Politics of Health in America Essay

The healthcare system in America is one of the hot button issues in this and every election because things are only getting worse, while not coming close to getting better. Rising healthcare costs are bringing brought on by huge hospitals that can charge as much as they want for service. Compounding the problem is the fact that many Americans cannot afford healthcare insurance in order to foot the bill for their expensive care. As the Michael Moore film, Sicko, indicates, the healthcare crisis in America is far reaching and there does not seem to be a solution on the horizon. With more and more people missing out on insurance because of basic primal greed from hospitals and insurance companies, there exists a huge problem that is sure to hinder the development of American society. Facing the biggest problems in light of this healthcare crisis are women, who need a more advanced form of care than their male counterparts. Without access to healthcare insurance, millions of women are not able to acquire the medical care that is essential to their overall health.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The American healthcare system is one that is designed to rely primarily on health insurance. Without health insurance, a majority of both basic and advanced medical procedures would not be possible for any people. The primary problem with the system is that now, health insurance companies are not doing their job anymore. Instead of being an affordable option for common people who seek to protect themselves against medical emergency, these companies are now in the business of gouging patients and withholding insurance to those that are less fortunate. The American model is not the prevailing system that is used elsewhere in the world. In places like Canada and in most of Europe, nationalized healthcare is the order of the day. Those governments do not mess around with insurance companies and they make sure that healthcare is readily available to anyone that needs it. This is an expensive, but effective way to make sure that each person is cared for. Women are specifically targeted for care under European models. In England, the national healthcare system has seen some problems, but for the most part, the nationalized nature of the system makes sure that just about anyone that needs treatment can get that treatment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The issue at the heart of the healthcare debate is over the uninsured folks that have a hard time securing healthcare. In the United States, that number is steadily growing with each passing year. This is something that Michael Moore is quick to point out in his film and it is an essential part of the argument for a national healthcare system. According to a July article from the Associated Press, â€Å"Just this past week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated there are about 43.6 million uninsured people in the country† (AP). Though that number does not represent a majority of the population, it is a significant portion of a civilized country that would have absolutely no way of getting healthcare in case of a medical emergency. Should cancer strike any of that contingent of Americans, they would have no way of coming up with the thousands of dollars for treatment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another important healthcare consideration that is taken into account in Michael Moore’s film is the disparity between the rich and the poor. This is what is really at the heart of the matter. Those with money can afford to purchase the insurance that will protect them, while those without money cannot afford insurance. Making it even worse is the fact that the jobs that give the benefit of included healthcare insurance are the jobs that actually pay people enough to afford insurance. Presidential candidate Barack Obama has taken a stance on the issue and he has clearly defined the need for more healthcare for the poor in the United States. A January Washington Post article sheds light on Obama’s opinion on the matter. In that article, Nedra Pickler writes, â€Å"He (Obama) said it’s wrong that 46 million in this country are uninsured when the country spends more than any one else on health care. He said Americans pay $15 billion in taxes to help care for the uninsured† (Pickler). Obama has put a specific focus on the medical plight of poor women, who are often the biggest victims in the entire ordeal. Without a national healthcare system, the rising cost of women’s care in America makes it impossible for a large chunk of the country’s ladies to keep up.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For those that do not have a huge amount of understanding on women’s care and how involved it is, the situation is a difficult one to understand. While men can get away with not going to the doctor for a period of months or years, women have to have check-ups in order to stay healthy enough to have children. This must be a huge focus for American society, especially as fertility rates keep falling for women in the country. Doctors are becoming much more specialized in this day and age, so their services are costing more. Gynecologists are no different, so insurance companies are being asked to pay more for that service. Even more important than the standard checkup is the entire situation of pregnancy. Women need to see a doctor every two to three weeks during pregnancy to make sure that everything is alright in their body and for their baby. This need comes in addition to the standard medical procedures that women must undertake to make sure that they stay in good condition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Women are among the most neglected when it comes to insurance in the United States. This correlation between gender and income is an important statistic to consider when forming opinions about the plight of the national healthcare system. Though the current system was certainly not written in a way that it would intentionally preclude women, the reality of the situation has almost made it look that way. Median income levels are lower for women in American than they are for men. It is much more difficult for women, be they white, black, Hispanic or any other race, to get a high paying job or one that offers full healthcare benefits. Though insurance companies might be precluding women from involvement, pregnancy has not been nearly as kind. There is no discrimination when it comes to that, as a poor woman is just as likely to get pregnant as a rich woman. Still, adequate care must be provided through the process of pregnancy and such care cannot be provided without the proper healthcare protection. The Christiane Northup book, Women’s Body, Women’s Wisdom, breaks down pregnancy in the following terms. â€Å"Pregnancy is a miraculous process and should be a time when a woman makes every effort to tune in to her body and baby with the support of her surroundings. For centuries, midwives helped mothers through the pregnancy and birthing processes, standing by them with medical and emotional aid† (Northup). This quotation clearly shows the need for assistance in a number of different areas for women during pregnancy. It is something that cannot be ignored for many women, as they seek to have the best pregnancy possible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another thing to consider in all of this is the plight of single mothers in America. Recent sociological trends are indicating that more and more women are having children out of wedlock. Without a man present to help foot the bill for pregnancy costs, women without healthcare have an even more difficult time coming up with the money to pay for their own care. This is a trend that does not seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, so it is imperative that the overriding problems get fixed before things get worse. Moore attacks this in Sicko, as he feels that single mothers are some of the biggest victims of the current healthcare system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Moore, single mothers are not the only victims in this situation. Though the politically correct notion is not to speak about race in regards to healthcare, the reality of the situation is that minority women are being left out at an alarming rate. An Amanda Gardner report in HealthDay speaks to the overall lackluster support that women have from the current healthcare system. Gardner writes, â€Å"No state met the goal for access to health insurance. Nationwide, 18 percent of women aged 18 to 64 were uninsured. In 2007, five states decreased Medicaid eligibility levels for working parents, making it more difficult for low-income people to get insurance† (Gardner). This trend has had a profound impact on minority mothers, who statistics show are working hard to provide for their children and also take care of themselves medically.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In his movie Sicko, Michael Moore does not shy away from the topic of women and how they are affected by the current healthcare system. In fact, Moore makes it a point to break down how they are often the most mistreated of any of the demographic areas. A Kyle Smith article in the New York Post makes a large effort to disparage the work of Michael Moore, but it does lend light on one example from Moore’s film where the focus is clearly placed upon mistreated women. In the article, Kyle Smith writes, â€Å"Perhaps the most absurd example is that of the woman who says that after she received benefits, the check was stopped because she had previously suffered an undisclosed yeast infection† (Smith). If the story from the woman in the film is true, then the problems within the system are so apparent and so flawed that securing healthcare is almost a hopeless venture for many women within the United States. Moore has harsh criticism for the current system in its exploitation of women financially. Because the current system is one that rewards doctors and insurance companies on the amount of work they can do, it directly impacts women. As mentioned previously, women have a greater reason to head to the doctor for a plethora of events. Under the current system, women are even discouraged from heading to the doctor in order to get the care that they so desperately need. Instead of going to the doctor to get care for themselves and their unborn children, women are being asked to limit their visits in an effort to save money. This is unfair and unsafe, according to Moore. His proposed implementation of a national healthcare system would take care of this issue, as it would shift the burden to all of the taxpayers and would insure that distribution of healthcare is on a need basis. That means that women would not feel pressured and they could head to the doctor’s office freely and without worry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Michael Moore is not shy about offering up solutions for a better system. In his film, he specifically refers to the national healthcare systems used by much of Europe and Canada. He proposes that if America were to go to a taxpayer funded national healthcare system, like the one proposed by Obama, things would get much easier for women specifically. They would not only have unlimited care at their immediate disposal, but women would also have top notch care that is necessary. With fertility levels dropping and that causing problems to other national systems like Social Security, it is essential that the federal government takes action to help women protect themselves and their ability to have children. According to Moore, a federal system in which socialized medicine is offered will be the best scenario for women in the United States.   Works Cited Smith, Kyle. 19 June 2007. New York Post. Botched Operation: Crazy Moore Offers Wrong Prescription. http://www.nypost.com/seven/06192007/entertainment/movies/botched_operation_movies_kyle_smith.htm?page=0 Gardner, Amanda. 17 October 2007. HealthDay. U.S. Women’s Health Care Still Falls Short: Report. http://www.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=609217 Associated Press. 2 July 2007. Little Defense for U.S. Health Care of ‘Sicko’. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19552132/ Nedra, Pickler. The Associated Press. 25 January 2007. Obama Calls for Universal Health Care. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2007/01/25/AR2007012500764.html

Prefrontal Cortex Vs Criminal Behavior

This very broad overview of prefrontal cortex function allows us to appreciate circumstances in which prefrontal cortex function is compromised in a human. Humans comprise a special case when considering this brain region. Despite evidence that the prefrontal cortex in rodents and non-human primates regulates cognition and behavior in ways quite similar to that of the human, we are the most ‘frontal’ of species, insofar as the frontal cortex is its largest, in both absolute and relative terms, in the human.The first realm to consider where prefrontal cortex function is compromised in humans is, quite reasonably, during development. Children show only minimal frontal function, from the standpoints of cognition (for example, in reversal tasks), emotional regulation, control of impulsive behavior and moral reasoning. One of the myths of child development is that the brain is fully developed at some remarkably early age. Instead, brain development is far more prolonged and, not surprisingly, the prefrontal cortex is the last region of the brain to fully myelinate. Remarkably, this process extends well beyond adolescence into early adulthood. Various transient states can compromise prefrontal cortex function.Alcohol is long recognized for its capacity to impair reasoning and impulse control, and surprisingly small quantities of alcohol impair the capacity of the prefrontal cortex to detect errors of commission or omission, as assessed electro-physiologically.Another example concerns stress. Most individuals have experienced severe and/orprolonged stress as disrupting attention, judgment and other purviews of the prefrontal cortex, and this has been shown more formally in both humans and animals;In making sense of this, it should be appreciated that the prefrontal cortex contains some of the highest levels of receptors in the primate brain for stress hormones. Moreover, stress or stress hormones will dramatically alter the turnover of several classes of neurotransmitters in the prefrontal cortex.Prefrontal cortex function is also compromised in another circumstance experienced by all individuals. With the onset of sleep and the transition to deep, slow wave sleep, there is a characteristic decrease in activity throughout the brain, particularly in the cortex. However, with the transition to paradoxical rapid eye movement sleep, there is increased activity in a variety of brain regions, including associational cortex and limbic systems; strikingly, metabolic rate can even be higher than during wake periods.Amid this shift, there is a virtually complete cessation of activity in the prefrontal cortex, producing a relatively metabolically active brain that is unconstrained by the regulatory effects of the prefrontal cortex. It has been speculated that this, in effect, accounts for why dreams are ‘dream-like’: characterized by emotional liability, non-sequential thinking and extreme disinhibition.Amid that, general intellig ence and executive function can remain intact. By contrast, when damage occurs at earlier ages, executive function is impaired and the impulsivity  takes on a more global and malign nature that has been termed ‘acquired sociopathy’, where antisocial behaviors can be markedly premeditated. The issue of brain development becomes relevant when considering individuals with sociopathic and antisocial behavior in which there is no obvious history of prefrontal cortex damage.Moreover, when sociopaths must engage the prefrontal cortex, they activate more of the prefrontal cortex than control individuals to achieve the same level of efficacy. In other words, even when these individuals actively attempt to do the ‘harder thing’, their prefrontal cortexes are less effective. Importantly, among such sociopathic individuals, the smaller the volume of the prefrontal cortex, the greater the tendency towards aggressive and antisocial behavior.The Prefrontal Cortex and th e Criminal Justice System:We have come to recognize numerous realms in which a biological abnormality gives rise to aberrant behavior, and such recognition has often then given rise to an expectation that people now exert higher-order control over that abnormality. For example, as noted, we would never consider an epileptic violent who strikes someone in the process of a seizure: ‘it is not him; it is his disease’. However, we expect that pileptic to not drive a car if their seizures are uncontrolled. Or we are coming to understand the euro chemistry of context-dependence relapse into drug dependency in organisms. Thus, we have come to expect ex-addicts to avoid the settings in which they previously abused drugs.There is a false dichotomy in this manner of thinking. It is as if we artificially demarcate an area in which biology dominates: yes, there is something organic that gives rise tothis person having uncontrolled and synchronous neuronal discharges, or who has cer tain pathways potentiated that project onto dopamine-releasing ‘pleasure’ pathways. But it is as if, with that area of organic impairment identified and given credence, we expect it to be bounded, and for the rest of our ‘us-ness’, replete with free will, to now shoulder the responsibility of keeping that organic impairment within the confines of its boundaries. It cannot possibly work this way.What the literature about the prefrontal cortex shows is that there is a reductive, materialistic neurobiology to the containment, resulting in the potential for volitional control to be impaired just as unambiguously as any other aspect of brain function. It is possible to know the difference between right and wrong but for reasons of organic impairment, to not be able to do the right thing. The most obvious implication of this concerns how individuals with demonstrable prefrontal cortex damage are treated in the criminal justice system. As the simplest conclusion, everything about this realm of contemporary neurobiology argues against the retrenchment back towards a sole reliance on M’Naghten that has gone on in recent decades.Amid the seeming obviousness of this conclusion, there is always a valid counter-point that can be raised: there are individuals with substantial amounts of prefrontal cortex damage who, nonetheless, do not commit crimes. At present, knowing that someone has sustained prefrontal cortex damage does not give much power in predicting whether that person’s disinhibition will take the form of serial murder or merely being unable to praise a nearly inedible meal prepared by a host. This seems to weaken the ‘volition can be organically impaired, just like any other aspect of brain function’ argument; in these interstices of unpredictability seem to dwell free will.However, we can begin to imagine tree diagrams of variables that, with each new layer, add more predictive power. We can already see two l ayers in the realm of prefrontal cortex function. The first layer might query, ‘prefrontal cortex: normal or damaged?’   The second might then query, ‘if damaged: damaged in childhood or later?’ This same structure of increasing predictive power was shown in a recent, landmark study concerning clinical depression.Having a particular variant of the gene 5-HTT (which codes for a protein that regulates synaptic levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin) increases the risk of depression. However, ‘5-HTT: pro-depressive variant or other variant?’ gives only a moderate predictive power, but the authors then demonstrated the adding in of a second layer, ‘if the pro-depressive variant: major stressors during childhood or not?’ now generates an impressive predictive power as to which adults succumb to clinical depression. If free will lurks in those interstices, those crawl spaces are certainly shrinking.Recent U.S College Case Study:By Da niel Strueber, Monika Lueck and Gerhard Roth.On September 13, 2006, Kimveer Gill walked into the cafeteria at Dawson College in Montreal and, without apparent motive, shot 21 people, injuring 19 and killing two, including himself. The same day a judge in West  ­Virginia sent a woman to jail for, among other atrocities, forcing her six children and stepchildren to gorge themselves on food and then eat their own vomit. Also on the 13th, a court in New York sentenced a man for killing his girlfriend by setting her on fire–in front of her 10-year-old son. There was nothing special about that Wednesday. From around the world we hear reports of murder, manslaughter, cruelty and abuse every day. Violence is ubiquitous.But what drives one person to kill, maim or abuse another, sometimes for little or no obvious reason–and why do so many violent offenders return to crime after serving time in prison? Are these individuals incapable of any other behavior? We have evaluated the results of studies conducted around the world, focusing on acts ranging from fistfights to murder, in search of the psychobiological roots of violence. Our key conclusion is simple: violent behavior never erupts from a single cause. Rather it results from a combination of risk factors–among them inherited tendencies, a traumatic childhood and other negative experiences–that interact and aggravate one another. This realization has a silver lining: positive influences may be able to offset some of those factors that promote violence, possibly offering hope for prevention.Indeed, male gender is the most important risk factor for violent behavior. As criminal statistics show, boys and young men commit the majority of physical assaults. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's statistics on crime in the U.S., 90.1 percent of murderers apprehended in 2004 were male and men accounted for 82.1 percent of the total number arrested for violent crimes. Girls and women are not necessarily less aggressive, as was assumed until the 1990s. But women engage in more indirect, covert aggression, whereas men tend toward immediate, outward physical aggression.The causes of these gender differences are manifold. Learned sex roles certainly enter into it: â€Å"girls don't hit,† for example, but â€Å"boys need to be able to defend themselves.† Also, indirect aggressive strategies require a relatively high level of social intelligence, which girls develop earlier and faster. Moreover, neuropsychological discrepancies almost certainly play a role. The small group of males who exhibit chronic violent behavior from an early age typically share other telltale traits, among them a low tolerance for frustration,  ­deficiencies in learning social rules, attention problems, a decreased capacity for empathy, low intelligence and, most characteristic, extreme  ­impulsiveness.Similarly, repeat offenders–particularly those who have long prison records seem unable to keep their aggressive urges in check. The late neu ­roscientist Ernest S. Barratt and his colleagues at the University of Texas Medical Branch interviewed imprisoned criminals in Texas in 1999 and found that many inmates consistently picked fights, even though they knew that their lives would be made more difficult as a result. When asked why they continued to behave in ways that hurt them, many responded that they had no idea. Even though they understood the consequences and resolved to act with greater self-control the next time, they did not trust their own ability to keep their impulses at bay.Preliminary research indicates that biology may handicap some of these individuals, making it more difficult for them to show restraint. Among violent offenders, neuroscientists have found anatomical and physiological differences in both the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex, brain regions that are involved in the development and control of emotions. Some sci entists propose that the orbitofrontal cortex, a region of the prefrontal cortex where decision making takes place, inhibits areas of the limbic system–specifically the hypothalamus and the amygdala, primitive brain regions that are a source of fear and aggressive impulses. Thus, if some defect or injury impairs communication between the limbic system and the frontal cortex, a person might not be entirely able to moderate his or her emotional reactions.References:1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.scientificamericanmind.com2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.nature.com/mp/journal/v8/n2/full/4001256a.html3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www. jnnp.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/71/6/7204.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=16934455.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.sciammind.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=33EF147A-E7F2-99DF-3696EF69D814FCFF

Aristotle and Aurelius Essay

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics goes to show that he believes that the end goal of all human actions is eudaimonia, or happiness through success and fulfillment. Following this concept Aristotle goes on to explain that through virtuosity a human being can lead a happy life. He defines virtue as a disposition to make the correct decisions that lead to the chief good of happiness. A perfect example is when he describes someone who does an action well as being good, but they are only considered good because of their distinctive activity. The distinctive activity for human beings can be considered our rationale. This is where virtue comes into play in the matter, but this translation could also be deciphered as excellence. Human beings do every single thing they do for a reason and that reason is to help towards an end goal. Although it may seem like the end goal might be something good like eating lunch, it is actually a chain to the ultimate good which is being happy. Happiness in Aristotle’s view is not second-by-second or even minute-by-minute but an entire lifetime. This is because we view happiness as and end goal which we hope to achieve by death and that way you can look back on a person’s life to see if they succeeded in their goal, through virtuous moral character and virtuous intellectual character and through the act of temperance. A life-time of that act can guarantee a happy, fulfilling, and successful life. Being virtuous come through two different ways in our actions as said by Aristotle, â€Å"Excellence being of two sorts, then, the one intellectual and the other of character, the intellectual sort mostly both comes into existence and increases as a result of teaching whereas excellence of character results from habituation†¦ † (Nicomachean Ethics, 1103a15). Intellectual virtue comes from teaching, experience, and time while character virtue is formed through the habit of repeated virtuous actions and constant practice. This allows for every human being to potentially have a virtuous moral character for the fact that it cannot be learned but only practiced, and not one person can be born already virtuous. The only problem with this concept is that there is no exact guideline in which to follow in order to become virtuous and, ultimately, happy. Basically Aristotle explains that you can find virtue in the middle ground of your actions, for xample, he says â€Å"For to arrive at one of the two extremes is more erroneous, to arrive at the other less; so, since it is hard to hit upon intermediate with extreme accuracy, one should take to the oars and sail that way, as they say, grasping what is least bad of what is available†¦ † (Nicomachean Ethics, 1109a35) There is no teaching as to why, for example, courage is preferred over cowardice or rashness but that you need to practice being courageous in order to understand the reasoning for being courageous. This is true for all virtuous traits and merits of the human character and by combining the moral and intellectual teachings and habits can you start on the path of a virtuous disposition. The key to virtue is keeping within a balance between the vices. For an excessive vice there is excessive pleasure but also excessive pain and for the opposite there is no pleasure and no pain. The key is in a state of temperance in order to feel the correct amount of pleasure for a healthy lifestyle and choices. Aristotle’s views show that someone with a virtuous disposition should automatically or naturally choose the best action or behavior in any circumstances without having to rely on reason because the virtuous habit has been already learned. In response to someone arguing against an accidental choice, these views only perceive the deliberate and voluntary choices made by the person of virtue. Also a virtuous moral character will always aim for the good while unjust character will try to aim for what is their perception or the â€Å"apparent† good as said in â€Å"That wish is for the end, we have already said; but to some it seems to be for the good, whereas to others it seems to be for the apparent good. The consequence, for those who say that the object of wish is the good, is that what the person making an incorrect choice wishes for is not wished for.. † (Nicomachean Ethics, 1113a10). A virtuous person will always do the right thing and will never be surprised by their actions, nor will they do it the right thing with an ulterior motive. Though you cannot live a happy life just with a virtuous disposition because you still need to act within accordance to virtue, you absolutely cannot live a happy life without virtue. Having virtue in your actions will lead to the final goal of happiness because it far outweighs the happiness found in pleasure, awards or merits. II. Marcus Aurelius was a philosopher-king and emperor of the Roman Empire and was considered of of the most influential Stoic philosophers of all time. His greatest work Meditations is an honest portrayal of Aurelius’ thoughts as they were found in journal form, never meant to be publicized. He wrote these books for himself as a sort of guideline and thought-provoking inner voice. In his works of Meditations, Marcus Aurelius doesn’t use arguments as a way to get his point across but rather states his words as truths and seems to be very confident in his uses. It seems he is prying at the meaning of life, the why’s and how’s of it all on the idea of living. He is very blunt in his use of understating the human existence in the world and compares them to specks in the grand scheme, but the point of this is to provide a sort of carpe diem lifestyle. By letting yourself let go of the things you cannot control, you begin to gain a better understanding of the things you can control and act accordingly. â€Å"We were born to work together like feet, hands and eyes, like two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are obstructions. † (Meditations, 17). This quote goes to show how you cannot allow yourself to get angry at another person for what they have done, but to continue your existence and recognize what you need to do. He advises in his writings â€Å"To shrug it all off and wipe it clean-every annoyance and distraction-and reach utter stillness. † (Meditations, 54) and once you can do that you can realize what is natural. Stoicism being a very popular philosophy in ancient Rome for it called for a â€Å"cosmic determinism† in relation to â€Å"human freedom† by a parallel will to that of Nature . Aurelius,himself, was a firm believer in the Logos, which can be identified as a principle a guiding force for the universe, human beings and all matter. In fact, it is one of the most important concepts in Stoicism for the ancient Romans of the time. The stark and â€Å"manly† belief that every single citizen had a duty, whether they were a king or a peasant, were expected to follow it to the best of their abilities. The term utter stillness is used to acknowledge the state of no distractions. By achieving this you can focus solely on appropriate actions and how to follow your own road by the way of Nature on an unconscious level. Not by thinking about it but by acting naturally should you continue to help others, work for yourself, never stopping but continuing to reply to Nature’s demands. To do this all under the Logos, in order to find our common sense and avoid the annoying distractions all the while by controlling these actions through your inner unconscious/conscious self. III. The Greek philosopher Aristotle and the Roman philosopher-king Marcus Aurelius can be compared and contrasted in their similar and different ways of thoughts. First you can compare Aristotle’s ideas on eudaimonia and Aurelius’ use of utter stillness to help follow the logos, also the final step of death as the end of one’s journey towards a life of fulfillment. Contrastingly, they have different outlooks on purpose of human life and how to lead to the fulfilling of that said life. Stoicism was developed within the framework of Greek theory and philosophies from Plato and Aristotle so obviously there are bound to be many similarities. Both of these men were truly brilliant and ground-breaking in their respective ways of thought and led centuries of intellectuals to search for more fulfillment and happiness’s in their lives. Some big differences between Aristotle and Aurelius were there views on mortality or death. While Aristotle concludes that our lives are given to us and as valuable as human beings want to make them, the Stoics view on life is that is shaped by death and that the thoughts, choices and actions are just based on the knowledge of death. Eudaimonia is a subject in which Aristotle and Aurelius were familiar with in their writings about philosophical life. Aristotle thought of eudaimonia as an activity done with virtue performed rationally and consciously. Aurelius and the other Stoics insist that the way for eudaimonia is to live a morally virtuous life, in regards to the fact that virtue is good, vices are bad and most everything else is neutral. A popular argument for this where a death in the family would be involved, according to Aristotle, that would rob the most virtuous person of their eudaimonia while the Stoics would consider that neutral. Another interesting fact about Aristotle is how he acknowledges how â€Å"dumb luck† can aid or block the journey for eudaimonia, for example being born beautiful or losing close friends and family. Basically, they agree that eudaimonia is self-sufficient; the chief goal in life and that eudaimonia is the most complete end result. Virtue is very important to both philosophers and their ways of thinking and considers it absolutely crucial for eudaimonia. Aristotle and Aurelius can agree that no one is born just virtuous as it must be an act learned. Virtue is believed to be how one can control their emotions for it helps them to stay stable and in moderation. Overall, living life virtuously is living a life full of dignity. Marcus Aurelius’s view is a much more justified view because it is more modern and more adaptable. As the stoicism wants people to better themselves within reasonable goals and change values into something that will bring upon an unconscious change so that they may make better decisions consciously. Aristotle instead relies too much on a proper upbringing and calls the loss of good and friends as a prevention of eudaimonia. Stoics learn to realize what is out of their control and move on to what they can control. Aristotelian views also say that if a person dies early that it is a tragedy and that they were taken away before they reached their prime which in the Stoics eyes, a virtuous person should never be afraid of death because their life is sufficient when living a virtuous life. The difference continues when viewing the topic of emotions for Aristotelian that emotions are not good nor bad, only bad when expressed inappropriately while the Stoics think the whole point of eudaimonia is to be free from emotion. Finally the stoics don’t see a difference between the rich, poor, slaves or free men, because in their views bodily and external things can no impact on their dignity, whereas Aristotle believes that a life based on virtues along with enough material and external goods like freedom, wellbeing, and close friends lead to a life of dignity. Overall, Aurelius and the Stoics have built upon and modified Aristotle’s view to be more realistic and to try and be more optimistic in leading the best possible life no matter the circumstances.

Campus friends report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Campus friends report - Essay Example he also discovered her good mastery of the English language in elementary school and high school that influenced her to take a major in public relations. My campus friend settled on public relations after weighing many other courses that deal with effective communication. She had at some point opted for journalism but did not like the idea of appearing on the television screen every day. She is always shy and felt that she would have difficulties interacting with her television audience. The other reason that made her not to major in journalism is that she did not want to be feared in the social environment as a celebrity. She prefers leading a simple life with little recognition. As I have come to learn her, she likes helping others even when there is no guarantee of other people helping her back. This justified to me her claim that she never wants to be publicly recognized for things she has done. One of the career goals for my campus friend is working in a reputable organization that recognizes and respects social and cultural diversity. She hopes that the major qualifies her to serve as a public relations manager and ascend to the senior managerial position. At the same time, she claims to have a passion for being a Chief Executive Officer for a popular organization. She does not like being employed but prefers to use employment as an avenue to rise to self-employment. Another career goal that my campus friend reported having is establishing her own company in the future and being her own boss. She believed that a public relation major was important to enable her deal with her employees efficiently and incorporate cultural diversity in the organization. She narrated to me how globalization has turned the world into a small village where everyone needs to learn to cope with people of different ideological and cultural backgrounds. For the duration that I stayed with her, the major interest that she demonstrated is socialization and sharing stories about

CROSS CULTURAL ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Essay

CROSS CULTURAL ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS - Essay Example On the other hand, if they insist on promoting their own culture and their value system, whether it agrees with others or not, then it can be surmised that sooner or later, the personal relationship will encounter major conflicts. This analysis is logical and general, but it goes without saying that there is more than meets the eye. In the case of merging two different cultures in business, many factors need to be considered in order for people to work together harmoniously. Key to understanding cultural differences are theoretical foundations that explain them. Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprà ¼ngli AG (known as Lindt) is an international company that prides itself of being recognized as the leader in the market for high quality chocolates and other chocolate related products. Its history spans more than a century of developing the best formulas for chocolates, with the business run and developed extensively by a family organisation. From humble beginnings, the business has expanded enormously with its products being sold internationally in more than 80 countries with almost $1 billion in worldwide sales. â€Å"The predominantly Swiss-owned corporation manufactures various products of its renowned Lindt brand in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, and Austria, as well as in the United States. The international group includes major sales and distribution firms in England, Poland, Spain, Canada, and Australia, as well as sales offices in Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, and Dubai. Lindt & Sprà ¼ngli products are distributed by a network of distributors that spans the globe.† (Fundinguniverse.com, 2010, para. 2). The top management of the company do not rest on their laurels and would want to expand further in the Far East and Asia. However, a thorough study of possible cross-cultural issues must be undertaken, since European

Report to the Directors of USPS diagnosing the state of affairs and Essay

Report to the Directors of USPS diagnosing the state of affairs and offering some prognosis on what might be a more sustainable business model - Essay Example While many factors could be blamed for the situation, this paper has zeroed in on one issue: the business model. In comparison to other players, like the FEDEX and UK’s The Royal Mail, the evolution of technology was not supposed to have such severe effects on the institution. Besides highlighting these issues, the paper has offered the best model to adopt, and lucidly elaborated what entails. The U.S. Postal service (USPS) is tasked with ensuring the mails sent through their platforms reach their destinations on time. Many American business people and the society expect that no letter sent through USPS will be delayed for whatever reasons. Rather, each is convinced that the institution has the capacity to deliver without the slightest hiccups. However, the situation has deteriorated as evidenced by the number mails that reached their recipients way after their expected period. In a bid to arrest the situation, the USPS management sought to have in place measures that would enable the corporation fulfil its mandate. One of these included laying off of the staff whose retirement period was near. Unfortunately, the situation was not remedied as the immensely experienced individuals were lost not to mention the subsequent workload. Upon realizing these measures were not effective, the management hired other people meaning the cost rose significantly. In light of these issues , this paper seeks to investigate the real cause of the problems at USPS. Further, a prognosis will be offered upon identifying the major issues bedevilling the USPS. A closer analysis of the woes facing USPS reveals that a single problem did not result in its current state. Rather, a myriad of issues including lack of innovation as evidenced by the number of letters that would be sorted by the clerks. Apparently, the process would be done manually, a process that inevitably cost the institution a considerable amount of resources

Amenorrhea Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Amenorrhea - Case Study Example According to the paper, tumors on the pituitary gland, low estrogen levels, high testosterone levels, and overactive thyroid glands cause hormonal imbalances. Testosterone contributes in the growth and development of reproductive tissues in women and excessive supply of it has been associated with irregular or absence of menstrual periods. Hormonal birth control can contribute to secondary amenorrhea. Drugs and medical treatments such as chemotherapy and antipsychotic drugs can also induce secondary amenorrhea. Polycystic ovary syndrome is associated with weight changes that are an important lifestyle factor in secondary amenorrhea. Overweight and body fat that is less than fifteen percent are some of the things that can stop menstrual periods. The National Institute of Health (NIH) records that extreme diet has causal links with secondary amenorrhea. Emotional stress is a non-physical element that can cause secondary amenorrhea. Derailed menstrual cycle is one of the ways that the b ody uses to respond to extreme stress. Mild hypothyroidism is one of the conditions that could precede presentation of dysmenorrhea and irregular menstrual cycles. However, mild hypothyroidism is associated with hypermenorrhea and oligomenorrhea more than with amenorrhea. Treating hypothyroidism restores menses but it may take months. Cushing’s disease is the hyperactivity of adrenal glands and can combine with hypothyroidism to cause amenorrhea. Outflow tract obstruction, hyperandrogenic chronic, anovulation are some of the conditions in a patient’s history that can be helpful in the diagnosis and treatment of dysmenorrheal. Asherman’s syndrome is a common cause of outflow obstruction in secondary dysmenorrhea. This syndrome is a scarring and an intrauterine synechiae that results from curettage or infection.  

Review paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Review paper - Essay Example The Race Myth written by Graves’ centers on crucial matters of racism in the American community. He presents in the book that American consider immigrants lazy and have genetic inheritance that affect their well-being. They even felt that these African Americans needed to work harder in order to save themselves as they did (Graves 122). He noted in his book that the Americans did not consider the African American oppression when giving these opinions about them. According to Graves, the American society provides support for racial oppression in the American society, and it is through racial discrimination that the African American experience health disparities (122). He felt that most African Americans still consider that there is some genetic legitimacy within the society that contributes to racial discrimination. However, this is not true because racism only emanates as a result of societal stereotypes. In this book, the author wants the readers to understand that racism is a socially developed concept aimed at overpowering African Americans instead of a genetic experience that explains racial differences in the society (Graves 123). Racial discrimination was started by the Europeans who made it extend in their communities. They accepted the concept of racial order that was widespread during that time. According to the author, the constructed racial discrimination helped the Europeans to control the continent (Graves 123). He presents a strong concept against biological arguments concerning racial discrimination because of genetic factors. Graves mainly points out social factors that contribute to racial discrimination, and he believes that only two percent of genetic interferences can contribute to genetic difference (124). Grave also questions the concept that there are genetic specific drugs for specific racial group

Marketing Service Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing Service - Essay Example Aim and Objectives: To understand the influence of service experience and its effects on service purchase process. To understand the significance of customer experience in the creation of competitive advantage for the organizations. Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework is very useful as it assists academics in formulating a precise research direction and focus, and for businesses in identification of the stages that require improvement, and hence necessitate more resources allocated to it. A theoretical framework is a compilation of interconnected concepts, similar to a theory but not essentially worked-out well. â€Å"Theoretical frameworks are obviously critical in deductive, theory-testing sorts of studies† (Bhojanna 2007). When the consumer services, they pass through three main stages, ie; pre-purchase stage, service encounter stage, and post-encounter stage. Three-Stage Model of Service Consumption: (Tsiotsou & Wirtz 2011). The stage of pre-purchase in the de cision-making process for services is more complex, when compared to that of goods. The decision-making process involves a lot of time, because of consumer participation in the service production process. In the pre-purchase stage, consumers are prompted into action, by the creation of a need to begin the search for information, and assess alternatives for a particular service, ahead of deciding whether to buy or not. â€Å"But learning about pre-purchase behavior is equally important† (Finn 2008). The answer for the reason behind the customer’s thought to buy a particular product will eradicate all presumptions and will help in succeeding a long term customer relationship. Consumers pass on to the next stage of service experience, subsequent to the decision to make a purchase. In the service encounter stage, the consumer intermingles straightly with the service firm, and it is the way by which consumers produce value, and evaluate their service experience. Consumer sa tisfaction, and their perception regarding the service quality, have great importance in the last stage of the service consumption process (ie; the post purchase behavior), because of their relationship with business performance. On the other hand, the satisfied consumers, and those who have high perceptions regarding service quality may not go again to the same service provider. Role and Importance of Customer Service Experience and Service Marketing Mix- An Overview: A customer’s service experience pertains the serious of the interactions with the service providers, when customers try to communicate with them.   All types of customers are emotional, and they are likely to rate experiences on the basis of their expectations. â€Å"In order to be successful with all the customers, companies require generating and sustaining uniformity of experience across every channel. A complete communication experience will do more favor than just paying attention to the customer. †Å"The companies require learning the ways to communicate with the customers using different channels and also require making sure that the customer’s experience delivers actual value to them in exchange for time, attention, actions, information, and anything else† (The Importance of Positive Customer Service Experiences 2011). One of the great borders for innovation is the customer experience. Better customer experienc

Reflection and Improvement Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reflection and Improvement - Assignment Example Leaders are seeking to transform their schools in order provide effective knowledge and education to the students (Joyner, Ben-Avie & Comer, 2004). The key conceptual framework would productively encompass the necessary cultural and structural change efforts. Moreover, effective conceptual framework can enhance significant pipeline development of leadership. However, major focus of this leadership process would be to improve the learning and teaching process. Learning Focused Leadership Learning focused leadership is another effective strategy that can enhance transformation of schools. Learning focused leadership comprises investment in instructional leadership, new working relations across and within levels, reinvention of leadership practice, persistent public focus on learning and evidence as a medium of leadership (Aguilera, 2008). The meaning of learning focused leadership is investing in individuals and positions across and within the schools. The primary objective of this lea rning focused leadership is instructional leadership. Conceptualizing leadership is more significant and effective among these two leadership styles. This leadership style generally focuses on effective learning process. Effective utilization of effective data and resources, and supreme engagement with the community has motivated me to adopt conceptualizing leadership strategy. Evaluation of Leadership Style There are several significances of conceptualizing leadership process. A teacher or a or a leader within the institution can enhance effective transformation of a school through the implementation of conceptualizing leadership process. Under this leadership style, the leader’s ability to offer a consistent and clear focus on learning for all the students would be considered as the central part of their job. Effective utilization of data and evidence can enhance instructional improvement. Moreover, this leadership style will help the leaders to align resources with the lea rning improvement goals. Under this process, the leaders generally try to reallocate their resources and develop incentives to meet specific instructional improvement goals. These construction roles help the leaders to focus on the improvement of learning process. The leaders seek to provide effective learning environment and seer knowledge to the students of the schools. At last, leaders focus on engaging community citizens, support providers and parents that can promote effective learning agenda. However, it is quite important to change the blueprint of education sector. The old traditional blue print is reducing the quality of education process and system. The conceptualization leadership process will help the leaders to transform the system of learning process of several schools and education institutions. Three ways to improve leadership style It is clear from above discussion that the education sector needs effective transformation process to meet social and cultural demand. T here are several ways to improve the leadership style. First of all, the educational leaders should become the transformation leaders to implement effective change process. Successful transformation leaders should avail three capabilities like think ahead, deliver within and lead across to adopt and practice an effective transformation process (Covey, 2012). Transformation leaders should think ahead in a school transformation pr

Political Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 11

Political Science - Essay Example Frederick Douglass defined the celebration of the Fourth of July from the point of view of an African American in his 1852 speech at Rochester, New York. At that time, slavery of African Americans was at its peak and he was the first to address the feelings true of an American Slave toward the celebration of Fourth of July as he sees t as â€Å"mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy [†¦covering] up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages† (Douglass). The Declaration of Independence was not only about getting independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain but was also about freedom, equality, and liberty. The members of the Continental Congress firmly believed that â€Å"all men are created equal† and thus have certain â€Å"unalienable rights† including those of â€Å"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness† (Digital History). They made it clear in the declaration that it is the responsibility of the government to secure these rights of every American citizen and should a government fail to do so, or becomes a threat itself, the people have the right to â€Å"alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government†(Digital History). These are the foundations that were laid by the forefathers of America and this is where the true meaning of Fourth of July lies. In a study conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress in 2011, it was found that only 25 per cent of fourth grade students were aware of the purpose of Declaration of Independence while 26 per cent of the total adults surveyed by a public opinion institute were not aware of the fact that America gained independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain (Shammas). It is clear from this survey that the true spirit of Fourth of July is dying. For me, Fourth of July is still about freedom, liberty, and pursuit of happiness not just for myself, but for all the Americans. Unfortunately, the speech made by Frederick Douglas is still true today as not all

Elementary Math Methods Essay Example for Free

Elementary Math Methods Essay The aim of this practice is to help students understand place value concepts such as ones, tens, hundreds and grouping. In the activity, students are encouraged to record school days using straws. They add up the straws every day until they total to ten so as to transfer the bundle to a tens pocket. Depending on the grade level, they can go further to group the tens bundles to make a pocket of one hundred straws. In addition, students are told to note down the right integers to represent the number of bundles and number of single straws (Kawas, 2010a). Place Value Race http://www. theteachersguide. com/Mathactivities3. html This practice engages students in some sort of competition aimed at assisting them understand place value of integers (0-9) according to their position in a number. The students are grouped into two and each group given a set of red, yellow, blue and orange colored cards. The students are then instructed to select a color to stand for each place value (e. g. yellow for ones, red for tens, blue for hundreds etc) (Math Activities III, n. d. ). The instructor then says a number (let say 3456) and the groups compete to create the number using the cards. The first group to create the number is awarded some points and the game continues until all students have participated effectively. Number Line-Up http://www. mathwire. com/numbersense/morepv. html The aim of this place value activity is to help students to develop and master place value concepts of numbers. Some students are given demo cards and instructed to go in front while the rest remain on their desks with integer cards (Kawas, 2010b). The teacher says a number and instructs students at front to line up in such a manner to create the number while those at the desks are required to organize the cards to create the same number. After creating the number, students are asked to say the integer at the tens or hundreds, or thousands position. To encourage creativity among the students, the teacher can randomly choose a student to give out directions for creating the numbers to the other students. Conclusion School Day Count Routine practice helps students understand place value concepts such as ones, hundreds and grouping. On the other hand, the other two activities are aimed at encouraging students to master place value ideas such as tens, hundreds and ones etc. References Kawas, T. (2010a). Place value activities: School day count routine. Mathwire. com. August 9, 2010. http://www. mathwire. com/numbersense/placevalue. html Kawas, T. (2010b). More place value activities: Number line-up. Mathwire. com. August 9, 2010. http://www. mathwire. com/numbersense/morepv. html Place value race. (n. d. ). Math Activities III. August 9, 2010. http://www. theteachersguide. com/Mathactivities3. html

Causes And Effects Of Brain Drain In Economics

Causes And Effects Of Brain Drain In Economics Introduction: According to a definition, Brain Drain, academically also known as the human capital flight is the large scale migration of highly educated, skilled and talented people of less economically advanced countries to highly rich and developed countries of the world due to conflicted issues, political instability and lack of opportunities in the developing countries. Globally, relocation of intellectuals is as old as mankind. This terminology of Brain Drain originated in 1960, when most of the intellectuals like scientists and engineers who were the real assets or the future of any country, emigrated from United Kingdom to America. The unsolved issue of Brain Drain is happening all over the world for the sake of better working conditions including, the island nations of the Caribbean, the anterior colonies of Africa and mostly in federal economies like the Soviet Union previous Eastern Germany, where aptitudes were not monetarily salaried. This phenomena was not as severe till 1960s but with the huge capacity lopsidedly migrate to West Germany and North America from less developed regions. Substantial exoduses of skilled people were apparent at altered epochs of the economic growth of the countries of Europe and North America. However, with the progress in science and technological fields, only the intellectuals and highly qualified brains was of extraordinary mandate in highly developed countries. With the deficit in the core stream, the developed countries had to be dependent on the LDCs. Professionals migrated from developing countries to three Developing countries (USA, Canada and United Kingdom) in 1960s and by 1970s, the figure had mounted. If one were to investigate statistics of all Developed Countries, the records would be alarming. This drift has continued in Africa and loss of huge qualified manpower is happen immigrations to Europe and North America annually. The questions that is arise in the social, political, economic, academic and probably in every sector of developing world. According to question the phenomena happened there are countless questions, bu t I want to explain the main attractions towards the developed world and why do talented and outstanding brains leave their countries? What are the costs of such migrations paid by developing countries? What policies can be implemented to stem such movements from LDCs to DCs? The goal of this paper is to highlight the unsolved, conflicted issue of Brain Drain and the Scientific Diaspora and the cause and effect relationship in the global knowledge based societies and also to address the cancerous disease directing the developing countries to failure. I will highlight some major questions, giving some suggestions which help to make policies to fade the disparities and the exploitation of skilled and semi-skilled labour in the developed world who themselves benefited to create the legislative crime of Brain drain and to hijack the rights of Cos in the shape of Scientific diaspora communities. How and when Brain Drain happens and intensifies Since the beginning of 1960s, the phenomena of brain drain became a highlighted and critical issue. With the neo-liberal economy and the tsunami wave of globalization has given a golden chance to the opportunists and played a vital role towards better and quality life including all accessories in every sphere of life. Globalization has opened a window for the human capital to agglomerate and mobilize where the brain extract and yet best recognized and rewarded in the highly economically strong and advanced countries. To oppose the nation-state ideology by the global village, selective immigration policies in several OECD countries has gradually introduced, strengthened and became a selection centers to sort out the best minds to develop the innovative way of thoughts and utilization for the betterment of developed world, i.e. very alarming for LDCs. as human capital of a nation being the assets planned to be theft through legislative terms and conditions. The cost being paid by the LDCs left back in the race of progress and development. Aftermath of colonialism, such types of drains has happened between the LDCs and DCs. Australia and Canada in 1980s has emerged the international competition in all over the world to attract the highly skilled, and educated brains to catalyze the attraction and boost the greed of inferiority complex of developing areas to realize the complex of have not and to advertise the opportunities secured, healthy and peaceful societies like heaven at earth. The age of discovery, progress and the indicators of globalization, increased rate of import and export in the neo-liberal economy has multiplied during the last three decades. The result of the huge migration, rates to be much higher for great intellectuals. United Nation has supervised and produced countless research to find out the total capacity of brain drain in every region of the world including Sub Saharan countries, New Zealand, even the extraction from the semi-peripheral countries to the peripheral countries. Scientific Diaspora has been represented by the highly intellectuals enormous potential like the IT professionals, Engineers, Physicians Scientists, and the human capital flight of new post graduate students. Unfortunately the COs (country of origin) has been losing the patriotic , ethical , moral emotions because they are suffering with the pragmatic materialist thought and the lust of opportunities darken the future of developing world. To fulfil the interest of economically advanced countries and global knowledge based societies are struggling for the human capital. It is as natural as the nature of human being and as powerful as constructed politically to keep the self-interest. There is a lack of policy making in the academic world and on the governmental level in the developing world. Some main types of Brain drain are Brain Gain, Brain circulation, Brain waste etc. Causes of Increased Brain Drain in developing countries There are many factors which cause brain drain from the less developing countries to the highly developed countries. The regional, national and global flow of migrates are increasing every second. There are two main factors due to which people move from one place to another place. There are some major routes of human migration before 1950s but highlighted in 60s. The reasons can be different region to region; i.e. satisfactory facilities of goods and services, the reconnection of diverse cultural groups, in the time of conflict and war, political instability, health risks and the lack of opportunities. The mobility of intellectuals and skilled personnel or emigrants from the country of origin referred to as the PUSH FACTORS of their capital flight. And there are many parallel and inverse reasons for the immigrants called PULL FACTORS to attract towards host countries. Theoretical framework Brain drain is studied under the theoretical frame of migration theories under the two main factors as discussed below: Push factors: There are certain push factors causing brain drain, to leave the less developed country to developed countries as listed below: Substandard living conditions, dearth of conveyance, accommodation Under-utilization of skilled and semi- skilled personnel; lack of adequate working conditions; low panorama of specialized development Low and corroding wages Discrimination in recruitments and promotions Social unrest, Political instability, conflicts and wars Lack of research facilities, including support staff; meagreness of research funds, lack of professional apparatus and tools Lack of freedom and autonomy Deteriorating excellence of educational system, Why Academic intellectuals leave their Country of Origin: Challenging socio-economic conditions (poverty, unemployment, epidemics diseases, increased rate of crime, corruption, etc.) Poor libraries, ICT apparatus for research Lack of autonomy academic freedom to create literature at universities Political instability and harassment, human rights manipulations, wars Lack of pure democracy Deprived payments for intellectuals and skilled personnel Lack of self-determination and social equivalence Lack of quality education for children Lack of career opportunities Lack of entrepreneurial investments Why Students go abroad: Poor worth of national education from the Montessori level to post graduation level Unavailability of scholarships or financial assistance for the brilliant Miserable infrastructure of schools, colleges and universities Limited opportunities for higher studies students As a decided step towards emigration, they suffered with inferiority complex, due to all the above reasons and many more pushing factors resulted to leave their point of origin. Why Students Do Not Return: Limited employment opportunities restrict to come back in the homeland especially at PhD level, Course or research work not relevant to home countrys state of affairs convenience of grants for further exploration living conditions, insufficient earning and job satisfaction in developed world Need to send money home and support the family Getting married to a host countrys citizen to get the citizenship Although, they suffered with many crisis as alienated in the host country including the identity crisis, diaspora and make up their own imagined communities to prevent themselves with the socio-political and religious disparities. Pull Factors Similarly, numerous attractive pull factors at the destination states permitting the brain drain to occur at a higher leap: Sophisticated standard of living Employment opportunity greater income and Higher wages Extensive resources for research, unconventional and advanced technology, modern facilities of laboratory equipment; availability of experienced support workforce Healthier working conditions; employment and occupation opportunities with the proficient development Modern educational schemes; prestige of foreign training Political stability foreigner secured policies Meritocracy, transparency Scholarly Intellectual autonomy Appreciation rewards on governmental level Effects of Brain Drain in Developing Countries Aftermaths of Brain Drain in Exaggerated Regions of the globalized world: Negative effects: The phenomena of brain drain has left harmful effects in the region of poor countries like Africa, because of their great hope, talents and skills have immigrated to the richer countries. As seen pragmatically, develop and rich countries become richer and more developed and poor and developing countries become poorest and failure states. Consequently, some of the outcomes have produced the poorer rates of growth and development, highly unstable politically some are in the condition of cold war like Pakistan ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦..fewer productive educational funds, and worse health care system and Loss of potential modernizers who might have paved the way to rejuvenation and up gradation through their advanced and creative abilities. Doctors, Engineers, scientists students leave for the industrialized world Africa loses the best brains it needs for its trade and industrial development African recruitment of thousands of expatriates from the industrialized West at a cost of billions every year increased deterioration of higher schooling Universities have to be close, extension of higher education not possible Poor people seriously affected by the epidemic, infectious diseases Universities unable to run and achieving Development Goals In the global knowledge economy, Africa becoming sidelined Due to the pitiable environment, Lack of skilled people. Crumbling poor middle class political instability religious persecution Corruption of income tax equal to less basic goods and services Economic instability leads to increased rate of unemployment and inflation Lack of industrial growth innovation. Positive Effects The brain drain may cause numerous positive effects for source countries. It is well documented that remittances of employees played a significant support to GNP of a country and are a viable spring of income in several developing countries. Remittances and transmittals intrude on family decisions in terms of professional choice, labor supply, education, investment migration, and fertility, with hypothetically essential aggregated special effects. Especially in the case of poor countries, where market inadequacies available to members of low-income classes reduce the set of possibilities. Brain Circulation equalizes Brain Drain Transnational corporation and increase in Foreign Direct Investment When possibility of migration is real. level of education in sending countries rises Amalgamation in global economies Incentives, law and policy making The irony of international migration today is that many of the people who migrate legally from poor to richer lands are the very ones that Third World countries can least afford to lose: the highly educated and skilled. Since the great majority of these migrants move on a permanent basis, this perverse brain drain not only represents a loss of valuable human resources but could prove to be a serious constraint on the future economic progress of Third World nations (Todaro, 7th Edition, 2001). Convention signed by the organization of economic corporation and development (OECD) among twenty countries in 1960s create a keen competition among all member countries to fascinate human possessions, they lack and to preserve those who might emigrate. Various countries edited their legislation and step forward for numerous amendments to legalize the foreigner qualified brains and somehow to cheap their labour in the developed world. The policy or the legislation to work allowed but not giving them the full work visas compelling to do illegal work on cheap labour benefited the state capital and a legal system of exploitation is running to pressurize the foreign labour to do work illegally for their survival in the most metropolitan areas of the world Most countries announced more flexibility in labour migration policies, while some propelled the definite recruitment packages to meet labour dearth. In France, UK, Denmark and some other countries, labour visas criteria has been tranquil including skilled, qualified people in the profession of bio-medicine, education and health care type of main occupations. Various types of labour visas and quota in different countries of the developed world are much confine with the immigration policies for the highly qualified and skilled like Scholarships, grants, loans etc. in the last decade, brain drain of human capital has increased forty percent in Japan and more than ten percent in Korea. New Zealand, Canada and Australia are the main flexible host countries laws making, and legislative attraction and relaxation to get the more and more brain gain, drain and circulation from the developing countries. The drastic ratio of emigration has been increased in every figure of peripheral countries under the legislative authority. Conclusion Recommendations for the developing countries: How the future of developing countries can preserve and what should be the recommendation? Establish recorded database of skilled, intellectual, students and specialists on the time of departure from LDCs. Reformation of the national education system and the infrastructure of schools, colleges and universities. High budget allocated for the higher education and use of funds purely for the education projects. Sufficient facilities for research projects in universities and establish the research cells. Encourage the distant learning and education for all. Pure democracy, encourage human rights and enforce the legislation, strictly keep an eye on the law and order situation to stable and regulate the factors like corruption, crime etc. On governmental level, the allocation of budgets to the science and technology organizations and from the health sector to control the infectious diseases. Introduce new policies and laws to reduce the conflict and war at the national and international level. Role of government should be the key role to avoid the issue of human capital flight. Government should spend heavy fund for the infrastructure, avoid load shedding like issues and provide the demanded power supply and drinking water and the efficient communication. Facilitate the education system through training, research, and education Government should advertised job opportunities on merit provide specific allowance and salary for the scientists, engineers, doctors and highly intellectuals State should reduce the rooted conflict to maintain peace Democratic governance is the best solution for the cancerous problem of brain drain. Engage the LDCs best organizations with DCs and encourage the collective training and work with DCs as partners If west needs some research they should request on the governmental level for research How western countries can help to reduce brain drain? Ensure through incentives and immigration policies, intellectual return back to their resource countries discourage labor recruitment through academics and qualified personals Discourage full time attendance for the foreigner graduate students Consideration of joint degrees with developing world universities Encourage riven PHDs instead of 100% attendance Support university association to progress LDCs (curriculum, quality and methodology of research) Collaboration through appropriate university association for e.g. (HEC, AAU, ACU, AUF IAN)

The Independent Learning For Nursing Nursing Essay

The Independent Learning For Nursing Nursing Essay Reflection is a way to look back on what a person came across on a certain event (Bulman and Schutz, 2008). The target of this reflective essay is for me to mull over on what I have learned from my direct experiences on placement. I opt to utilise on this reflective essay, A Model of Structured Reflection, by Driscoll (2007). This Model has three questions, namely: what, so what and now what. These questions must be answered by me relative to the experiences I acquired from my placement. Hence, I chose to take advantage on Driscolls model as it is very handy to apply even with or without a paper and pen. All I need to bring to mind is the aforementioned three questions. I will discuss what I think it matters most to me during my two weeks practice placement and give analysis whether I gained knowledge and understanding based from the learning plan I prepared prior to my placement; thereby continually apply it in every situation I may undergo (Howatson-Jones, 2010). I spent my whole duration of the introductory period of duty experience in the ward. On my first day, the Ward Manager introduced me to her team. She told me that my mentor was not around on that day. Thus, she handed me over to the nurse in-charge. As I arrived on an early shift, I duly observed the handover of patients from the night shift staff to the day shift staff. Handover is a daily reporting of patients status to the incoming shift for the provision of continuity of care (Wywialowski, 2003). As a neophyte, I was a bit muddled up on how the night nurse was endorsing the patient; however, I was attentive on what she was doing so I could learn from such activity. There are acronyms on the handover that they used that I could not understand, as a consequence, I made a point that I must familiarise and memorise the medical terms. Even though I am supernumerary I strongly desire to a part and parcel of the team whilst learning (Jelphs and Dickinson, 2008). After the handover, the nurse instructed me to be with the Health Care Assistant (HCA) for the time being so that I can be acquainted with patients and adapt with the daily routine. Indeed, favoured that the HCA was willing to help me. She taught me the safer way on handling patients whilst maintaining their dignity and respect (Tschudin, 2003). She demonstrated proper use the Blood Glucose monitor and how to document it on patients chart (The Global Diabetes Community, 2013). In addition, she told me that if the patient is not on closed observation, normally they take the vital signs every four hourly. The days have gone by so quick; I was productive on my day to day experience as a student nurse. I never wasted my time just standing there without accomplishing anything at the end of my shift. Motivated with my passion of extending care to patients, I find joy and fulfilment in rendering services for them, such as assisting them to the toilet and giving a hand to those who are unable to look after themsel ves. I became certain on writing down the nursing care plan of a patient (Lloyd, 2010), observed the Nasogastric tube (NGT) (Macmillan Cancer Support, 2013) and Electrocardiogram (ECG) procedures done by the staff nurse and HCA respectively (British Heart Foundation, 2013). I volunteered myself as well to get the take away medication of the patient from the Pharmacy. Furthermore, I have learned how to fill up the Nursing Assessment forms for a newly admitted patient. I accomplished the said forms by means of communicating with the patient and family. I have mentioned the word communicating as there was a non-spoken English patient admitted because of lower back pain. In complying with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Code of Professional Conduct (2010) about confidentiality, I will be using a pseudonym for her. I was aware that English is not her first language; hence, Mrs. C cannot speak and comprehend well. When I went to her bedside to take her vital signs, I have seen the grimace caused by pain on her lower back. I asked if she was in pain at that moment, she suddenly nodded her head whilst touching her lower back (White, 2005). I reported to the nurse right away that Mrs. C was in pain, and based on her Drug Chart she was due for another dose of pain killer. I had administrated the said medication under the supervision of the nurse (NMC, 2010). On the next day, I informed Mrs. C through the use of verbal and non-verbal gestures that she will undergo Colonoscopy to check whats causing her pain (Sully and Dallas, 2010). We waited for her nephew before accompanying them in the Gastroenterology Department as she needs somebody else to translate the procedure to be done. Since it was my first time to watch a patient undergoing such procedure, I grabbed the opportunity to request from the Specialist Nurse if I can be allowed inside to observe the procedure which she willingly approved. I was grateful that her nephew told me that his aunt wanted me to acc ompany her in the Colonoscopy room despite without asking permission (NMC, 2010). During the procedure, I sat next to Mrs. C whilst holding her hand as she was feeling uneasy with the endoscope inserted into her anus. The Specialist Nurse has given me few insights relative to what she was trying to look inside the colon of Mrs. C. I was privileged for having an exquisite time of basic understanding about Colonoscopy (BUPA, 2011). After the procedure, Mrs. C has given me a hug and was very thankful. I smiled and responded that it was my pleasure to assist her. Afterwards, we went back to the ward, and before I left Mrs. C on her bed with the assurance that she was comfortable and safe, her nephew expressed his appreciation for looking after his aunt whilst he was not around. Moreover, Mrs. C told him about me being there rubbing her lower back when she was in agony. I felt flattered on how they recognised my presence in assisting and comforting her. On the above scenario, I suppose I have achieved one of my learning needs, that is, the effective communication between patient and me as a student nurse. Despite the inability of Mrs. C to express herself verbally, I was so sensitive observing her gestures and actions, thus, I can extend the appropriate care and assistance she needed. By intently looking at her countenance, I can interpret what she was trying to convey to me; henceforth, I was able to address her needs. I have realised that verbal and non-verbal communications in nursing are very vital in rendering quality care. As a student nurse, I should not let language be a hindrance in giving the nursing intervention for the patients quick recovery (Andrews and Boyle, 2008). Care of people is the priority of all nurses; this is one of the four principles of NMC Code (2010). The provision of care for the patient should be done in a holistic approach which includes their daily living activities (Newton, 1991). A simple act of ca re means a lot to the patient and therefore, this must be instilled in the heart of every nurse (Department of Health, 2010). As for me I will surely put into practice what I have learned from this placement. Another learning need that I partially accomplished was being able to observe how to perform the Colonoscopy procedure. To supplement what I have observed, I did some informative readings. In summary, I was able to see the nurses duties and responsibilities. Such as, how they manage to give the best nursing interventions in a busy ward, how they collaborate to other health professionals for updating the patients care plan and how they attend to patients with care and compassion. I am fully aware that most patients usually depend on nurses as they are the ones who provide direct care for them (Altman, 2010). I do believe that nursing is a never ending process of learning; hence, nurses are oblige to update their trainings and continue to learn more by reading evidence-based practice resources for self-enrichment (Sackett et al., 1996). As a student, I have to be dedicated, motivated and inspired to achieve my ambitions in life; continually accepting any challenge for my personal development (Maslow, 1954). For the meantime, I will set my goals on what I want to learn; recognising any learning outcome on my learning plan as this will draw me closer to my aspiration, to b e a Qualified Nurse (Peate, 2006). My two weeks practice experience was superlative. The Faculty of Nursing in the hospital provided teaching sessions that will develop us to become competent in our chosen field (McNiff, 1993). All the staff in the ward where I worked with were supportive and compassionate. I am looking forward for my next placement, for me to implement what I have learned from my previous one, and be able to identify new learning opportunities. In conclusion, practice placement is an opportunity of experience, an opportunity of new learning and an opportunity of development.

Welcome To Hell :: essays research papers

We'll give you a free t-shirt if you fill out this credit card application... You can drive home in this brand new car, with no payments until 2000... It's so much easier to not worry about these details. We'll take care of them for you. All we ask is that you send in your payment every month like a good slave.No, no, don't read books. Libraries are closing more and more everyday anyway because they're obsolete, now superseded by television. That concept we taught you in grade school called "literacy" was just a lie, just like everything else we crammed down your throat. We just want to make life easy for you! We'll even give you pretty pictures and animation to protect you from that mean computer! Just you don't worry about that. We'll manage all the details for you for the low, low price of $99.95.The less you know, the better off we are. Job security. Think we're stupid? We are, but we can bullshit our way onto your desktop, because you're even stupider than we are. The truth is, you never knew you had a choice. You probably wouldn't even know there was such a thing as software, without which the computer can't operate, if it hadn't been for our constant reminders that you can upgrade the crap we sold you for the low, low price of $79.95. But it's worth it because you get a 30% increase in performance. That will actually impress you because we're competing with ourselves here.It's actually not that hard. After a late night and a hang over, we quickly code this crap and hire graphics professionals to candy coat it. Then we break anti-trust laws and cut every corner possible to shove it down your throat. Once we've got you convinced that we're the only people who make software, then we just have to make our code a little bit better, which isn't difficult considering how shitty it was in the first place, and then sell it to you again! The greatest part about this deal is that you'll buy it!We know that and we use it to our advantage, destroying all possible competition by using what we call Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt and we whisper little messages to you that you don't want the competition because it's "not well supported," which is just our fucked up way of saying that we've got everyone brainwashed into thinking that we're the only option.

A Tommy Hilfiger Advertisement that Insults America Essay -- Advertise

A Tommy Hilfiger Advertisement that Insults America There are a lot different types of sitcoms, and other types of advertising out there in this day in age. The one ad that fell upon my eyes, and pulled me enough its way to persuade me to write a paper on is a Tommy Hilfiger Advertisement. This advertisement is a true way to show how much advertisement has become demoralizing, and appealing to the eye. â€Å"They sell values, images, and concepts of success and worth, love, and sexuality, popularity and normalcy†. (Kilbourne, 178) Advertising has taken many different methods throughout history to attract people to its products. Advertisers use television, newspapers, magazines, and many other methods. It uses different types of color, and measures to attract people. They try to put many different objects and things with their product that actually half of the time does not even belong. The most charming ads sometimes even stick in our minds for long periods of time. That is a goal of the advertiser. To make an ad that sticks in someone’s mind. These days though, advertising has been so plagued by false advertisement. The reason I picked the ad I did is because of how much false advertisement, and deception the picture is portraying. Firstly I will describe everything in the picture. It’s an ad advertising a fragrance from Tommy Hilfiger. There is an American flag in the background. There is an American flag covered couch people are sitting on. There is a big house in the background. There are six people total in the picture. Each person is wearing all Tommy Hilfiger brand clothes. The people are a mix in between different cultures as well. Plus the people all generally look very good. Then lastly, the caption reads as â€Å"the real American fragrance†. Can you see how offensive it is already? What kind of baloney is it that they would use the American symbol in three different ways just to represent their product? The America flag represents so much to everyone in United States. It represents â€Å"freedom†. It reminds different people of many different things. It can range from memories of all the past battles brave men have fought so that this land still remains ours, or it could have many other dynamic meanings to other people. How dare this ad uses the American flag with its advertising scheme. Tommy Hilfiger has nothing to... ...m it seems like. â€Å"Style is a personal choice.† (Trimbur, 215) We should make our own choices as adults, and as teenagers. We should look pass the fancy clothes, the stereotypes, and the brand name, and buy clothes that define ourselves. That colors the character that is behind us, not the character that advertisers encourages us to be. Bibliography: 1. Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. Diana George and John Trimbur. â€Å"They sell values, images, and concepts of success and worth, love, and sexuality, popularity and normalcy†. (Kilbourne, 178) 2. Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. Diana George and John Trimbur. â€Å"Media images are so persuasive, they can easily become prototypes of style, class, or even profession.† (Brownmiller, 209) 3. Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. Diana George and John Trimbur. They are each generally exposed to over 2,000 ads a day as Kilbourne states. (Kilbourne, 178) 4. Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. Diana George and John Trimbur. â€Å"Style is a personal choice.† (Trimbur, 215)

Succubus on Top CHAPTER 21

I woke up the next morning with the worst hangover of my life, and that's saying something. It was actually the cold air that woke me, blowing in through the shattered windows and whipping the curtains around. Seattle had mild winters, but it was still November. I shape-shifted on a heavy sweater and then noticed that Sol's blood had not disappeared from my skin during last night's transformation, the blood had dried to fine, glittering red crystals on me and everything else. I picked up his discarded silk shirt and discovered it did a pretty good job at wiping them off. The previous night was a blur, and I had trouble remembering the fine details. I supposed I could blame whatever mystery liquid I'd drank for that. Looking around at the wreckage brought a lot of the events back to me, and the rest I pieced together. Not wanting to linger in this place, I found my cell phone and called for a cab. As I rode back into Seattle, I decided I wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep some more. My shift didn't start until later; Doug was opening. Wait. No, he wasn't. Doug was in a hospital bed. Sighing, I directed the driver to take me to the bookstore. Three voice-mail messages waited for me when I arrived in the office. One was from the author we had doing a signing that night, E. J. Putnam. All was in order with his flight; he expected to be here as scheduled. The second message was Beth calling in sick. Jesus. Couldn't anyone stay healthy anymore? That put us down two people now. Warren wrapped up the messages, saying he'd be back from Florida later today and would stop in tonight. I decided to be mad at him out of sheer principle. I'd spent the last week dealing with chaos; he'd been golfing in eighty degree weather. I got the store running and then staked out a register. Short-staffing will keep a person busy, at least. It gave me little time to reflect on last night's events. Or Doug. Or the fact that Seth hadn't come in today. Or my fight with Bastien. â€Å"Are you Georgina?† I looked up into the face of a pretty Japanese-American woman. Her face and build just barely crossed over into plumpness, and she wore her black hair in a high ponytail. Something about her smile seemed familiar. â€Å"I'm Maddie Sato,† she explained, extending a hand. â€Å"Doug's sister.† I shook her hand, astonished. â€Å"I didn't know Doug had a sister. â€Å" Her smile quirked a little. â€Å"Lots of them, actually. We're kind of spread out around the country. We all sort of do our own thing.† â€Å"So you came to†¦see Doug?† I hesitated to bring up such a delicate subject, but why else would she be here? She nodded. â€Å"I've been with him this morning. He's doing great and said to tell you hello.† That was the best news I could have received. â€Å"He woke up.† â€Å"Yes. He's grumpy and punchy but otherwise fine. He said he has some CDs in your office he wants. He asked if I could pick them up.† â€Å"Sure, I'll show you,† I said, leading her toward the back. Wow. Doug's sister. â€Å"How'd you find out about Doug?† â€Å"Seth Mortensen called me.† I stumbled and nearly walked into a display of gardening books. â€Å"How do you know Seth?† â€Å"I write for Womanspeak magazine. Seth had some questions about a feminist organization that he needed answered for his book, and Doug gave him my e-mail address about a month ago. So, we've been in touch a couple times. When Doug†¦got sick, Seth tracked down my number in Salem and called last night. â€Å" Part of me felt a little jealous that Seth had an e-mail correspondence with her that I hadn't known about, but I immediately quashed such feelings. What he'd done had been terribly considerate. And typical of him. Quietly efficient and kind. I led Maddie into the office and found the CDs in a drawer. â€Å"Did you drive up last night or this morning?† She shook her head. â€Å"Actually Seth picked me up.† â€Å"I†¦what? In Salem? That's, like, four hours away.† â€Å"I know. It was really nice. I don't have a car, so he drove right down after he called, got me in the middle of the night, and then brought me to Doug.† My God. Seth had made an eight-hour round-trip last night. No wonder he wasn't here; he'd gone home to crash. That also meant he hadn't necessarily taken off from the hospital to get away from me. He'd done it to help Doug. A pleasant flutter spread through me at this, half of it relief, half of it a response to still more evidence of Seth's continuing decency and consideration of others. Maddie left me her cell phone number and promised to send my good wishes to Doug. As she was leaving my office, Janice entered it. â€Å"Hey Georgina, Lorelei Biljan's here.† â€Å"Oh, okay. Wait.† I did a double take. â€Å"You mean E. J. Putnam. â€Å" â€Å"No. It's definitely Lorelei. E. J.'s a guy.† â€Å"I know that,† I said. â€Å"But her signing's a week from today. Putnam's is today. I had a message about it and everything.† â€Å"I don't know. I just know she's here.† A horrible sinking feeling built up in me. I followed Janice out and shook hands with a small, solidly built middle-aged woman. I'd seen Lorelei Biljan's pictures in her books. Everything was the same from her brown pixie haircut to her characteristic black clothing. â€Å"I'm going to see some sights today but wanted to check in first,† she told me. â€Å"Oh. Okay. Great.† I smiled thinly, willing myself to keep breathing. We chatted a little bit more, and as soon as she was gone, I tore back to Paige's office and ransacked her desk. Sure enough, her schedules showed both authors coming in today. On the master staff calendar, however, she'd put them on separate days. Our own in-store posters also had them on separate days, but checking newspaper ads, I saw them again scheduled for the same day. Our website declared both appeared today, which meant we'd have fans of both here tonight. Good grief. This was like some bad, clich? ¦d sitcom. We had two dates for the dance. I sat at Paige's desk and rubbed my temples. How had this happened? How had perfect, efficient Paige messed up? I quickly answered my own questions: because she had other things on her mind. She had an increasingly complicated pregnancy on her hands, one that had kept her out for almost three weeks now. A distraction like that would let anyone make mistakes. Unfortunately, I had to deal with them. Andy stuck his head inside. â€Å"Oh, hey, there you are. Bruce said to ask you if any of us can help in the caf? ¦. They're short. And Seth just called the store's main line. Said to tell you he can't do the thing tomorrow. â€Å" â€Å"Seth called?† I asked stupidly. So he wasn't asleep. And the â€Å"thing† tomorrow had been a date to see a local Celtic band play at a pub. But he was cancelling. The noble reasons I had attributed to him for keeping away from me suddenly seemed less altruistic. â€Å"Okay. Thanks.† I stared into space. My world was falling apart around me. I wasn't speaking to the two men I cared about the most. I was in charge of a bookstore that didn't have enough people to run it. Two authors were coming tonight, each expecting to have center stage to promote their books. We didn't have room for that. And to top it all off, I felt like shit. The residual effects of that drug had left me with a wicked headache, and I hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep. Killing a god will really wear you out. I had too much to do and not enough energy or willpower to do it. Let alone the means. I needed a miracle. Divine intervention. And as feasible as that might seem in my line of work, it probably wasn't going to happen. Unless†¦ Divine intervention? I found my purse and pulled out one of the packets of ambrosia. Those weird crystals pulsed out at me as I stared at them. What would happen? Nocturnal Admission had risen to stardom in a short time on these. Could I survive one hellish day at work? Would these give me the stamina and know-how to get through it? Or would I just turn into a slobbering sex kitten? I no longer believed Sol had given these to me last night. That had indeed been a date-rape drug. But these†¦these might be able to offer me some sort of inspiration to get out of this mess. Of course, there was the whole dangerous addiction and withdrawal problem. But this was my first time. Even mortals had to go through a couple doses before things got nasty, and Carter had said it would take even longer for me to hit the downside. I was probably safe, so long as I didn't get too into whatever it was I was about to become. Maybe it was the fatigue, but I didn't hesitate further. Don't overthink it, just act. I ordered a white-chocolate mocha from the caf? ¦ and dumped the crystals in once I was back in my office. â€Å"Bottoms up,† I muttered, just before knocking it all back. When I'd finished, I rested my head on the desk and waited for something to happen. Anything. Mostly I still felt sleepy. I yawned. When did this stuff kick in? How would I know? And good grief, what would I do if this turned into a disaster too? What if it made my day worse? I mean, not that it could get worse. I had two authors booked for tonight. The jealousy Tammi had once joked about could very well occur. Two was a bad number. Two led to rivalry. Add more, and it becomes a friendly group matter, not a one-on-one competition for space and spotlight. I'd been to big events where lots of authors spoke and read. Sometimes they sat on a panel and answered questions together about writing, inspiration, and publishing. Getting those perspectives was neat. It was a cool opportunity for fans of all the writers, and then later, said fans could have books signed by multiple authors. Those events were big deals. They took a lot of planning and a lot of advertising, not to mention a lot of staff. I sat up a couple minutes later, realizing I'd long since jolted to alertness. I didn't have time to note when that had happened or what it meant. I had too many things to do. My mind raced. In a flash, I was out on the main floor, hunting down Andy. I handed him a staff roster. â€Å"I need you to call every person who's not working today – except for the sick ones. See if they'll come in. Preferably for the rest of the day. If not, we'll take what we can get. Then ask everyone here who's not closing if they can close. Tell them they'll get time-and-a-half.† Andy stared as though he'd never seen me before, but I didn't give him time to question me. I went back to my office, paged Maria, and called Maddie Sato while I waited. When Maddie answered, I explained to her what I hoped she could do for me. She sounded surprised by my request, but she agreed nonetheless. She also promised to make another phone call for me that I wasn't too keen on making myself. Maria appeared just as Maddie and I hung up. Maria worked part-time and was shy and quiet. She preferred to avoid the registers if she could, being much happier lost in the shelves. She was also an amazing artist. I handed her a piece of poster board from our supply cabinet. â€Å"I need you to make a poster for tonight's event.† â€Å"The signing?† she asked. â€Å"Er, signings?† Everyone had heard about the double booking by now. â€Å"Not just a signing. It's a literary extravaganza. It's†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I came up with and then promptly rejected several possibilities. â€Å"It's the Emerald Lit Fest.† Boring, but straightforward. Sometimes that was better than a gimmick. â€Å"Yes. The first annual one. And put on here that these authors will be there.† I handed her a list I'd already made up. â€Å"Mention that they'll autograph books. And that we'll have drawings for prizes.† I thought some more, making it up as I went along. The ideas just leapt off my tongue. â€Å"And that 10 percent of all sales will be donated to the Puget Sound's Literacy Project.† â€Å"Wow,† she said. â€Å"I didn't know all this was going on.† â€Å"Yeah,† I agreed briskly. â€Å"Me either. Draw it, type it, cut and paste, whatever. Just do it. I need it in twenty minutes. And it needs to look good. â€Å" She blinked and then immediately set to work. While she did, I made phone calls. Print ads were a no-go, but almost everyone had a website. I called the big papers and the small artsy ones. I also called the local writers' groups and convinced them to e-mail their members. Finally, I called radio stations. They were less willing to do anything on short notice, but they were my best bet at immediate advertising. I could have the DJs mention us without a formal commercial. That took a bit of finagling, but we had an account with most of them already that guaranteed payment, and the charitable angle was hard to resist. Okay, I was hard to resist. Even over the phone, I could hear myself wooing and persuading with an unholy skill. Maria stopped working at one point to stare at me with an almost hypnotized look. Shaking her head, she returned to her poster. Andy popped in with the annotated roster. We hadn't roped in quite as many as I would have liked, but we'd definitely increased our numbers. And most of the current staff was staying. Maria finished her poster just then, and it did look good. I drove to the print shop that usually handled our business and turned the poster over to them. â€Å"No,† the manager told me flatly, making my manic flurry of activity come to a screeching halt. â€Å"I can't do all that in under an hour. Three hours maybe. â€Å" â€Å"Hour and a half?† I cajoled. â€Å"It's for charity. An emergency situation just came up.† She frowned. â€Å"An emergency literacy situation?† â€Å"Literacy is always an emergency. Do you know how many children in the Puget Sound area struggle with reading due to lack of resources and education?† Fortunately, being in the book business, I knew all the grim stats. By the time I was done with her, that battle-axe was nearly in tears. She'd do my order, she promised, and she'd do it in my original hour. While those were being printed, I traveled over to Foster's Books. Locally owned, that store wasn't as big as Emerald City, but it had the same sort of reputation as a local landmark. Technically, we were rivals. Garrett Foster, the owner, looked up when I entered. â€Å"Looking for a job?† â€Å"I've got one for you,† I told him sweetly, leaning on his counter. â€Å"I need you to get in touch with Abel Warshawski for me.† Abel Warshawski was a reclusive local author who wrote wildly popular books about the Pacific Northwest. He and Garrett were longtime friends, so Abel only did appearances at Foster's. Garrett arched a grizzled eyebrow. â€Å"Abel only comes here. You know that. â€Å" â€Å"I do. Which is why I didn't ask for his number.† I laid into Garrett then about how half of Emerald City's staff were in dire health. I talked about charity and literacy statistics. I pointed out that we weren't technically rivals anyway, since he was in Capitol Hill and I was in Queen Anne. Besides, the book industry was like a family. We all had the same goals. â€Å"My God, woman,† he murmured when I finished. I didn't think I'd taken a breath during my entire spiel. â€Å"Are you sure you don't want a new job?† â€Å"I just want Abel for the night.† He bit his lip. â€Å"Think we could get Mortensen over here for a signing some time?† â€Å"Hmm.† I considered this. Bartering was in my blood. â€Å"That depends. You guys close a few hours earlier than us, right? Think we could get a few of you to help us out tonight? Paid, of course.† â€Å"You've got some balls,† he muttered. He stared at me, still thinking, but I knew I had him. He couldn't resist. â€Å"Okay, but only if we get Mortensen during a hot time – around his next release.† â€Å"Done.† I didn't like sharing Seth, but lots of big authors made multiple Seattle appearances when a new book came out. I hoped Seth didn't mind being whored out. Oh, well. That was for later. Before I left, I bought all of Foster's American Mystery and Womanspeak magazines. He hesitated a moment as he rang them up. â€Å"Hey†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He looked me over. â€Å"I don't suppose you read that story Mortensen wrote†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Well,† I said with a breezy smile, no longer caring about my doppelganger, Genevieve, â€Å"let's just say he's not the first man I've given some ‘inspiration' to.† As a parting gift, I also gave Garrett one of our advertisements since I'd had the print shop make me a few to take with me before starting the big order. He stared at the poster incredulously. â€Å"You already put Abel on it! Before you even talked to me!† I left him gaping and went to pick up my posters. I returned to the bookstore and distributed them among three of the staff, arming each with a list of places to hang them. I sent them off and then managed the bookstore end of things, which mostly involved moving a lot of furniture and assigning employee duties for tonight. When six o'clock rolled around, it really was like a miracle had occurred. Signings normally occurred in the second floor caf? ¦. That spot still made up the heart of the show, but I'd had the rest of the second floor cleared out. That meant a lot of shelves and displays got crammed together while the speakers were on, but it didn't matter so much. Most of the people there wanted to hear the authors, not browse books quite yet. And what people we had. E. J. Putnam and Lorelei Biljan had each drawn in their respective science fiction and literary fiction crowds. That was big enough, but my advertising had drawn in even more. We were packed. We needed every inch of space rearranging the furniture had allowed. I couldn't remember ever having this many people in the store. Putnam and Biljan had been a little shaken – and initially unhappy – to find themselves in the midst of the Emerald Lit Fest rather than an ordinary signing. I passed off the confusion as a miscommunication with their people and thanked them for helping the charity. I also reminded them this was a good opportunity to show off for people who normally read other genres, and it wasn't even like either writer was slighted†¦too much. Each of them got to read a ten-minute excerpt and then field fifteen minutes of questions. It was a bit expedited for a signing, yes, but it worked and gave us time to then have a Q&A session with our full panel of authors, consisting of the two headliners plus Seth, Maddie, and Abel. Prize-drawings occurred throughout it all, and I emceed everything myself, not even knowing what I said half the time. â€Å"I can't believe you gave Seth second-billing to Putnam and Biljan,† Andy remarked softly to me during the panel. Only those two authors had been given exclusive spotlight. â€Å"He's bigger than both of them put together.† â€Å"He's also extremely good-natured,† I murmured back. Now that I had a momentary breather, I couldn't stop drinking Seth in. I felt like I hadn't seen his whimsical smile and brown eyes in ages. In fact, I hadn't ever seen that particular Captain and Tennille shirt he wore. I wanted to run up to him but held back. Maddie had been the one to ask him to participate, on my behalf. It was one of the things I'd asked her to do this morning. When all the speaking was done, I had the staff more or less move everything back. We left the caf? ¦ cleared out and set up a table for each of the authors to do signings. Even Maddie, who was fairly obscure, had some takers. Womanspeak had sort of a cult reputation, and I think she'd gained a few fans during the panel. Passing by Seth as he spoke to a fan, I caught his eye and paused. A moment of awkwardness hung between us that even my ambrosia-induced mania could not overcome. We had too much unresolved business between us yet. â€Å"Thank you,† I said simply. â€Å"Thank you for doing this.† â€Å"Well,† he said after a moment. â€Å"You know me. I haven't missed an Emerald Lit Fest yet. I'm not about to start now.† The store was nowhere near emptying when closing came, so we let them stay, especially since we were doing a hell of a business. It was around then that Warren showed up. He stood next to me and joined me in a survey of the crowd around us. â€Å"Why,† he said after a moment, â€Å"do I feel like a parent who has just returned home and found his teens throwing a party?† â€Å"Paige double-booked Biljan and Putnam. This seemed like the logical solution.† â€Å"And when did you discover the double-booking?† â€Å"This morning.† â€Å"This morning,† he repeated. â€Å"So, instead of, say, moving furniture on the first floor and simply having two concurrent signings, you decided – with less than a day's notice – to have a star-studded, massively advertised soiree with more people than this store can hold?† I blinked. Wow. That really would have been a simpler solution. â€Å"It's a ‘fest,' actually. Not a soiree. And don't forget it's for charity.† Warren jerked his head toward me. â€Å"We're donating this to charity?† â€Å"Only 10 percent,† I assured him. â€Å"But there's actually a woman here from the Literacy Project who was so impressed that she wants to talk about us getting involved in a much bigger fundraiser with them. It probably won't be until next year – in the spring, of course. We wouldn't want to conflict with the next Emerald Lit Fest.† â€Å"The next one?† â€Å"Well, yeah. It's a tradition now.† I'd been riding the high from all of this pretty steadily all night. I was still so high, in fact, I probably could have arranged and implemented the second Emerald Lit Fest for tomorrow morning. Something suddenly occurred to me. â€Å"Hey, am I in trouble?† He rubbed his eyes. â€Å"Georgina, you are†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shook his head. â€Å"Beyond words. And not in trouble. Definitely not. We won't do this much business on Black Friday.† He gave me one of his nicer smiles, reminiscent of our more intimate days. â€Å"Why don't you go home now? You need it. Your pupils are really big.† â€Å"Are you throwing me out? Are you sure I'm not in trouble?† â€Å"You're not in trouble. But I've heard about how much overtime you've been putting in, as well as†¦other things. Paige is going to be here next week, and we'll sit down and talk then.† He suddenly did a double take. â€Å"Is that Garrett Foster working one of our registers?† I walked home reluctantly. It wasn't easy abandoning one's brainchild. I still felt high and giddy, like pure adrenaline ran in my veins. I couldn't just go home. I needed to do something. Plan something. Anything active. A few guys glanced at me as we passed each other, and I smiled provocatively at them, nearly making one run into a garbage can. Maybe there were other ways of being active tonight. My cell phone rang, and I answered without thinking. It was Bastien. â€Å"Damn it. I forgot I was supposed to be screening my calls. I'm still not speaking to you.† â€Å"Don't hang up. I have to talk to you.† â€Å"No, I told you – â€Å" † Fleur ,I'm leaving.† I heard a strained, weary tone to his voice. He wasn't talking about going out for the night. My euphoric glow dimmed a little. â€Å"You're leaving Seattle.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because it isn't going to work with Dana. We both know it.† I stood in front of my building now and stared at it blankly, waiting for some ambrosia inspiration to give me the insight that would help Bastien finally woo Dana. Nothing happened, so I did the only thing I could. â€Å"I'll be right over.† I found his door unlocked when I arrived and walked inside. â€Å"Mitch† stood in the kitchen with his back to me, hands resting on the island, entire posture slumped. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head against his back. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I whispered. â€Å"Me too.† â€Å"The cooking thing didn't pan out?† I almost laughed at my own pun. God, this ambrosia was great. â€Å"No. Although, I can make a lovely creme brulee now. I have some in the refrigerator if you want to try it.† He sighed. â€Å"But no, it wasn't working. And you knew that, didn't you?† He turned around so that we faced each other. I looked away. â€Å"Yeah. But I didn't want to†¦I dunno. I hoped, I guess. Hoped it would work out.† We stood there in silence for a while. No matter how angry I was at him, I hated seeing him like this. Devastated. Defeated. † Fleur, I want to apologize about that night – â€Å" â€Å"No, it's not all your – â€Å" â€Å"Just listen to me first,† he admonished. â€Å"There's something I have to tell you. Something about Seth.† And then, just like every other time I visited, the doorbell rang. The incubus waved an annoyed hand. â€Å"Leave it.† â€Å"It could be her.† â€Å"I don't care. I don't want to see her.† Maybe he was pessimistic, but I'd eaten the Food of the Gods. I felt like I could do anything. I knew I could do anything. My confidence and cleverness knew no bounds. I had created a new tradition at Emerald City in a matter of hours. Surely I could still find some last glimmer of hope for Bastien if I had a chance to speak to Dana face-to-face. â€Å"There still might be a way,† I told him as I walked to the door. † Go invisible if you want. I want to talk to her. â€Å" â€Å"If it's even her,† he called after me. But it was her. â€Å"Tabitha.† She smiled. â€Å"I thought I saw you come in.† I returned her smile with my own. A dazzling one. I wasn't going to be shy and idiotic around her anymore. I should never have been that way under normal conditions, let alone now, when I was at my finest. â€Å"I'm so glad you could stop by,† I told her, warmth oozing out of every pore. I beckoned her in as though I lived there. As much as she saw me over there, I might as well have. â€Å"Please, come inside. Let me get you something to drink.† For the first time, I saw Dana off guard. I was not the Tabitha she knew, and she didn't know how to handle it. Bastien stood in the kitchen, invisible, arms crossed defiantly over his chest. I winked at him and then turned back to Dana. â€Å"Mitch is out for a while, if you wanted to see him.† â€Å"Oh. That's fine. I can, um, stay for a little while†¦I guess.† She seemed unnerved by my control of the situation. I poured us both iced tea, and we sat down at the table. I led us into conversation about our days, telling her about an awesome charity event I'd been to at a downtown bookstore. Dana recovered some of her composure and returned to her smooth and controlled self. Her bigoted nature aside, the woman could manage a decent conversation, and we clicked. Too bad she didn't channel her intelligence into more useful areas, I thought. As we talked about assorted things, the solution to the whole Dana situation struck me – it was so obvious. I don't know if it was the ambrosia or not, but I couldn't believe how blind we'd all been. How had none of us figured out the problem with her? What kind of seduction experts were we? Bastien was right. Dana was a lost cause. For him. â€Å"Dana,† I interrupted in a most un-Tabitha way, â€Å"I'm really glad you came over tonight because there's something I've needed to ask you.† She choked on her tea. â€Å"Yes?† I propped my elbows on the table, resting my chin in my hands so I could have solid eye contact. â€Å"You said a little while ago that you and Bill had lost the romance and that you didn't care. But you know what? I don't believe that. I think you miss it. I think you crave it. But not with him.† Dana's face went pale, eyes wide. Bastien, standing nearby, wore a similar look. I didn't care. We had nothing to lose at this point. â€Å"Am I right?† I leaned closer. â€Å"There is something missing, isn't there? And you were lying about not knowing what's sexy. You know. You know what turns you on, and you want it. You want it so bad, you can taste it.† I swear, you could have heard a pin drop in the room. Dana worked forcibly to control her breathing, staring and staring at me as though I might vanish if she blinked. â€Å"Yes,† she finally croaked. â€Å"You've been right about a lot of things. Like how we can't choose who we want. And yes†¦I think we both know what I'm talking about, Tabitha.† Some of her old confidence began to return. â€Å"At first, I wasn't sure. You were so hard to read. But then, after I saw how awkward things were with you and your boyfriend – how you never wanted to talk about him and said you weren't attracted to him – I knew for sure. That little lingerie show you put on for me cinched it. You were amazing. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I'd already seen you naked in the hot tub, and that had been agonizing enough. I had to see you naked again. And then, as I talked to you more, I realized you were intelligent too. Just like tonight.† She took a deep, quaking breath and reached out her hand to cover mine, fingers slowly dancing along my skin. â€Å"You're right. I do want something. So bad I can taste it. I know it's wrong, and I know it's immoral, but I can't help myself. I can't help who I want. Can't help wanting you.† No wonder Bastien hadn't been able to close the deal. Dana had wanted me. Probably from the moment I stepped out of the pool in that skimpy bathing suit. Staring at her, I thought about all the horrible things her group did. I also thought about Bastien being tortured by some demon. In some cases, being immortal wasn't always a blessing. Now, I could save him from that fate and send a little payback to the CPFV. I smiled back at Dana, letting my body language speak for me as the tension mounted. I admit, I was a little surprised that all of my previous encounters had been read as advances on her, but well, whatever. The invisible incubus had run out of the room somewhere around â€Å"I had to see you naked again.† He returned now, wielding the video camera. Seeing my calculated silence, he waved the camera at me frantically, glee all over his face. I held the power now to change everything. The power to achieve what Bastien had been fighting for. To save him and humiliate the CPFV. If I could just pull this off. The ambrosia had proved today that my strongest talents lay in improvisation and planning, the ability to multitask and solve problems. That was great. It made me feel better about myself than I had in a while. It was probably what had led me to realize the truth about Dana too. But what about my earlier musings about the ambrosia? In regard to sex? Was my sexual prowess still a key part of me? Had the ambrosia enhanced that too? Could I rock some man – or woman – in bed? Looking at Dana and her now-obvious lust, I knew the answer. I gave a sultry laugh and jauntily brushed my hair out of my face. I could and would rock her world. I was a team player, after all. For both teams. Squeezing her hand, I moved toward her. â€Å"I feel exactly the same way.†