Tgif Case

TGIF Case Problems: Macro – Quantum Software is experiencing problems in regard to their liabilities due to their TGIF beer bust parties. Quantum is also facing the issue of continuing success in sales. Micro – Quantum over works their employees and is using the beer bust parties to keep morale high. Some employees however are taking advantage of the free beer every Friday and are consuming too much. Causes: {draw:frame} Quantum has had much success in the past three years of its existence. While that is a huge positive it comes with some responsibilities. One is keeping up on staffing issues. Quantum seems to be highly under staffed and is asking employees to work 16 hour days 6 days a week. The over worked employee gave Erin, one of the owners an idea as these individuals need to blow off some steam after these horribly long weeks Quantum is asking them to work. Another cause for their current situation concerning the beer bust Friday is Erin was its convincer. She now has a vested and seems to be bias interest in keeping beer bust Fridays despite the risk it lends to the organization. It seems that the problem would not have even come to pass if the first issue of under-staffing would have been addressed. Instead now a chain reaction of causes has taken place: Alternatives: Quantum has several options to mitigate the issue of too much liability which could affect their profits. First Quantum could ask every employee to do a breathalyzer test and sign a waiver before driving home, leaving no liability to Quantum. Another alternative to their current state is hiring more people. Obviously the work to employee ratio is too high. Quantum could move beer bash Fridays to a bar, giving the liability of when to stop serving the employees beer to the bar and its owners. The last alternative to discuss in this forum is instead of having beer bashes to just give the employees every Friday afternoon off to do with what they please. Recommendations: First, Quantum owners, Erin and Stan need to sit down with the attorney Bill and review exactly their liabilities and the kinds of suites they would be up against if something went wrong. Instead of beer bash Friday, Quantum should have a monthly happy hour at a local bar, and reassess the work load they have and hire the appropriate amount of people so that the employees have normal working hours of 40 hours a week. Also, take the opportunity with the current employees and create a psychological contract to bring out any underlying expectations both the employees have about Quantum and what Quantum has towards the employees. Both changes still provide Quantum the corporate climate they seem to be trying to attain with beer bash Fridays, however they mitigate the need for employees to ‘blow off steam’ and helps boost moral through comfortable workloads and social happy hours monthly. Lastly, by putting into place a planned change control process for future issues as Quantum grows they will be able to mitigate these types of liabilities in the future. OD Practioner Behavior Profile One â€Å"Self-Assessment Exercises† will help you gain insight into yourself and your preferences. This understanding is directly applicable to your development as an O. D. practitioner. You are expected to share the results and to discuss their implications for practitioner effectiveness with the instructor. You are encouraged to share them with your classmates online. Weekly reflection Recently at DST Systems, DST has experienced changes in the business environment. DST saw these changes when the organization started utilizing strategies such as restructuring, de-layering, downsizing, merging and acquiring. This has left the organization faced with great challenges in managing associates retention. While reading this week’s chapters I saw DST in several of the key terms, specifically during the NOGO case and describing their management style as Sluggish. DST is a great example of a Sluggish management organization. Seniority and hangers (people who just hung around and grabbed a paycheck) were the individuals rewarded. Three weeks ago I left DST after 5 years of service. I did so because of that mentality. They have operated for the last 30 months in the red. Change is upon them now as it is a cost concern. Instead of going about change in a positive and forward way, DST instead is laying off people without doing a re-organization to utilize their untapped human potential. I stayed during the layoffs and fortunately did not lose my job from it being cut. When I saw however their lack in communication about the layoffs and there was no change process communicated as no additional changes were going to be made, I decided that this corporation wasn’t moving in a direction that was positive and got out. My fear is one day DST Systems, who was once quite an innovative and inspiring corporation with a phenomenal background, will be a case in a text book for another MBA student to learn what not to do and asses where they stepped incorrectly.

Christianity and Buddhism

Two different faiths; Christianity and Buddhism. These two religions that have pillars centered on Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha respectively. Christianity has had a wide influence, stretching across the world and with leading figures like President George Bush (USA), Senator Hillary Clinton, and even the Pope, a spiritual leader of the Catholic Church and head of the Vatican sate. Buddhism, though mostly predominant in the orient world, has penetrated the Western cultures, Hollywood’s Richard Gere, Tina Turner, and L. A Lakers coach, Phil Jackson have identified with the Buddhists Faith through its spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.These two faiths have parallels. In contrast or comparison the two faiths meet and also depart at the foundational level of the very pillars of Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha. The Differences At the very moment of birth Jesus Christ was born in a manger in the midst of want and desolation. According to biblical scriptures he was born among the poo r. Gautama Buddha on the other hand, was born in a palace where his father who was the ruler of a region within present day Nepal, made sure that he lived within the pleasures and wealth of his empire.In addition, Buddha lived as a prince, as royalty whereas Christ was born into a family where the father figure was a carpenter and he had to learn the skills of carpentry. The divinity of Jesus Christ has a divergence from that of Buddha. Jesus Christ claimed that he was the only Son of God. The bible in many of its texts reaffirms this divinity; to a tune of calling Jesus Christ, the â€Å"presence of God† as man. Buddha However, claimed no divinity in person. Only that about 700 years after Buddha passed on, Mahayana Buddhism attached divinity to the character of Gautama. .Buddha worked out no miracles, signs or wonders. The bible however, in the New Testament is wrought with events of miracles of Jesus Christ. From the beginning of the synoptic Gospel or Matthew, through Mar k, Luke and John, the Lord Jesus Christ healed the afflicted stopped and calmed a raging sea among other miracles. Jesus Christ, speaking on the mount espoused and blessed â€Å"those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied†. He encouraged his followers to â€Å"seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all other things would be added unto them (who believed)†.However Buddha saw the need of eliminating craving and desire and as such attains enlightment. Jesus Christ said â€Å"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life†. Buddha however, took the role of a guide, a religious â€Å"Way Shower†. Buddha had a means to the nirvana for the believer, but each believer had to find his or her own path Buddha is buried in the Himalaya Mountains, at Kusinara. He never resurrected. After crucifixion and death, Christ resurrected on the third day triumphing over death and sin. The SimilaritiesThe Buddhist scriptures tell of Buddhaâ €™s mother, Mahamaya, being made to carry child Buddha in her womb through the power of the â€Å"holy Spirit†. Also a â€Å"heavenly messenger’ informed Mahamaya of the way she was to bear the â€Å"son of the highest kings. † Many other events followed the birth of Buddha like the appearance of the â€Å"flower Star† in the East, and also a group of angelic messengers celebrated the birth of Buddha. The birth of Christ is foretold in the scriptures of the bible as the mother Mary was made to conceive through the â€Å"immaculate conception† of the Holy Spirit.Angels also ministered unto Mary telling her that she would bear a son who would redeem the world. In addition the star of the east shone bright and did guide the three Magi to see and proclaim the birth of the â€Å"king of Kings†At the birth of Jesus Christ King Herod set out to kill all the male firstborns with a view of eliminating any possible challenger to his throne. Not f orgetting that Virgin Mary Mother of Jesus had to run and hide the kid Jesus from the executioners. For the case of Buddha he was born of a Virgin called Maya. King Bimbasara wanted him dead as he thought that Buddha would one day ascend the throne.Buddha amazed the wizened old men and priests of the temple just as Jesus Christ did to the Pharisees and teachers of the Mosaic Law; both achieved this at the age of 12. James Hastings, in the book encyclopedia of religion and ethics page 883 tells of Buddha demanding of his disciples that they renounce all forms of worldly possessions. â€Å"The number of the disciples increased rapidly, and Gautama sent forth his monks on missionary tours hither and thither, bidding them wonder everywhere, preaching the doctrine, and teaching them to order their lives with self restraints, simplicity and charity†.On the other hand Jesus Christ called â€Å"to himself the twelve disciples sending them out two by two. So they went out and preache d that men should repent Mark 6:7-12†. According to the book of Mathew 28:19, Jesus Christ was part of a trinity. The Chinese (1836) alludes to the fact that Buddha is part of trinity. Indeed the two are part of trinities expressed in both religions. At birth Buddha was declared divine as was Jesus Christ. The book of Mathew, tells of the Magi who came to present Jesus with gifts and worshipping him as divine.On the other hand the divinity of Buddha was bestowed on him according to the Buddhist faith. The book of Matthew 2:2 has an angel announcing the birth of Jesus Christ. Buddha’s birth was also foretold by a celestial body. They both claimed to be royal descent. Jesus Christ traced his bloodline to that of King David. Buddha, whose father is Sodhodana, has the royalty also traced to the first dynasty of Maha Sammata. At the birth Christ was presented with gifts of myrrh, frankincense and gold. On the other hand, Buddha received precious substances and priceless Jewe ls.The synoptic gospel of Matthew tails of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ on the mountain. For Buddha, it also happened on a mountain where â€Å"A flame of light engulfed his head, shining as the sun or moon†. The scriptures tell of the â€Å"angels† praising in heaven at their birth. For Jesus, the bible records, â€Å"Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill among men†. For Buddha it is written â€Å"Today, Bodhisattva is born on earth, to give joy and peace to men and Devas (angels), to shed light on the dark places, and to give sight to the blind†.De Bunsen, in page 45 notes that Buddha was baptized in the presence of the spirit of God. Jesus Christ in Matthew 3:16 is baptized in the presence of the spirit of God. According to Max. Muller in the book ‘Introduction to the Science of Religion’, two very similar incidences happened in the lives of Jesus and Buddha. Muller explains â€Å"Ananda, the disciple of Buddha, after a long walk in the country, meets with Matangi, a woman of the low caste of the Kandalas, near a well and asks her for some waters. She tells him what she is and that she must not come near him.Ananda replies â€Å"my sister, I ask not for your caste or family, I ask only for a drought of water. She afterwards becomes a disciple of Buddha. † The bible on the other hand tells the story of the Samaritan woman. According to the book of John 4:7-9 â€Å"there came a woman of Samaria to draw water Jesus said to her; â€Å"give me a drink† for his disciples had gone to the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him â€Å"how is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria? † for Jews have no dealing with Samaritans, They launched their careers at an almost similar age.It’s at age 29 that Buddha â€Å"went to the garden, saw a monk who was calm, tranquil, self possessed, serene and dignified. The prince, (Buddha, determined to become such a monk†. The Christian book says â€Å"Jesus, when he begun his ministry, was about 30 years of age†. Both were tempted by the devil. In Matthew 4:10, â€Å"All these I will give you if you worship me† Christ was told. And Buddha was told† go not forth to adopt a religious life but return to your kingdom and in seven days you shall become emperor of the world, riding over four continents†.Both celebrated overcoming evil, for Jesus, according to Matthew 4:11 the â€Å"angels come and ministered to him†. For Buddha, â€Å"The skies rained flowers, as delicious odors prevailed in the air† EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Perhaps the best conclusion to these differences and similarities are the actions made in the lives and times of these men. And this has to do with expressing faith where skepticism abounds. So another similarity among the two men is; â€Å"come†, so Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus, but when he saw the wind he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out.â€Å"Lord, save me! † as shown in Matthew 14:29-30. Buddha showed skeptical villagers his disciple walking across a river without sinking†. In addition some incidences attest to the similarity of their situation like the time that Buddha took a purifying birth in the river Nerajara, just as Christ Jesus too was baptized in the river Jordan. The bible recounts the journey of Christ riding on a donkey with fronds of palm spread out for him on the way. Though slightly different the story of Buddha is centered on his riding a horse, with flowers being tossed by angels.Jesus Christ was poor, lacking in earthly possessions and encouraging the wealthy to â€Å"sell all they had and follow him. † Buddha was no different; he took an oath of embracing poverty and even wondered home Less, advising his disciples, who were 12 as those of Jesus, â€Å"to travel without money, trusting to the aid of providence †. 1. http://www. probe. org 2. http://www. lucidcafe. com 3. http://www. encyclopedia. farlex. com/buddhist. 4. http://www. moonpointer. com 5. http://www. songha. org/index. html

Are students have changed Essay Example for Free

Are students have changed Essay Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach. (Prensky,2001). Prensky further stated that children in the 21st century are classified as Net-gen, and digital-gen but the most useful description Prensky found for these children is Digital Natives. This is evident because in the 21st century children as young as three years are mastering the uses of computers, videogames, internets, tablets, mobile phones and other technological devices. According to Janssen (n. d) digital native is an individual who was born after the widespread adoption of digital technology. Technology is so advance and useful to students it seems like they get so addicted to it and felt like they can’t do without it and the other hand it helps students to improve in learning. Three changes that are seen with the first century learner regards to technology, they are more dependent on technology, misuse of information and unlimited thinking skills. Firstly, the internet is known as one of the greatest invention of modern age; a gateway that is magical to resources, information and communication unlike anything we previous dreamed of. It is claimed by many that it is the greatest single technological advance for education, as it opens opportunities for studying, learning and discovering. But as time goes by and the first generation of students grows up with modern internet technology from birth to teenage years, questions have been asking are children being dependent on technology. The internet provides students with  enormous advantage of a world of information at their finger tip. A single tap of the finger on the keyboard can deliver a hundred of articles under a second; far hours from when students would spend time spinning through library books and journals in days passed by. With the ease of access, the internet comes with disadvantages such as false and incorrect information that is easily distributed and can be difficult to trace sources and support the information. On, on the other side the volume of research materials online can make students to find information they need too easy, allowing them to compile these information by copying and pasting without understanding and analysing the information they are sifting through at all. While students from twent y years and beyond would have to read and absorb a huge amount of information such as putting together a report on tree frogs. These students have to use different sources for each part of the project; while on the other hand digital natives would discover everything needed to know by the internet site, picking up a little knowledge in the process. According to Jannsen (n.d) people believes that children who are digital natives think differently due to their early exposure to technology and have become accustom to using technology to solve the repetitive tasks that form the basis of traditional learning With the rise of different technology, and the fantastic way that produce communication from mobile phones to iPods to Skype and face book, modern students have become available to a wealth of education opportunities. Pupils from Jamaica can now hold an online debate with a class of their contemporaries in United States and others, interactive group webpage, class blogs, and programs that design interactive online animations which allowed educational communication to form. The reliance on the mobile phones and the laptops is taking toll on areas in education such as literacy and writing skills. This is said to be suffering as children write less and more text message expression take preference over their grammar. Also the suffering of simple communication skills and understanding of personal interaction as young people spend more time online communicating using their keyboards rather face to face contact. The reliance of such method for communication can cause students to form unhealthy relationships with others, concerned about critics that was said, and open up possibilities of cyber-bullying that is very dangerous and persecution of people online. Secondly, the expansion of the use and easy  availability of technology makes it easy for society to do negative activities that often violates the law. The main problems are the misuse of copyright, distribution of forbidden materials, violation of privacy or personal data and other serious activities. This activity can be seen in education field where the increase of plagiarism among students. Students can find information on the internet free and plagiarize other’s work whether if it is intentionally or without realising it. According to Lindemann C(2013) among students in grades 7-12, 21% have turned in a paper downloaded from the Internet. More than a third (38%) copied text from a website. The more students rely on the internet such as Google and Wikipedia answers to answer their home work questions, they are required to use less of their minds to come up with independent thoughts and opinions. Instead they simple click, copy and paste. Plagiarism is not the only way of cheating. The internet is not the only way; students can used other technology such as mp3 players, mobile phones, calculators and other technologies. In gaining information using phones this can be done by emails, texts, Bluetooth, as well as phone calls. According to Takahashi (2011) many educators perceive them a slacking more formal ICT skills. The availability and ease of use of technology makes cheating possible. The environment opens possibilities for academic dishonesty which can be difficult to discover. Students find simple and fast way to get through their studies, such way is to share materials, results, papers, information about exams. A majority of website offers a variety of finished work materials for essays, seminar papers, reports, and even degree works, answers to test for final exams in bachelor or master courses. These website are made for students to upload their work voluntary and the provider usually do not get benefit from the sites; while some sites will offer small benefit for uploading the work. Downloading the work can also be free without registration, if not unless the provider creates a user account or a fee. The reason why students plagiarize is the overload of information. The more information you have leads to the first step towards good school paper. Technology is used by teachers and professionals to increase the quality of leaning. The growth and progress in ICT changes education compare to decades ago and introduce methods that increase in students learning. From this students need to learn how to deal with information for assignments,  work tasks, research tasks and other information problems. Thirdly, technology affects students thinking skill. According to Wolpert S (2009) as technology has played a bigger role in our lives, our skills in critical thinking and analysis have declines, while our visual have improved. Thinking is the ability to reflect, draw on conclusions, knowledge, reason and insight. It is what makes students communicate, build, create and become civilized. Thinking is based from learning, observing, remembering, questioning, arguing, judging and others. The exposure of technology as changes learners. Because of students’ brain still developing and malleable, the exposure of technology causes digital natives brain to be wire in ways different from previous generation. Reading encouraged the brain to be focused and imaginative; but pleasure for reading has decline in young people which enhances thinking and creates imagination that visual media such as video games, television cannot. The using of visual media will allow students to process information better but most don’t allow students to get the time to reflect, analyze or imagine. Reading develops reflection, imagination, critical thinking as well as the development of vocabulary. Through reading, these skills are developed. Students today are more visual literacy and are less print literacy thus many students are not being seen reading often and reading for pleasure. Technology strengthens student’s ability to scan information quickly and efficiently. An impl ication for teaching and learning is that workshops or seminars should be implemented for teachers so that they receive training to know how to integrate the different types of technology into their lessons and make learning more engaging for students. As we know that student gravitates to technology and we are living in 21st century. Attending these workshops teachers are able to know more about each technology such as the usage, programs and others. They are able to monitor the technology by themselves and by doing so they are able to carry out the lesson effectively and stimulate children learning. One implication for policy makers is that in order for the teachers to integrate the technology in the classroom to meet the need of his students, firstly you should provide or equipped the schools with the necessary technology. Without these, teachers will unable to do so, which he or she wants to; so that her students can grasp the concepts well. For the school to be equipped policy makers should also develop an infrastructure to  place the technologies. Provide the necessary security and to eliminate outdated hardware and software and replace them with up to date as the years are passing by. â€Å"When technology integration in the classroom is seamless and thoughtful, students not only become more engaged, the y begin to take more control over their own learning†. (Hertz 2014). Technology integration is the use of technology in the classroom that helps to carry out learning concepts and to manage the class, such technology are computers, overhead projectors, digital cameras, internet, tape recorders, and CD-ROMs. Digital camera is a great application in the classroom as it allows collecting and documenting exciting events in the environment. Integrating digital camera properly can help to link lessons to student’s lives. For example class letter, development of stories and community based research. Cameras can be share between classes and capture images quickly and easily, in which pictures provide important context for children learning experience. Images that are culturally relevant can be a very powerful strategy for students to learn about their community. For example teaching about vocabulary, teachers can send students outdoor with the digital camera to take pictures of events, objects or actions that represent the vocabulary that was discussed . Students can be asked to write sentences or paragraph highlighting new vocabulary. Which is a very excited way for students to increase their vocabulary and become better readers; and teachers could give students the opportunity to take pictures of events or actions that reflect in a story that was read to them, downloading pictures from the computer then allowed children to write a sentence or paragraph about each picture. Having students to take pictures of the story event or action will help them to relate what they reading to their own lives in their community. Digital camera can be used to do storytelling which produces narrated short films using music, photos and voices. The grade 3 lesson â€Å"who are the people in my community†, students and teachers can take a walk within the community with the camera and take pictures of community helpers and write sentences about each role within the community. The teacher and students can produce their story by downloading the pictures on the computer using programs such as Photo-Story, Windows Movie Maker, Powe rPoint, that include narration for each. The tape recorder and boom box can be used to engage student and help save time. One activity for the whole class is teachers can use a student to  become the classroom DJ. Using a microphone, the student announces the topic of the day’s lesson. With a book in hand students can read along with their teacher during reading time. Students can even listen to a recording of their teacher who record the book tape before. The boom box can be used to create electronic portfolio that showcase student’s best work and the learning progress during a time period. By doing this teachers can record the students reading or thinking process when solving a problem, a video clip of his or her oral presentation and a CD with the child digital story. The tape recorder can be used to record student’s reading of a text at regular intervals which is assessed at each interval and strategies plan to improve the reading fluency. The overhead projector is a display system that is used to present images, videos, texts to students. It helps to carry out concepts and for students to grasp concepts by which it stimulates learning by watching videos, interactive games and retrieving texts which aid in the development of different learning styles such as audio and visual learners. The teacher faces the students while the notes that are prepared previously revealed. The lesson becomes engaging and students are attentive or focus and not only that but the teacher becomes more efficient by sharing and creating reusable work. . An example of how teachers can make the projector a part of her lesson is if a teacher is trying to bring across the lesson of the topic family to a grade two class, students will watch a video of the family then have a discussion with the teacher, from the video students will define the term family in their own words. Students will use family related terms seen in the video to write at least five sentences. The family related terms are like: grandmother, brother and sister. References Prensky M (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Retrieved February 19, 2014 from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prens†¦igrants%2520-%2520Part1.pd Hertz MB (n.d) How to Integrate Technology Retrieved February 21, 2014 from http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-implementation Wolpert S (2006) Is technology producing a decline in critical †¦ – UCLA Newsroom Retrieved February 21, 2014 from http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/is-†¦ducing-a-decline-79127.asp Lindemann C (2013) How to Stop the Plagiarism Plague | Education.com Retrieved February 21, 2014 from http://www.education.com/magazine/articl†¦cle/stop-plagiarism-plague Janssen C (n.d) What is a Digital Native? – Definition from Techopedia Retrieved February 21, 2014 from www.techopedia.com/definition/28094/digital-native Takahashi (2011) Academia.edu | Documents in Digitalian – Academia.edu Retrieved February 23, 2014 from www.academia.edu/Documents/in/Digitalian Are students have changed. (2016, Mar 21).

What are the main determinants of bank failure Essay

What are the main determinants of bank failure - Essay Example new products and activities with little or no expertise or inadequate risk management controls Heavy reliance on brokered or agent transactions to fuel growth Growth can be monitored a number of ways, such as the Canary Benchmark Ratios designed to assist field managers. An example is the increase of a banks total loans and leases beyond a threshold percentage from the same quarter of the previous year. Another category of red flags is the Deterioration in the Economy, since bank performance and economic conditions in the markets are closely correlated. Some common economic indicators are bankruptcies and business failures, employment, consumer delinquency rates, existing home prices, gross domestic products, income, inflation rates, interest rates, the trade deficit, wages, and so on. A third category is Management Oversight Deficiencies, which generally include indicators of management irresponsiveness, inefficiency, and non-compliance with laws and internal standards. The fourth c ategory is Inappropriate Limits on OCC Access to Bank Staff and Documents, which comprise attempts of the bank to deny regulators the timely and complete access to information. The include refusal to provide information within a reasonable time period, use of agents such as bank counsel to pre-screen requests for bank documents, alternation of records prior to examiner review, and unexplained disappearance of key records, among others. The OCC also looks out for these other categories of red flags: Asset Quality Deterioration. Red flags include increasing levels of past due and nonperforming loans as percent of loans, increasing level of Other Real Estate Owned (OREO), and increasing levels of interest earned not collected (IENC) as a percent of loans, among others. Strained Liquidity. Some red flags are low levels of on-hand liquidity, declines in core deposit levels, significant increases

Cold War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cold War - Essay Example It is called Cold War because the relations were icy at the least and never reached boiling point to bring on a shooting war. It is also 'cold' because each try to undermine each other's political power. There were several zones where potentially both were at loggerheads and where another WW III could have ensued had hotter heads prevailed. In West Berlin, Russia blockaded this US,UK and France-controlled zone with a wall that made the latter construe that they were intentionally entrapped. A dtente ensued when US did a massive airlifting of supplies instead of using force. In the Iron Curtain, Stalin convinced these Slav and Balkan countries to accept communism as form of government because Russia needed them as buffer states against Germany but the Allies construed this as an intense its brand of government. In Greece and Turkey, Russia frowned upon when there the Truman Doctrine was applied i.e. US provided funds and massive aid so that both may be able to resist communist attempts to subjugate them. In Western Europe, the US came up with the Marshall Plan, which was a multi-billion aid program to reconstruct the almost bankrupt nations ravaged by WW II. Russia reacted with consternation because that would make it difficult for them to foment dissension and discontent. Then the NATO, composed of USA, Britain, Canada and Western Europe including West Germany was established for the purpose of mutually securing themselves from possible communist military aggression. Despite the overweening tension and intensified hostilities, no full-scale war emanated. And this was because USA had invented the atomic bomb and displayed how it can resolve conflicts with dire consequences. It is because of the development of these atomic and hydrogen bombs, missiles and other arsenals of war and because of the complexity of plans involved in upsetting the rival that espionage became a necessary tool to outwit the rival. As early as the 1920's, USSR through its NKVD and OGPU intelligence agents, had already penetrated the State and the War Departments and other government agencies by recruiting left-leaning Americans, foreign-born Americans and Russians as spies to obtain classified and confidential secrets and transmit3 them to Moscow as microfilms or as encrypted cables. Then, the interest of the Russian spy ring was the industrial and military secrets of USA and the first target for infiltration was the FAECT(Federation of Architects, Engineers, Chemists and Technicians) and with satisfying results (Usdin 28). In one case, it was discovered that espionage had reached the top echelon of the State Department with Alger Hiss, one of its top officials caught flatfooted when Time Magazine editor Whittaker Chambers, himself a confessed Soviet agent, showed and testified that Hiss passed on to him a microfilm of State Department documents. Even the film industry was not spared as the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee), alarmed by the trend of left-leaning films, interrogated directors

Research paper - international relations Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

- international relations - Research Paper Example Because China’s nuclear modernization program is expected to continue, its second-generation nuclear force will be deployed over the next 10-15 years as a more mobile, reliable and accurate force then it currently is. (Keylor, 2001) These nuclear achievements in the PRC continue to cause great anxiety within the international system. This is particularly because uncertainty exists about China’s nuclear capabilities and strategic intentions. However, it will be proven that although many factors support China’s nuclear capabilities as posing a threat to the international system, the PRC does not to intend to harm the world, as it is relatively a small nuclear power with rational security concerns ands sound interests in maintaining world peace . Deterrence against China’s Principle Enemy As a result of its unpleasant history, the Chinese have especially viewed its principal enemy, the United States with suspicion. The United States has and continues to threa ten the mainland on many counts. During and after the Korean War the U.S. threatened to use nuclear weapons against China. Washington had actually deployed nuclear-armed B-29 bombers to Guam in 1951 for possible use against the PRC. (Leo, 2002) Again, in 1954-55 Beijing was threatened by the use of possible nuclear weapons by the U.S. over the off shore islands of Quemoy and Matsu held by Taiwan. Apparently, the â€Å"nuclear card† held by the United States incessantly reinforced its superpower leverage during times of crisis. (Garwin, and. Panofsk, 1998) Thus it was necessary for China to become a nuclear power in order to not only prevent constant â€Å"interference† or â€Å"nuclear bullying† by the United States, but also to forever guarantee national independence. As a result, since the mid-1950s, China has strived to develop a modest nuclear force to satisfy the following objectives,† secure a retaliatory capability in case of nuclear war; deter supe rpower or other outside aggression; demonstrate China’s international power and reinforce her pride . Establish Hegemony in Far East Asia By attaining nuclear weapons, China’s ability to establish hegemony in Asia would increase, as it also becomes a great power in the modern world. Because the Chinese government has been influenced by the inheritance of a â€Å"mandate from heaven,† the PRC already considers herself to be at the center of the world. Now that China has attained nuclear capabilities, she can make implicit threats of military action against her neighbors as she establishes hegemony in her orbit in the Far East (Halperin, 1965). Protecting China from Foreign Intervention The People’s Republic of China’s goal is to protect her territorial integrity and political independence in the face of foreign encroachments and domestic disorder. Both Communist and Non-Communist China especially agree to maintain and preserve China’s soverei gnty in the outlying regions of Sinkiang, Tibet and in particular Taiwan because they have become major targets of foreign encroachment during the present nuclear age. For example, Russia had once attempted to gain Sinkiang, while Great Britain and India jointly brought Tibet under their influence. Moreover, presently, China suspects that Washington and Japan together plan to establish â€Å"two Chinas† or â€Å"one China and one Taiwan† threatening to menace PRC’s integrity, and bringing insult to Chinese national pride. Two Attempts at Nuclear

Agency theory and the question of shareholder primacy Essay

Agency theory and the question of shareholder primacy - Essay Example As a way of dealing with such unhealthy tango that normally exists among owners and controllers such as shareholders, the corporate governance is usually used to structure and clarify the distribution and use of power among all stakeholders within the modern firm (Waitzer and Jaswal 480). In this paper, the role of corporate governance and law in general in ensuring effective power relationships among competing groups within the organization is reviewed from two perspectives. These perspectives are agency theory and shareholder primacy. As part of the review of the two perspectives, key debates in literature on perceived problems and benefits associated with agency theory and shareholder primacy will be discussed. Based on the review, a conclusion was taken that shareholder primacy fails to be a credible source of solution to most forms of conflicts and unrest that exists among various stakeholders within the organization and outside of it. This is conclusion is taken based on the fa ct that shareholder primacy seeks to prioritize the interest of shareholders only and thus create uneasiness with other stakeholders. In common-law based countries such as the US and the UK, power struggle has been identified to be very common because of the separation between ownership and control. As a result of the separation, anxieties of corporate control have often been created between owners and shareholders, bringing about corporate tensions that affect the running of organizations negatively (Jensen and Meckling 309). Unlike civil-law framework countries, the UK and US promote more diversified shareholder basis through delivering good security of minority shareholders (Mallin 11). In most corporate organizations, owners and shareholders have often looked over their shoulders, suspecting that the other person may be having some advantages that help serve their personal interests rather than the

Lobbying on Standard Setting in Accounting Assignment

Lobbying on Standard Setting in Accounting - Assignment Example The present paper has identified that the chairman of SEC is selected through political appointment by the federal government. Thus, it is less likely that chairman would not be influenced by the activities of lobbying in the field of setting accounting standards. The lobbying activities in the field of accounting standard setting is directed at influencing the FASB in providing more flexibility to the firm in their accounting practice with no attention towards the safeguarding the long term interests of the firm as well as the investors (Andre, Cazavan-Jeny, Dick, Richard and Walton, 2009, p.24). The intentions of the lobbies are guided by narrow interests of enhancing short term economic value of the firm by allowing relaxations in the accounting standards which are contradictory to the rules and regulations prescribed by FASB. The process of standard setting in accounting is guided by the rules and regulation of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The process of standard setting in accounting is guided by the rules and regulation of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The issues involved in the process of standard setting in accounting bring to light the influence of politics and activities of lobbying on setting the standards for accounting (Ball and Foster, 1982, p.165). The activities of lobbying in the setting of standards in accounting explains that politics and lobbying have a direct influence over the activity of standard setting as in the financial policy framework of the organizations. The lobbying activities include purposeful intervention with an aim to manipulate the setting of accounting standards with the help of economic activities so that the economic value added to the company could be enhanced (Beresford 1, 1997, p.90). This is, however, viewed to be inconsistent in accordance with the guidelines of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The activities of lobbying is aimed at derailing the standard setters from t he achieving the objectives as set by the Financial Accounting Standards Board though reporting of consistent financial statements. FASB recommends improvement of transparency in accounting by setting the standards on accounting procedure and providing flexibility in the process of reporting financial statement and accounts. The issues related to lobbying on standard setting in accounting arise when the Congress is influenced by the politically influential constituents which are misdirected to achieve self motivated interests (Beresford 2, 2001, p.85). The lobbying by the accounting firms in the process of standard setting could also lead to improve of accounting standards being set by their clients. This is achieved by addressing the areas of ambiguity in the accounting rules prescribed by Financial Accounting Standards Board. The various issues in case of lobbying in the area of setting accounting standards highlight the interests of the companies to reduce costs and attain flexib ility in financial reporting (Bertomeu and Cheynel, 2013, p.814). For example, the accounting standards set by FASB requires the company account to be reviewed on a periodic basis by the auditors.

Introduction to statistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Introduction to statistics - Essay Example Line graphs also allow us to see overall trends such as an increase or decrease in data over time. Clearly, looking at the graph we don’t observe any disparity in the data given The intuition can further be confirmed from the t-test significance analysis conducted. From the table below, the percent of goods moved in the year 2000 was 16.53 while that moved in the year 2009 was 15.69, this shows no significant difference. Also from the same table (table 2), we observe that the p-value=0.206>0.05 (significance level), we thus fail to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that indeed there is no significant difference in the goods moved in the year 2000 and those moved in the year 2009. In this part we regressed the 2009 data on the 2000 data since the data was found to follow a normal distribution we opted to use a parametric test (Bivariate regression analysis), we used bivariate because we only had two variables to test (simple linear regression) and the model produced

Of Mice and Men Essay Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men Essay Essay â€Å"The language of friendship is not in words, but in meanings† – Henry David Thoreau While reading the novel, Of Mice and Men, the reader gets a front row view into the relationship of the two main characters, Lennie and George. In every friendship, there are dysfunctional moments, ups and downs, genuine moments and never ending adventures. By definition, a friend is someone to talk to, do things with, be there for each other in time of need and be each other’s crying shoulder. Throughout this novel, Lennie and George display a friendship unlike any other. It is so dysfunctional and rare it makes the reader wonder why these two are friends. For example, the boss says â€Å"Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy.† â€Å"I just like to know your interest.† In this quote found on page 25, the boss is trying to make sense of their friendship. Even though this quote highlights the rarity of George and Lennie’s bond, this causes the boss to suspect wrong- doing on George’s part. At the end of the novel, George ends up shooting Lennie. This perfectly displays the dysfunctional and rare qualities in their friendship. There are many ups and downs in Lennie and George’s friendship in addition to it being dysfunctional and rare. Lennie is mentally ill. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason behind his actions. For instance, without Lennie, George could â€Å"Go get a job an’ work an’ no trouble. No mess at all and at the end of the month I could take my fifty bucks into town and get whatever I want.† This shows Lennie and George’s Relationship being down. Even though Lennie is a huge burden, George ultimately chooses to not be without him. Even though it seems like George is being held down by Lennie, George stays with Lennie because they both want the migrant dream. â€Å"Someday – we’re gonna get the Jack together, have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and we’ll have a big vegetable patch.† Thus, these two cannot live without each other. Lennie and George have a genuine relationship too. George takes really good care of Lennie, almost like in a maternal way. George says, â€Å"Lennie, for God’ sakes don’t drink so much, you gonna be sick like you was last night.† This shows he cares about Lennie. In the beginning, Lennie assaults a lady by tearing the front side of her dress  off in their old town Weeds. George could’ve easily left Lennie to fend for himself but he realized that wasn’t the right thing to do. Lennie hears his dead aunt Clara telling him â€Å"When he got a piece of pie you always got half or more’n half.† â€Å"An’ if there was any ketchup, why he’d give it all to you.† As the novel progresses, Lennie’s past catches up with him and the authorities start looking for him. George knows that if it is caught, the officers would throw him in jail and he wouldn’t survive. So George shoots Lennie to basically put him out of his misery. Clearly, they have a genuine friendship. With every friendship, there are many adventures along the way. The novel starts off in a scenic woodsy area by a lake. Lennie and George run away together from their home town of Weed to run from the authorities and start a new life as migrant workers. When they’ve finally reached the barn, they meet new people and build relationships with them. The boss, Curley, Curley’s wife, Slim, Crooks, and Carlson. Lennie is always getting into trouble and George is always looking to get him out of it. Lennie kills a mouse, strangles Curley’s wife and also kills the dog. Although this book had many twist and turns, it was a heart- warming thriller that illustrated what life was like back in the 1930s. it surely wasn’t easy but having a dream meant a lot to the characters and made them strive to live their dream.

Impacts of Social Drinking

Impacts of Social Drinking Antonio Miguel F. Terrado â€Å"Social Drinking: Bane or Beneficial?† Introduction Alcoholic beverages are found everywhere across the globe from cities to rural areas. Almost everyone has access to alcohol. Alcohol is used in different events. It is used in almost all kinds of celebration including religious practices. It is a part of our society and alcohol drinking has become a long standing tradition of mankind. Ever since the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, and the Americas, alcohol had already existed and it played a major role for the development of these civilizations. Because of the production of alcohol, these civilizations established class differences that would easily identify the elite from the lower class of society (e.g. wine by elites and beer by commoners). The consumption of alcohol played a vital role in religious rituals being performed back then which can be observed up until now. Alcohol was also used in medicinal practices because it is being used as a solvent. Likewise, it also being used as a source of daily nutrition due to the fact that such beverages contains calories. Lastly, alcohol also helped the government in terms of due to the very nature of alcohol and how it affects individuals especially when consumed it large amounts, alcohol needs to be regulated, and the regulation of alcohol became one of the foundations of regulations when it comes to trading. Alcohol also helped governments before because of taxation in alcohol since it is one of the primary commodities in the past (Hames, 2012). There are also some evidences that alcohol predates the ancient civilizations. Alcoholic beverages are said to exist since the Neolithic period or the New Stone age, which is between around 8000 and 3500 B.C. In the Neolithic period, it was discovered that early human settlements started making wine and beer from wild grapes and cereals. The quality of wine and beer being produced improves because it is during this time when our early ancestors discovered agriculture. However, the beer being made during those times were more of a source of nutrition compare to how beer is being used now. There are different kinds of alcohol drinkers which depends on the amount of alcohol they consume. They can be classified into three: those who abstain from drinking alcohol or only drink rarely, those who drink in moderation, and those who drink heavily also called as binge drinkers or individuals who drink alcohol for the sole purpose of getting drunk. There is a clear distinction on how we classify abstinence and heavy drinkers. So, how do we classify if an individual is a moderate drinker? â€Å"No more than one drink per day for women and no more than two drinks per day for men† is the definition of moderation as stated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture (2005). To be clear, note that the definition of moderation is not the average number of drinks consumed on a span of several days. Examples of which counts as one drink are the following: 355mL of regular beer, 148mL of wine or 44mL of 80-proof distilled spirits. Littrell (2014) defined social drinking as â€Å"drinking more than once per month without problem consuming less than four drinks per day†. There is a general notion that alcohol drinking may cause harm to the drinker and his/her surroundings. This is true for heavy drinking because too much alcohol may cause cirrhosis, memory lapses, impulsive behavior, high blood pressure and many more. There is an old Chinese proverb â€Å"Wine does not intoxicate man; man intoxicate themselves†. This proverb says that it is the drinker’s responsibility to regulate his/herself when drinking because of the dangers that alcohol may cause to our surroundings especially people around us. On the other hand, studies have shown that there are positive effects in drinking alcohol especially when consumed in moderation also known as social drinking. Moderate alcohol drinking is said to help make new friends with strangers easier compared to other scenarios; it is also said that it strengthens the relations between friends; and lastly, studies show that there are health benefits when drinking alcohol in moderation contrary to the popular belief. Positive Effects of Moderate Drinking Human beings are generally less welcoming to people they do not know especially if they do not have a common friend. However, it is easier to make new friends with strangers when one experiences drinking with them in public drinking places such as bars, pub, taverns, etc., however one must not forget that to be always careful when going to such places because not all individuals have the same intention of making new friends. However, safety on public drinking places is not a major concern of this paper. We will focus more on the social benefits of moderate alcohol drinking. Social interactions and social bonding is said to be the purpose of drinking alcoholic beverages with peers. Majority of alcohol drinkers are more comfortable with friends and even strangers after drinking alcohol. Given the nature of alcohol, which is a mild depressant drug, the results are to be expected because it affects the central nervous system by slowing down the rate of activities (Aldrige, et al., 2013). In this way alcohol acts as a social lubricant since it lowers the anxiety that an individual is currently experiencing making conversations between two complete strangers easier and less awkward. Sometimes drinking alcohol cannot be avoided when in a particular venue such as parties because it is the thing to do in parties especially house parties and college parties. According to Alters and Schiff (2011), â€Å"Individuals often consume alcohol to ease their social interactions or because it is the thing to do in a particular social setting† (p. 195). Drinking alcohol is a way in making new friends from strangers easier. However, we must remember that we should drink responsibly. Alcohol drinking is not necessarily a requirement in certain social gatherings, but it is presented as an alternative to make conversation easier especially to complete strangers. Friends drinking alcohol together tend to get more bonded after drinking. One hindrance why people are less sociable when they are in their normal state is because of the anxiety that an individual experience when they want to disclose more about his/herself to others. This is commonly seen in males. Under normal circumstances, males do not usually disclose information about themselves to other people but they do so when they are drinking. With this being said, drinking has become a normal bonding activity for males. It is given fact that between close friends more information about has been shared about themselves. Miller, Ingham, Plant, and Miller (1977) as cited in Ruskos-Eswolden Monahan (2009) observed that for moderate drinkers there is a significant increase in the amount of self-disclosure however no such effect was observed for heavy drinkers. This is due to the less anxiety that an individual is experiencing and also drinking small amounts of alcohol gives the feeling of relaxation in contrast to when drinking more wherein the effects alcohol is heavier that it usually results to vomiting and unconsciousness. It has been observed in experiments that if an individual is under the experience of alcohol, he/she tends to be more sociable compared to when he/she is sober. This shows that that alcohol aids social interactions between individuals (Estola, et al., 1988). On a normal basis, people are always careful on what they will say but when alcohol is consumed, this behavior almost always is overridden by the effect of alcohol. If an individual does not filter he/she will say, then more things will be shared to a person or group which may eventually lead to knowing the person more. The main reason for social drinking is because people want to converse to one another without the feeling of awkwardness due to that individuals are more relaxed after drinking alcohol. This is not the same with binge drinking because as previously mentioned, they drink with the intention of getting drunk and thus there is less time for conversations. Also, binge drinking is usually fast paced such that less time is allotted for other activities. Drinking together serves to tie individuals in a special connection. Since the medieval period up until now, drinking together is a significant symbol of acknowledgement of a group to its new members (Peele Grant, 2013). Being invited to a drink by a particular group means that that group is accepting you as a member of their group and turning down such offer usually viewed negatively. Heath (1995) as cited in Peele and Grant (2013) said that holidays, rites of passage, arrivals and departures and other reasons for celebrations are valid reasons for drinking. In most studies, it has been identified that drinking plays an important part in celebrations. Celebrations have become a part of society due to how it positively affects individuals and as a group, with accompaniment of alcoholic beverages in most instances. With this being said, lacking of any alcoholic beverages during a celebration usually gives off a negative effect to the guest and to the mood of the celebration. Even if alcohol is not necessarily important to be present in celebrations. It is ancient tradition that celebrations and alcohol goes hand in hand. However, one must not view this negatively. Alcohol is always a part of every celebrations from the ancient civilizations like the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. There is a special kind of celebration which almost everyone are familiar with, these are toasts. Toasts are usually accompanied by alcoholic beverages in which a message with positive content are said to an individual, or an event. Alcohol in this sense acts as a positive symbol which has been established since ancient times because on how it affects the individual or the event. Alcohol also has several positive effects to the health of an individual but only three of them will be discussed. Some of the effects of moderate drinking is that lessens the risk of cardiovascular diseases, it also helps reduce the occurrence of gall stones, and it also helps reduce the occurrence of type 2 diabetes. According to Theobald et al. (2000), â€Å"Light-to-moderate drinkers of alcoholic beverages or wine†¦have significantly lower mortality rates [from coronary heart diseases and heart attacks] (20-40%) than nondrinkers or heavier drinkers†. There is an event which is popularly known as the French Paradox. It entails that even though that much of the diet of French people mostly consists of cheese, which is a common source of cholesterol and fats, most Frenchmen are fit, additionally there are relatively few recoded deaths which is caused by cardiovascular diseases. The most probable cause of such event is that wine is a primary commodity in the country and almost all citizens of France drinks it. Kloner and Rezkalla (2007) observed that a substantial amounts of data points out that an increase in High-Density Lipoprotein cholesterol. High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is a positive effect resulting from drinking alcoholic beverages in moderation. HDL cholesterol is also known as the good cholesterol because of its function that it carries cholesterol away from different body cells, an example of this is the arteries, which is the common target of ‘bad’ cholesterol; because of HDL cholesterol it removes the unwanted cholesterol making the arteries healthy (Khan, 2011). benefits that one may obtain. zed from a significant amount of ns from drinking that he/she should start drinking rance drinksDrinking alcoholic beverages have been found to lessen the risk of having gallstones. Gallstones occurs in the gall bladder or bile duct in which â€Å"stones† are formed (Marks, 2014). There exist a relationship between alcohol intake and hospital admission for gall stone treatment. This relationship is explained in such a way that if the alcohol intake increases then admission reports are reduced. However, note that at high intakes of alcohol, the reduced risk gets minimal and is observed that the increased alcohol intake is â€Å"maximally beneficial if the intake is initially low (less than 30g per day)† (Scragg et al. 1984). However, it is also observed that alcohol abuse is one of the causes of gallstones. We can see that alcoholic beverages has a double-edged effect on the health of humans one which will potentially benefit an individual while, the other may cause a disease which may potentially be fatal if not remedied. With this information, alcohol should be consumed moderately consumed because the effect of alcohol is opposite in terms of consumption. The last health benefit that will be presented is that moderate drinking of alcohol reduces the risk of having type 2 diabetes as observed by some studies by Koppes et al and Watson. Koppes et al. (2005) found that for moderate alcohol consumers there is a 30% reduced risk for having type 2 diabetes, whereas for heavier drinkers who consumes at least 48g/day of alcohol no risk reduction have been observed. Ethanol, which is present in alcoholic beverages, is the main reason in the risk reduction of type 2 diabetes, not the kind of beverage being consumed whether it is wine, beer, or distilled spirits (Watson, 2013). Besides alcohol, an individual must also live an active lifestyle and eat properly to lessen the risk of having gall stones. Eating properly means eating low-fat and low-cholesterol, but eating high fiber and high protein meals (Clin-enguide, 2009 as cited by deWit Kumagai, 2013) It has been observed that the risk of cardiovascular disease, risk of gallstones, and risk of type 2 diabetes all follow a U-shaped graph. This entails that there is high risks that an individual will acquire the diseases given that they are either consuming large amounts of alcohol in a regular basis or they consume alcohol rarely or abstain from drinking such beverage. Conclusion People should not stereotype against alcohol drinkers. There is a reason why alcoholic beverages existed up until now. Alcohol shaped and developed the ancient civilizations and this became foundations to other areas of specialties both in science and governance. Alcohol also plays a significant role in different religions from the ancient Egyptian religions up until modern Catholicism. The original purpose why people drink alcohol is for socialization purposes. Alcohol also helps in socialization because it makes conversations easier because they are feeling more relaxed after drinking with the company of strangers especially with friends compared if both parties are sober. For some, such as males, it is one of the best ways to socialize to one another because men do not socialize with one another on a daily basis more so if they really have nothing to talk about. Alcohol is a part of socialization extending to society itself. Other than the sole purpose of socialization, there are also health benefits in drinking alcoholic beverages. Some of these benefits include reduced risks for having cardiovascular diseases, reduced risk for having gallstones and reduced risk for having type 2 diabetes. However, such benefits are only observable to individuals who consume alcoholic beverage moderately or not abusing it. This aims to encourage heavy drinkers to put an effort to minimize their alcohol consumption because nothing is lost in trying. It is observed that the risk of occurrence for these three diseases follows a U-shaped graph, indicating that non-drinkers have higher risk than moderate drinkers but heavy drinkers have the highest risk. Even with these possible health benefits, one should consider, especially if he/she is a non-drinker to suddenly start drinking just because of the health benefits that drinking alcohol beverages does. One should consider that we, human beings, have different physiological make-up and possibly we have different reactions to different chemicals. It is better to avoid such vices. Moderate drinking is relatively hard to do because it takes determination to control alcohol consumption because alcohol is one of the most abused substances in the world. To be healthy it is not necessary that you must drink alcohol, this paper aims to inform individuals who are already consuming alcohol the possible benefits he/she may attain from doing such activity he/she is already doing. Nothing beats living an active lifestyle, exercising, and eating a proper meal if you want to live a healthy life. Reference List Aldridge, J., et al. (2013). Illegal Leisure. London: Routledge. Alters, S. Schiff, W. (2011). Essential concepts for healthy living. 5th Ed. Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett. deWit, S. Kumagai, C. (2013). Medical-surgical nursing: Concepts and practice. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Estola, A., et al. (1988). Blind alleys in social psychology: A search for ways out. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Hames, G. (2012). Alcohol in world history. London: Routledge. Khan, M. (2011). Encyclopedia of heart diseases. 2nd Ed. New York: Springer. Kloner, R. A. Rezkalla, S. H. (2007). To Drink or Not to Drink? That is the Question. Circulation, 116(11), 1306-1317. Koppes, L., et al. (2005). Moderate Alcohol Consumption Lowers Risk of Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care, 28(3), 716-725. Littrell, J. (2014). Understanding and treating alcoholism: Volume 1: An empirically based clinician’s handbook for the treatment of alcoholism. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis Marks, J. W. (2014) Gallstones. Retrieved from http://www.medicinenet.com/gallstones/article.htm. Peele, S., Grant, M. (2013). Alcohol and pleasure: A health perspective. London: Taylor and Francis. Ruskos-Eswolden, D.R. Monahan, J. L. (2009) Communication and social cognition theories and methods. Londonication and social cognition theories and methods1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111on: Roufledge. Scragg, R. K., et al. (1984). Diet, Alcohol, and Relative Weight in Gall Stone Disease: A Case Cont111111111111111111111111111111111111111111rol Study. British Medical Journal, 288(6424), 1113-1119. Theobald, H., et al. (2000). A Moderate Intake of Wine is Associated with Reduced Total Mortality and Reduced Mortality from Cardiovascular Diseases. Journal of studies on alcohol, 61, 652-656. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services U.S. Department of Agriculture (2005). Dietary guidelines for Americans, 6th Ed. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.stes for healthy livinge classify abstinence and heavy drinking. such that bonds between friends are strengthened