Saturday, August 31, 2019

Saya Robot

SAYA ROBOT ABSTRACT This Article describes an electronic mechanical machine with a Tele-operated android robot named SAYA. A robot is an electro- mechanical device which maybe appears as humanoid and it can performs tasks automatically. It may be done by using a remote control or a computer interface. The Branch of Technology that deals with Robots is called ROBTICS. It was found in the daily lives for example; the pet-type robot named AIBO, and a mental therapy robot and its effectiveness for elderly people. But the first uses of modern robots have been built by William Grey Walter in 1961s as industrial robots.THE ANDROID ROBOT SAYA After 15 years of research by Saya's developer Hiroshi Kobayashi, the Professor at Tokyo University of Science; Saya is being tested as a teacher and it is being trialed at a primary school in Tokyo. After working as a receptionist and secretary. Also the robot Saya already used as traffic wardens and one is even being developed to provide company to Al zheimer's sufferers. She can speak multiple- languages; also can express some basic emotions like surprise, disgust, smile, sadness. Because her face has simple structure and basically consists of mechanical frame and facial skin.SAYA THE ROBOT TEACHER In the classroom, there are Saya and some control equipment and the control system of Saya requires a compressor and electronic equipments. In the other side, there's an operation room with two monitors one of them is used for the control, and the other one used for the observation. Saya is able to assign tasks to students, as well as perform facial expressions to denote her current mood. She also able to catch students passing notes in class, as well as plagiarizing one another’s homework. The operator is able to hear students from the speakers and respond to students as well.THE MAIN PURPOSES OF SAYA ROBOT The robot's main purpose was to encourage children to be interested in science and technology; it's also expected to cont ribute to children's motivation to learn, in addition; it would benefit schools suffering from a shortage of human teachers. The robot was originally developed for companies who want to cut costs by replacing office workers such as secretaries and receptionists with an android. BIBLIOGRAPHY LIST – cdn. intechweb. org/pdfs/19461. pd – http://www. news. com. au/news/saya-robots-new-job-as-a-schoolteacher/story-fna7dq6e-1111119087968

Friday, August 30, 2019

Assignment On Aspects of Contract and Negligence for Business Essay

Introduction: A business organization has to face many criteria to conduct business in the worldwide business arena. Different domestic and international rules and regulations help to expand business and sometimes create barrier to the business. The law has an incredible effect over the business organization and others social working groups of the organization. Law helps to determine what is right or what is wrong for conducting a business organization. Contract is a part of the business transaction. Contract is an agreement between two or more parties each of whom has the intention to create a legal relation to have a lawful object between them. Contract is regulated by law that is enforceable by the court and legal jurisdictions. Contract is more used in the partnership business where each party has a common goal, trust one another and a specific time period. Q1.1: What are the essential elements of forming a valid contract? Explain the importance of each element by providing relevant legal principles derived from decided cases: An agreement that can be enforced by law is considered as a contract (Jones v.Daniel 1894). An agreement is enforceable by law when it fills up certain conditions that are regarded as essential element of valid contract. Essential elements are: Offer and Acceptance, Lawful Consideration, Intention to create Legal Relationship, Certainty: Offer Offer is crucial element for a contract, is very important that the offeror  to intend to for a term as an expression of willingness to enter in to a contract, contract which will became lawful upon acceptance. (Gibson V Manchester City Council (1979)1 WLR 294 HL) Acceptance An acceptance is a willingness that the offeree agree to all the terms of the offeror has made. Also the acceptance must be ‘mirror image’ of the offer. (Day Morris Associates v Voyce 2003 EWCA civ 189). If the offeree try to set up new terms on the offer, this normally is a counter offer which will kill the original offer. (Hyde v Wrench 1840). Lawful Consideration: Consideration is defined as an acts or a promise of a payment or charge or value which is called ‘Consideration’ made from promisor to the promise or both. (Currie v Misra 1875) An agreement should be based on the ‘freedom of contact theory’ of all parties. Free consent is hampered when coercion, mistake, fraud and misrepresentation are made. (Chappell & Co. v Nestle 1960 AC). Intention to create Legal Relationship: A legal relation is created through the agreement that is intended. An agreement to sell or buy a product is agreement intended to make legal relationship and is therefore contract. A contact may not be valid if the participants they are not intending to create legal relation. (Balfour v Balfour 1919). Domestic and Social contracts are not considered to be a legal relation. (Jones v Padavatton 1966). Also commercial agreements is normally considered that is made in a business context and automatically is an intention to create legal relation. (Case: Esso petroleum v Commissioner of customs and Excise 1976). Family agreements can be enforceable if there is a clearly made in to a ‘business contect’(Snelling v John G Snelling ltd 1973). Certancy As a contract to be valid it must contain terms of the contract and if a important term is hidden that contract will not be lawfull. Q1.2: Describe different types of contract usually undergone in business context. Critically analyze the legal impact of distance selling contract. Sales contracts, Employment contracts, Marketing contracts, Licensing Sales contracts are made between companies to companies and to private person to a  private persons, can be goods or services. Employment contracts is an agreement from employer to employee with terms of payments, benefits, period of time, rights and obligations. Marketing contracts are normally made from business to business or from persons to business to promote products and services to the general public or to business. Licensing contract is used normally to transfer rights to an individual to be able to licensee goods and services in regime of trade mark. Distance selling contract regulations: sellers give certain basic information to customer, deliver goods within 30 days, and provide customers a right to cancel their order. All business must comply with the ‘Sale of Goods Act’ Q1.3: Analyze the contrasting aspects of different kind of terms generally used in a commercial contract. 200 words The lawfulness of commercial contract based on different kind of terms. These terms are considered as implied and express terms. Four categories of implied terms (Porter v Tottenham U.D.C1915) are: Terms Implied by fact: Under this term court believe that both parties of the contract know about the fact. Terms implied in law: Under this term court indicate a specific law of defined type in the contract. That law protects the weaker party in the contract. Terms implied by custom: In this term, local custom is applied on the contract. Terms implied by trade usage: Terms regularly used in contracts within a particular business can be im plied on other such contract. Express terms are: a) Oral contract b) Written contract c) Parole evidence role d) Collateral contract There are three types of contractual terms: a) Condition: Major term of contract. Serious consequence occurs when it is broken. (Poussard v Spiers and pond 1876) b) Warranties: Under this term an affected party can sue for damage when it is breached but cannot terminate the contract. c) In nominate term: If this type of term is breached serious or negligible result can occur depending on the particular fact. ‘Implied terms are more sensitive to deal with than express terms in a business contract’ – how far would you agree with this comment? In contract implied terms refers to terms that are not directly written in the contract but are introduced into contract by the court or by statute. Express terms are conditions that are directly written and agreed by both parties at the time of contract made. As the terms are not mentioned in the contract, it is more sensible to deal with during conflict than express terms. Task 2: Application of Contracts in Business Situations Q2.1: (a) Green Pharma put an advertisement in a trade journal stating: ‘for the wholesale buyers only, our ‘new moisturizing creams’ are now at a special low price of  £10 per dozen.’ Mr Khan, one of Green Pharma’s trusted vendors, rushed to one of your show room and wanted to place a large order. Meanwhile the company made a new decision not to sell the creams any more. Mr Khan became cross and he wished to pursue a legal action against the company. Advice Green Pharma about the possible legal consequence. Justify your comments with reference to similar case precedents. In the given business scenario Green put an advertisement to sell its new moisturizing cream at a special low price Green Pharma was making only an invitation to treat. ((Partridge v Crittenden (1968) 1 WLR 1204). As a result Mr. Khan one of the trusted vendors rushed to one of the show room and wanted to place a large order but he was refused to give order. As a result he wished to pursue a legal action against the company. Mr. Khan wanted to make an offer to Green Pharma to buy the goods but was no acceptance from the company therefore was not valid contract, in event of seeking legal action from Mr Khan will not affect Green Pharma in any way legally. (b) You work into the night to complete ‘an important report’ for your immediate boss, Tania. Tania is very pleased with the report and says ‘I know you have worked very hard on this, I will make sure there’s an extra  £200 in your pay at the end of the month. Can you enforce this promise? 100 words In the given situation you can’t make lawsuit against Tania although it is a oral promise that is done with spoken words. Tania makes a statement or promise which we can call consideration but that consideration was completed before Tania has made her promise. We called this situation past consideration so it can be a lawfull consideration (Re McArdle 1951). (c) Joe works in the purchase department of Green Pharma. He lives near to you. By an agreement he provides you with a lift to work in return for a contribution towards the petrol. Would this contract be legally enforceable? Justify your answer with legal arguments. In the above situation Joe can’t be enforced in this contract legally due to lack of intention to create legal relation, furthermore the agreement was done in a social context, if in event to seek legal action the court will not enforce this agreement (Balfour b Balfour 1919) Q2.2: Alban is the business development manager of Green Pharma. Four months ago he bought a ‘Landmaster’ car from Brenda’s Garage Ltd for use in his business activities. He paid  £12,500 for the car and was given a written guarantee in the following terms. ‘Brenda’s Garage Ltd guarantees that, for three months from the date of purchase, it will put right free of charge any defects in the vehicle which cannot be discovered on proper examination at the time of purchase. Thereafter all work and materials will be charged to the customer.’ The sales manager recommended to Alban that he should take out the ‘special extended warranty’ under which, for payment of  £350, the car would have been guaranteed in respect of all defects for a further two years, but Alban declined. Last week the engine and gearbox seized up. The repairs will cost  £2,000. Advise Alban. Would your answer differ if he bought the car only for his personal use? In the given scenario I think there would be difference between contracts whether it is made with personally or commercially. All contracts are made up with the essential elements. When Alban purchases a Landmaster car from Brenda’s Garage ltd for use in business activities, he made a legal contract through offer and acceptance, and a written agreement. It also includes the  consideration in the contract that defines each party to the agreement gets something. There was the existence of the certainty element of the contract through which Brenda indicates for three month from the date of purchase they will provide warranty service of the car. If Alban purchase the car for personal use he would make a contract with the seller of the by maintaining the element of the valid contract. Alban can not make a claim for compensation of the car if want it to do that because was outside of the warranty was given. Although if Alban would buy the car for personal use he has the right to l awsuit against the Brenda’ to recover the cost repair due to Sale Goods Act implied terms of satisfactory quality. Q2.3: Explain the effects of the following in the running of a Pharmaceutical company such as Green Pharma: a) Breach of conditions, and, innominate terms Breach of condition: Condition is the basic term of contract we also can call it hart of the contract. When condition is breached, the affected party can sue as well as end the contract and claim for damages. Warranty: Warranties as a secondary condition can be a specific kind of terms representation of fact that the law can enforce against the warrantors. If a warranty is breached the victim party can only demand for compensation but cannot end the contract, therefore Green Pharma offer replacements which will conduct to damages only. Innominate terms: As a result of such breach the innocent party is deprived of the whole benefit of the contract. The inexperience vendors will be entitled to repudiate the contract and to get compensations (Hong kong fir shipping co. ltd v Kawasaki kisen kaisha ltd (1962) b) Legality of exemption clauses. Please include relevant examples to explain different aspects of the terms. 200 words An exemption clause is a term in the contract made by one party to protect them from lawsuit done by other party for damage,loss,negligence or non-performance etc. It is done usually by the party who draft the agreement. For example, a digital camera shop use exemption clause in their selling document where they accept no liability for any damaged camera after selling it to customer. Thecourt generally describes exemption clauses narrowly to see if it is logical in specific perspective. An exemption clause can be included and bound into a contract if it is written in a signed contractual document; it does not fact whether  the party understands it. Task 3: Principles of Liability in Business Negligence Q3.1: In what aspects, liabilities in tort are different from contractual liabilities? Give examples of ‘duty of care’ in the context of someday- to- day situations. Explain the concept of ‘causation’ and ‘remoteness’ in the tort of negligence. 220 words Tortuous liability is more imposed in nature whereas Contractual liability is freedom. Contractual liability holds more privacy than liabilities in tort (Fleming, 1984). Sole proprietorship and Partner in partnership are responsible for the tort committed by them and torts committed by the business. In the contractual liability parties are engaged with one another by mutual consent which is conducted by the contract. On the other hand, the relationship in the tortuous liability is imposed by the law, the defendant must responsible the claimant a duty of care. The basic contrast between the contractual liability and the liability in tort is that the first is the result of agreement whereas the second is the result of law. Day to day examples of duty of care: a) Keepers of dangerous pets will hold a duty of care to people who will be likely to be affected. b) Lorry drivers owes a duty of care to his goods that it’s delivering. According to the law, duty of care is a legal responsibility that is applied on an individual requiring maintains a reasonable care during completing a specific task to overtake any acts that make jeopardize others. Duty of care is done by a employer to his employees, by a traffic police to the pedestrian, by a supplier to the manufacturer for the quality of the raw materials etc. Causation defines and determines the extension of liability. Causation is the indicator through which one party proves that another party makes loss to them that is considered before damages. It may be difficult to prove when there is more than one cause. Remoteness determines how much a defendant is responsible for his wrongful doings. A defendant must make up the damages or loss if it is within the reasonable consideration. Q3.2: Explain the nature of liability in negligence by giving reference to  different scenarios. Negligence is not intentional tort but accidental. Negligence liability holds that defendant know about the probable risk that can occur damage largely to the injured party. Here the injured party does not know about the risk before it happens. Negligence liability also assumes that the defendant has control power over the probable risk of harms that caused the plaintiff injury. (Lewis, R., Morris, A. and Oliphant, K.2006).For example, negligence liability occurs when a landlord sell a portion of his property to a customer although knowing about the legality problem in the property documents that may cause serious damage in future if any legal issues increases. In this situation the buyer of the property will know about the problem and damages after the occurrence happens. Another example, negligence liability occurs when a nurse does not mention the medicine to the patient who has no knowledge about the medicine causing the patient take wrong medicine. Q3.3: Explain the legal requirements to hold employers vicariously liable for the torts committed by their employees. Vicarious liability in English law is a doctrine that applies rigorous liability on the employers for the wrongdoing of their employees (CRC-Evans Canada Ltd. v. Pettifer1997). In this perspective, the person who is vicariously liable is free from blame although the person is legally responsible. An employer is vicariously responsible for doing the conduct of employees or a group of employees, agents, supervisors or managers, a person deployed by the firm disturbing a member, workplace participant etc. The provision of the vicarious liability refers to the to the legislation that applies if the person was an employee and not from a contractor or agency. (Mersey Docks & Harbour Board v Coggins and Griffiths Ltd 1947). We can consider tort of an employee if occurs to connection with the person’s employment. Without taking all responsibilities the employers may be held liable for the actions of the employees. (Limpus v London General Omnibus Co 1862) Also we may have another situation where the driver of a bus company is not in his course of employment where is injures passengers it can not be responsible for the accident. (Beard v London General Omnibus Co 1900) Courts attribute to the employer where the employers’ objectives do not reach in the absence of the employee’s serious risk which has committed. So,  there are some close connection between the tortuous act of the employee and the circumstances of his employment to establish a vicarious liability. Examples of vicarious liability are: employees seize the goods of the firm. Task 4: Application of Principles of Liability in Business Situations Q4.1: By applying the relevant legal principles answer the following: (a) what is the level of duty of care to be shown by (1) a learner driver (2) a Chinese herbal doctor working in England and (3) Junior doctor in a hospital? The duty of care refers to the principle that the duty to take responsible care to avoid foreseeable injury to a neighbor. A learner driver Must know the rules and regulations of the traffic and level of care is not been different from all other drivers. (Nettleship v Weston 1971). Understand the possible magnitude of the probable harm or injury occurred on roads. Know the importance of the social value of this activity. Chinese herbal doctor A doctor must mention reasonable harm and can not be considered a full doctor therefore is not grade of comparison. (Shakoor v Situ 2004). The relationship between the defendant and the claimant about proximate cause. A junior doctor To practice under the supervision of senior doctor (Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee 1957). Maintain reasonable standard of the profession. Avoid negligence actions for medical malpractices. Know the bad effect of malpractice that causes harm or injury. (b) Green Pharma engages Mr Ken, a local electrician, to rewire its office. Two weeks later Leo, a visitor, is electrocuted. Discuss Green Pharma’s liability in tort. Would your answer differ if Green Pharma put the following notice at the entrance: ‘Persons entering these premises do so at their own risk’? 125 words A tort liability is the legal obligation of a party which causes to suffer or loss someone as a result of a civil wrong or injury. Green Pharma has experience in defending clients, variety of personal injury. In this scenario it is found that one of the visitors has attacked by the electrocuted. There was a rule to set up a notice for awareness. But due to  negligence of the employee the notice was not hung. As a result, the Green Pharma is responsible for the accident of the visitors. The visitors can sue for getting the compensation of the damage. If there was the rule in the entrance: ‘Persons entering these premises do so at their own risk’. In this perspective the visitor should follow the notice in the entrance. If not follow Green Pharma will not responsible for the accident. The visitor cannot sue against the company for getting the compensation for the damage. Q4.2: (a) John is a van driver employed by Green pharma. While on his rounds, he stops to collect his own television from a repair shop. He parks his van carelessly and it moves off, injuring Kelly, a pedestrian. Is Green Pharma vicariously liable? Vicarious liability indicates a situation where someone is liable for the acts of another person. In this business scenario John is van driver employed by Green Pharma who use the van for his personal use to carry a television from a repair shop. As he parks the van carelessly that resulting injured Kelly a pedestrian, the pedestrian can sue against the Green Pharma because the owner of the van is the Green Pharma who not is vicariously liable for the injury of the pedestrian. Beard v London General Omnibus Co 1900 (b) Robert, who is a security guard in Green Pharma’s head office, has been encouraged by the company to keep order by force – if necessary. One night he grabbed one MrMattis on suspicion and stabbed him in the back. Discuss the potential vicarious liability of Green Pharma. 100 words Here Green Pharma plays the role of the employer and Robert is the employee of this. Green Pharma is vicariously liable for the act of the Robert because he has done the action encouraged by the company to protect his job. Seemingly, Green Pharma is free from the blame but it is legally liable for the negligence of the employee. As a result Mr.Mattis affected by stabbing can demand for the compensation that must be paid by the company. Many employers are not aware that they can be liable for a range of actions done by their employee in the course of their employment. Conclusion: To regulate and expand the business the importance of law is increasing day by day. The capacities and culture of the different organization and nations are not same. Law provides the fundamental understanding of the negotiation  deals that is required in the business. Legitimate contract helps to debate settlement of the business organization in the court by legal jurisdictions. Top management of a organization should know the reasonable information about the various elements of the agreement to understand and get important point in the business arena. References: 1. Burrows, A. (1995), ‘Solving the Problem of Concurrent Liability’ Current Legal Problems 103. 2. Fleming, J. (1984), ‘Comparative Law of Torts’ 4 OJLS 235. 3. Lewis, R., Morris, A. and Oliphant, K. (2006), ‘Tort Personal Injury Claims Statistics: Is There a Compensation Culture in the United Kingdom?’ 2 JPIL 87. 4. Markesinis, B. S. (1987), ‘An Expanding Tort Law – The Price of a Rigid Contract Law’ 103 LQR 354. 5. Stapleton, J. (1985), ‘Compensating Victims of Diseases’ 5 OJLS 248. 6. Whittaker, D.H. (1990) Managing Innovation: A Study of British and Japanese Factories, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 7. Wedderburn, Lord (1986) The Worker and the Law, 3rd edn, London: Penguin. 8. Waddington, J. (1992) Trade union membership in Britain, 1980–1987: unemployment and restructuring, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 30(2): 7–15. 9. Simpson, B. (1986) Trade union immunities. In Lewis, R. (ed.) (1986) Labour Law in Britain, 10. Oxford: Blackwell. 11. CRC-Evans Canada Ltd. v. Pettifer(1997) 12. Porter v TottenhamU.D.C(1915) Jones v.Daniel (1894) 2 Ch. 332].

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Workplace Writing Report Lab Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Workplace Writing - Lab Report Example Technical writing holds immense importance in the field of software engineering because in order to write the conceptual overviews, procedures, reading and writing example codes, proposals, a sound knowledge of technical writing is required. In order to provide a greater link between technical writing and software engineering, I performed an interview of Mor Harchol- Balter who is a Professor of Computer Science and provides a closer look at the use of technical writing in the field of software engineering. Mor Harchol- Balter, a Professor of Computer Science at the Carnegie Mellon University, received her doctorate from the Computer Science department at the University of California at Berkeley in 1996. Following this, she spent three years in MIT under the NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mathematical Sciences. She has not only received multiple best paper awards but also numerous teaching awards as well. She is currently serving as the Associate Department Head for Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. On Wednesday April 15, 2015, at 2:30 PM, a formal request was sent to Dr. Mor Harchol- Balter coupled with a sample of 10 interview questions which were to be covered during the interview. The formal request was sent via email. Dr. Mor Harchol- Balter responded to the formal invite at 5:45 PM on April 17, 2015. Her response included a time and date for the interview. The interview took place at the EUSES lab at the Oregon State University, on April 19, 2015 starting at 10:00 AM and ending at 10:30 AM. Over a period of 30 minutes, we discussed her current writings, her goal and also her previous experiences. Dr. Balter also showed a sample document. However, since the sample being a project proposal was not permitted by Dr.Balter to be reproduced or copied, the sample was analyzed and a similar sample was attached in Appendix B. An email thanking Dr. Balter was sent after the

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

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

Summarize - Essay Example This is a characteristic feature which may be found in many under developed and developing countries. The topic of infant mortality is discussed in detail with the help of statistics. The infant mortality rates are much higher in the developing and under developed countries. The young children are plagued by diseases causing early deaths. Much of the diseases can be cured but the lack of awareness and the absence of healthcare facilities lead to such problems. It is found that many children have to face deaths due to simple problems such as fever and dehydration. Many of the diseases which are the result of deaths in such areas can actually be cured. However, the absence and ignorance leads to such problems of high infant mortality rates. Due to this a severe problem comes up in such societies- over population. Due to the high infant mortality rates the parents tend to have more children expecting that from amongst them a few will survive the risks of infant mortality. However, more than enough children survive increasing the family size. Some professors and experts have pointed out that income and mortality rates were linked. A fall in incomes leads to greater mortality rates and vice versa. This is due to the simple reason that increasing income improves the standard of living. One of the main reasons for the high infant mortality rates is the problem of hunger. The people in poor countries are faced by the problems of hunger and malnutrition which results in them being prone to diseases. The daily calorie intake is said to be one-third lower for the poorest five countries when compared to the richest five countries (Easterly, 11). The poorer families already low on cash and are always taking loans from one place or the other to support their families. This results in debt bondage where the family members are in a position of debts. As a result, even the children have to go out and work in order to bring in the funds for survival. This increases the hardships on the children as they are putting in extra effort and there is little to eat. This reduces the energy and may cause malnutrition amongst the children. When there is little work available most of it is taken up by young males. The females then often resort to prostitution. This is one of the most discussed questions in many countries. Apart from prostitution females are also subject to oppression in many under developed countries. A story is related in the end telling the hardships of the poor and their sufferings. People are made to realize that today it is very difficult to leave something and move on in life. Nowadays the poor not even have the land or the resources to get back from their doomed situations. The reason for discussing these questions of mortality rates, oppression of the women, slavery and poor healthcare in economics is to point out the importance of economic growth. Much of this could be avoided by increasing GDP and GNP per capita as increasing incomes increas es the standard of living. Thus this can be a way for overcoming these issues which are being faced by many people worldwide. Summary of Chapter 2 This chapter begins with another example this time of Ghana, which was the first colony which became independent from the African colonies. Ghana had a good start because of the aid money invested into their economy by the foreigners mainly the British, Americans and Germans. The concept which is mentioned

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

The comparison of Lukoil & BP Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

The comparison of Lukoil & BP - Case Study Example The company registered thelargest trading volumes among foreign companies tradedon the London Stock Exchange (IOB) in 2005 and at home, the Russian Trading System - also in 2005. Sales coverage includes the 59 regions Russia and 16 other countries -Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Finland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia, Romania, Czech Republic, Estonia, and the USA. Distribution operational capacity stood at 199 tank farms and 5,405 gas stations by the end of the year 2004. This includes 779 Mobil gas stations throughout the USA (LUKOIL, 2006a). BP was formerly known as British Petroleum and is a British energy company with headquarters in London. After merging with the Amoco Corporation, the company was named "BP Amoco". After a single year of joint operations, the company drop the Amoco name and BP now stood for "Beyond Petroleum". The company is regarded as one of the oil, natural gas and petrol leaders in the world. In the 2006 Fortune Global 500 list of companies, BP was ranked 4th in the world for turnover with sales at $268 billion which was down from 2nd in 2005 and 1st among oil companies the. The 2006 Forbes Global 2000 ranked BP as the 8th largest company in the world with profits in 2005 amounting to $22.341 billion. The number of service stations stood at 28,500 with 15,900 based in the USA alone. Proven reserves amount to 18.3 billion barrels of oil and gas (57/43 percentage distribution). The company is active in 26 countries with production activities in 22 of them. (BP, 2006b) Methodology In this paper, we will be comparing which company between LUKOIL and BP is more investment equitable. BP, having been in the business since 1889 (Amoco), has established itself as the foremost leader in the global oil industry as we have seen in the company's profile. However, as we will be seeing later, LUKOIL has seen a tremendous growth in performance. The BP, being well established in the industry, has certain advantages over LUKOIL such as business management expertise honed by years in the industry and a larger market share and production capacities. But this edge may very well be overcome with the current performance of LUKOIL. To determine which of the two will be more equitable, we will be looking into the financial health of the company especially the equity returns. We will also be considering the economic trends and the political factors that affects the profitability of LUKOIL and BP as these are major determinants of the risk involved in investing in the company.. Special focus will be given to the developments in Russia, which have contributed to the tremendous growth of LUKOIL. Equity Profile LUKOIL Return on Equity Profile (LUKOIL, 2006c): 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Equity, mln USD 12,385 14,000 17,472 20,811 26,804 Net Income, mln USD 2,109 1,843 2,571 4,248 6,443 Return On Equity, % 18.4 14.0 16.3 22.2 27.1 BP OIL Return on Equity Profile (BP, 2006a): _________________________ 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Equity, mln USD 63,251 68,254 75,524 81,456 86,647 Net Income, mln U

Monday, August 26, 2019

Stem Cells Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Stem Cells - Research Paper Example Stem Cells are specialized and powerful cells found in the body. The stem cells are non-differentiated cells, and have the potentiality of differentiating to form other cells. In the process of differentiation of the stem cells, they divide through mitosis. The stem cells in adults can be harvested from three main areas. The bone marrow is a special area where the cells can be extracted. From the bone marrow, the cells are harvested by drilling through the bones of the iliac crest or the femur where the stem cells are in abundance. Other than the bone marrow, adipose tissue (lipid cells) is another of the key areas where stem cells could be harvested. The stem cells from the adipose tissues are harvested through the means of liposuction. Additionally, the stem cells can be extracted from the blood tissues. The process of extraction of stem cell from the blood is called apheresis. In this process, blood is drawn from a donor similar to the typical blood donation mechanism, but in this procedure, the blood is flown through a specialized machine that separates the stem cells from the blood (Rodriguez et al., 2005). Apart from extraction of stem cells from mature adults, the cells can be gotten from the umbilical cord and are usually extracted immediately at birth. Of all the means through which the stem cells can be harvested, it is safer when a stem cell from an individual is implanted to the same individual. In this means, a stem cell from one part of the body (bone) can be transplanted to another. Implantation of auto stem cells decreases the risk of immune sensitivity and immune rejection of the implanted stem cells (Blanpain et al., 2012). Contrary to other cells of the body, stem cells are unspecialized. In this essence, the stem cells are capable of self-renewal through cell division, especially after a long period of inactivity. Another classical difference between stem cells and other cells of

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Victorian internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Victorian internet - Essay Example The telecommunication we have today is an extension of that breakthrough. In his book, Standage goes in to detail about how that early form of communication was similar to the one we have today. Telegraph gave way to what we could call as ‘the first online dating service’. Telegraph operators would use the service for their own personal use and soon to follow were the first ‘online affairs’. The Victorian internet had social, political and economic implications. The telegraph was the first ever network.  Its growth during the time is comparable to the growth the modern day internet saw during the 1990’s.  This growth gave rise to competition.  Patents for proprietary property were as important then as they are today. Also, both the eras saw massive investments followed by explosive growth.   (Book Review: The Victorian Internet, 2007) Security and privacy are 2 of the biggest concerns when it comes to telecommunication. Today we have firewalls, logins, passwords and encryption. These existed back then as well, in fact, that is when it all began. Concerns about lines, routes, wires and operators existed even back then. The telegraph created the first ever online social network, with telegraph operators being a part of an exclusive group of people with their own short-hand jargon compared to the one that exists today in e-mails, instant messaging etc. both the internet and the telegraph of the 19th century can be compared to in terms of defying distance. It served its primary purpose which was the transfer of news and information faster than anything at the time or that had existed in the recent past, like land and sea-routes. It changed the notion that nothing could reach a ship’s destination faster than the ship it self. (Review of "The Victorian Internet", by Tom Standage) Many would say that the telegraph failed at one of its

Saturday, August 24, 2019

To Cut or Not to Cut Routine Infant Circumcision Essay

To Cut or Not to Cut Routine Infant Circumcision - Essay Example His birth itself makes him a Jewish or a Muslim; depending on the family he has taken birth into (Gollaher 24). However, in recent years, the ethics of an unnecessary surgical procedure which essentially disfigures normal male anatomy and may, in fact, create sexual problems down the road for an otherwise healthy male, has groups across the country lobbying to get the procedure outlawed (Fleiss et al 364). Even though a prominent group of pediatricians believes that the advantages of circumcision are more numbered than the risks involved, the American Academy of Pediatrics believes that the medical gains of circumcision are not up to that extent that the risks involved may be overlooked and it (circumcision) may be recommended (Somerville 20). According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, â€Å"the topic cuts across many paradigms in your life – cultural, religious, ethnic, family tradition, aesthetic. We are not in a position to make recommendations on those paradigmsâ₠¬  (Freedman). Moreover, in countries like Canada a physician might land himself in legal problems if he/she undertakes the circumcision of a child even though it is with the consent of the child’s parents (Somerville 34). Some scholars believe that the reasons behind the circumcision practice are different than being religious. Like for example David Gollaher claims that male circumcision has its origins from the practice of castration done on male attendants of the ‘harems’ in order to keep them inoffensive and harmless. The main aim was to preserve the chastity of the female inmates of the ‘harem’. Gradually, the castration was transformed to circumcision and it became a practice which some people wrapped in a religious cover. Gollaher further claims that girls were circumcised in order to diminish their sexual urge on puberty. This again was done in order to keep their chastity intact. Due to this very reason, there still are areas where girl ci rcumcision is practiced as a custom (Gollaher 194). But Abusharaf does not agree with this view. According to him, such actions cannot guarantee chastity. It is the upbringing and the will power of the girl that will reflect in her actions (her chastity). Moreover, it is against the teachings of Christianity to harm or tyrannize one’s body in order to achieve certain virtues (Abusharaf 184). The parents’ decision regarding circumcision of their children should be regarded as final. Parents may consult their doctors for proper advice. They should properly understand the pros and cons of circumcision and only then should they decide about circumcision. As compared to the 1970s and 1980s, when the rate of circumcision was about 80 percent, by the year 2010, the rate had drastically fallen down to 55 percent. It is worth mentioning here that some studies have warned that such lower rates of circumcision might lead to elevated rates of sexually transmitted diseases. It is a stonishing to note the findings of the study that within the next 10 years or so, such infections might cost the exchequer of the United States health department billions of dollars (Freedman). Some people have opposed the practice of circumcision simply due to the reason that it mutilates an important male organ and decreases sexual sensation. Freedman strongly refutes such claims as being baseless and inadequately studied.There are certain common problems, even though of lesser importance, that may arise due

Building Services and Sustainable Engineering - PROJECT PROPOSAL Dissertation

Building Services and Sustainable Engineering - PROJECT PROPOSAL - Dissertation Example ........................................................... Topic Registration Approved by CL YES/NO Supervisor approved/allocated YES/NO ............................................................ Student notified: Date: Contents Contents 2 1.INTRODUCTION 3 1.1 DESCRIPTION 5 1.2 ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE 5 1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 5 1.4 AIMS OF THE PROJECT: 5 1.5 JUSTIFICATION 6 2.LITERATURE REVIEW 6 3. METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN 9 3.1 QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN 9 3.2 SAMPLE AND DATA COLLECTION 10 3.3 DATA ANALYSIS 11 4.WORK PLAN 11 5.REFERENCES 12 Ajzen, I., (2011), The theory of planned behaviour: reactions and reflections. Psychol Health 26: 1113-1127 12 1. INTRODUCTION Energy saving is a trend and no citizen is against it. Since people save energy and use energy in the right way, the next generation will benefit. Consequently, teenagers are encouraged to actively participate in minimizing energy wastage by being educated on the importance of energy saving. The government of Hong K ong has been actively championing the important role to put effort towards energy efficiency in Hong Kong. Hence, the government of Hong Kong which will be referred to as â€Å"the government†, has been prompted to introduce a voluntary Energy Efficiency Labeling Scheme (EELS), which from now henceforth will be referred to as â€Å"the scheme†, which covers quite a number of appliances and equipments. The government, through the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), gives the scheme for equipment and appliances used at home as well as in the office. In order to promote environmentally responsible products, the people of Hong Kong, importers as well as manufactures are encouraged to join the scheme. There are labels that are issued with the main aim of providing information on energy consumption as well as efficiency to help making better a decision when people are considering purchasing such appliances and equipment. One of such labels is the Coefficien t of Performance (COP). The Coefficient of Performance (COP) is a measurement of efficiency, which measures the amount of power input to a system compared to the amount of power output by the same system. The COP has no dimension because the input and the output are both measured in Watt. The theoretical value of Coefficient of Performance (COP) of the energy-saving household appliances should be well labeled for the customer. Additionally, the government has also introduced a mandatory Energy Efficiency Labeling Scheme (EELS) to extend the public’s choice as far as energy efficient appliances are concerned. Therefore, public awareness on energy saving will be raise. 1.1 DESCRIPTION The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) is promoting the Energy Efficiency Labeling Scheme (EELS) to among the people of Hong Kong. Various household appliances as well as office equipment will incorporate a given energy label which will be informing the consumer of the products e nergy consumption and efficiency. Since the consumers are made aware of this scheme, they should be able to purchase such household appliances or office equipment. 1.2 ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE The push by Hong Kong’

Friday, August 23, 2019

Network Infrastructure Basics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Network Infrastructure Basics - Assignment Example This device allows one to place phone calls over the internet to any phone all over the globe. One fascinating thing about the VoIP is that the phone one is calling does not need to have VoIP for communication to take place. What is required is that the people being called should also be able to receive calls over the internet. In addition, interconnected VoIP services also allow one to make and receive calls to and from traditional landline numbers at no fee. Desantis (2008) notes that some VoIP services require the use of dedicated VoIP phones or computers, while others allow an individual to use landline phones to place VoIP calls through a special adapter. The other pros of the VoIP are that its usage is generally cost effective. Nevertheless, just like the threats facing internet users, new threats, scams and attacks that are unique to telephony are currently emerging and should be mitigated for effectiveness. IP or Internet protocol addresses are necessary if hosts have to communicate on networks that are IP based (Sinclair & Fong, 2002). The IP address is a set of four octets with each octet separated by a period. An example of an ID address is 172. 162. 54.12. When configuring an IP address, certain conditions should be met. The address includes both the host and network addresses. The subnet mask identifies the network portion of the address. When assigning IP addresses, each host must be assigned a unique IP address. When there are several hosts on the same network, each of them should have an IP address with the network portion being the same. The range of IP addresses that can be assigned to hosts in a network are subject to the network mask. 5. If you want to manually configure DNS server addresses, click Use the following DNS server addresses, and then type the preferred DNS server and alternate DNS server IP addresses in the Preferred DNS server and Alternate DNS server boxes. 1. To resolve an unqualified name by appending the

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Project Management and Virtual Teams Essay Example for Free

Project Management and Virtual Teams Essay Athabasca University Abstract Due to advanced communication technologies, globalization and outsourcing most of the project management teams are based on groups of individuals called virtual teams who work across time and space using communication technologies. Members of virtual teams may be employees of same company from same country, or they can be contractors, suppliers and company employees around the globe. Managing projects using virtual teams have some advantages and disadvantages. Also several studies have been done to try to determine the factors that are positively co-related to the effectiveness of virtual teams (Schwalbe, 2011). To manage virtual teams successfully in project management, the project manager must manage these factors successfully and also minimize the impact of disadvantages. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the virtual teams in project management and outlines the factors that are positively correlated to the success of projects based on virtual teams. The paper also outlines some of the recommendations to successfully manage the virtual team in information technology projects. Keywords Globalization, outsourcing, virtual teams, video conferencing, telecommuting, Project Management, Trust and relationship, Advantages of Virtual teams, Disadvantages of virtual team. Introduction Imagine that you are a project manager in a multinational organization and managing a project to upgrade the server operating system and your team members are from different countries with different cultures and working in different time zones. To complete the project successfully that is based on virtual teams, project manager must understand the advantages and disadvantages of managing virtual teams and factors that positively affect the team members. Today most of the project management teams are based on virtual teams whose members work across time and space using communication technologies and project managers cannot rely on previous methods of project team management where they were able to build trust between team member by social interaction, face-to-face meetings, and direct observations of fellow team member commitment. Literature Review Virtual teams do have some advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages outlined by Kathy Schwalbe are: 24/7 availability of workers increasing competiveness and responsiveness, lowering the cost of project as many virtual team members do not need office space and support, providing more flexibility and expertise as project managers have access to the talent around the globe and increasing the work/life balance for team members by eliminating fixed office hours and the need to travel to work. (Schwalbe, 2011). Communication and trust are the most important factors that influence the virtual team performance. Saonee Sarker and others discussed the â€Å"theoretical linkages among trust, communication, and team member performance in virtual teams†. (Sarker1, Ajuja, Sarker, Kirkeby, 2001). To prove their argument the researchers identified and tested three proposed models (additive, interaction, and mediation) describing the role of trust in its relationship. The results of the study indicated that the â€Å"mediating† model best explains how communication and trust work together to influence the performance of virtual team members. In simple words them study proves that â€Å"a communicative individual will be more likely to be trusted and will therefore be more likely to be a high performer†. (Sarker1, Ajuja, Sarker, Kirkeby, 2001) Radostina K. Purvanova reviewed experimental literature and emerging field research on virtual teams. Author compared the â€Å"results from both type of literature and found that experimental literature has largely reported negative results for virtual teams, whereas ? eld investigations and case studies of real virtual teams employed by business organizations report positive outcomes for virtual teams. According to the article although results reported by experimental versus field studies are quite different, author concludes that both literatures have revealed negative attitudes toward virtual communication media. Advantages of Virtual Teams The main advantages of virtual teams include: The biggest advantage of virtual team enjoyed by an organization is the associated cost savings. The organization can save huge expenses on real estate, office spaces, utility bills such as gas, electricity, water etc. and executive’s travel. Team members can work from anywhere and anytime of the day. They can choose the place they work based on the mood and the comfort. You can recruit people for their skills and suitability to the job. The location does not matter. There is no time and money wasted for commuting and clothing. Physical handicaps are not an issue. Another advantage is the labour laws, some organizations prefer to have virtual teams because of strict local labour laws. Since the members span the time zones, there could be different team working on the same project 24/7, so when one member sleeps there will be another one somewhere else who would start work where the former had left. This shortens the product development time as well as faster response time to demands in both global and local markets. Disadvantages of Virtual Teams Disadvantages of virtual teams include: Since team members do not frequently meet or do not meet at all, the teamwork spirit may not be present. Some people prefer to be in a physical office when working. These people will be less productive in virtual environments. To work for virtual teams, individuals need to have a lot of self-discipline. If the individual is not disciplined, he or she may be less productive. The cultural difference between the members of virtual teams gives rise to number of conflicts. For example, while an employee from one part of the world would write a straightforward email describing a bad situation; this would be perceived as impolite by a member of the team from other part of the world. This would lead to conflicts, mistrust and difficulties in fruitful collaboration which is so vital for the success of virtual team functioning. These challenges are also precipitated by the absence of non-verbal cues so intrinsic to face-to-face interactions. Many members of virtual teams are adversely affected by the lack of physical interactions. Most of the communications in virtual environment is task-oriented. In today’s society where job is an important social force for most of us because many of our workplace colleagues also constitute our close friends, this gives a not-so-good feeling of social isolation. This in turn counter-effects productivity as well as leads to stress. In the virtual environment, it is better to communicate, clarify, and confirm everything to make sure that all members have the same understanding about the task at hand. This produces of ton of paperwork and files that could quickly fill your archives. Factors that positively affect virtual teams Succession planning and promotions involving virtual team members are important factors and if managed properly, virtual team members will feel that they are receiving recognition and credit and as a result they will be satisfied and their productivity will be increased. (Leonard, 2011) Since team members are not communicating face to face, constructive team and individual feedback early and often becomes more important and if managed properly can avoid many problems before hand. Trust between team members and project leader is an important factor that can affect the performance of team members. One important way to build trust between team members is effective communication. The more they communicate with each other and with project more they build the trust. Well defined and documented team process also important which saves a lot of time for especially new team members to find answers to their questions related to policies and procedures. A team member selection and role preference is also important factor to successfully manage the virtual teams. â€Å"Dr. Meredith Belbin defined a team role as a tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way. 15 It is important to select team members carefully and to form a team where all roles are covered. Each virtual team member must also understand his or her role(s) on the team. † (Schwalbe, 2011) Discussion and Conclusions Organizations such as IBM, Microsoft, Whirlpool as well as SMEs are reaping the benefits of virtual teams for some time now. It has been a well-recognized fact that virtual team is not a passing tide but it is here to stay. Virtual teams are rising in numbers nowadays and even small technology companies are now adapting virtual team practice for recruiting the best people from all over the globe and reduce the cost. As outlined in previous sections, virtual teams do have advantaged and some disadvantages as well. To benefit from advantages and to minimize the impact of disadvantages a project manager can focus on factors that positively affect the virtual team’s performance. As indicated by previous researchers, increase in trust, comfort level and communication effectiveness leads to better project success. All of the above discussed disadvantages can be overcome by following a different leadership approach, trainings, greater role clarity and effective communication strategies. Also earlier discussed factors that affect virtual teams, if managed properly can result in a successful project. In addition, the companies using virtual teams can minimize their operating costs and maximize the profit margins. Additionally, the employees working in virtual teams are at advantages when it comes to working in their own home, own time, and reduction of commuting costs. Therefore, organizations should look into setting up virtual teams for different tasks whenever possible. To reap the benefits of virtual teams in projects and minimize the impact of disadvantages virtual team managers should manage the outlined factors properly and should also follow best practices outlined in next section. Best Practices When running virtual teams, some of the best practices include: An instant messaging program can be used to create a sense of presence amongst members of the team. Chat is a good way to have side conversations during meetings to gain consensus, confirm understanding or ask questions. Quick questions can be asked through instant messenger as a substitute for popping into someone’s cubicle. Services for syncing files, bug tracking, project management, source control, web conferencing, conference calls, screen recording, usability testing and so on. A virtual phone system allows mapping of phone extensions to any phone number. Advance features allow callers to dial by name, get placed into a phone queue or get recorded answers back from a phone tree. In-person meetings are also a good option; it helps build team cohesion and trust and can help people get to know each other on a deeper level. But they are by no means critical. Bringing everyone together once a year may cost a little, but it’s still often cheaper than paying local salaries and rent, and increases the efficiency of team.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Borrelia Burgdorferi and Lyme Disease

Borrelia Burgdorferi and Lyme Disease Megan Eifert   Background The helical shaped pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi is a member of spirochete bacterium that is best known as the causative agent of Lyme disease. Belonging to the phylum Spirochaetes, these bacteria are characterized by a lipid bilayer known as the outer membrane sheath, as well as an inner space between a long cylindrical protoplasm and outer membrane sheath referred to as the periplasm (Metapathogen, 2012). Genus Borrelia comes from the French bacteriologist Amedee Borrel who identified a set of organisms that caused tick-borne and louse-borne relapsing fever in humans and animals (Metapathogen, 2012). Specific to the group Borrelia burgdorferi typically only 1 ÃŽÂ ¼m wide but up to 25 ÃŽÂ ¼m long, a unique characteristic of wavelike bodies and flagella are bound between the inner and other cell membranes, proving to be vital in the success of these bacteria. This feature is especially important to defining the highly invasive classification of these bacteria by allowing the pa thogen to travel effectively through tissue of its infected host (Burke, 2005). Similarly an important feature of B. burgdorferi are their outer surface proteins that have been researched to play a large role in the transmission of the pathogen as well as been the focus of those working on producing an effective vaccine against it (Burke, 2005). Metabolic capabilities are limited in these bacteria and therefore gaining energy is a task relied upon the hosts in which B. burgdorferi infect. With an optimal growth condition at 32 ° C in a low oxygen environment, even the best conditions demonstrate a slow generation time of between 12 to 24 hours (Tilly, 2008). Using glucose and carbohydrates as their main energy source, their genome has been identified to encode transport proteins such as ABC transporters and enzymes that are utilized in the phosphotransferase system and others similar that have the ability to gather compounds from both host or environment (Burke, 2005). Without the capability to produce energy from the TCA cycle, oxidative phosphorylation or an electron transport train, B. burgdorferi utilizes substrate-level phosphorylation to produce ATP within the cell necessary for these bacteria to remain successful (Rosa, 2005). There are three species of B. burgdorferi that have been identified in causing most cases of human disease. With a natural reservoir found to be a variety of small mammals, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. garinii, and B. afzelii are the typical strains identified in almost all cases of clinical disease. Specific to the United States, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto is the only species clinically associated with human disease whereas all three species have been found in Europe, and B. garinii and B. afzelii have both been identified in Asia (Metapathogen, 2012). Clinical Significance Although infection within natural hosts does not regularly cause disease, Borrelia burgdorferi is a tick-borne obligate pathogen that when infection occurs in humans can elicit the human immune-patholgical response and cause Lyme disease (Borrelia, 2007). Dr. Alan Steere and his team first clinically identified Lyme disease in 1977 as an infectious illness that continues to be the leading vector-borne disease in the United States (Borrelia, 2007). Through research of geographic regions with a surge of patients exhibiting seasonal occurrence of similar symptoms, Dr. Steere hypothesized the epidemiology of Lyme disease suggested transmission of the pathogen was occurring through an arthropod vector. Following the lead of Dr. Steere, a Dr. Willy Burgdorfer began to study a group of spirochetes found and collected from midgut tissues of ticks native to areas relative to the Lyme disease outbreaks. The bacteria isolated continuously produced a skin rash similar to erythema migrans when te sted on rabbits within a laboratory setting and samples from Lyme disease patients reacted with the bacteria when used in indirect immunofluorescence assays (WI, 2011). As a consequence of these observations, this set of organisms was first given their now recognizable name, Borrelia burgdorferi. Clinical manifestations of Lyme disease vary upon the species identified as the causative agent however; many common symptoms and features are shared across all cases of disease. According to reports from Mayo Clinic, most often the first symptoms described include an erythema migrans rash often in the shape of a bulls-eye at the site of the bite, accompanied by symptoms that most resemble an influenza-like infection (Lyme, 2015). Once patients exhibit these skin lesions, non-specific symptoms such as headaches, generalized lymphadenopathy, generalized lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly, migratory musculoskeletal pain, hepatitis, sore throat, non-productive cough, conjunctivitis or periorbital edema may arise, causing in most cases the discomfort associated with a diagnosis of Lyme disease (Lyme, 2015). Specific to most cases identified in the United States by the B. burgdorferi, arthritis is one of the main associated symptoms that patients struggle with. When infection persists to stage 2 after a few weeks, Mayo Clinic sources indicate about 15% of patients develop neurological deficits and abnormalities such as meningitis, encephalitis, cranial neuritis (including bilateral facial palsy), motor or sensory radiculoneuritis, mononeuritis multiplex, or myelitis (Lyme, 2015). Once neurological problems begin, patients can develop cardiac complications as well while continuing to experience a high amount of musculoskeletal pains throughout the body. When symptoms of Lyme disease persist beyond the typical treatment time, chronic Lyme disease can set in and patients experience post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome resulting from weakened immunity, systemic bacterial infection and inhibited cellular function and protection (Transmission, 2015). Over two-thirds of patients diagnosed with Lyme disease by infection of B. burgdorferi will develop chronic neurologic or skin involvement and non-specific arthritis. Symptoms characteristic of chron ic fatigue syndrome have been described as lasting for years following infection, proving infection with this bacterium can live in harmony within its human host making it a successful pathogen. According to the CDC, Lyme disease affects approximately 60,000 people worldwide per year however; mortality caused by the pathogen remains low at only 114 deaths reported from the disease in the United States between 1999-2003 (Transmission, 2015). Lyme disease can be accompanied by a wide variety of systemic involvement with varying clinical manifestations dependent on the stage of disease identified making both the course of illness and treatment inconsistent between patients. Borrelia burgdorferi elicits a variety of strategies in order to penetrate the immune systems of its hosts in hopes to successfully remain a viable bacterium. Inducing both the innate and adaptive immune responses, the bacteria have adapted to their reservoir hosts causing ineffectiveness of immunity to clear the bacteria out of the system entirely. Prior to activation, cleaved complement molecules form on the surface of the bacteria to help promote bacteriolysis while negatively regulating the complement system through various regulators to avoid host tissue damage (Tilly, 2008). With the goal of inhibiting the complement system, B. burgdorferi utilize outer surface proteins hosted on their outer membranes to bind complement regulators in order to successfully inhibit the complement system and its killing response. With the complement system inhibited, the bacteria are able to better survive within the blood stream and thus promoting further disease manifestations (Tilly, 2008). Vaccination for Lyme disease is a concept of both the publics past and future but not present. Administered in three doses, the first and only of its kind a vaccine against Lyme disease was licensed in 1998 by SmithKline Beecham (Poland, 2011). The vaccine in theory was to stimulate antibodies that would attack B. burgdorferi within the vectors gut as it fed on its human host, thus preventing the bacteria to enter the body and showed to be 78% effective following all doses completion (Poland, 2011). In 2002 the company producing the vaccine had removed it from the market and ever since a similar vaccine to protect humans against Lyme disease has not been re-introduced to the public. Diagnostic and Treatment Diagnosis of Lyme disease can be difficult due to the various nonspecific signs and symptoms associated with not only infection by Borrelia burgdorferi, but characteristic of many similar diseases. Typically the rash characteristic of Lyme disease in an area known to host ticks that transmit the disease does not warrant further testing for a diagnosis. Most often used to provide a more definitive Lyme disease diagnosis is the use of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test. ELISA detects Lyme disease by identifying antibodies to its causative pathogen, although this test may provide false-positives or negatives even when the bacteria is present due to the stage the disease is in (Borrelia, 2007). If an ELISA test proves positive, Western blot tests are used to confirm infection of B. burgdorferi, which identify antibodies against multiple proteins characteristic of the pathogen (Lyme, 2015). Several therapeutics are used to treat patients infected with Lyme disease and as with most disease treatments the sooner treatment is able to begin, the better and sooner recovery is achievable. Oral antibiotics are used as the first line of standard treatment with an early-stage diagnosis of Lyme disease. With a 14 to 21 day regimen, antibiotics prescribed according to Mayo Clinic typically include doxycycline for adults and children older than 8, or amoxicillin or cefuroxime for adults, younger children, and pregnant or breast-feeding women (Lyme, 2015). Oral antibiotics are used most often to treat skin rashes and influenza-like symptoms associated with the first stages of Lyme disease. Intravenous antibiotics may be employed for treatment if the disease has involved the central nervous system and this method of treatment has been shown to be effective in eliminating the infection but not without lingering symptoms according to the CDC. When chronic Lyme disease or post treatment Lyme disease syndrome is suspected, antibiotics are not effective in treating symptoms or the disease, and effective treatments remain unknown once the disease has progressed on. Although much research is unavailable, many living with chronic Lyme disease explain turning to natural remedies as treatment such as dietary suggestions to help increase immune function or adding supplements to help improve cell structure and function to help alleviate symptoms (Borrelia, 2007). References Borrelia burgdorferi. (2007). Retrieved March 25, 2017, from http://www.lymeneteurope.org/info/borrelia-burgdorferi Burke G, Wikel SK, Spielman A, Telford SR, McKay K, Krause PJ, et al. Hypersensitivity to Ticks and Lyme Disease Risk. Emerging Infectious Disease. 2005 Jan. Volume 11(1), p. 36-41. Lyme disease. (2015). Retrieved March 25, 2017, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lyme- disease/basics/definition/CON-20019701 MetaPathogen.com/Borrelia burgdorferi. (2012). Retrieved March 25, 2017, from http://www.metapathogen.com/borrelia/ Poland GA. Vaccines against Lyme Disease: what happened and what lessons can we learn? Clin Infect Dis. (2011) 52 (suppl 3): s253-s258. Retrieved March 25,2017. Rosa, PA., Tilly, K., and Steward, PE. The Burgeoning Molecular Genetics of the Lyme Disease Spirochaete. Nature Reviews Microbiology. 2005. Volume 3(2), p. 129- 143. Tilly, K., Rosa, P. A., Stewart, P. E. (2008, June). Biology of Infection with Borrelia burgdorferi. Retrieved March 25, 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440571/ Transmission. (2015, March 04). Retrieved March 25, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/transmission/ WI, K. T. (2011, May). Lyme Disease. Retrieved March 25, 2017, from http://textbookofbacteriology.net/Lyme.html

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The Critical Legal Studies Movement

The Critical Legal Studies Movement The Critical Legal Studies (CLS) movement came to the fore in the United States (US) in the 1970s. This movement is a body of like-minded thinkers who claim to attack the virtues that they say are proclaimed by the liberal legal system. It is a radical theoretical movement which rejects the distinction between law and politics and the notion that law can be neutral and value free. The movement proposes the integration of law and social theory. Since the Critical Legal Studies movement is relatively new, its value as a theory of law is still being assessed, but despite its continual development it has given much of interest to thinking about the law. Indeed, like other sceptical theories it may undermine the coherent world of law which legal academics and practitioners tend to portray. In Britain, the Critical Legal Conference was formed in 1984.  [1]   Although CLS has been largely a US movement, it was influenced to a great extent by European philosophers, such as nineteenth-century German social theorists Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Max Weber; Max Horkheimer and Harberd Marcuse of the Frankfrut School German social philosophy; the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci; and poststructuralist French thinkers Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida, representing respectively fields of history and literary theory. CLS has borrowed heavily from legal realism, the school of legal thought that flourished in the 1920s and 1930s. Like CLS scholars, legal realists rebelled against accepted legal theories of the day and urged more attention to the social context of the law. Among noted CLS scholars Roberto Mangabeira Unger, Robert W. Gordon, Mark Kelman, Peter Gabel, Morton J. Horwitz, Dunkan Kennedy and Katherine A. Mackinnon.  [2]   The founders of CLS found a yawning absence at the level of theory, fundamentally convinced that law and politics could not be separated. How could law be so tilted to favour the powerful, given the prevailing explanations of law as either democratically chosen or the result of impartial judicial reasoning from neutral principles? Yet how could law be a tool for social change, in the face of Marxist explanations of law as mere epiphenomenal outgrowths of the interests of the powerful? CLS scholars have influenced try to explain both why legal principles and doctrines do not yield determinate answers to specific disputes and how legal decisions reflect cultural and political values that shift over time. They focused from the start on the ways that law contributed to illegitimate social hierarchies, producing domination of women by men, nonwhites by whites, and the poor by the wealthy. They claim that apparently neutral language and institutions, operated through law, mask relationship s of power and control. The emphasis on individualism within the law similarly hides patterns of power relationships while making it more difficult to summon up a sense of community and human interconnection. Joining in their assault on these dimensions of law, CLS scholars have differed considerably in their particular methods and views.  [3]   One of the characteristic of CSL is that it has been rejected formalism. Formalism has tended to be the fall back position of liberal legal thinking when forced to confront the question: how can a legal system give the kinds of neutral decisions expected of it. Formalists, as CLS characterise them,  [4]  circumvent this problem by insisting that the judge is not imposing his or anyone elses values but merely interpreting the words of the law. By separating core and penumbra Hart could be taken to admit the problem by his indulgence that the judge had to have recourse to discretion in interpreting the penumbra of legal rules. CLS theorists also share the related view that the law is indeterminate. They have shown that using standard legal arguments, it is possible to reach sharply contrasting conclusions in individual cases. The conclusions reached in any case will have more to do with the social context in which they are argued and decided than with any overarching scheme of legal reasoning. Moreover, CLS scholars argue that the esoteric and convoluted nature of legal reasoning actually screens the laws indeterminacy. They have used the ideas of deconstruction to explore the ways in which legal texts are open to multiple interpretations. The CLS thesis refutes the claim that traditional legal scholarship produces rules and principles of law which guide human behaviour. Both legal formalism and positivism, which look upon law as a system of rules which are rationally made, are repudiated. Traditional legal scholarship treats the law as objective and neutral. The CLS claims that law can not be objective because human and social realities always manifest themselves in the legal discourses. Roberto Mangabeira Unger, who teaches at Harvard Law School and is widely regarded as the intellectual leader of the movement, now offers the public a short manifesto he describes as more a proposal than a description. It is an ambitious and impressive undertaking. It also defies summation. It is a carefully crafted statement with ideas interlocked like a chain-link fence that stretches as far as the eye can see. And the full purport of his message can only be appreciated by an attentive reading. Even so, five themes seem central to his argument. There were two distinct stages in the role of law in western societies before the modern era. First it served to establish and defend social hierarchies and social class divisions. Toward the end of the 18th century, however, it was put to the revolutionary task of protecting rights of individuals irrespective of their social rank or class. In this country the founding fathers relied on democracy (created by our public law, the Constitution) and the market (fostered by private law, notably contract) to give form and limits to those rights.  [5]   By the 20th century the context in which American law operated had drastically changed. Social arrangements sanctioned by law had come to include an array of hierarchies of economic power and pernicious social distinctions protected as rights by the very legal system created to establish individual freedom and equality. The politics of democracy and the blind forces of the market proved woefully inadequate to govern a society increasingly dominated by modern science and technology. Hence there is a compelling need to restructure our social order to make it compatible with freedom and equality. The way to accomplish this reconstruction, according to Roberto M. Unger, is not through classical revolution of the kind Marx advocated, brought about by an alliance between disaffected elites and the downtrodden. Rather law must be reinvented to give it a revolutionary new purpose: to lead the dismantling of the various hierarchies of power and privilege that through perversions of the legal process have come to threaten the higher values of our society.  [6]  Of property law, he says that it has its own inbuilt legal market which is a constitutional interest with its own legal structure in a democracy. According to him, the situation is fraught with ambiguity and indeterminacy, because of the abstract nature of the concept of rights. With respect to contract law, Unger explains that contract law allows freedom to contract, but that this is promptly contradicted by other principles which say that people can only bind themselves in contract for what the law allows. Unger present s an argument on formalism which states that every doctrine relies on some view of human associations which are right and realistic in social life. The lawyer needs a theory as his guiding vision, which prevents him from seeing legal reasoning as a game of analogies. To Unger, reliance on analogies leads to analogy-mongering, and this must stop. He claims that this received wisdom is challengeable as wrong, and to do this one should rely on a normative theory of a branch of law supplied by the CLS. This is Ungers deviation doctrine, which embellishes the CLSs nihilistic view of law. Mark G. Kelman examines the importance to criminal law of the stage that precedes legal analysis. His argument is that legal argument has two phases: interpretive construction and rational rhetoricism, and that the former, a vital step which undercuts the authority of the latter, goes virtually unexamined.  [7]  For example, the result of a case may depend on weather the defendants act is set in a board or narrow time frame. This issue has come to a head with a series of cases where battered women have murdered their husbands and the scope of the provocation defence has been tested.  [8]  If a broad time frame as been used she may have defences of provocation, even self-defence; in a narrow time frame she has committed murder. There is no meta-theory to determine the appropriate time frame; the decision accordingly is unreasonable. There are some techniques which the CLS have deployed in analyzing legal texts, namely Trashing, Deconstruction, Genealogy, etc. Leading CLS scholar Mark G. Kelman defends trashing against mainstream academic critics, claiming that the discrediting of accepted legal argument is good According to him the most frequently recurring theme in the attacks on our technique, the more-or-less hysterical counter-Revolution against Trashing. It is abundantly apparent that the vast preponderance of mainstream American legal academics were told (repeatedly) by their moms and dads, If you dont have anything nice or constructive to say, say nothing at all.  [9]   Again he stated that law-and-economics studies of private law rules have not actually analyzed the concrete implications of rule choices on particular occasions, pretensions of policy relevance to the contrary. Instead, they have again and again simply derived apologies for existing arrangements from a highly general and theoretical economic vision. There are two politically central insights of mainstream private law and economics scholarship: (1) In situations involving strangres (where markets cannot work because of transaction costs), proper legal rules that establish implicit fees for harming others can be applied to concrete cases so that parties who interact to create a joint cost will take all cost-justified, damage-averting precautions; and (2) in situations involving those in contractual relationships, competitive markets function in such a way that buyers inevitably get whatever they desire at the lowest possible price a [*308] price that is the sum of the production cost of the desired good and a normal profit sufficient to prevent industry exit. One goal, if not an inevitable effect, of trashing is to destabilize a variety of theoretical world views (and thus, one would hope, related [*328] commonsense world views) that imply the beneficence or inexorability of social life as we see it. Of course, asserting that there must be a causal connection between the high-level apologetics of the intelligentsia and the everyday mediating political ideals that help us organize and make sense of daily interactions would be patently ridiculous. But one can discern at least a close family resemblance between elaborate, mandarin apologetics and the more ordinary, complacency-inducing, commonsensical bits of wisdom without straining credulity.  [10]   According to Robert Gordon Decontruction is one of the CLS techniques best work is a familiar work kind of left-wing scholarship, unmasking the often unconscious ideological bias behind legal structures and procedures, which regularly makes it easy for business groups to organise collectively to pursue their economic and political interests but which makes it much more difficult for labour, poor people, civil rights groups to pursue theirs.  [11]   CLS claims that mainstream legal thought acts to reify; it does this by translating social practices into things. For example, the relation between employer and employee brings about a range of consequences and expectations for both parties. The terms confirm or foster an implicit hierarchy; both employer and employee will expect the latter to follow instructions and generally defer to the former. Another way to heighten awareness of the transitory, problematic, and manipulable ways legal discourses divide the world is to write their history under the Genealogy technique. Some critics charge that CLS work hampers progressive political movements by challenging the idea of the subject and human agency. Others view CLS work as unimportant or failing because of inadequate development of specific policies, strategies, or constructive direction. CLS is faulted for implying that simply changing how people think about law will change power relationships or constraints on social change, although a fair reading indicates that Crits simply treat changes in thought as a necessary but insufficient step for social change. Feminists and Critical Race Theorists object that conventional critical legal studies employ a critique of rights that neglects the concrete role of rights talk in the mobilization of oppressed and disadvantaged people. Robert Gordon has responded with a warning that even such mobilization efforts must be done with an experimental air and full knowledge that there are no deeper logics of historical necessity that can guarantee that what we do now will be justified later. Total Word Count: 2110.

Monday, August 19, 2019

James Stills River of Earth: A Neglected American Masterpiece Essay

James Still's River of Earth: A Neglected American Masterpiece    James Still's River of Earth is a novel about life in Appalachia just before the Depression. Furthermore it is a novel about the struggles of the mountain people since the settlement of their region. However great it may be at depicting Appalachia's mountain people and culture, though, Still's novel has remained mostly invisible compared to other novels of the period which depict poor white southern life, such as John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath and Erskine Caldwell's God's Little Acre (Olson 87). As scholar Ted Olson notes, there are several reasons for this neglect. First of all, Still's novel has been labeled as "regional" and therefore not as "universal" in its concerns and subject matters. And in 1940 when it was first published the American people were running low on desire to plod through more regional novels; even Faulkner was hardly read at this time (Olsen 92). In addition, we were at a period as a nation when people were coming off a decade of extreme poverty and did not want to hear or read about more poverty. Still, in many ways it is hard to explain the longterm success of Grapes of Wrath and the longterm fadeout of River of Earth. To begin, Steinbeck's novel, which tells the story of the plight of a poor white family in Oklahoma during the Depression, is no less "regional" than Still's chronicle of poor white life in eastern Kentucky . Yet somehow Grapes of Wrath escaped the "regional" stereotype and went on to become an American classic. Ironically, though, when the two novels were released, Still's grabbed more critical acclaim (Olsen 89). Though Grapes of Wrath did earn some rave reviews and was called the "great American book" by... ...people anywhere. And refreshingly, Still's characters do not spend all their time trying to "rise above" their poverty. Instead they love their mountain world and take pleasure in the small but important things in life like a simple meal or a good laugh. They are not weighed down by the glittery world or overindulgent trappings of Jay Gatsby. Maybe that's the real reason most Americans couldn't handle the book then and now. Instead of presenting them with the excesses of a gilded age, it told them about a people content to enjoy a great spiritual wealth even if their economic conditions were supposed to make them "poor." Works Cited Cadle, Dean. "Man on Troublesome." The Yale Review 57 (December 1967): 236-255. Olsen, Ted. "`This Mighty River of Earth': Reclaiming James Still's American Masterpiece." Journal of Appalachian Studies 1.1 (Fall 1995): 87-98.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Why The Russians Were Right :: Essays Papers

Why The Russians Were Right Zubok and Pleshakov wrote this book â€Å"in order [for westerners] to understand the Cold War from the Soviet perspective, one must understand the importance of that moment and the larger historic legacy of Russia and the Russian Revolution, vindicated by the victory of 1945† (2). These men wanted the western world to be able to read this book and understand the different personalities that made up the Kremlin, their personal experiences and how this affected their political leadership. To reveal the Kremlin, in a humanistic way, the authors used the newly declassified documents from the Russian side, to explore the background, psychology, motives, and behavior of Soviet rulers from Stalin to those who replaced him, and to better understand the world that they helped create (xii) The main thesis of the novel is â€Å"It was this group [the Kremlin] that had replaced the Communist politburo during the four years of the most devastating war in the world’s history. Leading the others, walking at some distance from them was Joseph Stalin, the head of the USSR† (1). Zubok and Pleshakov start out explaining the basic views of the Kremlin around 1945, before Stalin comes to power. They then move to the revolutionary world of Stalin and the expansions of the empire that were gained by Molotov. At this point in the book the emphasis shifts to war, nuclear bombs and geopolitics. Contained in these sections are chapters on Zhdanov; Beria and Malenkov; and Kennedy and Khrushchev. The formation of these chapters and subjects in this particular line-up progresses in the order that they historically happened. In order to understand why the USSR made some of the political choices, trying to remove some of the biases in place throughout the world, the authors give personal background information on the USSR’s major leaders of the Cold War time. At one extreme in the USSR government they experienced, Stalin, who lived through war, which made him a ruthless and hardened man. While on the other extreme is Khrushchev, who lived through the revolut ion, which made him a gambler and outstanding bluffer. These two men compromise most of the focus of the book because both brought the world close to war again with their personalities running the Kremlin, Krushchev just brought it closer to nuclear war. The authors use the idea that Westerners do not have a clear understanding of the culture of communist Russia.

The Potential of Gene Therapy to Cure Diabetes Essay -- Biology Medica

The Potential of Gene Therapy to Cure Diabetes Abstract Gene therapy treats and prevents a disease by introducing a vector of genetic material into certain cells to alter the function or ability of a gene. The promise of gene therapy as a cure for diabetes has been considered ever since this new technology emerged into the clinical and research sphere. Although such methods have yet to undergo human clinical tests, gene therapy holds much potential to bring a radical new way of treating autoimmune diseases such as diabetes. By targeting certain genes that control the insulin and ?-cell production in the pancreas, gene therapy will someday fulfill its potential to cure the disease that is the number one cause of heart disease in the United States. This paper will explore the potential protocols and products that can be used to treat Type I Diabetes. Diabetes is an autoimmune disease that has affected more than 140 million people in the world. This disease, results from the attack of the killer T-cells of the immune system upon the ?-cells in the pancreas that produces insulin. (Lin et al., 2001). Until recently, this disease could only be treated with daily insulin injections and adherence to a strict, low glucose diet. With more than ninety percent of diabetics at risk for future complications like heart disease, blindness, and renal failure, diabetes has developed into more than just a medical issue. Diabetes is also becoming largely an emotional and economic issue. Victims of this disease have no choice but to adjust their lives around the only object that could change their lives?a daily injection that may cost 50% of the annual income in developing countries and up to 600% in non-developed countries. New technology th... ...ne Therapy, (10), 875-889. Grey, S.T., et al. (1999). Adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of the anti-apoptotic protein A20 in rodent islets inhibits IL-1ï ¿ ½-induced NO release. Transplantation Proceedings, (31),789. Lin, Andrew, Cathy Huang, and Kendrick Ong. (2001). Type I AutoImmune Diabetes. Diabetes & Gene Therapy. July 21, 2005: http://dragon.zoo.utoronto.ca/~jlm2001/J01T0301B/index.html Nitta, Y., et al. (1998). Systemic Delivery of Interleukin 10 by Intramuscular Injection of Expression Plasmid DNA Prevents Autoimmune Diabetes in Nonobese Diabetic Mice. Human Gene Therapy, (9), 1701-1707. Rudolph, Frederick B., et al. (1996). Biotechnology: Science, Engineering, and Ethical Challenges for the 21st Century. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry P. Thule, P.M. and Liu, J.M. (2000). Regulated hepatic insulin gene therapy of STZ-diabetic rats. Gene Therapy 7: 1744-1752.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

The Importance of Leadership

The Importance of Leadership It is the belief of many that leadership is the vehicle or direction to both positive and negative change. In fact, leadership often determines the success and/or failure of any organization, whether it be in business, education, religion, government organizations, and society in general.Clear evidence of this is seen in the recent-American Airlines’ woes, the closing of troubled schools across the nation, the public-scandal surrounding Enron Corporation, the positive impact of the Christian community by renowned-evangelist Billy Graham, the devastating-financial crisis of 2008, the re-election of President Barack Obama, and others. With this perspective firmly in mind, and in context of the case study surrounding Sir Richard Branson and his leadership style, this paper seeks to discuss the leadership models addressed in chapters 10 and 11.It will also propose a different leadership style that would enhance Branson’s leadership prowess. Furt her, it will talk about a few strategies that Branson can employ to develop and lead a global team working on a major project. Lastly, it will discuss some of Branson’s leadership qualities and their personal and contemporary applications. Branson’s Leadership Style Illustrated in Chapters 10 and 11 Models Based on the substantial amount of evidence presented in the text, Branson has proved himself to be an effective leader because of his vision, operating philosophy, charisma or appealing influence, and financial success.Much of Mr. Branson’s influence and success has been attributed to his direct-business involvement. Therefore, as illustrated in chapters 10 and 11, Sir Richard Branson’s leadership style is participative. To give emphasis on such revelation, Richard Branson is the Chairman of Virgin Group Limited (Ltd). He operates multinational entities that include air travel, financial services, and retail stores. Also, scores of people work for him. But regardless of the scope of Mr.Branson’s responsibility and work demands; he allocates a great deal of time time to be personally involved with the day-to-day operations of the organization. Moreover, he actively listens to the concerns of his staff and customers in order to generate feedback and capture new ideas. To add to this, Branson’s personal involvement and participating leadership style has also reflected in his business approach and priority. For example, employees and customers are an integral part of his business culture.For this reason, employees are ranked first, customers second, and shareholders last (p. 344). The rationale behind such approach is this—if employees are recognized and feel appreciated, the level of customer satisfaction becomes high, and therefore return on investment (RO1) is realized or positive. In addition to Branson’s personal involvement and participating leadership style, he surrounds himself with a diverse group of people so as to reflect the company’s core beliefs, values, and desired outcomes.To add credence to this idea, in his book entitled, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, (Maxwell, 1998, p. 110) remarked: â€Å"Every leader’s potential is determined by people closer to him. † In other words, leaders can make a significant difference when they associate themselves with competent people, as in the case of Richard Branson. More emphasis on this point will be discussed later on. Another leadership style that reflects Richard Branson is transformational leadership.According to the text, transformational leadership â€Å"involves anticipating future trends, inspiring followers to understand and embrace a new vision of possibilities, developing others to be leaders or better leaders, and building the organization or group into a community of challenged and rewarded learners† (Hellriegel & Slocum Jr, 2011, p. 329). The above perspective certainly captures an d encapsulates Branson’s leadership style—because he persuades many to buy into his inspiring messages. As a result, many have become committed and in this manner are being rewarded.Also, Branson impacts the business community and a large scale. Further, he develops future leaders and entrepreneurs. Developing future leaders and entrepreneurs is essential and it at the core of transformational leadership. An insight of such truth has been noted by the authors (Anthony, M. J. , & Estep Jr. , J. 2005, p. 298), â€Å"Leaders are at their very best when they are raising leaders around them. † In addition to Branson’s transformational leadership style, his business approach is revolutionary.Undeniable evidence of this is seen in the amount and variety of businesses he operates as well as the company’s impressive-annual net sales—$20 billion (p. 344). To add to this, Branson’s hiring practice is also unconventional. That is, he generally hi res people with â€Å"strong communication and teamwork competencies that mesh with the Virgin culture. † Such practice helps Branson to be a better leader, which in turn strengthens the organization and its bottom line. So in brief, Branson’s leadership style in terms of leadership models as presented thus far is participative and transformational.Suggestive Leadership Style to Enhance Branson’s Effectiveness Even though Sir Richard Branson’s leadership style is participative and transformational, his approach and behavior on a few instances is paradoxical. To illustrate, Virgin Group experienced massive losses ($20 million) in a couple of business ventures—because Branson ignored prudent counsel from â€Å"his top management advice† as well as other critical-business measures. It is the opinion of many that transformational leaders have a tendency to be arrogant and even ignored vital signals around them due to their intellectual inspirati on and unchallenged purposes.Such beahvior sometimes produced negative results. An example of this is seen in the horrific genocides or atrocities of the former-dictator Adolf Hitler. Therefore, by way of suggestion, Branson ought to add facilitate leadership style to his leadership competency. An insight on facilitate leadership style has been provided by the text: â€Å"The leader presents the problem to the team in a meeting, acts as a facilitator, defines the problem to be solved, and sets boundaries within which the decision must be made† (p. 308).This leadership style is certainly advantageous for Branson in a number of ways. For example, as chairman of large groups of companies, Branson must not have a stake in every decision. Simply because such beahvior is perceived to be controlling, and the end results can be detrimental or costly as presented in the above example. In light of this, staff members must be empowered and heavily involved in the decision-making process of the organization. As a result, the flow of effective communication would improve, employee productivity would elevate, and the financial health of the organization.Strategies Branson can Employ to Develop and Lead Major Project In today’s ever-changing environment, there is no denying that Sir Richard Branson is a risk taker and he is not afraid of failure. Moreover, his track record and business credentials qualify him to supervise any major projects. So by determining how Branson would develop and lead a global team working on a major project, the following strategic steps ought be employed or activated: (1) choose a research committee or advisory team and oversee it. 2) Empower committee or advisory team to select a diverse group of individuals so as to generate pertinent and creative ideas and thus improve the project. (3) Assess or calculate risk factors and outcomes surrounding the project. (4) Adhere to sound business and management principles. (5) Have an open min dset especially to internal and external change or resistance. (6) Invest a large sum of money on the continued development and research of the project and provide monetary and motivational rewards for research team. 7) Maintain good-internal communication and public relations. (8) Establish effective-feedback mechanisms so as to receive progress reports, and make change/s if necessary. Strict adherence and execution to the aforementioned steps will most likely enable Branson to develop and lead a global team working on a major project. Branson’s leadership qualities and their personal and contemporary applications Within the business world, Sir Richard Branson has definitely experienced much financial success and setbacks. A commentary on this point has been noted by (Scott, 2010, p. 5), â€Å"There’s another side to Branson—the relentless work ethic, the failed companies, and tough times, but people generally don’t want to hear it. † Such experie nced has helped to strengthen Virgin Group Ltd. and set Richard Branson apart in a profound way, and even add to his leadership qualifies. Additionally, Branson’s extraordinary business approach and entrepreneur competencies also complement his leadership qualities. Therefore, drawing on Branson’s leadership qualities, the writer would seek to emulate his unconventional business approach and strong work ethic, especially in today’s business environment and practices.In so doing, the writer’s life would be personally and professionally enriched, and thereby making a positive contribution to society in general. By further drawing on Branson’s leadership qualities, social responsibility would be imitated by the writer. In support of this, â€Å"Branson pledged as much as $3 billion during the next 10 years (through 2017) to tackle global warning† (p. 344). Being socially responsible is commendable and even beneficial. To illustrate, it can attr act investors, promote business growth, and help the physical environment.To further mimic Branson’s leadership qualities, the writer would draw on his visionary approach so as positively impact humankind on a whole. It has been well said, â€Å"Where there is no vision, the people perish† (Proverbs 29:18 King James Version). Other leadership qualities that are worth emulating from Branson are: being an attentive listener, creating an informal environment to address and resolve problems. These qualities are so needed in today’s society, considering that people are often ignored, afflicted, and exploited.As passionately argued throughout this paper, leadership is essential because it can make or mar the direction or success of any organization. More than ever, participative and transformational leadership qualities are needed. Such leadership attributes have aided Sir Richard Branson to develop unique business concepts and establish hundreds of business entities across the globe. In actual fact, they have helped him to gain much financial success. As a result, he has and continues to influence many individuals of all ways of life and spearheads many undertakings.References Anthony, M. J. , & Estep Jr. , J. (2005). Management Essentials for Christian Ministries. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman & Holman Publishers. Hellriegel, D. , & Slocum Jr, J. W. (2011). Organizational Behavior (13 ed. ). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Maxwell, J. C. (September 18, 1998). The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Nashville, Tennessee, USA: Thomas Nelson Publishers Scott, P. (2010). The Wisdom of Branson. Herald Sun (Melbourne), (), 85. Retrieved on November 26, 2012, from http://www. ebscohost. com