New York 16 oz. Soda Ban Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

New York 16 oz. Soda Ban - Research Paper Example As statistics show, Americans ingest approximately 55 billion liters of soda yearly, this add up to about 214 liters or 55 gallons per individual.2 This accounts for a large amount of sugary content consumed by one person considering the composition include high level of fructose corn syrup which not only is the top calories source but also the key cause of obesity. Lancet in his research on consumption of soda and childhood obesity demonstrated that: The 12 year olds who drank soft beverages regularly are usually overweight that those who don’t. Those that consume diet soda are indeed consuming poison, since diet soda compose of artificial sweeteners and not caloric sweeteners. They also do nothing to curb obesity, since diet soda and obesity are related in different ways .3 In the year 2010, USA researchers reported that 25,000 people who died were connected to sugary drinks; the beverages were linked with 133,000 victims died of diabetes, 6,000 victims died of cancer and 44,000 victims died of heart disease.4 Although industries involved in producing soft drinks would react against the Michael Bloomberg’s idea to impose a ban on sodas, with the belief that business is more important than the public’s health, they should however admit that a disease like obesity and diabetes is a key issue that not only affect their customers but the whole society at large. Sugar-sweetened drinks are the leading cause of obesity which awareness simply isn’t enough anymore. When we are serious about fighting obesity then we have to be honest about it and courageous about how to tackle it. We believe it is reasonable and responsible to draw a conclusion.5 People’s freedom of choice is also affected. The society, a vehicle of tax of tax payers, who in return have to perform their duty, the score of it helping to cater for medical costs are liked with diseases like obesity, disability and overweight, not forgetting expenses in their

Revollutionary and evolutionary socialist hae different ends and means Essay Example for Free

Revollutionary and evolutionary socialist hae different ends and means Essay Socialism is a broad ideology which covers a whole range of different traditions and ideals. There are disagreements within socialism are most definitely between revolutionary and evolutionary socialist in terms of means and ends. Revolutionary socialism believes in the idea that a capitalist system will not easily fall and so the only way to remove a capitalist society is for a mass up rise and overthrow of the system accepting that violence may be involved with this. From a Marxist-Leninist view the way for this to take place is for a vanguard party to help the proletariat to have some sort of revolutionary class consciousness. Revolutionary socialist reject electoral and constitutional politics as it is inextricably tied to the interest of a capitalist society and the ruling class, which is why Marxists see revolution as inevitable as they believe in the complete abolition of it. Revolutionary socialism therefore seeks the abolition of Private property and the state; this is because Marx and Engels viewed capitalism and its traditions to be a system of naked oppression and exploitation on the working masses and therefore the only way to remove capitalism and enforce socialism is by mass up rise from working class. Marxists therefore believe that political power reflects class interests and that the state is a bourgeois state that is based on the capital. Reasons in which there is a need for a overthrow of the bourgeois state by political revolution is because Revolutionary Socialists understand that change by political reform and gradual change which is supported by evolutionary socialist are clearly misleading as the ideas of universal suffrage and regular and competitive elections are simply a disguise of the actual reality of unequal classes and to mislead the political energies of the working class. Hence the need for the class-conscious proletariat to overthrow the capitalist state in order to enforce socialism. However in contrast evolutionary socialists believe that means of socialism should be brought about peacefully by the ballot. An example of this is Fabian Socialists who believe in inevitability of gradualism, which means that the working class would use the means of political democracy to empower them and therefore use voting to bring a Socialist Party into power. Fabian Socialists therefore take the liberals view on the state rather than the Marxist, so the state should be neutral authority rather than an agent of class oppression. They also believe that through education and a combination of political action that the elite of the capitalist society can be converted to socialism this way, essentially for them is the most easiest way to achieve socialism in the most peaceful manner. the use of the ballot would therefore develop an evolutionary outgrowth of capitalism. The inevitability of gradualism is supported by evolutionary socialists as extension of franchise would eventually lead to universal adult suffrage which will then lead on to political equality. if political equality is apparent, then in practice it will work in the interest of the majority. so evolutionary socialists believe political democracy would go in the hands of the working class as within any industrial society, the proletariat would be the majority. Therefore, as human nature seen by socialist is ultimately altruistic, they will inevitably be drawn towards social political parties which offer social justice. this will then guarantee the success of socialist parties numerically. once in power the party will then be able to legitimately create changes within society towards socialism and so achieving socialism peacefully and therefore making it inevitable. There are also disagreements with the terms of ends in socialism between revolutionary and evolutionary socialists. As seen, revolutionary socialism seeks to abolish capitalism and seek to replace it with a classless and stateless society which essentially the Marxist utopia; they also seek a social system based on common ownership. Revolution socialists believe private property should be removed as they believe that the origins of competition and inequality come from private property, and so they seek to remove private property as it is seen as unjust because wealth is produces as a collective effort of humans and so should not be owned by individuals. Common ownership as a terms of ends also emphasises on the fact that private property is morally corrupting and it fosters conflict in society ie. between owners and workers, or simply rich and poor. Therefore Fundamentalist socialists seek to abolish capitalism and replace it with a qualitatively different kind of society based on common ownership. Whereas, the evolutionary socialist seek to attain socialism through a parliamentary route and evidently showing the clear disagreement between evolutionary and  revolutionary socialists as they have very different ways to achieve socialism and the type of socialism that will be enforced as evolutionary socialists believe in a few types of ends ranging from the abolition of capitalism, to taming it through welfare state, wealth and progressive taxation which is definitely opposed by revolutionary socialists. Essentially they moderately critique capitalism as they only want to reform and reduce the economic inequalities and increase social justice. this has led to the redefinition of socialism in terms of distributive equality rather than common ownership. however there has been an exception within socialism with Fundamentalist democrats as they want to remove capitalism through the parliamentary route, however there has not been any demonstration of this type of ideology.

Jacksonian Era Bound By Morality Essay -- Religion

Religion is the substance that produced social morality which bound all elements of society in the Jacksonian Era. Religion produced the moral code all men adhered to. Church leaders were so vocal in pastoring patriotism and loyalty to one's God and country. Church members received the message of liberation and promoted the common man to seek social and political equality. The concept of divine morality in the early-19th century held accountable the behavior of all who were at least partially active in their social environment. Religious services bridged the elite with under-classmen as well as the government with the common man. Quite often divine will was debated on the issues of slavery, social reform, abolishment, and the roles in which men and women were to play. The fact that these issues were debated illuminated the dark-gray areas in which morality first penetrated. Through the veins of morality come a fairness doctrine that is all too consuming when applied to one's self. No one wanted to be cheated out of their freedom and access to it. Social morality was the driving force of cooperation and debate during the Jacksonian Era. Old Hickory himself, President Andrew Jackson, knew the importance of having the common man behind him in a democracy; even if in reality he was not behind the common man. Jackson, who sought divine intervention, used the loyalties of believers to push through his agenda against the banks. The banks became â€Å"the evil giant† (the Goliath) that sought to destroy this new country along with its citizens. Jackson used his knowledge of religion to gain support and public opinion as he convinced them that his motives were righteous. In Harry L. Watson’s book, Liberty and Power, he wrote; Jackson's me... ...od and that they were upholders of the law through their moral convictions. Many churches were the center of their community in the early-1800s. The church was a place to bind closer relationships with others in the community to include businesses and other social venues. Many public figures had this one thing in common, that is their will of self-perception be defined in the public view as one with character and high moral convictions. Religion produced social morality which became the substance that bound all elements of society in the Jacksonian Era. Works Cited Earle, Johnathan H. Jacksonian Antislavery and the Politics of Free Soil 1824-1854. The University of North Carolina Press, 2004. Johnson, Paul E. A Shopkeeper's Millennium. New York: Hill and Wang, 1978. Larkin, Jack. The Reshaping of Everyday Life 1790-1840. New York: Harper & Row, 1988.

The Americans with Disabilities Act is Only the First Step Essay

The Americans with Disabilities Act is Only the First Step The United States of America is founded upon the groundwork that "all men are created equal." America is also viewed as the "land of opportunity," as large numbers of immigrants enter the country in order to make a better life for themselves. These catch phrases used above are an honorable attempt to portray America as a land where everything is fair and everyone possesses a chance to succeed. These slogans, which we so easily state, do not tell the full story, however. Racism and prejudice abound in "the land of the free" and can be witnessed on an almost daily basis. The government endeavors to remedy the inequalities through programs such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which is a noble attempt to present all people with a more equal playing field. This program, and others like it, are effective, but it is not the final solution that people often think it is. There is much to be done to gain equality, especially regarding the physically disabled in the work force. Th e ADA is a foundation upon which a greater sense of equality should be created. The Americans With Disabilities Act was passed in 1990. The ADA strives to guarantee disabled individuals protection from discrimination. Marjorie Baldwin defines a main principle of the ADA when she states, "One of the main objectives of the ADA is to improve the employment prospects of persons with disabilities by eliminating employer discrimination" (Baldwin 39). Under the ADA, a disabled person is one who is limited in one or more life activities by a physical or mental impairment. Through five titles of the act, disabled people are defended from being denied access to a job if they can meet the demands... ...m the government, and the disabled can then succeed and erase the stigmas of society, then true equality can be obtained. This government support is not simply protection from injustice, but a chance to compete equally with the rest of society. Works Cited Baldwin, Marjorie L. "Can the ADA Achieve Its Employment Goals?" Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 25. 4 (1981): 39-62. Â   Charlton, James I. "Nothing About Us Without Us: Disability Oppression and Empowerment." Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1998. Â   Harlan, Sharon L. "The Social Construction of Disability in Organization." Work and Occupations 25.4 (1998): 420-425. Â   Kregel, John. "Why It Pays To Hire Workers with Developmental Disability." Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities 14.3 (1998): 132-135. Nation’s Health. 30.8 (Sept. 2000): 8-13.

Case Study – Nike: Spreading Out to Stay Together

Case Study: Amazon: Nike: Spreading Out to Stay Together Nike, Inc. is an American  multinational corporation  that is engaged in the design, development and worldwide marketing and selling of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services. The company is headquartered near  Beaverton, Oregon, in the  Portland metropolitan area. It is the world's leading supplier of  athletic shoes  and  apparel  and a major manufacturer of  sports equipment, with revenue in excess of US$24. 1  billion in its fiscal year 2012 (ending May 31, 2012). As of 2012, it employed more than 44,000 people worldwide. The brand alone is valued at $10. Billion making it the most valuable brand among sports businesses. Nike and  Precision Castparts  are the only  Fortune 500  companies headquartered in the state of Oregon, according to  The Oregonian. The company was founded on January 25, 1964 as  Blue Ribbon Sports  by  Bill Bowerman  and  Phil Knight,  and offic ially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1978. The company takes its name from  Nike  the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its own brand, as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro,  Nike+,  Air Jordan,  Nike Skateboarding, and subsidiaries including  Cole Haan,  Hurley International,  Umbro  and  Converse.Nike also owned Bauer Hockey (later renamed  Nike Bauer) between 1995 and 2008. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high-profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized trademarks of â€Å"Just Do It† and the  Swooshlogo. Discussion Questions: 1. When Nike CEO Phil Knight stepped down and handed his job to Bill Perez, he stayed on as chairman of the board. In what ways could Knight’s continued presence on the board have created an informal structure that prevented Perez from achieving full and complete leaders hip of Nike?Answer: Informal structures are the shadow organization that represents the actual working and communication relationships that may not resemble the formal organizational chart. When knight remained on the board, old communication relationships may have survived his departure from the CEO position, cutting Perez off from valuable information. Knight’s access to the informal communication network may have worked to spread rumors to Knight and back down the communication chain. These rumors may have contained inaccurate information, caused resistance to change and distracted members from their work.This may have reinforced Perez’s position as an outsider. 2. How can Nike utilize both traditional and newer organization structures to support the firm’s heavy strategic commitment to outsourcing? Answer: Network structures use information technology (IT) to link with networks of outside suppliers and service contractors. This outlines Nike’s efforts to outsource many nonexecutive responsibilities to reduce overhead. In addition to outsourcing production, the research and marketing business centers listed in the case could be part of a network structure.Other functions may include design, advertising, licensing, compliance sports and entertainment marketing. 3. Given the problems Nike has had with sweatshop labour being used in some of its foreign contractors, are there subsystems of the firm that need to be run with a mechanistic rather than organic design? Give examples to support your answer. Answers: Mechanistic designs are highly centralized and bureaucratic with an emphasis on command and control. This might suggest that mechanistic designs are appropriate for manufacturing in foreign countries.Organic designs are adaptive, decentralized and tend to respond to change more quickly. This would probably be a good fit for an organization that has far flung operations in different countries with different cultures that try to respond to rapidly changing technology, fashion, customer demands and economic conditions. Nike’s manufacturing subsystem should be run with mechanistic rather than organic so as to protect the image brand and its original designs. The design should be utmost unique and further differentiated, not conforming to culture.Design is could be one competitive advantage so it is important that the manufacturing of the products are conformed to the original ideas of the maker, uninfluenced by any other factors involved in its manufacturing process. Example of this idea is the use of differentiation strategy of companies to gain competitive advantage. 4. Further Research—Gather information on Nike’s recent moves and accomplishments, and those of its rival Adidas. Are both firms following the same strategies and using the same structures to support them? Or, is one doing something quite different from the other?Based on what you learn, what do you predict for the future? Will Nike stay on top, or is Adidas the next industry leader? The advertising strategy differs from company to company. Generally, Nike believes in spending 5-7% of its revenues in advertising and endorsement. Nike has planned to spend $4. 2 Billion until 2014 for endorsements alone. With the huge size of Nike, it is tough for other companies to allocate a big amount for their marketing expenses. Moreover, Nike has always an edge when it comes to advertising and marketing. The table below shows the advertising strategy for the major players in the industry.Company| Strategy| Nike| * Endorsing Athletes * Sponsoring Sports events * City based advertisements * Banners ; Billboards * Themes on bringing inspiration and innovation to every athlete in world| Adidas, Reebok| * Sponsoring Sports events * Endorsing Athletes * Themes on improving performance of every athlete in the world | Puma| * Mixing influence of sports, lifestyle ; fashion * Puma concept retail stores * Puma fashion shows * New stuff advertising campaigns * Building seasonal momentum during holiday seasons| Other companies| * Minimal or less advertising based on stores|Nike has invested a lot so far in developing a premium brand that implies high quality and care for the customer. Nike has a wide range of products ranging from athletics to life style and also in different price ranges. Therefore, it is always a challenge to fight against brand dilution within Nike. The following gives an idea of the customer’s perception of the brands. Company| Branding message and strategy| Nike| Athletic, Influential, Outgoing, Aggressive, hi tech, futuristic, retro cool American way of living Associated with Athletes at top of their sportTo bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in world| Adidas, Reebok| Clear, orderly, Practical, hi tech, Sophisticated, Sincere Conservative European style To improve performance of every athlete in the world Associated with elite soccer players/teams, NBA stars, Hip hop artists| Puma| Elegant, colorful, fresh, spontaneous, individual, metropolitan, international Mixing influence of sports, lifestyle ; fashion Fashion brand, performance ; casual footwear, fringe, extreme sports| Other companies| Based on their product lines. Generally not a strong brand message|In general, Nike’s shoes are associated to be of high quality and stylish. Reebok’s are comfortable and casual, and the Adidas brand boasts superior performance and is â€Å"perceived as a professional, technically orientated brand with strong European roots. Nike fields some of the best in class technological practices and has a few patents to its credit. Nike emphasizes on these and has developed a lot of new products with use of high technology and sophistication. An example of that is the microprocessor shoe to give great experience and comfort to the customer.However, Adidas is also working on high tech innovations to provide high quality shoes. Lately, Adidas and Nike have been doing entertainment based marketing campaign by forming alliances with technology/entertainment companies. Nike had an alliance with Apple to sell Nike shoes with Apple iPods while Adidas tied up with Microsoft to sell Adidas goods with Microsoft Xbox gaming systems. So far the success of these alliances is yet to be quantified. Nike follows a 100% outsourcing strategy. Most competitors follow the outsourcing strategy.Exceptions to this are New Balance and other smaller players. New Balance claims that 75% of its production is from the US and other small companies produce in the US as well. In general, Nike might still be the industry leader if it compensates its weaknesses in organizational structures with different strategies such as focusing on innovation and development, following differentiation and pricing-based strategies, and investing on sustainability research. References: http://www. nike. com/ph http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nike,_Inc. http://www. scribd . com/doc/91701683/Case-Study

150 Million Years of Snake Evolution

150 Million Years of Snake Evolution Considering how diverse they are todaynearly 500 genera comprising almost 3,000 named specieswe still know surprisingly little about the ultimate origin of snakes. Clearly, these cold-blooded, slithering, legless creatures evolved from four-legged reptilian ancestors, either small, burrowing, landbound lizards (the prevailing theory) or, just possibly, the family of  marine reptiles called mosasaurs that appeared in the earths seas around 100 million years ago. Piecing Together the Evolution of Snakes Why is snake evolution such an enduring mystery? A big part of the problem is that the vast majority of snakes are small, relatively fragile creatures, and their even smaller, even more fragile ancestors are represented in the fossil record by incomplete remains, mostly consisting of scattered vertebrae. Paleontologists have discovered putative snake fossils dating as far back as 150 million years, to the late Jurassic period, but the traces are so evanescent as to be practically useless. (Further complicating matters, snake-like amphibians called aistopods appear in the fossil record over 300 million years ago, the most notable genus being Ophiderpeton; these were completely unrelated to modern snakes.) Recently, though, solid fossil evidence has emerged for Eophis, a 10-inch-long middle Jurassic snake native to England. The Early Snakes of the Cretaceous Period Needless to say, the key event in snake evolution was the gradual withering away of these reptiles front and hind limbs. Creationists like to claim that there are no such transitional forms in the fossil record, but in the case of prehistoric snakes theyre dead wrong: paleontologists have identified no less than four separate genera, dating back to the Cretaceous period, that was equipped with stubby, vestigial hind legs. Oddly enough, three of these snakesEupodophis, Haasiophis, and Pachyrhachiswere discovered in the Middle East, not otherwise a hotbed of fossil activity, while a fourth, Najash, lived on the other side of the world, in South America. What do these two-legged ancestors reveal about snake evolution? Well, that answer is complicated by the fact that the Middle Eastern genera were discovered firstand, since they were found in geologic strata that were submerged in water a hundred million years ago, paleontologists took that as evidence  that snakes as a whole evolved from water-dwelling reptiles, most likely the sleek, fierce mosasaurs of the late Cretaceous period. Unfortunately, the South American Najash throws a monkey wrench into that theory: this two-legged snake was clearly terrestrial, and appears in the fossil record at roughly the same time as its Middle Eastern cousins. Today, the prevailing view is that snakes evolved from an as-yet-unidentified land-dwelling (and probably burrowing) lizard of the early Cretaceous period, most likely a type of lizard known as a varanid. Today, varanids are represented by monitor lizards (genus Varanus), the largest living lizards on earth. Oddly enough, then, prehistoric snakes may have been kissing cousins of the giant prehistoric monitor lizard Megalania, which measured about 25 feet from head to tail and weighed over two tons! The Giant Prehistoric Snakes of the Cenozoic Era Speaking of giant monitor lizards, some prehistoric snakes also attained gigantic sizes, though once again the fossil evidence can be frustratingly inconclusive. Until recently, the biggest prehistoric snake in the fossil record was the appropriately named Gigantophis, a late Eocene monster that measured about 33 feet from head to tail and weighed as much as half a ton. Technically, Gigantophis is classified as a madtsoiid snake, meaning it was closely related to the widespread genus Madtsoia. Unfortunately for Gigantophis fans, this prehistoric snake has been eclipsed in the record books by an even bigger genus with an even cooler name: the South American Titanoboa, which measured over 50 feet long and conceivably weighed as much as a ton. Oddly enough, Titanoboa dates from the middle Paleocene epoch, about five million years after the dinosaurs went extinct but millions of years before mammals evolved into giant sizes. The only logical conclusion is that this prehistoric snake preyed on equally huge prehistoric crocodiles, a scenario you can expect to see computer-simulated in some future TV special; it may also have occasionally crossed paths with the equally giant prehistoric turtle Carbonemys.

Charles A. Lindbergh essays

Charles A. Lindbergh essays During the 1920s, one of the most exciting events that occurred was the solo flight made by Charles A. Lindbergh across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. He flew from New York to Paris and became very famous for this outstanding achievement. He was born in Detroit, Michigan on February 4, 1902 and grew up on a family farm in Rapid Falls, Minnesota (ThinkQuest). He was named after his father, Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Sr. who was a lawyer and a congressman for the state of Minnesota. His mothers name was Evangeling Land Lodge and he was the only child that she had. When Lindbergh was eighteen, he attended the University of Wisconsin where he studied mechanical engineering. During this time period, he became very interested in the field of aviation. He wanted to become a fighter pilot so he decided to join the United States Army in 1924. He accomplished his goal by graduating as the top pilot in his class. He was able to purchase his own airplane and used it to deliver mail from St. Louis to Chicago during the next six years (ThinkQuest). In his spare time, he performed as a stunt pilot during fairs. People perceived him as not being a very safe pilot (Two Legends of Aviation). In 1919, a New York City hotel owner named Raymond Orteig agreed to award twenty-five thousand dollars to the first man who could fly across the Atlantic Ocean non-stop. It was called the Orteig Prize. Many people took interest in his competition, which resulted in several of them becoming injured or worse yet dying by trying to win the prize. By 1926, Lindbergh took interest in the possibility of him being able to win the Orteig Prize (ThinkQuest). A year later, he was able to get the support of nine businessmen to sponsor him. If he could use just the right plane, he may have a chance at winning the prize. The plane that he would use was called the Spirit of St. Louis. He tested out the plane by flying it from San Di...