Rewards Essay -- essays research papers

Rewards and Motivation U.S. companies face greater pressures today than ever before to improve cost efficiency and in the same breathe taking their products to market faster, cheaper and with stronger innovation, regulatory compliance, responding to ever increasing regulations around the world that often conflict with each other. A company must also be nimble enough to change direction quickly and cost-effectively when market conditions shift. At the same time, they still must provide an environment in which people want to be employed and want to excel. This is where old models for rewards management fall flat and new rewards approaches must be implemented to make a more efficient and productive organization. (Chang) The company that will be referred to throughout this paper is the author’s current employer, Walgreens Corporation. In today's business environment, attracting, retaining and motivating the kind of people who can sustain a fast-growing organization requires most companies to think diffe rently about how they pay their employees and this is true for Walgreens. The thought process to reflect this change is concerns the shift from compensation to rewards or the merger of both. When speaking to an HR representative within the department, it was made clear that the company objectives are results-focused and the weight of reward programs have increased to compensate. Walgreens views base pay as the price pay for membership to the company. Base pay ensures the company that the employee will show up at work, that they may call employee’s night or weekends with business questions, that they can send them employees out of town and disrupt their personal life. But incentive pay or rewards is the price you pay to get employees focused on what is important to the company. For example, several years ago on the store operations level a flat rate was provided for the positions of Executive managers and storeowners across the board in the relation to annual bonuses allocated. For examples, two hundred dollars and seven hundred dollars respectively were issued on a monthly basis for these positions. However, rather than help productivity it had little effect and essentially did nothing to improve the bottom line for the corporation because managers felt that this allocated amount was just another structured payment (like base pay) and put the... ...n the company across the board but especially in cities in which new districts are being built up, such as North Carolina, South California and Atlanta, Georgia. Human Resources created a rewards program to create the motivation to make the connection between the goal and the effort it takes to obtain that goal. For each referral that leads to a new hire an employee receives one thousand dollars and if they recruit for newly developed cities they obtain double points, which would double the payout (i.e. $1,000 to $2,000). This approach has helped alleviate the recruiting strain that was place on the company. The general process theory is consistent with the Walgreens Corporation that has esteemed itself at leading the curve in regards to innovation and human capital. References Meyer, John P., Becker, Thomas E., Vandenberghe, Christian. Employee Commitment and Motivation: A Conceptual Analysis and Integrative Model. Journal of Applied Psychology; Dec2004, Vol. 89 Issue 6, p991, 17p Chang, Julia. Where Everyone's a Winner. Sales & Marketing Management; Jan2005, Vol. 157 Issue 1, p43, 4p, 8c Milkovich-Newman. Compensation: Pay Model. McGraw-Hill. Boston, 2004.

50 Harmful Effects of Genetically Modified (Gm) Foods Essay

Introduction What is called â€Å"biotechnology† is a vital issue that impacts all of us. Largely between 1997 and 1999, genetically modified (GM) food ingredients suddenly appeared in 2/3rds of all US processed foods. This food alteration was fueled by a single Supreme Court ruling. It allowed, for the first time, the patenting of life forms for commercialization. Since then thousands of applications for experimental genetically-modified (GM) organisms, including quite bizarre GMOs, have been filed with the US Patent Office alone, and many more abroad. Furthermore an economic war broke out to own equity in firms that legally claimed such patent rights or the means to control not only genetically modified organisms but vast reaches of human food supplies. This has been the behind-the-scenes and key factor for some of the largest and rapid agri-chemical firm mergers in history. The merger of Pioneer Hi-Bed and Dupont (1997), Novartis AG and AstraZeneca PLC (2000), plus Dow’s merger with Rohm and Haas (2001) are three prominent examples, Few consumers are aware this has been going on and is ever continuing. Yet if you recently ate soya sauce in a Chinese restaurant, munched popcorn in a movie theatre, or indulged in an occasional candy bar – you’ve undoubtedly ingested this new type of food. You may have, at the time, known exactly how much salt, fat and carbohydrates were in each of these foods because regulations mandate their labeling for dietary purposes. But you would not know if the bulk of these foods, and literally every cell had been genetically altered! In just those three years, as much as 1/4th of all American agricultural lands or 70-80 million acres were quickly converted to raise genetically-modified (GM) food and crops. See more: Unemployment – problems and solutions essay And in the race to increase GM crop production verses organics, the former is winning. For details, see our article Who is Winning The Race Between GM Global and Organic Crop Production? Core Philosophical Issues When Gandhi confronted British rule and Martin Luther King addressed those who disenfranchised Afro-Americans, each brought forth issues of morality and spirituality. They both challenged others to live up to the highest principles of humanity. With the issue of GM food technology, we should naturally do the same, and with great respect for both sides. It is not enough to list fifty or more harmful effects but we need to also address moral, spiritual and especially worldview issues. Here the stakes are incredibly huge. For an introductory discussion of the philosophical issues involving GMOs, why this technology represents the impregnation of a mechanical worldview, a death-centered vision of nature that is greatlyt accelerating the death of species on earth, see our article GMOs – Philosophical Issues of a Thanoptic (Death-Delivering) Technology. FROM HYBRIDIZATION TO GMOs Another challenging phenomenon to face in our modern world is that of hybridization. It seems to have worked so very successfully in some commercial realms, and as a major application of Gregor Mendel’s revolutionary Gene Theory. Mendel offered a logical extension of the larger mechanical worldview. Just as we create factory assembly lines for manufacturing inanimate products, why can’t we also manufacture living organisms, and using the same or similar principles? Why not take this assembly-line process to the next logical and progressive level? What’s wrong then with the â€Å"advance† of genetic engineering? No doubt, with hybridizations conscious life is manipulated. But living organisms continue to make some primary genetic decisions amid limited selections. We can understand this with an analogy. There is an immense difference between being a matchmaker and inviting two people to a dinner party, to meet and see if they are compatible. This differs essentially from forcing their meeting and union or a violent date rape. The former act may be divine, and the latter considered criminal. The implication is that biotechnology involves vital moral issues in regard to the whole of life in nature. With biotechnology, roses are no longer crossed with just roses. They are mated with pigs, tomatoes with oak trees, fish with asses, butterflies with worms, orchids with snakes. The technology that makes this all possible is called biolistics – a gunshot-like violence that pierces the nuclear membrane of cells. This essentially violates not just the core chambers of life (physically crossing nuclear membranes) but the conscious-choice principle that is part of living nature’s essence. Some also compare it to the violent crossing of territorial borders of countries, subduing inhabitants against their will. What will happen if this technology is allowed to spread? Fifty years ago few predicted that chemical pollution would cause so much vast environmental harm. Now nearly 1/3rd of all species are threatened with extinction (and up to half of all plant species and half of all mammals). Few also knew that cancer rates would skyrocket during this same period. Nowadays approximately 41% on average of Americans can expect cancer in their lifetime. ALARM SIGNALS No one has a crystal ball to see future consequences of the overall GMO technology. Nevertheless, there are silent alarm signals like the early death of canaries in a mine shaft. There is, for example, growing evidence that the wholesale disappearance of bees relates directly to the appearance of ever more GM pollen. If we understand certain philosophical issues about the 17th century’s worldview, the potential harm of GMOs actually can potentially far outweigh that of chemical pollution. This is because chemistry deals mostly with things altered by fire (and then no longer alive, isolated in laboratories – and not infecting living terrains in self-reproducible ways). Thus a farmer may use a chemical for many decades, and then let the land lie fallow to convert it back to organic farming. This is because the chemicals tend to break down into natural substances over time, Genetic pollution, however, can alter the oil’s life forever! Farmers who view their land as their primary financial asset have reason to heed this warning. They need to be alarmed by evidence that genetically-modified soil bacteria contamination can arise. This is more than just possible, given the numerous (1600 or more) distinct microorganisms that can be found in a single teaspoon of soil. If that soil contamination remains permanently, the consequences can be catastrophic. Someday the public may blacklist precisely those farms that have once planted GM crops. No one has put up any warning signs on product packaging for farmers, including those who now own 1/4 of all agricultural tracks in the US. Furthermore, the spreading potential impact on all ecosystems is profound. Writes Jeremy Rifkin, in The Biotech Century, â€Å"Our way of life is likely to be more fundamentally transformed in the next several decades than in the previous one thousand years†¦ Tens of thousands of novel transgenic bacteria, viruses, plants and animals could be released into the Earth’s ecosystems†¦ Some of those releases, however, could wreak havoc with the planet’s biospheres. † In short these processes involve unparalleled risks. Voices from many sides echo this view. Contradicting safety claims, no major insurance company has been willing to limit risks, or insure bio-engineered agricultural products. The reason given is the high level of unpredictable consequences. Over eight hundred scientists from 84 countries have signed The World Scientist open letter to all governments calling for a ban on the patenting of life-forms and emphasizing the very grave hazards of GMOs, genetically-modified seeds and GM foods. This was submitted to the UN, World Trade Organization and US Congress. The Union of Concerned Scientists (a 1000 plus member organization with many Nobel Laureates) has similarly expressed its scientific reservations. The prestigious medical journal, Lancet, published an article on the research of Arpad Pusztai showing potentially significant harms, and to instill debate. Britain’s Medical Association (the equivalent of the AMA and with over a 100,000 physicians) called for an outright banning of genetically-modified foods and labeling the same in countries where they still exist. In a gathering of political representatives from over 130 nations, drafting the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, approximately 95% insisted on new precautionary approaches. The National Academy of Science report on genetically-modified products urged greater scrutiny and assessments. Prominent FDA scientists have repeatedly expressed profound fears and reservations but their voices were muted not due to cogent scientific reasons but intense political pressure from the Bush administration in its efforts to buttress and promote the profit-potentials of a nascent biotech industry. To counterbalance this, industry-employed scientists have signed a statement in favor of genetically-modified foods. But are any of these scientists impartial? Writes the New York Times (Feb 20, 2000) (about a similar crisis involving genetic engineering and medical applications). â€Å"Academic scientists who lack industry ties have become as rare as giant pandas in the wild†¦ lawmakers, bioethics experts and federal regulators are troubled that so many researchers have a financial stake [via stock options or patent participation] †¦ The fear is that the lure of profit could color scientific integrity, promoting researchers to withhold information about potentially dangerous side-effects. † Looked at from outside of commercial interests, perils of genetically modified foods and organisms are multi-dimensional. They include the creation of new â€Å"transgenic† life forms – organisms that cross unnatural gene lines (such as tomato seed genes crossed with fish genes) – and that have unpredictable behavior or replicate themselves out of control in the wild. This can happen, without warning, inside of our bodies creating an unpredictable chain reaction. A four-year study at the University of Jena in Germany conducted by Hans-Hinrich Kaatz revealed that bees ingesting pollen from transgenic rapeseed had bacteria in their gut with modified genes. This is called a â€Å"horizontal gene transfer. † Commonly found bacteria and microorganisms in the human gut help maintain a healthy intestinal flora. These, however, can be mutated. Mutations may also be able to travel internally to other cells, tissue systems and organs throughout the human body. Not to be underestimated, the potential domino effect of internal and external genetic pollution can make the substance of science-fiction horror movies become terrible realities in the future. The same is true for the bacteria that maintain the health of our soil – and are vitally necessary for all forms of farming – in fact for human sustenance and survival. Without factoring in biotechnology, milder forms of controlling nature have gravitated toward restrictive monocropping. In the past 50 years, this underlies the disappearance of approximately 95% of many native grains, beans, nuts, fruits, and vegetable varieties in the United States, India, and Argentina among other nations (and on average 75% worldwide). Genetically-modified monoculture, however, can lead to yet greater harm. Monsanto, for example, had set a goal of converting 100% of all US soy crops to Roundup Ready strains by the year 2000. If this plan were effected, it would have threatened the biodiversity and resilience of all future soy farming practices. Monsanto laid out similar strategies for corn, cotton, wheat and rice. This represents a deepest misunderstanding of how seeds interact, adapt and change with the living world of nature. One need only look at agricultural history – at the havoc created by the Irish potato blight, the Mediterranean fruit fly epidemic in California, the regional citrus canker attacks in the Southeast, and the 1970’s US corn leaf blight. In the latter case, 15% of US corn production was quickly destroyed. Had weather changes not quickly ensued, most all crops would have been laid waste because a fungus attached their cytoplasm universally. The deeper reason this happened was that approximately 80% of US corn had been standardized (devitalized/mechanized) to help farmers crossbreed – and by a method akin to those used in current genetic engineering. The uniformity of plants then allowed a single fungus to spread, and within four months to destroy crops in 581 counties and 28 states in the US. According to J. Browning of Iowa State University: â€Å"Such an extensive, homogeneous acreage of plants†¦ is like a tinder-dry prairie waiting for a spark to ignite it. † The homogeneity is unnatural, a byproduct again of deadening nature’s creativity in the attempt to mechanize, to grasp absolute control, and of what ultimately yields not control but wholesale disaster. Europeans seem more sensitive than Americans to such approaches, given the analogous metaphor of German eugenics. HISTORICAL SYNOPSIS Overall the â€Å"biotech revolution† that is presently trying to overturn 12,000 years of traditional and sustainable agriculture was launched in the summer of 1980 in the US. This was the result of a little-known US Supreme Court decision Diamond vs. Chakrabarty where the highest court decided that biological life could be legally patentable. Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty, a microbiologist and employee of General Electric (GE), developed at the time a type of bacteria that could ingest oil. GE rushed to apply for a patent in 1971. After several years of review, the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) turned down the request under the traditional doctrine that life forms are not patentable. Jeremy Rifkin’s organization, the Peoples Business Commission, filed the only brief in support of the ruling. GE later sued and won an overturning of the PTO ruling. This gave the go ahead to further bacterial gmo research throughout the 1970’s. Then in 1983 the first genetically-modified plant, an anti-biotic resistant tobacco was introduced. Field trials then began in 1985, and the EPA approved the very first release of a GMO crop in 1986. This was a herbicide-resistant tobacco. All of this went forward due to a regulatory green light as in 1985 the PTO also decided the Chakrabarty ruling could be further extended to all plants and seeds, or the entire plant kingdom. It then took another decade before the first genetically-altered crop was commercially introduced. This was the famous delayed-ripening â€Å"Flavr-savr† tomato approved by the FDA on May 18, 1994. The tomato was fed in laboratory trials to mice who, normally relishing tomatoes, refused to eat these lab-creations and had to be force-fed by tubes. Several developed stomach lesions and seven of the forty mice died within two weeks. Without further safety testing the tomato was FDA approved for commercialization. Fortunately, it ended up as a production and commercial failure, and was ultimately abandoned in 1996. This was the same year Calgene, the producer, began to be bought out by Monsanto. During this period also, and scouring the world for valuable genetic materials, W. R. Grace applied for and was granted fifty US patents on the neem tree in India. It even patented the indigenous knowledge of how to medicinally use the tree f(what has since been called biopiracy). Also by the close of the 20th century, about a dozen of the major US crops – including corn, soy, potato, beets, papaya, squash, tomato and cotton – were approved for genetic modification. Going a step further, on April 12, 1988, PTO issued its first patent on animal life forms (known as oncomice) to Harvard Professor Philip Leder and Timothy A. Stewart. This involved the creation of a transgenic mouse containing chicken and human genes. Since 1991 the PTO has controversially granted other patent rights involving human stem cells, and later human genes. A United States company, Biocyte was awarded a European patent on all umbilical cord cells from fetuses and newborn babies. The patent extended exclusive rights to use the cells without the permission of the donors. Finally the European Patent Office (EPO) received applications from Baylor University for the patenting of women who had been genetically altered to produce proteins in their mammary glands. Baylor essentially sought monopoly rights over the use of human mammary glands to manufacture pharmaceuticals. Other attempts have been made to patent cells of indigenous peoples in Panama, the Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea, among others. Thus the groundbreaking Chakrabarty ruling evolved, and within little more than two decades from the patenting of tiny, almost invisible microbes, to allow the genetic modification of virtually all terrains of life on Earth. Certain biotech companies then quickly, again with lightening speed, moved to utilize such patenting for the control of first and primarily seed stock, including buying up small seed companies and destroying their non-patented seeds. In the past few years, this has led to a near monopoly control of certain genetically modified commodities, especially soy, corn, and cotton (the latter used in processed foods when making cottonseed oil). As a result, between 70-75% of processed grocery products, as estimated by the Grocery Manufacturers of America, soon showed genetically-modified ingredients. Yet again without labeling, few consumers in the US were aware that any of this was pervasively occurring. Industry marketers found out that the more the public knew, the less they wanted to purchase GM foods. Thus a concerted effort was organized to convince regulators (or bribe them with revolving-door employment arrangements) not to require such labeling. About the 50 Harmful Effects of GM Foods This article does more than dispute the industry and certain government officials’ claims that genetically-modified (GM) foods are the equivalent of ordinary foods not requiring labeling. It offers an informative list of the vast number of alarm signals, at least fifty hazards, problems, and dangers. also interspersed are deeper philosophical discussion of how the â€Å"good science† of biotechnology can turn against us as a thano-technology, grounded in a worldview that most seriously needs to be revisied. When pesticides were first introduced, they also were heralded as absolutely safe and as a miracle cure for farmers. Only decades later the technology revealed its truer lethal implications. Here the potentially lethal implications are much broader. The following list of harms is also divided into several easily referred-to sections, namely on health, environment, farming practices, economic/political/social implications, and issues of freedom of choice. There is a concluding review of means of inner activism – philosophical, spiritual, worldview changing. Next there is a list of action-oriented, practical ideas and resources for personal, political and consumer action on this vital issue. Finally, I want the reader to know that this article is a living document, subject to change whenever new and important information becomes available. The reader is thus encouraged to return to this article as a resource, explore other parts of our site, and otherwise keep in touch with us and the Websites we link to. Most importantly please sign up for our newsletter so we can exchange vital information with you. Sign up now for our Newsletter to get invaluable updates and more HEALTH â€Å"Recombinant DNA technology faces our society with problems unprecedented not only in the history of science, but of life on Earth. It places in human hands the capacity to redesign living organisms, the products of three billion years of evolution. Such intervention must not be confused with previous intrusions upon the natural order of living organisms: animal and plant breeding†¦ All the earlier procedures worked within single or closely related species†¦ Our morality up to now has been to go ahead without restriction to learn all that we can about nature. Restructuring nature was not part of the bargain†¦ this direction may be not only unwise, but dangerous. Potentially, it could breed new animal and plant diseases, new sources of cancer, novel epidemics. † Deaths and Near-Deaths 1. Recorded Deaths from GM: In 1989, dozens of Americans died and several thousands were afflicted and impaired by a genetically modified version of the food supplement L-tryptophan creating a debilitating ailment known as Eosinophilia myalgia syndrome (EMS) . Released without safety tests, there were 37 deaths reported and approximately 1500 more were disabled. A settlement of $2 billion dollars was paid by the manufacturer, Showa Denko, Japan’s third largest chemical company destroyed evidence preventing a further investigation and made a 2 billion dollar settlement. Since the very first commercially sold GM product was lab tested (Flavr Savr) animals used in such tests have prematurely died. 2. Near-deaths and Food Allergy Reactions: In 1996, Brazil nut genes were spliced into soybeans to provide the added protein methionine and by a company called Pioneer Hi-Bred. Some individuals, however, are so allergic to this nut, they can go into anaphylactic shock (similar to a severe bee sting reaction) which can cause death. Using genetic engineering, the allergens from one food can thus be transferred to another, thought to be safe to eat, and unknowingly. Animal and human tests confirmed the peril and fortunately the product was removed from the market before any fatalities occurred. The animal tests conducted, however, were insufficient by themselves to show this. Had they alone been relied upon, a disaster would have followed. â€Å"The next case could be less than ideal and the public less fortunate,† writes Marion Nestle author of Food Politics and Safe Food, and head of the Nutrition Department of NYU in an editorial to the New England Journal of Medicine. It has been estimated that 25% of Americans have mild adverse reactions to foods (such as itching and rashes), while at least 4% or 12 million Americans have provably more serious food allergies as objectively shown by blood iImmunoglobulin E or IgE levels. In other words, there is a significant number of highly food-sensitive individuals in our general population. The percentage of young children who are seriously food-allergenic is yet higher, namely 6-8% of all children under the age of three. In addition, the incidence rates for these children has been decidedly rising. Writes Dr. Jacqueline Pongracic, head of the allergy department at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, â€Å"I’ve been treating children in the field of allergy immunology for 15 years, and in recent years I’ve really seen the rates of food allergy skyrocket. † The Center for Disease Control confirmed the spike on a US national level. Given the increased adulteration of our diets, it is no wonder at all that this is happening. Yet the FDA officials who are sacredly entrusted to safeguard the health of the general public, and especially of children, declared in 1992, under intense industry-lobbying pressure, that genetically-modified (GM) foods were essentially equivalent to regular foods. The truth is that genetically modified foods cannot ever be equivalent. They involve the most novel and technologically-violent alterations of our foods, the most uniquely different foods ever introduced in the history of modern agriculture (and in the history of biological evolution). To say otherwise affronts the intelligence of the public and safeguarding public officials. It is a bold, if not criminal deception to but appease greed-motivated corporate parties and at the direct expense and risk of the public’s health. The FDA even decided against the advice of its own scientists that there was no need at all for FDA allergy or safety testing of these most novel of all foods. This hands-off climate (as promoted by the Bush Administration and similar to what was done with the mortgage and financial industry) is a recipe for widespread social health disasters. When elements of nature that have never before been present in the human diet are suddenly introduced, and without any public safety testing or labeling notice, such as petunia flower elements in soybeans and fish genes in tomatoes (as developed by DNA Plant Technology Corporation in the 1990s), it obviously risks allergic reactions among the most highly sensitive segments of our general population. It is a well-know fact that fish proteins happen to be among the most hyper-allergenic, while tomatoes are not. Thus not labeling such genetically modified tomatoes, with hidden alien or allergenic ingredients, is completely unconscionable. The same applies to the typical GMO that has novel bacterial and viral DNA artificially inserted. Many research studies have definitively confirmed this kind of overall risk for genetically modified foods: CORN- Two research studies independently show evidence of allergenic reactions to GM Bt corn, – Farm workers exposed to genetically-modified Bt sprays exhibited extensive allergic reactions. POTATOES – A study showed genetically-modified potatoes expressing cod genes were allergenic. PEAS – A decade-long study of GM peas was abandoned when it was discovered that they caused allergic lung damage in mice. SOY – In March 1999, researchers at the York Laboratory discovered that reactions to soy had skyrocketed by 50% over the year before, which corresponded with the introduction of genetically-modified soy from the US. It was the first time in 17 years that soy was tested in the lab among the top ten allergenic foods. Cancer and Degenerative Diseases 3. Direct Cancer and Degenerative Disease Links: GH is a protein hormone which, when injected into cows stimulates the pituitary gland in a way that the produces more milk, thus making milk production more profitable for the large dairy corporations. In 1993, FDA approved Monsanto’s genetically-modified rBGH, a genetically-altered growth hormone that could be then injected into dairy cows to enhance this feature, and even though scientists warned that this resulted in an increase of IGF-1 (from (70%-1000%). IGF-1 is a very potent chemical hormone that has been linked to a 2 1/2 to 4 times higher risk of human colorectal and breast cancer. Prostate cancer risk is considered equally serious – in the 2,8. to 4 times range. According to Dr. Samuel Epstein of the University of Chicago and Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, this â€Å"induces the malignant transformation of human breast epithelial cells. † Canadian studies confirmed such a suspicion and showed active IGF-1 absorption, thyroid cysts and internal organ damage in rats. Yet the FDA denied the significance of these findings. When two award-winning journalists, Steve Wilson and Jane Akre, tried to expose these deceptions, they were fired by Fox Network under intense pressure from Monsanto. The FDA’s own experiments indicated a spleen mass increase of 40-46%- a sign of developing leukemia. The contention by Monsanto that the hormone was killed by pasteurization or rendered inactive was fallacious. In research conducted by two of Monsanto’s own scientists, Ted Elasser and Brian McBride, only 19% of the hormone was destroyed despite boiling milk for 30 minutes when normal pasteurization is 15 seconds. Canada, the European Union, Australia and New Zealand have banned rBGR. The UN’s Codex Alimentarius, an international health standards setting body, refused to certify rBGH as safe. Yet Monsanto continued to market this product in the US until 2008 when it finally divested under public pressure. This policy in the FDA was initiated by Margaret Miller, Deputy Director of Human Safety and Consultative Services, New Animal Drug Evaluation Office, Center for Veterinary Medicine and former chemical laboratory supervisor for Monsanto. This is part of a larger revolving door between Monsanto and the Bush Administration. She spearheaded the increase in the amount of antibiotics farmers were allowed to have in their milk and by a factor of 100 or 10,000 percent. Also Michael Taylor, Esq. became the executive assistant to the director of the FDA and deputy Commissioner of Policy – filling a position created in 1991 to promote the biotech industry and squelch internal dissent. There Taylor drafted a new law to undermine the 1958 enacted Delaney Amendment that so importantly outlawed pesticides and food additives known to cause cancer. In other words carcinogens could now legally be reintroduced into our food chain. Taylor was later hired as legal counsel to Monsanto, and subsequently became Deputy Commissioner of Policy at the FDA once again. On another front, GM-approved products have been developed with resistance to herbicides that are commonly-known carcinogens. Bromoxynil is used on transgenic bromoxynmil-resistant or BXN cotton. It is known to cause very serious birth defects and brain damage in rats. Glyphosate and POEA, the main ingredients in Roundup, Monsanto’s lead product are suspected carcinogens. As to other degenerative disease links, according to a study by researcher Dr. Sharyn Martin, a number of autoimmune diseases are enhanced by foreign DNA fragments that are not fully digested in the human stomach and intestines. DNA fragments are absorbed into the bloodstream, potentially mixing with normal DNA. The genetic consequences are unpredictable and unexpected gene fragments have shown up in GM soy crops. A similar view is echoed by Dr. Joe Cummins, Professor of Genetics at the University of Western Ontario, noting that animal experiments have demonstrated how exposure to such genetic elements may lead to inflammation, arthritis and lymphoma (a malignant blood disease). 4. Indirect, Non-traceable Effects on Cancer Rates: The twentieth century saw an incremental lowering of infectious disease rates, especially where a single bacteria was overcome by an antibiotic, but a simultaneous rise in systemic, whole body or immune system breakdowns. The epidemic of cancer is a major example and is affected by the overall polluted state of our environment, including in the pollution of the air, water, and food we take in. There are zillions of potential combinations for the 100,000 commonly thrust upon our environment. The real impact cannot be revealed by experiments that look at just a few controlled factors or chemicals isolates. Rather all of nature is a testing ground. Scientists a few years ago were startled that combining chemical food additives into chemical cocktails caused many times more toxic effects than the sum of the individual chemicals. More startling was the fact that some chemicals were thought to be harmless by themselves but not in such combinations. For example, two simple chemicals found in soft drinks, ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate, together form benzene, an immensely potent carcinogen. Similarly, there is the potential, with entirely new ways of rearranging the natural order with genetic mutations and that similar non-traceable influences can likewise cause cancer. We definitively know X-rays and chemicals cause genetic mutations, and mutagenic changes are behind many higher cancer rates or where cells duplicate out of control. In the US in the year 1900, cancer affected only about 1 out 11 individuals. It now inflicts 1 out of 2 men and 1 out of 3 women in their lifetime. Cancer mortality rates rose relentlessly throughout the 20th century to more than triple overall. Viral and Bacterial Illness 5. Superviruses: Viruses can mix with genes of other viruses and retroviruses such as HIV. This can give rise to more deadly viruses – and at rates higher than previously thought. One study showed that gene mixing occurred in viruses in just 8 weeks (Kleiner, 1997). This kind of scenario applies to the cauliflower mosaic virus CaMV, the most common virus used in genetic engineering – in Round Up ready soy of Monsanto, Bt-maise of Novaris, and GM cotton and canola. It is a kind of â€Å"pararetrovirus† or what multiplies by making DNA from RNA. It is somewhat similar to Hepatitis B and HIV viruses and can pose immense dangers. In a Canadian study, a plant was infected with a crippled cucumber mosaic virus that lacked a gene needed for movement between plant cells. Within less than two weeks, the crippled plant found what it needed from neighboring genes – as evidence of gene mixing or horizontal transfer.

Importance of Carnival in Aphra Behn’s The Rover Essay

â€Å"Masquerading! A lewd custom to debauch our youth. There’s something more in this than I imagine.† – Don Pedro Aphra Behn, the first female playwright to earn a living through her writing, was also one of the wittiest and entertaining as evidenced through her most well known play, The Rover. Set in 17th century Italy while under the colonial reign of Spain, a large cast of characters becomes embroiled in scenes of infidelity, seduction, misrepresentation, and elaborate swordplay, which create tension and confusion in addition to many comedic episodes. The setting is Carnival time in Venice, which is important to the plot for several reasons: the wearing of masks (as was customary) allows a freedom from normal constraints, there is often in the play a mistake made in identities, circumstances can (and do) occur which could never otherwise happen, it allows for a fast pace to be maintained which keeps the spectators involved, and ultimately, â€Å"confusion captures the spirit of the carnival† (1). During carnival times class barriers came down with the rich mingling with the poor. The tradition of wearing masks at carnival time became necessary in order to protect the identities of the rich (2). This also gave opportunities to act out in a manner far removed from their habitual one. By having her female characters hidden behind masks, Behn is able to remove them from their traditional roles as women and give them empowerment. In effect, they can assume new personalities and remove their inhibitions or the otherwise usual yokes that have been cast on them by a male-dominated society. Hellena is the perfect example of one throwing off inhibitions and revealing her inner self behind the guise of a mask. Slated for the convent in an effort by her father to consolidate the family finances, she decides that this carnival will be the time she finds a man – and she sets her sights on one as daring and quick-witted as herself. She is able to track him in different disguises and at one point sets out to â€Å"vex† him for his keeping with Angellica. She shows herself to be a strong, independent-thinking woman in an age when women had few personal rights. The carnival setting is the  vehicle that gives her the freedom to behave in the manner she does. The carnival setting is also the cause of mistaken identities. Because of this confusion Behn is able to further the comedic and suspense elements. For example, Don Pedro is denied his opportunity with the lovely Angellica when his friend (and his intended brother-in-law) Don Antonio pays his offering to be with her. Don Pedro is further incensed by the fact that this is a slight against his sister, Florinda, which ultimately leads to the setting of a time and place for a duel. Of course, Don Antonio believes he is confronting Belvile from his verbal exchange with Don Pedro. Ironically, when Belvile comes to the aid of Don Antonio later, he is charged with actually doing the crime of injuring him. Unwittingly, Don Antonio presses Belvile into fighting for him against Don Pedro for the honor of Florinda, Belvile’s love! This is one of many instances when the characters end up in entertaining situations due to mistaken identity. The mistakes made by the characters often misidentifying each other has an added effect of the audience having to pay especially close attention themselves to how the plot develops. Since all of the action occurs during Carnival (especially Venetian), the audience naturally expects some kind of confusion and mayhem to occur. This chaotic environment keeps the pace quickened making the carnival setting a natural choice for a swift paced play. Traditionally, carnivals of this kind â€Å"would take place in the various Venetian piazzas and would involve meals of imported delicacies, dancing and entertainment by jugglers, acrobats, etc. as well a feats of strength or daring, performed by young men, and usually resulting in being plunged into the freezing waters of the canal.†(2). With the goings-on throughout the city during Carnival, the play (as the spectators expect) would naturally exhibit the same impulsive atmosphere of gaiety and rapidity of movement that occur during carnivals. The play is also making a forward statement for its time and can because of the particular nature of the carnival. Through Hellena, Behn is speaking for women’s equality. Hellena while disguised is as courageous and outspoken as any man of the period. She is able to act as men do – choosing a mate as one  would livestock. Another unspoken assertion Behn makes is of the treatment of women who were not privileged. Repeated attempts at raping Florinda because the men thought she was of a lower station don’t put men in a good light. The attitudes of these men are that this is accepted practice and tolerated in 17th century society. Undeniably, it would seem as if they saw it as their right. Finally, while most men would look at Willmore’s cavalier attitude and behavior with what one might call reverence (who wouldn’t want to be a swashbuckler?), his lying, deceitfulness, and womanizing ways are not qualities that cause one to shine. These things along with the women’s sexual audaciousness would cause this play to be denigrated in the next era. In conclusion, Behn’s choice to place the action of the play in Venice during a carnival was appropriate to the theme. Indeed, one could argue that without the carnival as a backdrop, Behn could not have as effectively pulled off the character’s relationships and the myriad encounters nearly as well. The characters actions speak as much if not more than their words do and the speed of the play is determined by these actions. This could only have been achieved by the confusion and spontaneity inherent in the nature of carnivals. Thus, the importance of Carnival in Aphra Behn’s The Rover was paramount to the success of the play.

Antislavery and Abolitionism essays

Antislavery and Abolitionism essays Antislavery and abolitionism began to take place in the 1820s and 1830s as religious reform movements and it quickly turned political in the 1840s and 1850s. Groups such as the free African Americans, Quakers, and militant white reformers were responsible for abolishing slavery. The American Colonization Society was formed in 1817 by northern religious reformers and southern slave owners. The Quakers also made up a vast number of the members of the American Colonization Society. Their first plan to solve slavery was the gradual emancipation of slaves and their resettlement in Africa. Although many Northerners supported the plan and were eager to send the Norths 250,000 free African Americans back to Africa, the American Colonization Society was ultimately ineffective. They only sent 1,400 African Americans to a colony in Liberia, West Africa. The majority of free African Americans rejected the idea of colonization. They wanted to see slavery come to an end. They felt they should be treated as equals to their white counterparts. An African American minister stated, We are natives of this country, we only ask that we be treated as well as foreigners. By the 1830s there were approximately fifty black abolitionist organizations in the North. They held yearly conventions. Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth were among the famous black abolitionist to speak at these conventions. There were many other blacks who announced their antislavery position. John Russworm and Samuel Cornish founded the first African American newspaper titled , Freedoms Journal. David Walker wrote a widely distributed pamphlet, Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World. Pamphlets and journals such as these were found responsible for stirring up trouble among the South. They were believed to have played a part in Nat Turn ers revolt in ...

Top Resume Trends for 2017

Top Resume Trends for 2017 2017 offers great opportunities for all job seekers both actively searching, and for those passively looking for new job opportunities. The average job search can take around six months, so if you want to change jobs this year, it’s definitely time to get serious about the process. The more work you do now on your resume and application package, the less work you’ll have to do later- and the more flexibility you’ll have if a great opportunity suddenly comes along. Resumes and job searches don’t change too drastically year-to-year†¦meaning, you likely won’t need to suddenly learn how to make a hologram resume for your next job. What does change is the following areas:TechnologySkill trendsEconomic realities and available jobsThe last one, well, there’s only so much you can do about that. Unless you are the Chairperson of the Federal Reserve, or in a similarly major position of power in the economic sector, it’s unlikely that youâ⠂¬â„¢ll be able to sway how much leeway companies will have to bring on new talent and fill existing openings. It’s still an important factor to keep in mind when you think about your near-future job hunt, though- knowing the general health of the economy and how your industry is doing in particular can help you decide when it’s time to get out there and look for a new job, or hold back and see if things are brighter in a few months. If you need a new job regardless of the economy or how many openings there are in your field, it’s still important to know what’s going on.The other two (technology and skills trends) are areas you can seize upon to get your resume ready for 2017 and beyond.To get a quick start,  you can also download free templates from our Resume Library to get started on your resume creation.What to Include for Your 2017 ResumeSocial Media DominanceEvery person is a brand these days, and that trend will continue to grow stronger in 2017. Make sure yours is in great shape as you look ahead to the next year. Your resume should include links to your career-relevant social media profiles, like LinkedIn, or Twitter if you use it to talk about things related to your field. You can slip those right into the header, where you put your contact information.Jesse Myname21 Jump StreetNew York, NY 88888JesseM@emaildomain.comLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/JesseMynameTwitter: www.twitter.com/JesseMynameThoughtsIf you use your accounts primarily for personal stuff, don’t include them on your resume. And if you really don’t want hiring managers or recruiters poking through the Facebook page you’ve had since you were young and making incredibly questionable choices in friends and photo ops, make sure those accounts are set to private. Even if you don’t provide direct links, you can assume that people will do a Google search on your name, and you don’t want any preventable issues to come back and haunt your 2017 professional self.In addition to any social media cleanup, you can start building up your professional social media presence. If you don’t have active social media accounts, start them! Create a Twitter feed, and start following movers and shakers in your field. If you don’t feel comfortable creating your own content yet, you can still retweet others or post links to interesting (and- again- work-appropriate) links. If you have accounts but have let them fall by the wayside (of which I plead guilty), there’s no time like the present to get them back up and running with current content and an updated profile. It’s all about increasing your visibility as a solid professional voice.Your Vast Tech KnowledgeThese days, there’s an online tool or an app for just about everything. Know what apps and programs are hot in your field right now, but also keep an eye on trends that are just starting, or just picking up speed. Blogs are a good resource for trends, and in addition to any blogs or publications that are specific to your industry, places like Forbes and U.S. News are handy resources for what’s happening now, and what’s coming along soon.Once you know the tech that’s most relevant to your field, you can get more familiar with them and then add them to your resume. Technological skills and mastery are hard skills, and should get their own section on your resume. You’ll want to include bullets for all of the systems or programs you’ve worked with, as well as any apps.Evidence of Emotional IntelligenceOne trend that’s been emerging in hiring, and will continue to grow, is the hunt for emotional intelligence. Remember, companies aren’t just hiring people to do a job- they’re also hiring a colleague. Emotional intelligence is kind of the web of soft skills/people skills that you bring to the table. It’s important to employers because they’re looking for a team member, which means they have a vested interest in finding candidates who not only have the skills and experience to do the job well, but also to work with other team members, clients, etc.So how do you demonstrate your emotional intelligence on your resume? When listing your skills as bullet points, provide a brief example of how you put that skill into play. For example:Management skills – Led a multi-city team of sales reps to an 8% increase in overall sales.Communication skills – Messaged quarterly revenue reporting to internal stakeholders and clients.Team-building skills – Hosted on-site training sessions for new hires, and spearheaded the creation of an in-house mentoring program.Your resume won’t provide too much space for stories, so keep the bullets short and to the point. You can come prepared with more anecdotes and examples of your soft skills once you have an interview.To get a quick start, access our Resume Library to download resume templates to help you create the perfect resume.What NOT to Include for Your 2017 ResumeToo Many Bells and WhistlesYou might be hearing all sorts of things about how everyone is going to have a video resume soon, or a fancy graphic resume. Those may be moving somewhat ahead of the holographic resume I mentioned earlier, but at this point you really don’t need to worry about fancy formats. Unless you’re a graphic designer, there’s really no need to go out and cute-ify your resume.And right now video resumes are best for actors and reality show auditioners. Unless you fall into either of those categories, the classic resume document is best. But the good news is that you can play around with styling and templatesAn Objective/Summary StatementThe simple objective or summary statement (a one-liner outlining your experience/goals and their application to the job at hand) is actually a pretty controversial debate.  There’s no hard and fast rule with this one, but if your leaner, meaner resume for 2017 looks better without, you shouldn’t feel obligated to include that statement. Just make sure that your bullet points are very strong, and convey the specific message you want the reader to get.ReferencesThe days of appending a list of names and contact information to your resume are gone, my friend. It’s pretty well understood by potential employers that if you get to the next level (interview, background check, or other vetting) that you’ll pony up the names of people who will vouch for your awesomeness. There’s no real need to provide that up front, unless the company or job description specifically asks for it. You also don’t need to include a line about references being â€Å"available upon request.† It’s kind of redundant, and it takes up valuable space on your resume. So take that line, and add another concrete skill or experience bullet that further illustrates how great you are for t his job.As you get ready for your 2017 resume, the main thing to keep in mind is that you want to expand your horizons with new skills, and show that you’re plugged into changes and shifts in your own industry. Those come faster than ever these days, so the more you can show your nimbleness with new skills and social media, the better you’re positioning yourself for a very successful career year.Example resume templates for different jobs:How to Write a Perfect Customer Service Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Administrative Assistant Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Retail Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Teaching Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Human Resources Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Food Service Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Construction Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Internship Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Receptionist R esume (Examples Included)For more resume templates, access our Resume Library.

Sense vs. Sensibility

Sense vs. Sensibility Sense vs. Sensibility Sense vs. Sensibility By Maeve Maddox A reader asks about the words in a Jane Austen title: You may already have discussed sense and sensibility, but if not, could you program an entry. I am not sure if Jane Austens word meant something particular to that time. Is there a distinction to meanings between/among sensibility, sensitivity and sensitiveness, and add in sense too? Sense has twenty-nine numbered definitions in the OED, several of them with subsections. Sensibility has seven numbered definitions, four of them with subsections. I shall confine the remarks in this post chiefly to the words as Austen used them in the title of her 1811 novel. The word sense occurs dozens of times in the novel, with various connotations, including these: sense of honor sense of merit in one’s right senses sense enough to call for help As used in Austen’s title, sense refers to what modern speakers still mean by â€Å"common sense†: â€Å"combined tact and readiness in dealing with the everyday affairs of life; general wisdom.† The novel focuses on the love life of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Elinor represents the Sense of the title. Even when her heart is breaking, she maintains a polite faà §ade of courtesy and tact, reasoning that what can’t be helped is not to be agonized over. Marianne represents the Sensibility of the title, what modern speakers might call sensitivity, or even hypersensitivity. When Marianne suffers emotional anguish, everyone knows about it. Austen sets up the differences between the sisters in her description of the way they deal with the death of their father. Elinor feels the same grief as her mother and sister, but, unlike them, she is able to govern her feelings and attend to practical matters. Marianne and their mother, on the other hand, wallow helplessly in their sorrow and refuse to be comforted: Mariannes abilities were, in many respects, quite equal to Elinors. She was†¦clever; but eager in everything: her sorrows, her joys, could have no moderation. She was generous, amiable, interesting: she was everything but prudent. The resemblance between her and her mother was strikingly great. Elinor saw, with concern, the excess of her sister’s sensibility; but by Mrs. Dashwood it was valued and cherished. They [Marianne and her mother] encouraged each other now in the violence of their affliction. The agony of grief which overpowered them at first, was voluntarily renewed, was sought for, was created again and again. They gave themselves up wholly to their sorrow, seeking increase of wretchedness in every reflection that could afford it, and resolved against ever admitting consolation in future. Sensibility in the sense of the quality of being easily and strongly affected by emotional influences was still a fairly new usage in Austen’s day, giving the title a certain up-to-date catchiness. The plural, sensibilities, is current in modern usage to mean â€Å"feelings as to what is appropriate or decent†: The treatment of low, disgusting, unpleasant, though not necessarily evil, subjects should always be subject to the dictates of good taste and a regard for the sensibilities of the audience.- The Hays Motion Picture Production Code, 1930. And while the boundaries have clearly been pushed way back, movies continue to emerge which challenge our notions of what is acceptable, depicting acts of sex and violence in increasingly graphic style and often offending the sensibilities of the prudish and conservative.- Recent blog post about 21st century films. Related post: Sense and Nonsense Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Types and Forms of HumorBetween vs. In BetweenPresent Participle as Adjective

Paragraph Task Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paragraph Task - Essay Example Junk food is very high in cholesterol, fats, and carbohydrates. â€Å"It probably comes with no surprise that larger portion sizes are associated with higher caloric intake† (Rossen and Rossen, 2012, p. 65). Body converts the excessive sugar into fat. The more the sugar intake, the more the fat stored. The second major cause of obesity is lack of physical activity. Many people today are living a sedentary lifestyle and use vehicles for traveling. Likewise, people keep servants at home rather than doing the domestic works themselves. The third main cause of obesity is lack of education. Advertisements convey information in such a complicated manner that common man cannot understand the nutritional value of the product. In addition to that, there is a lot of conflicting information about the food items, which leaves people puzzled. Obesity has many negative implications both on the individuals and the society at large. Overfeeding children grow up into overeating adults. They ca nnot do exercise. Obesity lowers self-esteem, thus causing people to seek refuge in comfort eating. Obesity causes many medical complications including heart problems, and diabetes. Most of the factors are both causes and effects of obesity. Furthermore, obesity makes people lazy. In the past, being fat was considered a sign of prosperity, but today people have to bear its cost. Avoid obesity requires a complete change in the lifestyle. People need to combine good common-sense eating with more activity. People should adopt healthy living earlier to avoid the consequences of obesity later in life. Reflection Topic Sentence I started my new paragraph with a topic sentence. While choosing and organizing the words to make my topic sentence, I had three factors in my mind; length, indication, and appeal. Firstly, I wanted to keep my topic sentence concise because wordy topic sentences are misleading and confusing whereas I wanted my topic sentence to be very to the point. Secondly, I wan ted to select such a topic sentence that would indicate what claim or argument is made in the paragraph following it. Thirdly, I wanted my topic sentence to reflect the appeal or tone of the whole paragraph so that the readers know it upfront. These three factors when considered while making the topic sentence help the readers know what to expect in the paragraph. Tenses Tenses indicate the gravity of an issue. For example, in my supporting sentences, I made used of both past and present continuous tenses to emphasize that obesity has been a health risk to the society in the past and has not subsided yet, but is rather growing in rate and effects. Most of the supporting sentences are written in present tense because the effects of obesity have always been as mentioned, are, and will continue to be as such. Grammar Appropriate selection of adjectives, comparatives, and transitive words help the writer incorporate expression in the text. In my paragraph, I used adjectives before nouns like â€Å"greasy† burgers and â€Å"fizzy† soft-drinks to reflect their images in the readers’ minds while they read, along with the feel they get while consuming them, so that they can relate to what they read. I emphasized on the gravity of consequences of obesity by using such comparatives as â€Å"more† and â€Å"very†. I reflected different phases of time in the sentences by making use of such comparatives as â€Å"earlier† and â€Å"later†. I linked the sentences to one another by using such transitive words as