The Sicilian Mafia

For some people, the mere mention of the name â€Å"Mafia† paints a portrait in the subconscious of burly or corpulent, thuggish-looking men, with peppered or jet black hair, a scar somewhere on their face, dressed in black or gray pinstriped suits garnished with a flower in their lapel, a fedora cocked angularly over their brow, their necks and fingers decorated in gold jewelry, and carrying a briefcase or any means of transportation for weapons or money. This image is typically cliche of the average early 20th century gangster found in big cities such as New York City and Chicago, and of those individuals found in classic films such as â€Å"The Godfather† and â€Å"Scarface†. So then, what is, or who are, the â€Å"Mafia? † From where did they come? What did they do? Where are they now? To truly understand what the Mafia is and represents, one must travel back in time, centuries ago, where the word, and the people associated, are rooted from an area known widely for its bountiful history of arts, war, and honor – Sicily, Italy. A thorough understanding of what the Mafia consists of would not be complete without an understanding of the Sicilian concepts of â€Å"vendetta† and â€Å"omerta. † The Italian word vendetta is rooted in the Latin vindicta meaning â€Å"revenge. † A more modern equivalent would be violent and vengeful â€Å"pay back†. The vendetta was often a prolonged series of retaliatory, hostile acts in exchange for previous violent acts, such as an â€Å"eye for an eye† concept or otherwise known as lex taliones. In ancient times, when enforcement of law by reliable authorities was virtually unknown, families would often take matters in their own hands, and exact â€Å"payment† or revenge for a wrong-doing by another by means of vendetta, often by employing violence, to include murder, to redress their grievance and restore honor to the injured group or family. Equally important in understanding what Mafia is about, is the Italian concept of â€Å"omerta. In its present day usage, omerta is simply a â€Å"code of silence,† much like the Blue Curtain of Secrecy employed by law enforcement or omissions of knowledge that friends will utilize if a comrade is accused of a crime. Historically, however, the root meaning of this Italian word is â€Å"manliness,† not unlike the Spanish concept of â€Å"machismo,† which is considered an integral part, if not the very core value, behind the â€Å"code of honor. † It was in 13th century Sicily that such â€Å"men of honor† organized themselves to drive out foreign invaders, and were willing to kill, if necessary. Protecting the identities of their brothers in the event of capture, these â€Å"men of honor† invoked omerta, a code of silence, by refusing to provide governing authorities any information. The concept of omerta, then, served to provide a modicum of protection for the remaining body of those â€Å"men of honor. † No one is certain of the enigmatic origins of the name given to groups of organized criminals from Italy, and the word itself had been long debated. One theory takes place during the time in the middle ages when the island of Sicily was plagued by foreign invaders, particularly by the French Angevins, who imposed unfair taxes upon the Sicilians. Rising up against their oppressors, several numbers of male citizens, who later came to be called â€Å"men of honor,† banded together to overthrow the French, while shouting, â€Å"Morte alla Francia Italia anelia! † Translated, the phrase means: â€Å"Death to the French is Italy’s cry! † Taking the first letter from each word in this Italian phrase, the word â€Å"M-a-F-I-a! † was created. Another theory thought to be true is that the word â€Å"Mafia† was created in 1282 when an enraged group of Sicilian â€Å"men of honor† struck back against a French soldier, killing him in retaliation for raping a Palermo girl on her wedding day. Taking away a young woman’s virginity before it is given to her spouse is a heinous crime, and during this era, was punishable by death. As news of this revolt spread from one town to the next, other Sicilians rose up against their French occupiers, killing literally thousands, thus running them off the island, while crying out, â€Å"Ma fia! Ma fia! † Literally meaning, â€Å"My daughter! My daughter! Although neither theory has been proven, it is apparent that the basis of the name Mafia comes from some root of honor. The structure of the Mafia is originally based on a close-knit famiglia or family structure, where the eldest male, such as a grandfather who is wise in the ways of family operations based on heritage and traditions, is the capofamiglia, otherwise known as the head of the family or the boss – such as the â€Å"godfather†. His second in command or right-hand man who acts as a â€Å"pseudo-boss† when the capofamilglia is away, is the sotto capo, or underboss, and could have originally been a brother or first born son. The capofamiglia may have one or more advisors, made up of close friends, brothers, or cousins, who aid him in any decision making regarding la famiglia, known as consigliere. Following the sotto capo are crews of â€Å"soldiers†, or capodecina, commanded by the sotto capo. The capodecina, literally meaning â€Å"head of ten† is selected by the capofamiglia, and usually coordinates units of soldiers made up of about ten people. Lastly are associates, who have no familial ties with the famiglia, through blood or initiation, but aid the famiglia through legal and illegal means. Associates usually consist of corrupt officials, such as police officers, judges, or religious heads, who help la famiglia by providing any important information. An associate, to la famiglia, is seen as nothing more than a tool, and may be discarded of easily if their services are not needed anymore. The only way to join the famiglia in the past was to be born or married into the family. As time went on, family of friends, as well as friends of friends, were admitted, but only after partaking in an initiation ceremony and swearing their allegiance to la famiglia, or else face the consequences of horrific mutilation or death. Initiation ceremonies included a variety of oaths and pledges, where potential members would carry out various acts to show their loyalty. Some acts included, but were not limited to, killing their own family members due to an unpaid debt to the famiglia, finding a â€Å"rat† within the famiglia and sending him a warning, such as mutilation or terrorizing their home life, or other heinous and illegal acts that would show devotion. Other means of initiation were ceremonies where a blood oath was implemented. In a testimony from the police interrogation of Leo Pellegrino, from the village of Sciacca, Agrigento province, 15 March 1876, Leo proceeded to explain the ceremony he was involved in: â€Å"Marsala tied my index finger of my right hand tightly with a string. He pricked the finger with a pin. The blood dripped on the image of a female saint. He burned the image, divided it into two portions and gave me one. We ground up our portions in our hands and then threw the result into the air. As part of the ceremony I swore that I would remain a member of the Societa that has as its capo Don Vito Vita, and its aim is to commit crimes against persons and property. I was told that the Societa has affiliates in other towns, each town with its own capo, and if an affiliate does not carry out his assigned duties he would be judged by the Societa and condemned to death. Then they taught me the mode of recognizing other affiliates. † Prior to Benito Mussolini becoming Italy’s dictator during the Fascist movement, the Mafia was the one of the ways of providing protection and justice throughout Sicily without involving law enforcement and government officials. The Mafia would rid neighborhoods of vandals and criminals, while collecting fees for their services. What work they provided for the people would be repaid in money, goods, or by marrying into families so they would profit from farming lands. By the time Mussolini came to Sicily, the Mafia had acquired a great deal of power and respect from the citizens they protected and profited from. In 1924, when Mussolini visited Sicily, he was angered by the reception he received. The capofamiglias treated him as nothing more than a mere guest to their land, and told Mussolini that he was under their protection. Enraged by this notion, fearing opposition to his regime, the dictator avowed to suppress the Mafia by means of violence and honor. Mussolini names Ceaser Mori as Prefect, and ordered him to crack down with â€Å"steel and fire† against the Mafia. Because the Mafia’s power was equal to that of the State, an invasion of western Sicily took place, and during 1926-1928, 11,000 suspects in the Mafia were arrested. Ceaser Mori felt that the Mafia and Sicilian people were not one in the same. Rather, that the island had been suffering under the reign of terror known as the Mafia because the State was absent. Poor governing had created the menace known as Mafia, and that by eliminating that power, encouraged the people of Sicily to break away from unlawful oppression. He wanted the Mafia to appreciate that the State was stronger and wanted the â€Å"men of respect and honor† to be brought to their knees and be humble for their vanity and arrogance. During Mori’s suppressive action of rounding up any individual, proven or otherwise, under suspicion of â€Å"association for criminal purposes,† hundreds fled Sicily to other countries – as many as five hundred entered the United States, some illegally with help from family currently residing in the Unites States. Those arrested and unable to flee were found guilty and imprisoned. They were tortured in order to gain confessions, whether true or not, and violence towards individuals was common. Communities would be rounded up to ensure that those guilty would not flee the country. Innocent people would be caught up in the violence and tyranny with no ounce of concern from the State or other government officials. With Mussolini in control, Sicily faced a reign of terror. After capturing Don Vito Cascio Ferro, the â€Å"greatest capo the Mafia ever had,† Mori attempted to extract a confession from Don Vito, that he was, indeed, the capofamiglia of the Sicilian Mafia. Don Vito denied any accusation, regardless of the countless beatings Mori and his police committed. Finally, after having his legs clamped between a block of wood, Don Vito confessed to his involvement, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Mussolini announced to the nation shortly after that the Mafia was no more and no force would ever be able to revive it. Following the Fascist movement and World War II, the crime rate in Sicily soared in amongst the upheaval and chaos. Many criminals escaped from prison and bandits roamed the streets, wreaking havoc where ever they came. As Fascist members were disposed of, replacements were appointed, many of which turned out to be part of the Mafiosi, such as Calogero Vizzini and Giuseppe Genco Russo. They would present themselves as political dissidents and would become further desirable with their anti-communist position. The Minister of Agriculture, a communist, pushed for reforms where peasants would receive larger shares of produce and own land that was forced to be sold by owners of large estates. The Mafia had connections to many landowners and murdered several social reformists; however, they were unable to stop the process, and many landowners chose to sell their land to the Mafiosi, who offered more money than the government. After the war, the government poured money into rebuilding Sicily, where two Mafia connected officials took control of Palermo’s Office of Public Works. They gave out building permits to just five people, who were probably Mafia front men. Any construction companies unconnected with the Mafia were forced to pay protection fees, and many illegally constructed buildings were put up before the city’s planning was finalized. This was the re-birth of the Sicilian Mafia. During the early 1960s, the first high-profile Mafia conflict occurred in post-war Italy. The Sicilian Mafia has always had a long history of violent rivalries, but this was the first to involve many lives, some of which were innocents. In December of 1962, a heroin shipment to America turned up missing, and when the Sicilian Mafia Commission could not decide who to blame, the La Barbera clan, one clan involved, took matters into their own hands. They murdered a Mafioso, or member, of the Greco clan whom they had suspicion of stealing heroin. Therein, triggering a war where many would lose their lives. In April 1963, several non-mafiosi were wounded during a shootout in Palermo. Two months later, six military officers and a policeman in Ciaculli were killed while trying to dispose of a car bomb. Because the conflict spread beyond Sicily and claimed several innocent lives, a crackdown commenced in which nearly two thousand arrests were made. Mafia activity fell as a result as clans disbanded and many Mafiosi went into hiding. The Commission was dissolved and would not reform until the late 1960s and early 1970s. During the 1970s, the Mafia in Sicily resumed its normal illicit business, and Corleonesi, the mafia family from the town of Corleone, slowly began growing in power and prestige under the brutal and ambitious leadership of Luciano Leggio. Luciano Leggio became the boss through simply shooting the previous boss, Michele Navarra. Corleonsi’s primary rivals were the bosses of various powerful Palermo Mafia Families. The Sicilian Mafia Commission was re-established in 1970, with Luciano Leggio as one of the three leaders, although his underboss, Salvatore Riina, represented him as he was in hiding in mainland Italy for various crimes committed. After Leggio was captured and murdered in 1974, Riina took over as boss and began winning over allies amongst other Mafia families. In 1978, Riina arranged the murders of Bontade and Inserillo’s allies, the Reisi and Catania clans’ bosses. This caused the bosses of Palermo and their men to become isolated. After the murder of Stefano Bontade, another member of the commission, the Second Mafia War began. Hundreds of enemy Mafiosi and relatives were killed by each other, and even some of those who were traitorous in their own clans. In the end, the Corleonesi faction won, and Riina became widely known as the â€Å"boss of bosses. † By the early 1980s, the magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino began a campaign against the Sicilian Mafia. With the arrest of Tommaso Buscetta, a mafioso turned informant, Falcone and Borsellino compiled their testimonies and organized the Maxi Trial, which lasted twenty-eight months. Four hundred seventy-four mafiosi were put on trial, of which 342 were convicted. By 1992, the Italian Supreme Court confirmed these convictions. The Mafia retaliated violently, and in 1988, they murdered a Palermo judge and his son, a prosecutor and an anti-mafia businessman. Four years later, Falcone and Borsellino were killed by car bombs, and this led to a public outcry, along with a massive government crackdown, resulting in the arrest of Riina in 1993. Following Riina’s arrest, the Mafia began a campaign of terror on mainland Italy. Tourist spots were attacked, such as places in Florence, Milan, and Rome, leaving ten dead and 93 injured, two churches bombed, and an anti-mafia priest shot dead. Leadership of the Mafia was held for a short time by Leoluca Bagarella, and then was passed to Bernardo Provenzano after Bagarella was captured in 1995. Provenzano ceased the violent campaign and replaced it with pax mafiosi, the quiet mafia, where it allowed the Mafia to slowly regain the power it once held. Provenzano halted the murders of state officials and informants. He felt that by not killing them and their families, it would encourage informants to retract their statements and testimonies and return to the famiglia. After eleven years of leadership, Provenzano was arrested in 2006.

Pigrimage Should money be given to the poor or should it be used for maintaining the places of pilgrimage? Essay

Should money be given to the poor or should it be used for maintaining the places of pilgrimage? I think that money should be given to the poor people this is because Jesus helped the people in need. This is stated in the parable of the sheep and the goats and the rich young man. Another reference to back this up is â€Å"Love your neighbour† this means that you should help anyone in their time of need like in the good Samaritan when a Samaritan was beaten up and was in need of desperate help two people walked past him took a look at him and walked on then a Jew came past and helped him even though Jews and Samaritans absolutely hated each other he helped him in his time of need. So we should give money to the poor because at this time in their life they need our help and it is our duty to help them. This is why money should be given to the poor rather than places of pilgrimage because life is more important than buildings life is unique and special life is a gift from god. But also give money to the churches to maintain buildings of pilgrimage and churches but most of the money should go to the poor. On the other hand some Christians believe that it is right to maintain our places of pilgrimage because God deserves that kind of respect we should build his house in gold. The churches are the core of all communities. The church also helps those in need for example Soup kitchens. If the churches are not maintained then the churches history that it has got over hundreds of years. We also need to preserve places of pilgrimage because it is a way to get closer to God and pray for family. Another reason is that God is worthy of the admiration and beauty of the places of pilgrimage. Organisations like CAFOD help the poor by giving them long term aid like education and tool to get food. They also give short term aid where they give them food clean bottles of water health checks and vaccinations. We are unique and have feelings and our life is more important than buildings. The early Christians did not have places of worship and they managed to cope so why cant we do the same. Churches spread Christianity so if they start to deteriorate people will not want to go to church because it is so run down a lifeless it don’t seem worthy to be Gods house. In conclusion I think that more money should be spent on the poor because life is unique, precious, made in god’s image and likeness and life is a gift from god buildings are a luxury to have. If we spent more money on places of pilgrimage then lives would be wasted where no money was spent on them which means nobody cares about poor people any more.

Beloved Character Analysis

â€Å"Anything dead coming back to life hurts† (Morrison 35). Does anyone have a firm grasp on who or what Beloved actually is? Beloved is the focal point of Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved, but she has also been the center of many debates. Morrison’s depiction of Beloved throughout the novel is unclear and much is left up for interpretation by the reader. Is Beloved the ghostly reincarnation of Sethe's murdered baby, a flesh and blood version of the spirit Paul D. drives from the house? Or is Beloved unquestionably a ghost? The uniformly accepted notion that Beloved is a ghost is interesting, given that evidence throughout the book suggests that she is a reincarnated being. As the reader recalls, Sethe killed her first daughter with the idea that doing so would free her daughter from slavery. As a result of Sethe’s â€Å"motherly† actions, Beloved, enslaves the rest of the family including Sethe’s daughter, Denver. The family becomes disconnected from and outcasted by the black community, as everyone fears approaching the residency â€Å"haunted† by the supernatural. As the novel progresses, the presence of an unknown girl at 124 intrudes, yet again, on the lifestyle of Denver and Sethe. This character, who is identified as Beloved is ambiguously portrayed and therefore her analysis is the topic of debate and discussion. The character that is recognized at the 124 residency is in fact the reincarnation of Sethe’s first daughter, Beloved. The idea of the reincarnated in this novel is well established. Although, to the reader the possibility of this seems unlikely, in the book there are several examples that point to this being true. For example, the reader witnesses Sethe overlook obvious signs showing that this girl actually could be the personification of her murdered baby daughter. Additionally, Beloved is approximately the same age that Sethe’s first born would have been if still alive, and more evidence lies in the fact that she shares the same name as the one engraved on the baby’s tombstone. It happens that these trails of evidence all occur in order in the same scene. One evening Denver, Sethe, and Beloved are all gathered around a fire, and Sethe comes to a realization about the aforementioned evidence about Beloved. â€Å"The click had clicked; things were where they ought to be or poised and ready to glide in,† (Morrison 207). Beloved hums a tune, one that Sethe immediately recognizes. The scene seems surreal as Sethe is taken aback by the occurrence. â€Å"I made that song up. I made it up and sang it to my children. Nobody knows that song but me and my children,† (Morrison 207). Additionally, Beloved’s demeanor is that of a typical two year old. Her thoughts and actions mimic those of a young child rather than a young adult. For example, Beloved deeply loves her mother, Sethe, and is attached to her just as a young child would be. Not only does Beloved share a passionate love for her mother, but feelings are mutual toward, Denver, her sister. Beloved is jealous of the relationship Denver and Sethe share. Once again, these all point to the childish characteristics Beloved possesses in her reincarnated form. In referring to Sethe Beloved states â€Å"I am Beloved and she is mine† (Morrison 248). â€Å"It was Beloved who made demands. Anything she wanted she got, and when Sethe ran out of things to give her, Beloved invented desire† (Morrison 240). â€Å"When once or twice when Sethe tried to assert herself, be the unquestioned mother whose word was law and who knew what was best – Beloved slammed things, wiped the table clean of plates, threw salt on the floor, and broke a windowpane† (Morrison 242). Taking all of these factors into account, many would find it hard to dispute against Beloved’s reincarnated state. There are many supporting details that point to Beloved’s true identity. Beloved’s portrayal is in fragments and the reader must pay close attention to give away details about this young woman identity. Unraveling the great mystery of this young woman lies within the text, but yet many different opinions of Beloved still exist.

Structure and Bonding of 5 different materials (Chemistry) Assignment

Structure and Bonding of 5 different materials (Chemistry) - Assignment Example Silicon dioxide forms a giant covalent structure/lattice, extending in all the 3 dimensions. Each silicon atom is covalently bonded to 4 oxygen atoms. A large number of covalent bonds are present. This renders it high strength and hardness. A huge amount of thermal energy is needed to overcome these forces and cause melting of silicon dioxide, which hence explains the high melting point. Similarly, energy of dissolution when dissolved isn’t high enough to make it soluble in either of the polar or non polar solvents. Since the atoms are rigidly fixed in their positions with no free electrons, silicon dioxide is not a conductor of electricity as such but behaves as a semi conductor. Carbon dioxide is a gaseous compound found in the atmosphere at concentrations of 0.3%. Carbon dioxide has a molecular structure where each carbon atom is covalently bonded to two oxygen atoms as shown in the figure. As the Mr of carbon dioxide is a mere 44, weak intermolecular forces (instantaneous dipole-induce dipole forces) exist between the molecules of the carbon dioxide (BBC Higher Bitesize, 2009). These are easier to overcome and therefore, carbon dioxide has a very low boiling point, such that it is present in the gaseous state at room temperature. Having no free electrons, it is a non-conductor of electricity. It can dissolve in water and other solvents owing to solute solvent interactions. Copper is metallic in nature, which is widely used in electrical wires owing it its high conductivity. It is hard yet malleable and ductile, has a high melting and boiling point and is insoluble in any kind of solvent. Metallic bond is formed the metal atom looses an electron to become a positively charged ion (Jim, 2010). The electrons (delocalised) form a sea of electrons which hold the positive metal ions together in a giant structure. These strong forces of attraction developed between the delocalised electrons and the metallic ions give copper it’s high melting and boil ing point. Moreover, it is the very same electrons that are free to move inside the metallic structure giving copper its good electrical properties (Green planet, 2011). Same electrons also act as thermal carriers making copper a good thermal conductor as well. The layers of atoms have the ability to move/slide over each other when a force is applied. This gives copper good malleability and ductility characteristics. However, this movement of layers is hindered by the grain boundaries which impart good hardness to copper as well. In water, each hydrogen atom is bonded to two oxygen atoms. Owing to the large difference in the electro negativity of the two, a partial positive charge appears on hydrogen while a partial negative charge is appears on oxygen. Furthermore, there exists a lone pair of electrons on the oxygen atom. When two water molecules come closer, a hydrogen bond is developed between the lone pair of electrons and the partially positively charged hydrogen atom (MDL, 200 8). This is a strong bond which raises the boiling point of hydrogen to 100oC. The absence of free electrons makes pure water a non-conductor of electricity and a bad thermal conductor. Being polar in nature, water is insoluble in organic solvents. Caesium Chloride forms a giant ionic lattice structure. Each caesium atom is bonded to eight chloride atoms through ionic bonds. Ionic bond exists because of large difference of electro negativities of the two atoms (Jim, 2010). The large number of strong ionic bonds

Chinas Position in the Global Nuclear Industry Dissertation

Chinas Position in the Global Nuclear Industry - Dissertation Example From this paper it is clear that some of the country’s corporations have supplied nuclear parts in the construction of the US nuclear plants and even engaged in contractual activities in the field. China’s growth at home has made it a trustworthy partner in international co-operations regarding nuclear energy. More so, china’s growing influencing can be attributed to the idiosyncrasies of its manufacturing eco-system that largely affect supply chains in nuclear power. Chinese policy on nuclear power has always focused on the importation of nuclear power as a way of going global, and this substantially influences its position in the global nuclear power.This study discusses that  the commitment of the Chinese in becoming a global nuclear powerhouse is evident in the construction of new reactors, and international co-operations that help the country stamp its international presence. Even as its global presence and nuclear output increases, the country was not alw ays inclined to nuclear initiatives. Before the 1980s, China was opposed to any nuclear engagements even when neighbors and allies seemed to be going the nuclear way. The opening up of China to world markets and international organizations in the late 80s saw it slowly embrace nuclear initiatives.  China joined organizations involved in the regulation of nuclear energy such as the Conference on Disarmament (CD), and it was able to mimic nuclear policies from other nations.

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 35

Ethics - Essay Example One of the major ethical rules that managers must adopt is articulating their ethics code. This implies that leaders in an organization must define the key aspects that cover their ethical orientation. This implies that managers must come up with ethics code that indicates the behaviors that are acceptable or unacceptable in their organizations. In order for the ethics code to be effective in streamlining the conduct of the workers during their duties, it must come up with a well crafted code. Such a code should indicate what the employees and the managers should do as well as the situation in the work place if every one is operating at his or her best (Jayne, 2014). In the same way, ethics code must be treated as something vital for the success of a firm rather than indicating it as a strategy to satisfy individuals or firms that offer criticism. The code of ethics must be treated as one of the aspects in the organizational culture. During the hiring process, human resources managers must adopt ethical code. This implies that before the hiring process, prospective candidates must be provided by the code that acts as a guideline while undertaking their duties. For instance, new recruits should be invited by the managers to discuss on the various issues that is related to their personal ethics. One of the major strategies that hiring managers should adopt is to ask the prospective candidates specific questions that relates to their duties. On their part, the candidates should be provided with an opportunity to accept the code or give feedbacks on their effectiveness. After the hiring process, the employees should be provided with an extensive orientation that encompasses all the aspects of the ethics code. Existing and new employees must be provided with job descriptions that are in line with the code. This implies that managers must clearly indicate what the employees are supposed to

Digital Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Digital Economy - Essay Example The basic difference between the two classes of advertising is: in traditional advertising the advertising mediums are conventional such as newspapers, classifieds, magazines, periodicals, journals, billboards, posters, radio, physical mails, and televisions whilst on the other hand in digital advertising; all sorts of advertising which is done through the medium of websites, via internet and mobile phones are included. However digital advertising is not simple just because it focuses on web; however it is an emerging discipline and has several different areas in it. Advertising can be made for other purposes in addition to business and economics; however in this study advertising is only discussed with the perspective of economics and commerce. In this study the elaboration is made on the limitations of traditional advertising coupled with study of cost factors involved in digital advertising. ... After the process of awareness the consumer sector accumulates this awareness in the shape of knowledge then through effective advertising, commodity or service becomes fabulous and is liked by the consumer sector. After the process of liking and fondness a position evolves that is called as preference, it means that a consumer prefer the product against all other competitive products and through advertising the product is in a phase of likelihood of acquisition. Then after this consumer behavior changes to conviction on the basis of his preference and this is the reason; the product or service is being purchased. Therefore the more good advertising the more sales, more exposure of organization and more economic activity can be achieved. Since the rate of economic activity is directly proportional to that of profit therefore effective advertising will yield more economic activity and that will result in more returns and benefits. It should also be considered that advertisement for an economic activity is essential and also crucial but on the other hand, proper advertisement based on adequate research is needed to boost the economic activity of a business. If advertisement is made just for the sake of advertisement without any proper planning and evaluation then it can impact very roughly. Therefore before advertisement of any product or service a research should be made for advertisement and proper objectives and methodologies should be defined with realistic approach then only it can be successful for initiating and accelerating the economic activity. 2. Areas of Digital Advertising Digital advertising is also called internet marketing. Internet marketing is not a confined area of

Drug Dependence is a Condition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drug Dependence is a Condition - Essay Example Different types of drugs have different mechanisms of action. Depending on the type of drug and the form in which it is administered can cause a wide range of variation of symptoms. Almost all drugs, however, interact with the dopaminergic reward system. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter which is often a pleasure producing chemical. Drugs can either act as agonists or antagonists on receptors, which impact the secretion of this rewarding chemical. As a result, drug users use this in order to achieve the euphoria. Eventually, it takes more and more of the drug in order to achieve the same level of euphoria. This is the beginning of addiction. For drug users who have been using for years, this addiction becomes life essential to the point that it has altered their physiology and if they were to stop using, it would result in death. Thus this addiction moves from becoming a criminal intention to a medical condition. For example, methamphetamines are an extremely powerful drug, which can le ad to the chemical addiction as mentioned above. The withdrawal symptoms can have severe physiological symptoms as well as lead to death due to the lack of medication. This lead to the production of a medicine known as methadone, which is a pharmaceutical which can keep the side effects from methamphetamine occurring, but itself is addicting. In addition, the war on drugs has been occurring for many years, but illegal drugs still are being used and will still make their way onto the streets. As long as there are buyers and sellers, the drug trades and cartels will continue to exist as they find better and more covert ways of initiating their drug transactions.

The Market and Marketing of Verizon Business Research Proposal

The Market and Marketing of Verizon Business - Research Proposal Example On the other hand, Verizon wireless had a net gain of $1.8 billion retail subscribers and customer growth from the first and second quarter. In order to have a better understanding of where Verizon is perceived in the market, there will be two areas which will be covered for this purpose of the research. The research will be focusing on the non-Verizon customer, for a greater depth in understanding the reasons why Verizon is not attracting them. This report will mainly focus on two areas which Verizon should improve: The main reason why Verizon's customer base has been decreasing and well as taking their Verizon because it needs to focus most of its attention to the wireless affiliate because that's what is giving Verizon a competitive advantage. Verizon will have to create something new for the phone company and to do so they might have to increase the expenses a little to be more technologically advanced. However, their net income would increase and they would get more customers. As the Mintel report depicts that Verizon and Sprint both show higher-than-average shares of those who earn above $100k, Verizon and Alltel (not shown) are the only Top Five brands to have an above-average share of white customers and below-average share of all minority subscribers. Therefore in the light of all these developments Verizon's market strategy should be to include: A focus   on reasons why it is not capturing the subscription base of other ethnic groups rather than mainly higher income and white respondentsThey should also focus of what will attract other race or ethnicity groups to become part of their customer base. A review of the advertising practices and strategies in this regard. The relevant price and discount strategies. Currently, Verizon has an average share of those customers who earn above $100 k per annum   The purpose of this study is to find out the critical reason why Verizon is losing its market share. This study has been conducted for the purpose of understanding the market strategies of other telecom providers and to investigate reasons for diminishing customer base and strategies to attract new customers. There also needs to be an inquiry into how the present customer base can be successfully retained, in a more profitable context. This section will mainly focus on the consumer trends of all ethnicities with an income of over 100k per annum.

Dissertation plan, outline, Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Dissertation plan, outline, - Essay Example Romanosky, S, Telang, R, & Acquisti, A 2011, Do data breach disclosure laws reduce identity theft?, Journal Of Policy Analysis & Management, 30, 2, pp. 256-286, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 15 November 2012. The study will cover the history of identity theft in cyber, and forms of these frauds. Some focus will be towards the public awareness about these forms of fraud and how to contain this. There will also be close examination on the effectiveness of the different techniques that have been employed in curbing these challenges. The climax of it all will be on how to educate public on use computing and network settings to avoid such frauds. Therefore most attention will be on educating the public the settings. First, I will do a background research to find out information of identity theft in the field of computing and networking. In this project, I will list down various techniques that can be used to avoid identity theft in this particular field. Secondly, Numerous testing will be carried out, mostly on electrical machines and internet such as computers, phones, iPads to find out major areas where identity theft is conducted. Lastly, I will then formulate techniques of preventing such occurrence and possibilities such as creating passwords and log in options in the machines. The proposed study does not entail ethical considerations since the research majors on finding out methods in computing and networking settings that assist an individual to avoid identity theft rather than promoting ethical manners in the field and society. 14. What study materials will you use? (Please give full details here of validated scales, bespoke questionnaires, interview schedules, focus group schedules etc and attach all materials to the application) 17. Declaration: The information supplied is, to the best of my knowledge and belief,

Sales Control Essay Example for Free

Sales Control Essay There must be efficient control of all food and beverage items issued from the various departments. 2. The system should reduce any pilfering and wastage to a minimum. 3. Management should be provided with any information they require for the costing purposes. 4. The cashier should be able to make out the customer’s bill correctly. 5. The system should show a breakdown of sales and income received in order that adjustment and improvement may be made. The main control taking methods 1. Order taking methods. 2. Billing methods 3. Sales summary sheets. . Operational statistics. Triplicate checking system This is an order taking method used in the majority of medium and large first class establishments. The food check consists of three copies. On taking the food order it is written from top to bottom of the food check. When only a table d’hote menu is in operation the customers would initially only order their first and main courses. The operation for an a la carte menu is similar, although customers may order by course according to their requirements. 1. The top copy of the food order goes to the kitchen and is handed to the aboyeur at the hotplate. . The duplicate goes to the cashier who makes out the customer bill. 3. The Flimsy or third copy is retained by the waiter at his/her sideboard as a means of reference. Any checks or bills that have to be cancelled should have the signature of either the headwaiter or supervisor on them, as should checks and bills which have alternatio n made on them. FLOW CHART OF FOOD AND BEVERAGE CHECK Control box Kitchen Food and beverage Service area Top copy Top copy after service Food copy- Top copy (BOT)Top copy Dispense Bar 1. 2. 3. 4. BeveragesTop copy after service Control Marry all duplicates with originals- bills and summary sheet Cashier 1. 2nd copy food or drink 2. Bill 3. Bill and payment. 4. Receipted bill. Manual systems Using hand written duplicate or triplicate checks for ordering from kitchen and bar and for informing the cashier. Often used with a cash till or cash register. This system is found on many high- level restaurants and in popular catering Duplicate checking system. This is a control system that is more likely to be found in the smaller hotel, popular price restaurants and cafes. It is generally used where table d’hote menu is in operation and sometimes a very limited a la carte menu. There are two copies of each of these food checks, each set being serial numbered. The top copy of the food check is usually carbon – backed but, if not a sheet of carbon must be placed between the top and duplicate copy every time a fresh order is taken. The top copy of the set of food and drink checks is made up of a number of perforated slips, usually 4-5 in number. There is section at the bottom of the food and drink check for the table for the table number to be entered. When writing out a customer’s order a different perforated slip should be used for each course. The server must remember to write out the number of covers and the price of the meal or the dish concerned on each slip. Before sending each slip to the hotplate see that the details ate entered correctly on the duplicate copy together with the price. Since the duplicate copy acts as the customer’s bill, the waiter must ensure that everything served is charged. Duplicate order pad with perforated sections 672464| | | | | | 672464| | | No of person waiter no table no price| | | QUICK SERVICE: Name of the establishment Table no 4No of covers 2 Retour 1 Roast chicken En place 1 poached chicken Date 2/2/12Sign DS Accident: It occasionally happens that the waiter may have an accident in the room and perhaps some vegetables are dropped. These must be replaced without any extra charge to the customer. Here a check must be headed accident. It will show the number of portion of vegetables required and should be signed by the headwaiter. No charge (N/C) is stated on the check to ensure that no charge is made to the customer. Name of the establishment Table no 4No of covers 2 Accident 1 Vegetables N/C Date 2/2/12Sign DS CASH HANDLING EQUIPMENT E. P. O. S (Electronic point of sale) It is a sophisticated system of point of sale to provide the quality of information to the management for control function. Advantages 1. Fewer error is there as the information entered will be more accurate because mistake in the sequence of entries required for a particular transaction are not permitted. 2. Transaction can be done more quickly and this may be achieved by single key entry of prices, elimination of manual calculation and automatic calculation of price tags. . Training time may be reduced from days on the conventional cash register to hours with the electronic systems. 4. Instant credit checking is possible by having terminals compare the account number with a central computer file or through on-line a connection. 5. Electronic system provides more direct and detailed information in a computer readable form. 6. Additional security system features such as locks wh ich permits the ECR (Electronic cash register) to be operated only by authorized personnel.

Using the plays of Aristophanes Essay Example for Free

Using the plays of Aristophanes Essay Using the plays of Aristophanes (Lysistrata), Sophocles (Oedipus) and Euripides (Medea), we are able to discuss some major themes and concerns present in Greek Drama, such as women, fate, and other underlying themes. One of the most prominent, and perhaps the most controversial themes present in Greek Drama is the position of women in Greek Society. These three writers have different opinions of women, and this is reflected in their plays. Euripides, in Medea, presents a view of women as sex-crazed creatures. This is emphasised by Jason (569-72), when he says: you women/ Have reached a state where, if alls well with your sex-life,/ Youve everything you wish for; but when that goes wrong,/ At once all that is best and noblest turns to gall. Women in Lysistrata add to this view when they exclaim: Ill walk through fire, or anything but to give up sex, never! (166). Furthermore, women are portrayed as inherently dishonest. This is expressed when Medea tells the Chorus: We were born women useless for honest purposes, / But in all kinds of evil, skilled practitioners (407). Women are also presented as emotional rather than rational in their responses to situations. For all the Chorus protests about Medea killing her children, when they actually heard her murdering them, lamented: the miserable mother , cursed, miserable woman (1278), but are so effectively overcome with their emotions that they do not stop her, as perhaps men would have. This attitude towards women is complemented in Oedipus, when Jocasta, instead of waiting to learn the truth, murders herself at her assumption. Another major concern in Greek Drama is the idea about gods and fate. In Medea, there is little intervention of the gods, let alone fate. Medea makes the decision and is responsible for the tragic end which befalls the characters. In contrast, Sophocles Oedipus, present us with a completely different outlook. In the play, almost every aspect is seen to be controlled, in order for the prophecy to be completed. For example, in the play, Oedipus is rescued by a messenger that same messenger who happens to deliver the news that Oedipuss father is dead. Of countless people, it was the same person. Furthermore, Oedipus kills his father, protected by five men, on a lonely road. Is it not ironic, or least unlucky, the Oedipus happened to travel on the same road, and meet, out of all the people, his father who he does not even realise is his father and kills him? Oedipus then arrives at Thebes, his birth place, and solves a riddle which no person has yet been able to solve; he becomes king and marries his mother. Coincidence surely not. Certainly, these examples prove that fate was an all important factor in Greek drama that once a decision has been fated, it can never be changed. Greek Drama, particularly tragedy, also carries a prominent underlying theme Passion over Reason. In Euripides play, Medea is driven by an overwhelming passion to have her revenge that she does not stop to think what she is actually doing. This idea is exaggerated in Oedipus when he blindly pursues his identity, in defiance of warnings from numerous sources including Teiresias, Jocasta and the shepherd. Eventually, this passion over reason leads to his downfall. The theme is also carried through in Lysistrata, although not to such a prominent extent. In the play, the men are at war because they have refused methods of reasoning, and let their passions take control. However, in the play this idea can also be taken in a different sense. The men can be seen to succumb to their sexual passions, and refuse the reasons of going to war. In conclusion, we can see that the plays of these legendary writers reflect some major themes and concerns of Greek Drama. Concerns such as the position of women, the outlook on the gods and underlying themes are all major issues present in the plays.

Life Of Pi Evaluation Literature Essay

Life Of Pi Evaluation Literature Essay This whole book, Life of Pi does not follow any modern structures set by society that we know of today, especially the structure set by society regarding religion. Although the main character of the novel, Piscine Molitor Patel, is a native Hindu, he supports not only Hinduism but Christianity and Islam as well on the pretext that he loves God and that all these three religions are no different than the other. Unlike ordinary people who supports either one religion or not at all, Pi supports three religions; Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. Pi was first introduced to Christianity in Chapter 17 where he entered a church for the first time and was introduced to the role of Christianity. I was fourteen years old and a well-content Hindu on a holiday when I met Jesus Christ (Martel 67). Pi was introduced to Christianity at the age of fourteen and was a Hindu at the time. This represents post-structuralism due to the fact that people only support one religion and do not believe in associating themselves with those of different religions, let alone entering other religious buildings. At the time, Pi was on holiday visiting a place called Munnar. Pi felt that Despite attending a nominally Christian school, I had not yet been inside a church and I wasnt about to dare the deed now (Martel 68). This connotes the structured view of only believing in one religion. However, when Pi entered the church and met Father Martin he became interested in the story of Christ and at the aspect of Christianity. Why would God wish that upon Himself? Why not leave death to the mortals? Why make dirty what is beautiful, spoil what is perfect? (Martel 72). A sense of post-structuralism is present since it is believed that God is immortal and cannot die. However, in the story of Christ, Jesus had died at the cross to save us. However, in the story of Christ, Pis interest was piqued. Pi conveys a sense of post-structuralism since he supports not only Hinduism but Christianity as well. I entered the church, without fear this time, for it was now my house too. I offered prayers to Christ, who is alive. Then I raced down the hill on the left and raced up the hill on the right to offer thanks to Lord Krishna for having put Jesus of Nazareth, whose humanity I found so compelling, in my way, (Martel 76). This emphasises post-structuralism through the fact that Pi prays to both Jesus and Lord Krishna of Christianity and Hinduism. After successfully becoming a Christian and a Hindu, Pi sets off, a year later, to join Islam. Islam followed right behind, hardly a year later. (Martel 77). Post-structuralism can be seen here as even though he already supports two religions, Christianity and Hinduism, which is not the example of a typical fifteen year old boy let alone any person, he gets interested in Islam. As of now, Pi currently supports three religions, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam for the only reason that he loves God. During this timeframe, it is when Pi is introduced to a Muslim baker. Pi makes conversation and during that conversation, the baker is called to prayers through the different sound of a muezzin, which is significantly different to Christianity which uses bells. And right there before me, in the midst of his work place, he prayed (Martel 80). Post-structuralism is present here in the form of the prayer. It is unusual for Muslims to perform prayer in front of other religions without some hostility. Martel does this to introduce Pi to each religion comfortably. It also reveals Martels true post-structured views on religion. While witnessing the baker performing prayer, Pi was thinking that Islam is nothing but an easy sort of exercise. Hot-weather yoga for the Bedouins. Asanas without sweat, heaven without strain (Martel 80). Usually, most would assume that the baker is in prayer. However, Pi believes that Islam is just a form of exercise and not able to be considered a religion. However, when he returns to see the baker, he is told that his religion is about the Beloved. Martel informs us that Islam is a beautiful religion of brotherhood and devotion (81). Later on in the novel, in Chapter 23, Pi is confronted by the three religious men, the priest, the pandit and the imam, on a Sunday walk with his family. Since everyone in Pis family, save for Pi, is not religious, this chapter presents many post-structuralism views. These three religious men bring out the truth from Pi stating that he cannot be a Christian, a Muslim and a Hindu and that he must choose. The very fact that this chapter exists is to display the structure of only being able to support one religion and the post-structure towards the supporting of three different religions. They further emphasize the structured religion by stating that there is only freedom of practice singular! and that he cant be a Hindu, a Christian and a Muslim (Martel 92). On the other hand, Pi demonstrates post-structuralism by stating that All religions are true. I just want to love God (Martel 92). Pis views on religion are not structured since structurally you can only believe in one religion; this connotes Pis actions as post-structuralism. As Pis reason for supporting three religions is only to love God, the three wise men could do nothing as you cant reprimand a boy for wanting to love God (Martel 93). This line is both structured and post-structured. Although it is set by society that religion is just a way to love God and there is only one way to do it, Pi clearly does more than support one religion which represents post-structuralism. Not long later, Pis support of three religions once again comes into play in chapter 26. This chapter, once again, demonstrates Pis post-structured views and his parents structured views. When Pi approaches his father to talk to him about being baptised and about having a prayer rug, Martel demonstrates a structured view through Pis father about religion; with him stating that You cant be both. You must be either one or the other (96). In a way, Martel is demonstrating the structure in which society has set with Pis father representing the whole of society. Pi, on the other hand, demonstrates a post-structured view on religion. In response to his fathers views, and to societys, he states that Thats not what they say! They both claim Abraham as theirs. Muslims say the God of the Hebrews and Christians is the same as the God of the Muslims. They recognize David, Moses and Jesus as prophets (Martel 96-97). Martel uses Pi to convey his post-structured view across to the audience by stating the similarities between the three religions. Due to the fact that society has stated that Christianity, Hinduism and Islam are completely separate religions! They have nothing in common, Pi is used to connote Martels post-structuralism views. Post-structuralism is once again displayed through Pis argument with his mother, with her taking the role of society. Martel demonstrates structuralism through Pis mother stating that if youre going to be religious, you must be either a Hindu, a Christian or a Muslim. You heard what they said on the esplanade (98). This establishment of structure is necessary to effectively communicate Martels post-structured view of religion across towards the audience. Pi then retaliates by stating that I dont see why I cant be all three. Mamaji has two passports. Hes Indian and French. Why cant I be a Hindu, a Christian and a Muslim? (Martel 98). Martel uses Pi to show that there is nothing wrong with having three religions and that having structures set by society is not always necessary to be followed. Martel uses Pi and breaks down those religious, structured views set by society and replaces them with his views regarding religion structure. These structures set by society come into play shortly after as Martel switches our focus towards the important discussion of whether to allow Pi to be baptised and have a prayer rug. Were a modern Indian family; we live in a modern way; India is on the cusp of becoming a truly modern and advanced nation and here weve produced a son who thinks hes the reincarnation of Sri Ramakrishna (Martel 99). Martel conveys structure through Pis parents with them believing that support of more than one religion is not possible. Pi ignores this and resumes his quest to love God. Sometimes, upon finishing my prayers, I would turn and catch sight of Father or Mother or Ravi observing me, until they got used to the sight (Martel 103). Martel shows Pis quest to love God through his praying. Life of Pi contains not only structured views set by society but also shows the post-structured views of Martel. Martels views on structure are concentrated mostly on religion, more accurately on Pis attitude towards religion. Since Pi supports more than one religion solely for the purpose of loving God, Martel demonstrates his post-structured views on religion.

Essay on One Hundred Years of solitude -- essays research papers fc

Believed by many to be one of the world’s greatest writers, Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez is a Colombian-born author and journalist, winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize for Literature and a pioneer of the Latin American â€Å"Boom.† Affectionately known as â€Å"Gabo† to millions of readers, he first won international fame with his masterpiece, One Hundred Years of Solitude, a defining classic of twentieth century literature. Whether writing short stories, epic novels, or nonfiction, Gabo is above all a brilliant storyteller, and his writing is a tribute to both the power of the imagination and the mysteries of the human heart. In Gabo’s world, where flowers rain from the sky and dictators sell the very ocean, reality is subject to emotional truths as well as physical boundaries. It is a world of great beauty and great cruelty; a world where love brings both redemption and enslavement; and a world where the lines between objective reality and dreams are hopelessly blurred. It is a world very much like our own. On Translation and Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez – A speech delivered by Edith Grossman at the 2003 PEN Tribute to Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez. Serenade – Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez tells the story of his parents’ courtship and marriage in the New Yorker. The Power of Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez – A New Yorker article from September 1999. Shipwrecked – Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez’ New York Times op-ed piece on Elià ¡n Gonzà ¡lez. Love in the Time of Cholera Film – July 22, 2004, The Guardian. Stone Village has acquired the...

Patent Attorneys :: essays research papers

ii ABSTRACT Today, everything in the World addicted to technology and every technology is based on Research and Development. A country is powerful if it is powerful in technological advances, which means whoever leads the technology, leads the world. But countries must protect their technologies, as well as their unique brands, to lead or to profit because R&D expenses are very huge. To get this protection, patents are used and to organize the patent procedures â€Å"Patent Attorneys† are very crucial. Wtihout the work of patent attorneys, patents can not provide the promised and needed protection. iii Table of Contents Abstract ii Table of Contents iii 1. Introduction 1 2. Holders of a National Qualification 2 2.1. Patent Attorney Law 2 2.2. Patent Attorneys' Services 2 3. File Applications on Behalf of Clients 3 3.1. Acquisition of a patent or utility model right 3 3.2. Acquisition of a design right 4 3.3. Acquisition of a trademark right 4 4. Also Deal with Any Problems That May Arise After Filing 5 5. Disputes and Litigation 6 5.1. Filing of Patent Opposition 6 5.2. Request for Appeal Trial 6 5.3. Suit against Appeal Trial Decision 6 5.4. Infringement of Patent or Other Rights 7 6. Make an Appraisal and File a Request for Interpretation 8 7. File a Request for a Technical Opinion on The Registrability of a Utility Model 8 8. Cost of Patent Attorneys’ Services 8 9. Overview of Industrial Property System 9 9.1. Intellectual Property and Industrial Property 9 9.2. Industrial Property as Exclusive Rights 9 10. Patent Attorneys’ Services 11 10.1. Acquisition of Domestic Industrial Property Rights and Related Activities 11 10.1.1. Acquisition of a patent and utility model right 11 10.1.2. Acquisition of a design right 11 10.1.3. Acquisition of a trademark right 12 10.1.4. Notice of reasons for rejection, etc. 12 10.1.5. Filing of an opposition to a patent or registration 12 10.1.6. Other procedures 13 10.1.7. Request for a trial 13 10.1.8. Litigation 13 10.1.9. Appraisal and filing of a request for technical opinion 13 iv 10.2. Acquisition of Foreign Industrial Property Rights and Related Actions 14 10.3. Why Should I consult A Patent Attorney? 14 10.4. Other Matters 15 1 1. INTRODUCTION Patent attorneys are worthy partners who help you turn your hard-earned inventions into powerful ownership rights. Everyday new products are created and find their way into our daily lives. Many of these products are protected with a patent, which outlaws and shuts out unscrupulous imitations. To be precise, a patent means "a patent right", and there are three other similar rights as follows: a utility model right, design right and trademark right. A patent right, utility model right, design right and trademark right - collectively called industrial property rights - only accrue upon registration with the Patent Office, which follows the filing of an application and is conditional on the outcome of an examination of the application by the Patent Office.

Skydiving History and Today Essay -- essays research papers fc

The first ideas of freefall did not consider the evolution of human body flight that skydiving has become today. In fact, Leonardo Da Vinci, who we now consider the â€Å"Father of the Parachute,† designed the first conceivable sketch of a parachute. His original idea was to build a device to rescue people from burning buildings, not knowing what his impact may be on the sport six centuries later. Andre Jacques Garnerin is recorded to make the first exhibition jump in Paris from a balloon on October 27,1797. However, sport parachuting began with the first recorded freefall in 1914 by a woman named Georgia (Tiny) Broadwick. Until this time, a static line was used to deploy parachutes. Broadwick was giving the first demonstration of a parachute jump to the US government. After her initial three static line jumps, her fourth resulted in a static line/aircraft entanglement. Therefore, on her fifth jump, she decided not to use the static line. After cutting the static line, she left enough to pull the parachute pack open on her own after exiting the airplane. After this feat of freefall, the US Army Signal Corps initiated a new era in aviation safety procedures. In Tiny’s career, she accumulated over 1,100 skydives, set numerous records, and set the standard for those following in her footsteps. In 1973, Broadwick celebrated her eightieth birthday at Perris Valley Skydi ving in California. After watching everyone else land she commented, â€Å"Boy, I always landed in trees, swamps, rivers and mud holes. Sure is something else seeing all these kids land right where they want to!† (www.parachutehistory.com/women/broadwickt.html) Real controlled freefall began with the French and is brought to the United States by Jacque Istel in the late 1950’s. Istel and Lew Sanborn (USPA License D-1) were the first to introduce the idea that military airborne training was not the only way to make a parachute jump, civilians can have structure too. Originally coined the â€Å"French Frog† position, it has now morphed into what skydivers now know as the â€Å"Box Man† position. During freefall, the jumper is oriented stomach to earth, making ninety-degree angles with his elbows, shoulders, and knees. Although Sanborn and Istel introduced the first three-hour jump course in 1957, until the mid 1960’s many people still obtained parachutes and... ... of â€Å"boogies† where skydivers gather funds to benefit a worthy cause. From MS to breast cancer (Jump for the Cause boogie) jumpers are willing to give back to the sport and community in any way possible. Demo skydives are often performed during football games in stadiums, or air shows. Children are inspired and intrigued by parachutists, and the Golden Knights Demonstration Team knows just that. Performing 200 demo’s a year, the Knights will jump and speak at baseball games, high schools, and air shows. Skydiving is an endeavor that gives freedom, unrestricted flight, and most importantly all jumpers are fully aware that there is no such thing as a perfectly good airplane. "And once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been, and there you long to return" (Leonardo Da Vinci). Works Cited The Parachute Manual Volume II; Poynter, Dan. Pp. 564-566. Parachutist, April 2004. pp. 54-59. http://www.skydivecairns.com/au/history.htm http://www.parachutehistory.com/skydive/comp/worldmeet/wpc.html http://www.parachutehistory.com/skydive/comp/worldmeet/1958rules.html http://www.parachutehistory.com/women/broadwickt.html

Live Earth

This week the biggest news about the environment are the Live Earth concerts scheduled across the globe.   Former Vice President Al Gore’s vision of an international musical effort to fight global warming has been big news for moths with musical acts like The Police and Smashing Pumpkins kicking off their reunion tours at the concerts. The problem with the media coverage of this even has been that it is mostly superficial. Sting’s announcement that The Police would use the concert to kickoff their reunion tour was bigger news than Gore’s efforts to find a way to plan a concert in Antarctica, so that all seven continents would host one of the concerts. The concerts are being billed as a chance to get 2 billion people together to raise awareness about global climate change, but the reality is very little about the concerts seem to be promoting global environmental awareness. However, Live Earth does seem to be promoting a sort of international relations above and beyond the governments of nations.   Though many of the concerts are in countries which are American allies, at least in some fashion, Gore has gone out of his way to include some big names that are in need of a climate wake up call. Live Earth China, in Shanghai, is in one of the fastest growing emitters of greenhouse gases. Live Earth Australia in Sydney will be under a hole in the ozone layer, but no one seems to be mentioning that. They are more interested in the reunions of Genesis and Spinal Tap at Wembley Stadium. The remarkable thing from an international relations stand point is that it pulls together musical artists from all over the world and all genres of music. Unfortunately, the international relations that it seems to be fostering are all feel good relations and require no actual effort from anyone involved. They simply have to show up and be entertained by some of the world’s top musicians and maybe listen to a few minutes of factoids about global climate change. In reality, the Live Earth concerts appear to be doing little to promote actual environmental awareness or international relations. Instead, it seems to be little more than an excuse for an international day of music. There is nothing wrong with promoting peace and environmental awareness through music, but Live Earth seems like a farce.

Management perspective

A new, female CEO was brought in and she began implementing a wave of changes. The areas where there was a lot of focus was culture, improving technology and staff retention. The current situation of the Hospital Trust from indicates that there are problems within the trust, which is causing a weak performance and quality. These problems need to be addressed in order to improve performance and quality. Staff and patient surveys showed major problems with moral and communication. It also indicates that staffs were unhappy with the current style of management.And although there were changes little improvement in finance and staff was complaining of overwork, too much change, they knew little Of he new CEO and that their own manager's style was unchanged. All this could be due to lack of communication between the CEO, staffs and patients. In order to address this major problem, the CEO needs to put in place a clear communication strategy, for example have regular monthly updates in the Hospital as an open forum updating staff on new developments and listening to staff concerns and their ideas.Maybe set up a diverse committee of managers, staffs, and patients that comes together frequently to address the current problems, ideas and feedbacks with the CEO This form of immunization could help structure ways performance and quality can be improved, eradicate the barrier between the new CEO and her staffs and also improving their relationship. There are various aspects of leadership and cultures that can be important to this case I. E. Types of leadership, their styles and theories, relationship, organization culture etc. Leadership is more than just wielding power, as this shows.The ‘Great Man' theory by Thomas Carlyle says that ‘leaders are born not made' however it can be argued that a great leader is not merely born; many leaders develop their leadership skills and Tyler from trial and error, studies and experience of success (Edgar et al. 1954). Genera lly, there can be confusion between management and leadership (Smyth 1 989) because they both have a lot in common. Managers and leaders both have power, which is use in the running of operation or businesses efficiently (Smyth 1989). They both have people that depend on them for ideas, information and direction on a day to day basic.However, there are some major differences between them. Management direct and control people and resource, in a group or organization according to the aloes or principles already established or provided to them by the organization (Mullions 2005). They manage resources to retain the current situation or make sure things occur according to established plans and policies, there is no new direction or change. On the other hand, leadership is the ability of an individual to provide inspiration and lead a group of people effectively for the benefit of an activity or organization, but still maintaining valid ideas and principles.Because just talking about the vision and showing passion is not enough. A leader (inspirational leader) listens to the people in heir organization; this allows the thoughts and ideas of the staff to help shape the mission and vision (Mullions 2005). People are more supportive of a direction they partly form. Because just talking about the vision and showing direction they partly form. The new CEO in this organization need to combine her leadership skills with her management skills. This will help to set direction and manage resources to achieve SUcceSS.Because leadership without management is setting a vision or direction for others to follow without taking into account too much on how the vision is going to be achieved. THREE KEY AREAS CULTURE A number of authors suggest that culture is a vital determinant of organizational performance. Research carried out by Lorry (2003) shows a link between positive cultural views among employees and proactive leadership behaviors. What is organization culture? Literature r eview shows countless definitions for organization culture, with perhaps the more common definition being â€Å"the way we do things around here' by Deal and Kennedy (1982).Organizational culture is demonstrated usually in the characteristics of the organization. It is regarded as the way things are done or understood in an organization (Shill 2008). Tall BRB (1983) regarded organization culture as a network of beliefs and shared values that combine company's people, control systems and organization structures, to produce behavioral norms. Firstly a SOOT analyses was done to be able to assess the situation and put a strategy in place. A soot analyses is helpful as it helps the organization to exploit its opportunities and strengths and avoid mistakes and correct its weak areas.An evaluation and of opportunities and threats provides information on what an organization might do. While strengths and weaknesses enables the organization to determine what it can do (Davidson ND Griffin 2 006). The SOOT for the NASH Trust shows: Strength: Part of a Large organization, Skilled Manpower and Labor force Weakness: Needs Leadership, lack of motivation for staff, old IT system Opportunities: Improve efficiency for patients, improve the IT systems Threats: Organizational Culture TO begin the process Of bringing in planned changes the CEO decided to upgrade the hospital IT systems.This was required to provide employees with state-of-the-art hardware and software equipment to work more effectively and to assist the organization to respond better to the competitive environment. Secondly, empowering employees with extra motives and third begin a process of cultural change that would help the organization to overcome workforce difficulties and conflicts. The chief executive officer and managing directors allowed the external consultants to have access to any kind of documents relevant to the organization.External consultants formed the team that would lead the change initiative with other internal managers from human resources, IT manager and about 15 employees of the IT service division and the Clinical Directors from the Medical and Surgical Departments and Ward Managers, nurses and some allied staff. It was very important that the Trust included the most influential people in the team, as they are vital to any change process. The inclusion of senior managers helps to have lines of accountability and clearly defined expectations from managers, as they have to manage the changes successfully.According to Pascal and Those (1982) shared values is one of the ‘levers' of management and managers could manipulate this culture. Therefore managers can use culture as a tool to bring about change. Stakeholders involvement was a key aspect of achieving these goals. According to Freeman (1984) the concept of stakeholders is to assist with the tragic management within organizations (Marinades et al. 2011). In terms of organizational change strategies, stakeholde rs are both those who are involved in making decisions about change and those who are affected by the change.The software and hardware advancement led to better design and implementation of information systems and services for the organization especially highlighting areas where improvements could be made to achieve short term gains and make a difference to the service to patients like cutting waiting lists for patients and better appointment times thereby improving efficiency. In terms of organizational change strategies, stakeholders are those who are involved in making decisions about change and those who are affected by the change.First, the employees of the organization are the internal clients, as the cultural and technological changes concern them. The external clients of the change are the public and government organizations to which the NASH provides services to. The software and hardware development led to better design and implementation of information systems and lead to an improvement in the services for the organization and the patients. Many searchers characterize organizational change as a chaotic process (Burns 2005).Therefore it is very important to identify who will be your â€Å"change agents† in the organization, to drive the change forward. In this case the main people Were the organization's medical and surgical directors and human resource manager who was involved with cultural changes, the fifteen employees of the IT services division who made the software and hardware updates, the ward managers and the external consultants. Lastly the sponsor is the person that provides the budget for the change project and influences session making in this case the CEO (Goldenberg et al. 011 TECHNOLOGY A planned changed approach managers were able to use a formal process to identify what the changes will be and setting about it in a planned way. Linen's three Steps change framework of â€Å"unfreezing, movement and refreezing was used (Lenin 1951 The unfreezing phrase breaks down the resistance to change and sets up a malleable organization. The movement phase establishes the new systems or tasks and the refreezing stage embeds the changes in the organizational systems. Managers are able to have clear goals that can be measured and completed within a set timeshare.

Criminal proceedings against Alfred John Webb Essay

              The purpose of this contribution is to analyze the relationship between Article 34 TFEU and national rules regulating when, where, how and by whom a lawfully imported and marketed product may be used. According to that provision, quantitative restrictions on imports and all measures having equivalent effect shall be prohibited between Member States.† The Treaty is silent on how one should understand the words â€Å"all measures having equivalent effect†. In Dassonville, the Court held that these words cover â€Å"all trading rules enacted by member states which are capable of hindering, directly or indirectly, actually or potentially, intra-community trade are to be considered as measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions.† This definition is far from being as operational as is sometimes presumed, since it begs at least two questions (Torfaen Borough Council, 1989). First, what measures constitute â€Å"trading rules † and, second, how serious an impact must a measure have before it is â€Å"hindering† intra-community trade.               In its practice, the Court has attached very little, if any, importance to whether national rules aim to regulate trade in goods or whether they pursue other aims. Indeed, in the case law it uses interchangeably the phrases â€Å"trading rules†,1 â€Å"all commercial rules†2, â€Å"all measures†3, â€Å"all rules†4 and â€Å"all legislation†5 to the regulatory subject matter of the national rule in question. The Court’s focus is thus on the effects, not the aim or purpose or the subject matter, of the measure in question. Similarly, regarding the second condition that the national measure be capable of â€Å"hindering† intra-community trade, the Court has consistently refused in principle to apply any de minimis test under Article 34.6 Measures which affect trade only indirectly or potentially therefore fall within the definition of a trade restriction (Torfaen Borough Council, 1989). Indeed, the Court in severa l cases has disregarded statistical evidence showing that imports have increased after a measure was introduced, on the basis that imports might have increased even more in the absence of such a measure.                Consequently, the definition of a trade restriction has become almost all-encompassing, and the legality of huge swaths of national rules therefore depend on the proportionally and justification-test enshrined in Articles 34 and 36 (ex art. 30). This in turn reduces legal certainty for both Member States and traders, and implies a significant risk of judicial overload for the Court itself. As the Sunday-trading saga illustrates, the Court is well aware of these concerns and its ruling in Keck, in relation to a particular group of national rules (i.e., selling arrangements), can be seen as an attempt to meet them. Moreover, in another line of cases, the Court in reality has come close to introducing a de minimis test (albeit at a very low threshold level) by holding that the restrictive effects which a national measure has on the free movement of goods may be too uncertain and too indirect for it to be regarded as capable of hindering trade between Member Stat es (Criminal proceedings against Alfred John Webb, 1981). The difficulty of establishing the appropriate scope of Article 34 of the Treaty is illustrated by the fact that while the Keck jurisprudence has been criticized for being too inflexible and unable to catch all genuine barriers to trade, it has been argued that the Krantz case law is too difficult to apply and therefore generates legal uncertainty. Use restrictions as measures of equivalent effect                  Against this background, let us turn to the relationship between Article 34 and national measures which allow the importation and marketing of a given product, but restrict when, where, how or by whom it may be used (hereafter â€Å"use restrictions†). Such rules are very common in national legislation. As an example, one could mention a requirement for persons to have attained a particular age before acquiring or using the product, such as a rule preventing minors from purchasing and/or drinking alcohol. The notion also covers rules prohibiting the use of the product in certain places or at certain times, like a ban on the use mobile phones in airplanes or a prohibition on the use of fireworks save for a few days of the year. Other examples would be local planning rules prohibiting the use of a given kind of brick or tile for the construction of houses in a particular area or a ban of certain activities for which a good is normally used, for examp le a ban on hunting with dogs and horses.                  Considering the vast number of such rules, it is important to consider whether use restrictions should be regarded as trade restrictions at all, and if so, how intrusive they must be to be caught by Article 34. Even a prohibition on wearing a particular type of clothing, such as a burka, in public places is arguably covered by this concept. On the one hand, the aim of such rules is normally not to regulate trade. Moreover, they generally do not affect the sale of imported goods more than they affect the sale of domestic goods. Finally, with a literal reading of Article 34 of the Treaty and the Court’s own ruling in Dassonville, it may be questioned how rules which do not limit the importation and marketing of the relevant product, but merely regulate how it may be used after its sale, can be said to constitute â€Å"trading rules†( Procureur du Roi, 1974). On the other hand, it is clear that some limitations on how a product may be used can negatively affect sales and import to a very significant extent. Indeed, whereas a prohibition on using mobile phones in airplanes hardly has any such effect, a ban on using fireworks all year except on 31 December is likely to (greatly) reduce demand for, and thus sales and import of, that good. Similarly, one may imagine that a ban on the use of SUVs in congested urban zones would constitute an efficient means for diminishing sales and import of such cars to the benefit of more environmentally friendly vehicles. Still, while it may be relatively easy to accept that rules completely banning the use of a given product constitute measures with equivalent effect to a quantitative restriction, it may be questioned whether rules merely limiting its lawful use need to be subject to a common European judicial control as to their legitimacy, suitability and necessity. To answer this question, it is, in our view, necessary to consider the practical and economic effect on trade of rules rest ricting the lawful use of goods. An argument can be made that, with the exception of (virtually) complete bans on use, the effects of use restrictions differ fundamentally from the effects of product related rules, and that use restrictions should rather be compared to selling arrangements. Part B               Restrictions of the free movement of goods are prohibited by Art 34 TFEU. Art 56 and Art 57 TFEU provide the same prohibition with regard to the freedom to provide and receive services. Up until now, the case law on restrictions of the free movement of goods has been far more extensive and nuanced, especially with the distinction between â€Å"product requirements† and â€Å"certain selling arrangements† made in the famous Keck-decision. However, with an increasing case load the Court’s attention seems to have gradually shifted to Art 56 and Art 57 TFEU. Even though goods and services are covered by separate Treaty provisions, it has been argued that the restriction of those two market freedoms requires equal treatment because of their substantial similarities and the fact that they are economically often strongly related. This close relation is, for example, visible in the area of advertising. In answering the question of whether a nation al ban on advertising is restricting, the focus could lie either on the advertised product or on the advertising service. The Court itself has held that, in the field of telecommunications, it is difficult to determine generally whether it is free movement of goods or freedom to provide services which should take priority, because the two aspects are often intimately linked. As A.G. Jacobs pointed out in Sà ¤ger, it is sometimes even difficult to distinguish between goods and services. An educational service could for example be provided by sending books or video-cassettes to a recipient in another Member State. In this situation there are both reasons to deal with this situation under Art 34 TFEU, as well as under Art 56 TFEU.                Sometimes a differentiation becomes even more elusive. In situations where only the service itself moves – for example by cable or through the internet – the only difference to the sale of goods is the immaterial nature of the offered service in contrast to the material nature of the good.6 Because of this close relation between goods and services, a different treatment of restrictions according to the choice of legal basis would seem arbitrary in many cases. In this paper, I will analyze the relationship between restrictions of the free movement of goods and the freedom to provide services; Is there a uniform restriction approach under Art 34 and Art 56 TFEU, and can the Keck-distinction between product requirements and certain selling arrangements be transposed into the field of services?( Procureur du Roi, 1974). It arises that both restriction-tests are based on the same principles of mutual recognition and nondiscrimination. Further, there is no need for a separate principle of market access because market access is the aim of the restriction test rather than an independent restriction criterion. Finally, it will be demonstrated that there is a need for the establishment of the categories of service requirements and arrangements for the provision of services under Art 56 TFEU equivalent to the Keck-judgment. Restriction of the Free Movement of Goods                   Art 34 TFEU prohibits quantitative restrictions on imports and all measures having equivalent effect. The wording of the provision, especially with regards to equivalently effective measures, is not inherently clear. As a consequence, the Court of Justice was given great discretion in interpreting and defining the scope of application of Art 34 TFEU. The Dassonville case in 1974 was the first opportunity the Court took to address the question of what national legislation could, in principle, constitute a measure having equivalent effect. The Court decided to give Art 34 TFEU a very broad meaning and stated that such measures are, â€Å"all trading rules enacted by Member States which are capable of hindering directly or indirectly, actually or potentially, intra-[union] trade†. In the important decision Cassis de Dijon the Court also established the principle of mutual recognition (Bond van Adverteerders and, 1988). According to this, Member State s are prohibited from restricting the sale of goods that have been lawfully produced under the rules of another Member State. The restriction is prohibited even if it results from the application of national regulations that do not distinguish between national and imported products (indistinctly applicable measures). The principle of mutual recognition seeks to prevent putting a double burden on imported products by requiring them to comply with two different sets of rules. If the product complies with the home State rules, any other Member State must in general accept that product on its market.                Controversy arises when the principle of mutual recognition and the principle of home.               State controls are used synonymously. In a broad interpretation mutual recognition is defined as a mechanism of allocation of regulatory competence to the country of origin designed to avoid a dual regulatory burden (Graziana Luisi and Giuseppe Carbone, 1984). Others put the focus on functional parallelism and the created further regulatory space for the host State control through the creation of the mandatory requirements exception. The host State can invoke those mandatory requirements, also known as public interest requirements, to justify the national rule and thus keep its regulatory power. However one wants to look at it, it is clear from the case law that there is no automatic recognition or unrestricted regulatory power of the home State because it is limited by the acceptance of mandatory requirements and the principle of functional equivalence. Therefore whenever home State control is mentioned, it has to be borne in mind that it is just a general as sumption of the allocation of regulatory power which can be rebutted.                   As a consequence of the extensive interpretation of Art 34 TFEU by the Court in Dassonville, nearly every national regulation could be brought under judicial scrutiny because it potentially constituted a hindrance to trade. While many consider Dassonville to be judicial activism beyond acceptable bounds, it must be seen in the context of the action or non-action of other European powers. Before the Dassonville decision Member States made little systematic effort to remove non-tariff barriers (Graziana Luisi and Giuseppe Carbone, 1984). The unanimity requirement for Council decisions led to political quasi-inactivity in the 1960s. In response, the Commission issued in 1969 the Directive 70/5017 which gave measures with equivalent effect an expansive reading and listed 19 types of prohibited rules and practices. All these factors influenced the Court in taking quasi-legislative action, becoming itself the driving force for the building of a common market. The most important consequence of Dassonville and following cases was that the Court empowered the main interest group for removing trade barriers, the European traders and producers, to challenge national legislation. Therefore, the pressure was on the Member States to justify legislation contrary to Art 34 TFEU. Limitation by Keck                   The Court’s case law constituted a great incentive to move towards a common market, but the breadth of the Dassonville-formula turned out to be a double-edged sword. The formula, which did not seem to provide limits to judicial review, was increasingly used as an instrument to attack any national legislation which stood in the way of free trade – like the famous Sunday trading cases show – and this led to an overload of cases. Moreover, national courts clearly signaled their disagreement with the lack of sensible limits and guidelines by simply not applying the formula. Finally, the Court faced heavy criticism in academic literature. These developments led to the important Keck decision in 1993. In this decision the Court limited the scope of judicial review regarding indistinctly applicable measures by adopting a differentiation suggested by academics (Bond van Adverteerders and, 1988). The differentiation was made between product r equirements on the one hand, which regulate the composition, packaging or presentation of a product, and certain selling requirements on the other, which only regulate the place, time and manner of selling products.                  According to the Court, product requirements are always considered to have equivalent effect to a quantitative restriction on trade, because they put a double burden on foreign products which already had to comply with their national requirements. In contrast, certain selling arrangements do not fall within the scope of Art 34 TFEU, provided that those provisions apply to all affected traders operating within the national territory and provided that they affect in the same manner, in law and in fact, the marketing of domestic products and those from other Member States. This is because they do not prevent the access of foreign goods to the market or impede the access of foreign goods more than they impede the access of domestic products. With Keck the Court moved on from its approach in Dassonville and decided that, whereas the producing State is responsible for rules on product requirements which have to be recognized by the importing State (which had al ready been decided in Cassis), the importing State has in general the sole regulatory competence regarding certain selling arrangements provided that they do not discriminate products from other Member States in law or in fact. With the decisions in Cassis and Keck and the creation of mandatory requirements, the Court established a complex framework for the split in competence between the home State and the host State. Even though the Keck-decision was much criticized, the court nevertheless continuously applied the established distinction between product requirements and certain selling arrangements in later cases (Manfred Sà ¤ger, 1991). It ruled, for example, that there was no breach of Art 34 TFEU in cases of time limitations to the sale of goods or the provision that certain products can be sold only by licensed retailers. Nevertheless, if the selling arrangement is either discriminatory (in fact) or capable of imposing a double burden33, the Court will find a breach of Art 34 TFEU (Bond van Adverteerders and, 1988). Although the distinction has its shortcomings, especially because certain measures, such as advertisement regulations, cannot be put in one of the two categories, the Court has continually and successfully applied the Keck framework until today. However, in addition to the distinction between product requirements and certain selling arrangements, the rather elusive notion of â€Å"market access† and â€Å"market access test† has played a more and more prominent part in the academic discussion and in the Court’s case law. Two recent cases – Commission v. Italy (trailers) and Mickelsson and Roos36 – have given again cause to argue that the Court has put the focus back on a purely nondiscriminatory market access approach. I will now first analyze the notion of market access and then address the question of whether a market access test fulfills a separate function beside the distinction between product requirem ents and certain selling arrangements. I contend that the case law on market access can be traced back to the same principles that underlie the Keck-case law, being non-discrimination and mutual recognition, and that there is thus no need for a restriction test based on market access. References Case 8/74, Procureur du Roi v. Benoà ®t and Gustave Dassonville, [1974] ECR 837 Case 33/74, J.H.M. Van Binsbergen v. Bestuur van de Bedrijfsvereniging voor de Metaalnijverheid, [1974] ECR 1299 Case 74/76, Iannelli & Volpi SpA v. Ditta Paolo Meroni, [1977] ECR 557 Case 279/80, Criminal proceedings against Alfred John Webb, [1981] ECR 3305 Joined Cases 286/82 & 26/83, Graziana Luisi and Giuseppe Carbone v. Ministero del Tesoro, [1984] ECR 377 Case 188/84, Commission v. France (woodworking), [1986] ECR 419 Case 352/85, Bond van Adverteerders and others v. The Netherlands State, [1988] ECR 2085 Case C-145/88, Torfaen Borough Council v. B & Q plc, [1989] ECR 3851 Case C-288/89, Stichting Collectieve Antennevoorziening Gouda and others v. Commissariaat voor de Media, [1991] ECR I-4007 Case C-76/90, Manfred Sà ¤ger v. Dennemeyer & Co. Ltd, [1991] ECR I-4421 Source document

Health Care Hall of Fame Museum Proposal Essay

Healthcare has existed for centuries. As a society we have gone from primitive treatments like casting spells to revolutionary disease breakthroughs. The United States has held steadfast in the evolution of healthcare delivery causing the delivery of healthcare to increase by magnitude proportions. The 1900’s was a time that changes in healthcare and the delivery of it began to emerge in the United States. Scientists started taking an increase interest in diseases. Cardiology developments have helped with the treatment of heart disease, monitoring and prevention. â€Å"Heart Disease is the number one leading cause of death in America.† (American Heart Association, www.heart.org). Heart disease goes as far back as Egyptian Pharaohs, British monarchs and American Presidents. Unhealthy behaviors causing an increase in the risk factors amongst Americans have greatly affected the health of our society as a whole. Americans lead with sedentary lifestyles and the â€Å"supers ize mentality†. Early interventions to reduce the risk factors that cause heart disease are essential. Mental illness has been frowned upon since ancient history. The United States was no different. Some people feel that mental illness is not a physical problem and is just a behavioral or spiritual problem that can be controlled. The mentally ill have been maltreated and put through deplorable, inhumane conditions. Introduction of antipsychotic medication in the 1950’s helped in the recovery and helped those who were mentally ill live in the community. Mental health became a priority and care in institutions and hospitals started to improve. â€Å"The Mental Health Act 1986 (the Act) provides a legislative framework for the care, treatment and protection of people with mental illness for psychiatrists to implement.† (Treatment plans under the Mental Health Act). The National Institute of Mental health has a mission to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses. Better healthcare choices can be made with the use of biotechnology. Biotechnology is not a new science. It goes as far back as 500 B.C. It is beneficial with the development of medication, research on drugs, stem cell research, gene testing and therapy. â€Å"Modern biotechnology provides breakthrough products and technologies to combat debilitating and rare diseases, reduce our environmental footprint, feed the hungry, use less and cleaner energy, and have safer, cleaner and more efficient industrial manufacturing processes.† (What is Biotechnology? http://www.bio.org/articles/what-biotechnology). Biotechnology has made major strides in healthcare like the eradication of small pox or gene therapy to help people battle auto immune diseases. Public Health is concerned with disease prevention and wellness promotion for the community as a whole. Epidemics, pand emic and outbreaks make public health an essential part of healthcare. Public health dates back to Biblical times. An example of this is the isolation of a contagious disease like leprosy. Lillian Wald the mother of Public Health Nursing led the crusade of helping provide medical care to the poor in the United States. The increase awareness of health and the healthcare coverage that would be needed led the United States to develop HMOs. HMOs provide medical treatment for patients on a prepaid basis. HMO members pay a fixed monthly fee, more often than not through an employer regardless of how much medical care is needed in a given month. A wide variety of medical services are provided after the fee is paid, from office visits to hospitalization and surgery. There are benefits to having an HMO. â€Å"Preventive and well-care services, such as routine physicals and pediatric care, are provided at no additional cost. Co-payments apply to doctor’s office visits, prescriptions, hospital admissions, emergency room visits and some other services. You generally do not need to submit claim forms, except in cases when emergency care takes place outside of your coverage area.† Research on diseases, health maintenance, and wellness continues to progress. Public Health continues to be an advocate for health and safety in the community. The United States continues to evolve in healthcare delivery. References American Heart Association, Disease Information. (2000). Retrieved from http://my.americanheart.org/professional/Research/Disease-Information_UCM_459537_Article.jsp Future of Biotechnology in Healthcare, Chapter Nine. (2011, August). Retrieved from http://www.amgenscholars.com/images/uploads/contentImages/biotechnology-future.pdf Institute of Mental Health. About NIMH. (October 6, 2014). Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/index.shtml Public health history time line. (2014, September 6). Retrieved from http://www.sphtc.org/resources.html