Accountability in the Us Army

In the US Army, accountability is a key factor that everyone should be aware of. To be accountable means to be dependable. In order to be accountable, you must arrive on time to PT, formation, work, appointments, etc. It is mainly concentrated on three things: custody, care, and safekeeping. If you make it a point to be accountable 100 percent of the time, then there should be no worries of where you are, if you are in trouble, or if anything is wrong. Accountability is something that the Army does not take lightly. It should never be taken lightly due to the fact that it is a possibility your life could be at stake.What is accountability? â€Å"Accountability is the obligation of an individual or organization to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose the results in a transparent manner. † The DOD definition states that accountability is the obligation imposed by law or lawful order or regulation on an officer or other person for keeping ac curate record of property, documents or funds. This may include the responsibility of money, property, documents, NVG's, clothes, a vehicle, TA-50, a field manual, medication, etc.Not only is it considered that, it is also knowing that a soldiers physical and mental needs are taken into consideration so they are able to be more functional as a unit. It is taking responsibility for your actions. Meaning what you say and doing what you say. Why is accountability important to the Army? It is important to the Army because it allow people to know where you are. When you have accountability for everyone, it is easier to track down people when they are needed to do a certain task. Not only is accountability important for people, but it is also important for the safekeeping of documents, gear, weapons, etc.If someone or something is not accounted for, then there is a possibility that something serious could be wrong or something could have happened. This is the reason why the Army has accou ntability formations; so that everyone and everything is safe and accounted for. The Army wants to make sure their soldiers are safe at all times whether it be in the states or over seas which is why they do not take accountability lightly. As an enlisted soldier, it is my responsibility to keep track of all items that are issued to me.An NCO on the other hand is responsible for making sure that soldiers and equipment. A lot of money is spent on military equipment, so the Army expects to know where it is at all times. Without accountability, things could turn into complete and utter chaos. There are many ways to establish accountability. Having everyone’s phone number is the main one. When you have everyone’s phone number, then you have a way of getting in contact with someone. Therefore, it makes accountability a lot easier than it would be if you did not have a way of keeping in contact.Another way to establish accountability is the buddy system. When someone is assi gned a buddy, then they are in charge of that certain person to make sure everything is going as planned and to keep track and make sure everything is ok. Accountability does not stop with the Army. It is essential in the civilian life also. When you have a job as a civilian, you are still expected to be on time for work whether it be when you first get there or after you take a lunch break, etc. In order to be successful in the civilian world, you have to be depended on to be accountable at work.

A Chance to Change Something in My Country Essay

If I have a chance to change something in my country – India, then I would suggest increasing green areas in the country by planting more trees. Planting more trees helps the country in many ways. They not only give clean and fresh air to the country but also nice parks for the people. Trees and plants give clean and fresh air. Most of the cities in India are highly polluted. Pollution causes many diseases to the people. I have seen many of my friends suffering from allergies and breathing problems due to high pollution. So it is high time for us to take necessary steps to protect people from pollution. Planting more trees and plants in these cities helps people to get clean air and pollution less environment to live. People destruct forests to materialize the various forest resources like wood from the trees, medicinal plants, animals etc. Due to forest destruction, most of the animal breeds lost their place to live. This in turn has resulted in loss of many animal breeds. Increase in green areas will definitely help the animals for a place to live. Planting more trees also give nice parks for the people. Parks will be a good place for the people to pass their free time, to relax in a natural environment, to get along with the friends, to play and enjoy the nature. They can also be made as tourist destination. Many places in India are suffering due to insufficient rain and water. Growing more trees especially in these areas will help in more rain and weather control. For the above said main reasons, I would suggest to increase the green areas in my country.

Marketing Plan Chevrolet Essay

A performance appraisal is a review and discussion of an employee’s performance of assigned duties and responsibilities. The appraisal is based on results obtained by the employee in his/her job, not on the employee’s personality characteristics. The appraisal measures skills and accomplishments with reasonable accuracy and uniformity. It provides a way to help identify areas for performance enhancement and to help promote professional growth. It should not, however, be considered the supervisor’s only communication tool. Open lines of communication throughout the year help to make effective working relationships. In Chevrolet each employee is entitled to a thoughtful and careful appraisal. The success of the process depends on the supervisor’s willingness to complete a constructive and objective appraisal and on the employee’s willingness to respond to constructive suggestions and to work with the supervisor to reach future goals. In Chevrolet it i s important for them to give the satisfaction of their customers as part of their business. As the company needed employees who will help them in obtaining their goals, they make sure to have excellent agents or dealers to gain more customers in market. The services which they offer to their buyers are based to the performances of their car dealers and agents who sell their products. As having an integrated performance appraisal, the Chevrolet handle their employees with a synchronization on their management that will help them to comprise more strategies, goals of the company and the right plan for them to be marketable in their business. Chevrolet has their records of their sales on their cars and the level of performances of their dealers and agents. As managing a business that needed to sell in a high cost of prices but giving customers a satisfaction and good value of their products, the company needs to check and monitor the employee who sells and market the products. Periodic reviews help the supervisors of Chevrolet gain a better understanding of each employeeâ€⠄¢s abilities. The goal of the review process is to recognize achievement, to evaluate job progress, and then to design training for the further development of skills and strengths. A careful review will stimulate employee’s interest and improve job performance. The review provides the employee, the supervisor, the Vice President, and Human Resources a critical, formal feedback mechanism on an annual basis; however these discussions should not be restricted solely to a formal annual review. Annually, the appropriate supervisor evaluates each employee’s performance. In the case where an employee has changed jobs part-way through the appraisal period, both of the employee’s supervisors during the appraisal period should submit an appraisal of the employee’s performance. During the performance evaluation process, the most recent job description on file with Human Resources will be reviewed and updated if necessary, by both the employee and the supervisor. The Chevrolet employees are reviewed for a salary increase, annually. The amount of the salary increase pool of funds is recommended by the administration and approved by the Board of Trustees. The method for allocating funds is based on rewarding meritorious performance. Merit increases will be awarded on a pay-for-performance basis and are based on individual performance. When used as intended, a pay-for-performance structure achieves the goal of rewarding truly top performers with merit increases that match their achievements and contributions. These bases of performances of the employees are one way of recognizing the job that they worked hard for the company. The company wanted to increase the level of good quality services for their employees for them to have the loyalty of their customers. This reward to their dealers and agents are persuading them to enhance the ability and performances in marketing their products. The goal of Chevrolet is to give satisfaction and needs to their customers and to their future buyers. The company’s Performance Appraisal can help the company to obtain the following objectives: To maintain records in order to determine compensation packages, wage structure, salaries raises, etc and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees to place right men on right job, to maintain and assess the potential present in a person for further growth and development, to provide a feedback to employees regarding their performance and related status, to provide a feedback to employees regarding their performance and related status. It also serves as a basis for influencing working habits of the employees and to review and retain the promotional and other training programmes. It is said that performance appraisal is an investment for the company which can be justified by following advantages: Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to chalk out the promotion programmes for efficient employees. In this regards, inefficient workers can be dismissed or demoted in case. It can help in chalking out compensation packages for employees. Merit rating is possible through performance appraisal. Performance Appraisal tries to give worth to a performance. Compensation packages which include bonus, high salary rates, extra benefits, allowances and pre-requisites are dependent on performance appraisal. The criteria should be merit rather than seniority. The systematic procedure of performance appraisal helps the supervisors to frame training policies and programmes. It helps to analyse strengths and weaknesses of employees so that new jobs can be designed for efficient employees. It also helps in framing future development programmes. Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to understand the validity and importance of the selection procedure. The supervisors come to know the validity and thereby the strengths and weaknesses of selection procedure. Future changes in selection methods can be made in this regard. For an organization, effective communication between employees and employers is very important. Through performance appraisal, communication can be sought for in the following ways: the employers can understand and accept skills of subordinates; the subordinates can also understand and create a trust and confidence in superiors. It also helps in maintaining cordial and congenial labor management relationship. It develops the spirit of work and boosts the morale of employees. All the above factors ensure effective communication. The Performance appraisal of the company serves as a motivation tool. Through evaluating performance of employees, a person’s efficiency can be determined if the targets are achieved. This very well motivates a person for better job and helps him to improve his performance in the future. Life Cycle Costing The Life cycle costing is a method of calculating the total cost of a physical asset throughout its life. Life-cycle costing is concerned with all costs of ownership and takes account of the costs incurred by an asset from its acquisition to its disposal, including design, installation, operating, and maintenance costs. There are four major benefits of Life Cycle Cost analysis and it is evaluation of competing options in purchasing, improved awareness of total costs, more accurate forecasting of cost profiles and performance trade-off against cost. When the Chevrolet is planning the acquisition of a major asset, organizations spend considerable time and effort in making an economic evaluation of the initial (capital) cost. This evaluation typically considers the required size or capacity of the item, operating performance requirements, physical appearance or image projected, the capital cost, and alternative product options. The company future costs are less visible, as they are often â€Å"hidden† within general operating expenses, but they can have a significant impact on the future viability of the organization. The scale of these costs depends on the level and frequency of usage of the asset. There are also broader environmental implications that flow from the decision to acquire a major asset. Resources are used during the creation, operation and disposal phases, with the potential to affect environmental sustainability, and there may also be direct environmental impacts. The study of these broader issues is often termed life-cycle assessment. This guide does not specifically address these broader issues but they should be part of a complete assessment of the merit of a specific project. The determination of costs is an integral part of the asset management process and is a common element of many of the asset manager’s tools, particularly Economic Appraisal, Financial Appraisal, Value Management, Risk Management and Demand Management. Growing pressure to achieve better outcomes from assets means that ongoing operating and maintenance costs must be considered as they consume more resources over the asset’s service life. Both the capital and the ongoing operating and maintenance costs must be considered wherever asset management decisions involving costs are made. This is the Life Cycle Cost approach. Quality Costing Improving quality is considered by many to be the best way to enhance customer satisfaction, to reduce manufacturing costs and to increase productivity. Any serious attempt to improve quality must take into account the costs associated with achieving quality, since nowadays it does not suffice to meet customer requirements, it must be done at the lowest possible cost as well. This can only happen by reducing the costs needed to achieve quality, and the reduction of these costs is only possible if they are identified and measured. The identification itself is not straightforward because there is no general agreement on a single broad definition of quality costs. However, according to Dale and Plunkett (1995), it is now widely accepted that quality costs are the costs incurred in the design, implementation, operation and maintenance of a quality management system, the cost of resources committed to continuous improvement, the costs of system, product and service failures, and all other necessary costs and non-value added activities required to achieve a quality product or service. Measuring and reporting these costs should be considered a critical issue for any manager who aims to achieve competitiveness in today’s markets. These are costs that can be only estimated such as profits not earned because of lost customers and reduction in revenue owing to non-conformance. The importance of opportunity and intangible costs for quality costing has been recently emphasized in the literature. The practice of costing quality is the combination of two important elements: the first is to analyse the cost of each part of a process and identify areas where savings may be made; the second is the ‘right first time’ approach. Of course people don’t just need to do things right, they need to be sure they are doing the right things. The aim of a quality costing process is to maximize quality while minimizing cost. A sound quality costing programme will measure the cost of quality; aim to control and reduce it; and, continually monitor it as a measure of progress. The process of quality costing is, on the whole, one of negative analysis – instead of strengths, it looks for weaknesses. This may be a painful exercise, be prepared for that. But remember that by identifying costs you can take steps to reduce them. Ignoring ineffectiveness and poor quality is rather like the ostrich approach to management – if I don’t see it, it won’t hurt me. It is useful to bear in mind that the best business with which to compare quality costs is your own. If you introduce quality cost measurement activities twice a year you will soon have data to compare. The Chevrolet cost categories in the quality planning is one of the most important and had prioritized by the company for them to achieved customer satisfaction. The company offer products with good materials to maintain the quality but with affordable prices. The company’s prevention costs support activities whose purpose is to reduce the number of defects. Chevrolet employs many techniques to prevent defects, for example statistical process control, quality engineering, training, and a variety of tools from total quality management (TQM). Prevention costs include activities relating to quality circles and statistical process control. Quality circles consist of small groups of employees that meet on a regular basis to discuss ways to improve quality. Both management and workers are included in these circles. An out of control process results in defective units and may be caused by a miscalibrated machine or some other factor. In statistical process control, workers use charts to monitor the quality of units that pass through their workstations. With these charts, workers can quickly spot processes that are out of control and that are creating defects. Problems can be immediately corrected and further defects prevented rather than waiting for an inspector to catch the defect later. Any defective parts and products should be caught as early as possible in the production process in the company. Appraisal costs, which are sometimes called inspection costs, are incurred to identify defective products before the products are shipped to customers. Unfortunately performing appraisal activates doesn’t keep defects from happening again and most managers realize now that maintaining an army of inspectors is a costly and ineffective approach to quality control. Employees are increasingly being asked to be responsible for their own quality control. This approach along with designing products to be easy to manufacture properly, allows quality to be built into products rather than relying on inspections to get the defects out. Failure costs are incurred when a product fails to conform to its design specifications. Failure costs can be either internal or external. Internal failure costs result from identification of defects before they are shipped to customers. These costs include scrap, rejected products, reworking of defective units, and downtime caused by quality problem. This also experienced by the company and the more effective the company’s appraisal activities the greater the chance of catching defects internally and the greater the level of internal failure costs. This is the price that is paid to avoid incurring external failure costs, which can be devastating for the company. When a defective product is delivered to customer, external failure cost is the result. External failure costs include warranty, repairs and replacements, product recalls, liability arising from legal actions against a company, and lost sales arising from a reputation for poor quality. Such costs can decimate profits. External failure costs usually give rise to another intangible cost. These intangible costs are hidden costs that involve the company’s image. They can be three or four times greater than tangible costs. Missing a deadline or other quality problems can be intangible costs of quality. Internal failure costs, external failure costs and intangible costs that impair the goodwill of the company occur due to a poor quality so these costs are also known as costs of poor quality by some persons.

Research proposal Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Research proposal - Annotated Bibliography Example Apple Inc has been able to capture this market through establishing a department whose role is to market the products through the social media. This source explains the benefits of social media marketing. According to this source, the customers are turning towards companies that are innovative and integrate their ideas in the production process. Besides marketing, social media provides a platform for the company to interact with the customers. According to this source, marketing of the high technological products has changed over times. Due to the dynamic nature of the devices, it has become important to identify a cheaper marketing strategy. This source is important in identifying the impact that social media has been having on the company sales. The tastes and preferences of the current market keep on changing. Different companies are setting up huge amounts of money to conduct research on different aspects that affect the consumption behavior of the market. This source will be significant in identifying other ways that social media can be used to enhance the performance of the company. Social media has improved the performance of the business by making it easy to contact the customers. This source will be significant in identifying how social social media has improved the communication process. Many of the people have focused on leadership of Apple Inc as being the key to success of the company. However, social media has been instrumental in boosting the performance of the business. In addition, it has enabled the company to reach customers who are located in different parts of the

Paper on Business proposal Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Paper on Business - Thesis Proposal Example This would ensure RDH regains its lost reputation and has a competitive advantage in the market. Organizational change in an effective way can be a difficult proposition for any given company, no matter how big or small it is. Many of the multinational companies all around the world have tried to bring about changes related to different aspects of the company. Some have been able to affect the change quite effectively, while others failed to do so successfully. Various factors are needed to be considered while bringing about an effective change or transformation in an organization. Out of those factors the two most important aspects are: a) establishment of a clear vision and b) being able to communicate that particular vision to all the organizational members. In accordance with John P. Kotter, he lays down eight basic steps leading to the transformation of any organization. Out of those eight steps mentioned by Kotter, the third step tells about the creation of a vision for the company to help lead to the change within the organization. It also includes development of strategies which, when implemented, could lead to an effective change in the organization. There is plenty of evidence regarding failure in the efforts made by the organizations to make an effective transformation in its organizational culture because of lack of efficient communication about its vision. The fourth step in organizational transformation, as mentioned by Kotter, is about communication of the companys vision to all its employees and other concerned stakeholders. The next step that is step five includes empowering the other employees of the organization to facilitate working in alignment with the set vision of the company (Kotter 4). RDH has identified that there is a need for change in the culture of the organization. Therefore in order to facilitate such change, they took various steps to initiate the change program. The company then selected Hotel

Management and Leadership in Higher Education Essay - 1

Management and Leadership in Higher Education - Essay Example provision of services; including nurses, receptionists, technicians, cleaners, and therapists, as well as the dentists themselves; effective managers and leaders in dental care need skills to harness the potential of these professionals.5 Some of these skills include ability to communicate within the care team, with patients, and commissioners, ability to negotiate and resolve conflicts, and knowledge of risk management and its application to clinical governance. Dentists often envision working with people who derive pleasure from assisting one another and caring for their patients but that is never to be as a large proportion of dentists report staff-related issues as the leading stressor in their practices, something that is attributable to the lack of leadership training in dentistry.6 In that respect, lack of leadership training in dentistry makes it impossible for them to lead their teams, ensure a supportive work environment, and dealing with staff issues; a dentist’s le adership approach inevitably influences the dental care communication practices. Consequently, specific leadership behaviours affect the extent to which individuals identify with one another within teams in dental practice, interdependence, and social distance between the dental-care providers; in that case, there is a dire need to incorporate effective management and leadership approaches in dental care as seen in the creation of leadership development programs.7 The first management approach that can be applied in dental care is the situational or contingency approach, which examines managerial actions as reaction to a given set of environmental variables, suggesting that certain management alternatives are most suitable for particular situations.8 Leadership actions in dental care entail... This paper approves that management, both in the dental care and in the general context of organizational management, entails solving a varied spectrum of management issues and complexities that may equally demand for a multi-dimensional tackling; there is no particular management action that can be suitably appropriate in all situations. The most appropriate action is one that fits not only the external environment, but also the internal states and needs, and the contingency or situational approach to management is the sophisticated tactic to comprehend the complexity of management today. This essay makes a conclusion that some approaches that can be applied by dentists include the empirical approach, the socio-technical systems approach, and the operational approach, together with, the mathematical approach. There is a dire need for dentists to incorporate the most effective leadership and management approaches to enhance dental care, especially because, there exists direct correlation between the quality of service provided and the latter. In that case, dental healthcare practitioners should adopt leadership and management approaches that emphasize the people side of dental care rather than simply the business part of dentistry, and overlooking the staff welfare. In this respect, dentists must continuously engage in management and leadership activities that promote not only the interpersonal interrelationships, but also positive group dynamics because these lead to high job motivation that translates to quality of dental care services.

Marketing Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Marketing Research - Essay Example The company believes that people’s concern of over quality and health have contributed to the success of the company. Consumers are drawn to Kudler’s no-preservatives baked goods as well to its old world style of baking process. In addition to this, the meat and seafood from certified organic producers met the exacting demands of the discerning customers ; thus, it is common sighting in Kudler’s to see the crà ¨me of the society selecting prime cuts during weekends. The herbs and spices are much sought after by local chefs and the wide variety of tropical fruits are mostly patronized by the health conscious customers. The cheese and dairy section were given a boost by the cheese sampling done every Saturday as well as the wine appreciation classes that sparked the interest of the common public. Nevertheless, Kudler also reaches out to the public through its reasonable prices so that everyone would appreciate gourmet food. Indeed, Kudler Fine Foods has gone a lon g way in its market development. However, the importance of marketing research cannot be undermined as there are many new entrants into this market segment. In addition to this, the fast-growing operations must be consistent in providing excellent service to its existing and potential customers. Kudler must not rest on its laurels; instead, it must develop a strong market research that would lead it to greater success through a larger market base. The main thrust of this paper is to confirm the importance of market research which can benefit the growth and maturity of Kudler Fine Foods. A sound market research would definitely do wonders by giving insight on domains or segments that can be tapped to develop. A good market profiling of customers both existing and potential could lead to sound tactical campaigns. Competitive intelligence and market analysis would provide the owners a clear picture of the whole gourmet store market which would correctly

Oriented Programming and Software Engineering Essay

Oriented Programming and Software Engineering - Essay Example According to Lock (2007), excusable delays are delays that are beyond control of both the owner and the contractors. Excusable delays are caused by natural and man-made calamities such as severe weather, fires and floods as well as transport delays and labour strikes that are beyond control of both the project owner and the contractor. Concurrent delays are project delays arising from delaying two or more projects within a specified time frame and are caused by contractor or owners events. The aggrieved party can claim damages from the other. Compensable delays are project delays that require one party to the contract to demand damages from the party that caused the delays. Damages are paid due to increased project costs caused by increased crew size and cost of raw materials as well as loss of productivity as a result of interrupted work sequence. The effects of projects delays include increased cost of the projects; deny owner and contractors other business opportunities and cause tempers (Assaf and Al-Hejji 2009). Time management techniques that this research will address include critical path method, non-delay approach, precedence requirement, optimal timing and project crashing (Mishra and Soota 2006). 4.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT Assaf and Al-Hejji (2006) ascertained that 70 percent of construction projects in Saudi Arabia experience time overruns. According to Levy (2009), project delays result in increased cost of the project, dissatisfaction, lost opportunities and escalated tempers. It also dampens reputation of the contractor and may negatively influence future awards of projects. The cost of delays is significant to both the contractor and the owner. Increased in cost of delayed project is attributed to escalating cost of construction materials, equipment and office rental, and labour because project cost are time related. Therefore, there is need to minimise construction projects delays 4.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH First, the research will provide insight into the causes and effects of project delays and recommends how project delays can be reduced. Therefore, it will be helpful to experts in construction industry. Secondly, findings of the research will form the basis of literature review for scholars who will find it useful in their future study of the industry. Thirdly, it will increase my understanding and insight in construction projects. 5.0 RESEARCH QUESTIONS What are critical factors that delay projects? What are the effects of activity delays in project management? Which time management techniques promote time execution of project tasks? 6.0 DATA COLLECTION 6.1 DATA COLLECTION METHODOLOGY Primary data will be collected to identify factors and assess effects of time delays in construction projects as well as assess various time management techniques. Three research assistants will be engaged in distribution and collection of data. Data will be collected from project locations. The whole research will take a hundred and twent y days. 6.2 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT (QUESTIONNAIRE) 6.2.1 QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION The questionnaire will be developed to obtain

Criminology Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Criminology - Case Study Example The availability and computing of crime statistics is a vital component of law enforcement. Crime statistics provide us with important facts that theories must then explain. During the increased crime rate of USA during 1980s, the criminologist's strugged to justify the unexplained increase in crime rate throughout the nation. However, during 1990s the same country experienced a reduction in the crime rate and thus it is now essential for criminologists to discover the root causes of crime in order to understand this trend. The who, when, where, how of crimes is addressed by the quantitative techniques of measuring crime and which are vital in answering the why of crimes. Measuring criminal behavior is not just an academic exercise in futility, for it can fruitfully be used in evaluating criminal justice policy initiatives, policing, judicial and correctional administration amongst various other uses. Siegel, (183-227) believed that criminal behavior was a function of the human ability to choose an individual course of action. Psychological theories of crime which justify the reduction in crime rate during 1990s began with the view that individual differences in behavior may make some people more predisposed to committing criminal acts. These differences may arise from personality characteristics, biological factors, or social interactions. There are many other theories that attempt to explain criminal behavior, but that is beyond the scope of this essay. Now, having learnt about crime and criminology, it is now necessary to throw some light on the root causes of crime. Discussion Although there were several specific crimes which were on the rise during the increased crime rate of 1980s, those crimes experienced a reduction during 1990s. However, while interest in crime has always been high, understanding of why it occurs and what to do about it has always been a problem. Public officials, politicians and 'experts' offer simple and incomplete solutions for obliterating crime, whereas academe invariably offers abstract interpretations and suggestions that often have little practical value. As in most areas of human behavior, there is no shortage of experts but there are very few effective solutions (American Journal of Sociology, 3920-4259) According to Siegel (183-227) criminologists studying the trend of crime rate in USA during 1980s and 1990s have rarely shown interest in the aspect of situational crime prevention. Criminologists develop theories and conduct research to understand and explain criminal behavior. A theory attempts to make sense out of many disparate observations (or facts) by stating a general principal that connects, integrates and explains them. A good theory is extremely valuable in that it extends our knowledge beyond the facts in front of us (the raw data), enabling us to predict how others might behave at another time and in another place (Ojp.usdoj.gov, 2007). Criminological theories based on biology, psychology were both, at one stage dominant in the field; however the vast majority of current criminological text employs sociological theory and research. Biological and psychological explanations will be examined in the following essay; however there will be a focus on sociological theory. It has been said that a theory of criminal conduct is weak indeed if it is uninformed by a general psychology of human

International Economic relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International Economic relations - Essay Example In some cases, entirely new loans were contracted to service interest only. At the same time bankers in the western world ignored signals of an imminent debt crisis and remained more than willing to refinance maturing loans of developing countries, but with shorter maturities. In this process, third world debt snowballed from $130 billion in 1973 to about $612 billion in 1982. Between 1975 and 1980 four countries had to postpone amortization payments while servicing interest only. The spark that ignited the LDC debt crisis can be readily identified as Mexico's inability to service its outstanding debt to the U.S. commercial banks and other creditors. The crisis began on August 12, 1982, when Mexico's minister of finance informed the Federal Reserve chairman, the secretary of the treasury, and the IMF managing director that Mexico would be unable to meet its August 16 obligations to service an $80 billion debt. Then by 1983 the number of countries defaulting on their repayments reached twenty one, and some third world countries had instituted state criminal processes against public figures on account of alleged negligence and mishandling of public money. The fact that the 1982 crisis occurred when there was a steep rise in interest rates in the U.S. underscores the significance of the capital outflow element of a financial crisis. The appreciation of the dollar at that time also means that repayments magnified the capital outflow in domestic currency terms. At the same time, the accompanying drop in dollar prices of internationally traded commodities undermined inflows derived from exports. It is also necessary to mention that the satiation described above is also reflected in the 1994 financial crises in Mexico, Turkey and Venezuela equally attributed to dramatic reversal of large scale lending to emerging markets, as well as the experience of Argentina in 1995 and East Asian economies in 1997. There is the argument that most of that crises were characterized with large amounts of international loans to forestall default, hence the rebuke of Mexico at the onset of the 1982 crisis worsened a financial condition that was potentially manageable. 1. Balance of Payments During the second part of the 1970s, and partially as a result of the oil price shocks, most countries in the world experienced large swings in their current account balances. These developments generated significant concern among policy makers and analysts, and prompted a number of experts to analyze carefully the determinants of the current account. As Edwards (2000) writes, the departing point was based on the recognition on two interrelated facts. First, from a basic national accounting perspective the current account is to savings minus investment. Second, since both savings and investment decisions are based on intertemporal factors - such as life cycle considerations and expected returns on investment projects, the current account is necessarily an intertemporal phenomenon. The Balance of Payments (BOP) is an account of all transactions between one country and all other countries - transactions that are measured in terms of receipts and payments. A country's international transactions can be grouped into three categories: Current account: records net flow of money into a country resulting from trade in goods and services and transfer payments made from abroad. The current account

The Changing of American Workplace Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Changing of American Workplace - Assignment Example The Changing of American Workplace There are various factors which may affect the workplace and working environment in a radical manner. One of the important factors is balancing family and work life. Balancing family and work life signifies that an individual should be engaged as well as satisfied with his or her responsibilities in relation to work life and family life. Employees are required to develop a balance amid work life and their personal life so that they are able to perform their activities in a relaxed way with zeal and dedication. Furthermore, the instability in personal and professional life has been affecting the working environment as well as personal life. It has been ascertained that there lays numerous factors such as workload pressure, demographic changes in relation to dual-income family and the sandwich generation and changes in workforce composition which dramatically influence both personal as well as professional life. This paper intends to discuss the various factors in relation to work-life balance which are accountable for affecting environment and workplace environment. Additionally, the discussion will also emphasize on asserting certain recommendations towards facilitating social as well as economic benefits. Work-life balance plays an important role in the life of every individual. Moreover, this aspect is also seemed to be adversely affecting the workplace and working environment. There are few major components on which the balances for work and life are dependent. These components are as follows: Time Balance An individual is required to devote equal time for personal and professional life. In this respect, time should be managed in an effective manner with the objective of creating a better balance amid work and life so that an individual is able to play his or her role proficiently. Time is to be managed in a flexible way so that individuals are capable to co-ordinate their activities efficiently (European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2013). Involvement Balance Individuals are required to be involved psychologically in both family life as well as work life. In this regard, individuals should be mentally involved with activities in order to accomplish the required objectives successfully. Subsequently, employees with better psychological involvement are likely to deliver or execute their activities in accordance with the objectives and goals of an organization (European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2013). Satisfaction Balance Individuals are required to have a balance in their satisfaction level both in their roles as well as activities which are performed in their professional and personal life. The appropriate balance in their professional as well as personal life, employees will attain increased level of satisfaction from their work and personal life accomplishments (European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2013). These are the three major components which are essential for employees in order to manage and balance their work as well as personal life. On the basis of these three elements a work-life balance can be ascertained. The working environment and workplace are significantly influenced with certain social changes. The social chan ges are the major factors which are accountable for an increased concern in relation to balancing professional and personal life in an effective manner. The ultimate factor which is primarily accountable for the social changes in the working environ

Three Novels Essay Example for Free

Three Novels Essay Central to the rising action, falling action, and climax of any short story is linked directly to the protagonist. Therefore, the protagonists key features and experiences push the plot and action of the novel forward. It is this literary elements which lead to the eventual emotional growth of the character, his circumstances, and the denouement of the novel. Theme, structure and social characteristics are the literary elements, which highlight the spiritual growth of the main characters in â€Å"My Name is Asher Lev†, â€Å"Emma† and â€Å"Huckleberry Finn†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Each of these three novels about moral maturation and the growth of self-awareness, â€Å"Huckleberry Finn† by Mark Twain, whose protagonist is Huckleberry Finn, Jane Austen’s â€Å"Emma†, named after the protagonist and â€Å"My Name is Asher Lev† by Chaim Potok, whose main character is Asher Lev. Notably, the authors necessarily indicate the protagonists’ names in the titles, underlining their moral and psychological development as a central plotline. The literary elements of theme, structure and protagonist’s social characteristics actually strengthen the reader’s understanding of the character’s spiritual growth: Lev’s novel demonstrates’ the protagonist’s liberation from the community bonds through the lens of the theme of social pressure, Twain’s writing – the progress of Huck’s humanistic views underlining the theme of slavery, Austen’s work – Emma’s psychological maturation, through prioritizing the theme of marriage, moreover, all works by their structure provide the mistakes made by the protagonists on their path and thus make clear to the reader that development is not a smooth and gradual process, whereas the change or stability of sociological characteristics pay reader’s attention either to the connection between self-awareness and social position or to the purely inner revolution. The characters actually perfect very distinct aspects of self awareness: Emma, for instance, overgrows the selfish and infantile girl, whose main interest is manipulating the others’ fates (as she appears at the beginning), Asher Lev realizes that he is actually an independent personality rather than the subject of the Hassidic community after being judged for depicting the his mother’s anguish, whereas Huckleberry Finn, who has never considered carefully the issue of racial equality, begins to realize his humanistic views and oppose the oppression of slaves and the split of their families. Due to the fact that the major theme in â€Å"My Name is Asher Lev† is community bonds and the conflict itself develops in terms of the weakening of the commitment to the groups of Hassids the protagonist, who is a bright and unique individuality, should ascend over the blind observance of community tradition and learn to distinguish himself from the group. Therefore, his development is associated with individuation and learning of his ego and the religious conflict results in the development of Asher’s ability to assert his self: â€Å"So it is time for the defense, for a long session in demythology. But I will not apologize. It is absurd to apologize for a mystery†(Potok, 1960). Asher displays his maturity and understands the difference between what he can explain and what he can not. The conflict in Asher is that there is disconnected between his art and the god he worships.   The internal conflict is resolved at the end of the novel through Ashers emotional development.   Asher grows and matures which enables Asher to make the appropriate choice between the two.   Asher is able to release his emotions by creating art.   He learns to understand how this art reflects him and what it truly means. This insight he lacked at the begining of the novel, however in the final chapters he displays his newly found maturity. A pivotal moment is when Asher moves into his aparment.   He states Away from my world, alone in an apartment that offered me neither memories nor roots, I began to find old and distant memories of my own, long buried by pain and time and slowly brought to the surface now. Now I would have to paint the street that could not be seen. He is able to confront his past and make sense of it. He begins to see himself as situated within that community in a unique way, but still as a part of it. The theme of marriage as the leading one in â€Å"Emma† is also related to the main character’s development: whereas at first, Emma views marriage as a game, popular in her environment, she is still not infantile to understand that this specific type of partnership is based necessarily on strong affection after developing the feelings for her brother-in-law; whereas at the beginning she has fear for the responsibility associated with marriage. Emma is always stating she does not want to get married.   However, when her close friend becomes interested in a man, Emma feels her feelings begin to stir.   Emma realizes Mr. Knightley is the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with. She is only happy around him.   This is a pivotal moment because previously she hated the idea of marriage.   Love, while central to conflict in the strong, is what reveals Emmas true desires from life.   Emma reflect Emma realizes that she had indeed not been a friend to Harriet, as Mr. Knightley had said.   She realizes how foolish it was of her to try to meddle in other peoples romantic affairs when she did not even realize her own feelings for Mr. Knightley.   She now knows that she should not interfer in other peoples affairs and that she has the capacity to love. The theme of slavery also supports the reader’s understanding of the young protagonist’s moral growth in â€Å"Huckleberry Finn†: â€Å"I’m low down; and I’m a-going to steal him† (Twain, 1999, Ch. 33); as one can understand, Huck no longer views Jim as property, but in order to persuade Tom, he recognizes his own inclination to wrongdoing and takes entire responsibility for the stealing the slave. Finn, at the begining of the story, is a young boy.   He is the productive of his environment and the time he lives in.    He holds the same prejudices that the adult around him hold.   However, his experiences with Jim, on the river, forever change him.   These experiences change the way that Finn sees the world, and slavery.   Finn reflects on slavery in the following way Well, it made me sick to see it; and I was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals, it seemed like I couldnt ever feel any hardness against them any more in the world. It was a dreadful thing to see. Human beings can be awful cruel to one another.   Finn realizes that just because people around him are cruel does not make it right.   He makes the choice that slavery is wrong and he will not treat Jim the way society tells him he should be treated. The structure of the stories is generally similar: the greatest part of the plot is dedicated to depicting the behavioral imperfections of the protagonist, so that the reader can feel the protagonist is an ordinary person, whose growth is based upon his/her own mistakes. For instance, â€Å"Emma† at first depicts an arrogant and class-conscious girl saying â€Å"The yeomanry are precisely the order of people with whom I feel I can have nothing to do† (Austen, 2001, Vol.1 Ch.4) and throughout the first two parts she acts as a quarrelsome person, whereas her later reasoning can be characterized as wiser: â€Å"I think Harriet is doing extremely well â€Å"(Austen, 2001, Vol. 3, Ch. 28), i.e. she approves of her best friend’ marriage to the farmer, having got the idea of love and letting it in. Beyond mistakes, Potok’s and Twain’s protagonists also encounter difficulties and adversities, which shape their outlooks; for instance, Lev’s story can be divided into three parts (Walden, 1985): period of the teenage conflict with the environment, movement toward the goal in Kahn’s studio and the resolution of the conflict and individuation (Potok, 1972). Huck’s moral development is less gradual and actually consists of several insights: 1) first encounter with Jim as a fugitive slave and the initial desire to help him; 2) The loss of the companion after meeting the â€Å"aristocrats† and Jim’s imprisonment in Phelpses’ house. Finally, social characteristics of the protagonists are quite expressive themselves and point actually to the qualities to be changed. For instance, Emma is introduced as a girl with a degree of self-importance and class-based prejudice because of her upper class identity, but later she begins to understand her friend Harriet in her love for Martin and thus grows more open-minded; furthermore, her maturation is accompanied by the change of social characteristics, as Emma accepts Knightley’s proposition Huck Finn’s social characteristics remain practically the same, as the author seeks to maintain the reader’s focus on the advancement of his moral qualities, so that the adolescent still remains to some extent uncommitted to social norms â€Å"Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can’t stand it† (Twain 1999, Ch. 43), in spite of having developed his distinct attitude towards slavery. Asher Lev, in turn, drastically changes his social identity: the growth of his self-awareness and self-identity result in his alienation and separation from the community. The reader’s understanding of the protagonist’s path toward self-awareness is to great extent manipulated by the authors: Jane Austen, Chaim Potok and Mark Twain design the plot structure, which underlines the failures and subsequent insights of the protagonist, embed the central theme into the main character’s spiritual growth and substantially change the protagonist’s social features, except Huck’s case, in which the focus on morality shift is broadened through remaining social characteristics stable. References Austen, Jane.   Emma.  Ed. James Kinsley.  New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Twain, Mark.   Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.   Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2004. Potok, Chaim. The Chosen. New York: Fawcett Crest, 1967. My Name Is Asher Lev.  Ã‚   New York: Ballentine Books, 1990.

Protective Role of Isolated Rat Hepatocytes Against CCL4

Protective Role of Isolated Rat Hepatocytes Against CCL4 DISCUSSION CCl4, Paracetamol and Anti-tubercular drugs cause ROS mediated cellular damage especially in liver, the site of metabolism of these drugs. During the regular physiological functioning the cells/tissues/organs use oxygen and various nutrients to generate energy. The free radicals are also generated in this process as the reaction intermediates. These free radicals may be very useful because they may promote beneficial oxidative processes. However the higher quantities of such radicals like superoxide anion (O2à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ·), NOà ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ · radical, and hydroxyl ion radical (à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ·OH), NOOà ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ·, etc. may interact with the membrane lipids leading to lipid peroxidation and attack the DNA resulting DNA strand breaks. The lipid peroxidation also damage cell membrane resulting in the leakage of enzymes into the blood stream. Therefore the elevated biochemical levels are treated as biochemical markers of tissue damage. In addition the extent of lipid peroxidation is d irectly proportional to the tissue damage [Devasagayam et al., 2003]. There are certain inbuilt protective mechanisms, tissue enzymes GSH, SOD, CAT etc. which are involved in the process of combating free radical induced tissue damage. Over powering the inbuilt protective mechanism due to excessive generation of free radicals may lead to destruction of the tissues/organs [Tiwari, 2001]. Antioxidants are the chemical constituents, which are used for inhibiting the tissue damage by countering the free radicals; most of the antioxidants available in the markets are from natural origin e.g. vit-E, vit-C, tocopherol, quercetine, à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¢-carotene etc. In addition there are reports that polyphenolic compounds like flavonoids, tannins are useful as antioxidants and organ protectants. Therefore many researchers are attempting to screen the herbs and herbal preparations containing polyphenolic compounds for organ protective properties. Mruthunjaya, 2008 in his study reported the presence of very high amount of polyphenols and gallic acid, a well known potent antioxidant [Gow- chin et al, 2002] as an important constituent of the roots of a widely grown plant L. inermis. He also reported the antioxidant and in vitro and in vivo hepatoprotective activity of L. inermis root extract against CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in rats. So in the present study L.inermis was selected f or investigating the in vivo and in vitro hepatoprotective activity against drugs induced hepatotoxicity. Before screening the test extract for in vivo hepatoprotective activity the extract was subjected to the acute toxicity studies as per OECD guidelines 425 (limit test). The LIALC was found safe up to 2000 mg/kg as evident by the absence of mortality in the treated group. Hence, 1/10th (200 mg/kg) and 1/7th (300 mg/kg) of the safe dose were selected for the in vivo study. In vitro hepatoprotective Screening In the present study, isolated rat hepatocytes were used. The objective of this study was to confirm the protective role of test extracts against CCl4 induced hepatocytes damage. The CCl4 metabolized in (liver) endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria with the formation of CCl3O (unstable complex radical), by CYT P-450. The nascent oxygen O resulted via lipoperoxidation causes rise in intracellular reactive Fe2+ ions, aldehyde and depletion of GSH, and calcium sequestration. Oxidative CCl3O, also by direct covalent interaction induces degeneration in Ca2+ sequestration. Failure into sequestration result in increased intercellular Ca2+, aggregation by proteolytic enzymes and cause an increase in Fe2+ ions, which in turn by lipid peroxidation precipitates aldehyde cytotoxicity [Zimmerman Hayman, 1976, Agarwal et. al., 1983]. Due to this membrane integrity is lost ultimately leading to necrosis. The loss of membrane integrity can be measured by Trypan blue exclusion assay in which the viable cells exclude the dye whereas dead cell take up the dye owing to the alteration in membrane permeability. Due to loss of membrane integrity cytosolic enzymes are leaked into media and the measurement of these cytoplasmic enzymes in the media serves as ideal markers for evaluating the extent of hepatocyte injury and protection offered by extracts. From the results it was apparent that both LIALC and LIAQ protect the hepatocytes against CCl4 damage as evident by the reversal of cell death and inhibition leakage of cytosolic enzymes. As discussed earlier this strong hepatoprotective activity of LIALC might be due presence of polyphenols and gallic acid which are potent free radical scavenging agents and antioxidants [Gow- chin et al, 2002] In vivo hepatoprotective activity Paracetamol (N-acetyl-p-aminophenol) is a widely used analgesic and antipyretic drug and is safe when used in therapeutic doses. However over dosage of Paracetamol is known to be hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic in man and in experimental animals [Parmar et al., 1995]. Paracetamol is a direct hepatotoxin i.e. intoxication is dose dependent and reproducible [Tygstrup et al., 1996]. Exposure of animals to higher doses produces centrilobular or massive hepatic necrosis followed by congestion and failure. The hepatic necrosis is associated with damage to sub cellular organelle including mitochondria. Thus the drug is used as a typical hepatotoxin to produce hepatic failure experimentally [Sing et al., 1999]. At lower doses, about 80% of ingested Paracetamol is eliminated mainly as sulfate and glucoronide conjugates before oxidation and only 5% is oxidized by hepatic CYT P450(CYP2E1) to a highly reactive and toxic electrophile i.e. N-acetyl-p-benzoquineimine (NAPQI). After over dosage of Paracetamol the glucoronidation and sulfation routes become saturated and as a consequence, Paracetamol is increasingly metabolized into NAPQI [Remirez et al., 1995]. Semiquinone radical, one-electron reduction metabolite of NAPQI mediates the cytotoxic effects of NAPQI. Production of these toxic semiquinone radicals is catalyzed by the microsomal CYT P450 reductase. These semiquinone radicals, in turn, can bind directly with cellular macromolecules to produce toxicity or alternatively, the radical can be reoxidized back to their original quinones by donating one electron to molecular oxygen under aerobic conditions. This donation of one electron then generates reduced oxygen radical species and hydroxyl radical. Both semiquinone and oxygen radical are known to be responsible for cytotoxic effects observed with quinones. Also NAPQI is detoxified by glutathione (GSH) to form 3-(GSH-S-yl) acetaminophen. Paracetamol overdose saturates the nontoxic metabolic pathway, i.e. sulfation, glucuronidation, and detoxification of NAPQI by glutathione. The reactive NAPQI may oxidize and arylate cysteinyl thiol group, forming adducts which inhibit the function of cellular proteins. Adducts formation has been demonstrated for a selenium-binding protein, for microsomal subunit of glutamine. Other mechanism, such as oxidation of pyridine nucleotides and lipid peroxidation, may contribute to cell damage by Paracetamol overdose [Tygstrup et al., 1996]. Nevertheless at high doses of Paracetamol, NAPQI can alkylate and oxidize intracellular GSH and protein thiol group, which result in the liver GSH pool depletion and the reactive intermediate reacts with other nucleophilic centers of vital molecules in liver cells leading subsequently to hepatotoxicity. In addition Paracetamol is also shown to directly inhibit cellular proliferation, induce oxidative stress, resulting in lipid peroxidation, deplete ATP levels and alter Ca++ homeostasis; all of these changes are considered potentially fatal to the cell [Sing,. 1999 and Remirez et al., 1995]. Anti-tuberculosis drugs act as inducers of hepatic CYT P450 enzymes. For example, Rifampicin is a potent inducer of CYP2D6 and CYP3A4, and Isoniazid induces CYP2E1 [Trevor, 2004 and Vuilleumier et al., 2006]. The induction of CYT P450 enzymes is known to take part in increased drug disposition and development of multi-drug resistance. Xenobiotics, including anti-tubercular drugs, undergo biotransformation in the liver catalyzed by microsomal enzyme systems [Bradford, 2005; Dai et al., 1995and Jeong, 1995]. Because of above reasons, Paracetamol and anti-tubercular drugs cause ROS mediated hepatotoxicity and elevate serum enzymes levels like SGOT, SGPT, ALP, LDH and Bilirubin content in animals following administration of anti-tubercular drugs or toxic dose of Paracetamol. Also these drugs cause depletion of endogenous antioxidant enzymes like GSH, SOD, CAT etc and abnormal levels of lipid peroxidation products.The results obtained in the present are in accordance with understanding as discussed above. i.e the serum enzymes levels like SGOT, SGPT, ALP, LDH and Bilirubin contents were significantly increased, GSH, SOD, CAT levels in liver depleted and abnormal levels of lipid peroxidation was observed in Paracetamol and anti-tubercular drugs treated animals. Estimation of serum enzymes SGPT is a cytosolic enzyme primarily present in the liver. The level of SGPT in serum increases due to leakage of this cellular enzyme into plasma by hepatic injury [Chenoweth Hake, 1962]. Serum levels of SGPT can increase due to damage of the tissues producing acute hepatic necrosis, such as viral hepatitis and acute cholestasis. Alcoholic liver damage and cirrhosis also can associate with mild to moderate elevation of transaminase [Harsh Mohan, 2002]. SGOT is a mitochondrial enzyme released from heart, liver, skeletal muscle and kidney. Liver toxicity elevated the SGOT level in serum due to the damage to the tissues producing acute necrosis, such as severe viral hepatitis acute cholestasis. Alcoholic liver damage and cirrhosis can also associate with mild to moderate elevation of transaminases [Harsh Mohan, 2002]. In case of toxic liver, ALP levels are very high, which may be due to defective hepatic excretion or by increased production of ALP by hepatic parenchymal or duct cells [Harsh Mohan, 2002]. LIALC reversed these enzyme levels indicating stabilization of cell membrane by preventing the damage due to free radicals generated by Paracetamol and anti-tubercular drugs. Estimation of bilirubin: In case of toxic liver, bilirubin levels are elevated. Hyperbilirubinemia can result from impaired hepatic uptake of unconjugated bilirubin. Such a situation can occur in generalized liver cell injury. Certain drugs (e.g., Rifampin and Probenecid) interfere with the net uptake of bilirubin by the liver cell and may produce a mild unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia [Rubin, 1995]. Bilirubin level rises in diseases of hepatocytes, obstruction to biliary excretion into duodenum, in haemolysis and defects of hepatic uptake and conjugation of bilirubin pigment such as in Gilbert’s disease [Harsh mohan, 2002]. Significant reversal of elevated bilirubin level in Paracetamol and anti-tubercular drug treated animals by LIALC indicated the strong hepatoprotective activity of LIALC. Estimation of Protein A reduction in total serum protein observed in the Paracetamol and anti-tubercular treated control rats may be associated with the decrease in the number of hepatocytes which in turn might result in decreased hepatic capacity to synthesize protein. But, when the LIALC was administered along with Paracetamol or anti-tubercular drugs a significant increase in protein content was observed indicating the hepatoprotection of LIALC. Estimation of endogenous antioxidant enzymes and Lipid Peroxidation Cells have a number of mechanisms to protect themselves from the toxic effects of the ROS. SOD removes superoxide (O2) by converting it to H2O2, which can be rapidly converted to water by CAT and Glutathione peroxidase. In addition, a large reserve of reduced glutathione is present in hepatocytes and red blood cells for detoxification of xenobiotics or free radicals. However, oxidative stress results in toxicity when the rate of which the ROS are generated exceeds the cell capacity for their removal. Lipid peroxidation is an autocatalytic process, which is a common consequence of cell death. This process may cause peroxidative tissue damage in inflammation, cancer and toxicity of xenobiotics and aging. MDA is one of the end products in the lipid peroxidation process. In order to elucidate the protection mechanism of LIALC in Paracetamol and anti- tubercular Drugs induced rat liver, lipid peroxide levels and anti-oxidative enzymes activities were analyzed. GSH is widely distributed in cells. GSH is an intracellular reductant and plays a major role in catalysis, metabolism and transport. It protects cells against free radicals, peroxides and other toxic compounds. GSH is a naturally occurring substance that is abundant in many living creatures. It is well known that a deficiency of GSH within living organisms can lead to tissue disorders and injury. For example, liver injury included by consuming alcohol or by taking drugs like Paracetamol, lung injury by smoking and muscle injury by intense physical activity, all are known to be correlated with low tissue level of GSH. The SOD converts super-oxide radicals (O2_) into H2O2 plus O2, thus participating in the enzymatic defense against oxygen toxicity. In this study, SOD plays an important role in the elimination of ROS derived from the peroxidative process of xenobiotics in liver tissues. CAT is the key component of the anti-oxidant defense system .Inhibition of this protective mechanisms result in enhanced sensitivity to free radical induced cellular damage. Administration of LIALC increased the activity of catalase in Paracetamol and anti-tubercular drug induced liver damage to prevent the accumulation of excessive free radicals and thus exhibited protection against Paracetamol and anti-tubercular drug. The observed increase of SOD, CAT and GSH activity in liver suggests that the LIALC extract have an efficient protective mechanism in response to ROS. And also, these findings indicate that LIALC may be associated with decreased oxidative stress and free radical mediated tissue damage. In our study, elevation in the levels of end products of lipid peroxidation in liver of rat treated with Paracetamol and anti- tubercular drugs were observed. The increase in MDA level in liver suggests enhanced lipid peroxidation leading to tissue damage and failure of anti-oxidant defense mechanism to prevent formation of excessive free radicals. Treatment with LIALC significantly reversed these changes. Hence it may be possible that the mechanism of hepatoprotection of LIALC is due to its antioxidant effect. Dept of pharmacology, P.R.R.M college of pharmacy,kadapaPage 1

Abnormal psychology personality disorder

Abnormal psychology personality disorder Introduction Abnormal psychology refers to psychology branch that examines unusual behavioral patterns, emotions and thoughts that affects ones family, social, and work life. Personality disorder arises when ones personality becomes inflexible and extreme. Most of the disorders takes effect immediately after birth and later develops into a full blown one in adulthood. Clusters of Personality disorders   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are three clusters of personality disorders i.e. Cluster A, Cluster B and Clusters C. Cluster A refers to those personality disorders that are considered as eccentric or odd. Disorders experienced under this cluster involve paranoid, schizoid and Schizotypal disorders. Each of the condition under cluster A possesses different traits. For example, traits portrayed under paranoid include unwillingness to trust other people, having many baseless doubts about something and holding of grudges more often. Cluster B are those personality disorders that are related to erratic or emotional disorders and include antisocial, histrionic, borderline and narcissistic disorders. Cluster C are those disorders that are fearful or anxious. Disorders under this include the dependent and the avoidant disorders. Each of the cluster disorder bears different traits (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Diathesis-Stress model   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Diathesis-Stress model refers to a psychology theory that tries to explain behavior as a result of both genetic and biological factors i.e. Interaction between nature and nurture. This model usually assumes a certain disposition towards a given disorder may occur due to a combination of a persons early learning and genetics. According to diathesis-stress model, the predisposition together with some form of environmental stress gives rise to an abnormal behavior. (University of Michigan, 1987)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to this model, different behaviors inherent in different people are prompted by the interaction that exists between genetic susceptibility and happenings in life or the environment. Rahe and Holmes developed a theory which shows an inverse relationship between vulnerability and stress. Thus, more stress is required to create a disorder when the level of vulnerability is low whereas a higher level of vulnerability requires little stress to trigger a disorder. The theory explains further that the two factors, that is, stress and diathesis must be there for one to ever develop a disorder. Lastly, Rahe and Holmes found out that the more life encounters one had, the higher the level of stress. Schizotypical Personality disorder in cluster B Personality disorders can be said to be unrelenting behavioral patterns that originate from different rules of certain cultures. Such disorders may be brought about by factors that are oppressing or stressors. One form of personality disorder in cluster B is the Schizotypical personality disorder which is also referred to as antisocial personality disorder. This behavior is usually marked with some sort of pervasive interpersonal behavior whereby the person feels that he or she is uncomfortable in social settings. The person also experiences reduced capacity in case of close relationships. Their perception and thinking power tends to be distorted and exhibits eccentric form of behaviors (The University of Michigan, 1987). Characteristics of Antisocial personality disorder The disorder is usually associated with persons over the age of eighteen but conduct disorder starts to show up before the very age of fifteen. The person has a disregard for the laws and often behaves in a reckless, deceitful, impulsive and aggressive manner. There is also lack of remorse and failure to work consistently. Males with this form of personality disorder usually have a tendency to consume alcohol excessively as a result of failure to deal with the problem of self-gratification and also the inhibition of impulses (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Definition of borderline personality disorder Borderline personality disorder refers to a prolonged psychiatric disorder. It is characterized by rapid change of mood in the patient and feelings of committing suicide that may cause difficulties to doctors while attending to the affected patients. The root cause of the disorder is not quite known but most of the affected seem to show signs of improvement as time goes by. Causes of Schizotypical personality disorder Personality disorders are usually long-term and they interfere with ones life for many years. The cause of the antisocial disorder is unknown but child abuse and genetic factors are believed to be the main reasons that contribute to the condition. Those people that have alcoholic or antisocial parent are at high risk and more men as compared to women are affected. (Moore Jefferson, 2004). Treatment of Schizotypical personality disorder Behavioral limits should be set when needed and a streetwise approach should be portrayed without being too much punitive. Medication is not always necessary but the most important thing is to differentiate pure mood disorders from the personality disorders as those patients suffering from mood disorders will gain the benefit of medication especially the selective serotonin inhibitors whole on the other hand, those patients with personality disorders require close medical check up as far as initiation and subsequent following of the medication therapy is concerned. (Moore Jefferson, 2004). Controlling Schizotypical personality disorder Most theories usually attribute the development of obsessive compulsory personality disorder to early life challenges and experiences that includes lack warm parental relationship, rigidity and over control and the presence of few rewards for the spontaneous expression of emotions.However,there is little work that has been done over the years in identifying the preventive strategies.(American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Psychopathology Psychopathology refers to the study of mental distress, mental illness, maladaptive and abnormal behavior. Psychopathology thus addresses scientists who usually work in clinical contexts on descriptive psychopathology or for classification and validation of diagnosis or on the conceptual framing of the psychopathology findings. They may thus include an interdisciplinary approach to biological and medical fields or to other humanities. Besides inviting reports concerning medical research, Psychopathology also addresses the psychologists who refer to work in clinics or pathological phenomena. Psychopathology normally accepts papers on such sections as Original paper, Review paper, Case Report and the Letter to the Editor. Reviews may consist of meta-analysis, overviews and conceptual papers which are based on a given literature overview. Original papers may contain data that is generated by authors. Case Reports on the other hand is accepted only if they stimulate the functional insigh ts of the novel or the classificatory concepts whereas the Letters to the Editor are also confined to specific scientist debate issues. (Moore Jefferson, 2004). The Nature of Psychopathology Psychopathology usually consists of typologies of psychopathology which is presumed. The focus is mainly on the diagnostic and descriptive criteria and the resultant usefulness of the categories for research, treatment planning, bureaucratic record keeping e.t.c.What is mostly common to the two approaches is that the psychopathology is the way the categories are proposed as mere potential dysfunctionality with no regard to the nature of their dysfunctionalities and in regard no attention is directed towards the issue of what makes the dysfunctrionalities pathological. Psychopathology is usually considered as rigid i.e. the act of equating dysfunctional and psychopathology is like equating the psychopathology ignorance and error (The University of Michigan, 1987). Child Psychopathology Child psychopathology as a Psychopathology refers to physical disorders that manifests in adolescents and children. Examples of child psychopathology disorder include opposition defiant, pervasive development, attention deficit hyperactivity among others. Social workers, counselors, psychiatrists and psychologists who usually work with children who are mentally ill are informed in developmental psychology, clinical child psychology, family status and development psychopathology by the research. Child health care ought not to be overlooked and so it is important to note the dramatic changes that take place (Journal of Child and Family studies, 1992). Parental stress nowadays are associated with child psychopathology especially conduct problems, aggression and hyperactivity. Both boys and girls are quite similar as far as the nature of their psychopathology is concerned and there is no variation in the range of parenting stress concerning their care (Journal of Child and Family studies, 1992). Works Cited American Psychiatric Association, (2000).Diagnostic and Statistical manual of mental disorders. American Psychiatric Association Journal of Child and Family studies. (1992).Child psychopathology and deviant family hierarchies.Springer, Netherlands. Moore, D Jefferson. (2004).Antisocial personality disorder. Handbook of Medical Psychiatry. Philadelphia. The University of Michigan,(1987)Harrisons principles of internal medicine. the University of Michigan. Turner. (1989).Child psychopathology: a social perspective. the University of Michigan

American Society Portrayed in Tolkins The Player and Among the Dead :: Tolkin Player Among the Dead

A Fractured American Society Portrayed in Tolkin's The Player and Among the Dead The novels 'The Player' and 'Among the Dead' are not simply tales about any given character, as it would appear, but in fact they represent Tolkin's own personal vision of what he thinks American society is becoming. Namely, that it is a fractured society built on false values, where people have difficulty dealing with the truth of feelings or situations and where people will do anything to make money. The individual plots are realistic though, and they seem to work as both true-to-life dramas and broader social commentaries. This gritty realism becomes apparent after a brief look at the events of each novel. Part of a major Hollywood executive's job is to reject writers in the polite 'don't call us, we'll call you' fashion. But when 'The Players' Griffin Mill starts to receive death threats from an anonymous writer, he panics. In an attempt to clear his conscience of not replying, he contacts a writer at random from his old diary, who he can't even remember, and chases him down to apologise and offer him a job writing a new film. But when the writer laughs in Griffins face, Griffin goes mad with frustration and murders him. The rest of the story involves Griffin's slow breakdown involving: knowing he'll get caught; his romantic attachment with the writer's widowed girlfriend; his realisation of knowing he's getting older and a new young hot-shot producer threatening his job, and the real death-threatening writer still trying to kill him. This also acts as a broader social commentary on the way American society, particularly Hollywood, is made up of lies, false values and dishonesty to th e point of absurdity. 'Among The Dead' begins with another executive, Frank Gale, writing a letter. This letter is a carefully crafted 'forgive-me' note in which he confesses to an affair he's been having. The plan is to take his wife on holiday and give her the letter and then spend the rest of the time trying to sort out their marriage. But Frank takes too long saying goodbye to his mistress and he ends up missing the plane, which then crashes killing everybody on board, including his family. The book then follows Frank dealing with his wife and daughter's death and the way in which the Airline company find Frank's letter in the wreckage, and sell it to create a sensational news story and also in defence against a law suit from the victims of the crash's families, as blackmail against Frank.

The World is Too Much With Us by William Wordsworth Essay -- William W

The World is Too Much With Us by William Wordsworth In William Wordsworth's 'The World is Too Much With Us,' this poem heeds warning to his generation. This warning is that they are losing sight of what is actually important in this world: nature and God. To some people both of these are the same thing '...as if lacking appreciation for the natural gifts of God is not sin enough, we add to it the insult of pride for our rape of His land' (Wordsworth). With his words, Wordsworth makes this message perpetual and everlasting. William Wordsworth loved nature and based many of his poems on it. He uses very strong diction to get his point and feelings across. This poem expresses Wordsworth's feeling about nature and religion containing a melodic rhythm (Wordsworth). Each line and each word were chosen very carefully to express his thoughts and feelings. His references to God and Greek Gods catch the reader's eye to find out why he connects God to nature (Gill). His soft tones and harsh words make the reader feel and see what the speaker do es. This relatively simple poem angrily states that human beings are too preoccupied with the material and have lost touch with the spiritual and with nature. The first part, the octave, of "The World Is Too Much with Us" begins with Wordsworth accusing the modern age of having lost its connection to nature and everything meaningful: "Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; /Little we see in Nature that is ours; /We have given our ...

Communication Differences: Male vs. Female

If you are a woman have you ever wondered why a man did not understand the way you worded something or communicated something to him. Or if you are a man, did you ever wonder why a woman said what she did or did not understand why she didn’t â€Å"get† what you were saying or why she reacted a certain way to your words? The way men and women communicate with each other different because of many reasons.In this presentation, I will try my hardest to communicate to you, both men and women, what these differences are and hopefully fulfill you with a better understanding of why we communicate differently and how to break those barriers for your professional and personal lives. 1. The typical stereotypes. Explain that no way is better, just different. Social Conditioning. (Use personal examples) a. Men are more direct. i. Men tend to be more direct in communicating and look for a solution as quickly as possible b.Women are more emotional and tend to speak in dialogue. ii. Wo men tend to be more emotionally involved with communicating and feel that the whole picture and different solutions are important. 2. The differences in male and female communication in social settings c. How women build and maintain relationships iii. Women tend to focus on making connections 1. Secrets 2. Relating experiences 3. Discussing options 4. Find commonalities d. How men build and maintain relationships iv. Groups of friends tend to be larger . Do activities rather than conversing vi. More competitive 3. The differences of men and women communicating in a business setting/work environment e. How men communicate in business environment vii. Men want facts 5. Men usually ask fewer questions to stimulate conversation in their work relationships and often end conversations more abruptly than women. viii. Men take one task at a time 6. Men tend to like to focus on one task at a time ix. How men keep status at work 7.Tend to be more literal and use language to establish status 8. Tend to ask less questions to not show they don’t know something 9. Tend to not like to give or receive detailed feedback. Find it criticizing. f. How women communicate in a business/ work setting x. Women’s brains are always â€Å"on† 10. There is more neural activity in the female brain at any given time than in the male brain. Enhances multitasking. xi. Women focus on friendship first 11. For example, female salespeople, they tend to build relationships when they sell.They don’t tend to go into a transaction focused on the final outcome but wanting to build rapport and learn more about the client first. xii. Women remember the little details 12. Females can generally remember more physical and relational details than men. Breaking this Barriers 1. Try to Understand the different styles when communicating with the opposite gender and keep them in mind 2. Actively listen- concentrate on the main points and focus on what is being communicated no matter which way these points are being communicated. 3. Interpret non-verbal clues.In conclusion, men and women’s brains are wired differently and the two genders tend to use two different sides of the brain which in turn leads to many differences in men and women. Communication, whether by a male or female, still has a focus, so find an end result sooner or later. Communication differences between males and females are also most likely due to social conditioning that stem from childhood. I truly feel that there is no right or wrong way to communicate, but understanding the way both genders do so is important for effective communication in business as well as in life. Related article: â€Å"Advice About Communication†

Economics for Business Essay

When we speak about the UK market of postal services, its image is indispensably connected with the notion of monopoly. For more than 350 years the UK postal market has been dominated by the Royal Mail. However, since 2006 the market has been open to competitors, and the postal services’ market players strove for possessing equal business opportunities. It is essential to review the current trends in the postal services market within the UK through the prism of monopoly, competition, and their benefits/ effects for the consumer and the overall efficiency/ quality of postal services in the country. Monopoly Royal Mail in the UK has for long been referred to as â€Å"privileged and increasingly unusual position of being a state-owned company protected from the market place† (Crew & Kleindorfer 2007, p. 7). As a result, Royal Mail has become one of the brightest representatives of what monopoly is within the British economy as a whole. It is essential to understand that when we speak about the state of postal services in the UK market, it cannot be described other than monopolistic before the year 2006. Moreover, even in the light of the improving communication strategies, Royal Mail was not losing its position, and was even strengthening it: â€Å"we are still dependent on the efficient, speedy delivery of bills and payments to our homes and businesses in exchange for the price of a stamp† (Starkey 2006, p. 71). Despite the primarily negative attitudes towards the monopolistic position of Royal Mail, monopoly is an objective market notion, and as any other market structure, it possesses its benefits and its disadvantages. In order to arrive to relevant conclusions, we have to consider both. One of the major advantages of monopoly, and particularly in the postal services, is exercising the principles of the economy of scale: in smaller postal enterprises this task may become impossible to fulfill. Moreover, having more available free resources, monopolies are frequently viewed as being closer to innovation than any other smaller enterprises within the postal services sector. However, this assumption is rather argumentative, and economic professionals tended to evaluate Royal Mail’s position within the postal services market as â€Å"negatively monopolistic† (AICES 2006, p. 8). This simply meant that Royal Mail was not striving towards exercising its free resources to bring innovation into postal services sector; as a result, competition was viewed as the only resolution for that difficult economic situation. This is a well-known conflict, when one tries to assess the opportunities and drawbacks of the monopolistic market structure: while monopoly generates significant profits which could potentially be directed at innovations, it simultaneously lacks any incentives to make these innovations real. This conflict has become the major reason for opening the market of UK postal services to competition. It is even more interesting to bear in mind that competition is not always the best solution to all economic problems of monopoly, and the responses to opening the postal market in the UK are still dubious and extremely various. â€Å"Much of nonsense is due to the liberalization of postal services. Here commercial firms bid for, and take, the lucrative part, the business mail. We all know what happens then. My own bank envelopes come with a commercial firm’s logo; the various branches email the details to a central department, where statements are prepared, one truck takes it all away and they only have to deliver to main postcode areas. (Clark 2007) The monopolistic structure of the UK market was not connected with any type of competition: the market was dominated by Royal Mail, and this VAT exempt company served the only postal services provider in the country. With the Government being the major Royal Mail’s shareholder, it was understandable why this provider possessed multiple economic benefits and did not strive to improve the quality of its services (Sloman 2004, p. 45). For us to understand all implications of the UK postal services’ liberalization, we come to the description and evaluation of the current situation within the UK postal market sector. The new market structure of postal services in the UK It is very important to understand how the postal services’ market in the UK looks at present. It should be noted that Royal Mail currently faces the competition from other 17 postal companies, and this market structure seems to create favorable conditions for effective competition. The largest portion of mail within this market goes from businesses to consumers (Starkey 2006, p. 72). â€Å"Several companies have signed â€Å"access† agreements with Royal Mail, allowing mail they have collected and sorted to be fed into Royal Mail’s network for final delivery. Royal Mail made 2. 4 billion access deliveries in 2006-07†³ (Starkey 2006, p. 72). Even with the 17 new postal companies becoming competitive to Royal Mail, the latter still provides 99% of all postal deliveries within the UK. â€Å"We can’t make the companies take advantages. We can just set the rules and put in a licensing regime, but Royal Mil will always be the major service provider† (Simpkins 2005). Other alternative postal service providers are currently capable of providing any types of postal services, with the exception of non-bulk items’ delivery, less than 100g in weight (Crew & Kleindorfer 2007, p. 8). Thus, is it possible to suggest that the postal services market in the UK has become as open as many had expected it to be? Of course, it is possible that the full effects of opening the UK postal services market are not yet perceived by the customers and businesses. However, it is also probable that there still exist significant barriers to competition within the postal market. â€Å"Postcomm is concerned that the competition so far has been too limited, and that this has allowed Royal Mail to get away with providing customers with a poor quality service† (Crew & Klenidorfer 2007, p. 9). Before 2006 the mail market of the UK was stated to lack competition, but possessing a considerable potential for growth; as a result many viewed competition and market openness as the best resolution to multiple issues postal monopoly in the UK traditionally rose (Falkenhall & Kolmodin 2005, p. 10). The opposition of Royal Mail to opening the market was natural and understandable: the company viewed this step as the direct pathway towards reduction of the profit margins, but the situation could not remain unchanged due to contemporary economic requirements towards competition. The efficiency of postal services after opening the market will gradually change. This process will be slow due to multiple barriers created on the way of potential Royal Mail competitors. However, some of the following results can be expected within the long-term period, and after numerous postal companies acquire fair access to different niches of the postal services’ market. First, the emergence of new services will increase the overall efficiency of the postal services in the UK. It is already evident that being surrounded by multiple competitors that strive for conquering and expanding their market share, even Royal Mail had to introduce a three-year plan of renewal: â€Å"changes have included the introduction of Single Day Delivery, reviews of its mail centers and transport and a significant number of redundancies† (Starkey 2006, p. 74). Second, the competition further increases efficiency by providing foreign market players with the opportunity to enter the market of postal services; as a result the efficiency of postal services at the international level also increases, which is especially important for businesses. Royal Mail was once blamed for being underdeveloped in terms of mechanizing its services, and making them more efficient (Falkenhall & Kolmodin 2005, p. 14). The current market processes in the UK postal services structure urge companies to reduce their workforce and to implement effective IT solutions for better services provision. Although, this does not mean that creating competition in the area of postal services inevitably leads to unemployment. With the creation and expansion of private postal operators, the amount of required qualified workforce increases, and we can state that competition only contributes into changing the balance of workforce between the operators. Competition is the best tool of increasing profitability and efficiency of national postal operators (Crew & Kleindorfer 2007, p. 44). One may suggest that the discussed changes in the market were long anticipated, and the fact of legal uncertainty and Royal Mail’s monopoly seriously hindered the process of investing into postal services by private operators. What one can expect now is the growing efficiency of the postal services along with the increase price control and the constant process of quality improvement in the structure of postal services in the UK. It should be noted, that the discussed improvements will and could occur in the ideal economic situation, when the openness of the market means providing real fair opportunities for competitors. However, the reality of the situation is different: â€Å"full competition in the UK postal market is blocked by two very fundamental issues: Royal Mail’s unique VAT exemption and the focus on downstream access† (Starkey 2006, p. 4). Private players of the postal market cannot access fair business opportunities and increase their efficiency against the zonal pricing introduced by Royal Mail not long before opening the market. Royal Mail has an access to changing its prices without being reviewed by Postcomm (Clark 2007). As a result, we face the challenge of competition vs. the realities of destabilization in the UK market of postal services. We cannot objectively state that the competition was introduced to increase efficiency, when Royal Mail creates unfavorable conditions for the rival operators (Starkey 2006, p. 5). While the efficiency of postal services changes very slowly, it is more than evident that the customers have already benefited from making the market of postal services competitive. First of all, private operators have changed the emphasis of their services from being business-oriented to being customer-oriented. As a result, â€Å"new entrants are building their products around their customers’ needs rather than asking their customers to fit in around their businesses† (Starkey 2006, p. 75). For example, numerous private customers have already perceived the benefits of later collection times (AICES 2006, p. 11). It is anticipated that private market players will keep expanding the range of postal services in case no barriers are created against these initiatives. The impact of competitive postal services on the customer is better to be viewed through the prism of Royal Mail achievements. The company has been the leading postal provider for almost 400 years, and its changing position and market attitudes can display the tendencies of economic development as a result of market openness. The major changes have taken place in company’s attitudes towards their customers: â€Å"although there is still some way to go to embed a culture of commercial customer focus throughout the organization, there is no doubt that Royal Mail has turned the corner† (AICES 2006, p. 18). Customers have acquired additional power in maintaining effective relations with the postal service: Royal Mail services turn towards being more attentive to their customers. They have displayed new abilities to listen to the customer, and to change in accordance with the customer’s requirements. Competition appears to be the matter of choice for the customer; consequentially, companies in the postal services sector have more incentives to pursue customer value through innovation and better customer satisfaction. The current situation in the UK market of postal services is still much confused and contradicting. On the one hand, we have the evidence of customers being completely satisfied with postal services being competitive. On the other hand, we cannot agree to the fact that the efficiency of postal services has increased even through the prism of growing profitability of some postal services. Certainly, the postal services have reached the stage at which costs are more comparable to the prices of postal services: the elimination of monopoly has opened the gateways to being more reasonable and more objective in setting the price for postal services. Simultaneously, it is difficult to disagree to the fact that Royal Mail still occupies 96% of the UK market (Starkey 2006, p. 6). The essence of competition is not in attracting rivals, but rather providing consumers with choice. In this situation efficiency of postal services is replaced by more important customer preferences. Monopoly is a â€Å"big, big issue, and it is a test of our society as to whether we are to organize everything to make a profit† (Benn 2007). Royal Mail is the embodiment of the economic paradox in the area of postal services in the UK. This paradox lies in connection with economies of scale. While with the large delivery volumes Royal Mail’s unit costs are low, but with Royal Mail being monopolistic the company can hardly be called efficient. Thus, with the price of Royal Mail’s services being extremely competitive and sometimes too low, it is simultaneously inefficient (Falkenhall & Kolmodin 2005, p. 29). Competition thus appears more beneficial for the customers, than for the companies in the postal services’ niche. It is essential that other private players can have access to similar scale benefits even if they cannot compete to the well-branched delivery network of Royal Mail. The efficiency of Royal Mail’s rivals cannot be increased until the issue of VAT exemption is resolved. â€Å"The VAT regime for post in the UK is a particularly pernicious barrier. Most people here will be aware that although Royal Mail is VAT exempt, its competitors are not, which causes pricing distortions especially for those customers that are also VAT exempt† (Starkey 2006, p. 76). Simultaneously, there is another serious concern about the rival companies’ behavior on the market. Some specialists fear that what takes place in Royal Mail is subsidizing lighter items with heavier mail, subsidizing social users for the account of business users, etc (Crew & Kleindorfer 2007, p. 51). In this situation competitive postal companies will strive for taking the most lucrative market niches, leaving Royal Mail without income from the most profitable services. However, this is where VAT exemption can serve for the benefit of the company: due to the lower prices, it is hardly possible that open competition will jeopardize the universal service and Royal Mail in general. In this situation one may possible predict the instability of the postal services market in the short-term period, and instability of the market structure is no better than previously existing monopoly. The UK postal services have appeared in the extremely essential stage of reconstruction – introducing competition cannot go smoothly for all market players. It should be noted that the issues of elimination or threat to the universal service are easily neutralized, and universal services can in no way be compromised by introducing competition. Any objective analysis shows that consumers, as well as businesses, have benefited from market opening through higher quality. In addition, prices have been substantially reduced for business customers while households have been protected from price increases† (Sloman 2004, p. 97). Yet, our objective analysis shows that competition in the UK postal services is in its initial stage. We have proved that customers evidently benefit from making the post market competitive, but the economic efficiency of the postal services is still to be achieved and increased. Conclusion We have come to conclusion that the effects of competition in the UK market of postal services are primarily viewed within the area of consumer satisfaction. The overall economic efficiency of postal services still leaves much to be desired. However, introduction of competition is the solid basis for providing consumers with choice, and expanding the market structure of postal services in the country. Certainly, monopoly possesses its advantages, but competition is the best perspective for both the new private players and Royal Mail in creating incentives for development and improvement.