Keeping the Drinking Age at 21

Listening to the news on television, hearing other students talk about it, is it really true, or are they going to lower the drinking age to 18? This is not just a rumor but nowhere have they actually lowered the age. The debate has been talked about for the last few years. The nation has always tried different things to solve the irresponsible drinking problems. In order to try and prevent this problem America has tried a national prohibition in the 1920’s and state prohibitions in the 1850’s. Many believe that rising the drinking age has saved lives of many young adults. There has been evidence that the drinking age of 21 has decreased the amount of tragic car accidents related to alcohol between young adults. Since 1987 the decrease of drinking and driving problems have gone down. If they did lower the drinking age to 18 or 19 the more health related problems the young adults would deal with once they get older. On the other hand the current law of the minimum drinking age at 21 leads to problems behind the scenes. The amount of students at colleges under the age 21 are more likely to be binge drinkers, which means they have more than five drinks in a row. This can be very dangerous to the body. Many also argue that if a person is old enough to fight for the country they should be old enough to have a beer. Also if a people are expected to be able responsible and live on their own at eighteen they should be able to be responsible enough to drink on their own. There are many pros and cons to lowering the drinking age, but the most important reason not to lower the drinking age is to protect the lives of young adults. A survey found that out of 1,881 surveyed college students 88 percent of males and 86 percent of females said they were drinkers (Gonzalez 2). Many adults have noticed the problem of underage drinking and want to fix the problem. If the states were to lower the drinking age we would be putting many lives at risk. Many studies have shown that the minimum drinking age of 21 has saved many lives when it turns to drinking and driving. In the article College-age Drinking Problems states â€Å"the age limit at 21 has saved 16,500 lives in traffic crashes alone since 1975† (Hingson 1). Traffic crashes are one of the leading causes of deaths in America for people under the age 25. 10,431 people between ages 15 and 24 died in 1996 from fatal traffic crashes and 45% of them were related to alcohol (1). By leaving the drinking age to 21 it will continue to save many lives from traffic crashes. The amount of alcohol related accidents doubles if a person has a . 02 percent increase in blood alcohol level. For people under 21 drinking and driving increases the risk of being involved in a fetal traffic crash with each alcoholic dri nk they have. As Hingson says â€Å" For young drivers, drinking is like throwing gasoline on a fire† (1). It is illegal for anyone under 21 to drive with blood alcohol level more than . 0 percent. With this law alcohol related traffic deaths has dropped 57 percent from 5380 in 1982 to 2315 in 1996 with people ages 15 to 20 (2). Lowering the legal limit for the amount allowed of blood alcohol content (BAC) for drivers will continue to save lives. The lowering of BAC has shown a 5 to 8 percent decrease in alcohol related traffic crashes (Wagenaar 6). Drivers under 21 who are intoxicated are more likely to get involved in traffic crashes, because they have less experience on the road. Communities have noticed the problem with underage drinking and driving and started The Saving Lives Project, which was designed to reduce alcohol impaired driving and related problems (Holder 2). This project uses media and education to get the word out about the risk of drinking. The communities that are apart of this project have shown a 40 percent reduction in alcohol related fatal crashes (Holder 2). The project has been shown that older teens ages sixteen to nineteen are now less likely to drink and drive after learning about the risks in alcohol related classes. Colleges that have set a week to focus on education and prevention of alcohol have shown a five-fold increase (Gonzalez 4). Not only does alcohol affect a person once they drink a beverage but it also affects them in their future. If people start drinking at a younger age the more problems they will encounter in their future. Over the life of many people it has been proven that most people drink the most in their late teens and early twenties (Chen 1). Drinking in young adults is turning to be a serious concern with public health. By exceeding the daily drinking limit is about four or more drinks in a single day, and college teens shown that hey binge drink. Binge drinking is when a person consumes more than five drinks in one setting (Hingson 1). People who binge drinks are more likely to do things they regret, fall back in schoolwork and become hurt or injured. Alcohol can cause risky behaviors and immediate and long-term problems with health. Becoming stricter on under age drinkin g laws can prevent this. If the cops gave more MIP’s out to parties with underage drinking teens would be less likely to drink. Even though many would agree to keep the drinking age at 21, many would also have many reasons why to lower the drinking age to 18. One main argument is if a person is old enough to fight for the country, vote or live on their own they should be old enough to drink (Johnson 1). If a man and women is old enough to go to war and put their life at risk they should be able to drink on their own. People would argue if they are old enough to vote for the person who runs the country, then what’s the difference in choosing the responsibility of drinking. Colleges have also debated the fact of lowering the drinking age. College president McCardell say’s â€Å"it does not reduce drinking. It simply puts young adults at greater risks. (2) Many agree with McCardell and say that the drinking age of 21 does not prevent college students from drinking. It just causes them to drink under ground. If young adults do drink under ground they are more likely to binge drink and put their life at risk. â€Å"85 percent of 20 year old Americans reported that they have used alcohol, and two out of five said they have binge drank† (2). Johnson believes that if they lowering the drinking age young adults would learn to drink responsibly and stop binge drinking. Even though they are great arguments, raising the drink to 21 has proof with statistics that it has saved lives of many each year. It is more important to save the lives of people than it is to let them drink. Educating young adults about the risks of drinking can also prevent binge drinking. If the community worked together to have alcohol awareness days more people would be aware of the problem of underage drinking. The more people know about the problem the more people will work together to stop the problem. It can also stop underage drinking by creating more laws towards the people who sell to minors. If more people got in trouble for selling to minors the less people would sell to minors. The communities who have taken the step up in stopping underage drinking problems have noticed a huge change in the amount of deaths related to alcohol. By keeping the age at 21, it will continually save lives of accidents related to alcohol. If there was not a problem with the drinking age at 21 they would have never raised the age to 21, the law was set in place for a reason and it has been shown that it is a good law. As a parent many are worried about their children and want to make sure they will not ruin their life with alcohol related problems.

How does Hosseini present Baba Essay

Chapter 10 is a transitional chapter, set just after the Soviet invasion, which sees Baba and Amir fleeing Afghanistan for Pakistan. In this chapter Khaled Hosseini presents Baba in more details. We get to see Baba’s behaviour and his attitude towards other people and especially his son – Amir. Hosseini focuses on Baba and he tries to express what this character is like, but is this the same Baba? Is this Baba we have met in previous chapters? The author of â€Å"The Kite Runner† decided to present Baba in this chapter as the hero. When Russian soldier demands â€Å"a half hour with the lady in the back of the truck†. Baba’s response is mechanical. He stands up and he asks Russian officer â€Å"Where his shame is†. We know by this time, that â€Å"Baba saw the world in black and white† and when he decides to protect that woman he risks his life he proves his ideology. He knows that woman deserves a respect and it is natural reaction for him to back up her. Other people, such as Amir, don’t understand his behaviour. Amir is scared of loosing his father and he tries to stop him. Baba is not happy with his son conduct and he says: â€Å"Haven’t I taught you anything? â€Å". It also shows Baba’s disappointed. In chapter 3, Baba says: â€Å"I’d never believe he’s my son†. I think Baba becomes more disappointed with Amir and his performance each chapter. Amir is a coward. He is different to Baba. He proved this in previous chapters when Hassan got raped and Amir did not do anything to defend him. Baba is trying to protect that woman and he also is ready to sacrifice his life. Baba is the hero and Amir admits it too: â€Å"Do you have to always be the hero? Can’t you just let it go for one? But I knew he couldn’t – it wasn’t his nature†. Baba is a person who believes in only one crime, which is stealing. In that case, Russian soldier wanted to steal some woman’s privacy and her right to belong only to one man. When the officer started arguing with Baba and threatening him, Amir’s father became more confident and he was full of anger: â€Å"Tell him he’d better kill me good with that first shot. Because if I don’t go down, I’m tearing him to pieces, goddamn his father! â€Å". Baba doesn’t care about anything just saving Afghan woman’s honour. He is determined and ready to die. Baba knows that he needs to escape from Afghanistan, to save himself and Amir, but the whole journey proves that its not about saving their lives but attesting some values and protecting other people too. When Baba finds out that they have been cheated by Karim, he becomes furious again, but this time he uses more violence towards a liar: â€Å"Kamir slammed against the wall, his sandaled two feet above the floor. Wrapped around his neck were Baba’s hands. â€Å". They all paid a price to get out of Afghanistan but it didn’t matter for smuggler because they excepted to get more. Baba is adamant and stubborn. â€Å"He kept choking him until the young mother (†¦ ) begged him to stop. â€Å". She was the one who knew that if Baba would hurt Karim, there wouldn’t be a way for them to flee from there. Baba forgot about it, and everything that mattered was to teach Karim a lesson, as he was the one who wanted to steal their right to leave the country and live somewhere else, far from a war. â€Å"Baba finally let go†. Even Amir admits that he â€Å"didn’t want to see the murderous look on Baba’s face†. I think that it was the first time when Amir got to that point when he saw Baba being so obstinate and angry. When all men pray for the rescue, Baba is the one who decided not to do so. They ask him why he won’t join them, his answer is being given straight away: â€Å"What’ll save us is eight cylinders and a good carburettor. † As we know that he always â€Å"saw the world in black and white. † He knows that God won’t come from heaven and give them a hand. He is a realist and Khaled Hosseini shows this again, in chapter 10. Baba has been also shown as a person who loves his country no matter what happens and his behaviour proves that he is going to miss Afghanistan as he spent his whole life living there. â€Å"He picked up a handful of dirt from the middle of unpaved road. He kissed the dirt. (†¦ ) Stowed the box in his breast pocket, next to his heart. † This is an example of a person loving their country. We could refer to Pope John Paul II who used to kiss ground of his motherland (Poland) whenever he was coming to visit his beloved country. Baba realises, that he might never come back to Afghanistan so that he chooses to have a piece of his land next to his heart for ever. Finally, the author presents Baba as a father too. When they all are in a truck, and they can’t breath easily, Amir starts to panic. Baba knows his son and he wants to make a journey easier to him. â€Å"Baba tugged at my sleeve and something glowed green in the dark. (†¦ ) Baba’s wristwatch. â€Å". Baba knows that Amir is still frightened therefore he says: â€Å"Think of something good (†¦ ) Something happy. â€Å". He helps his son. Even if he sometimes thinks that Amir is completely different to him, he knows that this is his son and every son needs his father, especially when he didn’t experience motherly tenderness. To recap, Baba has been shown in two different lights in chapter 10. The writer decided to confirm that Baba sees the world in black and white and he also showed that Amir’s father can be quite violent and adamant just to protect norms and values that he sees as a priority. On the other hand, Hosseini showed that Baba can be quite caring towards his son. Personally, I think that this is Baba, we’ve met in pervious chapters but in chapter 10 we get to know him better and he proves that he is not a coward and he can take action in a point of honour. Baba is a role model to me, even if he doesn’t seem to be a good father I think that he is just trying to teach Amir how to live a life and how not to become a coward. Amir might not understand it but Baba is a reasonable and intelligent man who has his own ideology and he never makes any mistakes. Baba is the hero, patriot and a good and wise man.

Essay on How to Make Teaching and Learning Intresting in Class Room Essay

It’s interesting to observe, isn’t it, how much higher education is still driven by a â€Å"brute force† model of delivery? As much as we might wish it were otherwise, postsecondary courses and degree programs are still largely delivered in a one-size-fits-all manner, and those students who can’t keep up are simply left behind, sometimes irretrievably so – the higher education equivalent of natural selection, some might say. (I once had lunch with a colleague, for example, who told me with no small amount of pride that he only taught to the 10 percent of the class who â€Å"got it.† The others, it seemed, were not worth his effort.) But surely anyone – teacher, student, or otherwise – who has ever sat in a classroom has seen glaring evidence of the fact that not all students move at the same pace. Some are prepared to move more quickly than the majority while others require greater attention and more time to master the same mate rial as their classmates. The limits of mainstreaming diversely skilled students are obvious to all and yet we largely persist in the vain hope that greater numbers of students will learn to move at â€Å"class pace† if only we underscore their responsibility to do so in syllabuses and first-class lectures. Of course, when teachers face classes of 20 or 40 or 200 students, personalized instruction isn’t much of an option. It’s simply too expensive and impractical – until now, perhaps. Witness the countervailing perspective emerging these days that the curriculum is the thing that needs to change pace. Indeed, after a number of years of quiet experimentation we may now be on the cusp of an evolutionary moment – one that promises greater personalization, deeper engagement, and stronger outcomes for students of many types. And it may even be affordable. In fact, it may even be cost-efficient, by virtue of allowing instructors to use their time more ju diciously. Welcome to the emerging realm of adaptive learning – an environment where technology and brain science collaborate with big data to carve out customized pathways through curriculums for individual learners and free up teachers to devote their energies in more productive and scalable ways. What promises to make adaptive learning technologies an important evolutionary advance in our approaches to teaching and learning is the way these systems behave differently based on how the learner interacts with them, allowing for a variety of nonlinear paths to remediation that are largely foreclosed by the one-size-fits-all approach of traditional class-paced forms of instruction. To put it simply, adaptive systems adapt to the learner. In turn, they allow the learner to adapt to the curriculum in more effective ways. (See this recent white paper from Education Growth Advisors for more background on what adaptive learning really looks like – full disclosure: I had a hand in writing it.) If the early results hold, we may soon be able to argue quite compellingly that these forms of computer-aided instruction actually produce better outcomes – in certain settings at least – than traditional forms of teaching and assessment do. In the future, as Darwin might have said were he still here, it won’t be the students who can withstand the brute force approach to higher education who survive, but those who prove themselves to be the most adaptive. A recent poll of college and university presidents conducted by Inside Higher Ed and Gallup showed that a greater number of the survey’s respondents saw potential in adaptive learning to make a â€Å"positive impact on higher education† (66 percent) than they saw in MOOCs (42 percent). This is somewhat surprising given the vastly differing quantities of ink spilled on these respective topics, but it’s encouraging that adaptive learning is on the radar of so many college and university leaders. In some respects, adaptive learning has been one of higher education’s best-kept secrets. For over a decade, Carnegie Mellon University’s Open Learning Initiative has been conducting research on how to develop technology-assisted course materials that provide real-time rem ediation and encourage deeper engagement among students en route to achieving improved outcomes. So adaptive learning is not necessarily new, and its origins go back even further to computer-based tutoring systems of various stripes. But the interest in adaptive learning within the higher education community has increased significantly in the last year or two – particularly as software companies like Knewton have attracted tens of millions of dollars in venture capital and worked with high-visibility institutions like Arizona State University. (See Inside Higher Ed’s extensive profile of Knewton’s collaboration with ASU, from January of this year, here.) Some of our biggest education companies have been paying attention, too. Pearson and Knewton are now working together to convert Pearson learning materials into adaptive courses and modules. Other big publishers have developed their own adaptive learning solutions – like McGraw-Hill’s LearnSmart division. But a variety of early-stage companies are emerging, too. Not just in the U.S., but all around the world. Take CogBooks, based in Scotland, whose solution’s algorithms permit students to follow a nonlinear path through a web of learning content according to their particular areas of strength and weakness as captured by the CogBooks system. Or consider Smart Sparrow, based in Australia, whose system supports simulations and virtual laboratories and is currently being deployed in a variety of institutions both at home and here in the U.S., including ASU. There is also Cerego, founded in Japan but now moving into the U.S., with a solution that focuses on memory optimization by delivering tailored content to students that is based not only on a recognition of which content they have mastered but also with an understanding of how memory degrades and how learning can be optimized by delivering remediation at just the right point in the arc of memory decay. These adaptive learning companies, and many others working alongside them, share a common interest in bringing brain science and learning theory into play in designing learning experiences that achieve higher impact. They differ in their points of emphasis – a consequence, in part, of their varying origin stories. Some companies emerged from the test prep field, while others began life as data analytics engines, and so on. But they are converging on a goal – drawing on big data to inform a more rigorous and scientific approach to curriculum development, delivery, and student assessment and remediation. In the months ahead, you should expect to be seeing more and more coverage and other discussion of companies like these, as well as the institutions that are deploying their solutions in increasingly high-impact ways. Last month, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation iss ued an RFP inviting institutions to collaborate with companies such as these in seeking $100,000 grants to support new adaptive learning implementations. The grants are contingent, in part, on the winning proposals outlining how they’ll measure the impact of those implementations. Before long, then, we may have much more we can say about just how far adaptive learning can take us in moving beyond a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching and learning – and in achieving better outcomes as a result. And for some students, their survival may depend upon it. source: Nityanand Mathur 9165277278 365/22Vidhya Nagar Colony Shujalpur Shajapur(465333)

What factors have led to HSBS's offshoring policy What benefits does Assignment

What factors have led to HSBS's offshoring policy What benefits does HSBC gain from this - Assignment Example The operating profit of the group was $5,298 million during 2009, with a reduction of 30.7% from 2008. HSBC has become largely involved in the process of offshoring with an aim to decrease costs of labor. (Data Monitor. 2010) This paper will focus on the issues relating to offshoring by one of the globally known financial service provider HSBC. It will mainly discuss the factors that have led to the company’s offshoring policies and what kinds of benefits are being derived by HSBC Holdings from its offshoring activities. A brief note about Offshoring; Exporting jobs that is commonly known to be as offshoring has become widespread across the world. Companies based in developed regions are getting involved in offshoring to low cost regions of the world. Offshoring mainly implies relocation of jobs with the purpose of reducing costs of production. India and China have become the most important service providers. From the macroeconomic perspectives, there has been a huge debate ov er whether it offshoring is good or bad for the economy of the exporting countries as well as to the economy of the importing countries. Particularly, major concern has been raised regarding the impacts of offshoring on the economy of the importing nations, like USA, UK, other European nations, Australia, etc. A huge number of highly recognized and highly profitable companies of these nations are involved in offshoring. (Abramovsky et al. ... (CORPORAT E PARTNERS RESEARCH PROGRAMME. n.d) The labor available in UK and other European countries are quite expensive compared to the labor available in countries like China and India. Many people have expressed their concern over the effect of offshoring on the domestic economy and domestic productivity of UK, but this concern has not quite affected one of the largest financial service providers of the country. In fact, the extent of offshoring has been increased by HSBC to reduce their fixed and variable costs of production. Major motivational factors behind offshoring: Major motivational factors that have played crucial role in adopting the path of offshoring by HSBC can be as follows: First, a financial service provide generally gets the opportunity to of investing in global securities by adopting the path of offshoring. Very often many top performing securities are not available to the citizens of the UK and thus the investors of this country generally does not get the option of investing in these securities that provide lucrative returns. But offshoring makes it possible to make these global top performing securities accessible to the investors. (Clark, 2009; CORPORAT E PARTNERS RESEARCH PROGRAMME. n.d) Second, a banking service provider that opts for offshoring becomes able to provide its banking account holders the opportunity of accessing all those banking products that would not be available otherwise in the domestic market. (Clark, 2009; CORPORAT E PARTNERS RESEARCH PROGRAMME. n.d) Third, the level of confidentiality is much higher in case of offshoring banking services and hence investors become more interested to purchase

Surperman the American Icon Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Surperman the American Icon - Research Paper Example The iconic hero did not even escape the mind of the film-makers and a series of films were made in Hollywood, making this superhero protagonist. Even the programmers were not spared from the enchantment and huge success of this iconic character and many video games were even manufactured taking the superhero at the centre of the game (DC Comics, â€Å"Superman†; NYDailyNews, â€Å"Superman Turns 75: Man Of Steel Milestone Puts Spotlight On Creators' Cleveland Roots†). The trajectory of this blue costumed, red capped and stylized red and yellow inscribed ‘S’ shield on his chest to an iconic figure of the American culture was not paved in a single year. It took decades and several socio-cultural and socio-economic activities followed this transportation of the comic superhero into an emblem and cultural icon of America. This evolution of comic character into first American superhero followed by a superhero genre in America particularly which is adapted in bro adcasting and literary arena across the globe now engineered many more avenues for literary, cultural, psychological and mythological criticism formulating many school of thoughts associated with the transition of one of the most fascinated American comic figures to a cultural idol and ideal to a great extent. THESIS STATEMENT The essay intends to throw light on the journey set by the first accepted comic figure of America transformed into a cultural icon. The essay also throws light on the multitudes of scholarly activities which haloed the comic figure and manifested it into a cultural icon. SUPERMAN AND MULTITUDE OF SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS Since the inception of the comic character, cultural theorists and critics have taken an extra plunge for the exploration of the character of Superman on the culture and economy of the United States in particular and rest of the world in general. Quite early, just a few decades after the character of Superman already evolved as a super hero, Umberto Eco produced an elaborative discussion pertaining to the mythic qualities inherent in the character portrayal of the Superhero during the first quarter of 1960s. And, then subject of sexuality or sexual relationship revolving round the character of Superman along with its implication and impact upon the society was elaborately hinged and discussed by Larry Niven (Heer and Worcester 146-149). In order to trace the trajectory of the impacts and influences, the comic character like Superman had in the society, one must get back to the years and the motif of its creation. Though the character has been created and re-created and renewed a number of times for complementing it with different broadcasting medium yet no one can undermine the initial motif behind the production of the character. Both the Shuster and Siegel were a bit inclined towards the leftist front in the political domain. And, the context of Great Depression evolving out through the initial storyline of the comic cannot be overruled at any level. It can be noticed very pertinently during the initial stories of the Superman series that the hero is bringing scathing attack upon the crooked businessman and the corrupt politicians, demolishing their shops and running down the tenements of the rich people. Here, Superman takes the stand of a social activist more and superhero less. Roger Sabin,

Health Leadership and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Health Leadership and Management - Essay Example From the report it is clear that the management concepts of leadership and identification and establishment of a risk management process are to be applied for the ultimate design of a health care process. Such processes are more required at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)/facilities of any hospital as ICU is one of the most critical services of any hospital and the quality of patients' response is important in determining the success of the entire hospital itself. As the essay highlights low evidence based practices are cleaning insertion site, use of heparin,tunneling,routine catheter change, routine Ab prophylaxis, hand washing compliance and use of Sucralfate; medium level evidence based practices are peri-operative normothermia, continuous oscillation,suprapubic catheters, barrier Precautions and Ab restrictions; high evidence based practices include supplemental perioperative oxygen, semi-recumbent position ,selective decontam- GI tract and silver alloy-coated catheters, to quote a few. While these best practices are indicative of the desirable course of actions in ICU situations ;they perhaps indicate more to the risk perceptions and associated risk bearing events within the ICU environment. There are noticeable gaps in prescription of these best practices and their actual practices which leads to occurrence of adverse events in ICU care. A careful identification and documentation of deviations which have resulted in adverse incidents is the much needed innovation for ICU management.

Critically evaluate the approach an organisation of your choice has Assignment

Critically evaluate the approach an organisation of your choice has adopted to strategic HRM - Assignment Example The company has an effective human resource management department that continues to employ various human resource management strategies and theories thereby enhancing the company’s profitability and growth, as has been the case within the past few years as the discussion below portrays. Dessler, (2000) explains that human resource management is a vital management function of an organization often mandated with the maximization of the productivity of the employees in the organization thus enhancing the company’s profitability. Google continues to portray the importance and need for effective management of the human resource owing to their importance in sustaining the profitability and longevity of the company. As such, the company continues to employ varied strategies to motivate the employees besides creating a conducive work environment, one in which the employees maximize their productivity. Human resource management at Google just as in any other company is a policy issue. The company continues to formulate and employ various policies to govern the human resource management with the view to enhancing the company’s profitability. Google’s human resource management department has systems and resources, which it uses to monitor the productivity of the employees. The department therefore deploys such resources appropriately in creating an appropriate organizational culture to incorporate productivity as part of the culture. The company uses both human relations and human resources theories in creating a holistic organizational culture. This way, the company has succeeded in creating a friendly yet competitive working environment. The company focuses on the interests of the employees thereby creating a working environment that accommodates the diversity in the society. The company has a unique organizational culture that unites the diverse cultures of the more than forty thousand employees in over forty countries throughout the

Visual analysis paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Visual analysis paper - Essay Example These religious undertone of the painting was typical of many paintings during the period. It is important to note that the Renaissance period was the time when the strict rules of the visual arts were established. It is the time where academic painting was established where later painters would subscribe until today. During this period, arts flourished as well as science. As earlier mentioned, it was in this period where the strict rules of academic drawing and painting was established where artworks followed a strict method or rules. Unlike the impressionists who did a â€Å"freer† stroke of brush where details are not emphasized but rather the use of light to emphasize figures, renaissance paintings particularly Flemish paintings followed strict rules, probably the strictest, rigorous and laborious rules. In this method, the canvass (or any other medium such as wood) are not merely stained by paints but rather the colors are build. It typically begins with a drawing where the rule of analytic line is followed. Analytic lines are lines that considers geometrical patterns and proportions in relation to other parts of the subject. Then it is transferred to the canvass (or other medium) by several underpaintings. Generally, a brown layer washes the canvass and lays out the figure or subject then subsequent underpaintings are painted over it. Here, the values, light and shadows are emphasized that would later give depth to the color of the final work. The first layer is usually called â€Å"imprimatura† or the first layer where subsequent layers are glazed or painted over it to provide the final body of the painting. Depending on the preference of the artists, the final underpainting can either be in grisalle or verdaccio. Grisalle is a greenish gray which is usually used as an underpainting for flesh

Strategic Planning & Decision Making (SWOT Analysis) PART ONE Assignment

Strategic Planning & Decision Making (SWOT Analysis) PART ONE - Assignment Example The source to be ranked first is Kneer (2009), given that it is a book, reviewed keenly by numerous scholars before being published; thus, it has an attribute of reliability and accuracy. The second source to be preferred is MBA lecutures (2010), since it belongs to a group of lectures who are capable of offering accurate and reliable information. The third source is MarketingTeacher.com (2013) which has reliable information based on ideas gathered from different scholars. The fourth ranked source is Wendel (2012), which is written by a known author, while Quality-Assurance-Solutions.com (2013) is ranked last due to lack of a specific writer. 3. Information gathered from the SWOT analysis can be applied in making strategic decisions since the manager is able to allocate the relevant resource needed to implement the strategies without under application or over application of resources. Moreover, the manager is able to identify the weakness in order to focus on improving and strengths to utilize them for a competitive advantage. On the other hand, there is a need to identify the opportunities in the business environment, in this way the managers can utilize these opportunities at the advantage of the business. The business should also focus on the identifying the threats faced by the business in order to plan ways for dealing with shortcomings that may arise in future of the businesses. c) European Commission. (2007). SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats) Analysis. For Learn. Retrieved on Jan 20 2012 from

Joseph G. Mccoy Historic Steches of the Cattle Trade of the West and Article

Joseph G. Mccoy Historic Steches of the Cattle Trade of the West and SouthWest 1874 - Article Example The author aptly refers to Red river and northern states, which endorses the fact that McCoy encourages the Texans to take the herds from Texas to Abilene, Kansas. 2. While taking the history of the document under-examination into account, it becomes evident that the author appears to be discussing the herds’ trade phenomenon as well as social circumstances during the years of civil war that had captured the USA during mid 1860s. In addition to this, the circumstances discussed in the document also ratify the situation of unrest and chaos in various states of America. Furthermore, McCoy has also cited the years 1866 and 1867 while creating the article. Nevertheless, the article was written in 1874, almost six to seven years after the incident had taken place. Making such a long delay while creating the article may arise some doubts regarding its validity. Somehow, the original date of the happening of the circumstances would certainly be few years before the document was produ ced. Consequently, the writer would surely be collecting the memories of the years between 1868 and 1870. So, the event discussed in the document would have taken place by 1868-70. 3. In the document under-study, McCoy has elucidated the problems faced by the cattle owners during and after the American Civil War era. These issues include the carrying of the cattle from one area to the remote regions of the vast country, dealing with the customers belonging to divergent states, bargaining problems while selling the cattle, deceit and frauds inflicted upon them by the swindlers, contagious diseases the cattle caught and price issues while entering into deals with the buyers. Moreover, McCoy has also described the physical dangers observed by the drovers including the life risks as well as of getting attacked or robbed during their long and dreary journey with the aim of selling the animals. Hence, the author has skillfully elaborated various challenges the longhorn dealers had to unde rgo during late 1860s. 4. The document under the title Historic Sketches of the Cattle Trade of the West and Southwest narrates in third person the developments and challenges related to the herds owners, entrepreneurs, traders, ranchers and dealers while carrying and shifting the cattle from one state to the others by applying different methods, manners and sources of communications according to their resources and financial positions. The author has cited the names of various cities and states related to the herd trade, which include Texas, Chicago, Illinois, Quincy, Hades, Leavenworth, Kansas and Abilene. The description of the chronicle of events in such in-depth details endorses the concept that either McCoy had directly been involved in the cattle trade as an entrepreneur, or had kept and owned the longhorn herds by himself. Furthermore, having well informed with regards to the prices, number and affairs of the cattle proves him as a full time cattle entrepreneur. 5. It is a f act beyond suspicion that writers, poets, philosophers and intellectuals serve as the brain of society, who by dint of their thoughtfulness, guide the other members of society by showing the right path and by pointing out the evils and problems prevailing within some particular area, region or community. The same is also applied to McCoy, who has also elucidated the challenges that used to arise on the way of

The assessment cycle Essay Example for Free

The assessment cycle Essay The assessment cycle is the on-going process of assessment. Each stage involves initial assessment, assessment planning, assessment activity, assessment decision, feedback and progress review. Initial assessment will take place to gather sufficient information about the learner’s current level of competence. This will establish a starting point so that the learner can see how much he or she will achieve during the course. It will enable the tutor to effectively plan to meet the individual learner’s needs and will help to review the learners progress and achievements as well as determine future learning needs and preferred ways of learning. Assessment planning is making decisions on what outcomes of learning should be, what methods and resources will be used, how the learning and assessment will take place and in the appropriate time scale. You should ensure that the planned evidence collection and assessment opportunities cover the national standard. All training and assessment must be appropriate for the needs of each learner. When the learning programme or assessment process is put into practise, it is considered the assessment activity. The results of learning are assessed, formatively and summatively. Performance evidence is gathered. This could be products of the learners work like documents produced as part of an activity or a test. It could also be practical evidence with the learner demonstrating competence. Assessment decision and feedback should always be given to learners regarding their performance. The feedback should include whether the evidence provided meets the national standard. It is important that the learner agrees with the assessment decision. The assessment should meet the specific outcomes and criteria identified in the assessment planning and should be at the appropriate level for the qualification. All evidence must be judged as valid, authentic, consistent and sufficient. A review of progress will keep learners up to date on how they are doing on the course. It is a constructive process that gives participants the opportunity to identify achievements and discuss problems and potential issues. The review process also provides an opportunity to set realistic milestones for the remainder of candidature, to ensure completion within the permitted timeframe. Initial assessment is assessing the learner’s current level of competence. This will establish a baseline so that the learner can see progress. It also offers the tutor the opportunity to plan to the learner’s ability, needs and learning style. Assessment planning takes forward the initial assessment and utilises information gathered to design an appropriate course of learning. This will be appropriate for national standards and set to a level that the learner can take advantage of. Assessment activity is when the learning programme is put into practise. Results of the learning are assessed and evidence is gathered. This will be a mixture of documentation and practical evidence demonstrating competency. Assessment decision is the stage to which the feedback and assessment decision is given. There, the learner will be informed whether evidence meets the national standards and carefully explained so that the learner understands the decision. This will follow the process initially planned. Progress reviews take place in several inspection contexts. Essentially they are a point in time when all parties involved in training take a step back and look at the progress being made by a learner towards completing their individual learning plan. They also involve setting targets to further complete the plan.

Beauty Essay Example for Free

Beauty Essay Beauty is something that can be interpreted completely different from person to person. A famous quote that goes along with this perfectly is â€Å"beauty is in the eye of the beholder. † I think a person’s inner beauty should be taken into account when deciding whether or not a person is beautiful. Wikipedia’s definition of beauty is, â€Å"a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure or satisfaction† while Oxford Dictionary states, â€Å"beauty is a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially sight. As you can see, inner beauty could be paired with Wiki’s definition and outer beauty could be paired with Oxfords. Of course, there is no way of telling which definition is more correct, but, for the majority of today’s society, outer beauty seems to be the primary focus. One example that proves just how important outer beauty is to society is the rise in beauty products and services that are around today. Surely, once the 21st century initiated, appearance definitely began to play a much bigger part in people’s lives. Interests in salons and day spas were rising generously, and surely, business was not hard to find. More than likely, most salons’ appointment books were filled, nail salon chairs were occupied, and an increase sales in beauty products all hit businesses with full force. Another illustration of our appearance obsessed society is seen in the surrounding woman and men. For instance, there are many events, even on a global scale, that support this shallow idea of exterior perfection, such as Beauty pageants; Miss America and Miss Universe are two of too many examples. These events are taken very seriously by a vast number of contestants who alter their body surgically, wear dentures, and add an, no doubt, unnatural amount of makeup and hair extensions. Furthermore, even more popular, exists pageants for young children with contestants of ages as low as a few months. With toddlers and infants being at their most influenced, getting done up in caked on make-up, eyelashes, spray tan, and fake teeth just isn’t something we should be backing. As you can see, it is time for people to focus more on things such as a person’s morality, personality, values, and intelligence rather than always infatuated with exterior. The main reason the word beauty has been used to describe external features rather than internal ones, so much more in the recent years, is the media. The media has evolved into something extremely influential, and the most clear message people recive from this, is what they are supposed to look like. For instance, magazines often create young girls who believe that thin as paper models seen in any magazine are what they are supposed to look like. Also, another component adding to the superficial terms people have are the celebrities that we idolize who are coached to not have even one single hair out of place; all those celebrity’s with perfect skin, hair, and body have been accomplices in the media’s outrageous spread shallow opinions. The outcome of the media’s bar being set so high is people all around doing whatever necessary to preserve their physical appearance regardless of the effect it has on their health or bank accounts. Everyone would be a lot happier if they drew their attention to the internal characteristics of a person, rather than all of the smoke and mirrors that is displayed on the surface. For example, someone who is the most kind-hearted, level headed, and selfless person could go through her whole life not having the opportunity to show others due to her presentation of a had exterior. Of course, although it can be hard for some, it’s never right to reject someone all because they don’t meet the unspoken of standards that most have set for themselves as well as the others. Helen Keller once said, â€Å"Beauty is not always seen but is felt in the heart. Helen was someone who was dealt a horrific hand yet still noticed and embraced the beauty in all of her experiences. To sum up, most of society goes without noticing, or simply doesn’t care, about any beauty that reaches deeper than the surface, which is very unfortunate. Many people become sick, depressed and some even die as a result of the pressure media and those greatly influenced by it puts on them. This world could be so much better, relationships could be so much stronger, and those who deserve it would be so much happier if the word â€Å"beauty† was interpreted as something deeper by the masses; one can only hope.

Analysis of Mittal’s Acquisition of Arcelor

Analysis of Mittal’s Acquisition of Arcelor 1.0 Executive Summary This examination of the merger of Arcelor and Mittal in the steel industry will examine the success and or shortcomings of this major deal that has created an industry leader that is considerably larger that its nearest competitor. In examination the merger, this study looks at the steel industry from the perspectives of historical underpinnings and ramifications, pricing, laws, monopolies, emerging markets, mature markets, new areas for exploration, as well as the resulting post merger effects of this union. To achieve the foregoing, this study has organised the foregoing into a comprehensive literature review that will delve into the indicated areas, following this with a findings and analysis section to equate the preceding. The organisational method has been selected to inform as well as guide one through the industry and the merger process to result in a clear understanding of the important and salient points that impacted the merger process, and its resultant effects on the industry. The conclusion brings forth the summary of all of the sections that preceded it to equate the results and potential areas for additional study owing to the newness of this union. The bold move by Mittal in acquiring a company if its same size and then moving forward as a unified new entity marks a new period in the steel industry worthy of examination as an history making event. 2.0 Introduction The purpose of this investigation is to delve into an understanding of the steel industry as the means to reach a determination as to the potential benefits and ramifications of the ArcelorMittal merger that is just about a year old. As such there is little in the way of case studies, and or historical data to equate the effect of the merger, this examination shall utilise historical as well as current information to understand the steel sector and thus draw deductions on the effectiveness of the merger in terms of competition, the industry and economic ramifications. The research question thus stems from the examination of the Mittal Steel and Arcelor merger, and how it developed, along with the advantages as well as disadvantages of the process in terms of the two companies. The Research Objective is to determine if the merger made ArcelorMittal a market leader in a highly competitive market, and the manner via which this was accomplished as well as if the foregoing brought about new opportunities, and or projects in terms of real ones, and or potentials for the future. The research hypothesis represents equating the impact of the Arcelor Mittal merger in terms of the industry dynamics in pricing, market positioning, competitive advantages, or other areas as uncovered by research to prove or disprove the basis for the merger as a sound proposition in the face of the preceding. To achieve the foregoing, this study shall look at the steel industry objectively through extensive research into its importance with regard to economics, trade, pricing within the industry, applicable laws, monopolies, the importance of emerging markets that might have weighed on the decision to seek a merger, the importance and or considerations of mature markets, and new locations of exploration and or supply. The approach to equating the foregoing was to conduct and extensive review of literature on the aforementioned points to provide a comprehensive view of the steel industry, where is has been, presently is, and is going. The preceding will provide a reference point to try to determine what the executives of Mittal saw in reaching the decision to attempt the Arcelor acquisition. That insight, their decision process to seek the acquisition of Arcelor, was based upon the company’s intimate knowledge and understanding of the steel sector, and a plan to capitalise on those developments based upon the projected future occurrences in the market. Donaldson and Lorsch (1983, p. 112) tell us that in strategic decision making executives must consider that: â€Å"Under certain circumstances, the firms real economic and financial constraints perpetuate stability in the financial goals system that is central to corporate strategy. The first such circumstance occurs when the composition and objectives of managements three primary constituencies remain constant over time. If the existing financial goals system truly represents a balanced response to each constituencys minimum acceptable requirements for continued participation in the enterprise, then external pressure for change is not likely to develop in the absence of some fundamental change in the constituencies themselves.† The decision to seek an acquisition as a means to growth represents a process that a company decided upon long before taking such an action. Wall and Wall (2000, p. 39) observe that â€Å"Companies that are using acquisitions as a strategic lever are rarely making only a single deal; acquisitions are ongoing and often overlapping, with several happening at once and more to come†. Mueller (2000, p. 57) states that most acquired companies were and are usually healthy strong firms in their own right that add some underlying competitive advantage in the face of market realities. He goes on to add that the rationales can be economies of scale, to obtain a more dominant market position, to gain access to markets, to stave off competition, to limit merger options of rival firms as well as a strategy for growth. Mueller (2003, p. 82) adds: â€Å"A company faced with a slow-growing or declining market has two choices for avoiding stagnation and decline: it can expand its share of this market, or diversify into new ones. Growth can be sustained indefinitely only through diversification. Thus, we expect the maturing company to resort to internal diversification by developing new products and/or external diversification through mergers. Even in a steady-state world, a company must (continually) diversify to sustain a growth rate above that of its company’s market.† Wall and Wall (20000, p. 39) add â€Å"†¦he most successful acquirers have developed a clear, logical, and replicable approach that they use to manage the entire process from initiation of the deal to the ongoing and longer-term development of the new organization post integration†. There is an integration process that accompanies every merger, where the rationales for preceding are thus put to the realities of the finalised merger process. This is where the decision to merge answers the questions, and or solves the issues that brought about the process in the first place. This study shall seek to equate the foregoing in the case of ArcelorMittal. 3.0 Literature Review This review of literature shall examine what has been written about the topical areas that are covered herein to gain a picture of the overall steel industry, the merger of ArcelorMittal, and the market factors inherent in the sector. The preceding shall seek to uncover the questions as posed the research objectives and find the answers to the research hypothesis 3.1 The Steel Industry Steel is the material that is the economic backbone of global economies, representing the prime material in building, infrastructure projects, refineries, vehicles, industrial as well as consumer goods. The recent emergence of new global players that have significantly increased their production and export capacities and thus has harkened a change in the international structuring of the industry whereby consolidation has become a critical component in competitiveness (D’Costa, 1999, pp. 11-12). China’s application and accession to the World Trade Organization has had major implications in terms of the global market as a result of the country’s modernisation programmes, cheap labour supply and interest in becoming a significant part of global production and export (ChinaDaily.com, 2007). The foregoing only adds to the rounds of consolidation in an industry where economies of scale in terms of raw materials as well as production are key foundational factors in a hi ghly competitive sector (Mangum et al, 1996, pp. 2-6). The above factors are important background aspects in the context of this study in that it is providing insight as to the status of the market. The aforementioned consolidation has been basically built upon the rounds of joint ventures that the industry seriously embarked upon during the mid 1980s in response to the need to tap emerging markets as well as areas of exploration for raw materials (Mangum et al, 1996, pp. 11-14). Steel, along with oil and uranium and a few other raw materials, represent concerted efforts and concerns by national governments and their important industry producers to ensure domestic strength in these sectors is maintained, owing to their importance in their economies (Visclosky, 1999). Restructuring within the steel industry is described by D’Costa (1999, p. 11) as â€Å"†¦an organizing concept to analyze capitalist development in general and reorganization of industrial capacity in particular†. He adds that (D’Costa, 1999, p. 11-12): â€Å"Restructuring also refers to the various ways by which a national industry adjusts to the capitalist imperatives of competition, profitability, market control, and national development (D’Costa 1989). More specifically, restructuring is viewed as a complex process by which the steel industry is evolving as a result of technological developments, corporate strategy, and government policies. With innovations and the diffusion of technology at the core of capitalist industrialization, restructuring of the steel industry globally can be conceptualised in terms of different national technological trajectories. By juxtaposing the factors that lead innovating countries like the US to fall behind technologically with the mechanisms by which late industrializing countries acquire technologies we can establish the uneven diffusion of technology and the process of restructuring.† The preceding represents an important understanding in this examination, as the traditional powers in the steel sector have been either challenged and or replaced by other companies / countries in the global sphere. Anwar (2006) presents an important summary overview of the steel industry that includes some of the foregoing factors, as well as providing additional insight areas: The increasing ramifications of industry volatility has been and is related to the levels of consolidation, the cyclical nature of the industry, along with the emergence of China as an important and critical player in the market. The importance of tapping into emerging growth markets has helped to fuel industry consolidation. China’s emergence as a consuming nation as well as producer  ¡, and its huge international market has caused a shifting in the strategic focus of the industry, and thus its companies. The heightened competition and cost variables of the industry help to explain the increased rounds of consolidation that in the interests of cost efficiencies utilises more supply chaining to set up production facilities in important developing countries, as well as close to natural steel resources. The consolidation as well as fragmentation of the global steel industry is amply illustrated in the following Chart: Chart 1 – Global Steel Industry (Anwar, 2006) The cyclical nature of the industry is caused by price significant drops due to the selling of steel at bargain prices as companies keep their production facilities running when industry sectors in certain countries are working off their own inventories (Matthews, 2007). It may sound illogical, but it is actually more cost effective to keep plants running as opposed to temporarily shutting them down and restarting again, even at the cost of dramatic price drops that occur in the process (Matthews, 2007). Consolidation has enabled important companies in the market to fend off competitors in their areas, and leverage their positions (Matthews, 2007). The rapid growth of China’s internal market, as well as upgrading of its steel production capabilities has significantly added to global tonnage output (Anwar, 2006). The heavy rounds of consolidation is in keeping with the regionalization of the international market as The North American Free Trade Agreement, that entails the United States, Canada and Mexico, competes with the European Union’s 25 countries, Mercosur that includes Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina, and of course China, whose domestic market and size provides a market that is larger than almost all of these combined (UC Atlas, 2006). The significance of the foregoing is that these trade blocs represent associations that have been formed by the attending governments to aid in the management as well as trade promotion activities for their regions, and countries within these blocs (UC Atlas, 2006). The foregoing dynamics of globalisation thus helps to explain the consolidation that has been and is taking place in the industry. Figure 1 – Regional Trade Blocs / European Union (Europa, 2008) Figure 2 – Regional Trade Blocs / NAFTA (UC Atlas, 2006) Figure 3 – Regional Trade Blocs / MERCOSUR (UC Atlas, 2006) 3.2 ArcelorMittal In 2006 Arcelor one of the world’s biggest steel producers as represented by turnover and output, was acquired by Mittal for $31.9 billion USD in a deal that ended over five months of a hard fought takeover battle (White, 2006). Born out of a prior merger of Spain’s Aceralia, France’s Usinor, and Arbed of Luxembourg in 2002 (Reed, 2006), the acquisition by Mittal of Arcelor that was formed out of the preceding triumvirate is a further example of industry consolidation. The company, that consisted of in excess of 94,000 people in excess of 60 countries, was a major company in supplying the automotive, metal processing, construction, household appliance as well as general industry segments (wcbstv, 2006). Mittal Steel, which is based in Rotterdam, was the world’s largest steep producer in terms of volume prior to the merger, and still retains that title post merger, is a family controlled company by Chief Executive Officer Lakeshmi Mittal (ArcelorMittal, 2008a). The resulting company after the merger, ArcelorMittal, represents a concern that has â€Å"†¦ 310,000 employees in more than 60 countries† (ArcelorMittal, 2008b). The new company become the overall global leader in the automotive sector, construction industry, household appliance as well as packaging industries, along with becoming the leader player in technology as well as volume of steel produced (ArcelorMittal, 2008b). In terms of size, the new union creates a company that dwarfs the competition: Table 1 Largest Steel Companies (editgrid.com, 2007) Metal Bulletin’s top steelmakers of 2006 Millions of Tonnes Company Country 2006 2005 1Mittal Steel1 Netherlands 63.66 49.89 2Arcelor Luxembourg 54.32 46.65 3Nippon Steel Japan 33.7 32.91 4JFE Steel Japan 32.02 29.57 5Posco South Korea 31.2 31.42 6Shanghai BaosteelChina 22.53 22.73 7US Steel USA 21.25 19.26 8Nucor USA 20.31 18.45 9Tangshan China 19.06 16.08 10Corus UK 18.3 18.18 11Riva Italy 18.19 17.53 12Severstal Russia 17.6 15.16 13ThyssenKrupp Germany 16.8 16.55 14Evraz Russia 16.1 13.85 15Gerdau Group Brazil 15.57 13.7 16Anshan China 15 11.9 17Jiangsu ShagangChina 14.63 12.02 18Wuhan China 13.76 13.05 19Sumitomo Metal IndJapan 13.58 13.48 20Sail India 13.5 12.22 21Techint Argentina 12.83 11.42 22China Steel Corp Taiwan 12.48 11.65 23Magnitogorsk Russia 12.45 11.38 24Jinan China 11.24 10.43 25Maanshan China 10.91 9.65 26Laiwu China 10.79 10.34 27Shougang China 10.55 10.44 28Hunan Valin GroupChina 9.91 8.45 29Imidro Iran 9.79 9.41 30Ind Union/DonbassUkraine 9.52 8.55 The preceding Table has been utilised here to indicate that out of the top 30 steel companies globally, nine are located in China, with one in India and just three others coming from the European Union. The highlighted companies in colour have relevance in other sections of this study. The importance of the merger, as brought forth by the preceding discussion of the significance of regional trade blocs and national interests, is illustrated by the fact that at the time, then French President Jacques Chirac endorsed the union after the merger talks eased from being unfriendly to friendly in the face of certain guarantees concerning jobs as well as research operations (Noon, 2006). The new company represents 10% of the global market in steel and becomes a highly significant company for the European Union in the face of competition from and in China, as well as India, providing it with the resources and economies of scale to wrest deals from its rivals. 3.3 Pricing In terms of pricing, the steel industry is cyclical running through periods whereby supply exceeds demand, and then when demand exceeds supply. The recent trends has seen demand exceeding supply as steel prices have been inching upward since 2003 as China’s economy has begun to heat up, along with India taking steps to increase the demand in its economy for more products and production (domain-b.com, 2004). Table 2 – World Carbon Steel Transaction Prices (Steelonthenet.com, 2008) The preceding Table shows that upward movement that has and is making a new trend for the long embattled steel sector that had gone through heavy dumping in the 1990s as markets and the global recession dried up demand. But, that scenario seemingly looks like a thing of the long gone past, with China’s appetite just getting started, and India beginning its sit at the steel table. Prices are on the way up, as production capacity has remained relatively static with 1999 levels (DiCianni, 2007): Chart 2 – Steel Production Capacity (DiCianni, 2007) The upward trending in steel prices as a result of production capacity is reflected in the following Chart: Chart 3 – Steel Price Comparisons in Key Regions (DiCianni, 2007) The foregoing rise in steel prices is reflective of increased global demands as illustrated by the following: Table 3 – Global Steel Demand (DiCianni, 2007) The prognosis for increased prices is forecast by a broad consensus of industry analysts as caused by heightened production costs, and increased consumer demand as a result of growth markets (rediff news, 2007). Spot prices for ore are a prime contributor to the foregoing as prices have been on the increase since 2003: Chart 4 – Iron Ore Spot Prices (DiCianni, 2007) The preceding trend is highly different from the one facing the steel industry during the mid and late 1990s when too much capacity was the problem and steel prices dropped (Denoel et al, 2002). 3.4 Laws The rules governing trade laws is overseen by the World Trade Organization that also oversees the varied treaties its member nations make (WTO, 2008a). The principle tactic and the one that is subject to attention in terms of laws has been anti-dumping policies utilised by Japan as well as Russia and recently China in the early 1980s and 1990s to gain a footing in supplying steel when prices were depressed as a means to enter and secure contracts (WTO, 2008b). Dumping represents the selling of steel in foreign markets below what is charged in home markets in order to secure a foothold, and or longer term supply contracts to keep factories running (Scheurman, 1986). The anti-dumping provision has long been a measure whereby countries seek to prevent lower priced steel from competing with domestic producers and thus threatening their home markets (WTO, 2008b). An example of the foregoing is provided by Jones (2004, p. 23) in his book â€Å"Who’s Afraid of the WTO?†: â€Å"When steel imports from Japan and other countries surged in the United States in the wake of the crisis, however, it became a â€Å"trade problem, † and WTO rules prohibiting unilateral trade restraints as a stabilization tool by governments shifted blame over to the system of trade rules itself.† The laws on steel stem from this foundation, contained within World Trade Organization rules, thus it represents a confusing as well as under most circumstances self-servicing provision enacted frequently by the target country. The following provide illumination on the foregoing (Tarullo, 2002): â€Å"While not specifically proscribed by international agreements, dumping has been internationally identified as deserving of condemnation if it causes injury to an industry in the importing country. (2) U.S. law, since emulated by other countries, added to the definition sales below fully allocated cost of production, even where the price charged for the merchandise was the same as that in the importing country. Anti-dumping law generally provides for imposition of an additional import duty to equalize the price of the imported goods with the normal value, as calculated from foreign sales or from the cost of production. Most economists find the entire premise of anti-dumping law misguidedat least where there is no predatory intent or effectbecause it discourages some forms of price competition in some circumstances. Certain domestic interestsparticularly those in industries with high fixed costsare equally insistent that anti-dumping laws are necessary to protect them from forei gn producers suppressing prices by flooding domestic markets. The laws and regulations enacted by countries, which can be very complex, reinforce the suspicion of liberal traders that the laws are rigid, biased implementations of a misguided premise. Not surprisingly, disputes over imposition of dumping duties have been frequent. Exporting countries have often complained that, quite apart from the principle that dumping is bad, importing countries misuse their anti-dumping laws. The first code negotiated in the GATT to supplement the rules of the original GATT agreement was one that limited the use of anti-dumping measures. (3) New, more detailed agreements to limit national anti-dumping measures were included in both the Tokyo Round and Uruguay Round of trade negotiations. Meanwhile, use of anti-dumping measures had spread from the United States, European Union, and other industrialized countries to developing countries as well. (4) Thus, while international disagreements over dumping continue to pit some industrialized countries against Japan and many developing countries, the lines are not as clearly drawn as they were twenty years ago.† The fray over anti-dumping continues to dominate the steel sector, but the recent surge in demand is lessening such occurrences and companies scramble to ramp up production and meet increasing demand. This has been a significant tactic used in the market that could very well continue after the shakeout over which companies dominate in China as well as India settles in. 3.5 Monopolies Steel represents an important component in the health of national economies by virtue of the broad range of industries it supplies. Automotive, construction, appliances, equipment, industries machinery, pipes, plumbing and a host of other areas that underpin production are all industries that need steel. As such national interests step in, as indicated under regional trade blocks, whereby steel is akin to a national resource, in the securing of raw materials and finished output, thus the strengthening of company positions in the sector is a priority that regional and national governments seek and endorse, as evidenced by former French President Jacques Chirac’s positive comments on the Arcelor Mittal merger. From this stance, having too many producers, steel companies, weakens their position in the global market, and size enables them to introduce economies of scale in production and sales. Thus, monopolies simply are not a term that applies in this sector as a result of inten se global competition and national interests. In steel, bigger is better! Better for the steel company, national interests, domestic market supplies, and in terms of strength against their rivals. In the European Union, monopoly like status is not punishable as it is in the United States, as long as such does not harm the consumer or restrict competition (European Union, 2002). In the European Union a Monopoly is defined as (Europa, 2008): â€Å"Market situation with a single supplier (monopolist) who due to the absence of competition holds an extreme form of market power. It is tantamount to the existence of a dominant position. Under monopoly, output is normally lower and price higher than under competitive conditions. A monopolist may also be deemed to earn supra-normal profits (i.e. profits that exceed the normal remuneration of the capital). A similar situation on the demand side of the market, that is with a single buyer only, is called monopsony.† In other words, if the status of an extremely large company is not harming consumer markets and or increasing prices that are out of line with the normal costs of production, then, it is basically non actionable. The European Union’s actions against Microsoft were of a different nature in that Microsoft’s actions were restricting competition in the entire industry sector, and the company was convicted of unfair tactics (European Union, 2004). 3.6 Emerging Markets The merger of Arcelor and Mittal provided the new company with the size as well as clout to make a significant difference in emerging markets such as China due to its enhanced capabilities across all market and industry sectors (ArcelorMittal, 2008b). The foregoing increased size as well as capabilities also provides the new company with advantages in the high growth Indian market (ArcelorMittal, 2008b). The company announced immediately after its bid for Arcelor was accepted that the new plans call for boosting its presence in both the Chinese as well as Indian markets (EarthTimes, 2007). Lakshmi Mittal is of Indian decent, thus this new and larger company will provide him with increased presence in that market as a result of long standing contacts and the company’s enhanced capabilities (Forbes.com, 2007). As the world’s fifth richest person whose wealth is estimated as $32.0 billion that influence helps his aims in many areas (Forbes.com, 2007). Of particular interest is the discussion of the formation of a new regional trading block in Asia consisting of China, Japan, South Korea and India, a union that along with other countries would account for 20 percent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product, that would relegate the other major trading blocs and lesser players (Bergsten and Scollay (2001). The potential for such an arrangement has gained in strength since 2001, with increasing talks being held between China, South Korea and Japan (Asia Times, 2003). Increasing ties between China and India, as a result of the proposed cross border trade route would open up trading in the region and serve as the foundation for a new trading bloc (Hasan, 2006). The present trading Bloc, ASEAN, which was formed in 1967, consists of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, that represents a combined population of approximately 560 million (Association of Southeast Asian Nations, 2008). China, with its population of 1,321,851,888 (Rosenberg, 2007), along with India’s 1,027,015,247 people (indianchild.com, 2007), and Japan’s 127,288,419 (CIA World Factbook, 2007), would result in a combined trading bloc population of 2,476,155,554, or slightly more than one-third of the world’s total population of 6,602,224,175 (World Factbook, 2007a). That would dwar f the population counts of the European Union, 490,426,060 (World Factbook, 2007b), as well as NAFTA (446,078,489), with its U.S

Anthropology - Lucy in Hadar :: Anthropology

Anthropology - Lucy in Hadar In a search to find our ancestors, several anthropologists have found evidence to support their conclusions. In the films about Don Johanson's discovery of Lucy in Hadar, one may be very intrigued by the first film but very disturbed by the second film. I was very intrigued by the findings of the Australopithecines. The idea that Lucy, the skeleton found in Hadar, Africa, was closely related to the human species was amazing. Lucy was bipedal and her brain was smaller than that of modern humans. Lucy resembled an ape and was able to make tools to find food and weapons. Hadar, Africa was believed to be a heavily vegetated area but had evolved into a dry and desolate desert. After Lucy died, it was difficult to find her remains due to erosion and sediment in the body of water in which she died. Johanson and his team worked were able to use the advancement of technology to calculate about how old Lucy's remains were. The second film by Johanson seemed to disturb me because it discussed how some believe that all primates are killers and it portrayed this idea in film and in television. I disagree with the idea that all primates are predators and are always hunting harmless animals and destroying things. I understand that some primates must rely on hunting as a source of survival but I believe the portrayal of primates as barbaric in the film was unnecessary. In the second film, the primates were shown destroying piles of bones and throwing large objects. Johanson's film disturbed me in others parts. For example, when Lucy was killed by a lion and dragged into a tree. It seemed almost as if Lucy's hearing was not keen enough and therefore she was unable to escape the lion. It is a very crucial portion of the circle of life but the idea of Lucy being killed and dragged into a tree to become dinner for a hungry lion bothers me because of the direct link of Lucy to humans. I believe that Lucy is one of the first Australopithecines closely related to the human species for several reasons. Although she had a small brain, Lucy could make tools, use a fire for heat, and use sticks to gather termites for food.

Write a critical analysis of the passage from A Handful of Dust Essay

Write a critical analysis of the passage from A Handful of Dust starting is mummy coming back today? (p55) and finishing I've been carrying on anyhow this week (p 57), showing how far you think it typical of Waugh's methods and effects in the novel. The passage starts with John Andrew, the most innocent person in the novel speaking. He is questioning the absence of his mother and waiting eagerly for her return from "monkey-woman's party". His father reassures him that she is sure to be back that very day. John Andrew points out that Brenda would not have seen Thunderclap for four days, this is sweet as he misses the point that she has not seen her own son for four days either! It shows how attached little John Andrew is to his horse, as if he were in his mother's shoes he would not be desperate to get back to his mother but to his horse. We know that Brenda and Tony do not play a big part in John's life, he has a nanny and is close to the stable boy, and sees him as a role model. It is clear to see that Tony had been suffering with from loneliness and missing Brenda by his reply to the stationmaster, "I've been expecting her every day". The two have a little chat while they wait for Brenda's train to arrive. The stationmaster refers to Brenda as "Her ladyship", a title she certainly does not live up to on her jaunts to London. She herself admits it when she sees that the two have come to the station for her "I don't at all deserve it" Waugh puts a brilliant little speech together for John to tell his mother on the way home. It is very amusing as it is written as a child of his age would speak. It has little punctuation and is one very long sentence containing lots of different information about the p... ...time she is done Tony is agreeing to the flat. I found there were two main points which sprang to mind, regarding Waughs methods and effects in this piece. Clearly this story of marital betrayal relates closely to Waugh's personal experience and he seems to be remarkably generous towards Brenda. Her behaviour is clearly compulsive; "I've found a flat" and she is outspoken "I've been carrying on anyhow this week". Waugh remains very compassionate in his attitude to the faithless Brenda and allows no sign of anger in Tony, which would have been well-justified, he just says "no harm done then." Also, this passage has a great range of ironic implication and it is in parts exceptionally funny; the irony of Tony reacting to Brenda's confession of "carrying on madly with young men" by inferring that buying a Pekingese would have been far worse is pure farce.

The Anthropic Prohibition on Preemptive Warfare Between States :: War Wars World Politics Essays

The Anthropic Prohibition on Preemptive Warfare Between States When considering the pre-emptive strategic approach, it is useful to reduce hypothetical scenarios to a humanly comprehensible level. War, natural disasters, and other events of this magnitude are beyond a mind’s comprehension in their totality. By using a domestic analogy, such as advocated by Christian Wolff, where â€Å"states are regarded as individual free persons living in a state of nature,† the moral and legal implications of pre-emptive actions can be seen more clearly (Jus Gentium Methodo Scientifica Pertractatum,  §2, p.9). The advent of pre-emption has coincided with an explosion of non-state actors on the military stage, and it is therefore important to expand the analogy beyond states; the analogy is otherwise only applicable to nations in a macroscopic political arena, such as existed before World War I. This paper will expand Wolff’s conception of the domestic analogy to embrace and differentiate state actors and non-state actors, and use this e xpanded principle to produce scenarios in consideration of pre-emption. The examination of these scenarios will yield that preemption is a morally wrong military strategy between states, though state interaction with non-sovereign actors is far more ambiguous. We can extend the domestic analogy of Wolff, to make a general anthropic principle (human-like principle), which states that any group of people, whether a state or an organization, can be made analogous to one person. Both states and organizations have governing bodies composed of people, and these bodies make individual decisions, which in turn affect larger groups of people. Though it is more difficult to reconcile many competing individuals vying for a specific decision or policy within one organization, this can be represented as competing elements of a human mind, such as emotion and reason or desire and conscience. Usually, a conflict between elements is resolved in some manner and a decisive moment occurs, whether it is an individual or an organization. This anthropic principle can continue farther in analogy and embrace more unorthodox situations as well. A state thrown into anarchy, without any discernable authority, is similar to some mental disorders, where competing elem ents in the mind eliminate the faculties of reason. The actions of terrorist organizations, nations, independence movements, and any other artificial construct to group people can all be compared to the actions of one individual person for ethical examination. This is an important acknowledgement, because the Al Aqsa Martyrs brigade, the Tamil Tigers, al Quaeda, and the Irish Republican Army are all significant players in the current geopolitical stage: global politics are not limited to state entities.

An Annotated Bibliography Essay

Chin, Jean Lau. (2004). The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group This book discusses the effects of prejudice and discrimination on the psyche and one’s participation in society as a whole. The relevant section in this book discusses the unique plight of gay or bisexual black men that have to contend with homophobia as well as racism. Of special note is the section in which sexual orientation often has a negative effect on the career development of many gay black men. This is an interesting resource since most of the material on the subject does not address the secondary sub-category of sexual orientation (Chin, 2004). Daniels, C. (2004). Black Power Inc. : The New Voice of Success. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons C. Daniel’s Black Power Inc. is a book of medium length that explores the phenomenon of black people placing a growing emphasis on economic rather than political power. The book is geared toward young to middle-aged black professional men and women, who are Working While Black (WWB). C. Daniels writes for Fortune magazine with an extensive history in writing about the social dynamics inherent in big business—especially as it relates to the unique issues black men and women face in the corporate world (Daniels, 2004). Davis, G. & Watson, G. (1982). Black Life in Corporate America: Swimming in the Mainstream. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press Although written twenty-seven years ago, this account by Davis & Watson (1982) is still relevant in chronicling the early stages of Black integration into corporate American life. The book describes the upstream struggles of educated black professionals as they attempt to make a living commensurate with their skills. While also observing the lesser tolerance of open bigotry in the workplace, certain â€Å"jokes† and comments are often alienating to black men (Davis & Watson, 1982). Gates, Henry Louis. America behind the Color Line. New York: Warner Books, 2004 This book contains interviews from several powerful African-American men including Russell Simmons, Quincy Jones, Vernon Jordan, Colin Powell and Morgan Freeman. Written by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. , one of the premier scholars of African-American studies today. This book shows the diversity of successful Black men from the corporate and political arenas to the performing arts and community activism, and discusses triumphs and challenges. A very good read for anyone studying black achievement (Gates, 2004). Livers, A. & Caver, K. A. (2002). Leading in Black and White: Working across the Racial Divide in Corporate America. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons This book by Livers & Caver (2002) describes the challenges faced by Blacks who occupy a higher level on the corporate ladder (i. e. managerial positions). They challenge the popular assumption that black leaders have the same issues as white leaders, and underscore the problems of trust many black men have with their white colleagues because of lack of common experiences. This book was intended for black managers that need help in continuing to navigate the system (Livers & Carver, 2002). Merida, K. (2007). Being a Black Man: At the Corner of Progress and Peril. Washington: Public Affairs This is a collection of essays about the personal and professional struggles of black men in America. Many points of view deal with identity intersections of different roles—husband, father, employee, and businessman—as well as dreams and ambitions. This book generated a great deal of interest in the reading public as it offers a personal glimpse of the realities of black life. K. Merida is a reporter for the Washington Post, and was thus able to use his credentials to find many contributors to this volume (Merida, 2007). Van Horne, W. A. (2007). The Concept of Black Power: Its Continued Relevance. Journal of Black Studies, 37(3), 365-389 This is a study of the growth of Black Power in America as the middle-class grows slowly and quietly. Even though over time, black people have gained more civil rights in America, there is still a significant lag between them and the white majority. However, W. A. Van Horne notes that the black underclass often overshadows the slow, but inexorable growth of the black middle class. He also raises questions of whether the black power movement is still relevant (Van Horne, 2007).

Brain Imaging

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a condition characterized by recurrent intrusive, often repugnant, and always anxiety-ridden thoughts and images and by sets of ritualized behaviors performed compulsively by the sufferer in an attempt to allay the anxiety. The compulsive behaviors typically provide little relief, however, and the sufferer remains relegated to an anxious and painful daily experience.Thus, the patient who drives over the same speed bump each morning may find it impossible to relieve oneself of the concern that one may have, on a particular morning, driven over a pedestrian instead, and one is compelled to circle the block in a ritualized fashion searching for a crushed body in the street. While the sufferer is able to acknowledge the perverse and senseless nature of the rituals, this insight alone fails to relieve the experience of helplessness (Pauls et al. , 1995).As has been true of most psychiatric disorders, traditional etiologic explanations have been based on psychoanalytic findings and constructs. Formulations of the illness based on cognitive processing models represent a more recent development. Still more recently, a significant reconceptualization of obsessive-compulsive symptomatology has followed the development of modern functional imaging technologies, and a biologically-oriented and brain-centered view of OCD has emerged in light of the substantial findings from the last decades.The most popular brain theory to date explains the pathogenesis of OCD as an imbalance in the action of a pair of interrelated neural circuits which, under normal circumstances, maintain one another in a state of functionally balanced tone. It may be parenthetically added that, to the extent these brain data are themselves understood, it has become possible to evaluate psychological theories of OCD in functional terms (Robinson et al. , 1991). The neurobiology of OCD has been a subject of research interest for several decades, with the disorder havi ng become increasingly formulated as a neuropsychiatric illness.Modern neuropsychiatric hypotheses have been guided by data having its origins in data derived from the direct study of OCD patients using newly developed non-invasive brain imaging techniques. Significant findings from this area of inquiry are summarized in the following pages. Background to OCD OCD symptomatology has been reported among patients with closed head trauma to the basal gangliar structures and among those with basal ganglia lesions demonstrable subsequent to carbon monoxide poisoning and to wasp sting (McKeon, 1984).Symptoms have additionally presented as a clinical feature both of striatal necrosis and frontal lobe lesion (Siebyl et al, 1989). Thus, the initial background of data around OCD has implicated the basal gangliar structures, particularly the striatum, and, to a lesser extent, the frontal lobe. Imaging studies of the living brain are generally divisible into two distinct categories, those repres enting morphologic or structural abnormality, on the one hand, and those representing disturbance of function at the cellular or metabolic levels, possibly with only very small or wholly undetectable changes in morphology, on the other.The distinction is important: while investigation at the level of structure and morphology will reveal atrophic change or gross pathology (eg. , tumor, trauma, etc. ,) investigation at the metabolic level provides a window directly into what has been termed, in traditional discourse, â€Å"functional mental illness. † That is, structures which have retained their morphologic integrity may nonetheless be shown to be functioning in metabolically hyperactive or hypoactive state relative to normal. In the interest of maintaining this important distinction, studies deriving from the two imaging modality groups are reviewed here separately.Structural brain imaging studies Luxenberg, Swedo, Flament et al. (1989) used quantitative Computed Tomography ( qCT) to analyze the morphologic volumes of various brain structures believed key in OCD. Clinical subjects with childhood-onset OCD were selected on the basis of active and unabated symptomatology of at least one year during their illness. While depressive symptomatology with onset after obsessional illness was not an exclusion criterion, none of the patients was depressed at the time of the qCT examination.The researchers found that mean caudate nucleus volume in the patients was significantly less than that of control subjects. No other significant brain abnormalities were found. Behar, Rapoport and Berg, et al (1984), report on the administration of CT scans and neuropsychological test measures to 16 adolescents with OCD and 16 matched controls. Patients were found to have significantly increased ventricular size (relative to whole-brain volume) and to show spatial-perceptual deficits on the Money Road Map Test of Directional Sense.The Money Map Test uses a simulated street map w ith a route indicated by a dotted line. The subject traverses the route and indicates a right or left turn at each choice point. Near the midpoint of the examination the subject is required to mentally rotate himself in order to reverse his own right-left reference. Patients with frontal lobe lesions have been reported to do poorly on this task. Subjects' ventricular size and neuropsychological test findings were not significantly correlated, however, and the researchers suggest that significant co-morbidity within the patient sample led to unexpected results.In fact, the patient sample had been selected on the basis of its extraordinary psychiatric symptomatology: â€Å"It is possible that (the OCD subjects) are atypical in that adult patients commonly report being able to conceal their symptoms after clear onset in childhood† (Behar, Rapoport and Berg, et al. , 1984, p. 365). The results of the Behar study are also inconsistent with those of Insel and associates (1983), who report neither ventricular enlargement on CT brain imaging nor significant neuropsychological deficits on the Halstead-Reitan battery of neuropsychological tests in 18 adult OCD sufferers.Confirmation for ventricular enlargement is likewise not observed in the present majority of structural brain studies. Garber, Ananth, Chiu, and colleagues (1988) performed Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans on 32 patients meeting the DSM-III criteria for OCD in an investigation of the caudate and ventricular findings. Subjects were judged free of psychopathology other than OCD on the basis of psychiatric testing and evaluation, and severity of OCD symptoms was rated at the time of MRI by means of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale.MRI creates highly detailed anatomical images using radiofrequency resonance signals elicited from the hydrogen atoms of tissue under study. The technique produces structural images which are in many respects (eg. , spatial resolution) quite superior to those provided by CT (Garber et al. , 1988). Further, a technical routine known as â€Å"spin-lattice relaxation time† (or Tl), in which a summary measurement of the time required for protons excited within host molecules to relax to baseline is taken as a direct measurement of the mobility of water protons in membranes and fluids.In the study with OCD patients, Behar and colleagues discovered significantly lengthier corrected Tl values for clinical subjects relative to controls in the lenticular nuclei and the right frontal lobes white matter. Because of the high degree of heterogeneity in both samples, subgroups within the clinical sample were developed on the basis of family history and medication status and analyzed against one another. No between group differences were noted based on medication status.Patients with family histories of OCD differed from those with no such histories in the anterior cingulum, showing significantly briefer Tl values. No gross structural differenc es were specific to the OCD group. Garber and colleagues (1988) ascribe the altered Tl include to subtle atrophy in the right frontal cortex or diminished blood flow to this region, corresponding to a decline in frontal cortical metabolism. Involvement is also suggested on the parts of the cingulate gyms and lenticular nuclei.These areas are components of frontal-limbic pathways that may mediate the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder; surgical alteration of the relationships among structures within these pathways have produced symptomatic improvements. Moreover, the authors propose that hereditary influences on the illness may be most directly expressed in the cingulate region. The implication of the frontal lobes and cingulate gyms in OCD suggests abnormalities in cortical-striatal-thalamic-cortical circuits.Robinson, Wu, and Munne et al. (1995) used MRI in a structural volumetric analysis of selected brain regions within or adjacent to these circuits in 26 patients with OCD (DSM-VI-R criteria). While subjects were screened for a number of exclusionary criteria, co-morbidity with depression was not among these. Twenty-six screened normal control subjects were matched to the OCD patients. In results which directly contradict those of Scarone, Colombo, and Ambruzzese, et al.(1992), in which right caudate nucleus size was found by MRI to be increased in patients with OCD, Robinson and colleagues report a significantly diminished morphometic volume for the caudate nuclei bilaterally. These findings are consistent with those of Luxenberg et al. (1988), described above, in which morphometric analysis by CT indicated significantly reduced caudate nucleus volume in patients with OCD. Study by Alyward, Schwartz, and Machlin et al. (1991) report no statistically significant differences between OCD and normal subjects on MRI studies of caudate volume.Their report demonstrates a direct correlation in patients with OCD between the putamen volume and the Global Seve rity of psychopathology score developed by the National Institute of Mental Health as well as between the caudate volume and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score, but found no correlations with the Y-BOCS total score or with the obsessions or compulsions subscore on this instrument. Curiously, however, division of the patients with OCD into subgroups based on a history of depression did not demonstrate a significant difference.Imaging measures were similar between subjects with and without medication histories. There was no evidence of ventricular enlargement in patients with OCD. As a group, studies of brain morphology and structure have returned substantially inconsistent findings in OCD; particularly differing are reports on the caudate nucleus and striatal region. Different study methods and small sample sizes may account partially for these discrepant findings and represent problems which must ultimately be overcome before a valid consensus can be reached.The significant prevalence of OCD symptomatology within neurologic populations and its high co-morbidity with depression contribute to the potential for heterogeneity in OCD samples (Pauls, 1995). The Alyward finding of increased caudate volume in OCD subjects with higher depression scale scores, but not among OCD subjects at large, not only reveals the heterogeneity of the disorder but illustrates the necessity of rigorously defining sample parameters before meaningful comparison and replication may be undertaken.Such rigor has not yet been sufficiently applied in structural imaging studies. Notwithstanding these issues, the question of a chronic degenerative process with resultant caudate diminution over time is suggested by certain of the data, in particular light of the fact that most of the OCD patients studied by the Robinson and Luxenberg groups were longtime sufferers. Longitudinal follow-up studies would be needed to determine whether caudate volume changes in OCD are progressive.Additiona lly, because structural brain imaging modalities are sensitive only to pathology which has resulted in physical change in tissue, they omit consideration of metabolic or functional change. The following section offers a discussion of imaging findings based on functional processes of the brain; modalities of this type substantially enlarge the data available from structural imaging alone. Functional brain imaging studiesFunctional brain imaging refers collectively to that set of techniques used to derive images reflecting biochemical, physiologic, or electrical properties of the central nervous system (Devous, 1995). The most developed of these techniques have in common the registration of such data in digitized maps which thus represent visually to the diagnostician or researcher the relative metabolic activations among brain structures of interest (provided that the dimensions of these lay within the spatial resolution capability of the particular technique).The maps can typically be rendered in any standard anatomical plane for the sake of further clarifying these metabolic relationships. Positron Emission Tomography (PET), so named for the species of radioactive decay on which it depends, and the more economical and widely available modality of Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) each registers in a digitized functional map relative regional metabolic activations for any given brain state (eg. , under challenge, during active symptomatology, at rest, and so forth).SPECT maps the distribution of a radioactively labeled pharmaceutical administered intravenously administered to a subject and typically designed to integrate itself into brain blood flow processes in a manner correspondent to the relative activations of the latter (Devous, 1995). The emission of gamma radiation from the agent after it has been allowed to incorporate itself into brain tissue enables the subsequent mapping of blood perfusion densities across cortical regions with the use of SPECT imaging hardware.Blood flow and metabolism are tightly coupled within the brain under most normal and pathologic circumstances, and therefore inferences about neurometabolism are accurately informed by measures of relative blood flow (Devous, 1995). One of the more popular radiopharmaceuticals for such blood flow mapping is referred to generically as â€Å"HMPAO,† an acronym for the chemical structure of the agent. Bound to this chemical structure is the radioactive element Technetium-99m, which is favored as an imaging isotope because of its half-life and energy characteristics (Devous, 1995).Two facts of brain function are pertinent to any review of imaging studies in this area. The first of these requires the reader to keep in mind that an activated cortical region may be inhibitory or excitatory. In the basal ganglia system, for example, excitatory and inhibitory input sf contribute mutually to a functionally balanced neural tone. The second fact is closely related: A system which lies efferent to the hypermetabolic one will correspond to the nature of this input: Inhibitory or excitatory.Notwithstanding the complexities connected to image interpretation, the functional modalities have permitted the development of a more conclusive body of evidence regarding brain function in OCD than has been the case with structural imaging modalities. A consensus has emerged around increased activity in the right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Less agreement exists with respect to the role of the striatum and associated basal gangliar structures. Rubin, Villanueva-Meyer, and Ananth et al.(1995) studied ten adult male patients with OCD and ten age-matched adult male normal controls using SPECT Patients with OCD had significantly increased uptake of the metabolic tracer radionuclide in the high dorsal parietal cortex bilaterally, in the left posterofrontal cortex, and in the orbital frontal cortex bilaterally The patients also had significantly reduced t racer uptake in the head of the caudate nucleus bilaterally, but not in the putamen or thalamus, consistent with the hypothesized reduction of caudate nucleus activity in OCD. Baxter, Schwartz, Maziotta et al.(1992) reports findings which conflict with those of Rubin and co-workers on the activation of the caudate nuclei. In the Baxter study, ten non-depressed OCD patients were compared with ten age- and gender-matched normals using PET scans. Subjects were screened for current co-morbidity with major depression, bipolar disorder, cyclothymic disorder and dysthymia. All but two subjects had suffered from depressive disorders in the past. Comparison of the scans indicated that patients with OCD had significantly higher overall glucose metabolic rate values than normal controls.Orbital gyri were significantly higher in metabolic activation bilaterally, as were the bilateral heads of the caudate nuclei. As described, Rubin et al. (1995) report diminished metabolic activity in the head of the caudate nuclei bilaterally. Machlin, Harris, and Pearlson, el al. (1991) found elevated blood flow in the prefrontal cortex and cingulate (termed the medial-frontal region) in ten OCD patients studied with SPECT relative to a matched sample of eight normals.Several other well-conceived functional imaging studies implicate the structures of both the Papez circuit and Modell's hypothesized fronto-striatal-pallido-thalamic-frontal loop. Swedo et al. (1989) compared 18 OCD patients and 18 normals using PET, and while no whole-brain glucose metabolic differences were found between groups, the left orbitofrontal, right sensorimotor, and bilateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate regions were notably higher in adults with childhood-onset OCD. Within this group, a positive correlation emerged between glucose uptake in the prefrontal and orbitofrontal regions and state measures of anxiety.In addition, responders to treatment with clomipramine were distinguishable from non-responders on the basis of regional changes in the right cingulate and right orbitofrontal regions, with response failures evincing significantly higher pre-therapy activations. Baxter et al. (1992), in a series of studies with a total of 24 adult patients with OCD, found increased FDG uptake in the cerebral hemispheres overall, and in the orbital gyri and caudate nuclei in the OCD group as compared to normal controls.Rubin, et al (1995) used SPECT imaging and found elevated uptake in the dorsal parietal cortex bilaterally, the left posterofrontal cortex and the OFC bilaterally. The group also found decreased uptake in the heads of the caudate nuclei bilaterally. Two paired comparisons have been made of OCD subjects before and after symptom aggravation. Rauch et al. (1994) used oxygen-15 labeled carbon dioxide PET to study individually tailored provocative stimuli in order to provoke symptoms in eight patients with OCD.Paired comparisons pre- and post-challenge yielded an increase in regional Cerebral Blood Flow (rCBF) in the right caudate nucleus, left anterior cingulate cortex, and also bilaterally in the OFC subsequent to challenge. McGuire et al. (1992) studied four OCD patients during actual exposure to contaminants in a pattern tailored individually to produce successively greater degrees of anxiety. rCBF was found to increase in the OFC, neostriatum. globus pallidus, and thalamus in relation to the urge to perform compulsive movements.These two paired comparisons of patients pre- and post-challenge provide a unique opportunity to examine differences between a resting and an obsessional state in the same patient during a brief period. Further, such an examination sheds light on the manner in which inconsistencies among functional imaging studies may be due to variations in the mental state of obsessional patients at the time of the imaging studies. While the architecture of the anxiety challenge varies considerably between the Rauch and McGuire protocols, it remain s nonetheless somewhat disappointing that more consistent findings are not elicited in the paired comparisons.In these studies, as in the literature more generally, substantial disagreement exists on the response of the cingulate cortex and caudate nuclei. It is noteworthy, however, that the two paired challenge studies concur with respect to the hyperactivated state of the OFC. It is on the issue of striatal, specifically caudate, activation and morphology that most disagreement exists across both the structural and functional brain imaging studies. It is possible to speculate on the cause of this inconsistency: Caudate metabolism may be a state, rather than a trait, marker in OCD.It may also be that pathology in this region is progressive: Subjects with damaged striatal mechanisms may, for instance, manifest a hypermetabolic condition in the region for some lengthy period before an atrophic process ultimately begins and results in the opposite finding, hypometabolism and volumetri c diminution over a period of time. Uniformity across subject samples in terms both of length and history of illness and co-morbidity with other pathology is therefore essential to further investigation of this region in OCD. ConclusionThe two categories of imaging study at times assume roles along a continuum of pathological severity or etiology. For example, a degenerative change in tissue density or overall size and shape may have developed only after a lengthy period of metabolic dysregulation. An imaging technique sensitive only to morphology would pick up such pathology only at a relatively late stage in its development. Early changes, those occurring at the metabolic level, would be visualized only by means of a functional imaging technique. On the issue of orbital and frontal activation there exists substantial agreement.Although a great deal of data implicates these structures, it is not yet possible to demonstrate which specific obsessive-compulsive symptoms are related to the observed abnormalities in these neuroanatomic regions or what specific role the region plays in the neuropsychology of the illness. References Alyward E. H, Schwartz J, Machlin S, Pearison G. D. (1991). Bicaudate ratio as a measure of caudate volume on MR images. American Journal ofNeuroradiology, 12, 1217-1222. Baxter L. R. , Schwartz J. M. , Bergman K. S. , Szuba M. P. , Guze B. H. , Mazziotta J C , Alazraki A, Selin C. E. , Phelps ME (1992).Caudate glucose metabolic rate changes with both drug and behavior therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 49, 681-689. Behar D, Rapoport J. L. , Berg C. J. , Denckla MB, Mann L, Cox C , Fedio P. , Zahn T, Wolfman M. G (1984). Computerized tomography and neuropsychological test measures in adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 363-368. Devous M. D. , (1995). Instrumentation, radiopharmaceuticals, and technical factors. In: Van Heertum R. L. , Tikoftky R. S. (eds. ) Cerebral SPECTImaging. New York, NY: Raven Press, Ltd.1995. Garber H. J. , Weilburg J. B. , Buonanno F. S. (1988). Use of magnetic resonance imaging in psychiatry. American Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 164-171. Insel T. R. , Donnelly E. F. , Lalakea ML, Alterman IS, Murphy D. L (1983). Neuropsychological studies of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 18, 741-751. Luxenberg J. S. , Swedo S. 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