Losing Weight Takes Exercise and Diet Essay - 596 Words

In addition to a sensible diet, exercise contributes to weight loss. The American Heart Association recommends doing 30 to 60 minutes of moderate cardio on most days of the week, and strength training on two days to reduce your weight. (See References 1) To lose 1 pound of fat, a daily deficit of 500 calories is needed. This might sound like a lot, but by adjusting your cardio and strength-training workouts, and engaging as many muscles as possible, you can maximize your caloric burn without living in the gym. Boost Your Cardio Intensity High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, can make you burn more calories during and after your workout, because it forces your body to work harder. During HIIT, you go back and forth between short†¦show more content†¦For instance, jump rope or do jumping jacks between the exercises. The ACE recommends doing circuit training at least twice a week. (See References 5) Include Combination and Compound Exercises Combination and compound exercise can optimize your strength training routine. Although you might not burn a lot of calories during the exercises, you stimulate more muscle tissue by working multiple muscles at the same time. (See References 6) Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat and boosts your resting metabolism. (See References 7) Combination exercise can include lunges with biceps curls, or lateral or front raises, squats with shoulder presses, and pushups with dumbbell rows. Compound exercises can include dead lifts, lunges, squats, bench presses, lat pull-downs, pull-ups, and bent-over rows. Key Concepts maximize caloric burn burning many calories exercise caloric burn References American Heart Association: Losing Weight [http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/WeightManagement/LosingWeight/Losing-Weight_UCM_307904_Article.jsp] Shape.com: 5 Ways to Burn 500 Calories in 30 Minutes [http://www.shape.com/fitness/cardio/5-ways-burn-500-calories-30-minutes] American Council on Exercise: High-Intensity Interval Training [http://www.acefitness.org/fitness-fact-article/3317/high-intensity-interval-training/] American Council on Exercise: What is cross trainingShow MoreRelatedQuick Weight Loss Diet Plan Essay1583 Words   |  7 Pages Lose 5 Pounds in 5 Days Fast Quick Weight Loss Diet Plans Intro Why Some People Fail to Lose Weight FAQ s How Much Will You Lose Conscious Eating Leads to Weight Loss Success The Basic Diet Plan Alternative Plan One Alternative Plan Two Alternative Plan Three Alternative Plan Four Alternative Plan Five Intro We live in a land of too much food. Every where that you look food is trying to entice us to just take one little bite. It is a fact of life that food is the long haired siren that isRead MoreDiet Pills vs. Diet and Exercise1074 Words   |  5 Pageswhen it comes to losing weight nowadays with so many new things out on the market. But with no right or wrong way of doing this you have to find one that works with the daily routine and the lifestyle. Whether it is on Weight Watcher, Jenny Craig, E-diets, diet pills, surgeries or with diet and exercise or any other one of the methods out there. Instead of using diet pills that only work when a person is taking them, the healthiest and safest way to lose weight is with diet and exercise. TheRead MoreWeight Loss Essay1580 Words   |  7 PagesMillions of people battle weight loss every day. People come up with so many excuses as to why they cannot lose weight. Losing weight, eating healthy and finding time to exercise are th e biggest complaints of most individuals that are overweight. According to Rob B (par 1), so many people fail at losing weight because they are lazy. Many people would like to lose weight and exercise but because of jobs, families and other priorities, it makes it difficult to find time to exercise. Every time youRead MoreFad Diets : Obesity And Obesity1382 Words   |  6 Pagesstruggle with excess weight, but Americans exceed the rates of obesity in other first world countries by thirteen percent (Overweight). According to Overweight and Obesity Statistics, 68.8 percent of the population is overweight or obese in America. Although the number of overweight and obese people is higher than ever before, many are not willing to work to lose weight. Americans want to sit back, relax, and lose weight. Fad diets have become very popular for this reason. Fad diets allow people to simplyRead MoreDieting The Fat Riddle : Weight Loss863 Words   |  4 PagesWeight Loss The majority of people want to know the best way to keep their body in a fine shape, but still enjoy all kinds of food. Some people find that fruits and vegetables are the most important kind of food for weight loss. Therefore, a person is required to eat fruits and vegetables that contain fewer calories with easier ways to burn weight. Water and exercise are other vital factors of losing weight. Though it may be hard, people have succeeded in the past with amazing results. ResearchersRead MoreExercise Is A Subset Of Physical Activity That Is Repetitive, Structured, And Planned1062 Words   |  5 PagesAbstract Exercise is a subset of physical activity that is repetitive, structured, and planned. Multiple types of exercise have been studied and researched in an attempt to gain perspective on how exercise correlates directly to weight loss. Weight loss is the result of increased energy expenditure or decreased energy intake. For weight loss to occur, an individual should focus on their caloric balance. This refers to the number of calories an individual takes in compared to the number of caloriesRead MoreEssay about To Lose Weight, You Must Burn Calories636 Words   |  3 Pagesevery day is the only way to lose weight; it takes a deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week. In addition to a healthy diet, exercise can contribute to this deficit. By focusing on your entire body and engaging as many muscles as possible, you can optimize your workout results and promote weight loss. Your routine should include cardio and strength training to burn calories and stimulate muscle tissue. Step 1 Engage in cardiovascular exercise on most days of the week to burnRead MoreTransform Your Body Now!1414 Words   |  6 Pagesfigure out the healthy foods to eat, the healthy amount of calories to take in, and the certain exercises that will target the fatter areas. Losing fat and exercising are the main parts to transforming the body. The process of fat loss will help maintain a long, healthy lifestyle. The change in a lifestyle is one of the main parts to the transformation of the body. This happens by completely changing eating habits, exercises, and even the way a person thinks. Becoming â€Å"fit† is not as easy as peopleRead MoreMethods for Weight Loss Essays822 Words   |  4 PagesThe business of weight loss is a $40 - $50 billion industry with many paths to shedding those unwanted pounds. Be it a fad diet, a surgery for weight loss, a support program or good old diet and exercise; the path to losing weight and getting healthy is achievable with hard work and determination. Of the many ways to lose weight, fad diets can be the most dangerous. These diets rely on a gimmicks to attract dieters and promise fast results with little effort. Some fad diets promote a specificRead MoreEssay on Pros and Cons of the Atkins and South Beach Diets1050 Words   |  5 Pagesand South Beach Diets People consider many factors when choosing a diet: what best suites their needs, how it fits with their body type, and what the diet entails, are all aspects taken into account. The Atkins and South Beach diets are plans that take different approaches in style but end up having similar results in the end. Atkins serves to eliminate carbohydrates and focus on more protein-enriched foods; this idea sells because it offers a way to lose weight fast. The South

Women in Psychology Psy 310 Essay - 1470 Words

Women In Psychology by Phoenix University PSY 310 Aril 28, 2012 1 Inez Beverly Prosser, Psychologist Inez Beverly Posser (1895-1934) was America’s first Black female psychologist. http://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/11/prosser.aspx . Not only is this significant in itself, it is also the adversity she overcame growing up to get there. And later, in the profound research in her dissertation that caused controversy as well as groundbreaking discoveries regarding education and integration vs. segregation as it relates to psychology. Inez was born into a family with 10 other siblings where she†¦show more content†¦Why did Inez’s research and conclusion cause such controversy? There are many 3 different views that can be drawn on the research and conclusions. First, since Inez was African American herself, this may have conflicted within her African American community. Why? Since African Americans have been struggling for equal rights and equality in education, this would seem to go against what her own race has been struggling to achieve. On the surface it would appear that way. However, her research was from a psychological perspective that had not yet been considered or researched. Ironically, her conclusions in her study in her dissertation could also be useful as the topic of desegregation that did not come along until decades after her study. The question that was answered even before its time, is how desegregation would effect the students themselves. Would this have a positive or negative effect on their education? If equality was to be reached in the public school system wouldn’t this have to also mean that the African American students would also fare better than in integrated schools? What’s the use in achieving desegregation if it is going to have such a negative impact on the African American students? If you will notice, the word â€Å"integrated† is used in place of â€Å"desegregation† in her study since desegregation had not yet even been addressed! As you can imagine, many different views, arguments, and psychologicalShow MoreRelatedHistory of Modern Psychology Essay754 Words   |  4 PagesA History of Modern Psychology PSY 310 Andrea Terpstra March 15, 2010 Lillian Fillpot A History of Modern Psychology The history of psychology is in infancy at the present time. Many philosophers can be credited to the development of this science. Starting in the early 18th and 19th centuries philosophers such as Rene’ Descartes and John Locke opened the world of what we know as psychology today. The British empiricists also contributed to psychology. Some of these men include David HumeRead MoreWomen in Psychology - Margaret Washburn1458 Words   |  6 PagesWomen in Psychology – Margaret Floy Washburn PSY/310 May 23, 2011 Women in Psychology Margaret Floy Washburn was an accomplished and highly-recognized woman within the field of psychology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her interests were equally divided between science and philosophy and thus, Washburn made the decision â€Å"†¦to pursue â€Å"the wonderful new science of experimental psychology†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Goodwin, 2008, pg. 200, para. 2). Under the tutelage of E. B. Titchener, a British psychologistRead MoreHorney1624 Words   |  7 PagesWomen in Psychology Paper Shanda L. Ludwig PSY/310 September 11, 2011 Dr. Matt Pearcey Women in Psychology Paper It was not until the 1890s that women were allowed access to training in most fields of study, including psychology. Since that time many have made significant theoretical contributions to the field of psychology and our understanding of psychodynamic thought including the works of Karen Horney (1885–1952). She was a psychoanalyst best known for her work on neurosis and copingRead MoreWomen in Psychology Essay1565 Words   |  7 PagesWomen in Psychology Paper PSY/310 It feels as though most of the time when thinking about psychology and the great contributions that have been made to it, that most of them have been from men, but along the way there have been several influential women that have contributed to the field of psychology as well. Just like men, there were several women who were pioneers, theorists, and counselors; many of these women have contributed toRead MoreWomen Contribution to Psychology1633 Words   |  7 PagesWomen Contributions to Psychology Jovon Sutphin PSY/310 8 March 2013 Brandi Reynolds Abstract The essay is written about Margaret Flow Washburn. The essay speaks of her background from her early teenage years and progressing through her career as a psychologist, her battles of a womanRead MoreINEZ BEVERLY PROSSER - AFRICAN AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST1587 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ Inez Beverly Prosser Twentieth Century African American Psychologist Marcus Monteiro PSY 310 May 4, 2014 Professor Sara Molloy Abstract Inez Beverly Prosser (1895-1934), was an African American psychologist of the early twentieth century. Her main focus was on the significance of racism and its effects upon children relative to the obtainment of fair and adequate education. This writing will address the endeavors, perspectivesRead MoreMedicare Policy Analysis447966 Words   |  1792 PagesExchange-participating health benefits plan. Sec. 306. Other functions. Sec. 307. Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund. Sec. 308. Optional operation of State-based health insurance exchanges. Sec. 309. Interstate health insurance compacts. Sec. 310. Health insurance cooperatives. Sec. 311. Retention of DOD and VA authority. Subtitle B—Public Health Insurance Option †¢HR 3962 IH VerDate Nov 24 2008 12:56 Oct 30, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H3962

Cults (2230 words) Essay Example For Students

Cults (2230 words) Essay CultsEach year, hundreds of North Americans join one of the increasing,estimated 3000 unorthodox religions that exist across North America. Theincreasing number of cults, to date in North America, is due to the factthat cults are a social movement that attempts to help people cope withtheir perceived problems with social interaction. Cult recruiters targetthose who perceive themselves as different from the rest of society, andgive these individuals the sense of belonging that they crave. Cultliterature lures potential cult members by appealing to their desperateneed to socially fit in. Cults provide a controlled family environmentthat appeals to potential cult members because it is a removal from theexterior society. Cult recruiters prey on those who see themselves as alienated from therest of society, and give these people the sense of conformity that theydesire. A common method of recruiters, to obtain new members, is throughchat lines on the internet. A recorded conversation between a member of the Divine Light Mission, Fire-Shade, and an 18-year old boy, Jay 18, was obtained off of the site, IRC Teen Chat. Jay18: I am a really great poet, but all of the kids in my class are pretty warped about it. I basically hide it from them because I dont need that hassle. Fire-Shade: My family has a great respect for the artist inside us all. I know you live in Michigan, and our family could always use new operatives all over the world. You have to understand what our family is about, it is about always fitting in and never hiding the truth to be liked or cool. Are you interested?Jay18: Well maybeFire-Shade: Give me your phone number we really shouldnt talk about this here. Jay18: I would rather not give my phone number out. You give me yours, I wont be able to talk for long though. Fire-Shade: Trust is very important in our group. Do you trust me? You cant call us, unfortunately because we are not in a position to be accepting phone calls. Jay18: Well then you can just e-mail me. OK. Fire-Shade: 1The cult member makes the young boy feel as though he does care abouthis problems, and wants to make this boys life better. Fire-Shadeconveys his family as an entity not as many different individuals. Afterfeeling alone for many years the only persuasion some individuals needis the assurance that they will be part of a society and acceptedunconditionally. Cult members know what type of individuals feel mostalienated and alone, says Dr. Lorna Goldberg, a New Jerseypsychoanalyst. No one plans to join a cult unless they see that cult as a possibility for a family, or a better society. Cults target people in transitioncollege students away from home for the first time, people who have moved to new cities for jobs, those who have just been divorced or widowed. Usually individuals 16 to 25 or 35 to 40. The vast majority of members are merely looking for a sense of community and belonging, during a difficult time in their lives.2 Cults provide an ersatz social unit, which takes them in, nurtures themand reinforces the cults worldview. By the time that most cult membersrealize that this cult isnt what they had expected, it is too late,because they are already too afraid to leave. Recruiters are not theonly way that potential members are enticed into cults, often theirliterature is powerful enough. Cult novels, pamphlets and websites draw in potential cult members byappealing to their desperate need to socially fit in. Often if a pieceof cult literature is written correctly it convinces the most logicalmind of the most absurd reasoning, like this pamphlet by the HeavensGate cult. The generally accepted norms of todays societies world over are designed, established, and maintained by the individuals who were at one time students of the Kingdom of Heaven- angels in the making- who flunked out of the classroom. Legends and scriptures refer to them as fallen angels. The current civilizations records use the name Satan or Lucifer to describe a single fallen angel and also to nickname any evil presence. If you have experienced some of what our classroom requires of us, you would know that these presences are real and that the Kingdom of God even permits them to attack us in order for us to learn their tricks and how to stay above them or conquer them.3This particular piece of heave ns gate literature can be found printed innot only their pamphlets and novels, but also on their website. In thissingle passage this cult has enabled the alienated individual to feelaccepted and feel that they are not the only person who feels helpless,alone and disliked by society. It not only reassures the potential cultmember that they are welcome somewhere, but it makes them feel superiorto the society that they feel has betrayed them their entire life. Herzog EssayThe idea that any specific social-class is more susceptible to cultmembership is false. As history has shown cult members social class cannot be generalized. Social Status is no indicator of susceptibility and no defense against it. For instance, while many of the dead a Jonestown were poor, the Solar Temple favors the carriage trade. Its disciples have included the wife and son of the founder of Vuarnet sunglass company. The Branch Davidians at Waco came from many walks of life. And at Rancho Santa Fe they were paragons of the entrepreneurial class, so well organized they died in shifts.10 The reason for cult membership is obviously not entirely due to social class. Different people are drawn to different cults, just as different cults prey on different individuals. The research done at the Bethany Hills School is also not entirely accurate because the population is so small that 24 surveys cannot accurately represent most cult members. Although Dr. Meltons research provides an interesting viewpoint, hisclaims are still being experimented and have never been fullysubstantiated. His claim that cult members are young people rebellingagainst their parents is statistically inaccurate since 35 to40-year-olds are one of the most common groups of cult members, and makeup a large portion of the hundreds of men and women who join cults eachyear. Cult enlisteers target those who view themselves as a deviant from therest of society, and give these individuals a false sense of family. Cult literature lures potential cult members by convincing them thatsociety is an anomalous entity and that they are healthy and sound. Thecontrolled family environment of cults appeals to potential cult membersbecause they have all of their decisions made for them, and do not riskfailure. No one is beyond the possibility of joining a cult, applicantsrequire only a hopeless feeling of social inadequacy, a condition apt tostrike anyone at some point in life. Undoutably, many cults aremalicious and violent, but they do send a clear message that somethingis very wrong when sane, healthy people would rather burn, poison, andshoot themselves to death rather than live another moment in society. Endnotes1. Lacay, Richard. Macleans: The Lure of the Cult (March 22 1997)2. Graebrener, William. The American Record. Alfred A. Knoph, Inc. New York. 1982. 3. Applewhite, Marshall Herff. Heavens Gate, The Novel. Received offof their internet site(www.heavensgatetoo.com)4. Applewhite, Marshall Herff. Heavens Gate The Novel. Received offof their internet site(www.heavensgatetoo.com)5. Bright-Paul, Anthony. Stairway to Subud. Dharma Book Company, Inc. NewYork. 1965. 6. Swami, Bhaktivedanta A.C. Krsna Consciousness: The Topmost YogaSystem. Iskcon Press. Boston. 1970. 7. Fennell, Tom. Time: Doom Sects . (April 7, 1997) 8. Lamaadar, Alia. Cults:Questionair. January 12, 1998. 9. Lamaadar, Alia. Cults:Questionair. January 12, 1998. 10. Muller, Bill. The Edmonton Journal: The Lure of Cults . (April 1, 1997)Bibliography1. Applewhite, Marshall Herff Heavens Gate, The Novel. Received off oftheir internet site(www.heavensgatetoo.com)2. Bright-Paul, Anthony. Stairway to Subud. Dharma Book Company, Inc. NewYork. 1965. 3. Bugliosi, Vincent. Helter Skelter. Bantam Books. New York. 1975. 4. Fennell, Tom. Time: Doom Sects . (April 7, 1997) 5. Graebner, William. The American Record. Alfred A. Knoph, Inc. NewYork. 1982. 6. Lacay, Richard. Macleans: The Lure of the Cult (March 22 1997)7. Lamaadar, Alia. Cults:Questionair. January 12, 1998. 8. Muller, Bill. The Edmonton Journal:The Lure of Cults . (April 1, 1997)9. Porter, Anne. Farewell to the Seventies. Thomas Nelson and Sons. Don Mills. 1979. 10. Smith, Michelle. Michelle Remembers. Pocket Books. New York. 1980. 11. Swami, Bhaktivedanta A.C. Krsna Consciousness: The Topmost YogaSystem. Iskcon Press. Boston. 1970.

The lost spring free essay sample

For some of us Faceable is the source of information, a dating site, ego stroking medium and the best friend. Doctors went as far as diagnosing constant need for social connection as an addiction. After years of being our default homepage, we can now see a pattern when it comes to the types of people on Faceable and personalities taking the center stage on our favorite social platform. What type of people do we follow? Which one of those personalities are you? Exclusive doctoral writers from English-Essay. Mom have aided innumerable, doctorate-level learners with custom English essay ideas for almost a decade. English-Essay. Comes experienced core of college scholars embarks painstakingly every college month to complete MBA, PhD English essays and various forms of midterm exam assignments for academic undergraduates to utilize for midterm examinations. Our services doctorate researchers will also provide a graduate-level writing service for how to buy English essays, a PhD-level English essay, or classification English essay examples. We will write a custom essay sample on The lost spring or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In times when seniors demand a master scholar to start typing a masters- bevel English essay proposal, they turn to the prestigious quality and prestigious professionalism of this corporation. Our MBA-level firm hosts thousands of PhD English essays for doctoral attendees. PhD-level scholars may utilize our organizations custom English essay collection to acquire a doctorate English essay, an academic assignment, or an academic assignment on a certain class! AS level students can buy a PhD English essay, a thesis report, or reports from our corporation with privacy!This companys writers will also deliver MBA writing for a imprison English essay, English essay subjects, or admission English essays. For the uncommon dilemmas in which a masters grad student fails to discover a precise English essay, coursework projects, or theses that is sufficient for an appropriate field of study, this firms custom English essay service is a smart alternative! English-Essay. Comas school researchers will begin typing a doctoral-level English essay topic, literature review writing, or any other form of final exam paper on the purchasers required idea!

The Great Gatsby Gatsby and Daisy Essay Example For Students

The Great Gatsby Gatsby and Daisy Essay In The Great Gatsby, there are three illicit relationships: Gatsby and Daisy, Nick and Jordan, and Tom and Myrtle. In some ways they are similar, and in some ways each is unique. In this essay, I will compare and examine each of the couples, and try to give some insight as to why none of the relationships worked out. The relationship between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan was probably the most one sided. The entire time they were apart, all Gatsby did was try to reach his goal, which was Daisy. When you hink about somebody but don t talk to them for a long time, you can build them up to be this perfect person. So when Gatsby and Daisy talked for the first time in years, it was almost like he was talking to a famous movie star. Daisy didn t feel that way. She used to love him, but not anymore. Also, if Gatsby and Daisy met under other circumstances, such as each of them having no money and Daisy not being married, their relationship may have worked out. But because of the circumstances, their relationship was doomed to fail. We will write a custom essay on The Great Gatsby Gatsby and Daisy specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Of all of the relationships, I think that the most honest was between Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker. This is ironic because it was Jordan s compulsive dishonesty that ruined the relationship. They weren t secretly seeing each other behind other people s backs, they weren t unfaithful to each other, and they both cared for each other. Nick saw Jordan s dishonesty as a major flaw in her personality, and he didn t think she was worth it. Out of all of the relationships, Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson s was the most the most superficial. Neither had true feelings for the other, they were just there to amuse themselves. This one was also the most damaging. Gatsby, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson all died because of it. For one reason or another, all three of the relationships were doomed to fail. Some due to the circumstances, and some due to the people within them. I believe that out of all six of the characters involved in these relationships, Gatsby was the only one that really loved someone.

Multi-draft narrative of Mr Nobody Essay Example

Multi Multi-draft narrative of Mr Nobody Paper Multi-draft narrative of Mr Nobody Paper Directed and written by Jack Van Dermal, Mr.. Nobody is a brilliant film that portrays the timeless theme of lifes choices and possibilities in a refreshing and dazzling manner. Despite the complex and unconventional narrative structure of the plot, Dermal demonstrates his extraordinary skills of storytelling through presenting to the audience a magnificent film with a form more complicated than Tom Testers Run Lola Run and a theme broader than Peter Hotpots primary focus on love in Sliding Doors. This essay will analyze how the the seven key conventions defined by Borrowed (2002) are defied by or applied on the films multi-draft narrative. The film begins with a montage showing four deaths of Memo at the age of 34him lying in morgue, him drowning in his car under water, him being shot in the bathtub, and him waking in an explosion of a space shuttle. The quick scenes are then closely followed by 118-year-old Memo waking up in 2092, looking as if he is confused over his own past. His memory appears to have paused in 2009 as he claims to be 34 years old. With the help of his doctor, Memo begins to recount his whole life right room the start. These parts of Memos story, his childhood and old age, are in a somewhat linear narration. The voice-over of young Memo explains that the unborn children know everything about the past and future until the Angels of Oblivion place a finger on their lips and make them forget. Being missed by the angels, Memo chooses his own parents and comes to the world knowing everything. He knows, from the very beginning, that certain things are meant to be. He also ponders upon existence and the irreversibility of time, which are brought up in the later parts of the elm over and over. At the age of 9, Memo realizes the difficulty of choosing and faces the first crossroad of his life, from which point the film complicates into a multi-draft narrative. We cannot go back. Thats why its hard to choose. You have to make the right choice. As long as you dont choose, everything remains possible. With that in mind, little Memo chooses not to make a choice between two kinds of dessert or among three of his future partners. The audiences see Memo marrying all three of them at the similar age but in different lives. All parallel narrative begins when Memo faces the most critical decision of his lifedeciding which parent he should live with after their separation. This can be seen as the first branching point of Memos lives. Memo marries three women, Anna, Elise and Jean, has different Jobs and dies in different incidents all in similar age, indicating that the film conforms to Bordellos fifth convention: forking paths often run parallel. In the first narrative, Memo follows his mother and falls in love with Anna. Choosing to stay with his father in the second ND third narratives, Memo falls for Elise and Jean respectively. In one of these two narratives Memo writes his own novel about traveling towards Mars on a shuttle, which makes the fourth narrative. Each of these forking paths is linear on its own, keeping to Bordellos first convention: each path, after it diverges, adheres to a strict In these parallel narratives, Memo keeps changing the courses whenever he encounters unpleasant incidences, such as the several deaths mentioned above. For example, in the second narrative, Memo falls in love with Elise who does not return is affection. Heartbroken, he gets into a horrible bike accident and becomes paralyzed. Yet as soon as the viceroy says Vive got to get out of here. Go back. Before the accident, the audiences watch the accident rewind and Memo making a slightly different decision then eventually marrying the girl of his dreams. The protagonist defies death and reverses time. Here, the film adheres to the sixth convention: the forking paths presuppose the previous ones, as Memo makes the wiser choice in the second narrative. On the whole, Memo wants to reinvent his own life while the doctor and the interviewer aim to make sense of Memos stories and find out which of them is true. In this sense, it can be said that the characters of Mr. Nobody are somewhat goal- oriented. Everything you say is contradictory. You cant have been in one place and another at the same time. Of all those lives, which one is the right one? asks the interviewer. This line shows that the film is self-reflective as it is clearly aware of the nature of its unconventional narrative. The forking paths of Memo consist of recurrent characters and background conditions across the different lines of action (Waded, 2009) which is Bordellos third convention. For instance, whichever path Memo takes, he always runs into Anna, the woman who loves him as much as he does her. Not only does it show the intersection of the multiplicity, it also highlights the love theme of the filmone cannot possibly be happy with someone if the affection is not mutual. That is why Memo is not happy with either Elise or Jean. As Memo changes the course of his lives repeatedly, the audiences could not help but ender which fragment is his real life and whether the things he says are true at all, especially when all his alternative lives literally collide together towards the end of Memos recollection. In the narrative where he stays with his dad, marries but loses Elise to an accident, Memo escapes the death of drowning that he would have had in another narrative, but is told by his neighbor that he is drowned. The Memo in yet another narrative who is typing in a house then finds himself in danger of drowning as the house is suddenly flooded with water. Multiple circular narratives merge into nee. Towards the end, the seemingly linear narrative of the entire film is broken down as 118-year-old Memo tells the interviewer that neither of them really exists, because they are only imagined by a nine year old child faced with an impossible choice. Memo eventually dies at the time he has predicted he would, but as soon as he does, time rewinds quickly all the way to his childhood, echoing with Memos earlier statement to his younger self, For me, time is inverted. I start at the end of the story and go toward the beginning and confirming that he has truly always known everything about the past as well as the future. The film ends, leaving its audiences In conclusion, Mr. Nobody complies with four out of seven key conventions of Bordellos, showing that it goes beyond traditional narrative norms. The narrative might be more closed than open in each single forking path, but it is definitely open in terms of the whole film. The mysteries of Memos life have not been solved, leaving the audiences with plenty information gaps and room for interpretation. Nonetheless, the director has made his point rather explicitly through Memos answer o the interviewers confusion, Each of these lives is the right one!

Professional, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Healthcare Essay

Professional, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Healthcare - Essay Example A nurse who is a friend to the mother of the family suffering from cancer finds herself in a difficult situation in trying to be loyal to the mother, to the two sons in the family and to her profession. Having been a good mother, she chooses not to disclose her medical condition to her sons so as to avoid negatively affecting them psychologically. The ethical dilemma that the nurse finds herself in by not disclosing this information will be put in focus. Introduction There are principles that form the foundation of the ethical codes guiding the professional practice in healthcare. These are the foundations of moral theory in healthcare profession with code of ethics that call for honesty, integrity and responsibility. As such, these ethical codes that have been developed for healthcare professionals provide guidance in their practice. These would normally be created in response to anticipated or actual ethical conflicts (Schweitzer 2010). They are usually difficult to comprehend and only make sense when applied in real life in cases of ethical ambiguity. The contents in these codes vary with the risk involved in a specific profession. For example, in psychology, the code of ethics would define in greater depth the relationship with the client due to the high degree of personal relationship a psychologist would have with the client. On the other hand, there would be minimal interaction between a laboratory technician and a patient; hence the relev ant code of ethics would be more on the need for accuracy and reliability in their tests. White defines bioethics as the application of the general principles of ethics in healthcare (2005). Indeed, all the areas in health care, including staff utilization, clients’ direct care and finance allocation are bound by ethics. Ethics would raise a question but would not provide an easy answer. Among the reasons that make ethics important in the modern world include advancement in technology, changing society and more knowledgeable clients. There are three main groups in healthcare affected by ethics, namely; the providers, patient and family. They would normally have different perspectives on how they would like issues handled. This becomes more complicated when bioethics, physician theories and societal stake are considered (Warren 2011). Just like other practitioners in healthcare, nurses uphold each principle in their routine practice. However, there are times when these principles conflict calling for the nurses’ ethical decision making in choosing which of th e principles becomes priority to be upheld at that moment. In such cases of ethical dilemma, there is no ‘right’ solution. Fant defines ethical dilemma as a problem that does not have a satisfactory resolution (2012). Thus, different ethical choices on an ethical dilemma could be made, but this does not justify any choice as being ‘wrong’ or ‘right.’ The definition of ethics varies from one nurse to another and would normally be shaped by experience, values and beliefs of an individual nurse. The code of ethics with respect to the

The role of slavery the global economy today Essay

The role of slavery the global economy today - Essay Example ng labor at really low cost or free of service in some cases and incur little expenses simply in the form of food which is not even provided daily and in most cases provided to them only once in a day despite the excess work they are being forced to carry out. Slavery in the Middle East countries for example is in the form of domestic work at home. These individuals who are rich because of oil money mistreat these domestic workers by making them work unfairly long hours from early morning even before day break to late at night. They have extensive homes with very few workers to provide care for cleaning, washing, doing dishes, ironing, cooking and feeding their pets in addition to taking care of their children. Very many people live in one house and they are also very fond of entertaining guests. All this work which should in the real sense be provided by over six workers with the aid of machines is left for one individual and they are not given food. The usage of expense money for the masters is therefore reduced as they do not have to purchase the machines to make work easier or pay excessive electricity bills or provide monetary payment for the domestic worker (Pattisson, 2015). Forced labor is an eminent issue in some of the European nations such as France, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain among others and the government has contributed greatly to it and is doing nothing to stop it. The tough immigration and labor laws have made many immigrants lack better employment opportunities making them become slaves through being forced into labor. They are exploited with little pay while the owners of the industries and factories where they work in (as that are where majority work), enjoys the increased productivity with minimal expenses of wages and salaries being incurred (Kelly, 2013). Many work also for long hours without any extra pay once their official shifts end which is illegal but the law does not take that into consideration. The fact that the

International Marketing Master Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

International Marketing Master - Case Study Example The recent terrorist attacks in the last 3 decades have brought turmoil in the current travel and tourism industry bringing a severe collapse in the travel and tourism sector worldwide. The first of these atrocities took place in 1982 during the Iraq affair and the oil crisis. The international tourism industry greatly suffered during those years of severe political unrest. The next unfortunate event was the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in north Europe in the year 2001. Umpteen numbers of bookings for the trips to Europe were dismissed. Another heinous act that took place on 11th September 2001 was the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. The aftermaths of the terrifying incidence revealed the crumble of the international tour and travel for a long time. The year 2002 revealed intensive respiratory syndrome epidemic due to air travel (Mangili & Gendreau, 2005). Air travel is capable of spreading newly budding contagions which could even give rise to pandemics. The travel and tourism industry worldwide experienced a set back again. The next plan of brutal act of the terrorists who were caught carrying liquid explosives on 10th August 2006 in flight from United Kingdom which could have destroyed tolls of innocent lives was terminated. The travel and tourism industry has yet again undergone a tremendous shock. ... It is true that the international travel and tourism industry is presently facing a turbulent environment. However, it is certain from the ever adventurous tourists from around the globe and their impeccable passion for travel that the worldwide international travel and tourism is doubtlessly to overcome this temporary challenge. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the business leaders' forum for travel and tourism is presently working with governments to spread consciousness of the economic magnitude of the globe's prevalent creator of prosperity and service (Travel & Tourism Security Action Plan, n.d.). Analyzing the current problems of global business conflicts including the Tourist Behavior: The travel and tourism industry is facing major challenges at the very moment due to the problems of global business conflicts. These may be analyzed as follows: Political Political Unrest Political unrest among different nations still has adverse affects on the international travel and tourism especially on the countries involved. War at the moment would be the last thing that the travel and tourism industry would wish for. Tourists never wish to select a destination which is suffering from any sort of political disturbances. One would have never chosen a destination like when the American soldiers faced the Taliban groups. Lack of Government Contribution Deficiency in the support of the respective governments of every country in aiding to develop and sustain its travel and travel sector offers a great business conflict. Economical Lack of Funds The small and medium enterprises in developing and underdeveloped countries especially in rural areas are incapable of flourishing tourism activities due to

Supply Chain Management Creating Competitive Advantage

Supply Chain Management Creating Competitive Advantage According to extensive Christopher (2005) the supply chain can basically be described as a triangular relationship between three Cs, the customer, the company and competitors. Christopher and Hines (2004) both suggests that the term chain should be replaced by network as the number of inter-connections between suppliers can be extensive. A well-managed supply chain can be a resource that enables an organisation to develop and sustain competitive advantage in a global market in a volatile economic environment together with industry re-organisation and increases in internet driven sales. Supply chains compete not companies is Christophers motto on his web page and summarises how competition is a key issue for organizations. With the advent of internet shopping there is an abundance of competitors ready to provide ever demanding consumers with the products they desire. Consumers want better quality, faster delivery and at a lower cost. Individual businesses cannot function alone, but have an inter-dependent relationship with integrated supply chains, whose success or failure is ultimately determined in the marketplace by the end consumers (Christopher and Towill, 2001; Monczka, Handfield, Giunipero Patterson 2009). Organisations that focus on developing the most cost effective and efficient supply chains will be the market winners and achieve a competitive advantage. A companys competitive advantage can be defined as the ability to make a higher profit than competitors through differentiation of products or services from those of competitors and better products or services in terms of quality and cost than competitors. Good supply chain management (SCM) enables quick response from supply chains to meet customer demands. In order to maintain competitive advantage dynamic businesses need short lead times, the ability to manage the peaks and troughs of demand (Sabath, 1998), and incorporate time-based competition (Stalk, 1988; Droge, Jayaram Vickery 2004). The aims of the literature review are to examine what contributes to a dynamic company in respect to a sustainable competitive advantage, responsive supply chain management (RSCM) with relation to dynamic industries including the fast fashion industry. The literature review will examine the factors that contribute to a companys strategy development for product differentiation and competitive advantage. Porters (1990) five forces analysis provides organisations with a framework to identify competition and market position will be discussed. The relevance of time-based competition and a review of different types of supply chains including supply chain management will also be presented. The different types of supply chains to be examined include value supply chains, agile and lean supply chains and Responsive Supply Chain (RSC). The literature review concludes with an assessment of the apparel industry in the UK and implications and impact of the supply chain. Is the supply chain as effe ctive as the literature depicts? Internal analysis of an organisation An internal analysis of a company provides managers with an insight into the success of the business for example how effective are its current strategies? Are its resources deployed effectively to support its strategies? In addressing such questions it is the business itself that determines it competitiveness. If a company undertakes an internal analysis it can identify competencies and core competencies which can be developed the importance of which will be discussed again later in this review. The internal analysis can also examine value-added activities and again these will be discussed in more detail later. Managers can also evaluate financial performance particularly in relation to competitors and identify areas of weakness. In many companies the majority of products go through the following stages; research and development prototyping, and then introduction of the new product, if the product is successful there will be market growth and profitability and competitors will become apparent. There will be a period of growth during which the product matures and this is the stage of product differentiation where the product dominates the market. Eventually the product declines as either new products are developed or improved upon by the competition. Management should know what stage their products are in as they can then develop their strategy. Business strategy analysis Business strategy is a process consisting of three phases; strategic analysis, strategic selection and strategic implementation. Strategic analysis evaluates the companys position in the market, the strengths and weaknesses of the product, and evaluates other companies who represent the main competitors. Strategic selection and implementation involves obtaining the goals identified as a result of the strategic analysis. Porter (1990) developed a framework known as the five forces model which assists with the analysis of factors contributing to a competitive advantage and to develop a competitive strategy based on positioning in the market. In a similar way to a SWOT analysis the five forces analyses competitive intensity and the attractiveness, in terms of the profitability of a company. Figure 1: from The five competitive forces that shape strategy by Michael E Porter Harvard Business Review 2008 The five factors illustrated in Figure 1consist of; the risk of entry into the market by potential competitors; the bargaining power amongst buyers; the bargaining power of suppliers; the closeness of substitutes to an industrys product all four of which contribute to the final factor which is the intensity of competition amongst established companies within an industry There are factors that moderate the threats firstly; the threat of new entry competition may be moderated by factors such as economies of scale, product differentiation, capital requirements, or switching the cost to buyers. Second, the buyers power may be moderated by the number of buyers relative to sellers, product differentiation, buyers profit margins, switching costs to other products and how important the product is to the buyer. The third force is the threat of substitute products moderating factors includes the relative price and quality of the substitute product and switching the cost to the buyer. The fourth force is the determinants of supplier power, supplier concentration, availability of substitute inputs, importance of suppliers input to buyer and suppliers product differentiation. These factors all contribute to the fifth force the competition and rivalry amongst existing firms which depends on the diversity, size and number of competitors, how quickly the industry i s growing and the range of product differentiation. Porters views have been disputed by Booth and Philip (1998) and Edwards (1997) who suggest that organisations should be flexible and unite both cost leadership (lowest production cost or higher rate of return) and differentiation in order to give customers unique value. Other criticisms include Porters emphasis on analysis and little information about formulation or implementation as van den Bosch de Man (1994) argue diagnosis does not necessarily lead to health (p. 14). According to Mintzberg (1990) the organisation must gain market power diminishing the buyers and suppliers power which although the five factors may mean economic power it could be mistaken for political power and finally bias towards large, established businesses as new companies or industries can only be analysed once they are established (Hamel and Prahalad 1989). Other critics (e.g. Sharp Dawes) have also labeled Porters conclusions as lacking in empirical support; have been justified using selective case studi es to support his perspective and for inconsistent logical argument in his claims. The sources-position-performance model (SPP) (Day and Wensley, 1988; Hunt and Morgan, 1995) is also a strategic framework for competitive advantage and reflects Porters 1985 proposal of positional advantage in respect of either cost or differentiation. The SPP model proposes that an organisations sources (for example superior skills or resources) can be maximised to achieve a positional advantage (for example differentiation in lower costs or higher value) which finally results in a superior performance outcome (for example an increased market share and/or higher profitability). Day and Wensley (1988) suggest that a differential positional advantage can be achieved with the brand name, features that are innovative and a product that is of high quality. These factors contribute towards the potential for obtaining a secure market position and a profitable market performance. Doyle and Wong (1998) support this viewpoint reporting that successful companys differential advantage was acqui red through product differentiation, services and the reputation of the company. Competitive advantage can also be maintained by re-investing some or all of the profit back into the company. For better customer satisfaction and market understanding, companies are striving to achieve the best performance from their supply chains by three key components (Fisher, 1997) these include responsiveness of the supply chains, accurate demand forecasting and inventory management. In a dynamic, globalised and competitive environment, companies are under pressure to improve their supply chain strategies in order to be more responsive to customer demands. Christopher (2000) defines responsiveness as the ability of a supply chain to respond rapidly to changes in demand, in respect of amount and variety. (Fisher, 1997; Christopher, 2000, 2005) Uncertainties in demands are unavoidable due to the changing market conditions and customer expectations. In supply chains, inventory is the currency of service that helps deal with uncertainty and provides flexibility, though it can be costly (Chase and Aquilano, 1995; Bernard, 1999) Time-based strategies In current competitive markets if customers cannot get what they want from one company they will go to the competition. Leading companies such as Federal Express and Honda have demonstrated that if organisations are able to implement time-based strategies in areas such as production, developing new products, selling goods and the supply chain this can represents a powerful competitive advantage. In a survey of American companies Davis (1995) found that a high priority for the majority of organisations was time-based competitive strategy. Customers appreciate receiving their products promptly and this also encourages market growth as prompt delivery is a competitive advantage. It is not necessary to have a large stock of goods because efficient manufactures can deliver an order on the day it is received. The concept of time-based competition was introduced by Stalk (1988) and emphasises time as an important factor in developing and maintaining a competitive advantage. A time-based str ategy aims to reduce time in the stages of product proposal, development, manufacture, marketing and delivery. The business cycle time can be defined as the total time between receiving an order and getting the product to market which is particularly relevant to the fast fashion sector. If a company adopts a time-based strategy there appear to be a few strategies that can be implemented. Examples include starting afresh as it is not sufficient to just attempt to speed up existing activities. Another approach is to use a systematic framework to evaluate the requirements of customers and suppliers and then only undertaking only those tasks that fulfil the requirements. This strategy could reduce cycle time and could be implemented as part of the Total Quality Management (TQM) process. Another area that could be re-assessed is the approval process which means that the number of times a product or service needs internal approval before reaching the customer could be reduced. Stalk and Hout (1990) reported that successful companies that utilise time-based strategies will be able to offer a wider variety of goods at low cost and faster delivery times in comparison to the competition. Stalk and Hout also argue that there are a number of myths in business concerning increases costs when reduced lead times and response times are reduced however, when offered together with an increase in the variety of products which customers have requested there can be a very profitable upsurge for a time-sensitive company in comparison to the competition. It is also argued that time-consumption is quantifiable and therefore manageable. Successful companies focus on reducing delays and perhaps eliminating them altogether in order to gain a competitor advantage. Stalk and Hout argue that the majority of businesses can use time in a positive and constructive way and increase profitability. An example of flexible manufacturing and rapid response systems is presented by Ruch (1997) reports that in the past Motorola used to take three weeks to complete an order for a pager whereas an order is now completed in two hours. In relation to the fast fashion industry distribution is a major factor as the demand for current fashion trends require an efficient distribution system and competitive advantage will be lost if products are delayed in the distribution chain. There are two time-based strategies used; fast to market and fast to produce. Companies that are competitive regarding the to-market speed emphasise reductions in design lead-time. The company has the ability to minimise the time it takes to develop new products or make rapid design changes. Fast-to-product companies emphasise speed in responding to customer demands for existing products. Wal-Mart has been able to dominate its industry by replenishing its stores twice as fast as its competitors (Stalk 1998). Vickery, Droge, Yeomans and Markland (1995) found that new product introduction was the most consistent predictor of business performance. Development cycle time was second and production lead time and delivery speed were not as significant predictors of success as the first two. However this research is now quite old and it is possible that it is not relevant to the fast fashion business in terms of speed of delivery not being such a strong predictor of success As an example of a fast fashion company using time based-competition Gunasekaran (2001) cites Benetton an Italian company which produces distinctive casual wear for children, men and women and is a good example of an agile organisation using time compression. Benetton has centralised management and operations for a global market using more than 400 sub-contractors. The company has found that the fastest way to utilise a distribution system was through rapid feedback from over 400 travelling sales representatives, producers and the warehouse. If an item is selling the producers will work in fast-turnaround which has had a huge impact on reducing the time for replacement items. In order for this to be successful there needs to be a flawless flow of materials to allow agility in the production stage and this is organised by the production division. Benettons competitive advantage is the customer ordering system and the companys advance use of IT (p. 389-390). Gattorna and Walters (1996) report that Benetton delay dyeing their jumpers until the end of the supply process so standard jumpers are customised at a late stage and therefore allows some customer choice but without long lead-times and the risk of the product being outmoded. Davis (1995) states that Benettons system cost $30 million to build yet only eight people are required to operate it and the company can move 230,000 items of clothing each day. The warehouse is mechanised and the bar codes are scanned, goods are selected and transported. From order to store the overall cycle time for goods in stock is one week, if not in stock four weeks. Getting the right products to the customer at the right time, cost, place, condition and quantity, information technology and logistics networks are very dependent on the supply chain management and the type of supply chain used which will now be discussed in the following sections. Supply Chain Management The logistics involved in providing the consumer with the required products is complex. Issues such as time (as discussed above), outsourcing, off-shoring and global competition are a few examples and this means that the supply chain has taken on increasing importance (Monczka, Handfield, Giunipero and Patterson 2009). The supply chain is defined by Mentzer, Dewitt, Keebler et al (2001) as a group of three or more companies connected by an upstream or downstream flow of goods or services. Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the strategic organisation and proactively management of all the inter-related activities. The activities can be internal or external to an organisation and may also be across international and cultural boundaries. Supply management is defined by Monczka et al (2009) as a strategic approach to planning for and acquiring the organizations current and future needs through effectively managing the supply base à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..with cross functional teams (CFTs) to achieve the organisations mission (p. 8). SCM includes operations such as the evaluation and selection of the supplier; New Product Development (NPD); ensuring the implementation of the customers order; and maintaining demand and supply. According to Gattorna and Walters (1996) there are five basic functions required for a balanced supply chain which include procurement (maximum purchasing discounts); inboard logistics (low transportation costs); operations (low production costs), marketing and sales (wide product variety and high availability); and outbound logistics (low transportation costs). In order to develop an integrated supply there also needs a flow of information at three stages, strategic, tactical, and operational SCM differs from purchasing or procurement as Kalakota and Robinson (2000) state they much broader concepts, Purchasing is often described as the five rights; right quality, right quantity, right time, right price and right source (Baily, Farmer, Jessop, Jones 1994). SCM is a more dynamic and strategic approach than purchasing which is also referred to as strategic sourcing in the literature (e.g. Gottfredson, Puryear and Phillips 2005). The phrase strategic sourcing originated as a buzz word in the 1980s from management consultants such as PricewaterhouseCoopers when working with Blue Chip companies however the development of the term raises an significant and relevant issue concerning the emphasis that sophisticated, world-class leaders (WCL) place on SCM (Kasul, Motwani, 1995). Other companies may aspire to be WCL and this drives competition. An organisation particularly a newcomer to the market might benefit from trying to identify characteristics in WCLs as it might provide an opportunity to implement and improve their internal and external processes, core manufacturing strategies and develop a global strategy to achieve company-wide improvements towards WCO status and global competitiveness. A starting point could be the strategic management of the supply chain and there are four main factors that characterise supply chain management these are information, time, customer demand, and response strategy for problems. Firstly, there must be a good flow of information between groups or individuals who may be culturally diverse. Good communication promotes good relationships and reduces time delays in the chain. Cost and accessibility are issues that management must consider. The second factor is time, whether the supply chain is efficient which, as previously discussed, is seen as competitive advantage. As the amount of competition in both the domestic and international markets increases organisations must have an efficient supply chain in order to compete. The third point also previously discussed involves the increasing demands and expectations of consumers and also the range of alternative options available to them therefore management may also want to consider customer loyalty. The final point in supply change management is the organsations response strategy to any major disruptions in both supply and downstream production which will the lessen the impact on lost sales. SCM necessitates good team work as it involves those who are purchasing the goods, the supplier, quality assurance and other associated roles the relationship is not adversarial as may have been the situation in traditional purchasing but in business SCM encompasses a win-win situation for the supplier and the company purchasing the goods. The relationship needs to be beneficial for all parties to allow for rapid change which is particularly relevant for the fast fashion industry. When developing a supply chain strategy Fisher (1997) stated that in order to implement the optimal approach the relationship between supply and demand must be coordinated to take into account the type of product, demand and sales predictability. Products can be categorise into two generic types, fashion and commodities. Fisher states that fast fashion has a short life-cycle and high demand uncertainty, and that there is the risk to the supply chain of both stock out and outmoded products. Popular, trendy clothing requires a management strategy that can co-ordinate the supply and demand and allow companies to respond faster to the marketplace. Commodities that are basic products, such as tinned food, they have comparatively long life cycles and have a low demand uncertainty usually because they are well-established products with a known consumption pattern. The driving force for commodity supply chains is the reduction of cost. Hills (1993) manufacturing strategy metrics, notes that the main difference between the two groups of products for fashion products is the emphasis is on availability, while for commodities is the emphasis is on price. Supply chains and value chains A business can be considered as a system that converts inputs (resources or materials) into an output (goods or services). All of the internal actions of a company add value to the inputs. The value of the completed product is equal to the price a consumer is prepared to pay. The activities of a business can be broken down into a sequence of activities know as the value chain. Porters value chain model was developed in the 1980s and proposes that an organisations supply chain can lead to a competitive advantage (Porter 1985; 1996). Porter original model proposed that the value supply chain was focused on the companys internal employees. Porter stated that a supply chain is a subset of a value chain, for example all personnel within the organisation are part of a value chain whereas they are not part of the supply chain. A diagram of Porters model is shown in Figure 2 two components are shown the Primary and Support activities. Support activities are shown in the horizontal flow and are the operational part of the value chain (the supply chain). Primary activities directly add value while support activities add value indirectly by supporting the effective implementation of the primary activities. At an organisational level the value chain is depicted as being broader than the supply chain because it includes all activities in the form of primary and support activities. The difference between the end value and the total cost is the margin. Figure 2: The Value Chain (Porter 1996) The value chain has developed and expanded from Porters original concept (the internal employees of an organisation) to include suppliers and customers and is referred to as the extended value chain or extended enterprise. This development has occurred because progressive companies acknowledge that successful management of cost, quality and delivery may depend on suppliers that are located several levels away from the producer. Porters value-chain analysis provides an explanation of how much value is added to an organisations final products or services in comparison to the original cost of the materials or resources. There is a clear relationship between value-adding activities, such as the core competences and competences which provide knowledge and skills necessary to undertake the value adding activities and resources which form the inputs to a companys value adding activities. In order to maintain a competitive advantage a company should be able to undertake an analysis of the value chain which should enable a company to obtain a breakdown of all the activities the organisation undertakes and to identify the core activities and their relationship to core competences. A competence is a quality or a collection of qualities which the companies in a particular industry possesses A core competence or distinctive capability is a quality or collection of qualities which is specific to a particular organisation which enables it to produce above the average performance of the industry as a whole. As a result of a distinctive capability is an output that customers value more highly than those of competitors, the competitive advantage. In order to be successful in business companies certain competencies are necessary but the core competences are the differential. The company should be able to identifying areas where the cost of adding the value is greater than the value added; the identification and assessment of non-value adding activities. A good TQM process involves defining the process for producing products or services, using mapping or flow-charting techniques to identify non value-added tasks these tasks are then either improved or eliminated. Management can develop strategies to find new ways to acquire value (for example a new production plant near to the companys head office with add value because transportations costs will be less). In respect to SCM the amount of the value added by teams within an organisation should be assessed and periodically reviewed and any blockages that reduce a companys competitive advantage must be identified. The assessment of the organisations value chain should not be undertaken in isolation but considered together with its association with suppliers, distributors and customers. It is also necessary to verify whether the value chain supports the organisations current strategy for example if strategy is to cut costs the analysis should focus on this. If strategy is the production of high quality goods the focus should be on strategies to improve quality outcomes. Outsourcing is an activity that can be used as part of the overall sourcing strategy for services. Outsourcing entails the transfer of staff and assets to an external or third-party company which then provides them back as a service. Outsourcing is an example of companies concentrating on their core activities and competences while getting the support activities done by someone else as such outsourcing has the potential of giving both parties a competitive advantage. The role of SCM is to evaluate which activities the company should undertake and which should be outsourced. An important consideration is that there will be different value chains for different organisations because not all activities within a company are of the same importance in adding value to its products. Activities that do add value are the core activities and are usually linked closely to the core competences. An organisations value chain will also be part of the value chains of other companies, for example the suppliers and distributors and customers. It is unusual nowadays for a solitary organisation to undertake all the value-adding activities ranging from design, production, delivery and service provision for a product. Three different types of supply chains will now be discussed in the following section, agile supply chains, lean supply chains and RSC Agile supply chain Supply and demand has been identified as the Increasing volatility in demand and competitive pressures force more frequent product changes (Gattorna and Walters 1996) agile supply chains are usually dominated by surge (Fisher 1997). An agile supply chain has to be created to manage uncertainty, satisfy consumer demand and ensure profitability. The definition of agility Agility means using market knowledge and a virtual corporation to exploit profitable opportunities in a volatile marketplace (Naylor, Naim, Berry, 1999 p. 62) Todays consumers demand variety and companies need to demonstrate customer responsive behavior with suppliers, being able to adjust quickly to meet market demand and to replace one product for another. In a genuinely agile business the strategy and supply chain relationships are developed to such an extent that volatility of demand is dealt with (Christopher 2000). Uncertainty is characteristic of todays markets as a result of a combination of factors which include the globalisation of the supply chain, concurrent inexpensive IT and communications; increased ability to develop product variety and reduce product life cycles while remaining cost competitive. These drivers promote end-consumers promote these drivers to demand greater choice and improved value (Li 2009). These dynamics are especially relevant in the context of the fashion industry and clothing retail in general (Sparka and Fernie, 1998; Jones, 1998; Jones 2002). With economic changes in recent years and greater global co mpetition responsiveness is essential throughout the supply-chain (Gattorna, 1998; Pine, 1993; Goldman, Nagel, Preiss 1995; Christopher, 2005) with such significant changes, successful organisations have to remain competitive while adapting to changing marketplace conditions (Brown and Eisenhardt, 1998). A significant feature of an agile organisation is flexibility (Christopher 2000) and this idea originates from flexible manufacturing systems (FMS). Agility is necessary in environments that are not predictable with volatile demand and consumers require variety. If a product is highly fashionable then, by its very nature, its demand will be unpredictable (Mason-Jones, Naylor, Towell 2000) Agile supply chains are market sensitive which means there is a quick response to consumer demand. This is quite different to many organisations which are forecast driven rather than demand driven. Technology can assist in demand driven organisations as data can be quickly accessed from the point of sale. As mention in the section on SCM communication between the members of the supply chain is an important factor in its success. Shared information between supply chain partners requires collaborative working and process integration between buyers and suppliers, joint product development, common systems and shared information. This form of co-operation in the supply chain is becoming ever more prevalent as companies focus on managing their core competencies and outsource all other activities. Mason-Jones and Towell (1999) undertook a simulation model of the fashion trade supply chains and corroborated that enhanced agility resulted from enrichment information along the supply chain. Lean supply chain The agile supply chain is closely connected to the lean supply chain although they are separate and have different purposes. Lean supply chains work well in environments where demand for variety is low and the environment is predictable whereas agile manufacturing is implemented where demand is volatile, and lean manufacturing is put into effect where there is a stable demand. Mason-Jones et al (2000) offers a further third option which they term the Leagile Paradigm a hybrid mixture of both types of supply chain. Responsive Supply Chains

Alienation And Discrimination: Of Mice And Men :: essays research papers fc

The 1930s was a time period in which racial discrimination played a vital role in the lives of minorities. Around this time period many men were rovers, or men who wandered in search of work. These men were often very lonely. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Crooks, a black stable buck, endures alienation due to racial discrimination. Racial discrimination also hinders him from any type of success. Despite the hardships, he overcomes these obstacles and faces this struggle head on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Forced into isolationism, due to segregation, alienation becomes Crooks’ companion. On an attempt for his alienation to be broken, Lennie walks into Crooks’ room â€Å"smiled helplessly in an attempt to make friends† (75). At the sight of this Crooks becomes defensive and declares, â€Å"I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse and you ain’t wanted in my room...They say I stink†(75). It is obvious that Crooks has been treated badly. he wants company but he does not really know how to except it or express himself towards it. Suddenly, â€Å"Crooks scowled but Lennie’s disarming smile defeated him†(76). This action shows the importance of human contact and though he scowls, Lennie looks over him. 1this entire incident shows how Crooks wants his loneliness to end. As Lennie entered Crooks room he (Crooks) slowly began to let his guard down because he needs companionship and friendship with others to share his ideas. Until this point ant time none of the other men had ever been in Crooks’ room just as he had never been in the bunkhouse. More ironic incidents are bound to happen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After Candy enters Crooks’ room, Curley’s wife enters the room also and tries to hold a conversation with the three men. After the men do not respond to her she states, â€Å"Funny thing... If I catch one man, and he’s alone, I get along with him fine. But just two of the guys get together and you won’t talk†(84). Curley’s wife is also very lonely (just as the men are). The men do not want any trouble so Crooks tells her, â€Å"Maybe you better go along to your house now, we don’t want no trouble†(84)...†You ain’t got no rights in a colored man’s room†(88). She does not have the right to be in his room. Neither of the men want to be in any type of trouble with the boss or Curley, His son, because she decided to go into Crooks’ room. But all of a sudden she becomes furious and exclaims, â€Å"Listen, Nigger, you know what I can do to you if you open your trap?

Robert Frost Theme on Death

Throughout Frost's poetry it is clear to envisage that Frost himself had experienced great loss. His poem’s take you through some of the stages of grief he had experienced at various points in his life. There is a certain cathartic quality to his poems, it is obvious Frost used the medium of creative writing as a release from his grief, enabling him to process his losses, to accept and heal from them. His own father had died when Frost was just a boy himself and during his married life Frost found himself a father also to six offspring.His life was touched by tragedy again as he and his wife lost two of these children. One child was still born the other died at three years old. The echoes of grief can be found in the poem Home burial. â€Å"Tell me about if it's something human. Let me into your grief. I'm not so much unlike other folk as your standing there. This sections comes as the husband is pleading with the wife to communicate with him. The wife is inconsolable and is trying to flee and says to her husband â€Å"There you go sneering now!†Frost breaks this line in the middle to suggest how profoundly at odds they are, how much psychic as well as literal space separates them. (Kilcup 1988. ) Again he pleads with her â€Å"A man can't speak of his own child that's dead. Any rhetorical question demands, expects, the hearer's automatic agreement; there is nothing it expects less than a particular, specific denial. The man's â€Å"Can't a man speak . . . † means â€Å"Isn't any man allowed to speak . . . ,† but her fatally specific answer, â€Å"Not you! † makes it mean, â€Å"A man cannot—is not able to—speak, if the man is you, (Jarrell 1999.)â€Å"She then implies how insensitive he has been over the child's death and repeats the words to him that he had said after burying the child† Three foggy mornings and one rainy day will rot the best birch fence a man can build. † Amy's interpretation o f her husband's words in the kitchen reveals, ironically, that her husband may be far more subtle and sophisticated in expressing himself than she understands. Her question is really an accusation, and she believes not only that he would not care but that he is fundamentally incapable of caring (Faggen1997.)The husband through his wife Amy’s eyes has lost the ability to interact with his wife, also his wife fails to see that in fact he was referring to the child's death by his comment. As a farmer close to nature he was referring to the unfairness of it all, that no matter how hard you try fate plays a part in everything. The fence being a metaphor of how a perfectly strong structure can be taken by bad weather. In the case of the baby's life it taken by death. In the case of this poem both the husband and wife had misinterpreted each other's grieving.Failing to appreciate each other's pain in that process. In the poem â€Å"Death of a Hired Man†, there are four charac ters. Mary and Warren, partners or married it does not actually state this in the poem. Harold a young farm hand and the hired man Silas who seems to be the main character of the poem. In comparison to the couple in Home Burial and the obvious lack of empathy they seem to have for each other, Mary and Warren seem close and communicate effortlessly with each other. This is reflected in the opening verses of â€Å"death of A Hired Man†.It seems they have a relationship of mutual understanding between them. â€Å"When she heard his step, Mary was obviously familiar with Warren enough to know it was his foot fall without first seeing him. This is the opposite in Home burial obviously the wife is trying to flee from her husband a marked comparison between the two relationships. Silas has returned to this couple to die, when Mary comes across him he is â€Å"Huddled against a barn door fast asleep. † In the middle of winter this must have appeared strange to Mary.She goes o n to describe his appearance to Warren, â€Å"a miserable sight, frightening too â€Å"I didn't recognize him-I wasn't looking for him-and he's changed, â€Å"This describes a change in Silas's appearance enough to shock Mary who has known him a number of years. May be he has grown thin and worn looking. The verse paints a mental picture, you can visualize poor withered Silas curled up in the doorway of the barn and the look on Mary's face on finding him there. Warren asks Mary if he said anything she replied â€Å"but little,† Mary describes his speech to Warren almost in-coherent.This symbolises the demise of Silas as he its unable to string a sentence together. Warren is confused by this and refers to a disagreement between Silas and Harold Wilson. Wilson a young boy and Silas were good work colleagues. Harold had other ideas and went into education Silas tried everything to coax Harold back to working the farm but with little success. Silas frowned upon formal educatio n this shows through in this verse, â€Å"He said he couldn't make the boy believe He could find water with a hazel prong-which showed how much good school had ever done him.Warren says at one point â€Å"well those days trouble Silas like a dream. † Maybe Silas had regret in his life, he cut a lonely person roaming the land looking for work. His own family were well to do and educated, his brother is quoted as a Director of a bank. They are shades of Silas not been good enough in some way in his family’s eyes. Maybe he viewed Warren and Mary as family at one point Warren states† he won't be made ashamed to please his brother. † The simile between Silas and the stray hound that came from the woods and given a home on their farm paints the couple as empathetic and caring of nature.Maybe this is the reason why Silas chose them to die with rather than alone. With all the problems that arose between Silas and Harold while working for Warren and Mary. Mary stil l found it in her heart to give him a bed for the night. Mary asks Warren to check on Silas while she sits a watches the night sky. Mary is particularly watching the clouds and says to warren â€Å"I'll sit and see if that small sailing cloud will hit or miss the moon. † â€Å"It hit the moon. † This line symbolises the point as Warren looks in a Silas and realises Silas has died in his sleep.Frost reflects the mood of the poem with this short line, you can almost hear the cloud exploding off the moon as warren realises Silas is dead. Warren returns to Mary â€Å"Dead†, was all he said. The ending of the poem also shows the impact of death, as Warren silently sits beside Mary and he only gives a one-word answer of â€Å"Dead†. This emphasizes the impact of Silas’ death and what it means to the couple. The bluntness of his reaction gives a feeling of grief and disbelief (Study Mode, ND) In both these poems Frost deals with death in an intimate way, you can tell by the style of each verse he is writing from experience.The mood and tone of each poem is dramatic and it is as though you are a fly on the wall actually witnessing the events that unfold in each verse from beginning to end. Again in the poem â€Å"Out Out†, there is a comparison between the disbelief of the wife in her reaction towards her husband, at his perceived lack of care towards the child’s death in the poem, â€Å"Home Burial,† and the reaction of the gathered crowed after the poor boy perishes.As it states in Out Out, â€Å"And they, since they, (the gathered crowd,) Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs. Certainly there was sorrow, mourning and a tearful funeral, but none of that pertains to the poet’s message. The living have lives to lead (Wood 2008. )This is the last line of the poem after the poor victim, 16yr old Raymond Fitzgerald dies in the accident of horrific injuries caused by a buzz saw. The poor child bleeds to death after his hand is severed by the saw.Robert Frost clearly accomplished great things as a poet. After a long and successful career as a professor teaching poetry, he went on to win The Pulitzer Prizes twice for his literary works. This gentle farmer-poet† whose platform manner concealed the ever-troubled, agitated private man who sought through each of his poems â€Å"a momentary stay against confusion. † (Burnshaw. S 2000. ) Frost became the voice of the ordinary American and to this day is still held in the highest regard even after his death.

Keeping Your Disability Benefits

Keeping Your Disability Benefits Keeping Your Disability Benefits Once an individual is approved for  disability benefits, there are a few issues that may arise which could cause those benefits to stop.Whether already on benefits, or  inquiring about eligibility, it’s important to be aware of these issues. First, and most obvious, if there has been medical improvement and the disability ends, the Social Security Administration (SSA) could find that the disability has ended. SSA periodically conducts â€Å"continuing disability reviews† to investigate whether an individual’s disability has continued, or if there is some other factor, such as medical improvement, which may result in a termination of benefits.Another common issue is returning to work. Since the effect an impairment has on an individual can vary significantly from person to person, SSA uses a more objective approach to evaluating whether the impairment should be considered a disability under their rules: whether an individual can work despite their impairment(s ).[i] If a Social Security Disability recipient works, that work must not arise to the level of Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) with a few exceptions. For 2014, the monthly SGA amount is $1070 ($1800 for statutory blind individuals). One major exception is the trial work period (TWP). As an incentive to allow disabled individuals receiving benefits to test their ability to work, SSA created the TWP. Any month in which earnings exceed $770 trigger a TWP. However, these earnings won’t inherently eliminate benefits until there is at least 9 months of earnings (not necessarily consecutive) in a rolling 60 month period. Importantly, TWP applies only to beneficiaries of Social Security Disability and not to the  Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.[ii] For SSI recipients, monthly resources become an issue. For 2014, the individual asset limit is $2000 per month with an income limit of $721 per month. However, there are countless nuisances and exceptions to these limits. Moreover, when a SSD beneficiary reaches full retirement age, disability benefits will cease and automatically transition to retirement benefits, but the amount will remain the same. Further, felony convictions, certain warrants, and confinement to a prison or other penal institutions for a crime conviction depending on the length of time, could terminate benefits.[iii]  The criteria for children is different and will be explored in a later blog entry.  For more information,  contact  one of our experienced attorneys today at 888-886-6400.[i] In the case of an adult. The criteria for children is different.[ii] SSI recipients may, however, be eligible for the ‘Ticket to Work Program’ and the ‘Plan to Achieve Self Support.’ For more information, see  ssa.gov/work/overview.html  and  socialsecurity.gov/disabilityresearch/wi/pass.htm, respectively.[iii] For more information, see Article ‘Felony Convictions and Warrants Impact Social Security Benefits.

Shrek essays

Shrek essays Im not the one with the problem, its the world that seems to have the problem with me. People take one look at me... A big stupid ugly Ogre. They judge me before they even know me... Shrek. Everyday, millions of people are judged based on a simple first impression. Society is quick to pass judgements on people based on factors such as appearance, language, setting, and possessions. However, when the time is taken to get to know a person, it is proven more times than not, that the judgements taken are false. As expressed throughout the movie Shrek, sometimes things are not always as they appear. It is primarily through the characters in Shrek that this theme is expressed. At home in his swamp, a flatulent ogre named Shrek defends his life of solitude, though deep down its probably not his first choice. Due to the fact that he is a strikingly ugly ogre, he is automatically assumed to be evil and cruel, therefore labeled an outcast to society. Shrek exploits that misconception in order to protect his privacy.. An example being when he was confronted by torch bearing, pitchfork wielding villagers. He describes the gruesome fates awaiting those who disturb him, in hopes of the villagers never returning. However, as the movie continues Shrek is accompanied by a talking donkey that takes no thought to Shreks ugliness. It is then that Shreks true personality begins to reveal itself. Shrek tells the donkey that ogres are like onions, they both have layers. When analyzing an onion, the outside layers are dry and flaky, a part of an onion that is regularly thrown away, referring to Shrek being thrown away from society. When an onion is pealed however, it reveals a clean ripe inside, referring back to Shreks inside personality. When given the chance to be himself by Donkey, and Princess Fiona later on in the movie, Shrek reveals a kind, harmless, car ...

STUDENT RESISTANCE Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

STUDENT RESISTANCE - Assignment Example Also it was uncovered that racism or prejudice may be at the root of multicultural of some of these issues. Collectively, we need to get to the root of these issues as they cause discomfort and depression for who feel inferior and fall into the trap. With reference to John J Schmidt’s ‘Counseling in schools’(1999) we live in a multicultural and multilingual world, with different people, with different ideas and everyone needs to feel equal and comfortable. Getting to the root of multicultural issues is important for all of us to live peacefully. Jose and James evidently are culturally diverse in more ways than one. One of which being ethnicity and the other being socio—economic differences. Breaking down communication barriers between Jose and James is essential. Therefore, I need to get Jose and James to talk about their issues in an effort to achieve uniformity. As a Guidance Counselor it is my duty to make them knowledgeable about appreciating and embracing the similarities and differences among themselves because we are living in a multicultural environment. Once the students accept the fact that they are different and they are willing to tolerate each other, they will become comfortable around each other and this will help ease issues of discrimination or even racism or prejudice which just might be the problem. On a wider scale now, having regular group counseling sessions where the students can identify the similarities and differences among themselves would also prove fruitful, as it will give them a better understanding of the topic. I would also have to ensure that they understand the importance of having and being in a multicultural society. In addition, teachers associated with the students should acknowledge the fact that the students are different. Therefore, their environment needs to be multiculturally influenced. It is also highly important that teachers do not practice

What are the limitations of situational crime prevention Essay

What are the limitations of situational crime prevention - Essay Example es to reduce the opportunities for crime by increasing the effort that the offender must invest, increasing the risks he must take, and reducing the rewards. Moreover, a key finding in studies of situational crime prevention is that the calculus of risks and rewards does not have to be decisively altered to be effective. An instructive example is prevention of library and bookstore thefts by electronic detection systems. To a determined shoplifter (or library lifter), the system hardly poses an insuperable obstacle. And yet such systems are effective even when only a small portion (or even none) of a librarys books have actually been coded with the magnetic strip (Petersilia et al., 1995, 244). However, although the measures suggested in accordance with the principles of situational crime prevention can be very helpful towards the prevention of crime in specific places, in practice several factors can influence the completion of the relevant procedure in a way that the desired target – limitation of crime in specific places – is often missed. Back in the mid-nineteenth century, Edwin Chadwick had a very clear vision of crime prevention equivalent to the modern notion of opportunity reduction. As Reith says, quoting Chadwick, "the function of preventive police was placing difficulties in the way of objects of temptation."(1956:200). Chadwick, however, did not believe that the police alone were responsible for reducing criminal opportunities. In the Report of Constabulary Force Commissioners, he argued the need for "the honest portion of the community" to be "convinced of the necessity of taking effective measures for the abatement of the evil [property crime)" (Lefebre et al.,1839:55). Returning to more recent times, one begins to see the emergence of a specific crime prevention policy in Britain from 1950 when, according to the Greater London Council (GLC) (1986) the Home Office approached the insurance industry and in concert with them produced the first

Macro and Micro Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Macro and Micro Analysis - Essay Example Biometrics technology has emerged as an effective weapon in this game, and identification of each and every individual entering a state and safeguard own territory from becoming a terrorist breeding ground or a target has become a foremost priority for the governments today. Singapore too has planned to embrace biometric technology in a big way with some pioneering measures and some hesitant ones. With its diverse demography, Singapore too needs to study implications of implementing this technology in contemporary security scenario in its neighbourhood. This study aims to analyse the relevance of using Biometric technologies in Singapore to collect, store and use this biometric information and personal particulars of its local residents and foreigners for security and other purposes. The two essential uses of Biometrics are verification and identification. While verification involves "one-to-one" matching to determine whether there is a match between the person's presented biometric and biometric templates in a database, identification involves "one-to-many" matching where available biometric is compared with a database to establish identity of a person. It could be positive, i.e. to establish biometric matching or negative, i.e. to establish biometric presented does not match with available database (Rosenzweig, Alane Kochems and Ari Schwartz, 2004). At present, there are about ten types of biometric technologies in use or under development. They are fingerprint scanning, iris scanning, facial scanning, voice recognition, hand and/or finger recognition, retina scanning, thermo scanning, signature recognition, keystroke dynamic recognition, and DNA comparison (Steve TAI, 2005). Some others being developed include hand veins, ear recognition, gait (way of walking), facial thermograms, odor and palm prints. The basic advantages for selection of biometrics technology include their uniqueness, permanence, collectivity, performance, acceptability and circumvention of techniques. The current preferred ones in Singapore are basic fingerprint, facial, and hand/finger scanning. STEPS ANALYSIS Now that we are aware of the basic characteristics of biometrics, let us now discuss the various pros and cons of implementing a system of recording and maintaining biometrics data. Social Aspects Following few aspects refer to social requirements of a society in regard to biometrics technology: Some quarters are apprehensive of likelihood of physical harm to individuals like ones due to unsanitary conditions of scans, danger due to secured items theft etc. Serious concerns about misuse, illegal tampering or selling of personal information in biometric data are also prevalent. The biometric information can be used in an unauthorised manner without consent of the individual causing personal or financial harm to an individual. Technology Technological aspects governing adoption of biometrics technology include the following concerns: For information security, preferred storage option should be reducing the biometric to a template than a stored image. While images are easier to encrypt,

The Virginal Conception of Christ Essay Example for Free

The Virginal Conception of Christ Essay The Virginal Conception is a vital aspects in Christian faith, this is also held by Muslims (Qur’an 3.47). Virginal conception is a miraculous, non-sexual manner. The Holy Spirit caused Mary to conceive God Incarnate without the help of a man. For some believers they believed that   Mary also gave birth to Jesus miraculously; He passed through her without wounding her or spoiling her physical virginity, But for some He passed through her in natural way- thus breaking her hymen and went thru birth pains. When talking of virgin birth, it means also, Virginal Conception (Virginitas ante partum), i.e. that Christ, one of the person in the Deity Incarnate, had no human biological father. The biblical basis of virginal conception of Jesus was prophesied in Genesis 3:15 and Isaiah 7:14. It came true in Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:34-35. Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14) And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7) However, the possibility of a virgin birth is often questioned for the fact that, from a biological viewpoint, it is impossible for a human being to be born without a biological father and a mother. Also, some Christians do not believe in the Virgin Birth. Research by many groups, including Christian researchers, indicates that among both the clergy and the laity (in all branches of Christianity) a belief in central tenets of the faith such as Virgin Birth or bodily Resurrection is highly variable. Although they believe in the Virgin Birth, Muslims do not call Jesus Son of God, rather Servant of God. In the Quran, Jesus (Isa in Arabic) is consistently termed Isa ibn Maryam a matronymic- because, in Muslim belief, he had no biological father. Philosophical controversy In the wider sense, arguments for and against the Virgin Birth depend on fundamental philosophical assumptions: if one believes God does not exist, or if God exists but does not perform miracles, the Virgin Birth cannot have taken place in any traditionally accepted sense. While parthogenesis, a type of virgin birth where a female gives birth without the intervention of the male material, is known in nature, the resulting offspring must be female since the mother has no Y chromosome to pass on. Also, the process has never been observed in mammals. The Virgin Birth not only violates a naturalist philosophy, but also science based upon methodological naturalism. Alleged late appearance in the New Testament There are explicit references to the virgin birth in only two places in the New Testament: the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, which are believed by many scholars to be amongst the later written parts of the New Testament. The apparently older Gospel of Mark, on which Matthew and Luke are believed to be partly based, does not mention the virgin birth, and some scholars also argue from grammar and style that the first two chapters of Luke, describing the virgin birth, were a later addition to the Gospel, which may originally have begun at 3:1: 2:51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, 2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. At 3:1 there is an abrupt change of subject and the story begins again. Nevertheless, this is characteristic of many stories in the Gospels and the author of Luke may simply be beginning a new segment of his narrative. Arguments regarding the addition of material to a narrative (Redaction and Form criticism), especially when the material in question is present in the earliest manuscripts, have received significant criticism in the last 20 years and are now regarded as dubious by some textual critics. Double attestation The Virgin conception and birth is a tradition that fits within the criterion of multiple attestation, that is, the same event appears in two independent traditions (most scholars argue that the authors of Matthew and Luke worked independent of one another). For many historians, independent testimony is a significant evidence for the historical validity of a said event. Matthew and Luke are testifying to an event, the birth, about which there was a tradition, namely, that it resulted from a miraculous conception. That the conception itself was indeed miraculous appears to rest on a single attestation, that of the Virgin Mary. The attestation of the Angel to St. Joseph on the miraculous nature of the conception would not be accepted by many scholars as historiographically valid. Critics of the double attestation argument cite many inconsistencies between the accounts of Matthew and Luke regarding Jesus birth. According to Matthew, Joseph was forewarned of the virgin birth by an unnamed angel; in Luke it is Mary who is notified of this by the angel Gabriel. Matthew tells us that Joseph and Mary were residents of Bethlehem who moved to Nazareth after Jesus birth in order to avoid living under Archelaus: according to the better-known story in Luke the couple lived in Nazareth and only traveled to Bethlehem in order to comply with a Roman census. Luke mentions that Mary was the sister of Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, has the new-born Jesus visited by shepherds, and mentions several long hymns uttered by various characters, such as Marys Magnificat. None of this is mentioned by Matthew, who instead tells us of the visit of the Magi, the massacre of the innocents by Herod, and the flight into Egypt. There are thus two rival explanations for the double attestation of Matthew and Luke regarding the virgin birth of Jesus: The virgin birth was a historical event, and the stories of Matthew and Luke are based on different aspects and witnesses accounts of it. Matthew and Luke both wanted to make Jesus fit prophecies from Hebrew scripture. Both authors were aware of the prophecies concerning virgin birth and Bethlehem, and therefore these elements of their stories match. But each author wove these prophecies into the overall narrative in a different way. For example, both authors had to explain how Jesus was born in Bethlehem when he was known to be from Nazareth (as mentioned in Marks gospel) and each came up with a totally different explanation. The double attestation shows only that the two witnesses are independent, although, there are some inconsistencies but it does not disqualify the truth of the case. Dispute regarding Isaiah 7:14 In the past two millennia, there has been controversy among scholars about the translation and the meaning of a small section of Isaiah. For many scholars, the crux of the matter is the translation of the word  : × ¢Ã—Å"מה, `almah which has been translated as young woman and as virgin. In Isaiah the word for virgin here is almah. Some liberals1 and Orthodox Jews claim that the word really means young woman, and this is reflected in Bible translations such as the NEB, RSV, NRSV, and GNB. Such people fail to explain why a young womans bearing a son should be a sign it happens all the time. The Septuagint translates it as (parthenos), the normal word for virgin.2 Later Jews, such as Trypho,3 Justin Martyrs (c. 160) dialog opponent, and Rashi4 (11th Cent.) have claimed that the Septuagint was wrong. Trypho claimed that almah should have been translated neanis (young girl) rather than parthenos.5 However, even Rashi admitted that the word could mean virgin in Song of Sol. 1:3 and 6:8. In the KJV, the word is translated virgin in Gen. 24:43 (Rebekah before her marriage), maid in Ex. 2:8 (Miriam as a girl) and Prov. 30:19, and damsels in Ps. 68:25. These verses contain all the occurrences of almah in the OT, and in none can it be shown that a non-virgin is meant. In English, maid and maiden are often treated as synonyms for virgin (e.g. maiden voyage). Vine et al. note that the other word for virgin, betà »lah, emphasizes virility more than virginity (although it is used with both emphases, too).6 It is qualified by a statement neither had any man known her in Gn. 24:16, and is used of a widow in Joel 1:8. Further evidence comes from clay tablets found in 1929 in Ugarit in Syria. Here, in Aramaic, a word similar to `almah is used of an unmarried woman, while on certain Aramaic incantation bowls, the Aramaic counterpart of betà »lah is used of a married woman.37 The Encyclopedia Judaica, while criticising the translation of almah in Is. 7:14 as virgin, also points out that btlt was used of the goddess Anath who had frenzied sex with Baal.8 In the King James Virsion of The Bible, a traditional Protestant translation, the verses in question run like this: 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. 16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings. Some newer translations also use the word virgin: The New King James, The English Standard Version, The Contemporary English Version, Youngs Literal Translation, among others. Many modern translations concede that the word in the Hebrew does not mean virgin, including The Revised Standard Version, The New Jerusalem Bible, The Revised English Bible, The Good News Bible, The New Revised Standard Version, among others. This demonstrates that some Christian scholars, both Protestant and Catholic, prefer the traditional translation of the Hebrew in the context of Isaiah 7:14, while others do not. Skeptics argue that this is not a very clear prophecy of the birth of Jesus. In addition to the objection that Jesus was not in fact named Immanuel there are other problems: for example, (1) what does the butter and honey refer to? (One possible response to the butter and honey problem: it is a reference to one who, metaphorically, has eaten good meat his entire life in order to spit out the bad meat if it ever touched his lips. Note that the butter and honey reference is immediately followed by the comment on an ability to choose between good and evil; this may suggest that they are related.) (2) Why is Jesus, who was sinless from birth in the traditional Christian understanding, described as having to learn to refuse the evil and choose the good? and (3) This passage within the latter translations states clearly that the young woman within this prophecy is already pregnant with a child. This makes this prophecy about the coming Messiah Jesus very difficult to explain as the prophecy would have already been fulfilled during Isaiahs time. Some Christian aplogists have attempted to explain this problem of temporal context as: a) the latter translations are in error, and b) the latter translations are correct, but that the prophecy has a double-application for both Isaiahs time and the first century. Thomas Paine argued in the second part of The Age of Reason that Isaiahs prophesy (7:16) turned out to be false. He based his conclusion on the 2nd Chronicles (chapter 28) account of heavy defeat of Ahaz. Skeptics raise even greater questions about the translation of the first verse in this passage: 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, × ¢Ã—Å"מה (a `almah) shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Christian apologists respond that the passage is a double reference— a sign both to Ahaz that the alliance against him would be destroyed, and to the house of David as a whole that was threatened with extinction. This is shown by the Hebrew which uses singular you for the former and plural you for the latter. With the former, Isaiah reassures Ahaz that the alliance would be destroyed before his own son Shear Jashub, who was present (v. 3), would learn to refuse the evil and choose the good. Finally, there is archaeological evidence that Jewish speakers of Greek used the word parthenos elastically; Jewish catacombs in Rome identify married men and women as virgins, and some have suggested that in this case the word was used to call attention to the fact that the deceased was someones first spouse (although it is notable that this usage is from several centuries before the translation of the Septuagint [citation  needed]). Certainly, Jews stopped using the more explicit Septuagint translation as Christianity spread, and post-Christian Jewish translations into Greek use ÃŽ ½ÃŽ µÃŽ ±ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ¹Ãâ€š, neanis, meaning young (juvenile) woman, rather than parthenos. Possible borrowing from Paganism Some have argued that the Virgin Birth is a Christian borrowing from paganism The impregnation of mortal women by gods is common in pagan mythology. However, this is not technically virginal conception, since virginity is lost by definition when the sex act is initiated. Christian writers have noted that the obvious sex of the pagan myths is missing in the Gospels: Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Luke 1:34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. A pagan myth of virgin birth may also underlie the disputed verses from Isaiah: It all boils down to this: the distinctive Hebrew word for virgin is betulah, whereas `almah means a young woman who may be a virgin, but is not necessarily so. The aim of this note is rather to call attention to a source that has not yet been brought into the discussion. From Ugarit of around 1400 B.C. comes a text celebrating the marriage of the male and female lunar deities. It is there predicted that the goddess will bear a son The terminology is remarkably close to that in Isaiah 7:14. However, the Ugaritic statement that the bride will bear a son is fortunately given in parallelistic form; in 77:7 she is called by the exact etymological counterpart of Hebrew `almah young woman; in 77:5 she is called by the exact etymological counterpart of Hebrew betulah virgin. Therefore, the New Testament rendering of `almah as virgin for Isaiah 7:14 rests on the older Jewish interpretation, which in turn is now borne out for precisely this annunciation formula by a text that is not only pre-Isaianic but is pre-Mosaic in the form that we now have it on a clay tablet. (Feinberg, BibSac, July 62; the citation to Gordon is: C. H. Gordon, `Almah in Isaiah 7:14, Journal of Bible and Religion, XXI, 2 (April, 1953), p. 106.) This philological reasoning seems to raise four possibilities: virgin birth is a pagan concept that Christianity has 1) taken from contemporary paganism; 2) taken from pre-Mosaic paganism through Isaiah; 3) taken from contemporary paganism and justified from Isaiah, who took it from pre-Mosaic paganism; 4) produced independently of all forms of paganism, though sharing similar vocabulary. If pre-Mosaic paganism supports Isaiah, and Isaiah supports Matthew and Mark, paganism has anticipated Christianity, perhaps because God was preparing the way for Christianity or because, as some Church Fathers argued, the Devil was blasphemously imitating Christianity. On the other hand, if paganism does not underlie Isaiah, there are several possibilities. Perhaps virgin birth was invented separately, first in paganism, then in Christianity. Perhaps the idea of asexual conception was so different from the idea of conception through sexual intercourse with a deity that there was little or no borrowing in either direction. Or perhaps, despite the earlier date of the Ugaritic text, virgin birth existed first in Judaism, without any other instances than this one, and was borrowed by paganism. The obvious difficulty with this idea is that virgin birth was much more prominent in paganism, where it occurs in many myths in many different areas, than it was in Judaism, where it occurs (if at all) in a single verse late in the Old Testament. Nevertheless, the argument that virgin birth was a Jewish concept first borrowed by paganism and later incorporated into Christianity was first made by Justin Martyr in The First Apology of Justin, written in the second century. Justin also made this argument in his Dialog with Trypho, in which he debates with a Jew called Trypho: Be well assured, then, Trypho, I continued, that I am established in the knowledge of and faith in the Scriptures by those counterfeits which he who is called the Devil is said to have performed among the Greeks; just as some were wrought by the Magi in Egypt, and others by the false prophets in Elijahs days. For when they tell that Bacchus, son of Jupiter, was begotten by Jupiters intercourse with Semele, and that he was the discoverer of the vine; and when they relate, that being torn in pieces, and having died, he rose again, and ascended to heaven; and when they introduce wine into his mysteries, do I not perceive that the Devil has imitated the prophecy announced by the patriarch Jacob, and recorded by Moses? Justin was clearly not referring to any Ugaritic texts, as these texts were not known in his day; he was referring to Greek paganism. That the Devil is responsible for the similarities between paganism and Judaism is not generally accepted by modern scholars, partly because the Devils influence would be impossible to disprove. The Devil could not, for example, imitate Christianity or Judaism before either existed, without violating the generally accepted historical rule that a culture cannot be influenced by a culture that does not yet exist; even though in point of fact it is likely that if the patriarch Jacob existed, he was contemporary with the inscriptions at Ugarit. In a similar vein, it might also be argued that God had chosen to out-do these earlier human myths, all as part of his Plan. Christian writers point out that if in fact the writer of Isaiah intended to borrow the idea of a virgin birth from an older pagan tradition, we might expect to find Isaiah using more explicit language to indicate that a virgin was meant. However, if Isaiah had borrowed the story from pagans, he might be expected to speak in the same way as the pagans, and that is what he does, according to the scholar quoted, who notes the remarkable similarity of the Ugaritic and the Hebrew. However, Isaiah may speak the same way as the pagans simply because he came from a similar sociological and semantic context. If Isaiah received a new prophecy direct from God, on the other hand, he had no tradition to conform to, and he could have expanded the meaning to make it completely unambiguous. That he did not choose to make it unambiguous is thus an apparent difficulty for the Christian interpretation of the text, though the ambiguity could be seen as being intended, if one supposes that God had a dual purpose for the text (i.e., to serve one function in Isaiahs time and another function later). Isaiahs prophecy departs from the Ugaritic version of the virgin birth by having the female be entirely human, whereas in the Ugaritic culture, the virgin was another deity, on par with the male; but this is exactly what might be expected if the myth were borrowed from paganism, since Judaism has only one male deity; a female deity in a borrowed myth might thus conceivably become a female human. According to Origen and Tertullian, the Christian doctrine of the Virgin birth met with lively opposition and mockery from pagan groups. This testimony would seem to discount the suggestion of those modern revisionists who have posited that the pagan religions had a similar or identical tradition. The doctrine of the Virgin Birth is frequently confused with the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. The latter, taught by the Roman Catholic Church states that Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin. Mary, however, unlike many peoples views of Jesus, was conceived in the ordinary way: i.e. she had a human father as well as a human mother (whose names, according to Catholic and Orthodox tradition, were Joachim and Anna/Anne or Jehoiakim and Hannah in Hebrew). Whilst Protestant denominations adhere to the doctrine of the Virgin Birth, they do not adhere to the idea of Marys immaculate conception, nor of her perpetual virginity. References: Hagner, Donald-Matthew 2 Vols. (Biblical Commentary) Dallas; Word, 1993,1995. Luz, Ulrich. Matthew 1-7 Minneapolis; Augsburg Fortress, 1989. Green, Joel B. The Gospel of Luke. Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 1997. Keener Craig, A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 1999. Nolland, John, The Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 2005 Raymond E. Brown, The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus, New York: Paulist, 1973 (pp. 21-68) Marshall, I. Howard. Commentary on Luke, Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 1978 Fitzmyer, Joseph. The Gospel According to Kuke I-IX (Anchor Bible) Garden City. Doubleday. 1981