Lethal Injection: A study of influenza vaccines

Every fall season we hear the question; did you get your flu shot yet? It is supposed to protect you from that nasty flu virus that circulates our communities during the fall and winter months. But, did you know that in 2011 the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Adverse Event Reporting Systems Website (AERS) reported 51 deaths caused by the flu vaccine in the United States (U. S. ) (CDC,2012).According to National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), as of July 2012 there have been more than 84,000 reports of adverse reactions, 1000 vaccine related deaths and over 1600 cases of Guillain- Barre syndrome, a acute form of paralysis, triggered by the vaccine (NVIC. ORG). A problem exists in the fact that according to the ( NVIC) fewer than 1% of all adverse vaccine reactions are ever reported, this fact is substantiated by the problem of â€Å"underreporting† vaccine injuries according to the joint operated site by the CDC and Food and Drug Administration ( FDA) (VAERS, 2011).Resear ch claims that receiving the flu vaccine exposes people to a number of dangerous chemicals that have been known to cause multiple side effects, disease conditions, and deaths. The U. S. Government’s public health agency, the CDC, pledges â€Å"to base all public health decisions on the highest quality scientific data openly and objectively derived† (Doshi, 2013, Marketing vaccines, Para 1). Peter Doshi, a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of medicine, argues that in the case of influenza vaccines and their marketing this is not the case.He believes that the vaccine might be less beneficial and less safe than has been claimed and the threat of influenza appears overstated. Doshi goes on to further question the CDC’s recommendation that the influenza vaccine can only do good, pointing to serious reactions to influenza vaccines in Australia, Finland and Sweden. (British Medical Journal, 2013) Every year scientists travel to Asia and have to gue ss which specific viruses are active and circulating that season and have to chose 3 strains of flu out of the 300+ known documented strains of influenza (flu) viruses.These 3 viruses are then attenuated or weakened and added to the mix of a number of other ingredients, which we will review, to make a flu vaccine. The ingredients listed in influenza vaccines are available in the inserts provided by the vaccine manufacturers and also posted on the CDC’s vaccine Pinkbook website. A few of the ingredients include Thimerosol, 2 Phenoxyethanol, Aluminum, Beta Propiolactone, Ammonium Sulfate, Formaldehyde, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), Gentamycin Sulfate, Polymixin B and more. The ingredient Thimerosol is used as a preservative in the vaccine.It is 49. 6% mercury by weight and is a powerful neurotoxin. It has been implicated in many heath conditions such as cardiovascular collapse, autism, seizures, mental retardation, hyperactivity, dyslexia and many other central nervous system (CN S) disorders. ( CDC, Pinkbook). The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says it best: â€Å"Mercury in all of its forms is toxic to the fetus and children and efforts should be made to reduce exposure to the extent possible to pregnant women and children as well as the general population† (AAP.Pediatrics- para 8, 2001).2 Phenoxyethanol is an anti bacterial agent being used as a replacement for the preservative Thimerosal. This industrial ingredient is used in perfumes, insect repellents, antiseptics, germicides and dyes. According to the Material safety data sheet( MSDS) 2 Phenoxyethanol is harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed thru the skin. It may cause reproductive defects. EPA data sheets show chromosomal changes and genetic mutation effects in testing (Dunkin, 2008). Aluminum is added to vaccines in many forms.It works as an adjuvant to stimulate your immune system’s response to the virus in the vaccine. Aluminum has been found to be a dangerous neurotoxin th at has the ability to slip past the blood brain barrier (BBB) causing brain damage, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS), convulsions and coma. Human and animal studies have shown that Aluminum can cause nerve death (Mercola, 2011) Beta Propiolactone is an ingredient to assist with sterilizing the vaccine. It ranks high as a hazardous chemical on at least 5 federal regulatory lists.It has caused lymphomas and hepatomas after being injected into lab mice but its true effects on humans is not known. Due to animal study results the international Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified beta-Propiolactone as a possible carcinogen. MSDS sheet states toxic to liver and kidneys (Spectrum Laboratory Products). Ammonium Sulfate is a substance added to pesticides. It is unknown at this time as a carcinogen but it’s been suspected in gastrointestinal, liver, central nervous system (CNS) and respiratory system toxi city.On its MSDS sheet all hazards identification on carcinogen, mutatagenic (cellular mutations), teratogenic (fetal development) and developmental toxicity are listed as â€Å"not available†. (ScienceLab, MSDS) Formaldehyde is used as a preservative to stabilize the vaccine. It is used as a chemical to embalm dead bodies and preserve laboratory specimens. It has been classified as a known human carcinogen (cancer causing substance) and has been ranked as one of the most hazardous compounds on at least 8 federal regulatory lists.Formaldehyde is suspected of weakening the immune system and causing neurological system damage, genetic damage, metabolic acidosis, circulatory shock, respiratory failure, and acute renal failure (ARF) (Kendon, MSDS. 2004). Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is used in vaccines as a stabilizer to prevent the vaccine from breaking down. MSG is also found in processed foods. MSG has been linked to mental retardation, autistic disorders, learning disorders, be havioral disorders, reproductive disorders, retinal damage and lesions on the brains of lab animals (Hoernlein,2012).Gentamycin Sulfate is an antibiotic added to protect the vaccine from bacteria during storage. Gentamycin sulfate has been linked to deafness, nervous system disorders, and kidney damage (Sciencelab. MSDS). Polymixin B, an antibiotic that is added to protect the vaccine from gram negative bacteria during storage, has side effects that include: targeting the central nervous system (neurotoxic) and causing kidney failure from acute tubular necrosis (Luther,2013). Any one of the above ingredients can have negative effects on the human body especially the very young , very old, pregnant, and the immunocompromised population.But the effects of all of these ingredients in one vaccine, that’s certainly toxic and at times can be lethal. A normal response to an influenza vaccine is localized redness, soreness, fatigue, mild fever, malaise for 1-3 days following a flu sh ot. Consider these adverse reactions listed by MClawers, a vaccine injury law firm The numbers of injuries resulting from the these vaccines were so undeniable that in October, 1988 Congress created the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, creating the National Vaccine Compensation Program(VICP).The VICP is a no fault alternative to the traditional tort system for resolving vaccine injury claims and provides compensation to people found to be injured by certain vaccines (all Influenza vaccines are covered). Every vaccine is taxed and the monies go into a compensation fund that is managed by US Court of Federal Claim, complete with vaccine courts, vaccine judges and attorneys who specialize in vaccine cases only. Monies are awarded to patients/families who have suffered from vaccine related injuries or deaths. In 2011, 200 million dollars were paid out in compensation for vaccine injuries.In 2012, there was 300 billion dollars available in the vaccine injury compensation trust fund . Overwhelming evidence of the numbers of people hurt by the toxic ingredients in the influenza vaccines and the incidence of adverse reactions, permanent injuries and deaths due to the toxic ingredients in the influenza vaccines continue to climb. Research has well documented these injuries and exposed the cause and effect of hazardous chemicals on our human population. A little knowledge can be frightening, meanwhile a lack of knowledge can be lethal. Be informed.

Beach Day

Beach Day First, as I approach the beach, I get over worked with the thoughts of finding my favorite spot. Once I am there, I bring with me my red cooler, blanket, chair, umbrella and a CD player. As I head over to my favorite spot, stepping onto the white sandy beach from a distance, I can glance ahead to see that my regular spot is not taken. It’s such a relief to know that from a distance my spot is there waiting for me, as if it knew, I was coming and I had a private reservation.With relief, I set up the blanket, place the cooler next to the chair, and prepare a hole in the sand to place the umbrella. Second, I’m ready to drink some homemade lemonade, which I made earlier to pleasantly sip at the beach. I don’t know what effect it has, but it’s very relaxing and soothing to enjoy a cold glass of lemonade. I enjoy every part of this task as a ritual for getting prepared before I can completely relax. Then, I set the CD player on top of the cooler, slip in my favorite CD and start listening to the music.I begin to unwind and enjoy the view of the vast ocean; its immensity, the people around me and the noise of the children playing. At this time; the sun is bright, it feels great to feel the warm breeze. I close my eyes to hear and feel the surroundings. I inhale the mist of the ocean breeze opening my lungs to cleanse all the hectic and impurities of my daily events. The ocean waves sounds enchanting. Next, as I’m enjoying my day, a guy hits a beach ball and the ball knocks my radio down, lemonade spills and the CD breaks. I was stunned by the event.The guy came over, helped me pick up my items and offered to buy me a drink. He apologized for the incident and picked another spot to play. I have never experienced something like this before, but I am glad that this guy was nice enough to handle the incident appropriately. And finally, I feel so blessed and I give thanks to the creator for all the wonders of life, the beach and the opportunity for a magnificent day that has been provided for me to enjoy. These are the small things that make the beach and my favorite spot so heavenly.

Hewelett Packard Case Wiac

Human Resource management| HP Case| WAC Submission| | Submitted By: Syed Ahad GardeziM. Awais IbrahimSyed Ammar HassanZaid Rahman ShamsiMBA II29-Nov-12| Lahore School of Economics Submitted to: Prof. F. A. Fareedy Company Background: HP products were mainly electronic test and measuring instruments for engineers and scientist. Since then HP has added computers, calculators, medical electronic equipment and many more products. HP had 57000 employees worldwide and there were 20 manufacturing locations spread across the United States and 8 others around the world.Company’s objectives were first put in writing in 1957. Product Strategy: The prevailing importance is on R&D to products that will compete by new technical contribution rather than through marketing or to the competitive devices. The product strategy reflects the external modification, technical contribution and basic design or purposes of the instruments were not altered. HP’s focus was on technical contribution and short run profits rather than improving long term growth. Organization: The fundamental business unit at HP is the product division.The division is an incorporated self-sustaining organization with a great deal of independence. No product area is a division until it contains the six basic functions of R&D, manufacturing, marketing, quality assurance finance and personnel. At the end of 1980 there were 40 HP divisions. Coordination of divisions’ activities is the responsibility of 10 product groups. Financial Element: The financial reporting system also provides special statements to view each division’s success in worldwide management of its product line. Each ivision is measured along two dimensions: 1) The financial results of the actual manufacturing of products in the divisions. 2) The total worldwide activity in the divisions’ product line’s whenever they are manufactures. Capital allocations are negotiated during the yearly budgeting process al though divisions are expected to be self-sustaining over any time period. Human Resource Elements: Hiring is done by normal interviewing processes. Testing is rare and then limited to specialized skills tests mostly pertinent to a position.The confrontation with the problem growth in 1973 also led to the expansion of training in the values and methods of HP. Executive seminars were increased and a new series of courses started for supervisors on managing at HP. The course is offered for the employees and it was taught by the local personnel staff and by at least by one lone manager. The routine tasks of employees are carried by a comprehensive system of management by objective (MBO). By introducing this system HP thought that each group or division to operate as a completely separate business. So that divisions have freedom of choice in their operations.The perception of the entire team about the success of HP is the communication at each level of division which is due to trust, tea m work and openness. HP used a variety of techniques to encourage an ongoing dialogues with its. One way it tries to do this is by an open door policy. Supervisor was there to promote the employees and helped them in to seek any advice. The career was given a specific name at HP that was â€Å"career maze†. â€Å"This phrase acknowledges the normalcy of cross functional, cross divisional, and lateral moves that often occur over the course of career at HP. The performance appraisal and salary administration process also expose individual employees to many managers around the company. The performance components were predominant in the line with HP and moreover pay positions of the employees closely related to the performance. Problems Loss of Human Capital One issue that HP faces is the loss of human capital. The company is not very good in retaining its most important resource and is facing problems in this regard. The workforce of HP is so competent and all the employees are very proficient when they were hired that they only needed just a little bit of xperience and learning to touch the heights of success. HP spends too much of its resources and time to train these employees in such a way that they could make big decisions and right decisions on their own without any difficulties and hesitation. All this learning and experience make them capable of doing their own business and make them self sufficient. These employees then no longer want to stay in the company but want to grow by starting their own new ventures. Loss of these employees may not affect the company in short run but it will be very costly for HP in the long run. Doubtful Career of EmployeesAnother rather minor but an important issue in the company is that employees are not aware about when they will be promoted and where they could be working in the company for their next assignment. So there is so much ambiguity about the career of the employees due to which they cannot plan about thei r career. And when they are not sure about their career and could not plan much for it, they might get de- motivated which is again not a very good sign for the company. De-motivated employees cannot work on their full potential and efficiency and the loss is then beard by the company.Complex Organization Culture Thirdly the organizational culture of HP is varied and cannot be understood very easily and quickly. One of the reasons is that it is not very well defined by the company. Goals, objectives and strategies are very well communicated to the employees but then they are set free to choose whichever path they want to choose for accomplishing the tasks. Employees can give their input and suggestions to their supervisors about their jobs and also they can have flexible hours.Participative management style is used by the company but at the same time the case also discusses how new employees get confused when they were communicated the objectives of the company only and then theyâ⠂¬â„¢ll have to choose themselves how to achieve them by doing what? This is why most of them asked about what are they going to do about these objectives and what exactly was their jobs? Informal Environment The company has formalized procedures but they did not focus too much on following them. In fact, the president himself said that we don’t focus much n the ‘way’ but the only thing in which they are concerned with is the completion of tasks and achievement of deadlines. Despite having the formal procedures the company is using informal procedures and given employees full freedom so that innovation may continuously take place in the company. But on the same time it is a growing company with lots of potential. Currently it has fifty seven thousand employees which are expected to increase so such an informal and flexible culture would never sustain in a growing environment. Recommendations: Hp is a huge organization with about 57000 employees all together.The c ompany’s culture has been working fine for the employees who get involved in it and with time, they do become a part of it. In its culture, employees were given freedom of how to complete their tasks in a given time along with some set of procedures they had to comply with. This culture has been followed since the company’s long history and has proven to be successful and an edge over the other companies. To keep up with this culture and also to make new comers feel comfortable and see themselves as adjustable to it, we think that here, the role of the senior employees comes into part.The seniors have to be more compliant, more welcoming and help the new employees feel that now they are a part of it. Another problem we see in the case is a flaw in the Human Resource Department’s plan. As mentioned in the case that employees left the company in an effort to start their own ventures and when they failed with it and wanted to join Hp again, they were welcomed in th e company. First of all, there shouldn’t be employees who leave the company. Reasons for this should be identified and taken into notice.A reason mentioned in the case is that there were no defined career paths for the employees which could be a major reason for employees in leaving Hp. This matter should be resolved by proper succession planning and giving a defined path to the employees so that they get to know what position in the firm they might be aiming for in future. Secondly, the employees who wanted to rejoin Hp must not be welcomed to rejoin. This would create a norm within the employees of leaving and coming back whenever they wish to.If they have this idea in mind that it is safe to leave their job at any point in time and if they come back they’ll be accepted, they would work half-heartedly for Hp and not perform as they are capable of. So, we recommend that a fair of job security should be there in the employees before they decide to leave the firm. With a proper succession plan, the posts of the employees who leave should be filled instantly and the post would be no longer available for that employee who left. This way, the employees would think twice before leaving the firm and then make their final decision.

Journalism - Communication Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Journalism - Communication Skills - Essay Example To enable this relationship to flourish, a person has to communicate well with the partner and be able to understand each other properly, this will make the two partners to always know when there is an issue in the relationship between them and be able to solve the problem. The process of communication is a continuous process that never ends (Ferguson 56). There are three main components of communication that people use in their daily activities. People who work together usually have gotten remarkably different ideas and opinions about the work that they are doing, the values of the work that they do, the beliefs of the different cultures in the world differ from person to person, and the needs of the people change and vary with individuals. People have the ability to relate with each other and be able to exchange different ideas, they are able to understand each other despite the fact that we have different opinions about each other in life, people are able to understand the perspec tives of other people, they are able to sit down and solve issues among them successfully. They are able to use the processes that are outlined with the communication skills to be able do these things successfully without having hiccups. Getting to learn about the communication processes helps us to be able to have effective and efficient communications with other people. For example, in work places let us say a hospital, the doctors have to learn on how to use effective communication skills for them to communicate well and effectively with their patients. For students studying medicine, they have to learn a unit on communication skills that will enable them to be able to sharpen their communication skills and ensure that by the time they will be out to practice they will have grasped on the importance to communicate well with their patients. At the moment, students should learn on how to communicate among themselves as doctors to be. This is because when they will be practising, th ey will be required to communicate effectively and consult each other regarding a problem that a patient is facing. For them to be able to consult each other well without letting the patient know the problem the doctors have to learn how to communicate using the scientific terms that will help them to communicate better. For example, when discussing medication they will use terms like Etymology, and antispasmodics. They should be able to have mastery on the use of these scientific terms so that they are able to communicate amongst themselves without letting the patients know the truth on what they are talking about. The patients will be told the decisions of the doctors in a much simpler language (Ellis 45). The process of communication involves the Para verbal components, the nonverbal components, and the verbal components for a person to be able to pass messages better with other people. The Para verbal component of communication is the channel of communication that concentrates o n the use of the intonation, the volume that is used in communication, the cadence of the language that used in communication, and also the pace that a person is saying words. Non verbal communication is the use of body language, and the necessary paralinguistics to be able to communicate properly and effectively (Condrill, Bough 56). This type of communication has been a significant centre of interest for quite a lot of time in sectors such as doing

The World Oil Market Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The World Oil Market - Assignment Example A tight balance between supply and demand can lead to high prices that cause both higher expenditures for consumers and higher incomes for producers. In economics, exhaustible resources generally follow the rule that the rate of growth must equal the rate of interest in order to reach industry equilibrium. However, due to the unpredictable character of future oil supply and demand conditions, oil prices do not generally follow this rule. Most of the time, it exhibits backwardation wherein future prices are lower than current ones. Future demand is hard to predict because it is difficult to foresee changes in energy technologies and it takes years for consumers to switch to other resources should prices go off the roof. On the other hand, investment is expensive and risky and it takes a while before production supply turns to high capacity. Oil prices also behave unexpectedly since the market is responsive to speculative pressures, operational constraints, and political conditions. Hu rricane Katrina, by reducing gasoline supplies (which is chiefly derived from crude oil), became one dramatic factor that caused oil prices to skyrocket in 2005. The storm reduced oil production, transportation, and refining capacity--it paralyzed major oil and gasoline pipelines that carried supplies down from the Gulf Mexico and took down offshore oil platforms. Power outages also caused problems in oil and natural gas distribution in many areas. The large drop in supplies caused oil prices to rise. Additionally, consumer expectation contributed to the demand component. With the hurricane retarding oil production and restricting supplies, they expected prices to rise. They immediately increased the demand by buying gasoline, hoping to fill up their tanks before prices start to rise. Reduced supply and increased demand caused oil prices to increase dramatically, as shown in the graph below: 3. Analyze the structure of the world oil market & identify what kind of market structure it has.   The world oil market structure is oligopolistic since the market is dominated by a limited number of suppliers. An industry is said to be oligopolistic if few supply the majority of the output and if those suppliers are interdependent. In oil production, about 50 percent of the output and 70 percent of the reserves are controlled by a cartel. Production is handled by both the public and private sectors. However, oil production is just one aspect of the market-converting and refining it to other consumer products is another facet of the total world oil industry, one which has its own dynamics and regulations. Worldwide supply and demand determine oil prices, with great influence from OPEC. On the supply side, OPEC provides most of the world's supply and normally acts as a semi-cartel, influencing oil prices by maintaining excess capacity. It also tries to maintain oil prices at its target level by setting quotas or production limits for its members. On the other hand, non-O PEC suppliers have generally limited reserves and typically behave as price takers. OPEC's policy in recent times is to control crude oil inventories and reserves in consuming nations in order to balance the market.

SUCCESS FACTORS IN DATA WAREHOUSE PROJECTS Essay

SUCCESS FACTORS IN DATA WAREHOUSE PROJECTS - Essay Example Why organizations need to bring data together from different working systems? Obviously, the answer is, to be more beneficial, to be more competitive, or to grow by adding value for customers. This can be achieved by mounting the pace and flexibility of decision making, developing business processes effectively, or gaining a clearer idea of customer activities. The data warehouse is a huge collection of the past and current business data that analyze the old business data for offering special discounts and trend assessment in the past business. These systems also facilitate decision makers to retrieve data as many times as they need without disturbing the performance of the core working systems. A data warehouse merges data that are scattered all over the different working systems and makes them readily accessible for decision support applications (Laudon & Laudon, 1999, p. 247; Inmon, 2002, p. 3; Hoffer, Prescott, & McFadden, 2007, p. 47). There are many factors that play a signific ant role in the implementation of a data warehouse. This essay presents a detailed analysis of the critical success factors in the implementation of data warehouse projects. Data Warehouse: An overview A data warehouse is a large size subject-oriented database that is designed and implemented with organization-wide access in mind. Additionally, a data warehouse collects and process a mountain of data from a number of sources and the basic purpose of this data collection and processing is to allow its users to be familiar with the data and information they want for decision making and get access to that information by making use of easy to use applications and tools. In addition, data warehouse encompasses a wide variety of tools and technologies such as multidimensional and relational databases, graphical user interfaces, client/server architecture and many more. In the context of a data warehouse system, all these components work with the purpose of combining raw data and facts fro m a variety of sources into a particular and reliable warehouse that provides an excellent support for decision making and analysis inside a particular domain of the business. In this scenario, the majority of large size business organizations develop data warehouse systems as a key element of their main information systems environment (Alshboul, 2012; Swalker, 2011). Data Warehouse Projects A few years ago, it was a serious challenge for the business organizations to actually make use of the covered data and information and facts stored in the functional systems for management and decision tasks. In this scenario, data management is seen in the sense of data as a significant asset belonging to the entire business organization for management and decision tasks, and not only as the belongings of specific tools and applications, personnel or business areas. Basically, this data collected from a variety of sources is supplied to a managerial part, which is responsible for transforming collected data into understandable and useful information for instance high-class subject orientated information will be accessible just in due course. In view of the fact that data can play a significant role in supporting functioning tasks very competently, hence it does not repeatedly make available information that can transform knowledge and improve the efficiency of business processes efficiency. In the past, these operational data were not accessible in a way that end users could straightforwardly recognize and utilize. In this scenario, in the form of a theoretical framework in the direction of contemporary information processing system a data warehouse was developed for a useful and well-organized practice of the

Russia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Russia - Essay Example The site is beloved by Russians and visitors around the world; hence, making it a valuable example of a cultural landscape (Moscow.Info). From the observations, the Cathedral Square represents a rich cultural history of the Russian Republic. It symbolizes the rule of Tsarist. It was constructed by Ivan the Great. Additionally, the area acts as a center of power, coronation, and an assembly for the nobles, as well as different ceremonial rituals. The Kremlin wall is a vast enclosure of the buildings contained within the Kremlin. The wall creates an impression of a small city. The Grand Kremlin Palace hosts cultural performances from the Kremlin Ballet. The buildings in the Moscow Kremlin link the country to its legendary past (Geographia). The towers and domes of the St. Basil Cathedral have an important cultural history. At first, eight domes were constructed, representing the eight attacks on Kazan. The different colors and shapes of the cathedral are unique and unmatched anywhere in the world; thus, making it a cultural heritage of the Russian people. The bronze statue commemorates Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, who led a volunteer army against the Polish invasion in the 16th and 17th Century. From the above accounts, it is evident the St. Basil’s Cathedral is one of the cultural landscapes of Russia (Sacred-Destinations) The apartment blocks are unique; hence, they are part of the cultural landscape of the Russian Republic. The construction of these apartment blocks epitomizes the communal living advocated by the Soviet ideology (Obrazkova) The mosque is located in downtown St. Petersburg, and has a cultural and historical meaning to the Muslim community of Russia. The construction of the structure began in 1910; hence, the mosque has been in existence for more than 100 years (Admin). Cultural landscapes are of great importance to any country. They represent the identity of a people and the manner in which humankind co-existed in a given

Quiz 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Quiz 1 - Essay Example A good example of the deaf sign language is the village sign language (MOUTON). Deaf sign languages bridge the gap between people with hearing impairments and those who can hear within the community. The third type is manually coded language, which acts as a bridge between oral and sign language. A good example is the coding popularly used by the blind. Language affects how we think but does not determine our thinking. We express our thoughts through language.  The amount of words we know in a language gives idea to our thinking. We will definitely think of those things in that are in our vocabulary. We think using language, but the language does not determine our thinking. Our lifestyle, tradition and habits shape how we think. Our thoughts are independent of the language we use, for example, similar thoughts can be explained using different languages and still mean the same thing. A speech community is a sociolinguistic expression that defines people with a common interest and speak or use the same variety of a language and have a specific set of rules for speaking and interpreting that language. People maybe living in the same community or village but belong to different speech communities (MOUTON). This lays the foundation for the difference between a speech community and a society. People who form a speech community, usually, have something in common and thus formulate ways that will make it easy for them to communicate and understand each other. Context can be explained as the situations or conditions that form the basis for a given event or undertaking. Context is vital when it comes to interpretation of sign language. For communication to be effective, many processes are involved. The only sure way to get the intended meaning of any given communication is by understanding and analyzing the context. Generally, a speaker sends out information with a certain meaning. The receiver is expected to infer

Should Animals Be Used to Test the Safety of Products Such as Research Paper

Should Animals Be Used to Test the Safety of Products Such as Cosmetics - Research Paper Example n one hundred people, this aroused the United States government to pass a law that made it mandatory to have a drug tested on animals before its introduction to humans (Ilman 16). The issue of using animal models started raising controversy early in the years after the adoption of vivisection. Standardization of animal testing was initiated by the passing of the Animal Protection Law by the British parliament that was later accompanied by another law, the Cruelty to Animals Act. Animal protection in the United States has made several steps and is said to have been initiated by among other things, a memorial held by medical students over a vivisected dog, the animal activists intensified protests that saw establishment of animal protection mechanisms. Advancements have been made in replacing the use of animal models, refining the testing mechanisms and the reduction in the use of animals (Ilman 16). Animals have the same rights as humans. The animals are subject to the same pain and s uffering that the humans go through. They suffer when they are injured, this means that the things that humans go through happen to them too, they fall sick, they die (Fox 2). When an animal develops cancer or some other condition because of being used to test products, they undergo through the same situation that every other person would be subject to. Considering this aspect demonstrates that, it is ironical for humans to think that they are humane when they are part of exploitation to other organisms. The reason why humans have adopted the use of animals is because they can control them and manipulate them the way they want. Nature creates a balance that should be altered through artificial mechanisms. The biological similarity between man and animals used in testing is an advantage to... This paper stresses that animals are not any different from humans; the only difference can be related to the level of intelligence. Humans have infringed on the rights of the animals because they lack a right to defend themselves independently. They have no platform to bring out their issues, their only voice is the human right activists who can be corrupted or induced to think otherwise, their stand can be compromised. Again, it is unnecessary to apply the treatments to animals that would benefit them. Products such as cosmetics are not really a necessity for the animals, making it illogical for them to be tested on them. It can only be right if the products meant for them are the only ones tested through them. The animal activists have a point that needs to be carefully analyzed and appropriate action taken. It is very true that the animal rights are very important to them and less important to humans. This report makes a conclusion that it is apparent that the best option for use in testing of products for consumption by humans is animals. Animals share several similarities with humans, from the organ system, to the body processes, to the genetic material, aspects that make it possible for the products to have a representative effect as in humans. The other alternatives available are deficient in many forms and do not provide concrete evidence of safety. However, the animal models should be used with care and caution. Concrete policies should be developed and implemented for inhumane treatment against animals used for testing products.

Obama and the Presidency Essay Example for Free

Obama and the Presidency Essay It has been said that every presidential election is historical, and for all intents and purposes that is correct. But that particular statement could not have been more apt than now, with the election of Barack Obama to the presidency. The past presidential election is crucial to our country, primarily because these are extraordinary times. Along with economic recession –which has seen more and more loss of homes and jobs – there are likewise problems left by the preceding government that cannot be ignored. These factors are the root of Barack Obama’s win, and have made him the best candidate for the post. Polls conducted prior to the November 4 elections have seen Americans in the working class leaning towards Obama’s camp, and for good reason. Coupled with a clear, plausible, and practical plan which addresses the recession is the fact that Obama is someone that the average American can relate to. We’ve all heard of his life story, his background; we are aware of the obstacles he has and could have faced. There is a feeling of kinship that arises when we hear him talk of his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia, of being raised single-handedly by his mother. As such, the average American will likely see him as not only a Harvard-educated politician, but someone who understands the plight of the less fortunate. He is seen as someone who can respond to the country’s problems skillfully and more importantly, aptly. Obama will be taking the helm of a problem-riddled government, and this is not just pertaining to the economy. The Bush administration will be leaving him with the huge responsibility of restoring not only the image of this country but more importantly, restoring peace and strengthening foreign relations with the war waged by Bush in the background. These are not easy tasks, surely; but the future seems bright for the newly-elected President. Already, foreign countries have expressed satisfaction over his election, with some even going as far as saying that his victory has been foreseen long before the beginning of the elections. Such a positive feedback is refreshing, and we can expect that with Obama at the forefront, our ties with other countries will be stronger and for some, renewed. With regard to the war, it is a good thing that at last, our brothers who are laying their lives on the line will be coming home. The war the previous administration has waged has yield nothing but negative results, and it is about time that the troops be pulled out before more blood is shed for a futile undertaking. Scores ago an African-American president would have been unthinkable; and until now, there are still traces of discrimination in this country that boasts of freedom as its most valued treasure. Obama’s historical ascent to the White House is a landmark of change and hope: change, in that he has broken the African-American stereotypical images that are still very much prevalent in society; hope, in that with his election, the remaining buds of racial discrimination will be nipped. On a grander scale, Obama’s presidency does not only signal the beginning of change (or â€Å"change we can believe in†) – it IS a symbol of change. This symbolism could not have come at a better time, not only for the American people but perhaps, for the world. On a smaller scale, Obama’s election is monumental for members of the minority – who came to this country with dreams of leading better lives – and for African-Americans, both of which are still fighting for equality in this country. It may be argued that the United States has come a long way from its history of slavery, and that racial discrimination is not as prevalent now as it was before. But it can likewise be argued that inequality is still there. With Obama’s election, the invisible barrier that has prevented these people from dreaming big and living their dreams has been shattered. How? With the mere act of electing him into office, the African-American stereotype was lifted: African-Americans can now dream of leading the most powerful country in the world – a vision that has remained unimaginable until now. And for other members of the minority – immigrants from Asia, and other countries – the election of Obama is more than welcome, what with his plans of rewriting immigration laws to see past race and country, and to look more into the abilities of those who seek refuge and chase dreams in the United States of America. As for the rest of the world, Obama’s presidency is also a hallmark of change. As said, his election to office has been welcomed by other countries, and has been met with celebration in all corners of the globe, not only for the American people but for countries that look to the President of the United States for leadership. There has not been much to look up to in the previous administration a fruitless war was waged, and bigger problems like the recession and climate change remained unanswered, or if answered, well, they were addressed unsatisfactorily. With Obama, it might be a different story. It has been reported that even hard-to-please academic analysts have hailed his election, and have provided positive feedbacks with regard to his ability to lead the nation and the rest of the world. He is not a superhero, of course, but if he follows through with his campaign promises, at least one or two of the bigger problems we – and the rest of the world – are experiencing can be solved. And that is good enough. In his speech in Chicago, Obama told more than 200,000 people gathered in Grant Park in celebration: If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. Indeed, with Obama’s election to the office of the president of the United States, history was made. More importantly, when he formally takes office on the 20th of January, he will make history. He has, after all, been dubbed as the â€Å"extraordinary man for extraordinary times†.

Sociological Theories And Service Users Situations Social Work Essay

Sociological Theories And Service Users Situations Social Work Essay In taking the time to observe how sociological and psychological influences may impact on a service user or client group, the social worker can remain mindful of the wider context of a situation and not just take what she sees at face value. This knowledge allows the social worker to remain objective and to make informed decisions in order to maintain professionalism in her work. By applying Sociological and Psychological theory to the Bertrams case study I aim to explore the wider social context, outside influence and psychological implications from the past and present. Through this exploration I will uncover the varying viewpoints and sometimes contradictory nature of these theories. To gain a Sociological perspective on the case study I will be applying Functionalist and Feminist theories. I will be able to scrutinise the Bertrams current situation and apply the theory in order to gain a wider understanding of the social context. In order to maintain a balanced viewpoint, Psychod ynamic theory and Maslows hierarchy will enable me to consider the psychological impact with a focus on human and emotional development. By examining a situation from a Sociological perspective we can take into account how various aspects such as class, social structure, religion, disability can impact people from a wider social context. This is essential in gaining a holistic picture the situation. Functionalism By applying a Macro theory to the case scenario it allows us to look at the large scale features of society and how individual actions affect society as a whole and vice versa. Functionalism will enable me to contemplate the structure of society and how the Bertrams fit within that structure. Functionalist theorists regard society as a system with interlocking parts. It is believed that each part needs to function effectively in order for society, as a system, to work as a whole. It is often rationalised using biological analogy. The social role of individuals is an integral part of the theory. Each person is thought to have their individual role to play within society. From a functionalist perspective it is very clear that Mrs Bertram is not fulfilling her role as a wife. Due to her alzemers she is unable to carry out the duties that would have been expected of her. Durkheim believed that everyone had their place, and a womans place was in the home. In the context of the 40s, 50s wh en Functionalism was at its peak, this viewpoint would not have been uncommon, if a little out-dated by todays standards. None the less, it is not through choice that she has become dysfunctional within society. She has legitimate claim for not being able to carry out her societal role and Functionalism would automatically see her take on the sick role. This would enable her to function again within the system under a different guise. It could also be observed that Mr Bertram is a dysfunctional member of society. With his reckless behaviour, his outrageous spending, and the lack of care for his wifes basic needs he is no longer fulfilling his role of husband. A main proponent of Functionalism was Emile Durkheim (1858-1917). He saw marital vows as obligations. When I perform my duties as a brother, a husband or a citizen and carry out the commitments I have entered into, I fulfil obligations which are defined in law and custom which are external to myself and my actions (Durkheim, 1982). He believed that if a member of society was deemed as dysfunctional, then he was considered to be a deviant member of society. Deviance occurs when people are not functioning correctly, according to the norm. This could be through crime, or anything which affects their ability to carry out their societal role. Deviance needs to be controlled or managed. If it was established that Mr Bertram was in fact deviant then he may need some persuading that by providing the care and attention that his wife needs his wife would not be removed from the situation. Through this resolution, therefore, they would both be able to function appropriately. It could be observed that Mr Bertram had an alcohol dependency. If this was established then Mr Bertram too may take on the sick role. In which case a different method for resolving the issues within the house would need to be adopted. Talcott Parsons (1902-1979) believed that sickness was a social concept rather than a biological concept. So being ill meant acting in different, deviant ways to the norm. Being sick was therefore a form of social role (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004). Parsons believed the rights of a sick person to be exemption from normal social obligations, the right to be looked after and blamed for their social deviance as long as they were genuinely sick. Obligations of a person playing the sick role would be to understand that they have to get well as soon as possible in order to continue their normal function and in order to do this they must receive professional help. Mr Bertrams condition would need to be treated or managed in order to enable him to function ag ain. In that case Mr and Mrs Bertram would be able to stay at home under treatment and the issues about care could be dealt with accordingly. He would no longer be considered deviant member of society. A criticism of the sick role would be that it is very difficult to apply to long term illness like that of Mrs Bertram. It is built on the assumption that the person gain help in order to gain function. This would not be possible for Mrs Bertram. Feminism From a Radical Feminist perspective it could be observed that Mrs Bertram has been oppressed by her husband. Through her devotion and his dominance she has succumb to subordination. Radical Feminists use the patriarchal social system as a concept to explain gender inequality. Patriarchy is the dominance of men over women in society. They view men as responsible for the exploitation of women from which they benefit greatly, through free domestic labour, sexual duties and so on. The case study describes how Mrs Bertram was swept off of her feet and totally devoted to Mr Bertram. In their current situation, Mrs Bertram is at home in squalled conditions and desperately in need of help. Mr Bertram is avoiding the situation by using diversionary tactic, selfishly seeking social activity and pleasure through drink. This further increases her oppression as she is fully dependent on her husband to provide the care and attention which she is desperately in need of. Shulamith Firestone, an early radical feminist writer argues that men control womens roles in re-production and child bearing. Because women are biologically able to give birth to children, they become more dependent materially on men for protection and livelihood (Giddens, 2006). Feminists could argue that for this reason Mrs Bertram has become vulnerable within her setting and just accepts this way of life. Jessie Bernard argued that Men need marriage more than women (pg 208 Gender). Perhaps this reliance on the domestic labour, comfort and sexual duties of a wife, which has been lost my Mr Bertram through his wifes condition is attributing to his behaviour. Mrs Bertram is no longer fulfilling her duties as a wife and this could be disrupting his routine. It would appear that Mr Bertram has never had to control the household, take care of his wife or finances, and may lack the ability or may simply consider it beneath him. It could affect his masculinity to have to carry out such c hores and duties believed to be part of a womans role. This may also be the reason why he is reluctant to accept help with the situation. He may feel he is being barraged and dictated to by his step daughters which may be resulting in a greater defiance. It is not clear from the case study, the nature of their relationship either. He may feel that family and professionals are undermining his authority as head of the household. Mr Bertram may be compensating for his lack of masculinity at home, by using his social appearance, bravado, drinking and defiance. This time away from the house for him may reaffirm his role as a dominant male within society whilst his dominant role as a man disappears at home. He no longer has command over his wife, no longer gets respect, adoration that he was once used to. Men are considered to have more influence within society; Mr Bertram has no influence over this situation or over his wife. Part 2: Using the scenario describe two psychological theories that can be used to help your understanding of the service users situation Humanistic theory Maslows hierarchy of needs Humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908 1970) argued that humans throughout life not only want to have their basic survival needs met they strive for more in terms of personal growth. He believed that once basic needs for survival had been met that human development progressed toward higher psychological needs. He argued that people are motivated by the conscious desire for personal growth (Rathus, 2004). Maslow believed what separated us from our so-called lower animals was our capacity for self-actualisation (Rathus,2004). He believed that this self- actualisation was as important as basic needs but could not be met unless other stages of human needs were completed. He organised these stages into the hierarchy of needs, often presented in pyramid format. Each stage must be satisfied in order to progress to the next. At the bottom of the hierarchy are physiological needs. These are the basic human needs we all have in order to survive, like food, water, shelter, oxygen. Once t he first basic need has been satisfied, the following stage is safety needs, the need for security. The following stage in the hierarchy is love and belonging; the need to give and receive love, to overcome loneliness and achieve a sense of belonging in life. The fourth stage is Esteem needs; to feel self-confident, respected and not to feel inferior. Self-actualisation is the final stage in the hierarchy and can only be reached when all foregoing needs are satisfied and the person feels he has achieved everything he wants to in life and is the best that he can be. In the case of the Bertrams it is clear that Mrs Bertram is currently not even meeting the bottom of Maslows hierarchy of needs. It is noted that their flat is in an appalling state, she is unable to feed herself and left on her own for most of the day. You would expect most of her needs to be met within the context of her marriage to Mr Bertram; however, since he has neglected his role as a husband, he has placed her in a position of significant danger. Since not even her basic physiological needs are being met in the current situation then at present there would not be an opportunity to progress through the hierarchy of needs. If Mrs Bertram was placed in residential care then her physiological needs would be met. She would have food, water and care of her basic needs. She could then perhaps progress to the following stage of safety. She would no longer be at risk of hurting herself and she would be in a more secure environment. Although it could be argued that for an advance Alzheimers sufferer, the unfamiliar setting would disorientate her and she might not actually feel secure there. Because of her diagnosis, Mrs Bertram is unlikely to meet the third stage of love and belongingness. Her advanced Alzheimers may mean that she fails to recognise her husband, family members and have a declining ability to communicate. Mrs Bertram would never reach self-actualisation. The best that could be achieved would be basic survival and safety needs, whether this was achieved at home with the compliance of her husband, or in residential care. Although it could be debated that residential care would not be the best opt ion. As the GP states in the case scenario, a move to residential care might well kill Mrs Bertram. It would appear from the case scenario that Mr Bertrams basic needs are being fulfilled. However it is uncertain as to whether his s safety and security needs are being met. He certainly would not get a sense of love and belonging from his wife, in the latter stages of sever dementia. I would observe, however, there is some attempt from Mr Bertram to achieve a sense of self-esteem, since he spends the majority of his time with his compatriots at the golf club. It is clear that in this relationship and the current situation faced by the Bertrams that he too has no way of reaching self-actualisation. Maslow observes that it is mainly social factors that hinder the personal growth of humans. Potentially at least the first two stages of Maslows hierarchy could be reached within the context of their marriage, with the right services in place. Psychodynamic theory Through the Psychodynamic theory of personality we could speculate about Mr Bertrams past and how that has influence on his behaviour in the present. It would be difficult to achieve a comprehensive result in regards to Mrs Bertram because of her Alzheimers. Since her behaviour is wholly attributed to her condition. Studying Sigmund Freuds (1856 1939) theories, with a focus on psychosexual development, would be the most relevant to apply to the case scenario. Psychodynamic theory had been developed and evolved over the years. Freuds idea of Psychodynamic theory depicted humans as largely driven by unconscious motives and desires. He proclaimed that humans come into conflict when their basic instincts come up against social pressure to follow, laws or moral codes. At first this conflict is external, but as we develop it becomes internalised (Rathus, 2004). Freud explains the conflict of personality using psychic structures. The id, which Freud believed is present at birth and located in the unconscious mind, and revolves around our basic biological drives and instincts. It operates on what Freud called the pleasure principle. It demands instant gratification regardless of laws or moral rules. Another feature in the structure of personality is the ego. Formed from the id, developed through learni ng and experience. This is the part where conscious thought takes place (Beckett and Taylor, 2010). The ego operates on the reality principle. This takes into consideration what is practical and possible in gratifying needs (Rathus, 2004). When the ego senses improper impulses arsing it can sometimes deploy a number of defence mechanisms. The third psychic structure is the superego. This is formed throughout early childhood and is developed through standards, values, parenting and moral standards. Psychodynamic theory emphasises the way in which the mind stimulates behavior, and both mind and behavior influence and are influenced by the persons social environment (Payne, 2005) Freud believed there were four stages in psychosexual development. The first stage took place during the first year of a childs life. This is known as the oral stage. Much of the childs development is explored by putting things into the mouth and sucking, biting chewing. Freud believed it was possible to have arrested development through trauma. And be fixated on one of the stages. From the case study we could surmise that Mr Bertram is fixated on the oral stage of psychosexual development through his drinking. We could speculate that he may have had a significant trauma at that stage which has left him with a possible alcohol dependency, thus fixated on the oral stage. It could perhaps be identified that Mr Bertram is using psychological defence mechanisms in order to avoid the situation that he is currently facing. Part 3: Reflect on your own background describe it and indicate 1 sociological and 1 psychological theory that can be applied to you, giving examples The relationship I have with my father has often been fraught, difficult and tense. As a sufferer of a severe mental disorder, my father has often displayed irrational, delusional, paranoid and sometimes violent behaviour. Throughout his life he has had frequent hospitalisation. For me this is something I have grown up with and am used to dealing with on a day to day basis. I am acutely aware of how our relationship differs to that of my friends for example. I have as close a relationship as possible with him, and to that end I usually bear the brunt of his paranoia and aggression when he is unwell. I have witnessed first-hand the stigma attached to mental illness. I find it extremely difficult to trust anyone enough to tell them about the situation, and I strongly feel I shouldnt have to tell everyone that meets him, this only leads to labelling him as mentally ill, thus changing the way in which they treat him; which only compounds his paranoia. Some Sociological theorists believe that mental illness is a social construction in order to rationalise bizarre or irrational behaviour that cannot be in any other way explained. This is known as labelling theory. Scheff (1966) argued that people are labelled as mentally ill because their behaviour does not make sense to others. Scheff points out that labelling of a person as mentally ill is facilitated by stereotyped imagery learned in early childhood and continually reaffirmed, inadvertently, in ordinary social interaction and through the mass media. Thus, when a persons violation of social norms or deviance becomes a public issue, the traditional stereotype of crazy person is readily adopted both by those reacting to the deviant person and, often, by the deviant person as well (Lamb. 2002). Erving Goffman suggests that when someone is labelled as mentally ill then they are treated differently. When an interaction takes place with that person it is with this knowledge of the menta l illness, therefore creating what Goffman called a spurious interaction (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004). From a behaviourist view, Schizophrenia could be viewed as a kind of learned behaviour. From this perspective, people engage in schizophrenic behaviour when it is more likely to be reinforced than normal behaviour (Rathus, 2004). This could be the result of being raised in an unrewarding or punitive situation. It could also be observed that this kind of behaviour is reinforced within the hospital setting, where the schizophrenic behaviour is reinforced through attention from professionals within that setting. Cognitive theory argues that behavior is affected by perception or interpretation of the environment during the process of learning. Apparently inappropriate behavior must therefore arise from misinterpretation. Therapy tries to correct the misunderstanding, so that our behavior reacts appropriately to the environment (Payne, 2006) I believe the experiences I have had with my father give me the ability to understand mental illness without stigmatising. It also helps me empathise with the sufferer and the family. An empathetic approach to someone who was hearing voices for example, would be to understand that to the person affect, they are very real. I fully understand the importance of having the right services in place in order for that person to thrive. My experience allows me to observe the wider context of a situation and realise that it is not only the primary sufferer of the condition that is affected. The wider family needs to be considered as they have a huge role to play in the well-being of the person concerned.

A Self Assessment Paper Philosophy Essay

A Self Assessment Paper Philosophy Essay Most of the classes that I have taken in my entire college life have tried to teach me something related with my career. Most of these classes were math, science or business oriented. Never before I took a class that teach me to learn how I think, what I think, and why I think in a particularly way. In this class a learned one lesson that will last for the rest of my life: learn to be conscious of the action that I take. At the beginning of the semester, I felt a little bit frustrated because I spent a big part of my day thinking about the things that I learned in class, how I can apply those thing in my life and that if I would learned those lesson before my life would be completely different. Throughout this self assessment paper I would try to address how the different topics that I learned in class impact my life using current and past experiences. The fist topic that we talked in class was the personal transformation article and the three dysfunctions of our culture: Fragmentation, Competition and reactiveness. Concerning to fragmentation I am the type of person that tend to break everything into small pieces because I think it is easier to understand them in that way. However, sometime I feel empty because I cannot put all the parts together and understand the whole system. I think this is a problem because in schools a leaned a lot of individual concepts but I never learn how to put them together. I plan to build strengths to use this tool by every time that I learn something I will try to connected with something that I learned in the past. Ask to myself how I can use these new concepts and how to apply to my life. I think that if I do the connection immediately in my head I will be able to star creating mental maps with all the concepts connected together. For me competition is like a game: sometime when we do not compete we get better result than when we do, sometimes when we compete we do not the results that we want, or sometime competing or not we get the same results. It is like an eternal battle in which the luckiest survive. Notice that I said that the luckiest survive and not the strongest and this is because sometimes being the strongest does not guarantee that you will be ahead the others. Concerning to reactiveness I think that I am a person very sentimental when I react to some situations, I am the type of person that does not like bad news. So, I try to react like that never happened. But in the end the reality is that I have to react like a grown man and confront the reality. I got that my personality type was Introvert, Sensing, Thinking, and Judging (ISTJ). I really think that these results really describe my personality because I consider myself as a responsible, loyal, contemplative and independent individual. However, I have learned that I need some of the characteristics of the other personality types. I recognize that I need more people skills if I want to be successful in my MBA career. I think it wont hurt me if I try to be more sociable with the people around me. For example, I need to be a little bit more extroverts, more sociable, more perceptive, be open to new things, being more flexible. One thing that I can do to archive this is to learn to listen to the other, to learn that everybody is different and has different opinions and that I cannot win every argument. I apply this at the beginning of the semester and the final results are awesome: I talk to more people in the classroom, on the bus, at the library, practically everywhere. I recogn ized that I need to be a more flexible with the things that I do. I recognized that nobody thinks exactly like me, so we can have differences and still work together. Also, I learned how to adapt to changing situations; to recognize that the world is dynamic, not static and that people will never act like me. I think one of the most important lessons that I learned in this class was to identify my mental models and to be aware that I have them. I start the class being a unconscious incompetence and I think I end up being almost a conscious competence    For me it was extremely important to be right. It was like an interior force that gives a shot of adrenaline when I can prove to others that I am right and they are wrong. I was a perfectly example of my mental model. However, after reflecting about this matter I reached to the conclusion that sometimes it is better to be wrong and dont have the experience that some people reject to talk to me because they portray me as an arrogant, bigheaded and selfish person. Now I realize that it is good the fact that my friends had different points of view, that it is right that we dont think in the same ways, that I have to love them in the way that they are. Now I understand the phrase that says a real friend is not the one that makes you laugh wi th lies, it is the one that makes you cry with the truth. Another important tool that I learned in this class was to identify when people use defensive routine to protect themselves. I learned that I also used defensive routines when I behaved inappropriate or when I did not complete an assignment on time. I usually, well almost all the time, went to the offensive, labeling people with stereotypes. I constantly used advocacy to defend and justify my actions. However, once I learned that these defensive routines were part of my mental model, I started to listen more to what the other person have to say. I discovered that if I put myself in their position I can understand they point of view better. Also, I learned to pay real attention to my interlocutors, to listen with my brain, not only with my ears. The results were amazing, once I start to be an active listener the conversation became more professional, more productive and barriers to reach for an agreement start to plunge. Also, becoming an active listener helps me to manage difficult c onversations. I remember that I was the type of person that starts arguing with somebody very easily. Three out four conversations ended up in a discussion and usually a bad one. However, because I learned to listen and think before emitting my opinion help to manage difficult conversation at such level that I dont remember the last conversation that ended up with a discussion. It is wonderful being able to communicate with other in a respectful way. We have to be willing to give, share and receive. The trick is in considering that the other person is at the same level than I. I developed my inquiry skills asking as many questions as I needed until I was completely sure that I understood what others were asking for. I have notice that when I used these techniques I can understand their position clearly because I can get a clear idea of their thinking. However, I think I have very poor advocacy skills. Sometimes it is very difficult for me to explain to others what I am thinking, what are my points of views, what is my reasoning. In my opinion the problem is that I cannot decide which information I should give them in order to understand my way of thinking. Sometimes I give them too much information; sometimes too little. Then I spent most of the time trying to explain to them what is in my mind. I get frustrated because things that see like obvious then cannot recognize them, I wish they can go inside my brain, read my mind, and see how obvious everything is. Honestly, I think I have poor advocacy skills because English is not my first language. When I tal k to somebody in English I tend to ask extra question to make sure that I understand one hundred percent what they are trying to say. Also, because my English vocabulary is very limited I tend to explain things in the simplest way, leaving out important information, or adding irrelevant information just because I do not have the right word to use. When this happen I get frustrate and everything in my head get mess up and I start to talk in Spanish without noticing it and confusing even more my interlocutor. I think that if a become a little more extrovert I can socialize with more people and my vocabulary can be expanded with new English words and slangs that I can use to communicate more effective when I advocate my points of view. Another tool that has helped me to be a better advocate is the latter of inference. Using this tool I became more aware of the conclusions that I made and the basis of those conclusions. I had learned that if I put too much emotional attachments to my ideas I usually exclude important data or information that even though do not support my believes can help me to make better decisions. Therefore, know before making any conclusions I try identify any emotional feelings that can be attached to those decisions and leave them out. Also, I have find out that it is impossible to overcome an emotional position with a logical argument (Shingo). The ladder of inference has been of great help when making decision because it forces me to think through my own arguments allowing me to determine errors in my own thinking. Now I am aware that I may be ignoring important data or making wrong assumptions or inferences. Thanks to the ladder of inference, now before making any important decision the fir st two questions that I ask to myself are: does the fact that I have represents the truth and what role does my emotions and feelings play in my decisions. Casual Loop Diagrams are a great to help us to clarify our own thinking and help others to understand us better. I wish I could do a CLD for every part of life but I feel I am not good doing one by myself. I have difficulty identifying what things I should put on the CLD and how those things interact with each other. When doing a CLD I often tend to do inferential leaps, miss previous steps or use ambiguous link or blocks. I remember that in class we discussed that the whole idea of a CLD is to figure out how the actions work their way through the loop, back to the initial link (beginning). However, I think that the whole idea is to see how everything is connected and how one action affects the whole situation. I would love to learn to master CLD and be able to use to diagram my mental models, clarify my own thinking and understand other people thinking. I should try to get more practice doing more CLD for simple life problems in order to be able to master this technique. For example , with a CLD I can show how spending three hours talking to my girlfriend complicate my whole day; it can explain why I am always tired and sleepy. Something that can really help me to master CLDs will be to develop a structured decision making process in order to organize my ideas better and identify the pieces needed to join the empty spaces. Most of the time, I feel I need to make the decision fast and I dont have enough time for a formal structure and process. Sometimes I feel the contrary, I have spent too much time thinking over the same problem that I fell I need to make a decision and take a break. The problem is that at the end my decisions are based on gut feeling instinct rather than a structured process. Something that I should take as a habit is to gather enough data so I can support the decision that I make. In other words I should climb down the ladder of inference and gather the proper data to make an informed decision. The first and probably the most important thing that I should do before making any decision should be establish a context for success. This is the part where I identify the problem and define the objective that I want to accomplish. I think that this step it is also the most difficult because most of the time I dont know what is the real problem. I just know that I have a problem and I need a solution for that problem. Also, I should gather enough data and resources before making any important decision; generate as many alternatives as I can, evaluate those alternatives, and finally choose the one that fits my requirements better. I want to learn to use this tool because I am pretty sure that I will be using this method very often in my future career life. Having a structure decision making process can give me a competitive edge among my coworkers because my decision will be more logic and back it up with data that support my actions. Frame the issue properly is another tool that I could used to develop a structured decision making process. However, I dont feel I know how to master this tool. For me it is a little difficult to express my point of view to others. I am good identifying when other use framing over me but I cannot used very effectively over them or in the way that I wanted. Framing is about making other people to see what you want them to see, but sometimes I get the opposite reaction: people see what I dont want them to see. I get frustrate and mess up when this happen. I say that framing is a key step for success because people who understand framing and its power can manipulate others to do their will. The best examples of this are the people who make commercials and advertisements. They can convince us to buy products that we dont need or want. They create a false sense of need inside our subconscious that induces us to buy the last laptop model even though our actual model is working fine. They a re like brain doctors that with words can modify our thoughts and make us buy anything that they want. One thing I can do to get better framing my thoughts would be to use my emotions. I should show to other how passionate I am for the think that I want to convince them. Also I could use visual help (graphs, equations, charts) to better communicating my points of view. First of all I want to argue that the world is full of uncertainties, our life is full of uncertainty, our future is uncertain, and our present is kind of uncertain. Only the past is certain and that is because we already know the answer of what already happened. I said that the world is full of uncertainty because you cannot determine what will happen next, where the next earthquake will be, or the next tornado, or the next flood. We just know that these natural phenomenon will, possibly, happen someday in someplace around the world. Our life is uncertain because you dont know what will happen with your life in your future: are you going to be hit by a car, are you going to win the lottery, are you going to have died before your fifty birthday, or are you going to be rich and successful. I think that I cannot escape from the uncertainties of my life or the uncertainties of the world. However, I can get prepared so when they arrive I can fight them with the right tools. For example, I dont know where the next tornado will be, but I can buy a house with a basement that can protect my family from a level 5 tornado. I dont know which part of the world will be shaken by an earthquake but I can get educated about what to do when an earthquake happens. Also, I dont know if I will win the lottery but I can get the best possible education so I wont need to win the lottery to be rich. I dont know if I will have died before my fifty birthday but I can make sure that I enjoy every day of my life, doing the right things, serving others in such a way that if I died tomorrow I will die happy with a smile on my face. In every moment of my life I make decisions; I decide if I go to college, if I buy a new pair of jeans, at what time I eat, or at what time I go to bed. The problem is not to decide what or when to do or not something, the real issues is what will be the results of those decisions. And this gets more complicated when there are uncertainties behind those decisions that sometimes we cannot even identify. The final result of this type of situations is that we end up making bad decisions that could be avoided. I think it is not difficult to learn how to identify the uncertainties of our decisions. I think we can learn what things we did wrong and the next time that we have a similar situation we can do the right thing. Also we can learn to identify and prioritize the areas of uncertainties in our decisions and reduce the one that can be reduced. Creative thinking has been a topic that has caught my attention since I was in high school. I always had wanted to be creative but most of the time I feel I dont have the right material. Most of the times when I have to come out with a creative solution I always choose the one that the majority chose. I try to think out the box but I ended up thinking and doing the same thing than the others. When this happen, I get frustrate because I want to be an innovator creating new and amazing things. I think the problem is that I love to do new things if there are clear and specific rules. I like to follow the rules and I want that the other follow the same rules to. However, I have learned that sometime you have to ignore the rules in order to be creative, try to do things different than the way that I usually do them. I think I have to stop trying to figure out what other people will do and try to be original, unique, and different. Last week I tried to apply the step that the professor mentioned in class about how to be more creative. The results were amazing because I actually came out with solutions that nobody in the room did. I think the trick is to pay attention to details, especially to minor details (like the background). The provocation part also helped a lot to identify atypical response. I thought in characters like Homer Simpson or Sheldon Cooper (the big band theory) to come out with alternative that were creative. From now on, I will start to apply the creativity three steps process (observe, provocation, and movement) more often to incentive my creativity. I think they really work.

Jean-Baptiste Lully :: essays research papers fc

Jean Baptiste Lully was a prolific composer who is best known for establishing French Opera. (Boynick) Born in Florence on the 28th of November 1632, (Boynick) Giovanni Battista Lulli was a miller’s son. (Sadie 2000 pg 166) Lully first arrived in France in March of 1646 (Jean Baptiste Lully) to work as an attendant for a female courtier. (Sadie 2000 pg. 166) â€Å"During his six years in her household, Lully, already an expert at the guitar and violin, polished his skills as a performer and composer.† (Straughan (a)) He made a name for himself as a dancer in the court ballets. (Straughan (a)) He caught the attention of King Louis XIV and initially served him as "composer of instrumental music† (Straughan (a)) He soon took over compositions of entire ballets. (Straughan (a)) â€Å"Some time before 1656, he also took over responsibility for the string ensemble called the Petits violons, which he transformed into a group widely renowned for their discipline and artistic excellence.† (Straughan (a)) A clever diplomatist and thorough courtier, he completely won the royal favour, and in March, 1672, he succeeded in ousting Abbe Perrin from the directorship of the Academy of Music, also known as â€Å"the Academie Royale†. (Knight) â€Å"Ten years later he had consolidated his position by obtaining sole rights over all dramatic performances with singing.†(Sadie 2000 pg. 166) â€Å"Any production not affiliated with The Academie Royale was limited to two singers and six players.† (Jean Baptiste Lully) From that point on, he successfully founded modern French opera. â€Å"His involvement was not limited to musical composition. He collaborated with his poets in the production of libretti, and even took an interest in the acting and declamation of the performers. His insistence on discipline and high artistic standards in the opera orchestra was legendary† (Straughan (a)) â€Å"Louis XIV became ill in late 1686.† (Jean Baptiste Lully) While conducting a Te Deum on January 8, 1687, (Straughan (a)) to celebrate the king's recovery Lully accidentally hit his foot with the point of the cane he used to keep time. (Sadie 2000 pg. 166) This wound caused an abscess which proved fatal as Lully died on March 22, 1687. (Straughan (a)) Jean Baptiste Lully made significant contributions to French music. His initial compositions â€Å"ballets de cour† didn’t deviate from the Italian forms. (Straughan (a)) They were merely collections of dances and burlesque scenes. (Gregory) â€Å"A step in Lully’s progression from ballet to opera was the increased role of music in his ballets.

Alzheimers Disease Essay -- Alzheimers Disease Essays

â€Å"Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia that gets worse over time. It leads to nerve cell death, and tissue loss throughout the brain. Over time, the brain shrinks dramatically, affecting nearly all its functions. It gradually destroys a person's memory and ability to learn and carry out daily activities such as talking, eating, and going to the bathroom† (What Is Alzheimer’s). Early symptoms include personality changes, memory impairment, problems with language, decision-making ability, judgment, and personality. Alzheimer’s was named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer noticed changes in the brain tissue of a woman who died of an unusual mental illness. After she died, he examined her and found plaques and tangles in her brain which are the two main features of Alzheimer’s. â€Å"Patients with Alzheimer’s often die earlier than normal, although a patient may live anywhere from 3-20 years after diagnosis.† Death often occurs from an infection or a failure of other body systems. â€Å"Early diagnosis relies largely on documenting mental decline. Biomarkers are reliable predictors and indicators of a disease process.† Alzheimer’s begins as early as 10 to 20 years before any problems are evident. It develops in your 30s, 40s, 50s, but usually after age 60. As many as 5.1 million Americans may have this disease. â€Å"There is no specific test today that confirms you have Alzheimer’s disease. Your doctor will make a judgment about whether Alzheimer's is the most likely cause of your symptoms based on the information you provide and results of various tests that can help clarify the diagnosis.† Doctors typically rely on physical and neurological exams to check your reflexes and sense of touch and sight, lab t... ... Researchers are looking for new treatments to alter the course of the disease and improve the quality of life for people with dementia. Works Cited 1. "Alzheimer's Disease." www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 2014. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. . 2. "Alzheimer's Disease." helpguide.org. 2014. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. . 3. "Alzheimer's Disease." www.alz.org. 2014. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. .. 4. "Alzheimer's Disease." www.nia.nih.gov. 19 Feb. 2013. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. . 5. Powell, Lenore S. Alzheimer's Disease. New York City, USA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1983. Print.

Thesis Statement Renting vs Buying

Renting now can make things become a bit easier later. Saving money is what every American wants to do. Buying a home can not only hurt someone financially but it can put them in a bind that can have them paying a bill for the rest of their life. The economy is on a rollercoaster right now so making the decision to buy a home can be a tad bit tricky. Buying a home is not a one time transaction because once you have the home you continue to pay bills such as mortgage fees and cosmetics. Thinking about the money that you may have to come out of is a good enough reason on why you would want to save up money to take care of some of the fees that will occur when making the decision to buy a home. If you own your home, you can claim your property taxes on your tax return. You can also get a tax credit if you make certain renovations to your home to make it more energy efficient – like energy efficient appliances and windows. This one is pretty minor, but assuming you have a fixed rate mortgage, your payment should stay the same. This provides a nice protection against inflation. Renters on the other hand, will watch their monthly payments rise as inflation rises. One of the things my boyfriend and I are most excited about is the ability to customize our house. Apartment living is full of rules and restrictions of what you can and can’t do. I am excited to have the freedom to paint the walls, landscape, and install a new faucet – if I would like. Renting can put some of these things in someone else’s hands to where you can save the money that is extra from your monthly payment. Renters don't have to pay for anything that breaks down in their apt. Homeowners have to pay for repairs themselves. When renting an apartment you will never have to worry about fixing the toilet, sink, or plumbing because all of those things are paid by the landlord. Skipping these fees leaves more money in your piggy bank expanding your options for your home when you come to that decision. Making the decision to rent now and buy later can also give you enough time to wait on the economy to get stronger which can make buying a home a much smoother process. Rent now and buy later is the best technique right now. If you are still on the fence about whether to buy or rent, use the rent ratio. The rent ratio is when you take the purchase price of a house and divide it by the yearly cost of renting a home. According to the New York Times article, â€Å"the number 20 provides a useful rule of thumb. When you do the math, you discover that a ratio above 20 means you should at least consider renting, especially if you may move again in the next five years or so. When the ratio is well below 20, the case for buying becomes a lot stronger. Also, make sure to factor in other costs associated with owning a home such as homeowner association fees, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and maintenance costs. Also, know your personal situation. If you’ve got debt up to your eyeballs or you’ve just gone through a big life change such as marriage, a newborn, divorce, or a death in the family, taking on the responsibility of owning a home might not be in your best interest. Which one do you think is the better financial decision? Do you think that there are cases when renting is a better decision than home ownership?

Chik-Fil-a

Chick-fil-A is one of the most successful fast food restaurant establishments in the country. With over 1,300 locations in 37 states in the Southern U. S. , they continue to grow the brand by expanding to new territories (Chick-fil-A Company, 2009, para 1). In 2008 Chick-fil-A has seen a 12. 17 percent sales increase over the chain’s 2007 performance and a same store sale increase of 4. 59 percent (Chick-fil-A Company, 2009, para1). Throughout the years Chick-fil-A has come up with many innovative ideas to continue expanding business and satisfying their loyal customers. One of the ideas was to offer different types of restaurant set-ups to cater to customer’s needs. The different restaurant set-ups include mall/in line, stand-alone, drive-thru only outlets, dwarf houses, Truett’s grills, licensed non-traditional outlets (franchises) and satellite/lunch-counter. After proper research of different geographical locations the writer has decided to buy into a chic-fil-A franchise zoned in the Columbia County, Grovetown area. Executive Summary Chick-fil-A’s mission is â€Å"to be America's best quick-service restaurant at winning and keeping customers† (ChristiaNet, 2009, para 2). We will strive to be the premier fast food franchise of its kind in the North East market with future goals of expanding into our European territories. Our goal is to keep one step ahead of the competition by offering a clean environment, dynamic customer service, and overall quality products and services. Chick -fil-A's purpose statement reveals the heart of the company: â€Å"That we might glorify God by being a faithful steward in all that is entrusted to our care, and that we might have a positive influence on all the people that we might come in contact with† (ChristiaNet, 2009, para 2). We want our customers to experience the highest level of satisfaction there is to offer during their visit at our franchise. We will deliver a quality controlled atmosphere with efficient state-of-the art appliances, and provide extraordinary customer service so that every customer will benefit from our success. Identify the marketing segment for the product and explain why this segment was selected; The location selected to launch the Chik-fil-a franchise will be in Columbia county centrally located in Grovetown. This area was selected because of its potential profitability. Potential profitability is a function of the current market size, its anticipated growth, current and anticipated levels of competition, and customer behavior and expectations (lacobucci, 2010 ). Columbia County’s rapid growth has transformed this county from a rural neighbor of Augusta to the major suburban county in the second largest metropolitan area in Georgia (Columbia County, 2009, para 1). There a re many reasons for their rapid growth – a growing and diversified job market, a premier school system, affordable land, open spaces lending an air of the countryside, and a stable, conservative county government. Columbia County is predominantly residential and includes a highly-skilled workforce. According to Federal census figures released over the past decade, Columbia is the region's fastest growing county. However, there are still some improvements needed for the revolving community. As stated above Grovetown is a city on the move, constantly reinventing itself to appeal to a variety of residents. However, there are improvements needed that would make the Grovetown area more marketable. Currently there aren’t enough eating places in close proximity to residents living west of the county which is considered Grovetown. There is only one Mexican and Chinese restaurant, a McDonald’s, Subway, and KFC in the community. Surrounding areas offer a larger variety of fast food and dining restaurants but the closest Chic-fil-A is about 10 miles away from the Grovetown area. There are currently only six chik-fil-A locations throughout the city of Augusta which is not considered many at all. That is going to give the entrepreneur a huge advantage at start-up that there is not many other chik-fil-A’s close by and throughout the city. Being that Chick-fil-A is America’s number one choice of fast food, the others don’t stand a chance. Discuss the target market and why these customers will be targeted; The target market will include residents living in the Grovetown/Harlem area and also the army base, Ft. Gordon located approximately 2 miles from the Gate 2 Grovetown entrance. Military personnel make up the vast majority of residents living in the Grovetown area. Ft. Gordon also serves as a training base for new soldiers coming into service so there is a large market segment being targeted. Ft. Gordon only has a Blimpe’s, Popeye’s, Burger King, Godfather’s pizza, Chinese, and Huddle House. Based on the current market, Chik-fil-a will have a huge competitive advantage. With sickness rapidly attacking the bodies of young and older adults healthier alternatives are taken into consideration. Exercise with a combination of healthier diets is now a priority of much of America. Chik-fil-a will be one of the healthier alternatives that Grovetown will welcome hole-heartedly. What’s better than to start your morning with a custom cup of coffee and a low calorie breakfast sandwich? Adding the franchise here will attract morning employees heading to work, 3rd shift workers heading home from work, and many customers in between are most likely to choose Chick-fil-A over McDonald’s and Subway on any given day. Conduct a SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and treats) analysis for the company; SWOT Analysis Chick-fil-A is a unique position of competition. We compete against neighborhood fast food chains such as McDonald’s, KFC, and Subway. However, there is really no threat against America’s preferred fast food restaurants, Chik-fil-a. Offering numerous low calories, fat free items, Chick-fil-A has the best competitive advantage. The benefits and drawbacks of each of our competitors as compared with the services we offer are hardly a match in quality and price. When it comes to nutrition, McDonald’s falls short of the victory over Chick-fil-A. However, McDonalds wills serve as our most stiff competition. In addition to hamburgers, fries, and soft drinks, McDonalds offer grilled chicken sandwiches, an array of salads, Fruit ‘n Yogurt Parfaits, Apple Dippers with Low Fat Caramel Dip, juice, 1% low fat milk, and, at many restaurants, soups (McDonalds Nutrition, 2009, para 5). It has helped McDonalds tremendously; however, Chik-fil-A’s healthier choices are a bit more pleasing to the taste buds. On the other hand, Subway has proven to have a nutritional advantage over Chick-fil-A but the quality of service or product does not add up to exceed it’s customer base. KFC has surely stepped up their competitive edge by comparing their items to its competitor analyzed by its calorie value. If you go to the KFC website it displays the meal choices and calorie values of McDonalds, Subway and Dunkin Donuts against its new grilled chicken meal. Chick-fil-A was not one of the selected fast food components that KFC could compare itself to. Chick-fil-A’s main strategy is to focus on providing a quality controlled tmosphere for the customer with extraordinary customer service while gaining loyal customers. McDonald’s is focusing on growing market share with a disciplined pricing strategy to provide great tasting food at an affordable price (McDonalds Media Center, 2009, para 3). Chick-fil-A understands that the customer drives the business and that most important is to satisfy the customer through superb customer service by offering extensive training to their employees. The writer can attest that competitor’s such as McDonalds, KFC, and Subway can all use improvement in this area. Another competitive edge is our involvement within the community. We will always oblige to be a sponsor for any charitable activities going on in our community. Chick-fil-A and McDonalds are heard more in the media providing programs and sponsorships for their employees and charity events. The residential outlets are continuing to grow tremendously in Columbia County offering Chik-fil-a great opportunities and sponsorship possibilities. Describe the market position for your product and service. A quality that distinguishes chik-fil-A from there fast food competitor’s is it’s commitment to the customer and as a result they have been honored with three Customer service based awards. Product quality is another area that has an effect on the volume of business. If customers are accustomed to receiving quality produced products they are motivated to buy from the supplier because they know what they can expect each time. That is important element in fast food chains. Who wants to drive away from the restaurant with cold food? Complete turn off for the customer and it is sure to leave a bad taste in their mouth for this particular restaurant. In surveys conducted by Marketing and Research Counselors, Inc. Chick-fil-A’s core menu products, including the Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich, Chick-fil-A Chicken Nuggets and Chik-fil-A Chick-n-Strips, have consistently ranked number one in their respective categories (Chick-fil-A: Food, 2007). So chik-fil-a will provide the market with products that are favorable by much of America. The â€Å"Eat Mor Chikin† campaign has increased the chain’s sales five-fold. The chain has turned the theme into a fully integ rated marketing program, which includes store point-of-purchase materials, promotions, radio and TV advertising, and clothing and merchandise sales (Chick-fil-A: The Cows, 2007, para 1 ). Chick-fil-A’s marketing presence is here to stay. The company currently has more than 1,380 restaurants in 37 states and Washington, D. C. and enjoyed an aggressive expansion year, opening 80 new restaurants in 2007 (Chick-fil-A Company, 2007, para ). It’s just a matter of time before this company takes its business global and leaves its competitor’s in the wind. Product/Services America loves Chick-fil-A because it can fit into almost any healthy diet through moderation and balanced menu choices. The Chick-fil-A menu offers 10 menu items with 10 or fewer grams of fat. Foods are also cooked in 100 percent refined peanut oil which is naturally trans-fat and cholesterol free (Chick-fil-A: Food, 2007). So not only are the â€Å"eat mor chikin† products delicious, but nutritious as well. Chick-fil-A’s current marketing plan is a huge success. Chock-full a sponsors many events including the Chick-fil-A Bowl, the Atlantic Coast, Southeastern and Big 12 Conferences and Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America sponsorships have introduced new audiences to the brand (Chick-fil-A, 2009, para 6). The company participates in many charities around town and always seen in the community volunteering time and making a difference. For the most part prices do not change within a 12 month period. Products offered coincide with all Chick-fil-A locations, however, services vary. We take pride in offering our customers the best service so we will honor product prices that are currently held at the corporate offices.ReferencesChristiaNet. (2009) Chick-fil-A CEO, S. Truett Cathy. Retrieved December 7, 2009, from http://christiannews.christianet.com/1097585115.htm Columbia County. (2009) Columbia County Georgia General Information . Retrieved December 5, 2009, from http://www.columbiacountyga.gov/ Hoovers Inc. (2009) Chick-fil-A, Inc.- Overveiw. Retrieved December 7, 2009, from http://www.hoovers.com/company/Chick-fil-A_Inc/hrfkki-1.html Iacobucci, D. (2011). Marketing management: 2010 custom edition. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. McDonalds. (2009) McDonalds Media Center . Ret rieved December 9. 2009, from http://www.mcdonalds.com/usa/eat.html McDonalds. (2009) McDonalds Health, Fitness, and Nutrition . Retrieved December 9. 2009, from http://www.mcdonalds.com/usa/eat.html Waiter on the Way. (2009) Chick-fil-a Southwest. Retrieved December 11, 2009, from http://www.waiterontheway.biz/Chick-fil-a%20Southwest