Career pathways of three social care sectors Essay

Describe the roles, responsibilities and career pathways of three health or social care sectors Within this assignment I will be discussing three different health or social care professionals and describing their roles are and also their responsibilities. Social worker A social worker’s role is to help people with their issues and also their families, in order to help to adjust to the problems that are occurring throughout their lives. They most frequently work with those problems such as, child abuse, substance, abuse, mental illness, anti-social behaviour and many more. A social worker would specialise in a certain area and help a person with that certain situation. However, some people’s issues may be unchangeable therefore they help others to adjust to the situation and help them in order to accept that certain situations may not be able to be changed. Social workers usually work with the government in departments such as offices, clinics, prisons, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, businesses and many more. Being a social worker has numerous responsibilities entailed with the job which comes with helping others such as, preparing interviews with the service users and their families which enables them all to evaluate the situation , offering support through counselling, or group therapy to the service user and their family, ensure that the support offered enables the service user to lead their life as well as possible. Although a vital role within social work is to ensure the safety, security and well-being and caring for the service users and their families it also involves numerous responsibilities that are a legal requirement within social work such as, giving evidence when necessary in court for the person they are working with, writing accurate records of what has occurred and preparing reports for special meetings (this may possibly be court too), writing up assessments about the situation that meet the stated standards and is on a timescale, communicating with other agencies such as hospitals, schools etc. to ensure that they understand what is going on at home and to ensure their safety. In order to follow the career path of being a social worker it is vital to have studied for 2 years at college or Sixth Form whilst gaining qualifications from them also. After this it is important to go to University in order to maintain a degree, the current qualification to study at University in order to maintain a career in social work is an honours  degree in Social Work, however it is possible to also go into other degrees such as sociology, youth work or anything relatable and train to be a social worker afterwards. This is a popular approach for many people as it is relatively hard for those of a young age to get into a degree level of Social Work. Midwifery The role of a Midwife is to support, care and advise women, their partners and family, at every stage of childbirth; before, during and afterwards as they help women decide what care they would like throughout childbirth, the services they will use and any other important decisions that need to be made. For the first 28 days of a child’s birth they help by taking care of the new born child and provide health education and support the parent through this emotional, difficult and overwhelming period they do this with regular health visits to the new mother and new born child. The main responsibility for a midwife is to ensure that the mother and the new born child’s health is on top form which ensures their safety and security by caring for them, they do this by keeping to the hospitals health and safety policy furthermore, they have numerous responsibilities to adhere by in order to ensure this of their patients. During pregnancy they must diagnose, monitor and examine the woman which ensures that nothing has or is going to go wrong within the pregnancy and if there is something found it can be treated fast and efficiently in the appropriate manner. This means that they must identify high risk pregnancies through this such as, ectopic pregnancies so that doctors and medical professions can be informed and the mother can be assessed and treated. During the pregnancy they must also develop an assessment, which evaluates the pregnancy too for an individual which has relation to care so that the mother knows what care they want and they can choose from this. Also, they must do this for their partners and families as they provide health education for the woman whether it is at the hospital, community or at home so that everyone can help the mother out. As pregnancy can be one of the most dangerous things to do in a woman’s life many of them may be scared to do so and find the thought of labour intimidating, therefore it is a midwife’s responsibility to provide cancelling before and after the birth, especially after if they have suffered throughout it as they need to be ‘debriefed.’ They also supervise  the mother throughout labour assigning her and monitoring her condition through their knowledge of drugs and pain killers. After the pregnancy is vital as the mother needs to be given support from the midwife and daily care of the baby, which includes breast feeding, bathing and making up feeds – especially for first time mothers who aren’t familiar with child baring. In order to become a midwife you can either apply to a degree of nursing and on the third year branch off to midwifery or study a three year degree course in Midwifery. It is important that sufficient work experience or anything similar as midwifery is highly specialised and demanding job. They ask for 3 A Levels of the equivalent to this such as BTEC National Diploma. There are other courses that can get you into the career path of midwifery such as a midwifery access course. There are different entry requirements at each university’s however, every university asks for GCSE’s in Maths and English at C and above. The minimum salary that midwife would begin to work for is  £21,000 and they would make their way up throughout their career. Probation officer The role of a probation officer is to work with offenders and ex-offenders who have emotional, behavioural and psychological issues which make the probation officers job highly stressful and demanding. However, the result of helping a person overcome these difficulties is highly rewarding for the probation officer. There are numerous responsibilities that are with the job which are vital as they must provide advice and information in order to support the criminal with the court sentencing related to this is the write and presentation of their pre-sentence and pre-release reports which enables them to help the with their sentence and parole as well. Another main responsibility of a probation officer is be emotionally supportive to the offenders that they are working with meaning that they must help the offender deal with the fact that they are having custodial sentences which may be jail or perhaps on house arrest depending on the crime committed. This also means that they must visit the offender no matter where they are whether it is at the home, in court, prison, hostels or other institutions that they may be detained in. Although it is solely about the offender it is also important to liaise with the family in order to ensure that their needs are met throughout this overwhelming time as it will be highly emotional for  them. It is a vital responsibility for probation officers to liaise with those such as the police, social service and anyone else involved with the case to make sure that they are knowledgeable of how the offender is getting on and is sticking to the agreements. This is an extremely stressful job and also highly demanding, also being extremely controversial as they are working with offenders. In order to go into the probation services it is important to have a degree in anything similar such as community justice or social work where you would then apply to the probabtion services as a probation officer. After having that job it is vital that you take a vocational qualification level 5 diploma in probation practice to ensure that you are suited for the job, therefore it is then possible that gain a specialised area or move onto a managerial position. Probation officers have a salary of around  £19,000 –  £26,000 for a year and the after qualified they earn around  £26,000 –  £35,000 a year.

Camels – Adaptations to Extreme Environments

The Camel: How it has Adapted Organisms exist in many environments, some are arid, some flooded, some are basic, some acidic, some are hot, and some are cool. Regardless of the conditions, animals have adapted themselves to survive in their surroundings. One of the main ecosystems that is classed as an extreme environment is the desert ecosystem. A classic example of a desert is the Sahara. Aridity is a characteristic shared amongst all deserts. As reported by Smith (2013), the reason most deserts are arid is because of uneven levels of evapotranspiration and precipitation.Aswel as adapting to very dry conditions, organisms in a desert ecosystem have also adapted to hot temperatures. The temperatures range from as high as 40oC during the day to as low as below freezing during the night due to lack of cloud cover. Evolution: As wrote by Long & Savage (1986) in the late Eocene period and to the end of Miocene, camels evolved and diversified solely in North America. During this time the y were similar in size to rabbits, and their feet contained four toes. In Oligocene times, camels were similar in size to goats, with the lost of the lateral toes, with the remaining digits showing signs of evolution.During the Miocene time, camels adapted a new of walking, it is know as pacing gait. This is where the camel moved both left or both right legs in one movement, instead of opposite legs. During this time camels feet produced pad like structures, which helped them from sinking in soft terrain i. e sand. Then they arrived in South America during the Plio-Pleistocene times. This is where they diversified into 2 more genus under Camelinae family of the more known species, llama and alpaca, and 2 less known, guanaco and vicuna.As this happened, they crossed into the ‘Old World', where they then spread across Europe, Asia and Africa, this is where they branched out into the ‘single humped' Camelus Dromedarius, and ‘double humped' Camelus Bactrianus. Characte ristics of Camelus Dromedarius: An animal that has adapted well to this environment is the Camelus Dromedarius. Wilson (1984) as cited by Kohler-Rollefson (1991) describes the features of the camels body. Dromedary camels have a shoulder height of at least 1. 8m, with the hump extending a further 20cm. They can weights upwards of 400kg.Dromedary camels have a long upward curved neck, with a single hump on it's back. This is all supported by their long, strong legs and wide webbed feet. Body Temperature / Water Conservation: In the desert temperatures fluctuate. On average, a dehydrated camels body temperature fluctuates by up to 8oC in a single day, it can increase from an average of 34-36 to 42oC. There is less of a fluctuation if the camel is hydrated (2oC). If camels did not tolerate this fluctuation in temperature and instead tried to keep the body cool, up to 5 litres of water could be lost due to sweating.This allows the camel to conserve water and energy. The camel then takes advantage of the cool evenings to dissipate heat, with no energy cost. Camels, like all other mammals do sweat to maintain an acceptable temperature, however, it is not continuous. (Mares, 1999). Composition of Camel's Hump: Mares (1999), reports that a common misconception associated with camels is that their hump is composed of water, this has been disproven, and instead replaced with the fact this it is fat. Another common misconception associated with a camels hump is that water is produced by the oxidation of fat.This is has been proven to be false, or at least, partially untrue as the oxidation of fat requires an increased oxygen intake, this results in an increased rate of breathing, which increases the amount of water lost as vapour from the lungs. This nullifies the effect of the metabolized fat, yielding no net gain in water. As previously discussed, camels have adapted to keep their bodies cool, without sacrificing water. Another adaptation that is seen with camels is th at their main fat store is their hump. A camel does not store fat on other parts of their body.This is because the fat would act as insulation and reduce the amount of heat lost at night, at a time when the temperature is cooler, and most heat dissipation occurs. Excretion in Camels: Richards (1973) as cited by Mukasa-Mugerwa (1981) explores the fact that camels are able to produce urine that contains twice as much salt as sea water. It was noted by Mukasa-Mugerwa (1981) that the Kidney is composed of Henle loops of varying lengths. Camels are seen to contain a lot of longer loops than any other species, so there is a bigger potential for water to be reabsorbed, and the urine becoming concentrated.This coincides with the camels ability to facilitate water and plants with a salt content higher than normal. Schmidt-Nielsen (1964) as cited by Mukasa-Mugerwa (1981) compared the volume of urine excreted by the camel while hydrated and while dehydrated. The camel while hydrated, excreted up to 4 litres of urine in a single day, compared to the when it was dehydrated, where it excreted up to half a litre of urine. It was also noted that the camel produced faeces, almost completely absent of water.It was composed of a large number of pellets approximately 3cm in length. As they lacked water, they were light to lift, with a shiny appearance. Conclusion: Camels like animals in other extreme environments have adapted well to suit their environment of temperature fluctuations and a lack of water. Camels have evolved in such a way that moving has been made easier, they do not sink into the sand, so they do not expend more energy than is needed. The camels adaptation to a large fluctuation in body temperature allows water to be conserved as it is not lost as sweat.The camels hump proves as an invaluable energy source when food sources are scarce, as is common in desert ecosystems, the fat is metabolized and used as energy. It's all these adaptations that allows the camel to live in such an extreme environment. The absence of one or more of these adaptations would lead to the inability of camels to survive in this environment. In this day and age global warming is increasing the average temperature of the earths atmosphere, if there was a significant increase, could these organism handle an increased temperature luctuation? References: Jeremy M. B. Smith desert 2013. Encyclop? dia Britannica Online. Retrieved 01 March, 2013, from http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/158992/desert Kohler-Rollefson, Ilse U, (1991). Camelus Dromedarius. Mammalian Species. 375 (1-8), pp. 1-4 Mares, Michael A. , (1999). Encyclopaedia of Deserts. 1st ed. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. Richards, S. A. , 1973. Adaptation to heat. In Temperature regulation. London, Wykeham Publications, pp. 191-197 as cited by Mukasa-Mugerwa, E. , (1981).The Camel (Camelus Dromedarius): A Bibliographical Review. 1st ed. Ethiopia: International Livestock Centre of Africa Savage R . J. G & Long, M. R. , (1986). Mammal Evolution. 1st ed. United Kingdom: Facts on File & The British Museum. Schmidt-Nielsen, K. 1964. The Camel. In Desert Animals: physiological problems of heat and water. Oxford, Clarendon press, 277 pp as cited by Mukasa-Mugerwa, E. , (1981). The Camel (Camelus Dromedarius): A Bibliographical Review. 1st ed. Ethiopia: International Livestock Centre of Africa

Film And Mafia: Comparing the Godfather and The Untouchables Essay

Good vs. Evil, a universal theme seen throughout the history of story telling, can find itself to be especially malleable and suprising in the modern gangster movie. In the classic depiction of this struggle, the Gangster was looked upon as the criminal, the bad guy, while today this is not always the case. In this paper I will be explaining the early gangster films restrictions on who could be good or evil, and then introduce the two films I will be comparing. After a brief summary, a comparing and contrasting will take place between them, offering insights into how the two different films offer up this classic struggle. Early on in the gangster film genre, when the Hays Code was in effect, crime was not allowed to be something that was glamorized. The Hays Code was basically a set of moral standards films had to measure up to before being passed for distribution. It lasted from 1930 until 1968. The Hays code made things like profanity, violence, and sex completely unmentionable or undoable on the big screen. In the case of the gangster film, the gangster, as stated above, was always to be portrayed as the bad guy, and was almost always met with demise by the end of the film, to give the idea that â€Å"crime doesn’t pay. † As discussed in class, the antagonist to the gangster in these early films was usually the detective. The detective was the â€Å"good guy,† that is, usually a white, clean cut, god fearing American man who takes it upon himself to rid his city of crime after the rise of the gangster. This example of â€Å"good vs evil† was apparent to me in the film we watched earlier in the year, Little Caesar (1931). It doesn’t quite develop the detective as well as other films, but you could clearly see the Hays Code at work. The gangster in this film is portrayed as a stereotypical immigrant; uneducated, not speaking very good English, and destined for a life of crime. The life of crime would be short lived, however, as the police (all very Americanized white men) take Caesar down in the end, keeping their city safe from the treachery of the gangster. After the Hays Code ended, films could explore more things in the realms of which characters would be good or bad. Criminal types could now be portrayed in a favorable light, and in some cases, the audience may even feel sympathetic towards their cause, as perhaps they are the underdog, trying to make a living in any way possible. The classic â€Å"good guys,† police, politicians, or the like, could now be portrayed as corrupt, thus turning the tables on the audience, who would normally expect them to be the heroes of the story. The Godfather (1972) portrays these points perfectly. The Godfather tells the story of the Corleone Family- a family from Sicily who comes to America to attain the â€Å"American Dream. † Led at first by Vito Corleone, and later his son Michael, The Godfather takes a very different approach to the classical image of the gangster as the â€Å"bad guy. † As the movie progresses, one feels sympathetic toward the family and their struggles, even though their lives are based around organized crime and extreme violence. Through the characters of the movie, one can begin to understand that the life of crime is the only one that will allow the family to attain the â€Å"American Dream† of prosperity. One even begins to root for the family to succeed- they become they â€Å"good guys. † especially after Vito dies, and his son Michael assumes control of the family’s affairs. The morality of the family is also warped in a way that makes one sympathetic towards their cause. Although they kill, extort, and bribe their way to power, there are certain things they stand against as well. The only people who get killed are men; no women and children are harmed. They also do not get involved in drugs, as this is considered to be too immoral a means of prosperity. The antagonists, or â€Å"evil† to the Corleones are many-fold. They battle against the other mafia families, after the very same thing the Corleones seek. They deal with corrupt police officers and politicians, being bought off by rival families to put an end to their reign. As stated above, this is a complete reversal from what one would expect to see in the early gangster film. The Godfather offers a very unique perspective into what a gangster film could become in modern cinema. The Untouchables (1987) on the other hand, offers the more classic scenario of good and evil, but with a little twist. The story takes place in Prohibition-era Chicago, where Al Capone has the city in his back pocket, allowing his criminal activity to go completely unchecked. Capone is portrayed as the bad guy, with protagonist, Treasury Department Agent Elliot Ness, trying to figure out a way to restore order to the city. This carries the classic theme of good vs evil as the gangster portraying evil and law enforcement good, yet the twist is that most of the police force is corrupt, being bribed by Capone. Ness cannot trust anyone, and fails in his first attempt to bring Capone down by raiding one of his liquor warehouses. As the film progresses, Ness meets up with another officer who also vehemently defends righteousness, and the two begin to hatch a plan to take down Capone together. After discovering the amount of corruption in the court system and on the police force, Ness and his partner decide to go outside of the law, and form a team of trustworthy men fresh from the police academy, unable to be corrupted by the allure of money from Capone. This development offers a disconnect in the traditional view of the hero, as in order to achieve his goal, the hero may need to use means which could possibly be looked upon as immoral and illegal. The audience gives this lapse of righteousness a pass in favor of the ultimate goal, however, which remains getting the bad guy. Eventually, at the end of the movie, Capone is finally brought to justice. It is done so in a completely non-violent way, although violence was definitely used in order to reach the climax. The corruption in the courts is shown as being broken, and Capone is sentenced to jail for tax evasion. These two films give a very different portrayal of the life of crime and how the gangster operates and is viewed by the audience. In The Godfather, the audience is subjected to the inner-workings of the Corleone Family, and gains an appreciation for their dedication and love for each other. Their criminal activity can be overlooked, as the world that they live in is stacked against their success, and they are simply trying to provide for each other in the only way they know how. This is contrary to what is portrayed in The Untouchables, where the gangster is not given the opportunity to make a connection with the audience, instead his way of life is given the title of evil, while the family man Elliot Ness is the focus. His striving for justice is given the spotlight, and the audience is shown to root for him. He is the hero in a world filled with evil and corruption. An interesting dilemma arises from the way in which Elliot Ness achieves his success against evil, however, as stated above in the movie’s summary. Just as the audience is to overlook the wrongdoings of the Corleone family in their pursuit of happiness, the same must be done for Elliot Ness in the way he tiptoes along the fine line between legal and illegal during his pursuit of Capone. He kills and tortures Capone’s henchmen in order to get at Capone himself. In the tradition legal system of the United States, all men accused of wrong doing should be brought in front of a court and judged fairly. This is shown to be impossible, due to the corruption of Chicago’s legal system at the time, with Capone bribing everyone from judges to juries. Thus Elliot Ness and his posse’s transgressions against humanity are brushed to the side in the place of the ultimate goal of restoring peace to the city. The main characters of the two films are in fact very similar, despite being on different sides of the law. Michael Corleone and Elliot Ness are both at their core, good men. Their upbringing and families are the key difference in how they are perceived in the world. Michael Corleone was born into a life of crime. It is interesting that in the beginning of his story, he sort of on the outside looking in. The family business is really no concern to him. He is shown as having served in the army, and having an American girlfriend. This removes him from the inner workings of his family for some time, but when he is called upon to step up and protect his family in a dire time of need, he does so. His character transforms from an innocent man on the outskirts of his family’s life of crime, to a man who is just as or perhaps even more ruthless than his father before him after he assumes control. Elliot Ness is a protector of the law. He takes his job very seriously, and believes in the justice system as a means of keeping evil out of his city. He is a family man as well, with his wife and child (later on children,) constantly in his mind. His goal is to protect them and the city he loves at all costs. He also goes through a pretty drastic transformation. From the naive agent who believes in his justice system, to a cold-blooded killer intent on destroying the criminal enterprise threatening his family and city. Both of these transformations are accepted by the audience, and really lead one to root for these particular characters. Although they are both shown to get their hands dirty, and although they are on opposite sides of the law, common ground can be found in the fact that they both are men who stand up for what they believe in, and are willing to put themselves in harms way if it means protecting their families, as well as everything else they hold dear. Even in the case of the â€Å"criminal,† the audience can come to terms with the idea that he is simply staying true to his beliefs, and that is something that should be respected. Elliot Ness is a character who in the beginning is easy to root for, and even though some might waver on his methods, still end up rooting for him in the end. Michael Corleone is tougher to root for in the beginning of his saga, due to his distance from his family, yet towards the end of the film, is easy to root for in the coming to defense of his family in their time of need. This contrast shows that even though the distinct characters follow very different story arcs in their respective films, both are ultimately loved by the audience. Good vs. Evil is not a black and white subject. As these two films show, it is indeed very grey. The line between right and wrong can be very blurred, and can be crossed many times throughout the course of a story. Perceptions of characters and their place in the world can change drastically based on a few events, and the classic examples of cops and robbers can be turned on their heads. I greatly enjoy both of the films discussed in this paper; as they are very different in many ways, yet in the end, provide us the audience with a common denominator, a lovable character who will hold our attention to the very end. Even though the circumstances in which these characters interact with their worlds vary greatly, they both basically hold the same values very close to their hearts, and that is what shows on the big screen. It shows us that whatever our preconceived notions are about who is good and bad in a particular scenario, everyone has an opportunity to prove us right or wrong. This is what makes the modern gangster film so popular and great- an ability for us, the audience, to be surprised. Bibliography â€Å"Synopsis of The Untouchables (1987). † IMDb. IMDb. com, n. d. Web. 30 Apr. 2013. . â€Å"Synopsis of The Godfather (1972). † IMDb. IMDb. com, n. d. Web. 30 Apr. 2013. . Bynum, Matt. â€Å"The Motion Picture Production Code of 1930 (Hays Code). † The Motion Picture Production Code of 1930 (Hays Code). Arts Reformation, n. d. Web. 30 Apr. 2013. .

Needs Assessment of Go Live Systems Inc Assignment

Needs Assessment of Go Live Systems Inc - Assignment Example This gap can be identified as the training needs of the employees. This needs assessment is to be followed by development, delivery and evaluation of training. The Company has plans for a large growth in the next six months period. With the business acumen and expertise in the field the company has developed a software application and has patented it. This application is expected to improve upon the usability and compatibility of the two large Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. With this background Go Live Systems Inc is forming a partnership with two other large companies for making sales and license renewal calls together. The company is looking for at least 10 consultant/programmers who will work hand in hand with the ERP vendors and clients for the assessment and determination of clients' needs suitably modify the application and also provide on site training to the clients as to the usage of the application and the enhancements if any to the application. The expected requirements of skills and knowledge of the consultants/programmers need both technical and interpersonal skills. Since it is observed that it will be difficult to hire people with both excellent technical skills and interpersonal skills it becomes necessary to identify the gap in the skills and knowledge to provide the necessary training. "Individual assessment determines which employees should be trained and... Skills and Knowledge Area Level Required University Degree Bachelor Level + Preferably in Computer Science Database Design Expert PL/SQL Scripting Expert Coding/Debugging/Testing/Release Management Expert Knowledge of ETL Tools Working Knowledge Data Mapping Working Knowledge Supply Chain Basic Knowledge Sourcing/Purchasing/Distribution Basic Knowledge Manufacturing Basic Knowledge Financials Basic Knowledge CRM Basic Knowledge Communication Skills Expert Working in a Team Environment Must Working Experience + 2 years preferred 2.3 Individual Assessment: "Individual assessment determines which employees should be trained and their current levels of skill and knowledge. This may include use of assessment methods and should pay attention to the workers' basic skills as well as the job-specific tasks." Since it is decided by the company to hire an external recruiter it is advisable the recruiting agency is provided with the above basic requirements of skills and knowledge required for the positions of the consultants/programmers. The recruiting agency should select candidates and present lists of candidates who meet the above basic criteria for consideration. Since it is found that it will be difficult to get candidates who possess the required level of technical and interpersonal skill sets instantly, the agency may be asked to present another list of candidates who do not meet the basic criteria in respect of the technical skills but are otherwise found to be of good material offering scope for getting trained. In those cases, in respect of each candidate a chart may be prepared indicating the level of skill and technical knowledge required and possessed by the prospective candidates, to assess the training needs. Wherever it is found that there is

Appropriateness of the Edinburgh Tourism Strategy Essay

Appropriateness of the Edinburgh Tourism Strategy - Essay Example The motivating factors to changing tourism industry within Edinburgh have been the idea of changing social, economical, and cultural perspectives of the industry. Through changing tourism industry, the previously known season and leisure industry has turned into a rich, diverse, and all-year round thereby attracting many tourists, which has eventually transformed Edinburgh in many different ways and perspectives. From the concepts of the aforementioned facts, the following analysis attempts to create an understanding of the appropriateness of strategies applied in a bid to attract tourists within Edinburgh. The appropriateness of Edinburgh tourism strategy is evaluated in terms of suitability, acceptability, and feasibility. Synopsis of the Edinburgh Tourism Strategy Many transformations have taken place within Edinburgh tourism industry over the past two decades. Nonetheless, this has not been by accident. After realizing the significance of tourism industry, Edinburgh decided to de velop an effective strategy, which was to enhance the industry in a bid to attracting more visitors and income from the industry. Edinburgh tourism industry developed an effective strategy aiming at making the industry better for the next centuries. The strategy revolved around increasing number of visitors as well as income per visitor. The first step taken by Edinburgh in developing an effective tourism industry strategy was to create a vision, which was aimed at making the business within the industry an all seasoned. Evidently, an all seasoned industry was going to increase the number of visitors as well as income obtained. Edinburgh had two main aims that the strategy aimed at achieving through the vision; increasing tourism value as well as enhancing image and reputation of the city in respect to tourism. Three main objectives was developed and stated concisely in a bid to ensuring that the aims were obtained. These objectives included to increase number of visits, average spe nding of the visitors, as well as reducing seasonality across the industry of the sector. The main essence of the Edinburgh tourism industry was to achieve and maintain marketing segments mix that had the capacity and capability of delivering good high yield, all seasoned business activities, and promoting ‘virtuous circle’ (Team Tourism Consulting, ETAG, 2011). In addition, the Edinburgh tourism strategy considered some of the track records of success in a bid to making them better and greater. Over the past two decades, Edinburgh has been able to attain specific benefits and success in terms of growth in both the number of visitors as well as the income obtained from the same. It is through future investments that Edinburgh embarked on to achieve specific aims and objectives in the tourism industry. The strategy developed for Edinburgh tourism was to maintain momentum of the growth that has been achieved for the last two decades for the next decades to 2020 and even b eyond. Investing into the future as defined by this strategy involved continuous reinvesting in existing products as well as innovating in new product developed and other new forms of marketing. Marketing mix was an important aspect of the strategy aimed at making the tourism industry better and greater. Investing into the future also involved obtaining more resources such as human resource through enhanced employment strategies (Team Tourism Consulting, ETAG, 2011). The Edinburgh tourism strategy also identified strengths and challenges in attaining such visions, aims, and objectives. Product strengths

Master Plan for Training and Capacity Building of Staff Outline

Master Plan for Training and Capacity Building of Staff - Outline Example It is said so because need analysis defines the gap which exists between current and desired state of organizational and individual performance. The basic purpose of conducting need analysis is to measure the performance and resolving issues related to performance or in case of introducing new technology, task or system or a when an organization desires to take advantage out of an opportunity. There are several ways of providing training to employees in order to polish and sharpen their performance. Some of these methodologies should be included by the firm as training programs in order to build the working capacity of employees. Off-the-job training includes activities through which employee can get training by being out of the workplace. Distance learning, working day releases, self study, sponsored courses are some examples of off-the-job training which must be included while designing a master plan. Appraisal reviews helps in knowing what types of penetrations and variations are required to be included in the training program. Feedback of workers and employees can help in developing a genuine and constructive appraisal review. Difficulty Analysis is commenced in order to determine which type of tasks cause greatest amount of difficulties to employee and how they can be resolved through better training. Difficulty analysis is constructive in enabling the need analysis to weigh different aspects of training in relation to reducing the trouble that the workers might face. Motivation is vital for employee development and capacity building. Intrinsic motivation depends on self esteem, self confidence etc. Individual program should be made in order to deal with employees separately as every other person has different level of intrinsic motivation. Individual employees program should stress on the importance of skills, attitude and other assets that can boost the confidence of employee.

Why did China not become a world power in 1500s Research Paper

Why did China not become a world power in 1500s - Research Paper Example The Qing Empire like its predecessor made landmark steps in the expansion of China’s territory by almost half from what the Ming had achieved. This came with a great increase in the population of China and a period of continued peace and prosperity. However, this was short lived and unlike the expectations that China may have competed with the rising powers in Europe, China vanished from the world all the sudden. The cause of this disappearance had begun during the reign of the Ming Empire but had remained unknown for centuries, and historians still debate over this myth. This paper delves into the subject of the history of China after 1500 and analyses possible reasons that might have led to the collapse of the once powerful nation during that period where the territory was under the Ming and the Qing empires. Key words: Dynasty, Ming Empire, Qing Empire, territory, decline. Introduction The decline of China during the period after 1500 can be attributed to the collapse of th e two main empires that ruled over China within the period; the Ming Empire that ruled between 1368 and 1644 and the last empire that was Qing Empire, which ruled over China between 1644 and the late nineteenth century. Both of these empires saw China through a period of massive growth and prosperity in the world stage, but their gradual decline had the impact of taking China down from its position on the world trade stage. The Ming Empire took over power in China in 1368, when the emperor Zhu Yuanzhang obtained â€Å"the mandate† of heaven. The rule lasted for close to 300 years between 1368 and 1644 with the main reason for its success being the growth of industry and the enhancement of free trade with western powers, specifically Europe (Spielvogel, 2008). Prior to the rule by the Ming Empire, China was under the rule of the Yuan Empire. During the last period of the Yuan empire rule that spanned over 40 years, China was struck by drought and famine, an overflow of the Yel low river that resulted in flooding, a severe pandemic of the plague among other natural disasters. This resulted in the death of millions of Chinese people leading to a feeling within the population that the Yuan Empire no longer had the â€Å"mandate of heaven† to rule over China (Willis, 2011). Naturally, this spurred feelings of rebellion among the people and culminated in revolts that began in the 1350s and continued for close to 20 years. The soldiers of the Yuan Empire were overwhelmed and subdued, as the rebel troops took over many Chinese cities and large portions of the country (Spielvogel, 2008). The most successful of these rebel armies was from the south of the Yangtze River and was under the commandeering of Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang led the troops in conquering major cities in China including Beijing, which resulted in the court of the Yuan Empire fleeing northwards. Zhu Yuanzhang then claimed the â€Å"mandate of heaven† and took over as the emperor of the Ming Empire (Willis, 2011). The beginning of the Qing Empire was marked in an almost similar fashion. Established in Beijing in 1644, the empire took over from the Ming Empire by expelling the remnants of rebels of the Ming Empire, who had occupied Beijing at the time. Like the Yuan Empire that had ruled China before the Ming, the Qing Empire was not Chinese (Thackeray & Findling, 2012). The Qing Empire was under the control of the Manchus; a group of nomadic and tribal folk which originated from the north-eastern frontier of China. While it was regarded as a weak and corrupt empire in comparison to its predecessors, the Qing Empire w

S.O.A.P Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

S.O.A.P Analysis - Essay Example It is not quite clear what events made the author create this, most possibly some extraordinary experience of life and death inspire people to write such essays. Maybe some dramatic decisions which lead to great changes made the author write this piece. Annie Dillard has accumulated a certain quantity of life observations and experience and decided to make general conclusions. Certain disappointment in common life conceptions could let to writing this essay as well: â€Å"Would you change your project? To what? Whatever you do, it has likely brought delight to fewer people than either contract bridge or the Red Sox†. (99) The author has a huge audience as the questions she discusses are familiar to every adult who at least once was thinking about such issues as free will, choice, sense of life, termination of person`s way. Moreover, she addresses to her reader using the personal pronoun â€Å"you†: â€Å"Any culture tells you how to live your one and only life: to wit as everyone else does† which emphasizes the fact that Dillard wants everyone to think over her questions. It does not matter which race, gender, nationality the reader belongs to, Dellize generalizes suffering and hopes and thinks of the universality of the path in life. (100) Dell doubts typical people`s choices and makes the readers stop the race and ask themselves about their way, goals, and methods of achieving these aims. Sometimes people live without a deep understanding of reasons and consequences. Rhetorical questions such as: â€Å"If for him it was contract bridge, if for her it was copyright law, if for everyone it was and is an optimal mix of family and friends, learning, contribution, and joy of making and ameliorating what else is there, or was there, or will there ever be?† pushes the reader to the internal dialogue with the author. (97)   The author starts her argumentation by describing people`s

Lyndon B. Johnson And The Tet Offensive Research Paper

Lyndon B. Johnson And The Tet Offensive - Research Paper Example Most of his concern however is in the president at that particular period of time president Lyndon B, Johnson and his contribution to the war after President Kennedy. In American history and survey, the story is the same but to some extent; they tend to support the war and the actions that took place during the war. In the first article, Rollins Glasser explains how hard it was for Vietnam during this time of the war. â€Å"If there is more to say it will have to be said by others, though I wonder how they will do it. There is no novel in Nam, there is not enough for a plot, nor is there really any character development if you survive 365 days without getting killed or wounded, you simply go home and take up again where you left off.† (Rollins, 233) by this, Ronald clearly showed opposition to the war that was in Vietnam. In his book, he clearly depicts the difficulties that the Vietnamese were going through. This was because the whole media and human rights grouped had moved in to bring the negative side of the war and forgot to focus on the positive side of the war. There were lots of films and books that various personalities published so as to oppose the events that led to the war. All these ideologies originated soon after the Tet offensive and the American people now had the true p icture of what was taking place in Vietnam (Ayers 89). The second article emphasizes that the Vietnam War was one of the bloodiest wars of all time with casualties going up to a million on both sides. The war began due to the common belief that Americans believed that communisms was spreading all through south-east Asia. Due to the nuclear power that both the united states and the soviet union had at the time, neither was willing to risk war with the other and as a result decided to finance the other nations to fight the cold war. The Vietnam War started soon after the struggle for the country had stopped by the French power. It was during this time that the country was

Seminar Paper for One of Us Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Seminar Paper for One of Us - Essay Example Thus, anatomy as a whole can dictate who can do something and who cannot. Dreger notes that sometimes anatomy helps in maintaining order by protecting the vulnerable and restricting privilege. Almost on a daily basis, people change their bodies ever so slightly in order to fit the identity that they wish to present socially. Dreger provides myriad instances that reveal just how much anatomy matters in somewhat unexpected ways (Dreger 2). She points out that even in the Holy Bible, priests were required to have perfect bodies similarly women were not allowed to join priesthood. This can also be illustrated in the case of the conjoined twins who visit a bar only for the bartender to demand for identification from one of the twins who seemed physically younger than her twin. However, Dreger reveals that â€Å"hearing the bartender’s request, the other twin turns around so that she’s the one facing the bartender. Because the second twin appears older, the bartender reconsiders and decides to serve the drink without seeing the proof of time† (Dreger 1). Additionally, anatomy has also interfered with other legal formalities like in the case of the dwarfs whereby their dwarfism prevented the bartender from asking for their identification to verify in the quest of trying to avoid embarrassi ng or devaluing them. Among the examples that Dreger implies when talking about the problems that will be along anatomy identity lines in the 21st century include the issue of racism that has been vibrant in the past years and is expected to continue. Dreger (9) expresses that based on anatomy, one is either black in which the â€Å"whites are seen as inherently superior to all other races†. Subsequently, Dreger also seems to address the issue of scientific innovations and research activities that are on the raise in this 21st century. These innovations such as Botox, a medically antiwrinkle treatment, imply that the world still continues to value anatomy

Fruitless Unions from 1875 - 1900 Essay Example for Free

Fruitless Unions from 1875 1900 Essay Late 19th century America was a time of both industrial prosperity and poverty among workers. It was run by grasping corporations and proprietors. Workers found themselves alone, amidst the rest of the nation, merely individuals under the control of the lavish Rockefellers and Carnegies. Entire families found themselves working 10 hours a day, 7 days a week in unsanitary conditions just to have enough money to pay for simple necessities like food and rent. The issue of lowering working hours, increasing wages, and humanizing working conditions quickly became indispensable. While organized labor groups such as the National Labor Union, The Knights of Labor, and the American Federation of Labor all strived to resolve these issues, victories were seldom. The crusade towards organized labor from 1875-1900 was unsuccessful in improving the position of workers vastly because of the initial failure of strikes, the grueling feelings of superiority of employers over employees and the lack of support from the government. Beginning in the 1860’s, labor unions began to sprout in hopes of making reforms by unifying workers to fight for higher wages, and 8 hour work day, and various other social benefits. The National Labor Union (1866) was the first assembly established to take part in this fight. Strikes would have to be effective in order to initiate any major changes but at a time like this, more harm was being done than good. In 1877, many workers participated in the first great American strike which resulted in mass violence and little reforms. Afterwards, an editorial in the New York Times stated that â€Å"the strike is apparently hopeless, and must be regarded as nothing more than a rash and spiteful demonstration of resentment by men too ignorant or too reckless to understand their own interests†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Document B) This editorial, which clearly favored labor unions, was acknowledging that nothing would be achieved through fighting and violence. Their failures so early on should have given them the signal to cease and, but year after year, strikes were arising and little was being down in the workers favors. Their failures would surely set the stage for future unions to come. In 1892, workers at the Homestead Steel Plant near Pittsburgh walked out on strike and took the lives of at least two Pinkerton detectives and one civilian (Document G). The violent acts at Homestead not only failed to gain rights but since non-strikers were killed it led people to think of laborers in a negative light. With the conditions only worsening after each and every strike, it was clear that organized strikes were not the way to improve conditions for workers. The industrial era gave more power to employers than ever before. With the introduction of the Scientific Management method designed by Frederick Taylor, autonomy among workers was even less common. By means of Scientific Management, there was no longer a need for workers of one particular trade, now; workers would only know how to make one particular part of a whole. The fact that many employees had to band together to face one employer displayed a great deal of inferiority. In 1883, in a testimony before the Senate Committee on Labor and Capital, a machinist said that 100 men are able to do now what it took 300 or 400 men to do fifteen years ago in trying to explain his insignificance to the company he worked for (Document D). Thus, workers felt even more inferior because it took fewer workers to make products; fewer workers amounted to easier management by the employers. In addition to inferiority to the employers, workers would also put restrictions on themselves by giving in and signing things like the Western Union Telegraph Companys employee contract that forbid them from joining unions (Document E). These yellow-dog contracts simply dragged the workers further down into the ground. The ineffectiveness of unions was shown in that the unions that were formed werent strong enough to even overcome their own benefactors which in turn only put them at a lower level in the end. I. Another main contributor to the ineffectiveness of labor unions was the lack of support from the government. With the involvement of the federal government, labor unions could have been much more successful in churning out better conditions for workers.

Ford Motor’s Financial Health Progress Report Essay Example for Free

Ford Motor’s Financial Health Progress Report Essay In the coming week, Learning Team B will discuss the financial health of Ford Motor Co. The discussion will include an analysis of the current financial condition after calculating profitability ratios, liquidity ratios, activity ratios, and solvency ratios. We will answer questions about where the company began, how the company manages their investments, and where the company is now financially. We will also look at the DuPont Method as it relates to Ford Motor Co. and their financial troubles. Specific Task that have been Accomplished How Much the Company has borrowed? It has been discovered that Ford Motor Co. borrowed 23.5 billion dollars in 2006 from the government in an effort to reduce debt. Ford Motor Company’s debt liabilities, long term-debts, current notes is the total of what the company has borrowed. Define the Business Need Because of the money borrowed, Ford is in better shape than General Motors and Chrysler. The financial ratios, profitability, liquidity, activity, solvency, have already been calculated. The business need will include high-level deliverables to resolve problems. The business needs of the Ford Motor Company is to improve in the area of return on equity and return on capital by addressing customer service needs and customer satisfaction as a means of retention of reputation and quality assurance. How liquid is the Company The liquidation of Ford Motor Company can easily be defined as the ability in which as asset can be converted into cash, to meet short-term financial obligations. In order for Ford to meet this obligation, the company has to have more liquid. The company can calculate their liquids by using financial rations such as cash ratio, quick ratio, and current ratio. How Efficiently the Organization is using its Assets This will be determined by using the Debt Ratios of the company’s liabilities and assets. Additionally, the straight line depreciation method will be used to determine if assets are profitable or assuming greater debt to the company. Strength and weakness The strength and weakness of an organization is crucial. According to (Titman, Keown, Martin, p. 79), â€Å"Financial ratios provide a second method for standardizing the financial information in the income statement and balance sheet. Ratios answer questions about the firm’s financial health or strength and weaknesses.† The relevant questions are how liquid is the firm, will it be able to pay on time, did the firm finance the purchase of assets, is the management efficient in utilizing assets to generate sales, is ROI adequate based on the organization financial goals and objectives, and are shareholders getting value for their investment. The ratio mechanism is liquidity, capital structure, and asset management efficiency, profitability, and market value ratios assessments. â€Å"The acid test is the current ratio to assess firm liquidity; we assume that the firm’s accounts receivable will be collected and turned into cash on a timely basis and that its inventories can be sold without an extended delay. But the truth is that a company’s inventory might not be very liquid at all, (Titman, Keown, Martin, p. 80).† Debt Equity Financing According to (Investorwords.com, 2014), â€Å"Debt financing requires borrowing money, usually as a loan from a bank, financial institution or commercial finance companies, to fund investment of the organization.† Organizations must keep in mind that debt builds credit that s supports lower insurance rates and future borrowing. Additionally, an organization can gain a tax deductible interest rate to lessen the impact of repayment. Equity financing requires investment partners that provide funding for a share of ownership. Each type of financing has advantages and disadvantages of appeal, organizations use both to finance investment ventures. Problems, Solutions, and Potential Issues The high-level of deliverables occurs according to the Britannica (2014)  website â€Å"because of financial struggles at the beginning of the 21st century, the company sold off Aston Martin in 2007 and both Jaguar and Land Rover in 2008.† In addition to selling â€Å"Ford manufactures passenger cars, trucks, and tractors as well as parts and accessories.† Next Steps The team should further expound on the business need of Ford Motor Co. The Market Value Added (EVA) and Economic Value Added (EVA) have been research, but need to be further researched to explain difference it makes for Ford Motor Co. All ratios and ROE need to be calculated and explained: ELIZABETH Profitability Ratio Liquidity Ratio Activity Ratio Solvency Ratio ROE DuPont Method Finally, the team needs to determine how profitable the organization is at the end of the research. Conclusion In concluding, Learning Team B discusses the financial health of Ford Motor Company within a progress report. The report includes an analysis of the current financial condition after calculating profitability ratios, liquidity ratios, activity ratios, and solvency ratios. The report answer questions about where the company began, how the company manages their investments, and where the company is now financially. The report finally looks into the DuPont Method as it relates to Ford Motor Co. and their financial troubles.

Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Analysis

Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Analysis Science is a Good Servant but a Bad Master Science has now known sin. The life of man was very different from what it was a hundred years back. Today, we are all living in a world of modern Science that revolutionized our present day society. We can see how it eventually changed our lives by making everything easier and faster. Science has helped man to lead a better life than ever before through communication, health, security, transportation and entertainment but on the other hand, Science is not just for our own good. It has created deadly and destructive weapons which is mostly used for war. Guns, rifles and grenades are some of those weapons that made man more violent, but the atomic bomb which can potentially wipe out the whole world had caused a lot of suffering and death of innocent people. The quotation above is from the novel Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut that talks about the failure of Science as it was used to create the most destructive weapon on Earth, killing all life forms on Earth. In relation to that, the title itself of the novel is a childrens game that loops strings to create figures and the way it was used in the novel is to explore on how humans shape the world through Science and their own stupidity of misusing it that has led to their own destruction. The novels recurring themes like technological advancements and destruction of humanity illustrates a cross connection and relevance to the real world. It warns that if technological advancement continues without a concurrent growth in ethical awareness, annihilation of the human race is a real possibility. Based from the book Critical Companion to Kurt Vonnegut by Susan Farrell, it criticizes the same idea that Science has already known sin through its technological advancements, since the society had completely cut off from human considerations and I admit that what the author said is true because it is historically proven that the combination of Science with human stupidity will lead to a lot of complications and cause a lot of ecological destructions which put our lives in a great danger. It becomes clear to me that most people are becoming blind to moral basis because they put too much faith in Science and they think that they can understand and control everything through it. How the world works is still not enough to satisfy most human beings, in which greed could be the main source of our own destruction. Science has been a part of everyones lives that provided structure and stability. But some people may consider Science beyond sin, since it only seeks knowledge. As Science continues to be created in a moral vacuum and be used without appropriate consideration of the human consequences, all life on Earth would be in trouble and if it continues to seek in the wrong place and show no signs of correcting itself, it will only lead to the destruction of humanity because knowledge does not always mean progress and that progress is not always beneficial for everything has consequences. Most apocalyptic science fiction novels act as a warning with regards of too much abuse of Science and its technologies. It mostly explores the possible consequences that human may encounter in the future if scientific discovery and research continues in a wrong way. Global events such as the World War II had greatly contributed to the popularity and growth of this form of literature when the possibility of widespread destruction and human extinction caused by nuclear weapons became a large public issue and a dominant threat. While some novels just serve as a mirror to our real world and provide caution about the dangers of nuclear wars, novels like Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut represents a realistic structure of the world we live in. It was created with a personal tone which speaks about the authors personal experiences in World War II. It symbolizes on mans ability to destroy life on Earth with its creation of the real atomic bomb which was used to attack Hiroshima and Nagasaki dur ing the war in August 1945. The novel is an allegory that described on how the world was once destroyed by man through Science by means of nuclear bomb and it is also an authors warning in which this kind of disaster could possibly happen again and result in a terrible future for us. As stated by Fumika Nagano in her criticism from the book Blooms Modern Critical Views: Kurt Vonnegut, Cats Cradle is a novel that talks about the political abuse of Science through its technologies that created an atomic bomb, a weapon for mass destruction specifically in World War II. According to the book, it was reported that it killed a lot of innocent people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan and people also died from radiation poisoning but some who survived developed some genetic diseases in which they passed on to the next generation such as leukemia. Kurt Vonnegut stated in that book that he completely lost his faith in Science when we dropped scientific truth on Hiroshima. I know for myself that weve been still living in a world with these unending wars but the only way for us to survive is to think independently and reflect on ourselves. We should try to avoid being stupid unthinking sheep that simply do what everyone is doing and accepts whatever the society accepts. We ne ed to set ourselves apart from the rest of the ignorant society. Felix Hoenikker is not a common villainous antagonist in the novel. He is an absent-minded person that lacks interest in his family, especially with his children. He lacks an understanding of basic human emotions. But everyone appreciates his contribution to Science as he was considered the father of the atomic bomb and the creator of the weapon ice-nine, which later leads to the Earths destruction and the end of all lives. Ice-nine is a small substance that Dr. Hoenikker secretly created but eventually falls into the hands of the dominant government in the novel. It is solid at room temperature and has a melting point of 45.8à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™. When this substance comes into contact with liquid water that has a temperature below the melting point of ice-nine like the seas or oceans, it can cause the solidification of the entire body of water and will result to a chain of ecological destruction and end all life on Earth. Dr. Hoenikker is the antagonist of the story due to his perception and views of life. When he was asked about the relation of science and sin, he asks, What is sin? From these instances, he truly shows that he does not care about people or morality and his inability to understand can create destruction and violence around him. Vonnegut wanted us to see Dr. Felix Hoenikker as a representation of the so called saints in the field of Science, which are the scientists who pursue abstract truth and knowledge without considering human consequences. Most of them nowadays is being blinded by power and fame in which they just dont care about others. Some of them works for the government in which they are being manipulated and controlled to build weapons for war. The goal for some scientists is to make their inventions successful and the result of destroying nature and killing innocent people is not their concern. In support to that, according to Walter Shear on his literary criticism entitled Kurt Vonnegut: The Comic Fate of Sensibility, Science exists like a game for scientists in which they play without considering any ethical values and regardless of the destructive outcomes it can have like terrible wars and dehumanization of most individual in the society. I truly agree on his idea about scientists today because in my opinion, scientists consider themselves as masters of nature inspired by scientific advancements and I see them as cold men of Science who are cut off from human concerns. They made Science to commit sin and be manipulated as an evil tool that created the worst human sufferings and might lead to humanitys extinction in the future. The novel is a whole criticism to peoples ignorance. All of the ideas that a society holds about its progress and development including how it is achieved through research and discoveries by the use of Science. However, our worlds greatest or should I say the most destructive scientific discovery is the atomic bomb, which has the capacity of ending thousands of lives. So, a society pursuing a better world through Science is ironic because the further mankind dives into scientific discoveries without ethical understanding, the more destructive the society becomes. Human beings always crave a higher form of truth that will give meaning to their lives. Religions have supplied these higher form of truths in the past but because of Science, through its advancement and its credibility, it became a kind of false religion. This period of history became known as The Enlightenment. It began to free the peoples minds from the teachings of the church for thousands of years. They wanted to change everything and replace faith with knowledge and reason. Today, religions and spiritual truths have become a suspect in the 21st century. But from the criticism of Donald Morse, he brought up the negative outcomes of Science in the 21st century based from some of Kurt Vonneguts novels including Cats Cradle. He emphasized that we are preoccupied with the disastrous effect of weapons like atomic bombs but we havent given any attention on other unforeseen causes of Science that might as well lead to our extinction including pollution and environmental destruction. Modern Science is considered now as a large body of knowledge and nowadays it has a large gap between the stated mission of it to improve and better human life and its actual products, which include weapons of mass destruction. Due to humanitys greediness and being blinded by wealth, people would do anything to have full control of it, as it will eventually be used in wars. Science will lack a moral or unconcerned sense with the rightness or wrongness of something, if it ends up in the hands of an ignorant or greedy person. Human stupidity of misusing it can cause to our own self destruction. The event that happened in Nagasaki and Hiroshima created a new era for us as the world entered the nuclear age. For seven decades since the first atomic bomb was created, it became the scientists ambition to continue pursuing and develop these kind of weapons. Countries like U.S., Russia, United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea have admitted that they possess nuclear weapons. The recent atomic bombing event was the North Korean nuclear test that occur five times this year but the current one happened last September 9, 2016 and they did not immediately announce about the test. It is like our humanity is continuously discovering new ideas on how to destroy itself. Science will only be beneficial if it will be used as a common good for mankind and we know that it became our foundation in developing societies and improving human life, however all of us is also worried on the power that Science possesses to destroy life on Earth. It is true that Science can create wonders by all of its discoveries and inventions but the way it is used as a weapon of mass destruction that controls our existence is not its fault. Human stupidity and its unethical values is the main cause why we have these kind of weapons at the first place. Their different ideologies went too far that they had misused Science in creating destructive weapons instead of bettering our world. In the wrong hands, Science will have the capacity to ruin lives of innocent people and if we let it to become our master then it might be the end of the world for us and we will be wipe out from the face of the Earth. We should not let Science overpower us and control our way of life. Science sho uld be use as a support in expanding our knowledge for a great cause, promoting security and safety to everyone, establishing better societies, improving human life and strengthening our moral responsibility. Therefore, it should be our servant in a good way, and not to become our master.

Windows versus Linux Essay examples -- Computer Technology Operating S

Windows vs. LINUX Both Windows and Linux come in many different forms. All the different forms of Windows come from Microsoft, the various distributions of Linux come from different companies (ex. Red Hat, SuSE, Linspire, Ubuntu, Mandriva, Knoppix, etc). Windows has two main lines: â€Å"Win9x†, which is consists of Windows 95, 98, 98SecondEdition and ME, and â€Å"NT class† which consists of Windows NT, 200 and XP. On a side note, Windows first had version 3.x which was made before Windows 95 by a couple of years. The various types of Linux are called distributions. All the Linux distributions released around the same time frame will use the same kernel, which are the guts of the OS. They will differ with the add-on software provided, install process, GUI, documentation, technical support, and price. Linux is a whole lot more customizable in a way that Windows cannot and is not. There are a lot of special purpose versions of Linux as well. If you were going for desktop use, Linux is free or very cheap, and Windows is expensive. For servers, again, Linux is very cheap compared to Windows. Microsoft only allows one computer per copy of Windows. On the other hand, once you purchase Linux you can run it on any number computers at no extra charge. As of January 2005, Windows XP Professional sold for about $200, and the â€Å"full† version of XP sold for around $300, and Windows Server 2003 with 10 client licenses was about $1,100. You can download Linux for free from each of the Linux vendors. In order to run Windows it has to be installed onto the hard disk first. Linux can run just from a CD. Normally Linux also runs off of the hard disk, but there a quite a few versions of Linux which run entirely from a CD without bei... ...d due to the security and cost concerns. There are virtually no viruses for Linux, while there are millions for Windows. In the end, Microsoft will fight the spread of Linux. When Thailand wanted to use Linux based computers available throughout the country, Microsoft then stepped in and made a deal with the Thai Information, Communication and Technology Ministry. You can buy Windows products along with Windows XP and Office XP already on the computer, ready to run and activated for the very low price of the equivalent to $37. When there is a company who is willing to go through these lengths to keep their competitors down in the gutter, there is no way that a non main-stream product can become successful when they are competing with a company such as Microsoft. In the end I think that you should choose which ever operating system fits your personal needs the best.

TERRORISM AND IMMIGRATION Essay -- essays research papers

Terrorism in the United States   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The terrifying event that occurred on September 11, 2001 is an example of what the world had been warned about many times, â€Å"TERRORISM†. In 1998, for example, the U.S. government told American citizens that they were potential targets for a terrorist group joined by the now infamous Osama bin Laden (Eland, 1998). However, many did not think any terrorist would be capable of the tragedy that leveled the World Trade Center and took many thousands of human lives. Americans thought they could not be touched, especially on their own turf.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While it may be that organizations involved with Bin Laden that are in the United States, and have been for years, there are other groups that U.S. citizens may not be aware of. Many have probably forgotten The Order of the Rising Sun. Members of this group, in 1972, possessed thirty to forty kilograms of bacteria that they planned to put into the American water supply (Yonah, 1999). The nation is a main target for both national and international terrorists. There are numerous foreign groups and governments that target U.S. For example, Libya, Iraq and Iran in addition to groups from Germany and Palestine(Yonah, 1999). While most of the damage done by such organizations has been overseas, their presence is felt in the United States. Almost all foreign terrorist organizations have caused a problem in the United States, in which the primary threats come from Middle East terrorist organizations (Emerson, 2000). The concept that the Middle East groups are more dangerous to the U.S., is not thought of as a prejudice comment. It is a concept that has been realized by both the FBI and CIA(Emerson,2000). The Middle Eastern and Islamic terrorist groups that have members in the United States include the Algerian Armed Islamic Group, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Palestinian group, the Egyptian group, Al Gamat Al Islamiya, the PKK, the Islamic party, and Al- Qaeda, which belongs to Osama bin Laden (Emerson,2000).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Al-Qaeda is the most dangerous in respect to U.S. interests. The group was formed by Osama bin Laden during the 1980s. In 1989, the organization stated it was their duty, and the duty of all Muslims, to kill U.S. citizens and all U.S. allies (2001). Like other groups, some of their plans were stopped such as the 199... ...ble to freely move about the United States, whether they entered legally or illegally, supporting activities such as bombings, assassinations and other methods of destruction aimed at the Western world. The future likely holds a less trustworthy planet and one would guess that questionable people with questionable passports would be denied entry when they get to U.S. borders throughout the twenty-first century. Still, the fact that terrorists have been able to live in the United States unencumbered during the past decade or so is rather chilling. References Alexander, Y. (1999). Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century: Threats and Responses. The World & I, 14, 80. Eland, I. (1998, September 25). The U.S. Government Is Endangering American Citizens. The Cato Institute. [Online]. Available: http://www.cato.org/dailys/9-25-98.html Emerson, S. (2000). INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM AND IMMIGRATION POLICY:STEVEN EMERSON. Congressional Testimony, PG (Reprinted in http://www.elibrary.com. Original publisher not listed). Terrorist Group Profiles. (2000). Dudley Knox Library: Naval Postgraduate School. [Online]. Available: http://web.nps.navy.mil/~library/tgp/tgp2.htm

Information processing and cognitive development Essay -- essays resea

Information Processing and Cognitive Development   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Information processing is a perspective (approach) to the study of cognition and cognitive development in which the mind is likened to a computer. However, rather than focusing on mere input and output, psychologists who adhere to this approach place specific emphasis on the processes of cognitive development. Cognitive perspectives examine development in terms of mental processing. The two major views within this subject are cognitive developmental theory and information processing theory.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Theorists claim that our cognitive processes are like that of a computer. They have used this as a model to break down the process of the human thinking processes and cognitive performance. When you receive some stimuli through your senses, your brain puts this information into the sensory store. Then the information is placed into short term memory. If the information is not encoded from short term memory to long term memory, the information is lost. However, once in long term memory the information is ready for retrieval (Cook). It is important to understand some of the key assumptions of this approach, including the emphasis on, the role of the knowledge base in cognitive development; the conceptualization of thinking as involving distinct processes executed over time, and the ways in which change in the system can occur (Miller).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is a fact th...

Music Appreciation Lab Questions Essay

This is the second lab assignment for the Fine Art Survey class. The link in blue has a set of questions beneath it. Open the link and watch the video. **Note that the link opens up a new browser window. Please answer the questions on this document and submit the work as one file attachment. This means you complete all work in one word processing document (e.g., Microsoft Word) and attach the file using the dropbox tool. The answers to the lab questions are worth 80 points. 80-74=A73-68=B67-60=C59-54=D53 or less = F Lab Questions Visit Divas and Superstars and watch the show’s video. (If you have trouble with the link, put this website into the address bar: http://video.pbs.org/video/1300186085/ ) 1. Who sang at the Grammy’s in Spanish in the late 1990s? What was the reaction? Ricky Martin sang in Spanish at the Grammys. the crowd and people watching at home loved it. It was widely supported and accepted. 2. When did Latin music burst back on the scene? What song brought it back to the mainstream? What effect did it have? Latin music bursted back on the scene in 1984. â€Å"Conga† by Gloria Estefan & the Miami Sound Machine brought back Latin music back to the mainstream. It defined Latin pop music by mixing a Latin beat with English words. 3. How did the sounds of salsa change? The sounds of salsa changed because it was starting to be fused with pop, R&B, etc., so that more people could understand it. 4. What was the influence of CBS’ Latin division on the explosion of Latin music in the US? CBS Latin division supported and sponsored Latin music and helped it in its growth across America. 5. Who were some of the artists who brought together Latin influenced music with mainstream pop music? Jenifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Ricky Martin, and Gloria Stefan & the Miami Sound Machine were some of the artists that brought together Latin influenced music with the mainstream pop music. 6. Why did the Latin music influence decrease? The Latin music influence decreased people started becoming more modernized and less people could understand the music. 7. What was Reggaeton? Reggaeton was a mixture of the Jamacian â€Å"Dem Bow† beat mixed with Puerto Rican and Latin beats. 8. What other types of music are being influenced by â€Å"Latin† music? Hip-Hop, rap, pop, and rock are all types of music being influenced by â€Å"Latin† music.

Curse of the Internet Essay

‘The internet is a curse on modern society’ to what extent do you agree with this view? From the mid 1990s when Sir Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web and the Internet grew dramatically, it has progressively dominated our lives. The vast volume of information that is now available to us and the ease at which our ideas and documents can be shared, has transformed the way in which we find material and communicate. It has also had a huge impact on business, particularly retail. However, these huge changes inevitably bring with them some negative consequences, particularly those to do with illegal file sharing and risks to privacy. The Internet is capable of many things but undoubtedly its main purpose is to provide the world with unlimited information. Rather than look something up in a book, today many people just ‘Google’ it, a phrase that was coined because of the dominance of Google as the world’s leading search engine. The vast amount of material on the Internet has helped people expand their knowledge and has also enabled anyone to post their opinions to the world via sites such as Blogger. Due to the sheer quantity of information we are now all spoilt for choice. What goes in a playlist when all the music ever recorded is one click away? How do you choose a book from the millions that you can discover with a Google Books search? Not only is it all difficult to choose from, we also have to question its accuracy. Anyone with Internet access can upload false information and there is rarely any kind of reviewing process. It is almost second nature to doubt an Internet source. However, th e Internet is a medium by which well known institutes and organizations publish their documents for the widest range of people and the presence of forums allows all information to be publically reviewed, presenting new arguments that one might have not considered oneself. As long as people are vigilant about their sources, in terms of information access, the web must surely be considered a positive. The ease that people can find a vast range of material is far more time efficient and allows people to be much better informed. One of the biggest impacts Internet has had on modern society has been communication. Communication has been improved by the introduction of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Facebook has approximately a billion users. This fact alone emphasises the importance that social networks have had on global communication. The most significant impact the Internet has had is the idea of sending emails and chatting. In the pre-information technology days, a document often required re-typing on the typewriter before the final version. Sending the letter across to someone else required a visit to the post office or letter box and a postage stamp. People are now able to send emails and chat messages with one click. However, some have argued that this increase in online communication has reduced the amount of time that people spend actually talking to each other face to face or on the phone. Also, especially given the introduction of Internet on phones, people are constantly checking their phone and this disrupts proper conversations. Anyone is able to post onto the Internet and as a consequence, in recent years the Internet has faced problems with confidentiality. Google and Facebook have been accused many times of breaching privacy laws and have access to all your searches and Facebook messages. Google is the one most under threat. Both the European Commission and America’s Federal Trade Commission have been investigating allegations that it has unfairly manipulated its search results to favour its own services. The company also stands accused of several other transgressions, including using patents to prevent competition in the smartphone market. It is not only the average Facebook user that has been affected, Governments have also experienced difficulties surrounding privacy on the Internet. The website WikiLeaks has been in the news in recent years as it has leaked confidential government information to newspapers and has posted the information onto their site. The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has faced many charges. The Internet was not created for profit but due to the success of the Internet and the influence it has had on modern society, search engines such as Google and Internet Explorer have now been able to use advertising as a source of income. After advertising, online retail developed through companies such as Amazon and eBay and increased global retailing. These  online sales have had a huge influence on economies, for example ‘in 2006 the USA brought in $170 billion through online retail’ (BBC News) and in 2011 recorded figures of $256 billion. The Internet is estimated to be worth around $2.5 Trillion in 2020 and will continue to grow. The web has had a significant effect on the music industry. The majority of records are bought online, ‘the company Apple have 425 million people using their iTunes Store’ (BBC News) The Internet has caused a transformation in the music industry and has provided artists with more exposure. However, it has also caused the inc rease of illegal downloads such as Limewire and Frostwire. The internet has been a revolutionary technology, and the speed by which it has transformed business is remarkable but after just a single decade of commercialisation, it is unlikely yet to have fully realised its full potential. Now almost every company has a website as ‘Few big businesses can afford not to have an internet site to advertise and sell their wares’ (BBC News) Online businesses have expanded economies and over the years have been beneficial towards society. However, due to the dramatic increase of online retailing, the concern over the possible downfall of the high street shop has been raised, if online retail continues to grow will we see less shops on our streets? The Internet undoubtedly dominates the modern world and the access we now have to information and communication technology has allowed the Internet to move society forward and is beneficial. The Internet is in no way perfect and there are clear problems that need addressing but we must consider that it is relatively new to society and that it will improve in time and that maybe we have not realised its full potential. It has helped economies to flourish. It has allowed people to become more connected to each other, and holds exciting prospects for the future. References -http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21567355-concern-about-clout-internet-giants-growing-antitrust-watchdogs-should-tread -http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5235332.stm (2010) -http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/6207343/Ways-the-web-has-changed-the-world.html Bibliography -The Wealth of Networks by Yochai Benkler -The future of the Internet, and how to stop it by Jonathan Zittrain ( http://futureoftheinternet.org/ -The Net Delusion by Evgeny Morozov

Bad Effects of Electronics Gadget Essay

Gadgets like portable games can have a negative impact on an individual’s health. Technology is an integral part of our day-to-day lives. People all over the world rely on it for things like communication, organization and employment. Not a day goes by when you don’t encounter someone talking on his cell phone, tapping away on a laptop or listening to an MP3 player. While this technology is impressive, there are certain drawbacks in areas like health, public safety and education that should be addressed. Being aware of these dangers can help diminish or reverse these drawbacks. Car Accidents * There is no question that cell phones have become a staple of modern society. Even young children use them, much to the chagrin of their parents or teachers. A common belief is that cell phones can cause adverse effects like brain cancer. However, a study by the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that this is not true. Regardless, there are other hazards. According to the WHO, mobile phones are a serious problem when driving, increasing reaction time between 0.5 and 1.5 seconds. This short span of time can make a world of difference when avoiding a collision. They further state drivers on a phone have trouble judging speed and staying in their lanes. Even hands-free headsets pose a distraction. The WHO concludes that drivers who talk on their cell phones are four times more likely to get in an accident. Hearing Problems * According to the website Healthy Hearing, one-third of teenagers own an MP3 player, such as an iPod. Dr. Craig Kasper, Director of Audiology at the New York Otolaryngology Group, warns that these devices can cause ear damage if used improperly. If the volume is too high or if the individual listens for a long time, hearing damage can happen. Also, earbuds are more dangerous than regular headphones. Healthy Hearing recommends that listeners keep the volume below 70 percent and limit listening time to between 60 and 90 minutes. If you want to listen indefinitely, turn the volume down to 50 percent Physical Injury and Obesity * Hand-held video game consoles are very popular in the developed world. While they can be entertaining, excessive play can be detrimental. One problem is video game addiction, which can be disruptive to a person’s psychological health. Other reported issues include seizures, neck pain, wrist pain and repetitive strain injury. Prolonged use also contributes to a sedentary lifestyle, resulting in obesity. Academic Impact * Text slang, such as â€Å"ur† instead of â€Å"you’re† is commonly used through cell phone texting. However, a recent study shows that kids and teens are actually letting these obscure abbreviations seep into their normal writing. A recent study by Pew Internet in 2008 revealed that 50 percent of students use informal slang in their assignments. Furthermore, 38 percent admit they have used abbreviations in their schoolwork like â€Å"LOL†, which stands for â€Å"laugh out loud†. Additionally, 25 percent say that they use emoticons such as â€Å"smiley faces† in formal writing. The problem has become so apparent that some U.S. politicians are concerned that the English language and sentence structure is being twisted, negatively affecting students’ learning. The Disadvantages of Gadgets on Students Modern technologies like television and computers provide identifiable educational advantages, such as greater access to information and more compelling presentations of that information. Over-use of technology, though, especially such gadgets as cell phones, iPods and video games, presents a whole range of problems which may interfere with a student’s ability to learn and attend to lessons. 1. Social Networking 2. Students who use their computers or cell phones to participate in social networking sites may post material considered inappropriate by school authorities. They may also develop an unfavorable reputation based on those pictures or comments. Pictures of misbehavior can adversely affect their chances of getting into the university of their choice or of getting a job. Addictions * It is easy to become addicted to gaming, texting, talking on the phone or socializing online. Some students may attempt to do this in class, which disrupts their learning, and at home it detracts from study time. Kids putting in long hours on their gadgets will give less attention to assignments and may be irritable when they are away from their gadgets. They might also sleep less, which can slow down their thinking the next day. Creativity * In the past, children and young people filled up their free time by reading books, socializing, or engaging in active, creative play. A fixation on gadgets reduces participation in of all these, especially the aspect of creativity. Digital worlds can be vast, but they are always structured, not requiring the imagination and inventiveness of unstructured play. Some children become less creative and less able to entertain themselves. Health * Persistent use of high-tech gadgetry can lead to a slew of health problems for young and old alike. A sedentary lifestyle discourages exercise and encourages obesity. The back-lit screens used for computers, iPhones and video games can cause eye problems. Walking around everywhere with music blaring directly into your ears brings on headaches and hearing difficulties. The net effect of all these things, plus the pressure of immediate responses to everything, can become stressful. The Negative Impacts of exposure of electronic devices and gadgets to children These advantages may not be obvious or observed in short period of times. However there are some impacts on the usage of the electronic devices and gadgets games. According to the sources from a survey of Kaiser Family Foundation, children are spending an average of more than 7 hours per day on the electronic device which includes television, electronic games, internet and some mobile devices. These data show that, kids today are easily used up more than 50 hours weekly, which means the time consume is more than working hours of an adult, if we take an average of 8 hour per days for 6 working days. Surveys showed that these young kids know how to play with the smart-phone, make a mobile phone calls and even open internet browsers on their own without any aid. However, on the same survey found that there are lesser kids on the same age range know how to tie a shoelace without help or swim unaided. A concern on children may be fluent in technical driven skillset rather than real-life practical skills. The devices and games tend to keep the children out of touch of reality. It is important to children to spend some time for outdoor activity with family and friends. The times spent on the devices may curb some outdoor activities. When the children play violent games for a long period of time, they are tends to be more aggressive, and they are more prone to confront their elderly and teachers. This may not be a good sign, and may let the children easily involved in fighting and verbally scolding with peers. If children spend too much time on the devices, this may affect their studies and school achievements. The more time the spend they are more crazy after the devices and affects their concentration and focus in their school works. The addiction of games may also make them get used to the sedentary lifestyles, and develop unhealthy lifestyle and poor time management and poor eating habits. Abstract Adolescence is the period of transition from childhood to adulthood. W.H.O. has defined adolescents as individuals aged between in 10-19 years. It is the most fertile and most vulnerable segment. Time management is of paramount importance, especially for the overall growth and development of adolescence. The study was conducted on 400 students in the age group of 10-19 years showed that adolescents spend more of the time in personal cleanliness, playing games and watching television. They did not spend any time meditation or remembering God, moral teachings, caring for old persons, and family, patriotic and national values. There is an imperative need to have a strong need based action programme at the level of – Family/Parents/Teachers in schools & community for guiding the adolescent regarding proper time management. Introduction Management means getting things done with optimal resources. It has been a very important tool in the present world to solve any problem to achieve any success or to have the maximum benefits after putting in minimum inputs. In the modern era time is very precious and its proper management of time is the key to success. Recently it has become even more important and complicated after the introduction of modern scientific techniques, gadgets, especially computers. Adolescence is the period of transition from childhood to adulthood. W.H.O. has defined adolescents as individuals aged between in 10-19 years. Not gold but men can make a Nation great & strong† and adolescent is the largest and most rapidly expanding segment of our country. It is the most fertile and most vulnerable segment. Need less to point out that time management is of paramount importance, especially for the overall growth and development of adolescence in our country. Children Spending Time with Gadgets Gadgets have taken the much cherished time and space which was meant for the parents. Children are hooked on to the gadgets and they have no time for other pursuits. Parents also regularly bring new gadgets for their children in keeping with the peer pressure and giving in to the demands. Should we pamper our children with gadgets? How to curb this menace? Read on. My son loves video games. He always wants the latest games as soon as possible. There is also a lot of peer pressure for him to get these gadgets. I feel I am spoiling him by getting him the gadgets he wants. Should I give in to him when he comes up with something new that he just must have? Today, children are a demanding lot. Every day there are more and more exciting gadgets to acquire. Mobile phones, video games, I pods, computers, music systems, there are newer models available by the day. Sometimes, by the time you get around purchasing something, it is already obsolete. In this scenario, how much should we pamper our children? Why Children Tend to Spend More Time with Gadgets? At the outset, as a working mother, you are probably already erring on the side of indulgence. Working mothers tend to feel guilty about their absence from home and are more likely to give in to their children’s demands. Giving in is also easier, since with a dual income, a home with working parents tends to have greater disposable income. Your son’s wants might not seem difficult initially, but be aware that as he grows, the things he craves will get bigger and more expensive. Should Working Mothers Get Gadgets for Kids? You need to ask yourself if your son really needs the new gadget he craves. Will the amount you spend on it make you uncomfortable? You will know in your gut whether your child should have the latest version of a video game. If you decide against buying the new gadget, you need to talk to him about why he should not have it. Compare the cost of that gadget to a poor man’s income. Put its cost into perspective for him. Ask him to buy it out of his own savings! How to Handle Peer Pressure in Case of Purchasing Gadgets? If it is peer pressure that is making him desire this new item, you need to have a long, hard look at his friends. It is natural that your son will have a need to be liked by his peers and fall in with their behaviour patterns. Ideally, his group should have a positive influence on him and should have values similar to his own. He should choose his friends wisely. It is very tough to stand up to peers. Your son will need your affection and guidance. It has been observed that those children who have either low self-esteem or low confidence are more likely to succumb to peer pressure. Therefore you need to build on his own confidence. It is extremely helpful if he develops personal interests outside of the group. How Does the Usage of Gadgets Affect Children? Sometime, we as parents fail to notice the impact the gadgets have on the development of the child. The child gets hooked on to the gadgets and hardly has time for other things in life. He fails to pursue his interests. Suddenly when these gadgets are taken away from them, they feel restless and irritated. Gadgets bring about behavioural changes in the child. The child prefers to be lonely but with his gadget. So what is the solution? Do we give in to the demands? How to Monitor Child’s Gadget Usage? It is high time now to monitor your child before it is too late. Giving in to demands sometimes is okay but there needs to be a good reason for it. The child should be monitored for the hours spent on gadgets and a time should be fixed for this. Giving in to peer pressure should also be avoided.The best option for you as a parent is to talk to him a lot so as to prevent him from feeling isolated. You could also encourage him make new friends. Let him enjoy the beauty and marvels of nature by taking him out on a picnic or for trekking. All of this takes time and patience. So just take it easy. You can prefer the above ways to make sure that the child is spending less time with gadgets. You can also introduce him to other things. Get him involved and interested in hobby classes so that his attention is diverted and his time is spent fruitfully. With that aspect in mind an attempt was made to carry out a cross section study through the medium of schools, in the adolescents. They were si mply asked questions to describe their daily work schedule in relation to their life style and various routine activities If you’re like many mothers of tweens or teens, you probably often find yourself gazing at the faces of your beloved children — as those faces are bathed in the flickering light of the television or the cool glow of the computer. Observing their glassy-eyed stares, it’s hard not to wonder (and worry), What is this screen time doing to their development? We’ve all heard the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics: just one to two hours a day of â€Å"quality† electronic entertainment for children over 2. Yeah, right. In 2010, a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported that most adolescents spend an average of 25 to 30 hours per week watching TV and using computers. And while half of parents surveyed in a 2010 study said they always or often set limits on screen time, 18 percent of their kids really disagreed. â€Å"It’s getting more complicated to measure how much screen time kids are getting,† notes Lisa Guernsey, author of Into the Minds of Babes, a book about children’s use of electronic media. â€Å"We’re no longer talking about the TV in the den that parents can turn off. These days, many teens and tweens have smartphones, laptops, tablets, and iPods that they carry with them.† When you add up the total time kids spend on their electronic devices, you arrive at a truly staggering number: The average American between the ages of 8 and 18 spends more than seven hours a day looking at a screen of some kind, reports a Kaiser Family Foundation study. â€Å"When we conducted a similar survey five years before, we thought children’s screen time couldn’t rise any higher,† says Donald F. Roberts, Ph.D., a Stanford University communications professor who coauthored the study. â€Å"But it just keeps going up and up.† Scientists are now beginning to tease out the effects of all this electronic engagement. Too much screen time may be linked to an increased incidence of risky behaviors, and more social network activity seems to correspond to mood problems among teens. But there’s good news, too. Moderate computer use may be associated with the development of some cognitive and social skills. Here, a closer look at the cons and then the pros of screen time.