Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Friends and interaction Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Friends and interaction - Statistics Project Example actions ranging from home to school ambiance that make a positive impact over their friendly relationship and would further outline some more important elements which assist to sway in assisting or restricting in friendly relationships. Out of many other sources to advance the best relations in home and society, the friendship plays greater role, to attain satisfaction and happiness in the whole life, and to this effect, making friends and building friendly relations is very crucial and critical for the younger aged people. – Epicurus (Welty & Sharp, 1991, p. 65). Source: http://www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0610-overton.html Productive human relations are very vital for the lives leading to happiness. Our friendly terms lead to significant roles–they help us to salvage and command confidence in our lives, that lend us happiness and comfort which enforces us in trying situations, and to authenticate our sense of value and our interests. We may be impressed by a lot of people in different ways yet our friendly relationship with our buddies effects us more vividly. We have recounted narrations of the meaning of friendship which dates back to the time immemorial – means as the history mankind is lengthy that much friendship is lengthy. Cicero writes - now friendship possesses many splendid advantages, but of course the finest thing of all about it is that it sends a ray of hope into the future, and keeps our hearts from faltering or falling by the wayside. For the man who keeps his eye on a true friend keeps it, so to speak, on a model of himself: For this reason, friends are together when they are separated, they are rich when they are poor, strong when they are weak, and a thing even harder to explain – they live on after they have died, so great is the honor that follows them, so vivid the memory, so poignant the sorrow. (Welty & Sharp, 1991, p. 72). Not only the educationists do even the parents perceive the significance of friendly relations with

Monday, October 28, 2019

Motivational Impairment in Schizophrenia

Motivational Impairment in Schizophrenia ANTICIPATING PLEASURE AND EFFORT IN SCHIZOPHRENIA 1 Do People With Schizophrenia Have Difficulty Anticipating Pleasure, Engaging in Effortful Behavior, or Both? David E. Gard, Amy H. Sanchez, Kathryn Cooper, Melissa Fisher, Coleman Garrett, and Sophia Vinogradov Citation Gard, D. E., Sanchez, A. H., Cooper, K., Fisher, M., Garrett, C., Vinogradov, S. (2014, August 18). Do People With Schizophrenia Have Difficulty Anticipating Pleasure, Engaging in Effortful Behavior, or Both?. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/abn0000005 Introduction The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of â€Å"motivational impairment† on the goal directed behavior of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. This was accomplished by measuring the levels of pleasure (reward) and effortfulness in the activities and future goals of the subjects. These two factors were selected to be measured due to the fact that they are two of the component processes of motivation which has been proven by previous research to be affected by schizophrenia. Research has found inconsistencies in the assessment of pleasure and reward in schizophrenia patients. For instance, while Anhedonia has been frequently reported to be associated with schizophrenia (Herbener Harrow, 2002; see Gard et al., 2014), patients do not report a decrease in pleasure or positive stimuli (Cohen Minor, 2010; see Gard et al., 2014). These inconsistencies have been explained to be the result of clear-cut distinctions between the different temporal components associated with specific types of reward and pleasure. Schultz (2002) and Wise (2002) (as cited in Gard et al., 2014) have shown that there is a physiological difference in how anticipatory pleasure and consummatory (in-the moment) pleasure are processed in the brain. While consummatory pleasure involves serotonergic and opioid systems, anticipatory pleasure involves dopaminergic and mesolimbic projections (Schultz, 2002; Wise, 2002; see Gard et al., 2014). In another study conducted using an Ecological Mome ntary Assessment (EMA), participants with schizophrenia showed similar levels of consummatory pleasure, but depleted levels of anticipatory pleasure (Gard et al., 2007; see Gard et al., 2014). Consequently, pleasure was selected to be a dependent variable (DV) in this study. Individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia have reported difficulty in anticipating rewards (Buck Lysar, 2013; Gard et al., 2007; see Gard et al., 2014) as well as in processing rewards (Strauss, Waltz Gold 2008; see Gard et al., 2014). The link between reward and motivation has been established through the study conducted by Juckel et al. (2006) (as cited in Gard et al., 2014) which showed decreased ventral striatal activation during reward processing from individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia; decreased ventral striatal activation has been associated with anhedonia (Juckel et al., 2006; see Gard et al., 2014). This also relates reward to anticipatory pleasure. Research has indicated that patients with high negative symptoms of schizophrenia have difficulty assessing the effort required to accomplish a task which would provide a high reward (Gold et al., 2013; see Gard et al., 2014). Furthermore, in addition to difficulties assessing the effort involved, patients also appeared to have difficulty putting in the effort required to do a particular task. In relation to reward, Fervaha, Graff-Guerrero, et al. (2013) (as cited in Gard et al., 2014) showed that patients of schizophrenia only had problems when it came to the assessment of the effort involved to achieve a reward, and not when ascertaining the value of a reward. (Fervaha, Graff-Guerrero, et al. 2013; see Gard et al., 2014) In light of the aforementioned findings in past literature, the researchers came up with three assumptions, and the resulting research questions reflected them. The assumptions were that individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia would have: A deficit in anticipatory pleasure Difficulty in anticipating and processing rewards Difficulty assessing and expending the necessary effort required to accomplish a task Using these assumptions, the researchers of the present study came up with 5 research questions. The following has been taken from Gard et al. (2014) Compared with a socio-demographically matched group of healthy participants, do participants with schizophrenia demonstrate fewer daily activities and goals, decreased anticipatory pleasure for their upcoming goals, decreased pleasure-based goals, but intact in-the-moment pleasure? (Hypothesis) Do participants with schizophrenia pursue goals and activities that are less effortful than healthy comparison participants, and do they have difficulty assessing the effort of an upcoming goal? (Hypothesis) Do people with schizophrenia have difficulty completing their goals, and is this related to anticipation or experience of pleasure, or to how effortful the goal is? (Hypothesis) In people with schizophrenia, what is the relationship of anticipatory pleasure and effort exertion or assessment to: cognitive dysfunction, symptoms, and functioning? (Alternative Hypothesis) To what degree could group differences found in Questions 1– 4 be explained by any other non-diagnostic group differences? (Alternative Hypothesis) Participants The selection of participants differed between the experimental and control group. The subjects for the control group were selected through postings on the Internet and the distribution of flyers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Initially, forty-three individuals agreed to participate and signed the informed consent forms. However two of them dropped out; one, finding the study to be too much of a burden, dropped out on the first day, and the other failed to respond to even a third of the phone calls. The subjects for the experimental group were selected from outpatient clinics and day treatment centers in the Bay Area. Fifty patients of schizophrenia initially signed the informed consent forms but three decided to drop out; two dropped out even before the experiment started citing that it was too intrusive, and the other dropped out after two calls on the first day. All in all, the results of the study were formulated based on the results from forty-one subjects without schizophrenia and forty-seven subjects with either schizophrenia (n=31) and schizoaffective disorder (n=16). Diagnoses for the conditions were confirmed for all participants using the DSM-IV-TR. Strict exclusion criteria for the whole sample, and especially for the patient group, were established and implemented. Individuals who had had traumatic head injuries which leads to bouts of unconsciousness, had substance abuse problems in the last six months, mental disorders, or illiterate in English were all excluded. Patients who had been hospitalized in the last three months or had had their medication or dosage changed in the last month were also excluded from the study. Both groups were predominantly white males and had relatively no demographic differences between groups except for the symptoms for the disorder and employment rates. Only 17 percent of the individuals in the patient groups were employed full time or part time (4% and 13% respectively), compared to the 68 percent of full time and part time employees (24% and 44% respectively) in the control group. The experimenters did account for this discrepancy during the results phase. Method Four different types of assessments were used during this study, although the EMA remained the primary form of assessment of pleasure and effort. The Ecological Momentary Assessment is generally used in situations where specific activities and goals of the participants in a study need to be explicated. This study utilized a modified version of the EMA where cell phone calls were used instead of the traditional self-report forms, which were filled at particular intervals of time; cell phones were provided to every participant irrespective of who does or doesn’t own a cell phone. Trained research assistants called each participant four times every day, between 0900hrs and 2100hrs, for seven days to conduct a â€Å"semi-structured† interview. A majority of the questions were open ended and participants were encouraged to give detailed descriptions of their daily activities and goals. Some questions asked them how much pleasure/effort was associated with a particular task; their responses were rated on a Likert Scale (0 = not at all; 5 = extremely). The answers were categorized based on the research questions. Four independent raters then scored the pleasurability, effortfulness, difficulty, and etc†¦ of all the goals and activities reported by the participants on a 0-3 Likert Scale. A subset of participants with no demographic differences from the original sample was also tested to determine the difficulty of the tasks they attempted; also measured on a 0-5 Likert Scale. After the completion of the week of EMA, two independent research assistants travelled to the homes of the participants in order to determine the levels of stimulation and reward provided by the environment. Several subjects from the patient and control group (seven and nine respectively) decided to opt out from this stage of assessment citing different reasons. The levels of stimulation and reward were measured in terms of three elements; aesthetics of the home, availability of media, and social stimulation. These were measured using a combination of a modified version of the Environmental Assessment Scale (EASy) and the Home Observation for the Measurement of the Environment (HOME). Scores from each of the three elements as well as individual scores were averaged; the results had high inter-rater reliability. Two additional assessments were conducted on the patient group; they were tested for neurocognition, and were also clinically rated for functioning. During the former, 40 subjects with no demographic differences completed a Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (METRICS) Consensus Cognitive Battery. An overall average of their results was used for all the future analyses. During the latter, a Quality of Life Scale (QLS) was used to assess overall functioning of patients with respect to elements such as â€Å"social initiative† and â€Å"capacity for empathy†; â€Å"motivation† and â€Å"anhedonia† were not measured since they were already been used as DVs for the EMA. Procedure Rigorous pilot testing was carried before the actual experiment was conducted. Factors such as whether participants understand what the terms â€Å"activity† and â€Å"goals† meant in the context of the present study were determined during the piloting phase. After participants were selected, orientations on how to properly respond to an EMA during laboratory testing were conducted; they were subsequently required to provide written informed consent before going any further. Most of the basic questions that research assistants asked during the study were previously determined with respect to their effectiveness. Before they were provided a larger sample of the study to be rated, the coders were extensively trained for their task using a smaller subset of the original sample. When the results from the EMA were presented to the four independent raters, the responses from the experimental and control group were presented together in a randomized fashion. Attributes that were to be rated by the coders (such as pleasurable activities and effortful activities) were clearly defined within parameters. As previously mentioned, cell phones were provided to each participant to be used purely for the purposes of the study, and to be returned after its conclusion. The EMA and subsequent home assessments were recorded on audio for post hoc quality assessment. Monetary compensations were provided to every participant upon the completion of the whole study (marked by the returning of the cell phones) and for the completion of the several different assessments conducted during it; the amounts were different for each assessment. Data Analysis The independent variables (IVs) for all stages of assessment were individuals with schizophrenia and individuals without schizophrenia. The dependent variables (DVs), however, weren’t as consistent throughout the experiments, except for pleasure and effort. A number of other variables such as reward, difficulty, and sociability were also measured during the different stages of the study. The basic design of every experiment conducted in the study was to determine how the experimental group was different from the control group with respect to the numerous DVs they were being tested on. Two types of analyses were used to determine the statistical significance of the results obtained. The theoretical principles of these analyses are too convoluted to be properly explained, but for all intents and purposes, they seem to have been implemented correctly. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) was used in EMA analyses. Its effectiveness comes from the fact that it can categorize data into separate levels so that analysis of data from one level wouldn’t influence others. The EMA data were separated into Level one data (the multiple observations of participants) and level two data (between group differences in terms of neurocognition and functioning). For each research question and assessment, separate analyses of variation (ANOVA) were computed and their significance determined. Significance levels obtained through the HLM were presented as â€Å"pseudo-r2†. Independent sample t tests were conducted on the results obtained during the home assessments. It was used to determine whether or not the average level of stimulation that was computed for the control and experimental group was significant, with respect to each of the three aforementioned elements they were being measured on. Furthermore, the significance for the results of all five of the research questions seems to involve computation of t tests. The p values for them varied from 0.5, 0.1, and 0.001. Limitations and Future Research Dr. Marvin Monroe, Department of Psychology, Springfield University Sir, As requested, I have reviewed the study about pleasure and effort in schizophrenia, and it has got a number of interesting findings. Analysis of the results revealed that subjects with schizophrenia indeed set less effortful goals and engaged in less effortful activities. They also found that patients had difficulty determining with accuracy how difficult or effortful a task was going to be (in terms of resultant rewards). However, unlike the two aforementioned findings which were within the researchers’ expected results, the final finding was not; it showed that patients with schizophrenia engaged in more pleasurable activities, and that they set goals that were, and also anticipated by them, to be more pleasurable. I also analyzed the study for potential limitations and further research areas. In terms of limitations, it had many. Employment differences between the two sample groups felt like a deal breaker; however, the researchers did not find any significant difference when they computed the study for employment differences. The researchers themselves pointed out many, if not most, of the limitations that I found in this study. They highlighted four of them in the discussions and gave possible reasons for their occurrence. The foremost limitation according to the researchers was the reason behind the unexpected result which disproved their hypothesis. According to them, the social interactions with the research assistants might have induced pleasurable feelings within some participants. Other limitations include them focusing solely on short-term goals, the relatively new use of home assessment as a tool for measuring motivation in schizophrenia patients (which they also pointed out as a fut ure research area), and the fact that some assessments used fewer number of participants than the actual sample group. The researchers reported that there are no data available on â€Å"the relationship between effort assessment and functioning† and the â€Å"assessment of effort in daily life in Schizophrenia†. Another key area of research could be why social interactions increased anticipatory pleasure in patients with schizophrenia. This study illustrates several different ways in which schizophrenia patients could increase their motivation about everyday activities and goals. It was a very fascinating read. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review such a study. Sincerely, Ibrahim Fatheen Abdul Sameeu

Friday, October 25, 2019

Essay --

â€Å"The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse† (Burke). Lies, power, and selfishness can destroy families, friendships, and towns. When a person has power, they may not use it properly. There have been many instances where this has happened, but two main examples are in the novel The Crucible, and in McCarthyism. The Crucible is connected to McCarthyism by its model of a desire for power, unsubstantiated accusations, and the detrimental effects of these accusations. BEGIN The root of the problem in both The Crucible and McCarthyism was an extreme desire for power. In the novel, Danforth and Hathorne instantly gained power as they sentenced the accused to jail and death. They were so caught up in the power that they were gaining, that they listened to outlandish accusations, not stopping to think if they could be false. Danforth and Hathorne were seen as heroes to the people that were caught up in the chaos and paranoia of witchcraft. This was their motivation in their prosecution. Also, Abigail and the other girls were driven by selfishness. Ruth and Betty accused innocent people of the crime because they did not want to get in trouble, as did Tituba. Abigail accused Elizabeth Proctor because she wanted to be with John. Mary went along with the girls for fear that they would turn on her. No one with power had the courage to speak up and admit what they were doing was wrong (The Crucible). Because of their abuse of power, the town was destroyed. Power in the hands of a selfish person is disastrous. Power was also an important theme in McCarthyism. Joseph McCarthy showed signs of his desire for power early in his life. He led a corrupt campaign to become a circuit court judge, which was a foreshadowing of what he was willi... ...e of both of these events was victory for the victims. There is a strong connection between McCarthyism and the Salem With Trials, which are what The Crucible is based on. Arthur Miller immediately recognized this link, and displayed a great example of an abuse of power, and people going to great measures to get what they want (Brater). The desire for power, unsubstantiated accusations, and the detrimental effects of these accusations are the ways in which The Crucible is connected to McCarthyism. Power and selfishness can destroy the lives of those that possess it, and the lives of people around them. Humans are easily influenced by what others do and say, which is why people can gain power so easily. It is the choice of the powerful to use their power in the correct way. When power is misused, paranoia and chaos, as well as many other negative effects result.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Hypertension: Normal Blood Pressure

Hypertension is a chronic or persistent medical condition also known as high blood pressure. This condition causes the arteries to consistently elevate blood pressure. When high blood pressure is normal, the blood flows through smoothly because the artery wall is smooth. However, when an individual is diagnosed with high blood pressure, the blood flows through the arteries with too much force. Eventually, high blood pressure can cause serious damage to the arteries if it goes untreated. Also, high blood pressure causes the heart to have to work much harder than normal to keep up the flow of blood through the arteries.Hypertension can lead to damaged organs and several illnesses such as kidney failure and strokes. About 33% of people aren’t aware that they have high blood pressure. This ignorance can go on for years. For this reason, it is important to do periodic blood pressure screenings even if there are no symptoms present.The normal blood pressure for an individual is 120/ 80 where 120 represents the systolic measure (peak pressure in the arteries) and 80 represents the diastolic measure (minimum pressure in the arteries). Blood pressure of between 120/80 and 130/89 is called pre-hypertension. Blood pressure of 140/90 or above is considered hypertension.There are two classifications for hypertension, which are essential or secondary. Essential is the term used for high blood pressure when its cause is unknown. Unknown causes for hypertension accounts for about 95% of cases. Alternatively, secondary hypertension is the term for high blood pressure with causes related to kidney disease, tumors or birth control pills. Although the exact causes of hypertension are unknown, there are several factors that are often associated with this condition such as:Smoking Obesity or being overweight Childhood obesity Diabetes Sedentary lifestyle Lack of physical High levels of salt intake Insufficient calcium, potassium or magnesium intake Vitamin D deficiency High le vels of alcohol consumption Aging Stress, Medications such as birth control pills Genetics (a family history of hypertension) Clinic Kidney Disease Adrenal or thyroid problems or tumors.Symptoms associated with severe hypertension are severe headaches, fatigue or confusion, dizziness, nausea, problems with vision, chest pain, breathing problems, irregular heartbeat, and blood in the urine. You can find out whether or not you have hypertension by visiting a health professional who measures blood pressure. Remember, if your blood pressure is over 140/90 you will be diagnosed with hypertension. However, you can treat hypertension medically or by making lifestyle adjustments such as weight-loss, quit smoking, eating a healthy diet, reducing sodium intake, exercising regularly, and eliminating alcohol consumption. Medical options for treating hypertension include several classes of drugs that your health professional would prescribe based upon your specific condition and needs.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Toiiiiiiiiiiiwo social psychological theories of aggression

Bandura’s Social Learning Theory suggests that acts of aggression are learnt through the observation of role models. His original â€Å"Bobo Doll† study showed that when exposed to aggressive behavior small children copied this behavior, not just by being physically aggressive but even copying the verbally aggressive behavior. However this study focuses on children who are supposed to learn in this manner, this doesn’t demonstrate that this would also be true in older children or adults who already have a set moral compass that would interfere with copying aggressive behaviors.However Bandura’s later study showed that if children saw someone get punished for aggressive behavior they were less likely to be aggressive themselves when they were allowed to play with the bobo doll but if they saw someone get rewarded for this aggressive behavior then they were much more likely to act aggressively themselves, this shows that vicarious reinforcement is important to the learning of aggression through the social learning theory, as receiving direct positive reinforcement leads to people having high self efficacy making them very likely to repeat the aggressive behaviour that they were rewarded for.In terms of aggression this reward could come in many forms such as acceptance from a violent gang they want to be a part of or just attention from a parent or teacher. Moreover, Walter and Thomas' study in 1963 further supported this theory as the results of the study demonstrated that aggressive behavior was a result of imitation of role models. However, the social learning theory does not explain what triggers aggression. Additionally, the study emphasizes nurture and learning through observation – ignoring nature and biological explanations.On the other hand, Zimbardo’s theory of Deindividuation suggests that aggressive behavior occurs in groups as a person’s normal constraints become weakened when they are part of a group a s they take of the identity of the crowd as they feel that when part of a group their own actions are no longer bad making aggressive behaviour easier as they do not seem it as themselves carrying out the aggressive behaviour but the group as a whole as they become faceless, just part of the group not an individual.Commonly members of violent or aggressive groups have a reduced private self  awareness as they have some kind of tie to the rest of the group that makes them become a faceless member of the crowd, examples of this are common items of clothing in gangs and at football matches as supporters wear the same clothing and are all sat together. Zimbardo formed this theory around his Stanford Prison experiment where when the guards were giving a common uniform they became much more aggressive in their behaviour towards the prisoners as they became â€Å"guards† so felt that as a guard behaviour they would normally not see as acceptable suddenly became the appropriate res ponse to their own frustrations.However in contrast with this the prisoners were all deindividuated but apart from one small failed act of rebellion they did not become aggressive, in fact they became more obedient and passive, this suggests the Deindividuation of an individual as part of a group only leads to aggressive behaviour if aggression is what is expected of the group such as violence being the expected behaviour from teenage gangs.Like Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, this doesn’t explain what causes aggression but this does suggest that in some causes individuals themselves do not feel any kind of cue for the aggression they demonstrate but act in that way because the rest of the group does explaining how large scale acts of aggression can commonly occur as it could only require a small number of people to actually have a cue such as frustration to trigger the aggressive behaviour.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Free Essays on Lost Boy

People live lives so carelessly that they forget how precious life can be. But there are some people out their that value the meaning of life because they don’t have one. Now you might be wondering how is it possible for someone who doesn’t have a life even realize life? Confusing yes but not for Dave Pelzer. Dave Pelzer has been through sick times and unimaginable horror with his biological mother. Now you must be wondering how could someone’s mother do anything to her child, its not possible. In fact the question at issue is how could she even be a mother with her cruel behavior with the child? That is where I start to tell you about the book I just read called â€Å"the Lost Boy† by Dave Pelzer himself. This book is the sequence to the first book, â€Å"A Child called It†. And does have a third book following this one. Dave Pelzer as a child lived in a sick environment at home and when I say sick I mean just unimaginable things he had to go through that maybe in my sense a kidnapper might not have done when he/she abducts a child. At around age 5 in the first sequence Dave’s mother or as he likes to refer her as â€Å"The Mother†, started treating him bad by abusing him, making him wash bathrooms with hazardous chemicals, drink the chemicals, eat a baby’s number two from a diaper, beating him till he was knocked out, not giving him food and when he came home from school making him throw up any food he might have had from outside, and many more horrible forms of an abuse anyone might come up with. He never really lived like a normal child for instance his mother would make him sleep in the garage at nights where he would have no source of heating except his body heat and his dreams to take him away from the cruel reality he faces every millisecond of his life. The dogs were even treated better than Dave. But all of that stops when this second serial book starts. Dave is finally taken out of the hell hole he had... Free Essays on Lost Boy Free Essays on Lost Boy People live lives so carelessly that they forget how precious life can be. But there are some people out their that value the meaning of life because they don’t have one. Now you might be wondering how is it possible for someone who doesn’t have a life even realize life? Confusing yes but not for Dave Pelzer. Dave Pelzer has been through sick times and unimaginable horror with his biological mother. Now you must be wondering how could someone’s mother do anything to her child, its not possible. In fact the question at issue is how could she even be a mother with her cruel behavior with the child? That is where I start to tell you about the book I just read called â€Å"the Lost Boy† by Dave Pelzer himself. This book is the sequence to the first book, â€Å"A Child called It†. And does have a third book following this one. Dave Pelzer as a child lived in a sick environment at home and when I say sick I mean just unimaginable things he had to go through that maybe in my sense a kidnapper might not have done when he/she abducts a child. At around age 5 in the first sequence Dave’s mother or as he likes to refer her as â€Å"The Mother†, started treating him bad by abusing him, making him wash bathrooms with hazardous chemicals, drink the chemicals, eat a baby’s number two from a diaper, beating him till he was knocked out, not giving him food and when he came home from school making him throw up any food he might have had from outside, and many more horrible forms of an abuse anyone might come up with. He never really lived like a normal child for instance his mother would make him sleep in the garage at nights where he would have no source of heating except his body heat and his dreams to take him away from the cruel reality he faces every millisecond of his life. The dogs were even treated better than Dave. But all of that stops when this second serial book starts. Dave is finally taken out of the hell hole he had...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Fair Labor Standards Act Essay Example

Fair Labor Standards Act Essay Example Fair Labor Standards Act Essay Fair Labor Standards Act Essay Today we are fortunate to have laws to protect us from being forced to work excessive hours without being fairly compensated. We have laws to protect our children from being forced to work at an early age and these laws protect us from working in unsafe and unhealthy conditions. In 1938 our 32nd president Franklin D. Roosevelt was able to have the â€Å"Fair Labor Standards Act† passed and signed into law. This piece of legislation was a land mark in our history. It banned most child labor; it set a minimum hourly wage and set the standard work week. This was the beginning that made employers develop records to keep track of the wages that they paid to their employees and records of the hours the employees were working. The Supreme Court had been one of the major obstacles to wage-hour and child-labor laws. In the 1936 Presidential race wage-hour legislation was a campaign issue and Roosevelt promised to seek some constitutional way of protecting workers. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt won the 1936 election by a landslide he was determined to overcome the obstacles of the Supreme Court’s opposition as soon as possible. Roosevelt and his Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins tried to make a model for employers of government contractors in all fields, not just construction. But the Federal Government actually encouraged employers to exploit labor because the Government had to award every contract to the lowest bidder. : President Roosevelt and Frances Perkins continued to try to get congress to pass acts to prohibit the labor of children and set minimum wages and hours. The â€Å"Fair Labor Standard Act† in a draft form was sent to the White House where two trusted legal advisers of the President, and with the Supreme Court in mind, added new provisions to the already lengthy bill. Roosevelt had told his Secretary of Labor, that the length and complexity of the bill caused some of its difficulties with Congress, and asked for it to be shortened. Lawyers tried to simplify the bill but faced the problem that, although legal language makes legislation difficult to understand, bills written in simple English are often difficult for the courts to enforce. Because the wage-hour, child-labor bill had been drafted with the Supreme Court in mind, the bill could only be cut from 40 pages to 10 pages. The bill was voted upon May 24, 1938 and after the House had passed the bill, the Senate-House Conference Committee made more changes to reconcile differences. During the legislative battles over fair labor standards, members of Congress had proposed 72 amendments. Almost every change had exemptions, narrowed coverage, lowered standards, weakened administration, limited investigation, or in some other way worked to weaken the bill. What had survived was approved by the conference committee and passed the House on June 13, 1938 and then the Senate approved it. Congress then sent the bill to the President, and on June 25, 1938, the President signed the Fair Labor Standards Act into law. This affected industries that employed about one-fifth of the US workforce. About 700,000 workers were affected by the wage increase and 13 million more were affected by the hour’s provision. It mostly affected white males, and about 14 percent of women ( u-s-history. com). Children under the age of fourteen were no longer legally allowed to work with some exceptions in the agricultural industries and family businesses. Children under the age of eighteen were banned from working â€Å"hazardous† jobs in mining and some factory jobs. This had greatly reduced the number of children injured by bad working conditions. Children between the ages of 14 and 16 have had additional restrictions on the number of hours they are allowed to work to encourage them to stay in school. During a school day they are only allowed to work three hours and no more than eighteen hours in a school week. Children are not allowed to work before 7a. m. and after 7 p. m. , and from June 1 through Labor Day they are not allowed to work after 9 p. m. The 14 and 15 year old also have addition al restrictions in addition to the â€Å"hazardous† jobs that they may not perform. These jobs include the food service industry such as baking, cooking, working in the freezers and meat coolers, operating food slicers, grinders, choppers and bakery mixers. Fourteen and fifteen year olds are also not to perform jobs that require loading or unloading goods on or off of trucks, railcars or conveyors and they are not to work in connection with maintenance or repair of buildings, equipment or machines. Employers may be assessed civil monetary penalties of up to $11,000 for each employee who is the subject of a violation of the Act’s child labor provisions. A civil monetary penalty of up to $50,000 may be assessed for each child labor violation that causes the death or serious injury of any minor employee, and these assessments may be doubled, up to $100,000 when the violations are determined to be willful or repeated (LindenMeyer, 2004). In the â€Å"Fair Labor Standard Act† the federal minimum wage began at 25 cents per hour in 1938 and it has had over twenty amendments made over the years for increases. The latest rate of $7. 25 per hour was effective on July 24, 2009. In addition to a minimum wage employers must pay the employee’s wages in cash or something that can easily be converted to cash or legal forms of compensation, for example food and lodging. Employers cannot pay their employees with coupons or tokens that can only be used in a store owned by the employer. Discounts that are granted to employees by the employers cannot be used towards meeting the minimum wage requirement. There are a number of employment practices which ‘Fair Labor Standard Act† does not regulate. They are vacation, holiday, severance, or sick pay; meal or rest periods, holidays off, or vacations; premium pay for weekend or holiday work; pay raises or fringe benefits; or a discharge notice, reason for discharge, or immediate payment of final wages to terminated employees. The standard work week in 1938 was reduced to 44 hours per week, and if employees were to work over that they would be paid over time at a rate of their wages plus one-half wages for the additional time worked. By 1940 the standard work week was reduced to 40 hours per week (www. dol. gov/dol/oasam/programs/history/flsa1938. htm). Despite this law in 2006 a class action law suit was brought against Wal-Mart for not paying its employees for their overtime and forcing them to work through their breaks. Wal-Mart lost the law suit and the workers won $78. 4 million (Worth 2008 p 12). In 1961 an amendment was added to the â€Å"Fair Labor Standard Act† called â€Å"enterprise coverage†. It applies to employers whose annual sales total $500,000. 00 or more, or who are engaged in interstate commerce. The courts interpreted that the term interstate commerce to cover companies that regularly use the U. S. mail to send and receive letters to and from other states. The courts included that employees that use company telephones or computers to place or accept interstate business calls or take orders would make the employers subject to the â€Å"Fair Labor Standard Act† (Steingold, 2009). There are also exemptions to the â€Å"Fair Labor Standard Act† where some employees do not qualify for the provisions of overtime or the minimum wage requirements. These employees who are not entitled to it are called â€Å"exempt† employees. Employees that are always entitled to the overtime and the minimum wage pay provisions are â€Å"nonexempt† employees and they are blue-collar employees and first responders. Blue-collar employees include carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, iron workers, craftsman, operating engineers, construction works, and laborers. First responders are workers that are on the front lines of protecting safety and health. They include police officers, firefighters, medical technicians, ambulance personnel, and hazardous materials workers. Employees that are always exempt and are never entitled to overtime or a minimum wage are employees of seasonal amusement or recreational businesses, employees of newspapers with a circulation of less than 4,000 and newspaper deliver people, and workers of small farms. Some employees are exempt if they meet certain requirements; this is usually because the employees are being paid a salary that compensates them enough for the extra duties and responsibilities that they have. Executive, administrative and professional workers are exempt if they meet the specific guidelines. The requirements for an exempt executive worker are that they must manage other workers as a primary job duty and have at least two full time employees that they are in charge of. They must have the ability to hire, fire, discipline, promote, and demote others or make recommendations about these decisions. The executive worker must earn a salary of at least $455 per week. The requirements for an administrative employee to qualify as exempt are that they must primarily complete their work directly for the business’s management or administration. They must be independent workers and primarily use their own discretion and judgment on their work duties. The administrative employee also must earn a salary of at least $455 per week. The requirements for an exempt professional are that they complete work that requires invention, imagination, originality, or talents in the arts such as music, writing and acting. They may need to be a highly intellectual and have been trained in extensive studies such as law, medicine, theology, accounting, engineering, architecture, teaching, and pharmacy. The must also earn a salary of at least $455 per week. Outside sales people are exempt if they regularly work away from the employers’ office and make sales or obtain orders or contracts for services or facilities. Exempt salespersons are generally paid through commissions and will require little to no supervision to complete their job. The exemption from the minimum wage and overtime pay provisions also applies to computer specialist that receives a salary of at least no less than $455 per week or not less than $27. 63 per hour. The law specifies that computer specialist’s primary duties involve applying systems analysis techniques and procedures. Designing, developing, documenting, analyzing, creating, testing, or modifying computer systems or programs, prototypes and/or machine operating systems. There are a number of employees that are exempt from only the overtime pay requirements. These include taxicab drivers, announcers, news editors, and chief engineers of radio and TV stations that have fewer than 100,000 people located in a town or city (Repa, 2007 and Steingold, 2009). In 1963 an amendment called the â€Å"Equal Pay Act† had been added to equalize the pay scales for men and women who work at an equal skill, effort and responsibility. Congress felt that the differential in pay prevented the maximization of the available labor resources, they wanted to prevent labor disputes, and they did not want an unfair method of competition. They also felt that the wage differentials depressed the wages and the standard of living. Congress also wanted to eliminate stereotypes about the value of work performed by women. Congress exempted several forms of discrimination from the operation of the Equal Pay Act. These exceptions include shift differentials, restrictions on or differences based on the time of day worked, hours of work, and the lifting or moving of heavy objects. The Equal Pay Act also excluded differences based on experience, training or ability, as well as unusual or higher than normal wage rates which employers maintained for valid reasons. The Equal Pay Act allows for unequal pay for equal work only when wages are set pursuant to a seniority system, a merit system, a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, or other factors outside of sex (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc, 1963 and Landsberg, 2004). In 2004 a class action suit was brought against Wal-Mart were 1. 6 million female associates that worked for Wal-Mart felt that they were discriminated against because they were women. These women tried to advance into higher paying positions but were passed over by men/boys who did not have the experience and knowledge that these women had. More than seventy percent of the Wal-Mart workforce is women, sixty-five percent of the cashier and greeter positions are held by women and only thirty-five percent of the assistant managers for Wal-Mart are women. The female employees of Wal-Mart are paid less than the male workforce for jobs that are of equal skill, effort and responsibility all for keeping prices lower for the consumer (Worth, 2008 p 8-12). The Fair Labor Standard Act requires employers to keep records of wages, hours, and other regulated items by the Department of Labor. Most of the information is generally obtained by employers in ordinary business practice and in compliance with other laws and regulations. Employees that are subject to the minimum wage provisions or both the minimum wage and overtime pay provisions must have employers keep the following records with personal information, including employees name, home address, occupation, sex, and birth date if under 19 years of age, the hour and day when workweek begins and the total hours worked each workday and each workweek. These records also need to indicate the total daily or weekly straight-time earnings and the regular hourly pay rate for any week when overtime is worked and total overtime pay for the workweek. In addition to records for hours worked and paid the records also must include deductions from or additions to wages, total wages paid each pay period and the date of payment and pay period covered. The Records required for exempt employees differ from those for nonexempt workers. Special information is required for employees that work from the home and for employees to where lodging is provided ( ol. gov/dol/whd/regs/compliance/hrg. htm). The constitutionality of the â€Å"Fair Labor Standard Act† was unanimously supported by the Supreme Court it has been altered and amended on at least 43 occasions between 1938 and 2009. Those alterations and amendments have provided and clarified benefits to workers in various employment sections, and made increases to the minimum wage. As a hardwor king American we have a right to be paid fairly for our work. It is unfortunate that many unscrupulous employers attempt to manipulate laws intended to protect workers in order to avoid paying just compensation. When this happens, employees can turn to the legal system to ensure that their rights are protected without being discriminated against or discharged for filing a complaint or participate in any proceeding under the Act. ? Repa, Barbara Kate. â€Å"Your Rights in the Workplace† Consolidated Printers Inc, July 2007 Steingold, Fred S. â€Å"The Employers Legal Handbook† â€Å"Manage you employees workplace effectively†. Delta Printing Solutions, Inc, June 2009 The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. â€Å"Equal Pay For Equal Work† BNA Incorporated, 1963 Worth, Richard â€Å"Open for Debate Workers’ Rights† Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2008 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Gale Encyclopedia of U. S. Economic History. 1999. Retrieved from Encyclopedia. com: encyclopedia. com/doc/1G2-3406400301. html Newman, Roger K. Fair Labor Standards Act (1938). Major Acts of Congress. 2004. Retrieved from Encyclopedia. com: encyclopedia. com/doc/1G2-3407400107. html LINDENMEYER, KRISTE. National Child Labor Committee. Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society. 2004. Retrieved from Encyclopedia. com: encyclopedia. com/doc/1G2-3402800297. html Grossman, Jonathan. â€Å"Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938: Maximum Struggle for a Minimum Wage† www. dol. gov dol. gov/dol/topic/discrimination/agedisc. htm dol. gov/dol/oasam/programs/history/flsa1938. htm dol. gov/dol/whd/regs/compliance/hrg. htm u-s-history. com/pages/h1701. html Equal Pay Act of 1963. Major Acts of Congress. Ed. Brian K. Landsberg. Macmillan-Thomson Gale, 2004. eNotes. com. 2006. enotes. com/major-acts-congress/equal-pay-act

Sunday, October 20, 2019

What Is a P-Value

What Is a P-Value Hypothesis tests or test of significance involve the calculation of a number known as a p-value. This number is very important to the conclusion of our test. P-values are related to the test statistic and give us a measurement of evidence against the null hypothesis. Null and Alternative Hypotheses Tests of statistical significance all begin with a null and an alternative hypothesis. The null hypothesis is the statement of no effect or a statement of commonly accepted state of affairs. The alternative hypothesis is what we are attempting to prove. The working assumption in a hypothesis test is that the null hypothesis is true. Test Statistic We will assume that the conditions are met for the particular test that we are working with. A simple random sample gives us sample data. From this data we can calculate a test statistic. Test statistics vary greatly depending upon what parameters our hypothesis test concerns. Some common test statistics include: z - statistic for hypothesis tests concerning the population mean, when we know the population standard deviation. t - statistic for hypothesis tests concerning the population mean, when we do not know the population standard deviation. t - statistic for hypothesis tests concerning the difference of two independent population mean, when we do not know the standard deviation of either of the two populations. z - statistic for hypothesis tests concerning a population proportion. Chi-square - statistic for hypothesis tests concerning the difference between an expected and actual count for categorical data. Calculation of P-Values Test statistics are helpful, but it can be more helpful to assign a p-value to these statistics. A p-value is the probability that, if the null hypothesis were true, we would observe a statistic at least as extreme as the one observed. To calculate a p-value we use the appropriate software or statistical table that corresponds with our test statistic. For example, we would use a standard normal distribution when calculating a z test statistic. Values of z with large absolute values (such as those over 2.5) are not very common and would give a small p-value. Values of z that are closer to zero are more common, and would give much larger p-values. Interpretation of the P-Value As we have noted, a p-value is a probability. This means that it is a real number from 0 and 1. While a test statistic is one way to measure how extreme a statistic is for a particular sample, p-values are another way of measuring this. When we obtain a statistical given sample, the question that we should always is, â€Å"Is this sample the way it is by chance alone with a true null hypothesis, or is the null hypothesis false?† If our p-value is small, then this could mean one of two things: The null hypothesis is true, but we were just very lucky in obtaining our observed sample.Our sample is the way it is due to the fact that the null hypothesis is false. In general, the smaller the p-value, the more evidence that we have against our null hypothesis. How Small Is Small Enough? How small of a p-value do we need in order to reject the null hypothesis? The answer to this is, â€Å"It depends.† A common rule of thumb is that the p-value must be less than or equal to 0.05, but there is nothing universal about this value. Typically, before we conduct a hypothesis test, we choose a threshold value. If we have any p-value that is less than or equal to this threshold, then we reject the null hypothesis. Otherwise we fail to reject the null hypothesis. This threshold is called the level of significance of our hypothesis test, and is denoted by the Greek letter alpha. There is no value of alpha that always defines statistical significance.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Harlem Renaissance Poets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Harlem Renaissance Poets - Essay Example Musicians, poets and actors started celebrating their black identity and demanding for equality in the society. Some of the notable Harlem Renaissance poets that excelled in creating new cultural awareness and identity include James Weldon Johnson and Langston Hughes (Reid, 2001). James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) He was born in Florida in 1871, and studied English literature at Atlanta University. His intention of studies was to further the rights and interests of black people in the society. He wrote several poems that were refereed as the ‘Negro National Anthem’. He criticized the African American who had ignored their black roots to assimilate in White community. His poems mainly explore the need to form black racial identity and culture. In addition, he succeeded in securing leadership in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and inspired the equal rights struggles of the Southern African Americans after he took a trip to Georgia (Rei d, 2001). He finally died in 1938. ‘Lift every voice and sing’ James Weldon uses this poem to strengthen the Black people in demanding for the end of racial segregation through demonstrating how past struggles against slavery and Jim Crow laws have been successful. His poem demonstrates double consciousness since he begins by asserting that ‘lift every voice’ (Weldon, 2013, L.1). He argues the African Americans to remain faithful and continue with their struggles until victory (Weldon, 2013, L.10). He demonstrates that the past slavery struggles have not been easy by asserting that ‘stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod’ (Weldon, 2013, L.11-12). His poem reminds the African American through ‘weary feet’ and ‘silent tears’ God has provided them with the ‘light’ and hopes African Americans will stay on the path (Weldon, 2013, L. 22-23). He cautions the Black people not to let their ‘hearts drunk with wine of the world’ and urges them to remain ‘true to native land’ (Weldon, 2013, L.33). Langston Hughes (1902-1967) Langston Hughes was born in Missouri and joined Columbia University for his higher education (Reid, 2001). The poet is one of the prolific poets during Harlem Renaissance due to his personal experience with inequality in the society. He travelled to both Europe and Africa and personally experienced the segregation in White dominated society. He often mingled his poetry work with black jazz music in order to promote the black cultural identity and self-awareness of the culture. ‘I, Too, Sing America’ Hughes demonstrates the racial segregation in this poem. The poem contains various aspects of double consciousness since it articulates the struggles that Black people face in the society. Hughes incorporates W.EB DuBoi’s beliefs of a fair society in the poem by asserting that ‘he also sings America’. The †˜I’ identifies the Black minority. He uses strong symbolism by asserting that ‘ I am the darker brother’ which translates that both White people and African Americans have the same source of humanity (Hughes, 2013,L. 1). Use of ‘They’ implies the ignorant White race. Hughes still asserts that ‘I laugh, eat well and grow strong’ meaning that Black people have their own cultural identity despite the segregation in

Friday, October 18, 2019

Discussions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussions - Assignment Example Indonesia which happens to be the major producer of palm kernel oil predicts increased yield which triggers increased production of coconut oil related products. From the social reorganization observed across the world, there is increased use of various products like cosmetics which are derived from coconut and this is likely to boost demand of this god substantially. It is important for the management to explore other factors that will improve demand. One of them is to undertake market research on people’s desires in terms of units of sales, packaging and the overall quality. It is equally important for managers to seek other price stabilizing strategies like collective bargaining approach with other producers (Kohler, 75). The Euro crisis is a significant determinant of US economic progress directly and indirectly. It is therefore undisputable fact that this economic slump had significant disturbance on the American Economy. The extensive foreign trade engagement between US and Europe which has been facilitated by globalization is a big factor that influences the existing dependency of the economic trend in these two regions. Most of the American businesses that are undertaken in parts of Europe especially value creation activities due to the comparative advantage concept has generally been affected since the dwindling economic climate offers confusion in terms of predicting the future (Kohler,75). There has been significant borrowing of capital goods by some Euro zone members like Greece and Cyprus besides foreign direct investment which undermines the economy future of US in the event of the Euro crisis that hit in 2012. It is therefore advisable that most businessmen study stock market trend very c arefully and divest to spread the risk and sustain their profit margin. This would entail seeking other value creation places like in Asia and Africa. Making decision to outsource input factor is a global debate among various managers. The thorny

Juvenile delinquency and foster care Research Paper

Juvenile delinquency and foster care - Research Paper Example The dearth of studies of the effects of foster care, particularly its long-term effects, has been pointed out in the literature by several authors (Fanshel & Shinn, 2003; Geiser, 2001; Madison & Shapiro, 2001; Prosser, 2003; Wolkind, 2003). A recent review of research into fostering concluded that there is a lack of even the fundamental knowledge â€Å"about the intrinsic value of foster care itself† (Prosser, 2003, p. 31), and that the need to assess its long-term effects that was stressed by earlier reviewers (Dinnage & Kellmer Pringle, 2002) continues.If it is accepted that long-term effects can be defined as those effects of fostering that manifest themselves in the personal and social functioning of former foster children as adults, then only four studies appear to have been ever published on this subject in the professional literature. Further, only one of these was concerned with an inferential analysis of specific parameters of fostering (Meier, 2001). The parameters w ere age of child at placement and the number of different foster homes experienced by the child, and were found to be unrelated to the â€Å"social effectiveness† and â€Å"sense of well being† of the subjects as adults. The other studies indicated that, among children in state care, those who are fostered have the least convictions as adults (Ferguson, 2001); that fostering of boys who present a high risk of delinquency does not prevent their deviance as adults (McCord, McCord & Thurber, 2004); and that adults who were fostered in childhood have a somewhat higher incidence of marital breakdown.

Cars corrosion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cars corrosion - Essay Example ( Shaw Barbara and Kelly Robert, 2006) Even though corrosion was still prevalent in the 1950’s the main criteria for a car manufacturer was the strength and durability of the body. Cold rolling of low carbon sheets was the accepted practice during those times. Later on, when the shape and features of the automobile underwent changes steels that were more ductile and could be drawn easily was incorporated into the design. Currently various advanced methods of steel fabrication with the use of alternative materials are being followed which are both cheaper and also have a lower weight to volume ratio. ( Hamilton Bruce and Macauley, 1998) This method of using salt to melt the ice on roads was introduced following World War II which led to an increase of corrosion, affecting the functional and structural integrity of the vehicle. The general appearance of the vehicle was also affected. Some of the common pitfalls of corrosion due the presence of salts were formation of holes on body panels, corrosion of brake linings, wear and tear of the frame and bumper supports, discoloration and pitting effects on surfaces of vehicles. Alternate materials were designed to take care of this type of corrosion; however this led to another form of corrosion called galvanic corrosion which occurs when two dissimilar metals are in contact. In the late 1970’s it was noticed that corrosion was taking place to a large extent on the floor panels, exhaust systems, fuel and brake systems which were less visible from outside. Dust control chemicals like calcium chloride and pollutants like nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide combined with rain to form acid rains. This prevented the formation of the natural protective layer formation on vehicle surfaces. (Effects of road salt on Motor Vehicles and infrastructure, n.d) The corrosion due to these severe environmental effects was noticed to be maximum during the mid-1970. Customer dissatisfaction forced leading auto manufacturers to

Thursday, October 17, 2019

The differences between Eudicots and Monocots plants Coursework

The differences between Eudicots and Monocots plants - Coursework Example The author has rightly presented that every plant has two main systems a root system and a shoot system, a root system consists of roots and branch roots and the shoot system contains stem, branches, and leaves. Roots are responsible for providing the plant with water and other minerals contained in the soil. It also anchors the plants and holds the plant to the ground. The stem has the responsibility to transport water minerals from roots to the leaves and branches and food and oxygen from leaves to other parts. Leaves carry the responsibility of making food for the plants through the process of photosynthesis. The plant can make its food by itself combining carbon-dioxide and sunlight by the process of photosynthesis. The vegetative parts of a plant are root, stem, and leaves but flowers, fruits, and seeds are its reproductive organs. Flowering plants produce seeds of two basic types, monocots, and Eudicots. There are many differences between the Monocots and Eudicots. In monocots, there is only one cotyledon in the seed but in Eudicot plants, the seed has two cotyledons. In monocot plants, the root xylem and phloem are distributed in a ring while in Eudicots root phloem is the xylem. In monocots, the vascular tissues are there on the stem in a scattered form but Eudicots have its vascular tissues distinctly arranged. Leaves veins in monocot plants are formed in a parallel pattern while Eudicots have a leave veins in a net shape.

CIS 312 7,8,9 questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CIS 312 7,8,9 questions - Assignment Example For systems administrators, the PsList tool is a useful tool for enabling greater control over both local and remote systems, a key function in system administration. A. Two methods for troubleshooting BSOD errors in Windows 8 are i. using safe mode, and ii, using Windows Boot Genius, a robust screen repair program. The Windows repair program is more useful to system administrators because it has over 20 OS repair tools that can help fix almost all boot issues including BSOD. Windows 9 xs/Me Resource Meter can also help in determining whether computer has sufficient FSRs (Soper, 2004). B. The two primary methods of BSOD troubleshooting in Windows 8 include the BSOD screen repair program and the utilization of safe mode repair. The former method is more suitable for systems administrator because it enables repair of virtually all boot issues in Windows 8. A. Networking components considered in home office to maximize functionality are the structure of management information (SMI), Management information base (MIB), and SNMP agents. SMI would help in defining data types allowed in MIB while the IB would help in holding value for managed objects based on packets that arrive from previous system reset. Lastly, SNMP agents components would help in executing all relevant MIB objects B. The best networking components for maximizing functionality are SNMP components: SMI, which describes MIB data types, MIB that stores clock ticks since system resetting, and SNMP agent component, which define information contained in MIB to help in the management of used applications. A. Various vendor support sites help in troubleshooting home internet connections. The most useful sites include the Network Diagnostic tool, Microsoft Automated Troubleshooting Services tools, as well as manual troubleshooting via http://www.microsoft.com, http://www.msn.com, http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors/en-us, and

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

The differences between Eudicots and Monocots plants Coursework

The differences between Eudicots and Monocots plants - Coursework Example The author has rightly presented that every plant has two main systems a root system and a shoot system, a root system consists of roots and branch roots and the shoot system contains stem, branches, and leaves. Roots are responsible for providing the plant with water and other minerals contained in the soil. It also anchors the plants and holds the plant to the ground. The stem has the responsibility to transport water minerals from roots to the leaves and branches and food and oxygen from leaves to other parts. Leaves carry the responsibility of making food for the plants through the process of photosynthesis. The plant can make its food by itself combining carbon-dioxide and sunlight by the process of photosynthesis. The vegetative parts of a plant are root, stem, and leaves but flowers, fruits, and seeds are its reproductive organs. Flowering plants produce seeds of two basic types, monocots, and Eudicots. There are many differences between the Monocots and Eudicots. In monocots, there is only one cotyledon in the seed but in Eudicot plants, the seed has two cotyledons. In monocot plants, the root xylem and phloem are distributed in a ring while in Eudicots root phloem is the xylem. In monocots, the vascular tissues are there on the stem in a scattered form but Eudicots have its vascular tissues distinctly arranged. Leaves veins in monocot plants are formed in a parallel pattern while Eudicots have a leave veins in a net shape.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Using a Large Number of Ratios to Perform a Complete Ratio Analysis of Essay

Using a Large Number of Ratios to Perform a Complete Ratio Analysis of a Firm - Essay Example It is of great significance that the ratios must be benchmarked against a standard in order for them to possess a meaning. Keeping that into account, the comparison is usually conducted between companies portraying same business and financial risks, between industries and between different time periods of the same company. Profitability Ratios Gross profit margin is an analyzing tool which assists in identifying how effectively and efficiently the company is utilizing its raw materials [1], variable cost related to labor and fixed costs such as rent and depreciation of property plant and equipment. The ratio is calculated by dividing the sales revenue by the gross profit. Net profit margin, on the other hand analyzes the profitability of the company before deducting the taxation and finance charges from the earnings. The ratio is calculated by dividing the profit before interest and tax with the sales revenue of the current financial period. The ratio highlights how well the company is managing its selling and administrative expenses it also highlights the other income generated by the company during the course of its operations. Return on capital employed (ROCE) is, according to the analyst, is considered to be the most significant ratio. in order to evaluate a company’s performance from an investor’s point of view. ROCE measures a company’s ability to earn a return on all of the capital that is being employed by the company [3]. The ratio is calculated as net income upon total capital employed, which is the sum of debt and equity financings. Earnings per share (EPS) are considered one of the most important financial ratios from the investor’s point of view. The ratio highlights the average earnings from the shares transacted and is calculated by dividing the profit attributable to the common share holders and multiplying them with the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period. The liquidity ratio measures the company’s ability to pay its short term liabilities. The ratio illustrates that how quickly a company can convert its assets into cash and cash equivalent in order to pay off its short term liabilities [3]. The most commonly used liquidity ratio, the current ratio, which is calculated by comparing the current assets and current liabilities. The strengthened the current ratio the more ability the company has to pay its debts and short term obligations over the next 12 months. An overall analysis of the ratio would portray that in all the years the company had enough assets to pay off its obligations and debts. The acid test, which is also regarded as the quick ratio, is calculated by subtracting the inventory balance from the total current assert balance. . Out of the current assets mentioned, inventories are regarded as the one which takes comparatively more time to be converted into cash or cash equivalent. Receivable turnover represents how quickly the cash is received from the debtors. The ratio is calculated by dividing the revenue generated from the sales by the receivable balance as mentioned in the balance sheet of t he company. The formula calculates the number of times the debtors are turned over during a year. The higher the value the more efficient the management is or it could also mean that the debts are more liquid. Inventory turnover represents how quickly a company’s inventory is sold, which can be calculated by div

Monday, October 14, 2019

Issues that arise in research

Issues that arise in research It is becoming more common to talk about including childrens perspectives in review of childrens services and this is particularly the case for young children. The traditional method often required imagination if experiences and views of young children are to be taken into consideration by adults. Mosaic Approach is a particular framework for listening to very young children, under five years of age. It is an approach, which acknowledges children and adults as co-constructors of meaning. It is an approach, which can combine the visual with the verbal. The Mosaic is a multi-method which uses childrens own photographs, child-led tours and map making. The approach which combines the traditional research tools of observation and interviewing with participatory methods. The method is combined with talking and observing children to gain a deeper understanding of childrens perspectives in their early childhood. The approach has the potential to use with older children, especially those with communication difficulties or for whom English is an additional language. Clark quotes there are three main theoretical starting points for this research approach, each based on notions of competency. (Clark, 2004, pg 142). As children have their own time and activities Clark acknowledges that children have important perspectives to contribute about their own lives. This view of competency is in contrast to other research models which Qvortrup has pointed out, which can often exclude the voices of children. Qvortrup states that, children are often denied the right to speak for themselves either because they are held incompetent in making judgements or because they are thought of as unreliable witness about their own lives. (Qvortrup et al., 1994: 2) Critically, it is important to consider the use of the term research with children rather than on or for children as a way of highlighting child expertise and ability to collaborate. In the past, much research was conducted on children but relatively little with them (Masson, 2004, pg 4). Lahman quotes has call ed for child-centered research and sees children as subjects and not objects. This reveals a discussion of whether research has been on or for children (Lahman, 2008, pg 295). Lehman also stresses the importance of providing children opportunities to interpret data and reflect on tentative findings, which has been done through follow-up interviews and focus groups where findings and data previously collected are brought to the children to discuss. Similarly, Kay et al. (2003) has characterised this as (re)presentation, meaning that child participants are presented with representations of research data in order to gain their input so the researcher may (re)present their data as informed by the childrens input. The framework consists of a Multi-method, which recognises the different languages or voices of children. The Participatory method treats children as experts and agents in their own lives while the Reflexive method includes children, practitioners and parents in reflecting on meanings and addresses the question of interpretation. The adaptable method can be applied to a variety of early child-hood institutions which can be embedded into practice; this method is a framework for listening which has the potential to be both used as an evaluative tool and to become embedded into early years practice. Finally, the focussed on childrens lived experiences method looks at lives rather than knowledge gained or care received. A major influence in developing this approach has been the methods used in the participatory appraisal. Participatory appraisal is about empowering poorer communities to have a voice for changes within their communities. A range of methodologies are used, which dont rely on written words and assumed as competency. This often led the development of imaginative tools that enabled illiterate adults to speak and the same trigger has spurred the development the Mosaic approach with young children. The aim is to find practical ways to contribute to the development of services that are responsive to the voices of the child and which recognises childrens competencies. Clark states The approach developed as a multi-developed model which was important to include o range of methods in order to allow children with different abilities and interests to take part. (Clark, 2004, pg 144). There is a two stage approach, firstly children and adults gather documentation and practitioners and parents/carers reflect on what they think life is like for the children. The second stage pieces together information for dialogue, reflection and interpretation and practitioners and parents listen to the childrens own perspectives. In so far as we should choose those methods based around the ages of our participants, ethical issues will also underpin our choices of method. With interviewing, if you interview a 4 year old, you may exclude the other children. However, Lahman points out that using conventional one-on-one interviews would have meant missing most of the kids ways of expressing themselves. (Lahman, 2008, pg 294). However, as Clark states those who know the pe rsonalities of the children need sit alongside the participatory tools in the Mosaic approach in order to build a more detailed understanding of young childrens experiences. (Clark, 2004, pg 146). It is always preferable to be with children in their context, so naturally occurring conversations can occur in the context of the childrens lives. However, there are occasions when due to time, money or the topic, formal interviews may be required. When moving to a formal interview, the child/researcher power deferential be inherently emphasised and the researcher risks controlling the interview in a manner that produces what the child believes the adult wishes to hear. Researchers may wish to allow the child to choose where they want the interview to occur and allow the child to hear their voice recording and handle the recording equipment. When conducting focus groups, friendship may be the most important factor for composing groups. Children talking together replicate the small group s etting that they are familiar within the classroom where conversations can appear to flow effortlessly. A child could also lead the focus group with adults being present in a listening role. Encouraging children to interview their friends, as research is also a way to minimize the researchers power. Eliciting and understanding childrens views has become increasingly important for a range of reasons including legal, political and academic issues. Critically, new paradigms in social science have encouraged the views of children as social actors, playing an active role in shaping their environment. Research has suggested that children are more competent than previously thought in their ability to comment on their own lives, and be involved in making decisions. Yet, theories of child development are often cited as the reason why young children cannot be consulted and not able to understand the issues or make meaningful contributions. An alternative approach would be to assume that young children might not understand enough to be consulted on particular matters, or on some aspects of them, or indeed that they may be able to understand if they are asked in a different way. Adhering to participatory research principles requires a coherent and consistent approach to the research design, notably the practical considerations of generating data in appropriate ways. Pieces of the Mosaic, gathered by adults and children, form the basis for Stage Two. Combining the narratives and images of these individual pieces brings a greater level of understanding about young childrens priorities. By looking at all pieces gathered in Stage One you can build a picture of what appears important, this is completed by looking at what images or narratives come up more frequently. Thus what themes appear more often are more important to the child or children involved? Another methodology could be photographs (taken by young person) cameras are a medium, which appeal to young children and provide a form of communication, which is fun. For example, allowing the children to photograph their favourite things. On a positive note, children learn and gain confidence, as they are able to engage in ways they feel comfortable and they learn new skills such as listening, reflecting on their feelings and practical skills such as using cameras. Finally, by being listened to, children may become more active participants and get more involved in activities. Negatively, children must choose to take part, otherwise it can be intrusive to tell them we are listening to you or to observe them for research purposes without first telling them. Knowledge is power by gaining further insight into the lives of the children you are working with you gain power over them, therefore critical for practitioners to be careful how they respond to what the children say. In line with the approach, the use of cameras produced data in the form of pictures; it also encourages children to think about what they are looking at and make active decisions about what they do and do not want to photograph. However, as Clark states, if there is a mismatch between the task and the ability of the parti cipants to complete the task, the data will be incomplete and some data will be missing. However, a reliance on drawings, photographs or video clips depends on several factors, not least of which is the quality of the image. The skill of the artist, photographer or camera operator can influence the final product, and further, the perspective of the participant is essential to interpreting and extending these data. (Clark, 2004, pp. 142-161). There are equally complicated issues to be negotiated when research is conducted at school, in classrooms, or even at school when children are removed from classes to participate in research. Children could downplay their responses to questions (if answering in public might impact negatively on their status with peers) when a teacher or another authority figure (perceived or imaginary) was present but exaggerate their answers when with peers. The power of the photograph as a data-collection tool appears to make much more sense if the photographi c task is aligned with an interview with the photographer. Lahman suggests allowing children to choose whether they wish to express themselves through an innovative method, some of the children we saw were keen to express themselves by drawing while others had no interest in this method of communication. (Lahman, 2008, pg 294). Other examples of methods successfully utilized with children can include photography, video, communication with toys and art. Clark (2005) advocates for combining these methods as appropriate into what she has termed the Mosaic approach. It is of note that many of these methods will not work with our youngest participants such as infants and toddlers, or children who are severally disabled. For example, Lahman stresses in her journal the diary method may not be suitable for people [children] who cannot write nor have difficulty articulating their feelings in writing (Liamputtong, 2007: 154). The use of participatory methods with young children has opened more doors to communicating. This however contradicts the myth that researchers need to simplify their approaches with young children. The research has shown that there is a need to be flexible and to think differently. The approach is one attempt to turn this upside down and begin from young childrens strengths, their knowledge and attention to detail and visual, as well as verbal communication. To act ethical is to act the way one acts towards people whom one respects. Major areas of consensus for ethical consideration with children include informed consent, confidentiality, access and privacy. Excessive oversight by research review boards is also an area of ethical discussion with some feeling that vulnerable groups such as children are at risk for being under researched due to unnecessary restrictions or researchers avoiding children as participants due to governmental red tape. It is assumed that researchers should bring to ethical research with children that acknowledge childrens competence. Children are smart, make sense and want to live a good life. Lahman stresses in her journal for respecting childrens expertise as an ethical and methodological stance throughout the research process. This implies the need to be flexible and reflexive regarding ethical issues over the course of the entire study. (Thomas and OKane (1998) Critically, we need to look further, however not only with the process of learning but with the framework. Within the learning frame there is a wide range of approaches or pedagogies which view children in different ways. Some researchers see these children as an empty vessel waiting to be filled up with knowledge, while within this frame children are objects into which learning is poured. This type of participatory research is a right thing to do or at least a helpful thing to do, because it is based on a positive ethical framework, supports the political impetus of childrens rights and can generate such valuable data. Arguably most importantly, researcher must make time in ones research design to simply be with children. With time ethical consideration may be enacted reflexively. When we have multiple episodes upon which to draw, it becomes possible. Innovative methods rest on relationships and are not conducted frivolously, and children can demonstrate their true expertise as collaborators. Researchers should not stop attempting to form meaningful relationships with the children they research. Indeed, if we reflect overly long on this issue, the danger becomes one may say, then why bother? It is hoped that researchers are drawn to studying children through some sense of desiring to see the world through childrens eyes, attempting to improve children lives, and simply experiencing joy when with children. A multi-method, participatory approach, time consuming though it is, enables children with different skills and personalities to contribute their experiences. This can be applied to older children including those with special needs. The tools you choose to use can be altered according to the children you are working with. The philosophy behind the approach, children as experts in their own lives can apply to children of all ages. The Government Green paper, Every Child Matters states that the involvement of children and young people is crucial if services are to be improved. Core principles for increasing the involvement of children have been introduced, which all Government departments are expected to follow, and are not bound by a lower age limit of children who should be consulted. However, younger children may be highlighted as one group that face barriers to being involved. Therefore, a proactive approach in crucial towards involving younger children. However, we caution against the assumption that this approach necessarily produces better research data and, indeed if participants are fully involved in all dissemination there is a risk of portraying rather sanitised research results. We warn that researchers must anticipate ethical and practical implications and maintain a reflexive awareness of how power differences interplay in sometimes surprising ways. To conduct research we must not hide behind bland statements that research was participatory, without including in our analysis the theoretical framework in which the participation sits and how the participation has impacted on the claims made for, and from, the research. There is no one research tool best suited to gaining childrens opinions as researchers deploy a wide range of interconnected methods and ultimately, always seeking better ways to make more understandable the experiences they have studied. However, it is crucial for researchers to avoid getting caught up in a method for method sake. Researchers need to develop interesting methods to engage children, while at the same time avoid a gimmick approach. There are some conventional methods that can be alienating for some vulnerable children and therefore, essential researchers adopt alternative approaches. Word Count:

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Corporations Law :: essays research papers

Corporations Law Short Anwers a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Any entity which is considered a reporting entity is required to prepare a report in accordance with the requirements of the Corporations Law. Briefly explain why you agree or disagree with the above statement. A reporting entity is defined as an entity for which there are users who rely on the financial statements, generated from its financial information, as their major source of financial information . These financial statements are used in the decision making process of both internal and external users, and therefore this information must be both accurate and of appropriate detail. In order for a general standard to be established across the accounting industry, it is important for a set of standards to be upheld by all. Therefore I agree with the statement. Under section 298 of the Corporations Law, it is stated that all companies which are reporting entities must adhere to the accounting standards issued by the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) . The generation of statements of financial position, financial performance and cash flow are all required under the section and they assist in giving an unbiased picture of the company’s current position. With the use of the International Accounting Standards Board’s conceptual framework, these reporting entities prepare reports using underlying principles in order to clearly articulate relevant information to those with a vested interest in the business. The outcome will be a reduction in the amount of asymmetric information available to external users. Notable recent examples of falsifying financial reports include One.Tel and HIH. If precise and specific financial reports are not produced in relation to the guidelines set by Corporations Law, it is under the AASB’s jurisdiction to enforce compliance. This compliance allows for a general standard to be upheld on a country-wide basis, and with the introduction of International Accounting Standards in 2005, on a world-wide basis. Therefore, an entity which is considered a reporting entity is required to prepare a report in accordance with the requirements of the Corporations Law. Without the generation of these reports, a logical and comprehensible overview of the business could not be produced and analysed. b)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On June 28 2004, an advertising agency paid $20,000 for a computer system. The accountant for the advertising agency included the $20,000 payment as an expense in the financial reports prepared for the year ending 30 June 2004. Using relevant accounting concepts, briefly explain why you agree, or disagree, with the accounting treatment adopted by the accountant for the above transaction.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

The Marshall Plan Essay -- George C. Marshall The Marshall Plan Essays

The Marshall Plan First and foremost, a great deal of Europe’s success would not have happened without its initial aid from the United States. After helping destroy so much of the continent, the U.S. pumped billions and billions of dollars back into the European economy through The Marshall Plan. It was named after Secretary of State George C. Marshall, who said â€Å"The world of suffering people looks to us for leadership. Their thoughts, however, are not concentrated alone on this problem. They have more immediate and terribly pressing concerns where the mouthful of food will come from, where they will find shelter tonight, and where they will find warmth. Along with the great problem of maintaining the peace we must solve the problem of the pittance of food, of clothing and coal and homes. Neither of these problems can be solved alone. (DeLong)† In the first two post-World War II years the U.S. contributed through this plan, about four billion dollars a year to relief and reconstruction. The Marshall Plan continued these flows at comparable rates and was a multi-year commitment. From 1948 to 1951, the U.S. contributed $13.2 billion to European recovery. $3.2 billion went to the United Kingdom, $2.7 billion to France, $1.5 billion to Italy, and $1.4 billion to the Western-occupied zones of Germany (DeLong). An astounding $15.5 billion had been provided to Europe before the Marshall plan was enacted (Wegs, 66). The availability of Marshall Plan aid gave European countries a pool of resources that could be used to cushion the wealth losses sustained in restructuring. Countries that received large amounts of money from the Marshall Plan invested more. Countries could buy the amounts of coal, cotton and petroleum needed (all of these were in short supply) when needed because of Marshall Plan aid. Great Britain used the Marsh all Plan aid to retire public debt (DeLong). The Marshall Plan did have strings attached however. Countries had to agree to balance government budgets, restore internal financial stability, and stabilize exchange rates at realistic levels. Marshall plan aid was available only if Europe was committed to the "mixed economy" with the market playing a large part in the mix (DeLong). On their own, some countries were able to rebuild or repair slightly damaged factories and warehouses. Contrary to popular belief, factories... ...re slow to get into the automobile production game. They refused to merge with other companies, instead vying to produce many kinds of automobiles, none of which got a great deal of market share. None until the Mini came along, breaking from old traditional large British cars, creating a new craze (Wegs, 77-78). Not all was utopian forever in Europe though. All good things generally come to an end, and in the 1970s, the economy began to flounder. But for nearly twenty years, the western portion of Europe rebounded from nothingness, surged in no time, flourished for many years, became a major player in the economic world once again, and truly rose like a phoenix from the ashes of war. Works Cited DeLong, J. Bradford, The Economic History of the Twentieth Century: Slouching Towards Utopia? (University of California at Berkely and NBER: http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/TCEH/Slouch_Present19.html , 1997) . Kindleberger, Charles P., â€Å"The One and Only Marshall Plan,† National Interest, Vol. 11, 113-115. Wegs, J. Robert and Ladrech, Robert, Europe Since 1945: A Concise History, 4th ed. (Boston: St. Martin’s Press, Inc., 1996) 3, 12, 45-47, 65-79.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Causes and Effects of Land Pollution

Land pollution is one of the gravest kinds of pollutions. I say so because we do not realize when and how we pollute land due to different things we do and decisions we take. We realize the air is getting polluted when we step out of our houses and take a deep breath. We know when our actions cause water pollution, for we can see for ourselves the quality of the water worsening. Similarly noise, light, visual pollution can all be monitored, because we can all see or sense these kinds of pollution. However, land pollution is a hard one to get since we do not understand and we cannot comprehend which of our actions cause destruction of land.What is Land Pollution? When the anthropogenic effects of development adversely affect land (especially in turns of quality of land), it can be termed as land pollution. This brings us to an important question – what counts as an adverse effect? The answer is simple – anything that reduces the productivity and potential of a piece of l and. Here, ‘productivity and potential' refers to prospective uses of a piece of land for any of the different purposes for which land is used; including infrastructure, housing, services, agriculture, forestry, etc.If any of the effects of human development reduce the potential of a piece of land to be used for any good purpose, it amounts to land pollution. Causes of Land Pollution 1. Degenerative Actions encompass a lot of human actions, including – deforestation, overuse of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, desertification, mining, inefficient and / or inadequate waste treatment, landfill, litter, etc. Many of these are unavoidable; however, definitely the severity of these actions in terms of the effects they have on the land can be reduced by taking appropriate and adequate corrective measure.For example, the amount of litter produced can be hugely reduced if we all strictly say NO to plastic. The key here is to conduct a thorough EIA – Environmental Imp act Assessment. 2. Misuse of Land mainly refers to felling of trees to clear land for agriculture, as well as processes like desertification and land conversion. Desertification is when anthropogenic effects of human development and / or other actions converts a piece of (essentially) fertile land into desert-land or dryland. Isn't that a scary thought?Land once converted to desert-land can never be reclaimed by any amount of corrective measures. This is also a serious issue because t does not only affect the land, but also the overall biodiversity of a place, specially when land is cleared for agriculture. A lot of indigenous flora and fauna is lost in the process. 3. Inefficient Use of Land – surprised? Does inefficient use of land count as a cause of land pollution? Yes. Why? Due to the consequences of inefficient use of land. Inefficient use of land as such is not going to cause land pollution.However, inefficient use of land amounts to wastage, and hence shortage of land ; and it is precisely during such conditions that man has to resort to measure such as deforestation and others to meet his needs. It is an important, albeit an indirect cause of land pollution that is often largely neglected. 4. Soil Pollution is when the top-most ‘soil' layer of land is destroyed or polluted. Soil pollution is again another cause of land pollution that affects not only the land, but also a lot of other things such as forest cover of a region, productivity of land in terms of agriculture, grazing etc.Soil pollution is also caused by wrong agricultural practices, such as overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This causes non-biodegradable chemicals to enter and accumulate in the food-chain – a process often referred to as biomagnification of a pollutant. 5. Land Conversion is the process whereby a piece of land is converted from its indigenous form to a form used for either agriculture or infrastructure. Land conversion is especially a growing problem that we possibly do not have a good – or a good enough – solution for.The best way to avoid land conversion is to make efficient use of the available land. Using a piece of land to its maximum potential is the key to eliminate many of the causes of land pollution. Other key causes of land pollution include – urbanization, improper waste disposal, industrial activities, nuclear research, chemicals released by all sorts of heavy industries, coal-fired power plants, metals production industries, etc. Effects of Land Pollution 1. Effects on Climate Land pollution can affect the general environment of the Earth.Land pollutions leads to loss in the forest cover of Earth. This is in turn going to affect the amount of rain. Less rains mean lesser vegetation. The effect of all different kinds of pollution will eventually lead to problems like acid rains, greenhouse effect, global warming. All of these problems have already initiated and need to be curbed before t he situation runs out of control. 2. Extinction of Species One of the major causes of concern is the extinction of species. Species are pushed towards endangerment and extinction primarily by two processes.Habitat fragmentation is the fragmentation of the natural habitat of an organism; cause primarily by urban sprawl. Habitat destruction, on the other hand, is when land clearing adversely affects animals special such that their natural habitat is lost. Both the actions can cause some species to go extinct and others to become invasive. 3. Biomagnification Biomagnification is the process in which certain non-biodegradable substances go on accumulating in the food-chain (in one or more species).The most common example is of methylmercury in fish and mercury in eagles. Not only does biomagnification put the particular species at risk, it puts all the species above and below it at risk, and ultimately affects the food pyramid. 4. Effects on Biodiversity Species extinction and biomagnif ication is going to overthrow the balance of nature very significantly. The main reason for this is disturbance created in the food chain. To give you a very simple example – on account of biomagnification of mercury in eagles, they might go extinct in the subsequent years.However, we know eagles prey on snakes. Less (or no) eagles will then result in more number of snakes! As you may have realized, land pollution is indeed going to affect a lot more things than we though it will. Hence, I leave you with some corrective measure you can take on a personal level to reduce land pollution. Encourage organic farming – buy organic food. Proper garbage disposal – separate your garbage before you give it to the garbage collector; and strictly say NO to plastic.Encourage recycling – buy recycled products, notebooks, paper, etc. Restrict use of herbicides and pesticides – they are not only used in farm, but in your own backyard as well. If we reduce our cont ribution to garbage and litter, therein itself we will be able to significantly reduce land pollution and probably curb it entirely in the near future. Also do realize this isn't only about land pollution; it is about all kinds of pollution. We need to take steps to prevent damaging our Earth. We have no other place to go.