Infancy and Early Childhood Development Essay

Infancy and Early Childhood Development As a child develops families play a role in teaching the child. The first role is done through the five senses as a child’s brain develops. Parents are also responsible for making sure a child stays healthy. Piaget says that a child will learn through experiments in his or her world. Erickson and Freud also have ideas on family interaction in childhood development. Along with interaction a parent has different styles to bring up a child. These styles can help shape the child as he or she grows into adults. Early childhood education and cognitive development also play a role in childhood development also. Families affect development through interaction with a child, the parenting style used by the parent will also help shape the child as he or she grows, along with early education and cognitive development. Families play a role in infancy and early child development. Early childhood experience is in two categories; experience-dependent (cultural-bound) and experience-expectant (universal) that aid in brain growth (Berger, 2008). As the brain grows senses and motor skills such as seeing, mobility progress, and hearing improve. The child’s environment helps with this as the brain will respond to different particulars in life. Also in the biosocial aspect of development is health, a child will grow at expected rates and have better survival rates when the parents or caregivers practice healthy habits for the child such as immunization and nutrition, and regular well child check-ups. Another view of family effects on development comes from cognitive views of Piaget. Piaget’s work on sensorimotor intelligence and information processing says that infants progress from knowing their world through experiments. The child is shown objects by the parent and the parent tells the child what he or she is seeing, such as a cup, ball, or bottle. This communication with the child is how the family helps the child with language development. According Berger (2008), by one an infant can speak about two words, and by the age of two languages explodes, and at the toddler ages a child capable of speaking in short sentences. The last role from parents in the developing child comes from psychosocial theories. Emotions play a basic role in newborns two aspects of the role of emotions are from Erickson and Freud. Erickson’s theory is one of trust versus mistrust, and Freud’s theory is one of oral and anal stages. Both theories express the guidance given by parents to help raise their children. Parents and children play together, which helps develop social skills and attachment. Through attachment a child learns to explore and become independent in his or her world (Berger, 2008). Social play and attachment encourage social confidence. Besides play a parent must use a style to raise the child. Parenting styles vary the three most used styles consist of authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive. Authoritarian parents controls, evaluates behavior, and attitudes of the child with standard rules of conduct. A child who fails to follow the set rules normally receives punishment with no explanation regarding why. According to Baumrind (1991), these parents are â€Å"status and obedience oriented, and expect rules to be followed without explanation. † The authoritative parent also sets rules for his or her child. Authoritative parenting styles also sets rules for a child but unlike the authoritarian parent the parent is much more democratic about it. This parenting style permits the parent to be more responsive to the child’s needs, and listen to questions and concerns the child may have. The child is not punished when he or she does not meet expectations of the parent as the parent is more nurturing, and forgiving. Discipline with the authoritative parent is more supportive than punitive, as the parent wants the child to be assertive, socially responsible, self-regulating, and cooperative (Baumrind, 1991). The last of the three parenting styles is permissive. The permissive parent consults with the child about decisions, gives reasons for rules, and makes few demands of the child. The permissive parent is more of a resource for the child to use, and is not active in shaping or altering the child. The permissive parent will try to manipulate the child to arrive at desired results but will not show power over the child (Baumrind, 1991). Of the three parenting stages authoritative parenting has the best balance. Authoritative parents want for the child, helps shape the child into an upstanding citizen while nurturing and firm in rules. This parenting style values the expressiveness of the child, and still setting standards for the child. The authoritative parent will also be objective, uses reason, power, and shapes and reinforces achievements and objective for the child, but does this with consensus of the child and the child’s desires (Baumrind, 1991). Besides parenting education and cognitive development are important for a child. Early childhood education can began in the 1800s with private classes in a person’s home. Serious studies of cognition and early education began with Piaget’s work in defining stages of development. Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are both famous for theories on cognition, and early learning of young children. Piaget whom began his career as a biologist teaching in a boy’s school found an interest in child development after helping design a test on intelligence. His theory was that a child could not perform tasks until he or she was psychologically mature enough (Berger, 2008). His second stage or preoperational stage works in the classroom with the child using language to define objects. Vygotsky theory on early childhood learning is more of a social one. Vygotsky theory is a basis of young children’s thinking being self-centered and at time magical. His theory was a second aspect of cognition; young children can be sensitive to other people’s emotions and wishes. Every aspect of child development is in social context, children are curious and observant. Vygotsky called this apprentice in thinking, as older children and adults are the teachers of society. Younger children are guided participates as they learn to think from their mentors. Vygotsky belief was that children could do anything with the assistance of others in their social network (Berger, 2008). In conclusion as the brain grows, the interaction from the parent helps the  brain develop, along with parent keeping a healthy regimen. Parent and caregiver interacting with the child helps the child learn language. The three parenting styles: authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive help shape with rules and responsibilities. The well balanced parenting style is authoritative; allowing the child to understand why he or she is receives punishment, shapes and reinforces the child, and takes the child’s feeling into consideration. Early childhood education began in the 1800s. Piaget and Vygotsky both believed that education was important. Piaget thought that a child learned he or she was psychologically mature enough. Vygotsky belief was that children learn from others and could do anything with the help from their mentors. Cognition is needed to help a child learn, develop, and grow. Reference Baumrind, D. (1991). Child care practices anteceding three patterns of preschool behavior. Genetic Psychology Monographs, 75(1), 43-88. Berger, K. S. (2008). The developing person through the life span (7th ed. ). New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Guest, A. (2011). Taking sides: Clashing views in life-span development (3rd ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Becoming American

Dinesh D'Souza was born in Mumbai, India to parents from the state of Goa in Western India. He grew up in a middle-class family in Mumbai. His father was a chemical engineer; his mother is an office secretary. He was raised without great luxury, but neither did he lack for anything. He arrived in the United States in 1978, originally through a Rotary International program, attending Patagonia Union High School in Patagonia, Arizona, and then move to Dartmouth College, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in English in 1983.In 1981, D'Souza published the names of officers of the Gay Student Alliance in an article for The Dartmouth Review, including the names of those who were still closeted. While at Dartmouth, D'Souza became the editor of a conservative monthly called The Prospect. The paper and its writers ignited much controversy during D'Souza's editorship. Later on, D’ Souza published a lot of write up with regard to his new life in America.D’Souza able to illustrate t he feelings and emotion of an immigrant coming from a third world country, for him (D’Souza), as a new comer in America he feel a typical experienced that alternate between wonders and delight. D’Souza added that, America is a country where all people has freedom, hard working, the community is organized, the economic is abundant, the roads are properly paved, telephone has dial tone, highways and sign board are clear and accurate. Moreover, the author claimed that American government provides an amazingly good life for their ordinary citizen.Rich people live well everywhere, but what distinguishes America is that it provides a remarkably high standard of living for the â€Å"common man. † According to him (D’Souza) that â€Å"a country is not judged by how it treats its most affluent citizens but by how it treats the average citizen†. The author added, as an immigrant coming from a third world country, you cannot help noticing that America is a co untry where poor people live comparatively well; they had television sets and cars.Ordinary Americans not only enjoy security and dignity, but also comforts that other societies reserve for the elite. American worker particularly in construction regularly earned 4$ for a cappuccino, where maids drive nice cars, where plumbers take their families on vacation to Europe. If this luxurious living in America as compared to the living in the Third world country, all of us can noticed that huge gap. Because according to the author, the life in the Third world country was miserable, people are struggling for their basic existence, it is not that they don’t work hard.On the contrary, they labor incessantly and endure hardships that are almost unimaginable to people in America. In the villages of Asia and Africa, for example, a common sight is a farmer beating a pickaxe into the ground, women wobbling under heavy loads, children carrying stones. These people are performing arduous labo r, but they are getting nowhere. The best that they can hope for is to survive for another day. Their clothes are tattered, their teeth are rotten, and disease and death constantly loom over the horizon.For most poor people on the planet, life is characterized by squalor, indignity, and brevity. The author sited some problem with regard to the situation of a Third world country are their basic infrastructure is abysmal. The roads are not properly paved, the water is not safe to drink, pollution in the cities has reached hazardous levels, public transportation is overcrowded and unreliable, economic is unstable and there is a two-year waiting period to get a telephone.The poorly paid government officials are inevitably corrupt, which means that you must pay bribes to get things done. Most important, prospects for the children’s future are dim. Dinesh D'Souza has elaborate many reasons why America is so great, he was able to discussed some issue with regard to America’s equality, pursuit of happiness, the ethics of work, religious liberty, ideals and interest and American’s virtue. According to the author, American critics alleged that the history of United States is defined by a series of crimes, slavery and genocide.American critics even point out a demand for apologies for these historical offenses and seek financial reparations for minorities and African-American. But the truth is that American has gone further than any society in establishing equality of rights. As documented by William Mcneill in Plagues and People, it was determined that numbers of Indians did perish as a result of their contact with whites, but most of them died by contracting diseases such as smallpox, measles, malaria, tuberculosis for which they had not developed immunities.Surely, all of this is relevant to the reparations debate. A trenchant observation that this issue was totally healed is the fight of Muhammad Ali against George Foreman for the heavyweight tit le, for which this battle was held in the African nation of Zaire. The issue with regard to slavery proved to be the transmission belt that brought Africans into the orbit of Western prosperity and freedom. Blacks in America have a higher standard of living and more freedom than any comparable group of blacks on the continent of Africa.D’Souza, stated that all this allegation is not strictly true, for a few decades now we can see blacks and some minorities have enjoyed more rights and privileges than whites. The reason behind this is that America had implemented affirmative action policies that give legal preferences to minority groups in university admission, jobs and government contracts. The author illustrates the pursuit of happiness in America because it offers more opportunity and social mobility than any other country. As a matter of fact, most societies offer limited opportunities for and little chance of true social mobility.Even in Europe, social mobility is relativ ely restricted. On the other hand, D’Souza discussed the ethic of work in America that gives a worldly focus in which death and the afterlife recede from everyday view. The people gazed are shifted from heavenly aspiration to earthly progress. In America, American Founders are responsible for the change, drawing from the inspiration of modern philosophers like Locke and Adam Smith. The American Founders knew that they could not transform human nature, so they devised a system that would thwart the schemes of the wicked and channel the energies of flawed persons toward the public good.The religious and ethnic difference in America does not lead to extreme violence; there was generally no framework fro people to coexist harmoniously, although America has a lot of religious groups, such as Hindus, Muslims, Irish Catholics and Irish Protestant, Jews and Palestinians and etc. The government still managed to balance the culture and religious difference of their citizen. One reason that separation of religion and government worked is that colonial America was made up of numerous, mostly Protestant sects. The Puritans dominated in Massachusetts; the Anglicans, in Virginia; the Catholics were concentrated in Maryland; and so on.The second reason was, the American Founders were able to avoid religious oppression and conflict ii which they found a way to channel people’s energies away from theological quarrels and into commercial activity. D’Souza concluded his write up that America is the greatest, freest, and most decent society in existence. For him, America is an oasis of goodness in a desert of cynicism and barbarism and the history will view America as a great gift to the world, a gift that Americans today must preserve and cherish. He imagines that, if ever he remained in India, what probably is his life now?Would he find and married a woman who was identical of his religion, socio-economic and cultural background? Would he certainly become a medical doctor, an engineer or a software programmer? For him, as a writer, he considers his life as a destined one, the opportunity to migrate in America became his bridge to gain his success in life today. Bibliography Bookstove, Nov. 16, 2007. What so Great About America. Stanza Ltd. April 08, 2007. http://www. bookstove. com/Non-fiction/Whats-So-Great-About-America-by-Dinesh-Dsouza. 59078/1

Beowulf, the Tragic Hero

Beowulf, the Tragic Hero In the epic poem â€Å"Beowulf† the protagonist, Beowulf, portrays a tragic hero in a variety of ways. Although Beowulf was not a perfect being, he embraces many characteristics of a tragic hero. Beowulf’s ego put him into many difficult situations. For example the battles he fought against Grendel, Grendels Mother, and the dragon. Other then his enormous ego along with his cockiness that put him into bad situations, he also embraced the characteristics of a great leader that many looked up to.In many parts of the poem Beowulf performs many courageous tasks that no one else would even try, making him one that should be idolized. To start off, Beowulf plans out his battle with Grendel. In the very beginning Beowulf tells his people and Hrothgar that he wants to battle and kill Grendel with his owns hands. This part shows his over confident ego because he thinks he is so mighty and strong. While Grendel made his way to attack Herot, Beowulf preten ded that he was asleep just as Grendel would see.As it says in lines (739-746) Grendel snatched at the first Geat†¦ (Line745) He then stepped to another still body, clutched at Beowulf with his claws. Beowulf suddenly leaned up against Grendel’s arm attempting to get back at him. Grendel was very fearful and at that very moment he didn’t even want to kill, he wanted to get away. Grendel struggled until he was free, but he ran free without his arm. Beowulf ego once again ties into this because he claims that it was â€Å"fate† that he got away and was not his fault. On the other hand, Beowulf went out of his way to protect Hrothgar and his people when no one else would stand up.The second instance where Beowulf finds himself in another situation is when Grendel’s Mother demands to avenge the death of her son. She then decides to kill one of Hrothgars men, who so happens to be Esher, his dearest advisor. After finding out that he had been killed, Hroth gar had summoned Beowulf asking for help once more. Beowulf agrees and battles her at her wretched home. In this confrontation Beowulf decides yet once again to be on his own and defeat the nasty old hag. With one slash of his sword he gets rid of her and is repeatedly praised for his courageous actions. As mentioned reviously, Beowulf always put people before himself, which embraced his characteristics of a tragic hero. Last but not least, Beowulf battles the dragon. It began with a slave that had stolen a golden cup from the dragon’s lair. For the final time, Beowulf’s over confident ego ties into it one final time. We know at this point in time, that Beowulf is at an old age and is becoming weak. Therefore, he insists to fight the dragon by himself. Beowulf’s decision to fight alone is a reoccurring action, if you can not tell. Ultimately the dragon begins to beat Beowulf; his haughty attitude does not comply with his initial strength.At this moment in time, it leads to Beowulf’s downfall with his final attempt at battle. As he dies he finds the strength to slay the dragon hoping to save his people, one last time. With the death of Beowulf he achieves the fame he has always longed for. Beowulf’s courageous and brave actions along with his tragic death prove that he is a true hero. The events of this epic poem conclude that even heroes too are acceptable to tragedies. Although Beowulf was not perfect, he without a doubt portrayed the definition of a tragic hero.

Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Report - Research Paper Example The company targets young fun loving men and women. It also focuses towards people who love to travel. Gandys has very young target market. Customers of Grandys are generally very simple and believe in hanging around here and there. The organization has very modern target market. Customers of Grandys want comfortable and stylish products from the company. Young informal people are main targets for the company. People who believe in low cost, stylish products generally associate themselves with the brand. In 2013 Gandys did celebrity endorsement for their Tokyo Red product. Richard Branson founder of Virgin Atlantic and other staffs of the airline celebrated International Flip Flop day. All of them were wearing Tokyo Red. After this endorsement the product name was changed and new name of the product became Necker Red. The targeting strategy was very successful. Richard Branson is a very different business man. He is very much charismatic and informal in nature. Characteristics of the celebrity were very much suitable with the brand images of the company. People around the world have high respect for Richard Branson. Grandys intentionally selected him to influence large number of informal youth. Some customers do not like red colour. But celebrity like Richard Branson can easily break that mental barrier of customers. Over all the strategy was very successful and after that sale of the product increased a lot. The success of the strategy was very vast. Other products of the company a lso took benefit out of this celebrity endorsement strategy. Gandys Peacock Blue product can be repositioned with the help of a strategic collaboration with Serge Denimes. It is a London based fashion brand. It has very urban image in the market. Designs of the company are very creative and stylish. It will be a good combination of both creative rope style and urban design. It will create a refined image in the mind of urban customers.

Creative Process Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Creative Process - Research Paper Example Warhol gained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1949 and went to New York right after his school days with the intention of working as a commercial artist. He became successful in his endeavor and thus begun his other works that made him famous, bringing out the genius in him not only with the camera and brush but included writing and sculpturing. His acquaintances with celebrities gave him the privilege of painting the famous during his time and were included in his subjects of interest. His list includes Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Truman Capote, making them painted portraits which accelerated him to stardom, receiving commissions from wealthy socialites, musicians and film stars (Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh). Georgia O’Keeffe was trained by a grammar teacher to draw along with her sister in their early age and taught to paint by a local water color painter (georgia-okeeffe.com). She we nt to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1905 then continued her studies at the New York’s Art Student League in 1907 through a scholarship. Five years later, she taught at the Catham Episcopal Institute and later worked as a drawing supervisor in Texas. After years of teaching, she went back to her passion and started drawing using charcoal, sending some of her work to a friend who showed it to an acquaintance who appreciated her work and later became her husband, Alfred Stieglitz. This introduction begun her successful career as a painter which lasted through the years despite the challenges of her life like the death of her husband and her blindness brought about by old age. Despite these, she continued to paint and in the later part of her life, was assisted in her works due to her blindness. Ralph Vaughan Williams, a musician who made his first composition at the very young age of six showed signs of a genius with his work and his learning to play the piano, o rgan and violin as a child. At fifteen, he went to the Charterhouse then to the Royal college of Music to study composition from Hubert Parry and Charles Villiers Stanford, to Trinity College to read history and take his Bachelor of Music (hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com). Later, he went to Paris for an intensive training with Ravel, being unsatisfied with his work â€Å"Toward the Unknown Region† despite its acclamation at the 1907 Leeds Festival. Ravel’s music most probably made the distinction in Williams’ music so that later, his teacher said that William did not play his music. On his return, the composer finally found himself, found what he wanted in his music and begun composing with his own style reflecting the Williams genius in him in full originality (hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com). Writing runs in the blood of Robert Graves which is usually stressed by biographers, mentioning his great uncle, Leopold von Ranke who was a highly accomplished historian an d Richard Graves, a relative who wrote a novel successful in the 18th century. Through a scholarship, Robert went to Charterhouse after preparatory school where he began writing poetry, performing well enough academically and earned yet another scholarship to St. Johns College in Oxford. However, with the declaration of the war, he enlisted and joined the Royal Welsh

Managing People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Managing People - Essay Example All the activities linked with diversification in the workplace intend to minimize numerous problems related to the performance of different types of roles pertaining to the job. Diversification facilitates effectual flow of communication between the employees in the organizations and helps in building transparency. In addition, it helps in increasing the cohesiveness amid the employees at large (Barack, 2005). On the other hand, equal opportunities relates to non-discrimination in the workplace. It concerns in providing fair and equal opportunities to all the employees related to the job irrespective of various factors like caste, colour, position, religion, gender along with other significant aspects (D'Almeida, 2007). The scope of the project will primarily focus on the importance of diversification as well as equal opportunities in the workplace of the organizations. In addition, few companies practicing diversification in their respective workplace and the benefits that they exp erienced will be highlighted upon. The focus of this discussion will also be laid upon the challenges that could be faced while achieving multiplicity in the workplace. Discussions relating to the Kandola and Fullerton model will be made relating to the concepts of diversification along with equal opportunities. While laying out the importance of diversification, factors concerning the demographics of the workforce will be also be taken into concern (Wylie, 2008). Importance of Diversity The term diversity refers to the process of performing multitasking functions by a company in its respective workplace. However, from an organizational viewpoint, it lays much importance upon its meaning as it concerns the overall performance of the employees of a company. It can be affirmed from a broader outlook that more the variance in the work process, more the diversification is considered. Maintaining diversification and equality in the workplace plays an imperative part as both these aspects trigger growth as well as developmental activities which benefits the whole of the organizations at large. These aspects also eradicate biasness in the workplace which is very much essential for maintaining a healthy work environment. In order to determine the significance of diversity, it can be affirmed from a broader outlook that the creation of a diverse workplace is quite indispensable for any business organisation for the purpose of enhancing as well as raising its creativity and overall productivity by a considerable level. It is worth mentioning that maintaining effectual workplace diversity can support an organisation to attain its predetermined business targets through developing the performance of its entire personnel and also by mounting its operational effectiveness at large (D'Almeida, 2007). Thus, on the basis of the above discussion, it can be stated that diversity plays a decisive part in supporting an organisation to fulfil its expected business targets by a certa in degree. However, if a consideration is made about the work demographics of England, it can be studied that the primary importance is given to the older section of the employees rather than the young generation.

Octavian's two biggest achievements Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Octavian's two biggest achievements - Article Example Octavian’s achievements of building a strong military and achieving Pax Romana are inextricably linked to each other. His strong military allowed him to achieve the much coveted yet elusive Pax Romana or unprecedented Roman Peace that ensued prosperity, beautification, improvement and Renaissance in the Roman Civilization. Octavian was able to achieve the establishment of a strong military due to the reform program he instituted after being installed as an Emperor of Rome after Julius Caesar was assassinated. Octavian made himself a dictator and founded the principate which is system of monarchy which he headed for life with a strong military under his direct command (BBC). These political conditions allowed him to bring about his greatest achievements as Emperor of the Roman Empire. The military was under the direct of Octavian and it followed that it was strengthened to reinforce the political will of Octavian as a dictator of Rome. A strong military ensured him that his ide a of principate which made him a ruler for life will not be threatened and provided stability in the Empire to allow peace to prosper. Among the military reforms that Octavian instituted was the creation of a standing army abroad. His armies abroad took a proactive vigorous military campaign not only to expand the reach of the Roman Empire but also to ward off the possibilities of attacks and/or invasion from barbarians (BBC). In effect, he was able to check the external threat against the Empire even beyond its frontiers that Octavian’s army was able to neutralize them even before becoming a threat. Thus, the removal of the barbarian threat abroad by the expeditionary campaign of his military paved the way for peace or Pax Romana, which is patently Octavian or Augustus Ceasar because of the legacy it created that we still enjoy today in the field of arts, culture and literature whereby it flourished due to the stability, good administration and unprecedented peace that preva iled during Octavian’s rule. Pax Romana or Roman peace did not only meant the relative absence of conflict in the Roman Empire but also meant an efficient administration that allowed the city to flourish. The absence of anxiety of an impending conflict enabled the Empire to focus its energy on reconstruction and improvement both among the governed and the government of Octavian. In the administration aspect, Pax Romana brought and effective civil service system which was created for the able Romans to have a career in governance and thus, public administration became effective. Taxation was also made reasonable contrary to Octavian’s predecessor who taxed excessively. This reinforced the atmosphere of peace since there was no dissent among the population that could be wrought up by harsh taxation. Thus, there was also no internal threat because the citizens were generally content with the taxation and civil administration of Octavian. Peace was further reinforced by th e establishment of a permanent police force and fire brigade to ensure the peace and order and to effectively respond to any fire disaster in the city. As a result, Rome became safer, more beautiful, cleaner with happier citizens. Pax Romana or Roman Peace also paved the way for stability and provided the necessary atmosphere for culture, arts and beatification to flourish. The legendary poets such as Virgil, Horace and Propertius, flourished and became the poets of the day.

Access to Healthcare as an Ethical Issue Research Paper

Access to Healthcare as an Ethical Issue - Research Paper Example These health conditions are proved to be very expensive to manage. Likewise, other chronic health conditions such as heart ailments are very costly to treat. Due to the elevated costs of maintaining these health conditions, the cost of health care has also plummeted. Consequently, some of the societal and collective courses of action aimed at improving and making healthcare accessible to everyone such as Medicare have been adversely affected by this costly management. This is the reason why a substantial percentage of Americans do not have health insurance. One of the issues of ethical or moral concern in the U.S. facing leaders in healthcare today is improving access to health. The issue of inability to access healthcare has remained an issue of concern in the field of healthcare over the recent past. According to Trotochaud (2006), â€Å"In 2002, almost 85% of the US population reported having healthcare insurance coverage from employer-based insurance (55%), Medicaid, other means-tested programs (17%), or Medicare (13%). The remaining 15% of the population had no health insurance coverage of any type.† (166). Many critics of the US health care system have been arguing that the US government does not deal with or tackle the ever increasing expenditure on healthcare. Americans on the other hand believe that issues of accessibility and expenditure incurred on health care are issues of great worry. According to Trotochaud (2006), the issue o f access to healthcare is concerned with issues of fairness and impartiality. Citizens of a democratic nation have the right to fair and impartial allocation of national assets. To effectively comprehend on the issue of access to healthcare as an ethical issue, it is important to categorize fairness and impartiality to healthcare into access and allocation. Access to healthcare means that individuals possessing the right to access healthcare are able to obtain it. Allocation on the other hand includes the procedures that are incorporated in deciding the percent of national income and assets will be dispersed to cater for healthcare services in the community. The issue of access to healthcare in the US is a political and policy problem. What makes it unethical or immoral is uneven and lopsided access. As a leader, it would be important to implement plans of action that would level the ground and ensure access to healthcare is even. In fact methodical studies conducted in the past hav e elucidated the fact that three quarters of Americans believe that the social order and the world in general is ought to guarantee universal and equal access to healthcare for all individuals. More than half of Americans believe that the issue of access to healthcare is more of a moral issue as compared to being a political and economic predicament. There are certain moral or ethical issues in access to healthcare including equal opportunity for all, fairness, as well as consideration and sympathy. Leaders have been involved in trying to make the American dream a reality. I believe one of the components of the American Dream is equal opportunities for all Americans in all aspects of the society. Therefore, individual well being is a significant component geared to attainment of equal opportunities for all. When some communities in the US fail to have an equal opportunity in accessing healthcare, then this becomes amoral issue. This is contrary to

Lenovo Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lenovo - Case Study Example Lenovo has declared its might in its website, detailing the expanse of its operations. To quote: Lenovo is a US$21 billion personal technology company... We have more than 26,000 employees in more than 60 countries serving customers in more than 160 countries†¦ We are defining a new way of doing things as a next generation global company (Lenovo 2012). It is interesting, hence, to know that Lenovo has had humble beginnings and, more importantly, it is a technology company that emerged from China, a developing economy and outside of the Silicon Valley. The company started modestly as a spinoff of China’s Institute of Computing Technology, a research institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Tsui, Bian and Cheng, 2006, p.303). From there on, it began supplying parts and building computers for technology companies such as IBM. Lenovo, which operated under the name of Legend Holdings during its early years, gradually became a dominant PC maker in China. By 2003, it began its internationalization ambition. According to its CEO, Chuanzi Liu, â€Å"With a 30 percent share of the Chinese PC market, Lenovo realized that its opportunity for further domestic expansion was limited,† and that â€Å"Since the global PC market was estimated at around $200 billion, it could pose huge potential for us (p.574).† ... In order to tackle market globalization, there are many barriers involved and the type of operations management required is radically different from its own. The organization has effectively identified these problems themselves: 1) the organization did not have a brand name that could invoke worldwide recognition; 2) Lenovo did not have a strong presence in the world market; and, 3) there is a lack of human resources to effectively run and manage a truly global company (Liu, p.574). In internationalization and, much more, in the case of being a multinational company, the operations such as those involving organizational culture and human resources are very international in scope and must adhere with international standards and norms while ensuring a high degree of integration and responsiveness at the same time. Lenovo was able to address the problem and its complexities in a bold and ambitious move. In 2005, it acquired IBM’s PC business. This strategy addressed several criti cal challenges that it had identified previously. It boosted the organization’s global brand by â€Å"piggybacking† on IBM’s reputation and the company’s products such as the ThinkPad brand (see Lenovo’s performance during this period in Fig. 1). This enabled the company to penetrate lucrative markets such as the United States, as well as additional market segments that IBM and its acquisitions were particularly known for such as large enterprise, midmarket and, most particularly, laptop computers (Gupta, Wakayama and Rangan, 2012, p. 195). The OM involved is aligned with the â€Å"springboarding† approach that involves the acquisition of critical resources at home and abroad in order to penetrate markets, compete with rivals and

Louisiana Purchase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Louisiana Purchase - Essay Example With the power of France and Napoleon Bonaparte continually rising, Spain signed with France into the Treaty of San Ildefonso which included ceding Louisiana back to France. President Thomas Jefferson grew wary of protecting the interests in New Orleans and the Mississippi as the previous treaty with Spain is in the brink of being revoked. He actively sought to obtain New Orleans and authorized $10 million for its purchase. Luckily, Napoleon’s interest in the Americas was thwarted and he settled his eyes on Europe. Bonaparte sent Talleyrand and Barbe-Marbois who negotiated with Robert Livingston and James Monroe in 1803 for the purchase of the entire Louisiana for $15 million (The Museum Gazette). This was an important milestone in United States history and highlighted the presidency of Jefferson. â€Å"Louisiana doubled the size of the United States literally overnight, without a war or the loss of a single American life, and set a precedent for the purchase of territory† (The Museum Gazette). This became a precedent for the possibility of acquiring territories not only within the continent but including the Pacific. The purchase had oppositions, mainly coming from New England Federalists who felt they were losing grips of their influence because of the expansion. Nevertheless, it was considered as one of the greatest bargains in real estate considering the vastness and size of Louisiana in proportion to its purchase value (Sage

Northern Ireland Essay Example for Free

Northern Ireland Essay Within the results many important factors have arisen. Looking at the map produced using my national competition and local competition I can see that the stores are nearly evenly spread across Northern Ireland. This tells me that there is a large enough market for computer games in the Northern Ireland area as these stores can be sustained. On the other hand this tells me that there is already a lot of established national competition, and the business I am opening is not entering a gap in the market. A large number of the stores (4) are situated in Belfast, which can be easily accessed by Lurgan through the m1. So I would need to treat these Belfast stores as a serious threat, and I would need to keep the local market from buying there games there and also by enticing some of there customer to shop at our Lurgan store. This would mean that I would have to give the customers something that is not offered in the Belfast stores. The local competition consists of three stores in the Craigavon area which, although not in the immediate area, still pose the most serious threat to my business. The stores are already established, and this means that there is a market, although there may not be enough room for another games store. But the advantage I have is that none of these three stores are based in Lurgan town centre, so that would mean there is an untapped market that I can enter into. My covert observation of game shows me a successful business in the Belfast area. I taught me that a computer games store is one in which a lot of people browse and not buy the first time that they are in the store. This would tell me that we would need to tempt customer into buying what they may be interested in. This would require me to hire skilful staff who would have a keen interest in computers and would have a wide scope of knowledge about the games and equipment that would be available. I would hope to be a manager that has a lot say over each aspect of the business I would be able to adopt a McGregor theory Y approach. I would do this, as I would like to delegate to my workers to effectively use their skills to the highest level. It would also help in improving organisation and motivation, and also help in the costs that may be meet in hiring extra managers or staff. However, as I want a lot of control over my business I may have some characteristics of a theory X manager as I would be on the floor as much as I could, and also would try and make all the main decisions to be taken in the business. Analysis of my questionnaire results provides me with various important numeric results. The first important result that I came across was that every one of my respondents owned a computer. This was very significant, as my potential market would have to be persons who already owned a computer, and would be interested in my goods, and so if they did not already own a computer these goods would be useless to the consumers. Briefly this means that this question give me an estimate of how large my potential customers is. However these potential customer may not be interested in games and owning a computer may not mean that they could be persuaded to attend my store. Knowing now if the person owned a computer or not I then needed to find out what type of computer they may own. I found that the majority of respondents owned a PC or a Playstation. This was significant in that the second most popular was the Playstation which is a pure gaming machine, and this would suggest that there is a large number of persons living in the Lurgan area who enjoy computer games and may be interested in my store. Knowing who owns a computer games console I was then interested in knowing how frequently the respondents would buy computer games, to know how often customers would use my store. Over half of the respondents would buy their games over six months apart. This is a negative result as it tell me that there may be spells when the business may not have much custom and periods when it does, making balancing the books an up hill task. I was interested in knowing where my respondents would buy their games to know where most of my competition comes from (locally or nationally), and whether the Lurgan market would attract any of their custom. The results showed me that the majority of the respondents would not buy their games from the Lurgan area and so my national competition would pose a bigger threat than first expected. Lastly I was curious to whether the respondents would use a specialist store if it were available. The majority said that they would mean that a lot of the respondents who do not buy their games in Lurgan might if they had a better quality of service. My second questionnaire done to gain further information showed me a very significant result. Most of the first questionnaire respondents did not purchase games in the Lurgan area, and so I needed to look at where they would then purchase. I found that 3 respondents purchase games in Belfast, 1 in Lisburn and 3 in Portadown. But what was most significant is that the store in Belfast and Lisburn (part of the national market) were specialist store such as the one that I was planning. This could suggest that these specialist stores attract my local market away because of something that only a specialist store offers. When looking at the property values in the Lurgan area I came across various properties, which could be potentially busy locations, where I could attract a wide and large scope of my potential customers. I needed a retail property large enough to accommodate all of my products and their layout, including enough space that would be needed to present each part in a manner that is organised and invite the customer to look at our products. I also needed a property that was not going to push up my fixed costs so high that I could not possibly meet them, and would have problems in the long term in making a profit or be able to break-even. The first property that I had looked at was the most promising of all the properties in the Lurgan area. It was located at 35 William Street Lurgan. At 75000, this was the cheapest property that was currently available in the Lurgan area, and cost is an important factor, as I would wish to keep my possible costs to a minimum. I could attain a mortgage on the property meaning that I would not have to pay out such a large sum on start and not run into financial difficulties from the start. Also banks are always interested in investing in franchises as they are seen as less risky than most other business start-ups. The property is also a size that is feasible enough to hold everything that I require and also leave enough floor space for me to work with. I could use the top floors for offices for myself or to rent out to other firms. However these floors need some additional work done. The property is also located just 100-200 yards from the town centre and is adjacent from a car park meaning that this is a very accessible property. I found very few properties in the Lurgan area, with Century 21 stating most retail properties are sold before a brochure can be made. The other properties that I had found in the Lurgan area where either too small, expensive, or located too far from the town centre.

Our Babies, Ourselves Essay Example for Free

Our Babies, Ourselves Essay Dependence during infancy is unique amongst hominids compared to other beings. However, different cultures in the world differ on how they cater to this dependency. For example, the American culture is influenced by individualism, therefore they tend to rear their children in such a way that they will grow up as an independent individual. On the other hand, Japanese are likely to be more affectionate in their child upbringing culture. And on both instances, infants who were reared up the American or Japanese way, their anticipated adult traits remain to be visible. As the article â€Å"Our Babies, Ourselves† suggests, the care given to an infant during his most dependent stage is reflected when the infant grows up and he develops his own sense of independence and survival skills. The rearing up process, whether an individual is being given over adequate attention or being least assisted during infancy is reflected by his developed reflexes and skills in his grown up stage. For the Gusii child-rearing practices, infants were held closer to their parents compared to other cultures. Here, infants develop a closer bond to their mothers, and later on towards other children to develop their interpersonal skills better. Moreover, apart from the physical and emotional aspects of development, neurological and genetic developments of infants are also being attributed to their rearing up practices. Thus, the uniqueness developed by an individual regarding his skills, competencies and survival instincts is defined by infant care that was rendered to him by his parents. However, the rearing up process is highly shaped and influenced by traditions within a culture, thus creating cross-cultural differences when it comes to child development across different nations and races.

Natural And Man Made Pollution Environmental Sciences Essay

Natural And Man Made Pollution Environmental Sciences Essay Pollutions are two types. The natural and Man Made. The natural pollution is caused and produced naturally and will not affect our environment because of its regeneration ability. The Man made pollution is being made by humans and have huge affect on our environment and definitely ourselves. The reason of increasing the pollution daily is because of raising of population of the world since it is getting bigger there is need to contact to the environment to provide the necessaries of humans. By developing the new technologies and using them to reach and discover new resources people have had a harmful affect on the planet. It is clear that the small population with new technologies will not affect the environment or if it is affecting it is not that much an can be controlled while huge population by using the technologies will clearly have bad results for the planet. Pollution is one of the major issue and concern. It has not been happened recently or accidently. It is human`s mistake since long years back and has been beside us since many years ago . We must be clever try hard to save our energies and resources and we have to have a good management and programs to protect the resources that we are using nowadays which we might not have them in coming years. We should use them usefully and try to prevent any type of pollution to our Environment and save the earth and resources for our future and provide a better living place. In General There are 6 ( Six ) types of pollution . Which we are going to discuss about four of them that it is believed to be the major ones. Air Pollution Water Pollution Radioactive Pollution RADIATION POLLUTION Radiation is any kind of ionizing and nonionizing radiation that is caused by human activity. Nuclear power generating plants are the well known source of generating radiation; however there is other ways in which radiation is also emitted like: any nuclear devices, medical X rays microwaves and experimental research laboratories. However the amount of radiation that are emitted is considerably less than the nuclear power generator plants but is nuclear plants the amount of radiation al always under the check by the workers and specialists. In case that the radiation level is increasing in nuclear reactors; the specialists will shut down the reactor or decrease the nuclear chain reaction. (Radiation, library.Thinkquest, 2011) Radiation has bad effects on both land and human health. The land that is exposed to radiation will not be unfertile and if something grows on the land will have considerably high amount of radiation in the fruits and vegetables which is really bad for human health to consume. Radiation takes hundreds of years to vanish. If a person is exposed to radiation it is very dangerous and can lead to cancer, anemia, burns and vomiting. In some cases the genetic disorders are caused by radiation such as: mutation over long period of time mostly in off springs. The effect of radiation to human health depends on the amount of radiation that the person is exposed to and there is also many more such as: the length of exposure, kind of radiation, age, and the individuals health and also exposed body parts. Nowadays exposure to radiation is minimal because of technological advancement. However it can come from damaged nuclear plants, accidents from transporting of nuclear fuel and wastes. (The effe cts of radiation, biology-online, 2011) Nuclear wastes must be stored in heavily shielded sealed containers and be stored in areas away from biological habitats the safest storage sites are in deep caves or abandoned salt mines. To avoid radiation prevent over exposure to x-rays and CT scans, avoid living near nuclear plants or stay there for too long and stay clear of radioactive materials and elements. Radiation exposure is a real danger. As Japan is battling its worst nuclear crisis. Radiation leakages threaten the health of the entire humanity. In Time Magazine, Prof. John K.C. Leung gives advice on radiation exposure how to avoid radiation exposure. Remember nuclear radiation exposure can travel through clouds. It doesnt really matter where you are. If the radioactive atomic materials can travel through air, then it can go anywhere.(According to newsbalita, 2011). John K.C. Leung explains that the general protocol for those who find themselves in danger of exposure to nuclear material should; stay indoors the walls will provide some measure of protection from the radiation, close the windows and doors plus turn off the ventilation system. Various people support nuclear experimentation and suggest that by the help of technological advancements and the above safety precautions, radiation pollution/exposure can be controlled and avoided for example according to (biology-online, 2011)Today, high level exposure is very rare due to the advancement of technology. It could come from defective or badly damage nuclear plants, ammunitions of factories, and nuclear war. However radiation moves everywhere and its hard to contain for example experts say radiation can travel through clouds. It doesnt really matter where you are. If the radioactive atomic materials can travel through air, then it can go anywhere (newsbalita, 2011) Water pollution Water pollution is an undesirable change in the state of water, which contains harmful substances. It is an important environmental issue like Air pollution .Water pollution is the physical, chemical and biological properties of water which contains harms other living organisms. Polluted water is unfit for drinking and for other consumption purposes. Since its polluted, it harms human beings and other living organism which use water as it contains viruses, bacteria, intestinal parasites and other harmful microorganisms. It also causes diesis such as diarrhea, dysentery, and typhoid. Due to pollutants entire ecosystem gets disturbed infected. The causes of pollution are disease-causing agents. These are bacteria, viruses, protozoa and parasitic worms that enter sewage systems and untreated waste, oxygen-demanding wastes which can be decomposed by oxygen-requiring bacteria. Oxygen levels in the water depletes when large amount of decomposing bacteria converts, which becomes the causes of death of other organisms in the water, such as fish. Another pollutant of water is water-soluble inorganic pollutants, such as acids, salts and toxic metals. Large quantities of these compounds make the water unfit for drink and cause death of aquatic life. Nutrients are also water pollutants, they are water-soluble nitrates and phosphates that cause excessive growth of algae and other water plants, which deplete the waters oxygen supply. Its dangerous as, it kills fish and might kill child if found in drink water. Water Pollution Causes Although certain natural processes may cause some of the water pollution, however, the largest cause of our seas, rivers and lakes getting polluted is the human activity. We use water every day both in our industries and at homes. We get this water from groundwater sources, rivers, and lakes, and after using it, and often contaminating it, most of this water gets back into the rivers, lakes, and oceans. (Water treatment purification, 2009) A major problem in developing countries is the disposal of sewage, as there is no adequate sanitation in large areas, thus carrying disease causing bacteria and viruses into sources of water. In countries that are developed, people often flush pharmaceutical and chemical products into their toilet. (Water treatment purification, 2009) Air pollution Substance in the air that cause harm to humans and the environment are known as air pollutants. Pollutants can be in form of solid particles, liquid droplets, or gases. In addition, they may be natural or man-made. Pollutants can be classified as primary or secondary. Usually, primary pollutants are directly emitted from a process, such as ash from a volcanic eruption, the carbon monoxide gas from a motor vehicle exhaust or sulfur dioxide released from factories. Secondary pollutants are not emitted directly. They form in the air when primary pollutants react or interact. Example of a secondary pollutant is ground level ozone, one of the many secondary pollutants that make up photochemical smog. Some pollutants may be both primary and secondary that is, they are both emitted directly and formed from other primary pollutants. (Pollution Greenhouse gas) Air

The Jet Engine and Leisure Air Travel :: essays research papers

The Jet Engine and Leisure Air Travel Air transport for European tourists got off to a shaky start in the late 1920s.But it was to be thirty years before leisure air travel was to appeal to anyone but the rich and adventurous. High cost, fear of flying and the absence of toilets in early airliners (an unfortunate combination) were the main deterrents; the unpressurized aircraft of the inter-war years were noisy, slow and not especially comfortable despite the efforts of some airlines to make aircraft cabins resemble the first-class state- rooms of an ocean liner. This changed fundamentally after 1958: with the introduction into airline service of the Boeing 707, the Douglas DC-8 and the de Havilland Comet 4, aircraft were capable of flying fast, high and with hitherto unknown smoothness. The jet age had arrived. This paper considers this â€Å"age† and its impact on tourism in the 1960s and 1970s. It argues that while the revolution in European leisure air travel that took place in these years was obviously the result of social and economic change (more disposable income, a greater propensity to take foreign holidays and the entry of new capital into the independent airline industry), there was also a critical additional factor. This was the breakthrough in transport technology represented by the jet engine and it is on this aeronautical artifact that the paper’s main focus will lie. 1 Technological change was crucial to the process of economic and social modernisation in both the 19 th and 20 th centuries. New technologies of power generation, manufacturing, transport and communications changed the world and shrunk time and space. What is generally termed â€Å"Fordism† grew out of the mass production of automobiles to encompass a whole array of practices and institutions that now underpin modern Western society 2 . In the wake of Fordist mass production, a Fordist lifestyle of mass consumption set in after 1950 and this included the international tourist industry, the single largest and fastest-growing industry in the world 3 . The technological change that triggered and accompanied this explosion in tourist activity was the introduction of the jet engine. Indeed the jet engine has been as vital a part of social modernisation as mass tourism itself. The jet engine’s evolution and dominance in aerospace propulsion since 1950 is traditionally described in terms of the transfer of technology from military to civilian usage: the turbo- jet grew out of the Second World War and the preparation for it, and was later installed in civil

Cookies Invading Our Privacy :: Internet Technology Computers

Cookies Invading Our Privacy Cookies now constitute a real threat to personal privacy, but they are perfectly legal. A cookie is a tiny file that a Web sites place on the user’s hard drive when the user accesses the web page. Each cookie has a specific identification number. The cookie can gather personal information such as email addresses, full names, mailing addresses, and phone numbers, and then it sends the information back to the web site (Samborn 26). Whereas TV, radio, and print record only demographics or neighborhoods, a cookie keeps record of what an individual is actually looking at and doing on the net. As a result, Web site operators or companies are able to build very detailed profiles from that behavior (Green 48). These profiles play a major role in online marketing. In the past, marketers knew their customers just as a number, but when DoubleClick, an Internet advertising company, bought out Abacus Direct, DoubleClick was able to combine its databases with the names and addresses form Abacus’ catalog customers. Now web surfers can no longer surf the net without their computers being tagged to their names. (Quinn 63) Even more disturbing, hackers can now intercept the data from the cookie. With a specially constructed URL, a hacker can read cookies from any domain because the special URL fools a computer into thinking that the hacker’s computer is the domain site. As things stand now, Federal laws are far from clear when it comes to what cookies can collect and how the information can be used. According to US Sen. Robert Torricelli, â€Å"Congress has considered several privacy bills in the past few years, but only one, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, has been passed† (Samborn 27). This problem is only going to escalate if something isn’t done to limit what Internet sites and marketing agencies can collect from people surfing the Web. Cookies Invading Our Privacy :: Internet Technology Computers Cookies Invading Our Privacy Cookies now constitute a real threat to personal privacy, but they are perfectly legal. A cookie is a tiny file that a Web sites place on the user’s hard drive when the user accesses the web page. Each cookie has a specific identification number. The cookie can gather personal information such as email addresses, full names, mailing addresses, and phone numbers, and then it sends the information back to the web site (Samborn 26). Whereas TV, radio, and print record only demographics or neighborhoods, a cookie keeps record of what an individual is actually looking at and doing on the net. As a result, Web site operators or companies are able to build very detailed profiles from that behavior (Green 48). These profiles play a major role in online marketing. In the past, marketers knew their customers just as a number, but when DoubleClick, an Internet advertising company, bought out Abacus Direct, DoubleClick was able to combine its databases with the names and addresses form Abacus’ catalog customers. Now web surfers can no longer surf the net without their computers being tagged to their names. (Quinn 63) Even more disturbing, hackers can now intercept the data from the cookie. With a specially constructed URL, a hacker can read cookies from any domain because the special URL fools a computer into thinking that the hacker’s computer is the domain site. As things stand now, Federal laws are far from clear when it comes to what cookies can collect and how the information can be used. According to US Sen. Robert Torricelli, â€Å"Congress has considered several privacy bills in the past few years, but only one, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, has been passed† (Samborn 27). This problem is only going to escalate if something isn’t done to limit what Internet sites and marketing agencies can collect from people surfing the Web.

Health and Happiness :: Happiness Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the fall semester of 2004 I participated in a program to improve my habits of healthy living. I set goals for myself in four different areas, Exercise, Nutrition, Sleep, Social or Family Time, Play/Laugh/Create and, Spiritual development. During the three months of September, October and November I experienced some challenges and some successes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the area of exercise my beginning goal was to play soccer every day and try and lift weights at the gym. This started out really easy because I had soccer everyday and lifted weights on a consistent basis. After the season was over I have found that it has become more difficult to be discipline about running and lifting weights due to trying to improve my grades from the lack of effort during soccer season.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next area I would like to talk about is the nutrition area. I have found this category to be one of the most consistent areas to keep going. It is not very hard to eat something healthy with every meal. But, I have found now that I have more time on my hands it is easier to eat more junk food than I would like to because I just eat what ever looks good to me at the time. I do not think about what I am eating like I did at the beginning of the semester.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Third is the Sleeping category which was the easiest for me to keep up with. I am one of those people that if I do not get enough sleep the night before it is hard for me to function that next day. So, I have tried to get a minimum of seven hours of sleep every night. It does not seem like a hard task but when you are in school, playing a sport and having a relationship with a girl it is hard to get seven hours of sleep every night. I figured out how to keep on a consistent basis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The social/family time was a good one to have. It helped me talk to my parents on a more consistent basis. By talking to them it made me feel like we had a good trustworthy relationship with them. There were also times when I found myself not talking to them because I was to bust with either school soccer or my girlfriend. But, for the most part I felt this was beneficial for my relationship with my parents.

Billy Collins: analysis of his poems Essay

Arguably the most popular poet in America, Billy Collins provides readers with two types of poetry that is nothing like typical poetry. One of his unique styles is writing as if the poem could be read like a novel. The other type brings humor and whimsy to his work, yet he hints at a seriousness that lies beneath the surface. Both styles of poetry are easy to read, but take a second look to realize what the Collins is intending the reader to understand. Billy Collins is an exceptionally talented poet whose writing at first can be taken to be a simple comedy but when read more carefully, it can be interpreted as a far more complex script. First readings of the poems I Chop Some Parsley While Listening To Art Blakey’s Version Of Three Blind Mice, Victorias Secret, and Shoveling Snow with Buddha might convince the reader that Collins is offering poems that are clever yet easy to read and understand. A quick reading of Collins poems shows a similarity of his witty style, although the subject matter of each is different.First glance readings of these poems might lead readers to the following interpretations. A man wasting his time flipping through the pages of a Victorias Secret magazine. A man shoveling snow from a driveway with Buddha. Lastly, a man daydreaming about the childrens rhyme Three Blind Mice. However, if these poems are read more carefully they reveal a hidden richness in their meanings. In the first reading of the poem Victorias Secret, the narrator is flipping through the pages of a lingerie magazine. He describes the outfits of the eight models in great detail. For example, wearing a deeply scalloped / flame-stitched halter top / with padded push-up styling / and easy side-zip tap pants. Also, the narrator evaluates the mood of each model by the expression on her face. For instance, looks at me over her bare shoulder, / cannot hide the shadow of annoyance in her brow. None of the models in the photographs seem to like narrator looking at them. Yet, even still the narrator continues to look at the next model until he realizes that he has wasted too much time already. He s till has so much to do and it sounds as if there is a commotion going on in his house. The dog is barking, the phone is ringing, and the rain is beating on the roof. In a second and deeper reading of Victorias Secret Collins describes each of the models in an absurd pose. This is from the hard work the modeling agencies put the girls through. Collins is making a mockery of the girls and in greater sense, the modeling agencies. For example, her mouth is the  shape of petulance. a confused mixture of pain and surprise / as if she had stepped on a tack arching one eyebrow slightly and best of all stretched out catlike Since, Collins is a college professor in New York City, all of these big modeling agencies advertisements are all over the streets, that is why he is making such a mockery of them. All of these models are in awkward poses that they obviously are not comfortable in but, still agree to do them just to be in the photo. Another thought Collins is trying to get across to the reader is the amount of time the narrator had spent looking at pictures. The narrator r epresents every average everyday guy who since childhood has spent a lot of time looking at pictures. This child had grown up to be a man and still imprinted in his memory, a good time is looking at pictures; of course, now of societies definition of beautiful women. The last thought Collins throws into this poem is the idea that life is too short to waste. Life is rushing by like a mad, swollen river. He puts the image of roses blossoming in the garden and the next minute it is snowing. In the first reading of Shoveling Snow with Buddha the narrator is shoveling a driveway with Buddha. This is something that is very unlike Buddhas usual environment and unlike his usual action. Once the narrator gets past that point, it becomes a story of two guys shoveling a driveway. They work and work We toss the light power into the clean air. Then the narrator realizes that what they are doing is more than just shoveling snow; they are practicing a religion. This is so much better than a sermon in church, Thought the poem Buddha is mostly silent until the snow is piled high all around them, he t hen asks if they could go inside and play cards after they finish. This strikes the narrator excitement and he tells Buddha that not only will they play cards but, will also drink some hot chocolate. Buddha is satisfied with the narrators reply and returns to his work.In a second and deeper reading of Shoveling Snow with Buddha Collins portrays Buddha as a well respected person. The first point Collins is trying to get reader to understand is that respected men are humble. Respected men do work without complaining and they do not stop until the goal is reached. smile so wide it wraps itself around the waist of the universe, Buddha keeps on shoveling. purpose of existence, but he is too busy to hear me. All morning long we work. This is why Buddha is shoveling snow, from a driveway that is not even his. The setting of this  poem also relates to Collins childhood, where he grew up in New York and after the snow, shoveling the driveway is not an easy task for one man to do. When the narrator says This is the true religion, the religion of snow, / and sunlight and winter geese barking in the sky, / I say, This is where Collins inputs religion into the poem. The goal of Buddhism is enlightenment; in the poem the narrator truly feels enlightened by shoveling snow. That is why he appreciates things such as the sunlight and the geese barking in the sky. The final point Collins puts in this poem is when Buddha asks can we go inside and play cards? Since Buddha is interpreted as a normal human in this poem, every human needs a source of motivation no matter how much he wants to help. Playing cards is Buddhas source of motivation in this poem.In the first reading of I Chop Some Parsley While Listening to Art Blakey’s Version of Three Blind Mice the narrator is chopping vegetables while listening to some music. When the song Three Blind Mice comes on he goes into a daydream about how the mice went blind, how they could have found each other, and why they would run after a farmers wife. The narrator then slips into thoughts of the mice without eyes and tails venturing through moist grass and on the floor along the baseboards. The narrator then becomes saddened by his thoughts and blames his wet eyes on the dicing of an onion.In a second and deeper reading of I Chop Some Parsley While Listening to Art Blakey’s Version of Three Blind Mice Collins uses the narrator as a guilty cynic. is the cynics answer. cynic who always lounges within me. A cynic is one who believes in selfishness as the motivation of human actions and disbelieves in selflessness. Collins compares the cynic of the childrens rhyme to the cynic inside the narrator. Although, the narrator in this poem does feel remorse for the mice; this is the point Collins is trying to get the reader to understand. There is always a way for a person to go from cynical to respectful. Yet, in this poem the narrator tries to elude the reader by making reference to the fumes from the onion for causing his wet eyes. It is only ironic that the next song that comes to play is Freddie Hubbards mournful trumpet on Blue Moon. The music in this poem demonstrate s Collins love for jazz, even though it is a mournful trumpet playing he uses his own hobbies to illustrate a feeling for the reader. Collins is known for using detailed writing to bold the element of imagery in his poetry. In Victorias Secret Collins goes into great  detail to what the models are wearing. wearing a deeply scalloped / flame-stitched halter top / with padded push-up styling / and easy side-zip tap pants. whisperweight camisole with / keyhole closure and a point desprit mesh back. wearing nothing / but this stretch panne velvet bodysuit / with a low sweetheart neckline / featuring molded cups and adjustable straps. All of these images are easily put into the readers mind and allow the reader to actually see the models outfits without viewing the picture in the poem. Collins even displays the images of the models expression in the poem. a confused mixture of pain and surprise / as if she had stepped on a tack, she is putting about something, / all lower lip and cheekbone. Lastly, when Collins describes how quickly life can pass by he uses phrases like One minute roses are opening in the garden. And describes the night as black and silky. Imagery in Shoveling Snow with Buddha is evident as well. over the mountain / of his bare, round shoulder. cold mist on our faces. glittering white snow. winter geese barking in the sky, and drive off with a broken heater fan and a song on the radio. All of these phrases make the reader feel as if they are in the middle of winter along with Buddha and the narrator. The reader feels the cold mist, hears the geese barking and the song on the radio and, sees the half naked Buddha tossing the glittering white snow over his shoulder. Collins also adds a sense of home with our boots stand dripping by the door. That phrase familiarizes readers with their own memories of coming back to a warm cozy home from the harsh cold of the winter. The imagery in I Chop Some Parsley While Listening to Art Blakey’s Version of Three Blind Mice is not as apparent as the other poems but, is still spot able. When Collins refers to the tiny darkness, of the blind mice the reader can sense the tiny dark tunnel the mice live in. Also the reader feels the narrators wet stinging eyes, along with the sound of the mournful trumpet. The reader can as well smell the chopping of the vegetables, such as the parsley and most of all the fumes from the diced onion. In the poems I Chop Some Parsley While Listening To Art Blakey’s Version Of Three Blind Mice, Victorias Secret, and Shoveling Snow with Buddha the  imagery element is astonishing. A reader of these poems not only sees the images in their head, but can also smell, hear, and feel what the characters in the poem can. Collins is so talented that he creates a duplicate world for the reader with his poetic language. He uses this imagery to involve the reader in his poem. Collins likes to call this kind of poetry travel poetry a mental travel from the beginning of the poem to the ending. To be interested in the entire poem, not just one line that sounds good. Billy Collins says in an interview with John Bush When you convey the tone, youre really conveying the spirit of the poem. Mark Conway describes Collins tone The pokerfaced tone of Collins poems never lets readers be sure if the tone in his poetry is respectful or mocking. (287). On the other hand, many would argue with Conway. Just like most of Collins other poems, a deeper reading can help find the true meaning of the poem. With that meaning the tone is simple to see. In Victorias Secret Collins puts each model in an awkward pose. her mouth is the shape of petulance. a confused mixture of pain and surprise / as if she had stepped on a tack arching one eyebrow slightly and best of all stretched out catlike All of these models look ridiculous. The tone in this poem is mockery; Collins portrays this by using imagery as well. He paints a picture of the model in the readers head in an absurd poise with a somewhat constipated look on their face. Also, Collins makes the reader feel as if all the models are stuck up and dont want to be looked at. Do you have a problem withthat?! Why do I care, her eyes say, were all going to hell anyway. He shows that the models are stuck up by literally attacking one model by using these phrases in his stanza, she is pouting about something, Perhaps her ice cream has tumbled / out of its cone Perhaps she has been waiting all day / for a new sofa to be delivered, The tone of this poem is very comical and by the end of it the reader sees the models as immature juveniles. In the poem Shoveling Snow with Buddha the tone is much more respectful. Collins shows his respect for men like Buddha through his literal language. Even the season is wrong for him. This is not implied by his serene expression, Buddha is symbolized as a selfless man who is shoveling a driveway that not even his. Buddha will not stop the job until the goal is  reached, Collins is very admiral of this type of behavior. He has thrown himself into shoveling snow / as if it were the purpose of his existence, and he inside his generous pocket of silence, It is evident in the poem that Collins respects Buddha but, with the use of his language he makes the reader respect Buddha. Since Buddha is personified by all the natural good people in the world, the reader appreciates these kind of people much more by the end of the poem. In the poem I Chop Some Parsley While Listening To Art Blakey’s Version Of Three Blind Mice, the tone is not evident until Collins uses the term cynic. After this word the poem goes from a comical tone to a mournful tone. but the thought of them without eyes / and now without tails to trail through the moist grass, has the cynic who always lounges within me / up off his couch and at the window / trying to hide the rising softness that he feels. From the daydream that Collins put the narrator in, the narrator becomes very sad and mournful for these three blind mice whose tails have been cut off. wet stinging / in my own eyes, is what the narrator has by the end of the poem. Collins use of language in this poem makes the reader feel the same way as the narrator by the end of the poem. In an interview with Dave Weich, Collins describes his initial tone Usually I try to create a hospitable tone at the beginning of a poem. This makes the poem easy to get into and understand. Then Collins adds a twist and puts in a more complex tone that usually makes the reader feel the same way the narrator in the story feels. The tone in Victorias Secret is very comical and by the end of it the reader sees the models as immature juveniles. The tone in Shoveling Snow with Buddha is respectful and makes the reader respect all selfless people like Buddha. And lastly the tone in I Chop Some Parsley While Listening To Art Blakey’s Version Of Three Blind Mice, is sad and mournful and makes readers have wet stinging eyes just as the narrator at the end of the poem. Collins is very talented at bringing the feeling of his poetry into the readers selves. Billy Collins is an exceptionally talented poet whose writing at first can be taken to be a simple comedy but when read more carefully, it can be  interpreted as a far more complex script. His use of imagery and tone give the readers an interactive movie in their heads when they read his literature. As a college professor, Collins is very talented at making all readers of his poetry understand the meaning and feeling in his poems. Philip Jason describes Collins poetry as suggests why he so often uses humor to lead the reader into a place, often a serious and surprising place, of the poems conclusion. However, Collins poetry cannot be skimmed if the reader wants the true meaning and feeling to be apparent to them. A second and deeper reading is needed to truly feel the poem. Collins poetry is humble and vibrant with language, imagery and, tone and serves as a sample for all American poets. Works Cited Bush, John. A Conversation with Billy Collins. http://www.windriverpress.com/critique/collins_b.html. Critique Magazine. Collins, Billy. Picnic, Lightning. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1998. Conway, Mark. Billy Collins. The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature. Vol. 1. 2006. Jason, Philip. Critical Survey of Poetry. Vol. 2. California: Salem Press,Inc., 2003. 8 vols. Lee, Michelle. Poetry Criticism. Vol. 68. New York: Thomas Gale, 2006. 83 vols. Saunder, Alletha. Interview with Billy Collins. Summer 2006. http://www.uidaho.edu/fugue/billy_collins.htm. Fugue, University of Idaho. Varnes, Kathrine. An exaltation of forms: contemporary. Michigan: University ofMichigan Press, 2002. Weich, Dave. Billy Collins, Bringing Poetry to the Public. January 14, 2004. http://www.powells.com/authors/collins.html. Powells.com.

Aapl Valuation Fcff Essay

Our modern economy relies upon the technology sector to improve quality, productivity, and profitability. Apple’s first computer was developed around the 1970’s. Since then they have surpass one of its biggest competitors Microsoft (MFST). Apple is not only known for its great designs, fun, and intuitive products. Their products have been productive and created a vast profitability for the private sector. Furthermore, there is no stopping point for Apple, it will continue to grow and generate wealth. There have been various events since Apple went public that have generated high returns due to the volatility of the chaining computer industry. Therefore, I believe Apple is in high growth stage, due to the many new innovations that have came out and are about to come out such as: the Iphone 5, new Ipad Mini, and a new line of Mac computes due out in 2013. Data: To evaluate Apple’s stock, I have chosen to use the Free Cash Flow for the Firm model (FCFF). This model is a measurement of the financial performance of a company that articulates the cash generated from the firm, which is then subtracted by the firm’s expenses, taxes, Net Working Capital, Depreciation, and Capital Expenditures. In essence, this formula is a measurement of the company’s profitability after all expenses and reinvestments. The data that I have collected to provide a future evaluation of Apple’s stock is as stated. The data began at the end of 2011 and is all expressed as millions. CAPEX was $11,768, Depreciation was $3,991, EBIT was $33,790, NWC was $17,018, total liabilities were $39,756, the number of shares outstanding were 937. 4, and the parameters given for the High growth and Low growth were Tax rate as 34%, Treasury bills were 2. %, Market Risk-Premium was 4%, and the high growth period is for 8 years; therefore, from 2012 to 2019 Apple is under high growth at 5. 5% and for 2020 apple stabilizes at 3%. Moreover, the bounds that were provided for high growth were as stated. The Debt-Equity ratio was 40%, which is used to find the weight of debt (Wd) and weight of equity (We). Lastly, the cost of debt (Kd) given is 4. 75% and the current Beta was founded through Scottrade a nd was . 86. However, for stable growth the data differed. Such as the Beta, which was 4/5 of the high growth Beta, Debt-Equity ratio is 25%, and the cost of debt (Kd) is 4. 25%. All in all, the FCFF model will provide the intrinsic value of the firm and of the stock; therefore, it will be compared to the current market price of the stock. Results: The projections, along with the formulas used, for the evaluation of Apple ‘s stock can be found in the Excel worksheet provided. First, I will go over the results for the high growth phase. For instance using the Debt-Equity ratio, the weights for debt and equity were 28% and 71%. Since the ratio was given and not a percentage expressed as weight, Wd+We=1 was used to find the weights. These weights are realistic in terms that Apple does contain too much L. T. debt. From there the CAPM model was used to solve for the (Ke), which was 5. 94%. Also, the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) was founded using the above constraints. This was 5. 14%, which states that Apple does not require a high rate of return for future mergers or expansions. This also provides the interests that Apple has to pay for every dollar it finances. Lastly, by using one of the major valuation models, such as the DCF, the Present Value, which identifies the intrinsic value of the company, was founded for each high growth year. Second once Apple stabilized after year 2019, the prediction of growth is 3%, and Beta was projected to be . 96. Again, by using the boundaries stated above: the (Ke), weight of equity/debt, and WACC were as follow 6. 34%, 80%, 20%, and 5. 63%. These numbers were somewhat similar to its high growth stage; therefore, signifying Apple is still a strong company once it stabilizes. Yet, another reason why Apple can provide such attractive returns. Conversely, finding the Terminal Value (Pt) of the company, which is the value of the company at a future year, projected the PV for stable growth, in this case it was 2020. The (Pt) was over $1 billion, yet again another reason why Apple creates a great investment opportunity. Moreover, by adding all of the PV, including the stable growth year, the intrinsic value of the firm is over $966 million and minus the current value of debt, Apple is still worth (value of equity) over $926 million. This equity divided the current number of shares outstanding; Apple’s intrinsic value of stock is $988. 80 per share. By comparison the current stock price, which is $649. 79 per share, the stock value is undervalued. Likewise, making (AAPL) a rewarding opportunity that must not be taken for granted. Conclusion With outstanding projections by Apple my recommended strategy is simple and involves options. Reason being is that orthodox investments do not provide great returns in a volatile market. Therefore, by evaluating apple now considering future parameters, trading Apple as an option will provide attractive returns. Since Apple growths rate is far greater than its P/E ratio, its long-term trend will be positive; therefore, making it an attractive somewhat safe bet. For instance, buy several calendar spreads at a strike below, at, and above the stock price. If (AAPL) moves between $10-$15 higher then sell the lowest strike spread, and replace it with a higher one around $4 to $6 more than the one sold. This should be reverse if the stock price falls in price. All in all, this is a daily trade strategy, yet it has the potential to provide good returns since the day rate for the short weeks is greater than monthly decay rates.

Analysis of Food Dyes in Beverages Essay

Purpose: To determine the concentration of dye in a sports drink using spectroscopy and graphical analysis. We will be using beers law to find the unknown concentration of dye in a sports drink. Materials: Beakers, 50-mL, 2-3 ; Test tubes (13 x 100)mm 3-8 ; FD&C Blue 1 stock solution, 50-mL ; Lens tissues ; Pipets, serological, 10-mL ; Sample of consumer sports drink, 10-mL ; Spectrophotometer ; Test tube rack Procedure: 1) Preeminently, follow all laboratory safety guidelines ensuring that you have safety goggles on at all times throughout the lab. 2) Fill the cuvette 2/3 of the way with water. 3) Select the appropriate wavelength on the spectrophotometer. 4) Place the cuvette in the spectrophotometer and click the calibrate button. 5) Put 5mL of stock solution into test tube. 6) Fill the cuvette 2/3 of the way with the first solution. 7) Place the cuvette in the spectrophotometer. 8) Wait a few seconds and record the absorption on your data table. 9) Put 4mL of stock solution and 1mL of water in a test tube to make the second solution. 10) Fill the cuvette 2/3 of the way with the second solution. 11) Place the cuvette in the spectrophotometer. 12) Wait a few seconds and record the absorption on your data table. 13) Put 3mL of stock solution and 2mL of water in a test tube to make the third solution. 14) Fill the cuvette 2/3 of the way with the second solution 15) Place the cuvette in the spectrophotometer. 16) Wait a few seconds and record the absorption on your data table. 17) Put 2mL of stock solution and 3mL of water in a test tube to make the fourth solution 18) Fill the cuvette 2/3 of the way with the fourth solution 19) Place the cuvette in the spectrophotometer. 20) Wait a few seconds and record the absorption on your data table. 21) Put 1mL of stock solution and 4mL of water in a test tube to make the fifth solution 22) Fill the cuvette 2/3 of the way with the fifth solution 23) Place the cuvette in the spectrophotometer. 24) Wait a few seconds and record the absorption on your data table. 25) After all data are collected, use them to formulate a graph identifying the linear relationship between absorbency and concentration. —– Data and Calculations: Data recorded: Concentration(Â µM): 5.63 4.344 3.288 2.172 1.086 0 Absorption: .462 .398 .294 .186 .082 0 Water (mL): 0 1 2 3 4 5 Stock Solution (mL): 5 4 3 2 1 0 Linear Regression: y = .088x – .003 A = abc a = Molar absorptivity b = Path length of the sample cell c = Concentration Absorbency of Gatorade = 0.115 0.115 = (130.000)(1)(c) c = 8.85 x 10-7 Conclusion: In this experiment, we prepared solutions and used Beer’s law to analyze the concentration of dye in a beverage. The graph would provide the most accurate means to determine the concentration of an unknown solution and we know that absorbance measurements are most accurate in the range of A values from 0.2 to 1.0.

Arrow Electronics Case Assignment Essay

Arrow was founded in the early 1935 as a retailer of radio equipment. Later the company expanded to sell entertainment products and electronic parts. In 2002 Arrow’s global sales were $7.4 billion. The semiconductors products generated over half of the company revenues. Since then, the company has engaged in valued added services. Value added is used to describe instances where a firm takes a product that may be considered a homogeneous product, with few differences from that of a competitor, and provides potential customers with a feature or add-on that gives it a greater sense of value. A value added product can either increase the product’s price or value. For example, offering one year of free support on a new computer would be a value-added feature. Arrow enhanced its products and services before offering the product to customers. The company invested heavily in a sales force and logistics capabilities. Arrow Electronics knew they had to pay close attention to operations. The company knew the goals of the organization and developed a clear vision of exactly how operations will help achieve them. It involved translating the goals into implications for the operation’s performance, objectives, quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost especially at their distribution centers. Management knew inventories are considered an important asset and are critical for business success. Arrow used a lot of technology and inventory data at Arrow were extremely accurate. In order to keep inventory data accurate, Arrow invested heavily in information technology. The inventory tracking technology resulted in a better bottom line and a more profitable business. Effective inventory management augmented by technology helped Arrow keep track of inventory, streamline ordering and track items throughout the product’s sales cycle. The three information systems they used were the sales desktop, the mainframe system, and the WMS. The system sales desktop allowed the sales representatives to view the products information, cost, and their buying patterns. The mainframe system maintained the customer inventory, orders and the logic for sales order processing. The system acted like a repository of all data and converted the orders received from the  sales desktop. The mainframe system was the core operating system. The system was impeccable in its ability to track inventory at detailed levels. Fortunately Arrow’s approach to inventory accuracy is not excessive because the system actually saves them money on their inventory management. Inventory management software helped Arrow automate processes and better manage systems to prevent losses from hidden costs. Because Arrow’s major systems were develop in house, they are going to have difficulty using commercial software if their software have issues. A rrow Electronics purchased the company Eagle Semiconductor. Eagle traditional strategy of operating several regional warehouses and moving the inventory into Arrows primary distribution center was a business decision that needed to be made by Betty Jane Scheihing, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations at Arrow Electronics. The warehouses performance, customer complaints, and inventory management were bad. Scheihing should explain to management and Eagle’s centers When inventory inaccuracy occurs, inventory management associates should address the issue in a way to reduce the risk of bad performance in the centers. They should request an immediate recount, adjusting the inventory records accordingly. The management associates should evaluate their options in terms of shipping cost, delivery date and time, and the urgency. Companies like Arrow depend heavily on inventory accuracy to operate or fill client orders. Inventory is the major company asset that assisted with tasks such as planning. Thus keeping accurate inventory record s as a major management tool has multiple benefits. When accurate inventory records are kept, the data tells whether you can take on client requests or particular projects with the inventory on hand. Arrow can get a sense of when they will need to order new items. Arrow also can review the inventory records to identify inventory trends over time and make some basic predictions about inventory that might run out faster than usual. All of these elements mean they can plan and strategize. This is critical to developing and maintaining relationships. Good inventory records mean that when customers call or write with inventory-related questions, they can find the answer quickly. A fast response time usually means the customer gets a better impression of the company. When they know exactly what inventory they have and where it is stored, they can retrieve it promptly and fill customer orders efficiently. The ability to deal with inquiries and fill orders  quickly means the company is able to serve more customers and move more inventory th rough the company, resulting in higher profit. If customers have to wait for responses or products, they may cancel orders and go to other companies. Inventory inaccuracy could possibly have a significant impact on the Arrow’s performance. Inventory inaccuracy increases the time spent on the inventory management process. Additional time in multiple departments is spent on researching discrepancies, correcting systems data, and communicating concerns. Inventory inaccuracy impacts the organization’s financial performance in terms of the cost of goods sold. Increased costs are the result of expediting shipping, additional labor, and loss of production. Arrow had inventory inaccuracies when they gave low level warehouse operators the responsibility of finding and correcting inventory errors. Having a group of people with inadequate training and experience count and adjust inventory was a little advanced for their pay grade. Arrow should of made sure who had control over affecting inventory. This is especially true in manufacturing operations where the priorities of machine operators and production supervisors are meeting the production schedule, keeping the machines running, and ensuring the quality of the product being produced. Inventory accuracy should never be a primary responsibility of those types of positions. Once Arrow came to this realization, it was easy to see the benefits of putting inventory and material handling responsibilities in the hands of people whose primary job is auditing and oversight. Overall Arrow Electronics Operational Execution was great. They invested heavily in technology to manage their operations.

Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated in Glucose Transport

Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated in Glucose Transport A role for ataxia telangiectasia mutated in insulin-independent stimulation of glucose transport Abstract Literature reports suggest that ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) can activate the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a protein that can stimulate glucose transport in skeletal muscle. We hypothesized that 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide (AICAR), an AMPK activator, would increase glucose transport in mouse extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles in an ATM-dependent manner. AICAR-stimulated glucose transport was prevented by the ATM inhibitor KU-55933 and in ATM-deficient (ATM-/-) muscle despite normal stimulation of AMPK phosphorylation. S231 of TBC1D1 matches the sequence motif of ATM substrates, and phosphorylation of this site is known to inhibit TBC1D1 and lead to increased glucose transport. Accordingly, we assessed TBC1D1 phosphorylation and found that AICAR-stimulated phosphorylation of TBC1D1 at S231did not occurin ATM-/- muscle. However, activation of ATM without activation of AMPK was insufficient to increase TBC1D1 phosphorylation.The data suggest that ATM plays a role in AICAR stimulated glucose transport downstream of AMPK. Keywords: AMP-activated protein kinase; ataxia telangiectasia mutated; TBC1D1; AICAR; glucose transport; skeletal muscle Introduction The serine-threonine kinase ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) appears to play a role in glucose homeostasis. For example, recent genome-wide association studies have found that genetic variations near the ATM gene are related to glycemic responses to metformin [1, 2], a commonly-prescribed drug for blood glucose control. While the mechanism for metformin’s effect on blood glucose levels is under debate [3-6], it is known that metformin acutely stimulates glucose transport into skeletal muscle concomitant with activation of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) [7]. Activation of AMPK is sufficient to stimulate insulin-independent glucose transport into skeletal muscle [8, 9]. Intriguingly, ATM dependence has been reported for activation of AMPK in response to DNA damage or insulin-like growth factor 1 in HeLa cells and fibroblasts, exposure of lung cancer cells to ionizing radiation,exposure of lymphoblaststo H 2 O 2 , or treatment of HeLa cells and mouse embryonic fibroblasts with the adenosine analog AICAR [10-14]. Despite these suggestive data on the role of ATM upstream of AMPK, the potential role of ATM in AMPK-dependent stimulation of glucose transport has not previously been investigated in skeletal muscle, the predominant whole-body storage depot for glucose. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that glucose uptake stimulated by the AMPK activator AICAR would be dependent on ATM in skeletal muscle. Methods Materials Antibodies against TBC1D1, AMPK, phosphorylated AMPKÃŽ ± T172 (P-AMPK), and phosphorylated ATM S1981 (P-ATM) were purchased from Cell Signaling Technology (Beverly, MA, USA). Antibodies aga inst phosphorylated TBC1D1 (P-TBC1D1) S237 (S231 in mouse) were purchased from EMD Millipore Corporation (Billerica, MA, USA). Antibodies against tubulin and ATM were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (St. Louis, MO, USA). Horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibodies were obtained from Pierce Biotechnology (Rockford, IL, USA). The ATM inhibitor KU-55933 was a generous gift from Dr. Graeme Smith (KuDOSPhramaceuticals, Cambridge, UK). The AMPK inhibitor Compound C was provided by Merck & Co., Inc. (Rahway, NJ, USA). Doxorubicin was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich Corporation. Radiolabeled 2-deoxyglucose and mannitol were purchased from American Radiolabeled Chemicals, Inc. (St. Louis, MO, USA).