’ coal burning less polluted for the environment (Going Green Literally pg17). The power plants are a big part of the pollution problem with them burning coal, and also fossil fuels to run their generators and machines. If power plants start to use the algae to cycle their exhaust the CO2 emissions can be lowered by 20% per power plant, which is a whole lot less greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere. Clean energy alternatives to petroleum products are a way to stop drilling for oil to make into gasoline, diesel, fertilizers, aspirin, plastics and even artificial hearts and pacemakers. Thousands of household and everyday items are made with oil that you wouldn’t even think were. Family Recreational activities such as skiing and snowboarding use oil in the manufacturing of the boards or skis, even contact lenses that have oil in them and without oil how would they work. I’m sure there would be something else that manufacturers could use when making the lenses. Oil is a big industry that has its hold on most of American products and even the world. Biogas is another form of clean energy. It is also a sustainable resource that is made from grass and tree clippings, and restaurant food waste (Corum 36). Today power plants are all over the world and if they get converted to run of this sustainable resource than oil can be eliminated from the power plants. With the power plants not using oil and petroleum products that amount of oil that is needed to live can be cut down. FCC Expander Technology is the best way for the petroleum companies to go green. The FCC process is very complicated and uses all the waste products over again by recycling them into re-useable energy (Carbonetto 79). The recycled energy from the flue gas has a couple of things that it can be used for and I think that is a very good uses of the un-useable gas. The Electric power generation train in the petroleum plant has a lot of key benefits and engineers have been designing the most energy efficient ways to do the process of making fossil fuels (Carbonetto 83). The petroleum refining industry is starting to come up with ways to save energy, reduce costs and save the environments. Palm oil and Biodiesel are by-products of seeds. Biodiesel is made from oil that has been used at restaurants or other places and is a clean burning fuel deprived from biological sources (Biodiesel pg2). Biodiesel produces much less CO2 than regular diesel, biodegradable and is also non-toxic. Palm oil on the other hand, is made from palm tree seeds (Yusoff 3). The palm trees grow in warm tropical climates and two different types of palm fruit oil come from it. The first is crude palm oil from the seed and the second is crude palm kernel oil made from the kernel. What is good about palm oil is that palm trees are perennial crops and they are a sustainable resource. In conclusion, what has to happen is that governments around the world have to enforce new laws to protect the environment. The laws have to force the use of clean energy alternatives to petroleum products. The alternatives are Biodiesel and Palm Oil to fuel our cars, trucks, planes, trains and boats. The pollution has to be addressed next to save the planet. There are many form of pollution and law enforcement has to implement more strict laws and higher fines to stop people from littering. Last thing that has to be done is to push towards a future where electricity is made from wind or water. Windmills and watermills are the future of electricity and do not need to use any fossil fuels to power the generators. In order to go green people and business must start moving towards a greener living and the consumption of goods needs to be lowered by everyone.

General relativity Essay

For many years time travel was the stuff of science fiction. This was all just part of the world’s imagination until recently. Scientists now believe that the current laws of physics allow us to travel though time. They believe that we can now travel back to see our founding fathers sign the declaration of independence. We could travel to 2999 to witness the birth of the next new millennium. Such travel would require a machine capable of withstanding great pressures and incredible amounts of speed. The act of actually traveling though time is for the most part, agreed upon, but the implications of such travel is not so decided upon. Many different theorists have different views of what could happen and some go, as far as to say that if we did travel to the past, we would end up in a different universe that is a replica of this one. One of the most basic concepts is that of Dilation, a stretching of something. Some scientists believe that the main gateway to the past or future is a wormhole. Einstein’s general relativity theory explains about universal constants, this is important to understand the concepts of travel at light speed. Traveling to the past could create problems if someone tried to change something. This is a paradox. A few of these paradoxes are explained through the use of quantum mechanics. Sailing though the cosmos at the speed of light with no time passing us by, moving throughout time to witness the ancient Egyptians create their masterpieces. This is an exciting concept that we could actually formulate and make happen. Before the time of Einstein, Newton and other great investigators thought of space as an infinite expanse in which all things exist (Hewitt 213). We are in space and we live in it along with all of the planets and stars. It was never clear if the universe exists in space or space exists in the universe. Dose space exists outside the universe or only within the bounds of it. The similar question, does the universe exist only in time or does time only exist in the universe? Was there time before the universe, and will there be time after it ceases to exist? â€Å"Einstein’s answer to this is that time and space only exist within the universe. There is no time or space ? outside. ‘(Hewitt 213)† Einstein said that space and time are two separate parts of a whole called space-time (Hewitt 213). To understand this, consider our present knowledge. We move though time at the rate of 24 hours per day. This is only half the story though. To get the other half we have to convert our thinking from moving though time to moving though space-time (Hewitt 213). When we move, we not only move through space, we move though time. This is the idea of space-time. If a person were to stand still, they would be moving only though time. If they moved a little bit, they would be moving though space a little bit, but still mostly though time. If one were to travel at the speed of light, what changes would they experience in time? The answer is simple; they would be traveling through space, with no travel though time (Hewitt 214). They would be as ageless as light, for light travels though space only (not time) and is timeless. > The frame of reference of a photon, a particle of light, a trip across the universe would take no time at all (Hewitt 214). To understand how traveling though time would work, we must first understand how time and space can be stretched. Motion in space affects motion in time. Whenever we move through space, we to some degree alter our rate of motion in time. This is known as time dilation, a stretching of time that occurs ever so slightly for everyday speeds, but significantly for speeds approaching the speed of light. If we were to attempt to travel to the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, which is 4 light years away, even traveling at the speed of light would take 8 years round trip (Hewitt 228). The center of our galaxies is something like 30000 light years away and at the speed of light would take 30000 years to get there. We could not possibly survive that long. These arguments fail to take in to account of time dilation though. Time for a stationary observer on earth and for an astronaut on a spaceship of high velocity is different. A person’s heart beats to the rhythm of the realm it is in. One realm of time seems the same as any other to the person in the realms, but not to an observer outside that realm that can see the difference. As an example, astronauts traveling at 99% the speed of light could make a trip to the star Procyon that is 11. 4 light-years away in 23 earth years round trip (Hewitt 229). Because of time dilation, it would seem that only 3 years passed for the astronauts, there clocks would be 3 years older; they would be biologically only 3 years older (Hewitt 229). It would be the mission control people that would appear to be 23 years older. The question is why dose this happen. Let’s say that we are in our hometown, looking at the grandfather clock that is in the center of town. The clock reads 12:00 noon. Light from the sun bounces off the face of the clock and hits our eyes. We then turn our head and the light misses us and travels off into space. In space, there is a space ship that is traveling at the speed of light. An astronaut looks out his passenger-side window and sees the reflection of the clock. It reads 12:00 noon. As he continues to move at the speed of light, he keeps up with the reflected face of the clock. In the space ship time would pass as normal, but time in the universe would have seemed to stop. This might sound like cosmic bologna but the idea has been proven. In 1975 Professor Carl Tllie of the University of Maryland tested this theory using two synchronized atomic clocks (Brian par2). One clock was placed on a plain and flown for several hours while he other clock stayed on the ground. Upon landing, the clock on the plain was a little slower than the one on the ground. This was not due to experimental error, for the same test was done several times and each time yielded the same results. Because of time dilation travel in to the distance future is a definite possibility. The only problem lies in propelling a craft to such speed at which light travels. Carl Sagan wrote a science fiction novel about a fictional device that allowed his character to travel great distances across the universe. â€Å"Those faster than light speeds are not achievable; he also knew there was a common convention in science fiction that would allow a gimmick of a shortcut through ? Hyper space’ as a means around this problem( par2 ) . † Sagen turned to Kip Thorne for help for hyperspace connections through space-time( par2). A black hole always has two â€Å"ends†, a property ignored by everyone except a few mathematicians until the mid-1980s. Thorne was sufficiently intrigued to set two of his Ph. D. students, Michael Morris and Ulvi Yurtsever, the task of working out some of the details of the physical behavior of what the relativists know as†wormholes. † By starting out from the mathematical end of the problem, they constructed a space-time geometry that matched Sagans requirement of a wormhole that could be physical traversed by human beings. Sagan was right; hyperspace connections do at least in theory provide a means to travel to far distant regions of the universe without spending thousands of years putting around in an ordinary spacecraft. Since the 30’s scientists have speculated that wormholes exist. Einstein’s theory combines 3 dimensional space with time to create a 4 dimensional space (Brian par3). Wormholes are gateways between two different parts of the universe made by linking two black holes. Wormholes are in the fabric of 4 dimensional space that are connected, but which originate at different points in space and different times. By connecting the two holes they provide a quick path between two different locations in space and time. Distortions in space cause the point separated by the gap to bulge out and connect. This forms a wormhole through, which something could instantaneously travel to a far away place and time. This is basically the 4dinensial equivalent of a folded sheet of paper, to make contact from one edge of the paper to the other. One could build a craft strong enough to withstand the intense force of the gravity towards the center, and pass right through like opening a door of a house and stepping outside, except the space travelers outside could be light-years away and centuries before the current time. If the traveler enters one side he would exit in the opposite side in a different place and time. The difficulty of doing this is in keeping the hole open till the travel gets through otherwise it would collapse and the traveler would not be seen again. The trip is not impossible just extremely difficult. It is believed to be possible to create our own wormhole. To actually make one, two identical machines consisting of 2 parallel metal plates charged with unbelievable amounts of energy would need to be constructed. When the machines are placed in close proximity of each other the enormous amounts of energy, about that of an exploding star, would rip a hole in the space-time continuum and connect the two machines via a wormhole. This is possible and the beginnings of it have been illustrated in the lab by what is known as the Casimir effect. The next step would be to put one of these machines on a space ship and send it off at near light speed. The ship would take the machine on a journey while being connected to the other on earth via the wormhole. A step in the hole would take us to where the other machine is, but that would be in a different time. Its use would be somewhat limited because we could not travel to a time before the machine was created. However if we were to utilize wormhole technologic we would have to be so advanced that we could master the energy within blockhouse. Space-time consists of portraits or events that represent a particular place at a particular time. Your life forms sort of a worm in space-time. The tip of the tail is your birth and the head is your death. And everything that is the body is your life, otherwise called your world line. In three-dimensional space, a rocket that is not accelerating is stationary, but in four-dimensional space the ship is moving along is world line. Einstein’s law states simply that the world line of every object is a geodesic in the continuum. A geodesic is the shortest distance between two points but in curved space is not generally a straight line. If an object’s world line were to be distorted, so much of form a loop connected with a part on itself that represented an earlier place in time it would create a corridor to the past. Picture a loop to loop that runs into it as it comes around. This closed loop is called a closed time like curve. These curves could be used to travel into our own history. All the clams made about time travel are consequences of the basic scientific laws and standard Quantum Mechanics. Wormholes and closed time like curves appear to be the main way to travel to the past. The aforementioned theories do fine in expelling how to we would go about traveling through time, but they do little to explain what it would be like traveling through them. Quantum mechanics can be used to model possible scenarios and yields the probability of each possible output. In the context of time travel, it has a so-called â€Å"many universe interpretation. † First pursed by Huge Evertt III in 1957. This means that if something can physically happen it does in some universe. Everett says that our reality is only one of the many equally valid universes. There is a collection of these universes called a multiverse. Every multiverse has copies of every person, structure and atom. For every possible event every possible outcome is said to be played out in a different universe. This interpretation of Quantum Mechanics is quite controversial, but it does suggest that it may be impossible to travel backward in it to our own dimension, but quite possible to travel back in time to an alternate dimension. Such an idea of linking parallel universes has been suggested in science fiction novels and in some television shoes such as â€Å"Sliders. † In the television series â€Å"Sliders,† a â€Å"sliding machine† creates a wormhole that links 2 parallel dimensions. Each week a group of these sliders jump into the wormhole and emerge in the same place and time, but in a different dimension. They can run into there own selves and experience a society vastily different than their own. The stuff of science fiction stems from existing Physical theories. So now that we know travel through time is theoretically possible, what would it be like? What would traveling at light speed be like? It would be similar to driving our car at 60 mph. You could not really tell the difference, Einstein says that you can not tell the difference in uniformly moving vessels. According to Einstein’s laws of special relativity sight speed travel is not achievable. For any object to attain light speed, an object must be massless, such as a photon. Any object with mass would require an infinite amount of energy to accelerate to light speed. As we know, everything has mass so it would be impossible for any human to achieve these speeds. Another barrier on our traveling the speed of light, is the fact that light is pure energy, if we were to travel at that speed, we would turn into energy blobs. What happens when we actually travel back in to time? What happens if we change something, or try to commit suicide or to invent something from the future that we take for granted? The future from that point could be drastically changed. This argument is commonly called the Chronology principal. This principal states that the time travel could bring information to the past that could be used to create new ideas or products. If Pablo Picaso, the most influential and successful painter of the 20th century were to travel back in time to meet his younger self, assuming he stayed in his correct universe, he could then give himself a portfolio of all his work. His younger self could reproduce the paintings and profoundly and irrevocably affecting the future of art. This would involve no creative energy by the â€Å"inventor. † The reproductions would exist because they are copies from the original and the originals exist because they are copies of the reproductions. No creative energy would ever have to be put forth to create these masterpieces. Because of the chronology principal time travel, by some, has been ruled out. The cosmos await us, and the history of our world is at our fingertips. Would we use this great power for good, bad, and wealth? All we have to do is get in our spaceship, set sail for the nearest wormhole, and hope for a little luck, and we can witness things only told in stories. Only the traveler can decided what he or she wishes to go back for. The theories today state that traveling through time is possible, however they do not say what could be the repercussions of our actions. This great frontier awaits us; we have the knowledge, and are slowly but surly developing the technology. Only time will tell when time itself no longer rules our lives as one of the chief amendments of the universal constitution.

Existentialism: Philosophy of Life and Existence Essay

Existentialism â€Å"Existentialism is an attitude that recognizes the unresolvable confusion of the human world, yet resists the all-too-human temptation to resolve the confusion by grasping toward whatever appears or can be made to appear firm or familiar†¦The existential attitude begins a disoriented individual facing a confused world that he cannot accept. † (Robert Solomon) Existentialist all share a common concern with what they have coined as the â€Å"Human Condition. † They tend to ask: †¢Why am I here? †¢What does it mean to be human? †¢How should I go about living my life? Existentialism is more of individual rather than social. They, Existentialist need to justify their existence. For them, they’re having their journey in life to know their purpose based on their own philosophy, according to EDU310 Foundations of Learning. There is no predetermined definition or purpose. We are free to make our own definitions through choices that lead toward self-definition. Students are free agents, responsible for creating their own selves and purpose. Everything learned is a tool toward the realization of one’s own subjectivity. Standardized testing restricts the interpersonal relationship between teacher and student. Value-laden students are vital, as is authentic assessment. Therefore, Existentialism is a philosophy concerned with human existence, self-discovery, and the search for life’s meaning based on free will, experiences, beliefs, laws, and traditions. How does existentialism connect to Axiology and Metaphysics? (Branches of philosophy) In Education, Existentialism is very important, because as an Educator we should know each child’s life, existence and story behind their attitudes and characters, for us to become an effective educator, according to Bethel Jadem. For example, a child has a problem and suddenly changed his/her attitude; we have to know the reason behind it for us to understand him/her. We should know also their philosophy and belief in life so that we could better adjust, know and appreciate their existence as well. To show the connective thread between Axiology and existentialism and metaphysics and existentialism the terms need to first be defined. †¢Axiology is the study of value. It is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature and types of value such as in ethics and religion. (â€Å"What and why do you value? †) †¢Metaphysics is (â€Å"What is real? †) In connection to axiology, an example of existentialism is: According to EDU 301 Foundations of Learning, studying the ethics of the Christian and Jewish religions is an example of a study in axiology. Therefore, if a child growing up in a Christian home has strong beliefs about God he/she values her beliefs and therefore concludes that here existence is solely because of God. â€Å" There is a purpose for my existence, God will show me the way. † In connection to metaphysics, an example of existentialism is: Since â€Å"this† exists, that cannot exist. â€Å"John was walking (this) on water (that). † There is only knowledge of how, beyond what is given, so inferred to make the situation valid with natural cause. As a metaphysical example, if he could walk on water, maybe he had water in his shoes. There is also questions that go beyond what we know. Such as â€Å"is there a â€Å"first† cause? † Or is time â€Å"infinite†? Since we ourselves can have no observation of such truth, only inference based on given present events, it becomes Metaphysical.

Computers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Computers - Essay Example This essay is an evaluation of computer networks dedicated to laptop desktop connection. Data communication is the transfer of information from the sender to the receiver through a communication medium. The most common media for this process include cables, air/waves and satellite etc. Telephone communication starts with the sender initiating a connection by dialing the recipient’s number from his data transmission equipment (DTE) (Harte and Ofrane 2006). Once he does this, the call passes through either a public switched network (PSTN) or a private branch exchange (PBX) depending on the nature of the call. A PBX is a telephone switching exchange that is dedicated to controlling telephone communication within a company or an organization. It connects calls within the company by providing extensions to calls that originate from various offices instead of hiring lines for every department. It also connects calls to outside networks. A PSTN connects local and international calls, in a large network structure that is not restricted to a specific subscriber or organization (Harte and Ofrane 2006). Once the call is switched to his address, the receiver is alerted and to complete the connection, he has to switch on his DTE to start transmission. Telephone switching companies also offer internet connection services through their satellites which act as gateways to wide area networks. This connection involves transmission of digital signals through analog transmitting lines. For this to occur, modems are connected on both ends of the transmission for the purpose of modulating (converting digital signals into analog) the signals from the sending machine and demodulating (converting analog signals back into digital form) signals on the receiving machine (Hennesy 2006). This is because computers only understand digitized information which is in binary form i.e. 1s& 0s A

Funding for Public Schools Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Funding for Public Schools - Case Study Example It will also analyze the impacts, recommendations and implementation of court opinions and decisions on the West Orange-Cove case of 2005. Finally, it will bring out my own reflections of the belief I have regarding the property tax systems of the State and how it will impact on the financials of the public schools in Texas State Public school funding in Texas was first defined by an Act 'Gilmer-Aikin Act' of 1949 which enabled the establishment of a minimum foundation program. The program was designed to create a funding system that will see the State and other local sources remit revenue to the education systems. However, the system got a setback when the law suit was filed by school districts sitting issues of substantial inequity and misappropriation. The Texas Supreme Court then ruled that the Texas school funding system was unconstitutional and need to be scrapped. This resulted to the current financial system 'Robin Hood's system' which is currently in place Property taxes are revenues collected via taxes on businesses and individuals l9ivin gin the State ton finance school programs. The taxes usually contribute to about 49% of all funds that the school districts require in addition to the State and federal funds which contributes 41 and 10% respectively. Every school district has adopted two tax rates every year i.e. debt service tax rate and operations and maintenance tax rate. Adequacy and equity of funds The hotly debated issue of public financing in schools in the State has been the equity and adequacy of the funds. People argue on whether the most important goal is equity or adequacy or there is any combination of the two issues2. Equity provides equal distribution while adequacy advocates for enough funding for each and every student. Texas legislators are striving to meet a compromising level that will see the revolution of systems in Texas to fair policies that will ensure equal funds for all students and schools Most experts in the education arena are for the idea that the current systems are almost exhausted due to changing political and economic climates. To sustain a strong economy, they argue, will need an equally strong educational financial system that will be very efficient in meeting the growing demand s of the sector. Their opinion is that, districts will be able to save more of their revenues by providing quality childhood education. This will imply that the amount of money used to meet challenges of these students when they are in heir 9th grade will be lower compared to what would be needed if they obtained poor childhood education. If the current trends of court cases regarding the systems are anything to go by, then, the education system in the State will be at stake. West Orange-Cove case Texas schools coalition members, west orange-cove and other interested parties had filed a case in the courts to question the constitutional credibility of the Texas schools financing system3. San Antonio Independent School being the plaintiff in the property poor and equally poorly funded Edgewood district was involved in the case together with the others. Their claims were; 1. The schools financial system had evolved into a property tax violator thereby violating the Texas constitution, Article VIII of section 1

Defining toughness in college hoops Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Defining toughness in college hoops - Essay Example It is evident from the study that Jay Bilas, the author of the article â€Å"Defining toughness in college hoops† clarified that his original perception of toughness was â€Å"physical and based on how much punishment I could dish out and how much I could take†. Therefore, by using explicit description of what toughness was not necessarily what it obviously means, the author started establishing his arguments using narration, description, and comparison. For example, the guidelines expounded on setting a good screen, the author defined what it takes for basketball players to manifest the necessary actions in terms of â€Å"improving the chances for a teammate to get open†¦and greatly improving your chances of getting open. A good screen can force the defense to make a mistake†. In contrast, setting a bad screen was not effectively described. The only explanation provided was that â€Å"a lazy or bad screen is a waste of everyone's time and energy†. Th e definition is lacking and insufficient to clearly differentiate disparity with an effective strategy. In addition, as readers get to evaluate the guidelines, it was apparent that the author did not provide an effective structure or logical format of presentation. In this regard, there is failure to use logical reasoning. The guidelines, though effective in the entirety, could have been presented in a more logical structure that categorizes the topics in sub-headings. For example, the author explained â€Å"set a good screen† and another topic as â€Å"don’t get screened†. These topics could actually be lumped together under ‘techniques for effective screening’. ... Another example is the author’s discussion on: â€Å"jump to the ball† (Bilas 2) and â€Å"play the ball, see your man† (Bilas 3); which could again be discussed in one sub-heading that could be entitled ‘tough ways of handling the ball’. The guidelines were apparently written in no particular order and could have been presented depending on the ideas that came to the author’s mind. It could be rationalized though that since the author knew that the article was specifically written with basketball enthusiasts, particularly players, as the audience of his discourse, the style, format or structure would not be examined and critiqued to diminish the veracity of the contents. However, considering that the author was duly established as a renowned basketball analyst, his credibility in providing the information was rightfully validated. Further, as indicated from the discourse, his personal experiences playing â€Å"in the ACC, for USA Basketball, in NBA training camps, and as a professional basketball player in Europe† (Bilas 1) has proven that he was acquired vast authority in to relay competency in the topic. The ability to conform to ethos due to his reputable background made his contentions and arguments valid. Finally, the article’s ability to more the audience through eliciting emotional appeal could be viewed as effective. The main support to validate the author’s success was his narrative discourse attesting that when he initially wrote a short blog on the topic, the response was â€Å"overwhelming. Dozens of college basketball coaches called to tell me that they had put the article up in the locker room, put it in each player's locker, or had gone over it in detail with

FEBIP#2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

FEBIP#2 - Essay Example There is always a set of some specific assumptions and suppositions on which the discipline of instructional design is based. Jonassen, Tessmer and Hannum (1999) found that there exist some specific scientific principles which are there for the foundation of the discipline of instructional design and these principles are verified by the empirical data. I do believe that instructional design is aligned with science in a sense that instructional design is the science of developing such specifications in detail for the purpose of creating, implementing, analyzing, and evaluating such sort of situations whose main task is to facilitate learning of not only large but also small units of subject matters regardless of the level of complexities related to the subject matters. After evaluation, it also helps in the maintenance of the situations. Also we can say that instructional design is a science based technology which is based on the specific assumptions related to the real world. Instructions which are based on scientific principles could be more effective. This science based technology not only involves the identification of the variables but also it identifies the potential relationships that exist between those variables. So, we can say that instructional design has got alignment with the field of science. To describe instructional design as a technology, we can say that it is not only methodical but also systemic application of such techniques and strategies which are derived from the theories including behavioral, cognitive and constructive theories. And the purpose of the derivation is to apply the strategies and techniques to the solutions of various instructional problems. Rogers (2002) found that instruction design as a technology is the combination of instructional design and instructional development. We can also say that as a technology,

Social Class and Class Conflict in Jane Austens Persuasion Essay

Social Class and Class Conflict in Jane Austens Persuasion - Essay Example The Elliots are a titled and landowning family, and so, in the conception of traditional, aristocratic society, they enjoyed a secure position. However, Austen highlights in Persuasion just how unstable this position was becoming by the 19th century, and the very real risks which could threaten the fundamental happiness of gentry women. Sir Walter, obsessed with his position as a baronet, overspends in order to maintain what he regards the traditional lifestyle of his class, and brings huge debts upon the family. This forces his daughters to move out of their childhood home – Kellynch Hall – and see strangers move in, who are members of the upwardly mobile middle class – people who, through prosperous trading ventures or, more respectably, through clerical, medical and naval careers, were gaining wealth and influence in the 19th century. At the same time as being forced from her home, Anne Elliot must live with the knowledge that she was persuaded, through the ad vice of the aristocratic Lady Russell, to give up marriage to the man she lived because of his lack of wealth and connections. A key point is that women at the time were unable to own wealth or property, and were therefore curtailed in any attempt to gain economic security. As the character of Mrs Smith shows, the consequences of a husband’s or father’s death could be severe, and could leave a woman destitute and excluded from society. In the novel, the naval career is presented as means by which wealth and a certain elevation of status can be achieved in life, although the traditional landed aristocracy might still descry the ambition of the lower sorts. However, Austen might be accused of a gentle subversion of the rigid class system of the time, in the favorable way she presents the upward social mobility of characters like the Crofts and Captain Wentworth. Of course, even a good start in the naval career is shown to rely on influential contacts, when Admiral Croft says of Captain Wentworth’s charge of the Asp: ‘lucky fellow to get anything so soon, with no more interest than his’ (Persuasion, 51), with ‘interest’ surely referring to influential people working on behalf of his interests. Nevertheless, once given a commission, a captain could make large profits, especially in a time of war as at the turn of the 19th century, when Britain was at war with France, and booty from captured ships supplemented pay. Captain Wentworth comments, ‘Ah! Those were the pleasant days when I had the Laconia! How fast I made money in her’ (Persuasion, 52), while the Admiral even says ‘if he have the good luck to live to another war’ (Persuasion, 55), clearly eyeing potential profits. Austen seems to favor the navy as a career most after the clergy, and not only in Persuasion. She uses it in this novel, however, as the model by which people can be promoted and achieve success and prosperity on the basis of their personal merit, rather than their ancestry. Indeed, such a meritocratic system is anathema to Sir Walter, who is obsessed with heredity. This obsession with his status as a baronet reaches a comic level when we see him repeatedly reading and re-reading the entry on him in the Baronetage, no doubt the famous Debrett’s Peerage and Baronetage, first published in 1802 (Ross, 196). Sir Walter is convinced that this status gives him some natural superiority, and yet, on comparison

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Marketing Orientation Essay

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Marketing Orientation - Essay Example There were so many variations as there was the number of business enterprises. This prompted management scholars to delve deep into the matter to find out how many ways are there to make a business flourish. Their search has not been without success. In fact they have come out with some rare insights into the dynamics of profit generation and maximization. While large organizations could afford to experiment with any or all of these methods, the small and medium enterprises, the SME’s, have to be very choosy in their selection of modus operandi because of resource limitations. However, they also have a fairly wide choice to select from, like the Entrepreneurial Orientation, Marketing Orientation, Operation Reasearch, Brand Boosting and the likes. Right now we would be interested in two of these most significant methods, viz. Entrepreneurial Orientation and Marketing Orientation. What is Entrepreneurial Orientation : The term â€Å"entrepreneurial orientation† has been used to refer to the strategy-making processes and styles of firms that engage in entrepreneurial activities. A popular model of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) suggests that there are five dimensions of EO—autonomy, innovativeness, risk taking, proactiveness, and competitive aggressiveness (Lumpkin and Dess 1996). Autonomy refers to the entrepreneur’s freedom to choose his own line of business, range of products and the market segment he wants to operate in. This reflects his entrepreneurial genius and his analytical ability and his resourcefulness to meet challenges.

Paraphrasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Paraphrasing - Essay Example After this, the molar mass of KHP was used to divide the number of grams (KHP) by it that generated the KHP’s number of moles. Next, the volume was calculated after titration. Next, the molarity was calculated using the formula given below: 1.0 g of KHP was measured and then it was dissolved in 70-75 mL distilled water. As the next step, 1 to 5 drops of phenolphthalein was added to the solution. It was done to ensure the change in color after addition of base (NaOH). Next, KHP was dissolved as much as possible in order to get accurate results. After that, the base was dripped into the acid using a buret which was filled with NaOH up to a certain volume. It was done until the color started changing noticeably. A white paper was placed under the glassware to see the change in color clearly. The solution started turning into pink color which was also the end point of the reaction. Next, the volume was calculated after stopping the buret using the formula: . In this part of the experiment, 2.0 mL acetic acid was measured and poured in a 10 mL graduated cylinder. After this, the exact volume was noted and mixed with 70-75 mL water. As the next step, the graduated cylinder was rinsed before adding water in the acid. Next, 1 to 5 drops of phenolphthalein were added to the solution. After this, titration was started slowly in order to avoid a dark pink color. Then, the volume was noted just upon turning of the solution into a light pink color and this was also the end point of the reaction. Next, the volume was calculated using the formula: . In this part, 2.0 mL sulfuric acid was measured and poured in a 10 mL graduated cylinder. After this, the exact volume was noted and 70-75 mL of water was mixed. Next, the graduated cylinder was rinsed before adding water in the acid to ensure pouring of all leftovers in the solution. After this, 1 to 5 drops of phenolphthalein were added to the solution. After this, titration was started

Rate of reaction Essay Example for Free

Rate of reaction Essay Apart from these few improvements I think the equipment and the method I used was an appropriate way of investigating how concentration effects the rate of reaction on an enzyme. A variable that I could try for an extra experiment is temperature. I could try increasing the temperature of the catalase to see if increasing the temperature has the same effect on an enzyme as it does with concentration. This would help me to see which variable, temperature or concentration has a greater effect on the volume of oxygen produced from the reaction of an enzyme. I am going to work out the rate of reaction from the average value of each of the concentrations of hydrogen peroxide. I will work out the rate of reaction for every 10 second from the average values by using my graphs. Reaction Rate for the concentration of   Reaction Rate for the concentration of 6%  cm3/s From looking at these calculations I can say that for all the concentrations of hydrogen peroxide the reaction rate was fastest at the start of the reaction. During the reaction the rate decreased and eventually the reaction stopped. I can explain this by using the lock and key model. This occurs because the catalase is breaking the particles of the hydrogen peroxide to form into oxygen. This causes the hydrogen peroxide to get used up as the catalyst can alter the rate of reaction without getting used up. This then leaves the catalase to react with no substance. Data Logging Data logging is another experiment I did to extend my experiment. I looked at the enzyme activity experiment in a different way. This time I used the same quantity of catalase and hydrogen peroxide but instead of measuring the volume of oxygen produced, I found out the temperature increase for each of the different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide. Method 1. Collect all equipment and set the experiment up 2. Wear safety glasses as you are using chemicals 3. Pour 25cm3 of each concentration of hydrogen peroxide into a measuring cylinder 4. Pour each concentration of hydrogen peroxide into three different polystyrene cups 5. Measure 1mm of catalase into three different syringes 6. Make sure that the end of the probe is touching the bottom of the cup and that the hydrogen peroxide is completely covering it 7. Inject all three of the catalase at the same time into each polystyrene cup 8. At the same time start the computer as you inject the catalase, to start of the measurement of the temperature, of the hydrogen peroxide 9. Watch how the computer measures the temperature for 2minutes as it transfers all the information into a graph 10. Stop the graph at 2 minutes and print out the results Conclusion From my results I can see that the 6% concentration of hydrogen peroxide has given of the highest temperature. This is because the concentration of 6% has many particles of hydrogen peroxide which will have a greater chance of colliding with the catalase. The concentration of 1. 5% and 3% has given of less heat causing a lower temperature. This is because they have less particles of hydrogen peroxide to collide with the enzymes. This result can be explained by the kinetic and collision theory. The increase in heat gave an increase in the kinetic energy. This means that there would be more collision between the hydrogen peroxide particles and the catalase, which would lead to a better chance of collision being successful. This experiment is related to my first experiment as the increase in concentration gave off more oxygen which gave us an increase in temperature. I found out that the 6% concentration gave of the most oxygen which causes a rise in temperature and the 1. 5% gave of the least oxygen causing a lower temperature. The 6% also gave off the most oxygen in the shortest time whereas the 1. 5% concentration gave off the least oxygen in the longest time. From looking at my graph I can see that the 6% concentration had the steepest slope which if I relate back to my rates of reaction theory. I can say that the steeper the slope the faster the reaction. The 1. 5% concentration had the smallest gradient which means it had the slowest rate of reaction. Overall this proves my original prediction, that the 6% concentration of hydrogen peroxide has the fastest rate of reaction and the 1. 5% concentration has the slowest. Reaction Rates During a reaction, reactants are being used up and products are forming. The reaction rate tells us how fast the reaction is taking place. You can calculate the reaction rate by measuring how much reactant is used up or how much product forms in a given time. Reaction rate = change in amount of a substance time taken The reaction rate can also be calculated by using a graph. The slope of the graph tells us how quickly the reaction is happening. The steeper the slope, the faster the reaction Results from the Trial Experiment Time (s) Volume of O2 evolved (cm3) 1. 5% Volume of O2 evolved (cm3) 3% Volume of O2 evolved (cm3) 6% Average I did a trial experiment to help me understand the experiment. The trial experiment showed me how quickly each concentration of hydrogen peroxide produced the amount of oxygen gas in one minute. I also learnt that slow pressure is needed with the small gas syringe because too much pressure causes the catalase to spill out. Results from the concentration of 1. 5% Time(s) oxygen evolved (cm3)oxygen evolved (cm3) oxygen evolved (cm3) oxygen evolved (cm3) oxygen evolved (cm3) oxygen evolved (cm3) average. I am going to use columns 5,6 and 7 for my average because these columns have the nearest results to each other and the range of results are realistic. Results from the concentration of 3% Time(s) oxygen evolved (cm3) oxygen evolved (cm3) oxygen evolved (cm3) oxygen evolved (cm3) oxygen evolved (cm3) average 1 I will be using columns 4,5 and 6 for my average because these columns have the nearest results to each other and the range of results are realistic. Results from the concentration of 6% Time(s) oxygen evolved (cm3) oxygen evolved (cm3) oxygen evolved (cm3) oxygen evolved (cm3) average. I will use column 2,3 and 4 for my average because these columns have the nearest results to each other and the range of results are realistic. Time (s) Temperature (oC) 1. 5% Temperature (oC) 3% Temperature Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Patterns of Behaviour section.

Massive Tourism Essay Example for Free

Massive Tourism Essay In this globalized world the stress caused by the workload and the problems that occur everyday in our social environment, have a direct effect on the health of the person, who tries to find a way to release the tension. This is why many doctors recommend recreation in the form of travel to avoid harm to our health. Nowadays Tourism has a key part in the lives of every person, but mostly business people. They use it as a way to connect with their children and at the same time, recover their lost energy. These believe has spread all over the world and now Massive Tourism has become an important issue in the Government plans and the Tourism Industry. Massive Tourism happens when large masses of tourist arrive to visit a place. Travel Agencies offer tour packages to groups of people to get lower airfares, room rates, etc. Massive Tourism has a direct effect on the economy of the country, by increasing the incomes and providing more work. But many countries aren’t prepared to receive large groups of people, which causes damage to the culture, infrastructure and also to the environment. Advantages of Massive Tourism  For People Tour Operators and Travel Agencies offer Tour Packages to tourist around the world, to visit and enjoy another countries culture without the need to plan all the activities, transport or accommodations by themselves and by traveling in large groups they get lower costs. This is why the number of tourist has increased, because nowadays it is easier to travel, not to mention cheaper. What most people look for in a trip is to leave all worries and problems behind, and just enjoy and relax for a determined amount of time in another city or country and away form their normal lives. Tour operators can offer lower costs because by making these tour packages they an agreement with the hotel, airlines, museums, etc, who are part of the package. These companies offer the operators a lesser cost, in exchange of promotion, which they get with this tour packages. Both the companies and the tourist benefit from this packages. Also because you travel with a group that will share the same activities and interests it is probable to form relationships and friendships with new people. For Governments Large groups of people arrive everyday to a country, and they expend money by realizing various activities during their stay. For example food, museums, discos, shopping, transport). This is why the country benefits from massive tourism because it has a positive effect on the economy of the country by increasing the incomes. The Tourism Industry is ever growing, which results in more job openings and increases the interest of studying tourism related careers to improve the service given in their country and also to have a bigger involvement to incentive the tourist activities and at the same time, protect the natural patrimony. In addition, massive tourism boosts other kinds of tourism, such s eco tourism which increases investments to create new recreational, and tourist areas. Another advantage of massive tourism is that it improves the relationship between countries. Disadvantages One disadvantage is the rapidly spread of the diseases because of massive tourism. Most people who travels likes to go to a completely different place. For example, they want to visit exotic places. But they do not know the real consequence of their adventure. Sometimes, they are taken by the emotion of the trip and they don’t inform well about the places they are going. One case took place in China. There was a new virus, very contagiously, which spread fast due to the tourists who travel around the world. That way, virus could reach cities like Frankfurt, Toronto etc. As we can see massive tourism helps diseases to expand. Besides humans, animals are also affected by new diseases brought by tourists of other countries. Another important effect of massive tourism is the one on the culture. Now we are living in a globalize world. This means that many aspects are the same in different countries. When many tourists arrive in a country like ours, the people of the host country start to behave like them. Little by little they start changing their image. The impact caused by tourist is strong in some places. For example in our jungle many amazon tribes have lost their traditions. Now they make presentation of typical dances of their tribes only for tourists. Once the tourists leave their tribe, these people start to behave as if they were from the cities. Their naturalness is lost. Same case happens in the highlands. Language is also affected by massive tourism. Nowadays most people understand English. In one way this is very practical for tourists but on the other hand English absorbs the other languages. The attraction of a country, in some cases, is based on the language. If one person wants to go to France in order to learn French, he will find that most people like to speak English or Spanish. The language is part of the culture in a country and it shouldn’t be change. When you see only tourists in one place, you will realize that the lifestyle s affected too. Being surrounded by tourists changes the way you act. This case is presented everyday in Ibiza. This international place has very few Spanish inhabitants. For this little population, life has acquired a different face. Their neighbors are no longer Spanish people but tourists. The way you treat tourists is not the same as you treat people from your country. That is why the lifestyle changes in places like Ibiza that receive mass ive tourism. One of the biggest effects of massive tourism is on the environment. Massive tourism can imply more incomes but is also means more people to attend and too much garbage. Too many people in one place can cause a mess. In fact the more disturbed is the people of the host country. The infrastructure suffers and is damaged because it can not stand multitudes. To illustrate this point Macchupichu is a good example. Recent investigation has revealed that Macchupichu and the whole city of Cuzco are suffering the consequences of the disorganized coming of tourists, especially in the high season. Conclusion Nowadays people are looking for ways to canalize their energy and just for a couple of days, get away from their problems, and meet new cultures and new people. As we have seen massive tourism is an alternative for people that has tight schedules and no time for recreation or just stop to breathe. This is why massive tourism does not only benefit individuals but also the whole society and encourages the population to take interest in the tourism industry and the protection of their culture. Nevertheless Massive Tourism also has a negative aspect for the countries if it is not treated as it should. An organize tourism brings benefits for sides, tourists and countries. Sometimes the solution isn’t in the quantity but in the quality of the services and the experience. In Perus case, this negative impact has taken a toll on the infrastructure in some important cities like Cuzco. This is way the authorities have started to develop new plans to organize these cities to receive an organized tourism without damaging the city.

Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy Specimen Removal

Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy Specimen Removal Removing the specimen with traction during robotic radical prostatectomy Serkan Altinova, Abidin Egemen Isgoren, Ziya Akbulut, Muhammed Fuat Ozcan, Abdullah Erdem Canda, Ali Fuat Atmaca, Mevalana Derya Balbay Key words: Prostate cancer, radical prostatectomy, specimen, traction Abstract Purpose: Our aim was to show if removing the specimen with traction during robot assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy cause positive surgical margin or not. Materials and Methods: 169 patients with localized prostate cancer who were performed robot assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy were included in the study between 2009-2011. Patients were divided into 2 groups. Patients’ characteristics, preop and postop evaluation were recorded. Results: There were 111 and 58 patints in group 1 (with traction) and group 2 (without traction), respectively. Patients’ ages, follow up time, body mass indexes (BMI), prostate spesific antigen (PSA) values, preop and postop Gleason score values, pathological stage, positive surgical margin rates and biochemical PSA reccurrence rates were evaluated. There was no statistically significant difference between groups for age, preop PSA values, BMI, preop and postop Gleason scores, positive surgical margin rates and biochemical reccurrence rates. There was significant difference between prostate weight, tumor volume and clinical stage between groups. ( Conclusions: Removing the specimen with traction during robot assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy does not cause positive surgical margin. The incision can be as small as possible for cosmetic sight. Introduction Robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) has become the most preferred surgical technique for localized prostate cancer. One of the most important factor pointing out the oncologic success is the surgical margin status.(1) Positive surgical margin (PSM) status may be related both with the surgeon, surgical technique and disease burden. (1,2 ) Our aim was to evaluate the effect of traction, probably the cause of PSM, during the specimen removal. Ther are many studies comparing the PSM acording to techniques, pathologic findings and clinical stage but we found none acording the technique of specimen removal. (3) Materials and Methods 169 patients who were performed RALP for localized prostate cancer between 2009 and 2011 were included in this study. All the patients were evaluated and Ethic Committee permission were given for each. The reason why we planned this study was the patients with postoperative PSM (positive surgical margin) but no PSA (prostate spesific antigen) reccurrence. Patients were randomized as two groups, A and B, acording to their status of traction was done or not while removing the specmen. Traction can be defined as removing the specimen from a small incision that may let the specimen removed by traction. No traction can be defined as removing the traction from an incision larger than prostate that make easy removing the specimen without any difficulty. Student-t test was used for follow-up, age, BMI (body mass index), PSA, prostate weight and tumor volume. Chi-square test was used for Gleason grade, stage, SMI (surgical margin invasion) and BCR (biochemical reccurrence rates). All the values were calculated as mean and SD. SPSS 16 was used. Results Group A (traction group) had 111 patients while group B (no-traction group) had 58. There was statistically significant difference between groups for prostate weight, tumor volume and clinical stage. Age, BMI, preoperative PSA levels, biopsy Gleason score, prostatectomy Gleason score, pathological stage, SMI status and BCR were similar for both groups. Patients’ preoperative and postoperative characteristics are summerized in table 1 and 2. Although there are pT0 patients in both groups we have to say that we have given no additional therapy like androgen deprivation therapy preoperatively. Discussion Nowadays robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is the main surgical technique for localized prostate cancer. In the United States 85% of radical prostatectomies are performed robotically. (4) Generally PSM rates after different techniques for radical prostatectomy seems to be equal but sometimes surgical technique may effect the rates.(5,6) Oncologic outcomes of robotic surgery are generally similar with laparoscopic and open surgery (7-10) although there are some other results suggesting that the rates are different for the techniques. (11-13) The well known object is that the PSM may be related with disease burden, surgeon and also the technique. Robotic surgery has some differences from laparoscopic surgery. The adventages of robotic surgery are related both with the patient and the surgeon. This provides a comfortable operation for the surgeon. In order to find out if traction may cause a PSM, we randomised the patients into two groups as traction or non-traction. We believe that traction may cause a damage on the prostate capsula and show a pseudopositive surgical margin. In our study PSM rates are similar in both groups. Higher tumor volume and stage can effect PSM rates. (2) Although traction group has higher tumor volume rates and lower clinical stage PSM rates are similar. Also prostatectomy Gleason scores are similar for both groups. All the operations were performed by the same person as PSM rates can differ among surgeons performance. Some outhors have described â€Å" Capsular Incision Index† to show the damages on the capsula that may cause pseudopositive surgical margin.(2). We beleive, because of the traction made by the fourth arm of the robot may cause pseudopositive surgical margin, pahologist must reveal that if there is a positive margin coloured with the ink they use, they must also see the capsula of the prostate. If no, this may not be really a positive margin. This is very important as sometimes may affect the extra t herapy options. In order not to give any unneccesssary treatment both the surgeon and the pathologist must be very careful as this may not only increase the morbidity but also the cost. Conclusion Surgical margin status after radical prostatectomy is an important topic. Surgical technique is important in order not to cause a positive surgical margin but pathlogical findings are maybe more important for the possible additional treatment. Removing the specimen with traction during robot assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy does not cause positive surgical margin. The incision can be as small as possible for cosmetic sight. References Wiezer AZ, Strope S, Wood DP. Margin control in robotic and laparoscopic prostatectomy: What are the REAL oucomes. Urol Oncol. 2010; 28:210-14. Hong H, Mel L, Taylor J, Wu Q, Reeves H. Effects of robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy on surgical pathology specimens. Diagn Pathol. 2012; 7:24-30. Tewari A, Sooriakumaran P, Bloch DA, Seshadri-Kreaden U, Hebert AE, Wiklund P. Positive surgical margin and perioperative complication rates of primary surgical treatments for prostate cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing retropubic, laparoscopic and robotic prostatectomy. Eur Urol. 2012; 62:1-15. Lowrance WT, Parekh DJ. The rapid uptake of robotic prostatectomy and its collateral effects. Cancer. 2012; 118:4–7. Philippou P, Waine E, Rowe E. Robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy versus open: comparison of the learning curve of a single surgeon. J Endourol. 2012; 26:1002-08. Coelho RF, Rocco B, Patel MB, et al. Retropubic, laparoscopic and robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: a criticai review of outcomes reported by high volume centers. J Endourol. 2010; 24:2003-15. Parsons JK, Bennett JL. Outcomes of retropubic, laparoscopic, and robotic-assisted prostatectomy. Urology. 2008; 72:412–16. Ficarra V, Novara G, Fracalanza S, et al. A prospective, non-randomized trial comparing robot-assisted laparoscopic and retropubic radical prostatectomy in one European institution. BJU Int. 2009; 104:534–39. Schroeck FR, Sun L, Freedland SJ, et al. Comparison of prostate-specific antigen recurrence-free survival in a contemporary cohort of patients undergoing either radical retropubic or robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. BJU Int. 2008; 102:28–32. Laurila TA, Huang W, Jarrard DF. Robotic-assisted laparoscopic and radical retropubic prostatectomy generate similar positive margin rates in low and intermediate risk patients. Urol Oncol. 2009; 27:529–33. Williams SB, Chen MH, DAmico AV, et al. Radical retropubic prostatectomy and robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy: likelihood of positive surgical margin(s) Urology. 2010; 76:1097–1101. Cathcart P, Murphy DG, Moon D, Costello AJ, Frydenberg M. Perioperative, functional and oncological outcomes after open and minimally invasive prostate cancer surgery: experience from Australasia. BJU Int. 2011; 107(Suppl 3):11–19. Magheli A, Gonzalgo ML, Su LM, et al . Impact of surgical technique (open vs laparoscopic vs robotic-assisted) on pathological and biochemical outcomes following radical prostatectomy: an analysis using propensity score matching. BJU Int. 2011; 107:1956–62. Table 1. Preoperative characteristics of patients Table 2. Patients’ postoperative findings 1

Essay on Camus’ The Stranger (The Outsider): Reader Response Criticism

Reader Response Criticism to Camus’ The Stranger (The Outsider)  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In The Stranger (The Outsider), Albert Camus anticipates an active reader that will react to his text. He wants the reader to form a changing, dynamic opinion of Meursault. The reader can create a consciousness for Meursault from the facts that Meursault reports. By using vague and ambiguous language, Camus stimulates the reader to explore all possibilities of meaning. Camus also intends to shock the reader into rereading passages. Through discussion of narrative structure, the opening lines, the role of pity, resentment toward Meursault’s judges, and the relationship between murder and innocence, I will prove that Camus’ purpose is to bring the reader to introspect on their own relationship with society. Through narrative structure, Camus invites the reader to create and become the consciousness of Meursault. Utah Sate University Professor David Anderson notices that â€Å"Meursault takes the stance of simply reporting these impressions, without attempting to create a coherent story from them.† Indeed, in Part One, what Meursault reports are exclusively facts. Micheline Tisson-Braun comments that Meursault â€Å"registers facts, but not their meanings; ... is purely instantaneous; he lacks the principle of unity and continuity that characterizes man† (49). Through generalization, the reader links the details of Meursault’s life. The reader thereby creates their own meaning for Meursault’s actions. Meursault, without a memory or an imagination, refuses to spend time connecting events and contemplating essences. The reader does this for Meursault. Thus, the reader creates a consciousness for Meursault that is uniquely the reader’s. It exactly represen ts Meursau... ...der to experience the trial in the place of Meursault. Perhaps Camus wrote all of Part One to set up the reader in a situation where they must reassess their relationship with society. Whatever the reader’s emotional response, Camus places the reader in position to experience the trial, l’absurde. Through anticipation of a responsive reader, Camus communicates the essence of l’absurde. Works Cited Camus, Albert. L’à ©tranger. France: Éditions Gallimond, 1942. Camus, Albert. The Stranger, trans. Mathew Ward. New York: Random House, Inc., 1988. Girard, Renà ©. â€Å"Camus’ Stranger Retried.† â€Å"to double business bound† Essays on Literature, Mimesis, and Anthropology. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins U P, 1978. Tisson-Braun, Micheline. â€Å"Silence and the Desert: The Flickering Vision.† Critical Essays on Albert Camus, ed. Bettina L. Knapp. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1988.   

Managing the Fire Service Essay example -- Fire Chief, Fire Department

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." - Benjamin Franklin Various organizations fail to plan and which in most cases causes unnecessary stress on the entire organization. In order to be successful an organizations must set organizational controls. Organizational controls assist managers in their daily operations. Furthermore, Fire Chiefs must understand the essentials of organizational control. Jones & George (2011) suggested, â€Å"It helps managers obtain superior efficiency, quality, responsiveness to customers, and innovation-the four building blocks of competitive advantage.† (p. 261) In regards to superior efficiency, the Fire Chief and management staff must evaluate the organization as a whole. In other words, ensuring that the department is equipped with the best resources i.e. equipment, protective clothing, and fire stations. Secondly, the quality of service provided to the community. In essence, the fire department is look upon to respond wh en a crisis happens. However, with operating budgets being reduced this concept is affecting the overall responsiveness to customers. For instance, many fire departments are struggling to maintain there quality service. Another example, city mangers are instructing the Fire Chief to continue to operate with less money. However, city managers do not realize that restricting the budget they are reducing the standard that the community is use. Every year in October fire departments nation wide are required to conduct a Fire Prevention Month. During this time, the Firefighters promote fire safety education. Consequently, fire departments are being forces to limit education efforts. In fact, various departments are reducing the month to a week because of budget ... ... differentiating that employees have different motivations. On the other hand, I have learned different concepts such as SWOT to name a few. My leadership style has evolved through out my career. Every year I have grown in my leadership ability. For instance, communication even when it is not popular has served me well personally and professionally. Through the years, I have learned from supervisors good and bad traits that have molded me into the Fire Chief I am. Works Cited Beck, Klaus, (n.d.) Organizational Learning, Retrieved February 06, 2011 from http://www.sfb504.uni-mannheim.de/glossary/orglearn.htm Jones, G. R., & George, J. M. (2011). Essentials of contemporary management (4th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Smith, M. K. (2001) 'The learning organization', the encyclopedia of informal education, http://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-organization.htm. Managing the Fire Service Essay example -- Fire Chief, Fire Department "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." - Benjamin Franklin Various organizations fail to plan and which in most cases causes unnecessary stress on the entire organization. In order to be successful an organizations must set organizational controls. Organizational controls assist managers in their daily operations. Furthermore, Fire Chiefs must understand the essentials of organizational control. Jones & George (2011) suggested, â€Å"It helps managers obtain superior efficiency, quality, responsiveness to customers, and innovation-the four building blocks of competitive advantage.† (p. 261) In regards to superior efficiency, the Fire Chief and management staff must evaluate the organization as a whole. In other words, ensuring that the department is equipped with the best resources i.e. equipment, protective clothing, and fire stations. Secondly, the quality of service provided to the community. In essence, the fire department is look upon to respond wh en a crisis happens. However, with operating budgets being reduced this concept is affecting the overall responsiveness to customers. For instance, many fire departments are struggling to maintain there quality service. Another example, city mangers are instructing the Fire Chief to continue to operate with less money. However, city managers do not realize that restricting the budget they are reducing the standard that the community is use. Every year in October fire departments nation wide are required to conduct a Fire Prevention Month. During this time, the Firefighters promote fire safety education. Consequently, fire departments are being forces to limit education efforts. In fact, various departments are reducing the month to a week because of budget ... ... differentiating that employees have different motivations. On the other hand, I have learned different concepts such as SWOT to name a few. My leadership style has evolved through out my career. Every year I have grown in my leadership ability. For instance, communication even when it is not popular has served me well personally and professionally. Through the years, I have learned from supervisors good and bad traits that have molded me into the Fire Chief I am. Works Cited Beck, Klaus, (n.d.) Organizational Learning, Retrieved February 06, 2011 from http://www.sfb504.uni-mannheim.de/glossary/orglearn.htm Jones, G. R., & George, J. M. (2011). Essentials of contemporary management (4th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Smith, M. K. (2001) 'The learning organization', the encyclopedia of informal education, http://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-organization.htm.

Geographical Effects on Cooking and Preparation :: Research Cooking Geogrpahy Papers

Geographical Effects on Cooking and Preparation Abstract: This paper will attempt to show others the differences and similarities in food preparation due to differences in altitudes. Accordingly, this paper will explore the adjustments necessary to cook in different locations and at different elevations. This paper is of interest to me because I live at an elevation of over 10,572 feet. The backs of boxes do not indicate changes of this type. This also interests me because I have a joy for being in the kitchen. National Standards: A group of parents, educators, business people, and organizations has developed a list of standards for educators to use as a reference in order to make the United States internationally competitive (14, p 9). These standards should apply to this paper and to all geography related topics. Three standards have been chosen to focus the attention of this paper. The first one is number six; "Knows and understands that culture and experiences influence people’s perception of places and experiences." This applies because there will be a different perspective on cooking for those who live in low altitudes than to those who live at higher ones. The second one that applies is number 14; "Knows and understands how the earth’s physical and human systems are connected and interact." It is because of the physical surroundings that the human system of cooking is altered. Finally, number 18: "Knows and understands how to apply geography to interpret the present and the future." This standard is used to show that at present there are still a lot of experiments to complete, so that perhaps in the future we will be better prepared to adjust to higher elevations. Introduction: As the twenty-first century is rapidly approaching people have a lot on their minds; wars, shortages of fuel leading to higher gas prices, possible computer crashes, and who will be the prominent leaders, among other things. This paper is designed to allow the reader to escape into the world nearly everyone enjoys, eating. Food is required to sustain life. Even small children know that fact; however, not everyone knows that food also has emotional and psychological effects. Food is the source of security, satisfaction, hospitality, and status (1, p 8). Involved in the last of these, status, is a large element of social interaction and acceptance. Accordingly, the area in which a person lives is one of the largest factors determining the eating habits a person develops (1, p 2).

Labour Reforms in Brazil and Chile (a Comparative Study)

UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY COURSE COMPARATIVE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (MIR 709) TOPIC LABOUR REFORMS IN BRAZIL AND CHILE (A COMPARATIVE STUDY) A PAPER SUBMITTED TO THE DEPT OF SOCIOLOGY BY GROUP 4 Adepoju Janet Oluwatosin167455 Ayangbemi Olusola Temitope166905 Dagunduro Adebukola Olufunke167457 Ogunsemoyin Olubusayo B. 81014 LECTURER IN CHARGE: PROF. ONYEONORU P. I. OCTOBER, 2012 INTRODUCTION Labour laws is defined as the balance of power among government, employers, workers, and unions.The redrafting of a country’s labour laws typically reflects a shift in the power relations and may carry unfavourable consequences for a former beneficiaries. As the Colliers put it, â€Å"Labour law is a highly visible and concrete policy statement around which political battles are fought, won, and lost, and around which political support is attracted, granted, and withheld†¦ labour law thus provides a valuable point of reference for analyzing the larger political contex t† (Collier and Collier 1979, 971). The reform of national labour laws is one of the most widely implemented recent policy changes in the world.Since the early 1990s, Brazil as well as Chile have changed their labour laws. Labour reforms have also provoked massive protests, including general strikes. It can be understood that the changes in labour law occurring on a global scale are themselves a response to the pressure of globalization. In most nations of the world, labour legislation was originally made to reflect government-employer-worker relationships embedded in protected national economies. But in recent years, trade liberalization and greater global competitiveness have created new challenges for employers and workers.Pressures for legal and institutional change have naturally followed. This study is all about comparative insights into labour reform processes at the end of the twentieth century of two Latin American countries, Brazil and Chile. Despite similar initial prescriptions for change in the direction of greater flexibility, the outcomes of labour reforms differed in the two countries. In the 1990s, moderate flexibility reforms were implemented in Brazil while in Chile, changes in labour law was extensive.THE LATIN AMERICAN CONTEXT The region followed a common import substituting industrialization (ISI) model in the post-war period. This development strategy reshaped the Latin American economies, societies and institutions. While traditional interest groups linked to the primary sectors reduced their political influence, new social groups with interests in the local industries gained social and political strength. After some time, this inward-oriented development strategy began to show clear signs of exhaustion.The performance of Latin American countries was not good enough compared with the South-East Asian countries that claimed to adopt an almost opposite economic model. The political support of the ISI model was gradually eroding in L atin America when the debt crisis unleashed in 1982 and the failure of early policies implemented by some countries to deal with it played an important role in reshaping policy views in the region. Latin America of course is not homogeneous, but there are some structural characteristics common to most countries in the region that had a bearing on the reform process.The region’s competitive advantages are biased in favour of natural resources, and primary commodities explain a large share of exports: minerals and oil in Chile, Venezuela and Peru, agriculture in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay; even in more industrialized Brazil and Mexico primary products are still relevant. This feature impinges on the region’s political economy via the so-called natural resource â€Å"curse†. The distribution of income and assets in Latin America is highly unequal compared to other regions in the world.As the 2006 World Development Report of the World Bank suggests, income ine quality of this magnitude is quite likely a signal of unequal opportunities (rather than of different choices) – World Bank (2005). Because of the structural lack of equity, many Latin Americans did not have the chance to take advantage of the opportunities open by reform; hence many opportunities at the individual level were lost. Besides, groups that were marginalized and segregated did not support reform and often opposed it actively, fearing that a more competitive environment would do them more harm than good.In several of the countries, the so-called structural reforms came hand in hand with efforts at macroeconomic stabilization. There had been a long list of stabilization attempts before this period, but the macroeconomic stabilization programs that accompanied the structural reforms were usually deeper and lasted more than previous ones. The perception of greater deepness of these stabilization efforts was related to the simultaneous implementation of other component s of the reform package.Also, there have been important â€Å"contagion† effects across countries, that is, learning from the interpretation of the (successful and unsuccessful) experiences of other countries in the region. Having referred to many common factors, it is also important to stress that Latin American countries are quite different in many dimensions. Country size is obviously one of the dimensions in which the region is not homogeneous; a dimension that became particularly relevant for the fate of the inward oriented ISI model (think about the size of the domestic market in Brazil as compared for instance with Chile).Economic and social development show significant variation across countries as well. The historical starting points in terms of social and economic structure, as well as in the details of past policies, were also different in different countries when pro-market reforms began. Social indicators as literacy ratios, life expectancy and the like also show much variation. Even when most countries adopted a version of the ISI model in the post-war period, the progress they made in that direction varied considerably in terms, for instance, of the degree of industrialization they reached.This was partly dictated by the size of the domestic market and partly by policy options and political conditions. In spite of some common institutional heritage from the colonial era, political and institutional history also shows significant variation across countries in Latin America. Most countries in the region experienced periods of dictatorship in the twentieth century, but while some spent most of the century under those conditions, others did it for relatively short periods. The quality of institutions and the incidence of corruption also varies, Kaufmann, D. , A. Kraay and M. Mastruzzi (2003).The different starting points and idiosyncratic characteristics influenced the fate of the pro-market reform. BRIEF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Brazil The hist ory of Brazil starts with Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, who arrived thousands of years ago by crossing the Bering land bridge into Alaska and then moving south. The first European to explore Brazil was Pedro Alvares Cabral on April 22, 1500 under the sponsorship of Portugal. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, Brazil was a colony of Portugal. On September 7, 1822, the country declared its independence from Portugal and became a constitutional monarchy, the Empire of Brazil.A military coup in 1889 established a republican government. The country has seen a dictatorship (1930–1934 and 1937–1945) and a period of military rule (1964–1985). Brazil returned to democracy in 1985, after more than two decades of uninterrupted military governments. The first democratic government unsuccessfully tried to stabilize the economy and made little progress with reform, but since 1990, when Collor de Mello arrived to the presidency, the successive democratic governments ca rried on a series of market-oriented reforms. It was argued that democratization facilitated the introduction of market oriented reforms in Brazil.While the military stayed in government, the protective mantle of â€Å"national security† and â€Å"key-sectors protection† became a standard speech, always blocking a deeper integration into the world economy. This ideological view was present not just at the top of the military regime but also inside the mid-level military officers who were commonly appointed to prominent positions in economic ministries and state enterprises. In the nineties, under democratic rule, a new breed of internationally-minded top civil servants replaced these officers.Reform in Brazil followed a pragmatic way, meaning that it was gradual, piecemeal, and loosely coordinated. Fragmentation of the political system prevented any group from gaining dominance and forced a negotiated style, leading to gradualism. So, most policies took time, were nego tiated, and had to go through multiple veto points. The informal institution of rather fluid ties among state elites and between them and business facilitated consensus building around reform policies, but they had to be negotiated. In this manner, the policy outcomes were unlikely to be extreme.The actual social and economic outcomes have not been too spectacular, and some discontent against â€Å"the reforms† has breaded. Yet, the arrival to office in 2003 of a left-wing party, the PT, has not generated any reversal, suggesting that â€Å"pragmatism† is not likely to be displaced soon in Brazilian economic policy making. Chile The territory of Chile has been populated since at least 12,000 ago. By the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors began to subdue and colonize the region of present-day Chile, and the territory became a colony from 1540 to 1818, when it gained independence from Spain.The country's economic development was successively marked by the export of firs t agricultural produce, then saltpetre and later copper. The wealth of raw materials led to an economic upturn, but also led to dependency, and even wars with neighbouring states. The country was governed during most of its first 150 years of independent life by different forms of restricted government, where the electorate was carefully vetted and controlled by an elite.Failure to address the economic and social disparities and increasing political awareness of the less-affluent population, as well as indirect intervention and economic funding to the main political groups by both the KGB and the CIA, as part of the Cold War, led to a political polarization under Socialist President Salvador Allende which in turn resulted in the 11 September 1973 coup and the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, whose 17- year regime was responsible for numerous human rights violations and deep market-oriented economic reforms.In 1990, Chile made a peaceful transition to democracy. Wit h ups and downs, Chile followed a basically inward-looking-state-centred development strategy from 1930 to 1973. It was not very different from the experience of other Latin American countries, save probably for the socialist period between 1971 and 1973. This period ended up with a severe socio-economic and political crisis that paved the road for a military coup that inaugurated a dictatorship that would last until the late eighties. The military government pushed a far reaching pro-market reform agenda.This experience is usually regarded as a leading case of market-friendly reforms, not only for the adoption of a shock therapy, but also for doing it well before most other countries in the region. Beginning in late 1973, several structural reforms were implemented, including the liberalization of most prices, interest rates and wages; drastic reductions in tariffs and the elimination of non-tariff barriers to trade; the strengthening of fiscal and monetary policies; the privatizat ion of more than 500 firms; the reform of the pension program; and the adoption of new policies of competition and regulation.In the early eighties, Chile, like other developing countries, underwent a deep economic and financial crisis. There was some reversal of reforms during this period, but the military government resumed the liberalizing reforms soon after it. Chile returned to democracy in 1990. One of the most notable aspects of the Chilean process is that after the return to democracy in 1990, the centre-left coalition that has governed the country since, did not revert the market reform process.There were several peculiar factors leading the military dictatorship to follow the suggestions of a group of foreign-trained economists towards market liberalization (against the nationalistic tendencies of part of the military). Some possible sources of opposition (such as unions or left leaning parties) were silenced by the dictatorship.Business sectors were relatively grateful si nce firms were devolved to private owners after nationalization by the previous socialist government of Allende, so that they did not oppose trade liberalization. The way the transition to democracy was instrumented in the late eighties was key for the consolidation of pro-market reforms in Chile. Consolidation was by no means granted by that time, for the parties that formed the winning coalition (named the Concertacion) in the 1989 elections had opposed many of the reforms.Also, formerly repressed interest groups could take advantage of the new political environment to voice their demands, pushing the new government towards a less neutral and more lenient fiscal policy. According to Foguel, Miguel, Indermit Gill, Rosane Mendonca and Ricardo Paes de Barros, (1998), several factors contributed to the consolidation of the pro-market reform in the transition period: * the good performance of the economy in 1985-1989; * the concurrent fall of socialist regimes in Europe; the economic f ailure of democratic transition in Argentina (that contributed to convince several left15 wing politicians of the risks of â€Å"heterodox† policies); * the intellectual renovation and internationalization of the circles around the Concertacion, which lead to a â€Å"revaluation of continuity†; and * several institutional enclaves in the new constitution, increasing the veto power and political relevance of â€Å"the right†, which forced democratic presidents to follow consensual strategies on economic matters. Chile seems to be in a path of institutional and policy consolidation.The democratic governments have maintained the core of the economic reforms undertaken during the dictatorship, while steadily (albeit slowly, according to some views) advancing on the social and democratic front. These steps have taken place according to a style of policymaking that is much more consensual and institutionalized than that of other Latin American countries. (IADB, 2005). EVOLUTION OF LABOUR REFORM IN BRAZIL The Consolidated Labour Code The main body of the Brazilian labour legislation was introduced in the 1940s, and consolidated into the Consolidacao das Leis do Trabalho (CLT) in 1943.The CLT is a large, often overlapping, set of rules which determines individual and collective rights and duties of the workers, unions and firms. The law determines that all workers must have a booklet where all individual labour contracts and its changes over time are registered by the employer. By definition, a formal worker has a booklet signed by his employer (â€Å"carteira assinada†) Besides the obligation to sign the booklet, the law stipulates a set of minimum conditions any employment relationship must follow.The most important rules are: maximum hours of work per week; maximum extra-time working hours; minimum payment for extra-time work; minimum wage; pre-paid annual vacations; special protection clauses for women and children; the dismissal of pre gnant women is forbidden; the right of paid vacation before and after childbirth, for the mother; special work conditions for night shifts; one month pre-notification of firing; and protection against unjustified dismissals. There have been changes in the legislation since the creation of the CLT. In particular: In 1962, introduction of a one monthly wage annual bonus (â€Å"thirteenth salary†).In 1963, introduction of a family allowance. In 1965, introduction of a wage adjustment law which determined the minimum rate of wage adjustments of all workers in the economy. In 1966, creation of a severance fund (Fundo de Garantia por Tempo de Servico – FGTS) in place of a clause forbidding dismissal of workers with more than 10 years of tenure. In 1986, creation of an unemployment insurance program which today covers about 25% of the country’s labour force. In 1988, approval of a new Constitution with the introduction of new labour clauses. Severance Rules and Unemplo yment CompensationUntil 1965, to fire a worker without a proper justification the employer had to pay one month’s wage for each year of work in the firm. The compensation was calculated on the basis of the higher wage received during the work contract. It was a duty of the employer to prove the dismissal was justified, and the conditions for justified dismissals were clearly defined in the law. After 10 years in the same enterprise, dismissals were forbidden by law, except if properly justified. In 1966, this entire system of protection against non-justified dismissals was changed.A severance fund was created, called the Fundo de Garantia por Tempo de Servico (FGTS). When hiring a worker, the firm had to open a banking account for the worker and deposit 8% of the value of the wage in the account. Today, Caixa Economica Federal, a government saving and loans institution, collects the FGTS levy and invests it primarily in urban housing projects giving workers a legally guarante ed minimum deposit rate. When dismissed without a just cause (â€Å"sem justa causa†) the worker could draw this money and received a monetary compensation corresponding to a fine of 10% over the total amount of the fund.Like many other Latin American countries (see Loayza, 1998), dismissal for economic reasons is not considered a just cause. In 1988 the fine for unjust dismissal was increased to 40% of the worker’s FGTS account balance. Besides this fine, the employer has to notify the worker one month before he will be fired. This is the â€Å"aviso previo† law, or previous notification of firing. During the month the worker has received the previous notification of firing, he/she is allowed, according to the law, to take two hours a day to look for a new job.This implies a minimum cost of 25% of the worker's monthly wage. In fact the cost is usually higher since firms end up paying the notification fee to the worker and dismissing him immediately. Thus, the t otal cost of dismissal is 25% to 100% of the monthly wage plus 40% of the FGTS. The cost depends on the number of months the worker has worked for the firm. Since 1986, when fired, besides the advance notice, access to the FGTS (and the 40% fine for unfair dismissal), the worker also has the right to an unemployment compensation benefits.The unemployment compensation program offers partial coverage for up to four months of unemployment (extended to five months after 1996). To become eligible to receive the benefit, the worker must meet the following criteria: * to have been dismissed without a just cause; * to have had a formal labour contract during the last six months or to have been legally self-employed for at least 15 months; * to be unemployed for at least seven days; * must not receive any other pension; * must not have any other type of income sufficient to guarantee his own subsistence and that of his family.The value of the benefit cannot be lower than the value of the min imum wage, is adjusted monthly for inflation, and is related to the average wage received by the worker in the last three months in the previous job. Wage Laws An important change in the CLT was the introduction of the Wage Adjustment Law in 1965. Before this date, wage adjustments were fixed through collective bargaining between workers and employers unions, at the settlement dates (â€Å"data base†), and through individual negotiations between one worker and his/her employer.Only the minimum wage was determined directly by the President of the Republic, although most of the time it incorporated automatically the prescriptions given by indexation clauses imbedded in the Law. The Wage Adjustment Law gave the government the right to determine the minimum rate of adjustment of all wages in the formal sector of the economy. The first wage law stipulated that nominal wages should be adjusted once a year, at the settlement date of each occupation, following a formula which took th e past and expected future rate of inflation and the growth rate in GDP per capita as the base for the adjustments.The specific formula and the adjustment period changed many times over the years, as the rate of inflation increased. In 1995, one year after the introduction of the Real Plan, the Wage Law was abolished. Today, upward adjustment of wages is negotiated between employers and employees. But downward adjustment of wages is for all practical purposes prohibited by the Constitution: attempts to do so make employers open to lawsuits, which are generally resolved in favor of the worker.This was irrelevant during a time of high inflation, but now quite possibly adds to the rigidity of the labour market. The Reforms of 1988 The main changes of labour legislation introduced in the Constitution of 1988 can be summarized as follows: * The maximum number of hours of work per week was reduced from 48 to 44 hours and the minimum payment for extra-time hours increased from 20% to 50% o f the workers’ wages. * For continuous work shifts the maximum daily journey was reduced from eight to six hours. * A vacation bonus of one-third of the workers’ wages was created. The childbirth leave for mothers was increased to 120 days and a five days childbirth leave for the father was introduced. * Firing costs for unjustified dismissals increased from 10% of the FGTS balance to 40%. This is the list of the minimum individual rights for private sector and state enterprise workers. Working conditions can be improved through negotiations between the individual worker and the firm, or through collective bargaining. The Constitution of 1988 clearly mandated higher nonwage benefits and made dismissals costlier for employers. Payroll Taxes and Mandatory Benefits after 1988The CLT and the 1988 Constitution stipulate a very comprehensive set of minimum standards any individual contract must follow. The rules do not provide much space for negotiations between employers an d workers. The result is a rigid set of minimum rules, which reduces the flexibility of the labour contract in face of changes in the economic environment. In addition to the costs imposed by this inflexibility, there are more direct and obvious non-wage costs due to payroll taxes and mandatory benefits required by the law. The cost of labour can be decomposed into four parts: The basic contractual wage. * Mandatory benefits which include the annual one month bonus (terceiro salario), the contribution to the FGTS, vacations and other benefits. * Contributions to the official training system (SENAI and SENAC), to finance an institution which assist small enterprises (SEBRAE) and a contribution paid by firms to finance an workers’ assistance service (SESI or SESC). * Contribution to the federal social security system (INSS) and to fund educational services salario educacao) and an on-the-job accident insurance fee mandatory for all firms and proportional to the payroll.In addit ion to these contributions based on payroll costs, employers are also charged levies on revenues to pay for additional INSS-related obligations (Cofins), to be raised in 1999 from 1 to 2 percent and PIS/PASEP, the contributions towards the Fundo de Aparelho de Trabalhadores (FAT) which fund unemployment compensation, job search assistance and active labour programs such as training and microenterprise support schemes. These labour related levies can add up to between 2 and 3 percent of employer revenues. EVOLUTION OF LABOUR REFORM IN CHILE Labour Code (1931-1965)Initially, Chile’s labour market regulations is characterized with tripartite system of collective bargaining and conflict resolution. 1931 labour code focuses on conflict resolution. While the legislation favoured collective bargaining at the firm level, and this form of negotiations was dominant, the mechanisms of conflict resolution projected negotiations beyond the enterprise. With time, sector-wide negotiations s pread throughout the economy. Dismissal without expression of cause with a month’s notice. Severance payment of a month’s wage per year of tenure for â€Å"white collar workers.The main component of payroll taxes are social security contributions. Chile started a Social Security System in 1924, building from a set of privately established pensions systems that covered specific groups of workers or sectors of economic activity. These programs finance retirement, invalidity and family survivor benefits, a public health care system, the payment of family allowances, and an unemployment subsidy. In addition, there was a 1 % contribution to fund public training programs. The Chile labour market reform has come a long way and in each stage undergone few reforms to meet the demand of the changing market conditions.After the deadly coup of 1973, several labour unions, labour institutions were dissolved. In October, 1973, the Chilean government introduced wage adjustments, whi ch were linked to inflation rate. Chile labour market reform is significant because of the following reasons: * The country underwent a switch over from an economy, which was regulated to an economy, which is unregulated as well as open. This was brought about by the implementation of economic reforms pertaining to labour markets and pension system in the country. * The labour market in Chile has been over the years very unpredictable.Labour market in Chile during the seventies: During the middle seventies, the government in Chile launched the first structural reforms in Chile. Which in turn increased the unemployment rate. However, Chile experienced a healthy growth in the economy towards the end of seventies. Despite the speedy growth in economy, the labour market refused to recover from the high rate of unemployment. Reverse to what it was during the seventies, the labour market in the eighties recuperated very fast even though the crisis was much more severe than the previous on e. Even rate of growth in wages recovered comparatively fast.During this period, rate of unemployment reached 25%. As part of Chile labour market reform, the proportional adjustments pertaining to lower wages was made more than the higher wages. The method of indexation that existed between 1973 to 1979 had many drawbacks. In order to overcome these drawbacks, Labour Plan of 1979, was implemented, which stated that adjustment of wages would be made at or above inflation rate. At regular intervals, as part of Chile labour market reform, the government carried on with the practice of increasing wages but not in accordance with the rising rate of inflation.However, during the 1990s, there was increase in wages higher than what was declared for the purpose of readjustments. The Employment Security Law, states that if there is no valid cause for dismissing an employee, the worker could be re engaged in the job as per orders from a labour court. However, in the year 1978, this law was sub stituted by a method of â€Å"severance payment†. Chile labour market reform, Decree Law 2,200 stated that employers had the right to make changes in the contract between the employers as well as the employees and that they could fire an employee without giving any explanation to the employees.A â€Å"severance payment†, which was minimum was also introduced. Decree Law 2,200 as well as Chile labour market reform of 1979, led to the introduction of new techniques to supervise the activities of the labour unions. This was stated in Decree Law, 2,756. Collective bargaining was stated in Decree Law 2,758. Decree Law 2,756 and Decree Law 2,758 are collectively referred to as Labour Plan. Decree Law 2,756 governs matters related to labour union. Whereas, Decree law, 2,758 governs the various norms adopted in the event of a strike.Labour reforms that took place in Chile is summarized below; Phase I (1966-73) Increased polarization of the labour movement Generalized use of wa ge indexation. Dismissals require expression of â€Å"just† cause, or severance payment of a month’s wage per year of tenure. In spite of very high nominal contribution rates, by 1970 the public sector spent 20. 5 percent of its budget to cover the deficits in the health and pensions systems along with its own contributions. Phase II (1974-79) Economic Liberalization with a highly intervened labour market.Decree Law 670 of October 1974 substituted the earlier legislation that defined the tripartite commissions, giving them a consultative character. They were understood to be a transition mechanism, while a new policy towards the labour market was developed, and while union activities were banned.. Economy-wide wage adjustments imposed by decree. Dismissal without expression of cause reinstated in 1978 for all new hires. Employers pay a severance of a month’s wage per year of tenure to all dismissed workers, unless there is â€Å"just cause,† which include s â€Å"economic cause. A number of partial changes brought down contributions from a 60 percent at their peak in 1974, to the order of 33 percent in 1980. Rates varied according to the specific plan at which an employee was affiliated, but all the plans were guaranteed by the state. For example, in 1976, the 1% contribution earmarked to fund training program was eliminated. Phase III (1980-1990) Union affiliation becomes voluntary. Decentralized collective bargaining. Labour negotiations opened to market forces. Strikes without job guarantees after sixty days.No intervention of the government in the affairs of unions or the collective bargaining process, except for a wage floor guaranteed by law. The wage floor was eliminated in 1982, and as a by-product, the necessary conditions to replace striking workers were eroded. It also marked the era of minimum wage setting. Starting in 1981, dismissals of any worker, new or previously hired, can take place without expression of cause, an d as long as severance is paid. Severance payments are open to negotiations. In the absence of an explicit agreement the minimum severance would be a month wages per year of tenure with a 5 months ceiling.A 1984 reform established that the minimum severance agreed by the parties could not be less than the severance established by law. Furthermore, â€Å"economic cause† for dismissal is not â€Å"just cause† anymore. In 1980, a reform lowered social security contributions to just above 20 percent (10 % towards retirement, 7% towards health and about 3% towards disability). New entrants to the labour force would contribute to a new old-age program based on a mandated individualized savings plan, to be managed by private administrators (AFPs).Old contributors could to opt out of the traditional pay-as-you-go system. In the case of health care contributions, both old contributors and new entrants were given the choice to opt out of the public system (FONASA) and use the 7 percent towards a health care insurance policy provided by an authorized private health insurer (ISAPRES). A basic pension, the unemployment insurance, and the family allowances programs would be fully financed by the central government budget. Phase IV (1991 till date) This is the Consolidation of Labour Reforms.The new law eliminated the sixty days period for the legal strike, which allowed employers to dismiss striking workers without severance. The new law also reinstated stricter conditions for workers replacements in case of strike. Labour negotiations can take place at the sector level if both workers and employers agree to it. Dismissals require an expression of â€Å"cause†. Severance of one month wages per year of tenure applies to dismissals with â€Å"economic cause. † Severance would be paid with a 20% surcharge if the employer cannot prove an alleged â€Å"economic cause. No severance obligation in case of dismissals with â€Å"just cause. † Dismi ssal ceiling on severance payment raised to 11 month wages. THEMES ON LABOUR REFORM DISCUSSION The thematic elements under which labour reforms that occurred in the two Latin American countries under study will be discussed will focus on the labour’s strategic interest in labour law and its ability to pursue those interest during specific rounds of reform. These interests are derived from the legal and institutional framework of labour relations, which are often inherited from earlier period of legal and political incorporation of labour.Secondly is the willingness of government to see reform through. Government resolve is shaped by the pressure for the reform that it faces from international actors or domestic constituencies. Another thematic approach is the transition context for the reform. The nature of transitions as well as their timing affects the political environment for labour reform. Democratic transitions tend to favour rights-based reforms and strengthen unions, while market-oriented economic transitions tend to favour labour flexibility and weaken unions.The Initiation of the Reforms The crisis of the ISI model in the sixties and seventies left Latin American leaders searching for new paradigms. In this context, the pro-market reform agenda began to gain strength, initially pushed by groups of professional economists trained in the US, and reinforced later in the eighties and nineties by the IFIs. The experience of Thatcher in the UK and the fall of communism also contributed to create an environment favourable to pro-market reform. In some countries, these new ideas got through to the ruling army forces.Chile was the leading case, after a short socialist experience that ended with a military coup. Other countries only began the reform process in the early nineties, after suffering severe macroeconomic instability in the eighties. By that time, Chile had already become an example of a successful reformer that many wanted to reproduce. The debt crisis that blew up in the early eighties gave place to a decade characterized by severe macroeconomic instability in most countries in the region. There were several attempts at eterodox macroeconomic stabilization that failed completely. Brazil is probably one of the most distinctive cases. The pro-market structural reforms were out of the agenda in those years in most Latin American countries. Even in Chile, the debt crisis caused a partial and temporary reversion of the pro-market labour reform. It was only after these policies ended up in hyperinflation that the idea of implementing more orthodox stabilization programs bundled with structural pro-market reforms made its way through in the region in the early nineties.In the 1980s and 1990s, several democratic political leaders who gained elections proposing leftwing platforms ended up adopting the market-friendly package. Some of these presidents were concerned by little more than their political survival in the midst of i mpending or ongoing macroeconomic crises, and were pretty much open to â€Å"anything† that might deliver some short-term economic results that could lead to favourable political results for them. They ended up convinced that some variant of the market-friendly package was the most sensible option they had.Implementation Recent literature on reform emphasizes the key role of appropriate implementation and enforcement capacity to determine the outcome of reform (Stein and Tommasi 2005; Rius and van de Walle, 2004; Fanelli and Popov, 2003). It is considered that while the best designed policy packages may generate bad outcomes if implementation fails, policies that are not first-best in terms of design may still render acceptable results if they are well implemented (IADB, 2005).The quality of public policies in terms of enforcement and implementation varies considerably across the Latin American countries. Stein and Tommasi (2005) classified the Latin American countries in sev eral key dimensions of their economic policies, one of them being the capacity to enforce and effectively implement the policies. Of the two Latin American countries considered in this paper, Chile appears as the one with quite high enforcement and implementation capacity; Brazil has intermediate capability with implementation quality.The enforcement and implementation capacities are in turn related to the quality and independence of the bureaucracy, the quality and independence of the judiciary, and the capabilities of the Congress. Stein and Tommasi (2005) show that the index of enforcement and implementation capacity is positively correlated to indexes of congress capability, judicial independence and civil service development across these two Latin American countries. An independent and highly qualified judicial system is probably the most obvious enforcer of the laws.Delegating the implementation of policies to a professional and independent bureaucracy is also a good enforceme nt device. Chumacero et al (2005) claim that the Chilean military government that initially pushed the pro-market reform replaced the existing bureaucracy with a strong technocracy that contributed to improve the implementation and enforcement capacities of the State. Brazil followed a different route in that reformers did not replace the existing bureaucracy, Castelar Pinheiro, A. , R. Bonelli and B. Ross Schneider (2004).Nevertheless, Brazil already had a relatively good bureaucracy before the pro-market reform era. This allowed the government to delegate the implementation of trade liberalization and privatization to autonomous agencies, which according to Castelar Pinheiro et al (2004), was key for the advance of these reforms. Stakeholders The labour movement was more independent from the State and from the parties that ended up being reformist. In Brazil and Chile, trade unions would not favour pro-market reform, but they were forbidden in Chile when the reform began and relat ively weak in Brazil (Castelar Pinheiro et al).Labour movements in Brazil retained some degree of organizational strength, mobilization capacity and political influence, and were therefore able to fight off some of the reforms that were aimed at expanding labour market flexibility. They fought hard against the loss of core organizational resources as well as legal provisions regarding union structure and collective bargaining. In Chile, economic labour reforms occurred mostly under the dictatorship, along with labour code changes, the prospect for expanding labour rights under the democratic transition were limited.The issue of labour reform lies at the core of this disjuncture as it straddles major fault lines innate to the Chilean neoliberal project. On the one hand, cheap and flexible labour with few rights to collective action has formed a central axis of Chile’s economic model since Pinochet’s ruthless undermining of organised labour in the mid-1970s. This oppress ion was given a tangible legal form in the 1980 labour code that denied even the most basic of rights to the working population. Labour movements in Chile was pressured to moderate its demands during transition.Furthermore, labour ties to parties in power under the concertacion further constrained the movements ability to assert demands for reforms in the first-round democratic government. In summary, in Brazil political stability is a contextual premium, a potential threat to that stability came from the labour movement. By contrast, in Chile, the prime concern was economic stability. Unfortunately, labour mobilization was constrained by political compromises and organizational factors. The economic elites were the ones to be appeased.Capitalist interests, institutionally represented by the Confederacion de Produccion y Commercio (CPC), have strongly opposed any substantive changes to the labour code. They argue that, by impinging on labour market flexibility, reforms to the labour code would undermine the foundations of domestic accumulation to the detriment of all Chileans Inclusiveness of the Political Process behind the Reforms In Brazil, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso negotiated the pro-market reform along several years, and there was no reversal, even after the opposition took office.Reform was very gradual and partial, mostly due to the effective inclusion of opposition parties and social groups in the negotiation of reform. This participation slowed down reform, but it can be argued that it also contributed to render the economic policy more predictable. Political participation might not only contribute to reform because it reduces resistance, but also because it promotes a more open society in which special interests find themselves more constrained. Chile is a case in which the bulk of the reform process took place under the Pinochet dictatorship.Yet, the decision of the successive incoming democratic governments of sustaining the main aspects of the market-oriented reforms, together with the consensual and institutionalized policymaking style with which modifications and adjustments have proceeded, has tended to generate an increasingly virtuous circle between reforms, democratic participation, and transparency. CONCLUDING REMARKS This paper attempted to extract some lessons from the reform experiences of the selected Latin American countries, on the basis of underlying country studies.That exercise led, in its central section, to reflections on several key themes in the political economy of reform, reflections which themselves had some elements of â€Å"concluding remarks†. For that reason, this final section is relatively brief, and instead of recapitulating everything said before, it just draws from a few points in order to take a (succinct) prospective look. The early evaluations of the impact of market oriented reforms were far more optimistic than later ones.The present political dynamics of these countries suggests that the fate of reforms is correlated with the outcomes of reform, and that both in turn are correlated with more slow-moving (not to say, permanent) â€Å"fundamental† local conditions, in particular with local institutional conditions. The ranking of both countries in terms of reform outcomes, and reform continuity and sustainability is almost identical to a ranking of State Capabilities developed by Stein and Tommasi at the Inter-American Development Bank, reflected in Stein and Tommasi (2005) and IADB (2005).Perhaps the main lesson we extract from the experience at this point, is that in democratic settings it is not a good strategy to impose reforms from above or by surprise. Consensus building operating through the social and political specificities of the country is not only a better way to achieve the desired reforms, but even a process for identifying and implementing policies and reforms more suitable for each country. The capacity of countries to achieve such processes seems conditioned by their political institutions and policymaking capabilities.REFERENCE Aguilera-Alfred, N. , D. Borda and D. Richards (2004) â€Å"Understanding Reform. 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