Discuss the Importance of Dreams in Of Mice and Men Essay

The book ‘Of Mice and Men’ was published in September, 1937 and was set in the depression of the 1930s in California at the location of Soledad. Steinbeck uses ‘Soledad’ because it translates as loneliness which arises the point that the time in which this book was set was a time of loneliness where it was very unusual to have a companion or family with you which led to the existence of dreams; to look forward to more pleasant and happier times. At this time: 1930s America, most Americans had the so-called American Dream. This was to own their own piece of land as well as being the boss of it. This was the common dream amongst ranch workers to have something to live for and aid them with their loneliness. The dream came into existence in the 1800s when land was more readily available. By the 1930s, when this novella was set, it was almost impossible to make their dreams a reality due to the 1929 Wall Street stock market collapse which had resulted in prices increasing drastically, and more importantly; there was a desperate act of poverty making people sell what they had and live on the streets. This is what led to the rugged individualism of each person. As well as this, it was made even more difficult as most land had been bought beforehand. It is due to the Wall Street Crash that many went to California for work. President Roosevelt at that time had the job of directing workers such as George and Lennie to ranches or farms where there was work. Steinbeck uses Lennie and George to personify the dream of the migrant worker; own their own land along with giving the opportunity to settle in the ‘promised land (California)’. Migrant workers are labourers who work on ranches as harvesters involving lifting heavy materials; hard work for little wages. They have no family or friends as they continuously travel to different ranches in California in order to keep work. This is how workers had to get jobs and was the way of life for migrant workers. In relation to this, work card were important as it gave them a work permit which ranch owners required when recruiting. In comparison to modern day working conditions, workers such as George and Lennie would not receive holidays, sickness payments or old age pensions from their ranch. Therefore, futures for most men looked bleak. Without dreams, no-one would have reason to keep going. An example of this is Lennie wanting his own animals in the future to ‘pet.’ There is symbolism within the book that refers to the Garden of Eden. He sets the scene of this by using description such as â€Å"Willows fresh and green with every spring† which could be interpreted as referring to the Garden of Eden. I believe Steinbeck is trying to put across the imperfectness of humans along with temptation and results of doing a â€Å"bad thing† (said by Lennie). Lennie shows that temptation causes him to lose his way and represents the imperfection of humans. His desire to pet soft objects without foreseeing the consequences puts him on a collision course with others. Also, the girl in Weed and Curley’s wife are both temptations that made his curiosity grow and he could not resist. Curley’s wife could be seen as the serpent in the garden; a liar, a temptation, a manipulator of men to get her way. Like Eve, she is curious, in this case about Lennie. Her actions are innocent but the outcomes are bad, (telling Lennie to touch her soft hair in the barn which leads to her death) just as Eve’s actions caused them and human beings to be sent of the ‘perfect place.’ Curley’s wife’s actions tempt Lennie whose actions cause him along with the others to lose their dream of a little farm. Lastly, Adam and Eve were thrown out of Eden for going against God; therefore mankind is in loneliness and wandering. Steinbeck shows this when George asks who used to live on his bunk with Candy replying that he had just left: â€Å"gimme my time one might like any guy would.† After this, George then brings Lennie along which creates suspicion because two men didn’t travel together; â€Å"Hardly none of the guys ever travel together.† There was a big contrast in the timeless rural vision of America and what was to all but end this: the 1930s Depression. The vision was that workers will move up the ranks of working to eventually own their individual land; however this would never be when the 1930s Depression occurred. There was a big drop in every economic growth along with very high unemployment. It also resulted in countries leaving the gold standard in order to recover. These reasons helped the American Dream to not be a successful one for so many. Steinbeck is effective and does well to imply that there is another world other then the perfect one that was envisaged by everyone by saying: â€Å"beaten hard by the boys coming down from the ranches† and â€Å"beaten hard by tramps who come wearily down from the highway.† Words such as â€Å"beaten hard† and â€Å"tramps† suggest this other world and show the stark contrast between dreams and reality. The main characters include George, who is a small, quick man with well-defined features. He is a migrant ranch worker who dreams of one day saving enough money to buy his own place and being his own boss, many men in the Depression dreamed of this. His only set back is his mentally handicapped friend Lennie whom he travels with and has been since he promised Lennie’s Aunt Clara he would look after him after she died. Looking after Lennie stops George from working towards his dream and even prevent him from having a normal life of a rancher, because of this, George and Lennie regularly fight. George yearns for companionship as can be told by the metaphor of him playing solitaire. The tension of having to look after Lennie and himself shows in George and he shows a wide variety of emotions during the novella, from anger to patience to sadness. Lennie is mentally slow, he’s enormous. He is George’s companion and he is the source of the all the novel’s conflict. He is George’s opposite both mentally and physically. Lennie’s innocence and helplessness, his childish actions, such is his desire to pet soft things makes him likeable to the readers of the novella. George and Lennie’s dream is more materialistic than to just own land and be their own boss, as they envision a place where â€Å"nobody gona get hurt nor steal from them.† The friendship between the two is firmly rooted in their dream. Candy and Crooks along with others are also caught up in the dream. Curly’s wife also had a dream which was to become a movie star. But in one way or another, all the dreams of these workers are smashed.

Impact of External and Internal Factors on the Four Functions of Management

Impact of External and Internal Factors on the Four Functions of Management External and internal factors such as globalization, technology, innovation, diversity and ethics can greatly impact the four functions of management. Functions such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling can be influenced by these different internal and external factors since organizations need to ensure that they are addressed properly for business success. In addition, knowing the external and internal factors help organizations in identifying the business risks that exist in the environment in which they operate.This paper will focus on United Way, a non-profit community-based organization that was initially found in communities, large and small, across the United States. Globalization Globalization has invoked extensive debate over its impact and credibility, giving rise to a number of perspectives. Indeed increased globalization has prompted remarkable economic growth around the world. It has led to job opportunities in making the products that are exchanged with different countries. This has produced specialization and comparative advantage.The power of foreign competition has encouraged domestic industries to innovate and it has allowed resources to flow to their highest use as well. Further, globalization is the process that increased the link and interdependence of the world markets and businesses. It is a route of interaction and integration of the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process motivated by international trade and investment and aided by information technology. The volume of world trade has increased due to globalization.Consequently, more jobs are being available to people and consumers all over the world are enjoying a wider selection of products made from different countries. Today, United Way does not only serve in strengthening families, helping children and youth, and building stronger communities locally. Aside from its 1 300 local organizations in America, it has also 3000 organizations in 47 countries. Due to globalization, United Way is able to tap not only the local communities but the international communities as well.The organization is able to help other nations through United Way International. As of 2008, United Way International started new United Ways in some parts of India, Brazil, Peru, France, Argentina and Johannesburg, South East Asia, Latin America and South Africa. (United Way International, 2008). United Way raises sources through donations to be able to help people in need in different countries. Globalization has indeed impacted the four functions of United Way management since the organization now needs to consider developing the budget and business plans for a global organization.United Way’s Founding Committee discusses challenges of what may come up during this process. The committee chooses members that will oversee the board and hires the director and the first manag ement team who will spearhead during the changes due to globalization. Planning, organizing, leading, and controlling an organization that serves a bigger area need to implement changes in its conventional way of doing things to ensure that the same quality services are provided in all the countries that it serves. Technology Technology impacts management and business decisions on multiple levels.During the December 1999 Conference of the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, Executive Director Roni Posner states: Technology is the backbone of management and organizational effectiveness. It equips people with data and information that can be then synthesized into learning and knowledge; and, this knowledge is what gives organizations more powerful voices in, and greater impact on, community change–the ultimate goal of nonprofit capacity building. (Osten, 2001, para. 1). The United Way implements technological plans to remain competitive with fundraising and accounting, volunteer management and community services.To improve management of accounting and fundraising practices, nearly 200 United Way organizations are opting to use Sage Software’s MIP Fund Accounting application (Sage Software, 2005). MIP Fund Accounting is designed to ease reporting and transaction management for nonprofits. With this system, chart of accounts are easily created with transaction tracking capabilities. Reports are generated within the program and reporting cycles are significantly shortened by hours or even days. MIP Fund Accounting is user-friendly and easy-to-learn, with grouped tasks according to accounting functions (â€Å"Sage MIP fund accounting,† n. . ). In addition to incorporating technology to manage multiple account funds, United Way is developing new technologies to garner donor contributions. Donations are the economic capital United Way relies on to provide quality services in their respective communities. Thus, United Way must be creative in its pur suits to compete with other nonprofits for this income stream. One viable solution was the creation of the United eWay Consortium. The consortium, founded by Phoenix’s Valley of the Sun United Way, allows participating United Way agencies to create customized Web sites for online pledging.This system eliminates the use of paper pledges and makes donation tracking effortless for both United Way organizations and gifting firms (Wallace, 2001). Cash donations are not the only gifts needed by United Way to meet its organizational goals. Human resource donations or volunteers are a significant portion of the United Way workforce. Technology was again utilized by the nonprofit to meet managerial needs. A local United Way agency in Indiana launched an online matchmaking site to connect volunteers with giving opportunities.Volunteer Solutions is a medium used by area helping agencies to post their volunteer openings on the site. Potential volunteers register on the site and search fo r possible positions by their zip code, area of interest or agency name. When a match is found, volunteers are then notified. During the first week of its inception, Volunteer Solutions matched approximately 40 volunteers to local nonprofits (Davis, 2003). Not only does the United Way use technology to enhance business operations, the nonprofit also employs technology to better serve its constituents. United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta and its partners†¦piloted an electronic benefits calculator, a tool that streamlines the eligibility and enrollment process for federal, state and community benefits† (United Way of America, n. d. , pg. 11). Over a two-year period, awards for benefits increased by $453,000. Technology is an essential tool used by United Way to increase efficiency and allocation of resources, generate donor contributions and expand community services. Without the use of technology, United Way and its benefactors would not reap the benefits of its continued s uccess as a dominant nonprofit organization.Innovation Innovation is important for an organization to succeed in its endeavor. For a non-profit organization like United Way, innovation is significant in order to find more ways to help and serve communities in need better. Innovation can greatly impact the four functions of management since innovation needs to be considered in all functions of management to improve and advance the ways and means of United Way in serving people. Diversity Diversity is â€Å"variety of something, such as opinion, race, color, style and or gender† (â€Å"Diversity,† 2008, n. . ) In order for a company or organization to be diverse it needs to value diversity by respecting and appreciating all aspects of an individual, including race, gender, religion, skin color, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical abilities, age, parental status to name a few. That is what The United Way of America stands on and strives for. United Way is built up of all different walks of life and in order for the non-profit organization to be able to strive everyone must be able to get along and work well with each other.To make sure the organization stays diverse, United Way of America has formed a Diversity Cabinet to eliminate discrimination. United Way is made up of all types of individuals from every walk of life to form their cabinets, their volunteers and their customers. United Way’s Core Value statement is â€Å"Diversity and Inclusion are core values for United Way. We aspire every segment of the community in every aspect of our work and to demonstrate our commitment to and accountability for an inclusive environment in which differences are recognized, respected, valued and celebrated† (United Way, 2008, n. . ). United Way also feels that its inclusive and diverse organization gives the organization the opportunity to actively live and achieve its mission and values to attract, develop and return mor e diverse talent. It also helps the organization to grow and broaden its base of support from volunteers, donors and other stakeholders. Diversity also helps the United Way to model, facilitate and lead the collaborative efforts needed to make changes in community conditions. It is also a way to become innovative and develop better solutions leading to better performance and results.In addition, diversity enhances the organization’s reputation and brand in the philanthropic community and global market place (Live United, 2008, n. p. ). United Way does not care if an individual is someone who wants to be a volunteer or one of the organization  boards/committees or someone who needs the help. United Way is here to help. Ethics Code of Ethics in any organization is extremely important. Code of ethics deals with organizational values and principles and behaviors on what is and is not acceptable.It helps to ensure people are treated equally and justly in all matters. United Way does have Code of ethics and it may differ according to each location. However all communities in which the organization is located is governed by the overall America Code of ethics that United Way has set forth (â€Å"United Way of America Code of Ethics Guide, 2004). United Way code of ethics was created and discussed amongst the employees and volunteers and believe these codes will help the organization through the work that is encompassed each day.United Way code of ethics is based on core values which are: integrity, impact, volunteerism, inclusiveness and catalytic leadership In addition, the organization believes that the staff will be able to make great decisions that are legal and binding when ethical codes are set forth. Code of Ethics from United Way Association (UWA) (United Way of America Code, 2004) also ensures personal and professional integrity. UWA is motivated in performance to meet the mission. In addition, UWA believes communication is a powerful source when us ed effectively. Equal Opportunity is another important factor governed under the Code of Ethics.UWA believes conflict of interest could degrade the organization and should refrain from personal gain to include gifts that does not relate to the mission. To include, UWA no one should be family affiliated or dating within the organization because it is believed that it affects the appearance of impartiality. Confidentiality and privacy is believed to be handled at a professional level in the UWA organization by respecting the privacy rights of individuals and to make sure information is not disclosed. United Way is committed to the highest ethical standards. It has an obligation to everyone to act ethically at all times.United Way believes that its continued success comes from everyone affiliated with the organization who lives by the code of ethics. United Way came up with their code of ethics by collaborating with their employees, volunteers and anyone else with interest (United Way of America Code, 2004). Holding an organization to a high ethical standard will always set the organization apart from other organizations. The United Way is such a highly reputable organization due to the implementation of its code of ethics. Delegation in Managing the Impacts of External and Internal FactorsManagers can use delegation to manage the impact that the factors have on the four functions of management by ensuring that the process of delegation is done well. One person can not run the show all on his/her own. Delegation plays a huge role in getting the job done successfully. In order to make this happen there must be a clear plan of action. All parties have to be informed as to what duties they are responsible for and how those duties must be carried out. There must be clarity that supports how the responsibilities will be completed and if support from other team members is needed for that completion.These things must be  discussed in the planning and or organization s tages. There has to be contingency plans and structure to any project in which a manager is delegating responsibilities. Delegation of responsibilities, projects, duties or tasks can be a double-edged sword. In order for a manager to manage effectively it has to be used with finesse. The parties that a manager delegates tasks should be responsible and trustworthy. While it is not always possible to do so, it is important to implement accountability to each team responsible for every task.Delegation will only work if the manager who is delegating also does his/her job properly. Follow-up and constructive feedback is important for the delegation process to be effective. Conclusion The external and internal factors can indeed impact the four functions of management. As observed in the United Way organization, globalization, technology, innovation, diversity and ethics can affect planning, organizing, leading, and controlling of its organization. While globalization has helped United Wa y in serving other countries in need it has also impacted the four functions of management. Considerations now need to be done in a larger scale.The four functions of management have to be done in a global scale with the same standards as the organization has locally. Technology impacts the four functions of management on multiple levels. Proper planning on what technology to use, organizing the people who needs to spearhead the use of new technologies, leading and controlling the people who will be involved in the use of different technologies need to be considered. If these are not done, the effectiveness of the technologies that the organization uses may not be fully maximized. Innovation impacts the four functions of management since innovation needs to be considered in ll functions of management to improve and advance the ways and means of United Way in serving people. Diversity can also impact the functions of management since most organizations like United Way has diverse emp loyees that can affect the decisions that are involved in planning, organizing, leading, and controlling of its organization. Ethics can also impact the four functions of management since an organization cannot create good credibility without acceptable code of ethics. Thus, it is essential that internal and external factors are considered when using the four functions of management.References Davis, A. M. (2003, August 18). Technology connects volunteers: local United Way launches online matchmaking service. Indianapolis Business Journal, 24(23), 3, 60. Retrieved September 14, 2008, from Gale PowerSearch database. Diversity. (2008). In Encarta World English Dictionary Online. Retrieved September 14, 2008 from Live United: United Way: Diversity and inclusion. (2008). Retrieved September 14, 2008 from Osten, M. (2001, May). Technology and nonprofit management: Themes from the conference of the alliance for nonprofit management. Nonprofit Online News.Retrieved September 14, 2008, from http://news. gilbert. org/features/featureReader$3842? print-friendly=true Sage MIP fund accounting. (n. d. ) In Sage Software. Retrieved September, 14, 2008, from http://www. sagenonprofit. com/products/fundaccount/ Sage Software continues to attract United Way organizations. (2005, August-September). The National Public Accountant, 4(4), 19. Retrieved September 14, 2008, from Gale PowerSearch database. United Way International. 2008. Official website of United Way International. Retrieved September 14, 2008 from http://uwint. org/devfinal/ United Way of America. n. d. ). Goals for the common good: The United Way challenge to America. Retrieved September 14, 2008, from http://www. liveunited. org/goals/upload/UW_Common_Good. pdf United Way of America Code of Ethics Guide. (2004). In United Way. Retrieved September 14, 2008 from United Way: United Way of Greater Los Angeles: Creating Pathways Out of Poverty. (2008). In United Way Los Angeles. Retrieved September 14, 2008 from Walla ce, N. (2001, April 5). Technology: New online option for United Ways. Chronicle of Philanthropy, 13(12), 36. Retrieved September 13, 2008, from EBSCOhost database.

Milky Way

Quinci Chapple Mrs. Ryan Language A – 9H January 12, 2012 Finding the Milky Way I often gaze into the night sky only to find bright lights and strange shapes I don’t understand. Starting at a young age, I enjoyed waiting for shooting stars and searching for the famous Big Dipper consolation as many nights as I could. As I grew older, I learned more and more about the universe and all that it contains. Today, I am even more intrigued by, not just the universe, but our very own Milky Way galaxy.I am amazed by its complicated systems and beautiful landscapes, but I still wanted to know how all of its magnificence was discovered. From receiving several astronomical filed guides and photographic collections from family over the years, I already knew some information about the Milky Way. I knew it received its name from the â€Å"milky† light it sheds and that it consists of millions of stars. By observing pictures, I could tell most research about the galaxy was done using telescopes with cameras.I also concluded that the Sun is at the center of the galaxy, but that was just from my comprehension of the term â€Å"solar system†. In other words, I really did not know much about how the Milky Way was discovered, especially since telescopes and high quality technology has not been around forever. The area of interaction that I believe ties to my research is Human Ingenuity. Human Ingenuity focuses on the evolution of process and human creations. How it is important to research the developments of humans throughout history and how those creations affect life and society.The processes made by astronomers to observe the Milky Way have affected human life tremendously, considering it’s where humans live. The steady research of the galaxy through time has led to even greater discoveries and information that humans never thought possible to obtain. I want to know the exact progression of methods and research in discovering the Milky Way. Fr om where the first astronomers got their ideas and plans to take on such a puzzling challenge, to how those methods have led to all the facts we know about the galaxy today.I want to learn about the instruments used to make these discoveries and the people behind them. I would like to be able to conduct a general timeline of the uncovering of the Milky Way. In addition, I find myself wondering why it is so important to study the Milky Way and other elements of outer space. To learn so much information, I need to ask myself questions based on the research topic. Because I want to know how the Milky Way was discovered, I ask the main question, what methods and tools were and are used to observe the Milky Way?The Search Originally, I began my search with the topic astronomical discoveries in mind. I navigated to my school’s library website to use the databases available there shown to me by the librarian. I typed the words astronomy discoveries in the Gale Power Search database, scrolled down reading the various article titles, then clicked on Cosmic Discoveries: The Wonder of Astronomy. As I began to read over the article, I did not understand the information. I soon realized the article was a very short book review for a book I did not have.I clicked back to my search results to find another article titled, 10 years ago in Astronomy. However, this too ended up being a book review. I left the Gale Power Search back to the library’s website to visit the database ProQuest where I searched astronomy discoveries once again. This time, I clicked an article titled Top 10 discoveries of the last 35 years, assuming it would be about discoveries in astronomy over the years. Starting to read the article, I came across a section that raved about the thousands of breakthroughs in astronomy in thirty-five years, the article only covering a ten.This section helped me realize that my topic was too broad to make of, so I decided to narrow my search topic to the di rect history of the Milky Way galaxy. Coming in with my narrowed search topic made things a lot simpler. I used the search engine Google to type in the keywords history of the Milky Way. Thousands of articles popped up, but I clicked on the page Wikipedia had made for the Milky Way. The article was helpful because it was organized into sections, one of them being history, which I immediately went to.The history section of the article gave specific dates and names that contributed to my search. The article explained the first observations of the galaxy and told of the works of the first astronomers, yet the information given was limited. Since I turned my search to the history of the Milky Way, I began to take into consideration how I might transform this topic into a personal project. That thought mixed with the small pieces of information Wikipedia gave made me doubt my space inspired topics. Space was not turning out to be as interesting as I had thought. My next search kept me se t on my topic.Using Google, I searched how was the Milky Way discovered which brought up a great article. The article was set up like a timeline that was simple and easy to understand, especially with all the dates. Once I read and took notes on this article my Area of Interaction was obvious, Human Ingenuity. Now that I had my lens to focus through, researching and planning for my paper was getting much easier. My next few searches were all through Google; one that was really helpful was the search discovering the Milky Way where I found the widespread article The Milky Way Galaxy.This article was the most helpful of all my sources because it provided many pages of clear, organized information fully concerning my topic. The article was more like a book, organized into numbered â€Å"chapters† discussing several different aspects of the Milky Way’s history and current status. The article had one specific section about the techniques used to observe the galaxy over the years. I marked countless notes in my journal that would greatly contribute to my research. The text noted radio mapping and the great history of telescopes.That article lead me to my next search, telescope used to observe the Milky Way. I clicked on the first article titled, Telescope witnesses Milky Way star birth. The article was very useful because it went a little more into depth with the processes used to observe and map the galaxy. It told me about the people to first observe the Milky Way and how far research on the galaxy has come. The article was very current which was supportive to the information. The many articles about the telescopes lead me to my last search, invention of the Herschel telescope (one of the first telescopes used).The article History of the Telescope- Telescope Tips gave a perfect, brief description of the history of the telescope. The article was a great way to wrap up my search with a little more background about the astronomers and their inventions t o uncover more about the Milky Way. What I Discovered The information that I found through my research revealed ideas that I was not aware of and clarified facts that I thought I knew. The investigation answered the research question and provided details extending my thoughts and research topic.Insight on the main ideas was provided by several sources developing thoughts on the structure and contents of the Milky Way, the techniques used to research the Milk Way, the instruments used to observe the galaxy, and the people who contributed to the galaxy’s record. Many of the sources I found described discoveries of the structure and materials within the Milky Way. I learned that in 1915, the galaxy was found to be made up of thousands of globular clusters, which are groupings of millions of stars. Also, around the same time of this discovery, the galaxy was proposed to be a disk shape with several arms extending out from the center.Some of the arms called Sagittarius, Carina, Or ion, and Perseus all extend from the center of the galaxy, the sun being in the Orion arm. All this information was later confirmed by the Spitzer Space Telescope. However, one source told that there are more stars in the galaxy than can be seen because molecular clouds of dust block the light from the stars and cut the view of the system. These dust clouds often contain RR Lyrae stars which are â€Å"used to locate the center of the galaxy because clusters can be seen at relatively great distances.The stars are used to measure distance and Luminosity Relation to the Sun, which calculates the brightness of individual stars. â€Å"I found out later that the molecular dust helps in another way of research. As I continued to research, I discovered the method of radio mapping that has been used since the early 1960s. Radio mapping was an important discovery for the mapping of the Milky Way, â€Å"Astronomers had been trying the build such maps a topical wavelengths, but with the deve lopment of workable radio telescopes in the 1950s, observations were finally able to cut through the murk and create a useful map.The Milky Way had been thought to be a spiral galaxy, and the radio map of the H-I (hydrogen cold) regions showed that it seemed to have three spiral arms†(Goebel) Radio signals are sent out from Earth into the galaxy, then machines measure the wavelengths of the radio signals â€Å"bouncing† back to Earth off the molecular clouds. This process has mapped physical features of the Milky Way through telescopes and computers. According to the article â€Å"Telescope witness’s Milky Way star birth† by Clara Moskowitz, radio mapping is not the first or only method used to find the Milky Way.A 1700s astronomer named William Herschel was the first known to observe the Milky Way. Herschel created a space telescope inspired by the scientist Isaac Newton’s telescope sometime in the early 1700s. â€Å"Herschel’s infrared vis ion lets us sense the feeble heat from some of the coldest objects in the cosmos. † (Moskowitz) Herschel’s telescope measured stars and celestial objects so those could be mapped as well, since there are so many within the galaxy. This article also described the modern tools used to observe space.The Photo detector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) and the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) can be sent out in space or remain in an observatory to work together to take five images at once. The celestial objects to be photographed are limitless, and include the arms and clusters of the Milky Way. Herschel began his research by â€Å"cutting† the sky into equal sections, then using his telescope to best count the number of stars in each section, then drew out a map of the galaxy setting the Sun in the center.In 1920, an American astronomer, Kapteyn, created a modern version of Herschel’s famous map, but with an updated placement of the Sun wh ich was proven to be slightly off center. So, I discovered that the telescope played a major role, probably the most important role, in discovering the Milky Way, â€Å"From Issac Newton’s first working telescope to Herschel’s large scale style, and the telescope has opened the eyes of aspiring astronomers for centuries into the extraordinary world that is our Milky Way Galaxy. †(White).The results I obtained through my search process have collectively answered all aspects of my research question. The question at hand was, what methods and tools were and are used to observe the Milky Way? I learned about the telescope and how it is the main instrument that has been used for centuries in astronomy research. I was also hoping to find out about the features of the Milky Way, which learning about the telescope lead me to find. I also learned about the method of radio mapping and how helpful its results have been.The radio mapping found the RR Lyrae Stars which both have been impactful. I was introduced to some modern machines that are used today for observations. Also, going beyond the research question, I was educated about the people who made significant research concerning the galaxy. However, learning about the people connected me to the methods they used, such as Herschel’s mapping, which answered the sole inquiry of the question. Reflection During the writing of my I-Search paper I acquired many research skills while improving on my previous ones.My research skills helped me solve the problems I faced during research, but also allowed me to find reliable and organized information. I answered my research question completely and connected my research to the Area of Interaction that I chose. If I was able to go through this process again, there are some things that I would do differently. In addition, my research leading to my personal projects does not seem promising. While researching, I believe I learned how to tell is a topic is too broad or too narrow to write a paper with that makes sense while still being simple and direct.My topic started out being too broad to accurately cover over all the information regarding it, so I wanted to make it less generalized, but still in the same field as my original topic. I also learned that while taking notes it’s really important to take direct quotes from articles because they add a lot of authenticity and accuracy to the paper which makes for an all-around better paper. I believe I have always been good at taking notes which helped with my process journals. Also, connecting each process journal to the next makes it easy to write the â€Å"What I Discovered† section of the paper.Summarizing the main ideas of an article is really important, not copying every word. Some problems I had during my research were repetitive information throughout articles and finding articles that were book reviews which didn’t contribute at all. Some articles were too short or poorly written with limited information provided. Another minor problem was a lot of the articles I used did not show the author or date of publication. One the other hand, a lot of the articles I found were organized and gave interesting information that I didn’t find in any other article, which is exactly what I was looking for.Many of the articles I found provided names, dates, and photographs which help in understanding; I try my best to find sites that provide these features. It was very easy to find information that was clearly connected to my question and topic. The sites that I did find were reliable, if a site did not seem reliable, I did not use the information. My research resulted in a through and detailed answer to my research question, what methods and tools were and are used to observe the Milky Way? The methods used were explained to me and examples of instruments were given.I completely understand my topic from doing this research. Also, I used my Ar ea of Interaction, Human Ingenuity, to focus my search. The idea of using special methods to observe the world and designing tools, such as the telescope, to aid and strengthen human’s independent research. If I were to do the I-Search paper again, I would probably use an entirely new topic. Before starting the process journals I felt rushed to come up with a topic that was personal to me, able to produce a product (for the personal project), generally interesting, and had enough material behind it to write a paper on.I would choose a topic that I had the equipment and experience to create a product with. I own a telescope with connected camera, but I feel that it is not the quality to capture the galaxy, if I were to use this topic for my personal project. However, if I were to do the paper over again with the same topic, I would definitely organize my â€Å"What I Discovered† section into a clearer format that included more information that I decided to leave out thi s time for concern of length.I believe sometimes I write too much or include information that is irrelevant. Work Cited â€Å"Discovery of the Milky Way. †Ircamera. Google. January 10, 2012. http://ircamera. as. arizona. edu. /NatSci102/NatSci102/lectures/milkyway. htm. Goebel, Greg. †The Milky Way Galaxy. †In the Public Domain. June 1st, 2010. Google. January 11th, 2012. http://vectorsite. net/tastgal_07. html. Moskowitz, Clara. †Telescope witnesses Milky Way star birth. †Space on MSNBC. October 2nd,

Supporting viewpoint of employee privacy rights in the workplace Essay

Supporting viewpoint of employee privacy rights in the workplace - Essay Example Moreover, the law tends to favor the employers in litigation, viewing the network and communication devices as the property of the employers (Burnette and Rickman, 2004; Twarog, 2005). Also, employers need to collect data on employers to ensure that their potential and current employees are able to perform their jobs safely and honestly (Quann, 1992). Drug and alcohol abuses by employees would compromise safety and expose the employers to liabilities (Quann, 1992). Dishonest employees might use the company electronic mails for their personal and private use during office hours (Burnette and Rickman, 2004). This will reduce productivity (Burnette and Rickman, 2004). On the other hand, employees too have their rights. Employers can only control them in work related areas. When employers cross the line, they risk infringing employee privacy rights (Quann, 1992). The law favors the employees in such cases. For example, a railroad was slapped with $485,000 in damages for terminating a computer operator on grounds of her refusing to undergo a random drug test (Quann, 1992). The court ruled that the job of a computer operator is "not safety related" and therefore not a business necessity (Quann, 1992). Aside from facing potential costs in damages, employee productivity will also drop if they feel that their dignity have been violated (Burnette and Rickman, 2004). Also, the case for monitoring employees' use of electronic resources is productivity. On the contrary, some scholars claim that monitoring the use of electronic resources by employees is counterproductive (Burnette and Rickman, 2004). The protection of employee privacy rights by allowing them to surf the Internet occasionally without monitoring them can increase employee morale, productivity, and loyalty (Burnette and Rickman, 2004). On the contrary, studies have shown that morale and productivity drop when employers monitor employees' use of electronic resources (Burnette and Rickman, 2004). The drop in morale and productivity is heightened in times of emergency (Burnette and Rickman, 2004). Worse still, the stress of knowing that Internet and electronic mails usage are monitored might lead to higher turnover (Burnette and Rickman, 2004). A high turnover of employees could increase costs in finding replacements for the resigning employees, training the new employees, and decreased p roductivity while the new employees pick up the job (Burnette and Rickman, 2004). Also, the protection of employee privacy rights is important for multinational companies (Frauenheim, 2006). Although U.S. law is relatively silent on this subject, employee privacy rights are well governed by the law in other countries such as in Europe (Frauenheim, 2006). Regulations exist on the type of data employers can gather about their employees, the rights employees have with regards to the data, and the transfer of the data to other parts of the world (Frauenheim, 2006). Moreover, performance evaluation and appraisal might not reflect the true value of the employees to the organization when monitoring employees (Burnette and Rickman, 2004). Surely, inaccurate performance evaluation does not lead to business success. Furthermore, a breach of employee information could be damaging to an organization's reputation (Frauenheim, 2006), which is at odds with

Discussion on How Much (if any) Americanism is Still the Operational Essay

Discussion on How Much (if any) Americanism is Still the Operational Theology of the Catholic Church in the United States - Essay Example f these new opinions is that, in order to more easily attract those who differ from her, the Church should shape her teachings more in accord with the spirit of the age and relax some of her ancient severity and make some concessions to new opinions†. But he adds, â€Å"From the foregoing it is manifest, beloved son, that we are not able to give approval to those views which, in their collective sense, are called by some "Americanism." But if by this name are to be understood certain endowments of mind which belong to the American people, just as other characteristics belong to various other nations, and if, moreover, by it is designated your political condition and the laws and customs by which you are governed, there is no reason to take exception to the name† (Concerning New Opinions). The pope has impressed the importance of keeping close to the faith irrespective of the Americanism in the Catholic Church in the United States. It is typical of someone in the United States to have the church appreciate modernism and seek to modify beliefs and order of service according to modern styles and practices. This is bound to happen because as the pontiff points out, â€Å"The underlying principle of these new opinions is that, in order to more easily attract those who differ from her, the Church should shape her teachings more in accord with the spirit of the age and relax some of her ancient severity and make some concessions to new opinions† (Concerning New Opinions). The average American has a high sense of purpose. He will work hard enough to even lose his life in the pursuit of goals and achievements. However, he wants privileges and perks. He does all these because the American culture is such. The American is geared to achieving goals and getting things done. He has a questioning mind and will not shy away from questioning the clergy on the interpretation of God’s word. Hence, the spirit and system with which the Catholic Church works in other parts of the

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 18

International Business - Essay Example However, the company realized the fact that China would be one of the largest markets in near future. Hence, in 2006 it decided to set up a different home page in Chinese. The site is controlled and maintained by the Chinese employees who work in the company’s Shanghai and Beijing offices. The main challenge that Google faced was to meet up its users’ expectation while not violating the Chinese government’s rules regarding the content of politically sensitive issues. Google has been famous for providing all the relevant search results irrespective of the nature of the subject of search. As a result, when the company started its full-fledged operation in China, users expected that they could access to more information. However, Google had to abide by the Chinese rule and hence declared that the company would enable Chinese users to access â€Å"the greatest amount of information possible† (Henninger, 2006). The company was unable to provide the best informa tion regarding subjects like democratic reform, Falun Gong movement, Taiwanese independence and Tiananmen Square massacre. As a consequence, several experts especially the human rights activists showed their protest against the company. Google tried to manage the situation by saying that it is actually better to provide limited information rather than provide nothing. This was, though, not in alignment with the Google’s ethical values, but the company had to compromise in order to manage the legal challenges from the Chinese government. In this case of Google, Chinese government is the host government which has played significant role in limiting Google’s ability to provide information to its Chinese users. Chinese government has strong policy regarding the nature of information that is to be revealed to the people of the country. It has been very cautious so that the common Chinese people cannot gain insight into the

Managing Case Study on Colgate Co Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managing on Colgate Co - Case Study Example The report will also outline some of the competitors in this market that pose a challenge to the operations of Colgate in the oral and dental health care industry. 1.1 Background information about Colgate According to its official website, Colgate was established in 1806 and it was founded by William Colgate. To date, Colgate is regarded as the world’s leader in oral and dental health care and it offers products such as toothbrushes as well as toothpastes. Colgate operates in more than 200 countries though it is based in the US. According to Berger (2010), Colgate has a market share of 44,4 % in the world’s toothpaste industry and it operates in more than 200 countries. The company posted a profit of $3, 615 in the financial year of 2010. The brand is very popular in different countries. For instance, Colgate enjoys a lot of positive consumer response in large emerging economies such as India and Brazil. The company also offers different sizes of toothpaste to different customers. 2.0 Situational analysis of the marketing environment (SWOT) Basically, â€Å"SWOT analysis is a useful instrument that is used to help managers to identify internal strengths and weaknesses of a business and external opportunities and threats facing it,† (Strydom, 2004, p. 31). SWOT stands for strengths (S), weaknesses (W) while on the other hand the external environmental factors are regarded as either opportunities (O) or threats (T) and these factors help the company determine its current position in the market in order to map an effective strategy to realize its intended goals. The table below shows the SWOT analysis for Colgate. Table 1: SWOT analysis for Colgate Strengths The company has good human resources management practices which entails that it has a dedicated workforce The company also uses effective marketing strategies in selling its products Innovation is prioritized in terms of product development and it incorporates dental professionals in its o perations Colgate is a leader in dental hygiene The company operates in many countries across the globe Weaknesses The major weakness of this company is that it spends less on media advertising compared to its rival competitors Opportunities The major opportunity of the company is based on the aspect related to growing dental hygiene market across the whole world. The emerging markets also provide a good opportunity for Colgate Threats The major threat faced by Colgate is related to competition from other rival competitors. There are chances of substitute products being offered by other companies and this affects price of products offered. The other threat is related to currency fluctuations in different countries where Colgate operates Basically, the managers in a company should take advantage of the company’s strengths and opportunities while they put measures in place that are designed to minimise the weaknesses and threats. This section explains in detail the contents of the

Compare Three Stocks Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Compare Three Stocks - Research Paper Example Its drug portfolio contains medicine of almost every discovered disease present on this earth. It is a renowned player in the drug industry and a benchmark for its practices as well. Abbot primarily serves retailers, wholesalers, hospitals and health care facilitators. As to date, Abbot’s market capitalization is 84.26B and its Enterprise Value is 93.96B. On December 31st, 2010 Abbot reported revenues of 38.44B and net income of 4.55B. It has 1.56B shares outstanding with a market price of $54.09/share. The quarterly growth of revenue calculated on a year-on-year basis is 13.20%. Amazon.com Inc is a service sector firm and belongs to catalog & mail order industry. The company was founded in 1994 and it is located in United States. The company is works as an online retailer in North America as well as internationally. The company focuses on selection, price and convenience of customers through its website. Moreover, it enables its customers to sell their product through Amazon and gives product developers a platform to market their products. As to date, Amazon.com’s market capitalization is 86.22B and its Enterprise Value is 85.50B. On December 31st, 2010 Amazon.com reported revenues of 43.59B and net income of 870.00 M. It has 454.75M shares outstanding with share price of $189.59/share. ... As to date, 3M Co.’s market capitalization is 56.34B and its Enterprise Value is 59.04B. On December 31st, 2010 Amazon.com reported revenues of 29.23B and net income of 4.26B. It has 700.84M shares outstanding with share price of $80.39/share. The quarterly growth of revenue calculated on a year-on-year basis is 9.60%. b. Calculate the average annual return for each stock. = Price at December 1st, 2010 = Price at December 1st, 2011 Abbot Laboratories (ABT): Amazon.com: 3M Co.: c. Which is the riskiest security and which is the least risky based on the SD? (Remember higher the standard deviation the riskier the stock will be). Standard deviation for the stock is calculated by taking stock price from Jan 1st,2011 to Dec 31st,2011. 3M Co.’s standard deviation is 6.61 Amazon.com’s standard deviation is 19.41 Abbot Laboratory’s standard deviation is 2.771 The riskiest security in terms of standard deviation is Amazon.com with 19.41. The stock price ranged from as low as $160.59 to as high as 246.71. The least risky security is Abbot Laboratory with more or less stable prices. The highest in year 2011 was price was $55.61 and lowest price was $45.07. 3M Co.’s stock had standard deviation of 6.61 with highest price of $98.19 and lowest price of 68.63. d. Please comment on the best performing stock and the worst performing stock and provide some justification. The best performing stock for a risk adverse investor would be Abbot Laboratories. The earnings have been stable over the year. However, for a risk taker it would be Amazon.com with quarterly revenue growth year-on-year of 43.90%. The standard deviation is high and the return associated with it is also high. For an investor who has held the stock for the whole year would enjoy a return of 10.58%.

Movie review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Movie review - Essay Example In 1994, about 27 years down the line, another outbreak occurs in Motaba Valley. Colonel Sam Daniels of USAMRIID together with his ex-wife Roberta Keough of CDC both conducts research into the virus in Maryland and Georgia respectively. A monkey infected with the Montaba virus finds its way on a ship headed for USA. As soon as the monkey arrives, the deadly virus infects people in Cedar Creek, a town in California. Consequently, Roberta and Sam accompanied by doctor Casey Schuler head to Cedar Creek to hunt for the monkey hoping that the monkey would lead them to the cure of the virus. On his way, Sam came across some vital information that could change things – McClintock has been hiding this information from the US president. McClintock and Ford have possessed a serum (E-1101) prepared to cure the virus since 1967. On several occasions, McClintock has restrained Ford from revealing the information. McClintock now plans to bomb Cedar Creek as he did to Motaba Valley. However, Sam and Roberta discover that the virus in Cedar Creek is a different strain of the deadly Motaba virus – it is airborne and more contagious. A new serum is manufactured to stop this new strain. Thereafter, Sam and Roberta embark on stopping McClintock from blowing up Cedar Creek. Outbreak is a good example of the work of an epidemiologist. An airborne virus spread to humans through a monkey and subsequently to other humans. An epidemiologist comes in to control and monitor the spread of the virus. He firstly orders quarantine on affected regions. He then conducts tests on affected persons to identify and ascertain how the virus causes the disease. After discovering that an Ebola virus caused the disease and that the virus is naturally present in certain monkeys, he searches for the monkey so that he can produce an antidote to stop the outbreak. The things happening in the movie are the same

Fulbright Research Proposal Essay Example for Free

Fulbright Research Proposal Essay Claudia Ukonu, Netherlands, Interdisciplinary Studies The Effects of User Generated Content on Cross Channel Communication Strategies Summary As a recipient of the 2013-2014 Fulbright Grant I plan to enroll in the Masters in Methodology and Statistics for Behavioural, Biomedical and Social Sciences at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. While completing this degree I will also conduct a research study where I will seek to answer two questions 1) How Dutch companies use cross channel communication strategies to market new products and 2) How user generated content (i. . Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. ) effects the implementation of those cross channel communication strategies. The study will use surveys, interviews and statistical methods to examine purchasing behavior and the relevant results will be analyzed with the establishment of an internship at a Dutch market research firm. My goal in completing this study is to apply the knowledge gained from my Masters courses to the relevant topic of consumer purchasing behavior, which will build a solid foundation for entering a PhD program in Statistics. Introduction Here in the United States Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram have become the way of projecting a glamorized image of oneself online. The idea of being modest and not bragging about one’s newly purchased Lamborghini or vacation to Tahiti is long gone. Consumers are now becoming the trendsetters as they now dictate the trends that companies tailor their products around. Examining how user generated content fulfills the Esteem and Love/Belonging parts of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can be used as a model for predicting consumer habits. With the creation of social media networks, traditional ways of marketing seem to have little to no relevance. In order for companies to be effective when introducing new products and maintaining existing ones, it is vital that they are up to date with current trends in marketing new products through multiple communication channels. While each of these channels may have different demographics (i. e. the age difference between Facebook users and people who read newspapers) the goal of cross channel communication strategy is to ensure that the product being marketed conveys the same message on all channels. This can be a daunting task given the number of communication channels available to companies. Location In 2011, ComScore named the Netherlands as the number one country with the highest LinkedIn and Twitter penetration. This provides the perfect backdrop to see how Dutch companies are not only using cross channel communication strategies but, more specifically, how they are incorporating social media into those strategies. During the grant period I will be under the supervision of Dr.  Irene Klugkist, Associate Professor of Methodology and Statistics in the Graduate School of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Utrecht University. Methodology Upon arriving in Utrecht I will begin my MSc in Methodology and Statistics for Behavioural, Biomedical and Social Sciences at Utrecht University. I will enroll in the following courses for the fall semester: Advanced Survey Design and Missing Data Analysis, Multivariate Statistics, Foundations of Statistics, and Computational Inference with R. During the first two months in Utrecht I will spend my time focusing on becoming familiar with the foundations of statistics. In order to obtain accurate results when trying to determine the objectives of the study, it is vital that a selection of study participants is made. The participants will remain the same throughout the course of the study. This will be accomplished with the help of a study participant letter that will outline who I am, my purpose of study, what information I will collect from participants and how that information will be used in the study. I propose that no less than 100 participants be selected for the study. Having more participants will allow for a greater range of differentiation as well as data collection. The first two months of the grant period is also when I will spend time locating the participants of the study. I plan to include participants who are current students and working professionals. The demographics of my study will focus on men and women who are between the ages of 18-35. I am open to the possibility of changing these demographics given that after some time of living in Utrecht, I discover a niche market, to which this study’s objectives would be more relevant. The second objective‘How user generated content (i. e.  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest etc. ) affects the implementation of cross channel communication strategies will be partially addressed in months 3-7 of the grant period. It is during this time that I will track the social behavior of the study participants. Relevant factors to the collection of this data will include: the time the post was made on the social network, the content of the post and responses to the original post. Surveys will also be given to participants asking about their desire to purchase items marketed on various communication channels. The first objective of the study will be applied in the form of an internship at a Dutch marketing firm where I will first observe the current cross communication strategies. After doing this, I will analyze the data collected in the first portion of the grant period. This analysis will help to determine whether 1) Consumer purchasing behavior can be predicted on the basis of user generated content and 2) If this behavior can be predicted, how can companies utilize this to their advantage. Dr.  Klugkist has expressed willingness to help me secure an internship for months 8-9 at a Dutch market research firm. During the internship I will examine the past and existing cross communication strategies of the company while looking at what factors went into the planning of this strategy. Part of the MSc program requires students to participate in a traineeship in their desired field (Behavioural, Biomedical or Social Sciences) in their final year of study. Dr. Klugkist sent my research proposal to Dr.  Van Hattum, a former Utrecht student who now works at a market research firm and he expressed interest in having me as a trainee during my final year at Utrecht University. Goal Throughout the study I hope to uncover cross communication opportunities that utilize social media and then use those opportunities as a foundation upon which I will develop new and existing product entry strategies. I will be able to apply this research and the resulting Masters degree to the completion of a PhD in Statistics.

Sea water desalination

Sea water desalination Abstract Despite the lack of water in some areas of the world in one hand, and the increasing consumption of it in some others make it essential for scientists and engineers to search for practical solutions for this world crisis. This paper closely examined the sea water desalination to be one of the most widespread methods that provide the world with a considerable amount of drinkable water in terms of quality, quantity and cost. Desalination of Seawater is an approach used (and may be the only method) to overcome shortage of fresh water from natural resources in many regions in the world. In recent years, many desalination processes become technically and economically affordable. The production of one cubic meter of desalinated water becomes very reasonably to be less than $1/m3 for many new installations. Introduction Desalination Industry is driven by desalination process such as Multi Stage Flash (MSF) and Reveres Osmosis (RO). Operations of these processes and controlling them are very complicated due to many reasons. Many researchers tried to study dynamic behavior of desalination plants to address plant variables during operation .The plant shutdown can lead to considerable affects or effects on the plant economics. Influence of Plant Factor[1] on Plant Economics . In many researches and new installations, attempts to develop much better and reliable control policy have been investigated and many more are still on going under research . The effective performance and evaluation of different control schemes is important and possibility of implementing new control policies can open new windows for operation of desalination plants for near future. At the same time, this research also aims to improve our understanding of controllability and operability of the desalination plants for better, safer and economic plant operations with maximizing productivity, availability and profitability. The study achievement is believed to be beneficial for desalination community and it helps developing local MENA human resources significantly. Aims and Objectives: Study dynamic behaviors with controllability of MSFs and R.O processes. Emphasis on unique characteristics of desalination processes such as physical, chemical and fluid dynamics will be considered, Simulation of the two methods will be developed on to evaluate the response of a classical desalination system to different operation scenarios based on conventional control schemes. Addressing desalination system components in control policy such as ventilation performance in capturing non-condensable gases, fouling rate formation in condenser tubes, and brine flow hydraulics variations, Computational Fluid Dynamics will be used to describe some complex desalination plant dynamic behavior and phenomena such as brine entrainments to distillate trays and mist eliminator efficiency, and brine level change with orifice configuration, Economic analysis justification for implement iterative Learning control in thermal desalination plants. Why the Work is Important: Recent development of process and control methodology of the desalination plant behavior using its operating data. The integration of performance and process control will allow improve controllability the plants even during failures events. Addressing some dynamic phenomena in the plants and performance of some plants components will be covered with utilisation of Simulation. Economic analysis of implement different the control system will be done. Furthermore, this project will help in developing knowledge capacity and human resources in MENA region. Discussion This study will address two of the most widely used processes of seawater desalination. El-Dessouky and Ettouney argue that, the thermal processes or membrane separation methods are best methods for desalination processes (2002: 11). Based on this point, we are going to analyze an example of each type, namely MSF and RO. Multistage Flashing: MSF is considered to be one of the thermal-based processes to desalinate seawater. Simply put, seawater goes through a process of evaporation followed by that of condensation. Based on this observation, we may conclude that the process at hand imitates the kind of evaporation that occurs in nature. The mechanism in which this takes place is explained by the National Research Council (2004: 76) who points out that: MSF uses a series of chambers, each with successively lower temperature and pressure, to rapidly vaporize (or â€Å"flash†) water from bulk liquid .The vapour is than condensed by tubes of the inflowing feed water, thereby recovering energy from the heat of condensation. As it turns out, heat is the main source of energy needed for this process to take place. Multistage flash. SOURCE: Buros et al. (1980); Buros (2000). Reverse Osmosis : RO is viewed as one of the membrane-based processes to desalinate seawater. In this method high pressure during semi-permeable membranes permeates the fresh water of highly concentrated brine solution (El-Dessouky and Ettouney 2002, P. 12). Thus, the efficiency of this technique is mainly dependent on how good the membranes are in separating salts, metals and other materials from water. Unlike other membrane processes, RO relies on the pressure put on seawater against the membrane, the higher the pressure the better. The following flow chart explains this process: (RBF Consulting, 2004) Seawater Reverse Osmosis Plant SOURCE: RBF Consulting 2004. Three criteria will be considered to investigate the advantages and disadvantages that each method has: The Quantity and Quality of the Produced Water: According to RBF Consulting (2004), the fresh water produced by MSF constitutes around 61.6 % of the desalted water in the world. This is, of course, not strange since this method has been used since the mid 1940s. Specifically, the desalted water produced in winter is more than that in summer. Obviously, this does not comply with what is required. To solve this problem, we might ensure that the plant is provided with high temperatures all the year around. However, this might lead to the gradual corrosion of the plant equipment. On the other hand, the amount produced by RO comprises around 26.7 % of the overall production as indicated by RBF Consulting (2004). Interestingly, Saudi Arabia is ranked second in the world with approximately 12.9 % of the desalted water produced by RO. However, the amount produced by MSF is almost twice as much as the amount produced by RO. The following table shows the change in the capacity of the desalted water in Saudi Arabia: Water Desalination in the UK. This is considered to be new in one of the wettest countries in the world. This tendency towards this source of drinkable water can be ascribed to two factors: Firstly, there has been an increasing prediction or fear of drier summers. Secondly, the constant growth of population makes it necessary to quickly find alternatives to water sources. This is actually a point of difference between Saudi Arabia and the UK. Specifically, Saudi Arabias production of desalted water will necessarily be much bigger than that of the UK, because Saudi Arabia is thought to be one of the driest places in the world. As for the method adopted in the UK, it has been argued that RO is preferred to MSF as being less expensive. This follows from the reduction in the capital costs of membranes, which eventually leads to the reduction in the operational costs. Indeed, RO is chosen to desalinate water in the Beckton Plant in East London which is meant to take saline water from River Thames. This plant is expected to reach a capacity of 150 MLD that will be sufficient for 400.000 households as indicated by Bennett (2005). As far as quality is concerned, it is evident that water produced by MSF is very pure. However, the purity of the water produced by RO depends on the efficiency of the membrane. In other words, it relies on the ability of the membrane to capture minerals, salt particles and materials. Thus, we may say that purity is one of the advantages that MSF has over RO. The Cost of the Produced Water: The inclination of some countries to adopt RO in seawater desalination although it provides less pure water can be linked with the lower costs required for this process. Dickie (2007: 11) argues that large scale thermal desalination has been completely limited to the rich, energy affluent and water poor countries nearby the Arabian Gulf. Based on this observation, we may account for the wide use of MSF in Saudi Arabia since this country is rich with energy sources required for this process as discussed before. This also justifies the use of RO in the UK as being less expensive. In fact, RO tends to be the optimal method to desalinate seawater all over the world. The Team Work: This project is based on a MSc program in the University of Newcastle and it will establish a promising cooperation between two RD organizations; Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) and School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials in the University of Newcastle. The principle investigator, Nasser Zouli, is a member of taskforce team of project on performance of desalination plants in the (SWCC). The project has evaluated more than 20 desalination plants.

Standardization or Adaptation of Nespresso Club

Standardization or Adaptation of Nespresso Club Nespresso is the worldwide pioneer and market leader in premium-portioned coffee. It launched the first system of extracting coffee from capsules to the domestic household market. They currently operate more than 200 boutiques in key cities around the world. The Nespresso Club concept has been successful in Western Europe. The concept is simple: when a machine is bought, the customer joins Nespresso Club on Internet to purchase capsules. This case study investigates on the expansion of Nespresso Club in China and Eastern Europe and that may affect Nespressos entry of these markets. Question 1: Discuss the key environmental factors that may affect Nespressos entry of these markets, and comment their business implications. Coffee tastes and perceptions are changing fast. Both Western and Eastern European countries have seen an explosion of trendy coffee shops over the past decade. Coffee has become a fashionable lifestyle drink and consumers across Europe are demanding products that allow them to replicate the coffee shop experience at home. (Mintel 2010) On the other hand, the key environmental factors that may affect Nespressos entry in the market of Eastern Europe and China are grouped into five factors: Social-Cultural: The Chinese have the habit of drinking tea. About coffee, they know only freeze-dried coffee. China is the worlds first country to have planted, prepared and drank tea. A culture related to tea made its appearance in a long history. Tea is indispensable in the life of Chinese. It is not only seen as a beverage, but it has also become a cultural art that expresses the philosophy, the aesthetic vision and the lifestyle of Chinese. According to the secretary of the European Coffee Association, Eastern Europe could be the biggest potential developing market of coffee. Moreover, the consumption could develop radically in Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic (Mooradian Swan 2006). He also added that for coffee consumption grows in Eastern Europe, it would be necessary to stop for consumers to consider it as a luxury product, but as an everyday consumer product. Tea is truly present in Russian society and it is inseparable from the Samovar Ceremony. Today, tea drinking around the samovar is to perform a warm and friendly gesture. (Healthy Tea Magazine 2008) It is a moment of sharing within the community in which everyone benefits from home and the presence of each. However, coffee market is expanding in recent years in this country. Legal: There are several barriers in China to establish itself in this country. There is a lot of paperwork to enter in the country. Nespresso sells the machines under license. Their concept, the machine and capsules are protected by 70 patents (School Project 2010). Nevertheless, the China market is risky because after few months the product is counterfeit. No legislation is truly effective in China for the counterfeiting. Under the legislation in force in Russia, over 60% of the products to be sold in the country require compulsory certification or license. That is to say, they must be approved by relevant Russian authorities to verify compliance national standards (Malchik 2010). Economic: China is the second largest economy after the United States. The country had a particularly strong economic growth since the 1980s. However, the population remains relatively poor. There are large disparities between regions and individuals. (BBC News 2009) Eastern Europe consists of a poor population, but its emerging economies have improved their purchasing power in recent years. Nevertheless, machines and capsules are expensive in spite of everything. Political: China has introduced a new tax for foreign companies (Proexport 2008). It would be for maintenance and construction of cities and educational support from foreign companies and foreign persons with business interests in the country. To control imports, the Chinese authorities have introduced restrictive measures applied to many products: the requirement to obtain an import license, the application of quotas and the application of tariff measures. (Thompson 2009) In Russia, there is a lot of bribery for companies. Approximately 80% of companies operating in Russia are forced to pay bribes. Further, the average amounts have increased in recent years. In 2000, a company had to pay on average  £6500 to have no trouble. Now, they must give  £85 000. It is the equivalent of the price of a small apartment in Moscow. Écouter Lire phonà ©tiquement Technological: Consumers must join online the Nespresso Club to purchase capsules from Nespresso Boutiques but only 45% of the population in China have Internet. Over 80% of households have Internet access in countries of Northern Europe. Eastern Europe is trying to gradually catch up delay Internet access, but it is very long to implement. The main business implications of these key environmental factors are that the coffee market is no place in Eastern Europe and China because the tea market is dominant in these markets. Moreover, legal problems are particularly numerous. Trade barriers create a difficulty for Nespressos entry and Nespresso strategy can be in danger as few people have computers or Internet. Thus, the different cultures of these countries with their tastes, their traditions, their customs and their policies may affect Nespresso. Question 2: Consider opportunities and challenges for Nespresso in these markets in managing customer relationship and sales through the Internet. What are the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach? On Nespressos website, the Nespresso club can give access to a full range of services tailor-made for customers. This concept has been successful in Western Europe. Opportunities for Nespresso are to have consumers on Internet to control the different information. The advantages for Nespresso in these markets in managing customer relationships and sales through the Internet are the ability to know the expectations of customers and to read the consumer reviews on products. Nespresso Club allows a direct customer contact thanks to emails or discussion boards. On Internet, this is the best way to promote products and introduce the company. It creates a close relationship with consumers and forms a special connection. It hopes to turn them into brand advocates. In addition, it updates the database marketing and it can adapt sales strategies. Furthermore, if it does not sell in supermarkets but only in Nespresso Boutiques and Nespresso Club, the branding is positive and reflects a luxury product. By having the main service exchange online, Nespresso retain control of supply channels. Thus, it can assure high quality standards that build a brand identity. (New Media 2009) Challenges for Nespresso are to convince consumers to drink coffee in these markets, to buy a Nespresso machine and to join Nespresso Club to purchase capsules. The disadvantages with such an approach are that the consumers dislike purchasing online, especially Chinese people. Moreover, in China, only 45% has Internet and boutiques are in big cities. There is a large part of the country, which is not covered by Nespresso boutiques because major cities are in Eastern China on the coast (Alvarez Wilding 2008). Such an approach is risky for several reasons. Consumers do not necessarily want to join in the club online, especially to purchase coffee capsules. Further, some consumers prefer to have someone to talk in face-to-face and not on the Internet through emails or discussion boards. In Eastern Europe and China, a portion of population has low incomes. They do not want to waste time so they buy products they find at the supermarket. In addition, they have not all used to order online because this is not in their manners. Question 3: Given that the Eastern Europe and China are emerging markets, would you consider that Nespresso could successfully apply the Nespresso Club concept developed for the Western markets, or should the marketing strategy be adapted to reflect the markets specifics? Support your view on this with examples. Nespresso has not adapted its concept in these markets. However, some companies have chosen the adaptation strategy: Carrefour is a French international chain hypermarket. In 2009, Carrefour is the third in the world biggest to make profit behind Wal-Mart and Tesco. The adaptation of Carrefour consumption patterns for Chinese people is evident in the stores: the fish are alive in aquariums, customers choose their own pieces of meat and fresh products are extremely varied more than in Western Europe. Likewise, McDonalds in China has adapted its menu to meet the Chinese taste. There are a lot of fried chicken instead of meat in the hamburger because more Chinese people like it. Unlike Western Europe people, they like meat more than fried chicken in their hamburger. Further, it is very important to most Chinese consumers to have coupon deals so McDonalds offers several coupon deals to compete the KFC fast food. Nevertheless, McDonalds has standardized the concept in Europe and USA with identical hamburgers and restaurants. Nespresso is not the only one to have standardized its own concept. Several companies have preferred standardization: Like IKEA, it offers home products that meet the needs of people worldwide. For people with needs, tastes and budgets which are very varied. IKEA has the same structure and offers the same furniture catalogs in the world. IKEA stores around the world have the same range of products. It sells a similar lifestyle worldwide. The catalog contains from 2000 to 3000 products and it is the same furniture everywhere in the world. The concept is a success in Russia. It worked very well. Then, Starbucks Coffee has established in China with the same concept as in USA and Europe. Coffee shop has a friendly atmosphere thanks to its decoration, comfort (chairs, sofas), the music played and the ability to take his time in the shop (Wi-Fi connections). This place has attracted the Chinese despite their taste for the tea. Nespresso chose to apply the same concept in Eastern Europe and China. It is a good strategy because it achieves economies of scale in research and development. Thanks to standardization, Nespresso has a consistent brand image across markets. Further, a standardization strategy is much less complex to implement and it is quickly operational (Chernev 2007). Standardization can lead to failure despite the economies of scale that it generates because people do not want to change or abandon their culture.

Woodstock: A Peaceful Rock Revolution Essay -- Woodstock History Histo

Woodstock: A Peaceful Rock Revolution To some, the 60s were a decade of discovery as Americans first journeyed to the moon. Others remember the time as a decade of America’s moral decline with the advent of rock and roll and its representation of "sinful", inappropriate ideals. Yet for many people, the 60s symbolized a decade of love and harmony. Hippies exemplified these beliefs, and in 1969 they gathered at a music festival known as Woodstock to celebrate their music, their love, and their freedom in a concert that has remained on of the most influential events of the 60s. The youth of the 60s were known as the "Love generation". They made love promiscuously and openly, and preferred open to formal marriages. Weekend "love-ins", free form gatherings, communal living quarters, and rock festivals were held in response to the "love movement". The "love movement" was the hippie belief for peace and harmony. It reached its peak in the summer of 1967, and by then it had over 300,000 followers who referred to themselve s as the "love children" or the "gentle people". They gathered in San Francisco, the hippie center of the world, during the summers. During these "Summers of love", they lived on the streets of Haight-Ashbury, sitting in groups along the street and strumming their guitars (Frike 62). These "love children", otherwise known as the hippies were the result of the antiwar movement that was sweeping the nation during the Vietnam war. Hippies were resolutely against the war. They participated loudly, and often violently in countless anti-war protest rallies and marches. They were known to publicly burn draft cards, and some even renounced military service for prison (Hertsgard 124). Hippies were not only antiwar, they were predominantly antiestablishment. The status symbols of their elders were decisively rejected: wealth, social position, culture, physical attractiveness, and economic security. They held in disdain, cosmetics, expensive jewelry, nightclubs and restaurants and all other re finements of the affluent society. Wealth meant nothing to them. Personal freedom to express oneself was believed to be the most important thing in life. They were antiauthority, antirace discrimination, and antipollution, in short they were rebels against the society, fighting against the moral standards of America they felt were unjust (Hertsgard 153). Events such... ...peace. They knew about art and nature. They lived for a weekend in the still eye of the hurricane" (Woodstock). Works Cited "All Nature is but Art: Woodstock Music and Art Fair." Vogue. December 1969:194-201. "Big Woodstock Rock Trip." Time. August 1969:14b-22. Ewen, David. All the Years of Popular Music. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.,1977. Fass, Don. "The Sixties." http://www.sixties.net (19 March 1999). Frike, David. "Minor Epiphanies and Momentary Bummers." Rolling Stone. August 1989:62-91. Grunwald, Henry. "Youth Trip." This Fabulous Century: 1960-1970. 1986 ed. Hertsgard, Mark. A Day in the Life: The Music and Artistry of the Beatles. New York: Dell Publishing Groups Inc.,1995. Huges, Rupert. Music Lover’s Encyclopedia. New York: Doubleday Inc.,1984. "Rock Audience Moves to Dusk-to-Dawn Rhythms." New York Times. 18 August 1969:25. "Tired Rock Fans Begin Exodus From Music Fair." New York Times. 20 August 1969:1-3. "What Happened in the Sixties?." http://www.bbhq.com/sixties2.htm (19 March 1999). "Woodstock: Dawn of the Bigtime." Economist. August 1989:75. "Woodstock Music and Art Fair." Newswe ek. August 1969:88. "Woodstock: Peace Mecca." Billboard. August 1969:1,10.

Style Controversy :: Writing Styles Style Essays

Style Controversy Upon completion of the both stylebooks, Strunk and White and Williams, I have found that style is much more than whatever one sees fit for themselves. This is true at least for essay writing not necessarily creative writing. As with other debated subjects where guidelines are drawn as to what constitutes a good work of art, film, or music, writing has guidelines which good compositions fit into and can therefore be compared and contrasted with other works. That is not to say there is one way to do any essay but there are parameters which must be met and set for a paper to be critiqued. S&W would like to set up a correct way to do everything; according to them there is only one right way and everything else is wrong. This authoritarian point of view on writing is scary but some of the things they say are poignant. For instance when they speak of participial phrases, as I have mentioned in my first blog writing, they tell and show how to do this correctly and it is easily implemented. â€Å"A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject† (13). To someone who understands what a participial phrase is along with what and where the grammatical subject of a sentence is this makes sense. It is clear, concise, and effective one can quickly look to the rule for reference and continue on with their paper. When looking for quick reference on how to fix grammar mistakes this is a good way to go about finding answers but not for a stylebook. There needs to be more discussion. It would be nice to say that good style is just correct grammar and word usage but it’s not so. Williams knows this and blatantly points this out in his preface of the book. He acknowledges that his book is different from stylebooks in the past mentioning that this book is not for everyone. Williams divulges secrets of the trade in an interesting although sometimes hard to grasp conversation with the reader on all subjects of writing. This does include grammatical problems and word usage concerns but Williams explains both sides and shows how at times both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ aspects of writing can be right depending on the context it is used in.

Operations Management Zellers Essay

What competitive priority is important for a discount store, such as Zellers? Cost is the most important competitive priority for a discount store, such as Zellers. In order to perform competitively as a discount store, the organization must emphasize low operating costs. With this priority, Zellers can produce at low costs in comparison to competitors and offer products at low prices in order to meet consumer needs and become an order winner. 2. Three generic strategies are low cost, niche market, and product differentiation. What one of these strategies was Zellers using before 1998? After 1998? Prior to 1998, Zellers was using a low cost strategy. The company targeted budget-minded consumers with the slogan â€Å"Where the Lowest Price is the Law.† In the face of fierce rivalry from WalMart entering the competitive landscape and various operational shortcomings, Zellers made several strategic decisions and changes. After 1998, Zellers was using a niche market strategy, by adjusting its mission to become a â€Å"mom’s store.† Zellers focused on offering fair value to consumers, as opposed to the lowest price. The company moved away from the low cost dynamic of its self-service policy by investing in labour, having several customer service assistants on the floor. It also focused on investing in more famous brands and private label products. To the company’s detriment, it appears that Zellers made these strategic changes in order to compete more directly with WalMart, as they moved away from discounts towards offering everyday low prices on 95% of its merchandise.

Describe two theories which explain the occurrence of schizophrenia

This paper sets out to look at the mental illness of Schizophrenia and will examine two theories on the cause of this disorder and how they relate to genetics and the environment. The two theories we will discuss are, ‘The Dopamine Theory’ and ‘The Genetic Theory’ Schizophrenia is a chronic and disabling brain disorder which is characterized by gross distortion of reality. The name ‘Schizophrenia’ derives from the Greek words skhizein meaning â€Å"to split† and Phrenos (phren) meaning â€Å"mind† (Taylor, 2011). The condition is categorised by either Positive or Negative Symptoms which are unique to each individual. Individuals suffering from positive symptoms of the disorder experience on-going episodes of psychosis affecting their ability to distinguish, what is real or imagined. Positive symptoms can be defined as symptoms of behaviour that are present but should be absent; they include behaviours such as delusions, hallucinations, fragmented thinking and unusual patterns of speech or behaviour. Negative symptoms on the other hand are the absence of normal behaviours which result in symptoms such as flattened emotional response, inability to express pleasure, apathy, poverty of speech and social withdrawal (Norman, 2004: 365). Schizophrenia is a very complex disorder, and despite on-going debates, researchers have failed to identify one single cause of the disorder, however, it would appear that the consensus is that both biological and environmental factors could play an important role in the occurrence of the illness. One of the most well debated theories on the cause of Schizophrenia is the dopamine theory. The dopamine theory postulates that schizophrenia occurs as a result of hyperactivity of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the synapse. There are four main dopamine pathways which have been implicated in the disorder of Schizophrenia and they are; the Nigrostriatal pathway which is involved in motor control, Tuberoinfundibular pathway associated with sensory processes and the Mesolimbic and Mesocortical pathways which are connected to memory, motivation and emotional responses (Stahl, 2002: 10). Research has given much attention specifically to the mesolimbic pathway which is a brain circuit dependent on dopamine. The mesolimbic pathway is often referred to as the ‘reward pathway’ due to its key role in linking certain behaviours to the sensation of pleasure, such as those associated with the use of psychostimulant drugs like amphetamine, MDMA (Ecstasy) and cocaine (Stahl, 2008: 272). The evidence to support the theory that mesolimbic dopamine plays a role in Schizophrenia, follows logically from the treatment of the disorder with antipsychotic drugs such as chlorpromazine and fluphenazine. These drugs work by blocking dopamine D2 postsynaptic receptor sites, which inhibits the binding of dopamine, thus reducing positive symptoms (Seeman, 2011). Furthermore, several studies have suggested that the use of Psychostimulant drugs (such as amphetamines and cocaine), which work by enhancing dopamine neurotransmission, have been shown to induce psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions and disorganised speech and thinking, all of which demonstrate a marked resemblance to the positive symptoms exhibited in patients with Paranoid Schizophrenia (Laruelle, et al. , 1996; Breier, et al. , 1997; Abi-Dargham, et al. 1998). Although some research has implicated excess dopamine as a possible cause of schizophrenia, there is still much controversy surrounding this theory. It could be argued that the theory is reliable because research demonstrates that alterations in levels of dopamine either exacerbate or reduce symptoms, however, there are limitations with this theory, as blocking of the dopamine D2 receptor sites will only have an impact on the positive symptoms of schizophrenia, and not the negative symptoms such as apathy, speech and working memory, which are associated with the mesocortical pathway (Wayandt, 2006: 130). It has been suggested by Stahl (2008), that the reason for this may be, that unlike the mesolimbic pathway which is hyperactive in dopamine, the mesocortical pathway may already be deficient in dopamine, therefore blocking of the D2 receptors in the mesocortical pathway could further increase negative symptoms. Swerdlow (2010: 359) suggests that an argument against the dopamine hypothesis may be that some patients may be unresponsive to the more traditional neuroleptic drugs such as chlorpromazine which acts upon the D2 receptor sites. However, studies conducted by Brier and Buchanan (1996) on the use of a new atypical anti-psychotic drug called clozapine, claimed to show a 40-60% improvement in symptoms for patients of schizophrenia who did not respond to the traditional neuroleptics (Pincus & Tucker, 2003: 119). Clozapine still plays a role in blocking the D2 receptor site but with less intensity than traditional antipsychotics. However, it is also responsible for blocking a variety of other receptor sites including dopamine D4, 5-HT (serotonin), norepinephrine, acetylcholine, and histamine (Moses, 2012). With this in mind, it could be said that dopamine does not operate in isolation, and may form only part of the etiology in the manifestation of Schizophrenia. What is clear is that the dopamine theory is far from conclusive, which would suggest that much more research is needed to examine the role that other neurotransmitters may play in the disorder. Furthermore, if dopamine does play a primary role in schizophrenia then this leads us to the question, what causes this dysfunction in the dopamine neurotransmitters? Studies to date have identified that several of the genes which are closely linked with Schizophrenia are directly involved in dopaminergic pathways (Howes & Kapur, 2009); this therefore leads us to a further conclusion that genetics and gene mutation may play a key role in the development of schizophrenia. Evidence suggests that there is a strong genetic predisposition to developing the disorder and the more closely someone is related to an individual with Schizophrenia, the higher the chance of them developing the disorder themselves (Nolen-Hesksema, et al. , 2009). Family, Twin and adoption studies demonstrate that there are higher concordance rates between monozygotic (Identical) twins than there is with dizygotic (non-identical) twins. Studies conducted by Gotteman (1991) found that dizygotic twins had a 17% risk factor if their twin sibling had the disorder; however, for monozygotic twins, the rate increased to a more significant 48%. Further studies have revealed that children of schizophrenic parents showed similar concordance rates of 46%, however, children born to schizophrenic mothers but adopted by non-schizophrenic mothers only showed a risk factor of 17% (Kalat, 2009: 451). These findings suggest that Schizophrenia is not entirely genetic, and that environmental factors may also play a role in the development of the disorder. However, in giving strength to the genetic theory, new research in epigenetics has found that, whilst monozygotic twins share the same DNA, there are variations in the levels of methylation detected in a gene called ST6GALNAC1, which has been found in individual schizophrenic twins (Times, 2011). Whilst these changes in segments of DNA offer some explanations for the discordance in monozygotic twin studies in Schizophrenia, it is suggested that these mutations develop as a result of environmental influences (Coghlan, 2011: 16). Moving on, it has become apparent, that both dopamine and genetics play an important role in the predisposition towards schizophrenia. However, evidence appears to suggest that, whilst an individual may have a predisposition, this is not a guarantee that they will develop the disorder. Theorists believe that for those individuals who do have a predisposition towards schizophrenia, environmental factors can greatly influence the development and life course of the condition. One environmental factor which may be linked to the dopamine theory is the associated risk between prenatal exposure to viral infections and adult onset of schizophrenia (Psychiatry, 2011). Research suggests that prenatal environmental insults such as viral induced anaemia in the first and second trimesters, may lead to deficiency in myelination of neurons and dysfunction in the dopaminergic pathways (Brown, 2011). In support of this claim, a study by (Aguilar-Valles, et al. , 2010) used rat models to produce viral induced iron deficiency, and found that the biochemical and behavioural changes which occurred in the rats were characteristic of those found in adult schizophrenia. Moreover, Brown (2011) also suggests that iron deficiency significantly contributes to de novo mutations in DNA, and this may be due to a possible disruption of oxidation in the cells. Consequently, researchers have also identified significant representation of de novo mutations in Schizophrenics (Krebs & Rouleau, 2011). De novo mutations do not occur as a result of hereditary factors, but instead, are alterations which take place around the time of early conception (Reference, 2012). These findings may support the theory that prenatal environmental insults could be responsible for the increased risk in someone developing the disorder. Furthermore, this may also offer some explanation for the manifestation of schizophrenia in individuals who have no family history of the disorder. In conclusion, schizophrenia still remains one of the most perplexing and misunderstood disorders faced by mental health professionals. It is evident that dopamine, genetics and the environment all play a role in schizophrenia, however not one of these factors appears to work in isolation. In short, it would appear that the environment interacts with both biochemical and genetic factors and determines whether or not an individual is likely to develop the disorder.