Understanding Dementia Professor Ramos Blog

Understanding Dementia Allison Hepburn 10/10/2018 English 010 3pm                                                                 Understanding Dementia Dementia is characterized by progressive global deterioration of cognitive abilities in multiple domains, including memory, and at least 1 additional area- learning, orientation, language, comprehension, and judgment- severe enough to interfere with daily life (Daviglus 176) .Different forms of dementia, including vascular disorders (multiple strokes), dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinsons dementia, and normal pressure hydrocephalus would be grouped among the non-Alzheimer disorders (Dementia). Alzheimer disease is the most common cause of dementia it accounts for 60% to 80% of all dementia cases, and as many as 5.1 million Americans may currently have the disease; the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment is even higher (Daviglus 176). Furthermore, the number of persons affected by Alzheimer disease or mild cognitive impairment is expected to increase considerably with the aging of the baby-boom generation (Daviglus 176). About 5 percent to 8 percent of all people over the age of 65 have some form of dementia, and this number doubles every five years above that age (Dementia). It is estimated that as many as half of people 85 or older suffer from dementia (Dementia). Although dementia has always been common, it has become even more common among the elderly in recent history. It is not clear if this increased frequency of dementia reflects a greater awareness of the symptoms or if people simply are living longer and thus are more likely to develop dementia in their older age (Dementia). The cognitive or behavioral impairment involves a minimum of two of the following domains: Impaired ability to acquire and remember new information––symptoms include: repetitive questions or conversations, misplacing personal belongings, forgetting events or appointments, getting lost on a familiar route (McKhann., et al). Impaired reasoning and handling of complex tasks, poor judgment––symptoms include: poor understanding of safety risks, inability to manage finances, poor decision-making ability, inability to plan complex or sequential activities (McKhann., et al). Impaired visuospatial abilities––symptoms include: inability to recognize faces or common objects or to find objects in direct view despite good acuity, inability to operate simple implements, or orient clothing to the body (McKhann., et al). Impaired language functions (speaking, reading, writing) ––symptoms include: difficulty thinking of common words while speaking, hesitations; speech, spelling, and writing errors (McKhann., et al). Changes in personality, behavior, or comportment––symptoms include: uncharacteristic mood fluctuations such as agitation, impaired motivation, initiative, apathy, loss of drive, social withdrawal, decreased interest in previous activities, loss of empathy, compulsive or obsessive behaviors, socially unacceptable behaviors (McKhann., et al). Diabetes mellitus, ApoE gene variation, current smoking, and depression are associated with increased risk for Alzheimer disease and cognitive decline (Daviglus., et al 180). Several cardiovascular risk factors have been consistently associated with increased risk for cognitive decline (Daviglus., et al 180). High blood pressure has been most consistently associated with cognitive decline, and particularly with severe cognitive decline (Daviglus., et al 180). Diabetes also has been associated with an increased Risk for cognitive decline, but this association is modest and less consistent (Daviglus., et al 180). The metabolic syndrome, a cluster of metabolic abnormalities, has been consistently associated with a modest risk for cognitive decline (Daviglus., et al 180). A large randomized trial of cognitive training (consisting of memory, reasoning, and speed) over 5 to 6 weeks with a subsequent booster period showed modest benefits on cognitive functioning and a small, statistically significant effect on reducing the extent of age-related cognitive decline at 5-year follow-up (Daviglus., et al 180). This trial also showed a very small significant benefit on instrumental activities of daily living- for example, managing finances, managing medications, and keeping house- and, in a subgroup analysis, benefit on driving performance in elderly persons (Daviglus., et al 180). However, these findings need to be replicated to confirm the benefits of cognitive engagement on preventing cognitive decline over a longer period and in persons with varying levels of baseline cognitive abilities before firm recommendations can be made (Daviglus., et al 180). Currently, no evidence of even moderate scientific quality exists to support the association of any modifia ble factor (such as nutritional supplements, herbal preparations, dietary factors, prescription or nonprescription drugs, social or economic factors, medical conditions, toxins, or environmental exposures) with reduced risk for Alzheimer disease. Numerous modifiable factors have been reported to show association with risk for Alzheimer disease across multiple studies, but the overall scientific quality of the evidence is low. I interviewed Nancy Hepburn who had a grandmother with dementia and is currently taking care of her mother who also had dementia. â€Å"The hardest thing to go through is them not remembering who I am and the times we had together† (Hepburn). My grandmother started having abnormal behavior and accused me of stealing her perfume, but I later found out she was hiding them (Hepburn). Nancy Hepburn also says, â€Å"My mother still remembers who I am but has short term memory loss, I have noticed while taking care of her, one thing that gets me frustrated and is also a very hard thing to do is have a conversation with her†. â€Å"We will start talking about a topic and then she will ask me the same thing that she did seconds before, or she gets it all mixed up and loses the point of what we were talking about† (Hepburn). You need to have a lot of patience and understanding for their circumstances and no matter how bad it gets, it’s your family member and you ha ve to understand they weren’t like that before the disease (Hepburn). As the disease progresses, these activities can enhance the person’s sense of dignity and self-esteem by giving more purpose and meaning to his or her life. Activities also structure time. They can make the best of a person’s abilities and facilitate relaxation. Being active can also provide a sense of engagement, usefulness and accomplishment, which can help reduce behavior like wandering or agitation. Both a person with dementia and his or her caregiver can enjoy the sense of security and togetherness that activities provide. Consider the person’s likes and dislikes, strengths and abilities, and interests. As the disease progresses, be ready to make adjustments (Alzheimer’s Associations 2).   Daily routines may include:  » Chores: Dusting, sweeping, doing laundry.  » Mealtime: Preparing food, cooking, eating.  » Personal care: Bathing, shaving, dressing. Other activities may include:  » Creative: Painting, playing the piano.  » Intellectual: Reading a book, doing puzzles.  » Physical: Taking a walk, playing catch.  » Social: Having coffee, talking, playing cards.  » Spiritual: Praying, singing a hymn.  » Spontaneous: Visiting friends, going out to dinner.  » Work-related: Making notes, fixing something (Alzheimer’s Associations 2). To determine if the daily plan is working, consider the person’s response to each activity (Alzheimer’s Associations 8). The success of an activity can vary from day to day (Alzheimer’s Associations 8). In general, if the person seems bored, distracted or irritable, it may be time to introduce another activity or take a break (Alzheimer’s Associations 8). Structured and pleasant activities often can reduce agitation and improve mood (Alzheimer’s Associations 8). The type of activity and how well it’s completed is not as important as the joy and sense of accomplishment the person gets from doing it (Alzheimer’s Associations 8). Cited page Alzheimer’s Associations. â€Å"Activities at Home Planning the Day for a Person with MIDDLE- OR LATE-STAGE DEMENTIA Middle- or Late- Stage Dementia† (2017) 1-12 This article explains daily activities to plan with a dementia patient. I believe this source is credible because it is written by the Alzheimer’s Association. I will use this information in my research to find different activities that will better help the dementia patient along with the caregivers. Daviglus, Martha L., et al. National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science Conference statement: preventing alzheimer disease and cognitive decline. Annals of internal medicine 153.3 (2010): 176-181. This article researched the reduction of risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. I find this article credible because state-of-the-science statements were prepared by independent panels of health professionals and public representatives by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). I will use this source in my report to better understand the risk factors and preventions of Alzheimer’s Disease. Dementia. (2014) my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9170-dementia. This source is credible because it is information from a clinic. I will use the information in the article to better understand dementia and what its symptoms are. Hepburn, Nancy, Personal interview. 2 Oct. 2018 This source is credible because she has a mother and had a grandmother who both have and had dementia. I will use this information to better understand what it is like taking care of an Alzheimer’s patient. McKhann, Guy M., et al. The diagnosis of dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease: Recommendations from the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer’s Association workgroups on diagnostic guidelines for Alzheimers disease. Alzheimers dementia 7.3 (2011): 263-269. This article explains the different behavioral impartments on Alzheimer’s disease. I believe this to be a credible source because it is information from the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer’s Association. I will use this source to the impairments that dementia causes.

HELP WITH ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

HELP WITH ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY Writing an argumentative essay is an art. One confident opinion is not enough to create an effective argue or prove much. Straightforward logic is also not enough to communicate an idea or to convince others of something. If you need help with argumentative essay, you have to remember that your primary goal is present a strong argument and to sway your audience to accept your point of view as their own. Take advantage of looking around, reading recent studies of the subject, researching others and opposing viewpoints. And last but not least to evaluate your own beliefs as a writer if they are true to life or simply inherited, taken or â€Å"stolen† from others without questioning.   If you are willing to evaluate the level of your personal knowledge on a specific topic, put yourself together and write a good argumentative essay. Spend more time reading and researching and become a bigger expert of the problem, issue or subject. And remember to avoid the topics that cannot be won over. HELP WITH ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY Argumentative essay essential is its leading tone. To create this leading tone accent you need to find a solid position in representing a certain point of view. Support this point of view with several truthful arguments or facts. Avoid using too much personal or external opinion. If you need help with argumentative essay, weve got professionals for you. Your major goal as an author of argumentative essay must be ability to proper reasoning. See as you your argumentative essay flows as a water while you reason arguments, create inducting followed by naturally logic conclusions. Prove writing used assertions and the proposed theories. Keep in mind that used reasons and conclusions without any written prove may be considered unsubstantial.    Argumentative essay format follows strict essay structure that includes: 1) clear statement that reveals the significance or importance of the discussed opinion; 2) present information that has direct connection to the phenomenon; 3) use reliable data to help your reader to accept and to agree with the presented information source.

Special Effects in the movie Inception Research Paper

Special Effects in the movie Inception - Research Paper Example Special wooden rooms were created that were supported by steel tubing. Several hotel sets were created in an airship which included a long hotel corridor that can rotate both clockwise and anticlockwise. The actors were hung on wires and with two months of rehearsal and training, they were able to ‘defy’ the law of gravity and the amazing scene was created. The scene shows Arthur fighting a couple of men in a rotating corridor under zero gravity. Then in the absence of gravity, he moves on to his four teammates and ties them by a rope and puts them in a lift. This scene is a perfect example of showing the invalidity of the laws of science in the world of our imagination. The scene appears near the climax of the movie and mind boggles the viewers with its special effects.The dreams are also shown to lose shape as they begin collapsing. In the very start of the movie, the building where Cobb was standing begins to collapse and starts to get filled with water because the dr eam was about to end. Another interesting use of special effects is in the designing of dreams. Cobb hires Ariadne to design the dreams which would contain the team when it is on its mission. Designing the dream is not like designing in reality. The dreams are not bound by any laws and impossible structures cam be built just by using one’s imagination. In the movie, we see this when Cobb is sharing a dream with Ariadne during her first lesson. Appalled by the truth that she was a dream, the revelation shakes her subconscious and the dream collapses. The film shows minute details of the scene which shows structures break into fragments and the buildings tear apart, resulting in Ariadne waking up. In the other lessons, we see Ariadne as a brilliant architect who knows how to play around with the laws of science in the world of dreams.3 Then it is the world created by Cobb and Mal during their limbo state. The world has been created at such deep levels of dreams that it is unsta ble even though it appears real to the dreamer. Chunks are constantly seen to be breaking away from the buildings and falling into the sea. To create the limbo world also made use of a lot of special

How Bespoke In The Face Of Challenges Find A New Way To Work Essay

How Bespoke In The Face Of Challenges Find A New Way To Work - Essay Example Considering the attention and time invested to detail while creating a bespoke suit, the costs are justifiable. It is cheaper, compared to a ready to wear garments. Similar services are provided by couture industry, however, the customer pays for a tailored suit at the same time purchasing the glamor of the name o the designer. Bespoke tailoring is moderately priced. In addition, with the increase in prices, many customers realized the convenience of bespoke tailoring. According to Timothy Everest a Savile Row Tailor, women preferred men tailors to haute couture. He further states that bespoke trousers are cheaper in British. (De La Haye, 1997) Savile Row tailors at Hawkes and Gieves can produce a suit that costs up to  £1400. However, there are many small bespoke businesses in the UK that offer affordable prices. In the year 2010, Raymond Andrews, a gent’s bespoke tailor advertised a three piece suit at  £400. Contrary a wool jacket from Yves Winter was sold at  £3174. Modern tailoring originated in the nineteenth century. By then men’s tunics had become short and close to the body in a fitting manner. Since then, the tailoring method of making the fabric to fit the body evolved and still in existence to date. Throughout the centuries that followed, skills developed along with the fashion’s demands. Continuously, the current three piece suit has been reworked. Slowly it evolved from tunic in the fourteenth century, to frock coat in the seventeenth century and in mid-nineteenth century classic form. In the nineteenth century bespoke tailoring became famous and maintained the popularity before being taken over by ready-to-wear in the 1950’s. Through several revivals, the world has recognized its richness in heritage and craft. This is evident in the wardrobes of the respectable Victorian male interpretation, to the attractiveness of Edward VIII and stars in Hollywood. Its’

Iranian Revolution and Persepolis Booklet Conventions Essay Example for Free

Iranian Revolution and Persepolis Booklet Conventions Essay High and Low cultures are terms given to value the quality of the text. Low culture text is usually the text written for entertainment and pleasure and does not encourage complex reflection and thoughts . Comics are considered as a Low culture and comics and graphic novel are similar to each other but graphic novel are not considered to be Low culture. High culture text is written to encourage complex reflection and thought. High culture are usually full of literary features while low culture has low literary features. Text with high culture also called privileged text and text with low culture is called marginalized . 2- Everyone has his own way of thinking, if three people read a book they will think differently and will have different opinions about it that’s why we respond to the text is shaped by our ideology because everyone understand it from a different perspective. The same thing happens when different people read a graphic novel , they all have different opinions and ideas and they discuss it some people may change their opinions after they heard someone’s else opinion ,that’s how it changes our beliefs, attitudes and values toward literature 3- Symbols in a Graphic novel are easy to understand cause most of the are colours , body language , objects and clothing etc.. .In Persepolis Satrapi has made it different than any other graphic novels , she made no colours only black and white and this is a symbol of something that happened in the past . 4- Satrapi choose to write Persepolis in form of a graphic novel to tell her story ,because she want us to understand what she understands .She is writing her story so she wants us to feel how it feels to grow up during a revolution and a war , and how it feels to move from your country to a different one having a new life she wants us to feel what she felt and she actually succeeded at it Style and Literary Traditions: Persepolis is more bildungsroman than a memoir, because Satrapi didn’t only want to tell the story of her childhood but she wanted to show the way she lived in Iran at the time of the Islamic revolution, also she wanted to show how she grew morally, socially and spiritually making herself an example of how a young girls grew up at this time and bildungsroman is when protagonist must progress from childhood to adulthood, leave home to undergo a journey, and develop a more mature understanding of his or her self. Satrapi also shows how is feels for a young girl to grow up during a Revolution and live in Iran while it was at war with Iraq, those young girls saw communists getting shot and killed by the shah army and hearing stories about political prisoners being tortured during the revolution and saw planes blowing up buildings and other events too. Although it was horrible but Satrapi use a satirical tone sometimes when talking to the revolution guardians Literary Features: Satrapi has been able to manipulate the literary features well though it is a graphic novel which sometimes authors find it hard to use the literary features. Satrapi has used alot of symbols and one of the most important symbol was â€Å" the veil â€Å" which shows the rebellious side of Satrapi and that she was against wearing it but the Islamic government said it is obligatory for women and girls to wear veil. She has also been hyperbole about it Satrapi has used many allusions; most of them are people some are rebellious figures like : Che Guevara, Fidel Castro , they symbolize how a young generation is forced to become revolutionary even though they know little about the turmoil they fight , most of the allusion are about being rebellion and the war. Unlike other writers, Marjane Satrapi has it a little easier because she is able to literally show us what she wants us to see , and the Major thing about persepolis is that it has no colours it’s all black and white to give the story a more ancient feel, she wants us to see that all of this has already occurred. Moreover, the simplicity of her images allows her to demonstrate that this time in her life was not a great one, and that most of it is blurry. Perhaps the lack of color also signifies how somber that time was. Furthermore, she usually draws herself in the background, this shows how inferior she unworthy of being at the same level of men. As she gets older in the novel, she starts to show herself more, it is almost as if she is starting to believe that she is finally getting to the level of men. She begins to talk more to people, and not only speaks her thoughts to herself. Themes: Any young woman growing up is going to face struggles especially during her adolescence. However, to grow up in the midst of the Iranian revolution is undoubtedly a life changing experience. In a society where one certain religion is forced upon you, and where you go, what you wear, who you see, and all that you do is restricted, it is clearly difficult to accept. Especially to a determined and independent young lady such as Marjane Satrapi. In Persepolis one of the most important themes of the novel is government and society and its role in determining the sequence of events that Satrapis life takes on such as in the first chapter veils are forced on the women of Iran. In Persepolis Satrapi has used many themes and as mentioned one of the most important themes is government and society. The Iranian society after the revolution was forced to do what their government tells them like wearing the veil and this is also connected to the theocracy and dictatorship theme that the Islamic government turned into a dictatorship , dictatorship was not only with the government but also in Satrapi’s house she calls her mother a â€Å" the dictator guardian of the revolution of the house The government played a big role in 1980’s Iran by implementing new laws and restricting old freedoms, whoever does obey is either sent to jail and tortured or being executed and a lot of people where being executed for doing things forbidden by Islam ,the government used Islam as a cover to do whatever they want without people questioning them. Even though the Islamic government prevented partying and drinking, people went to illegal parties and drank wine this is considered as an act of rebellion which is also a theme. Rebellion is also a major theme in Persepolis, rebellion is not only against a government it can also be rebellion to what people say. Satrapi uses cigarettes as a symbol of rebellion, she want to show that she can do whatever men can do because at this time in Iran there were feminism. Moreover , Satrapi uses more rebellion figures to support her rebellion theme like Che Guevara, Fidel Castro and Trotsky they are a symbol for freedom Iran was in an outer war with Iraq and internal war against Iranians. Those are the best words that could describe what is happening inside Iran in that time, the army was fight the Iraq’s and was also killing communists and people that have a secular thoughts. Although, the kids of the lower class are sent to war to fight for their country, but before they are sent, they are given this golden key which sybolizes the riches and wealth they will have if they go into war for their country. Not having much, these kids end up joining the army being promised these dreams that never happen. While on the other hand the higher classes are partying and enjoying themselves, not doing anything to protect their country, but only themselves. Isnt that sad. Also in the case of Marjane her maid doesnt sit with her and her parents had a cadillac showing that they were wealthy, but Marjane didn like the idea of that. If you are a powerful person that has a lot of money, or if you were a king, you were part of the high class people. If you are poor or a peasant, you are considered to be in the lower class. What also exists is a middle class who refers to those who can make enough money to dress properly and own certain things that peasants can’t. Being a part of the middle class doesn’t make you a high class person because you don’t have power and don’t have a fortune, but it’s enough for good living Martyrdom was also a major theme in Persepolis since the war started and Satrapi describes it â€Å"To die a martyr is to inject blood into the veins of society.† Marjane reflects that the regime depends on the war to retain its political control of the country. A million people lose their lives in the war. The regime becomes more repressive and seeks to stop â€Å"the enemy within† by arresting and executing those that defy its rule. Heroism is also a theme which is connected to Persepolis where Satrapi symbolizes the political prisoners that were tortured and executed as heroes and when she found out that her uncle Anoosh was tortured too ,she thought of him as a hero At this time in Iran the social classes was also a major theme in the novel mostly all social classes were unequal and this wasnt fair to Marjane at some points. She comes to learn that if you are not in the same social class as someone else, you are not able to marry them. Also, higher social classes were treated better and were paid more attention to, other than the lower class people. There was a specific part of the book where some kids asked Marjane if she had any star wars toys, and she didnt. All little Marjane had were some boring books to offer them. Persepolis is very powerful and informative. It showed the history of Iran’s civil war and revolution and the fall of the Shah. When someone would say the word Iran people would think of oil, criminals, and communist. they never knew that they would be able to relate Iran to family, love, peace, hope, Michael Jackson. It has definitely given a new meaning behind the word Iran. It has also given a new outlook of the people of Iran.

The Power of Nature :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Power of Nature The power of nature is all around us and can be found almost anywhere. One is able to study nature through experiencing it firsthand, looking at a picture, watching a movie, or even reading a familiar children’s story. I believe that by learning more about nature we can grow closer to God. Emerson states, â€Å"Nature is so pervaded in human life, that there is something of humanity in all, and in every particular† (Emerson 508). Like Emerson, I believe that humanity and nature were created by God and we can learn more about the Spirit of God by studying nature. I also see that nature has the power to influence our emotions and actions. I see evidence of this through various landscapes such as the desert, the beach, the mountains and the jungle. I thought about the vastness of the desert during a recent trip to the desert with my class. I think about nature and my love for it when I am scanning through my photo album and see pictures that capture me enjoying the mounta ins of Utah. When I watched the movie The Beach I was struck out how nature, specifically the beautiful beaches of Thailand, influenced the actions of every character in the movie. Of course it is hard to read a legendary story such as â€Å"Jungle Book† and not see what a powerful effect nature and its’ animals can have over humans. During my trip to the Arboretum I thought a lot about the importance of the desert. I thought about how complex and beautiful it is. It is a landscape that I do not think many people view as beautiful. I know that when I first came to visit Phoenix I thought the desert was quite ugly. It wasn’t until I made an effort to find its exquisiteness that I did. Participating in activities like visiting the arboretum and taking day trips to Sedona and Tuscon have helped me to see the magnificence of a cactus existing in the sand with no water for weeks at a time. This one thing amazes me so much. The blooming flowers on a cactus are breathtaking to me. I think the contrast of cactus flowers and the vastness of the sand in the desert is what makes it so striking.

Full Disclosure

Full DisclosureFull disclosure is the reporting of any financial facts significant enough to influence the judgment of an informed reader. The Financial Accounting Board is responsible for establishing the rules and regulations in regards to a company providing full disclosure with their financial statements. The areas that are directly affected by the FASB include financial statements, notes to the financial statements and the supplementary information. Although these are the ones directly affected by the FASB, for a company to participate in full disclosure the company should also include other means of financial reporting and any other pertinent information. (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2012).Interim ReportingEach business can use a different method of financial reporting so it is important ethically to report anything and everything that the â€Å"informed reader† will need to make a fair assessment of the business. According to the AICPA’s Special Committee on Fin ancial Reporting businesses must provide more forward looking information, focus more on the factors that create longer term value and better align information that is reported externally with the information reported internally.For a business to be able to have up to date information it is important to have interim reports. Interim reporting will break down the length of time between the reporting which in turn will give a better forecast. As part of an interim report the following will be disclosed the sales or gross revenues, basic and diluted earnings per share, seasonal revenue, costs or expenses, significant changes in estimates or provisions for income taxes, disposal of an extraordinary item, contingent items, changes in accounting principles and significant changes in financial reporting. As important as interim reporting is a business does want to stay away from information overload, in which the informed reader  becomes inundated with information not necessary to unders tand the reports. (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2012).Notes to the Financial StatementsPart of full disclosure is the notes to the financial statements. These notes explain what has been presented in the financial statements. The notes should include the following major disclosures: inventory, property, plant equipment, creditor’s claims, equity holder’s claims, contingencies, commitments, fair values, deferred taxes, pensions, leases and any changes in accounting principles. It is also important to include the way the business reports their finances.Full disclosure includes the disclosing of any special transactions or events. These transactions should include any related party transactions which is when a company engages in a transaction in which one of the parties has the ability to significantly influence the policies of the other. It is necessary to report the economic portion of these transactions and not the legal portion. The economic portion should include the parties’ description of transactions for each of the periods that income statements are presented.This portion also includes the dollar amounts for which income statements are presents as well as the amounts due from or to the related parties as of the date each balance sheet is presented. The special events would include the subsequent events which take place at the time of the balance sheet but have not been included in the numbers as well as non-subsequent events which take place after the date of the balance sheet and still need to be considered. (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2012).Segmented InformationSegmented information is an important part of full disclosure with major companies. The GAAP requires that a company choose one method of segmentation. In the Manager approach there are specific operating segments. The three parts of an operating segment are information regarding the activities from which there are revenues and expenses, results that are regularly reviewed by the comptroller to assess performance and resources, and the information that is generated by the internal financial reporting  system.An enterprise must report general information about the operating segments, segment profit and loss and related information, segment assets, reconciliations, information about products, services and geographic areas, and major customers. (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2012).Final ReportsFull disclosure reporting should include the auditor’s unbiased report, the manager’s report, a financial forecast as well as a financial projection. The reason the auditor’s report should be included is to show that an unbiased opinion has gone over the financial reports and concludes that the company is above board. The manager’s report is important because it will show favorable or unfavorable conditions regarding the liquidity, capital resources and the results of operation. The financial forecast with the financial projection will give the informed reader a grasp of where the company is heading. (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2012).Full Disclosure IncreaseFull disclosure has increased in the last ten years due to the FASB’s new rules in the last ten years. The need for these rules have become transparent due to the recent businesses in the news who have chosen to do illegal financial reporting which has ended with many people losing their places of employment as well as all of their money. (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2012).ConclusionIn conclusion, full disclosure is important so a company has to answer for the reports they are filing. Full disclosure can protect the company as well as the public if done properly. The FASB has had an important part in the full disclosure laws. As long as there is not an information overload then the informed reader should be able to read a company’s reports and see where they have been, where they are, and where they are going.

Leadership Activity

II. Reality Check Author: Tom Siebold is a writer and consultant in Minneapolis. He is also co-owner of Collegegrazing. com–a site to help college bound teens to learn more about what they need and want in a college. Objective (s): To pinpoint actual leadership behavior and to set behavior goals How the author has used this exercise:   I have had success using this exercise as a pre- workshop self-inquiry activity. I have also used it as a homework assignment. Its strength lies in the fact that it paints a picture of actual behavior and then helps the leader see how he or she can redistribute behavior. Activity Description: * Have the participants think about what they actually do on a daily basis. Then ask them to draw generalizations about how they spend their leadership time. Each participant completes the Leadership Behavior Chart below (In blue font). * You can follow up with full group or small group discussion. The central question is this: Is your leadership behavior out of sync with the way that you feel an effective leader should be spending his or her energy? Think about your daily interaction with the people who you lead. Generally speaking, determine the actual behaviors that define that interaction. Using the list of behaviors below, determine the amount of time (in percentages) that you generally spend on each behavior. Then in the second column, determine what you feel would be ideal distribution of time (in percentages). Behavior | Percentage of time spent on each behavior | Ideally the percentage of time you would devote to each behavior | Informing |    |    | Directing |    |    | Clarifying or Justifying |    |    | Persuading |    |    | Collaborating |    |    | Brainstorming or Envisioning |    |    | Reflecting (Quiet Time for Thinking) |    |    | Observing |    |    | Disciplining |    |    | Resolving interpersonal conflicts |    |    | Praising and/or encouraging |    |    | Follow Up Questions 1. Is there a gap between how you should spend your energy and how you actually spend it? 2. Are there some behaviors that are taking up too much of your leadership time? Why? 3. Are there some strategies that you can employ that would move you closer to your ideal distribution of behavior? Options:   A. Some groups may want to calculate behavior totals to see how their peers are spending their energy. B. From the third column it is easy to move into a discussion about â€Å"ideal† leader distribution of energy. C. You may also use this same format with both meeting and team interaction. Added thoughts or considerations: Since this activity helps participants see what they are actually doing, it helps them translate leadership theory into real behavior. Once participants review their charts it is easier for them to design strategies to align their leadership behavior. –Return to Top– III. Your Leadership Calendar Author: Tom Siebold is a writer and consultant in Minneapolis. He is also co-owner of Collegegrazing. com–a site to help college bound teens to learn more about what they need and want in a college. Objective (s): To extend leadership learning beyond the workshop. How the author has used this exercise:   This exercise is a good follow up or homework activity. Activity Description: Ask the participants to mark twelve different days on their calendar spread out over four or six months. At the end of each marked day, participants should write down some leadership behavior (either positive or negative) that they exercised during that day. Each behavior should be followed by a reaction statement that answers two questions: â€Å"How did I feel about my action or behavior? †Ã‚   and   â€Å"How does this action or behavior jive with what I know about leadership best practices? Options:   On each marked day, the participant can send his or her personal leadership comments to a selected partner from the original workshop. This is a good method for accountability and feedback. Added thoughts or considerations: I almost always use the strategy in the Options section above. When people leave the workshop, they get caught up in daily mainten ance and frequently don't get around to doing the follow up exercises. By having them contact a selected partner from the workshop, it puts a little pressure on them to follow through. –Return to Top– IV. Leadership Dance Card Author: Tom Siebold is a writer and consultant in Minneapolis. He is also co-owner of Collegegrazing. com–a site to help college bound teens to learn more about what they need and want in a college. Objective (s): To encourage participants to talk to one another about specific leadership best practices How the author has used this exercise:   Very simply, I use this activity to get participants to share best practices. This format will work with almost any professional topic. Activity Description: Each leader has his or her own style of leadership. Some styles will work for you while others won’t. In this activity participants mix with the full group and sign up the names of three other participants on their â€Å"interview dance card. †Ã‚   Then during a set period of time (this may be done over an extended break or even a lunch period) participants seek out their â€Å"dance partners† to conduct a short leadership interview. They ask each other a set of questions provided by the facilitator and record the responses. Below are some leadership interview questions that I have used in this activity: 1. How do you motivate your reports? 2. How do you keep your reports meaningfully informed? 3. How do you maintain your team's focus on specific goals? 4. How do you set, clarify, and hold your reports accountable to   your expectations? 5. How do you recognize successful work? Note: you may want to restrict each interview to one or two questions depending on the amount of time you want to devote to this activity. When the full group reconvenes, the facilitator asks participants to share leadership tips and strategies that they picked up in their interviews. The facilitator may want to make a master list of these to pass out later. Options:   Have the group brainstorm for interview questions to be used in the interviews. Added thoughts or considerations: This activity serves many purposes: it gets the participants moving around, it connects people, and it is an efficient strategy to share best practices. –Return to Top– V. Center Stage Author: Tom Siebold is a writer and consultant in Minneapolis. He is also co-owner of Collegegrazing. com–a site to help college bound teens to learn more about what they need and want in a college. Objective (s): To visualize different leadership styles How the author has used this exercise:   If the group is comfortable with one another, a role playing activity can have some impact. I have used this activity to set up my   information about leadership styles. However, this same format can be used with a variety of different topics. Activity Description: Ask for four volunteers. One volunteer plays the role of a   team member who recently has missed meetings or arrived late. The other three volunteers each play the role of a different kind of leader. To save time I usually give the leader volunteers a personality trait from which they can create their persona: the by-the-book leader, the self-absorbed leader, the paternalistic leader, the softy, the blamer, the lecturer, the know-it-all, etc. Allow the volunteers to have some time to think about their role. Gather the full group in a circle and place two chairs in the middle. In turn, have each leader confront the team member. Explain the situation to the group before the role playing begins: Loren, the late team member, has not only been missing meetings or arriving late, he has also appeared to be very tired and disjointed. Some team members have suggested that Loren’s wife is ill, but others say the situation is rooted with Loren himself. As a leader, what is a good way to handle Loren? After all three scenarios have been played out, ask the full group to comment on the different leadership approaches—What worked? What could the leaders have done differently? How would the â€Å"ideal† leader handle this situation? This activity is a good spring board to exploring different leadership styles. Options:   You may want to have the full group identify three different role playing situations. Added thoughts or considerations: I try to check with some of the participants before the workshop begins to see if the group would be comfortable or willing to engage in a role playing activity. -Return to Top– VI. Leaders you Admire Author: Tom Siebold is a writer and consultant in Minneapolis. He is also co-owner of Collegegrazing. com–a site to help college bound teens to learn more about what they need and want in a college. Objective (s): To seek leadership characteristics through personal experience How the author has used this exercise:   I ha ve found stories to be a powerful way for participants to connect to the workshop subject matter. Generally people like to tell and hear stories. Activity Description: Divide the group into small groups. Ask participants to share a story about the best or most influential leader that they have encountered. After each story, identify leadership characteristics by asking the question: â€Å"What was it that made this person such an effective leader? †   Then as a group, identify the traits that all the leaders seemed to share. All groups then write the shared traits on a white board. You can use this traits list as a springboard to explore more about what makes a good leader. Options:   You can ask the groups to share stories about the worst leaders they have encountered. You will get some dandy stories. Added thoughts or considerations: I like to insert an activity like this into a workshop when participants are starting to run a little low on energy. A good story swap frequently revives energy. Be sure not to drag this activity out too long. Encourage the participants to include details in their leadership examples. –Return to Top– VII. Leadership Swap Author: Tom Siebold is a writer and consultant in Minneapolis. He is also co-owner of Collegegrazing. com–a site to help college bound teens to learn more about what they need and want in a college. Objective (s): To exchange leadership ideas and build participant rapport How the author has used this exercise:   Sometimes it is helpful to allow the participants to have some time just to swap leadership examples. In short they have some time to portray their own leadership style by giving examples. Activity Description: This activity is a structured leadership example exchange. Divide the group into groups of three. From the list of â€Å"situations† below, instruct the groups to take turns giving examples of something they have done or witnessed. Leadership Situations * A creative twist on a situation or issue. * A clever improvisation–â€Å"dancing on your feet† * A pleasant surprise * An Aha moment * Something that generated a great deal of excitement * A conflict resolved * A breakthrough insight or solution * A really tough situation * A blindside experience * A moving (emotional) situation Options:   You may want the groups to identify their own Leadership Situations Added thoughts or considerations: Remember that this is a set up activity, so don't let it go on too long.

The Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods

The Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods The Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods were marked out by geologists to distinguish among various types of geologic strata (chalk, limestone, etc.) laid down tens of millions of years ago. Since dinosaur fossils are usually found embedded in rock, paleontologists associate dinosaurs with the geologic period in which they lived- for example, the sauropods of the late Jurassic. To put these geologic periods in the proper context, bear in mind that the Triassic, Jurassic,  and Cretaceous dont cover all of prehistory, not by a long shot. First came the Precambrian period, which stretched from the earth’s formation to about 542 million years ago. The development of multicellular life ushered in the Paleozoic Era (542–250 million years ago), which embraced shorter geologic periods including (in order) the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian periods. Its only after all that that we reach the Mesozoic Era (250-65 million years ago), which includes the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Ages of the Dinosaurs (The Mesozoic Era) This chart is a simple overview of the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods, all of which were part of the Mesozoic era. In brief, this incredibly long period of time, measured in mya or millions of years ago, saw the development of dinosaurs, marine reptiles, fish, mammals, flying animals including pterosaurs and birds, and a huge range of plant life. The largest dinosaurs did not emerge until the Cretaceous period, which started over 100 million years after the start of the age of dinosaurs. Period Land Animals Marine Animals Avian Animals Plant Life Triassic 237201 mya Archosaurs (ruling lizards);therapsids (mammal-like reptiles) Plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, fish Cycads, ferns, Gingko-like trees, and seed plants Jurassic 201145 mya Dinosaurs (sauropods, therapods);Early mammals;Feathered dinosaurs Plesiosaurs, fish, squid, marine reptiles Pterosaurs;Flying insects Ferns, conifers, cycads, club mosses, horsetail, flowering plants Cretaceous 14566 mya Dinosaurs (sauropods, therapods, raptors, hadrosaurs, herbivorous ceratopsians);Small, tree-dwelling mammals Plesiosaurs, pliosaurs, mosasaurs, sharks, fish, squid, marine reptiles Pterosaurs;Flying insects;Feathered birds Huge expansion of flowering plants Key Words Archosaur: Sometimes called  Ã¢â‚¬Å"ruling reptiles,† this group of ancient animals included dinosaurs and pterosaurs (flying reptiles)Therapsid: A  group of ancient reptiles that later evolved to become mammalsSauropod: Huge long-necked, long-tailed vegetarian dinosaurs (such as the Apatosaur)Therapod:  Two-legged carnivorous dinosaurs, including raptors and Tyrannosaurus RexPlesiosaur:  Long-necked marine animals (often described as similar to the Loch Ness monster)Pterosaur:  Winged flying reptiles that ranged from the size of a sparrow to the 36-foot-long  QuetzalcoatlusCycad:  Ancient seed plants that were common during the time of the dinosaurs and are still common today The Triassic Period At the start of the Triassic period, 250 million years ago, the Earth was just recovering from the  Permian/Triassic Extinction, which witnessed the demise of over two-thirds of all land-dwelling species and a whopping 95 percent of ocean-dwelling species. In terms of animal life, the Triassic was most notable for the diversification of archosaurs into pterosaurs, crocodiles, and the earliest dinosaurs, as well as the evolution of therapsids into the first true mammals. Climate and Geography During the Triassic Period   During the Triassic period, all of the Earths continents were joined together into a vast, north-south landmass called Pangaea (which was itself surrounded by the enormous ocean Panthalassa). There were no polar ice caps, and the climate at the equator was hot and dry, punctuated by violent monsoons. Some estimates put the average air temperature across most of the continent at well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Conditions were wetter in the north (the part of Pangaea corresponding to modern-day Eurasia) and the south (Australia and Antarctica). Terrestrial Life During the Triassic Period The preceding Permian period was dominated by amphibians, but the Triassic marked the rise of the reptiles- notably the archosaurs (ruling lizards) and therapsids (mammal-like reptiles). For reasons that are still unclear, the archosaurs held the evolutionary edge, muscling out their mammal-like cousins and evolving by the middle Triassic into the  first true dinosaurs  like  Eoraptor  and  Herrerasaurus. Some archosaurs, however, went in a different direction, branching out to become the first pterosaurs ( Eudimorphodon  being a good example) and a wide variety of  ancestral crocodiles , some of them two-legged vegetarians. Therapsids, in the meantime, gradually shrank in size. The  first mammals  of the late Triassic period were represented by small, mouse-sized creatures like Eozostrodon and Sinoconodon. Marine Life During the Triassic Period Because the Permian Extinction depopulated the worlds oceans, the Triassic period was ripe for the rise of early marine reptiles. These included not only unclassifiable, one-off genera like Placodus and  Nothosaurus  but the very first  plesiosaurs  and a flourishing breed of fish lizards, the ichthyosaurs. (Some ichthyosaurs attained truly gigantic sizes; for example,  Shonisaurus  measured 50 feet long and weighed in the vicinity of 30 tons!) The vast  Panthalassan  Ocean soon found itself restocked with new species of  prehistoric fish, as well as simple animals like corals and cephalopods. Plant Life During the Triassic Period The Triassic period wasnt nearly as lush and green as the later Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but it did see an explosion of various land-dwelling plants, including cycads, ferns, Gingko-like trees, and seed plants. Part of the reason there were no plus-sized Triassic herbivores (along the lines of the much later  Brachiosaurus) is that there simply wasn’t enough vegetation to nourish their growth. The Triassic/Jurassic Extinction Event Not the most well-known extinction event, the Triassic/Jurassic extinction  was a fizzle compared to the earlier Permian/Triassic extinction and the later  Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T)  extinction. The event, nevertheless, witnessed the demise of various genera of marine reptiles, as well as large amphibians and certain branches of archosaurs. We dont know for sure, but this extinction may have been caused by volcanic eruptions, a global cooling trend, a meteor impact, or some combination thereof.   The Jurassic Period Thanks to the movie  Jurassic Park, people identify the Jurassic period, more than any other geological time span, with the age of dinosaurs. The Jurassic is when the first gigantic sauropod and theropod dinosaurs appeared on Earth, a far cry from their slender, man-sized ancestors of the preceding Triassic period. But the fact is that dinosaur diversity reached its peak in the ensuing  Cretaceous  period. Geography and Climate During the Jurrasic Period   The Jurassic period witnessed the breakup of the Pangaean supercontinent into two big pieces, Gondwana in the south (corresponding to modern-day Africa, South America, Australia, and Antarctica) and  Laurasia  in the north (Eurasia and North America). At about the same time, intra-continental lakes and rivers formed that opened new evolutionary niches for aquatic and terrestrial life. The climate was hot and humid, with steady rainfall, ideal conditions for the explosive spread of lush, green plants. Terrestrial Life During the Jurassic Period Dinosaurs:  During the Jurassic period, relatives of the small, quadrupedal, plant-eating  prosauropods  of the Triassic period gradually evolved into multi-ton  sauropods  like  Brachiosaurus  and  Diplodocus. This period also saw the concurrent rise of medium- to large-sized  theropod  dinosaurs like  Allosaurus  and  Megalosaurus. This helps explain the evolution of the earliest, armor-bearing  ankylosaurs  and stegosaurs. Mammals:  The mouse-sized  early mammals  of the Jurassic period, only recently evolved from their Triassic ancestors, kept a low profile, scurrying around at night or nesting high up in trees so as not to get squashed under the feet of bigger dinosaurs. Elsewhere, the first feathered dinosaurs began to appear, typified by the extremely bird-like   Archaeopteryx  and  Epidendrosaurus. Its possible that the first true  prehistoric birds  had evolved by the end of the Jurassic period, though the evidence is still sparse. Most paleontologists believe that modern birds descend from the small, feathered theropods of the Cretaceous period. Marine Life During the Jurassic Period Just as dinosaurs grew to bigger and bigger sizes on land, so the  marine reptiles  of the Jurassic period gradually attained shark- (or even whale-) sized proportions. The Jurassic seas were filled with fierce  pliosaurs  like  Liopleurodon  and Cryptoclidus, as well as sleeker, less frightening plesiosaurs like   Elasmosaurus. Ichthyosaurs, which dominated the Triassic period, had already begun their decline.  Prehistoric fish  were abundant, as were squids and  sharks, providing a steady source of nourishment for these and other marine reptiles. Avian Life During the Jurassic Period By the end of the Jurassic period, 150 million years ago, the skies were filled with relatively advanced  pterosaurs  like  Pterodactylus,  Pteranodon, and  Dimorphodon. Prehistoric birds  had yet to fully evolve, leaving the skies firmly under the sway of these avian reptiles (with the exception of some prehistoric insects). Plant Life During the Jurassic Period Gigantic plant-eating sauropods like  Barosaurus  and  Apatosaurus  couldn’t have evolved if they didn’t have a reliable source of food. In fact, the landmasses of the Jurassic period were blanketed with thick, tasty coats of vegetation, including ferns, conifers, cycads, club mosses, and horsetails. Flowering plants continued their slow and steady evolution, culminating in the explosion that helped fuel dinosaur diversity during the ensuing Cretaceous period. The Cretaceous Period The Cretaceous period is when dinosaurs attained their maximum diversity, as  ornithischian  and  saurischian  families branched off into a bewildering array of armored, raptor-clawed, thick-skulled, and/or long-toothed and long-tailed meat- and plant-eaters. The longest period of the Mesozoic Era, it was also during the Cretaceous that the Earth began to assume something resembling its modern form. At that time,   life was dominated not by mammals but by terrestrial, marine and avian reptiles. Geography and Climate During the Cretaceous Period During the early Cretaceous period, the inexorable breakup of the Pangaean supercontinent continued, with the first outlines of modern North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa taking shape. North America was bisected by the Western Interior Sea (which has yielded countless fossils of marine reptiles), and India was a giant, floating island in the Tethys Ocean. Conditions were generally as hot and muggy as in the preceding  Jurassic  period, albeit with intervals of cooling. The era also saw rising sea levels and the spread of endless swamps- yet another ecological niche in which dinosaurs (and other prehistoric animals) could prosper. Terrestrial Life During the Cretaceous Period Dinosaurs:  Dinosaurs really came into their own during the Cretaceous Period. Over the course of 80 million years, thousands of meat-eating genera roamed the slowly separating continents. These included  raptors,  tyrannosaurs  and other varieties of theropods, including the fleet-footed  ornithomimids  (bird mimics), the strange, feathered  therizinosaurs, and an uncountable profusion of small,  feathered dinosaurs, among them the uncommonly intelligent  Troodon. The classic herbivorous sauropods  of the Jurassic period had pretty much died out, but their descendants, the lightly armored titanosaurs, spread to every continent on earth and attained even more massive sizes.   Ceratopsians  (horned, frilled dinosaurs) like  Styracosaurus and  Triceratops  became abundant, as did  hadrosaurs  (duck-billed dinosaurs), which were especially common at this time, roaming the plains of North America and Eurasia in vast herds. Among the last dinosaurs standing by the time of the K/T Extinction were the plant-eating  ankylosaurs  and  pachycephalosaurs  (thick-headed lizards). Mammals:  During most of the Mesozoic Era, including the Cretaceous period, mammals were sufficiently intimidated by their dinosaur cousins that they spent most of their time high up in trees or huddling together in underground burrows. Even so, some mammals had enough breathing room, ecologically speaking, to allow them to evolve to respectable sizes. One example was the 20-pound Repenomamus, which actually ate baby dinosaurs. Marine Life During the Cretaceous Period Shortly after the beginning of the Cretaceous period, the  ichthyosaurs  (fish lizards) disappeared.   They were replaced by vicious  mosasaurs, gigantic  pliosaurs  like  Kronosaurus, and slightly smaller  plesiosaurs  like  Elasmosaurus. A new breed of bony  fish, known as teleosts, roamed the seas in enormous schools. Finally, there was a wide assortment of  ancestral sharks; both fish and sharks would benefit immensely from the extinction of their marine reptile antagonists. Avian Life During the Cretaceous Period By the end of the Cretaceous period,  pterosaurs  (flying reptiles) had finally attained the enormous sizes of their cousins on land and in the sea, the 35-foot-wingspan  Quetzalcoatlus  being the most spectacular example. This was the pterosaurs last gasp, though, as they were gradually replaced by the first true  prehistoric birds. These early birds evolved from land-dwelling feathered dinosaurs, not pterosaurs, and were better adapted for changing climatic conditions. Plant Life During the Cretaceous Period As far as plants are concerned, the most important evolutionary change of the Cretaceous period was the rapid diversification of flowering plants. These spread across the separating continents, along with thick forests and other varieties of dense, matted vegetation. All of this greenery not only sustained the dinosaurs, but it also allowed the co-evolution of a wide variety of insects, especially beetles. The Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction Event At the end of the Cretaceous period, 65 million years ago, a  meteor impact  on the  Yucatan Peninsula  raised huge clouds of dust, blotting out the sun and causing most vegetation to die out. Conditions may have been aggravated by the collision of India and Asia, which fueled an immense amount of volcanic activity in the Deccan Traps. The herbivorous dinosaurs that fed on these plants died, as did the carnivorous dinosaurs that fed on the herbivorous dinosaurs. The way was now clear for the evolution and adaptation of the dinosaurs successors, the mammals, during the ensuing Tertiary period.

Introduction to the Concept of Welfare Analysis

Introduction to the Concept of Welfare Analysis When studying markets, economists not only want to understand how prices and quantities are determined, but they also want to be able to calculate how much value markets create for society. Economists call this topic of study welfare analysis, but, despite its name, the subject doesn’t have anything directly to do with transferring money to poor people. How Economic Value Is Created By a Market Economic value created by a market accrues to a number of different parties. It goes to: consumers when they can purchase goods and services for less than they value the use of the itemsproducers when they can sell goods and services for more than each item cost to producethe government when markets provide an opportunity to collect taxes Economic value is also either created or destroyed for society when markets cause spillover effects for parties not directly involved in a market as a producer or a consumer (known as externalities). How Economic Value Is Quantified In order to quantify this economic value, economists simply add up the value created for all of the participants in (or onlookers to) a market. By doing so, economists can calculate the economic impacts of taxes, subsidies, price controls, trade policies, and other forms of regulation (or deregulation). That said, there are a few things that must be kept in mind when looking at this type of analysis. First, because economists simply add up the values, in dollars, created for each market participant, they implicitly assume that a dollar of value for Bill Gates or Warren Buffet is equivalent to a dollar of value for the person who pumps Bill Gates’ gas or serves Warren Buffet his morning coffee. Similarly, welfare analysis often aggregates the value to consumers in a market and the value to producers in a market. By doing this, economists also assume that a dollar of value for the gas station attendant or barista counts the same as a dollar of value for a shareholder of a large corporation. (This isnt as unreasonable as it may initially seem, however, if you consider the possibility that the barista is also a shareholder of the large corporation.) Second, welfare analysis only counts the number of dollars taken in taxes rather than the value of what that tax revenue is ultimately spent on. Ideally, tax revenue would be used for projects that are worth more to society than they cost in taxes, but realistically this is not always the case. Even if it were, it would be very difficult to link up taxes on particular markets with what the tax revenue from that market ends up buying for society. Therefore, economists purposely separate out the analyses of how many tax dollars are generated and how much value spending those tax dollars creates. These two issues are important to keep in mind when looking at economic welfare analysis, but they don’t make the analysis irrelevant. Instead, it’s helpful to understand how much value in the aggregate is created by a market (or created or destroyed by regulation) in order to properly assess the tradeoff between overall value and equity or fairness. Economists often find that efficiency, or maximizing the overall size of the economic pie, is at odds with some notions of equity, or dividing that pie in a manner that is considered fair, so its crucial to be able to quantify at least one side of that tradeoff. In general, textbook economics draws positive conclusions about the overall value created by a market and leaves it to philosophers and policymakers to make normative statements about what is fair. Nonetheless, its important to understand how much the economic pie shrinks when a fair outcome is imposed in order to decide whether the tradeoff is worth it.

Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Argument - Essay Example Virtue ethics states that we should be good for the sake of being good which could sometimes be impractical in modern world because others would tend to take advantage if we are too good all the time. Utilitarianism will balance it because utilitarian ethics seeks to practice ethics only when it is beneficial. Utilitarianism left on its own is also not good because it could lead to selfishness as it only concerns with itself. Being good and finding its good use will surely make a good pair of ethics. Moreover when we add deontological ethics to utilitarianism and virtue ethics we would become duty bound to follow sound ethical guidelines in our lives. Deontological ethics states that we should determine our duties and obligations and follow them. If we are able to create a set of ethics that is a combination of utilitarianism and virtue ethics, that is, good ethics that is grounded on reality, and make it a set of rules in this world, then there is a good chance that we will be following a set of ethical guidelines that is grounded on the reality of the