Can Different Temperature Effect the Cell Membrane

Table of Contents Abstract Introduction Aim Hypothesis Material Method Results Discussion Conclusion? Abstract The aim of this experiment was to see whether different temperatures will affect the cell membrane, thus would then releases the purple pigments out of the vacuole which causes the leakage of the purplish liquid.? Background Information The outermost layer is the cell wall, which is present only in plant cells and is made up of a carbohydrate called cellulose and also has other protein substances embedded within it.The cell wall is a rigid layer and gives structural stability to the cell and also limits the permeability of large substances into and out of the cell. Within the cell wall, surrounding the cytoplasm is the cell membrane which is a semi-permeable membrane consisting of a phospholipid bilayer. The bilayer consists of phospholipids which arrange themselves so that the hydrophobic (‘water hating’) tails are shielded from the surrounding water. The heads of the molecules are hydrophilic (‘water loving’) and face the water.Overall, the cell membrane acts to selectively allow substances to move into and out of the cell and maintains the cell potential. Proteins within the membrane act as molecular signals allowing the cells to communicate with each other and other substances outside the cell. About 70% of the cell membrane is actually protein. The cytoplasm of the cell has a number of organelles, although there is one in particular that the vacuole. Vacuoles act to store food for the plant and also assist in structural stability of the plant along with the cell wall.The vacuoles in plant cells are normally larger than those found in animal cells and contain a fluid called, cell sap. This fluid is rich in nutrients and other substances and is surrounded by a membrane called the tonoplast, separating it from the cytoplasm. The tonoplast is similar in composition to the cell membrane. Biological pigments, also known as pigm ents or biochromes are substances produced by living organisms that have a colour resulting from the selective colour absorption. The pigments in beetroot are betalain pigments; they are located in the vacuole of the cell.They are named after the Beet family of plants, but are also found in fungi. In the petals they are thought to attract pollinating insects and may be present in seeds/fruits to encourage birds to eat them and so spreading around the seeds. When a beetroot in heated, it tampers with the cell membranes. A membrane is made of a phospholipid bilayer. These are formed because the phospholipids that make it up have a hydrophilic (‘water loving’) head and a hydrophobic (‘water hating’) tail. The tails pack together, exposing only the heads to the water.This is the phospholipid bilayer. The beetroot pigment is used commercially as food dye. It changes colour when heated so can only be used in ice-cream, sweets and other confectionary, but it is bo th cheap and has no known allergic side-effects. Aim To investigate whether different temperatures can damage and denature the plasma cell surface membrane of beetroot cells. This would then release the beetroot pigments out of the vacuole which causes the leakage of the purplish liquid. Hypothesis Beetroot in hotter water will release its pigments more than beetroot in cooler water.The hotter water should break more vacuoles containing the pigments which will make the water appear to be more purple. Meanwhile the colder water will still have pigments throughout the water, and therefore will be scarcer. Materials -x6 Test Tube -x1 Chopping Board -x1 Serrated Knife -x1 Corer -x6 Skewers -x2 Beetroot -x3 Test Tube Rack -x1 Wooden Test Tube Holders -x1 Bunsen Burner -x1 Match Box -x1 Cork Mat Method 1. Use the corer to get equal cylindrical pieces of beetroot 2. Cut pieces to same size if they are unequal 3. Skewer the beetroot through the middle . Rinse the skewers of beetroot 5. Fill the test tubes to half way with water 6. Place beetroot skewers into test tube and test tubes into test tube holder. Cold 1. Put in fridge and freezer 2. Remove after chosen time, and record your observations. Hot 1. Put over a hot flame and a purple flame 2. Remove after chosen time, and record your observations Results TemperatureColour of WaterColour of Beetroot Room Temperature: 23Â °C Rich and Dense PurpleDeep Red Not visible through water Fridge: 10Â °C Partially reddish purpleHot Pink Freezer:-9Â °CVery light pink barely any change in the colourVery deep red Blue Flame: 100Â °C A deep, rich redNormal purple colour Discussion Beetroot in hotter water will release its pigments more than beetroot in cooler water. The hotter water should break more vacuoles containing the pigments which will make the water appear to be more purple. Meanwhile the colder water will still have pigments throughout the water, and therefore will be scarcer. The hypothesis was supported by the resu lts as the beetroot in the hotter water did release more pigments than the beetroot in the colder water.Some problems that came to attention were the exact sizes of the beetroot pieces could not be made the exact same size. Even though cutting them side by side of each other did make them look similar, the sizes were off still. The experiment as brought sight to what can happen when a fruit or vegetable or flower is heated in water will do. The water colouring process will accelerate more than twice as fast and that could provide big opportunities in some companies. A flaw in the experimental design was that attention wasn’t given to the material of test tubes that were used.A glass test tube was used for the beetroot that was frozen in the freezer; while in fact a plastic test tube should have been used because the glass test tube could not flex to the expansion of the water in the test tube and so resulting it to crack. Conclusion In conclusion, the hypothesis was supported as the beetroot’s pigments were release more in the hot water more than the cold water did. The hotter water made the beetroot cell vacuoles to burst, releasing the pigments, thus colouring the water.

Fish Bone Chart Essay

ABSTRACT The experiment aims to analyze the causes of each problem (effect) identified in raw eggs and mayonnaise products during manufacturing and processing through the use of fish-bone diagrams or Ishikawa diagrams (cause and effect diagrams).Additionally, dispersion analysis and process classification type fish-bone diagrams were used. The result of the experiment showed that process classification diagram is more effective in pinpointing specific causes of error/ problems thus help more in formulation of corrective actions to be taken. However, dispersion analysis concentrates more in analyzing the general root causes of the errors/ problems, thus fails to identify minor causes of the problems. I. INTRODUCTION A fish-bone diagram, also known as Ishikawa diagram or a cause-and-effect diagram, is an organized tool that helps manufacturers in identifying the possible causes of quality problems (Forman, 2001). This visual tool is also used for organizing possible causes of defect in different categories. It has angled lines, or the ‘bones’, which represents a possible cause of error. Each bone can have ‘sub-bones’ which contains further details about a possible cause of error. The ‘bones’ are joined together in a singular straight line that describes the main defect. This outline gives a shape similar to the bones of a fish, hence the name fishbone chart as seen in Figure 1. Figure 1. Fishbone Diagram (Cinergix Ltd, undated) There are three main types of fishbone diagrams namely, the dispersion analysis type, product process classification type, and the cause enumeration type. The dispersion analysis type organizes and relates the factors that result in the difference among the product and other process  outcomes. The production process classification type is made by making the steps in the production process be the major ribs of the fishbone diagram. It focuses on each step of the process to determine all possible causes of the error. In the cause enumeration type, all possible causes that results to the defect is determined and then organized to show the relationships to the aspect of product of process quality that is being examined (Florac, 1999). II. METHODOLOGY Prior to the exercise, the group identified and listed possible defects in both eggs and mayonnaise. One possible defect was then chosen for each the raw material (eggs) and the finished product (mayonnaise). The possible defects chosen were cracked eggshells and unstable emulsion for the raw material and finished product, respectively. The group then constructed two types of fishbone diagrams (Dispersion Analysis and Process Classification) for each of the chosen possible defects by identifying and writing its main causes and further causes in the diagram. The diagrams were then analyzed by the group to determine the root cause of the defects and to identify and suggest corrective actions to eliminate it. The effectiveness and efficiency of the corrective actions were also considered and analyzed. The group then presented the diagrams to the class. III. SUMMARY OF RESULTS (See Appendix) IV. INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS Dispersion analysis and process classification type of fishbone diagrams are used in the analyzation of the causes of the problems identified. Dispersion analysis cause and effect diagrams are structured in such a way that the factors contributing to the problem under study are classified into the â€Å"standard six† which are manpower, methods, materials, measurement, operators, and environments. Process classification diagrams on the other hand are structured in such a way that the factors are classified according to steps involved in the process (Brassard and Ritter, 1994). In the case of mayonnaise, some of the steps are sifting, mixing and filling. In terms of emphasis, dispersion analysis CE diagrams are advantageous in such a way that it helps organize and relate the factors that lead up to the problem. However its drawback is that it may fail to identify minor causes that may  be overlooked (Omachonu & Ross, 2005). On the other hand, the advantage of process classification CE diagrams is that is easier to create because it follows the process in a product. However, redundancy may occur. Process classification is often used when the problem encountered cannot be isolated into a single department (Basu, 2011). An example of which is faulty factory workers which may be a reoccurring problem in all steps. This makes it hard to pin point what corrective action should be performed (Omachonu & Ross, 2005). Based on the exercise, it was observed that the use of process classification CE diagrams are more effective in being able to identify the specific causes of errors within a process however; dispersion analysis CE diagrams were able to pinpoint general root causes of the problem by narrowing down the sources of errors into the â€Å"standard six†. General corrective actions can be generated using dispersion analysis CE diagrams but process specific corrective actions can be generated from process classification CE diagrams V. REFERENCES Basu, R. (2011). Fit sigma: A lean approac to building stustaiable quality beyond six sigma. (1st ed., p. 71). UK: John WIley and Sons Ltd. Brassard, M. and D. Ritter. (1994) The Memory Jogger II: A Pocket Guide of Tools for Continuous Improvement & Effective Planning ,Methuen, MA: Goal/QPC. Accessed via: http://www.goalqpc.com Cinergix Ltd. (n.d.). Graphic Organizer Templates. Retrieved January 3, 2012, from Creately: http://creately.com/examples/Graphic-Organizer-Templates Florac, W. C. (1999). Measuring the Software Process: Statistical Process Control for Software Process Improvement. Indianopolis: Addison-Wesley Professional. Forman, E. S. (2001). Decision by Objectives: How to Convince Others That You Are Right. Washington: World Scientific. Omachonu, V. K., & Ross , J. E. (2005). Principles of totaly quality. (3rd ed., p. 265). New York: CRC PRess.

Summarize articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summarize articles - Essay Example Religious leaders from the Calvinist, Presbyterian and Methodist clergy also played a key part in establishing colleges, spurred on by faith in mankind and the desire for progress (Rudolph, 44-67). Chapter 8 of Clark Kerr’s ‘The Uses of the University’ reflects upon the hard choices that universities and colleges had to make regarding their curriculum and teaching standards, as well as assessment criteria. This fluctuated between more privatization, more federalization and more cultivation of general public support to effective use of resources, more pluralistic leadership and attention to longer term goals. Since it is impossible to predict the state of the economy, it has been decided to turn over the responsibility for the education sector to the Federal Government. In this way the research and learning aspect of these institutions could be preserved. The progress of civilization depends upon learning (Kerr, 184-197). Ellen Goldring and Claire Smrekar in their ‘Magnet Schools and the Pursuit of Racial Balance’ (2000) explore the role of magnet schools in reducing racial isolation and encouraging diversity. These schools were born out the desegregation movement of the mid-1970s and have been so successful in meeting the needs of special and minority students that there is a long waiting list for admissions. Yet as regards the goal of reducing minority exclusion from the rolls, only 44 percent or less managed to achieve this milestone. While the effort was greatly appreciated by parents, yet the more desirable longer term goal would be to undoubtedly achieve racial integration within the community and the workplace (Goldring & Smrerkar, 2000,

Macro economic assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Macro economic assignment - Essay Example www.fxwords.com/g/gross-domestic-product-quarterly... For GDP Comparison we used http://www.demographia.com/db-ppp-uscan.htm Current Economic Arena This report highlights the current trends in the economy which are detrimental to the Future development in the sense that if the trends are not corrected will lead to a situation where many of the opportunities to develop form the needs of nations like the United States, and Europe will soon erode and be gone to eastern economies for ever. Canadian companies have been making headway in the IT sector and in the home business sector. Consumer and industrial production and investment are on the rise, but costs as shown by the trends and statistics are on the rise too. Thus development is offset by rising cost, low productivity and investments. We apprise you on the three key areas where detailed changes in policy are needed. 1. We have to attract more investment, and for this we need to develop better infrastructure. 2. We need to address the concern of services and development both in manpower and in infrastructure of the Information Industry in which we can become a major player in the next 5 years. 3. We need to, consequently address housing, and transport needs. All this is possible only with government spending and lesser or minimal taxation. Indicators to the analysis While GDP and nominal indicators are a sure way of determining our current position, as we can see below, by itself it is not enough to determine the policies we ought to set forth. Our GDP growth: Our GDP growth has been constant and fluctuates only between 4.8 and 6.3 percent especially as compared to the US. That should give us pleasure that we are truly developing. However the consumption patters, and rise of fuel...This is bad news for us. It is time we took steps to develop our infrastructure in such a manner that Canada can host software and technology parks and benefit from that, and attract overseas investments. The thrust therefore will be on these three things: Government Investments, Industry specific developments especially with regard to Information technology, and Education. We also will lay a matrix for upgrading public transport to cover for rising oil costs. Future development in the sense that if the trends are not corrected will lead to a situation where many of the opportunities to develop form the needs of nations like the United States, and Europe will soon erode and be gone to eastern economies for ever. Canadian companies have been making headway in the IT sector and in the home business sector. Consumer and industrial production and investment are on the rise, but costs as shown by the trends and statistics are on the rise too. Thus development is offset by rising cost, low productivity and investments. Our GDP growth: Our GDP growth has been constant and fluctuates only between 4.8 and 6.3 percent especially as compared to the US. That should give us pleasure that we are truly developing. However the consumption patters, and rise of fuel costs to over 4.9% within the last six months, and the availability of lesser infrastructure to develop is impeding the progress of the economy. While Canada was always investor friendly,

Explain the VaR framework and its utility in Risk Management Essay

Explain the VaR framework and its utility in Risk Management - Essay Example VaR can be said to be an easy method of measuring the market risk. As of date, VaR technology has spread its wings well beyond financial derivatives and is completely transforming the style the financial institutions’ approach to their financial risk. Initially, VaR is employed to measure the market risk, but now it is being employed to administer and control risk actively. The VaR methodology is now assisting the industry to reckon both operational and credit risk, resulting in the sangraal of companywide management of risk1. (Jorion 2009: x). VaR employs a method of valuation of risk that uses standard statistical methods employed regularly in other technical sectors. In simple terms, VaR can be explained as the most speculative loss over an objective horizon that will not be surpassed with a given level of confidence. Footed upon the company’s scientific founding stones, VaR offers users with a detailed synopsis of market risk. (Jorion 2009: x). . 2 Backgrounds For t hose companies and financial institutions that are vulnerable to risks, management of risk is a vital function. There has been a real reform in the risk-management process, especially in the last decade and VaR is regarded as one of the solutions that received wide publicity in business circles. As per Holton (2003), the main fundamentals of the VaR can be traced back to as early 1922 when the New York Stock Exchange prescribed capital norms for its members. Until 1952, research in VaR was not in progress. Two independent researchers namely Roy and Markowitz almost concurrently advanced but with different version of measuring the risks and the same were published in 1952. As per Holton (2003), the two authors mentioned above were engaged on establishing a way of choosing portfolios that would be facilitating to obtain the benefit for certain level of risk. Holton was of the view that it took nearly four decades until VaR measurement started to be broadly employed by companies and fi nancial instructions. As per Fernandez (2003), the worst financial crisis that occurred in 1987 and the crisis that forced to find a solution by the Basel Committee that all banks should keep adequate cash reserves so that it can cover probable losses in their trading assortment over a 10 –day marked and 99% of their time. With the help of VaR, the quantum of cash to be maintained will be decided. Due to poor risk management process and poor supervision, a huge volume of money can be lost, which was well evidence from the past financial crisis. Thus, VaR has widely been acknowledged as a breakthrough process due to historical errors that crept into the risk -management process. (Holton 2002). As of today, the usage of VaR is being widely employed in financial institutions but there is only limited usage of VaR in non-financial firms. This can be explained that why companies do not employ VaR as they do not normally predict their profits and losses on daily footings that are n ot impacted by volatility in prices in the short-run. However, Mauro (1999) stresses that VaR can be employed even by non-financial firms (companies) that are not impacted by volatility in prices, especially in a short-time horizon. Thus, the chief advantage of VaR is that it is a yardstick that can be employed to almost every

Culture and Spirituality - Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Culture and Spirituality - Discussion - Essay Example e right to be respected for his or her cultural heritage and that nurses require information about patient’s culture to be able to give sensitive care. The Yoruba spiritual system has one particular trait in that it stresses on extremely ancient African tradition of connecting with natural forces and its ancestral realm in order to better ones life .Its rooted deep in divination that has similarities to philosophical beliefs like those found in Chinese in the I Ching. The Yoruba culture believes in the existence of divinities and spiritual beings. They call the beings Orishas who are ancestors whose great actions earned them divinity .They are contacted when a ‘bembe’ priest is possessed spiritually. The possession by the Orishas is part of the religious ritual and acts as a means of communicating with their God. The spirits are seen as intermediaries between humankind and the supernatural. The Yoruba culture is importance since they believe that Orishas helps an individual in determining their personal destiny and their success since the spirits run through all inanimate, living and all things. Therefore, patients may require that priest be brought to summon the gods for healing. Nurses should therefore be aware of the patient’s culture and fully respect it. (Eggenberger, 2006, pp 34) Deep spiritual seeking are universal traits and most of them come from divination. The Chinese culture mostly looks upwards towards heavenly bodies like the planets and stars not only to understand seasons but for signs to acquire divine will. The Yoruba culture and divination uses bones for rituals. The Chinese Taoists uses patterns on tortoise shells that eventually evolve into hexagons of the I Ching. This is one of the differences between the two traits. Divination systems are passed down by ancestors’ through sacred heritage. They provide fresh guidance especially during changes in our lives and they are a form of good fortune. It helps individuals to satisfy their

Will Revolution in Libya succeed Research Paper - 1

Will Revolution in Libya succeed - Research Paper Example These rights have a foundation independent of the laws of any particular society†1. In Libya, Gaddafi is trying to sustain his power against the will of the people. Majority of the people in Libya are against the dictatorship of Gaddafi because of the human right violation happening in Libya under his administration. It is difficult for the Libyan public to express their opinion freely, if it is against the political administration. Just like in communist China, Gaddafi is trying to impose hue censorship upon media so that the to and fro motion of unhealthy information between Libya and other countries would be prevented. In civilized world like ours, people like to choose their administration through ballots. Gaddafi is trying to prevent people from enjoying such democratic freedoms. ‘Hope for a new government and for more fearless opposition to the regime is reflected in the ongoing protests. Multiple Libyan diplomats and politicians, including the justice and interior ministers, have resigned†2. Many prominent people in Libya joined the agitation which definitely shows that the countdown for Gaddafi administration is already started. Dictators cannot sustain their power for longer period as the examples from Iraq and Egypt is right in front of us. Under such circumstances, it is difficult for Gaddafi to continue in power. Gaddafi is ruling Libya for the last 40 years. He failed to grasp the confidence of the public during his last 40 year administration period. He succeeded in remain in power by suppressing the agitations against him using iron fists. â€Å"Many in Libya still remember how Gaddafi used to execute those who opposed him — or those he felt had opposed him — and would leave their bodies hanging from nooses for days as a warning†3. Even during Ramadan period, Gaddafi killed many innocent people who opposed him. In other words, Gaddafi has less belief in Islamic beliefs and traditions even though he proclaimed to be true Islamic

Creating an Inclusive School Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Creating an Inclusive School - Essay Example The special classes enable the special case students to access additional education benefits and programs. Rhonda and other special learners should benefit from LRE that allocates extra time for tests and quizzes. This provides adequate time for properly tackling examination questions. The special education teachers should read aloud the test and quiz questions. This will enable easy understanding of examination instructions. The teacher should allow Rhonda and other special learners to utilize the computer in preparing written assignments. This improves the presentation and quality of written assignments. Special learners like Rhonda should be given preferential seating arrangement at the front of the class. This ensures effective hearing and enhances visibility during class lessons. The LRE ensures that parents or guardians of the special learners participate in the learning processes. This is because the parents are provided with extra education materials like textbooks. The education materials are used to guide the special learners during home studies. The school administrator should encourage adoption of two learning classes for special learners; the special and the ordinary class. This will improve the education capabilities of special learners. The administrator should also budget for appropriate resources that enhance learning of special students like

Learning Team Reflection Essay Example for Free

Learning Team Reflection Essay There are several factors to consider when contemplating a potential lawsuit or settlement. As a person who is not trained in the law, it is important to seek counsel before making any decisions. Counsel can provide professional guidance in a field that a victim may be unfamiliar with. To attempt to navigate though the legal system without professional help would be confusing and frustrating. There are alternatives to litigation that some people may not be aware of. A professional in the law can give guidance and perspective as to which is the best route to take. One must consider the time involved in litigation. Cheeseman (2010) stated, â€Å"A trial can last less than one day to many months, depending on the type and complexity of the case† (p. 41). Also, a consideration must be the costs involved. It can be extremely costly to obtain counsel, although it may be wise to invest in legal representation. Counsel will be able to provide you the statue of limitations so that you know how long you are eligible to seek damages. Additionally, counsel will provide you realistic picture of the benefits and/or risks of going to trial or settling. Counsel would be able to explain the intricacies regarding a trial and provide a relative timeframe. Most people are unaware of the details and involvement of going to trial. In many cases it is in the best interest of both the injured party and the accused to seek a resolution outside of court. According to Cheeseman (2010), â€Å"More than 95 percent of all cases are settled before they go to trial† (p. 40). A victim may feel compelled to go to court, when counsel may know that a trial may not provide a favorable outcome. Counsel would need to be available as already discussed to decide whether litigation is the way to go. Once the decision had been made to pursue the issue legally, the appropriate legal representation would have to be found. The type of counsel would depend on the type of case. There are several specialties in law and finding the best person to represent you is crucial. You would not ask a lawyer that specializes in real estate to represent you in a wrongful death suit. If possible, legal representation should be made available before the decision to seek legal action is decided on. A lawyer is there to provide professional advice, but they cannot force you to make a decision one way or the other. Two main intentional torts that should seek council especially if there were bodily injury to the person or persons are assault and battery. Cheeseman (2010) stated, â€Å"Assault is (1) the threat of immediate harm or offensive contact or (2) any action that arouses reasonable apprehensio n of imminent harm† (p. 75). The threat to the life of an individual or offensive contact are two very good reasons to seek counsel for either monetary charges such as paying medical bills from the harmful contact or seeking restraining orders to prevent such contact form occurring. Cheeseman (2010) stated, â€Å"Battery is unauthorized and harmful or offensive physical contact with another person that causes injury. Basically, the interest protected here is each person’s reasonable sense of dignity and safety† (p 75). The other tort situation that should seek legal counsel are strict or product liability cases. Cheeseman (2010) stated, â€Å"That is, a participant in a covered activity will be held liable for any injuries caused by the activity, even if he or she was not negligent† (p. 89). To clarify further Cheeseman (2010) stated, â€Å"This doctrine holds that (1) there are certain activities that can place the public at risk of injury even if reasonable care is taken and (2) the public should have some means of compensation if such injury occurs† (p. 89). These cases either involve wrongdoing to the individual that usually ends in harm or death. If a product malfunctions which hurts the consumer or shorts out and the consumer dies are both reasons legal counsel should be involved. Again, legal counsel should specialize in the area that you need representing and the monetary costs of acquiring counsel should be researched before hiring them to represent your case. Seeking legal council is prudent in helping a victim understand their choices. There are situations when there is not enough evidence or legal grounds for any form of legal action, and legal council can provide that information. The proper and professional legal guidance can help a victim recover losses and damages. References: Cheeseman, H. R. (2010). Business law: Legal environment, online commerce, business ethics, and international issues (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Company - BlackBerry mobiles Essay Example for Free

Company BlackBerry mobiles Essay BCG matrix is a portfolio planning model, which is used to determine position of the product in the product portfolio of the company. Under this model, company divides its business units into four categories on the basis of combinations of market growth and market share comparative to the leading opponent. This model helps the management to analyze the future growth of different business units. We can take the example of BlackBerry mobiles. It is the Canadian telecommunication and wireless equipment company best known to the general public as the developer of the BlackBerry brand of smart phones and tablets. At one point of time, BlackBerry mobiles were considered as best mobiles in the market. They use to give direct competition to the Nokia and apple mobile phones. In 2011, the market share of the BlackBerry mobiles was 14.3%. But, over the last few years, company market share has declined to 0.6%. In BCG Matrix, we can place the BlackBerry mobiles into question mark category. We have placed the BlackBerry mobiles into question mark category because the market of mobile is increasing with the rate of around 40% but the market share of the BlackBerry mobiles is deceasing every year. Apart from BlackBerry, all other major mobile phone companies such as Samsung, Apple, Huawei, and Lenovo are growing with good pace. Actually, unlike other companies, BlackBerry did not focused on innovation. It was the last major mobile manufacturing company, which introduced the smart phone. They do not able to match the expectations and needs of the people, due to which company lost its market share into the hands of other mobile manufacturing companies. References http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/matrix/bcg/ http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2665715 http://bgr.com/2014/02/12/blackberry-market-share-q4-2013/ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-28/blackberry-market-share-to-fall-to-0-3-in-2018-idc-says.html

WordPress Plan for My Gaming Site

WordPress Plan for My Gaming Site Dami Olayemi Introduction The purpose and rationale behind my gaming site will be discussed. To start with, the purpose of this website is to help gamers learn the strategies for this game and also enjoy playing the game. As well as have a way for people to discuss the game and confirm if the strategies work. Target Audience I am going to run a WordPress site that is targeting males and females gamers who are in their 18 to 25 years old. They are males and females who desire to know more strategies for the game they play; as well as how to improve their scores. Other people might also follow this account, and see the value of it. It would or could include young/inexperienced gamers in their 18 to 25 years of age to want to learn more about the game. Layout / Design The page layout for each of the web pages is as follows. First of all, the home page has rollovers, so people can scroll to what will be focused on the site. In addition, the home page will have a design, so there will be simple look to it. On the other hand, the about us page will have a slightly different layout. It will have a mix of two to three columns in each. There will be a slider showing the website owner and other aspects of the blog. In addition, in certain boxes discussing how the site came to be, and the person who owns the site. For the strategies page there will be codes discussed for each of the different games in different boxes. On another note, the blog pages will have three posts showing a Top 5, checklist, and a tutorial. People who check out the site can comment for this page and the strategy page. Also, for all the pages there will be a Facebook feed at the bottom, logo at the top, and along the social media icons. Finally, the contact page will allow people to either subscribe to the website or voice their concerns and suggestions. Therefore, this is the layout for the web pages. The colours I will be using are red and black for a few different reasons. To begin with, red is a very eye catching color and this makes it useful in case I want to draw some attention to my website theme. Furthermore black will be the main colour of the font, so it will easier for readability for people who are looking through the website. Altogether, these are the colours for the website overall. The types of images that I will be using are as follows. Firstly, the home page will have images of the game that will be discussed on the website. The about us page will have images of the website owner and pictures of each character on the game discussed on the website. The blog page will have images that are incorporated into the blog posts in the web page. Also, the strategy page will have some tactics to winning the game which it could be difficult. Finally, the contact page will have an image of where to find us. For all the Webpages at the top there will be the logo and social media icons on the bottom. All in all, these are the images that I might be using on my gaming website. The font size and type I will be using are as follows. The font type that is going to be used is Open Sans. It is easy to read, so individuals that have vision difficulties can have an easier time. The main size for the font is 16px. Also, the site title font size is 36px, so people can identify the web page they are looking at. In addition, there are similar fonts to this in the games discussed on the website. So, that will create a theme to connect everything together. All in all, Open Sans will be a suitable font for the website. The overall ideas of what I am trying to achieve with this layout will be discussed. First I will try to interest the target market that I am attracting. Also, trust the colour scheme to motivate my interest to the genders and ages I chose. Furthermore, grow my interest from males and females who play more video games, PC games, and mobile games. Lastly each web page will have a slightly different style to the website. Therefore, this will hopefully help to achieve the overall idea for my layout. Page Content Home Home page for gamers who like to use all the great champions for their strategy. When the public comes to the site, the first thing they will see is the homepage. Which there will be pictures in the slider of the game that will be discussed? This page will give a rundown of what will be on each of the page such as the strategies and the blogs. Also I will have a Facebook feed attached to this page to let individuals know other ways to find out about the site. Furthermore it will be an interesting and eye-catching experience for people who are going to look at this website. In addition, there will be a social media link and a logo of the game. Additionally, there will be a navigation bar on the right side of the page for the other webpage. All in all, this will be the public facing content on the Home page. Blog Blog that will show you all the tutorials, Top 5s, and checklists for certain champions to use in the game. Furthermore, when customers come to this page of the website, they will also see the Blog page. Which there will be a slider at the top below the logo and the social media symbol? Also, there is a title to interest my target audience to look through the posts. Additionally, the first post will have a How-to build up your ranking in the game that is going to be discussed. As well as, the next post will be a Top 10 of the champions for the game discussed on the website. To close with, the final post will be a video that shows one of the champions moves. All in all, the content on this page will definitely interest my target market. Story   Story of how this website started to help out gamers who love fierce competition. When customers come to this page of the website, they will be able to see all the stories of the game. Also there will be a slider at the top of the page, where the picture is included in that slider of the website. Furthermore there will be more information about the owner and pictures of the heroes from the game. Next there will be a title and a paragraph of how the website came to be. Lastly, to end with, I will show where to purchase the game. Altogether, the public facing content for the Story will be exciting and enlightening. Contact Contact the website owner and the way to subscribe to our emails. Finally, on the contact us page, the public will be able to see the companies phone number, address, and email. Also for the address part there will be a Google maps to show the location of the business. Right beside it will be the contact form to let people make suggestions, or raise some concerns, which it will have a very simple, yet professional look for this webpage.   Blog Posts Social Media

Summary of Expo Center :: essays research papers

An Informative Summary of â€Å"Japanese Hospitality Robots Debut at World Expo† Tsuno, Yoshikazu â€Å"Japanese Hospitality Robots Debut At World Expo.† 9 Mar 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  SpaceDaily 1 Apr 2005 . The 2005 World Exposition in Nagkute, Japan will present technical wonders to the public. The World Expo runs in the central Aichi region for six months starting March 25. Japan uses the expo to display its technological might. Interactive Robots on display will be the main attraction. The Expo includes robots that resemble young women, called Actroid, in information booths that speak four languages. Guest felt awkward due to Actroid’s realistic human features. The designers wanted the most honest reaction from the guest. Three versions of the Actroid with different faces will be mobilized at the Expo. Japan hopes Actroid will draw 15 million visitors to its industrial heartland. There are also security contingent robots on wheels and tiny colorful machines that sing. The Alsok guard robot has a touch panel in its chest to provide directions to visitors. If Alsok detects suspicious people it will try to scare them away with sirens and lights. Alsok can also detect fires and report them to a security center. For small children there is the child-care robot PaPeRo. With built-in cameras and microphones, it can recognize the faces of children and say their names. The PaPeRo also sings with children and quizzes them, recognizing who voice even if they try to trick it. With the expo running for six months, the public will see many advances in robotics created to interact with humans. Even thou we are able to see and interact with them, it will be some time before the public can purchase them. Japanese Hospitality Robots Debut At World Expo Japanese robot venture Kokoro's humanoid robot 'Actroid', able to recognize 40,000 phrases in four languages, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and English, guides visitors at a reception for the 2005 World Exposition Aichi in Nagkute near Nagoya, central Japan 07 March 2005. Japan will welcome the millions of guests at the World Exposition opening this month with hosts trained to greet them in their language, entertain their children and perform rap music with them - the gracious hosts are robots. AFP photo by Yoshikazu Tsuno. by Yoshikazu Tsuno Nagakute, Japan (AFP) Mar 09, 2005 Japan will welcome the millions of guests at the World Exposition opening this month with hosts trained to greet them in their language, entertain their children and perform rap music with them.

Prescription Obesity Drugs Essay -- Pharmaceuticals

1. Has FDA provided ‘sufficient guidance’ to guide development and registration of prescription diet medications? If you agree, provide examples of what you consider ‘sufficient advice’ (including date of publication). I believe the FDA does provide sufficient guidance on the development and registration of prescription diet medications. In 2007, FDA issued draft guidance that clearly defines their expectations to judge effectiveness (weight reduction and maintenance of weight loss after 1 year’s treatment). It also indicates an effective product should provide improvements in blood pressure, lipids, and glycaemia therefore changes in common weight-related comorbidities need factored into clinical trial to assess efficacy. FDA also states it expects to see drug-mediated weight reduction demonstrated to result from a loss of body fat verified through advance screening tools. From a safety perspective, the FDA states the drug should not adversely affect cardiovascular function particularly highlighting cardiac valvulopathy. 2. Has FDA’s grounds for rejecting the NDAs of prescription diet pills in the last 10 years been based on safety/efficacy concerns? In 2010 alone, three drugs reviewed by the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee (EMDAC) have failed to gain approval. EMDAC felt each drug (naltrexone/bupriopion, lorcaserin and phentermine/topiratate) had unacceptable safety issues (particularly cardiovascular risk profiles). The committee also concluded that lorcaserin did not provide enough convincing evidence of efficacy and safety to gain approval. EMDAC cite lack of diversity in the phase 3 trial population might result in efficacy of the drug being overstated while potential safety risks understated. Whi... ... FDA. (2010). FDA Briefing Document: NDA 22529 Lorqess (lorcaserin hydrochloride) Tablets, 10 mg. Sponsor: Arena Pharmaceuticals Advisory Committee. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/downloads/advisorycommittees/committeesmeetingmaterials/drugs/endocrinlogicalandmetabolicdrugsadvisorycommittee/ucm225631.pdf FDA. (2007). Guidance for Industry. Developing Products for Weight Management. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/ucm071612.pdf FDA. (2011).Predictive Safety Testing Consortium (PSTC). Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/PartnershipsCollaborations/PublicPrivatePartnershipProgram/ucm231132.html McCallister, E. (2011). BioCentury, Obesity Reset. Retrieved from http://www.biocentury.com/promotions/obesity/next-generation-of-obesity-drugs-unlikely-to-reach-regulators-before-2014.html Prescription Obesity Drugs Essay -- Pharmaceuticals 1. Has FDA provided ‘sufficient guidance’ to guide development and registration of prescription diet medications? If you agree, provide examples of what you consider ‘sufficient advice’ (including date of publication). I believe the FDA does provide sufficient guidance on the development and registration of prescription diet medications. In 2007, FDA issued draft guidance that clearly defines their expectations to judge effectiveness (weight reduction and maintenance of weight loss after 1 year’s treatment). It also indicates an effective product should provide improvements in blood pressure, lipids, and glycaemia therefore changes in common weight-related comorbidities need factored into clinical trial to assess efficacy. FDA also states it expects to see drug-mediated weight reduction demonstrated to result from a loss of body fat verified through advance screening tools. From a safety perspective, the FDA states the drug should not adversely affect cardiovascular function particularly highlighting cardiac valvulopathy. 2. Has FDA’s grounds for rejecting the NDAs of prescription diet pills in the last 10 years been based on safety/efficacy concerns? In 2010 alone, three drugs reviewed by the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee (EMDAC) have failed to gain approval. EMDAC felt each drug (naltrexone/bupriopion, lorcaserin and phentermine/topiratate) had unacceptable safety issues (particularly cardiovascular risk profiles). The committee also concluded that lorcaserin did not provide enough convincing evidence of efficacy and safety to gain approval. EMDAC cite lack of diversity in the phase 3 trial population might result in efficacy of the drug being overstated while potential safety risks understated. Whi... ... FDA. (2010). FDA Briefing Document: NDA 22529 Lorqess (lorcaserin hydrochloride) Tablets, 10 mg. Sponsor: Arena Pharmaceuticals Advisory Committee. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/downloads/advisorycommittees/committeesmeetingmaterials/drugs/endocrinlogicalandmetabolicdrugsadvisorycommittee/ucm225631.pdf FDA. (2007). Guidance for Industry. Developing Products for Weight Management. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/ucm071612.pdf FDA. (2011).Predictive Safety Testing Consortium (PSTC). Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/PartnershipsCollaborations/PublicPrivatePartnershipProgram/ucm231132.html McCallister, E. (2011). BioCentury, Obesity Reset. Retrieved from http://www.biocentury.com/promotions/obesity/next-generation-of-obesity-drugs-unlikely-to-reach-regulators-before-2014.html

The Effects of Drug Abuse

The Effect of Drug Abuse Jason Russ The Effect of Drug Abuse Many people do not understand why or how other people become addicted to drugs. It can be wrongfully assumed that drug abusers lack moral principles or willpower and that they could stop using drugs simply by choosing to change their behavior. In reality, drug addiction is a complex disease, and quitting takes more than good intentions. In fact, because drugs change the brain in ways that foster compulsive drug abuse, quitting is difficult, even for those who are ready to do so.Through scientific advances, we know more about how drugs work in the brain than ever, and we also know that drug addiction can be successfully treated to help people stop abusing drugs and lead productive lives. Today, thanks to science, our views and responses to drug abuse has changed dramatically. â€Å"Groundbreaking discoveries about the brain have revolutionized our understanding of drug addiction, enabling us to respond effectively to the pr oblem,† (Volkow).Addiction is a developmental disease that begins in infancy and adolescence and is influenced by a combination of factors involving genes, environment, and an individual’s age at first drug use. The genes that people are born with in combination environmental influences of their addiction defenselessness. To addition that, gender, ethnicity, and the mental disorders may influence risk for drug abuse and addiction. â€Å"Scientists estimate that genetic factors account for between 40 and 60 percent of a person’s vulnerability to addiction, including the effects of environment on gene expression and function.Adolescents and individuals with mental disorders are at greater risk of drug abuse and addiction than the general population†, (Volkow). Few weakness genes have been found for alcohol dependence and nicotine addiction. Alcoholism is a genetically inherited disease. There are several evidences proving that â€Å"Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine conducted a genome-wide association study in 2006 and identified several novel genes involved in nicotine dependence.In 2004, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found a protein, called Arc, which may be a culprit in drug addiction. The protein helps the brain retain memories for longer than an hour or two†, (Association of American Medical Colleges). â€Å"In 1994, scientists at the Oregon Health & Science University were the first to clone the mammalian gene for the D2 dopamine receptor. Dopamine is a brain neurotransmitter that is thought to be essential to the brain’s response to drugs like opiates and psycho stimulants,† (Association of American Medical Colleges). Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine researchers reported in 2006 that men’s brains show evidence of up to three times the amount of the brain chemical dopamine as women’s brains when exposed to amphetamines. This is the first clinical study that explains why more men than women abuse amphetamines and could lead to tailored treatments for drug abuse and neurological diseases†, (Association of American Medical Colleges).On the other hand, many people believe that â€Å"Addiction is a choice†, meaning anyone can stop or moderate their use of addictive drugs anytime they want to by just going to Meditation, Yoga, Exercise, Acupuncture and Counseling. However, drug addiction is a certain disease because one of the main reasons is called dopamine. â€Å"Addictive drugs trigger the release of the brain chemical dopamine, which in turn creates a reward circuit in the brain. This circuit registers that intense experience as â€Å"important† and creates lasting memories of it as a pleasurable experience.Dopamine changes the brain on a cellular level, commanding the brain to â€Å"do it again,† which heightens the possibility of relapse even long after the behavior (or drug) has s topped. Dopamine also helps to explain why intense experiences can be just as addictive as drugs,† (Smithstein). A person’s environment includes many different influences, from family and friends to quality of life in general. Factors such as peer pressure, physical and sexual abuse, stress, and quality of parenting can greatly influence the occurrence of drug abuse and the growth to addiction in a person’s life.Many people today do not understand why some become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to foster obsessive drug abuse. Parents who abuse drugs or engage in criminal behavior can increase children’s risks of developing their own drug problems. Use of substances by parents and their children is strongly correlated; generally, if parents take drugs, sooner or later their children will also. Teenagers who use drugs are more likely to have one or more parents who also use drugs. Children who depend on illicit drugs usually have poor social skills or academic failures. In 2004, researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA used structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computational brain mapping to reveal structural abnormalities in the brains of chronic methamphetamine users†, (Association of American Medical Colleges). â€Å"A 2005 study at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine showed that functional MRI might be used to predict relapse in substance-dependent individuals. A simple two-choice test correctly predicted 20 of 22 subjects who did not relapse and 17 of 18 subjects who did†, (Association of American Medical Colleges). In one study, 41% of addicted parents reported that at least one of their children repeated a grade in school, 19% were involved in truancy, and 30% had been suspended from school†, (National Association for Children of Alcoholics). People, who believe that drug addiction is not a disease, claim that have nothing do with the environm ent. But the scientist says that a people were influenced by a combination factors including genes and environment increased drug abuse. â€Å"In 1995, nearly 3. 1 million children were reported to child protective services as abused or neglected. Approximately one million of these reports were substantiated.Substance abuse was found to be a factor in a majority of these cases†, (sparkaction. org). Behavioral treatments help engage people, modifying their attitudes and behaviors related to drug abuse and increasing their life skills to handle complicated, stressful life circumstances and environmental cues that may trigger intense cravings for drugs. Additionally it can enhance the effectiveness of medications and help people remain in treatment in the longer term. The combination of genetic and environmental, factors with serious developmental stages in a person’s life to affect addiction vulnerability.Even though taking drugs at any age can lead to addiction, the ear lier that drug use begins, the more likely it will progress to more serious abuse, which teenagers will suffer more. Because their brains are still developing in the areas that choice, and self-control, young people may be especially prone to risk-taking behaviors, including trying drugs of abuse. Babies may be born premature and underweight were exposed to legal and illegal drugs in the womb. This drug exposure will damage and slow the child’s intellection and behavior later in life. Adolescents who abuse drugs often, do poorly academically, and drop out of school.They are at risk of unplanned pregnancies, violence, and infectious diseases. Adults have problems thinking clearly, remembering, and paying attention because the drugs damaging their brain cells. They often develop poor social behaviors as a result of their drug abuse, and their work performance and personal relationships suffer. Parents’ drug abuse often means chaotic, stress-filled homes and child abuse a nd neglect. â€Å"Such conditions harm the development of children in the home and may set the stage for drug abuse in the next generation. It is a proven fact that substance abuse is the leading cause for people to commit crimes.Drugs and alcohol can mess with a person’s mind and cause them to do stupid things, as in robberies, murders, become violent, etc. Drugs such as alcohol, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, narcotics and non-narcotics (prescription pills), opium, ecstasy, and mushrooms can all lead to psychological effects on a person’s mind. â€Å"Amphetamines and cocaine increase wakefulness, alertness and vigilance, improve concentration, and produce a feeling of clear thinking (Barton R&M, 2008). There is generally an elevation of mood, mild euphoria, increases sociability, and a belief that one can do just about anything. Depending on the drugs that are being used and the way they are being used, depends on how long the effects from it will last. Some can last from a few minutes to a few hours. Usually the prescription pills last for hours and cocaine effects last for only a few minutes. Any drug can lead to problems with a person’s brain; it can make one mentally disabled. It can also lead to regular nose bleeds, loss of smell, swallowing problems and inflammation of nasal septum. This can occur if one abuses drugs by snorting it through their nose.The abuse of prescription drugs are the second most abused drugs in our Nation, with Marijuana being first and Cocaine being third, heroin fourth, and methamphetamine fifth. This list will give an idea of exactly how serious this type of drug addiction is to our Nation today and how it will impact our future. According to the National Health Institute about 20% of people have used prescription drugs for non-medical issues (National Institutes of Health). When you are prescribed pain medication for an injury you may be told to take one pill every 4 hours but you feel that one is not work ing so you take two this is prescription drug abuse.You may not think that it is that big of a deal but studies say that if you abuse it once you are more at risk of abusing prescription drugs again. Although most people who abuse prescription drugs abuse pain killers there are other types that are abused also. Drug addiction is a chronic yet preventable. According to NIDA-funded research, they have shown that prevention programs relating families, schools, communities, and the media are effective in reducing drug abuse. Although many actions and cultural factors affect drug abuse trend, when people recognize drug abuse as harmful, will stop taking drugs.Thus, education is key in helping people and the public understands the risks of drug abuse. Teachers, parents, medical and public health professionals must keep sending the message that drug addiction can be prevented if one never takes drugs. References: Barton R&M 2008. , â€Å"Mexico's Drug-Related Violence,† Congressiona l Research Service â€Å"Drug Use and Abuse: Fighting the Destructive Grip of Addiction† Kirst-Ashman, K. (2011). Human behavior in the macro social environment (3rd ed. ). Brooks Cole.ISBN: 9780495813651. Kolar, A. F. , Brown, B. S. , Haertzen, C. A. , & Michaelson, B. S. , CHILDREN OF ADDICTED PARENTS: IMPORTANT FACTS. National Association for Children of Alcoholics, 1994 Nora D. Volkow, Science of Addiction. National Institutes on Drug Abuse, April 2007 Samantha Smithstein, Dopamine: why it's so hard to â€Å"just say no†. Psychology Today, 19 August 2010

LeBron James ‘I’m Coming Home’ Analysis Essay

LeBron James uses specific strategies, especially Pathos, to achieve his purpose of explaining his decisions in the past years of his basketball career. His choice of language appeals to the emotions of his fans and basketball spectators as a whole as he attempts to win back the trust and respect of his hometown fans. He does this in paragraph one, for example, by emphasizing that Ohio is his home, and that it is always going to have a place in his heart and motivate him to succeed. He uses repetition to get his point across when he states, â€Å"It’s where I walked. It’s where I ran. It’s where I cried. It’s where I bled.† This places an effect on his audience in which they accept James as one of their own, for it shows his special relationship with his city. It seems to, subtly, tell the story of an average boy growing up in a small town and instills the image into his audiences’ minds that Ohio raised him and that the people there are fami ly. LeBron assures his audience that he has matured and that he has finally realized that his â€Å"relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball.† He speaks of his actions as a learning experience, and compares it to â€Å"college for other kids.† James uses ethos here to give credibility to his choices. This ensures his Cleveland fans that his past decisions were not disrespectful as they originally thought, but actually imperative to his growth as a basketball superstar. In addition, James decides to solidify the fact that he loved what he did in Miami with his teammates on the Miami Heat, and that that is something he will cherish as he moves on to the next stages of his career. His diction, which includes, â€Å"We are brothers for life† shows the respect he has acquired for his team in Miami. This shows his sincerity in his approach to the situation. Also, James decides to mention his family. He specifically mentions that when his agency ended in Miami, he would not go anywhere but Cleveland in order to be able to raise his family in his hometown. Once again, James achieves his goal of gaining the trust of his fans by stressing that Ohio is his home. He specifically includes his family to prove his loyalty to Cleveland fans and Ohio as his home state. James uses repetition again towards the end of his essay when he says his calling to Cleveland â€Å"goes above basketball.† He wants not only  to reaffirm his commitment to the team and fans, but to the city as a whole. He discusses his care for the community and his responsibility in making Ohio a great place to grow up. The concluding paragraph brings all of his points together when it states that James is â€Å"ready to accept the challenge,† and most importantly, that he is â€Å"coming home.† His goal of appealing to his Cleveland fans’ emotions s ucceeded as he ensured them that they are his motivation, and that playing in their city makes him happy.

God-given attributes Essay

The 19th century held some of the very best traditions and practices the United States had. Yet, some of them today are not existent anymore due to the fact that the concept of the â€Å"American Dream† is slowly fading from the recesses of our very consciousness. If we are to examine the art of the late 19th century, we can observe that the paintings project an old fashioned way of American life, where people do what is right and honorable; a peaceful way of life. It is a life full of hopes and dreams that the American people will work and progress further together into the future. Each individual, as a free man, can do what he can with his God-given attributes. The concept of the â€Å"American Dream† has changed so much to the extent that the perception nowadays is that financial stability is the gauge of living this dream. Working parents are always scampering out of their homes in search of monetary gain, leaving their kids behind to care for themselves. This effectuates circumstances of broken homes, where children are neglected and not taught the honest ways of life; thus, they grow as individuals lacking good character traits. This eventually leads to the erosion of the American society; the breaking down of the social structure based on the â€Å"American Dream† concept. If we are to retain the things that make us good Americans, then we have to compromise with ourselves and with our fellow man for the benefit of everybody. Development is not at all bad; yet, we have to integrate some of the fine old-fashioned ways of the 19th century with that of the present in order to alleviate the effects brought upon by some of the destructive ways of present living.

Exploratory Writing Essay

I came from a family with a hereditary disease called diabetes. All my relatives in the father side already have diabetes and as we all know, this is a killer disease. If people with diabetes do not consider control of their blood sugar and use sugar-free products then what would become of them. Most likely, they could have organ malfunction and worse, dead. Based on experience, most dieticians recommend that we, diabetics use sugar free products. However, maybe the lot of them has not read the article that I had come across with when I was researching about sugar-free products. It has been stated in Science Daily last February 13, 2006 that sugar-free products contain substances that can cause cancer to rats. It was stated in the article there is a certain percentage of consumption of the artificial sweeteners that we call â€Å"sugar-free† sweeteners. These substances have been already used in many products in the market. This does not only include sodas but also in the bread and candies available in the market. Even though it has not yet been proven that humans are really affected by these substances there are evidences that rats develop carcinogenic cells. Rats are also living creatures and if the sugar-free substance affects the rats, then it would definitely affect humans. I asked some of the member of the family and they also agree about the matter. There are possible solutions to this problem, my family and I could consider stopping the use of sugar-free substances. However, this proves to be difficult because if not for the sugar-free substances then this may cause our blood sugars to go sky high. It is really hard for diabetics to control their own cravings for sugar. Almost everybody that I know have a sweet tooth. However, since artificial sweeteners could prove to be very harmful to our health then maybe we ought to think twice before eating foods that contain artificial sweeteners. Works Cited â€Å"Rats At Levels Currently Approved For Humans. † Science Daily 13 February 2006. 26 February 2008 .

A Girls Best Friend

My best friend is Mo. Shes cute, good looking and not talk too much with the person that she isnt known very well. When you see her first time you might think shes hard to get along with but actually if you understand she well you will know that it isnt like what you see. She has a good smile, big eyes and pretty long hair that will let people want to be friend with her when they see her. In addition, Mo is a responsible person. She always takes care of her Jobs well and finishes the work on time. Shes hard working and organized. She can manage the time very well and everything is in her schedule. Moreover, shes reliable sometime Ill talk to her some secrets and she can keep the secret very well and wont talk to others. I think she is a really nice friend. What is more, Mo is a really good friend for me. Shes the person who understands me well. Shes always beside me when Im upset, listen to me and help me every time when I need help. When I have problem she will give me some advices and help me to solve the problem.Even when I dont understand in the lesson she explained patiently for me to understand every time. I think Im really lucky that I have met Mo and Im very happy we are friend and I think we will be friend forever. To summarizes, I think Mo Is a nice person. She has good appearance, personality and Im very happy that I can be friend with Mo who Is cute, responsible and always help me In everything. Finally, I think friend Is really Important for me and I hope we can be friend forever. But It made my day.

What managing leading, coaching, and motivating styles do managers Essay

What managing leading, coaching, and motivating styles do managers adopt in organisation A - Essay Example Money that is, in many instance, the life savings of clients are entrusted to the care of the banks. Banks are governed by rules to reinforce confidence that their clients’ money is protected. Banks are mandated by the government to follow these rules and transgressions are dealt with stiff penalties, including forfeiture to conduct business in extreme cases. The rules are most of the time the source of conflict between customers and the bank. These frictions, if allowed to escalate, lead to the diminished trust and confidence of the clients for the bank and when it continues to be unresolved, it will result to the withdrawal of the clients’ business from the bank. It is thus the responsibility of the bank’s customer frontlines or customer representatives to maintain, manage, and care for the bank’s clients that will strengthen and restore its trust and confidence for the bank. A customer that has the full faith and confidence for its bank is a satisfied customer who is willing to increase the volume of business and transactions for the benefit of the bank. An increase in transaction and business translates to an increase in its profitability and viability. Management in context of this paper is the provisioning of the necessary resources and giving decisions so that employees can do their job properly. The objective is to be able to convert business requirements into tangible results (Tannenbaum & Schmidt, 1958). Management style is the manner in which resources are provided and decisions are delivered to the employees to implement. This would include Managers who: makes decision and announces it; sells decision or convinces subordinate that it is the right decision; presents ideas and invite question; present tentative decision; presents problems, solicit suggestion then make decision; defines limits and ask group to make decision; permits subordinates to function within limits (Tannenbaum & Schmidt, 1958). Leadership

Critical Commentary on Orientalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critical Commentary on Orientalism - Essay Example According to Ghazoul (2004) orientalism can also be said to be descriptive of the dissemination of matters concerning geopolitical awareness into scholarly, aesthetic, sociological, economic, and historical texts. Edward Said introduced different meanings into the words ‘occident’ and ‘orient’. From his discourse, it would seem that the term ‘Orient’ basically evolved into being a negative construal of Eastern cultures by the Western culture. Edward Said was deeply interested in the scholarly study of African, Middle Eastern, and Asian cultures and history. He emphasised that his understanding of the concept of orientalism was not merely representative of modern intellectual as well as social and political cultures in Middle Eastern nations (Orrells 2012). Orientalism, to a large extent, deals in studies into the Eastern cultures between the 19th and 20th centuries. As an area of study, it remains controversial because it has to ties to the archaic beliefs that characterised colonialist or imperialist regimes. According to academic scholars like Mellor (2004) the whole concept of the ‘Orient’ is tied with how the West defines itself. In defining aspects of the concept of orientalism, Said tried to point out that one of the major factors that defined this issue was the reality of the divergence of power between colonisers and the colonised tribes more in the past. According to Irwin (2006) there are many Weste rn ideological preconceptions that are hidden within the concepts of orientalism.

Organisations have different forms ranging from sole trader to large Essay

Organisations have different forms ranging from sole trader to large multinational corporations. Choose an organization of your choice and complete the followin - Essay Example The Coca-Cola is one of the most celebrated brands among all the world-class products and industries. The title, trademark and logo of this giant organisation are thought to be the symbol of reliance and confidence. Introduced in May 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia, Coca-Cola company has become very much popular among the people of various age groups and socioeconomic classes all over the globe. Right now, it is at the top in respect of sales among the soft drinks, mineral water and food products of the globe. During the last many decades, the organisation has been the sponsor of mega events and grand ceremonies including Olympic Games, World Cups, G-8 conferences and other domestic, national and international ceremonies. An international organisation makes its plans and devises its strategy for the people of the whole world without discrimination; so it always maintains a universal thoughtfulness and a global vision while manufacturing and selling its products. The products of a multinational organisation are welcomed and well-known at divergent parts of the world, which enhances its popularity and unconditionally supports the company in respect of its sales volume and sound reputation. A global product always paves the way towards innovative ideas in manufacturing and marketing, which is also beneficial for the local brands to improve their quality and present their products to the customers in a refined way. An international brand contains its offices, outlets and factories everywhere on the Earth, where it hires the services of the people as its employees in every country, which is highly supportive in respect of introducing new products and presenting novel ideas in a refined way.. The multinational brand has wide range of its consumers, which not only results in the manufacturing of new tastes, but the brilliant brains existing everywhere as the employees of the company do not let the rival brands beat their company. A

Research and Referencing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research and Referencing - Assignment Example devices are made of extremely trendy design and size so as to persuade the target customers to purchase the specific brand as compared to competitors within the region of Hawassa. This might prove effective for the mobile phone selling organization to amplify its customer base and loyalty in the market among others. Consumer behaviour is a very important term for the industry players of mobile phone segment in this era as it solves all the queries related to buying such as taste and preference of the customers, price margin, feasible time of purchase, the effective ways followed at the time of purchasing and the specific reasons for purchasing etc. If all the above mentioned queries might be analysed and evaluated by the marketer or the entrepreneur of a mobile phone, then the demand and total sales of the product lines might get increased as compared to their rival players. Certain other factors that influence the buying behaviour of a customer are individual and environmental (Sata, 2013). Among individual factors such as knowledge, perception, personality, attitude, life style etc offers high influence at the time of purchasing. Similarly, environmental factors like social class, culture, family etc also need to be determined at the time of launching or developing a specific mobile phone dev ice. Thus, from the above mentioned points, it might be clearly analysed that the prime factors that affect consumer buying decision are price, social factors, durability, brand name, features of the product and after sales services offered by the

Davis v. The Board of County Commissioners of Doa Ana County Essay

Davis v. The Board of County Commissioners of Doa Ana County - Essay Example This made Herrera resign from his work in order to evade the disciplinary action. After a few days, the supervisor wrote a letter on behalf of Herrera to the MVH revealing that Herrera was an excellent worker arguing that he was confident that other prospective employees will notice (Walsh (2010, p. 148). Another supervisor of the Detention Centre made some verbal references that praised Herrera as a good worker who will contribute to effective organization performance. This made the plaintiff, the third party in this case to sue the Detention County for negligent misinterpretations of providing misleading information. This misinformation was provided by Mochen and Steele, employees at the Detention Center, which enabled Herrera to be employed again at the MVH. This legal issue was seen as a threat to employee; thus the plaintiff to be assaulted; hence sorted to accuse the board of county commissioners of Dona Ana County. The court concludes that Dona Ana Country deserves to be accountable for negligent referral (misinterpretation) due to positive references. When Herrera got a position as mental health technician, he was allegedly accused of sex assault by the plaintiff and physically abused female patients. In case an organization provides misleading references that can contribute to harm of employees in the new job, the jurisdictions have the right to sue that organization for negligent referral. According to Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto (2004), the court of appeal has the right to judge Steele and Mochen for not taking into considerations the harm caused to the third party and the risk that may be encountered in the end. The government has laws that protect all employees and the third parties in an organization from any harm imposed upon them. The US departments of Labor and its divisions have varied laws, which can shield third parties or employees in the workplace. Cases of negligent or a misinterp retation of any information provided

Tourism Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Tourism Law - Case Study Example In short, Kate from the case had to be compensated for the damages the breweries caused her. In cases that entail breech of a company’s contract to ensure its products are to the expected standards is usually an offence. In this case, Kate even after suing the company would not be compensated since her friend also took the drink and did not get sick2. This case is similar to the case Donoghue and Stevenson. In this case, Donoghue had been served a ginger beer that contained snail in it3. In Bethany Cafà ©, he drank it a he later was reported to have become really seek to the extent of getting into shock. Donoghue after recovery from the hosp sued the manufacturer in Paisley, David Stevenson for damage fee worth 500 Euros4. In the case, Donoghue did not receive his compensation since at that time; the ginger beer was well named and the beer did not harm his friend which had ordered the drink for him. This case bears resemblance to Kate’s case and would basically end in the same

Analysis of Radio Ratings Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis of Radio Ratings - Assignment Example The ABC station is non-commercial and is not dependent on rating figures for revenue. Those working and running the shows watch the rating figures for this station closely (Sterling, 191). The winners of the radio rating survey were Australian radio network as their Mix FM and WSFM stations recorded an increase in their market share (Hardie, Pp 3). The breakfast team of in WSFM that is run by Jonesy, Amanda recorded, and increases of 1.3 percent while their market share increased by 9.0 percent. Kyle and Jackie O market share increased by 0.8 percent. The dominating station at the top on the AM band and 2GB had an increase of 0.6 percent with a market share rating of 14.1 percent. Alan Jones recorded an increase of 0.1 percent in their breakfast show slot that led the slot with 17.1 percent. Chris Moyles is a host and disk jockey on BBC’s Radio breakfast show. For more than half a decade, his listeners’ span has dropped to a new low. This incidence takes place while his departure from the studio years. Moyles is a self-made redeemer of radio 1, making him one of the few people to depart from the prime occupation in United Kingdom’s radio in September 2012. His listeners’ span dropped to 6.93 million within a ninety-day period to the last part of June. According to the most recent postings from Rajar listening statistics, radio 1 had a mean of weekly tuning of 11.27 million listeners. This is an increment of 1.2% from the preceding quarter but a drop of 3.6% from preceding years. Moyles continuously increased his breakfast audience from an opening 5.93 million listeners in 2004 to an extreme figure of 7.9 million at the start of 2010. Nevertheless, Moyles was up against Wogan, and currently Evans, who both had an opening audience exceeding two million listeners. Moyles lost the leading spot and his audience figures have been plummeting ever since.  Ã‚  

Faustus and Conflict Essay Example for Free

Faustus and Conflict Essay Christopher Marlowes play Doctor Faustus presents a story that is filled with various forms of significant philosophical conflict. While, on the surface, the play is intended to focus on the form of Faustus fortunes, the scope of the play includes commentary on several other important themes (Prologue.8). Marlowe uses Faustuss position to demonstrate a sharp contrast between the values of the medieval time period with the developing values associated with the Renaissance movement. Faustuss story shows a direct conflict between the traditional and the modern in its form, its ideology, and its view of religion. Since Marlow maintains an ongoing struggle between these various elements throughout the play, a struggle also exists between the tragic and comedic elements of the story. Marlowes ambiguity toward the primary direction of the play creates a situation in which the ultimate purpose of the plays comedic scenes remains uncertain even after Faustuss final moments. The content of Faustuss story superficially focuses on Faustuss struggle to maintain control over the destiny of his own soul. Faustuss desire to become a mighty god leads him to make a deal with Lucifer, in which he exchanges his soul for twenty four years of demonic power (1.62). Throughout the play Faustus struggles with repentance and disbelief, and he is eventually condemned to Hell for his actions. Symbolically, Faustuss story is more appropriately a representation of the struggle, evident during Marlowes time period, between the traditional ideas of the medieval period and the modern ideas of the Renaissance. This conflict is evident within the first few lines of the play. Marlowe begins the play by having Faustus announce that he has given up on the traditional schools of thought, such as the study of religion, law, and medicine. Instead, he plans to study that damned art of necromancy or black magic (2.29). While traditional medieval thought encouraged the unquestioning acceptance of ancient philosophy, Renaissance thought encouraged experimentation and a rethinking of previously accepted beliefs. While Faustuss actions may show his support of these Renaissance beliefs, his ultimate demise suggests that Renaissance thought may also be imperfect because it does not include a belief in God. This dualism between modern and traditional thought is also evident in the structure of the play. Marlowe employs elements that would be common in most traditional plays, such as the use of a chorus. He also uses mythical comparisons, depicting Faustus as another Icarus, a man who will eventually mount above his reach (Prologue.21). Faustus is also depicted as a tragically flawed character. Faustus is portrayed by the Chorus as being swollen with cunning (Prologue.20). Like Achilles, Hercules, or other traditional Greek heroes, Faustus has a character flaw that will mostly likely lead to his demise, but the eternal damnation of Faustus, to the Elizabethan audience, would be the equivalent of damning great Greek heroes, and thus creates artificial traditional expectations of the play. Simultaneously, Marlowe also ignores many of the important characteristics of traditional tragedies. While most tragedies depict historically important characters, Faustuss story is a tale of an ordinary man, not of the courts of kings or the pomp of proud audacious deeds (Prologue.4-5). By focusing on the common man and also by writing in blank verse, a style that was uncommon during this period, Marlowe breaks away from the traditional expectations of a tragic play. Faustuss view of religion also constantly vacillates between a traditional acceptance of Christianity and a modern rejection of it. When Faustus initially reads that [t]he reward of sin is death, and that [i]f we say we that we have no sin, / We deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us he suggests that Christianity is a futile endeavor and decides that What will be, shall be! Divinity, adieu! (1.40-43, 48). He mistakenly characterizes Christianity as being based on punishment rather than on forgiveness, a mistake that he repeats throughout the play. Later, he believes his heart has become so hardened that he cannot repent! (5.196). While he initially suggests that Hell is nothing but a fable, Faustuss religious convictions continue to grow. Upon seeing Lucifer and Mephistopheles, he cries out, O Faustus, they are come to fetch thy soul! and even murmurs Consummatum est, meaning it is finished, which were Christs dying words on the cross, after signing his deal with Lucifer (5.264, 74). In this manner, Marlowe remains ambiguous throughout most of the play as to his position on the various conflicts he has depicted. For the audience, Faustus position as a modern man and Marlowes portrayal of religion remain in doubt. For this reason, the comedic scenes also remain ambiguous throughout the play. The audience remains uncomfortably unsure as to whether the comedy is intended to garner support for Faustus as the ultimate hero of the story or to mock Faustus by foreshadowing his own demise. The conclusion of the play demonstrates that the comedy depicted in the play, in addition to its theatrical purpose of providing a comedic interlude, provides a critical depiction of Faustuss fall from grace. One of the first comedic scenes in the play occurs when Faustus asks the demon Mephistopheles to reappear in the habit of a friar since [t]hat holy shape becomes a devil best (3.26). While the depiction of a devil in the garb of a Catholic friar would have undoubtedly been hysterical to Marlowes staunchly Protestant audience, the scene also carries significant meaning. By having Mephistopheles disguise his true figure, Faustus, despite his fearless speech, seems unable to stomach the true nature of Hell. Even when Mephistopheles seems to warn Faustus that his own pride and insolence have forever barred him from the face of heaven and that he is now tormented with ten thousand hells, Faust clings to his own diluted version of Hell (3.67-68, 79). He delusionally envisions Hell as a continuation of an earthly existence, and criticizes Mephistopheles for his lack of manly fortitude (3.85). The comedy within the play is continued by the antics of the characters Wagner, Robin, Rafe, and the Clown. Most of these comedic actions seem to foreshadow Faustuss own downfall. The first depiction of Wagner and the Clown mirrors Faustus signing his soul over to Lucifer. During this scene, Wagner convinces the Clown to become his servant for seven years, and the Clown jokes about how he would sell his soul for a shoulder of well-seasoned mutton. While represented in a comedic fashion, this scene foreshadowing the triviality of the power Faustus has obtained in exchange for his soul. As suggested by Mephistopheless unwillingness to discuss things that are against our kingdom, Faustus soon discovers that there are severe limitations placed upon the power wielded by Lucifer and his minions (5.247). In another comedic scene involving these characters, Robin, the stable hand, and Rafe steal a cup from a tavern and are pursued by the tavern wine-maker. Robin summons Mephistopheles to frighten the vintner, and is chastised by the demon for being summoned for a practical joke. Mephistopheles threatens to turn the two men into a dog and an ape. While Mephistopheles is obviously angered by the triviality of Robins request, his anger also reflects his own suggestion that Faustus abandon his frivolous demands (3.81). This scene foreshadows how Faustus will eventually abandon his own lofty goals and will also use his power primarily to play practical jokes. Much of the comedy in the play is related to the digression of Faustuss goals and the ways in which he employs his power. Faustus begins the play with many lofty goals. With his powers, Faustus plans to have spirits bring him jewels from around the world, teach him vast secrets of the universe, and make him king of Germany. He planed to change the course of the Rhine River and remake the entire map of Europe. Initially, Faustus appears to be on the path toward reaching these goals. Wagner tells how Faustus has ridden through the cosmos on the back of a dragon learning the secrets of astronomy from Mephistopheles. But Faustus quickly losses momentum, and, upon reaching Rome, decides to use his power to play practical jokes on the Pope. While this idea would, once again, be extremely funny to Marlowes Protestant audience, it represents the beginning of Faustuss digression. As time progresses, Faustuss audiences also decrease in their level of importance. Following his time with the Pope, one of the most influential figures during this time period, Faustus meets the German Emperor Charles V, who is also an important figure but not as important as the Pope. During this meeting, Faustus, unable to fulfill the requests made by Charles due to more limitations on his powers, embarrasses a disrespectful knight in the Kings court by placing antlers on his head. This digression continues as Faustus final audience is with a simple nobleman and his wife. Faustuss display of power consists of fetching out of season grapes for the noblemans wife. The comedy during these scenes primarily includes a practical joke Faustus plays on a horse-courser. Like Robin and Rafes practical joke, Faustus now uses his power to play jokes on people his has already angered. Like many other aspects of the play, the comedy depicted by Faustuss gradual demise also remains ambiguous. For many, this demise can be seen as a failure in Renaissance thought. Faustuss search for power and knowledge has left him disconnected from God, the ultimate source of both. By not including God or morality in his search for truth, Faustus has become corrupted by the influences of power and no longer retains his somewhat nobler purposes. But Faustus also simultaneously fails in his attempts to incorporate a more traditional view of religion into his life. He recalls that Christ did call the thief upon the cross, believing that he too will be brought into paradise. Faustus, particularly during his last hours on Earth, seems to exhaust every possibility of incorporating religion into his life. He offers to make deals with God, begs for mercy if not redemption, and even turns to Helen of Troy, a representation of feminine virtue or Mother Mary, for reprieve. Faustuss condemnation demonstrates how Faustus has been simultaneously failed both by traditional religion and by the beliefs held by modern Renaissance thinkers. In conclusion, the comedy within this play serves a variety of purposes. Like many of the other elements in the play, the comic and tragic elements seem to struggle with one another throughout the play. This struggle is also seen in Faustuss struggle between Renaissance thought and form and a more traditional view of life and religion. When coupled with these various forms of conflict, the comedic scenes within Doctor Faustus cause the play to constantly waver between tragedy and comedy, leaving the audience without any knowledge of how the play will ultimately end or of the true meaning of the play. Most of the comedy seems to mock Faustuss decision to embrace a modern philosophy toward life, but, when religion ultimately fails him as well, Faustus seems to be a completely hopeless representation of man. The plays comedic scenes are another method, employed by Marlowe, to create confusion and veil the true significance of the play.

Case Study Of The Akosombo Hydroelectric Dam Environmental Sciences Essay

Case Study Of The Akosombo Hydroelectric Dam Environmental Sciences Essay The construction of Akosombo dam on the Volta river basin in Ghana created Volta Lake the largest man-made lake by surface area in the World. The purpose of this study was to examine the benefit and consequences of the dam on social, environmental and health issues. Critical analyses of primary literature over five decades were reviewed and some management solutions were outlined. The Akosombo hydroelectric project (HEP) contributed to accelerating of Ghanas economic development through industrial and mining sectors as well as for providing cheap electricity for domestic and commercial consumer. Fishing, transportation and tourism were positive benefit from the dam. However, negative impacts like the resettlement of 80 000 people, increase in health problem like the high rate of HIV, socio economic deprivation and injustice and destruction of the ecosystem. The greatest challenge facing Akosombo is management and lack of research on the aquatic systems at the basin. Key recommendatio n includes environmental compensatory approach and research into environmental flows of the Volta River. Ultimately, it is important for future HEP in Ghana be precede and adheres to EIA reports and involves stakeholders from planning to post construction stage to maximize overall development benefits, encompassing economic, social, and environmental impacts INTRODUCTION Hydro-electric power is an important source of energy for many countries especially in the tropical countries without advance technological development. In 2007, 3.2 % of global energy consumption and 20% of electricity generated came from hydropower (IEA, 2010). In many countries especially in Central America and Sub-Sahara Africa over half of all electricity generated comes from HEP (Anderson et al. 2006a and Gyau-Boakye 2001). The major advantages of HEP which makes it a preferred renewable energy sources are cost, zero air pollution, longer life span of plant, the low level of expertise for running and maintenance of HEP and lack of post production storage problems. Perhaps the biggest advantage hydropower enjoys over other sources is the fact that the cost per unit of electricity generated from hydro is cheaper than any other source. Globally, the trend of newly constructed hydropower has shifted from the temperate region to the tropical regions in the last two decades (Pringle et al., 2000). Dams construction is expected to double in developing countries due to expanding human populations, increasing rural electrification, and growing demands for electricity in the developing countries (Anderson et al. 2006a). Although the bulk of hydrodams constructed recently have been in the developing countries with China leading the number of newly constructed dams, the recent announcement of a major dam to be constructed in Alaska indicate the pull of hydro even as undaming of major rivers is taking place. It is projected that hydropower production would grow by nearly 60% in 2050 if the current rate of construction is maintained.(dams.org, 2010) Despite the numerous advantages, hydro-electric power (HEP) causes more ecological damage than all the rest of the renewable energy put together. The damage done to the natural flow system of rivers and associated impact on the ecosystem are documented in many studies (Anderson et al., 2006b; Pingle et al., 2000; Craig, 2000). They include natural flow alteration of a river, destruction of hydrologic connectivity, impeding the migration of fish and other aquatic biota effects. Asides the ecological impact, there is also the issue of social impact on the communities which includes changes in the landscape leading to flooding, displacement of local residents, increase in health risk factors as a result of the dam and reported deaths from dam failures. The Volta River Basin is located in West Africa and covers an estimated area of 400,000 km2 and is spread over six West African riparian countries (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cote dIvoire and Mali). There are a number of dams located within the Basin of which three large ones, Akosombo, Bagre and Kompienga, are solely for hydropower purposes. The Akosombo dam, which was constructed from 1962 to 1966 in Ghana, is by far the most significant structure built in the basin since the resulting lake is the one of the largest man-made lake in the world (Barry et al., 2005) and covers 4% of the surface area in Ghana however, the actual reservoir only has a surface area of about 8500 km2, an average depth of about 18.8m and a shoreline of about 5,500 km (Barry et al., 2005). The formation of the lake led to the generation of economic activities like transportation, fishing and tourism along the lake (Kumi, 1973). Although the primary purpose of the Akosombo hydrodam was to supply electricity for Volta Aluminum Smelting Company (VALCO) located 80km from the dam at Tema, Ghana, it contributed to accelerating of Ghanas economic development through industrial and mining sectors after its construction as well as for domestic and commercial consumers. Currently the dam supplies around 85% of Ghanas electricity need providing an average annual output of 6100 GWh. Despite the benefit of the dam to the country the long term environmental and social cost has been staggering. This paper seeks to review the impact of hydrodams in the Volta Basin with primary focus on the Akosombo dam. The aim of this study explores the biodiversity challenges facing the basin as a result of the HEP construction and review the impact on the social and the ecological aspects of the basin. Primary literature would be used to assess how the dam has positively or negatively affected the socio-environment aspects [the ecosystem (physical components, the biological community and water quality), social, health and economic impacts] of the basin. The study would focus specifically on the Akosombo but inference would be drawn from other dams across the basin in the analysis. Based on the study, outlined recommendations and solutions would be made for existing and future dams that might be constructed on the Volta River THE AKOSOMBO HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT The Volta Basin lies within latitudes 5 °.30 N and 14 °.30 N and longitudes 2 °.00 E and 5 °.30W. It is located in West Africa with six riparian countries (Ghana (42%) and Burkina Faso (43%) and the remaining 15% in Mali, Cà ´te dIvoire, Togo, and Benin) with Ghana occupying the downstream of the basin (figure 1). The building of the Akosombo dam follows almost a period of two decades of planning which began in 1947 when the first feasibility studies were conducted on the potential for volta river as a hydropower source. The bulk of the funding for the project estimated $ 260 million. was secured by Kaiser Aluminum from a US bank under persuasion from President Eisenhower in face saving from public relation disaster (GW 2010) The HEP was directly linked to efforts made to develop the huge Ghanas integrated bauxite to aluminium industry. The actual construction of the dam took place within1962-1972 under the management of the Volta River Authority (VRA) who were legally manda ted by the Act 46 to be caretakers of all Volta River related activities in Ghana. The Volta River Authority (VRA), a government owned utility, is largely responsible for electricity generation and transmission in Ghana. There were three phases of the project, phase one was the installation of 588MW unit of electricity which was completed in 1966m. The second phase involved an addition of 304MW electricity which resulted in total of 912 MW at the Akosombo dam. The last phase of the project was the setting up of a smaller HEP dam, 21km downstream, at Kpong. In terms of dam classification, the Akosombo dam is often classified as large dam whiles that of Kpong is classified as small hydro dam. Today a total of 1072MW of electricity is generated by the Akosombo HEP (VRA, 2010). The first phase of the projected resulted in the creation of Lake Volta (man-made lake) which is the most significant water body in the Volta basin. The lake covers an estimated area of 8500 km2, a length of 400 km and a shoreline of 5500km (Gyau-Boakye 2001) but rather shallow with a maximum depth of 113m. It receives flows from three rivers Oti, Black Volta and White Volta and discharges into the lower Volta river and then the Atlantic Ocean. The maximum capacity is around 150,000 million m3 of water at its peak of 278 feet. (VRA 2010) The main objective of HEP production is to make VALCO energy sufficient so that its activity which is mainly aluminum smelting would be proceed without interruption. The other objectives were to supply electricity for both domestic and industrial use and also export to the basin sharing countries (Benin and Togo). The Volta River Authority (VRA) a government owned entity was established in 1961 under the Volta River Development Act 46 and tasked with the management, maintenance and sustainability of the Volta River and HEP production. The act also gave the VRA the responsibility to generate and transmit electricity as well as safe-guarding the health and socio-economic well being of the inhabitants of the communities alongside the lake. Prior to the flooding stage of the dam, the VRA had to relocate people inhabiting traditional, administrative and all other lands that were to be inundated. BENEFITS OF HYDROPOWER FOR GHANA The construction of the Akosombo HEP and the creation of the Volta Lake have provided several positive benefits. The Akosombo HEP provides over 85% of all electricity generated in Ghana (Winston et al., 2006). The electricity generated has encouraged economic and industrial development in Ghana. Prior to the construction of the Akosombo HEP, Ghanas total power usage was around 70MW and this was isolated with individual standalone power supply system which was owned by industrial establishment such as the mines, factories and other major institutions (Aryeetey, 2005).and assess to electricity was restricted to less than 3% of the population. Today an estimated 60% of the population has access to electricity including 20% of the rural communities (ECG, 2008). Over two-thirds of all the electricity generated goes to industries and commercial entities; this led to rapid expansion and immigration of industries into Ghana from other West African countries to take advantage of the cheap ele ctricity available from the HEP. As a result Ghanas economy is twice the average of the West African sub region (IMF, 2010). In years of drought where HEP energy generation has been poor, unemployment rate rises exponential attesting to a positive externality of the Akosombo dam. The creation of the Volta Lake led to increase in fishing stock thereby making fishing a lucrative business to the inhabitants along the lake. Similarly, farming activities also intensified along the 5500 km shoreline especially locations downstream of the lake as a result of water availability for the purposes of irrigation and more importantly alluvium sediment deposition which is very fertile and has high content of organic matter. Also the navigation on the Volta river has changed significantly serving as a mean for transportation for goods and people across the lake where road are poor or unavailable. To the inhabitants creation of the transportation route on the lake which stretches from south to north has been one of the important benefits to the communities. The direct tourism impact resulting from the lake includes opening up part of hitherto inaccessible attractions (because of the location of the dam, the sight of the lake the environment, etc.) to both local and internati onal travelers. The lake and its designated national park Digya located at the west shore of Lake Volta and the resort island have provided a popular holiday destination. CONSEQUENCES OF AKOSOMBO HYDROPOWER Like all hydropower dams constructed the Akosombo HEP have had a social, environmental and physical impact on the communities upstream, downstream, the project site and even beyond the extent of the dam. On the social front the most prominent problem that is directly linked to the HEP is the displacement of 80,000 people across 700 villages in low lying areas and resettle them into 52 new villages (Kalitsi,2000). The lost of the original communities resulted in many socio-physiological problems in the communities including high death rate among the aged, breakdown of cultural practices and breakdown of traditional law and order (Gyau-Boakye, 2001). The higher death rate is attributed to the grieving for the lost land syndrome (Okoh, 1986). The Volta lake creation leads to a loss of 3.6% of the total land surface of Ghana including forest land to the reservoir.(Fobil et al. 2001) The lost land lead to decline in the primary economic activities of crop and livestock farming for most of the communities both downstream and upstream of the dam. As a result of less arable land to farm the men switch to fishing while most of the women (a taboo for women to fish in Ghana) were involved in pr ostitution as a profession to satisfy the male workers whom were building the dam. (Suave et al. 2002) In terms of the standards of living the inhabitant of the project site Akosombo enjoy the best living condition not only in the entire Volta basin but better than the major urban centers in Ghana. Surprisingly, the upstream communities and downstream communities are among the poorest in the country lacking access to basic necessities like hospital, roads, proper sanitation and water facilities. Perhaps the most ironic social injustice to the communities upstream and downstream is that it took three decades to be connected to the national electricity grids. The HEP have increased the health related issues among the communities living around lake except in the town of Akosombo (Zakhary, 1997). Sam (1993), in his survey concluded increases in diseases such as schistosomiasis (bilharzia), malaria, onchocerciasis are directly due to Akosombo HEP. This is dues to the presence of aquatic weeds and increase in the population of water-born vectors like mosquitoes, black fly and snails.(Gyau-Boakye, 2001) Specifically, Urinary schistosomiasis (Bilharzia) has seen the increase of the incidence from 2% to 32% at Mepe,( downstream) and 0.5% to 27.4% at Adawso/ Okradjei, (upstream) along the lake (Zakhary,1997). Malaria has increased by an average of 10% both upstream and downstream since the construction of the dam. The fly, Simulium damnosum which cause Onchocerciasis (river blindness) also increased downstream in Kpong between 1970 to 1980 due to the new breading grounds created by the Akosombo dam, however the fly was not found again after compl etion of the smaller dam in Kpong in 1982 (Gyau-Boakye, 2001). As stated earlier The period between after the construction of the dam (1970-1980) coincide with the worst economic period in Ghana and the associated political uncertainty forcing the migration of the young women whom were inducted into prostitution during the dam construction to the various neighboring countries. Sauve ´ et al 2002 concluded that the high HIV prevalence rate (14.1% compare to 3% for the country) in Manya Krobo and Yilo Krobo districts located west and south of the Akosombo dam to a greater extent, a consequence of construction of the Akosombo dam in the 1960s prompted economically driven migration, specially to Cà ´te dIvoire, where many migrants became infected with HIV. This is surprising and rather peculiar to find a prevalence of HIV in semi-urban area that is much higher than those found in the countrys major cities. (Sauve ´ et al 2002). In terms of the physical geomorphology, the dam have created physical environmental problem. The most obvious is the increase in seismic activities around the dam since the construction of the lake. 4 major earthquakes of magnitude 5 or higher have been recorded in the area. Since there is no geological fault zone present in the lake, it is believe the earthquakes are due to the overloading of the geological bedrock underlying the lake with which is triggering the active Akwapim fault (Gyau-Boakye, 2001). Kumi (1973) concluded that the earthquakes might be due to readjustment associated with the lake in-filling. Another physical observation is that, sediments load have decrease by about 60mg/l downstream of the dam as a result of the impoundment (Barry, 2005). The lack of sediment has lead to the erosion of the coastline in the neighboring Togo and Benin at a rate of 10-15m/y (Gyau-Boakye, 2001). Another evidence of change is that the morphology of the delta have shifted 12 km eastwa rd from the original lower Volta entre point to the sea leading to coastal erosion at Ada.(Arp and Baumgaertel, 2005). In accordance with the behavior of tropical dam microclimate the temperature and rainfall in the south eastern part of Ghana is higher than the average in other parts of the basin and this is squarely attributed to the Akosombo HEP (Kumi, 1973, Rosenberg et al., 1990 .Opoku-Ankomah and Amisah 1998). The Akosombo HEP impact on the ecosystem unlike social and health issues have not been fully investigated and well. Fish and other aquatic biota are very sensitive to the hydropower operation due to the ability of the dam to alter and or blocking the migration resulting in genetic disconnect between species population (Baxter, 1977 and Pringle et al., 2000). The first compressive study sixteen (16) months after the construction of the dam by Petr (1967) showed that relative abundance of fish in the Lake were compared with those obtained from fish landings on the Black Volta and from the Niger river survey (Petr 1967). However the study did indicate an increase in plankton feeders, shell fish, Tilapia and a decrease Mormydiad and Alestes along the north-south axis of the river (Petr 1967). In 2000, about 87,500 metric tons of fish catch were recorded from the lake representing 98 % of the inland fresh water fish in Ghana (Braimah, 2001).Current fish estimated yield are 42-52 kg/ha/yea r based on catch statistics with Tilapia dominating the catch. However, the current trend of removal of standing timber in the forest which became part of the lake, in conjunction with overfishing, has negatively impacted the fish stocks especially in shell fish. Recent studies involving 165 fish sample covering 9 species in both the Akosombo and Kpong dam with Lake Bosomtwe (a pristine lake in Ghana) for mercury concentration showed levels below World Health Organization limit of 0.5 ÃŽÂ ¼g gà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1.suggesting no mercury in the HEP lakes mercury (Agorku et.al. 2009). Unlike newer dams constructed with EIA both the Akosombo and the Kpong dams do not have any fish ladders available for fish migration. In terms of the damage done to the ecosystem are unique and site-specific but generally the impacts invariably affect biota and biodiversity (Anderson 2006a). The Akosombo HEP is ranked in the top ten in terms of both social and environmental damage index (dams.2010). Flooding in the downstream communities is an annual event. The Afraim plain is a low lying rich farm land area suffers annually from the flow of the spillway river. A river flow is highly circumvented leading break in river connectivity. Although not unique to Akosombo, studies have shown that the large-scale impoundment may eliminate unique wildlife habitats and affect populations of endangered species. The Dibgya National Park close to the lake is a wildlife refuge site and it would be interesting to know how the lakes have affected wildlife in the park. Contrary to popular belief that HEP are emission free, scientific fact indicates that large dam projects and their reservoirs produces very significant greenhouse gas es (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide ) from the rotting of organic matter. The advocacy group International Rivers (formerly known as International Rivers Network concluded from their study Figure 2 that tropical dams in some case might be dirtier then fossil fuel in terms of GHG emission (IR, 2008) .Takeuchi (1997) concluded from his global survey of dams that the damage done to the ecosystem and electricity generated from Akosombo is very disproportionate. These impacts include loss of the actual wetlands as they are modified to suit particular irrigation practices and associated losses in biodiversity. (Takeuchi (1997) CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE AKOSOMBO DAM50 YEARS LATER The Akosombo dam in 50 year of operation has been the cornerstone of Ghanas economic and industrial development. Likewise the HEP has cause and continues to remind us daily of the socio-environmental negative impact of living with dam. The original goal of the project in addition to the generation of electric power for industry urban and rural household was to provide opportunities for large-scale irrigation, modernization of agriculture, promotion of factories and industries, and the establishment of tourist facilities. Fifty (50) years later, it appears that the need at the time for the country to have a cheap source of electricity did have overriding priority over other considerations (Arp and Baumgaertel, 2005). The generation of electricity as stated earlier lead to the positive economic and industrial development along the eastern coast of Ghana. Analysis of the project goal and the implementation of the original blue print indicated that the VRA woefully mismanage the dams activities starting from the original resettlement scheme to their inability to meet the electricity need of the country. The resettlement of the communities and the compensation promised to the inhabitants were not fully paid, farming lan ds were insufficient for the villages while a lot of communities downstream whom were not accounted for were ultimately affected by the dam. According to the available data (ECG 2010) and personal observation the VRA after 50 years of operation have failed to meet its goal of providing electricity to the citizenry especially the social injustice that the majority of the affected people by the project were not connected to the national grid until recently .This undoubtedly showed that the authorities neglected the majority of the people affected by the dam to the benefited of the urban dwellers (Girmay, 2002). To their credit VRA undertook some activities towards the fulfillment of non-generation goals like the creation of the Akosombo Textiles Company, Kpong Farms Limited, the Akosombo Hotel Limited and Volta Lake Transport Company Limited (VLTC) to boast jobs and economic activity within the region. The downside to these projects is that inhabitants did not have the specialized ski lls and education levels required to take advantage of working in textiles industries or operating advanced machinery in the 1960s. The VRA irrigation and modernization of agriculture programs collapsed after at the implementation stage. Such program would have been more beneficial to the communities living along the dam since prior to the construction of the dam the majority of the people were into farming. The Akosombo dam and many others constructed in the developing countries before the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment were without any environmental impact assessment (EIA) plan. In 1974, Ghana was the first country in Africa to establish an environmental governing body to deal with all environmental issues under one agency known as Environmental Protection Council (Appiah-Opoku, 2001). Ironically, the Kpong dam whose construction began in 1976 did not have EIA in place. In order to combat some of the negative environmental impacts of the project the VRA introduce numerous cut and fix approaches. These programs include afforestation program along the banks of the lakes, weed controlling measures to control bilharzia., dredging activities at Volta estuary and the creation of Resettlement Trust Fund for remediation some of the socio-economic impact mitigation (Girmay, 2002, Fobil et.al. 2003,). The success of these programs is difficult to measure since most of them we re subjective in nature. The VRA did have some environmental management programs and policies but they suffered from implementation and enforcement (Girmay, 2002). The question often asked in the view of the social and environmental damage done by the HEP is if this cost is justifiable. To address these issue in the context of Akosombo HEP present a dilemma. Ghana until recently discovery of oil along it shore did not have any fossil fuel or expertise in nuclear energy to produce electricity from these sources. Hence, the HEP project was the lifeline in meeting part of its energy demand. As stated earlier studies have shown that the amount of greenhouse gasses produces by hydropower is lower than the corresponding fossil electricity (Anderson 2006a). Although critics point to the fact that Ghanas overreliance on HEP have hamper the development of alternative renewable energy sources which have affected the country in times of drought. The supply of cheap electricity to neighboring countries like Togo and Benin mitigate their coastline erosion by the project. Ultimately, the amount of electricity produced from the Akosombo/Kpong HEP and the social and environmental damage to the basin is not acceptable. The major destruction of the ecosystem habitats and the negative health and social impact on the upstream/downstream communities is much bigger than comparable dams elsewhere. For example Japan produces 2300MW of electricity from HEP and the damage is a tenth of what occurs in Akosombo (Takeuchi, 1997). Although the HEP have been helpful to the country economically, with proper management and sustainable planning; the level of success would have been higher and the environmental impact greatly reduced. With benefit of time the original proposal should have been implemented and enforced effectively. This would have reversed the trend today which has led to the communities upstream and downstream been among the poorest in the country. RECOMMENDATIONS The positive impacts and the negative effects of the Akosombo have been highlighted in this paper. In view of the negative socio-environmental factors like downstream flooding, resettlement of communities, ecosystem destruction among others it is important strategies are put in place to mitigates these effects and protects the ecosystem from current and future HEP. One way of mitigating the environmental and social cost is through environmental compensatory project approach or offsets. For example, the recent plan of the Brazilian government to build a third world largest dam requires the company who wins for the bid to pay an excess of $800 million to offset environmental damage and relocation. Also in India there is a legal requirement that forests flooded by reservoirs must be replanted elsewhere. Introducing such concepts in the planning stages of the dam would really help ensure that significant and unavoidable adverse environmental impacts are counterbalanced by a positive environmental gain, with an inspirational goal of achieving a net environmental benefit. This approach must be fused with properly developed policies for resettlement and compensation prior to the construction of dam so that all stakeholders know the detail and what to expect or contribute toward the compensated package in cash and in kind. The resettlement costs must c over all inundated properties as well as emotional and psychological cost which is often ignored. The package aside covering individual cost could also be extended to cover basic facilities and infrastructure development such as roads, health centers, schools, potable water, etc. On the other hand environmental damage could always be factored into the price of electricity through ecological tax in order to reflect the true cost of power. This tax revenue could go into a standing trust fund which would be essential to sustain the programs needed to ensure the effective mitigation and compensation of environmental effects of the hydro development. To protect the integrity of the lake, measures should be taken to check deforestation by protecting the original forests. Additional compensatory measures may include either trust fund established through grants from developers (for example Harvey Basin Restoration Trust, Australia) or trust funds that manage parts of the revenue stream and for environmental purposes. This latter model was proposed for the planned Nam Theun II dam in Laos, with the intention of creating and managing a National Park in the catchment. The plan has the potential to benefit both forest ecosystems and the lifespan of the dam through reduce d sedimentation. This approach could certainly benefit Ghanas fight against deforestation. In the planning stages of a dam construction, is very important project teams realize the need to maintain adequate water flows and other habitat conditions to sustain river health and associated ecosystem services in river reaches located downstream of dams. When ecosystem services valued by local communities are fully considered and integrated along with all other management objectives, the prospects for optimizing both dam- and ecosystem-related objectives would be greatly enhanced. Project teams can help avoid the loss of ecosystem services by considering environmental flow needs at the very earliest stages of hydropower dam as part of the EIA development. The specification and provision of environmental flows is key to sustainable hydropower development and water management (Scudder, 2005). When environmental flow needs are assessed scientifically, water managers and hydropower dam planners and operators will understand the extent to which historical water flow patterns can be a ltered by hydropower operations without compromising a rivers health and associated social benefits. Active and early engagement of relevant water managers and dam planners, scientists, and other stakeholders in the planning process will help build a strong and influential constituency and foster a coordinated and consistent vision for the protection and management of a river. (Pingle et al., 2000; Craig, 2000, Anderson et al., 2006a, b Raschid-Sally et.al 2008) With proper input from stakeholders and attention to the needs and values of diverse interests, a tradeoff analysis can be undertaken to explore the optimal balancing of interests (Raschid-Sally et.al 2008) One current approach the VRA and other operator of dams on the Volta basin is the management of flood to limit its impact. New Dams and even old ones must can be designed or altered for multiple purposes such as flood control and HEP generation. By storing some portion of floodwaters on the floodplain instead of a reservoir, the total volume of necessary flood storage space in the reservoir can be reduced. By protecting or reactivating downstream floodplain areas or allowing agricultural areas to be flooded occasionally, the flood storage requirement in the upstream reservoir can often be reduced substantially. The excess water can be reallocated for hydropower use, water supply, or improved environmental flows downstream of the dam. Reflooding of natural floodplains can bring substantial ecological benefits, such as providing additional spawning and feeding opportunities for fish and enabling the floodwaters to fertilize and moisten floodplain areas used for agriculture or grazing.( Craig, 2000) Likewise , the coordinated operations of cascades of dams: on the Volta river can maximize power generation at upstream dams to enable lower dams to serve more of a re-regulating function, thereby minimizing flow alterations in the downstream river. Currently this approach is been developed by the transboundary water management Volta Basin Authority (VBA) and it is hope the implementation of such approach would be beneficial to the basin communities. The VBA IWMR policies would be the key to protecting the ecosystem in the basin. In terms of operational mode management The VRA can increase its generation of electricity from its Thermal plant in Aboase to ease the pressure on operating