Impact of Unhealthy Food Advertisements on Children free essay sample

Studies have shown that a trend toward junk food consumption has been increased among children in Pakistan, which is ultimately leading to childhood obesity. Our purpose of study is analyzing the impact of food advertisements on the children aged 8-13 years in terms of the food ads influence on their unhealthy food consumption and purchasing preference. The methodology we used was that firstly we had surveyed 10 well known primary schools of Multan, ten students were taken from each school thus our sample size(n=100)and they were asked to fill the questionnaires. Secondly we had also observed the buying behavior of the children at canteens. Thirdly, Parents and teachers were also interviewed they had the opinion that there is an impact of junk food ads on children eating preferences. Our results included that mostly children have no concept of fats which can be the reason for greater unhealthy food consumption in response to food ads among them. We will write a custom essay sample on Impact of Unhealthy Food Advertisements on Children or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The weak relationship exists between the number of hours the TV watched by the children and junk food consumption frequency. Moreover, mostly ads remembered by the children were of confectionaries and fast food outlets; suggesting that children are more attracted towards the junk food items because of the Junk food ads. Results also show parents have strong influence in stopping their children from consuming the junk foods but the relationship between the parental influence and the junk food consumption frequency found to be weak as children consume more food outside the home. The study was carried out with 8-13 years aged pupils (n =100) in ten primary schools in main areas of Multan. Thus, the generality of these findings to children from other demographics and cities is unclear. Moreover, only ten schools of the Multan were visited. Keywords: Children; Food advertisement; Junk food; Child obesity; Purchasing preferences Introduction The main course of our research relies on scratching out all the possible factors and variables that are used in food advertisements. Television is one of the strongest medium of advertisement due to its mass reach; it can influence not only the individual’s attitude, behavior, life style, exposure, eating pattern and other aspects of one’s life. Besides TV there are other medium including magazines, newspapers, radio, billboards etc to advertise the food products. Children of course are the most awful victims of advertisements. Its effects on the children are universal in nature. Food marketers are interested in children because of their spending power. They are more influenced by the advertisement and purchase the product. More hours they spend on watching TV, the more impact on their purchase. The companies that make junk food aggressively advertise their products. The junk food ads are mostly shown on the children TV programming as it promotes consumption. They specially use cartoon characters that are mostly admired by children. They also use musical backgrounds and color schemes that attract the children. Children diets are strongly influenced by the environment. They eat more food away from home, drinking soft drinks and snacking more frequently. The intake of fats, sugar and artificial flavors has increased. That is the major reason of increasing obesity among children and indicates an alarming situation. Children who watch excessive television may be the ones who do not participate in games and are consumers of fat and high energy snack foods. Commercials could be attributed as misleading. Excessive TV viewing brings laziness and idleness and thus creates childhood obesity. The findings come from research at Liverpool University which draws a clear link between the TV advertising of foods high in fat, sugar, salt and rising obesity. The findings put pressure to the parents to control their children diet as well as their TV viewing. The purpose of our study is (1) to identify the critical impact of food ads on children (2) to know the factors causing obesity (3) to statistically test the impact of factors on children. Literature review There are some studies showing children and adolescents are targeted by the food marketers as Story and Simon (2004) have studied that the food and beverages industries are aggressively targeting the adolescents and children. Children are focused more in food advertisements on media, even in school advertisements. Youth targeted marketing is also heavily influencing the children and adolescent, they emphasized that the food being advertised are fatty and sugary in nature (snack, Soft Drink). The reason behind targeting the youth is that they are seen as potential customers in future. So, the purpose of such food advertisements aimed at children is to influence brand awareness, brand preference, brand loyalty and food purchase among youth. There’s no doubt fun is mainly focused in the food advertisements targeted towards children to gain their attention as De Iulio (2010) has emphasized that in advertisements targeting the children, food products are thus linked to a fantasy world of entertainment specific to the child culture and, as has been more and more frequently the case, to the mass media child culture in order to attract the children to the foods advertised. This fun dimension for children based food advertisements is also being supported by Mathiot (2010) who has suggested that the child is perceived as being purely and simply attracted by the fun dimension of a product. The interviews with the parents on the subject of their children frequently hint at such representations, with remarks such as it’s fun, so they’re bound to like it when considering children’s eating habits there is a need to examine how designers construct the children’s world. Children have a reflexive attitude towards their eating practice. There is no doubt that more exposure to unhealthy food advertisements leads to increased junk food consumption especially among obese children as Halfords (2004) research indicates that the prevalence of obesity in childhood is increasing. Obese children did recognize a greater number of foods than non-food advertisements. The obese children also ate the least amount of the savoury low-fat packet food tested. The normal weight children still consumed the savory low-fat snack after viewing the non-food ads. Their data is consistent with the small number of studies specifically examining the relationship between viewing food advertisements and food choices and eating behavior in children. Exposure to advertisement for foods on TV can have an effect also on eating behavior, stimulating energy intake from a range of foods and exaggerating unhealthy choices among foods. Many studies have been conducted to find the connection between food advertisements and food choices of children as Haris, Bargh and Brown (2009) came up with the ypothesis that exposure to food advertising on T. V also contribute to obesity by triggering automatic snacking of available food. As the children, who saw food advertising ate 8. 8 gram more during the 14 minutes they watch TV in the experiment. It also caused in weight gain of almost 10 pounds per year. So the lack of significant moderating effect for any of the child characteristic measured suggests the considerable power of food advertising to consistently influence consumption across a highly diverse sample of children. TV viewing habits and food consumption are interlinked as Fiates (2008) has suggested a qualitative methodology to investigate TV viewing habits and food choices in a group of students. Results showed that TV viewing was indeed an important part of the children’s leisure hours, and that eating was a habit strongly associated with it. Aside from the media, schools are influential environments in children’s lives, and could serve as effective mediums in relaying information to promote modification of ‘‘bad’’ behaviors and adoption of new,’ healthier’’ ones. This study was of exploratory nature; results suggested that the qualitative approach generated valuable and interesting data that can be tested later on by other methods, such as a quantitative survey. Thus, increasing preferences of food brands being advertised along with consumption related family communication strongly influence the children’s food consumption as Buijzen, Schuuman ,Bomhof (2007) has suggested that children’s exposure to food advertising was significantly related to their consumption of advertised brands and energy product categories. Further, they found the relation between advertising exposure and overall food consumption only held in lower income. In addition, consumption-related family communication was an important moderator of the relation between advertising and the food consumption variable. Besides TV outdoor food advertisements and food outlets also play important role in triggering unhealthy food advertisements among children, as Walton, Pearce and Day (2009) have shown that impact of outdoor food advertisements and outdoor food outlets around schools have impact on promoting nutrition in schools. The outdoor food advertisements mostly promote the junk foods (snacks, fast foods). More exposure to outdoor food advertisements by school children on their routes more would be the strong influence on their buying behavior. Thus less outdoor food advertisements around school could be suggested for helping schools in promoting nutrition. Moreover, Stevenson (2007) indicated that there are many other interwoven factors influencing adolescents’ eating behavior, from personal and cognitive factors to peer, parental and media influences and furthermore, that these converge to constitute barriers to healthy eating. Thematic analysis identified four key factors as barriers to healthy eating. These factors were: physical and psychological reinforcement of eating behavior; perceptions of food and eating behavior; perceptions of contradictory food-related social pressures; and perceptions of the concept of healthy eating itself. Ways in which to address these societal level issues can be derived from an understanding of the dynamics of the problem itself. But parents do have strong influence on children’s eating habits as Guidetti, Cavazza (2008) have suggested that Parents’ repertory have an anchoring function in the formation of that of their children, not only in terms of imitation, but also in terms of influencing the direction of differentiation and innovation. Similarities and differences linking parents’ and children’s food repertories are not simply due to a shared culture, but are, at least in part, specifically attributable to the shared family environment. In this study they found that as children’s age increased, the negative overlap between their avoidances and parents’ preferences (limitation area) decreased, suggesting that children tended to accept a larger number of food items among those particularly loved by their parents, probably because they were acquiring ‘‘more adult-like’’ tastes. Along with that Dens, Pelsmacker and Eagle (2007) have suggested that parents express concern with their children’s eating habits and parental attitudes towards food advertising were negative. Attitude towards food advertising, the perception of the influence of advertising on children and the extent to which they understand its commercial intent are insignificant in determining parental restrictive mediation. For the promotion of healthy food practices among children Dixona, Scullya, Wakefield (2007) has suggested that advertisements for healthy foods on children’s TV may help to promote healthy eating among children. Children already knew healthy foods were better for them than junk foods, but they showed less favorable attitudes to healthy foods than junk foods. Changing the food advertising environment on children’s TV to one where nutritious foods are effectively promoted and junk foods are relatively unrepresented would help to normalize and reinforce healthy eating and could empower those with poor diets to recognize their eating behavior as unhealthy and seek to change it. In order to discourage unhealthy food practices, Atlantis (2008) indicated that Australian government sponsored TV advertisement (called ‘Get Moving’), promoting more physical activity and less sedentary behavior, on children’s choices, preferences, and ratings of liking for physical activities and sedentary behaviors. Likert scale was used to know the preferences of children. Even in India campaign against unhealthy food advertisements has been started as Vadehra (2010) has emphasized that the debate over advertising junk food to children is also raging in India. However, despite these negatives, advertising law has come a long way in India and increased awareness of the issues concerning advertising to children is improving the situation. Methods In analyzing the impact of food advertisements on the children, we adopted variety of methods. Questionnaires As children were targeted in our study, so children from the primary schools were studied in detail. Our sample size was hundred students. Ten students of age ranging from 8-13 years were taken from each school. In this way ten primary schools were visited where students were asked to fill the questionnaire. The questionnaire contained the closed ended questions regarding their access to Television, understanding towards advertisements, concept of fats, and influence of parents in their diets, impact of food advertisements on children purchasing preferences. Questionnaire was also designed to find sources of advertisements attractive to 8-13 year old children and to figure out the consumption of junk food items among children after being exposed to food advertisements. In short, such questionnaire was designed in a comprehensive manner and in a simple language to identify the effect of advertisements on the pattern of food consumption among children. They were also given some explanation to develop their understanding towards questions included in the questionnaire. Observation While apart from questionnaires, children were also observed during their mid break times and break off times in schools. Majority of them were found to purchase unhealthy foods like chocolates, biscuits, French fries and confectionaries (Toffees and Jellies). It was also observed that canteens were decorated with colorful poster advertisements of junk food items to gain the attention of the children. Such kind of advertisements was also found to be clustered around school locations. Such factors had contributed in promoting unhealthy food practices among children. Interviews Apart from the previously mentioned ways, we also consulted teachers from the primary schools. We asked some questions regarding the pattern of eating preferences among children. They also emphasized that majority of the children purchase junk foods in response to the food advertisements. Even, parents of eight to thirteen year old children in shopping malls were interviewed, while they were shopping. Some questions regarding the children’s food preferences were asked from them. Majority of the mothers came up with the opinion that children are not only attracted to aggressively marketed unhealthy food advertisements but also demand their parents to purchase them those unhealthy food being advertised. Some mothers also told that their children spent majority of their pocket money in purchasing the junk food items without their (mother’s) consent. This is the reason now they had reduced their pocket money. Small number of mothers agreed that they had strictly restricted their children from consuming junk food items and had provided them with homemade healthy foods.

What Makes Children Turn To Violence essays

What Makes Children Turn To Violence essays What Makes Children Turn to Violence? School violence is a tremendous problem facing todays youth. There are many factors that can contribute to violent actions in schools. Some are child abuse, violence in the home, poverty, easy access to guns, violence in television, and drug and alcohol abuse. The major cause of violence is none of the above, but harassment from others. Many people feel as if they need to result to violence as a result of these negative influences they have received from others as they were growing up. Some people claim that it is the parents responsibility to make sure that their children are disciplined, but that is not always the case. Those troubled children feel as if they need to release the bottled up emotions that they have felt, so violence towards others seems to be the only method of escape for them from the derogatory implications from others. In high school, many forms of harassment are noticed. Verbal Harassment is the one that is most common. It is a highly influential method of convincing others that they are inferior. People feel that they are less of a person just because of what other say to them. But these put-downs can be very effective in making someone feel terrible about themselves. The people who torment others are commonly referred to as bullies. They have a tendency to degrade others either by forms such as name calling, teasing, threatening, hitting, or stealing. Bullying is a major problem that has many negative effects on the wellbeing of students and on their right to learn in a safe environment. Bullying can also have negative lifelong consequences-both for students who bully and for their victims. Studies have established that approximately 15 percent of students are either bullied regularly or are initiators of bullying behavior. Direct bullying seems to increase through the elementary school y ...

A Vivid Rememberance of my chilhood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

A Vivid Rememberance of my chilhood - Essay Example Starting school is a big step in a child’s life and is typically remembered and taken to adulthood. I can vividly recall my first day of school. My first day of school was an apprehensive and sad time in my life. Growing up in Ecuador, I was close with my mother and enjoyed being at home. Starting school was a big event for me sense I was very shy. Being shy makes starting school harder than it should be sense it is harder to make friends and socialize. A typical day at school for me was a lonely day. I was very opposite then my sister. My sister was outgoing and easily made friends. Unlike her, I struggled with friends. My shyness made it hard for me to make friends as I kept to myself. I can recall an exact memory as I was sitting in the classroom just before recess. My school was named Santa Mariana de Jesus. The school was a great school that taught discipline but allowed for fun. Recess was at the same time every day. Other kids could not wait for recess to begin but I dr eaded the thought. To me it made the day go by even slower. As the recess bell rang, children rushed outside with excitement. I walked slowly and sat off to the side alone and by myself. This was an everyday thing. My shyness pushed other kids away. Besides recess, almost every aspect of school was just as dreadful as the next.

International assignment training for Pakistan Term Paper

International assignment training for Pakistan - Term Paper Example It is not difficult to distinguish between the people of Pakistan from a large number of Americans. The reason is their different and unique cultures. Pakistani people have distinguishing dressing patterns, living style and traditions which are not present in the American culture. Pakistan is one of the biggest Islamic countries and hence, Islamic teachings are reflected in every way of their life (Abbott, 1968). In Pakistan, male children are given priority over the females. This discrimination among the children covers a vast area of their lives. Male members are given priority when it comes to the availability of education, financial support, dressing and entertainment stuff (like toys, games, Computers, cell phones etc.), food etc. Brothers, fathers and husbands are normally considered as the head of their families. Head of the family takes all important decisions about the house and lives of the family members. Pakistani children are taught to respect their elders and women are strictly directed to follow the decisions and respect the opinions of the head of their families. Religious strictness forces the Pakistani women to stay out of sight of male counterparts of the society (Bano, 1994). Men are supposed to help their families financially. They are given proper guidance since their childhood about their responsibilities to the family. It can be said that when Pakistani children grow up they are fully aware of the fact that it is their duty to support their family financially and morally. However, on the other hand, American people face less or no discrimination on the basis of gender as Shelly’s Frankenstein suggests in the portrayal of the monster’s desire to have an opposite sex companion. Children are given proper education, food, opportunities to grow confidence and are provided with the sense of independence. They are taught to distinguish between rights and wrongs of the society. Females are not forced to adopt and accept the decisio ns of their male counterparts. As they grow up and enter their teenage life, they start feeling and using their independence. However, they may misuse this freedom by adopting negative attitudes of the society. American teenagers are more likely to involve in alcohol misuse, drug addiction, smoking etc. Youngsters drink alcoholic beverages for fun and fashion purposes but afterward they get addicted to it. The exposure of alcohol and drinking to youngsters and young adults is evident in their literature as Hamlet’s refusal to kill his step father suggests when he was praying. His revenge wanted him to kill his father’s murderer when he was busy in negative or prohibited activities like drinking, sexual relationships and so on. These habits change their attitudes towards their family, friends, studies and responsibilities. They create a severe risk to their lives and future. However, once they enter their adulthood, normally they are not answerable to their elders unlik e Pakistanis. However, it always depends on the way they are brought up. There are no restrictions on the American women to keep themselves away or hidden from the male counterparts of the society. They have equal rights to employment, education, health facilities and career selection. American culture and laws are strict against

British Airways Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

British Airways - Essay Example The concept of organizations developing to global citizenship has been developed in the recent past to ensure that organizations have an input on the societies they are in. Usually, the main purpose of why an organization exists is to make profit for the shareholders. However, this is not all, organizations are obliged to take care of the people that sustain it in different aspects ion order to have a corporate social responsibility. Therefore, according to the World Economic Forum, corporate global citizenship refers to the adoption of real and lasting contributions by a corporate body to societies apart from making profits for the shareholders. The organization should be able to take care of the stakeholders at all levels, these includes the customers, the suppliers, the community in which they operate, aid organizations and governments. It is becoming clear that the act of corporate global citizenship is becoming a corporate norm. The organizations have been under intense pressure to comply with the community expectations ad at the same time remain profitable, the pressure may not be direct but it is evident. This concept has in the recent years shifted from the acts of philanthropy, public relations or legal compliance to become more of a corporate strategy with an aim of creating a corporate name for the organization driven by values. It is therefore necessary for companies to adhere to these provisions in order to maintain not only a corporate image but also a social image that demonstrates to the world that the organization has an input. A company that is a good global citizen should be capable of participating in community development as well as supporting the government through developments. (Nelson, 2005).. Such a company should be able to devote its resources in developing the community around them; this ca n be majorly done through initiation of projects and programs that facilitate development. Global Citizenship Policy of British Airways The airline has reached the community in several different ways. Firstly, they have developed a charitable affiliation called Flying Start that is a joint initiative with Comic Relief. The main purpose of the aid organization is to help children undergoing through hard times across the world. The organization has left a big mark in the lives of many children and their families all around the globe. The second initiative is the establishment of a Community Learning Centre, which was opened around 1999 and has seen more than seventy eight thousand people get training (British Airways 2012). The centre has focused on training the community on information and communication technology, environmental education, language trainings, and customer service among others. The airline has also been on the forefront in supporting charitable organizations both loca lly and internationally, so far they have reached out in support for over forty organizations. One major and recurring impact has been through Dream Flight, which takes seriously ill children and disabled from the United Kingdom for a vacation to Orlando, United States. There is support accorded to street children through a program called Railway Children, several children found in the streets and especially those who live on railway platforms in the United Kingdom have benefited. The airline goes beyond to take care of the wild life through the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust that takes care of orphaned wildlife in Kenya; the initiative has played a critical role in the conservation of elephants (British Airways 2012). British Airways has developed a number of partnerships with the community where they have an input in the development both within the United Kingdom and within other countries. The major areas that the airline has focused on include, in education and youth development , colleague engagements, conservation and emergencies. The staff is very instrumental in providing

Reliability And Validity Assessment

Reliability And Validity Assessment What forms of reliability and validity do Grogan et al. (2000) establish for their patient satisfaction questionnaire (PSQ) measure? Briefly (one paragraph each) review the forms established. 1) Grogan et al.s (2000) chose an internal reliability to check for the consistency or inconsistency of their inter-subscales.   They performed Cronbachs alpha analysis to measure the correlation of each subscales on the general satisfaction subscale. The results showed a high level of correlation coefficient, which range between .74-.95, indicating that the subscales are internally reliable. Using internal reliability (Cronbachs alpha) is efficient and most widely used, however, the expression of its result could only be in terms of consistency and inconsistency. Moreover, the Cronbachs alpha allows items to be discarded from the analysis just to get a better alpha value (Vehkalnti, 2004). Furthermore, the present result showed a strong alpha value of doctor subscale (.95), therefore, it is reasonable to exclude doctor subscale from the five-factor domain, since it is very similar to the general satisfaction subscale. 2) Grogan et al. (2000) chose an internal validity way of assessment (focusing on the inference from the cause and effect of a variable on another variable). Grogan et al. used a construct validity test by using the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), the Pearsons product moment correlation (PPMC), and the Analysis of Covariance (ANOVA). The CFA was used to identify the approximate closeness of the 40 items to fit on the appropriate factor of the five-factor model (doctors, nurses, access, appointments, and facilities), which was suggested to embody patients satisfaction. The result showed a low value of   measure and high value of non-normed fit index (NNFI), which indicated that the items were having a good fit with the five-factor model. The PPMC test was used to look at the correlation of the subscale on the general satisfaction subscale. The result showed a positive significant correlation, which means ANOVA was used to compare the five different subgroups (patients divided ac cording to age) on the 46-items satisfaction scores. The results showed a significant difference of age group, with a greater satisfaction of older patients on the service provision, than younger patients. Construct validity is widely use because its relevant and clear measurements, but the present study did not measure a low correlation scores of items to indicate that the items were irrelevant. Moreover, construct validity is also subjective (in terms of judging the items, where the researchers believe that the items measure what they suppose to measure). Also briefly review other forms that might be established and how this might be achieved. 1) Test-retest reliability might be another good way to test for reliability of items measurements. This can be done by giving the questionnaire to the same respondents (patients) at different occasions, preferably three months after the initial test (Kline, 1993). The correlation of scores between the two tests can be compared. If the correlation coefficient is high, this means that the questionnaire (the subscale items) are reliable and consistence. This can be done by analysing the Cronbachs alpha value, which needs to be greater than .70 to be reliable but not greater than 1 (preferably not greater than .95). Moreover, test-retest should not only be carried out to the patients who had full respondent rates but also to those who had partially respondent rates (17% of the patients), just to check the presence of any specific group of patients that might think the questionnaire was not reliable to them. 2) Alternate-form of reliability can be used to assess reliability of the items, which can be done by using a different wording for each of the items (but having the same meaning) to measure the patients satisfaction based on the five-factor dimensions. According to Litwin (1995), the items created should not be identical but similar to each other, and the test should be his should be given to the same patients at different times. The correlation between their scores will show the reliability of the measurement of the questionnaire. By looking at Cronbachs alpha, high correlation of the items indicates high consistency of measurement. 3) Interobserver reliability is a method that can be used to find how well the inter-subscale is (Litwin, 1995), which measures how the five-factor domains agree with the 46-items questionnaire, by allow the professionals from each domains (such as the doctors, nurse, people who responsible for the environment factor, people responsible for the access factor, and people who are responsible to provide the facilities) to answer the questionnaire to assess their own satisfaction of the service provision. The data can be analysed by using Pearsons correlation to find out the correlation coefficient of the items and the satisfaction. High correlation indicates higher reliability of the subscale. 4) External ways of assessing the validity would be good to mentioned, in which the inter-subscale can be generalized across different patients, places and times. This can be achieved by doing a sampling model and proximal similarity model approaches, in which the questionnaire is first distributed to a sample population, then to its nearby population, and lastly to the outside population. The analysis of scores from these populations can be done by using ANOVA, and the significant correlation can be revealed. If their correlation is significant (p 5) Criterion validity is a good way of analysing the researchs validity as poor criterion tests would lead to inefficient technique of measurement. It has two major forms: predictive validity and concurrent validity. The predictive validity can be applied to find out how well the service of general practitioners could predict the patients satisfaction in the future. This can be done by asking the five domain factors (doctors, nurses, etc) and the patients to fill in the questionnaire separately. Then, the scores will be calculated by factor analysis (CFA) to see if the domain factors fit with five-factor model and by the PPMC to see the correlation on satisfaction. If the domains score fits with the model and have high correlation coefficient, this could predict that the patients score would also be similar. In contrast, concurrent validity cannot be applied because it could not be compared to the gold-standard questionnaire of patients satisfaction as it was none. 6) Content validity can be addressed in terms of finding how adequate the items are to reflect its domain. This can be examined by using CFA, in which it is to find the proximate knowledge of the items adequacy (i.e. to know which specific five-factor domain was the item belongs to). 7) Method bias to measure the present of any biased items in the questionnaire. This can be done by using logistic regression. The items are considered to be biased if they have characteristics that only allow the respondent to give a certain answers, bias to the aim of the study. REFERENCES Carmines, E. G. Richard, A. Z. (1979). Reliability and validity assessment. London: Sage. Grogan, S., Conner, M., Norman, P., Porter, I. (2000). Validation of a questionnaire measuring patient satisfaction with general practitioner services. Quality in Health Care, 9, 210-215. Kane, T. M. (2001). Current concerns in validity theory. Journal of Educational Measurement, 38(4), 319-342. Kerlinger, F. N. (1986). Foundations of behavioural research. London: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Kline, P. (1986).   A handbook of test construction.   New York: Methuen. Kline, P. (1993). The handbook of psychological testing. New York: Routledge. Litwin, M. S. (1995). How to measure survey reliability and validity. London: Sage. Loewenthal, K. M. (2001). An introduction to psychological tests and scales. Hove: Psychology press . Rubin, H. R., Gandek, B., Rogers, W. H. (1993. Patients’ ratings of outpatient visits in different practice settings: Results from the medical outcomes study. Journal of the American Medical Association, 270, 835-840. Vehkalahti, K. (2000) Reliability of Measurement Scales. Retrived November 18, 2009, from  http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/val/tilas/vk/vehkalahti/

Brahma

TO Emerson, this is all the same. Moreover, the Spirit, essence Of â€Å"life,† cannot be killed. It is eternal, without beginning or end. Death is (as is killing) an illusion. This ignorance of the slayer and the slain come directly from the second chapter of the Baghdad Gait, a sacred Hindu text Emerson studied and admired. Check it out here. Emerson is saying (as Brahmas) that death is the same as life, and that killing someone is the same as not. They're all relative concepts. For example, say I killed someone.You may call me a murderer, then. However, what if killed someone to save an old woman being mugged? Then I'm a hero. Everything is circumstantial, and to Brahmas, it is all the same. Brahmas is in everything. Therefore, he's beyond such words as far, because far would be relative to a point. Brahmas is all points, so everything is equally close and equally far. There is always something infinitely bright in one of these points and always something infinitely dark. T herefore, again, these are relative and Brahmas has no interest in them.Brahmas is also timeless; to him, something too far into the past to remember is just occurring, and something in the future is also happening. There are a couple different ways of looking at this. Catholicism puts God in a similar situation, called ‘ ‘The Eternal NOW'; if you read mathematical mysticism (drawn from mathematics, Descartes. And eastern philosophy), you may consider this a seventh dimension, in which Brahmas (and to a degree Emerson and all of us, as since Brahmas touches all of us, we all are part of Brahmas) is part of all time but at the same time not part of any of it.A lot of this is pulling from an Davit Pedant idea called â€Å"Non-Self', something drawn upon by countless others (Emerson called it the â€Å"oversell†), n which everyone is part of a universal font of spiritual power, all times and peoples coexisting, drawing on each others energy. If Brahmas is everyone a nd everything, separation from everyone and everything would make ‘them† reckon you ill. He combines in â€Å"reckon ill† both â€Å"wishing for illness upon† as well as â€Å"reckon ill of mind† â€Å"Fly' here might mean the way one â€Å"flies† a flag, only Brahmas is conceived as a bird.Or â€Å"fly/' here might mean â€Å"flee,† and the â€Å"wings† may be chasing the person in flight. Brahmas (or the oversell) is what enables action to take place; without Brahmas and the interconnectivity of everyone's powers, we'd all be stones in the road. Brahmas is never pictured with a weapon, unlike most of if not all of the major Hindu gods. While Brahmas is strong, it is not in a physical sense, not in a RED SLAYER sort of sense. It's in passiveness, something both Emerson and his buddy Thoreau were big on.The sacred Seven is another title for the Spearfish, directly juxtaposed here with the strong gods that pine. These seven sage s, or risks, work under the guidance of the Brahmas. Though there are different lists with different names, a common one names them as follows: Boring, Atria, Angoras, Vistas, Pulsates, Phallus and Karat. The sacred seven could also refer to the Startups, or seven sacred cities. Hinduism said that, if one were to visit all seven within his lifetime, one escapes the life death cycle (Samara), attaining mimosa. Emerson was well versed in Hinduism.This also brings to mind the symbolism of numbers (known to Jews and Sabbaticals as geometric), saying that putting faith into numbers is in vain. If you find Brahmas (here, one may posit the name of whatever deity in which they believe), you're pretty much set, right? Then why would he say to turn his back on heaven? Consider this; why practice religion? To attain heaven, yes? To gain entrance to something better? But then, that would make practicing religion (something Emerson didn't much like, as Emerson condemned all institutions) for the self, and not for God.Instead, if you attempt to find God in your own way, then you are really doing it for God, not for your own salvation. For that reason, then, turn your back on heaven, and look for God. Only then will you be privy to Brahmas and his subtle ways. Greatly influenced by a sacred text of Hinduism, Kathy-Punished, â€Å"Brahmas† s a philosophical explication Of the universal spirit by that name. The poetic form of elegiac quatrain is used to represent the solemn nature of the subject. Throughout the poem, Brahmas appears as the only speaker, sustaining the continuity of the work.That the spirit is the only speaker signifies not only its absolute nature but also its sustaining power, upon which the existence of the entire universe-?metaphorically, the poem-?is based. The poem begins by examining the common-essentials view that the spirit ends with one's death. Even though the body may be destroyed, Brahmas, which resides in each individual as the fountain of life, never ceases to exist: â€Å"If the red slayer think he slays,/ Or if the slain think he is slain,' They know not well the subtle ways/ I keep. When the body is destroyed, the poet maintains, the spirit will appear again, likely in a different form. By employing the examples of both the slayer and the slain, the speaker is suggesting not only the prevalence of their view (that the spirit may not be eternal) but also the dichotomy that normally characterizes a person's perception. The psychotic recurs in the second stanza, in which opposite notions such as far and near, shadow and sunlight, vanishing and appearing, and shame and fame are juxtaposed.To the speaker, who unifies the universe, the seemingly unbridgeable differences between opposite concepts can be perfectly resolved; hence, the paradoxical statements. Abraham's great power is further described in the third stanza, where the spirit states that it comprehends yet transcends everything-?both â€Å"the doubter and th e doubt,† the subject and object, and matter and mind. In addition, the rhyme scheme befittingly enforces the spirit's interweaving power, yielding a sense of wonder based on unusual metrical symmetry.Different from the otherworldly spirit in Hinduism, however, the transcendental spirit represented by Brahmas in this poem leads the follower not to Heaven but to this world. By using the conjunction ‘t)UT† in the last stanza, Emerson prepares his reader for his MM,'n interpretation of the universal spirit. The concluding statement that justifies self-sufficient existence in this world, â€Å"But thou, meek lover of the good! / Find me, and turn thy back on heaven,† makes this poem characteristically Impression. â€Å"Brahmas† is a poem written by Ralph Wald Emerson. Brahmas† is â€Å"the Creator† in Hinduism. â€Å"Brahmins† in the line â€Å"l am the hymn the Brahmins sings. † is definitely not a coincidence that it has ;o me anings. One meaning is a socialite who has great power and the other meaning is a high priest in Hinduism. Basically, this poem is said by â€Å"Brahmas† to his people. He's saying that people sometimes forget him, but if you are good, you shouldn't. This poem is written as four stanzas with four lines in each. It is rhymed as ABA. It is written in pyrrhic-tetrameter (no stresses).

Meaning of life Essay

Philosophy is â€Å"the study of ideas about knowledge, truth, the nature and meaning of life, etc†¦; a particular set of ideas about knowledge, truth, and meaning of life; and a set of ideas about how to do something or how to live† (Philosophy, 2014, para. 1). Philosophy plays a huge role in all of our lives. Studding of philosophy influences our lives in many ways and has many purposes. Philosophy has five major branches metaphysis, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, and logic. Each of these branches plays a role with culture to develop thoughts in human beings by wondering, a dynamic  process, the truth, and wisdom. â€Å"Philosophy is an attempt to reason clearly and critically about all areas of experience: science, religion, art, politics, and mortality† (What is Philosophy, Para, 1). The purpose of philosophy is to try to understand and evaluate our most basics, beliefs, values, and to integrate them into a coherent view of each of us and the world around us (What is Philosophy, 2014). Studying philosophy is important because it continues to play an important role in shaping the future of all human existence, Philosophy enhances personal growth,  professional opportunities, improves reading skill, critical thinking, communication, and helps in arguments by showing your philosophical knowledge (What is Philosophy, 2014). There are five major basic branches of philosophy. The branches are the metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, and logic. The metaphysics branch is the study of existence. For example, a few questions one might ask them self would be PHILOSOPHY 3 what else is out there, why I am here, and what is my purpose in life (Important of Philosophy, 2014). Epistemology branch is the study of knowledge. Individuals like to know as much as possible to help their selves understand what is going in life and around then. For example, a question one might ask their selves would be how I know about certain things. In philosophy, knowledge is looked at as factual senses, and not just guesses. People that are epistemology rather use statements and questions in factual form, such as, dogs are mammals (Important of Philosophy, 2014). Ethic branch is the study of actions. This is the branch of philosophy that helps the decision making in what is right and what is wrong; beliefs and values. An example of ethics is your conscious. On one side there is the devil telling you to do the wrong thing, and the angel on the other side telling to do the right thing. Many ethical people try to avoid judgment, but have high moral beliefs in specific things. Ethics also plays a role in religion and faith (Important of Philosophy, 2014). The Aesthetics branch (also known as politics) is the study of action. This is the branch that shoes what actions are permissible. An example, would be how politics work in the world. What laws should be made, and how they should come to be. Politics are the ethics that are applied to people based off what they are told to do or believe (Important of Philosophy, 2014). Finally, the last branch of philosophy is logic or esthetics. This is the study of art. The main question is what can life be like? This is the branch that allows mankind to see the world in an abstract way. According to Importance of Philosophy (2014) PHILOSOPHY 4 Esthetics is important because it delves into the reason why art has always existed, the burning need of mankind through the ages to see the world in a different, clear way it  further evaluates art by the standards of human life, and whether it accomplishes the job of satisfying man’s intellectual needs, or whether it tends to hurt or make worse those needs (Para. 3). Esthetics is bringing the emotion and idea together to make a decision (Important of Philosophy, 2014). Within all the branches there are arguments, these arguments helps in philosophy to create creative thinking and growth. We all have questions, and beliefs to the meaning of life, and we will continue to argue trough ethnic, logic, politics, and beliefs. Each of the five basic philosophy groups have to face basic arguments, These  arguments are structure of arguments, evaluating arguments, types of arguments, and informal fallacies (Chaffee, 2013). The structure of arguments includes: reason, reason, and conclusion. Evaluating arguments include truth of reason, validity of structure, and soundness of argument. There are two types of arguments deductive: conclusion follows necessarily from premises (reasons), and inductive: conclusion supported by premises to some degree. Finally, there are informal fallacies, these are unsound arguments that appeal to emotion and prejudice (Chaffee, 2013). Philosophy and culture interact to develop thought because there are so many different beliefs in the word. Philosophy is love and wisdom, while in culture there is so much hate. The more we talk about our beliefs, and talk out the way we each feel it creates creative thinking, and more open minds. For example, scientist see things one PHILOSOPHY 5 way, but when we are more philosophical it shows us that there are more than one answer to each question. Science believes in evolution, religions believe in god, while the rest of us are still trying to find the meaning of life. When it comes to me, I think ethics represents me the most. I believe in right and wrong, and I have faith. I believe that taking actions against wrong in the world is very important. In our culture, there is so much hate, and I am a very big advocate for equality. I fight for equality for all humans, and I also fight for the rights of animals. Philosophy is â€Å"the study of ideas about knowledge, truth, the nature, and meaning of life (Philosophy, 2014, para. 1). There are five major basic groups, and there will always be questions to create creative thinking, and open minds. Philosophy has  been around from the beginning of time, and will be around until the end of time. We will always want to know the meaning of life and why we exist. PHILOSOPHY 6 References: Chaffee, J. (2013). The philosopher’s way: Thinking Critically about Profound Ideas (1st Ed,). Pearson Education, INC. Importance of Philosophy. (2014). Retrieved from http://www. importanceofphilosophy. com/FiveBranchesMain. html Philosophy. (2014). Retrieved from http://www. merriam- webster. com/dictionary/philosophy What is Philosophy? (2014). Retrieved from http://www. etsu. edu/cas/philosophy/whatis. aspx.

Criminal Investigation Essays

Criminal Investigation Essays Criminal Investigation Essay Criminal Investigation Essay Midterm Essay CJ21-Criminal Investigation Professor Yocum September 28th, 2010 Throughout the years the type of crimes and amount of crimes committed has changed significantly and has played a major role in the American society. What is crime? As defined by Frank Schmalleger (2007) â€Å"crime is a conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, federal government or a local jurisdiction where there is no legally acceptable justification or excuse† (p. 7). Criminal investigators have the responsibility of pursuing new ways to create a safer environment for the community in which they serve by gathering and analyzing evidence found at a crime scene. It is very important to understand the methods, mindset and sources of information behind an investigators strategy towards the ultimate goal of a successful prosecution of an offender. What is the scientific method? The scientific method consists of six different aspects; first one needs to identify the problem through examination. Secondly, one should form a hypothesis about what has happened from what they may know about the victim or what they have been able to gather from witnesses. Thirdly, collect data through observation and experimenting by this I mean to search for relevancy of a suspect’s background and witness statements. Next we need to compare the hypothesis and data compiled by evaluating the evidence found. If the data supports the hypothesis then a search for additional evidence may be needed. Lastly, one should draw a conclusion based off of all the evidence found; if there is probable cause this then would justify an arrest. As a part of the scientific method, the method of inquiry consists of two general ideas; reconstructing the past and discovering or creating new knowledge, this is done through observation. Some questions may derive from that including who, what, where, when, why and how. By answering these questions it helps an investigator to identify a suspect of a crime. An investigator must maintain a certain mind-set to fully conduct an investigation; the optimal investigative mind-set provides foresight and perception to an investigator. The investigative mind-set is a doubt or uncertainty. On the other hand, the optimal mind-set of an investigative manifest is to â€Å"put beyond doubt or question† (www. dictionary. com). There are a number of sources of information available to assist criminal investigators in their efforts to prosecute an offender . However, there are three primary sources which take precedence, and these sources are people, physical evidence and records. As an investigator conducts his investigation he would learn that people retain a great value of information from what they see, hear or witness. For example, a bank robbery in which someone has witnessed, an investigator would obtain detailed information about what that person observed. Although it may sometimes be difficult to identify those who may have insight, it is the investigators responsibility to motivate an individual to divulge such information. On the other hand, physical evidence is an object which can be found at or near the scene of a crime. Physical evidence may not always be easily found, but more than likely without the suspects knowledge there is some form of evidence left behind. For example, at the scene of a murder, there may be no signs of a forced entry or weapon found at the scene and no apparent signs of a struggle. However, clenched in the hand of the victim are follicles of hair and with this physical evidence an investigator is almost certain to have collected the most important evidence of the crime. Another form of physical evidence is a record for example; a car can be connected to someone through establishing who it is registered to by communicating with the department of motor vehicles. In earlier years records were stored using only paper, but with the advances in technology records nowadays are stored electronically. Records can be obtained in several ways, but ultimately they all provide the information needed to conduct an investigation. A successful criminal investigator is one who is organized and understands the process in which to gather pertinent evidence needed to apprehend a suspect. Through specific methods, a firm mind-set and valuable sources of information this can prove to be effective. Although crime will never seize to exist through persistent efforts of criminal investigators and other law enforcement we can reduce the amount of crime committed on an everyday basis. References Osertburg, J. W. amp; Ward, R. H. (2007) Criminal Investigation, Fifth Edition: A Method for Reconstructing the Past. Schmalleger, F. (2007) Criminal Justice Today, Ninth Edition: An Introductory Text for the Twenty First Century. Manifest. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http:// www. dictionary. reference. com/browse/manifest

PreDarwinism Views essays

PreDarwinism Views essays Before November 24, 1859, many people simply believed that species were created by God in their present forms, or that it was possible for organic matter to be spawned from inorganic matter. However, Charles Darwin used these ideas to create his thesis, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. The first true theories on evolution arise during the classical Greek period. On a handful of Greek philosophers believed in the theory of evolution and natural selection. Unfortunately, the two philosophers who influenced western civilization the most, Plato and Aristotle, opposed any theory of evolution. Plato believed that there were two worlds, one real world, and one imperfect world that we perceive with our senses. Any variations in life were imperfect images of their ideal forms. However, Aristotle didnt believe in two worlds; instead, he believed in a scale of nature. Each life form was arranged on a type of ladder. It started at the bottom with the least complex organism and continued up to the most complex organism. Each organism had a pre-determined rung, which allowed no ability to move up, and no open spaces for a new organism to According to Neil Campbell in his book, Biology: Fourth Edition, Juedo-Christian culture fortified anti-evolution theories. (p. 400-401) The creationist-essentialist dogma that species were permanent and created for a specific purpose became deeply embedded in Western thought. Any person who dared to theorize or believe in theories about evolution were instantly labeled heretics. The medieval church saw evolution as saying that God did not exist, that we are not the supreme creation, and that humans could just However, in the later 1700s and early 1800s there was a scientific revolution taking place. People began to use scientifi ...

Pricing derivatives using Monte Carlo Techniques Essay

Pricing derivatives using Monte Carlo Techniques - Essay Example In practice generic Monte Carlo pricing engines face computational problems in the presence of discontinuous payoffs options, because of above stated time consumption limitation but also due to poor convergence with its finite difference estimates and brute force perturbation. Benhamou (2001)[3] following Fourni et al. (1999)[4] use Malliavin calculus to smoothen the simulation function. Benhamou(2001)[3] assumes that the functions are smooth enough to be able to perform the different computation following technical assumptions enunciated earlier, in particular the assumption regarding uniform ellipticity of the volatility operator, in Benhamou (2000-i)[5] (2000-ii)[6] and Fourni et al. (2001)[7]. Benhamou (2001)[3] further states when using finite difference approximation for the Greeks, with jumped price and taking the sensitivity issues into account, errors on numerical computation of the expectation via the Monte Carlo, and another one on the approximation of the derivative funct ion occur. Analysis ends up approximating the second order derivative of the payoff function .An approximation is obviously very inefficient for very discontinuous payoffs like for binary, range accrual, barrier and other type of digital options. To reduce this inefficiency, Broadie and Glasserman (1996)[8] suggested using the likelihood ratio method. Benhamou says," All Greeks can be written as the expected value of the payoff times a weight function and thee weight functions are independent from the payoff function implying that for a general pricing engine, such as Monte Carlo, using certain (numerical) criteria of smoothness, one can branch on the appropriate method. Because it is in a sense independent from the payoff function, the general implementation is simpler that the one of variance reduction technique that only apply to very specific payoff (like the use of control variate).Also no extra computation is required for other payoff function as long as the payoff is a functi on of the same points of the Brownian trajectory. This can be cached in memory to make it efficient Benhamou (2001).Thus Mallavian calculus promises savings in terms of computations, complexity, cache memory and in time though it may produce some noise. The formidable amount of literature exists which intends to suggest analytical pricing formulae for single asset American options. It includes Carr(1998)[9], Grant et al(1997)[10], Bunch and Johnson(2000)[11],Huang et al(1996)[12], Geske and Johnson(1984)[13] and Barone Adesi and Whaley(1987)[14].One can even refer to older constructs like the binomial model of Cox et al(1979)[15].Many of these constructs deploy elaborate mathematical tools, like recursive integration schemes or

Tips for Effective Oral Presentations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Tips for Effective Oral Presentations - Essay Example In this easy, some tips on how to make an effective presentation are discussed. The issue of stage fright, which is a major hindrance to making an effective oral presentation and how to manage it, is also discussed. At the end of this discussion, there should be clarity on how one can make an effective oral presentation. Keywords: Oral Presentation, Effective, Stage Fright Introduction When making an oral presentation, it is very important for one to be able to present thoughts and ideas effectively. Oral presentations are usually very popular in job interviews, and especially when one starts working (Gupta, 2008). So everyone is encouraged to practice oral presentation even before friends and family so as to perfect the skill before the very important time. Ones ability in this area can either make or break his or her career. This is because a person can be very hard working in the job he or she is doing, but if he or she does not have good skills in oral presentation, his or her gr owth will not be seen (Aquino, 2008). There are people who have a certain potential for communication, but this does not mean that they are good at oral presentation. The techniques involved would be very beneficial to such people, to sharpen up their skills more. Effective oral presentation skills make a person more popular among colleagues, for example, a manager who has good skills in oral presentation is likely to be popular among his juniors (Gupta, 2008). What is Oral Presentation? Most of the time, people tend to confuse oral communication with oral presentation, but the two are totally different. According to Gupta, â€Å"oral communication is an interactive process of sharing information† (2008, p. 91) with people. Oral presentation on the other hand refers to a proper way of transmitting messages to an audience. It is important to note that effective oral presentations are important for the growth of a company or organization one is working for, especially when the partners or donors of the funds are present. Characteristics of an Effective Oral Presentation Purposeful: When being composed, an oral presentation should be directed to a definite purpose and one that is clear, because it is aimed at conveying a message to the audience (Rizvi, 2005). Interactive: Any oral presentation should involve the speaker, as well as the audience (Rizvi, 2005). Formal: This is what differentiates oral presentation from other forms of presentations. As said earlier, it is usually emphasized during job interviews. Thus, it is usually used in formal situations. Audience Oriented: This means that the topic has to be dealt with from the perspective of the audience (Rizvi, 2005). Importance of an Effective Oral Presentation Employers usually put great emphasis on oral presentation skills, than in any other form of communication skills. Gupta asserts that an oral presentation has the potential to educate, inspire and persuade more effectively than any other individ ual mode of communication (2008). At some point in ones career, he or she may be asked to make a presentation, and this is the reason why most of the business people rank oral presentation skills as among the most important factors responsible for their success. A good oral presentation can work wonders for any person who is looking for lucrative job offer from a company he or she has dreamt of working with