Healthcare Spending

The United States always have been known for acquiring the best health care system in the world. The United States spends a higher percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP) and more for each fund about healthcare in comparison with other country in the world. The most effective health care establishments on this planet are in the U. S., people originate from everywhere to acquire quality health care in U. S. Physicians from different countries come to the United States for advanced training. These are â€Å"All† great things to say about the health care system but how does it affect the spending issues that U.S. is having? â€Å"The National Health Expenditure Accounts (NHEA) are the official estimates of total health care spending in the United States† (Health Data, 2007).LevelAccording to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (2013), from 2012, to 2013, wellness payments ended up being forecast to grow slightly from 3.8% to 4.2%. Private health care insuran ce were also predicted to grow, but the growth was diminished by consumer cost sensitivity. CMS also predicted Medicare spending too slow for 5.9% in 2012 to 1.3% in 2013, because there was a scheduled â€Å"30.9-percent physician payment rate reduction authorized under the Sustainable Growth Rate Formula, and an additional 2-percent payment reduction across all providers from the sequester under the Budget Control Act of 2011†.In 2014 CMS, projected worldwide health spending will elevate to 7.4 %, or 2.1 percentage-points rapidly, which will be Medicaid spending growth connected with 18. 0% as well as private health care insurance growth connected with 7. 9%. CMS declares, out-of-pocket paying is planned in order to decrease 1. 5% since the fresh guaranteed  populations are anticipated to end up being somewhat younger as well as healthy in comparison with at this time guaranteed individuals.Medical care expenses in the United States are regarding 18% associated with GDP, a nd this also reveal is projected to go up deliberately. In the event health prices carry on and increase at historic charges, the particular reveal associated with GDP devoted to health in the United States is projected to realize 34% through 2040 (The White House, 2013, para 2). Federal insurance policy contains Medicaid, Medicare as well as other financed organizations financed with regard to productive armed service as well as veterans. (Social Security Administration [SSA], 2013, para 1) Medicaid is a federal/state platform made to cover medical care for many distinct groups of people that is poor. Medicare is often a freedom program for all of age 65 as well as older, also more radiant men and women if the person belong to a particular disability type.Spending too muchAccording to The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012), The United States spends some 17.6 percent of its GDP on healthcare – far more than any other OECD country – but does n ot see quality increases equal with its spending. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released primary data itemizing the values doctor's offices charge for popular techniques that revealed an array of price fluctuations involving different doctor's offices. Steven Brill, a Time Magazine journalist, explored hospital bill to determine why the cost was so high. He found that hospitals were receiving effectively over and above what exactly these people might need to help make even reasonable make money from the therapy. One example was $1.50 for the common variation of the Tylenol capsule, (one pill) because too expensive gauze parts, hospital dresses and more.He also states that, â€Å"‘nonprofit’ hospitals are making billions and the CEO take home earnings with equivalence with almost any Walls Street executive – properly in to the six-figure range and sometimes past. According to US News and Washington Association of Naturopathic Physicians (2013), â€Å"America can commit as much as $2. 8 trillion upon professional medical, which is $750 thousand in excess of the country, would certainly when this put in exactly the same for every capita because various other developed places.Medicare  and Medicaid insurance policies programs covers some $800 thousand connected with the high cost and also the various other $2 trillion will likely be selected through private health-insurance corporations in addition to folks who don't have an insurance policies or even who'll shell out perhaps the costs covered by their insurance policies.†Add or CutSeven hundred billion dollars, that is a ballpark figure associated with what quantity of money was wasted in the U. S. professional medical technique each year, as outlined by a new Thomson Reuters (TRI) statement. In addition, it claims, the quantity adequate to roughly one-third in the place's overall health-care wasting was flushed absent upon pointless remedies, redundant assessments, scam, errors, as well as plenty of additional economic sinkholes that nothing to improve the nation's health and fitness.Needs are paid forMedical care, specifically hospitalization, advanced technology, and also challenging remedies, is really expensive that the majority of folks cannot have the funds for to afford the idea by themselves. At that point Private Insurance, out-of-pocket, Medicare, Medicaid, other payers (workers compensation, worksite health care, maternal, and child health, and vocational rehabilitation) and other public insurance (Department of Defense, Veteran Affairs, and Children Health Insurance Programs) step in and pick up the expense.According to a report published by the California Healthcare Foundation( 2011), In Hospital Care private insurance paid $306.9 billion (36%), out-of-pocket paid $28.1 billion (3%), and Medicare paid $231.3 billion (27%), Medicaid paid $151.0 billion (18%) Other payer paid $80.0 billion (9%) and other public insurance paid $53.3 billion (6%) for a total of $850.6 Billion in hospital care alone. The report also stated, In Physician, and clinical services Private Insurance paid $249.1 billion (46%), Out-of-Pocket paid $52.3 billion (10%), Medicare paid $124.0 billion (23%) Medicaid paid $44.8 billion (8%), other payers paid $48.8 billion (9%) and Other Public Insurance paid $22.5 billion (4%) for a total of $541.4 billion.ForecastChaos is going on with health care spending and a lot of that has to do with the increase in insurance. Will that change for the better? Healthcare spending was projected to continue to grow quickly. If the trends continue at the rate it is going then health care spending will be a quarter of the economy years to come. Wellness has humanity’s the majority of valuable and the majority widespread price; however additionally it is you’re the majority of sensitive learning resource. Globalization has significantly offered in order to economic increase; however at the same time our universe is now additional at risk of tough economy (Hospital & Healthcare Management, 2001, para 3).

Impact of Globalisation on Education Essay

The effects of globalisation on education bring rapid developments in technology and communications are foreseeing changes within learning systems across the world as ideas, values and knowledge, changing the roles of students and teachers, and producing a shift in society from industrialisation towards an information-based society. In the research paper an effort is made to highlight the positive and negative implications of Globalisation on education and also remedies to the challenges faced by it. On moving towards its positive aspects it is evident that due to globalization there is explosion of knowledge. Access to knowledge has been made easier through Information Technology, satellites, supersonic travel etc, No country can afford to erect walls around it. A country like India for example, has no reason to discard globalisation because it has a large potential for natural resources, large national market, strong industrial base, a powerful R & D infrastructure and above all a highly knowledgeable and skilled manpower that can stand on its own in global competition and rise to any challenge. Employment based education was the most precious gift of gobalisation. Education can be globalised in three ways: (i) By setting up educational campuses abroad, (ii) By offering educational programmes in foreign countries through tie-ups or collaborations with their educational institution, and (iii) By admitting foreign and NRI students in our educational institutions. On moving towards its darker side, there are many challenges faced by our education system. Due to commercialization of education it creates a divide between ‘haves’ and ‘havenots’. As education came in the reach of privates institutions it is going out of reach of poor. Moreover, the quality of education imparted in private and govt. nstitution have the difference of sky and earth. Quality of education in govt. institution is degrading and private institutions are beyond the reach. What a pity! Many foreign institutions and other private institutions are merely degree delivering machines. The objective of education from knowledge sharing is shifting merely to p rofit maximizing. This is a degradation in the values of Indian education system which has the glory of ‘Vishw Guru’ and where the concept of gurukul and teacher-student relationship exists but today that respect of student towards teacher and even the dedication and care of teacher towards student is missing. Along with all these, the increase craze of medical, engineering and business administration and downfall in plain courses of science, commerce and arts has only resulted in many doctors ,engineers and MBA students not recognized and no longer produces efficient and honest administrators which is a die-heart need in country like India which is in the grip of cancerous corruption. Looking to all its positivity and negativities the attempt in the research paper is to explore the remedies to the challenges faced by education . To make globalization meaningful and productive, we need to design a system of education that is universal, affordable, based on the principles of justice and related to the life of the community. This new universal system of education must incorporate social and moral values in its curriculum and produce world citizens who are free from prejudices and who are the builders of an ever advancing civilisation.

English Law of Contract Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

English Law of Contract - Essay Example The government of Zanzibar wanted to purchase an executive jet for the use of their president. In the year 1992, a contract was signed between the Government, British Aerospace, and CIBC Finance PLC. After using the plane, it was found to be defective. The government returned it back to British Aerospace for repairing it. But even after repair, the fault continued. The government stopped lease payments. CIBC took possession of the plane and sold it, in order to recover the cost incurred. The government of Zanzibar had initiated an action against British Aerospace accusing false representation of the airworthiness, reliability and defect-free nature of the plane, as claimed by British Aerospace. They wanted to cancel the contract or alternatively, to get compensation of the damages, according to the English Misrepresentation Act, 1967. Subsequently, British Aerospace claimed that restoring the jet to its original position and return it back to the Government cannot be possible because it had already been sold. (England and Wales High Court Decisions. 2000) The government of Zanzibar proposed that the contract signed between Government, British Aerospace had hidden misrepresentation of claims made by British Aerospace. The untrue statement about was made by British Aerospace. According to English Misrepresentation Act 1967, British Aerospace had disclosed half-truth, and thus the contract is voidable. The government claimed that the contract with British Aerospace is subjected to fraudulent misrepresentation (deceit). In this case, the Government claimed that rescission must be made, and they appealed to rescind the contract and put them back to the pre-contractual position. It could be by returning the plane to the Government in its original position or compensation for damages due to misrepresentation. (Weitzenboeck, 2012)

Managing risk through a global capital strategy. Financial situations Research Paper

Managing risk through a global capital strategy. Financial situations of hospitals (especially in US) - Research Paper Example Back in 1958 in the Economic Review Modigliani and Miller proposed two very different optimal capital structures and since then there has been much debate going on as to what exactly is an optimal capital structure. Their first proposition concludes that in economic equilibrium conditions and perfect capital markets on which there is no tax liability, a firm is independent of an optimal capital structure to maximize its value. Five years after that, in 1963, they propose a different theory stating that introduction of corporate taxes provides a tax shield for debt that can escort a firm that is financed with 100% of debt. This props further questions like; aren’t firms wasting tons of money in tax payment to underuse debts (assumptions are; bankruptcy costs moderately) or other factors can take part in diminishing debt’s tax advantage? One such factor is the personal-corporate tax interaction where slightly different treatment of equity and debt (at personal level) that lessens the observed debt value. Corporate tax advantage is fractionally balanced by personal tax disadvantage by paying interest payments (Miller, 1977). The good thing is it confirms to both Miller and Modigliani. If there are no tax disadvantages then debt level returns back to the levels defined back in 1963. On the other side, advantages of debt get terminated by terminating personal equity tax. Personal income tax rate becomes equal to marginal corporate rate while suffering losses at corporate level. Probably in the long run, a capital structure under these forces may not be of much help in explaining the phenomenon of optimism but when tax code and variations are considered, business risks help explain the short term optimal capital structure of a firm. The capital structures constructed by health care providers have both negative and positive effects on the hospital business and success of organization. These capital structures built by combinations of debt and equity are now relatively modified as compared to previous decades’. In the aftermath of financial crisis of 2007-2008, the volatile situation of stock market, interest rate indexes, innovations in financial products especially in OTC markets for bonds and derivatives and changing dimensions of credit markets present a new challenge for providers. Specification of thesis – main point   What is an optimal capital structure and what are the ways to determine an optimal capital structure of a firm? And how risk can be managed through a global capital structure? Risk is present all the time, in capital markets, which affects the capital structure of firms. So instead of avoiding it, a better strategy is to have well managed capital strategy in place. c) Three supporting opinions/reasons   1. Enterprise Risk Management Balance sheet risk management will always remain most important in overall financial risk management. A well established and well operated risk management for treas ury practices is the major force in mitigating the financial stress of a balance sheet risk. Hospitals and health care facilities have different profiles and risk/return objectives with different market share and risk exposures, therefore there isn’t a standard capital structure that fits all. Every hospital and health care facility will need to have their custom made. One move that definitely fits almost all health care providers is to have a global capital strategy. A strong liquidity packed with position low forward capital needs would probably call for floating rate debt and appropriate interest rate

Islam in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Islam in America - Essay Example To begin with, it must be noted that there are several scenes when Muslim inmates are shown praying. Indeed, a prayer is an important element of Islam: the believers are supposed to start praying as soon as they hear a spiritual leader. However â€Å"if they are too far from a mosque to hear the call to prayer, they have to rely on a time table† (Wood 12). This is quite peculiar since it shows that even in prison the Muslims were willing to follow their spiritual tradition. In other words, the people who violated rule and regulations that were imposed by the society want to adhere to the religious rules instead. Some might suggest that this shows that spiritual law has more power for some people than secular. In addition to that, there is a peculiar scene at the end of the movie. One of the supporting characters, Javed, was shot and agreed to sacrifice himself so that the main characters would escape. When he is finally defeated and is about to be killed, he looks straight in the eyes of his future killer and says â€Å"Allahu Akbar†. What is surprising is that â€Å"’Allahu Akbar’ a phrase that many Americans associate with Muslim terrorists†. Nevertheless, this movie shows that even a criminal who is a Muslim is willing to make these words his last. Therefore, the movie wanted to imply that people may be wrong while thinking of it as a chant of terrorism.So, the movie in question also makes some important remarks about the role that religion plays in the American society.

Puritan Heritage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Puritan Heritage - Essay Example Such features as industriousness, desire to get knowledge, as well as restraint and adherence to morality are regarded as the features inherent to the Puritan conscience. To my mind, many value conflicts that are observed in the field of modern education cannot be properly investigated without understanding historical heritage. I think that similarities that unite both parts of the nation are partly defined by the legacy of the Puritans, so it is necessary to observe this heritage in its historical perspective, because it influenced many aspects of nation's development. I suppose that using experience of the past is necessary to forge out effective strategies for future successful progress, so understanding the sources of the mentality is extremely important for many sciences, and I find this issue to be important for educational discourse at the moment. Some facts described below will prove that the Puritans influenced both the characters and minds of the nation in the process of it s development. The Puritans were aware that the level of economical and political prosperity depends upon educational level of populati

What are the causes of organisational change and is organisational Essay

What are the causes of organisational change and is organisational change necessarily good - Essay Example In addition, organization has to make adjustments because of changes that are happening. It is pointed out above that technological change has prompted individuals, firms and other users to adapt it. Discussion in the next paragraphs relates to causes of organizational changes and causes of success and failure of organizational change. Thereafter, the significant of organizational changes is also reviewed. Halkos and Bousinakis (2012) acknowledge that the change of organization is necessary for them to move closer to larger markets. Change is also important for organization to meet the demands of internal and external business surroundings. Effective change can make a company more competitive and expand its market share. According to the authors, organisational change is necessity brought forward by management so as to attain the requirements of a larger social-economic environment, with the use of organizational structures, behaviours and process targeting growth and advancement of the company. Modern organization have to embrace changes as pointed earlier above, technology has prompted many organisations to change. Adaptation and employment of new technologies is significant for any organisation that has to apply new materials, products, methods and processes. Additionally, the workers of the firm have to adapt to changes and update their skills every day. Furthermore, mergers, acquisition, globalization can make the organization to change. There are other factors such as social and political factors; these factors can make organisation change its processes. Some people have doubts regarding organisational change, however, Burnes and Jackson (2011) point out that the change is important in the current world. Adaptation to changes according to the authors makes an organisation survive for a longer time. Organisational change is vital it is quite difficult to achieve. This is because some

Write a 500 word Market Research Brief from behalf of a company of Essay

Write a 500 word Market Research Brief from behalf of a company of your choice. The brief can be developed on any kind of problem the company has or may have - Essay Example He is known to push people to accomplish goals and objectives more than they thought they could achieve. He also stretched the possibilities of hardware and software design that yielded revolutionary products of which we enjoy today that often drove his people nuts(time). He was known to become rude, [slave driver at times], unreasonable, fickle, arrogant and even took credit for other’s ideas. But despite these seeming weaknesses, Job’s leadership have undeniably drove the company from near bankruptcy to become one of the most envied companies in the world. This management style of Steve Jobs however is no longer emphasized in the present leadership of Apple. Being such, Apple is bound to have problems without a leadership that is driven to innovate because such leadership and organizational discipline that was instilled by Steve Jobs was the main factor that drove the company to excellence that produced radical innovation. Its new CEO Tim Cook did not have the same drive towards excellence nor have the genius of Jobs to think of revolutionary products that would shake the industry. And due to this shortcoming, he is more predisposed towards what he calls as â€Å"incrementalism† which is essentially just to make things better what Steve Jobs already did. And this new leadership is dangerous to the company because it is one of the management traps that lead a company into a downfall. This is the management leadership trap that Robert Schaeffer articulated in the article â€Å"Mistakes Leaders Keep Making† of failing to pu sh for significant improvement for fear that people are already overwhelmed (2010). As a result, Apple is no longer growing and its former competitive edge of being radically innovative is no longer there. In an industry where change happens at a dizzying pace and products become obsolete overnight, doing the same thing even better is problematic because it

Rebuttal Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rebuttal Argument - Essay Example His work demands attention because the U.S. grading system receives criticism on a permanent basis due to problems of high school graduates who lack the competencies required to be successful in college and occupations. Knight’s claims are flawed because of the following reasons: he has a biased example, from which he bases hasty generalizations; he commits the ad hominem fallacy, when he judges students as generally self-entitled; and he uses the grading system as a red herring to the fundamental issue of the education system, which is raising student motivation and learning. Knight argues that the grading system is flawed because, based on his experience, since self-entitled students manage to get high grades with minimal effort, grades are no longer objective and accurate measures of competence. He exemplifies students, who choose easy teachers, or those who give high grades, though he focuses on students and their parents, who harass teachers to give these students higher grades because of self-entitlement. Self-entitlement means that because they passed exams and completed requirements, they feel that they deserve at least a B grade. Finally, Knight proposes comprehensive exams that have depth and breadth as a better measure of subject competencies. He states that the results of these exams should replace high school grades in college assessment processes and outcomes. Though Knight touches on some of the limitations of the grading system in his school, he has a biased sample, from which he bases hasty generalizations. His experiences with self-entitled students come from his own limited class interactions. Yet, he states categorically that this problem affects the entire country: â€Å"While I can only speak to grading practices at my school, I suspect that these concerns are endemic throughout high schools nationwide† (Knight). Though his experience somehow proves that grades are false indicators of competency for his class, he cannot say t hat his students represent the majority of American students. Because his sampling is biased, he cannot make the hasty generalization that grades are no longer objective and accurate measures of competence. Some students, who work hard for their grades and have learned competencies, are exceptions to his hasty generalizations. Aside from biased sampling and hasty generalization, Knight commits the ad hominem fallacy when he judges students as generally self-entitled, so their grades do not measure their competencies. He approaches the problem with the grading system from the assumption that self-entitled students have made it an unreliable performance measurement. He suggests that these students are cheaters and lazy in learning class materials; thus, their grades do not reflect their mastery of their subjects. He does not consider that several self-entitled students may actually have mastered their courses, but their levels do not fit the grades that they are demanding for. Some se lf-entitled students may have motivation problems only, not learning deficits. Finally, Knight uses the grading system as a red herring to the fundamental issue of the education system, which is raising student motivation toward learning. He blames self-entitled students, including the idea of self-entitled American culture, for poor learning among high school students. He does not co

The Philosopher of Free

The Philosopher of Freedom and Empiricism Essay John Locke (August 29, 1632 – October 28, 1704) was a British Philosopher, Oxford scholar, medical researcher and physician, political operative, and economist. Alexander Popham, his father’s commander, helped him to gain an excellent education. It was 1964 when Locke started to study in Westminster School in London. John Locke had become the King’s scholar. The King’s scholar was group of intelligent boys who has the privilege to live in the school and to receive an allowance for two to three years before standing for election. After studying in Westminster school, he went to Christ Church in Oxford at the age of twenty. His years in college were devoted in taking logic and metaphysics and the classical languages. It was June 1658, when Locke was qualified as a Master of Arts and elected as Senior Student council in Christ Church College. After few years, Locke was elected as Lecturer in Greek, Lecturer in Rhetoric, and Lecturer in Philosophy. But then, John Locke declined the permanent positions to avoid confining himself in religious orders. Also, having studied medicine, John Locke served as a private physician and secretary to Anthony Ashley Cooper. His knowledge in scientific practice had influenced his political thoughts and methods. As author of the Essay Concerning Human Understanding and the Two Treatises, he made his place in the philosophical and political fields. He was considered as the first British empiricist. Locke said that all individuals were born without innate ideas or knowledge. When we were born, our mind is like a white sheet of paper; it is clear and does not have any ideas (tabula rasa). However, through experience which is derived from five senses, we can have an identity and firm foundation of knowledge. This knowledge is based on sensation and reflection. Sensation is our observation about external sensible objects; while reflection is from internal operations of our mind. John Locke implied that our passion or fantasy must not affect our reasons. He believed that observation and experience are the only strong foundations of knowledge. Observation can be simple which is always true or complex which is not always true and not corresponds with reality always. We can definitely be certain with our ideas if we can analyze our complex ideas back to the simple ideas where they originated. Truth will come out through the joining simple ideas in your head and matches the thing that your simple ideas represent in reality. His thoughts about the development of human knowledge became very useful in psychology- the association psychology. He was often called as the â€Å"Father of English Psychology†. Nowadays, his ideas are still applied in psychology. His work, the Essay, discussed his contribution about the philosophy of language. He said that language a basis for judgment. He said that the words we use do not have meanings, the meanings lie on the ideas in our mind. Among all his professions, John Locke was best known for his political thoughts. Arguing with Thomas Hobbes, John Locke stated that the original state of nature was happy and characterized by reason and tolerance. All people must attain equality and independence. Nobody has the right to abridge or harm another’s rights, life, liberty, and possessions. The state should be guided by natural law. Rights of property are very important, because each person has a right to the product of his or her labor. If one of the rights of citizens is being harmed, they have the right of overthrowing the government. John Locke’s political thoughts influenced the declaration of Independence in America by Thomas Jefferson. Until now, America is still under his influenced that everyone should be free.

Cardiovascular control in exercise, the contribution of central command and muscle afferents

Cardiovascular control in exercise, the contribution of central command and muscle afferents Cardiovascular Control in Exercise, the contribution of Central Command and Muscle Afferents The human body has the ability to easily adapt when exercise begins with many of these adaptations occurring in the cardiovascular system. It is well documented that at the onset of exercise heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP) and muscle sympathetic nerve activity progressively increase to higher levels (Lind et al, 1964). These cardiovascular adaptations are controlled by either central (Central Command) or peripheral (exercise pressor reflex) mechanisms (McCloskey Mitchell, 1972). Central Command (CC) is thought to be a feed-forward process controlling both HR and respiration, both of which are known to increase in the anticipation of exercise (Secher, 2007). CC originates from higher areas of the brain (motor cortex and subcortical areas) and works in parallel with both the locomotor and cardiorespiratory systems during exercise (Green et al, 2007). The feed-forward efferent input converges on the cardiovascular centres of the brainstem along with feedback returning from afferents located in the active skeletal muscle providing the changes seen at the onset of exercise (Fisher et al, 2005). The changes within the cardiovascular system during exercise are helped via peripheral mechanisms as well as CC. CC inhibits the parasympathetic nervous system by decreasing vagal tone allowing HR to rise, the sympathetic nervous system eventually takes over to allow further increases. Activation of the sympathetic nervous system is produced via feedback from muscle afferents, mainly mechanoreceptors (Murata and Matsukawa, 2001), and forms the sensory arm of the exercise pressor reflex. Muscle afferents are split into two separate classes, group III and group IV. Group III afferents, classified as mechanoreceptors, are stimulated via muscle stretch, contraction or pressure (Kaufman et al, 1983) whereas group IV afferents, classified as metaboreceptors, are chemically sensitive (Gladwell and Coote, 2002). Afferents are also said to be polymodal and can respond to both mechanical and chemical stimuli (Mense and Meyer, 1985). The exercise pressor reflex is evoked when afferents become sensitised allowing feedback to the cardiovascular centres within the brain. This then allows adequate perfusion of the muscles by increasing cardiac output and constricting the vascular beds (OLeary, 1993). A number of studies aim to distinguish between the role of CC and muscle afferent feedback in humans during exercise. When the blood supply to an exercising muscle is occluded CC is not present, this process known as post exercise circulatory occlusion (PECO) activates metaboreceptors (Gandevia and Hobbs, 1990). Electrically evoked exercise also bypasses CC so when this method is used CC is redundant (Kaufman and Rybicki, 1987). These two methods allow the elimination of CC showing muscle afferents provide all feedback which could evoke a cardiovascular response. CC is activated in proportion to the intensity of the exercise; results from a study by Williamson et al (2002) have shown this through hypnosis. Originally an individuals perceived exertion during exercise was thought to be independent of any force being produced, allowing the magnitude of CC to be seen (Gandevia et al, 1993). Williamson et al (2002) obtained results related to this idea; they found that the level of CC activated was related to an individuals sense of effort independently of any force being produced. Increases in HR were found during hypnosis despite no exercise being performed and increases were therefore independent of feedback from afferents within the active limb. Passively stretching muscles allows cardiovascular responses to be evoked within humans; two studies by Gladwell and Coote (2002) and Fisher et al (2005) have proposed opposing ideas. Gladwell and Coote (2002) activated mechanoreceptors in the triceps surea to measure the effects on HR and BP. Voluntary isometric contraction of the plantar flexor followed by a sustained stretch of the triceps surea by dorsiflexion were performed. Fisher et al (2005) used a similar protocol but blood supply was occluded throughout and different percentages of maximal voluntary contraction were used. They aimed to see whether cardiovascular response to sustained muscle stretch was altered by varying metabolites within the muscle. Gladwell and Coote (2002) found HR increased soon after the onset of muscle contraction with part of the HR response being mediated via mechanoreceptors since stimulation of receptors via stretch decreased parasympathetic activity. Fisher et al (2005) found that HR and BP were unaffected by levels of metabolite accumulation, therefore stretch was seen to activate mechanically sensitive afferents which are unaffected by the metabolic condition. This studys use of occlusion shows that the response to stretch is purely from muscle afferents as it is known that CC is not present in these conditions. Gladwell and Coote (2002) did not use occlusion and though cardiac vagal tone activity was measured throughout stretch there is no way to ascertain whether CC was present. The conclusion drawn by Fisher et al (2005) is more reliable as the cardiovascular response seen is entirely down to mechanoreceptors, it must be certain that CC has been eliminated in Gladwell and Cootes (2002) study befo re the results can be taken into consideration. The use of stimulated and voluntary exercises is an easy way to directly compare the effects of CC and muscle afferent feedback on the cardiovascular system. An early study by Krogh and Lindhard (1917) showed through electrical stimulation that an increase in pulse rate was reflexly induced (by muscle afferent) whereas increases in voluntary exercise originated from cerebral impulses (CC). Alam and Smirk (1937) took this further and looked into the changes in BP during muscular work when circulatory occlusion was applied. A cuff placed around the thigh occluded flow whilst knee raises were performed at repeated intervals using only the calf muscle. BP rose as a result of the exercise and dropped when the exercise stopped, however it remained at an elevated level compared to rest. BP did not return to resting level until PECO was ceased. Mental efforts which are associated with muscular work are not the main reason for the rise in BP; when no cuff was placed around the leg increases in BP were less or abolished. Therefore the small fall in BP whilst PECO is still in place is due to the cessation of mental activity concerned with muscular exercise and muscle afferents must be causing the cardiovascular response thereafter. The studies indicated previously provided the basis for the concept that CC and muscle afferents affect cardiovascular response in separate ways. More recent studies by Coote et al (1971) and Bull et al (1989) have looked further into the effects of voluntary and stimulated exercise. Bull et al (1989) compared the pressor reflex during and following voluntary and involuntary contraction of the triceps surea whilst under occlusion. When voluntary contraction ended but PECO was maintained BP rapidly fell to a lower though still elevated level compared with rest. It was thought that the initial drop was attributed to the removal of CC, matching the results of Alam and Smirk (1937). The immediate drop in HR back to resting level seen post exercise whilst still under PECO suggests that it cannot be the metabolites which cause the increase in HR, if this were the case HR would stay elevated in PECO. The study concludes that the elevated BP following both types of contractions (electrical and voluntary) were due to circulatory arrest caused by trapped metabolites within the muscle. This suggests that the cardiovascular responses of HR and BP must be controlled by two separate mechanisms, CC and peripheral feedback respectively. Coote et al (1971) looked at the pressor reflex response to muscular exercise in cats. The cats were anaesthetised and contraction of the hindlimb was elicited by electrical stimulation of the ventral root, CC was not activated as electrical stimulation bypasses the brain. An increase in BP was still seen without CC being present therefore the conclusion was drawn that cardiovascular response arises from within the contracting muscles themselves, either mechanically or chemically, rather than from CC. Evidence for a chemical stimulus within humans has come from Alam and Smirk (1937) which can provide the link that results drawn from cats can be similar to those that occur in humans. It was also found that the pressor reflex was proportional to the tension developed by the contraction and so the stronger the contractions the large the pressor reflex is likely to be. Distinguishing between CC and muscle afferent feedback can also be undertaken through neuromuscular blockade (NMB) and anaesthesia. Two studies employing this technique are by Gandevia and Hobbs (1990) and Iwamoto et al (1987) both looked at cardiovascular response in man, McCloskey and Mitchell (1972) also employed this technique but investigated cats. The latter study sought to provide evidence that NMB would abolish the cardiovascular response in exercise. Cats triceps surea were electrically stimulated via the ventral root with two nerve blocking techniques being used: anodal blockage was used to eliminate large myelinated nerve fibres and anaesthesia was used to eliminate small and unmyelinated nerve fibres. Anodal block did not change the pressor reflex from the control condition; this is due to only the large fibres being blocked which are predominantly muscle spindles and Golgi tendon organs. However under anaesthetic the cardiovascular responses were abolished. This is due to small and unmylinated fibres being blocked which are predominantly mechano- and metaboreceptors. The fact that only anaesthesia affects the cardiovascular response shows that the response is entirely due to the pressor reflex as no CC could be present. Iwamoto et al (1987) did a similar study but experimented on both cats and humans. The cat procedure was the same as McCloskey and Mitchell (1972) whilst humans performed voluntary and evoked knee extensions before and after NMB (tubocurarine). In cats blockade eliminated all cardiovascular responses compared with the control condition. In human voluntary contraction HR increased and strength was large, NMB reduced strength but allowed further increases in HR. Stimulated contraction reduced strength but HR was as large as in voluntary exercise though increased from the second R-R interval, NMB reduced strength further but HR still increased from second heart beat. BP increased in both types of exercise but to a lesser extent in stimulated exercise, NMB further reduced BP. As HR was unaffected by NMB it is suggested that it is governed by processes outside the muscle (CC) this is in line with Sechers (1985) findings. However BP was affected suggesting that muscle afferent feedback pl ays a role in the control of BP within the cardiovascular response, this matches the McCloskey and Mitchells (1972) conclusion drawn from cats. Gandevia and Hobbs (1990) looked at changes in HR and BP to graded contraction in man with the use of anaesthesia. Handgrip contractions were performed with a period of 3min PECO, arm muscles were then acutely paralysed via anaesthesia and the exercise performed again. HR and BP increased in line with the preceding contraction with PECO showing the degree to which the metaboreflex was activated. BP increased in direct relation to the preceding contraction but HR did not. In paralysis graded increases in HR were seen but not in BP, suggesting CC controls HR response. These results are consistent with in Iwamoto (1987) who found NMB to reduce BP response but which had little effect on HR response to voluntary contraction. Both studies show that cardiovascular response must be due to a combination of CC and chemoreflex. Gandevia and Hobbs (1990) showed that during anaesthesia HR was controlled by CC as muscle afferent would have been blocked, as BP did not increase with anaesthesia it could be concluded that muscle afferents control the modulation of BP. Conclusions can be drawn from all the relevant literature that CC and muscle afferent feedback have overlapping tendencies and that the different aspects of the cardiovascular response, though controlled via both mechanisms, lean towards one aspect more than the other. Therefore HR could be controlled to a greater extent by CC (Gandevia and Hobbs, 1990; Iwamoto et al, 1987 and Bull et al, 1989) whereas muscle afferent feedback could control BP response (Alam and Smirk, 1937 and Coote et al, 1971).

Relationships of Waverly Jong and Jing-mei Woo in The Joy Luck Club Ess

The Relationships of Waverly Jong and Jing-mei Woo in The Joy Luck Club  Ã‚        Ã‚   Amy Tan in her novel The Joy Luck Club presents us with daughters who are striving to place themselves beyond the control of strong mothers and become individuals. Adrienne Rich in her book Of Woman Born calls this splitting from the mother, "matraphobia" (Rich, 235), and later notes: "The mother stands for the victim in ourselves, the unfree woman, the martyr. Our personalities seem dangerously to blur and overlap with our mothers; and, in a desperate attempt to know where mother ends and daughter begins we perform radical surgery." (Rich, 236) Tan shows us two characters in her novel who consciously split from their mother when they feel unable to claim their true selves. These two characters are Waverly Jong and Jing-mei Woo.    Waverly's break from her mother comes when she perceives her mother's pride in her ability to play chess being something that increases her mother's own self worth. Waverly tells us: "I knew it was a mistake to say anything more, but I heard my voice speaking. 'Wh...

A new Experience :: essays research papers

In class we read four stories about immigrants and their experiences. Out of all the stories the one that touched me and I could relate to the most was â€Å"No Speak English† by Sandra Cisneros. Mamacita is the main character in this story. She is the new comer, â€Å"immigrant†, in the new city. Mamacita later on starts missing her home very much. She paints her walls in her apartment pick like her old pink house. All she does all day, is sit by the window listening to the Spanish radio shows just so that she could hear songs that reminded her of her country to that she wouldn’t feel so homesick. Then she realized that it actually made her miss it more. Then as time passes by, her baby boy starts talking in English and she can’t understand, making her hurt badly. I can definitely relate to Mamasita’s experience to my mother’s experience when she arrived in America, New York to be exact. My mom missed her home in Colombia very much. She would try to do or listen to everything that she though wouldn’t make her feel so homesick but the realized just as well, that it made her feel even more homesick. My mom isolated herself from the world and didn’t meet anybody for the first 4 months. My mom began thinking to herself during these four months, â€Å"How can you meet other people and make a new home a familiar environment for yourself if you never give it a chance and leave the house?† Lately, I have been realizing that experiences like this are never easy. Feeling alone really hurts a lot of people emotionally, especially being different from everyone else around you. When you feel different from the new people around you, you begin to feel left out and all you want to do is run and hide. Doing this does not allow you to meet new people and experience new things. There is nothing wrong with your own kind or what you are used to being around but then you will never be okay in an unfamiliar environment. A new Experience :: essays research papers In class we read four stories about immigrants and their experiences. Out of all the stories the one that touched me and I could relate to the most was â€Å"No Speak English† by Sandra Cisneros. Mamacita is the main character in this story. She is the new comer, â€Å"immigrant†, in the new city. Mamacita later on starts missing her home very much. She paints her walls in her apartment pick like her old pink house. All she does all day, is sit by the window listening to the Spanish radio shows just so that she could hear songs that reminded her of her country to that she wouldn’t feel so homesick. Then she realized that it actually made her miss it more. Then as time passes by, her baby boy starts talking in English and she can’t understand, making her hurt badly. I can definitely relate to Mamasita’s experience to my mother’s experience when she arrived in America, New York to be exact. My mom missed her home in Colombia very much. She would try to do or listen to everything that she though wouldn’t make her feel so homesick but the realized just as well, that it made her feel even more homesick. My mom isolated herself from the world and didn’t meet anybody for the first 4 months. My mom began thinking to herself during these four months, â€Å"How can you meet other people and make a new home a familiar environment for yourself if you never give it a chance and leave the house?† Lately, I have been realizing that experiences like this are never easy. Feeling alone really hurts a lot of people emotionally, especially being different from everyone else around you. When you feel different from the new people around you, you begin to feel left out and all you want to do is run and hide. Doing this does not allow you to meet new people and experience new things. There is nothing wrong with your own kind or what you are used to being around but then you will never be okay in an unfamiliar environment.

From Western to Asian Environmental Ethics Essay examples -- Asia Reli

The 20th century may be considered the ultimate expression of Western ideals and philosophy: "civilized" humanity's attempt to dominate "uncivilized" peoples and nature. The 21st century soberingly proclaims the shortsightedness and ultimate unsustainability of this philosophy. This paper shows the limitations of a modern Western world-view, and the practical applicability of ideas to be found in Asian philosophies. In outline, the contrast may be portrayed by the following overgeneralizations: (1) From a linear to a cyclical world view; (2) from divine salvation to karmic necessity; (3) from human dominion over nature to human place within nature; (4) from the perfectibility of humanity and the world through science; (5) from atomistic mechanistic individualism to organic interdependence; (6) from competition to cooperation; (7) from glorification of wealth to respect for humanhood; (8) from absolute cultural values to necessary common values. Each of these attitudes is examined in light of what we now know about the world in the 21st century, as Asian philosophy is found applicable to address future problems. (1) From a linear to a cyclical worldview The Judaeo-Christian-Islamic world-view epitomizes linearity. God creates the world out of nothing and destroys it when he pleases; the world has a beginning and an end. Moreover, the beginning and end of the world are within human memory and anticipation; humans trace their lineage back to Adam and anticipate the end of the world. Recent Christians may argue for a more ancient beginning in the Big Bang, but seem no less convinced of the temporality and linearity of the human project. Humans are born from nothing, live only once on this world, and then return to dust or are j... ...f the earth. If the human project is to be maintained more than a few generations into the future, considerations of population control, biological diversity, sustainability of technologies, and responsibility to future generations become unavoidable. These depend not on cultural tastes or traditions; they become minimum prerequisites for human continuity. The shrinking of the globe and the foreshortening of history demand new common values, not based on the power of one group over another, but based on a consciousness of our organic interlinking with each other. Stripped of their cultural paraphernalia and chauvinisms, some Western as well as Asian religious philosophies may already hold this ideal, but one need not be religious to understand and espouse it. The survival of the planet as we know it demands nothing less than human cooperation in this project. From Western to Asian Environmental Ethics Essay examples -- Asia Reli The 20th century may be considered the ultimate expression of Western ideals and philosophy: "civilized" humanity's attempt to dominate "uncivilized" peoples and nature. The 21st century soberingly proclaims the shortsightedness and ultimate unsustainability of this philosophy. This paper shows the limitations of a modern Western world-view, and the practical applicability of ideas to be found in Asian philosophies. In outline, the contrast may be portrayed by the following overgeneralizations: (1) From a linear to a cyclical world view; (2) from divine salvation to karmic necessity; (3) from human dominion over nature to human place within nature; (4) from the perfectibility of humanity and the world through science; (5) from atomistic mechanistic individualism to organic interdependence; (6) from competition to cooperation; (7) from glorification of wealth to respect for humanhood; (8) from absolute cultural values to necessary common values. Each of these attitudes is examined in light of what we now know about the world in the 21st century, as Asian philosophy is found applicable to address future problems. (1) From a linear to a cyclical worldview The Judaeo-Christian-Islamic world-view epitomizes linearity. God creates the world out of nothing and destroys it when he pleases; the world has a beginning and an end. Moreover, the beginning and end of the world are within human memory and anticipation; humans trace their lineage back to Adam and anticipate the end of the world. Recent Christians may argue for a more ancient beginning in the Big Bang, but seem no less convinced of the temporality and linearity of the human project. Humans are born from nothing, live only once on this world, and then return to dust or are j... ...f the earth. If the human project is to be maintained more than a few generations into the future, considerations of population control, biological diversity, sustainability of technologies, and responsibility to future generations become unavoidable. These depend not on cultural tastes or traditions; they become minimum prerequisites for human continuity. The shrinking of the globe and the foreshortening of history demand new common values, not based on the power of one group over another, but based on a consciousness of our organic interlinking with each other. Stripped of their cultural paraphernalia and chauvinisms, some Western as well as Asian religious philosophies may already hold this ideal, but one need not be religious to understand and espouse it. The survival of the planet as we know it demands nothing less than human cooperation in this project.

Dreams: Winnie-the-pooh and Vision Center Essay

We have prepared this handout of actual essays written by current Harvard students who attended secondary schools in the UK (with names changed for anonymity) in order to provide some guidance to schools and applicants. Because the university admissions processes in the US and the UK are markedly different, we have received requests for some sample essays and tips for writing them and hope they will be helpful. Here is the official description of the personal essay requirement: Please write an essay (250 words minimum) on a topic of your choice or on one of the options listed below. This personal essay helps us become acquainted with you as a person and student, apart from courses, grades, test scores, and other objective data. It will also demonstrate your ability to organize your thoughts and express yourself. 1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. 2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you. 3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence. 4. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence. 5. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you. 6. Topic of your choice. Your essay for a US university might be the same one you would write for the UCAS system, but perhaps not. We are interested in your academic successes and future plans, but also want to understand what makes you tick as a person. What are your hopes, dreams and fears? Our advice is to think of two or three possible topics, write a quick first draft of each essay and then show them to your best friend, mother, teacher or anyone who knows you well. Ask that person if your voice and personality come through in the essays and which one sounds the most like you. Then take that essay and polish it off! As you will see from the following sample essays, these students have written about learning to ride a bike, culture shock at coming to the UK, music, public service, and a favourite book. What will you write about? Sample College Essay #1 I never imagined that by swimming, a Vision Center in India would be built. And I certainly never thought so many people could be cured of blindness there. For the past twelve years of my life, my passion has been competitive swimming. Mile after mile I train almost every single day in the hope of becoming that much faster, that much more powerful in the water, that much closer to my goals. (My classmates tell me I am better adapted to live in the water than on land!) I have reached more athletic goals than I ever imagined when I first splashed into the water as a timid six-year old. I have won several Texas state titles, been ranked nationally in both the US and the UK, set numerous International Schools Tournament records, and captained both my school and club swim teams. This past year, I decided to combine my love of swimming with a fundraising target. My older brother worked as an intern on the Flying Eye Hospital run by the international sight-saving ch arity ORBIS. I was horrified by his description of the magnitude of curable, but untreated eye diseases. I knew I had to take action. To help those who have or will lose their sight for no fault of their own, my triplet siblings and I organized, planned, publicized, and successfully led a community-wide Swim-a-thon that raised funds for ORBIS. The goal of our event was not only to raise funds for this very worthwhile cause, but more importantly, to raise awareness about avoidable blindness. Our theme â€Å"Every minute a child goes blind†, caught the attention of the community. The word spread. People were surprised to know that we have the medical capability to cure millions of people with a simple surgery or eye droplets, yet hundreds of people lose their sight every day. As a two-year class vice president and student member of the Athletic Advisory Board, I was able to gain permission from the Head of School to plan the event. I convinced the Athletic Director to set aside pool time and recruited life guards. In order to garner support, I placed ads in the school newspaper, hung posters throughout my school, and persuaded my coach to replace an afternoon workout with the Swim-a-thon. After weeks of preparation, swim mates, school faculty, and parents logged thousands of laps. It was an immensely successful day. Enough money was collected to build a Vision Center in India, with surgical equipment, medicines, and training materials. The new Vision Center will not only treat thousands of patients, but will create a permanent site to train doctors and other medical personnel. As Treasurer of my school’s chapter of the National Honor Society, I plan to allocate charity funds this year to ORBIS for the continuing operational costs of the Vision Center. Every minute a child goes blind. Thirty-seven million people in the world are blind. Remarkably, an overwhelming 28 million of them do not need to be. When I think about the Vision Center we funded, I am overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment and pride. Even though I will never meet the many people who will receive medical treatment there, the satisfaction of knowing that I have helped change the lives of thousands of people is astonishing. More meaningful than any swim race or trophy, we have brought hope where there was darkness. Sample College Essay #2 If we speak the same language, then why don’t I understand you? Why are the clothes you wear so different and the expressions you say so unclear to me? It was my first day in England and a â€Å"Bank Holiday† at that. With only one sport on television, I was determined to watch and study a game I had no idea how to play. I didn’t know what an â€Å"over† was, or even the job of the bowler. I didn’t know what a â€Å"wicket† was, or how many a team needed to win. But I didn’t care. I was living across the pond now, and if I was going to fit into my new surroundings, understanding the rules of cricket seemed like a fine starting point. I persevered, and eventually I was explaining the now familiar game of cricket to my family; baseball analogies helped a great deal. I was proud of myself. I had conquered the English culture. Maybe England wasn’t so bad after all. I soon realized how naive these thoughts were. Cricket was just the beginning. A whole world of different traditions and customs was thrown in front of me. July Fourth was exchanged for Guy Fawkes Day and the â€Å"the celebration with the turkey† was erased from the calendar. Where would I fit in? Rugby and Premier League Football dominated the sports channels. Where was my beloved ESPN? Why is the television show, Little Britain, so hysterical? The movie theatres were smaller than a British mini cooper, and the Super Bowl kicked off at four a.m. The warmth of the Texan sun was replaced by the rainy days of Wimbledon. I was surprised to see that some parts of life abroad were better. Friends became mates. The frenetic pace of Piccadilly Circus and the splendour of St. Paul’s Cathedral are unsurpassed. Roundabouts make the traffic run smoothly. I like the sound of â€Å"Cheers†. Over sixty different nationalities and over thirty languages are represented at the International School I attend. The culture shock was overwhelming. But I refused to yield. I was going to start by mixing into the English culture. I reported on local and national events as an Editor of the school newspaper. In addition I met swimmers from all over the U.K. through my British swim team, all with different backgrounds and lifestyles from mine. The cultures that engulfed me when I first came to England are part of me now. London is at my disposal. The people, the pubs, the expressions, and the entertainment are all a part of what makes living in England a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Yes, I have missed several Thanksgiving feasts and numerous Astros games, but I have come to understand and enjoy a completely new place. I wouldn’t change any of my experiences. Living in Europe has broadened my perspective on life and opened my eyes to so may wonderful people and ideas. People have similar goals wherever they come from. I’m glad I know that there is no single right way to achieve them. Sample College Essay #3 I wake up and there is a rhythm in my head: it’s hazy. I climb into the shower and the water tapping on my scalp reminds me. As I sit on the bus to go to school, I get strange looks from passengers as I tap the rhythm onto my knees, but it’s not yet fully formed. Throughout the school day, I feel it evolve and develop until I inevitably sit down at my drums and play. From my brain via my heart it enters my muscles; they transfer it to the sticks which relay it to the drum. Eventually, the air gets my gift and the rhythm returns through my ears. Even after the sounds are gone, the rhythm is not. Until I go to bed, a day’s repetition keeps it rebounding inside my cranium, in my own private concert hall. This is the journey of my daily rhythm. I wake up and there is a rhythm in my head: it’s not straight for this rhythm swings. At 6:00 am in Germany I get on a coach and as the wheels rotate beneath me I get closer. My coach has thirty five other people in it, each one is carried forward in their own sense of time, but in less than an hour they must all merge; seven hundred people will not accept a big band not keeping the pulse. Butterflies are roused in my gut and nerves take over. I’ve never played a solo in front of so many people yet somehow my fear must be quelled. My imagination, my sticks and my drum-set have to communicate my inner rhythm; the audience must be able to feel it or else I have failed. Rhythm is the barrier to embarrassment. As the opening to â€Å"Sing, Sing, Sing† begins to take shape, all my trust is placed in the pattern I have within me transporting me safely to the end. If this vessel sank, I too would go with it. A standing ovation confirmed that this time, the barrier held strong. I wake up and there is a rhythm in my head: but it is quiet. In fact, no-one hears it; it makes no noise and never will. Between the hours of 0845 and 1545 I have 4 beats: each one signaling another unit of learning. This phrase is repeated 5 days a week for 40 weeks a year and the chorus goes on 6 more times. My song is my school, and in it I am caught up in its inner rhythms that I cannot control – I must give in to them. The melodies that are assigned to these rhythms are made up of Virgil, esters and numbers that don’t exist. From these, cadences form that give me a chordal progression through education. Each part of my song has been given a name; there are no verses, no choruses but consecutive Key Stages. The rhythm indicates when I should make the transition: there is a series of fills, but they are not called fills. They call them exams and as the stages progress, the fills get more intense. In fact, they get more frequent and at the end of my school career, I look forward to a year where exams punctuate my calendar. In January, I will have moved to the dominant, only to complete the progression in June when I descend and finish on the tonic: a perfect cadence. I wake up and there is rhythm: the rhythm is life. The cycle of night and day and the constant pulsing in my chest are rhythms, and as the Earth revolves around our local star it is in time with the universe. I think in meter: a man crosses the street and his steps divide the distance between one curb and the next – they provide a beat in the asphalt bar, or at least that is how I picture it. If animals could not use the rhythm of the seasons, then they would surely die. Life is a rhythm and all that it contains is in time. When the rhythm ceases to exist, so will I. Sample College Essay #4 Magicians are not truly magical, though they like others to think they are. So what inspires this â€Å"deception†? Some think it is the money and others, the glamour of performing on stage and mystifying the audience. But for me it has always been a question of identity. Magic has helped me develop my confidence and communication skills so when the time comes to stand up and address a crowd, such as the school debate or a Model United Nations conference, it is no effort at all. However, I can say that one unusual circumstance in my life has given me a new sense of direction for my magic. At first, I thought magic was mere entertainment, but Horace, a man from the local Spastics Center diagnosed with autism in his late twenties, changed my perspective on my art. So often when we think of the disabled, we imagine children, and we sympathize with them. With Horace, I was faced with a situation largely unknown to the general public’s experience: an unemotional adult who ra rely spoke to or acknowledged others around him. When I tried to engage him, he mumbled to me uninterested and somewhat detached. But then when I produced my deck of cards, when through several routines and then showed him how he, too, could create â€Å"miracles†, he smiled and laughed. This reaction highlighted the most rewarding aspect of magic because he accepted me into his world and responded to me. The Center’s staff even commented, â€Å"We have never seen Horace behaving in such an emotional way!† For the first time, Horace had been given hope that he too could, perhaps, achieve and live a meaningful life. The magic had broken a myth of futility and dispelled it forever. I saw that magic could provide a driving force for pursuing change, and this realization overwhelmed me. I had witnessed something so unusual that the force of it took my breath away. The essence of magic is establishing a connection between the audience and the performer. With Horace, the ordinary had become the extraordinary, and for a moment, we connected in a state called â€Å"Astonishment†. This experience brings about a revisit to our most basic form, unaltered by culture or society. Indeed, that instant is so special because as adults, we are all too rarely astonished, and this moment returns us to our days as children when we were clueless and laughed at everything. This unusual encounter showed me that in this moment of astonishment, magic has the power to inspire. Since the encounter with Horace I have founded a society that brings all the magicians at my school together to perform magic for the elderly and the less fortunate in the nearby community. If I can show them, for instance, how to produce onepound coins from thin air, then contrary to what they have been told, perhaps they can challenge their â€Å"limits†. Then, dare I say that my passion for magic would be enhanced by a touch of true magic, generated perhaps from a truly unusual moment of astonishment. Sample College Essay #5 The ball ricocheted off the wall and disappeared into the black hole under my bed. It had been some years since the Hoover had been granted visiting rights and a heavy cloud of fluff covered every inch of the 4’ x 6’3† rectangle. Slightly nervous of what I might find, I ventured in slowly with an outstretched hand. The ball was nowhere to be found but I felt a small box-shaped object. I dragged it out, dusted it off and there looking somewhat the worse for wear, was my old leather book trunk. As I eased open the lid, the familiar smell (slightly musty with time) transported me immediately back ten years. Inside, in pride of place on top, staring boldly back at me, was my old friend Winnie the Pooh. The familiar, faded yellow face, the shrunken red tshirt with tummy protruding proudly from beneath, an empty honey pot and by his side, as ever, was Piglet. It is to Winnie the Pooh that I owe my greatest debt. It was this funny bear of little brain and large appetite who first sparked my interest in the literary world. He taught me about friendships and Woozles and how to make the best Heffalump traps. Many a happy hour was spent with Pooh and his friends facing adversity with his ever optimistic demeanour. Although I haven’t seen this treasured copy for many a year, I must admit to a weekly dose of life in a Hundred Acre Wood. Each week I share my passion for reading with Class 2A at the local village primary school. We start off with one of Pooh’s adventures – richly embellished with different voices that perhaps A.A. Milne may not have intended but, nevertheless, seem to get the seal of approval from my six-year-old audiences. After this we get down to the nitty gritty – the business of learning to read – or as I like to call it â€Å"Discovering How to Lose Yourself†. I go round the class taking turns to listen to them read. Although the range of their abilities is surprisingly large they all make a huge effort and really enjoy themselves. Progress is made and more and more pupils get lost each week. All too soon it is time to go. I say my goodbyes and rush back to school for my next lesson. I hum a little happiness tune and as I round the corner into the school a large thundercloud looms above. In my head a very Pooh-like voice says â€Å"Tut, tut, looks like rain!†. Sample College Essay #6 Nothing of much significance ever happens on the Isle of Wight. And to those of you for whom island travels only involved the palm trees and pink sand variety, let me enlighten you. The Isle of Wight is a small, chalky lump that broke off the south coast of England and came to a halt one mile out. It is caught in a rather charming time warp – circa. 1955. No palm tree could ever survive the freezing easterly winds that blast through from Siberia every winter and the only pink sand would be the result of a small child falling over a sandcastle on the way back from the Mr. Whippy ice cream van. It has sand and it has trees but of the altogether more hardy type. The sand is yellow and coarse, the trees are sturdy and solid with waxy leaves to withstand the salty air. The people are sturdy and solid too with an accent inherited from their pirate ancestors that sets them apart from those on the mainland. Life ambles along and nobody rushes. Pity anyone caught in a queue at the butchers behind Mrs. Singleton as she recounts, far too vividly, details of her latest health scare. Don’t get me wrong, it has its virtues – the Victorian pier pointing like a lace gloved finger out to sea and the promenade with shops selling pink and white sticks of rock with â€Å"Isle of Wight† running through it (how do they do that?), â€Å"Kiss me Quick† sunhats and inflatable boats. And on the corner of the High Street, the Cod Father fish and chip shop with a sign in the window saying â€Å"We batter anything!† It was on this sleepy little island that I, as a small boy, spent most of my summers. Summers that, due to the temperature, would be called autumn anywhere else – but nothing a long wetsuit and hat couldn’t disguise. One day in early July, arriving back from another bracing trip to the beach, I saw my mother and sister sitting side by side on the grassy bank overlooking the lawn. Nex t to them was a large bag of sweets and a bicycle. My mother announced that today was the day she was going to teach me how to ride a bike. There had been many attempts before but today I could tell she meant business. A succession of sweets was laid out at regular intervals along the lawn marking the route I was to take. Each time I made it to that point without falling off I got the sweet. Knowing that I really didn’t have any choice, I climbed awkwardly onto the enormous bike. Mother steadied me with one hand and then with a shove I was hurtling down the bank and onto the lawn. A blur of screaming and clapping preceded the first of many spectacular falls and my shins took on the blue hue of an uncooked lobster with blobs of grease from the chain splattered amongst the bumps. My sister, younger than me and already a whiz on her pink Barbie bike, gave patronizing advice trying to sound encouraging but, I suspect, rather enjoying the moment. An hour and a half later, battered and bruised with tears streaking through the mud on my face, I climbed onto the beast one more time. I steadied myself, focused on the hedge at the other end of the lawn (where the biggest chocolate bar lay) and with an almighty push I launched myself forward peddling with fury. Before I knew what had happened, there was a rush of green as I landed headfirst into the hedge. The bike, free of its incompetent rider, did an elegant ark to the left before coming to a halt. As I cycle confidently (but still can’t do the no hands thing) to the boathouse every day, I think of the words of Claude Pepper who said, â€Å"Life is like riding a bicycle. You don’t fall off unless you plan to stop peddling.† I won’t stop peddling. – and am proud to announce that on the 3rd July 1998 something of great significance did, at last, happen on the Isle of Wight.

Properties of Light

Danielle Silverstein PHY 101 Section 10497 March 4, 2013 Light up this World Purpose: In this lab experiment, LED lights will be used to show how when E&M radiation is absorbed, the energy is converted to heat. A drop of isopropyl alcohol will absorb light energy of different colors, and the evaporation rate of the alcohol will be measured. The key to this lab is the evaporation rate is directly related to the energy of the light shining on the drop. Materials: * * LEDs and circuits (from previous lab) * Pipette (or eyedropper) * Rubbing alcohol Index card * 9-volt battery * Flashlight * Stopwatch * Small cardboard box (shoe box) Procedures: A three-sided enclosure from the cardboard box was made. This created a location for applying light from the LED to the drop of alcohol while minimizing the effect of air currents on the evaporation rate. The eyedropper was used to place a single drop of isopropyl alcohol on an index card within the enclosure. The same size drop was used each tim e the step was repeated. The time it takes for the drop to evaporate without the LED present was recorded.The dark spot on the card caused by the alcohol was no longer visible. A flashlight was used to help with the observance of the dark spot. The evaporation time was recorded. The same procedure was repeated for the different colored LEDs over the alcohol drop. The current through each LED and the distance from the LED to the drop of alcohol was the same for each run. The procedure for each color of LED was repeated at least 10 times and an average time of evaporation for each color was calculated. A graph of evaporation time versus frequency of the LED was then made. Data: Time it took to dry the drop (minutes) | | | | |With no light= 10 minutes | | | | | |Red(minutes) |Green(minutes) |Blue(minutes) | |1 |4:43 |5:15 |3:30 | |2 |4:49 |3:59 |3:14 | |3 |5:03 |4:55 |4:07 | |4 |5:23 |3:48 |3:13 | |5 |4:00 |4:26 |3:26 | |6 |5:04 |4:47 |3:37 | |7 |4:35 |4:20 |3:25 | |8 |5:25 |3: 54 |3:10 | |9 |4:30 |5:05 |3:40 | |10 |4:45 |4:15 |3:56 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Frequencies(Hz): |4. 3 ·10-14 |6. 0 ·10-14 |6. 67 ·10-14 | | | | | | | | | | | |Average Time(s): |4:49 |4:28 |3:31 | [pic] Results: The results show that red had the lowest frequency and used the least amount of energy, green was in the middle of the two other colors with a frequency of 6.  ·10-14 and blue had the highest frequency of 6. 67 ·10-14 Conclusion: Light is range of the electromagnetic spectrum detectable by the naked human eye. The spectrum also includes radio waves all the way up to gamma rays, and light falls about in the middle. Electromagnetic radiation combines both particles and waves in nature. Electromagnetic radiation can also be described in terms of a stream of photons. These are massless particles traveling with wavelike properties at the speed of light. For example, the changing electric and magnetic fields in space form electromagnetic waves (Library Thinking Quest). The colors on the spectrum vary from red to violet.The red light has a lower energy than the violet light that’s at the end of the spectrum. The frequency of the light increases as the color of the light changes from red to violet. Wavelength and frequency are inversely proportional, which causes the wavelength to decrease as the color changes from red to violet (Hewitt, pg. 520). Depending on the color of the light, the wavelength can range from 7Ãâ€"10-5 cm (red) to 4Ãâ€"10-5 cm (violet), but all electromagnetic radiation travels at the speed of light. The frequency of the light, which is the number of wavelengths per seconds is calculated using the equation C=LN. L is the wavelength, N is the frequency, and C is the speed of light (Library Thinking Quest).From the observations collected, the red LED light took the longest to dry the drop of alcohol and the blue dried it the fastest. Since the red light is on the lower end of the electromagnetic spectrum is used the lowest amount of energy. Just by looking at the brightness of the light, this conclusion was made but reassured after doing some research. The red light was very dim and faint compared to the brightness of the green and the blue. The blue was the brightest of the lights. This light used the most energy and is one of the farthest on the spectrum beside violet. Since the frequency of light increases as the color of light moves down the spectrum, the red light has the smallest frequency of 4. 2*10-14, green has middle frequency of 5. 66*10-14 and blue has the largest frequency of 6. 37*10-14. The frequency is directly proportional to the energy produced by each of the light, which is shown in the graph above. The blue light had the highest frequency and that used the most energy. The red LED used the least amount of energy because it had the lowest frequency. The greater the frequency caused the alcohol to dry faster since it used more heat (energy) at one time. Light energ y and frequency are directly related in the real world also. Typically since red lights have less energy than blues lights, blue objects are said to be hotter.In 1923, American astronomer Edwin Hubble (1889-1953) made an astounding discovery. As Hubble observed, the light waves from distant galaxies are shifted to the red end, and he reasoned that this must mean those galaxies are moving away from the Milky Way. These observations concluded that something that showed red was moving away from its observer. The laws of thermodynamics state that where heat is involved, the movement is always away from an area of high temperature and toward an area of low temperature. Heated molecules that reflect red light are areas that are moving toward an area of low temperature. Molecules of low temperature reflect bluish or purple light because the tendency of heat is to move toward them.Fire, for example, it lets off heat to keep people warm. The color of fire is mostly red and orange. These colo rs are at the lower end of the spectrum of light. The reason why fire is the color red is because; red gives off the lowest amount of energy because it has the lowest frequency. Fire can be used in many different ways in the world without using mass amount of energy to heat things up. As mentioned in the lab from last week, the alligator clips caused a lot of issues with holing the connections together. A better material would be the connection covers where the wires go inside a little tube and are squeezed together at each end to insure security.When the light went out due to the connection, it caused created a longer time for the alcohol drop to dry. This created some error in the experiment with the time and the overall average. [pic]References: †¢ Hewitt, P. G. (1998). Chapter 23,24. Conceptual physics (8th ed. , pp. 494-550). Reading, Mass. : Addison Wesley. †¢ Lesson 9 Electricity. (n. d. ). PHY 101 . Retrieved February 9, 201328, 2013, from https://www. riolearn. or g/content/phy/phy101/PHY101_INTER_0000_v4/lessons/lesson08. shtml? encrypted-sectionid=am5lN0s1VHdrNkRZdEdaK3ZBR3dSdz09 †¢ â€Å"The Physics of Light: What Is Light?. † ThinkQuest : Library. N. p. , n. d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.

Business Report of Lenovo Essay

Introduction Lenovo was found in 1984 in Beijing and it is the world’s second-largest PC vendor. According to the last official statistic, Lenovo consolidated turnover of 146.6 billion Yuan and Lenovo employs nearly 40,000 people. Lenovo is a well-known national brand in China and Lenovo is serving customers in more than 160 countries. In order to expand overseas business and access to world-class brand, Lenovo carried out an acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division in 2005. IBM was founded in 1911 in the United States and it is the largest information technology and business solutions company in the world, currently has more than 30 million employees in the world, with operations in over 160 countries and regions. The problems experienced by Lenovo concerns the construction of cross-cultural teams. Most of the merger and acquisition fail in the post-merger cultural integration. Lenovo set up work teams for designing the future of IBM and developing the new view after acquisition. The results had been shown it uneasy and can lead to the failure of the Lenovo’s acquisition strategy. At the beginning of the acquisition, cultural differences had not been enough anticipated in the acquisition process. And Lenovo wants to remedy the problem as soon as possible to make IBM acquisition profitable in the next strategy. The report part of the business plan Summary This report is intended to identify, describe and propose some solutions to Lenovo to solve the problems about teams and groups in the acquisition of the IBM. This report will describe problems associated with team building, provides some possible solutions and evaluates each of these. And, this report will describe the impact of cultural differences on the establishment of work groups. Actually, Lenovo had taken some measures, but it with little success. According to the current state of Lenovo, this report will give some suggestions and solutions to overcome or avoid the conflict caused by cultural differences and set up effective cross-cultural teams. Especially, these solutions are based on literature on the issue. It concludes that it is necessary for the company to establish effective and appropriate measures to eliminate the barriers in cross-cultural teams, as absence of this may threaten the company’s long-term development. To overcome the problem, Lenovo should take the follow action for IBM survival: * Obtain the core values between Chinese employees and American employees through an internal survey. * Design an international training program for all the employees and especially for managers. * Incorporate both corporate cultures of Lenovo and IBM to create a new corporate culture. * Every cross-culture team should organise monthly meeting or weekly meeting to evaluate the progress of communications and work. * Organise some internally non-working activities to create more opportunities for the communication among employees with different cultural context. * Set up the special teams to deal with the problem caused by cultural difference in every cross-cultural team. Introduction This section of business plan will introduce the problems caused by cultural differences in cross-cultural teams and give some suggestions to overcome the problems. In the acquisition of IBM, Lenovo accepted more than 10,000 employees and it also means that Lenovo accepted a very different culture. Lenovo is not only facing the differences between western and eastern culture, but also Lenovo facing the problems of how to integrate the teams with different organisationally cultural context. In this report, the recommendations to overcome the problems in cross-cultural teams and groups are based on the literature on team building and cross-cultural team management. Body At the beginning of the acquisition of IBM, Lenovo had taken some measures. For example, in order to both sides can communicate better, the new Lenovo use the international common language – English as the official language of the company. But cultural integration is a long-term process, which requires companies to devote their time and patience and the communication, compromise between both of high level, and staff in the acquisition. It must not be too hasty. Base on the fact of Lenovo, there are three aspects should be noticed and improved. Firstly, IBM has a long history and IBM has very high brand awareness. In addition to the brand, employees can get the respect for personal values ​​and a comfortable working environment can be provided for employees by the human resources services and the improvement of the system. In contrast, Lenovo has a big gap no matter the position in IT industry and the strength of themselves. If some team members uphold the cultural superiority or group superiority that their own cultural value system better than those members from other cultures or groups, their behavior maybe resulting in the failure of team building because they will be possible to take hate and boycott from other members, even lead to conflict. Because the conflicts caused by cultural differences between team members and individual differences under thus influence, analysis and identification of cultural differences is necessary. Secondly, communication is the process of exchange and transmission of information among people or groups. Because of the multi-cultural background, language and non-language barrier, people lack of understanding of each other’s political, economic, legal, social and cultural environment, and the understanding of the customs, values, etc. are different. They are often based on their own perspective to make an analysis and judgment on each other’s information, and thus the misunderstanding and conflict are often obtained. Because of these, design a multi-cultural training and hold a monthly meeting or weekly meeting is necessary. Thirdly, a company has an acquisition of another company means an integration of two different corporate cultures. When the employees of a cross-cultural group are conscious of the different of personal cultural awareness with others, it will be cause the group lost their purpose. Based on the possibility, establish a common business concept and corporate culture is a good solution to this problem. Establish a new joint management concept and a strong culture based on the environmental requirements and the principle of the company’s strategic development, so that reducing cultural conflict and that each employee’s thinking and behavior can combine with the company’s operations and purpose. Adopting these recommendations and the actions in summary can make internal and external combination of the teams more closely, establish a good reputation in the international market and enhance multinational cultural adaptability. This is the ultimate goal of why Lenovo needs solve the cross-cultural issues of teams and group in the acquisition of IBM. (1077 words) Section 2 1. What the literature says â€Å"teams and groups† The importance of teams and groups for an organisation In modern society, one person’s power, information and resources are limited. Most time people need cooperate with others no matter working or others as Handy (1993) said â€Å"On average, managers spend 50% of their working day in one sort of group or other. Senior managers can spend 80%†. Although there is no clear and single definition of a â€Å"teams and groups†, there is a basic limited definition by Bennett (1991) â€Å"a collection of two or more people who possess a common purpose†. The formation of an organisation groups in order to achieve the purpose of work more efficiently. An organisation can produce some different kinds of groups, for example: formal and informal, LOCO, HICO, teams, etc. An organisation needs to be aware of their differences and use them as efficiently as possible. There are a lot satisfying reasons why an organisation should create work groups. For example, organising effective groups can have some uses for the distribution of work, the management and control of work, problem-solving and decision-making, information processing, information and idea collection, testing and ratifying decisions, co-ordination and liaison, increased commitment and involvement, negotiation and conflict resolution, inquest or inquiry into the past. (Handy, 1993) No matter what kind of a group there is a bottom line is â€Å"A strong group is †¦ usually more powerful than a strong individual and can have a considerable effect on organizational policy and practice.†(Thomson, 2002) This literature review will pay attention on teams mainly. In a team, everyone plays different role and they have specific function and they working with an important principle â€Å"voluntarily co-ordinate their work in order to achieve group objectives†(Bennett, 1991). Building a team People hope they can define their identity through their membership of certain groups like people belong to local political and pressure groups, for example, because they experience a shared set of values with the other people in the group which reinforces their own values. But, according to Thomson (1997), one reason why people belong to group is â€Å"social needs†. As Thomson & Mabey said â€Å"some †¦ groups will be family or friendship groups, which are formed to meet a diverse range of needs such as affection, security, support, belonging or identity. Some may be committees, where members usually represent different interest groups who come together to discuss their differing perspectives on matters of interest†, people should build a team for the work that is highly complex problems, need for consensus decisions and there is uncertainty when a broad range of competences are required. A company is a big group of a lot of people working together, so the managers are responsible to build effective teams or workgroups. After collecting more individual talents, building a team has the ability to use the talents on a united effort and success is very important (Woodcock, 1979). Consequently, the managers should know how to effectively build a team. In general, the managers must have the knowledge about the five development stages (forming, storming, norming, performing and mourning) in a team or workgroup and they should have an appropriate leading method for themselves (Thomson & Mabey, 1994). Of course, this is not enough for managing a team. The managers need realise everyone’s advantages and dis advantages in the team and especially the differences of their culture context. Teams and cross-cultural context In modern society, business environment developed quickly international. Different cultural members mixed in a team so that the team has powerful ability to solve complex problem. But, individuals from different cultural context must show a different behavior and values in the team. This is because the people’s cognition, thinking, needs, values, code of conduct, customs, etc. are formed in the years of life, work and education. The individual differences caused by cultural differences led to the conflict of the team in the cross-cultural context (Sun, 2012). So, how to make a cross-cultural team working effective is the main responsibility of managers. In a cross-cultural team, there is an important factor is a clear understanding of every one culture and values, and a process of acculturation. The acculturation process is a mutual exchange of cultural pattern (Olie, 1995). Related to the case of Lenovo, the best recommendation for acculturation is integration. It different with one culture dominate the others, integration is a process of acculturation (Nahavandi & Malekzadeh, 1995). Interest for Lenovo In the case of Lenovo, Chinese and American must accept each other for working effectively. But the main problem in the cross-cultural groups is communication. The managers of Lenovo must make everyone in the group understands and adapt to the different culture with some training or actions. And more important is design a politic cooperatively cultural pattern. 2. What does the literature say about different cultural contexts and its influence on teams and groups What are culture and its importance According to Hofstede(2003), culture is â€Å"the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another†. It related to a group. With a large-scale research study of IBM branches around the world by Geert Hofstede, the culture is considered a compositive project. Geert Hofstede creates a new way to describe culture through five variables: power distance, individualism, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation. All theories have limitations. Although this method created by Geert Hofstede is not absolutely right, it does not affect the theory of Hofstede can analyse one country’s culture as a valuable tool. Contract with the case of Lenovo, the most important effect by culture is â€Å"Currently only 25% of international mergers and acquisitions in Europe are successful. The price of failure is high. Cultural misunderstanding lead to loss of face, loss of money and, in extreme case, even loss of life† (Gibson cited in Naysmith, 2006). If managers do not pay enough attention on the culture, it possibly can cause the failure of the acquisition of IBM. Organisational culture Culture is not only exists in the countries, but also culture exists in any organisation constituted by people. Based on Handy (1993) said, â€Å"The role organisation will succeed as long as it can operate in a stable environment†. A steady cultural environment is necessary for an organization get success. At the same time, organisational culture is manageable and it can affects the approach of management, the accepted goals and customer of the society determine and influence that what managers strive for and the rule observed by managers (Stewart cited in Naysmith, 2006). So, the organisation also based on the cultural context of the country. The organisational culture can also measured by the five variables created by Hofstede.(Geert Hofstede, 2001) Influence of culture on â€Å"teams and groups† If a company formed by people comes from different cultural country, this company will own a special energy. It is a competitive advantage from a cross-cultural context. But, exerting the competitive advantage effectively is the most important challenge for the cross-cultural group. Because in a cross-cultural group the members have different working purpose and processes will be revealed. (Maznevski & Peterson, 1997) The effectiveness of work group will be decreased by the ethnocentrism, stereotypes, different expectations and difference in values. And these negative emotions will produce the anxiety and misunderstanding in-group, even diminishing the workers dedication to the company and destroying the group ardor. Interenst for Lenovo Cross-border mergers and acquisitions not only include the corporate cultural differences of both sides, but also include the cultural differences between the countries of the two sides. Organise some activities or cultural training to make more opportunities for every understanding different culture can eliminate the negative affects effectively. 3. Conclusion This literature review introduces some keys briefly for understanding teams and groups in a cross-cultural context. Firstly, teams and groups are particular important for an organisation. But there are some problems should be solved in a cross-cultural group. The managers is not only should know everyone’s skill and talent, but also they should know their difference caused by different cultural context. And some actions can make a good communication between each other for understanding the differences are necessary. Secondly, based on enough knowledge to understand the importance of culture, the managers should eliminate the negative affects of cross-cultural context through some activities or training. And the most important is creating an appropriate organisational culture. It can give the cross-cultural group an approach, so the cross-cultural group can exerts the competitive advantages completely. Bibliography Bennett, R., (1991), Organisational Behavior, London: M&E/Pitman, pp.145, 154. Geert Hofstede, (2001), Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations, Second Edition, Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications Geert Hofstede, (2003), Cultures and Organisations, Intercultural Cooperation and Its Importance for Survival, Soft ware of the Mind, London: Profile Books Ltd. Handy, C, (1993), Understanding Organisations (4th ed.), London: Penguin, pp.150-2. Maznevski, M. & Peterson, M.F., (1997), Societal Values, Social Interpretation, and Multinational Teams. In C. Skromme Granrose & S. Oskamp (Eds.), Cross-Cultural Work Groups, pp. 61-89, London: Sage Publications Ltd. Nahavandi, A. & Malekzadeh, A.R., (1995), Acculturation in mergers and acquisitions, In Jackson (Ed.), Cross-Cultural Management, pp. 328-341, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd. Olie, R., (1995), Culture and integration problem in international mergers and acquisitions, In T. Jackson (Ed.), Cross-Cultural Management, pp. 308-325, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd. Sun Ziwen, (2012, April 13), Case analysis of the cultural integration in cross-border mergers and acquisitions of Chinese enterprises, People’s Forum, 356(2), 7. Thomson, R., (2002), Managing people (3rd ed.), Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, pp.92, 95. Thomson, R. & Mabey, C., (1994), Developing Human Resources, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann in association with the Institute of Management, pp.177. Woodcock, M., (1979), Team Development Manual, Aldershot: Gower Press Teakfield Limited, pp.177.