Reflective Journal M02 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflective Journal M02 - Essay Example Entrepreneurs and investors embark on business ventures because they wish to make money, and a business that does not make money on a regular basis deserves to be terminated. All the tools and techniques for decision making that are taught in the MBA or any other business management course will always have the profit maximizing criterion as a major consideration. At least, that is the common perception, and one that I had entertained prior to my studies about business ethics and corporate social responsibility. In my readings, I was struck by the observation of Pride, Hughes and Kapoor (2009), that the profit maximization goal is impossible to define, and therefore impossible to achieve, because there is never a satisfactory answer to the question, ‘How much profit is enough?’ Exactly, businessmen are depicted as greedy and heartless, loving money for money’s sake, and much like Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge, the profit a business accumulates never appears to be enough. Such a goal is thus never attainable, and therefore the profit maximizing aim is a senseless one for business, as there is no maximum. After all, a goal that could not be defined could not be attained, and success becomes elusive and illusory. What I have learned about ethical decision making is that it is the core of ethical business, the thing that makes business a noble undertaking that seeks to provide for the needs of people. It has the humane goal of satisfying people, of bringing goods and services to match human wants and needs. Business creates value, and offers this value up for human consumption, and the resulting profit is but a just reward commensurate to the value that was created. Ethical decision making is what guides a businessman to do the right thing at the right time, and because of this his business becomes a tool to making peoples’ lives better. I believe that this is the social responsibility of

Inventory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Inventory - Essay Example After a long time use of the time series forecasting method, the company should now adopt a new strategic plan, which should enable it to penetrate its market deeper. It is not safe for the company to rely on its historical data alone in the prediction of its future needs when considering demand. Therefore, the qualitative forecasting method is the best method applicable by the company. This will ensure that the company knows the likely direction to be taken by its customers in the consumption of its goods; and adjust appropriately to cater for the views of the consumers. Besides the techniques already listed in the abstract, there are other forecasting techniques available and already in operation. They are each used in line with the future need that a company requires. Therefore, before using any of these methods, consider the time of preparation, cost, and accuracy of the technique. These techniques make different assumptions in their operation (Makridakis, Wheelwright, & Hyndman, 1998). In addition to the already mentioned methods are Regression methods, which involve the extension of linear regression that is a variable, linearly relates to some other independent variables. The other method of forecasting used is the multiple equation methods, which involve some variables that are dependent interacting with each other in a number of equations. This method receives proper application in the economic models of forecasting. These techniques have their basis on human judgment in the forecasting of the planned future of a given company. Therefore, these methods are said to be subjective based on the judgments and opinions given by the experts and the consumers. These techniques apply to the decisions that are intermediate and long range. They can be used in the creation of forecasts that are short term and can supplement projections,

Quantum Mechanics in Commerce

Quantum Mechanics in Commerce Alec Bolme Tobi Odeleye In today’s world, there are general rules that everything seems to follow. This can include simple things like how putting force on an object or pushing it will result in the object moving in the direction of the force. Also things such as how gravity will affect an object make it fall. If someone were to let go of an object gravity would make it fall till it hits the ground. These are concepts that everyone understands sort of as basic fundamental laws of physics. Most of these laws, though, change at the quantum level. Things at the quantum level include atoms, electrons, protons and other things at the subatomic level that are too small for a human to see with the naked eye. Particles at this level behave differently than most things and in a way that do not necessarily follow common laws of physics. Quantum level mechanics, also known as quantum physics, were first identified by physicist Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein and ended up getting named after the work from Max Pla nck.[1] Quantum mechanics were once a big unknown and is constantly being studied and further researched. The subject of quantum mechanics is still being studied and there is still a lot to know. Quantum mechanics is huge for the science world and plays a big role in understanding life. A real genuine case of quantum mechanics are ultra-exact timekeepers. Clocks are utilized by a dominant part of the population, and are critical particularly in America, where convenience is imperative, particularly to managers. Associations like the USNO, U.S. Naval Observatory use quantum mechanics regularly to focus the exact time. The USNO utilizes nuclear tickers on account of a very high precision level, nuclear tickers are significantly more exact than any clock in the recent past.[2] The creation of an exact clock is extremely valuable for general utilization, however all the more significantly, is extremely valuable for space building and engineering. To calculate direction, it is vital to have the capacity to know accurately how quick the space shuttle will get to the destination.2 The error is because of quantum clamor, which meddles with the capacity of the nuclear pendulum to stay running precisely.2 To investigate space, the moon, and different planets in the close plan etary system, it is relevant that the U.S. has the capacity travel through space accurately. GPS is an extremely regular utilization of ultra-exact checks in todays general public, through the satellites used to ping GPS area, the timekeepers additionally help to focus the accurate area and destination entry for whatever destination the GPS is situated to. Researchers today are considering building an overall system of timekeepers. Utilizing nuclear tickers, the most precise, it would be the most exact approach to read a clock on the planet.[3] This would enhance space route for not just the United States, yet for nations all over.3 An alternate intriguing use of quantum mechanics is teleportation. Teleportation is the accomplishment of making an individual or item move starting with one spot then onto the next in an impeccable replica.[4] Although it is not yet feasible for people, yet researchers have been working towards this on a quantum scale. Through quantum trap, researchers had the capacity to move a molecule at a little scale.2 The way that teleportation is turning into a the truth is something a long ways past what was imagined from researchers. The revelation of quantum mechanics is significant to the disclosure of teleportation. In numerous sci-fi films, teleportation is alluded to and used, yet never completely clarified. There is never an explanation to how teleportation works or happens, because it is only just a theory. The points of interest are managing quantum mechanics at a little level through the development and scrambling of molecules and DNA coding from spot top place.4 Through the work o f six separate researchers in 1993, teleportation was affirmed just like a conceivable chief, however just if the first duplicate is annihilated amid the process.4 Teleportation can be exceptionally valuable to individuals everywhere throughout the world on the off chance that it is carried out accurately, and could be a seriously big jump for science. Not just would teleportation be valuable for speedier transportation of an individual starting with one spot then onto the next, additionally it would be extremely helpful for transporting data. For the government officials, being in a tight position with data that is not used properly, can prompt the aftereffect of a loss of security for our nation. Having the capacity to teleport data starting with one spot then onto the next and having the original at the initial spot be demolished could spare lives and still permit the data to be totally secure. This could likewise take a shot at a littler scale for organizations, and even simply classified records by and large. Lasers are likewise something that would not associate with today without the knowledge of quantum mechanics. A laser radiates monochromatic light through optical opening up because of outflow of the photons in molecules being invigorated.[5] Lasers just work by the energy of the electrons circling the particles. These electrons emanate photons and after that continue to come back to a lower vitality level.2 When the photons are discharged it causes different photons to discharge vitality making an enduring stream that is the thing that people see as a laser bar. This laser procedure was likewise found by Max Planck.2 Planck found the quantum mechanics level of lasers and started to comprehend the very process. Molecules transmit vitality as Planck educated, and molecules do this in discrete sums that are alluded to as quanta. The particles in a laser get energized, which is the thing that outcomes in the radiation bringing about the monochromatic light.5 Lasers are exceptionally hel pful to the overall population. Laser printers, tag scanners, skin treatment, building houses, and welding are all general employments of lasers in present day that would not be around or ordinarily utilized if it were not for the revelations and work towards more learning and understanding of quantum mechanics. In spite of the fact that quantum mechanics can never be completely clarified, it is continually going to be a critical piece of regular life. At the point when thinking actually, quantum mechanics is central in totally everything.[6] Throughout the government, nation, and world, quantum mechanics has a gigantic effect all through numerous distinctive topics and circumstances. Without the work in quantum mechanics through numerous researchers, we would not have a portion of the constants we have today, in the same way as Plancks constant, found by Max Planck, a man who found very much a bit of what there is to think about quantum mechanics. There likewise would not be a large portion of the other moment, however vital parts of the workings in society.1 It might be tricky to attempt and get to the definition of this subject, and it may appear to be odd, however the impacts of it are extremely gainful to our general public and can change life infinitely. [1] http://www.pbs.org/transistor/science/info/quantum.html, accessed February 19, 2015. [2] http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/10-real-world-applications-of-quantum-mechanics.htm [3] http://www.nature.com/news/quantum-network-would-be-most-precise-clock-yet-1.15406, accessed February 19, 2015. [4] http://researcher.watson.ibm.com/researcher/view_group.php?id=2862, accessed February 19, 2015. [5] https://www.boundless.com/physics/textbooks/boundless-physics-textbook/introduction-to-quantum-physics-28/applications-of-quantum-mechanics-183/lasers-677-3407/, accessed February 19, 2015. [6] http://www.askamathematician.com/2013/08/q-are-there-examples-of-quantum-mechanics-that-can-be-seen-in-every-day-life-or-do-they-only-show-up-in-the-lab/, accessed February 19, 2015.

Prenatal Screening :: essays research papers

Prenatal screening Screening for Down syndrome is available to about 53.5% of mothers on a maternal age basis, and the remaining 46.5% of health boards provide serum screening for all ages. There are several methods used in prenatal screening, these are usually used separately, and a number of factors are taken into account to determine which method should be used. Amniocentesis has been around for 20 years and is probably the most well known screening method. It involves testing a sample of the amniotic fluid surrounding the foetus, ultrasound is used to guide a needle through the abdomen, into the womb and a small amount of amniotic fluid (20ml) is removed. The procedure is usually carried out at 14-16 weeks. Amniocentesis tests for chromosome disorders, and is 99.8% reliable for chromosome number, there is however a risk of miscarriage (usually 1/250 or less) after the procedure. This is one of the reasons why amniocentesis has only been offered to over 35's (since they have a much higher risk of having a Down syndrome child)(Webb 1990). Previous studies on amniocentesis concentrated on problems that might arise during pregnancy or immediately after, these studies found that children whose mothers had amniocentesis are more likely to have breathing problems in the first few days after birth. A study performed by Jo-Anne Finegan in Toronto followed 88 women who had, had amniocentesis, there was an increased incidence of ear infection in this group. Finegan tested the stiffness of the eardrum and found children in the amniocentesis group were more than three times as likely to have abnormal readings. It is thought that there is a disruption of the delicate balance of pressure across the eardrum when the amniotic fluid is removed, which could cause the problems(Webb 1990). Chorionic villus sampling is another form of sampling, it involves taking a small piece of placenta and genetic testing is carried out on it, there is a slightly higher chance of foetal loss with this procedure (Dick 1996). A more recent form of prenatal testing involves serum markers. Blood is taken from the pregnant women and the maternal blood is tested for three hormones, this test is called the 'triple screen' test. The three hormones tested are alpha foeto-protein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) and oestradiol (E3). AFP is based on the fact that Down syndrome foetuses tend to be smaller on average, have smaller placentas and thus secrete less AFP.

Constructivism

Introduction Russian architecture since the eleventh century up to the early 20th century was predominantly religious. For many centuries, churches were the only buildings that were constructed out of stone. However, the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the influence of the Suprematism movement of 1915 brought about the birth of Constructivism, the modernistic architectural style of Russia from 1924-1932. The brief period that followed the 1917 Revolution marked the beginning of the influence of the avant-garde Constructivist movement in the structure and design of major buildings.It enjoyed a short popularity until the late 1920s when it was repudiated by the more conservative Stalinist-era architecture. The principles of Constructivism theory come from three main art movements that evolved in Europe during the early part of the 20th century: Russian Suprematism, Dutch Des Stijl, or Neo Plasticism, and the Bauhaus in Germany . Historical Backdrop The Russian Revolution of 1917 In earl y 20th century Russia, particularly in 1917, there was a series of revolutions that eventually destroyed the autocracy of the Tsar.This series of revolutions led by the workers of Russia under their leader Vladimir Lenin was known as the Russian Revolution. The February Revolution in March of 1917 focused on St. Petersburg. During this time, the Soviets, or workers' councils, delegated to the members of the Imperial Parliament the task of governing Russia and overthrowing Nicholas II, the Tsar during that time and the last of the Tsars. Meanwhile, the Soviets, led by the socialists or Bolsheviks, had the full allegiance of the lower-class citizens and workers as well as the political left. The Bolsheviks then formed workers militias.In the October Revolution that followed, the Bolshevik party under the command of their leader Vladimir Lenin, as well as the workers' councils, overthrew the Provisional Government in St. Petersburg. Eventually, the success of the revolution paved the w ay for the birth of the USSR. After this series of events, peasants took over the lands previously owned by the vassals and redistributed land. This also marked the beginning of communal existence especially among the working classes, which led to the building of several constructivist buildings to house the first ommunities and to promote the ideology of communism. The Suprematism Movement of 1915 Suprematism is the main ideology in art that inspired Constructivism, which is the predominant architectural style of Russia during the period from 1924 to 1932. Suprematism lasted from 1915 to 1935 and is regarded as the first systematic school of modernism based on purely abstract pictorial compositions and geometric figures. It is a Russian art movement which was originally founded in Moscow in 1913 by the Russian painter Kazimir Malevich.Malevich advocated Suprematism as he believed that this is the perfect way â€Å"to liberate art from the ballast of the representational world. â⠂¬  He himself did this by producing art consisting of geometrical shapes flatly painted on the surface of the canvass. The goal of Suprematism is pure sensation and the pictorial space should be emptied of all symbolic content as in Surrealism. Malevich believed that art has to be â€Å"decongested and cleared† in order to show a new reality where the most important thing is thought as well as sensation.Malevich's Suprematism was also heavily influenced by the then avant-garde movements in art such as Cubism and Futurism. Suprematism, considering that it was based on Malevich's spiritual beliefs, was regarded as non-objective and apolitical. Aside from its use of only geometric shapes as the ones demonstrated by constructivist forms of architecture, Suprematism also emphasized the use of a limited colour range, which explains the overall appearance of constructivist buildings.The Beginnings and Golden Age of Constructivism The development of Suprematism led to the movement toward a non-objective art, or art without a subject, in architecture. During the early years of Constructivism, the Russian modernists or avant-garde started embracing Cubism and Futurism, which were two of the major sources of influence of Constructivism. Cubism was a 20th century modern movement popularized by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in France and other parts of Europe from 1907-1921.Futurism, on the other hand, started in Italy in 1910 and from 1920-1940 was used in the construction of buildings despite the opposition of the fascist state which favoured classical Roman imperial patterns. In 1913-1914, the Russian and Soviet architect and painter Vladimir Tatlin used industrial materials to make and exhibit a number of relief constructions. He was inspired by Italian futurist Umberto Boccioni's dream of â€Å"plastic configurations in space† and Pablo Picasso's 3D collages, both of which he described by using the term Constructivism.Vladimir Tatlin was indeed the progenitor of this post-Revolutionary movement in architecture. The year 1921 marked the appearance of the first Constructivist manifesto after the formation of the First Working Group of Constructivists in Moscow. The key artists were Vladimir Tatlin, Kasmir Malevich, Liubov Popova, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Vavara Stepanova, Vasily Kandinsky, Naum Gabo, Antoine Pevsner, El Lissitzky. Actual constructivist theory and design practice began in 1922 in conjunction with the formulation of Vesnin brothers of the plan for the Palace of Labor, which was presented during a competition in 1922.However, actual building on a significant scale did not start until 1925 after the founding of the Union of Modern Architects, the official organization of the Russian Constructivist architects. By 1925, the first experimental office and residential buildings began their first appearance. Towards the end of 1925, the Constructivists of Russia formed their own organization as a response to the decision of t he Rationalists to establish the Association of New Architects, or ASNOVA, two years earlier in 1923.While the Rationalists and ASNOVA focused on their search for purely aesthetic abstract forms, the Constructivists and OSA (union of modern architecture) brought to life a novel, more practical architectural form, with reference to the purpose of the of the specific building, the materials used to construct it, its design and other conditions for production, and most of all the promotion of social development of Russia at that time. While the Rationalist emphasized the artistic or aesthetic side of architecture, the Constructivists favoured its functional aspect.The period from1927 to 1929 was considered the golden age of Russian avant-garde architecture. In these three years, a small group of Russian constructivist architects was able to build or plan the best-known buildings in the country. Among the structures built during this time were the Zuyev Club by Ilya Golosov, all the clu bs by Konstantin Melnikov and his house, Lenin's Mausoleum and the Narkomzem building by Aleksey Shchusev, Narkomfin by Ginzburg and Milinis, the Barshch's and Sinyavsky's Planetarium, and Nikolaev's communal house for students. The Concept of ConstructivismConstructivism, or Constructivist Art, is a term used to describe a type of non-representational, or totally abstract, relief construction, sculpture, painting, and kinetics. Constructivist buildings are usually ordered and often minimal, spatial, geometric, architectonic and experimental with how industrial material is used. Furthermore, constructivism combined engineering and advanced technology with a dominant Communist social purpose. The movement produced several pioneering projects as well as prominent buildings and structures before falling out of favour during the early 1930s.Early constructivist art and architecture, just like Communism, was idealistic and seeking a new order that dealt with various social and economic p roblems. The appearance of several constructivist buildings and monuments is characterized by an emphasis on geometrical shapes like rectangular solids and cylinders, often intersecting each other or demonstrating asymmetry. Limited colour range is another quality of constructivist buildings, with the choice of colour as flesh or white signifying simplicity in the communal society.Red was also a very popular choice of colour for the buildings and monuments like Lenin's Mausoleum as this colour was known to symbolize Communism. Both the geometrical emphasis and the limits in colour are characteristics of Constructivist Architecture brought about by the influence of Suprematism, which was the most dominant art movement in Russia at that time. German â€Å"Constructivism† or the Bauhaus Architecture, the German word â€Å"Bauhaus† literally means â€Å"House of Building† or â€Å"Building School. † It refers to a school in Germany famous for the style and de sign that it taught.It is a form of modernist architecture that was founded by Walter Gropius and existed in Germany, some parts of Europe, the United States, and Israel from 1919 to 1933. The Bauhaus was an architectural ideology similar to Russian Constructivism and existed at the same time that it did. As Constructivism lost its favour because of Stalinist Neoclassicism, the Bauhaus gradually became inactive as the Nazi rose to power. Just like Constructivist structures, Bauhaus buildings usually possess a cubic design and favour right angles owing to its geometrical figure.Nevertheless it may occasionally feature rounded corners as well as balconies. These buildings usually have an open floor plan and smooth facades. The Most Notable Constructivist Buildings The Rusakov Workers' Club. One of the most notable examples of constructivist architecture in Moscow is the Rusakov Workers' Club. It was designed by Konstantin Melnikov and was constructed from 1927 to 1928. On the outside, the club resembles a fan and in elevation, it is made up of a base and three cantilevered concrete areas for the seats.If the seating areas are combined, the building can seat over 1,000 people while each of these three cantilevered seating areas can be used as a separate auditorium. More conventional offices are found at the rear of the building. Moreover, the materials used in its construction are glass, concrete and brick. The constructivist identity of the building is expressed in its exterior, which the architect Melnikov himself described as a â€Å"tensed muscle. † On the outside, the three seating areas are seen as three large rectangular solids protruding from the walls of the building on the upper part.Melnikov naturally applied his own values to its construction by setting the Rusakov Workers' Club, as well as other clubs he had designed, against the hostile city rather than belonging to it by employing sharply distinctive forms to make the structure appear indivi dualist and unique against the general backdrop of urban buildings. Svoboda Factory Club, another constructivist building worth mentioning is the Svoboda Factory Club, or Maxim Gorky Palace of Culture. It was also Konstantin Melnikov who designed the building in 1927. It was completed two years later.For the general design of the Svoboda Factory Club, a conventional rectangular masonry block was used as a replacement for the original plan of using a flat elliptical tube, thus giving its design a constructivist spirit. The staircase was not curved but built straight, leaving the central rostrum column as the only curvilinear element in the structure. However, although the central rostrum column balances the left and right halves of the building, these halves are not identical with the north side end block significantly higher than the opposite one.This unique feature is a quality of the individualism of the constructivist movement. Nonetheless, the central rostrum hides such a discre pancy . Zuev Workers' Club, another prominent example of constructivist architecture is the Zuev Workers' Club in Moscow. The architect Ilya Golosov designed the structure in 1926 and it was finished after two years. The original function of the building was to house various facilities for the workers of Moscow.The innovative and unique glazing treatment at its corner and the facade formed from the dramatic â€Å"intersection of a cylindrical glazed staircase and a stack of rectangular floor planes† prove to be very photogenic and make the Zuev Workers' Club a symbol of Russian avant-garde architecture. These two unique qualities reflect a strong unique identity which is characteristic of Soviet Constructivism. The stack of rectangular floor planes has behind them a sequence of club rooms and open foyers that lead to a rectangular auditorium made up of 850 seats.Golosov, like Melnikov, was an enthusiast not for the logics but for the dynamic forms Constructivist design method s. In the Zuev Workers' Club, this is evident in the immensely powerful drama of the cylinder intersecting the flat planes . Narkomzem, also known as People's Commissariat of Agriculture, Narkomzem was another noteworthy example of avant-garde architecture in early 20th century Russia. The building, which is now used today as a working ministry, was designed by Aleksey Shchusev and was finished in 1933.The most striking constructivist feature of the building is its corner details where a rectangular plane intersects with the cylindrical edge. Aside from the corner details, the overall asymmetry and the ribbon window located on the top floor remain to be the most striking features of Narkomzem . Melnikov's House. The house of the architect Konstantin Melnikov, or simply known as Melnikov House, is one of the most notable examples of 20th century avant-garde architecture. It is located in Moscow and is located well away from the street.Melnikov House is a building made up of a combina tion of both Futuristic and Classical designs consisting of two interlocking cylinders with the rear one noticeably taller than the front. The structure is also perforated with some sixty identical elongated hexagonal windows provided with Constructivist glazing bars. The asymmetry in the cylinders and the uniquely designed hexagons are testaments to Melnikov's commitment to Constructivism. The cylinders are made from stucco-covered bricks similar to those used in Russian churches and on the facade are written the words KONSTANTIN MELNIKOV ARKHITECTOR .Narkomfin, another Russian building with constructivist design is the Narkomfin building. It was designed by the architects Ignaty Milinis and Moisei Ginzburg along with engineer Sergei Prokhorov. It was constructed from 1928 to 1930 for the purpose of providing apartments for the employees of the People's Commissariat of Finance, of the Narkomfin. The transitional, semi-communal apartment was supposed to introduce to the Soviet citiz en the communal way of life and to introduce communism into the heart of domestic life and prepare the citizens to fully live a communal existence .Narkomfin, for its constructivist elements, had a long elegant facade with several rows of horizontal windows. It was topped with the Commissar's penthouse making it look like and be called â€Å"the ship. † Upon its completion it turned out to be an ensemble composed of three buildings: the housing block, the communal block and a small laundry building. The Narkomfin has remained an icon of modernism in avant-garde architecture of Soviet Russia primarily because of these constructivist elements that make it stand out among the rest.The Narkomfin building was also known as the most perfectly realized building out of all the communal buildings constructed during the Constructivist Era or in the utopian years of the early Soviet Union. It was also considered the prototype for the modern European apartment blocks and housing estates. Now, the Narkomfin remains as a pilgrimage sites for historians and architects from all over the world. The Communal House (1920-1930) of the Textile Institute, or the Communal House for Textile Institute Students, in Moscow is considered Ivan Nikolaev's masterpiece and is another noteworthy architectural work of the Soviet constructivist era.Popularly called Nikolaev's House or The Hostel, the Communal House demonstrates the â€Å"dom kommuna,† or the 2000 adult apprentices shared cabins along an eight-storey block extending for a length of 200 meters. There was a creative mix of dining rooms and recreational spaces in the low block. The Communal House was actually built for textile students to live and study in while adopting a strict military communal fashion that starts with a wake-up call, and proceeds with exercise, shower, and study.The constructivist elements of the Communal House include half-round stair towers, the triangular staircase, and the vast rectangular vol umes as well as the asymmetry demonstrated by the uneven intersections of the various planes in the facade of the building. The Barshch's and Sinyavsky's Planetarium, or the Moscow Planetarium, was established on November 5, 1929 and is considered at present a centre of natural sciences. The planetarium is principally involved in reading public lectures and implementing scientific and artistic programs in cosmonautics and astronomy. In the observatory of he planetarium, one can watch the sunspots, the Moon, the planets and many other heavenly bodies with the use of a telescope. The Modern State of the Planetarium M. O. Barshch and M. I. Sinyavsky were responsible for the design of the planetarium and commenced the construction on September 23, 1928, the day of the autumnal equinox. The planetarium was actually one of the largest projection domes for any planetarium in the world, which makes this unique feature one of its most prominent characteristics as a symbol of avant-garde Sovi et architecture. However, its apex was only 4cm thick. Located in the former city of Leningrad, now St.Petersburg, the Red Banner Textile Factory was partially designed by the first foreign architect asked to design in the USSR, Erich Mendelsohn, in 1925 to 1926, and later designed by E. A. Tretyakov, S. O. Ovsyannikov, and Hyppolit Pretraeus until its completion in 1937. The Red Banner Textile Factory was a dynamic, futuristic large factory and was a most notable example of Soviet Constructivist architecture. The Red Banner Factory resembled a ship with the top part of it jutting out of the planes. There is also an asymmetry with the intersection of the cylindrical and rectangular sections of the building on the outside.These two constructivist features of the factory give it its unique identity and make it stand out. Notable Architects of Russia from 1924-1932 The Russian constructivist designer Vladimir Tatlin was considered the progenitor of Soviet Constructivism because of his revolutionary exhibits of relief constructions from 1913 to 1914. He was also responsible for the appearance of the Constructivist Manifesto in 1921 which paved the way for the first construction of a plan for a constructivist building in 1922 and the actual establishment of constructivist office and residence buildings in 1925.Tatlin trained at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture as well as in the Penza Art School. It was after completing his formal studies that he joined a group of avant-garde painters and writers all over Russia. It was also during this period that he formulated several designs for a theater and participated in exhibitions. Konstain Melnikov was one of the big names in Soviet constructivist architecture, being the architect behind the Rusakov Workers' Club, the Svoboda Factory Club and his own Melnikov House.Melnikov apprenticed as an engineer after attending the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. He studied architecture from 1912 to 1917 and it became his passion although he initially studied painting in 1905. As a romanticist and a supporter of Communism, Melnikov was an architect who had independence of mind and rejected the principle of â€Å"method† in design and instead focused on â€Å"intuition† as the most essential factor in expressing the social and symbolic meaning of an architectural form such as a building.In his works, Melnikov struggled to combine Classicism and Leftist Modernism and often designed his architectural masterpieces with explicit and symbolic historicism. A leader of Constructivism from 1925 to 1931, Ilya Golosov was the Russian architect responsible for the design of the Zuyev Workers' Club in Moscow and communal housing in Ivanovo. Just like Tatlin and Melnikov, Golosov studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculture and Architecture. However, he also studied in the Stroganov School of Arts.His main impression with the works of the Vesnin brothers made him join the constructivist organization, or the OSA Group in 1925, and from then on he started designing his masterpieces. However, although Golosov was a champion of Constructivist architecture, he regarded the architectural philosophy of Constructivism only as ideal for exterior decoration but not for wholesomeness in terms of functional style. These contrasting views of his regarding Constructivism eventually made him abandon the avant-garde form of architecture in 1932 and settled for neoclassical architecture in his works, hence from Soviet Constructivism to Soviet Realism.Another name in the Soviet Constructivist architects hall of fame is Ivan Nikolaev. He was famous for the constructivist design and even the formulation of the rules and regulations of the Communal House of the Textile Institute built from 1929 to 1931. He devised a rather rigid and Communist procedure for the members of the training institute which was supposed to be followed through every single day: a wa ke-up call, exercise, shower and study. In addition Nikolaev was also famous for his modernist campus of the Moscow Power Engineering Institute.He, however, abandoned his constructivist beliefs in order to adopt Stalinist architecture. Another prominent name in avant-garde Soviet architecture of early 20th century Russia was Aleksey Shchusev. Shchusev was responsible for the constructivist designs of the Kazan Railway Station, the Narkomzem, or Agriculture Ministry, building in Moscow, and most important of all, Lenin's Mausoleum on Red Square, which he designed only in a stunning period of three days. Another one of his constructivist designs was the Institute of Resorts in Sochi, which he designed from 1927 to 1931.Shchusev was tasked to design many more buildings after 1932 and some say that he was even the originator of Gothic skyscrapers in Moscow. Shchusev studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts from 1891 to 1897 and his travels to North Africa and Central Asia from 1894 to 18 99 may have somehow influenced his partial non-adherence to pure Constructivism. It is also worth mentioning that even before Shchusev designed buildings, he was already tasked to restore church and to design a cathedral during the first ten years of the 20th century.His restoration of the St. Basil Church in Ukraine, his designs for the Trinity Cathedral in Pochayiv Lavra, and the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent in Moscow made him one of the best and most versatile architects of his time. The expressionist architect Erich Mendelsohn was a German Jewish architect and the first foreign architect who was allowed by the USSR to work for them. In 1926, he partially designed the Red Flag Textile Factory in St. Petersburg. The constructivist design of the exterior of the factory made it resemble a ship.This particular masterpiece of Mendelsohn is similar to the Mossehaus, which he himself designed in Berlin. He also designed the rear view of the Einstein Tower in Potsdam and the Cohen House in Lo ndon, all of which had designs similar to that of Soviet Constructivism. Mendelsohn studied architecture at the Technical University of Berlin and the Technical University of Munich, where he graduated cum laude in 1812. His initial work before he became an international architectural designer was as an independent architect in Munich.One of the champions of Russian Constructivism, not necessarily for his actual works but for his theories, was the name Yakov Chernikhov. Perhaps Chernikhov's only actual architectural achievement was the Red Nail Maker's Factory, or Red Carnation Factory, built in St. Petersburg from 1930 to 1931. The rest of Chernikhov's fame is attributed to his written works. Chernikhov studied at the Odessa Art School where he taught drawing and sketching years later, and at the Academy of Arts at St. Petersburg where he graduated in 1925. He then joined the Constructivist movement and instead of concentrating on the actual ractice of his profession, he wrote and published a series of books which showcased his constructivist architectural fantasies: Fundamentals of Modern Architecture, written from 1929 to 1930; Construction of Architectural and Machine Forms, written in 1931; and Architectural Fantasies: 101 Compositions, written in 1933. These three books did not only make him famous all over the world but also became a source of inspiration to many generations of architects. He had five more books published from 1934 to 1948. Decline of ConstructivismA competition for a grandiose project for the Palace of the Soviets was held in 1932. The constructivists joined the competition with their best entries. However, there was an ever-growing criticism of Modernism as that time, and this affected as well all the Soviet Constructivism. The winning entry was therefore not constructivist but an eclectic Stalinist architecture project by Boris Iofan. By the end of the 1920s, Constructivism was eventually replaced by Post constructivism, which featur ed buildings designed in a composite style and bore close resemblance to Neoclassicism.

Globalization Position Paper Essay

Globalization is the process making the worlds citizens increasingly interdependent economically, politically, and socially, as well as environmentally and technologically. Although, to what extent should we embrace it? By the given definition, you would expect globalization to allow cultures, ideas, and beliefs to spread across the globe, which would lead to the development of our countries. However, this is not the case as said here by William K. Tabb, Economist: â€Å"Globalization refers to the process of reducing barriers between countries and encouraging closer economic, political, and social interaction. Globalization could vastly increase the ability of people everywhere to improve their living standards by sharing knowledge and the fruits of human labor across those barriers. This, of course, does not happen.† Tabb is trying to tell us that while Globalization could be doing us of world of good, it has failed to do so in recent years. In fact, a process that is supposed to allow us all to grow, is transforming us into somewhat of a monoculture due to acculturation. Tabb believes that there is vast potential for our world to become closer through political, social, and economic interaction if we allow it to do so. Sometimes we just don’t know exactly how to go about it. The aspect of globalization that has been occurring lately is more like assimilation than accommodation. Some have said that what is happening to the world is â€Å"Americanization†, which means that the world is becoming less of a mix of numerous different countries and cultures and more like one giant America. The beliefs, values, views, history and language of a people should all be evident within their culture, and while we can allow globalization to help counties grow, it should not be in a way that takes away or lessens their culture and it’s importance. Under the best conditions, globalization reduces barriers allowing the worlds countries to interact closer with one another. Though it should not become an unreciprocated act where only one country is receiving positive ideas and technology without the other. It seems that the world’s more powerful countries easily share their culture but have no interest in receiving anything from the less powerful countries, or when they do,  receive much less. This is not due to the less dominant country but rather to the more powerful one being somewhat uninterested. â€Å" Globalization could vastly increase the ability of people everywhere to improve their living standards by sharing knowledge and the fruits of human labor across those barriers. This, of course, does not happen.† Despite what William K. Tabb said here, these very things have happened, just not as often as one would perhaps wish them to. Take Taiwan for example. Thirty years ago the country had widespread poverty and was extremely poor. Nowadays they are as rich as the Spanish, with poverty rates cut by more than 50% and real wages that are now 10 times higher. How did they manage to accomplish this? This vast amount of economic progress was achieved through land reform, a government push for industrialization (such as the emersion of sweatshops), innovative ideas (more people owning their own business), cultural changes, and democracy rather than dictatorship. As long as foreign countries around the world are able to improve their living standards through globalization, and can do so without becoming too westernized, we can still see globalization as a positive occurrence. Globalization can do us of world of good. In some ways it has accomplished this and in others it has failed. It has been proven that it has the capability to change the lives of many through an improvement in their living standards. Not to mention that it reduces barriers and allows more interaction between people from different corners of the globe. But while it has managed to do this, a process that is supposed to allow us all to grow, is transforming us into a monoculture at the same time. William K. Tabb’s perspective is not the only one, but should only be embraced to some extent. Globalization should reduce barriers preventing closer relations with other nations and improve living standards. However, it should do so without causing too much westernization in eastern countries, and without assimilating the less dominate nations.

buy custom Pacific Quad Incorporation essay

buy custom Pacific Quad Incorporation essay The defendant in this case is the Pacific Quad Incorporation. Ladies, gentle and the distinguished jury, the testimony that is going to be presented and heard in this case, may at times prove to be complicated, but still there is some remedy to it. The rule that the judge is likely to ask to be applied at the end is rather simple: Did Pacific Quad Inc., fail to take immediate action to stop its operations manager from sexually harassing Ms. Rowe, an event that led to her wrongful dismissal? The indictment in this case sets for that the Pacific Quad Incorporations operations manager; Stanley Schmit sexually harassed his subordinate staff, Ms. Rowe. Schmit continuously made very offensive comments of sexual nature to Rower, leered at the plaintiff, brushing by her so that he could touch her, and even tried to proposition her. The defendant in this case did not plead guilty to the indictment. Therefore, it is the duty of the jury and the legal bench to prove the company guilty. And, if they prove the defendant guilty, every person with interest in this indictment must definitely find it so. The burden of proof lies on the prosecutor to precisely prove to that Schmit was an operations manager and an employee of the Pacific Quad Inc., and Walsh, the president of the company did nothing to stop him from his alleged sexual harassment against Rowe. Instead of taking some punitive or corrective action against Schmit, he simply ratified the sexual harassment claims that were brought before him. As agents of the company, both Walsh and Schmit who are in the position of authority and vested with the power of running the company, they are supposed to manage it with absolute care, diligence and profession, since they had failed in this, the company was liable to award damages to Rowe, if she wins the case. Schmit and Walsh could not be individually sued for the offense committed since they made the mistake in the course of duty. However, they can still be sued for failing to observe the professional diligence and care in the line of duty, which is against the set work standards, c odes of ethics and procedures. It would be one of the most barbarous facts, to sexually harass a lady and make her lose her employment, probably the only means of livelihood. Therefore, the plaintiff claims her lost wages, psychotherapy expenses, punitive damages, and emotional distress damages. Considering the facts in this case, relying on the presented substantive evidence, it is justified for the jury to compel the company to award damages for the loss suffered, as her compensation. Buy custom Pacific Quad Incorporation essay

USS Pensacola essays

USS Pensacola essays My grandfather, who is still alive today, joined the United States Navy in 1944, as a young man. He went through basic training at Great Lakes Training Base. After his graduation from basic training, he was sent to the South Pacific for duty. His first assignment was in the Admiralty Islands on a floating dry dock. After a short tour there, he was sent to the Philippine Islands where he was assigned duty with the Naval Supply Depot and the 24th Seabees. His job there was to oversee the establishment of a supply depot for supplying the 5th and 7th fleet. My grandfather oversaw the unloading of the many incoming cargo ships that were carrying war supplies and much more. The location of this supply depot was in a hot zone that took on fire many times each and every day. It was mostly sniper fire. According to my grandfather, the snipers were not very good. They scored very few actual hits. They were taken out by United States forces. The sailors would typically take cover u ntil the fire stopped, and then resume working. My grandfather spent slightly more than one year in the Philippine Islands. Once the war was declared to be over, and the smoke had cleared from the two atomic bombs that were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, he transferred back to the 7th fleet. He was assigned duty on the USS Pensacola (CA-24). The USS Pensacola was a heavy cruiser that was named after the city of Pensacola, Florida. This heavy cruiser was built at the Navy Yard, New York, at a cost of $11,100,000. It was launched from the Navy Yard on April 25, 1929. This amazing ship stood sixty five feet three inches tall and measured five hundred eighty five feet seven inches long, displacing nine thousand one hundred tons of water. There were ten eight inch fifty five caliber guns, eight five inch twenty five caliber guns, and several twenty and forty millimeter canons. The heavy cruiser was capable of air attacks, surface engagements, and ...

Tricing Pendants and Lifeboat Rigging

Tricing Pendants and Lifeboat Rigging A tricing pendant is part of the rigging that allows lifeboats to be launched. The system to launch a lifeboat is complex and the tricing pendants play an essential role if the ship is heeling or laid over because of damage. The Mechanics of Launching a Lifeboat To launch a lifeboat the boats must first be freed from the cradle straps called Gripes. (Insert nautical gripe joke here.) Next small twin cranes called Davits are brought into the launch/recovery position. Each Davit is equipped with a powerful winch and emergency manual brake. These Davits are fitted with hoisting lines called Falls which attach to the lifeboat harness which is in turn fastened to the gunwales on opposite sides at the fore and aft of the boat. Lines attached to the bow and stern of the lifeboat are called Frapping Lines and are used to control the movement of the boat as it is lowered or raised. An additional line is attached to the bow of the lifeboat to keep it near the ship after all other rigging has been released. This line is called a Sea Painter. Under the boat, usually attached to the keel, is a device called a McCluny Hook which allows lines attached under the boat to be released remotely. The lines attached to the McCluny Hook are routed to the Tricing Pendants which are an apparatus used to pull the lifeboat to the embarkation station when the ship is at an abnormal angle. If lifeboats were lowered while the vessel is heeling over from the damage they will either slide down the side if they are on the high side or enter the water far away from the embarkation station if they are on the low side. Its very easy to be injured in a lifeboat. The Costa Concordia wreck off the coast of Italy is a prime example of the dangers of evacuating by lifeboat. At least two people died on the wreck because they attempted to swim to the rocky shore rather than risk the poorly deployed lifeboats. A tricing pendant is a device that is made up of three main components. The length of line or chain that is attached to the keel of the lifeboat via a McCluny Hook, a block and tackle system that increases mechanical force, and the lines and often winches that draw the lifeboat close enough for passengers to get aboard. Lifeboat Drills Under SOLAS There is an ongoing controversy surrounding SOLAS Conventions as they pertain to lifeboat training and drills. For safety reasons, SOLAS compliant vessels cannot have occupied lifeboats during launch or recovery. Lowering manned lifeboats is very hazardous to everyone involved and there are many deaths and injuries from lifeboat drills. Its a very different experience to lower a lifeboat with operators than it is to lower an empty lifeboat. This is true for the crew who will ride down in an emergency situation and for the crew running the Davit winches above and tricing pendant gear at the embarkation station. SOLAS is probably right to try and limit training injuries, but without realistic training that is used for emergency evacuation of the vessel, there is little hope for competent launch and recovery of lifeboats in a bad situation. Some ships continue to carry out lifeboat drills with a mix of skirting the rules and using allowed activities to replace prohibited training. This will result in some skills but not the best skills. To have the best training for your crew they must be exposed to the most realistic training available and that means manned lifeboat drills. If SOLAS is to be amended it will take many voices to overcome what is generally seen as a hindrance to safety training. Speak up directly to the IMO or email here and we will pass the comments along.

Proposition paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Proposition paper - Essay Example nequality was not in decline; in fact, class inequality had made everyone become part and parcel of the struggle against the British crown (Young, 1999). To begin with, poverty had led to constant confrontations with the British as exemplified in the Boston massacre where British soldiers killed five men in a near riot situation. This riot inspired people like George Hewes to get involved in insurgent activities over the next three years including the Boston ‘Tea Party’. The enhancement of class inequality was also demonstrated in the life of George Hewes when he made shoes for poor people and had to compete with factories in Lynn that produced over 80,000 shoes a year (Young, 1999). In addition, he had to incur debts when he bought his attire for his wedding and would soon be in debt for ten years. This was compounded by the fact that his family had to stay with relatives because of extreme poverty. In such circumstances, it is plausible to argue that there was no decline of the class inequality in the revolutionary era (Young, 1999). The persistence of class inequality in America is demonstrated in its entirety by two significant factors that Alfred Young notes in his writings of George Hewes’ life. These are the revolutionary/ insurgency spirit, and the daily life of a common man (Young, 1999). To begin with, the development of an atmosphere of tension was not necessarily occasioned by hatred towards the British crown but towards the conditions of living which made people become ever more conscious about the inequalities they experienced. They had to compete with large factories in making common goods and had to endure low wages as demonstrated by the life of George Hewes living with relatives, being in debts because of clothes, and making shoes for a living. Additionally, the frustrations that were exerted on installations of the government and the capitalists such as the harassment of British soldiers in Kings Street in March 1770 and the destruction

Karim Rashid Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Karim Rashid - Assignment Example The concept of not liking the black color and preferring the color pink implies that black denotes fear, hatred, scare and anything that is harmful for us. The color pink on the other hand, is more bright and vibrant and depicts freshness. Therefore, instead of using black Rashid prefers to use pink in his designs to make his customers feel vibrant, lovely and confident. The concept of installing cameras in restaurants is an excellent idea because if any kind of unethical activities take place in any restaurant then, the criminals can easily be caught with the help of such cameras. (Karim Rashid, 2010)    Karim Rashid is one of the famous designers in the world who aims at changing the world with his classy designs. He is an Egyptian born in the year 1960. Rashid is an artistic person and the sight of sunset fascinates him. Rashid has won many awards for his designs. His recent project will be showcased in the Milan Furniture Fair. Rashid’s father is the greatest mentor of his life. Rashid is also a music lover. Some of his favorites are Terry’s cafà ©, Baby Mammoth etc. Rashid also has a passion for reading books. In fact, three books are very close to his heart. One of the books speaks of how a person can motivate the world with his ideas and thoughts thereby bringing in a change in the world. The other book is on psychology by Donald Norman and the last one is an autobiography by Miles Davis. Rashid feels that pink color portrays an energetic feeling and therefore he avoids black. The restaurants that he has designed have been planned in such a way that the customer s can make themselves feel comfortable, entertained and relaxed. Rashid does not love nature. His greatest loss in his life is that of his wife’s death. Disloyalty is that one quality that Rashid hates most. Rashid has also written a book named â€Å"I want to change the world, it’s a big world†. He has introduced modern technology in his

Hip-Hop as Black Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hip-Hop as Black Music - Essay Example The first few chapters of the book dig out the exact origin of hip-hop which is an amalgamation of rap music, break-dancing and graffiti art. The social condition of New York in the 1970’s played a crucial role in hip-hop’s origination. According to Jeff Chang, the building of the Cross-Bronx road laid grounds for the birth of hip-hop music. The building of this road forced almost 60,000 people to relocate to other neighborhoods. Thus, while the white people moved to better places like the Westchester Country, the black and brown communities retreated to South Bronx which was annihilated economically. â€Å"Where once apartment buildings or private homes had stood were now hills of rubble, decorated with ripped-open bags of rotting garbage that had been flung atop them† and though there was an increase in social housing in the area, there were barely any jobs. Almost 80% of the youth were left jobless. Thus, gangs were formed by the American-African and Afro-Cari bbean mostly to revolt against the â€Å"white-gangs† who were already present in the neighborhood. Thus from Chang’s presentation of the historical settings it is evident that origin of this art form was in the impoverished South Bronx areas where â€Å"where a complex maelstrom of social and political forces at play in the 1950s, 60s, and early 70s left the African-American and Hispanic communities searching for a way out of a lives of poverty, gang-dominated crime, and drugs†.... One of the bases of the music is racism. Discrimination, loss of jobs, fake promises and deindustrialization paved the way for the â€Å"gang-culture†. Gangs like Black Panthers safeguarded the interests of the blacks and rebelled against the whites. Similarly, several other gangs came into existence. Puerto Rican revolutionaries and Bronx gangs joined hands with drug dealers and other illicit groups against the government. Thus, gradually and eventually a firm footed unity enveloped between the gangs. Chang also talks about some of the well-known pioneers and inventors of hip-hop music who started making their name in these gangs. DJ Kool herc was the inventor of hip-hop music and the best known DJ in the whole of New York City and was an immigrant from Kingston (Chang, pg-69). He created a new way of playing music, inspired by Jamaican sound culture, and became a renowned DJ. Along the same lines, Chang has also written about the emergence of another famous DJ- Afrika Bambaa taa who previously led a gang called Black Spade. Here we are able to understand that the impoverished areas hosted a lot of parties where. The parties were held as an alternative to gang life. Herc created his own music and recited words according to beats, thereby becoming laying grounds for rapping. Thus, hip-hop slowly emerged as a party movement where most people presented new music forms. These youth who were jobless and impoverished slowly developed an identity and brought in hip-hop music. In the next section, Chang describes the politics associated with hip-hop music. The political atmosphere caused a transformation of hip-hop music from a party music to a more politically inclined art form. The music form was implicitly political in the sense that youth from diverse national backgrounds

Micro26isa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Micro26isa - Essay Example In this respect, the firms only have the option of working with the prevailing price or lower. This constitutes what taking price is. There are various assumptions that compel the firms in this market to take prices. Sellers and buyers are many and any action towards increasing prices will only worsen sales through migration of buyers. Products are homogeneous and change of price will only divert buyers to get the same products from other firms selling at the prevailing or lower prices. These assumptions play a significant role in pushing firms to take the market prices or fail. Some of the industries with such assumptions include clothing and textile, Cosmetics, electrical and electronics industry among others. Some industries like medicine and drugs, energy among others cannot accommodate these assumptions hence exhibit other market structures. 2. Shut-down Point for a Firm (20 points) When will the competitive firm shut down in the short run? When will it incur a loss but continue to produce? Draw a graph showing each scenario and explain. It is important to note that shut down point is the level of output and price where the firm can just cover its total variable cost. Some of the key issues to consider in determining this point include; relative position of the average variable cost which is always at its minimum for this condition. Where the marginal cost curve crosses the average variable cost curve also sums up to shut down of the firm. At this point, the producer is indifferent between producing and temporarily shutting down. The firm incurs a loss from either action. In the event that market prices fall below the firm’s average variable cost, temporary shutdown is preferable in the short run. In case the firm continues to produce, losses from its operation merely add to losses that results from the firm’s fixed costs and shut down will lead to slump in losses. Figure 1 : Shut down when P < AVC ATC Price MC AVC P = MR Quantity A price tak ing firm that intends to remain operational will minimize losses or maximize profit if it will be able to produce the output level at the point where P = MC and variable costs are also covered. In this case, the portion of the firm’s short run marginal cost curve which lies above its average variable cost becomes the short-run curve of the firm. Figure 2: retrieved on May 13, 2013 from: http://www.analystnotes.com/notes/subject.php?id=119 Considering the grahp above, in case the price is below P1, the firm should shut down its operation. Long-Run Cost Curve, Economies of Scale, and Firm Size (15 points, 5 points each) A. Explain how economies of scale and the long-run cost curve influence firm size and firm concentration. The theoretical presentation starts with the short-run and shows the average cost curves (Total, fixed and variable) along with the marginal cost. The curves are presented in Figure 1 MC ATC cost in $ AVC AFC Quantity Figure 1. Short-run unit cost curves: ma rginal cost (MC), average total cost (ATC), average variable cost (AVC) and average fixed cost (AFC). The short-run cost curves are normally based on a production function with one variable factor of production that displays first increasing and then decreasing marginal productivity. Increasing marginal productivity is associated with the negatively sloped portion of the marginal cost curve, while decreasing marginal productivity is associated with the positively sloped port

High Involvement Management as a Management Tool to Intensify Work Essay

High Involvement Management as a Management Tool to Intensify Work - Essay Example According to Woods (2008), high involvement management as a management tool is focused on employee involvement in a particular work structure. The technique is mainly centered on the employee being allowed to make essential decisions regarding their jobs, as well as being part of the business. When looked at from a varying perspective, the employees are granted role empowerment. Bockerman, Bryson & Illmakunnas (2012) assert that employees who experience HIM have higher wellbeing and are less likely to absent from their duties when compared to like employees who are not subjected to the same conditions. Job demand control (JDC) model is founded on the fact that the value of employees in an organization is indispensable (Zirwatul, Ibrahim, and Ohtuska, 2012, 11). According to these authors, the success of an organization needs to be focused on the characteristics of the job as well as the wellbeing of the employees. Karasek and Theorell (1990) coined the job demand-control-support (JDCS) model that relates the characteristics of the job to wellbeing. From the brief definitions discussed, it is evident that JDC and JDCS models relate to high involvement management technique directly and with respect to the wellbeing of the employees. This brings back the thesis question; is high involvement management a tool that is used by managers to intensify work? Karasek (1979) points out that job demands are the stressors involved in completing an assigned workload. Such stressors are psychological and may relate to tasks that were not expected or a conflict between personal issues and the job (291). It is directly evident that work output by an employee who is stressed by such issues cannot be equal to a sober-minded employee who has no issue disturbing them. Karasek had an additional concept of latitude that that is based on decision authority and skill discretion (1979). e

Modern Art as Creative Expression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Modern Art as Creative Expression - Essay Example The essay "Modern Art as Creative Expression" analyzes modern art. It is true that in some modern art, some non-representational designs found its way in museums and art exhibits to provide lessons on the aesthetic approach by seeing the surface of things, not their meanings, subjects, and all the connotations they may have for us. Personally, the issue should not really be whether one hates or loves modern art. Each and everyone is entitled to one’s personal opinion. However, one must closely evaluate what values have modern art provided today’s generation – what legacy would it give to the future generations. Modern art, as averred by Bishop through The Spirit of Modernism was shaped by turbulent events like war, fascism and the rise of the mass society. These factors have profoundly influenced the unconventional, non-representational designs expressed by contemporary artists. Jackson Pollock’s painting which removed all subject matter in consideration could either be treated as a subject of the I-thou (or intrinsic relation) leaving viewers to a feeling of resignation by leaving things as they are. It, however, provides the opportunity for practicing the aesthetic approach in humanities. Definitely, the artist has a reason for creating art in the way that was presented. The interesting part is to decipher diverse angles, dimensions, and perspectives accorded by non-representational art works. Modern art offered artists with opportunities to go beyond traditional rules in art and expression by a free flow.

High Involvement Management as a Management Tool to Intensify Work Essay

High Involvement Management as a Management Tool to Intensify Work - Essay Example According to Woods (2008), high involvement management as a management tool is focused on employee involvement in a particular work structure. The technique is mainly centered on the employee being allowed to make essential decisions regarding their jobs, as well as being part of the business. When looked at from a varying perspective, the employees are granted role empowerment. Bockerman, Bryson & Illmakunnas (2012) assert that employees who experience HIM have higher wellbeing and are less likely to absent from their duties when compared to like employees who are not subjected to the same conditions. Job demand control (JDC) model is founded on the fact that the value of employees in an organization is indispensable (Zirwatul, Ibrahim, and Ohtuska, 2012, 11). According to these authors, the success of an organization needs to be focused on the characteristics of the job as well as the wellbeing of the employees. Karasek and Theorell (1990) coined the job demand-control-support (JDCS) model that relates the characteristics of the job to wellbeing. From the brief definitions discussed, it is evident that JDC and JDCS models relate to high involvement management technique directly and with respect to the wellbeing of the employees. This brings back the thesis question; is high involvement management a tool that is used by managers to intensify work? Karasek (1979) points out that job demands are the stressors involved in completing an assigned workload. Such stressors are psychological and may relate to tasks that were not expected or a conflict between personal issues and the job (291). It is directly evident that work output by an employee who is stressed by such issues cannot be equal to a sober-minded employee who has no issue disturbing them. Karasek had an additional concept of latitude that that is based on decision authority and skill discretion (1979). e

Native American Genocide Essay Example for Free

Native American Genocide Essay When people think of genocide, there are many different examples that may run through their heads. An important example of genocide that came about during World War II was Adolf Hitler’s attempt to eliminate people of the Jewish faith. This example may be the most prominent in history, but it may not have been the earliest. Many think that genocides only occur in foreign countries, but in fact, one of the first genocides known to man took place in the soil we are currently standing on. When colonists first came to America, they thought they were discovering new land. Contrary to their belief, they were actually attempting to take over land that was already inhabited by people with their own way of life. What happened after that is described as â€Å"an American Holocaust† (Lewy). It is evident that a myriad of death and destruction came to Native American tribes when the colonist explorers and settlers arrived. The mass obliteration of the Native American population from an estimated 12 million in 1500 to barely 237,000 in 1900 represents a tragic genocide. The definition of genocide, according to The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy Third Edition, is â€Å"the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group†. According to this definition, what happened to the Native Americans is genocide because it was deliberate and premeditated. Sir Jeffrey Amherst, commander-in-chief of Colonists forces in North America, wrote the following to Colonel Henry Bouquet at Fort Pitt: You will do well to try to inoculate the Indians with smallpox by means of blankets, as well as to try every other method, that can serve to extirpate this execrable race. Between 75 to 90 percent of all Native American deaths resulted from smallpox (Halverson). Therefore, the Colonists were not oblivious to the spread of smallpox throughout the Native American population. In fact, they were the ones who deliberately planned to exterminate the Native American race by the use of biological warfare, an obvious act of genocide. In addition, The Indian Removal Act of 1830 also led to a great reduction in the Native American population. â€Å"The treaty began the incredible but deadly move of over 70,000 Native Americans within the span of ten years which resulted in over 3,000 tribes alone dying during the move† (Lewy). This indicates that the Colonists were attempting to eradicate the Native American race, proving that what has happened is a form of genocide. In opposition to this, some may argue that the colonists were truly oblivious to the spread of smallpox and that as soon as they came to know about it they tried to stop it. When President Thomas Jefferson heard about the disease, he started a vaccination program. This program vaccinated over 200,000 Native Americans (Coodey). They were not trying to use biological warfare and kill the Natives; moreover, the colonist really cared that the Native Americans became sick and did all they could do to try to help them. Also, when The Indian Removal Act was enacted, President Andrew Jackson promised the protection of tribes from all outside forces while they were going to the newly designated land. The act also guaranteed aid for those who were moving and needed help in doing so. Also it said that the Colonists army will help the Native Americans in any way possible (Coodey). This shows that the Colonists were really concerned about the Native Americans well-being throughout the trip. Since the colonists tried to help the Native Americans and it wasn’t deliberate or systematic, what happened to the Native Americans does not represent as a form of genocide. Refuting the opposition made above, contrary to popular belief, President Andrew Jackson had all the Native Americans fooled. There was something in the treaty that the Native Americans might have overlooked. It stated in the treaty that â€Å"if the Indians become extinct, or abandon, the same lands shall revert to the United States† (Delema). This proves that President Jackson somehow knew that the Native Americans will get killed during the journey, as if he had planned something to happen. Also, the Trail of Tears isn’t the only way that they tried to kill the Native Americans; the colonists were greedy for land and grew less tolerant of the Natives standing in their way. When Texas entered the union, the colonists really wanted the land and wanted the Native Americans to emigrate out of Texas. Colonists continually went onto their lands and continually killed many people. In 1859, after a system of reservations failed, Native Americans were finally forced out of Texas (Delema). I would say that the Colonists went to large extremities to annihilate the Native Americans which represents as a form of genocide. Another example is on a Tribal level, rather than state, which occurred in 1877 with the Nez Perce Tribe. Approximately 750 members of the Nez Perce tribe were forced to move to designated reservations under orders of General Howard. The Nez Perce fled to Montana where they thought that they would be safe from Howard. Once they were settled, Colonel John Gibbon took orders from Howard to carry on an attack on the tribe with the intention of wiping them out, not just relocating them. Gibbon issued a surprise attack which left numerous dead (Highberger). This is a form of genocide because it was systematic, since he was ordered and the attack was carried out by a commander, and it was deliberate, since they had planned to intentionally kill them. In conclusion what happened to the Native Americans is a form of genocide because it was a deliberate and systematic death and destruction of the Native Americanswhich does fall under the definition of genocide. The history of Native Americans tells us that it can be determined as a form of genocide cause by the Colonists settlers since what they did was premeditated. While we cannot go back in time, we can learn from the mistakes and learn tolerance from history. This can help us realize that not only does this go on in other nations, it may also occur on America’s homeland. Works Cited Coodey, Shorey â€Å"The Trail of Tears and the Forced Relocation of the Cherokee Nation† Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation (2006): 351. Proquest. Web. May 22, 2012. genocide. The American Heritage ® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. 21 May. 2012. . Halverson, Melissa â€Å"Native American during the Smallpox Epidemics: an Evolution. †ABO Blood Group Frequencies in Pre-European Contact America: An Ancient DNA Analysis(2007). NCWiseOwl. Web. May 22, 2012. Highberger, Mark â€Å"Nez Perce War. † American History (2006). NCWiseOwl. Web. May 22, 2012 Lewy, Guenter â€Å"Were American Indians the Victims of Genocide? † A Century of Dishonor (2007). ProQuest. Web. May 22, 2012.

Managing Communication: Knowledge and Information

Managing Communication: Knowledge and Information In the background of twenty first century, the firms are competing with each other in this challenging and complex environment. It is transformed by numerous factors such as diffusion of technologies, technological development, and information technology along with the use of right knowledge (Hitt, Keats, DeMarie, 1998). This landscape requires every firm to act differently to flourish and survive. For that they have look for new resources of the competitive advantage and some new forms of competition. This it requires the proper understanding of information, knowledge and the proper communication process for gaining competitive advantage. Information is required and it acts as the back bone of the todays business and vital part of large business firms. The massive storage of data needs the purposes from the decision making processes to risk management process. Ernst Young have adopted the combination of information, knowledge and communication ties strategic themes on the basis of globalization such as operational excellence, clients, financial stability and people. This firm confines and takes action on the knowledge within their organization. Information, knowledge and communication process describes their strategies to ensure that they are acting upon to gaining competitive advantage. This large firm uses ERP for their work so that they have achieved higher operational excellence in their work. They use internet and intranet within their organization and its all offices are interconnected with each other. For carrying out the communication process, they held regular meetings for transferring information form one department to other departments. Thus makes it easy for them to gain competitive advantage by adding strategies to their business growth. The large scale business is globally distributed and having reliable as well as stable infrastructure along with the network administration. Its applications handle and run the fast processing. The information technology has enabled the business firm to offer services well. The business communication process has become very vital for managing business growth as well its success. The Ernst Young Company has achieved efficiency with network-based communications such as email and web presence. These tools have supported the customer support that has grown the companies to compete in the larger markets. Some communication applications have made it easier for the firm to communicate and collaborate efficiently with their clients and customers. Thus there is a strong need of the combination of information, knowledge and communication process in the organization. The firm has gained competitive advantage by establishing and providing professional services. This company has provided a broad collection of services for capturing growth and managing risk just by adopting proper communication process. The information, knowledge and communication plays an important role for gaining competitive advantage and it is a better meaning of providing competitive advantage. They all are required in the tangible form to meet the needs of the company. The companies fail due to its inability for managing these points to meet internal as well as external requirements (Hodgson, 1999). As it s discussed in the previous section, EY has adopted information system for communicating with their clients and customers. The company has achieved efficiency with network-based communications. These tools have supported the customer support that has grown the companies to compete in the larger markets. Thus it helps them to grow in the global market. The company has gained the competitive advantage by achieving excellence at the firms level. What managers are doing to improve decision making by using information and knowledge internally and externally to improve decision making and taking? Answer Generally managers make decision on the basis of their perception, understanding, events and people around them. They can experience some instances where their perception is taken as mistakes. The perception along with the right information and knowledge plays an important role in decision making. But it has suggested that managers may get into some problems that result from wrong perceptions, and are considered as rare and they are often negligible. For any decision to be effective, it should make use of relevant, timely and accurate use of information (Ajayi et al., 2007). Managers work on knowledge based activities while decision making. Broadly these activities are divided into two categories such as process and practice oriented practices. The managers use process oriented approach by getting the tactic knowledge. This knowledge can be taken from formal interviews and meetings. The requirements of knowledge and information are known as an outline of the decisions that are to be proved as effective in decision making. The importance of information has not only been at present, but had played quite an important role even in earlier days as Mudrick Rose (1971) suggested that for an organization to survive, information plays supreme role. Managers gather the knowledge and information from some internal and external sources. On the basis of the available data, they implement it for the decision making. The managers in Ernst Young firm play an important role in decision making and they are having good decision making capabilities. The managers take decision on the basis of collected information and gathered knowledge from internal and external sources. They conduct meeting with their peers, their juniors and with their other executives for better decision making process. By doing this, they can get the information at internal level. Also they collect information from the external sources. They communicate with their clients and customers for getting feedback and for knowing about the needs. In addition to these, the time in todays scenario makes use of various ERPs for information handling. Big giants like Ernst Young make use of these information handling techniques for better decision making process. Even the organizations today make use of software tools such as SAP, which has its own intelligence techniques to recommend for better performance and growth of an organization. Managers use these tools for their decision making and various strategic decisions too. Therefore, the time has changed and the approach of managing situations too has changed. Thus, MIS has been in use increasingly at present times. The technique helps in finding the disturbances that are there within the system to help the management take a step for getting against the problem (Obi, 2003). The first step of any decision making process involves the process to define the problem. Managers need to define the problem that exists within their organization. For this purpose, they arrange meetings with their colleagues to know about the exact situation. Based on the analysis made from the meetings, strategic level of management finds out the exact problem statement within an organization. This problem is then taken as the main factor to collect the information related to it there within the organization (and that existing outside the organization as well). From the information collected, various conclusions are drawn that help in exploration of ways to sort out the situation. The management then makes use of the information along with the problem statement to process the information. This processed information is further made use of to come to the final conclusion by making decisions. What are the strategies to increase personal networking to widen Employees Involvement in the decision-making process? Answer Involvement of employee in decision making process creates the basic need of todays marketplace. Managers make an effort to increase the involvement of employees in the organization. Therefore, the well integrated organization results in better outcomes. There are a number of ways by which an organization makes an effort to increase the employee involvement in decision making process using the personal networking approach. The increased rights given to employee to raise his voice and involve in decision making process helps him attain outcomes (Macleod Bradey, 2004). The strategic management department makes an effort to arrange regular get together there within the organization to raise the number of communication of employees. This raises the strength of relationship of members with each other. This also helps them feel comfortable in working with each other. The employees make an effort to communicate with each other at such instances and get rid of any personal distances. This helps in creation of better relations of employees, which raises the opportunity of better performance. The employees work with each other in a better manner using the personal network (Robinson et al., 2004). Therefore, the importance of personal network cannot be ignored. The personal networking helps in establishing better relations there within the organization. The employee feels comfortable working with the organization, thus acts in favour of the organization. Increased power provided to the employee is the root cause of this change in behaviour. The management shall increasingly favour creative and innovative ideas in the meetings and give the employees an opportunity to represent these ideas in meetings. This would help in better opportunities among employees to participate in organizational activities. Therefore, the decision making opportunities are increased. This would further result in motivation among individuals due to increased importance provided to them. Therefore, the operational activities are improved of individuals. The management enjoys benefits due to this act, as the innovation and creativity gives an opportunity of accomplishment and new insights among individuals. The very common cause of employee leaving an organization to join the other is due to lack of importance provided to the employee. Other factors besides this include promotion and rewards (CIPD, 2007). If an organization gives the individuals an opportunity to participate in decision making process, this helps them motivate to work for the organization. Therefore, the management shall incorporate such a kind of strategy at work place that there are improved personal relations of employees there within the organization, and therefore, results in improved performance for the success and growth. Employees shall give the employees an opportunity to discuss directly with the top management in case of any problem. The problems shall be duly heard by the managers. This would further help in improved personal relations of employees. This would act in favour of individuals as well as organization. The staff would be increasingly active to participate in decision making process. This would act as a strong motivating factor for individuals. In addition to this, the employees shall be given an opportunity to discuss their experience with others. There should not be stiff restrictions at place for the management process. This would ensure better flow of information transfer and communication process. Therefore, would help in betterment of the organizational objectives. One should remember that the retention of top performers is of supreme importance for an organization. Therefore, personal networking should retain the employees for long term success. Develop a communication process to improve the decision making and organizational knowledge for your chosen organization. Answer Decision is considered as the form of a communication which takes social prospects of the people in the organizations (Andersen, 2003). There are three groups of the communication process: temporal prospects to the future, accurate prospects at the organization and social prospects that are directed at the participants in the communication process. Communication process plays supreme role for the success of an organization. There should be thorough communication between the two or more entities to ensure the proper flow of information. For Ernest and Young, it is suggested that managers shall arrange regular meetings with their team to motivate them. The targets shall be clearly stated by the managers (As they are at present), along with the motivational meetings. At present there is a hierarchical process for communication between different staff members. However, it is recommended to make use of the shorter channel. There should be a separate software application at work place to communicate. The staff members shall make use of this application to communicate with each other. This should be more or less like Skype. Therefore, the staff would be able to communicate with each other in a faster manner. This communication shall not restrict to particular group of people, but the integration should be of such an extent that an operator can even communicate with the strategic level of management. Thus, the hierarchical structure would be able to communicate with each other without the limitation of any particular group of people. This would be of help in ensuring that there is faster communication within the organization and the prop er strategic decisions are made. The operational level of staff would be able to communicate with the strategic level, thus helping them getting rid of problem conditions, if any. This would ensure the right use of technology and healthy work flow of the staff operations. Decision is an organizational process and can be created when the decisions are interconnected with each other and that can cause the uncertainty in decision making. It is considered that first decision in the process is no longer evaluated further (Seidl and Becker, 2006). The organization would be able to make better decisions thereon. The management would be able to communicate with each other through a direct channel. Therefore, the chances of miscommunication would reduce greatly. This would help in reduction of problem conditions. The flow of information would take place smoothly through this approach within the organization. This would further result in reduced risks of wrong information transfer. The back- up of whole information transfer, whether audio or textual or video, would be recorded to the main server. Therefore, the details are completely saved to the main database. This would help in reviewing all the discussions done, as and when required. Furthermore, the access of previous discussion would also help in analysing the flaw areas that exist within the complete network of Ernst and Young. The business is expected to grow through this strategy. Increased pace of communication and decision making process would help in attaining better results. The decision makers would thus be able to utilize the previous communication details to know about the approach that had helped them gain in the past. Based on this analysis, they can formulate future strategies for growth. This would help them to minimize the risks and make optimal solution of resources. Thus, the strategy is expected to help them in gaining better results. The organizations revenues are also expected to increase through this strategy. What role Knowledge Management plays in managing organisation strategically? Knowledge enables the companies to compete with each other. Knowledge about the customers, competitors, their strategies is very required. Firms have adopted knowledge management in their organization as the strategic orientation. For an example, low cost strategies are required for cost cutting in the organizations. Lowering prices and shortening of cycle times are some differentiation strategies that add value to the organizations. Thus it differentiates firms from their competition. Organizational knowledge theory tells how the knowledge plays an important role for managing organizations strategically. Organizational knowledge is known as the implicit and explicit knowledge that every individual try to acquire about the products, process and systems. The tactic knowledge can be gained by using the forms of cultures, routines etc and explicit knowledge is gained by some databases and manuals (Nahapiet Ghoshal, 1998; Grant, 1996; Nonaka Takeuchi, 1995). Knowledge management is very critical to achieve competitive advantage. External as well as internal sources are considered as important factors of the firms (Kogut Zander, 1992). Ernst young is an independent firm and it is renowned as most admired knowledge enterprises (MAKE). This organization is well known for its corporate knowledge driven firm and it works more on becoming strategically important. This firm creates and leverages the easy access to their knowledge to their clients as well as their practitioners and that has differentiated itself from other companies in the market. The main strategy of the company is that it emphasizes on both learning as well as sharing of knowledge. It connects the skill and ability of their people with the firm to be better that their competitors. EY have adopted client oriented approach or strategy that has been transmitted form the company to the teams for its applications. An applied knowledge management protocol has been implemented for making use of information in decision making, work and information alignment for optimizing performance levels, facilitating problem solving and distribution of knowledge for strategic purpose (CAPa, 1997). This application is effectively assisting the high and value added activities with the strategic context. It also broadcasts its business practices to meet differences. Generally there are two types of organizations that rely on codifying knowledge strategy to make total use of knowledge for individual stores it for easy access by using information and communication technology tools. There are the companies that rely on the personalization strategy for channeling of individual expertise to the right place for person to person interaction. Ernst Young is making explicit knowledge and inserting it in the store areas. It also promotes people network along with the technology based networks. It has also worked for knowledge management strategy but with the interpersonal relationship with their clients. This has emerged as a core concept for the firm. They create better balance between the internal as well as external part with the view of the globalised world (Ezingeard et al., 2002; Bartlett, 2000; Collins, 2002, 1998). The figure states the two dimensions in which one axis shows the degree for developing knowledge management on the technological frameworks from low degree to high. The other axis represents the personal networks on which the organization develops its knowledge sharing capabilities at personal level. The high degree shows the strong integration with the knowledge networks. It is high in the case of the EY firm. It has become a fact that new venture are growing rapidly, thus they have adopted the knowledge management in their organization to become strategically strong. It has been argued that knowledge management is not different issue. Xxxx company have some unique feature of the knowledge management how they are managing the knowledge strategically. This firm has emphasized different knowledge management activities. The adoption of organizational knowledge theory has become very important phenomenon for this firm. Effect of Caffeinated Sports Drink: Exercise and Heart Rate Effect of Caffeinated Sports Drink: Exercise and Heart Rate Manpreet Nijjar The Effect of a Sports Drink containing caffeine or Carbohydrates and the combination combined on Exercise and Heart Rate INVESTIGATION TASK This study investigated the effects of different energy drinks (a carbohydrate based sports drink, a caffeine based sports drink, a drink with the carbohydrates and caffeine combined), on resting heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), run time-to-exhaustion (RTTE), peak exercise HR, and return time to resting HR. RESEARCH QUESTION Would the consumption of particular energy drinks affect one’s heart rate and ability to exercise for longer? BACKGROUND INFORMATION Sports science which incorporates the effective use of nutrition and exercise science is now widely recognised in contributing factor optimising athlete performance. It follows that if an athlete wants to train for longer periods and minimise recovery period between exercises then he or she needs to be well nourished. Many of the body’s metabolic processes involved in exercise are dependent on the components of an athlete’s diet and therefore by adjusting these components, they may be able to change athletic capacity. Recently amongst many young people the use of energy drinks has become fashionable in addition to the more traditional use of multivitamins to improve athletic performance. Illicit taking of performance enhancing drugs, such as anabolic steroids, is also widely-recognised as a means of achieving rapidly improved athletic capabilities. [1, 2]. Despite these widely held beliefs, there is minimal evidence to underpin the claims of manufactures of these energy drinks that they have any significant effect on cardiovascular efficaciousness and overall performance, in particular that of short duration exercise. [3] There is no evidence to suggest that water alone is superior when compared to sports drinks in achieving increased exercise duration and capacity although the reverse has often been demonstrated. [1,5,8] [5-9 not used] A review of various research articles on the use of energy drinks and exercise performance reveals apparently inconsistent findings: Improved performance levels in exercises such as sprint cycling and cycling duration, weight lifting and sprinting. [10-15] No significant difference in exercise performance [11,14,15] Ingredients in the most popular sport drinks include caffeine, and the amino acid taurine, which both may impact on heart rate [18,19], Bichler and colleagues [20] investigated the combination of caffeine and taurine vs. a placebo and found it actually caused a significant decline in heart rate. Additional ingredients are carbohydrates, flavorings, herbs and B-vitamins. The amount and types of carbohydrate found in sports drinks was found to be variable. There were some ‘diet’ energy drinks that had zero carbohydrates compared to some with medium amounts (e.g. Powerade at 3.9g/100ml), and some very high amounts (KX drinks at 9g/100ml). The capacity of the drink to enhance performance is governed by its carbohydrate content. Simple carbohydrates (a combination of sucrose, glucose, and fructose) have been shown to be absorbed swiftly and oxidised easily to release energy; two factors vital to athletes to improve performance. [5,6]. The body uses carbohydrates to do ‘work’ – it is the preferred material for muscle contraction, the central nervous system and fat oxidisation. The body would prefer to use carbohydrates rather than have to break up proteins for energy. Ingested carbohydrates are digested into the bloodstream in the stomach and small intestines as smaller sugar components mainly of fructose, galactose and glucose. Fructose and galactose are then converted to glucose in the liver and released back into the bloodstream where it is used as required. The brain can only use glucose for its energy requirements. After ingestion of carbohydrates, the glucose levels increase in the bloodstream as per the above mechanism. If the body does not utilise this glucose, the excess glucose is stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen which is initiated by the enzyme insulin released by the pancreas. The human body can only store about 20000 calories equivalent of glycogen. Excess glycogen above this level is stored as fat (adipose tissue). When the body is exercising, it will use up the glucose as first choice. When the glucose levels have been depleted, an enzyme called glucagon will reverse the above process –turning glycogen back to glucose- and thus glucose levels in the bloodstream will increase. As muscles can only use the glycogen in them – they cannot borrow from resting muscles – so once the glycogen levels have been used, muscle fatigue results. It is thus important for athletes to restore glycogen levels back to their original levels by consuming carbohydrates. The use of a carbohydrate drink should thus aid by increasing the glucose levels directly after absorption from the stomach – typically 20 minutes after ingestion – and keep glucose levels high so that exercise can be done for longer duration. It should also help recovery time as any used glycogen can be quickly replenished. Another benefit that energy drinks could give the athlete is the restoration of any depleted electrolytes. An action potential sent down a nerve causes the muscle to contract which requires certain electrolytes for it to happen. It the muscle is repeatedly contracted, the electrolytes will become spent. As sports drinks contain electrolytes in them, these spent electrolytes are replaced and thus muscle contraction could happen at peak level. From the above, it can be reasonably assumed that ingestion of a carbohydrate energy sports drink 20 minutes before the commencement of exercise should enhance the athlete’s performance and also aid post exercise recovery. Caffeine, a naturally occurring alkaloid also known as trimethylxanthine, is found in coffee and tea plants and acts as an agonist of the central nervous system. Caffeine is also found in chocolate (from cocoa bean) and used as an additive in fizzy drinks. The percentage found in fizzy drinks is relatively small (approx.12mg/100ml) whereas in sports drinks, it is generally a lot higher (approx. 40mg/1000ml). Caffeine, which has a half-life of between three to five hours, (i.e. the time taken to decrease its concentration by half), is absorbed in the small intestine, then broken down into its components in the liver cell and distributed to body tissues within 45 minutes of ingestion. Caffeine breaks down into the following components [22]: Caffeine Metabolites Of the three metabolites of caffeine, theophylline, which only accounts for 4%, has minimal effect on the body. Of the other two, theobromine, formerly known as xantheose, is a bitter alkaloid and causes vasodilation and decreased ADH hormone production in the kidneys and thus leads to increased urine volume. The final metabolite of caffeine is paraxantine, a competitive nonselective phosphodiesterase inhibitor and a non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist. The effect of paraxantine on the human body is to: raise intracellular cAMP (a second messenger)which would lead to increased bloodstream glucose levels. A second messenger is a molecule that relays signals received at receptors on the cell surface to the target molecules in the cytosol and/or nucleus and will sometimes amplify this signal. raise free fatty acid concentration in serum by lipolysis (lipid breakdown) -raise plasma epinephrine (adrenaline) levels and increase diastolic blood pressure The overall mechanism and enzymes that caffeine interacts in order to be broken down are shown below, which is taken from PharmGKB website. [27]: [27] From the above information, it is reasonable to expect that following ingestion of a caffeine drink 20 minutes prior to exercise that the resting heart rate would increase due to the release of adrenaline by the caffeine metabolites. One would also expect the athlete to perform better and recover quicker after exercise as the caffeine increases lipolysis and increased glucose levels. Post exercise the resting heart rate will still be higher as the half-life of caffeine is between 3-5 hours. Composition of the drinks used in the experiment: Carbohydrate sports drink Carbonated water, Dextrose (87%), Maltodextrin, Magnesium Carbonate, Acidifier (Citric Acid), Anti-Caking Agent (Magnesium Salts of Fatty Acids), Flavouring, Vitamin C, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B6 Caffeine content 0mg per 250ml serving Carbohydrate content 24.2g per 250ml serving KX sugar free stimulation drink Carbonated water, citric acid, taurine (0.4% ), acidity regulator (trisodium citrate), flavouring, guarana extract (0.12%), colour, sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame K) caffeine , preservative (potassium sorbate), inositol, B vitamins. Caffeine content 80mg per 250ml serving Carbohydrate content 0mg per 250 ml serving KX simulation drink Citric Acid, Flavouring, Stabilisers (Acacia, Glycerol Esters of Wood Rosins), Caffeine, Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Inositol, B Vitamins (Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12) Caffeine content 80mg per 250ml serving Carbohydrate content 25g per 250ml serving Placebo drink Carbonated water, flavouring Caffeine content 0mg Carbohydrate content 0g Hypothà ¨ses Hypothesis General Prediction: The consumption of the carbohydrate energy drink will result in no appreciable increase in resting heart rate as well as after any physical activity. I would expect the participants to be able to do physical activity for longer and at a higher intensity. The consumption of the high caffeine energy drink will result in an increase in the resting heart rate and pre and post physical activity. I would also expect the participants to be able to do physical activity for longer and at a higher intensity. The consumption of the combined high caffeine and high carbohydrate drink will I believe increase the resting heart rate due to the caffeine content and also after physical activity it will still remain high. The amount of and intensity of physical activity done by the participants should be higher than the carbohydrate or caffeine drink alone. Post exercise the resting heart rate will be higher although one would expect the recovery time to be quicker than the other drinks. The placebo drink should have no appreciable difference on any resting heart rate or physical activity. Hypothesis: Carbohydrate drink: Consumption of carbohydrates will increase the amount of glucose in the bloodstream after absorption from the GIT. This means a temporarily high amount of glucose in the bloodstream after approximately 20 minutes but if resting, this high glucose amount will induce the production of insulin which will convert the excess glucose to glycogen. This glycogen conversion will reduce the glucose levels in the bloodstream to levels prior to the consumption of the carbohydrate drink. Although there is a popular belief that consumption of sugar-containing food or beverages can lead to temporary hyperactivity, sometimes referred to as a ‘sugar rush’, this is in fact scientifically disproven. [28] Caffeine drink: ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is produced by almost all living things in their cells organelles called mitochondria, and it is one of the nucleotides that make up DNA. It also acts as a cellular signal and the triphosphate acts an energy source for enzymatic reactions. It is not energy itself, but rather temporarily stores energy in its phosphodiester bonds. When the third phosphate bond is created, it immediately is broken and energy is released that can fuel the metabolic chemical reactions required by living organisms, which otherwise would be inefficient. This creates ADP which has one less phosphate attached to the group. An analogy to use with ATP is to think of it as a battery that is getting charged and when it is fully charged, it lets off a spark. This spark initiates the chemical reaction to start to do work in the body. Caffeine acts as an agonist(stimulant) on adenosine receptors but in a very general sense. As caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant which increases metabolism and therefore, the cellular consumption of ATP will cause the heart rate to elevate. So, post consumption, caffeine increases ATP levels in the body, which causes heart rate to elevate. Post exercise the heart rate will stay elevated (higher resting rate) because the presence of caffeine causes increased levels of cAMP, and at the same time enables cAMP to stay active for longer. Increased levels of cAMP result in an increase in ATP; resulting in an elevated heart rate for a longer period. METHOD: To ascertain whether the energy drink affects the resting heart rate: I will be choosing one subject and will be observing the effects the energy drink has on the heart rate at rest as well as after physical activity . Subject must be of normal BMI and without any health ailments in order to make sure I do not have any other factors affecting Subject’s heart rate. First I will be monitoring and recording the subject’s heart rate at fixed intervals after consumption of caffeine. Through this I will be able to conclude the amount of increment in the heart rate caused by the consumption of the energy drink I will also be able to determine the amount time it takes for the heart rate to reach its highest level after the consumption of an energy drink. Further on I will test the effect the energy drink has on the heart rate after physical activity. First I will record the heart rate of subject after running on the treadmill for time of 2 minutes on set speed of 7 km/ph which will give me subject’s heart rate after physical activity without the effect on the energy drink. After which I will make the subject perform the same . I will be making the subject perform this physical activity only after subject reaches peak heart rate after consuming the energy drink (Red Bull).