Project 3 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Project 3 - Research Paper Example Millions of people around the world are currently building online communities through social networks to communicate their shared activities and interests as well as disseminate information. Access to information and privacy is one of the most serious ethical issues that have raised concerns about the characteristics of new media. Incidents of misconduct though breach of privacy and access of private information has been widely reported in recent times, particularly on internet and social networking sites. The issue of ethics and privacy also affects journalism as the growth of new media has ensured that journalism is undergoing a difficult transition from traditional, professional ethics to mixed media ethics with little or no control. This research project investigates privacy as an ethical issue in the digital media. The paper starts by highlighting the research principals, methods and procedures that were applied in collecting the information and reaching the findings on the topic. The paper then presents the findings about privacy as a media ethics concern in the digital media before exploring the context in which the media operates and why security issues remain a concern. Finally, the paper presents a conclusion to the research by summarizing findings and giving brief recommendation. This study utilized qualitative research because of its suitability to generate the information sought in the study. This study was about providing answers and explanations to a social issue, the issue of privacy in relation to ethics in digital media. According to Cresswell (2003), qualitative research emphasizes the process of discovering the way in which social meaning is constructed. Qualitative research is all about meanings, definitions, concepts, characteristics and descriptions of things. This research was all about finding

Investment theory Essay Example for Free

Investment theory Essay The efficient market hypothesis (EMH) is an investment theory that states it is impossible to beat the market because stock market efficiency causes existing share prices to always incorporate and reflect all relevant information. According to this theory, the stock always trade at their fair value on stock exchanges. This makes it impossible for investors to either purchase undervalued stocks or sell stocks for inflated prices. EMH provides that it should be impossible to outperform the overall market through expert stock selection or market timing. The only way an investor can possibly obtain higher returns is through purchasing riskier investments (Answer. com, 2006). Using the EMH theory, this research study will examine the efficiency of the United Kingdom (UK) stock market indices by providing an internal performance comparison between FTSE 250 and FTSE AIM. A total of two hundred (200) companies will be used for the analysis, with one hundred (100) companies from each index, on the basis of trading value from all sectors, using Datastream platform. Two inputs (total sales and EBIT), and two outputs (total capital employed and total assets) will be used to analyse the data from each company. Literature Review Although EMH is deemed the cornerstone of modern financial theory, it has also been highly controversial and much disputed. Critics say it is pointless to search for undervalued stocks or to try to predict trends in the market through either fundamental or technical analysis. A review of related literature however will show that a large body of evidence show support of EMH. While academics point to a large body of evidence in support of EMH, an equal amount of dissension also exists. For example, investors such as Warren Buffett have consistently beaten the market over long periods of time, which by definition is an impossibility according to the EMH. Detractors of the EMH also point to events such as the 1987 stock market crash (when the DJIA fell by over 20% in a single day) as evidence that stock prices can seriously deviate from their fair values. (Answers. com) In finance, the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) asserts that financial markets are efficient, or that prices on traded assets, e. g. stocks, bonds, or property, already reflect all known information and therefore are unbiased in the sense that they reflect the collective beliefs of all investors about future prospects. The efficient market hypothesis implies that it is not possible to consistently outperform the market — appropriately adjusted for risk — by using any information that the market already knows, except through luck or obtaining and trading on inside information. Information or news in the EMH is defined as anything that may affect stock prices that is unknowable in the present and thus appears randomly in the future. This random information will be the cause of future stock price changes.

The History of Ideology

The History of Ideology Its easy to say that ideology is something that belongs to mind, or to words that are easier to understand than to think. Thinking is what we do every day; this is the way I answered the question related to ideology. So in this essay, I will take a deeper look at the term ideology in of Marxism and why his idea is famous in anti-capitalism. Ideology is a system of perspectives, ideas, and these built on a philosophical foundation through a consistent worldview and methodology. They represent the will and aspirations of a class, people, formed by individual practices, and back to direct the training, to improve reality. Any thought is due to the physical conditions of life, the social order and the reflection of the material situation of the secular regime. Since the emergence of private ownership and associated with it the division of society into classes: domination and power, oppression and oppression In social consciousness also began to appear and constantly develop ideas expressing the opposition of interests, the struggle between classes. I will refute this view as follows: as I cannot point to any person and say I have no idea. Maybe the thoughts in his head did not form a scholastic system, or it consisted of the fragmented parts of different academic theories. But not so that I was entitled to say that he has no idea at all. For example, when it comes to accepting a particular set of problems A B C D E, he only resolves to take AB, but refuses to recognize C D, and ignores E; Then we say that he has conservative thoughts. Apparently, thinking has been transformed into action that does not exist in the literary form anymore. Thus, one can say that thought not only exists in the shape of educational theoretical systems but that it only makes it easy to approach thought. Zizek has explained his idea of ideology through a trash can or can understand that a system, he explained that ideology let us be controlled inside a system (Japhy, 2017, 3/2). But he also emphasized the importance of ideology that they give human motivation a reason to exist in life. Later, major ideas in the world were used to highlight the two great ideas capitalist, and communist. Its the model that states in the world are doing. And through propaganda activities in all forms such as the media, no matter what the issue is, is a message to make sure that the ideology is still favored by the people while under control. (Japhy, 2017, 3/2) Zizek also explained the vitality, the existence of the capitalist economy on how to promote such strength. He argues that it is the competitive market that is a free market, so firms will always want to reach out to and serve the consumer. That this product is better than the competitors product. It is the consumers appetite that creates a circulation for the developed market when the consumers desire is endless. The more you drink, the thirstier you get. This has created an impetus that invisibly promotes the market in creating jobs for the working-class. Ideology is to be understood as fetishism. It is used as a material to control human thinking and their beliefs. And that is the origin of capitalism. It gives money power to control people. They are willing to do everything to get it. Because of the obvious truth, the human is living in the secular age. That everything can be traded together. And that is one of the features of capitalism when it raises the issue of a free market where labor is cashed (Japhy, 2017, 10/2). But Marx also posed a problem that was the imbalance of capitalism. Smith argued that the individuals pursuit of self-interest would lead to an outcome beneficial to all, whereas Marx argued that the pursuit of self-interest would lead to anarchy, crisis, and the dissolution of the private property-based system itself. . . . Smith spoke of the invisible hand guiding individual, self-interested agents to perform those actions that would be, despite their lack of concern for such an outcome, socially optimal; for Marxism the simile is the iron fist of competition, pulverizing the workers and making them worse off than they would be in another feasible system, namely, one based on the social or public ownership of property (Roemer 1988, 2-3). But Marx also posed a problem that was the imbalance of capitalism. Because life is not balanced, there is a difference in class. Marx argues that this difference is due to the capitalist class, or the em ployer, who values the labor force, not in proportion to what the worker pays. On the contrary, the products are sold at high prices beyond the affordability of employees. And then the question is why the money is just a symbolic, unrealistic value that is represented by the numbers on paper but is so influential in human life. After Marx pointed out the basics of capitalism, launched the world workers movement, through the struggles of workers, of national liberation movements, Capitalism had self-correcting, economic and political theories born in the twentieth century have significantly contributed to changing the face of capitalism. In 1990 at a Paris symposium on Marx, the invited President stated that Marx was the savior of capitalism for pointing out its fundamental errors. Actually, about form, capitalism has changed a lot. But the nature of capitalism cannot be modified. That nature is a profitable, profitable way, including the adoption of political and military activities. Instead of forming a direct domination, capitalism creates an entirely democratically controlled state that is completely dependent on the political economy. Karl Marx argues that communism will be the final stage of history, achieved through a proletarian revolution. In communist society, decisions about what to produce and pursue policies are democratically chosen, allowing all members of society to participate in decision-making in both areas, political and economic. The production and distribution of wealth are reasonably made among citizens. Karl Marx never described in detail how communism would function as a socio-economic system, but it was understood that a communist economy would be based on the idea of equal share among its citizens. Marx asserts that the only way to solve these problems is by the working class (proletarians), who according to Marx are the main force that produces material wealth in society and are privately owned. The exploitative (bourgeois) empire stands up as a ruling class in place of the bourgeoisie to establish a free society, regardless of class or race. The state representing workers who have been orga nized into the dominant class will control the means of production for the benefit of society. Marx does not create what is now called communism. But the idea of producing and distributing wealth equitably carried out among citizens gives each other confidence in the proletariat or labor. Which it goes against the concept of capitalism at that time. Marxism became more popular and viral after Lenin successfully applied his theory and his idea. Marxism-Leninism was widely acknowledged in socialist countries such as the Soviet Union or China and Vietnam today. When Leninism-Stalinism suddenly adopted the term proletarian ideology in the late 1920s in order to designate not the distortion of proletarian consciousness under the pressure of bourgeois ideology but the very subjective driving force of proletarian revolutionary activity, this shift in the notion of ideology was strictly correlative to the reinterpretation of Marxism itself as an impartial objective science' (Zizek, Mapping Ideology 9). At the time of Marx, due to the influence of the revolutions in Europe and the Americas, people resorted to violent means of seizing power to deal with socio-economic problems without seeing the power. A lot of peaceful solutions by compromise and dialogue. Marx criticized and denied utopian socialism for its failure as a testimony to the need for socialist revolution. Violent revolutionary measures can give a very immediate result when the public is motivated to stand up for the revolution. But it will endure massive social losses for a long time, and When it is necessary to restrain the revolution and bring it back to a peaceful and friendly state, it is tough and time-consuming and enormous loss. Nonviolent peace measures, though slowly and seemingly ineffective, can, in fact, resolve the conflict once the conflict is ripe because society is the totality of communal forces. Assembly and forces are in need of each other, so they can adjust themselves to deal with conflicts. After t he death of Marx, the world has changed profoundly, and there have emerged effective methods of peaceful struggle through institutions such as unions, social organizations, social media, and religion. As one bitter critic put it, In the name of human progress, Marx has probably caused more death, misery, degradation and despair than any man who ever lived (Downs 1983, 299). 1487 words Bibliography Downs, Robert B. 1983. Books That Changed the World. 2d ed. New York: Penguin. Roemer, John E. 1988. Free to Lose. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Skousen, Mark. The Big Three In Economics. 1st ed. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2007. Print.

Who Are We? :: essays research papers

Thoughts of trouble turn to rubble. Eyes closed. Mind free. Confusion is embraced by our dreams. Eyes closed. Mind free. When the mouth is silenced you can see much more. Eyes closed. Mind free. Life is not just a roll of the dice or a conscience decision. Eyes closed. Mind free. The spontaneous thoughts of the unconsence personality result in one’s unique world. Eyes closed. Mind free. Every thought begins with a idea; think of an idea and many thoughts will follow. Eyes closed. Mind free. The thoughts that you hear are part of your personality, just only the ones that you listen to determine your view of reality. Even though we may not know it, reality is constantly changing. Reality is based on a balance of your unique experiences and your bias upon them. Eyes closed. Mind free. But where does the does the unconsense thoughts come from when there are no experiences? The true answer is one does not all of sudden wake up and start thinking; like in one of baby look who’s talking movies. There is a beginning of thought, but it is so minute it is not consencely recorded. Thought is a process of building a skyscraper when a Lego block of life’s trail and error experience. Eyes closed. Mind free. The unconsense comes from your experiences. The idea of love sparks many thoughts, require a consense decision. There are a plethora of different girls but there is only supposed to be one â€Å"right† one. Your unconsence thoughts are plenty, you are limited by your conscience bias determined from experiences. Where from, you ask? Family. Believe it or not the type of family you have will greatly impact on who you can find attractive; with each â€Å"type† of family there will be a different sort of experiences a person goes through. Family is where you first create your bias through trial and error. Your basic personality comes from your family experiences. Think of it like we are all cars; we get the basic package from our parents, then later we get upgrades. Eyes closed. Mind free. Do you remember the fear you had of becoming like your parents? Do you remember the epiphany when you realized are? Or are you still in denial? I’m not saying you are going to turn out to be a clone of you r father, just that the basic part of you is. As you become older you become more complex; your once red and green thoughts have been questioned turning to a shade of gray.

Systematic Approach of World Wide Web

Getting your course onto the World Wide Web (WWW) is best done using a systematic approach. There are a number of steps that need to be taken prior to starting any of the actual web work. Meetings should be held with various groups within your institution. Once the actual coursework is begun, there are some essential components and some optional components. There are specific skills and talents that you either need to acquire or you need to access. Each web-based course is unique, but they often have many components in common. Some are essential, others may be optional. Resources can be found on your campus, from the many web companies and from the web itself. World Wide Web, WWW, Distance Education, HTML, Web-Based Instruction The number of degree credit courses available on the World Wide Web (WWW) has increased at the same astonishing rate as other activities on the WWW. There are some specific steps that can be taken that will help to transport the professor from the idea stage to the delivery of a course over the WWW. Also, just like any other educational technology, web-based instruction works better for some situations than others. Web-based instruction is useful when you want to create a virtual environment which is not easily or, perhaps, safely accessible. An example is sending learners to a virtual nuclear lab or on a â€Å"virtual tour† of the Louver in Paris. Web-based instruction it allows learners to gain knowledge and skill more effectively than traditional methods. Simply transferring material such as lecture notes to the web is not using the technology to its best advantage. Lengthy text such as lecture notes are, in fact, best printed because most learners experience eye strain and sensory disinterest reading long passages of text on a screen. Some specific situations tend to lend themselves to web-based instruction. You want to encourage communication through conferencing. Through internet conferencing learners may participate in discussions or group work with one another with or without the participation of the instructor. Role plays, simulations of historical events and debates are also examples of how learning can be facilitated through the conferencing option. You want learners to use â€Å"source documents† to complete assignments such as conducting an analysis or designing a project. These source documents may not be readily available to learners or perhaps, based on the assignment, will not be equally significant to all the learners. For example, you may ask learners to research and analyze issues pertaining to Canadian elections. To complete the assignment, various learners may access archived information such as newspaper and journal articles which specifically relate to their particular interest or point of view. One example is a site operated by the University of Victoria (http://web.uvic.ca/history robinson/index.html) which contains letters, maps, biographies and newspaper articles about the murder of William Robinson committed on Saltspring Island in 1868. The information at the site allows learners and the public to pursue their research as they please and to access original documents which are not generally available. Individuals are free to interpret the meaning of the documents and reach their own conclusions. You want to provide maximum flexibility to allow learners to undertake learning and research in the order which best suits them. Because the web allows learners to â€Å"move around† at will, they do not need to follow a structured hierarchy. Generally learners need and want some direction but the web allows a more flexible approach. You want learners to pool data and/or analysis to find patterns and trends or to undertake further study. For a starting point and to keep us on track in this paper, I will discuss degree credit courses delivered by the University of New Brunswick. I will assume that for your case there is ready WWW web access for the professor as well as web access for students. Again, for consistency, I expect my students to have at least Netscape 3 (or its equivalent), their own internet service provider (ISP), and the skills necessary to access the WWW. These are my starting points – but most concepts discussed will transfer across institutional lines. There a number of things that you should do before you begin to do any coding, contracting or late night computer hacking. There are meetings to setup, there is paper work to be done and decisions to be made. Then, and only then, do you get to â€Å"play† with the computer. I would advise that you consider the following meetings as part of your endeavors. They will help you set the ground rules, help you avoid some of the mine-fields, and start you off on a working relationship with groups that can be either wonderful allies or formidable combatants, and hopefully help keep you on track as you work towards a finished product. 6.2.1 Your initial meeting with your own department I feel it is imperative for any relationship you and your delivering agency (Department of Extension, Continuing Education or â€Å"University of the World†) to start with a good relationship with your own department. In this meeting you may need to get the approval of the supervisors of your department to be able to deliver in something other than the traditional face to face, on campus mode. Those in authority may have to guarantee the academic support for some period after the first start of delivery of the course (at UNB, the period is three years). At the University of New Brunswick, instructors delivering courses through the Department of Extension are recommended by the faculties. This is something you might also wish to discuss with your own department at this time. It is often assumed that the person(s) developing a course will be the one(s) that wish to teach the course and the one(s) that the faculty will appoint to teach the course. This is not always the case. You should also discuss possible sources of help for the development of your course. There are times when stipend relief may be available from various sources. There may also be funds available from other agencies. 6.2.2 Your first meeting with your delivering agency Having gained the approval of your faculty, you should next meet with your delivering agency. In this meeting, you should discuss the ways that they can help you in the development of your course. They may also share with you what they know about possible funding sources. As Web-based learning is different from regular face-to-face lecture learning, they will want you to make use of good instructional design methodologies. This is often an area where they can help. Here are some items you may wish to discuss at that meeting: a. possible methods of web-based delivery for your course, b. method of payment to the instructor, c. ancillary support materials and their delivery to the students, d. how the materials, assignments, marks and communications flow between parties g. on-going checkpoint meetings with your delivering agency. At regularly scheduled intervals, you should meet with your delivering agency as they will wish to monitor the development of the course. Your delivering agency should be checking with you to: * keep abreast of your time lines. They need this to be able to best market your course and to see that it receives the coverage it deserves, * ensure the consistency of an Academia â€Å"look and feel† * ensure the consistency of any standards for web-based courseware development (for an example, please see http://www.unb.ca/home/webinfo/guide.html) * keep abreast of your needs and successes. These meetings are intended to insure the standards and formats consistent with the delivery of your institute's courses, and should in no way be an attempt to interfere with your teaching. There is an ongoing debate as to whether one should do all or some of the web work oneself, or if the work should be jobbed out. I enjoy working with the web, I have instructional design training and have been involved in courseware development for quite a few years and so, as long as I have more time than financial resources, I will do the work myself. There are many very good professional agencies that can be contracted to produce courseware for you. These agencies can be contracted to do a wide range of the jobs necessary to complete any type of web-based application. There are probably agencies within your institution who specialize in instructional design and courseware development. These units should be consulted. For certain areas of the development that you do yourself, you will need some specific skills. You will need to be very familiar with these or will need access to people who are and can do these aspects of the job for you. 7.1.1.1 HyperText Markup Language – HTML Stands for HyperText Markup Language, and on a scale of one to ten, learning the basics of HTML is about a three. The web is a great resource (see the Resource list below), and there are a plethora of good books on the subject. I keep the most current version of Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML in a Week by Laura Lemay near my computer. As with all aspects of the WWW, the print support is changing constantly, but the most recent edition is usually the best. Again, there a large number of excellent resources and my favorite is Jerry Kemp's The Instructional Design Process (New York: Harper & Row, 1985). It is however, out of print, and this is one case where I do think the next edition was not as good as the first. Another good choice is, Robert Branch's Common Instructional Design Practices Employed by Secondary School Teachers, Educational Technology, 34, (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications, 1995). The more familiar you become with HTML, the more you will be able to enhance your course's web site. This can be a good thing, and it can also be not so good. Adding components and extra â€Å"bells and whistles† to your web site should be done as a conscious choice to support your educational objectives and not just because the â€Å"bells and whistles† are there. Stands for Common Gateway Interface and is the coding that allows the information collected from forms on webs sites to be manipulated. This can be as simple as allowing students to send specific assignments to you, or can be as elaborate as on-line registration. Every Web-delivered course will have a number of components. These will vary depending upon your needs, your style and the degree of interactivity in the course. There are some components that should be part of your site, in order to make the course appealing to your customer. I feel that some components of a web-based course are essential and others are optional. These can be divided into static and dynamic. These components change very little. They can be put on your web site and only updated as needed. This will often come directly from your University calendar. This can be as informal or as formal as you like. What kind of first impression do you wish to make? How much do you wish to add? Do you wish to link to your own personal Web site (if you have one)? Again, this can often come from your university calendar. It is always a good point to specify any particular computing hardware, software or skills that will be required for students to be able to take your course. Here is a nice place to put a scanned cover of the text – along with the ISBN, the publisher and all of the information needed for your potential students to acquire this text. Here is a good place to put a link to your institute's bookstore – assuming it has a web site. This is where you put as much information as you can about how students can reach you. Will you have office hours? Virtual office hours? Can they reach you via Email? How do they reach each other? Is there a listserv, a secure server? Students all seem to want to know what they have to do to get a mark. This is a good place to tell them about assignments, quizzes, mid-terms and finals, and any other expectations you have of them. These components may change often. They might be updated, or supplemented once a week or every few days. This gets used much more in the first part of the class. As the class gets â€Å"into it† this seems to be used less frequently. These can be placed on the web site before the class begins for all assignments, or can become readable at given times or as new assignments are given. These are the actual components of the web site that allow interactivity in the course. The real power of the WWW is global communication. And this is what makes web-based courses so exciting. Your course's communications may include any number of the following: These use standard Email to allow all members of the class to send and receive messages from any other member of the class, including the instructor. Messages are automatically sent to all of the individual's personal Email addresses. These are places where people can interact. Student-to-student, student-to-teacher and teacher-to-student or teacher to the entire class. These are sections on the web that students go to and are able to read messages and participate in on-line, asynchronous ‘conversations.' 7.2.1.2.6 Interactive ‘real time' two-way audio or video There are numerous pieces of software available now that allow desktop two-way video and audio. These tend to require very high bandwidth, and because they are ‘real-time' they require the participating parties to all be on the web at the same time. This is a place where your marking scheme can be listed. It is also a place where you can post marks or assignments in (if you have a secure server that only your class can access). As each week progresses, or just prior to each week's work, students may need to have the equivalent of lecture notes to supplement what is covered in the text book, or what has been assigned on the web. Some web software will allow you to put the all the notes on the web site – and as certain dates arrive, students then have access to the notes. These may be essential, depending upon your requirements. These may be as sound files (.WAV or .AU), audio streaming (Real Audio, Soundstream, Shockwave) or MIDI files. These may be as animated .GIFs, QuickTime, Shockwave or Java applications. 7.2.2.3 Quizzes, especially â€Å"self-correcting† quizzes These may be as part of a web educational software (WebCT) or can be developed by yourself or your institution. These may be as included as text pages or may be referenced to other sites. This is one area where copyright can really come into play. The cost of clearing copyright on a set of Harvard business case studies can be out of the question. These may be as QuickTime © video or may be done with the new Real Video that allows real-time video streaming. These will allow you to maintain and provide access to databases over the web. These may be as simple as step-by-step instructions for any topic with branching provided to additional sites. They can also be we intelligent tutorials with on-line interactive testing. An â€Å"open server† will allow anyone, anywhere on the web to access your information. A â€Å"secure server† will only allow persons with some type of authorization code to access your information. (This list does not constitute an endorsement on anyone's part. These resources are a jumping off points to help you get your course on the web.) Please do not overlook the many resources on your own campus. This site has links to courses, resources, helper sites that aid you in choosing which type and format of media to use, sites that check your HTML for errors or idiosyncrasies, and much more. http://www.unb.ca/web/wwwdev/resources.html 8.2 Conferences, on-line or face-to-face NAWeb '98 – The Virtual Campus (October 3-6, 1998). This international conference is in its fourth year. It is intended solely for those developing courseware for delivery on the WWW or for those delivering courseware over the WWW. http://www.unb.ca/web/wwwdev/naweb98/ 8.3 Books, listservs and associations Badrul Khan's Web-Based Instruction (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications, 1997) is quite good. I host the WWWDEV listserv. This listserv hosts the NAWeb conferences, and has 1400 members from around the world – developing for delivery over the WWW or actually delivering courseware over the WWW. The DEOSNEWS listserv is involved in all aspects of distance education. You can join that one by sending this message DEOS-L is a service provided to the Distance Education community by The American Center for the Study of Distance Education, The Pennsylvania State University. Opinions expressed are those of DEOS-L subscribers, and do not constitute endorsement of any opinion, product, or service by ACSDE or Penn State. The Canadian Association for Distance Education (CADE) can often help The Association for Media and Technology in Education – Canada (AMTEC) is another favorite of mine. Use every and any resource you can. Join groups for support, and support others in similar projects. This is a rapidly emerging field, and it is evolving and growing just as fast as it is emerging. Here is where you add ideas you pick up at the conference. This site has links to courses, resources, helper sites that aid you in choosing which type and format of media to use, sites that check your HTML for errors or idiosyncrasies, and much more. http://www.unb.ca/web/wwwdev/resources.html 8.2 Conferences, on-line or face-to-face NAWeb '98 – The Virtual Campus (October 3-6, 1998). This international conference is in its fourth year. It is intended solely for those developing courseware for delivery on the WWW or for those delivering courseware over the WWW. http://www.unb.ca/web/wwwdev/naweb98/ 8.3 Books, listservs and associations Badrul Khan's Web-Based Instruction (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications, 1997) is quite good. I host the WWWDEV listserv. This listserv hosts the NAWeb conferences, and has 1400 members from around the world – developing for delivery over the WWW or actually delivering courseware over the WWW. The DEOSNEWS listserv is involved in all aspects of distance education. You can join that one by sending this message DEOS-L is a service provided to the Distance Education community by The American Center for the Study of Distance Education, The Pennsylvania State University. Opinions expressed are those of DEOS-L subscribers, and do not constitute endorsement of any opinion, product, or service by ACSDE or Penn State. The Canadian Association for Distance Education (CADE) can often help The Association for Media and Technology in Education – Canada (AMTEC) is another favorite of mine. Use every and any resource you can. Join groups for support, and support others in similar projects. This is a rapidly emerging field, and it is evolving and growing just as fast as it is emerging. Here is where you add ideas you pick up at the conference.

We Find The Defendant Guilty Of All Charges! Essays - Free Essays

We Find The Defendant Guilty Of All Charges! Essays - Free Essays "We find the defendant guilty of all charges!" Romeo and Juliet Essay It is known that in Shakespeare?s tragedies main characters die in the end, and in his comedies people marry. Since Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, Romeo and Juliet are going to die in the end. Some events have to lead to their deaths, and someone makes these events happen. The person(s) who started it all and did something that led to all the other events that caused the death of "a pair of star-crossed lovers" (Prologue, 6). The Capulets and Montagues would be most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet because if their ancestors didn?t start the fighting, and they didn?t continue it, nothing terrible would have happened. The first lines of the book tell us about the hate and envy between the two houses. Choir: "Two households, both alike in dignity,/. . ./From ancient grudge to new mutiny," (Prologue, 1-3). The choir tells us that the whole conflict started a long time ago with really little things, and then grew into huge fights involving many people. No leader of either household ever though about making peace, they were all too busy to spoil everything for the rival family. Only after the death of their children they realized how wrong they were. (Their hate reminds me of Holocaust, when Nazis hated and killed Jews for no particular reason at all, only because they were of a different religion. That kind of hate just makes me mad.) Romeo and Juliet first meet each other at a party at the Capulets? house. They fall in love with each other at the first sight without knowing that they are from rival houses, and when they do learn about it, it is too late. Juliet says: "My only love, sprung from my only hate!/Too early seen unknown, and known too late!" (I, v, 147-148). Juliet realizes that it was a mistake to fall in love with Romeo, because he is one of the people she should watch out for. He is her first and only love, but he is an enemy of her family. Luckily for Romeo, Juliet is smart, and such dumb thing as unreasonable hate between their parents wouldn?t stop her from loving Romeo and getting married with him. She is sorry that their families are enemies, though, because everything would be much easier if they weren?t. So this is the first time when the hate between Capulets and Montagues becomes an obstacle to Romeo and Juliet?s happiness. Only after their children die, do the Montague and Capulet come to their senses. The Prince accuses them of killing Romeo and Juliet: ". . . Capulet, Montague,/See what a scourge is laid upon your hate,/That heavens finds means to kill your joys with love!" (V, iii, 304-306). The Prince makes them see how wrong they were all the time, that all because of their hate, because they couldn?t let their children love each other, Romeo and Juliet died. After that, Capulet and Montague make peace, and Montague even says that he will make a gold statue of Juliet, but what is that going to do, it is too late, nothing will bring their children back. It is totally Capulets? and Montagues? fault that Romeo and Juliet died. If they didn?t hate each other so much, they would let their children marry, and they would be able to live happily ever after. There was only one person that realized how unreasonable the fighting was and even tried to stop it, and he was Benvolio. Benvolio was a Montague, but the Capulets didn?t have a peacemaker such as Benvolio. They only had Tybalt, whose only goal was to destroy all the Montagues. Also we don?t really know how Romeo and Juliet?s parents would have reacted if they had known that their children love each other. Romeo and Juliet didn?t even try to tell them about love between them because they were afraid that their parents wouldn?t understand them, but maybe they would. The problem is, we don?t know, because Capulet and Montague learned about their children?s love when they were already dead. It is still mostly Capulets? and Montagues? fault that Romeo and Juliet died, but maybe

History of Ngo Essay Example

History of Ngo Essay Example History of Ngo Essay History of Ngo Essay The changing face of volunteering in India 26 September 2006 by Patralekha Chatterjee Stepping carefully around the pits and mounds, four men approached the only source of light to be seen a small kerosene lantern burning inside a mud and grass hut. There were four residents inside a couple and their two children, 10 and eight. They dug the pits, cut the rock and hauled it to the trucks, all without salary. They were bonded labourers, bonded for life and for generations to the owner of the pit because some ancestor sometime had borrowed money and had been unable to pay it back. Two of the four men who visited the hut that night in 1985 were from a nongovernmental organization called Bandhua Mukti Morcha (Bonded Labour Liberation Front). The other two were journalists brought by the NGO to prove that bonded labour a form of slavery did exist right in the nations capital. After the visit, the men from the NGO went to the police station to lodge a complaint, because bonded labour is illegal in India, and so is child labour in a profession as hazardous as this. The complaints, and the articles written by the journalists after the visit, were part of the NGO campaign to make the government implement the law. Every day, different NGOs all over India are doing things like this. Sometime it may be taking a sample of water from a well that has been polluted by a nearby factory, getting the water analysed and then filing a public interest petition in a court to force the factory to follow anti-pollution laws. Another time, it may be a heated debate with a bureaucrat on why all citizens should have the right to be informed about all government decisions that affect their lives. Though the term NGO became popular in India only in the 1980s, the voluntary sector has an older tradition. Since independence from the British in 1947, the voluntary sector had a lot of respect in the minds of people first, because the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi was an active participant; and second because India has always had the tradition of honouring those who have made some sacrifice to help others. In independent India, the initial role played by the voluntary organizations started by Gandhi and his disciples was to fill in the gaps left by the government in the development process. The volunteers organized handloom weavers in villages to form ooperatives through which they could market their products directly in the cities, and thus get a better price. Similar cooperatives were later set up in areas like marketing of dairy products and fish. In almost all these cases, the volunteers helped in other areas of development running literacy classes for adults at night, for example. In the 1980s, however, the groups who were now known as NGOs became more specialized, and the v oluntary movement was, in a way, fragmented into three major groups. There were those considered the traditional development NGOs, who went into a village or a group of villages and ran literacy programmes, crEches for children and clinics, encouraged farmers to experiment with new crops and livestock breeds that would bring more money, helped the weavers and other village artisans market their products and so on in short became almost a part of the community in their chosen area (usually in rural India) and tried to fill all the gaps left in the development process by the government. There are many examples of voluntary organizations of this kind running very successfully in India for the last five decades. Perhaps the most celebrated example would be the treatment centre for leprosy patients run by Baba Amte in central India. The second group of NGOs were those who researched a particular subject in depth, and then lobbied with the government or with industry or petitioned the courts for improvements in the lives of the citizens, as far as that particular subject was concerned. A well-known example of an NGO of this type is the Centre for Science and Environment. It was a CSE who picked up that sample of well water and then submitted the results of the chemical analysis to a court because the organization had not been able to get the factory to change its polluting practices in any other way. In the third group were those volunteers who saw themselves more as activists than other NGOs did. Of course, all NGOs undertook a certain amount of activism to get their points across they petitioned the bureaucrats, they alerted the media whenever they found something wrong and so on. But this third group of NGOs saw activism as their primary means of reaching their goals, because they did not believe they could get the authorities to move in any other way. Perhaps the best-known example of an NGO in this category is the Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save Narmada Campaign), an organisation that opposed the construction of a series of large dams in a large river valley of central India. The members of this NGO believe that large dams worsen water scarcity for the majority of the people in the long run rather than solve the problem, and they oppose the displacement it entails upstream of the dam. When the NBA found that it could not persuade the planners in India to agree to its point of view, the NBA members put up pickets, held demonstrations and tried every other way they could think of to oppose the construction of the first of the big dams. Most of the NBA member went to jail a number of times as a result. Right now, some of them including celebrated novelist Arundhati Roy face the prospect of being jailed again, because they criticized the Supreme Court of India when the courts decision on dam construction did not go in their favour. There is no strict boundary between these three groups of NGOs in fact, Baba Amte is now an important member of the Narmada Bachao Andolan. And whatever be the category a particular NGO falls into, all of them play an important role in modern India they hold the politicians accountable to the people. India is a representative rather than a participatory democracy. Once the elections are over, the politicians who run the federal and state governments do not really need to go back to the electorate for every major decision there is no tradition of referendums in India, as there is in Switzerland or Denmark. So, in the five years between on election and another, the NGOs and parts of the media, to some extent are often the only means available to the citizens to voice their opinions on any decision taken by a government. In a large developing country like India, there are numerous gaps left by the government in the development process sometimes by intention, sometimes due to lack of funds, sometimes due to lack of awareness. These are the gaps that many NGOs try to fill in modern India. Some of them may work in areas that the government does not want to get into like fighting discrimination on the basis of caste. Most Indian politicians do not really want to upset the existing caste hierarchy in his or her constituency, because the politician is dependent for votes on the dominant castes of that particular constituency. In the process, laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of caste are often ignored unless there is an NGO working in the area that is willing to take up the cause of those being discriminated against.

Hyundai Motors in the International Market Essays

Hyundai Motors in the International Market Essays Hyundai Motors in the International Market Essay Hyundai Motors in the International Market Essay Essay for International Trade Title : Hyundai Motors in International Market Hyundai Motors, one of the affiliates of Hyundai Corporation, started as a Joint- venture company with Ford. Before introducing more about Hyundai Motors, a man who founded the company should come first. Joo-young Jung was an entrepreneur, businessman and the founder of all Hyundai Groups of South Korea. Joo-young Jung was born in 1915 toa large impoverished family of peasants during the time when Korea was under Japanese rule. He dreamed of becoming a school teacher but his dream was cut short because the restrictive environment at the time kept the family tuck in poverty, and that kept him away from the opportunities of higher education. Despite of the situation he was in, he did not stop learning. He thought he would never success if he is stuck with his family so he attempts several times to run away from home, but every time he ran away from home he got caught by his father. At last, he succeeds at his fourth attempt. He got a Job as a deliveryman at the rice store in Seoul and soon he learned to manage the stores accounting the experience helped Joo-young thoroughly gain his business sense. After making some fortune, he urchased service garage to start A-do Service Garage and he founded Hyundai Automobile Industry in 1946. At first, its main business was repairing U. S. Army vehicles or Japanese cars, but thanks to Joo-young Jung, his wide knowledge of car mechanism helped the company to secure customers by providing high quality services. For 17 years, it remained as repairing company but when Korean government designated automobile as a main export product in 1962, Joo-young Jung waited his time and founded Hyundai Motors(HM) in 1967. At that time, no companies had technology to produce automobiles by themselves and it was same or HM either so they needed a partner. It was either GM or Ford, and HM choose Ford because GM tends to intervene deep down to the companys management even tor the toreign affiliated company. It may nave starte as M manutacturing company but with the strong will of exporting, HM also puts efforts developing its own automobile model. HM had the capital and the government support but the greatest obstacle was lack of technology. Nowadays, HM produces wide variety of automobiles from compact cars to SUVs. Among those various models, three main products would be Avante, Sonata, and Genesis. Avante and Sonata helped HM to be a leading company in the industry domestically and with Genesis, HM started to differentiate itself in the global market. Avante has great advantage of fuel efficiency and it was originally developed as global market targeted model but appealed to the domestic customers who are quite fuel conscious. These days, Avante is considered as most beloved model by Korean all time and its also the most exported car in HM history. Sontana, first introduced in 1985, is the model which gave HM its distinguished position in automobile industry in Korea. It has been produced in ifferent designs and features through six generations for more than 25 years and one of the most popular models in domestic midsize car market. The main slogan for Sonata is The car with innovative performance, high technology and reasonable price. Most recently developed model, Genesis, is a luxurious sedan and the first full- size car developed with the originality of HM. Its also the first luxurious car to export aggressively in HM history. Domestic car industry is literally overwhelmed by Hyundai Motors ever since it became Hyundai-Kia Motors after taking over the Kia Motors in 1998. Hyundai Motors(HM) market share is approximately 80% but as the tariff is getting lower, the growths of foreign automobile companies are not ignorable. In 2013, it is expected that the imported cars from Europe or America will come in to market aggressively and competition in mid-size and full-size car market will intensify. As import cars come offensively into the market, domestic automobile companies lead by HM will spur domestic market while invigorating the export. The forecasted analysis of domestic market of demand and supply is that in spite of internal and external negative facts like increase in households debts, economic ecession in Europe, and slowdown in China s economy effecting the domestic economy, positive facts such as base effect, low interest rate, low oil price stabilization and additional decrease in individual consumption tax due to FTA will increase the demand. On the other hand, due to the HMs new double shift plan in their domestic plant, without any additional plan to increase the productivity, the whole production quantity will decrease by 15% than before. Even though decreased working hours and double shift will increased the UPH(Unit per hour), the total production will decrease. By the rules of supply and demand, since the supply will decrease while the demand is expected to increase, the price will also increase to reach the market equilibrium price. HM is almost dominating the domestic market but in international market, the situation differs country to country. When HM first exported its Pony Excel to America in 1986, it was quite a success for a first export to the country which has one of the biggest automobile market. In 1987, proportion of Pony Excel in whole automobile demand in America was 2. 6%, which is 7% of imported automobile market and of compact car market in America. In that year, Pony Excel came top of Centra from Nissan and Civic from Honda. But the glorious days did not last long. In fact, Pony Excel was inadequate to export. At first, it had its competency over price but soon when Yen value dropped, it lost its strength. Despite of crash of Pony Excel, HM did not give up and started to regain reputation by 10 year-100 thousand mileage warranty in 1998. At first, it had to face the critics saying that the new plan it came up with is nothing but a marketing experiment or a cheap plan to attract the customers. American customers are considered as the most ational customers around the globe. They do not buy the car because it is guaranteed to be repaired free for 10 years. Americans accepted the HMs plan as a confidence and it worked. The market share rose from 1 . 1% to 3. 2% by the end of 2001. Its an explosive increase of 330% in Just 3 years. The market share kept rising gradually and peak its highest at 5. 1 in 2011. With the sum of market share with Kia Motors, which is part of HM, its 8. 7% of whole American automobile market and placed them sixth place among the domestic and foreign automobile producing companies in America. Compared to Toyota, the company placed third in automobile market in Ame rica, HM still has long way to go but considering the time of market entry and technology advancement, the progress HM made is remarkable. Unlike the domestic situation, even though HMs new double shift plan decreased the quantity of production units, it seems like there will be not much change in price for the HM automobiles in the international market. The reason is that the domestic market is dominated by HM if considered Kia Motors as part of HM and that means HM as a main supplier, it will determine the price. But in international market, for example in American market, the proportion of demand for HM is not that large compared to other companies. Furthermore, HM sells cars at the price of 90% of domestic price. No matter what, the price for the HM cars in American automobile market will be less than domestic market. As stated above, HMs first strategy to be a globalized company was to have competency in price. HM s strategy seemed successful at the beginning but after all, it only gave them a shameful title, cheap car with low performance and technology. HM tried its best to get rid of the standardized image y improving the performance, design, technology of the car and they succeeded. They still have the image of cheap car but now, relatively cheaper with great performance compared with the cars of similar features. Not only changing the image but HM improved their foreign plant and aggressively advertised its products also. The foreign plant in Alabama, U. S. A. , is run by robots during the whole process and it helped HM to produce same quality of cars throughout the production process with low rates of flaw. As a marketing plan, Hyundai Motors also placed its TV ads on ix national broadcastings, forty-one popular cable TV shows, and more than thirty magazines as well. If HM keeps concentrating on improvement of quality and brand image, it will give the competency in quality and price in a global market. Other example would be the strategy HM used in Chinese automobile market. China automobile market is expected to grow as a second largest around the globe. The market entry was easier than the other countries because the current chairman of HM, Mong-goo Jung, has a close relationship with China s high-ranking government officials. This relationship is crucial for the business. If he keeps good relationship with them, with the geometric advantage, HM can lead the Chinese automobile market. First, Sonata was a big success by being selected as an official model of taxi and it became a huge advantage for HM to spread its name in China. Avante also succeeded in the market because HM changed Avante ?s teature atter thorough research of road condition and customer preference in China. Especially, gold plated handle and other upgraded features attracted Chinese middle class greatly. If HM had competency of low price with fine quality in America, HM has competency of uite high price with guaranteed performance and quality. Expansion of local production plant in China is also helping the boost of sales. Current growth in international market does not mean HM will surely keep growing in the future. HM still needs to come up with new strategies to stabilize their sales and improve the brand image. Three main competition strategy can be issued RDE(Research Development Design Engineering), safety, and environmental performance. Each strategy point means enhancing brand value and power by improving design, securing safety that satisfies the global standard, and developing new generation of conomic and environmental power source. These three strategies will reinforce the selling capability by enhancing brand value and power to eliminate the possibility of over production and at the same time, move on from mass production company, to distinguished luxury brand. Automobile industry is all-around machine industry and those three issued I brought up is essential elements that cannot be weight one sided for the production of machine called car. If HM fails, company will fall behind and all the efforts it had put would be useless. References Ahn, S. 013), Automobile:l QI 3 Preview:The spring is coming, Dong-yang asset, retrieved May 1 5, 2013, from myasset. com/myasset/logindex. ]sp? direct=/ Jung, S. (2007), A Study on the global network of Korean automobile industry and its strategy based on the analysis of Hyundai Motor Company, Unpublished masters degree dissertation, Kook-min University, Seoul. Kim, K. (2011, July 18th), Hyundai Motors, the history of Korean automobile industry, is leading global Korea, Ulsan Maeil, Retrieved May 17th, 2013, from http:// www. iusm. co. kr/news/articleView. html? idxno=219593

Strategic management 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategic management 1 - Essay Example The fundamental intention of the value chain structure is to make the most of value formation whereas playing down the expenditures. When managers seek to recognize the primary actions within the organization which make up the organization’s value chain, as well as, a competitive advantage that is sustainable to the organization, value chain analysis technique is the most preferred by the managers. The competitive advantage that is enjoyed by an organization stretches out in its capability to carry out vital actions along the value chain better compared to the organization’s competitors. In the endeavor to explain the significance of the value chain analysis technique as a tool for strategic management in an organization, Toyota Motors Company is the focal point that this paper bases its argument. The value chain analysis is run cautiously by linkages which happen to be a crucial competitive advantage source. The value chain analysis fundamentally involves the linkages of both areas. The chain connects the worthiness of the organization’s actions with its primary operational segments. Thereafter, the distinguishing of the involvement of every segment in the general added worthiness to the commercial interest is formed. In line with conducting a value chain analysis, the organization is divided into the most important and holding up actions. The most important actions are concerned with the production activities by the company, whereas the holdings up actions are involved with provision of the necessary background efficiency and effectiveness of the organization including the management process by the human resource. Internal analysis is involved with recognizing and evaluating resources, their capabilities, as well as, the central part competencies. Therefore, it is im perative for organizations such Toyota Motors Company to comprehend that the

Analyse different representations of Australian colonial history, and Essay

Analyse different representations of Australian colonial history, and of the suffering of Aboriginal people - Essay Example I would agree that these are admirable goals. However this is still not enough in my view. I don’t see a definition of â€Å"Reconciliation† in either speech. Actually I don’t think it can be precisely defined in this context. However, I would argue that a degree of Reconciliation is achieved when (1) both societies are economically viable and one is not excessively dependent on the other, for example for welfare benefits and medical assistance for societal problems such as alcohol and drug abuse, (2) members of one society can move into the other if they chose, feel comfortable and prosper as long as they respect cultural differences, (3) while major criminal and civil laws must be universal, those that relate only to local community customs should be allowed some variance. For example if it is acceptable in aboriginal culture to go nude in public they should be allowed to do so within their communities and this should be accepted by visitors and (4) both societ ies actually but also perceive that they benefit both economically and psychologically by remaining in a unified Australia in spite of required compromises and accommodations.

Global Management Styles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Global Management Styles - Essay Example The kind of the company I would like to manage is the registered limited company in which the liability of all the members is limited to a number of shares they hold. There are various management policies that the manager of a limited company needs to follow to ensure that the company runs smoothly. In this ISO 9000, certification represents a means of internal communication to customers and other constituents. I will be required to adhere to the ISO 9000 developed framework by constantly referring to the requirements in the operational manual. I will be required to use my skills to ensure that I make proper judgment especially in cases of disagreements. The company requires filing tax returns, and it will be my responsibility to ensure that there is complete compliance. ISO 9000 standards are not for evaluating finished products or the delivered service but assure that the organization has well-documented quality management systems such as written procedures and rules. Policies requ ired by the company include the keeping of the company's records in addition to ensuring that its accounts are true and fair (Mendel, 2006). As the manager the company, managing employees and ensuring that each performs his or her duties perfectly will be of great use. ISO guidelines will be our guiding factor to rationalization or conceptualization logic. Another challenge that I may be faced with is decoupling in which the returns on assets may diverge from their normal pattern of correlation.

AMA2.2ETHDB Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

AMA2.2ETHDB - Article Example A physician has the responsibility of explaining to the patient the benefits, risks, and alternatives so as to enable the patient to make informed decisions or give informed consent. The nurse has the duty of acting as the patient’s advocate and playing a key role in getting patients consider the consequences or alternatives of refusing or accepting care (Weingart et al 2009). The nurse ought to document all efforts to give the patient the necessary information to decide to accept or refuse care. Documentation, thus, ought to be objective including information such as the date, time, who spoke with the patient, the content of what the information that the patient was given, the comments that the patient made, and the final disposition. Documentation of details such as telephone numbers, names, and referrals made by the nurse should be given to the patient on discharge with a listing or description of any instructions given verbally or preprinted forms (Pennycook et al 2011). P roper documentation would be done in the body of the chart of the patient. Other elements to be documented would be their capacity for decision-making, the decision of the patient, the risks that were revealed, the patient’s understanding of the risks, and the signatures of both the physician and the patient. It is advisable to use a comprehensive AMA form to increase proper documentation. Emergency physicians ought to do an assessment of the AMA form to ensure that it is adequate, and in cases where a patient declines to sign the AMA form, the physician is expected to read it aloud, keep a documentation of refusal to sign including the fact that the patient was made aware of the risks of leaving (Schaefer, 2012). With the prevalence of against medical advice medical discharges and the severe problems that they present, physicians of emergency departments always make attempts to prevent patients from leaving against medical advice, but when it is unavoidable, three requiremen ts are normally expected to be met so that the AMA process can grant optimal legal protection; the patient should be considered to have the capacity to refuse care, a disclosure of all potential risks to the patient, and the against medical advice consent be documented properly in the chart (Brown, 2012). Since the law dictates the patient’s right to refusal of medical care, and since treatment without consent could be considered battery, at the point where a patient signs out AMA, they are exercising this right of refusing medical care. Should it be determined that the patient is incapable of making the decision, then it will be unethical and illegal for the physician to allow a discharge that could lead to imperiling the life and health of the patient. In as much as a patient has the legal right to refuse medical care, the exercising of this right is solely dependent of the patient’s capacity of decision-making. A formal assessment would normally be done on the patie nt to determine their decision-making capacity (Brown, 2012). The ethical obligation of disclosure of all risks associated with the patient’s leaving AMA is a secondary tool and requirement for risk management. It is also worth-noting that the appearance of the patient’s signature on the AMA form does not necessarily give a

Comparison of Two Recovery Room Warming Methods for Hypothermla Coursework

Comparison of Two Recovery Room Warming Methods for Hypothermla Patlents Who Had Undergone Spinal Surgery - Coursework Example Highlighting the differences and the essence of the research results, findings and conclusions can also be considered to play a major role in a research article analysis. With the above information in hand, this paper will analyze the research article namely The Comparison of Two Recovery Room Warming methods for Hypothermia Patients Who Had Undergone Spinal Surgery. The key element of this research article concerns the concept of homeostasis, whereby the human body is able to maintain a relative equilibrium state under fluctuating environmental (temperature) conditions. Thus, the human body is able to regulate the body temperature with the assistance of the hypothalamus. This research article also makes a detailed study on the time needed to reach the specified temperature by the hypothermia patients who have undergone spinal surgery. The efficiency of two major warming methods such as the warm cotton blankets and a radiant warmer for the patients in a post anesthetic care unit is c ompared in the article. The analysis of this research article can be centered on the evaluation of the validity of the results which in turn depends on the research plan measurement, data collection and analysis process. Thus, the research plan measurement can be further classified into fragments such as cases, observations, variables and unit of analysis. In this article, the cases that are taken for research were of the hypothermia patients who had undergone the spinal surgery. These patients were kept under observation with respect to their body temperatures. The variables implemented in this case would be the different types of warming methods. Hence, the research had a concrete plan on which the data collection, analysis and interpretation of the results were built up effectively. The other vital area to be focused would be the data collection process. â€Å"This study was conducted according to a quasi-experimental design. Data was collected from a medical referral centre in northern Taiwan.† (Yang, Lee, Chu, Su, Ho and Fan 2). Thus, the data collection process included selecting the study samples from patient group in Taiwan, who are older than eighteen years, also who were under general anesthesia during the course of the surgery as well as those who were conscious and able to communicate. Above all, the other parameters that were included in the process of data collection were selecting the patients who had had no fever for seventy two hours before carrying out the study, had an operation time of about three to six hours, and patients who had a tympanic temperature of about 34 to 35 degrees Celsius. Thus, based on the above criteria, the sample data were collected and the effectiveness of the warming devices on these patients was studied. After the completion of the data collection process, the next step would be data analysis and arriving at conclusions and results. The basic framework of the data analysis would be to measure the efficiency of the warming equipments with respect to the rewarming time required for the patients who had undergone the spinal surgery. â€Å"The data were analyzed using SPSS version 17 software for Windows and significance level was set at p

Microeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Microeconomics - Essay Example Now, there is only a single supplier of potato chip all across the region (Brigham, 1976). As all firms decided to merge together to create a single monopoly, now there will be barriers to entry in the industry as no further firms can enter the market easily and threaten the existence of existing firms. The firm is now protected against any other foreign threat as no other firm can enter the market to compete with it. This monopoly is owned by a single firm and so the business enjoys the benefit of having the entire market share to itself without any pressure or constraints. However, this monopoly is not a natural monopoly and so it can charge its customers with whatever price suits it and gain higher profits. A monopoly also produces goods and services by producing required quantity at a price where marginal cost equals marginal revenue just like any other market structure. But, it can also choose to set a price at which quantity is demanded where price might exceed the marginal cos t (Case, 1996). Monopoly is highly beneficial to society and consumers as well. Large firms usually attain the benefit of gaining from economies of scale. Economies of scale is increase in efficiency as the number of goods produced by a firm increases. Due to economies of scale, the Average cost curve goes downwards. If the fall in Average cost curve is very large so a monopolist can charge its consumers a lower price and generate a higher output than the monopolistic competition of the market. This way, monopolist maximizes the profits. Marginal cost becomes equal to marginal revenue at this point. This means that now the consumers can enjoy potato chips at a lower price than it was when the market was monopolistic due to huge producer surplus. The society gains as well (Allen, 2005). As this monopoly is privately owned, and not a government regulated natural monopoly, government does not have any say here. But it can produce revenues for the entire economy in form of more and more exports. This single firm can take advantage of economies of scale from its home economy and maintain a cost advantage through which it can exploit the international market and can sell at a relatively cheap rate abroad. Governments do gain when the economies prosper as now government receives more money in form of taxes which it can utilize in infrastructure and other welfare activities (Allen, 2005). However, the change from monopolistic market structure to monopoly does come with a lot of changes in profits and revenues. In a monopolistic competition, the industry comprise of a huge number of firms, each one of those have relatively small size as compared to total market. That is why; no firm can affect the overall market price because of its small size. But, in a monopolistic structure, firms can differentiate their output by having some control over price (Allen, 2005). The short-run equilibrium of monopolistic market is achieved by setting the price where marginal cost is equ al to marginal revenue. The profits of a firm arise by entrance of similar products by different firms in the market; where every firm competes for only a percentage of the total demand. Whenever a new firm enters the market, the demand curve shifts downwards due to which profits remain no more (Allen, 2005). Now due to large entrants of firms in the market, the individual demand curve shifts to the left. Here, the zero profit condition arises where

AMA2.2ETHDB Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

AMA2.2ETHDB - Article Example A physician has the responsibility of explaining to the patient the benefits, risks, and alternatives so as to enable the patient to make informed decisions or give informed consent. The nurse has the duty of acting as the patient’s advocate and playing a key role in getting patients consider the consequences or alternatives of refusing or accepting care (Weingart et al 2009). The nurse ought to document all efforts to give the patient the necessary information to decide to accept or refuse care. Documentation, thus, ought to be objective including information such as the date, time, who spoke with the patient, the content of what the information that the patient was given, the comments that the patient made, and the final disposition. Documentation of details such as telephone numbers, names, and referrals made by the nurse should be given to the patient on discharge with a listing or description of any instructions given verbally or preprinted forms (Pennycook et al 2011). P roper documentation would be done in the body of the chart of the patient. Other elements to be documented would be their capacity for decision-making, the decision of the patient, the risks that were revealed, the patient’s understanding of the risks, and the signatures of both the physician and the patient. It is advisable to use a comprehensive AMA form to increase proper documentation. Emergency physicians ought to do an assessment of the AMA form to ensure that it is adequate, and in cases where a patient declines to sign the AMA form, the physician is expected to read it aloud, keep a documentation of refusal to sign including the fact that the patient was made aware of the risks of leaving (Schaefer, 2012). With the prevalence of against medical advice medical discharges and the severe problems that they present, physicians of emergency departments always make attempts to prevent patients from leaving against medical advice, but when it is unavoidable, three requiremen ts are normally expected to be met so that the AMA process can grant optimal legal protection; the patient should be considered to have the capacity to refuse care, a disclosure of all potential risks to the patient, and the against medical advice consent be documented properly in the chart (Brown, 2012). Since the law dictates the patient’s right to refusal of medical care, and since treatment without consent could be considered battery, at the point where a patient signs out AMA, they are exercising this right of refusing medical care. Should it be determined that the patient is incapable of making the decision, then it will be unethical and illegal for the physician to allow a discharge that could lead to imperiling the life and health of the patient. In as much as a patient has the legal right to refuse medical care, the exercising of this right is solely dependent of the patient’s capacity of decision-making. A formal assessment would normally be done on the patie nt to determine their decision-making capacity (Brown, 2012). The ethical obligation of disclosure of all risks associated with the patient’s leaving AMA is a secondary tool and requirement for risk management. It is also worth-noting that the appearance of the patient’s signature on the AMA form does not necessarily give a

Microeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Microeconomics - Essay Example Now, there is only a single supplier of potato chip all across the region (Brigham, 1976). As all firms decided to merge together to create a single monopoly, now there will be barriers to entry in the industry as no further firms can enter the market easily and threaten the existence of existing firms. The firm is now protected against any other foreign threat as no other firm can enter the market to compete with it. This monopoly is owned by a single firm and so the business enjoys the benefit of having the entire market share to itself without any pressure or constraints. However, this monopoly is not a natural monopoly and so it can charge its customers with whatever price suits it and gain higher profits. A monopoly also produces goods and services by producing required quantity at a price where marginal cost equals marginal revenue just like any other market structure. But, it can also choose to set a price at which quantity is demanded where price might exceed the marginal cos t (Case, 1996). Monopoly is highly beneficial to society and consumers as well. Large firms usually attain the benefit of gaining from economies of scale. Economies of scale is increase in efficiency as the number of goods produced by a firm increases. Due to economies of scale, the Average cost curve goes downwards. If the fall in Average cost curve is very large so a monopolist can charge its consumers a lower price and generate a higher output than the monopolistic competition of the market. This way, monopolist maximizes the profits. Marginal cost becomes equal to marginal revenue at this point. This means that now the consumers can enjoy potato chips at a lower price than it was when the market was monopolistic due to huge producer surplus. The society gains as well (Allen, 2005). As this monopoly is privately owned, and not a government regulated natural monopoly, government does not have any say here. But it can produce revenues for the entire economy in form of more and more exports. This single firm can take advantage of economies of scale from its home economy and maintain a cost advantage through which it can exploit the international market and can sell at a relatively cheap rate abroad. Governments do gain when the economies prosper as now government receives more money in form of taxes which it can utilize in infrastructure and other welfare activities (Allen, 2005). However, the change from monopolistic market structure to monopoly does come with a lot of changes in profits and revenues. In a monopolistic competition, the industry comprise of a huge number of firms, each one of those have relatively small size as compared to total market. That is why; no firm can affect the overall market price because of its small size. But, in a monopolistic structure, firms can differentiate their output by having some control over price (Allen, 2005). The short-run equilibrium of monopolistic market is achieved by setting the price where marginal cost is equ al to marginal revenue. The profits of a firm arise by entrance of similar products by different firms in the market; where every firm competes for only a percentage of the total demand. Whenever a new firm enters the market, the demand curve shifts downwards due to which profits remain no more (Allen, 2005). Now due to large entrants of firms in the market, the individual demand curve shifts to the left. Here, the zero profit condition arises where

How to establish the communication Essay Example for Free

How to establish the communication Essay Everyone has different needs and styles in which they communicate. There are also many different ways in which we may establish these communication needs, wishes and preferences. A good way to begin to understand a patient’s needs, wishes and preferences is to read their notes and history’s to see if this contains any relevant information. For example, if I read that a patient has hearing problems, I would then know to make sure that I speak to the patient clearly and slowly and look at them so they can read my lips. Other ways to establish communication needs, wishes and preferences is by interacting with the patient and through conversation I learn how to best communicate with the patient. It is also important to remember to be clear and concise in all forms of communication, especially when working with people with learning disabilities, where they might get confused if I speak too quickly or use too complex language. It may benefit, if this is the case, to use your body language to help explain what you are trying to say and to emphasise the tone of the conversation. Also, pictures can be used to help the patient and myself understand. For example, one of my patients uses cards that display what emotions they are feeling, they will use these to communicate how they are feeling. In the past, I have worked with a patient who is deaf. For me to establish what her needs were, I first spoke to the nurse in charge and they informed me she was deaf, however, could sign or write things down. As I could not sign, our preferred form of communication was writing, which after spending time together worked quite well.

The Creation of God and the Universe

The Creation of God and the Universe Does God really exist? How can we know? If God made everything, who made God? In our everyday experience, just about everything seems to have a beginning. In fact, the laws of science show that even things which look the same through our lifetime, like the sun and other stars, are running down. The sun is using up its fuel at millions of tons each second. Since, therefore, it cannot last forever, it had to have a beginning. The same can be shown to be true for the entire universe. So when Christians claim that the God of the Bible created the entire universe, some will ask what seems a logical question, namely â€Å"Where did God come from?† The Bible makes it clear in many places that God is outside of time. He is eternal, with no beginning or end—He is infinite! He also knows all things, being infinitely intelligent. Is this logical? Can modern science allow for such a notion? And how could you recognize the evidence for an intelligent Creator? The existence of God is taken for granted in the Bible. There is nowhere any argument to prove it. He who disbelieves this truth is spoken of as one devoid of understanding . The arguments generally adduced by theologians in proof of Gods existence are: The a priori argument, which is the testimony afforded by reason. The a posteriori argument, by which we proceed logically from the facts of experience to causes. These arguments are: The cosmological, by which it is proved that there must be a First Cause of all things, for every effect must have a cause. The teleological, or the argument from design. We see everywhere the operations of an intelligent Cause in nature. The moral argument, called also the anthropological argument, based on the moral consciousness and the history of mankind, which exhibits a moral order and purpose which can only be explained on the supposition of the existence of God. Conscience and human history testify that â€Å"verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth.† Matthew G. Easton How to recognize intelligence Scientists get excited about finding stone tools in a cave because these speak of intelligence—a tool maker. They could not have designed themselves. Neither would anyone believe that the carved Presidents heads on Mt. Rushmore were the product of millions of years of chance erosion. We can recognize design—the evidence of the outworkings of intelligence—in the man-made objects all around us. Similarly, in William Paleys famous argument, a watch implies a watchmaker.Today, however, a large proportion of people, including many leading scientists, believe that all plants and animals, including the incredibly complex brains of the people who make watches, motor cars, etc., were not designed by an intelligent God but rather came from an unintelligent evolutionary process. But is this a defensible position? Design in living things Molecular biologist Dr. Michael Denton, writing as an agnostic, concluded: Alongside the level of ingenuity and complexity exhibited by the molecular machinery of life, even our most advanced [twentieth century technology appears] clumsy. It would be an illusion to think that what we are aware of at present is any more than a fraction of the full extent of biological design. In practically every field of fundamental biological research ever-increasing levels of design and complexity are being revealed at an ever-accelerating rate. The world-renowned crusader for Darwinism and atheism, Prof. Richard Dawkins, states: We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully â€Å"designed† to have come into existence by chance. Thus, even the most ardent atheist concedes that design is all around us. To a Christian, the design we see all around us is totally consistent with the Bibles explanation that God created all. However, evolutionists like Dawkins reject the idea of a Designer. He comments (emphasis added): All appearance to the contrary, the only watchmaker in nature is the blind forces of physics, albeit deployed in a very special way. A true watchmaker has foresight: he designs his cogs and springs, and plans their interconnections, with future purpose in his minds eye. Natural selection, the blind, unconscious, automatic process which Darwin discovered, and which we now know is the explanation for the existence and apparently purposeful form of all life, has no purpose in mind†¦ It has no mind†¦ It does not plan for the future†¦ it is the blind watchmaker. Selection and design Life is built on information, contained in that molecule of heredity, DNA. Dawkins believes that natural selectionand mutations (blind, purposeless copying mistakes in this DNA) together provide the mechanism for producing the vast amounts of information responsible for the design in living things. Natural selection is a logical process that can be observed. However, selection can only operate on the information already contained in genes—it does not produce new information.distinct kinds of animals and plants, each to reproduce after its own kind. One can observe great variation in a kind,and see the results of natural selection. For instance, dingoes, wolves and coyotes have developed over time as a result of natural selection operating on the information in the genes of the wolf/dog kind. But no new information was produced—these varieties have resulted from rearrangement, and sorting out, of the information in the original dog kind. One kind has never been observed to change into a totally different kind with new information that previously did not exist! Without a way to increase information, natural selection will not work as a mechanism for evolution. Evolutionists agree with this, but they believe that mutations somehow provide the new information for natural selection to act upon. Can mutations produce new information? Actually, it is now clear that the answer is no! Dr. Lee Spetner, a highly qualified scientist who taught information and communication theory at Johns Hopkins University, makes this abundantly clear in his recent book: In this chapter Ill bring several examples of evolution, [i.e., instances alleged to be examples of evolution] particularly mutations, and show that information is not increased But in all the reading Ive done in the life-sciences literature, Ive never found a mutation that added information. All point mutations that have been studied on the molecular level turn out to reduce the genetic information and not to increase it. The NDT [neo-Darwinian theory] is supposed to explain how the information of life has been built up by evolution. The essential biological difference between a human and a bacterium is in the information they contain. All other biological differences follow from that. The human genome has much more information than does the bacterial genome. Information cannot be built up by mutations that lose it. A business cant make money by losing it a little at a time. Evolutionary scientists have no way around the conclusions that many scientists, including Dr. Spetner, have come to. Mutations do not work as a mechanism to fuel the evolutionary process. [For further information, see: Can genetic mutations produce positive changes in living creatures? Answer] More problems! Scientists have found that within the cell, there are thousands of what can be called biochemical machines. All of their parts have to be in place simultaneously or the cell cant function. Things which were thought to be simple mechanisms, such as being able to sense light and turn it into electrical impulses, are in fact highly complicated. Since life is built on these machines, the idea that natural processes could have made a living system is untenable. Biochemist Dr. Michael Behe uses the term irreducible complexity in describing such biochemical machines. †¦systems of horrendous, irreducible complexity inhabit the cell. The resulting realization that life was designed by an intelligence is a shock to us in the twentieth century who have gotten used to thinking of life as the result of simple natural laws. But other centuries have had their shocks, and there is no reason to suppose that we should escape them. Richard Dawkins recognizes this problem of needing machinery to start with when he states: The theory of the blind watchmaker is extremely powerful given that we are allowed to assume replication and hence cumulative selection. But if replication needs complex machinery, since the only way we know for complex machinery ultimately to come into existence is cumulative selection, we have a problem. A problem indeed! The more we look into the workings of life, the more complicated it gets, and the more we see that life could not arise by itself. Not only is a source of information needed, but the complex machines of the chemistry of life need to be in existence right from the start! A greater problem still! Some still try to insist that the machinery of the first cell could have arisen by pure chance. For instance, they say, by randomly drawing alphabet letters in sequence from a hat, sometimes you will get a simple word like BAT.So given long time periods, why couldnt even more complex information arise by chance? However, what would the word BAT mean to a German or Chinese speaker? The point is that an order of letters is meaningless unless there is a language convention and a translation system in place which makes it meaningful! In a cell, there is such a system (other molecules) that makes the order on the DNA meaningful. DNA without the language/translation system is meaningless, and these systems without the DNA wouldnt work either. The other complication is that the translation machinery which reads the order of the letters in the DNA is itself specified by the DNA! This is another one of those machines that needs to be fully-formed or life wont work. Can information arise from non-information? Dr. Werner Gitt, Director and Professor at the German Federal Institute of Physics and Technology, makes it clear that one of the things we know absolutely for sure from science, is that information cannot arise from disorder by chance. It always takes (greater) information to produce information, and ultimately information is the result of intelligence: A code system is always the result of a mental process (it requires an intelligent origin or inventor) It should be emphasized that matter as such is unable to generate any code. All experiences indicate that a thinking being voluntarily exercising his own free will, cognition, and creativity, is required. There is no known natural law through which matter can give rise to information, neither is any physical process or material phenomenon known that can do this. What is the source of the information? We can therefore deduce that the huge amount of information in living things must originally have come from an intelligence, which had to have been far superior to ours, as scientists are revealing every day. But then, some will say that such a source would have to be caused by something with even greater information/intelligence. However, if they reason like this, one could ask where this greater information/intelligence came from? And then where did that one come from . one could extrapolate to infinity, for ever, unless . Unless there was a source of infinite intelligence, beyond our finite understanding. But isnt this what the Bible indicates when we read, In the beginning God .? The God of the Bible is an infinite being not bound by limitations of time, space, knowledge, or anything else. So which is the logically defensible position?—that matter eternally existed (or came into existence by itself for no reason), and then by itself arranged itself into information systems against everything observed in real science? Or that a being with infinite intelligence,created information systems for life to exist, agreeing with real science? The answer seems obvious, so why dont all intelligent scientists accept this? Michael Behe answers: Many people, including many important and well-respected scientists, just dont want there to be anything beyond nature. They dont want a supernatural being to affect nature, no matter how brief or constructive the interaction may have been. In other words . they bring an a priori philosophical commitment to their science that restricts what kinds of explanations they will accept about the physical world. Sometimes this leads to rather odd behavior. The crux of the matter is this: If one accepts there is a God who created us, then that God also owns us. He thus has a right to set the rules by which we must live. In the Bible, He has revealed to us that we are in rebellion against our Creator. Because of this rebellion called sin, our physical bodies are sentenced to death—but we will live on, either with God, or without Him in a place of judgment. But the good news is that our Creator provided, through the cross of Jesus Christ, a means of deliverance for our sin of rebellion, so that those who come to Him in faith, in repentance for their sin, can receive the forgiveness of a Holy God and spend forever with their Lord. [Watch The HOPE on-line (streaming video)] So who created God? By definition, an infinite, eternal being has always existed—no one created God. He is the self-existing one—the great I am of the Bible.19 He is outside of time; in fact, He created time. You might say, â€Å"But that means I have to accept this by faith, as I cant understand it.† We read in the book of Hebrews, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6). But this is not blind faith, as some think. In fact, the evolutionists who deny God have a blind faith—they have to believe something that is against real science—namely, that information can arise from disorder by chance. Can you believe in the existence of something that you cannot see? Have you ever seen your own brain? We all believe in many things that we have never seen. Have you ever seen the wind? Have you seen history? We see the effects of the wind, but the wind is invisible. We have records of history, but it is by faith we believe that certain historical events happened. Television waves are invisible, but an antenna and a receiver can detect their presence. Do you know that you have a receiver? Prior to becoming a child of God, your receiver (your spirit) is dead because of sin (see Ephesians 2:1). You need to be plugged into the life of God, and then you will come alive and be aware of the invisible spiritual realm. Learn more about God and his plan for your life Adapted from author Ray Comfort See these information sources for evidence of God and the accuracy of His Word†¦ The Christian faith is not a blind faith; it is a logically defensible faith. This is why the Bible makes it clear that anyone who does not believe in God is without excuse: For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20). For a more in-depth article, read: Who created God? Who created God? A number of skeptics ask this question. But God by definition is the uncreated creator of the universe, so the question Who created God? is illogical, just like To whom is the bachelor married? So a more sophisticated questioner might ask: If the universe needs a cause, then why doesnt God need a cause? And if God doesnt need a cause, why should the universe need a cause? In reply, Christians should use the following reasoning: Everything which has a beginning has a cause.1 The universe has a beginning. Therefore the universe has a cause. Its important to stress the words in bold type. The universe requires a cause because it had a beginning, as will be shown below. God, unlike the universe, had no beginning, so doesnt need a cause. In addition, Einsteins general relativity, which has much experimental support, shows that time is linked to matter and space. So time itself would have begun along with matter and space. Since God, by definition, is the creator of the whole universe, he is the creator of time. Therefore He is not limited by the time dimension He created, so has no beginning in time God is the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity (Isaiah 57:15). Therefore He doesnt have a cause. In contrast, there is good evidence that the universe had a beginning. This can be shown from the Laws of Thermodynamics, the most fundamental laws of the physical sciences. 1st Law: The total amount of mass-energy in the universe is constant. 2nd Law: The amount of energy available for work is running out, or entropy is increasing to a maximum. If the total amount of mass-energy is limited, and the amount of usable energy is decreasing, then the universe cannot have existed forever, otherwise it would already have exhausted all usable energy the heat death of the universe. For example, all radioactive atoms would have decayed, every part of the universe would be the same temperature, and no further work would be possible. So the obvious corollary is that the universe began a finite time ago with a lot of usable energy, and is now running down. Now, what if the questioner accepts that the universe had a beginning, but not that it needs a cause? But it is self-evident that things that begin have a cause no-one really denies it in his heart. All science and history would collapse if this law of cause and effect were denied. So would all law enforcement, if the police didnt think they needed to find a cause for a stabbed body or a burgled house. Also, the universe cannot be self-caused nothing can create itself, because that would mean that it existed before it came into existence, which is a logical absurdity. IN SUMMARY The universe (including time itself) can be shown to have had a beginning. It is unreasonable to believe something could begin to exist without a cause. The universe therefore requires a cause, just as Romans 1:20 teach. God, as creator of time, is outside of time. Since therefore He has no beginning in time, He has always existed, so doesnt need a cause. OBJECTIONS There are only two ways to refute an argument: Show that it is logically invalid Show that at least one of the premises is false. Is the argument valid? A valid argument is one where it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false. Note that validity does not depend on the truth of the premises, but on the form of the argument. The argument in this article is valid; it is of the same form as: All whales have backbones; Moby Dick is a whale; therefore Moby Dick has a backbone. So the only hope for the skeptic is to dispute one or both of the premises. Are the premises true? 1. Does the universe have a beginning? Oscillating universe ideas were popularized by atheists like the late Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov solely to avoid the notion of a beginning, with its implications of a Creator. But as shown above, the Laws of Thermodynamics undercut that argument. Even an oscillating universe cannot overcome those laws. Each one of the hypothetical cycles would exhaust more and more usable energy. This means every cycle would be larger and longer than the previous one, so looking back in time there would be smaller and smaller cycles. So the multicycle model could have an infinite future, but can only have a finite past.2 Also, there are many lines of evidence showing that there is far too little mass for gravity to stop expansion and allow cycling in the first place, i.e., the universe is open. According to the best estimates (even granting old-earth assumptions), the universe still has only about half the mass needed for re-contraction. This includes the combined total of both luminous matter and non-luminous matter (found in galactic halos), as well as any possible contribution of neutrinos to total mass.3 Some recent evidence for an open universe comes from the number of light-bending gravitational lenses in the sky.6 It seems there is only 40-80% of the required matter to cause a big crunch. Incidentally, this low mass is also a major problem for the currently fashionable inflationary version of the big bang theory, as this predicts a mass density just on the threshold of collapse a flat universe. Finally, no known mechanism would allow a bounce back after a hypothetical big crunch.7 As the late Professor Beatrice Tinsley of Yale explained, even though the mathematics say that the universe oscillates, There is no known physical mechanism to reverse a catastrophic big crunch. Off the paper and into the real world of physics, those models start from the Big Bang, expand, collapse, and thats the end. 2. Denial of cause and effect Some physicists assert that quantum mechanics violates this cause/effect principle and can produce something from nothing. For instance, Paul Davies writes: spacetime could appear out of nothingness as a result of a quantum transition. Particles can appear out of nowhere without specific causation Yet the world of quantum mechanics routinely produces something out of nothing.9 But this is a gross misapplication of quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics never produces something out of nothing. Davies himself admitted on the previous page that his scenario should not be taken too seriously. Theories that the universe is a quantum fluctuation must presuppose that there was something to fluctuate their quantum vacuum is a lot of matter-antimatter potential not nothing. Also, I have plenty of theoretical and practical experience at quantum mechanics (QM) from my doctoral thesis work. For example, Raman spectroscopy is a QM phenomenon, but from the wavenumber and intensity of the spectral bands, we can work out the masses of the atoms and force constants of the bonds causing the bands. To help the atheist position that the universe came into existence without a cause, one would need to find Raman bands appearing without being caused by transitions in vibrational quantum states, or alpha particles appearing without pre-existing nuclei, etc. If QM was as acausal as some people think, then we should not assume that these phenomena have a cause. Then I may as well burn my Ph.D. thesis, and all the spectroscopy journals should quit, as should any nuclear physics research. Also, if there is no cause, there is no explanation why this particular universe appeared at a particular time, nor why it was a universe and not, say, a banana or cat which appeared. This universe cant have any properties to explain its preferential coming into existence, because it wouldnt have any properties until it actually came into existence. Is creation by God rational? A last desperate tactic by skeptics to avoid a theistic conclusion is to assert that creation in time is incoherent. Davies correctly points out that since time itself began with the beginning of the universe, it is meaningless to talk about what happened before the universe began. But he claims that causes must precede their effects. So if nothing happened before the universe began, then (according to Davies) it is meaningless to discuss the cause of the universes beginning. But the philosopher (and New Testament scholar) William Lane Craig, in a useful critique of Davies,10 pointed out that Davies is deficient in philosophical knowledge. Philosophers have long discussed the notion of simultaneous causation. Immanuel Kant (17241804) gave the example of a weight resting on a cushion simultaneously causing a depression in it. Craig says: The first moment of time is the moment of Gods creative act and of creations simultaneous coming to be. Some skeptics claim that all this analysis is tentative, because that is the nature of science. So this cant be used to prove creation by God. Of course, skeptics cant have it both ways: saying that the Bible is wrong because science has proved it so, but if science appears consistent with the Bible, then well, science is tentative anyway. A final thought The Bible informs us that time is a dimension that God created, into which man was subjected. It even tells us that one day time will no longer exist. That will be called â€Å"eternity.† God Himself dwells outside of the dimension He created (Titus 1:2). He dwells in eternity and is not subject to time. God spoke history before it came into being. He can move through time as a man flips through a history book. Because we live in the dimension of time, it is impossible for us to fully understand anything that does not have a beginning and an end. Simply accept that fact, and believe the concept of Gods eternal nature the same way you believe the concept of space having no beginning and end—by faith—even though such thoughts put a strain on our distinctly insufficient cerebrum. Paul S. Taylor, adapted from author Ray Comfort Further Reading More information can be found in the following works. Unfortunately they are too friendly towards the unscriptural big bang theory with its billions of years of death, suffering and disease before Adams sin. But the above arguments are perfectly consistent with a recent creation in six consecutive normal days, as taught by Scripture. Craig, W.L., Apologetics: An Introduction (Chicago: Moody, 1984). Craig, W.L. online article â€Å"The Existence of God and the Beginning of the Universe† http://www.leaderu.com/truth/3truth11.html Geisler, N.L., Christian Apologetics (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker, 1976). How does archaeology conclusively demonstrate the Bible to be reliable and unique among all the holy books of world religions? Archaeological discoveries verify the historical reliability of the Old and New Testaments. When compared to other religious books, the titles, and events mentioned in the Bible; and the language and literary formats used to compose the Bible. Many scholars today question the validity of Biblical accounts, supposedly based on the findings of archaeology (i.e. misinterpretation of evidence, lack of evidence, or poor scholarship) and not with the Bible. How can archaeology prove helpful to someone seeking for truth to the basic questions about life? The discoveries of archaeology can be helpful in removing doubts that a person might have about the historical trustworthiness of the Bible. The places, and events of the Bible are real. What Gods Word? Any one discovery can be explained away as coincidence, or an alternative interpretation can be given to disassociate it from the Bible. It is the weight of a myriad of discoveries that demonstrates the Bible to be the Word of God. These discoveries fall into three categories: Archaeological evidence demonstrates the historical and cultural accuracy of the Bible. The Bibles message of a salvation stands in sharp contrast to the pagan fertility religions of the ancient world as, revealed by archaeology. Archaeological findings demonstrate that the Biblical prophets accurately predicted events hundreds of years before they occurred—something that lies beyond the capability of mere men. Where did Cain get his wife? We dont even know her name, yet she was discussed at the wife in history? Scripture and, thus, the Christian faith. For instance, at the historic Scopes trial in Tennessee in 1925, William Jennings Bryan, the prosecutor who stood for the Christian faith, failed to answer the question about [3] lawyer Clarence Darrow. The worlds press was focused on this trial, and what they heard has affected Christianity to this day—Christians are seen as unable to defend the biblical record. And skeptics then make the logically fallacious jump of concluding that the biblical record is indefensible! The agnostic Carl Sagan used this same question in his book ContactContact,† which was based on Sagans book, also used it. In the book, the fictional character Ellie could not get answers about [6] Sagan cleverly used common questions—such as â€Å"Who was Cains wife?†Ã¢â‚¬â€questions that are often directed at Christians in an attempt to prove the Bible cannot be defended. Sadly, most Christians probably could not answer these questions! And yet, there are answers. But, since most churches are lacking in the teaching of 1 Peter 3:15). Why is it important? Many skeptics have claimed that, for New Testament doctrines depend. Defenders of the Genesis 4:1-5:5.) Before we answer this question, we will first show how important it is to the meaning of the gospel. The first man Therefore, even as through one man Romans 5:12). We read in God did not start by making a whole group of men. The sin of rebellion, also passed on to all his descendants. Since return to God! Because a man brought Romans 3:23). What is the solution? The Last Adam pay the penalty for sin: â€Å"For since by a man came [8] God. Since the Bible describes all human beings as gospel could not be explained or defended. The Hebrews 2:11-18). Thus, only descendants of the first man saved. All related Thus, there was only one man at the beginning—made from the Genesis 2:7). This also means that Adams descendants. The first woman In Eve—she was the first woman. marriage of one man to one woman. Also, in animals, he could not find a mate—there was no one of his kind. All this makes it obvious that there was only one woman, Eves descendants. If Christians cannot defend that all humans (including gospel and all that it teaches. Cains brothers and sisters Genesis 4:25), were part of the first generation of children ever born on this earth. Even though only these three males are mentioned by name, Genesis 5:3) before Seth was born. During their lives, Adams children, as says the old tradition, was thirty-three sons and twenty-three daughters.† The Genesis 1:28). The wife If we now work totally from Scripture, without any personal prejudices or other extra-biblical ideas, then back at the beginning, when there was only the first generation, brothers would have had to have married sisters or there would be no more generations! We are not told when marriages and children, but we can say for certain that some brothers had to marry their sisters at the beginning of human history. But what about Gods Laws? Many people immediately reject the conclusion that Gods law originally when close relatives (even brothers and sisters) married each other. Remember that Moses laws that forbade such marriages. Biological deformities Today, brothers and sisters (and half-brothers and half-sisters, etc.) are not permitted by law to marry because their children have an unacceptably high risk of being deformed. The more closely the parents are related, the more likely it is that any offspring will be d