Leaving the Cocoon :: Example Personal Narratives

Leaving the Cocoon I wasn't quite sure how to react. I had never been called a "white boy" before, especially by someone I hardly knew. As I turned my head not knowing what to expect, I found myself face to face with a grinning boy, whose crooked smile gave him an almost devilish appearance. This was my first encounter with Oscar Jovel, an El Salvadorian student on our trip to Thailand over the summer. You could imagine my delight when I heard that we would be living together with a Thai family and sharing the same bed for six straight weeks. During the next couple of days I was faint with apprehension. The first thing both of our eyes fell on when we arrived at our tiny Thai house was the five by four foot bed we would share. It was extremely small, in respect to both length and width, with a bright pink mosquito net hanging around it. That first night, we often woke up, cramped and hot, to discover ourselves literally on top of each other. Although initially embarrassing, we began to find the situation more and more comical. To our surprise and delight, we discovered that we had the same sense of humor. From then on, we discussed our sleeping habits openly and complained about the other's loud snoring. We began to stay up late into the night discussing our lives and the difficult issues we each had to deal with. One night we talked into the early hours of the morning about his life in San Francisco. I could only listen wide-eyed and in disbelief as he talked about how close he had been to joining an El Salvadorian gang. I watched him with intense curiosity as he slowly told his story. I noticed how he would almost squeeze his eyes closed with his large cheeks when he was remembering something that made him angry, or thrust his chin out in a clumsy manner when he was excited. He told me of how he had been ready to be beaten into the gang. When I asked him why he would be willing to do that, he responded by describing how vicious his world was, and then explained that the initiation was a tiny price for the protection he would get from the gang in return. My respect for him only increased when I sat silently as he told me of his best friend who had been shot in the head in a drive-by shooting.

Business & Ethics of Becton Dickinson and the Safety Syringe Controversy Author

Becton Dickinson has been in the middle of the controversy regarding the manufacturing, sale and monopoly of safety syringes used by hospitals, clinics, and doctor and dentist offices.   When the epidemic of AIDS and other lethal and infectious diseases spread across the nation, healthcare workers were still using a conceptualization of the original type of syringe created over 150 years ago (Holding and Carlsen, 1998; Holding and Carlsen, 1998).The healthcare workers realized that they were no longer safe and fought to get safer standards and equipment for use in the work place.By 1998, the federal patent office has given patents to over 1000 designs for safety syringes.   However, only a few were on the market and their initial cost was exorbitant. Even with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) enactment of the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard in 1991, and the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act little has been truly done to protect the healthcare wor kers (Holding & Carlsen, 1998; Holding and Carlsen, 1998, Armstrong, 1991; Vadgama, 2002; Workers at risk, 2002).A prime example was in 2002 when it was approximated that 1600 healthcare workers could contract HIV through needle sticks in that year (Vadgama, 2002),   with a rough estimate cost of $255,000 for the direct and indirect costs associated with that one needle stick (Armstrong, 1991).The fact that Becton Dickinson purchased a number of the patents for safer syringes, they only offered on size when they finally started to manufacture the syringe.   The 3cc was fine for a few tasks in hospitals and clinics, but the 5cc and 10cc were used more often.Becton Dickinson did not offer the shielded syringes in this size, and by buying patents and negotiating with medical supply companies they did not need to make any other size.They continued to sell their original syringes (Holding & Carlson, 1998; Holding & Carlsen, 1998).   These actions defined by the utilitarian approach shows that the company was doing what was good for the company.   In essence, Becton Dickinson was basing their decisions on the corporate population rather than the public.After court battles and settlements the Becton Dickinson Company has finally begun to manufacture all types of safety syringes.   While they are not recommended, they are made and sold .The fact is that while Becton Dickinson was fighting to keep the new safety syringes from the public, Retractable Technologies, Inc created a better and safer syringe with top recommendations for safety and ease of use (Holding, 1991; Holding & Carlsen, 1998).   If Becton Dickinson would have acted ethically and manufactured and researched safety syringes, they would be at the top of the industry. References Armstrong, S. E. (1991, November/December). The Cost of Needle-Stick Injuries: The Impact of Safer Medical Devices.   Nursing Economics. 9(6).   pp. 426-433. Retrieved January 8, 2009 from http://search.ebscohost.co m/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hch&AN=12182254&site=ehost-liveHolding, R.  (April 14, 1998).  Safety Designs Proposed — But Not Produced.  Ã‚  San Francisco Chronicle.  ,  p.A7.  Retrieved  January 10, 2009,  from  Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center  via  Gale: http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPSHolding, R.,  &  Carlsen, W.  (April 13, 1998).  Epidemic Ravages Caregivers / Thousands die from diseases contracted through needle sticks.  Ã‚  San Francisco Chronicle.  ,  p.A1.  Retrieved  January 10, 2009,  from  Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center  via  Gale:

Information and Communication Technology in the Philippines Essay

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become and will continue to be an integral part of the day-to-day life of every Filipino across all levels of our society. Information has always played a vital role in our history. Over the ages, people have used it to gain a more accurate picture of their current situation, make better decisions for the future, and improve the quality of their lives. But never has information been more accessible and more widespread than it is today. The latest improvements in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) have been impressive. Computers are progressively becoming smaller, more affordable, and more powerful. They are capable of storing an almost vast amount of data and information. And they are interconnected through telephone lines, satellites, and fiber-optic cables that span across the world, allowing the ability to communicate and share information with one another across borders. The pervasiveness of communication technology around the world necessitates that government embark on a cohesive and coordinated strategy on how to prepare its citizens to survive, live and thrive in a digital world. The world is experiencing a digital revolution and the Philippines have the opportunity to play an enormous role in it. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is an important part in the country’s development. Opportunities abound with the help of ICT. The current ICT master plan for the Philippines dates back to 2006. With all of the new developments in this highly dynamic field, there is clearly a need to develop a new blueprint on how the country and its people can benefit from the use of ICT in governance, our economy and improving one’s way of life. The Philippines positions itself at the forefront of the digital revolution – dynamic and in command of the future. ICT is used extensively in the delivery of career information and guidance. Such usage covers wide range of applications. The role of ICT in guidance can be seen in three ways: as a tool, as an alternative, or as an agent of change. The growth of websites and helplines as forms of technically mediated service delivery means that the potential of ICT as a change agent is now greater than ever before. Current business-command the optimization of ICT usage to support national objectives of becoming a high income developed country. Thus as an enable, ICT in public sector must be addressed in general manner including people, process and technology where internal and external needs must be taken into place. The ICT evolution will take place with or without a systematic, comprehensive and articulated policy. However, the lack of a coherent policy is likely to contribute to the development (or prolonged existence) of ineffective infrastructure and a waste of resources. The importance of ICT policies is understood at the highest political level in many developing countries, and some countries have already adopted their own policies. The effectiveness of an ICT policy in one country does not guarantee that the same method would work in another and many developing countries face similar constraints that need to be taken into account when ICT policies are formulated. Philippines’ ICT against Other Countries ICT Development Current trends the world over the pointed to the fact that the major developments in the information economy. It resulted in revolutionizing the way people communicate and for the governments and firms to interact and conduct business. The presence of a reliable, accessible and affordable Philippine Information and communications infrastructure is a necessary condition for our participation in the information economy. Without it, our country will once again face the prospect of being marginalized in the global economy. The next part of this case study will discuss a brief ICT’s plan and current situation of our 3 neighboring countries; Singapore One of the key drivers of the Singapore’s Economic growth is their ICT. The island state is well connected via both fixed and wireless networks. By early 2012, their mobile penetration has passed 150%. By maintaining Singapore’s status as an ICT market leader, the government launched its plan for a nationwide fibre-based broadband network known as the Next Generation Broadband Network (NGNBN) and this is being rolled out in line with the government’s strategy. Hong Kong The world’s freest economy, characterized by free trade, free market and free flow of capital with stable and freely convertible currency and no foreign exchange controls. Their ICT development, the free flow of information with no censorship on content transmission provided a good environment for the development of web-based businesses such as content and media and cloud computing. In the next few years’ government will increasingly adopt cloud-based services. Such initiative will spawn opportunities for vendors and providers. Their telecommunications infrastructure is one of the most sophisticated in the world, with a wide range of innovative and advance services available in relatively low prices. The country also ensure the online secure. Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre (HKCERT) was set up to coordinate responses to computer security incident, promote information security and take preventive measures against Internet Security threats. Malaysia Malaysia’s national transformation agenda envisions an innovative citizen-centric model of public service delivery accordance with the country’s principles. This is undertaken in tandem with a bold economic transformation approach to propel their countries in to a high-income economy by 2020. The effective utilization and application of information and communications technology (ICT) across multi-faceted service delivery of internal and government operations. The developments of country’s future where the ICT implementation comprise a suite of service offerings and infrastructure development that support a fundamental shift towards a collaborative and co-operative arrangement of open consultation, open data, shared knowledge and expertise. The Malaysian Public Sector ICT Strategic Plan (2011-2015) provides the blueprint to accelerate the innovative utilization and development of ICT in readiness for the ever-changing service landscape facing their public sector. Is it our country really prepared for this to compete with our neighboring countries? Can we level up our ICT sector with them? How ready is our country to harness the fast phase and benefits of information and communications technology? Our country’s main department about ICT related issues is the ICTO (Information and Communications Technology Office) which is under the Department of Science and Technology which is the former Commission on Information and Communications Technology (ICT). The ICTO’s primary thrusts for 2011-2016 are in the areas of ICT Industry Development, E-government, ICT Policy Development, ICT infrastructure and Cyber security. As designated organization by our government ICTO will ensure the development and implementation of comprehensive program to sustained the growth and comprehensiveness of ICT industries segments and firms; formulate an integrated program to support the growth of the ICT industry in the regions; undertake the development of an industry-relevant curriculum in coordination with the industry, government and academe to enhance the competitiveness of the ICT workforce, formulate, recommend and implement a comprehensive and harmonized ICT promotions and advocacy programs. Facilitating ICTO’s mandate in formulation ICT policies, implementing ICT plans and programs, leading international ICT cooperation bodies, and other related functions is the ICT Governance Policy and Planning group, which take lead in multi-stakeholder policy development. Primary initiatives for the policy and planning includes; National Connectivity and Broadband Development Plan, Philippine Digital Strategy (PDS) Implementation Plan, Cyber security and Data Privacy, ICT Procurement Standards, Digital TV Migration, ICT Standardization and the Philippine ICT statistics Portal. Ensuring that ICT access and Internet opportunities are available for the entire country is made possible by the development of effective and sustainable and strategic ICT infrastructure. The ICT infrastructure Group through its various programs ensures that these connectivity requirements are met in an efficient and effective manner. These projects include the TV White Space Initiatives (TVWS), Government Fiber Core Network, Upgrade of National Microwave Network, Cloud Top e-Learning for Public Schools and Internet TV Testbed. With all the documents presented our country’s policies regarding in boosting our ICT development and infrastructure are impressive. But only question is that, is there will be enough budget that the government will provide to sustain these developments? We might left behind in many aspects with our neighboring countries in terms of ICT development but we can still move forward and have these implemented with the right manpower, policy and full support from our government and private sector as well. Recommendation for ICT Development We are all contributors to the development of the global economy. Globalization, which is made possible by the ICT revolution, has extremely changed the rules of the development of it. Efficiency more than ever is now an indicator of competitiveness to achieve our nations goals. Nations, corporations and people that find the means to become more efficient will advance and prosper. We all know that in our country ICT will be one of the major drivers for boosting economy, and as a critical tool for better governance, corporate performance and individual achievement as a Filipino. Our government’s should provide an enabling policy, legal and regulatory environment for the ICT development. This means that our government should act as a facilitator and its involvement should be predictable, developmental, transparent and efficient. With more transparency in government operations and diminishing corruption by placing more government data in the public domain using the Internet, thus increasing opportunities for public scrutiny. For government more improvement for ICT development they must build public trust, enhance citizen to participate in government projects and activities, improve government’s public services online, and improve country’s competitive ness thru more efficient government operations. Another factors that needs to give attention to our country’s ICT development are the private sectors, civic organizations and society, international organizations they the role and responsibility as well. There are some actions that need to implement in order for these organization to help on enhancing our ICT programs: * By providing knowledge tools and enhance capacity in industry sectors to take advantage the ICT. * Create an environment for job growth in ICT and ICT-enable job all over the country if possible. * Promote an environment that entices investments for ICT research, innovation, development & manufacturing In order to ensure the success and sustainability of ICT initiatives, investors should be enabled by ensuring their direct participation during its conceptualization, planning and implementation. These sectors have the role as well to provide investments, capitals and other resources. By this the project for the ICT sector will be higher change of success and sustainability if these are market-led, rather than government-led. Let us not also forget the LGUs, schools and other community organizations, they must be consulted and their specific requirements are determined. They as well have an active involvement to the operations in building the ICT of our country on their own respective area of jurisdiction. Many of us today use the Internet for a variety of reasons: e-mailing to connect with friends and family, for business and work correspondence, web-browsing for news, research and entertainment, and increasingly for richer media and applications, such as watching online TV, posting videos and photos, as well as creating Internet content through blogs and other interactive forum. Being able to use the Internet has become an important necessity to any social and work life. For many different reasons, there are also many Filipinos who are not able to access the benefits the Internet has to offer. Some cannot afford the Internet or computers; others do not know how to use the Internet; and there are parts of the country where there is no Internet service or even electricity available, such as in more rural areas. Not only is the possibility and ability to use the Internet important for individuals, but also for countries as a whole. In our globalized world, the connectedness and Internet capabilities of a country are important elements for its competitiveness. Developing the Internet, including to rural areas, leads to new opportunities for nonagricultural employment, better paying agricultural jobs and greater overall productivity. Access to the Internet also promotes small and microbusiness growth, allows people in remote areas to work from home, offers greater access to crop market prices and enables rural businesses perhaps to compete more successfully even in the world markets. As far as I can say creating Internet opportunities for all guarantees that the Philippines has an inclusive growth and helps eliminate poverty.

precision agriculture essays

precision agriculture essays Soil can vary from one point to the next in its chemical and physical makeup, which makes it very diverse. Crop yield and variations within the field can be influenced by soil properties, or pollutants that move through soil, and then into the groundwater, or runoff into lakes and streams. The importance of precision agriculture is to determine the exact areas that need to be managed to maximize yield, minimize environmental impacts, and optimize the use of resources. Precision agriculture also helps determine changes in soil quality over time, and the presence of pollutants such as salts, pesticides, and fertilizers. Many farmers face the same dilemma everywhere; How to increase profitability on their farms, so that they can remain competitive? The old solution would be to increase the size of the farm by economies of scale. However, many farmers believe that there could be something more accurate then just keeping daily journals of farming activities that include: planting dates, crop variety, and relying on crop consultants. Local cooperatives are now educating farmers on precision agriculture and the benefits of putting fertilizer where it is needed the most (Robert, Roggenbuck, Oct. 2002). Precision Agriculture is defined as information and technology based agricultural management system to identify, analyze, and manage site-soil spatial and temporal variability within fields for optimum profitability, sustainability, and protection of the environment. Precision agriculture requires information about soil properties, elevation, and landscapes, and how these characteristics affect plant growth and crop progress throughout the field each season. To determine crop production from one part of the field to another, yield monitors can be used. There are many different types of sensors being used in precision agriculture. The measurement of light reflected from a field are the most common sensors used. A camera with color, or co...

buy custom Sociology of Sexuality essay

buy custom Sociology of Sexuality essay In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman (Thatcher, 1965). The saying contains the truth. Moreover, it emphasizes the fact that there is a prejudiced treatment of both genders towards one another in politics. However, such state of affairs is typical not only of the political sphere, but also of social, economic, cultural and other spheres of life. The problem is widely discussed by psychologists and sociologists all over the world.Initially, it is necessary to define the notion of sex. Generally, this word means the indicator of the obvious physical and biological characteristics that establish the differences between males and females (Nobelius, 2004). The differences may be biological, physical, psychological and genetic. For example, such dissimilarities may include higher timbre of females voice than males one, females ability to bear children, physical strength of men, and some others. There also exist sex differences in language usage. According to some stereotypes, it is considered that a woman can talk more than a man; a woman is also likely to use adjectives, such as divine, charming, cute.Women tend to use question intonation in response to inquiries: About ten o'clock?, as a reply to: What time's dinner?. Probably, this insecure style of conversation is typical for 'powerless' people, who are somewhat nervous and afraid of antagonizing others. Powerless people come from either sex. However, the most significant difference found between men and women by linguists is womens tendency to speak in a prestigious way. They try to use language close to the standard one.What can be said about the word gender is that it is used to denote socially established patterns and behaviors, as well as roles and attributes. They are realized through different means including family, educational institutions and work organizations. The gender roles and behaviors also depend on the individuals values, customs, religions an d beliefs (Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, United Nations, 2011).Sometimes people relate term sex to the concept gender. However, it is not correct because though some similarities exist, they are not alike. Sex indicator distinguishes male from female, depending on biological characteristics, while gender from masculinity to femininity, indicates men and womens functions and roles in the society. Sex is something given to a person from the first day of his/her existence, whereas gender is not inbuilt, but learnt and acquired through a process of development and socialization.Gender identification starts in the childhood. Between the ages of two and three, children begin to acquire gender roles and stereotypes by the types of toys and games they want to play. Gender identification continues during adulthood and is established via two major theories: social learning theory and gender schema theory. Social learning theory uses the methods of punishment and modeling, while according to the gender schema theory, males and females cultivate mental categories from the childhood and perform their gender roles in the manner they were programmed.The concept sexuality means human capacity to have erotic perceptions, experiences and responses. In other words, the notion describes men and womens sexual desires. The concept of sexuality may vary according to biological, physical, emotional, or spiritual context (Science Encyclopedia, 2014).The concepts sex, gender and sexuality are embedded into the process of social construction of reality, as they indicate individuals roles in society and peoples relations with each other. In sociology, these social constructs are explained by the theory of social constructionism. The main point in understanding this theory lies in the fact that every individual interprets the reality in his own way. It means he/she has a subjective image of the objective reality in his/her mind. Sexual relat ions and romantic communication are based on this individual comprehension of the world. Therefore, every human is entitled to have any kind of intimate relationships with anyone, even with the person of the same sex.I have been complicit in perpetuating the reality of the social constructs of sex, gender and sexuality during all my life. They defined my position in society and my profession. For example, as I belong to male gender, I have always strived for success, for being strong and powerful. For this reason, I am sure I will be dominant in my family in future. The social construct of sexuality identified my communication with men and my intimate relations with them. Genetically, I am heterosexual and I always had sexual desires only about girls and women. However, several times I got up in the morning remembering the awful dreams about boys, which I was seeing during the night. Of course, I tried to resist those thoughts because everything happened unconsciously.Therefore, by the notion of sex I meant to define the obvious physical and biological differences between males and females. Gender is the indicator of the socially established patterns and behaviors, roles and attributes. Sexuality means human capacity to have erotic perceptions and experiences. The concepts sex, gender and sexuality are embedded into the process of social construction of reality. They identify peoples role in society and communication with each other, including sexual relationships. Buy custom Sociology of Sexuality essay

Missing Information in APA Referencing

Missing Information in APA Referencing Missing Information in APA Referencing Referencing can be tricky even if you have all the source details. But what do you do when you can’t find an author’s name or a date of publication? In this post, we look at how to deal with missing information in APA referencing. Sources Without a Named Author: Organizational Authors Not every source will name the person who wrote it. When this happens, you can cite an organizational author instead (i.e., the company or organization that produced the source): Anonymity can affect the psyche over prolonged periods (American Psychological Association, 2008). Here, for example, we’re citing the American Psychological Association. We would then cite the same organizational author in the reference list at the end of the document. For instance: American Psychological Association (2008). The Psychological Effects of Anonymity on Self-Esteem. New York, NY: APA Press Inc. If you cite a source like this more than once, you may also want to abbreviate the organization’s name. You can do this within a citation by adding the abbreviation in square brackets: Anonymity can affect the psyche over prolonged periods (American Psychological Association [APA], 2008). On the next citation, we would then use the abbreviation by itself instead of repeating the full organization name again. Sources Without a Named Author: Anonymous Authors If a source truly has no author to name, APA recommends using the title in place of a name in citations and the reference list. If the title is quite long, you should also shorten it. For instance, we could cite an anonymous book called How to Cite Sources Effectively like this: Citing sources with missing information can be difficult (How to Cite, 2001). We would then use the full source title in place of an author’s name in the reference list. The only time you should attribute something to â€Å"Anonymous† is when the author is listed as such on the source. Sources Without a Year of Publication If you cannot find a date of publication for a source, use the phrase â€Å"n.d.† This is short for â€Å"no date.† We would use it in a citation like this, for instance: Time makes fools of us all (Smith, n.d.). We would then also use â€Å"n.d.† in place of a year in the reference list. Sources Without Page Numbers Possibly the most common issues of missing information in APA referencing is that some sources, such as websites, do not have page numbers. In cases like this, APA says you can use a paragraph number in citations: Smith (2003) rejects the â€Å"supposed need for page numbers† (para. 6). As a rule, paragraph numbers are most useful for shorter documents where you can quickly count the number of paragraphs therein (or for sources that come with pre-numbered paragraphs). Summary: Missing Information in APA Referencing If you cannot find full source information, APA referencing suggests: Cite an organizational author if a source is missing a named author. If there is no suitable organizational author either, use the source title instead. Use the abbreviation â€Å"n.d.† if a source has no year of publication. Use a paragraph number if a source has no page numbers. The points above should cover most cases of missing information in APA. However, remember to check carefully before using these methods. Most sources will have the information you need available, even if it is not easy to spot at first. And don’t forget that you can have your work proofread to make sure your referencing is complete.

Financial Management Fundamentals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial Management Fundamentals - Essay Example The company may face problems in meeting its short term obligations. The company has not raised long term debts and its long term liability is only pension liability. Accordingly the company is very low geared. Earning per share and dividend per share are so attractive that company will get oversubscribed whenever the company will go public. The detailed financial analysis follows: Profitability of Nichols Plc. have been analyzed from three angles, namely, Net Margins, Return on Assets(ROA) , and Return on Equity (ROE). Financial statements for Nichols Plc. have presented the profitability for 2006 (and restated figures for 2005) before and after taking into account exceptional items. Accordingly the profitability analysis have been made from both angles, i.e., before and after the exceptional effects on profitability. The following ratio calculations have helped in reaching an investigative analysis: Net profit margin â€Å"also called the Return on sales ratio, it shows after tax profit(net income) generated by each sales dollar by measuring the percentage of sales revenue retained by the company after operating expenses, creditor interest expenses, and income taxed have been paid.†(BDC)1. Net Profit Margins have shown a tremendous jump from 7.37 % to 10.01 despite the fact the sales revenue has been reduced from 63.336m in 2005 to 52.296m in current year 2006. That means Nichols has worked on some strategic issues and kept the qualitative business alive that generates the real profits for the company. This fact is clearer when a reference is made net profit margins after the exceptional adjustments; the increase in net margin is by huge 5.54%. Also the Chairman’s Statement makes the issue of profitability absolutely clear when it states that, â€Å"the progress made in underlying profitability is actually much greater than the headline figures suggest, due to di storting effects of Balmorals disposals completed in January 2006.† As