How To Make Copper and Brass Cleaner

Use these easy instructions to combine common household ingredients to make your own copper, brass, and bronze cleaner. It only takes minutes. What You Need 1/2 c flour1/2 c salt1/2 c powdered detergent3/4 c  white vinegar1/4 c  lemon juice1/2 c very warm waterbowlspoonmeasuring cupsquart jar with lid Instructions Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl.Stir in the liquid ingredients. Mix well.Transfer the cleaning mixture to a glass jar. Close the jar tightly and label it.To use the cleaner, shake a small amount onto a cloth and rub it into the surface of the copper, brass, or bronze object. Use a toothbrush for hard-to-reach areas. Rinse with water and rub dry with a clean cloth.

Disadvantages of Being Muslim Women Essay - 5879 Words

LUCKNOW: M R Syeda Hameeds report on the status of Muslim women in India, entitled ``Voice of the Voiceless, is a bold initiative, documentating in no uncertain terms the double disadvantage of being women and Muslim in India. As member of the National Commission for Women, Dr Hameed conducted public hearings from Kerala to Kashmir, Calcutta to Surat. Everywhere, it was the same story, as women spoke of community objections to sending girls to school after puberty, the dangling threat of triple talaaq, zero maintenance, multiple marriage and absence of child support. The greatest fear for Muslim women is the triple talaaq axe. Sometimes, says the report, it is uttered in rage and irresponsibility, in a single breath, ruining the lives†¦show more content†¦There have been strong protests against triple talaaq in Bombay. In Lucknow we know how 18 years old Sadaf Rizvi broke tradition by offering Friday namaz at the Bada Imambara some years back. The following week nearly 150 women turned up to pray. As one woman in Calcutta said during the hearings, ``Why dont they admit that we are living in the 20th century, hence old laws should not apply. When it comes to men they talk of human rights, then why not for women. Disappointingly however, the report ends on a typically equivocating note. ``The NCW would like to address civil society and enlightened Muslims to eschew outdated practices which are distortions of traditional Law. Muslim Law should be codified, second marriage should be made as difficult as possible, a solution to triple talaaq should be worked out within Shariat law, marriages should be compulsorily registered, and divorced women must have right to maintenance despite the decision in the Shah Bano Case, 1986. Above all, the Muslim girl child should become first focus in all government schemes. While the womens voices transcribed are authentic, painful, the document untimely remains stereotyped, lightly treading the delicate tightrope on sensitive issues without offending the community, to which the author belongs, while purporting to have the interests of women at heart. In this case, we all know very well that half measures will not work. Only bold initiatives will, but nobody has the courage toShow MoreRelatedIslam And The Middle East1057 Words   |  5 Pagesin preference to given names (Shaker, F. 2011). Eventually, they could share the same language, nationality or religion but having different life styles. Muslims eating habits are expected to be in function of their religious beliefs, by Islam regulations as described in the Qur’an and dictated by the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammed. Muslims consume all kind of food, except for the ones prohibited in Islam. 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The Rural Non-Farm Economy Free Essays

The Rural Non-farm Economy The nonfat economy includes all economic activities other than production of primary agricultural commodities. Nonfat, thus, includes mining, manufacturing, utilities, construction, commerce, transport and a full gamut of financial, personal and government services. Corresponding – the transformation of raw agricultural products by milling, packaging, bulking or transporting – forms a key component of the rural nonfat economy. We will write a custom essay sample on The Rural Non-Farm Economy or any similar topic only for you Order Now A broad definition of rural regions as encompassing both dispersed rural settlements as well as the functionally linked rural towns where any corresponding and ancillary nonfat service and commercial activities congregate to service surrounding agricultural settlements. Size: Policy interest in the rural nonfat economy arises in large part because of its increasing importance as a source of income and employment across the developing world. Evidence from a wide array of rural household surveys suggests that nonfat income accounts for about 35 percent of rural income in Africa and roughly 50 percent in Asia and Latin America. Standing roughly 20 percent higher than rural nonfat employment shares, hose income shares confirm the economic importance of part-time and seasonal nonfat activities. Rural residents across the developing world earn a large share of their income?35-50 percent?from nonfat activities. Agricultural households count on nonfat earnings to diversify risk, moderate seasonal income swings, and finance agricultural input purchases, whereas landless and near-landless households everywhere depend heavily on nonfat income for their survival. Over time, the rural nonfat economy has grown rapidly, contributing significantly to both employment and rural income growth. Income data, which include earnings from seasonal and part-time activity, offer a more complete picture of the scale of the ERNE. Rural nonfat employment holds special importance for women. Women account for about one-quarter of the total full time ERNE workforce in most parts of the developing world. Given their frequently heavy household obligations and more limited mobility, women also participate in part-time ERNE activity, particularly in household-based manufacturing and service activities. Composition: The rural nonfat economy includes a highly heterogeneous collection of trading, crisscrossing, manufacturing, commercial and service activities. Even within the same country, strong differences emerge regionally, as a result of differing natural resource endowments, labor supply, location, infrastructural investments and culture. The scale of individual rural nonfat businesses varies enormously, from part-time self-employment in household-based cottage industries to large-scale corresponding and warehousing facilities operated by large multinational firms. Often highly seasonal, rural nonfat activity fluctuates with the availability of agricultural raw materials and in rhythm with household labor and financial flows twine farm and nonfat activities Remittances account for a large share of rural income in some locations. In the mining economies of Southern Africa, remittances may account for as much as half of all rural household income. They likewise form an important part of household income diversification and risk reduction strategies. In of nonfat earnings, while remittances and transfers typically account for to 20% of non-agricultural rural income and 5% to 10% of total rural income. Equity Implications: The extreme heterogeneity of rural nonfat activity results in widely varying productivity and profitability. Returns vary substantially, normally as a function of differing physical and human capital requirements. Women dominate many of the low-return cottage industries, while the poor dominate other low-return activities, such as small-scale trading and unskilled wage labor used in construction, powering, and many personal services. Wage labor, in both agriculture and nonfat business, also accrues primarily to the poor. The low capital requirements and small scale of many rural nonfat businesses, poor households dominate large segments of the rural nonfat economy. For this reason, many policy makers view the rural inform economy (ERNE) as a potentially important contributor to poverty reduction. Pull Scenario: Where new agricultural technologies and modern farm inputs become available, they lead to agricultural surpluses in some commodities and increased opportunities for trade. In these settings, a growing agriculture stimulates growth of the ERNE through a number of key linkages. Rising labor productivity on the farm increases per capita food supplies and releases farm family workers to undertake nonfat activities. For this reason, green revolution India has seen agricultural labor all from 75% to 65% of rural labor force in the first 25 years following the release of green revolution rice and wheat varieties. Equally important, increases in farm incomes, together with high rural savings rates, make capital available for investment in nonfat activities. These savings rates have reached up to 25-35% in many areas of green revolution Asia Farm households, as their incomes grow, increase their expenditure share on non-food items, thereby accelerating demand for nonfat goods and services. To meet this growing demand, rural households increasingly versify into production of rural nonfat goods and services. The composition of rural nonfat activity changes perceptibly over time in these buoyant agricultural settings. Increases in real wages raise the opportunity cost of labor, thereby making low-return nonfat activities uneconomic. This leads to the demise of many low- return craft and household manufacturing activities and to the growth of higher- return nonfat activities such as mechanical milling, transport, commerce, personal, health and educational services. Growing agricultural incomes attract labor into more productive, higher return rural nonfat services. Push Scenario: In regions without a dynamic economic base, patterns of growth in the rural nonfat economy unfold very differently. Sluggish income growth in agriculture leads to anemic consumer demand, limited corresponding and agricultural input requirements and stagnant wages. Taken together, these tendencies stymie both entrepreneurial and wage-earning opportunities in the rural nonfat economy. Without technological advance in agriculture, labor productivity and per capita farm production fall. In such settings, growing landlines pushes labor force increments into nonfat activity by default. Falling agricultural labor productivity, low opportunity cost of labor and declining household purchasing power induce diversification into low-return, labor- intensive nonfat activities such as basket making, gathering, pottery, weaving, embroidery and mat making. Specialized nonfat enterprises and households opportunities in agriculture and a shortage of both rural savings and invertible capital. Arbitration and Migration: Although the prosperity of rural regions and their rural nonfat economies typically depends on agricultural performance during the early stages of economic growth, this link gradually weakens over time as agriculture’s share in national economies declines. Rapid arbitration and globalization have opened up new market opportunities for rural nonfat producers of treatable goods and services and for rural workers to migrate and remit. Where conditions permit, these opportunities can stimulate regional economic growth, in some instances benefiting backward regions with poor agricultural potential and in others enhancing opportunities in already rapidly growing rural economies. Rising arbitration and national economic growth, together with improved transport and communication networks, provide important economic linkages between urban and rural areas, opening up new opportunities for rural households Evidence from India, for example, suggests that rapid rural nonfat growth is occurring along transport corridors linked to major urban centers, largely independent of their agricultural base Similarly, in Southeast Asia and in China high population density and low transport costs have led to rapid growth in urban-to-rural subcontracting for labor- intensive manufactures destined for international export markets. The importance of migration and remittance income proves highly context-specific, varying both locations and over time. Empirical evidence suggests that migrant remittances may serve to increase rural investment, finance schooling, house construction and agricultural inputs in some locations. Less beneficial are the impacts on migrant worker health and on family social cohesion. Liberalizing and Globalization: Beginning in the sass, widespread economic liberalizing has opened up the rural nonfat economy as never before – to new opportunities and to new threats. Liberalizing, by reducing direct government involvement in production and marketing, has opened up new market opportunities for the private sector, articulacy in agricultural processing, input supply and trade. Relaxed controls on foreign exchange and investment have unleashed a flood of foreign direct investment into Latin America, Asia and Africa. As a result, large exporters, agribusiness firms and supermarket chains increasingly penetrate rural economies of the developing world, altering the scale and structure of rural supply chains as they do. This rapidly changing environment opens up opportunities for some rural suppliers to access new markets. But liberalizing and globalization expose other rural genuineness to new threats, as quantity requirements and quality standards impose new ways of doing business that risk excluding intellectualized rural enterprises on which the rural poor often rely. Available evidence suggests that rapid concentration has triggered the bankruptcy of thousands of small firms in recent decades. Although many of these bankruptcies affected urban traders, emerging evidence suggests that small rural traders and the wholesale markets they serve likewise risk being displaced by larger, specialized wholesalers. Some categories of rural nonfat activity have thrived in the past because of protection from outside intention by high transport costs, restrictive production policies subsidized inputs and credit, and preferential access to key markets Globalization and market transition may prove brutally abrupt for many traditional small-scale manufacturing activities whose products cannot compete with higher quality, mass-produced goods. For this reason, the initial stages of depreciation can lead to significant Job losses in the ERNE, even though many of these may later be recovered as new types of rural nonfat activity sprout up, as in India during the sass. Since poor households and male-dominated activities predominate among the low-investment, low-productivity rural nonfat activities, they tend to face the most difficult adjustment during this transition. Agriculture has historically played an important role in expanding the economic base of rural regions in the developing world. In regions where agriculture has grown robustly, the ERNE has also typically enjoyed rapid growth. Regions with poor agricultural potential have seen more limited prospects for rural nonfat growth, except in places where the availability of other important rural treatable such as mining, logging, and entree ¶t trade offer an alternative economic platform for sustaining regional growth. In recent years, globalization, arbitration and improved infrastructure have opened up new opportunities in many rural areas, thereby reducing their dependence on agriculture. These developments seemingly offer new prospects for stimulating rural economic growth and, perhaps, new pathways out of poverty. Policymakers hold high hopes that rural nonfat growth can offer a pathway out of poverty for a large segment of the rural poor. Given the enormous diversity observed across rural regions and within the rural nonfat economy itself, opportunities, constraints, and appropriate policies will clearly differ across settings. Although general guidelines cannot substitute for detailed understanding of a specific rural nonfat setting, several broad policy guidelines do emerge from this review. Available evidence suggests the rural nonfat economy can significantly expand economic opportunities for the rural poor if two conditions hold. First, the rural nonfat economy must itself be growing robustly. Both rural nonfat employment and income per worker must be growing if nonfat growth is to contribute effectively to poverty reduction. Typically, this growth in the rural nonfat economy requires investments in the productive capacity and productivity of activities related to rural treatable, such as agriculture, tourism, or natural resource-based activities, in order to ensure their competitiveness in external markets. Alternatively, where low-cost rural labor and low transportation costs coincide, rural households can sometimes compete in urban or export markets through commuting, short-term migration, or urban-to-rural subcontracting arrangements. From a policy perspective, accelerating output and productivity Roth in the rural economic base will require investing in agricultural technology, rural education, communications, transportation, and electrification. Together with a favorable policy environment, these investments encourage rural nonfat business development as well as short-term commuting and migration strategies, both of which serve to increase rural nonfat incomes and investment. But a growing rural nonfat economy does not guarantee access by the poor. Wealthy households, well- endowed with financial, human, and political capital, often prove better equipped to sake advantage of growth in the high-productivity segments of the rural nonfat economy, both as entrepreneurs and as wage employees. Meanwhile, poor backwaters of the rural nonfat economy. Migration opportunities likewise remain bifurcated, with highly educated households more apt to land lucrative positions in towns. Thus, policymakers cannot assume that an expanding rural nonfat economy will translate automatically into pro-poor growth. This bifurcation leads to the second requirement for pro-poor rural nonfat growth: access by the poor to growing nonfat market niches. For nonfat earnings to offer a pathway out of poverty, rural households and policymakers may need to invest in rural education and health in order to improve the human capital stock of the poor. At the same time, policymakers will need to remove economic and social barriers that limit poor people’s entry into lucrative nonfat professions. Fluid labor markets, with good transportation and communication systems connecting rural households to regional and urban labor markets, will provide a key bridge linking the rural poor to growing opportunities in the nonfat economy. How to cite The Rural Non-Farm Economy, Papers

Total Quality Management1 Essay Example For Students

Total Quality Management1 Essay The emergence of the global marketplace demands that a company act on a global scale to be competitive. Competing on this level requires that a company provide a superior product and superior service. Companies desiring to achieve international quality status now have a manufacturing, quality control, and documentation standard in which to strive. ISO 9000 is the implemented international process management baseline for which all participating organizations will adhere. Standardization appears to be the key to survival in todays domestic and international marketplace. Consumers and businesses alike demand the assurances that the products they purchase from one company are equal in quality to the product they purchase from another. Consumers also demand that every product they purchase from a particular company meet the same specifications as the next. The key to developing this uniformity of standards and quality among and within companies is to establish a set of closely monitored p rocedures to be followed by all. The focus on the ISO 9000 and ISO 9001 standard is not on manufactured products, but the process implemented to achieve that product. By certifying a manufacturing and documentation process with the Geneva based International Organization for Standardization, registered companies have realized a dramatic decline in customer complaints and significant reductions in operating costs. This is due to the required certification process. By successfully completing the ISO 9000-registration process, companies can identify and correct processes that are costly and unproductive. This is simply good for business. Additionally, ISO 9000 registered companies, critical of their ISO registered product, demand that their suppliers be ISO 9000 registered. The ISO 9000 series consist of five standards that fall into two categories. The five standards are ISO 9000-1, ISO 9001, ISO 9002, ISO 9003, and ISO 9000-4. The two categories provide for contractual situations and non-contractual situations. Contractual elements (ISO 9001, ISO 9002, and IO 9003) have been developed for external quality assurance. Meeting these standards indicate to a customer that a companys quality assurance program is capable of providing a quality product or service. Non-contractual elements, ISO 9000-1 and ISO 9004-1, used as guidance standards, have been developed to assure quality management. ISO 9001, the most extensive of the ISO 9000 series, are directed towards quality system requirements of the organization. ISO 9001 encompass all of the elements listed in ISO 9002 and ISO 9003. This standard contains twenty clauses that address issues such as management responsibility, process control, and corrective and preventative actions. These clauses are designed to promote conformity of processes such as design, production, and servicing by striving towards the goal of total quality management. ISO 9000-1 addresses quality management and quality assurance standards. This document defines the primary concept of the series such as principal objectives and responsibilities, the process of an organization, and the roles of documentation. This document also provides a definition of terminology and provides guidance needed for all ISO 9000 series issues. ISO 9004-1 addresses internal procedures such as organizational goals, management responsibilities, training, and servicing. As in the ISO 9001 series, this series also contains twenty clauses. This is also the standard, which provides for the most misunderstandings. It is important that companies completing the certification process understand the relationship of this standard to the other ISO 9000 family standards. Clauses within the ISO 9004-1 standard provide the foundation for completing certain ISO 9001 requirements. The purpose of proper documentation is not to create enormous amounts of paper, but to assist the company in its undertaking of implementing ISO 9000 standards. Implementing any project of magnitude requires a formal project plan. The minimum topics that should be covered in a project plan are project definition, structure, responsibilities, results and analysis, schedules, required resources, and constraints. Once these requirements are defined, the process of implementation can begin. Systematically categorizing and adherence to the project plan are necessary. It is important to remember that this documentation will be scrutinized during the certification process. .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8 , .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8 .postImageUrl , .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8 , .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8:hover , .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8:visited , .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8:active { border:0!important; } .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8:active , .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8 .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc8577fa5e5dc46a00ca9c338ec98edf8:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: French Revolution EssayDocumentation procedures are a critical element of the management process. They should be used to provide information such as reference points, definitions of responsibilities and authorities, and the identification of errors and resolutions. Adequate documentation such as this will provide a reference, and if followed correctly will lead to further standardization throughout the organization, which is the objective of this process. The success of the ISO 9000 standard has led to its implementation and application to government and non-commercial industry. Federal government agencies adopting this standard include Department of Defense (DOD,) Occupat ional Safety and Health Administration (OSHA,) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to name but a few. The DOD is now using the ISO 9000 series as a standard for new contracts instead of the MIL specification widely used throughout industry in the U.S. OSHA, desiring to improve their internal quality management objectives has used many of the ISO 9000 guidelines. NASA has also implemented the ISO 9000 series toward contracts and has applied the standard agency wide. ISO 9000 has gained acceptance in the software industry because of its structured, well-defined processes. An extension is ISO 9000-3 that was developed in response to customer demand, pressure from competitors, and the need for improved quality and efficiency in the software industry. This standard continues to provide guidance, terms, and definitions specific to the software development industry. During the past decade, there has been an enormous amount of environmental policies developed and implemented worldwide. These policies have determined that a major threat to our environment is the chemical industry. Chemical companies now understand that if they are to continue to do business, they must comply with these strict environmental policies. Providing proper, consistent documentation relevant to their processes is crucial if they are to meet regulations. Their answer to this dilemma is to implement initiatives directed toward standardization. This standardization is ISO 9000. The metal industry is approaching the ISO 9000 standards from a total quality management aspect, geared towards internal improvements. Many companies, succeeding in implementing this process have made the same observations. Employees, being empowered, are performing their duties with less direct supervision and are more productive. Processes have become more efficient due to the formalized standardiza tion process, and continuous improvement is now the objective. It is important to remember that no single approach to implementation of ISO 9000 will accommodate all companies, as all have different needs and requirements. In order for a company to implement these processes, certain guidelines must be met. Solid backing by senior management is mandatory. These individuals are to set an example for their subordinates; therefore, their open support is essential. Proper preparation and planning are important. Lack of planning provides for confusion, which leads to failure. Part of the implementation process is building upon processes in place that work. Reengineering systems that are productive and cost efficient are counterproductive and a waste of time. . Documentation of every step and process is necessary in that it not only provides a record, but also a baseline in which to verify progress. Flexibility is also essential. Reassessment is necessary if the results derived from a specific process are not what were intended. Employee involvement is crucial. As a process is implemented company wide, employee at all levels will be effected. Their confidence in management and belief that the process will improve all aspects of their position is required if they are to be productive and play a part in the implementation process. Standardization is necessary in todays global marketplace. Consumers demand better quality products and the assurances that these products are well supported. The standardization of processes and systems is necessary if industry is to meet the consumers requirements. Developing uniformity among industry is necessary to developing this higher quality standard. Companies not responding to this trend are subject to lost revenues and business failure to their ISO 9000 compliant counterparts.Larson, J. (1999, April 21). ISO certification not just for majors. Arizona Republic, p. E2. .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d , .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d .postImageUrl , .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d , .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d:hover , .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d:visited , .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d:active { border:0!important; } .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d:active , .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u71514398ce13d1308608131d95fff19d:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Rate of Diffusion and Osmosis of Various Solut EssayPeach, Robert W. (1997). The ISO 9000 handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill(1999). The NASA ISO 9000 home page Online. Available: http://iso9000.nasa.gov/(1999). Welcome to ISO easy Online. Available: http://www.isoeasy.org/Bibliography:ReferencesLarson, J. (1999, April 21). ISO certification not just for majors. Arizona Republic, p. E2. Peach, Robert W. (1997). The ISO 9000 handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill(1999). The NASA ISO 9000 home page Online. Available: http://iso9000.nasa.gov/(1999). Welcome to ISO easy Online. Available: http://www.isoeasy.org/

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green knight is a story set in the Middle English and was written by an unknown person from West Midlands. He is famed with many other works that were also written around the same period.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Sir Gawain is the protagonist in the tale. Several events in the story describe his true nature. He foregoes two daunting tests. This is a challenge that he accepts without seeking help from King Arthur’s knights; a challenge to behead the dangerous and feared Green Knight and to allow him retaliate one year after at the Green Chapel. This added to the excitement of committing adultery with Lord Bercilak’s wife. In the real sense, it is at the Green Knight’s abode that Gawain rests on his way to the chapel. This tale is symbolic of life; how it sets trials and dares and the results that arise b ecause of triumphing in passing these challenges. Gawain is a true depiction of heroism in the story due to his zeal and gallantry on how he handled tasks (Peters 2). Sir Gawain is truly, a figurative character in the story. He is symbolic in the way he depicts the innocence of life. He did not fear at all to agree to all challenges since it pointed at salvaging the entire kingdom from the serious effects of anarchism that could arise from the failure of having a central king. His acceptance to a duel against the Green Knight immediately portrayed one of the elements that knighthood stood for. This is the aspect of fearlessness. Individuals accept such dares on a daily basis. Indeed, this could be the basic foundation of the roots of the term â€Å"sticking one’s neck out†. In instances where individuals take up on certain tasks or challenges, many are never prepared to live with the results of an unsuccessful feat. However, Gawain was the opposite of this. Peters says that after the end of one year, he bravely rode his horse and went to the Green chapel. This not only proved that he was fearless but a true hero. This was of course preceded by the caution â€Å"take caution Gawain, that you will not be a deserter of your trial through fear† (178). Throughout his journey, Gawain encounters dangerous situations and self-reluctance in some factors and the undying exploration for the chapel. This sentiment can be exemplified as the inner suffering experienced as a consequence of dealing with personal scruples. The long journey also gauged his faith as he continually prayed throughout his travels. He did not curse or downplay God’s name at any time. Evidently, it is true that the prayers served to keep Gawain sane and committed to the reason of his journey.Advertising Looking for essay on british literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Gawain’s wishes and prayers are res ponded to when he moves and ends arriving at a location where he could ask for an apparent rest. The castle he finds becomes the setting for his next rest. His main challenge grows as he enjoys his time at the court and discovers that there is a woman who is excited by the prospects of getting to know and understand him in a better way. The woman turns out to be the wife of Lord Bercilak; the Green Knight. This is depicted as a temptation. The woman in question attempts to entice Gawain while her husband is on a hunting expedition. Gawain manages to rebuff her trials except for a single kiss which he talks of in a confession. The woman offers him a sash which is believed to guard anyone who wears it from an apparent harm (Williamson 27). He takes possession of the sash, although reluctantly and does not mention to Lord Bercilak that he got it from his wife. This is because he accords most of his trust in material possession rather than God who can guard him from any form of harm. Mo st of his actions above are representative of his heroism save for this last act which appears to be one of his downfalls in the story. Gawain later heads for the chapel and gets the Green Knight ready for him and honing his axe. Gawain takes a bend over a blow which is immediately feinted by the Knight. This causes Gawain to flinch and he is reprimanded by the knight for that action. The knight goes for the axe again but repeats his earlier trick by feinting the blow. This infuriates Gawain who is not impressed at the playful nature that the knight employs. The knight’s third blow hits Gawain at the back of his neck. He later elaborates that the first two blows that he made are only representative of the exchanges at the court between Gawain and his wife which he rejected, and the last blow was symbolic of the failure of Gawain during the final encounter with the woman where he accepted the sash offered to him as a replacement of his faith he had in God earlier. This action according to the knight can be pardoned and lauds Gawain for indeed being exemplary and one of the most trustworthy individuals he had come across in his life. Peters mentions that the knight commented, â€Å"Gawain was polished of that dilemma and cleansed† (124). This meant that men, in spite of their liabilities and disparities can be pardoned. Gawain sees fault in himself and feels like he has lost the confidence of other people with him. However, he gets forgiveness from his peers. Obviously, even the knight sees Gawain’s heroism basing on what he comments about him. That even in the face of adversities and failures, Gawain can still seek pardon and remorse from peers.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Gawain’s character in the story is representative of the values of the society in which the texts were written. There was mu ch regard and respect for God’s will and expectation of man to always respect the creator and his rules. Gawain cautiously and skillfully evades a woman’s wiles and tricks that could have led to adultery. This tale has much to do with how a man should lead his life. We are faced with many tests and challenges on a daily basis, and to be pardoned of any of these is indeed normal. This tale will always be reminisced for its intense poetic nature in the way Gawain is handled, and can be utilized as a foundation on which people can judge their actions. Gawain is indeed a man and every one of them has pardonable faults. What is astounding however is that Gawain is a hero based on his actions that are mentioned above. Works Cited Peters, Scott. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Analysis. London: Prentice Hall, 2000. Print. Williamson, Neilson. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Ontario: Middle English Series, 1999. Print. This essay on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written and submitted by user Penel0pe to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Steve Invasive Species and Hallow Stems Essay

Steve Invasive Species and Hallow Stems Essay Steve: Invasive Species and Hallow Stems Essay Invasive species are plants or animals that are introduced to other environments of their own. These species cause adverse effects of the habitats they invade on an environmental, economical, and ecological level. They threaten biological diversity and can upset the balance of living things in nature. Look for example at Human Beings, we are a major invasive species to many areas of the Earth we occupy. We have destroyed many other life forms both plant and animal, just as any invasive species can do to the environments they are introduced into. Fallopia japonica(Japanese Knotweed) for example is an invasive plant species. It is a perennial of the family Polygonaceae which is native to Eastern Asia. This plant has hallow stems and has a resemblance to bamboo even though the two species are not closely related. It has a very invasive root system and it can damage buildings, roads, and most other manmade structures. In some areas its even possible this plant can reduce the capacity o f flood channels that carry floodwaters away. Is it feasible to say that these plants killed someone? Would the difference in the flood channels ability to carry water from these plants be capable of making such a negative difference? This plant forms extremely thick and dense growths that crowd out much of the surrounding plant life. It has great success growing in a variety of soil types. Another eerie fact is the rhizomes() can survive temperatures of -31F and can extend 23 ft horizontally and nearly 10 feet deep. This would create an extremely difficult task to remove if it threatened any buildings or other plant life you had concern for. To obtain an understanding of the effects of this particular invasive plant, we must first understand its uses and why anyone would contribute to the success of this bad plant. One reason being that Japanese knotweed is used in beekeeping as an important source of nectar for honeybees. They are used mainly in times of the year when many other species are not flowering. The honey yielded is a monofloral honey, which means that the honey is derived from one plant species and has a distinct taste. Secondly the young stems that grow are edible as a spring vegetable which has a flavor similar to sour rhubarb. Lastly this plant is known for its high concentration of resveratrol and flucoside piceid. This means it can replace certain grape byproducts. It is useful in this way even more because its year round growth and its ability to grow in many climates. The best way to control this weed is to use some form of

Evaluating and reviewing a piece of pop culture Essay

Evaluating and reviewing a piece of pop culture - Essay Example haps this is the reason why it is so popular because it has a subliminal message that an average guy just like Chuck and everyone else’s could become a super spy through an unexpected circumstance. The weakness of the TV series is that it defies logic and not based on sound science. For example, how could the CIA possibly build a labyrinth of headquarters at Nerd Herd’s basement without being notice by somebody? And also, there is no scientific basis that a person can remember everything (being an intersect) by just opening an email. The TV series became popular because it brought down spy culture to the understanding of the masses. The general audience was able to relate how the life of an average person could turn into a highly adventurous, explosive and secretive life by being a spy. Chuck’s dilemma on how to keep his identity and to fulfill the function of a spy also tickles the fancy and imagination of the audience that made it popular. Because of the theme of the film which is espionage and action, the main audiences of the film are mainstream males who are into espionage films. They can relate themselves as Chuck doing extra ordinary things even if they are just a regular guy. The value of the series is the ability of the main character Chuck, to relate to the subliminal aspiration of an average male to do adventure and secretive work by being a spy. It differentiated from other TV series of the same genre as it strips the work of being a spy as unattainable and making it a possibility as portrayed in the TV series Chuck. Whereas other TV series of the same genre portrays the role of a spy to require superhuman ability such as superior intelligence and athleticism, Chuck removed this barrier by just requiring the protagonist to be at the right place and at the right time and able to do the same and even better by just being lucky. If this will be translated to a game just like other spy films, this will prove to be interesting as those

SHORT ANSWER QUESTION - discuss and evaluate the range of family Essay

SHORT ANSWER QUESTION - discuss and evaluate the range of family types. (1000 words). - Describe and analyse sociological perspectives on the family (2500 WORDS FROM SECTION 2,3,4,AND 5 OF CRITERIA) - Essay Example Both the wives share their husband, and there should not be any bonds between the wives of the husband. Only when this condition is satisfied do we come across a Polygamous family. (Moynihan, Carolyn) This is a form of marriage where the woman takes the bite instead of the man. A polyandrous form of marriage includes a woman having more than two husbands and all of them living together at the same time. There should not be any bond between the husbands and they may or may not have kids. (Zietzen, Miriam) Monogamous form of marriage is the most prevalent form marriage in the society today. In almost all the countries throughout the world we have this type of marriage existent in their facets of societies. In this form of marriage, the man and the woman have only one partner, and they refrain from increasing the number of partners, but they stick to themselves. Matrilocal families consist of such kind of families which live with the wife’s mother’s house. According to this trend, the mother of the female child lives with her after her child gets married. Men have a very limited amount of input in the growth of the kids, and they usually bring up their sister’s kids. Woman have a dominating role to play in this kind of marriage. (Matrilocal Residence) Patrilocal families are the opposite of Matrilocal families where the couple resides along with the father of the husband in the same house. The kids are raised by husband the wife, but the husband has a dominating role in the family, focussing on running the family whereas the wife brings up the kids and looks after the day to day business of the family. Matrilineal descent is a system of family where the lineage is traced from the mother’s side. It is a line of descent from the female ancestor, from where the successors trace their lineage from the female ancestor. The husband also forms part of the wife’s lineage, and the kids take the family names of the mother’s

Contemporary Issues in Global Business Management Essay

Contemporary Issues in Global Business Management - Essay Example It is also found that Cathay Pacific is making sincere and earnest efforts towards sustainable business model, while also contributing to the social and environmental causes. Corporate Social Responsibility is also variously addressed as Corporate Citizenship, Corporate Responsibility, Global Citizenship, and Corporate Philanthropy. The definitions put forward by various organizations try to explain the concept using different terminology. As such there is no universal definition of CSR. However, different definitions of CSR carry a similar import and are same in extent and scope. The channelling of corporate resources towards community well-being through discretionary business practices is called Corporate Social Responsibility. CSR is to carry out business processes in a manner that exceeds the legal, ethical, commercial and public expectations that society has of business. Through CSR, companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis. CSR aims for well-being of employees, customers, stakeholders and society in which it operates. According to EU Commission (2002) as cited in Hopkins (1998), CSR is voluntary action exercised by the companies to make their businesses socially and environmentally sustainable. CSR is voluntary integration of social and environmental concerns with business operations (CEC in: Worthington et al., 2003). The World Business Council as cited in Hopkins (1998) introduces the notion of ethics in corporate social responsibility best practice. It is described as a commitment to behave ethically and contribute to the economic development and quality of life of the workforce, local community, and the society at large. Airlines provide air transport services for passengers and freight. Airlines operate internationally or nationally as scheduled services or charters. Airline companies

Key Challenges Faced By The Bpo Industry Management Essay

Key Challenges Faced By The Bpo Industry Management Essay Peter Drucker says innovation is a change that creates a new dimension of performance. In todays business world, competition has become fierce and sophisticated. Companies worldwide are striving hard to operate as efficiently as possible and pass on the savings to the end consumers, in a bid to stay ahead of the competition. In the process, many companies are forced to innovate to come up with ways to reduce costs, increase efficiency and identify differentiators not only for their own organizations but also for their customer organizations. In the midst of this dog eats dog global competition, customers are true beneficiaries by demanding additional value, process innovation and business transformation from suppliers. In todays dynamic world, innovation is the hallmark of a competitive and leading organization. With attrition rates and competition in the BPO and ITES sectors rampant, innovation is the logical solution to stem the rot of this exodus and surge ahead of competition. Innovation, however, is not only about discoveries or new inventions; it is a concerted initiative to implement new ideas and methods of doing business to increase the overall efficacy of results (read topline and bottomline).   Innovation in BPO and ITES sectors is now picking up after companies have woken up to the fact that innovation is indispensable for survival and also in creating a competitive edge. Innovation occurs not randomly or accidentally but when there is a proper system/structure in place to encourage it. Any business is the sum total of its capabilities, which may differ from person to person. Nourishing innovation involves understanding the various capabilities in an organization and harnessing them to the best of its ability. These capabilities include: Differentiating capabilities an organizations primary assets that describes its special nature and the real differentiating factor Core capabilities those that are critical to the organizations survival, but may not necessarily help in differentiation Support capabilities those that support the organizations core capabilities and foster them. This paper aims to analyse innovation in the Indian ITES industry, success thereof and the focus needed to excel in the space. In particular, the organozation I was working for was suffering from all the symptoms mentioned in the report. Key Challenges faced by the BPO industry today and ways to fight it Flight to Scale Galloping Manpower Costs Increasing investments in Infrastructure Customer Retention Customer Acquisition People Retention To face these challenges, BPOs are forced to innovate and differentiate themselves in the market place. There are various types of innovation that a BPO can resort to: Business Model Innovation Services/Markets innovation Operations Innovation Business Model Innovation would mean changing the structure of doing business or even changing the billing model. From an hourly billing rate or transaction based billing organizations are now looking at outcome based financial models and sharing the risk and reward with the customer. Services/Markets Innovation would mean targeting entirely new markets based on new or existing offerings. BPOs can also innovate by coming up with entirely a new range of services. For example, many organizations are now talking about platform Platform BPO is about providing Business Processing services using a domain rich vertical or horizontal application (platform). Good examples for Horizontal application would be FA, CRM etc. There are innumerable vertical platforms. Some examples are Mortgage Processing, Collection Management, Insurance Benefits Administration, Policy Administration, Claims Processing and the list goes on. The purpose of the platform is to give credibility to the BPO providers capability. Operations Innovation aims at providing operational excellence with new offerings. Organizations are increasingly investing in analytics to provide the client insights into the way business is conducted and identifying areas of improvement. In one sense, it is akin to consulting services. Other forms of innovation could be in the areas of employee practices and investments in new technology. This is a significant change, which is true also of what is happening in IT and has a remarkable parallel with the transformation and rise of Japan in the post-war period. The transformation first occurs in transiting from cost advantage (wage arbitrage) to quality. Then comes the stage where quality is taken for granted, like hygiene, and clients start demanding innovation as a matter of course. Indian BPO as also IT is here right now and the ability of Indian players to innovate, in which they are still beginners, will determine their future.   A few examples of innovative players to help employee retention Intelenet Global Services, one of the leading BPO companies in India and rated among top-10 by NASSCOM, offering BPO and technology consulting services to clients in various sectors across the globe, has capitalized on its capabilities through employee innovation practices. To eliminate the boredom of the employees and keep them motivated to give their best for continuous value-addition to their clients, it offers its employees three career paths in the form of vertical growth, horizontal growth, and shift to parent company. While 70% of promotions in the organization are internal, only 30% is external. After 2 years of service, if an employee doesnt want to be a team leader (vertical growth), but desires to get into HR or training or other areas, he is allowed to shift diagonally across functions. Moreover, if someone who has worked for 2 years wants to move from nightshift to dayshift, then he is given first preference, subject to a vacancy in the parent company. Intelenet has spon sored offshore domain specialization training programmes for its employees, besides certification programs such as Train the Trainer. It has sent its employees to participate in seminars and conferences of top management institutes and also got them Customer Operations Performance Centre (COPC) certified. Similarly, Prudential Process Management Services (PPMS), the wholly-owned BPO subsidiary of Prudential UK, also offers vertical and lateral growth for its employees, thus enhancing value for its clients as well as employees through employee innovation. eFunds International, a US-based company providing technology solutions in financial risk management and electronic payments, and consultancy services, is creating continuous value for its clients through employee innovation. Whenever an employee joins the organization, he is given a Magic Score Card, which serves as a training passport. eFunds provides its employees training expertise in domain areas and also focuses on leadership skills. Because of its innovation initiatives, eFunds net revenues increased 11% from $532 million in 2003 to $552 million in 2004. Infowavz, another BPO company, offers a 1-year Management Development Program for fresh employees who join the company after completing their MBAs. It also offers an Accelerated Career Development programme for highly motivated and self-driven employees who look for continuous challenges and opportunities to maximize their potential. It has designed a unique Team Innovation programme for top performers who are associated with new projects at the pilot stage or proof-of-concept stage. Infowavz lucidly communicates its career path to employees at the recruitment stage, defining the Key Result Areas, and conducts an exhaustive Training Needs Analysis programme to identify the deficiencies and build employee competencies. There are quite a few BPOs investing on platform technologies to differentiate themselves from competition and also to improve margins. Wipros experience in the outsourcing industry has led to the development of Base, a technology platform that integrates outsourced services with the customers internal business processes and fulfils the following requirements: Flexibility and continuous improvement Control and transparency Complaince Faster time to benefit Accuracy and Quality What it takes to be an innovator A Partnering Attitude. Whats key here is a strong, long-term relationship between the two organizations. Both organizations must discourage adversarial, us-versus-them attitudes. If the provider fails, the client failsand vice versa. This is not about warm, fuzzy feelings; it is about clarifying synergies between the two organizations during the RFP cycle and ensuring alignment of interest just like in joint ventures. The Right Technology Platform. IT should support innovation. The technology platform provider must be able to make new technologies available quickly through the provider. This requires close collaboration between the BPO provider and the technology vendornot just marketing agreements. Also, buyers should select technology vendors with a demonstrated track record in bringing innovations to market over extended periods of time. BPO is long term; it is an innovation marathon, not a sprint. The Appropriate Governance Mechanisms. Buyers must ingrain innovation in their governance. That includes creation of an innovation and technology council with members from both buyer and supplier who meet regularly to review progress, ensure the technology evolves, and check the benchmarks at regular intervals to identify where performance falls behind. And technology evolution must push innovation efficiently, meaning integration is easy because the platform conforms to standards. Buyers can insure their tech platform does this using proactive oversight and agreed-upon standards. Standardized Process Redesign and Related Technology. Buyers need to limit their customization demands whenever they can. If buyers want innovation, the service delivery economics must work for the supplier. Suppliers that make money can afford to bring in innovation. This often becomes tricky because both buyer and supplier have to clearly understand the cost structure of the service delivery. A provider forced to accept a service delivery model that does not harness economies of scale, process optimization, or access to labour arbitrage is never going to be able to innovate, and customers forcing BPO providers to tweak their offerings may inadvertently kill the very root of the economic advantage suppliers are supposed to bring to the table. Better discussions about standardization pains and gains must happen between the client and the provider organization. Absolute top management commitment. No innovation can happen without top management commitment for both human and capital resources. This is very important because when investing in innovation sometimes results are not immediate. The senior management must have the vision and patience to reap the benefits. Conclusion Innovation in the BPO space continues to be a challenge for the following reasons: BPOs are normally under margin pressures and resource commitments for innovation are difficult to make. The SLAs are very stringent and time bound. Moreover daily performance could affect the commercials in a big way. This is because organizations see this as a window to reach out to their customers and a slip here would directly affect their customer satisfaction. Hence contracts are very tight and normally followed to the dot. This leaves very little room for innovation. Running the operations everyday is a struggle in itself People related issues are much higher when compared to the sister industry Information technology. The work hours are odd and the compensation less. This means a good amount of time being spent of motivational issues and coaching and training. Due to all these reasons, innovation in the BPO space continues to be a challenge. But in future as competition stiffens and the line between IT and ITES fades, there is a good chance that the scene gets better, including the organization I was working for.

Human cloning: what are the ethics, applications and potential undesira

Mankind has always tried to extend his knowledge about the properties of every living thing; it is an integral part of human nature. What is also important about it is that there is constant disagreement in new views between scientists and society. One such problem is the question of human cloning. Firstly, the term â€Å"cloning† must be defined: â€Å"Cloning is the production of an exact genetic duplicate of a living organism or cell† (Baird 2002, 20). This procedure not only led to producing a sheep, Dolly, but it can also have other very useful applications. Using different methods of cloning is expected to change radically the process of organ transplantation and it is a way of finding appropriate treatments of diseases. As a result of this sick people can be cured and other cases might be prevented. Despite these apparently positive applications, there are some very weighty arguments against human cloning, the main one being that the idea of cloning runs counter to religion and centuries-old principles. The aim of this paper is to consider the ethics of human cloning and analyse its applications and potential drawbacks. Main body There is one very important aspect about cloning – in general there are two basic methods of cloning: reproductive and therapeutic. Not everyone is acquainted with this information, so when the word â€Å"cloning† is used, it evokes the concept of reproductive cloning, â€Å"armies of obedient replicants†, which may appear risible, but â€Å"22% of respondents in ... Time/CNN poll gave this fear as their reason for opposing reproductive cloning† (Levy and Lotz 2005, 234). The following will describe the procedure of reproductive cloning, the reasons for rejecting it and arguments for this method. The aim of reprod... ...ificially conceived. It also has not been proven so far that he would have another constitution or different from usual people’s necessities of life. As it was written above, cloning could be helpful for infertile couples that want to have genetically close children to them. Nevertheless, opponents think that genetics is not compulsory in this situation and it is possible to love adopted children as well as own, so long as the role of mutual understanding is more important than genes. At the same time everyone has a right to marry and to have children, so why it is immoral to have a cloned offspring, if it would make parents happier and possibly will improve demographics in some countries. To sum up the theme of reproductive cloning is complicated and there is no single point of view in all categories, however, discussion of therapeutic cloning is no less complex.

Middle School Graduation Speech

Today you are graduating middle school. Some of you are sitting in your seats thinking â€Å"its just middle school, its not really even a big deal. † I know that because that was me at the same time last year But it's a big deal. Three years of your life are gone, some of you may believe you have nothing to show for these three years, but that could not be farther from the truth. You have grown, not Just In the getting taller sense- but In the sense that you are becoming the person you are meant to be.You have developed your own ideas and your own sense of the world. You have learned many many things, even if you don't believe so. You have challenged yourself without knowing and made the adults in your life so proud of you in Just three years. So what about the next four years you have here at Greenville? What will you accomplish? What about your years after you leave us? How many heights will you reach? The world Is yours. The world Is yours to conquer and to change. Maybe I t will take you years to decide how you want to live your life, or maybe you already know.Maybe you now now and will change your mind, and that is perfectly fine. Maybe you will start on a road that is not for you or maybe you will get lucky and take the correct path on your first try. You will get hurt and you will fall down. When this happens, chances are you won't want to get back up, but you have to. If you let life keep you down you will go nowhere. So don't listen to things people say about you, because the only opinion of you that matters Is what you think of yourself. Not everyone Is going to love you, actually a majority of people will hardly even like you.But who really cares about those people? If they waste their time trying to knock you down, they obviously aren't even worth me taking the time to talk about. You only have a short amount of time here, and you should use every minute of it wisely so when the time comes and your life flashes before your eyes you are not di sappointed with what you see. So learn everything you can. Take advantage of every opportunity given to you. Stand up and use your words for good, and always remember to dance In the rain.You'll get mixed up, of course, s you already know. You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left. And will you succeed? (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed. ) Kid, you'll move mountains! So†¦ Be your name Buxom or Boxy or Bray or Moroccan All Van Allen Ashes, you're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So†¦ Get on your way!

The US doesnt have a moral obligation to promote democracy essays

The US doesnt have a moral obligation to promote democracy essays The United States doesnt have a moral obligation to promote democratic ideals, so I negate. The United States doesnt have a moral obligation because it can't prove that its claims are just. Therefore my value for the round is justice defined as being far and true. We can't trust the United States to be fare and true because we are a government run by people and people are fallible. Also any situation that the United States claims that it has a moral obligation is just an opinion, so therefore somebody will have an opinion opposite to it and peace will fail. We must value justice because when justice is not valued it is inherently wrong and bias. So in the context of the resolution we are only considering one side of the conflict. Therefore my value criterion is minimizing prejudice which means stopping the formation of one sided opinions. When we form opinions by only looking at one side of the coin our thoughts become selfish because only think about our self. We must consider the consequences of our actions if are to make better decisions. Steve Martinet continues: Yet, this is only half the story. The structure of popular support for interventionism is highlighted by the character of the opposition. Though parenthetical to the political process, and without the means of bringing its case to open public discourse, several modes of opposition to each intervention have arisen and sought popular attention. Each has attempted to reveal the contradictions in the interventionist rhetoric and to demand debate on issues of justice with respect to interventionist policy. What Steve is saying is without considering all sides of the opposition, and allowing both sides to speak you are going to make a bias decision. We must look to both sides and not be selfish in order to achieve justice. My first contention proves that it is condescending to tell another country how they should work, and doing so is actually bein...

Bella Heath Care India Essay Example

Bella Heath Care India Essay Example Bella Heath Care India Essay Bella Heath Care India Essay 1. What capabilities and resources does a company need to develop new products? Which of these capabilities and resources does Bella India have? There are 4 competencies that a manufacturing company needs to successfully penetrate the market with new products. 1) Market Research Ability: a company needs to know in details about the market. The details include from the demand for specific function in a product, demand for specific service related to the product, to information about suppliers in the market. 2) High Quality: a company needs to insure high quality of the product in order to succeed in the market. In order to guarantee the level of quality in manufacturing industry, high level of technology reflected in manufacturing facilities and high quality of labor force in order to operate the facilities are crucial. Technology Labor force 3) Low Cost: a company needs ability to produce a new product with lower cost compared to its competitors. 4) Organizational Structure: a company requires right form of organizational structure depending on its industry and external environment. With an appropriate match between structure and environment, the company’s internal communication and decision making process would work effectively. Among those 4 competencies, what Bella India has towards Indian market is as follows: Market Research Ability, High Quality, Organizational Structure. 1) Market Research Ability: Bella Healthcare has extensive channel to access information of market in both the U.S. and India. This allowed Bella Healthcare to have plenty of information about suppliers in both the U.S. and India, and to point out the local demand towards A/S. 2) High Quality Technology: Since its inception in 1969, Bella Health Care has accumulated its technology reflected in its plant in St. Louis. Moreover, since 1990s, Bella Health Care India has also showed high level of technology proficiency. Labor Force: A number of engineers are with full background technological knowledge, but at the same time requires much less wage. 3) Organizational Structure: Bella Health Care has independent structure. This enables Bella India to make important decisions by itself not being interfered by HQ in the US. Bella India has its own authority in project building, manufacturing, and staffing which makes the company react swiftly and localize easily. Also, Bella India has a flat culture so engineers can participate in decision making process. It has encouraged Bella India to be well-communicating organization with constant innovation. However, when it comes to projects that require intimate cooperation with HQ, such as Project Baton, this structure may hinder communication between the HQ and the division. 2. Why did Project Baton fail? Project Baton, the first joint product development by St. Louis-based team and Bella India team, has cancelled. Below are 3 possible reasons of the failure of this project. 1) Communication Problems Cultural difference:  As the two teams had different cultural context, they misunderstand each other even though they have not had problems with their co-workers before. Even though they can speak in the same language (in this context, Bella India team would speak English), there is possibility that the words or phrases have different meaning. Also, the same behavior or attitude could be regard as suitable and polite in some cultural group, while it is rude in other group. For instance, in this case, a-few-minute late for a conference call or missing deadline could be trivial for Bella India team but it could be serious problem for the St. Louis supervisor because they are in different cultural context. Far distance between two project teams made communication difficult Both team felt frustrated to have late-night conference calls and to go on a business trip because they need to do extra work. Sudden vacancy in project manager position in St. Louis. Unexpected Departure in this position lasts several weeks and it would make two project teams to communicate more slowly and less effectively. Conflicts in priority between design engineers and manufacturing Bella India team focused on designing for manufacturing most, while St. Louis-based team took care of developing the best, most commercially viable functionality. It seems they had difficulties in making settlement because they mostly care about their own responsibility, not about working closely. 2) Technical problems Bella run into difficulty with operations making a new product. When they made prototype of project Baton, amplifier did not work well. Actually, Baton was not that high-tech project, because it was application of EKG with treadmill. Developers had a strength to make cost lower, but did not have ability making application within certain time deadline. 3) Sourcing issues. Bella expected vital part such as microcontroller to be outsourced in Asia, but they had to brought it from US costly since Asian benders delayed the delivery. They failed cost control because of unqualified benders. Without second plan or diversified benders, new process can easily face such problem. At last, product which consumes 30% higher cost than initial expected value makes Bella give up the project Baton in 2007. 3. Should Bella India take on Project TKO and develop an Bella Healthcare specifically for the local market? Why or why not? 1) Internal aspects Bella healthcare has its’ own mission   Bella health care usually sells 12 channel devices which provide accurate diagnosis of disease. In developing countries, sometimes they face with resource constraints, such as power failure or lack of doctors. So Bella healthcare develop simplified version of device, TKO. Most of the techniques are already existed and used in Bella health care. They can get higher profit by using little bit modified devices They learn from last fail. Using experience learned from ‘Project Bacon’, they can make a great success in this project. In Baton project, Bella health care in India and its’ headquarter develop a new product together. However they have a communication problem and it ruins the project. In TKO project, Mr. Manning made a task force team, so they can control the project by themselves. Also, they already experience a problem in outsourcing procedure, so they can handle potential problem more easily about outsourcing issue. And last, they have a technical ability to build the one motor model which was not done at the previous project. 2) External Aspects India is big and continuously growing market India has large Population, and their economy is growing. Also the professional says that patients of CAD will increases in a large number. Asian smokes a lot, and they get stressed, so they are likely to get CAD. However the number of doctors and facilities are very small, and most of them are located in the city. Though by they need a device easy to control and diagnose market prospects has green color. Market size of single-channel is biggest among others market. According to the chart, sales amount of single-channel is 19,825. Considering total amounts of EKG market in India is about 31,000 units, single-channel has a value. Not big in this time, but strong competitors exist. The second external issue is market share. In single-channel market, dominant company is BPL Health, local brand, who has 56% of market. Except BPL Health, there is no strong market leader. Most of them have only 5%, or lower than 5%. GE, most significant competitor, also shows only 4% in this market. Include BPL most of local companies and Asian companies are not a serious problem. Because they don’t catch market needs like aftersales service or product innovation, so they will wipe out natural. But GE is not, Golden lush to single-channel is just starting. Until now, GE focused on high channel market like 3-chaanel or 6-channel market, and ran in to single-channel market recently. But GE has been worked faster than Bella Healthcare definitely. In contrast Bella Healthcare, Bella Healthcare just starts on preparing about single-channel market, GE already participates in these market. And the CEO of GE Healthcare in South Asia set a goal that is big growth in India market within next 2-3years. Other competitive companies like Medi Ved and Perfint Healthcare continuously produce a new model for India market. Although not involved yet, Philips is also a powerful potential rival. They have a 29% market share in 6/12-channel market already. 3) Suggestion Most of internal and external environments shows positive situation, considering circumstances single-channel market is very attractive. But the issue about competition is the reason of hesitation. To solve this problem, they should propel Project TKO to make special product for India market. Then how they can be success in this harsh race? There are two tracks; the first one is be a market leader by their own special function. And the second one is be a fast follower. First strategy Estimated specifications of Bella Healthcare’s new product are not special compare with other competitors that, easy-to-use interface, low weight, high efficiency. But the one thing is different, mobile connectivity. India has a ridiculously little number of medical doctors and terrible accessibility on medical service. 6 physicians per 10,000 people exist. This figure is lower than 1/20 number of UK and almost 1/100 number of USA. Mobile connectivity can help this problem. Through Bella Healthcare’s new product will be able to get a medical service to remote area. If it is possible that patients condition that diagnosis by machine, sends to physician and receive prescribed via mobile, relatively large number of patients can be provided medical service without seeing a specialist directly. But, it can be possible when 1) the technology that can be equipped with wireless capabilities should be exist, 2) they supported by the local telecommunications infrastructure, and 3) add wireless capabilities not make a result the loss of product competitive price. After reviewing the situation, if possible, to do this immediately to become the market leader, it is the first strategy. Second strateg However, if the situation occur like add wireless capabilities is impossible, the lack of telecommunications infrastructure or add wireless capabilities lead to the loss of price competitiveness, the first strategy is to give up quickly. Instead, Bella Healthcare can take Me too strategy by quickly chasing GEs market-leading, and seek s getting a firm second rank in the market. Asian – Pacific market shows fast growth rate about 9-12% per year, because of that ‘Me too’ strategy will be enough to take profits. In addition, this strategy saves RD expense lather then first strategy, so it can ensure price competition.

The Elephant Man, Bernard Pomerance write a a comparison of two Research Paper

The Elephant Man, Bernard Pomerance write a a comparison of two characters in the play - Research Paper Example Merrick wanted to be normal as well. However, Merrick learns that modern medicine could not help Merrick. Thus on his return to London, Merrick is put into a hospital. By not curing Merrick, Dr. Treves realizes that perfection might not be what he had previously defined. Merrick wants to be normal, since he is considered a freak by the world. After finding out that he was not ever going to be normal, Merrick takes solace in the church and female friends. Although he wants a mistress, even his female friend must refuse. His disappointments in life are always challenged with graceful wit. As a result, Merrick finds that he has every normal human emotion available. Dr. Treves and Joseph Merrick do not reach their goals, but learn to live with the life given them. Merrick figures this out sooner than Dr. Treves. The doctor does not realize how much he is like Merrick until Merrick’s death. While Merrick had hours and hours to meditate on his life, Dr. Treves did not start thinking about his life until Merrick dies. Only then does Dr. Treves realize that he was just as crippled as Merrick. The only difference was Merrick had a physical deformity, whereas Dr. Treves had a mental deformity. Dr. Treves leaves the play with a better understanding of life through

NEWS ARTICLE SUMMARY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

NEWS ARTICLE SUMMARY - Essay Example Standard & Poors is an important financial company in the United States that provides services within the credit and stock industries. The issue between the SEC and Standard & Poors stems from the fact that the latter company may have violated â€Å"federal securities laws related to its ratings of collateralized debt obligations in 2007, as the financial crisis was getting under way†(Rizzo). Standard & Poors is a company that often provides a service to the country by raising and lowering credit ratings of companies and countries. When it raises or lowers the rating, it is essentially providing a report card for how well that company/country is doing in their business and their business practices. The SEC believes that Standard & Poors basically did not do their job in monitoring companies like Sallie Mae and Freddie Mac which were significant contributors to the housing/ mortgage crisis that ultimately led the United States into this severe recession in the first place. According to Patrick Rizzo, â€Å"Some critics have said it(Standard & Poors) and other ratings agencies helped contribute to the crisis by not warning about the dangers of sub-prime mortgages(Rizzo). So, by publicly considering legal or civil action against Standard & Poors, the SEC is making a statement about this company and casting a negative light upon their practices. It is important to think about what the SEC’s motive might be however in doing this. Last month, Standard & Poors lowered the United States credit rating from AAA to AA+(Swann). This was done in August 2011 and was said to be done due to the conflict going on in the United States government over raising the debt ceiling. The lowering of the credit rating was seen as a big deal and an overall comment on how the United States was doing in handling their economic woes. Therefore, it does not seem inconceivable that the SEC, which is a part of the

Interpersonal Communication Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Interpersonal Communication Report - Essay Example But the use of heavy slang can sometimes pose a difficulty in getting a message accurately. I have to admit that my answers were calculated and safe. They are my parents so I have to be respectful and my answers should be consistent with what they want to hear. If I really voice out my opinion, I am afraid that it will just end up in argument just like the previous converation we had. To parents who uses a different context, it seems to be difficult to get messages across from a teenagers’ point of view.I like being with my parents but sometimes our conversations makes me think a lot. It was a typical teenage conversation that is characterized by a light and jovial type of talk with few exchange of banters. We talked about who is attractive in school and what is â€Å"in† and what is â€Å"out†. The main challenge in this type of interaction is that it is so informal that sometimes the conversations has no substance to get messages across. This type of conversation can be fun especially to a teenager like me but getting substantial message across can be sometimes futile because it will just be ridiculed. My sister asked me to accompany her in the mall to buy something which I did. I thought it will be just a quick trip because she will just buy something that she needs. We ended up scouring the whole for a shop that I understand and she ended up buying something that was not really intended to be bought. We argued and I do not know how to make my sister understand that it is not necessary to tour the whole mall just to buy a pair of dress. Girls can sometimes difficult to understand and talk to. I don’t do well conversing with girls especially when they talk about shopping and other things that interests

Development of Ophelia in Hamlet Essay Example for Free

Development of Ophelia in Hamlet Essay William Shakespeare in the play â€Å"Hamlet† develops the character of Ophelia in three unique stages. Initially, Ophelia is portrayed as a normal and obedient character. As the play progresses, she falls madly in love and ultimately goes insane. Ophelia progresses in a negative direction as the plot of the play moves on. In the beginning of the play Ophelia is depicted as the normal, obedient daughter. Laertes explains to Ophelia that even if Hamlet says he loves her, he may not be telling the truth. After Laertes speaks, Ophelia respects the personal knowledge on relationships that he has to offer. Ophelia accepts his speech and â€Å"shall the effect of this good lesson keep as watchman to [her] heart† (I, III, 48-49). Ophelia listened to Laertes’ advice and obediently accepts his guidance. Moment’s later Ophelia’s father, Polonius, requests that Ophelia stop seeing Hamlet. In response, Ophelia says, â€Å"I shall obey, my Lord† (I, III, 140). Polonius’ word appears to be of importance when Ophelia responds in such a compliant manner. Primarily, Ophelia is interpreted as a well-behaved teenage girl, however this depiction soon changes. Although Laertes and Polonius try to steer Ophelia in the right direction, she ends up falling almost irrationally in love with Hamlet. Ophelias utter obedience leaves her vulnerable to the abuse of Hamlet, who accuses her of being unfaithful and deceptive. Ophelia claims that Hamlet â€Å"took [her] by the wrist and held [her] hard† (II, I, 97). Although Hamlet physically abuses Ophelia, her love for him is stronger than him mistreating her. While Hamlet tells Ophelia that his love for her has departed, she is in utter shock and dismay. Ophelia responds with â€Å"O heavenly powers, restore him!† (III, I, 153). Ophelia cannot believe that Hamlet no longer loves her and wishes that he would love her again once more. Her love is clearly consuming her every thought. Although Hamlet no longer loves Ophelia she cannot accept or cope with this reality and the stress ultimately leads to her death. After Ophelia realizes that Hamlet no longer has feelings for her, she goes insane. Ophelia sings a vulgar song about a maiden who is tricked into losing her virginity with a false promise of marriage. While Ophelia is prancing around singing her outrageous song, she relates her song to Hamlet. Ophelia says, â€Å"Quoth she, before you tumbled me, you promised me to wed† (IV,V,62-63). Ophelia felt that they were going to get married and she believed that Hamlet was certainly going to propose to her. Later, Ophelia fell into the water and drowned. The Queen speaks up and says, â€Å"Till that her garments, heavy with their drink, pulled the poor wretch from her melodious lay to muddy death† (IV,VII,196-198). Rather than trying to save herself, she passively let herself drown because she didn’t care to continue living without Hamlet. In the end, Ophelia’s emotions controlled her, and these negative emotions led to her demise. Ophelia develops over the course of the play in a number of ways. Initially she is obedient and normal, and later turns into a girl controlled by love and eventually she commits suicide. Ophelia is a dynamic character that changes throughout the play. Her blind passion for Hamlet causes her to lose the ability to think or act rationally. Life, to her, is meaningless without him, and she chooses death over life. Ophelia surely progressed through the play in a negative manner.

The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology

The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology The molecule we know today as deoxyribonucleic acid was first observed in 1869 by Swiss biologist Friedrich Miescher, who stumbled upon a substance which was resistant to protein digestion. At the time he referred to the molecule as nuclein (Pray, 2008). Though Miescher remained in obscurity, Russian biochemist Phoebus Levene continued work with this substance and in 1919 discovered the three major components of a nucleotide: phosphate, sugar, and base. He noted that the sugar component was ribose for RNA and deoxyribose for DNA, and he proposed that nucleotides were made up of a chain of nucleic acids (Levene, 1919). He was largely correct, and in 1950 Erwin Chargaff, after reading a paper by Oswald Avery in which Avery identified the gene as the unit of hereditary material (Avery, 1944), set out to discover whether the deoxyribonucleic acid molecule differed among species. He found that although, in contrast to Levenes proposal that nucleotides are always repeated in the same order , nucleotides appear in different orders in different organisms, these molecules maintained certain characteristics. This led him to develop a set of rules (known as Chargaffs Rules) in which he states that the total number of purines (Adenine and Guanine) and the total number of pyrimidines (Cytosine and Thymine) are almost always equal in an organisms genetic material. In 1952 Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins used X-ray crystallography to capture the first image of the molecules shape, and in 1953 James Watson and Francis Crick finally proposed the three dimensional model for DNA (Watson, 1953). The four main tenants of their discovery still hold true today: 1) DNA is a double-stranded helix, 2) the majority of these helices are right-handed, 3) the helices are anti-parallel, and 4) the DNA base pairs within the helix are joined by hydrogen bonding, and the bases can hydrogen bond with other molecules such as proteins. The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology, first proposed by Francis Crick (Crick, 1958), describes the directional processes of conversion from DNA to RNA and from RNA to protein. This gene expression process starts with DNA, a double-stranded molecule consisting of base-paired nucleic acids adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T) on a sugar-phosphate backbone. This genetic material serves as the information storage  for life, a dictionary of sorts that provides all of the necessary tools for an organism to create the components of itself. During the process of transcription, the DNA molecule is used to make messenger RNA (mRNA), which carries a specific instance  of the DNA instructions to the machinery that will make protein. Proteins are synthesized during translation  using the mRNA molecule as a guide. Gene expression is a deterministic process during which each molecule is manufactured using the product of the previous step. The end result is a conversion fr om the genetic code into a functional unit which can be used to perform the work of the cell. As you can imagine, this process must be controlled by an organism in order to make efficient use of resources, respond to environmental changes, and differentiate cells within the body. Gene regulation, as it is sometimes called, occurs at all stages along the way from DNA to protein. Regulation falls into four categories: 1) epigenetic (methylation of DNA or protein, acetylation), 2) transcriptional (involves proteins called transcription factors), 3) post-transcriptional (sequestration of RNA, alternative splicing of mRNA, microRNA (miRNA) and small interfering RNA (siRNA)), and 4) post-translational modification (phosphorylation, acetylation, methylation, ubiquitination, etc. of protein products). Epigenetic regulation of DNA involves a reversible, heritable change that does not alter the sequence itself. DNA methylation occurs on the nucleic acid cytosine. Arginine and lysine are the most commonly methylated amino acids. When proteins called histones) contain certain methylated residues, these proteins can repress or activate gene expression. Often this occurs on the transcriptional level, and thus prevents the cell from manufacturing messenger RNA (mRNA), the precursor to proteins. Proteins are often referred to as the workhorse of the cell and are responsibl e for everything from catalyzing chemical reactions to providing the building blocks for skeletal muscles. Some proteins, called transcription factors), help to up- or down-regulate gene expression levels. These proteins can act alone or in conjunction with other transcription factors and bind to DNA bases near gene coding regions. This is a general schema for gene expression. DNA is a double-stranded molecule consisting of base-paired nucleic acids A, C, G, and T on a sugar-phosphate backbone and is used as information storage. mRNA is made during transcription and carries a specific instance of the DNA instructions to the machinery that will make the protein. Proteins are synthesized during translation using the information in mRNA as a template. This is a deterministic process during which each molecule is manufactured using the product of the previous step. mRNA requires a 5 cap and a 3 poly(A) tail in order to be exported out of the nucleus. The cap is critical for recognition by the ribosome and protection from enzymes called RNases that will break down the molecule. The poly(A) tail and the protein bound to it aid in protecting mRNA from degradation by other enzymes called exonucleases. What can be gained by studying gene regulation? In general, it allows us to understand how an organism evolves and develops, both on a local scale (Choe, 2006,Wilson, 2008), and on a more global network level. There are, however, more specific reasons to investigate this process more closely. Failure in gene regulation has been shown to be a key factor in disease (Stranger, 2007). Additionally, learning how to interrupt gene regulation may lead to the development of drugs to fight bacteria and viruses (McCauley, 2008). A clearer understanding of this process in microorganisms may lead to possible solutions to the problem of antimicrobial resistance (Courvalin, 2005). There are two major factors that motivate the studies herein. Firstly, the size and quality of biological data sets has increased dramatically in the last several years. This is due to high-throughput experimental techniques and technology, both of which have provided large amounts of interaction data, along with X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments which have given us the solved three-dimensional structure of proteins. Secondly, machine learning has become an increasingly popular tool in bioinformatics research because it allows for more sound gene and protein annotation without relying solely on sequence similarity. If a collection of attributes which distinguish between two classes of proteins can be assembled, function can be predicted. In this work we focus mainly on regulation at the transcriptional level and the components which play a commanding role in this operation. So-called nucleic acid-binding (NA-binding) proteins, which includes transcription factors, are involved in this and many other cellular processes. Disruption or malfunction of transcriptional regulation may result in disease. We identify these proteins from representative data sets which include many categories of proteins. Additionally, in order to understand the underlying mechanisms, we predict the specific residues involved in nucleic acid binding using machine learning algorithms. Identification of these residues can provide practical assistance in the functional annotation of NA-binding proteins. These predictions can also be used to expedite mutagenesis experiments, guiding researchers to the correct binding residues in these proteins. Toward the ultimate goal of attaining a deeper understanding of how nucleic acid-binding proteins facilitate the regulation of gene expression within the cell, the research described here focuses on three particular aspects of this problem. We begin by examining the nucleic acid-binding proteins themselves, both on the protein and residue levels. Next, we turn our attention toward protein binding sites on DNA molecules and a particular type of modification of DNA that can affect protein binding. We then take a global perspective and study human molecular networks in the context of disease, focusing on regulatory and protein-protein interaction networks. We examine the number of partnership interactions between transcription factors and how it scales with the number of target genes regulated. In several model organisms, we find that the distribution of the number of partners vs. the number of target genes appears to follow an exponential saturation curve. We also find that our generat ive transcriptional network model follows a similar distribution in this comparison. We show that cancer- and other disease-related genes preferentially occupy particular positions in conserved motifs and find that more ubiquitously expressed disease genes have more disease associations. We also predict disease genes in the protein-protein interaction network with 79% area under the ROC curve (AUC) using ADTree, which identifies important attributes for prediction such as degree and disease neighbor ratio. Finally, we create a co-occurrence matrix for 1854 diseases based on shared gene uniqueness and find both previously known and potentially undiscovered disease relationships. The goal for this project is to predict nucleic acid-binding on both the protein and residue levels using machine learning. Both sequence- and structure-based features are used to distinguish nucleic acid-binding proteins from non-binding proteins, and nucleic acid-binding residues from non-binding residues. A novel application of a costing algorithm is used for residue-level binding prediction in order to achieve high, balanced accuracy when working with imbalanced data sets. During the past few decades, the amount of biological data available for analysis has grown exponentially. Along with this vast amount of information comes the challenge to make sense of it all. One subject of immediate concern to us as humans is health and disease. Why do we get sick, and how? Where do our bodies fail on a molecular level in order for this to happen? How are diseases related to each other, and do they have similar modes of action? These questions will require many researchers from multiple disciplines to answer, but where do we start? We take a bioinformatics approach and examine disease genes in a network context. In this chapter we analyze human disease and its relationship to two molecular networks. First, we find conserved motifs in the human transcription factor network and identify the location of disease- and cancer-related genes within these structures. We find that both cancer and disease genes occupy certain positions more frequently. Next, we examine the human protein-protein interaction (PPI) network as it relates to disease. We find that we are able to predict disease genes with 79% AUC using ADTree with 10 topological features. Additionally, we find that a combination of several network characteristics including degree centrality and disease neighbor ratio help distinguish between these two classes. Furthermore, an alternating decision tree (ADTree) classifier allows us to see which combinations of strongly predictive attributes contribute most to protein-disease classification. Finally, we build a matrix of diseases based on shared genes. Instead of using the raw count of genes, we use a uniqueness) score for each disease gene that relates to the number of diseases with which a gene is involved. We show several interesting examples of disease relationships for which there is some clinical evidence and some for which the information is lacking. We believe this matrix will be useful in finding relationships between diseases with v ery different phenotypes, or for those disease connections which may not be obvious. It could also be helpful in identifying new potential drug targets through drug repositioning.