Fast Food Restaurants are Responsible for Obesity in U.S Research Paper

Fast Food Restaurants are Responsible for Obesity in U.S - Research Paper Example Moreover, it has been noted that the fast-food sector attracts the middle class by locating restaurants along highways and offering foods that attract a large number of Americans. Lower prices, free toys and convenience target the middle class particularly those who are budget-conscious (Strom, 2011). Furthermore, advertisements for fast-food restaurants are normally immensely appealing and thus attract many customers to visit the restaurants in order to get the deliciously served foods they see on advertisements. As a result, these people are likely to visit the restaurant frequently due to increasing appeals the advertisers pose. Even-though, it is clear that fast foods are to some extent responsible for Obesity in America, the restaurants are not responsible for notifying the public about the risks because people are free to make their decisions concerning what to eat or not. Research has shown that working class persons visit fast foods more often than the rich people do. This means that these people are learned and; therefore, they are aware of the dangers of consuming fast foods. In addition, one can argue that Obesity does not result solely from eating fast foods; it can result from cigarette smoking, and lack of exercise. Strom, S. (November 30, 2011)Toys Stay in San Francisco Happy Meals, for a Charge. The New York Times. Retrieved from

Managing Information Technology Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Managing Information Technology - Case Study Example This approach helps reduce cases of outpatient visits while allowing health professionals to verify drug prescriptions to patients in remote areas (Ciampa & Revels, 2013). The federal government’s HITECH stimulus funds and Meaningful Use standards can only be expected to lead to better software integration solutions considering the approach taken by the program. The program requires that healthcare providers apply their electronic systems fully; more than just as tools for electronic medical charts (Wager, Lee & Glaser, 2013). This will help increase quality and efficiency while enabling coordinated healthcare. By providing incentives to eligible professionals who exhibit significant application of a licensed EHR, the program will further ensure that providers embrace the need for integrated software solutions. According to Coplan & Masuda (2011), the increase in software adoptions at physician offices will not necessarily make it difficult for them to retain staff. On the contrary, these developments will lead to a shift in roles as physicians increasingly depend on their staff’s help in data collection and entry. Studies have shown that most physicians have been compelled by prevailing circumstances to reassign tasks to their front office staff. Additionally, nurses will have an added role, different from their traditional role that involved tasks such as rooming patients and taking blood tests. Under the EHR program, nurses will be expected to enquire for more information from patients that will serve to provide physicians with a clear health record of these patients in future (Dwivedi, 2009). Despite its benefits, the mobile medical clinics model faces several emerging conditions that could make it obsolete. Lack of space and medical equipment that can support high quality and timely healthcare services could make it difficult for health professionals to provide their services in remote areas. In order for these

Liberal And Illiberal Democracies In The 20th Century Politics Essay

Liberal And Illiberal Democracies In The 20th Century Politics Essay The turning point in the 20th century was declaring the victory of liberal democracy on world level, this is what Fukuyama said in his famous book the end of the history which at the same time overlook the crimes of liberal democracy against the non-European people.That is, the end point of mankinds ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.(Fukuyama,1992). It is easy to establish this hypothesis on some historical evidences. So after the fall of Fascism in 1945, soviet communism was the main alternative to the western liberalism, but even this collapsed by the outbreak of the revolutions in the Eastern Europe countries between 1989 and 1991, rejecting government principles of planning and interventions. As in Africa, Asia and Latin America the democratizing of the political system is done by the proliferation of different parties and the growing tendency towards economic reform which is based on the market. Thos e continuing operations reflect the obvious superiority of the liberal ideology over other competitive ideologies. The future seems to be apparent by the shrinking of the economic and political difference at different rates to meet all on the liberal democratic model. According to Fukuyamas argument, the victory of liberal democracy is the only solution that is capable to live and continue. Fukuyamas concept consists of two parts that are associated with each other. First is liberality: the existence of a limited author of the state that allows individuals and citizens to exercise a great deal of personal freedom and their capability to participate in political life by giving them the freedom of expression and other different things. The second part is democracy: which means, in Fukuyamas perspective, the real capacity of people to choose the governments they want. Fukuyama tries to emphasize that the U.S. is not the ideal model for his idea of liberal democracy. But at the same time he refuses any other model along these lines, so when the Chinas communism model was introduced, Fukuyama responded quickly by saying that Chinas economic success was due to their capability to get rid of the socialist system and introduce their economic freedom as a substitute: Japan may offer an alternative to Americas liberal democracy and combine a successful economy with social bonds. (Fukuyama, 2009, 85).In fact that is true but what China needs to be a liberal democratic country is to get rid of the single party system and support the multi-party democracy. Fukuyama believed that liberal democracy and the market-oriented economic system are the only two alternatives that are able for application in the modern societies. Now the World has seen the progress of the West over the rest of other societies, this is due to their belief that progress at both the scientific and theoretical sides goes back to their faith in liberal political thought. The democratic experiment in the West took root through the law of the market and the transfer of power to the socialist parties in more than one European country; all this confirms the credibility of the liberal democratic model in the world. To understand the differences between liberal and non-liberal democracy: Liberal democracy does not just include elections and establishing some official democratic foundations like parliament and courts, it also includes the creation of free press; the rule of law; an independent judicial system; the rights of minorities, the freedom of speech; the ability of parties and individuals to seek to divert official positions peacefully through competitive elections as well as the establishment of independent civil foundations that are in charge of solving civilians problems apart from any governmental control. Non-liberal (illiberal) democracy, which was established by the journalist and the editor Fared Zakaria, means a system in which elections are made where civil liberties and civil rights as well as the multiple dimensions of a real democratic society are severely limited or non-existent. Societies that were under the effect of totalitarian governments and were affected by ethnic and sectarian divisions were the most affected ones by such internal conflicts. So Zakaria was trying to illustrate that liberty and democracy can only be connected in the western societies and not for the third world societies, that is because the liberal democracy system is not just about free elections, it exceeds that to include the rule of law, the separation of powers as well as the protection of fundamental freedoms to citizens such as the freedom of speech, of movement, of listening, of ownership and the freedom of religions. Zakaria believed deeply in democracy and mentioned that democracy has moved from being a form of government to a way of living (the future of freedom,2003), but this didnt prevent him from criticizing this phenomenon, especially when it separated from liberalism its mixed partner in the West to an extent that may cause an imbalance in governments power which could impede its performance or affect it negatively. To criticize illiberal democracy Zakaria set Hitler as an example who get to power through democratic elections, the point is that many dictatorship governance system around the world use the election system à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Which at the same time ignoring the constitutional limitations on its authority andà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.its citizens from their fundamental rights . Within this competition, still the differences in opinions between democracies a continuing problem, often these democracies differs among themselves about important political options such as the promotion of democracy, international economic policy and how best to respond to threats of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, failed stats, ethnic conflict, violations of human rights. Despite the calls for formation of Commonwealth of Democracies to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦for the weaknesses of the United Nations, the European Union and other international institutions to face the worlds problems, still the common standers remain over where should draw the line between liberal democracy and illiberal democracy a big problem. We cannot find lots of countries that wish to give priority to such a gathering upon their provided obligations to its regional bodies and other institutionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ To sum it up, the fall of the Berlin Wall two decades ago, the collapse of communism, the end of the Cold War, as well as the success of rebels in Ukraine and Georgia are all signs of real progress for democracy. Thus the future victory has to be for the liberal democracy system according to Fukuyama and Zakaria. The way of living today is a democratic way in spite of all the conflicts; the information revolution; the tendency to an open environment towards liberalization and the critical demonstrations demanding freedom like the way now in Iran. The other side of democracy or the negative side is that it can be used for violence, violence is becoming democratic in the way that any group of people are able to exercise violence and bombing without resorting to the state apparatus. Accordingly, terrorism is spreading under the name of democracy. Accordingly, the success of democracy is not inevitable. And as many American leaders starting from Roosevelt, Truman ending with Obama by say ing that the aspiration for freedom of democracy is fundamentally a human yearning. In the 1990s Francis Fukuyama claimed that liberal democracy had won the twentieth centurys ideological battle. In contrast, Fareed Zakaria argued that the emergence of illiberal democracies threatens to discredit liberal democracy itself, casting a shadow on democratic governance. Systematically discuss and analyse the foundations of Fukuyamas argument and how it has been countered by other liberal thinkers like Zakaria. Do international relations in the 21st century support or undermine the idea of Liberalisms victory?

A Reading Reaction to My Brother Sam is Dead :: essays research papers

Report On AIDS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  AIDS( Acquired immune deficiency symdrome) is caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus(HIV) which attacks selected cells in the immune system and produces defects in function. These defects may not be apparent for years. They lead to a severe suppression of the immune system's ability to resist harmful organisms. This leaves the body open to invasion by various infections.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first cases of AIDS were reported in the early 1980s. From 1981 to 1998 more than 700,000 AIDS cases and more than 400,000 deaths have been reported in the United States. It is estimated that nearly 1 million Americans have been infected through the late 1990s but nt have yet developed clinical symptoms. In 1997 the United Nations announced that it had underestimated the spread and revised the estimate of people living with the disease from 22 million in 1996 and 30 million in 1997. The origin of the AIDS virus is uncertain but may have originated in Central Africa.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first AIDS patients in the Americas and Europe were almost exclusively male homosexuals and bisexuals. Others received AIDS from blood transfusions, hemophiliacs and drug users or females whose male sexual partners had AIDS. Since 1989 heterosexual was found to be the fastest growing means of transmission of the virus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American researchers named the virus that causes AIDS the human T-lymphotropic virus, typee III or HTLV-III. In the late 1980s they discovered several forms of the AIDS virus. It was renamed the human immunodeficiency virus type 1, or HIV-1. The virus enters the bloodstream and destroys certain white blood cells called T lymphocytes or T cells. The T cells play a very important role in the functioning of the immune system. The virus can affect other types of cells in the body such as macrophages. Macrophages are not killed by the virus but T cells are. Research has suggested that macrophages may carry the AIDS virus to healthy brain cells to the lymphatic system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the AIDS virus enters the bloodstream, the body's immune system produces antibodies to battle the microorganism. Blood tests can detect these antibodies and therefore can indicate exposure to the virus. Sometimes these tests give false readings and can only begin to give accurate results within two weeks to three months after infection. During that time an infected person may pass the virus to others. Scientists are still uncertain how the AIDS virus damges the immune system.

Endoplasmic Reticulum

Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum The smooth endoplasmic reticulum functions as a packaging system, and unlike its counter part, the rough endoplasmic reticulum, it does not have ribosomes attached to it. The endoplasmic reticulum works closely with the Golgi apparatus, ribosomes, RNA, mRNA, and tRNA. It creates a network of membranes found through the whole cell. The endoplasmic reticulum may also look different from cell to cell, depending on the cell's function.Smooth endoplasmic reticulums are shaped more like tubes. The endoplasmic reticulum is important because it plays a big part in a cell because it acts like a storage organelle. It helps create steroids and proteins then stores them. In muscle cells, it stores calcium. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum is also used to synthesise lipids. This synthesis creates lipoproteins which is found in the liver. The endoplasmic reticulum also stores glycogen.The endoplasmic reticulum consists of tubules and vesicles that branch forming a network. In some cells there are dilated areas like the sacs of rough endoplasmic reticulum. The endoplasmic reticulum is folded and stacked layer upon layer within the cell and is connected to the cell's nuclear membrane Another function of the endoplasmic reticulum is to control the movement of newly synthesized proteins to their proper locations in the cell or to the membrane to be sent outside the cell.This is done by a process called budding, where small vesicles of smooth endoplasmic reticulum are cut off to carry the proteins to their new spots in the cell. It also stores ions in solution that the cell may need at a later time. The endoplasmic reticulum allows molecules to be moved between the lumen and the cytoplasm, and since it is connected to the double-layered nuclear envelope, it gives a route between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. In muscle cells the endoplasmic reticulum releases calcium to trigger muscle contractions.The endoplasmic reticulum also has a role in drug toleranc e. The smooth endoplasmic reticulum functions to get rid of poisons, and drugs are considered a poison to the cell, if you consume more drugs, your cells will make more endoplasmic reticulum to get rid of the poisons. The cycle will the continue, the more drugs you take, the more smooth endoplasmic reticulum your cells will make. Your body builds up a tolerance for drugs because it will have a lot of smooth endoplasmic reticulum to discard the drugs, and Endoplasmic Reticulum The primary purpose of this research paper is to find out whether the endoplasmic reticulum in the eggs of animals undergoes any structural or morphological changes during fertilization. The experiment studies this phenomenon by microinjecting a dye in unfertilized egg and then visualized using a confocal microscope to detect any alterations in structure. Eventually, this paper tries to explain the role played by the endoplasmic reticulum in fertilization. The research question that is being tested in this paper was about the Endoplasmic reticulum and how it plays a role in the fertilization which can be evidenced by structural changes that taking place during the fertilization process. The most important aspect of this experiment in the paper is the microinjection of eggs with soya beans oil saturated with DiI solution which enables visualization of the endoplasmic reticulum using the confocal microscope. The dye then spreads through the ER only in 30 minutes during which the cisternae and tubules of the ER can be identified. This method of staining is also utilized to stain the plasma membrane which is also a bilayer membrane. This experiment, therefore, teaches that the ER is a complex organelle, bilayer membrane with lipophilic layers.The weakness of this paper shows the changes in calcium levels in the fertilized eggs of Sea Urchin during the first few minutes when ER structural changes are thought to take place. The ER has an internal compartment that is involved in regulation of calcium. There is evidence that calcium is produced during fertilization. Is this calcium from the ER? Does calcium generation cause the structural changes in ER? These questions have not been answered by this research paper. Also, the control experiment for this would include a repeat of the tests under similar temperature conditions as previously conducted research experiments to compare the calcium levels. If this was my experiment, I would conduct similar research (ER changes) on large mammal animal models using unfertilized eggs incubated and fertilized at room and atmospheric temperature (conditions).

Inaugural Ceromany of Sport Event Essay

The Sixth National Games kicked off in Dhangadi of Kailali district in Far-Western region on 28th of February 2012. President Ram Baran Yadav inaugurated the Sixth National Games amid a special function at Dhangadi Stadium. President Yadav urged players to elevate patriotism and brotherhood through sports. Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, Finance Minister Barsa Man Pun and other ministers also attended the openingceremony. Before the inauguration of the event, players from different districts had performed various pageantries. Earlier, Nepal’s Olympian Dipak Bista had lit the cauldron of Sixth National Games at the Dhangadhi stadium. A team of former Olympians had carried the flame to Dhangadhi stadium all the way from Buddha’s birth place Lumbini. Altogether 3,619 players with 1,940 officials from five development regions, Nepal Police Club, Armed Police Force Club, PLA Club of Maoist combatants and a university team had participated in the march-past that featured during the opening ceremony. The games were held in Dhangadhi, Mahendranagar and Tikapur in the far-western region . Altogether 10 gold medals were decided on the first day of the sixth national games today. The first gold medal of the game was grabbed by Ajay Pandit Chhetri in Cycling. Pandit finished first in the national mountain bike tournament held at Dhulikhel of Kavre , after completing the stipulated distance in 2 hours 1 minute and 18 seconds. Raj kumar shrestha and Narayan Gopal Maharjan won silver and bronze in the same even respectively. Likewise in women’s category of the same event, Nirjala Tamrakar bagged gold after completing the distance in 1 hour 53 minutes and 59 seconds. The silver and broze went to Laxmi Magar and Sita Rimal respectively. Meawhile in Birgunj 8 gold medals were decided in various swimming events. 13 years old Shirish Gurung of central region won gold in the 400 meter freestyle while Shailesh Rana and Prabesh Adhikari came out second and third respectively. In the women’s category of the 200 meter freestyle, Shaila Rana bagged gold while Shreya Dhital and Oshin Bharati bagged silver and bronze respectively. In Men’s event of 200 meter back stroke, the result came out in favor of Shailesh Rana while silver and bronze went to Babin Shrestha and Shirish Gurung respectively. Karishma Karki bagged gold, Shaila Rana silver and Manisha Bista bronze in the women’s event of the same category. Shailesh Rana, yet again added two more golds under his belt later in the event of 200 metre back stroke and the 100 metre butterfly. The Women’s event of these two categories had Shreya Dhital claiming 2 more golds as swimmers from the Central region completely dominatedthecontest. The event which continued till March 4 which featured altogether 32 games — 13 games were organised in Dhangadi, 12 in Mahendranagar of Kanchanpur and the remaining were organised in Kathmandu, Nepalgunj and Birgunj due to lack of infrastructures in the Kailali and Kanchanpur districts. Athletes and players from all five development regions of the coutnry are participated in the national sporting extravaganza.

Problems Young Writers May Face Essays

Problems Young Writers May Face Essays Problems Young Writers May Face Essay Problems Young Writers May Face Essay Some of many problems a young writer may face during the process of starting his or her essay starts right from the beginning. The beginning is one of the hardest parts of an essay for most people including myself; it has to have the main argument you will be talking about throughout the essay. Saying that, my essay today will be about â€Å"Problems Young Writers May Face† during the writing process of he or she’s essay. Getting started on an essay is often one of the first problems young writers run into. This is usually because we’ve gotten right into the writing without doing any pre-writing. What I’ve learned is you can save time by first identifying the purpose of your essay, then brainstorming points you might make to achieve your goal. Brainstorming works best if you dont rush your thoughts; write down every idea you think of even if you don’t think it will end up in your essay. Then you can take your thoughts you wrote down and find the most important points to address and start from there. Being the next most important thing you would start off with in the first paragraph would be your thesis statement.A thesis statement is a sentence, usually located at the end of the first or second paragraph that explains the essays main point. Without a clear thesis statement it can be more difficult to structure and organize your ideas. A good idea is to come up with your thesis statement before you begin writing the body of the essay, and then show it to teachers and fellow students for suggestions on how to make it more specific if needed. Continuing on to the body of the essay many young writers have the fear of failure because every student struggles with insecurities about their writing abilities. Either they just dont like to write or have had negative experiences in the past.They may be self-conscious about expressing themselves through writing thinking they are doing it wrong, all wrong. But, expressing your insecurities

Walgreens Strategic Analysis Essay Example

Walgreens Strategic Analysis Essay Example Walgreens Strategic Analysis Paper Walgreens Strategic Analysis Paper Veronica Washington 0180175 Walgreens Pharmacy (WAG) An Industry Leader at the Inflection Point The following report is an in-depth discussion of Walgreens Pharmacy with an analysis and assessment of the company’s strategic initiatives. Each strategy yields a direct purpose of diminishing the influence of a specific force from Porter’s 5-force Model as the supporting data culminates an outlook on the company’s future. COMPANY OVERVIEW Charles Walgreen of Chicago, Illinois, pioneered the first Walgreens in 1901, with corporate headquarters now located in Deerfield, Illinois. In the company’s 100-year reign as the prescription industry leader, Walgreens changed from war bonds, soda fountains, and restaurants to 24-hour store access, nationwide locations, easy-to-use online stores, and health care clinics. 6,400 stores now operate in all 50 states including Puerto Rico, with 30% open 24 hours. By 2010, Walgreen’s aspires to operate 7,000 stores nationwide and pave the way for the organic growth of 13,000 sites. As of December 2007, Walgreens employs 226,000 associates, hiring 25,000 in 2007 (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). According to the company’s 2007 annual reports, â€Å"Walgreens has been listed on: Fortune magazine’s Most Admired Companies in America list†¦ranked 44th on the Fortune 500 list of largest U. S-based companies†¦[and] ranked the leading online drugstore. † (WAG Annual Reports, 2007) In the past 2 years especially, Walgreens embarked on several ventures that will enable them to have first-mover advantage in the healthcare industry. CURRENT FINANCIAL INFORMATION In 2007, Walgreens increased net sales by 13. 4% to $53. 7 billion and increased net income by 16. 6% to $2. 4 billion. Long-term investments, which have consistently increased by roughly $100 million dollars each year since 2004, reflect company profits (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). In the 2007 operating cash flow analysis, Walgreens yielded a yearly total over $23 million in deferred taxes that arose for tax relief in advance of tangible asset depreciated accounting expenses. While net cash flows in the operating sector dropped by $80 million in a single year production, sales, and delivery continue to expand. In the 2007 investment cash flow analysis, the company directed $6. billion toward short-term investments (auction rate securities) available for sale amounting to an accumulated $6. 8 billion (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). With a staggering $1. 8 billion spent on new additions in 2007, this perceived overextension by shareholders of the company’s business and intangible asset acquisition of $1. 1 billion doubles the amount of cash used in the invested activities of 2006 (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). Employee termination and salary cuts yielded a 50% drop in proceeds received from company life-insurance policies. The $5. million proceeds of 2007 pale in comparison to the $10. 7 million received only a year before. Walgreens spent $2. 4 billion in investing activities during 2007, more than that of 2005 and 2006 combined (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). In the 2007 financi al cash flow analysis, net proceeds were $850 million. With a $141 million debt payment, $1 billion in stock repurchases, $310 million cash dividends to shareholders, and a $214 million bank overdraft sum, Walgreen’s 2007 net cash used for financing activities rose to $626 million from 2006’s $413 million (WAG Annual Report, 2007). In summation, the initial cash and cash equivalents of 2007 declined from $920 million in January to $255 million by the end of December resulting from the company’s overextension, and may result of losing their position as the industry leader in the near future (WAG Annual Reports, 2007) POWER OF BUYERS According to Porter, a buyer who has power â€Å"can always find an equivalent product, [then] play vendor against [one] another† (Porter, 2008). Consumers reap the benefits of an industry that pays for repeat business. In 2007, Walgreen’s pharmacists took 157,000 prescription transfer calls from neighboring competitors. (WAG Annual Reports, 2007) Mark Wagner, VP of Operations, announced that after reviewing the 2007 compiled transfer logs of the company, â€Å"72% of all prescription transfers [in 2007] are competitor coupon-related issues † (WAG Annual Report, 2007) Walgreens remained static in their decision to offer any type of compensation to new customers or transferred prescriptions until October 2008. Walgreens customers receive an average of four prescriptions on monthly basis from the pharmacy (WAG Annual Reports, 2007). With 65% of the sales revenue of the company coming from the pharmacy, Walgreens declines to bargain with out-of-pocket customers over price. Regardless of a climbing prescription drug-price trend, demand remains elastic because customers demand choices of similar, less expensive medications if authorized by their doctor. The amount of reimbursement Walgreens receives from Medicare, Medicaid, and Worker’s Compensation falls drastically, as incremental revenues from those sources decreases (Stewart, 2006). According to Lueck, â€Å"Medicare and Medicaid comprise 25 percent of the federal budget, and the government cannot afford to spend at the current rate† (Lueck, 2008). In order to maintain relationships with customers, retail pharmacies resorted to buying sections of Medicare Part D insurance companies: AARP Walgreens vs. CVS Caremark (Caremark Rx Inc. , 2007). RIVALRY AMONG EXISTING COMPETITORS From Porter’s point of view, â€Å"the degree to which rivalry drives down an industry’s profit potential depends, first on the intensity with which companies compete and, second, on the basis on which they compete† (Porter, 2008). Other than retail pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, mail-order pharmacies, internet pharmacies, international pharmacies, vitamin stores, and homeopathic treatment providers attempt to maintain market share in the healthcare industry (Lueck, 2008). Walgreens largest competitor, CVS Pharmacy, fell short of Walgreen’s sales revenues by $7 billion in 2007 (WAG Annual Report, 2007). Contrary to Porter’s model of rivalry, the healthcare industry is experiencing massive growth. Growth is not a force, but only a factor; and as Porter mentions, â€Å"high growth rate will not guarantee profitability if customers are powerful†¦Ã¢â‚¬  as stated in the last section (Porter, 2008). Tom Charland, CEO of Merchant Medicine, in his prophetic wisdom forecasted an â€Å"increased scarcity of physicians and midlevel practitioners in many markets and the increased use of pharmacists. † (Berman, 2007) This justifies the idea that most baby-boomers will spend several hours a week in doctor’s offices receiving treatment for maladies that require prescriptions. Because of meager prescription profits, customers gain little when switching from one pharmacy to another. As Jeff Rein, VP of Walgreens, understands, â€Å"95% percent of our patients pay only the co-pay required by their insurance plans. † (WAG Annual Report, 2007) This removes Wal-Mart’s $4 prescription plan from the picture. POWER OF SUPPLIERS In Porter’s words, suppliers with power â€Å"can squeeze profitability out of an industry that is unable to pass on cost increases in its own prices. (Porter, 2008) To make up for excessive inventory costs for new medication Walgreen’s must decrease labor hours and work more efficiently. For corporate executives in retail pharmacies like Mark Wagner of Walgreens, â€Å"the end solution is to cut costs†¦and the biggest cost in stores is payroll. † (Merrick, 2008) With manufacturers keeping new FDA-approved substitute (generic) medications at bay by creating expensive time-released versions of the ori ginal, retailers spend more money than ever before on shelf space (Merrick, 2008). The following demonstrates a sample of what Porter means by suppliers having power when they â€Å"offer products that are differentiated† (Porter, 2008). In March 2008, analysts at Citigroup Inc. announced, â€Å"AstraZeneca will have more time to market the product†¦Seroquel XR, a once-daily version of the [original] drug†¦ slowly [converting] patients to the patent-protected drug before a generic version of Seroquel becomes available† (Merrick, 2008). Generic companies defending their rights to enter the market state brand name manufacturers received patents through inequitable conduct (Merrick, 2008). While CEO of Astra Zeneca, David Brennan remains â€Å"pleased with the courts decision to uphold [our] valid intellectual property, healthcare companies like Walgreens suffer exorbitant inventory costs at lower vendor allowances for keeping both brand and newly arriving formulations (Merrick, 2008). STRATEGIC ANALYSIS The significance of this report’s title, â€Å"An Industry Leader at the Inflection Point†, speculates that Walgreens cannot remain myopically moving forward now that competitors are strategically placing modes of â€Å"creative destruction† in the healthcare industry. For example, Walgreens is following suit to retake power from buyers, a force seen in previous paragraphs, with a revolutionary prescription problem-processing center, POWER. These 24-hour call centers will automatically fix any third-party insurance rejection errors at all 6400 store locations, leaving pharmacists and pharmacy technicians more time to devote to prescription accuracy, efficiency, and patient consultation. Alan McNally, Walgreen’s new CEO as of October 22, 2008, justifies the use of POWER so â€Å"the company’s founding base of competitive advantage will bring vital market share, stockholder optimism, and customer sentiments of timeliness and prescription safety back to Walgreens† (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). Despite Walgreens’ ability to gain back market share by utilizing POWER, this evolution of problem-solving workflow is the company’s first major step in â€Å"creative destruction. Since an estimated â€Å"25-30% of work in the pharmacy originates from processing and troubleshooting third-party claims†, Walgreens shows no sign of maintaining current hourly needs for technicians when POWER operations begin (Merrick, 2008). The excess reserves saved from this venture will allocate finances for greater stockholder dividends and ensure the company’s progressive movement into staying one-step ahead of the competition (Merrick, 2008). Acc ording to the 2008 annual reports released in November, the salary expenditures saved from cutting technician hours will help support funding for the accumulated $1. billion dollar long-term debt in 2008 (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). Formerly discussed in the section, â€Å"Power of Suppiers†, Walgreens showed vulnerability to brand-name manufacturer’s new formulations marketed to physicians as more effective and safer than their FDA-approved generics. The county’s nation-wide recession that tumbled into a worldwide pandemic has been reason enough for many consumers to forgo reinstating their prescription insurance plans in 2009 and instead shop around for bargain generics (Lueck, 2008). Porter describes the country’s turmoil perfectly by announcing America is in the â€Å"Age of Anxiety,† as he reminds readers that in the US â€Å"restructuring destroys about 30 million jobs per year† (Porter, 2008), To combat consumer demand for lower cost prescriptions, Walgreens has aggressively marketed the Walgreens Drug Program in 2008. This discount program offers consumers the option of choosing from a list of 400 price-approved and quantity-approved generic medications at a 90-day supply for $12 (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). To attract customers to less expensive and more readily available generic medications, Walgreens built the discount rogram to show how much each customer can save while receiving a therapy that is exactly or similar to what their doctor prescribed. The only cost associated with this plan is a one-time $20 fee for using the service pennies compared to the hundreds of dollars each month otherwise spent on prescription healthcare covera ge. The idea of Walgreens creating healthcare clinics where customers can go and receive treatment for common symptoms arose from competitor initiatives to capture a segment of the market not dominated by Walgreens. The purpose of this tactical approach was to lessen the force of rivalry in the industry. As of November 2008, Walgreens â€Å"operate[s] more than 600 health and wellness clinics in our stores and on employer worksites [with] plans to expand to 800 sites by the end of fiscal 2009 (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). While data on this new mode of investment has not been conclusive or forecasted in expected yearly revenue, Walgreens intends on honing company expansion in this market to counter aggressively competitor initiatives. STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT The watershed of massive change for Walgreens culminated amidst what economists are calling a worldwide recession. Like all prosperous profit seeking companies, Walgreens managed to find ways to cut hours while increase efficiency that paved the way for higher shareholder dividends in 2008. CEO Alan McNally describes Walgreens’ strategy as â€Å"a successful triumph in a frantic market† leading on with a direct correlation of the yearly highlights to â€Å"an increase of $. 11 in common share dividends for 2008† (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). Despite the company’s massive growth of long-term debt, the strategic positioning of POWER centers in high volume areas and payroll cuts began the combat against the emerging inflection point issues discussed. More than 1 million people enrolled in Walgreens discount card program in 2008. The company anticipates numbers to increase significantly at the beginning of Medicare reinstatement in January 2009 as members become more proactive in finding lower prescription costs. Constructed on gaining the business of customers upset with their current prescription coverage, the iscount care program cultivated an increase of gross market share to 17. 6% of the retail prescription market in 2008. According to the new annual reports, in August 2008 Walgreens priced a $1. 3 billion five-year bond offering to be â€Å"used in the repayment of short-term debt under its commercial paper program and general corporate purposes† (WAG Annual Reports, 2008). The bond’s primary purp ose of financing the expansion of Walgreens’ Take Care Clinics around the country will reinforce goals of insatiable growth in the United States. As the beginning stages of these clinics develop, Walgreens will have a better idea of the market’s reaction. SUMMARY OF STRATEGY These market-enhancing strategies formulated by observing frustrated consumers over the years yield a successful and progressive outlook for Walgreens. While Walgreens’ presence in communities nationwide will continue to expand, the systems and processes which customers receive service will undoubtedly change. As services become increasingly automated and salaries are cut to supply overhead costs of the latest technologies and capital investments, Walgreens’ initiatives to solidify their position as the market leader will continue to be a tantalizing puzzle for the company’s corporate executives. REFERENCES Berman, D. (2007,  January  17). CVS Raises Caremark Bid, Pressuring Express Scripts. Wall Street Journal   (Eastern Edition),   p. A. 4. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1195592291). Caremark Rx Inc. : Advisory Firm Urges Holders To Accept Offer From CVS. (2007,  March  14). Wall Street Journal   (Eastern Edition),   p. A. 12. Retrieved October 25, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1232229641). Lueck, S. (2007,  September  19). Politics Economics: Democrats to Revisit Medicare Provisions. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), p. A. 12. Retrieved October 23, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1337919191). Merrick, A. (2008,  March  19). How Walgreen Changed Its Prescription for Growth. Wall Street Journal   (Eastern Edition),   p. B. 1. Retrieved October 20, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1448083011). Merrick, A. (2008,  October  9). Walgreen Abandons Bid for Longs; Drug Chain Cites Weak Economy, Withdraws $2. 7 Billion Offer. Wall Street Journal   (Eastern Edition),   p. B. 1. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1570234871). Stewart, J. (2006,  November  8). Common Sense: Letdown Over Deal By CVS, Caremark Offers Opportunity. Wall Street Journal   (Eastern Edition),   p. D. 2. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from Wall Street Journal  database. (Document ID:  1158307411). Porter, Michael E. (2008. Jan) â€Å"The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy. † Harvard Business Review. Porter, Michael E. (2008. Nov) â€Å"Why America Needs an Economic Strategy† Business Week Walgreens Annual Reports, The (2007, Dec 31). Questions and Answers for Shareholders. Retrieved October 10, from Walgreens Co. Website: http://files. shareholder. com/downloads/WAG/460812286x0x147120/C3FF93FD-4E51-4F5A-94FD-C0D058A9A911/Walgreen_AR_07. pdf Walgreens Annual Reports, The (2007, Dec 31). Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition. Retrieved October 10, from Walgreens Co. Website: http://files. shareholder. com/downloads/WAG/460812286x0x147120/C3FF93FD-4E51-4F5A-94FD-C0D058A9A911/Walgreen_AR_07. pdf

Chemistry and Anatomy Essay Example for Free

Chemistry and Anatomy Essay Frankenstein (360) , Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (326) , Anatomy (51) , Henry Clerval (38) , Elizabeth Lavenza (11) , Alphonse Frankenstein (6) company About StudyMoose Contact Careers Help Center Donate a Paper Legal Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Complaints My life began as a simple and talented student in Geneva. My father was Alphonse Frankenstein, who was a wealthy, rich and benevolent man. I was the first son of my father, Alphonse Frankenstein. My mother Caroline visited a beautiful orphan girl, Elizabeth Lavenza, fair-haired girl. She was adopted by my family and was my cousin. I had two brothers who were very lovely and they loved me and Elizabeth a lot. My best friend was Henry Clerval, who was a considerate man. I became a student of Chemistry and Anatomy in the quest to determine what gives life. I was a young man who led a happy and peaceful life, but the events happened after, made a great change to my living. The world according to me was a secret of research, creation and experimenting. I learnt the theories of electricity and galvanization. I also initiated a theory of how to create human life using the principles of electricity. I became devoted to the human creation and the spark of life that I had abandoned earlier. I asked my University for specimens to make my creation. I figured out what gives life.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I have begged my University for specimens. They say I’ve had all their best material for years, and produced nothing to show for it.† I feel that I have begged my University for some specimens to make my creation, but they refused to afford me the specimens because they say that they have given all the best pieces of specimens to me for creating nothing. Finally, I got the body parts from the graveyard. Then I went out without my meals to buy some chemicals. I took the body parts from the corpses. I stored my chemicals and specimens in the dissecting room so that it would be safe. I constructed a giant man, 8 feet tall, with super human strength and endurance from harvested body parts that I took from the corpses. I worked secretly without rest for almost a year. I can tell you that I was a bit disappointed with my creation. My perfect creation was a frightening disaster. My creation was a result of horror.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"No, this isn’t what I wanted. Oh, dear god, what have I done?†Ã‚  I was not at all happy with my monstrous creation. So, I rejected, abandoned and left him away. I was also scared, frightened and afraid of him. I also avoided my scientific studies because it remained me about the disastrous experiment. I wanted him to help and like mankind. This was not what I expected. I wanted my creation to be helpful rather than being a nuisance. My excitement soon changed when my creature came into life. My lovely, little brother William was murdered by my creation, the monster. Elizabeth cried a lot and I was not able to convince her. She also told me that my five- year-old brother, William and she went for a walk. She also told me that she saw William disappear. She was searching for him all over. I examined what had happened and found out that it was the monster, who was responsible for the murder of my brother. I was very angry with the behaviour of my creation. I created him to help human life and not to destroy them. He came to my room. I was very angry at him and wanted to destroy him. He told me to control my temper and he asked me to listen to him. He told me that the only person to be kind to him was Agathe, a young blind lady. The other villagers chased him away through their dogs. He also told me that his intention towards William was not to kill him. Then he explained to me about what had happened. He told me, â€Å"I put my hands to his mouth to silence him, because I was afraid.†Ã‚  The monster asked William to play with him for a while. But William shouted and refused to play with him. So, he just kept his hands in William’s mouth to silence him and request him to play with him. He also convinced me by telling the truth, but I am very sad that my brother is being murdered by my creation.  I was asked by the monster to make a bride to the monster. I agreed to him because as a creator, I should have to fulfill the wishes of my creation. He said to me that,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I am alone and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create.† He conveyed me his feelings of how it was to be alone without a companion or a comrade. He also gave me two years time to make a complete creation. He also told me that he would not trouble me in the time in between. I repulsed myself to make a bride for the monster. I wanted to finish the bride before marrying Elizabeth. I was also worried that the monster may harm my family. I still found it difficult to make the second monster. I made it because he told me that he wanted to love. I also made it, but this creation was spoilt by the monster, himself. The thing where he went wrong was, giving wrong wire connections to the creation and made it destroy. I explained to him that,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"She’ll never live now! Monster, what have you done?†Ã‚  He thought that he knew to make his own creation. He acted over- smart by giving the wrong wire connections and destroying his bride by himself. I beautifully laid out the bride in white colour clothes, to symbolize that she was going to get married. There is no use for him to commit the murders of Elizabeth and Clerval, by knowing that was his fault. I was really angry when he killed my brother, William. Then, he explained to me about what had happened. He told me that,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I put my hands to his mouth to silence him, because I was afraid.†Ã‚  It was my fault to create him and abandon him. Since I have created him I lost my Elizabeth, Clerval and my dear brother William. I got the feelings of how it was to face death. If I think of him, my first thoughts were, why did I create him? I found it like a battle of â€Å"Evil vs. Good†. Chemistry and Anatomy. (2017, Nov 10). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Viewpoint of Leopold and Schweitzer about Artificial Destruction of Assignment - 3

Viewpoint of Leopold and Schweitzer about Artificial Destruction of Ecosystem Centers - Assignment Example Various ideas about artificial destruction of ecosystem centers on ethics as a tool of human conscience. The moral obligation of man towards the non-living objects and other living organisms has been proposed by two environmental thinkers in a divergent perspective but convergent basis. Leopold is a proponent of land ethic as a critical moral instrument that should guide human actions towards nature. His claim emphasizes the overriding perception of man that land is a property. His analogy of Odysseus killing his maid servants is a comparative scenario of how man treats land. He argues against the human notion that land should be treated as personal property that can be exposed to destruction at will. Instead Leopold explains that man should consider land as part of ecology in which man is also a member (KohaÃŒ k 88). The point is that land serves as the habitat of several other organisms besides man. In that respect, man’s effort to destroy land interferes with the otherwise complex biotic and abiotic system that constitutes nature.Land ethics is used by Leopold to emphasize the need for a moral conscience of man in his relationship with soil. The description of land in this case encompasses water, soil, wildlife and all living and non-living organisms that make up ecosystem. The relationship that exists between man and land is more of symbiotic and property aspect should not be upheld. The land is considered the source of energy through food chain that ends up sustaining man. Leopold argues that the working of the ecosystem is complex and limited knowledge of man which prompt violent attack on nature is not fair. Man is the only organism with conscience and has the obligation to exercise morality in his treatment of nature. In this respect, Leopold champion for responsibility on the side of man in his desires to satisfy societal needs through nature. Other animals and plants may not have the conscience but it is evident that they always pose limited r isk to the same ecosystem that supports them. The history of evolution and biblical assertions of human superiority over nature assigns moral obligation to do the right thing for sustainable existence.

Context of Advanced Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Context of Advanced Practice - Essay Example h Authority), Greater Manchester, and Cumbria and Lancashire to focus on the learning curve at a professional level while achieving academic skills (Advanced Practice Framework, 2005). This is a part of the NHS plan to create a patient led NHS aiming toward client focus and their choice of primary care (Cross et al. 2004). North West NHS has developed a workforce strategy to ensure a sufficient workforce capacity in all health organizations by shifting the current roles of the workforce (Advanced Nursing Practice, 2009). The role of the advanced practice nurses especially is undergoing a lot of changes due to the increased rules and regulations of NHS and NMC (Geest et al. 2008). A measure for efficiency has been developed called productive time which measures the time spent by professionals and nurses on core activities of advanced practices (Cross et al. 2004). By implementing such strategy the Department of Health and the NHS is expected to achieve  £6.5bn by 2008 out of which à ‚ £3.8bn is due to productive time (Burgess, 2007). Still enormous progress needs to be made that can make the service more improved (The future: A mini Prospectus, 2002). The HPC is also stepping in to regulate the practice and training of the professionals and to protect the people (HPC, 2007; Guthrie, 2009). On the national level, the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) driver has been seen to create different reactions from medical professionals (Little & Bluck, 2006). The main problem that arises is due to the work hour limit defined by the EWTD (Bates & Slade, 2007). The shift in the time limit from the previous 58 hour per week to 48 hour per week is been felt severely by the education and training medical institutions as well as in the delivery of service (Little & Bluck, 2006). The most effect is on the training of new juniors. According to Bates and Slade (2007), the time constraint has had many implications on the operative experience of the surgical trainees making the level

Southwest Airline comprehensive external environment analysis Research Paper

Southwest Airline comprehensive external environment analysis - Research Paper Example Though the local political affairs are usually kept under control, there are numerous other issues that do not lie within the company’s hands. The perpetual rise in the fuel prices has always remained a major issue for Southwest. The unpredictable nature of the fuel prices is hugely attributed to several external factors which are usually not within the control of the company. The fuel prices are hugely driven by political agendas of the oil supplying nations and it may have varying results for the airline industry since oil is the major expenditure that an airline company has to endure in order to operate effectively and efficiently. Economic Factors The aviation industry within the United States of America has been a major contributor towards improving its country’s economy. According to a study issued by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in May 2012, the airline industry has almost contributed $669.5 billion (4.9%) to the U.S. economy. Of this amount , almost 31% was contributed by airlines, airports and airline concerned services. The current era in which Southwest operates, fuel is presumably the main issue for not only Southwest airline but the entire aviation industry. According to the financial statements of Southwest Airlines, oil and jet fuel prices have remained at around 37% of total operating expenses both in the year 2011 and 2012 (Investor Relations, 2012). Social Factors Travelling has remained an important aspect of people normal living and with the dynamism in the economy, commuting has increased rapidly during the last four to five decades. People who usually travel from one place to another would always want to travel with low cost, high quality service. Hence it may be argued that such services are, based on their cheapness, are usually available via rail or road transport but this issue may be reduced to a greater extent since Southwest operates a low cost airline service and people would prefer it considering the low cost which it offers. Ecological Factors Environment friendliness has always remained an important feature for Southwest Airlines. The company has always focused on purchasing fleets that are both cost efficient as well as environment friendly. In a bid to prove it environment friendly nature, the company ordered the purchase of almost 150 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft which it considers to be more environment friendly than its present aircrafts (Annual Report, 2011). Southwest also uses environmentally responsible products within its aircraft fleet in order to help providing better atmosphere for its customers. In order to display its commitment towards improving the environment, the company issued its â€Å"Southwest One Report†. The report addresses several ecological issues and also provides strategies which would be adopted by the company to help reduce environmental hazards (Annual Report, 2011). Technological Factors The aviation service industry is technology inten sive with an upward shift required at frequent intervals in order to remain competitive. Southwest Airlines has continuously kept up its foot on the accelerator with respect to technologically upgrading its services. The company has improved its website and its frequent flyer program in order to attract more customers. The company has also improved its fleets by providing Wi-Fi services to its

Marketing Strategy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing Strategy - Research Paper Example Small and medium scale enterprises have shown strong needs to purchase business (specifical accounting ) software in order hasten and make more accurate current manual accounting business transactions. Such companies have back offices where accounting and bookkeeping (Larson, 1995) services are being processed. The medium and larger companies do need software that can make their tasks easier. When the accounting system is accurate and is updated constantly by the computer, then the customers and suppliers will know, as soon as possible (ASAP), what the daily business problems are so that remedies that will lessen the damage done will be put in place earlier. This is where Sage comes to the rescue. Sage will help, in a big way, the small and medium rate industries with their bookkeeping needs and accounting functions. The software, however, is being purchased by some the small companies. Based on the above, the company has been very successful with the present marketing strategy (Thompson, 1999). The income statement clearly shows that there is its present income has been on the rise. Because the present strategy is on the right track, then we will now be implementing a new strategy will be discussed below. This strategy is called Resource based marketing (Kinnear, 1996) strategy. According to Sage Chairman Michael Jackson, Individuals in Sage are being treated very highly and respected as a person. Sage company is constantly invented new products and new processes for its large customers’ activities.

Your Thoughts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Your Thoughts - Essay Example repeated emphasis on proper concepts, the asking of different questions, and the elaborate examples point out that the intention of the author is to make the reader realize the gravity of the situation. He does, in fact, succeed in doing so. It is indeed true that the subject of mathematics is taught as a necessity. Mathematics is used in every aspect of life and in every field of work that is why it is becoming essential. However, the need for the study of mathematics has made it nothing but a burden on students. The result is that the students, instead of appreciating the ‘beauty’ of mathematics, consider it important for their respective fields only. The mode of instruction, as the author states, is a very important reason for this attitude. The mode of instruction in the primary and elementary schools is, indeed, not up to the mark. Often, students are just spoon-fed the knowledge of the things around them. This approach may be appropriate for subjects like history where the students cannot really ask why some event took place. However, when it comes to the study of mathematics, this approach is not acceptable. Mathematics is a subject that is primarily based on the study of concepts. This means that the teaching of mathematics should ideally require the understanding of why a particular phenomenon takes place. An example, according to the author, would be the concept of why the area of a rectangle is determined by taking the product of length and width. The previously mentioned mode of instruction, employed by teachers, however, completely ruins the idea of the teaching of mathematics. The stress of teachers on learning how to solve problems has many implications. Firstly, the thinking process of students is hindered as a result of rote learning. Students generally develop thinking and analytical skills in their early years of education. If the teachers impose a certain way of doing things in that early phase, the students may never be able to think

Southwest Airline comprehensive external environment analysis Research Paper

Southwest Airline comprehensive external environment analysis - Research Paper Example Though the local political affairs are usually kept under control, there are numerous other issues that do not lie within the company’s hands. The perpetual rise in the fuel prices has always remained a major issue for Southwest. The unpredictable nature of the fuel prices is hugely attributed to several external factors which are usually not within the control of the company. The fuel prices are hugely driven by political agendas of the oil supplying nations and it may have varying results for the airline industry since oil is the major expenditure that an airline company has to endure in order to operate effectively and efficiently. Economic Factors The aviation industry within the United States of America has been a major contributor towards improving its country’s economy. According to a study issued by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in May 2012, the airline industry has almost contributed $669.5 billion (4.9%) to the U.S. economy. Of this amount , almost 31% was contributed by airlines, airports and airline concerned services. The current era in which Southwest operates, fuel is presumably the main issue for not only Southwest airline but the entire aviation industry. According to the financial statements of Southwest Airlines, oil and jet fuel prices have remained at around 37% of total operating expenses both in the year 2011 and 2012 (Investor Relations, 2012). Social Factors Travelling has remained an important aspect of people normal living and with the dynamism in the economy, commuting has increased rapidly during the last four to five decades. People who usually travel from one place to another would always want to travel with low cost, high quality service. Hence it may be argued that such services are, based on their cheapness, are usually available via rail or road transport but this issue may be reduced to a greater extent since Southwest operates a low cost airline service and people would prefer it considering the low cost which it offers. Ecological Factors Environment friendliness has always remained an important feature for Southwest Airlines. The company has always focused on purchasing fleets that are both cost efficient as well as environment friendly. In a bid to prove it environment friendly nature, the company ordered the purchase of almost 150 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft which it considers to be more environment friendly than its present aircrafts (Annual Report, 2011). Southwest also uses environmentally responsible products within its aircraft fleet in order to help providing better atmosphere for its customers. In order to display its commitment towards improving the environment, the company issued its â€Å"Southwest One Report†. The report addresses several ecological issues and also provides strategies which would be adopted by the company to help reduce environmental hazards (Annual Report, 2011). Technological Factors The aviation service industry is technology inten sive with an upward shift required at frequent intervals in order to remain competitive. Southwest Airlines has continuously kept up its foot on the accelerator with respect to technologically upgrading its services. The company has improved its website and its frequent flyer program in order to attract more customers. The company has also improved its fleets by providing Wi-Fi services to its

Your Thoughts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Your Thoughts - Essay Example repeated emphasis on proper concepts, the asking of different questions, and the elaborate examples point out that the intention of the author is to make the reader realize the gravity of the situation. He does, in fact, succeed in doing so. It is indeed true that the subject of mathematics is taught as a necessity. Mathematics is used in every aspect of life and in every field of work that is why it is becoming essential. However, the need for the study of mathematics has made it nothing but a burden on students. The result is that the students, instead of appreciating the ‘beauty’ of mathematics, consider it important for their respective fields only. The mode of instruction, as the author states, is a very important reason for this attitude. The mode of instruction in the primary and elementary schools is, indeed, not up to the mark. Often, students are just spoon-fed the knowledge of the things around them. This approach may be appropriate for subjects like history where the students cannot really ask why some event took place. However, when it comes to the study of mathematics, this approach is not acceptable. Mathematics is a subject that is primarily based on the study of concepts. This means that the teaching of mathematics should ideally require the understanding of why a particular phenomenon takes place. An example, according to the author, would be the concept of why the area of a rectangle is determined by taking the product of length and width. The previously mentioned mode of instruction, employed by teachers, however, completely ruins the idea of the teaching of mathematics. The stress of teachers on learning how to solve problems has many implications. Firstly, the thinking process of students is hindered as a result of rote learning. Students generally develop thinking and analytical skills in their early years of education. If the teachers impose a certain way of doing things in that early phase, the students may never be able to think

Testing and Assessment in ELT Essay Example for Free

Testing and Assessment in ELT Essay The notion that language tests have a damaging effect upon learning is reflected in much contemporary academic and media based criticism and speculation. This can be seen in relation to the meaning of the language being learned and the social context deemed crucial to understanding and developing language use. This is primarily because unlike many of the other educational disciplines, language is a cornerstone study as it is used in every study and forms the basis for all shared intellectual knowledge. That is to say, that every study uses the convention and medium of language as a basis for its knowledge. Furthermore, it is comparatively ambiguous in nature as it relates to the everyday development of the child and every stage of learning. It includes the very communicative and social reality of the individual and is used in thought itself. Other studies can be subsequently seen as having their own particular forms of language, which break from the socialised identity of the child in some respect. For instance, a studier of biology need not use the terms, words and knowledge they have come to learn in everyday life. Due to this, learning such technical forms of knowledge can be seen as something of a distinct formal language used for education. However, in the study of English language this is not possible as it incorporates the very understanding of language itself along with the identity of the child or learner. It is due to this that concerns have grown regarding the formalised testing of English. And it also due to this that we can agree with Hughes contention that such testing has a harmful effect on teaching and learning and fails to measure accurately whatever it is that they are intended to measure. Essentially, they do not measure the relevant foundational and social knowledge that forms an understanding of language itself. Subsequently, in this assignment we will be looking at some of the relative concerns in English tests and putting forward some of the theoretical and practical alternatives proposed and practised by educational theorists and researchers alike before presenting our conclusion. With this in mind, we shall turn to the role of the class room environment in the teaching of English language. The Role of the Class Room Environment The main concern related to the study and teaching of English language is regarding the concept of input. Input generally refers to the exposure that the learners have had with the authentic language being used and taught. It is input that constitutes the main focus of the English language class and the development of English related knowledge and development. This insight is used primarily as an entry point into the study of language and acts as the catalyst for any of the various topics being covered. Input can come from a range of diverse sources. This includes the teacher. However, this also includes the learners as well as the learning environment itself. As a technical term, input is relative to intake, which refers to the intellectual absorbing and internalising of the input based upon the subsequent topic and discussion. This therefore relates to the process of word and knowledge acquisition. Knowledge and language acquisition theories emphasise the importance of comprehensible and relative input. This is essentially language that is just beyond the competence of the learner and just outside of their field of internalised knowledge. This is generally referred to as being outside of the zone of proximal development; meaning outside of the learner’s own experienced and intellectually internalised structure of conceptual knowledge. However, if the input were too far outside of the zone of proximal development then the learner would not be able to understand. Contrastingly, if it were inside the zone of the proximal development then the learner would find this unnecessary or perhaps conflicting knowledge. However, with it being outside of the zone of proximal development then the learner can relate this new information to their already established structure of knowledge and build upon it to see how the new intellectual stimuli, information or language relates. Ultimately, this provides the ideal conditions for acquisition to occur. Further, this is reflected by the research of Lambert who states that: ‘Learners are encouraged to construct and produce knowledge in meaningful ways through the acknowledgment of prior experiences. Generative learning environments promote deep, engaged learning’ (Lambert 2003). This all means that the classroom environment is crucial to the teaching of English and the information input into this environment must be at an intellectual level at which the individual can begin to build from their own knowledge. However, this is also integral to the group, as in accordance to acquisition theory the group must be able to communicate and exchange their understanding within the classroom. This means that a focus is imperative to the class room environment and that the tasks are hugely important for the social learning dynamic. Essentially, if there is little communication between learners, then the intellectual development and needs of the group will be at odds and many of the children will be left behind as others excel. Although the case can be made for differences in intelligence and intellectual ability, such a difference made by an unequal environment and focus is artificial and would cause a discrepancy in either the focus or the input. Essentially, the difference in intellectual capacity and acquired knowledge would be due to lack of awareness rather than higher abilities of certain individuals. By keeping the class room environment an equally focused group made to share and exchange different knowledge and insights regarding a specific topic, the group can then become a mutually orientated group focused upon a shared goal. This also shows the importance and significance of the children’s identity, as without recognition of an individual’s identity and experiences within the social dynamics of the teaching environment the child may not be able to relate, understand and/or develop.

Literature Review on Volatility

Literature Review on Volatility Literature Review What is Volatility? Volatility is defined as the spread of all likely outcomes of an uncertain variable (Poon, 2005). Statistically, it is often measured as the sample standard deviation (as seen below), but can also be measured by variance. Where rt = return on day t, and ÃŽÂ ¼ = average return over the T-day period. The common misconception is to equate volatility to risk. However, whilst volatility is related to risk, it is not the same. Risk represents an undesirable outcome, whilst volatility is a measure for uncertainty that could arise from a positive outcome. Furthermore, volatility as a measure for the spread of a distribution contains no information on the shape, this represents another reason for volatility being an imperfect measure for risk. The sole exception to this being a normal distribution or lognormal distribution where mean and standard deviation are appropriate statistics for the whole distribution (Poon, 2005). In dealing with volatility as a subject matter in financial markets, the focus is on the spread of asset returns. High volatility is generally undesirable as it indicates security values are unreliable and capital markets arent functioning efficiently (Poon, 2005; Figlewski, 1997). Financial market volatility has been the subject of much research and the number of studies continues to rise since Poon and Granger (2003)s original survey first identified 93 papers in the field. A whole host of drivers for volatility have been explored (including political events, macroeconomic factors and investors behavior) in an attempt to better capture volatility and decrease risk (Poon, 2005). This study will add to that list, hoping to contribute something novel to the field by scrutinizing the appropriateness of different volatility models for different country indexes. The Importance of Volatility Forecasting Investment strategies, Portfolio Optimization and Asset Valuation Volatility when taken as uncertainty transforms into an important component in a wide range of financial applications including Investment strategies for trading or hedging, Portfolio optimization and Asset price valuation. The Markowitz mean-variance portfolio theory (Markowitz, 1952), Capital Asset Pricing Model (Sharpe, 1964) and Sharpe ratio (Sharpe 1966) signify three cornerstones for optimal decision-making and measurement of performance, advocating a focus on the risk-return interrelationship with volatility taken as a risk proxy. With Investors and portfolio managers having limits as to the risk they can bear, accurate forecasts of the volatility of asset prices for long-term horizons is necessary to reliably assess investment risk. Such forecasts allow investors to be better informed and hold stocks for longer rather than constantly reallocating their portfolio in reaction to movements in prices; an often expensive exercise in general (Poon and Granger, 2003). In terms of st ock price valuation French, et al. (1987) analyse NYSE common stocks for the period of 1928-1984 and find expected market risk premium to be positively related to the predictable volatility of stock returns, which is further strengthened by the indirect relationship between stock market returns and the unexpected change in the volatility of stock returns. Derivatives pricing Volatility is a key element in Modern option pricing theory that enables estimation of the fair value of options and other derivative instruments. According to Poon and Granger (2003) the trading volume of derivative securities had quadrupled in the recent years leading up to their research and since then this growth has accelerated with the global derivatives market now estimated to be around $544 Trillion excluding credit default swaps and commodity contracts (BIS, 2017). As one of five input variables (including Stock Price, Strike price, time to maturity and risk-free interest rate), expected volatility over the options life in the Black-Scholes model theorized by Black and Scholes (1973) is crucially also the only variable that is not directly observable and must be forecast (Figlewski, 1997). Implied volatility and realized volatility can be computed by referencing observed market prices for options and historical data. Whilst the former is attractive for requiring little input data and delivering excellent results when analysed in some empirical studies compared to time series models utilizing just historical information, it is deficient by not having a firm statistical basis and different strike prices yielding different implied volatilities creating confusion over which implied volatility to use (Tse, 1991; Poon, 2005). Lengthening maturities of derivative instruments also weakens the assumption that volatility realized in the recent past can be used as a fairly reliable proxy for volatility in the near future. (Figlewski, 1997). With recent developments, derivatives written on volatility can now also be purchased whereby volatility represents the underlying asset, thus further necessitating volatility forecasting practices (Poon and Granger, 2003). Financial Risk Management Volatility forecasting plays a significant role in Financial Risk Management of the finance and banking industries. The practice aids in estimation of value-at-risk (VaR), a measure introduced by the Basel Committee in 1996 through an amendment to the Basel Accords (an international standard for minimum capital requirement among international banks to safeguard against various risks). Whilst many risks are examined within, volatility forecasting is most relevant for Market risk and VaR. However, calculating VaR is necessary only if banks choose to adopt its own internal proprietary model for calculating market risk related capital requirement. By choosing to do so, there is greater flexibility for banks in specifying model parameters but with an attached condition of regular backtesting of the internal model. Apart from banks, other financial institutions may also use VaR voluntarily for internal risk management purposes. (Poon and Granger 2003; Poon 2005) Christoffersen and Diebold (2000) do however contend the limits of relevance of Volatility Forecasting for Financial Risk Management, arguing that for reliable forecastablity much depends on whether the horizon of interest is of a short term or long-term nature (taken to be more than 10 or 20 days) with the practice deemed more relevant for the former than the latter due to the limitations in forecastability. Policymaking Financial market volatility can have wide-reaching consequences on economies. As an example, large recessions create ambiguity and hinder public confidence. To counter such negative impacts and disruptions, policy makers utilize market estimates of volatility as a means for identifying the vulnerability of financial markets, equipping them with more reliable and complete information with which to respond with appropriate policies. (Poon and Granger, 2003) The Federal Reserve of the United States is one such entity that incorporates volatility of various financial instruments into its monetary policy decision-making (Nasar, 1991). Bernanke and Gertler (2000) explore the degree to which implications of asset price volatility impact monetary policy decision-making. A side-by-side comparison of U.S. and Japanese monetary policy is the basis of the study. The researchers find that inflation-targeting is desirable, however, monetary policy decisions based on changes in asset prices should only be made to the extent that such changes help to forecast inflationary or deflationary pressures. Meanwhile, Bomfim (2003) investigates the relationship between monetary policy and stock market volatility from the other perspective. Interest rate policy decisions that carry an element of surprise appear to increase short run, stock market volatility significantly with positive surprises also having a greater effect than negative surprises. Empirical stylized facts of asset returns and volatility Any attempt to model volatility appropriately must be done with an understanding of the common, recurring set of properties identified from numerous empirical studies carried out across financial instruments, markets and time periods. Contrary to the event-based theory in which it is hypothesized different assets respond differently to different economic and political events, empirical studies show that different assets do in fact share some generalizable, qualitative statistical properties. Volatility models should thus seek to capture these features of asset returns and volatility so as to enhance the forecasting process; herein lays the challenge. (Cont, 2001; Bollerslev et al 1994) Presented are some of these stylized facts, along with their corresponding empirical studies that have contributed to the evolving literature aimed at improving volatility-forecasting practices and which this study will also look to capture. Return Distributions Stock Market returns are not normally distributed and it is therefore an unsuitable distribution for modeling returns according to Mandelbrot (1963) and Fama (1965). Returns are approximately symmetrical but can display negative skewness and significantly have leptokurtic features (excess kurtosis with heavier tails and taller, narrower peaks than found in a normal distribution) that see large moves occur with greater frequency than under normal distributions (Sinclair, 2013). Cont (2001) asserts that these large moves in the form of gains and losses are asymmetric by nature with the scale of downward movements in stock index values dwarfing upward movements. He further argues that the introduction of GARCH-type models to counter the effects of volatility clustering can reduce the heaviness of tails in the residual time series to some small extent. However, as GARCH models can at times struggle to fully incorporate heavy-tail features of returns, this has necessitated the use of alte rnative distributions such as the students t-distribution employed in Bollerslev (1987). Alberg et al (2008) employ a skewed version of this distribution to various models with the EGARCH model delivering the best performance in forecasting the volatility of Tel Aviv stock indices. Cont (2001) does however also highlight an important consideration with the notion of aggregational gaussianity that as one increases time scale (t) for calculation of returns, the distribution of returns seems more normally distributed in appearance. Leverage effect/Asymmetric volatility In most markets, volatility and returns are negatively correlated (Cont, 2001). First elucidated by Black (1976) and particularly prevalent for stock indices, Volatility will tend to increase when stock price declines. The justification for this is because a decline in equity stock price will increase a companys debt-to-equity ratio and consequently its risk and volatility (Figlewski and Wang, 2000; Engle and Patton, 2001). Importantly, this relationship is asymmetric, with negative returns having a more marked effect on volatility than positive returns as documented by Christie (1982) and Schwert, (1989). However they also argue that the leverage effect is not enough on its own to explain all of the change in volatility with Christie (1982) incorporating interest rate as another element that has a partial effect. Hence, whilst, ARCH (Engle, 1982) and GARCH (Bollerslev, 1986) models do well to account for volatility clustering and leptokurtosis, their symmetric distribution fails to account for the leverage effect. In response to this, various asymmetric modifications of GARCH have been developed, the most significant of these being Exponential GARCH (EGARCH; Nelson, 1991) and GJR (Glosten et al, 1993). Other models like GARCH-in-Mean have also endeavored to capture the leverage effect along with the risk premium effect, another concept that has been theorized to contribute to volatility asymmetry by studies such as Schwert (1989) (Engle and Patton, 2001). Volatility Distribution The distribution of volatility is taken to be approximately log-normal. Various studies such as Andersen et al (2001) have postulated this. More significantly than the actual distribution is the high positive skewness indicating volatility spends longer in lower states than higher states. (Sinclair, 2013) Volatility-Volume correlation All measures of volatility and trading volume are highly positively correlated (Cont, 2001). Lee and Rui (2002) show this relationship to be foundationally robust, however what is more complex is determining the causality between the two. Strong arguments can be made either way. As an example, Brooks (1998) utilizes linear and non-linear Granger causality tests and finds the relationship to be stronger from volatility to volume than the converse. He concludes by highlighting that for forecasting accuracy, predicting volume using volatility is more productive than forecasting stock index volume and using such forecasts in trading. According to Gallant et al (1992) this relationship is also closely linked with the leverage effect and incorporating lagged volume weakens the effect considerably. Non-Constant Volatility Volatility is not constant. The changing nature of volatility occurs in a particular manner; Merton (1980) was critical of researchers who failed to incorporate this feature in their models. Firstly volatility is mean reverting. Indeed LeBaron (1992) found a strong negative relationship between volatility and autocorrelation for stock indices in the United States. Secondly, Volatility clusters. This is a phenomenon first noted by Mandelbrot (1963) that allows a good estimation of future volatility based on current volatility. Other studies such as Chou (1988) have also empirically shown the existence of clustering. Mandelbrot (1963) wrote, large changes tend to be followed by large changes of either sign, and small changes tend to be followed by small changes. In other words, a turbulent day of trading usually comes after another turbulent trading day, whilst a calm period will usually be followed by another calm period. Importantly, the phenomenon is not exclusive to the underlying product and can be seen in stock indices, commodities and currencies. It also tends to be more pronounced in developed than emerging markets. (Taylor, 2008; Sinclair, 2013) Engle and Patton (2001) argue that volatility clustering indicates volatility goes through phases whereby periods of high volatility eventually give way to more normal volatility with the contrary also holding. Engles (1982) landmark paper incorporated these features of volatility persistence using his ARCH model, whereby time varying, non-constant volatility that persists in high or low states is taken account of.

Graphology :: Handwriting School Education Essays

Graphology Introduction The belief that handwriting is a sign of the inner personality is very old. The first serious attempt to analyze handwriting seems to have been that of Camillo Baldi, an Italian scholar, who published a book on the subject in 1622. As literacy spread, handwriting analysis became popular, being practiced as an art form by such literary figures as Goethe, Poe, the Brownings and Dickens. Jean Hippolyte Michon coined the term "graphology" in 1875. Michon systematized handwriting analysis by associating hundreds of graphic signs with specific personality traits. Around the turn of the century, the French psychologist Alfred Binet performed several experiments with handwriting analysis as a device for testing personality. Binet claimed that handwriting experts could distinguish successful from unsuccessful persons with high accuracy. The German school of handwriting analysis, led by Ludwig Klages, developed a subjective and esoteric approach to graphology, and apparently never even attempted experimental verification of its claims. There is today no single theory or method that dominates graphology. The French school concentrated on isolated signs as specific indicators of personality, and the Germans sought to make subjective interpretations based on a total impression of a person's handwriting. In 1929 M. N. Bunker founded "graphoanalysis" as a compromise between these two extreme positions The language and techniques of graphoanalysis seem to be more or less the common graphological practice in the United States today. (Bunker 1971). Bunker founded the International Graphoanalysis Society, which now offers an 18-month correspondence course for analysts. The society is based in Chicago and claims 10,000 active members. The Institute of Graphological Science in Dallas also offers courses and accreditation in graphology, but it is not affiliated with the Graphoanalysis Society. Unless indicated otherwise, I will use the term "graphologist" to refer to a practitioner of any school of handwriting analysis for per sonality assessment. Graphological technique Even though there is no canonical school of graphology, some discussion of the practice may be helpful. Remember that the basic assumption underlying graphology is that handwriting is an expression of the personality; hence, a systematic analysis of the way a person forms words and letters will reveal traits of personality. The graphologists are fond of repeating, "Handwriting is brain writing." Graphologists look for such features as the slant of characters, the size of individual letters, angularity and curvature, and such non-graphic features as the pressure of upward and downward strokes. In most systems, the slant of the letters is very important.

Native Americans- Minority Role Essay example -- essays research paper

Thesis Since the arrival of the Europeans in 1492 the Native American has systematically been dehumanized, decivilized and redefined into terms that typify a subordinate or minority role, restricted life opportunities persist today as a result. I. Introduction-Majority/Minority group relations- the role of power II. Historical Overview A. Native American life before contact with the White man. B. Early contact, efforts at peaceful co-existence. C. Conflict and its consequences for Native Americans III. The continuing role of power A. Control techniques used by the majority group B. Native American life today, SES, housing, education, etc. Power and Minority Group Position: The Case of Native Americans Majority/Minority group relations can be illustrated by studying the role of power and how it is distributed between groups. The majority, or group that wields the most power, directly affects the circumstances for the minority. In most cases power struggle leads to racial and ethnic inequality. This scenario describes the case of the Native Americans. Since the arrival of the Europeans in 1492 the Native American has systematically been dehumanized, decivilized and redefined into terms that typify a subordinate or minority role, restricted life opportunities persist today as a result (Farley, 2000). When European settlers arrived on American shores to settle a New World, around 7 million Native Americans had been settled in the wilderness north of present-day Mexico for some time. It is believed that the first Native Americans arrived during the last Ice Age, approximately 20,000 - 30,000 years ago, by crossing the Bering Strait from northeastern Siberia into Alaska. Over thousands of years, â€Å"spiritual kin-based communities† had survived by living off the land and bartering goods. Their diversity was reflected by their societies, which ranged from small, mobile bands of hunter-gatherers in the Great Basin to temple-mound builders in the Southeast (DiBacco, 1995). The encounter of early explorers with the people of the Americas would ultimately set in motion the destruction of long existing Native American life and culture. Engrained into the minds of the Europeans were prejudiced images and stereotypes of the Native Americans, which we struggle still today to eradica... ...ypes. Even still, today’s 2.1 million Native Americans have proved their resilience by surviving oppression in a world dominated by other races and cultures. Unlike other minorities who have fought for equal rights in American society, Native Americans have fought to retain their land and cultures and have avoided assimilation, at a hefty cost. Works Cited Bataille, Gretchen. The Pretend Indians: Images of Native Americans in the Movies. Iowa State University, Ames: 1980 Berkhofer, Robert F. The White Man's Indian. Alfred A. Knopf Publishers, New York, 1978. DiBacco, Thomas V., Lorna C. Mason, and Christian G. Appy. History of The United States. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995. Keohane, Sonja. â€Å"The Reservation Boarding School System in the United States, 1870-1928.† http://www.twofrog.com. 3/19/2005 Jordan,Winthrop D. and Leon F. Litwack. The United States. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1991. Todd, Lewis Paul and Merta Curti. Triumph of the American Nation. Orlando: Harcourt Brace Joranovich, Inc., 1986. Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. New York: Harper-Collins, 1980. Farley, John. Majority-Minority Relations. New Jersey: Prentice Hall,2000.

The Chemistry of Blood Colours

Blood is a necessary component of the majority of living organisms (all vertebrates and some invertebrates); it carries vital nutrients, oxygen and proteins to body tissues and carries away waste products. Blood, although most commonly red, can also be found in such colours as green, blue, clear, pink and violet. However, the common misconception surrounding the idea that human blood is blue before oxygenation is false. All human blood is varying shades of red; these wild alternate colours are found in other animal species such as certain species of crabs and insects. This colouring of the blood can be seen as an indicator of oxygen carrying ability or make apparent the metal with the highest concentration in the blood. The colour containing portions of blood are known as respiratory pigments; these pigments are metal containing proteins which combine reversibly with oxygen. Respiratory pigments are found within cells of blood and their primary function is to aid in the transportation of molecular oxygen. There are four unanimously recognised respiratory pigments, these are; hemoglobin, followed by hemocyanin, then chlorocruorin and Hemerythrin. These four pigments occur in greater percentages and are far more efficient in carrying oxygen than the few other pigments known. These lesser known pigments (not all fully recognised as respiratory pigments) include; vanadium chromagen and pinnaglobin. Haemoglobin, the most common respiratory pigment on earth is the pigment found in all vertebrates (excluding a few Antarctic fish) including humans. Hemoglobin is located within the platelet component of blood giving the distinctive red colouring associated with blood both when oxygenated and deoxygenated, when oxygenated it is a bright red and by the time it is traveling In the veins back to the heart, blood containing haemoglobin is a dark red in colour. This colour is due to the presence of iron in the haemoglobin. Iron is the central atom of the heme group ( Without iron in the heme group, there would be no site for the oxygen to bind) One molecule of haemoglobin, with iron at the centre, can carry four oxygen molecules. Fig 1: Hemoglobin structure Image: (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2013) Fig1. 2: Hemoglobin, human adult, heme group Image: (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2013) Hemocyanin is the second most evident form of respiratory pigment, found in mollusks, arthropods and some insects. Blood containing Hemocyanin is blue in colour when oxygenated and transparent in appearance when deoxygenated. Oxygenation causes a colour change between the colorless Cu(I) deoxygenated form and the blue Cu(II) oxygenated form. This blue colour is due to the presence of Two copper atom at the centre of hemocyanin particles and unlike haemoglobin, only two oxygen molecules can reversibly combine with the metal proteins at the centre of the hemocyanin particles therefore it is four times less efficient as an oxygen carrier than haemoglobin. Fig. 2: Hemocyanin, deoxygenated and oxygenated Image: (htt) Chlorocruorin is an iron, metalprotein, respiratory pigment with many similarities to hemoglobin. The most notable of the differences between hemoglobin and chlorocruorin is the abnormal heme group structure of chlorocruorin and unlike hemoglobin it floats freely within the plasma of blood rather than being confined to red blood cells. The chemical colour change of chlorocruorin bears resemblance to both hemoglobin and hemerythrin, changing from a green when deoxygenated to red when oxygenated (two oxygen molecules reversibly combine one iron atom). This ration puts chlorocruorin at 25% the efficiency of hemoglobin. Fig. 3: Chlorocruorin structure Image: (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2013) Hemerythrin is the third respiratory pigment containing iron, found in marine invertebrates (sipunculids and brachiopods) and used for oxygen transfer and/or storage. Although containing the same metal protein, hemerythrin differs from both haemoglobin and chlorocruorin as it contains two more iron atoms which reversibly combine and are connected by an oxygen molecule. This means that the efficiency of this pigment is 25% as effective as haemoglobin and on par for effectiveness with chlorocruorin. When the oxygen molecule combines directly (no heme group) with the iron atoms a colour change occurs; deoxygenated hemerythrin is near colourless changing to a pink/violet colour when oxygenated. Fig. 4: Hemerythrin structure found in sea worms Image: (Coleman, 2009) Other than the four major respiratory pigments, giving blood colour, there is dispute over two other pigments, little is known of these pigments. They are; Pinnaglobin, a brown pigment found in the blood of a mollusc of the genus Pinna, this pigment demonstrates similarities to the pigment Hemocyanin but contains manganese as the metal atom in place of copper. The other proposed pigment (idea is disputed) vanadium chromagen, is said to be light green in colour, contain metal atoms of Vanadium and is found in sea squirts, ascidians and tunicates. Bibliography (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://web. tock. com/kalee/chem32/spec/ (2008, 04 13). Retrieved from http://www. klingon. org/smboard/index. php? topic=1377. 0 Wiktionary. (2012, 11 11). Retrieved from http://en. wiktionary. org/wiki/vanadium_chromagen Coleman, W. F. (2009, 04 11). Dept. f Chemistry, Wellesley College. Retrieved from http://academics. wellesley. edu/Chemistry/Flick/chem341/hemoglobin1. html Department of Biology, Davidson college . (2005). Retrieved from http://www. bio. davidson. edu/Courses/Molbio/MolStudents/spring2005/Heiner/hemoglobin. html Encyclopedia britannica. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/260910/hemocyanin Frey, R. C. (n. d. ). Hemoglobin and the Heme Group. Retrieved from Department of chemistry, Washington University: