Saturday, August 31, 2019

Persuasive speech smoking ban Essay

Each year cigarettes are responsible for about 443,000 deaths, on average this is smokers dying 13 to 14 years sooner than nonsmokers1. Cigarette smoking is a horrible behavior in our daily lives. Smoking is not just horrible, but it also has many serious effects on your health, which are often deadly. There are over 4000 chemicals in cigarettes, hundreds to which are toxic to your body2. Smoking is a terrible and disgusting habit, because second hand smoke affects the ones around you, it can cause cancer and other health related diseases, and also the cost of cigarettes cause people to spend an outrageous amount of money. Smoking cigarettes isn’t always negative when it comes to the way you live your life and the effects it has on your health. It can ease the signs and symptoms of stress. The ‘pick me up’ you feel after smoking a cigarette only lasts for a short period of time before you need another cigarette because your craving the nicotine3. The good feeling that nicotine gives you, draws you back to want one more cigarette. Smoking is really just hurting you and the people around you. Stress is something that is going to be around your whole life so it is better to find other way to cope without smoking. Second hand smoke affects the people around you. A smoker does effect close coworkers and family members. Most of the smoke from a burning cigarette isn’t sucked down into the lungs of a smoker, but let out into the open air to be inhaled by anyone. Second hand smoke can cause heart disease, lung cancer, and the risk of SIDs which is something that can instantly kill infants. When it comes to babies and children there are many other complications that can affect them. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says 4that each year in the United States secondhand smoke causes an estimated 46,000 premature deaths from heart disease and an estimated 3,400 deaths each year from lung cancer in nonsmokers. Secondhand smoke contains more than 250 chemicals known to be toxic or cancer causing5. Children or babies exposed to this secondhand smoke are inhaling many of the same cancer causing substances as smokers are. Since 1964, 34 separate US Surgeon General’s reports have been written to make the public aware of the health issues linked to tobacco and secondhand smoke. The ongoing research used in these reports still supports the fact that tobacco and second hand smoke are linked to serious health problems that could be prevented6. According to the CDC SIDS is the sudden, unexplained, unexpected death of an infant in the first year of life, it is the leading cause of death in otherwise healthy infants. 7Chemicals in secondhand smoke appear to affect the brain in ways that interfere with its regulation of infants’ breathing. On average, Children are exposed to more secondhand smoke than nonsmoking adults. Cigarettes cause health risks that affect you in a negative way. Cigarettes contain arsenic, formaldehyde, lead, hydrogen cyanide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, ammonia, and 43 known carcinogens. They contain more than 4,000 ingredients which when burned, also produce compound chemicals8. Cigarettes can cause cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung disease, emphysema, bronchitis, chronic airway obstructions, and many other health related diseases. Cigarette smoking may also lead to changes in the smokers’ appearance over longer periods of time like wrinkling skin and yellowing of the teeth. In the United States, smoking is responsible for about one in five deaths annually which is about 443,00 deaths a year9. On average, smokers die 13 to14 years early then nonsmokers. In a specific case involving Shane, a 44 year old man who started smoking when he was 18 and was only 34 when his body became damaged from smoking. He discovered he had throat cancer, and had to get his larynx removed, part of his esophagus and collarbone. Part of his stomach had to be reshaped and stretched to serve as an esophagus. Now he speaks with an electro larynx and has a 1inch stoma in his neck so he can breathe. Even after being smoke free since 2003 his smoking still affects him, he just recently found out that he now has cancer in his chest10. Smoking increases your odds of life ending shorter because of avoidable health diseases that you could have easily prevented from not smoking. The amount of money people spend on cigarettes is a ridiculous amount, which could be spent on something more important. In the long run it hurts people when you invest in cigarettes and not in other things like bank accounts or safe stocks. The cigarette industry spends billions of dollars investing and promoting. According to the CDC cigarette smoking costs more than $193 billion a year, which is $97 billion in lost productivity plus $96 billion in health care expenditures11. Cigarettes aren’t cheap and quitting or never starting can save you money now and can also keep you from spending money on health problems in the future. For example if cigarettes are an average $5. 50 for the cost of a pack of cigarettes and a smoker smokes a pack every day, in a month you would be spending $165 on cigarettes, when you could really save that much every month. If you saved this much every month, in five years you could have $9,900, $19,800 in ten years, and $39,600 in twenty years. Before you start just smoking think of the weekly spending you would be doing on just a pack of cigarettes when you could be doing something more important with your money. Smoking is a horrible choice and risk that affects you and the people around you in a negative way. There are many effects of smoking cigarettes, for example second hand smoke and the affect it has on people who are nonsmokers, they cause health risks that can cause death, and also it causes people to spend unnecessary amounts of money. Cigarettes are temporary thing that makes you feel good for a while, but overall the long term affects are dangerous to your life.

Friday, August 30, 2019

The Runaway Slave

Slavery has been in existence for thousands of years, for as long as humanity’s collective history. It is common knowledge that some of our monumental works of art like the Great Pyramids of Egypt were erected by slaves. Slavery usually begins when there is a need to produce something at a larger scale. In the case of Cuba, that item was sugar. In the 18th century, as Cuba’s economy became more and more dependent on its sugarcane production, slavery became more and more necessary in order for Cuba to increase production and keep up with the demand for sugar.Miguel Barnet`s Biography of a Runaway Slave tells the story of a real-life former Cuban slave, Esteban Montejo and his own personal journey to freedom. While on the surface it may seem like a simple biography, Montejo’s life-story was presented in the larger context of Cuba’s colorful, but often misunderstood history. The former slave became a fugitive and lived in the wild for several years, subsistin g on the abundant flora and fauna of the forest. He later became a soldier for Cuba’s war of independence.Perhaps his hard life has strengthened Montejo to such a great extent that he lived much longer than most people, or it may be perhaps the need to tell his story to the world was what made him continue living as he did. Esteban Montejo was 105 years old when Bartnet interviewed him for the book, and he lived on for eight more years hence. More than a story about slavery, Biography of a Runaway Slave is a historical account of how the Caribbean’s culture fused with that of African’s through the slave trade.Esteban life straddled the 19th and 20th centuries and went through most of Cuba’s most important historical periods in history. As such, he is able to chronicle the changes that his country was going through in its bid for freedom, even as he searched for personal liberty. Through Bartnet, we are given a chance to glimpse at the life of one man and one hundred of memories of a way of living long gone by. Perhaps some of the most poignant images in the book were Esteban’s description of life in the sugarcane plantations.Esteban recounts that slaves in the plantation lived in places called barracoons and he describes these barracoons as he remembers them, The slaves disliked living under those conditions: being locked up stifled them†¦ This was laid out in rows: two rows facing each other with a door in the middle and a massive padlock to shut the slaves in at night†¦ Both types had mud floors and were dirty as hell. And there was no modern ventilation there! Just a hole in the wall or a small barred window.The result was that the place swarmed with fleas and ticks, which made the inmates ill with infections and evil spells, for those ticks were witches. The only way to get rid of them was with hot wax, and sometimes even that did not work. The masters wanted the barracoons to look clean outside, so they were wh ite washed. (Barnet 1994, 12) Clearly, as Esteban remembers, there was no dignity for African slaves in Cuba. Their work was hard and unrelenting, and they barely had anytime to rest.Their sleeping quarters as Esteban remembers were not fit, even for animals. Esteban’s hated his life, and he yearned to break from the yokes of slavery and this is revealed by his own words, â€Å"I cared for myself as if I were a pampered child. I didn’t want to be taken into slavery again. It was repugnant to me, it was shameful. † (Barnet 1994, 16) Such feelings gave him the courage to escape. He ran to the shadowy forest where he found safe haven. His loathing for slavery made him risk the dangers of living in the wild. For him, it was freedom or nothing.And he flourished in the forest, where he had everything he needed to live, except for the warmth of another person’s companionship. â€Å"The truth is I lacked for nothing in the forest. The only thing I could not mana ge was sex. † (Barnet 1994, 21) Esteban lived in the wild until the abolition of slavery. Later, Esteban’s love for freedom compelled him to join the fight for Cuban independence. By becoming a soldier, Esteban has shown his love for his country even as he despised slavery. He dreamt of a better Cuba, and he did his part, small as it may have been to help achieve that.He is a nationalist because while he could have chosen to just live the rest of his days in the forest, he decided to rejoin society and fight, this time not for personal freedom, but for the collective freedom of all Cubans. All of Estaban’s life has been defined by slavery and his struggles against all the things that keep him in chains. Reading the book I have realized that while some circumstances may vary, there is never an instance when slavery is acceptable or dignified. Its mere concept goes against the very nature of free will that mankind was born with.In Cuba, as in most places, slavery w as institutionalized for economic gains. It is ironic that the very people producing goods for material prosperity are the very people who never benefit from it. Esteban’s accounts of life in the plantation make for a very poignant illustration of the cruel ways that we can treat one another. It was in this seemingly hopeless situation that Esteban cling to hope because it was the only thing that he has. He kept alive the hope for freedom for all slaves and a better, kinder world for all of mankind. Reference Barnet, M. (1994) Biography of a Runaway Slave. Trans. W. Nick Hill. Curbstone Press.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Use the Theory of Constraints and Activity-Based Costing to Determine Essay

Use the Theory of Constraints and Activity-Based Costing to Determine the Optimal Product Mix Decisions - Essay Example Broadly, expanded ABC approach, TOC based approach and the multi-factor approaches have been discussed which have deeper implications in designing an optimal product mix for a manufacturing entity. Expanded ABC based Model The shortcomings of traditional costing to incorporate production process are mainly encompassed by Theory of Constraints (TOC) and Activity Based Costing (ABC). Production decisions become quite convenient when they are facilitated by the paradigms of TOC and ABC gelling together (Kee). Apparently it seemed as if the both of these paradigms have the nature of competing with each other in assisting production decisions. However, later on when their strengths and limitations were analyzed, a complementary view of both the paradigms came into effect. If the product cost obtained under ABC, is incorporated with the availability of the physical resources, a comprehensive model of production process can be developed which can facilitate the production decisions by implementing the principles and guidelines of the Theory of Constraints. Mixed-integer programming is the framework which is used to integrate the product cost estimated under ABC with the availability of physical resources along with the production capacities. The major benefit provided by the mixed-integer programming is the effectiveness of decisions relating to marketing and production. With the help of the expanded model of ABC, a firm can evaluate simultaneous results of product cost, availability of physical resources and the marketing opportunities in order to identify an optimal product mix. The other major benefit of expanded ABC prog ram includes the identification of bottleneck resources and their economic impacts upon the firm’s production process. Identification of excess resources is also a hallmark for the expanded ABC approach due to which those excess resources can be deployed elsewhere to enhance the overall productivity of the firm. Lastly, the program for continuous improvement can also be identified and applied which can enhance the potential productivity and profitability of the firm because of the implementation of expanded ABC approach. Besides the advantages of the expanded ABC approach, there are different sorts of limitations attached with the implementation of this approach. Expanded ABC approach takes into consideration the quantitative effects of the revenues, product cost, availability of resources and the production capabilities. However, in order to design an optimal product mix, qualitative factors also play their significant part over which the expanded ABC approach remains silent . As a result, expanded ABC approach barely manages to provide only partial information regarding the marketing and the production decisions. Another limitation of expanded ABC is the usefulness of the reliance of this approach towards estimates and assumptions regarding the business activities of the firm over a certain time period. There is a strong dependency of the usefulness of the decisions taken under expanded ABC approach on the accuracy of the estimates and assumptions used by the firm. Lastly, the cost of implementing expanded ABC model can turn out to be on a higher side because of the substantial amount of time and effort required in its implementation, analysis of the results inferred from the mixed-integer programming and other related activities. However, it is important to note that the cost of

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Influential designer of the 20th century Research Paper

Influential designer of the 20th century - Research Paper Example In addition to this, fashion especially women’s fashion during this period consisted of highly formalised wear such as chemise, drawers, corsets, flannel petticoats and the like. Coco Chanel sough to change all of this by introducing her style in fashion that concentrated on simplistic wear that emphasized the female figure above anything else. Moreover the fashion produced by Chanel relied more on automated production as well as simplicity that helped to drive down the costs of fashion wear. In this manner ordinary people were able to afford fashion wear as regular clothing. Coco’s fashion is also an extension of provocation right down from her apparel that represents the ordinary to her jewellery lineage that combined real and imitation jewels to spark awe at little cost. Historically the post World War One period saw a rise of feminism that had not been witnessed before. The vacuum left behind by men leaving for the front meant that women had to occupy all kinds of positions in society that provided impetus for their equality in society. The demands of practical work meant that women’s attire had to evolve to reflect daily considerations in work such as welders, fitters, police women etc. Women were finally in a position to dress up to reflect gender liberation. Coco Chanel was at the fore front of this very move in the fashion world. Among Chanel’s major contributions to design is her ethnic influence in clothing that reflected the clothing of Slavic peasants. Ethnic references to haute couture existed as far back as 1900 but Chanel amplified this design strategy by providing it sustainability. Most of the beading and embroidery used on Chanel’s collections from the early 1920’s were derived from Russian sources. Furthermore, Chanel fused oriental stitching with stylised folk motifs which represented her signature for a long time to come (Charles-Roux, 2005). Chanel also introduced embroidered

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

CMG301 MOD 4 SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CMG301 MOD 4 SLP - Essay Example In addition, partnership agreements can help better realize goals such as a safe work environment, resolution of issues without litigation, timely completion, and minimum disruption to the environment, and achieve a more client-focused design with reduced errors and omissions (Galey and Pagrzeba 124). Capital Roofing Company, in addition to partnering with the owners of 123 First Street, Seattle, can also partner with roofing materials suppliers to better ensure reliability of pricing and supply during the lifetime of the project. Partnerships with providers of Roof Diagnostics services or Preventative Maintenance Programs, or Photovoltaic Systems and Green Roofing can also add value that the owners may desire, in order to reduce their carbon footprints or to save money in the long-run through efficiency gains. Haltenhoff, C. Edwin and Rita A. Gregory. â€Å"Partnering on Small Construction Projects.† Discussion. Journal of Construction Engineering & Management 127.4 (2001): 346-7. EBSCOhost. Web. 12 Sep.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Motivation Assignment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Motivation Assignment - Case Study Example These aspects can determine the level of motivation among employees (The Certified Accountant, â€Å"Expectancy Theory†). There are several disciplines in the field of motivation and one of them is the expectancy theory. This theory is devised by Victor Vroom. He assumed that motivating an employee requires making a connection between effort, performance and inspiration. The productivity of employees depends on aspects like employee behavior, ability, knowledge, experience and proficiency. Vroom’s expectancy theory is made on the basis of three attributes which are Valence, Expectancy and Instrumentality (The Certified Accountant, â€Å"Expectancy Theory†). Valence: It is the emotional direction which employee embraces with respect. The desire of employee can be extrinsic benefits like higher income, job promotion, free leisure time or intrinsic benefits like job satisfaction. Organizations need to determine the acts that can make an employee more grateful. Expectancy: Expectancy deals with the faith of employee about his/her ability. Each employee possesses dissimilar expectations and degree of confidence about their capability. Expectation is illustrated as the strength of an employee’s faith if a particular task is achievable or not. Organization must find out the materials, training and administration requirement of employee for a particular task. Instrumentality: Instrumentality is the idea of gaining something after completing a task. An employee always thinks that if he/she performs well, a worthy result will be gained. Thus, it is the perception of employee that whether he/she will gain the expected result even it is assured by the organization. It is the responsibility of organization to make sure that promised compensations are realized. The following figure shows the relationship between Valence, Expectancy and Instrumentality. The instrumentality is impacted by the belief among

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Literary criticism of article on The Ehics of Genetic Engineering Essay

Literary criticism of article on The Ehics of Genetic Engineering - Essay Example In fact, people have more to fear from the restriction of this technology in the sense that giving up on its benefits, in favor of outdated moral arguments, could lead to more harm than good. Although Koepsell prescribes regulation in order to control potential abuses of this technology, he does not provide a political or scientific framework for managing the risks associated with genetic engineering and gives a rather cursory look at the moral arguments against new technologies. With these weaknesses in mind, one should nonetheless take Koepsell’s warnings seriously, as they are not only applicable to genetic engineering but a wide variety of novel fields in the application of scientific research. The author begins by giving the basic science behind genetic engineering, which includes basic information about DNA, genes, and genetic disorders. He also approaches the issue of ethical challenges, including the secular and non-secular objections to genetic engineering. Secular ar guments tend to focus on dignity at the species level. However, this objection fails in that there is no room for non-arbitrary distinctions between human DNA and the DNA of other species. Consistency in this case requires hands-off for both human DNA and that of crops. The non-secular arguments tend to focus on genetic engineering as something opposed to â€Å"nature†. ... This cost/benefit analysis is presumed to have moral significance because it focuses specifically on things that human beings value most. If genetic engineering is beneficial to all of these different areas of human life, then it necessarily must be good. Koepsell devotes some attention to drawbacks of the technological advances; however, the only drawback that is addressed is the inherent unpredictability of genetic crossbreeding between engineering and non-engineered genomes. This is exemplified both in human populations, where gene therapies can have potentially harmful effects on populations, and in agriculture, where the spread of genes is more uncontrollable and less conscious. However, Koepsell’s section on drawbacks is not as positive as one might hope: it is interspersed with language like â€Å"will improve,† â€Å"scientific breakthrough,† and â€Å"testing should be employed† (Koepsell 13-15). One can tell immediately that this section on drawb acks is not a value-neutral account of the actual dangers of the technology, but is rather fodder for the author’s arguments for more research. Appropriately, this section leads into considerations of â€Å"justice† and â€Å"equity,† which are two primary ethical concerns of scientific research. The author considers straw-man situations such as those found in science fiction to dispute the theory of a genetically-derived underclass, and begins to acknowledge the difficulty of trusting policymakers to provide â€Å"rational oversight and regulation of germline modifications in humans† (18). The purpose of regulation, the author contends, is to provide a just and equitable distribution of benefits to a society. Accordingly, instead of having only the rich able

Saturday, August 24, 2019

The American History Cookbook Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 18

The American History Cookbook - Research Paper Example Peanut butter is a favorite spread on bread. Peanuts are either fried or roasted. They help maintain healthy body weight, reduce the risk of heart disease and reduce diabetes risk. Peanuts reduce obesity through the provision of fiber and improvement of the digestive system. The absence of peanut would mean no peanut butter in snacks, a not so interesting though. Potatoes are a good source of starch. Chips are a favorite food for many of the Americans. Potatoes are fried, baked, boiled and fit in to make so many recipes ranging from potato soup to potato salad. They are a good source of potassium, helps regulate mineral balance and fluids, transmit nerve impulses and muscle contraction. Vitamin C, which also acts as an antioxidant is obtained from potatoes. They contain fiber that helps lower blood cholesterol. Vitamin B6, Obtained from potatoes, helps in the metabolism of carbohydrates and proteins. Iron, a major component of hemoglobin that carries oxygen to parts of the body can also be sourced from Potatoes (Mark 10). Tomatoes emanated from South America. Thinking of their goodness from their red color, the health implications from consumption of potatoes are many. The value behind the red color of tomatoes is the presence of lycopene that is an antioxidant and a contributor towards healthy bones. Tomatoes can be made into fresh tomato sa lad, grilled together with pizza or even used to make vegetarian sandwiches. Chili Peppers are a common ingredient in menu’s worldwide. Delicacies with Chilli Spice, are a favorite option as the stinging sensation left on the tongue is refreshing. Capsaicin is an ingredient found in pepper and boosts metabolism. It also suppressed appetite and may ultimately, after using it for some time result in weight loss.  

Friday, August 23, 2019

Metabolic Syndrome Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Metabolic Syndrome - Essay Example This complex set of conditions was named as the Clustering Syndrome X. This clustering syndrome later came to be known as the metabolic syndrome (Das 2010). Characteristics of Metabolic Syndrome The World Health Organization (WHO) defined the metabolic syndrome as â€Å"a constellation of features that included impaired glucose regulation (includes diabetes mellitus) and/or insulin resistance: the 25% of subjects with the lowest insulin sensitivity (measured directly) (Das 2010).† Metabolic syndrome is basically a set of diseases which enhance the cardiovascular risk. The main characteristics of the metabolic syndrome which have to play a role in the heart diseases are abdominal obesity, atherogenic dyslipidemia, increased blood pressure, insulin resistance, pro-inflammatory state and prothrombin rate. All these diseases tend to occur at the same time in the onset of the metabolic syndrome which directly affects the heart of an individual. (Das 2010; Ulrig 2006). Causes of Met abolic Syndrome Obesity, hypertension and diabetes individually have their own adverse effects which can affect the systems of the body. But if these diseased states occur altogether then the person would develop severe complications. Metabolic syndrome has been known as the insulin resistance syndrome because the hormone insulin in these patients is found to be in high quantities. Metabolic syndrome is believed to be caused by different mechanisms which relate to dysfunction of the body. Insulin Resistance is considered to be one of the most important features of the metabolic syndrome. By insulin resistance here it is meant that the body is not able to respond to the normal levels of insulin and this is a primary reason because of which hyperinsulinemia is seen in the patients with metabolic syndrome. It is argued that both hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance play an important role in causing hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia and reduced endothelial function which then poses risk to the cardiovascular system(Fan 2007; Das 2010). Leptin resistance is also considered to be a feature of this metabolic syndrome. Leptin resistance results in an increased quantity of leptin in the body. This increased leptin is considered to be a cause of reduced insulin sensitivity in the body. Research has shown that the rate of leptin and glucose disposal rate are inversely proportional to each other (Fan 2007; Ulrig 2006). Obesity is considered to be one of the main causes of the metabolic syndrome. It is related to insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, hypertension, prothrombin rate, and pro-inflammatory states. Adipose tissue is an active metabolic organ which helps in secreting several substances inside the body. It secretes cytokines, inflammatory mediators, fatty acids, leptin, resistin and adiponectin. It also releases efferent signals which help in maintaining the hormonal systems of the body. Thus adipose tissue is involved in a lot of metabolic process es happening inside the body and maintenance of these metabolic processes is necessary in a normal individual. If the adipose tissue of the body undergoes massive changes as in obesity it can pave a way for the metabolic syndrome. In obesity it is seen that adipose tissue is also deposited on the visceras of the body and this proves to be a major determinant of the metabolic