Anthrax :: essays research papers

Anthrax is the preferred biological warfare agent because: It is highly lethal. 100 million lethal doses per gram of anthrax material (100,000 times deadlier than the deadliest chemical warfare agent). Silent, invisible killer. Inhalational anthrax is virtually always fatal. There are low barriers to production. Low cost of producing the anthrax material. Not high-technology. Knowledge is widely available. Easy to produce in large quantities. It is easy to weaponize. It is extremely stable. It can be stored almost indefinitely as a dry powder. It can be loaded, in a freeze-dried condition, in munitions or disseminated as an aerosol with crude sprayers. Currently, we have a limited detection capability. What is Anthrax? Anthrax is a naturally occurring disease of plant eating animals (goats, sheep, cattle, wine, etc.) caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. It is an illness which has been recognized since antiquity. Anthrax was common in essentially all areas where livestock are raised. Intensive livestock immunization programs have greatly reduced the occurrence of the disease among both animals and humans in much of the world, an most outbreaks occur in areas where immunization programs have not been implemented or have become compromised (primarily Africa and Asia; however, outbreaks occurred during the mid- I 990's in Haiti and the former Soviet Union). Anthrax spores can remain viable for several decades under suitable environmental conditions; thus, absence of cases does not equate to absence of risk. Humans can contract anthrax in three ways: Through cuts or breaks in the skin resulting from contact with an infected animal (cutaneous anthrax), resulting in local and possibly systemic (bloodstream) infection. From breathing anthrax spores (termed "woolsorters" disease) resulting in an infection of the lungs (inhalational anthrax). From eating infected meat, resulting in gastrointestinal infection (gastrointestinal anthrax). Gastrointestinal anthrax is generally not considered a threat to U.S. forces. What are the symptoms? Symptoms of anthrax begin after a 1 to 6 day incubation period following exposure. For contact or cutaneous anthrax, itching will occur at the site of exposure followed by the formation of a lesion. Untreated contact anthrax has a fatality rate of 5-20 percent, but with effective antibiotic treatment, few deaths occur. Initial symptoms for inhalational anthrax are generally non-specific: low grade fever, a dry hacking cough, and weakness. The person may briefly improve after 2 to 4 days; however within 24 hours after this brief improvement, respiratory distress occurs with shock and death following shortly thereafter.

Compensation and Benefits

Compensation and benefits From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Compensation & Benefits) Jump to: navigation, search Compensation and benefits (abbreviated â€Å"C&B†) is a sub-discipline of human resources, focused on employee compensation and benefits policy-making. It is also known in the UK as â€Å"total reward† and as â€Å"remuneration† in Australia and New Zealand.Contents[hide] * 1 The basic components of employee compensation and benefits * 2 Variable pay * 3 Benefits * 4 Equity-based compensation * 5 Organizational place * 6 Main influencers * 7 Bonus plans| [edit] The basic components of employee compensation and benefits Employee compensation and benefits are basically divided into four categories: 1. Guaranteed pay – monetary (cash) reward paid by an employer to an employee based on employee/employer relations. The most common form of guaranteed pay is the basic salary. . Variable pay – monetary (cash) reward paid by a n employer to an employee that is contingent on discretion, performance or results achieved. The most common forms are bonuses and sales incentives. 3. Benefits – programs an employer uses to supplement employees’ compensation, such as paid time-off, medical insurance, company car, and more. 4. Equity-based compensation – a plan using the employer’s share as compensation. The most common examples are stock options. Guaranteed pay Guaranteed pay is a monetary (cash) reward.The basic element of the guaranteed pay is the base salary, paid based on an hourly, daily, weekly, bi-weekly or a monthly rate. The base salary is typically used by employees for ongoing consumption. Many countries dictate the minimum base salary defining a minimum wage. Individual skills and level of experience of employees leave room for differentiation of income-levels within the job-based pay structure. In addition to base salary, there are other pay elements which are paid based so lely on employee/employer relations, such salary and seniority allowance. edit] Variable pay Variable pay is a monetary (cash) reward that is contingent on discretion, performance or results achieved. There are different types of variable pay plans, such as bonus schemes, sales incentives (commission), overtime pay, and more. An example where this type of compensation plan is prevalent is the real estate industry and real estate agents. A common variable pay plan might be the sales person receives 50% of every dollar they bring in up to a level of revenue at which they then bump up to 85% for every dollar they bring in going forward.Typically, this type of plan is based on an annual period of time requiring a â€Å"resetting† each year back to the starting point of 50%. Sometimes this type of plan is administered so that the sales person never resets and never falls down to a lower level. It also includes Performance Linked Incentive whcih is variable and may range from 130% to 0% as per performance of the indiviudal as per his KRA. [edit] Benefits There is a wide variety of employee benefits, such as paid time-off, insurances (life insurance, medical/dental insurance, and work disability insurance), pension plan, company car, and more.A benefit plan is designed to address a specific need and is often provided not in the form of cash. Many countries dictate different minimum benefits, such as minimum paid time-off, employer’s pension contribution, sick pay, and more. [edit] Equity-based compensation Equity based compensation is an employer compensation plan using the employer’s shares as employee compensation. The most common form is stock options, yet employers use additional vehicles such as restricted stock, restricted stock units (RSU), employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), and stock appreciation rights (SAR).The classic objectives of equity based compensation plans are retention, attraction of new hires and aligning employees’ a nd shareholders’ interests. [edit] Organizational place In most companies, compensation & benefits (C&B) is a sub-function of the human-resources function. HR organizations in big companies are typically divided into three: HR business partners (HRBPs), HR centers of excellence, and HR shared services. C&B is an HR center of excellence, like staffing and organizational development (OD). [edit] Main influencersEmployee compensation and benefits main influencers can be divided into two: internal (company) and external influencers. The most important internal influencers are the business objectives, labor unions, internal equity (the idea of compensating employees in similar jobs and similar performance in a similar way), organizational culture and organizational structure. The most important external influencers are the state of the economy, inflation, unemployment rate, the relevant labor market, labor law, tax law, and the relevant industry habits and trends. edit] Bonus plan s Bonus plans are variable pay plans. They have three classic objectives: 1. Adjust labor cost to financial results – the basic idea is to create a bonus plan where the company is paying more bonuses in ‘good times’ and less (or no) bonuses in ‘bad times’. By having bonus plan budget adjusted according to financial results, the company’s labor cost is automatically reduced when the company isn’t doing so well, while good company performance drives higher bonuses to employees. . Drive employee performance – the basic idea is that if an employee knows that his/her bonus depend on the occurrence of a specific event (or paid according to performance, or if a certain goal is achieved), then the employee will do whatever he/she can to secure this event (or improve their performance, or achieve the desired goal). In other words, the bonus is creating an incentive to improve business performance (as defined through the bonus plan). 3.Emp loyee retention – retention is not a primary objective of bonus plans, yet bonuses are thought to bring value with employee retention as well, for three reasons: a) a well designed bonus plan is paying more money to better performers; a competitor offering a competing job-offer to these top performers is likely to face a higher hurdle, given that these employees are already paid higher due to the bonus plan. b) if the bonus is paid annually, employee is less inclined to leave the company before bonus payout; often the reason for leaving (e. g. dispute with the manager, competing job offer) ‘goes away' by the time the bonus is paid. he bonus plan ‘buy' more time for the company to retain the employee. c) employees paid more are more satisfied with their job (all other things being equal) thus less inclined to leave their employer. The concept saying bonus plans can improve employee performance is based on the work of Frederic Skinner, perhaps the most influential p sychologist of the 20th century. Using the concept of Operant Conditioning, Skinner claimed that an organism (animal, human being) is shaping his/her voluntary behavior based on its extrinsic environmental consequences – i. . reinforcement or punishment. This concept captured the heart of many, and indeed most bonus plans nowadays are designed according to it, yet since the late 1940s a growing body of empirical evidence suggested that these if-then rewards do not work in a variety of settings common to the modern workplace. Research even suggested that these type of bonus plans have the potential of damaging employee performance. Retrieved from â€Å"http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Compensation_and_benefits&oldid=478107814† View page ratingsRate this page Rate this page Page ratings What's this? Current average ratings. Trustworthy Objective Complete Well-written I am highly knowledgeable about this topic (optional) I have a relevant college/university d egree It is part of my profession It is a deep personal passion The source of my knowledge is not listed here I would like to help improve Wikipedia, send me an e-mail (optional) We will send you a confirmation e-mail. We will not share your e-mail address with outside parties as per our feedback privacy statement. Submit ratingsSaved successfully Your ratings have not been submitted yet Your ratings have expired Please reevaluate this page and submit new ratings. An error has occurred. Please try again later. Thanks! Your ratings have been saved. Please take a moment to complete a short survey. Start surveyMaybe later Thanks! Your ratings have been saved. Do you want to create an account? An account will help you track your edits, get involved in discussions, and be a part of the community. Create an accountorLog inMaybe later Thanks! Your ratings have been saved.Did you know that you can edit this page? Edit this pageMaybe later Categories: * Human resource management * Employment compensation Personal tools * Log in / create account Namespaces * Article * Talk Variants Views * Read * Edit * View history Actions Search ————————————————- Top of Form Bottom of Form Navigation * Main page * Contents * Featured content * Current events * Random article * Donate to Wikipedia Interaction * Help * About Wikipedia * Community portal * Recent changes * Contact Wikipedia Toolbox What links here * Related changes * Upload file * Special pages * Permanent link * Cite this page * Rate this page Print/export * Create a book * Download as PDF * Printable version * This page was last modified on 21 February 2012 at 18:25. * Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. 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Memories by Trilokesh Mukherjee Essay

The poem ‘Memories’ is by an Indian poet called Trilokesh Mukherjee. The poet grew up in India and this influences the poem, he brings his culture into the poem by using imagery and senses and other literary devices. Also, he refers to the Gods from the Hindu religion and mythology. Hindu religion, mythology and family are all very important to the Indian people and this is all shown in the poem when they are sitting around the fire at night. The theme of this poem is childhood memories and how they are still strong in the poets mind. The setting of this poem is in the evening/night time and this is shown by the fact that all the creatures that are mentioned are nocturnal like the night owls. â€Å"The meal was shared with all the children.† This shows us that everybody is included, and there is a sense of togetherness in this community. The poet uses senses to help paint a picture in the readers head. He uses smell with â€Å"smelled the smoke of the fire†, â€Å"the food being cooked†, â€Å"the smell of the rice.† This is intended to make the reader feel relaxed and get a home feeling and feel delightful. Next, the poet uses sights. â€Å"Glow worms added golden firework sparks on the dark canvas.† The poet wants the readers to see a magical world through a kids eyes, and the glow worms are like fireworks going on. It is like the poet is bringing his dark canvas to life. Thirdly, Mukherjee uses sounds to give us an idea of what we can hear, the poet uses onomatopoeia and gives us three examples of what the reader can hear.†untiring chirping of the crickets and nightjars†, â€Å"hooting of night owls†, â€Å"howling of distant jackals.† There Are four different animals here and it could be that they are forming like a band, like the sounds of the night. There is also another example that again, makes the reader feel calm and relaxed. It is â€Å"her reassuring voice.† This shows us that Grandmother makes him feel safe and calm. There are many different ideas for tone in this poem. There is fascination, where the poet as child and his friends have heard the stories so many times, yet still want to hear more about it again and again. â€Å"Again and again† is emphasising on the repetition of the story. There is also excitement from the little kids. â€Å"†¦and then, Grandma!† Although, they already know what was going to happen since they have heard the story  before. The poet brings in his culture again, and the reader can tell that culture is very important to the poet and also that he is proud of it. When he uses the adjectives â€Å"valiant† and â€Å"wonderful† to describe the Gods from the Hindu religion/ mythology. Towards the end of the poem, the tone of the poem gets sad, when the poet states â€Å"Grandmother is no more.† But, even though he said that, he says â€Å"I can still hear her voice.† This shows us how strong the poets memories are. There is then comfort when the poet said, â€Å"I need only shut my eyes to hear the whispering.† This shows us that he goes back an remembers the scene/ setting of the poem, which could be his happy place. The main message for the poem is that the importance and power of the memories. When he states â€Å"That’s what the memories are about.† This suggests that Mukherjee uses his childhood memories as a comfort zone. The language of the poem is also important in the way they describe the memories. In line 1-3 you can straight away realise that the poet uses the collective pronoun ‘We’ This draws the reader into the poem, making them feel part of the poem. It shows the memories of all the family being together, almost like an autobiography. The poet used assonance of the ‘I’ sound in â€Å"untiring chirping of crickets† it’s brings the sound alive. Also the metaphor in the third line, it suggests the brightness of the glow worms. It is almost like a child-like description of the magic of the moment. In lines 4-5, the poet again uses senses to remind him of the memories from his childhood with his Grandmother. â€Å"Smelled the smoke.† â€Å"The smell of rice.† The smell of rice reminds him of the warmth of the house since rice is more of an Indian cultured food. Mukherjee uses ellipsis at the end of line 5, like a dramatic pause which takes us to another stage of the memory which is his Grandmother telling stories to the children. In lines 6-9, after the dramatic pause, the poet uses the phrase ‘Much later’, this gives us the impression that the meal and the story telling lasted all night. Grandmothers â€Å"reassuring voice† makes her sound like a comforting and loving figure, which could be why this could be his favourite childhood memory and why he talks about it. There is also a paradox used â€Å"Far away, unknown, yet familiar†, this shows that the stories were extraordinary for the children. In lines 10-13, the children (including the poet) are always hungry to hear the story and are never really satisfied with it. The use of dialogue, exclamation marks and question marks, show the reader the excitement of the children listening to the story. In lines 14-17, Grandmother brought their dreams alive with her wonderful storytelling and this suggests again, why this could be their favourite childhood memory with their Grandmother. In conclusion, the poet brings out the main theme of the poem which is his childhood memories and by doing so, he is influenced by his culture and surroundings. Trilokesh Mukherjee uses imagery (senses mostly) and metaphors to bring his poem alive and it’s in the past and then towards the end its comes back to the present. This shows us that the poet is now back to reality. The poet thinks that memories are important and that they take us back to he things that really matter in life which is true and in this case it would be, taking him back, to when he was a young boy and how he and his friends would sit around the open fire and listen to his Grandmother tell stories after a meal.

Free Essays on Gender Stereotypes

â€Å"Despite gradual improvement over the last 25 years, the depiction of women on TV remains traditional and stereotyped†.# (Barner, 1) Many television programs have stereotyped men and women to behave in certain ways. What kind of job does a typical woman have? According to recent television programming, the typical woman is a teacher, nurse, secretary, or home maker. How realistic is this portrayal of women to the world? The typical woman is skinny, and very beautiful according to television programs, however all that you have to do is look around to see that not all women are â€Å"television beautiful†. Each woman is beautiful in her own way, however when they are objectified on television programs it creates a false sense of reality for those of us who do not look like Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera, and thus makes us think that if we are not skinny with long blonde hair that we are not beautiful. Television programs rarely portray women as doctors, la wyers, or business executives and when they are given these jobs, most of the women are to portray a neurotic version of a woman. Ally McBeal for example was a lawyer, but she was viewed by most people as a neurotic woman who was only good for a few laughs, and the only person who understood her was also very neurotic. Even the educational programming industry has become a part of this deception. Many of today’s children’s TV shows represent women as the mom who stays at home, or the nurse, or teacher: for example Dexter‘s Laboratory and The Rugrats. This makes young girls think that if they happen to want to be a scientist, it probably won’t happen because only men become scientists according to what we see on TV. Another issue that TV creates is young people starving themselves in a quest to achieve the â€Å"perfect body†. Not many people realize that nearly all actresses that are seen on TV have been altered or â€Å"touched up† by means of airbrushing or p... Free Essays on Gender Stereotypes Free Essays on Gender Stereotypes â€Å"Despite gradual improvement over the last 25 years, the depiction of women on TV remains traditional and stereotyped†.# (Barner, 1) Many television programs have stereotyped men and women to behave in certain ways. What kind of job does a typical woman have? According to recent television programming, the typical woman is a teacher, nurse, secretary, or home maker. How realistic is this portrayal of women to the world? The typical woman is skinny, and very beautiful according to television programs, however all that you have to do is look around to see that not all women are â€Å"television beautiful†. Each woman is beautiful in her own way, however when they are objectified on television programs it creates a false sense of reality for those of us who do not look like Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera, and thus makes us think that if we are not skinny with long blonde hair that we are not beautiful. Television programs rarely portray women as doctors, la wyers, or business executives and when they are given these jobs, most of the women are to portray a neurotic version of a woman. Ally McBeal for example was a lawyer, but she was viewed by most people as a neurotic woman who was only good for a few laughs, and the only person who understood her was also very neurotic. Even the educational programming industry has become a part of this deception. Many of today’s children’s TV shows represent women as the mom who stays at home, or the nurse, or teacher: for example Dexter‘s Laboratory and The Rugrats. This makes young girls think that if they happen to want to be a scientist, it probably won’t happen because only men become scientists according to what we see on TV. Another issue that TV creates is young people starving themselves in a quest to achieve the â€Å"perfect body†. Not many people realize that nearly all actresses that are seen on TV have been altered or â€Å"touched up† by means of airbrushing or p...

How to Collaboratively Write a Business Report with Colleagues

How to Collaboratively Write a Business Report with Colleagues Do you collaboratively write reports with colleagues? Do you find it hard to keep a sense of coherence across the report and unity in the work team? Group writing is a logical and wise report writing practice because it captures the expertise of the right people on a project team. However, writing by group can often result in a report that feels patched together with no coherent tone. It can often require revision after revision as multiple writers interject their comments. Worse, resentments can simmer when the writers see the writing they labored over changed and egos clash. Let's make this process easier and ensure a better outcome. There is an easy to implement approach for collaborative report writing that will ensure expertise and content is captured. And, the report will present a unified tone to the reader. This technique requires three steps. Step #1: Group works together to 1) analyze the purpose and audience of the report and 2) develop the content that audience needs. Create a concept map of the report organization and content. Also, decide on the best tool to convey the report. (A report is typically written in MS Word, PowerPoint, or Excel.) By far, the best technique to capture this is a content map. A content map is simply a visual representation of the substance of a report, with the inter-related components delineated. By creating a visual map, each contributor understands the report whole and can easily draft his or her section because the thinking and analysis work is done. Most importantly, it allows the group to agree on the substance of the report at the start of the report writing process. This is critical for two reasons: If you can't map the structure of a report, it will never be more clear when the structure is longer and written out. The group must complete the planning before diving into the writing. The editing process is often a bit contentious in collaborative writing. Every writer clings to words they labored over. Egos come into play. If changes are requested later on in the editing portion of writing the business report, you will be able to separate changes of substance from changes in language by reviewing the concept map. It will allow you to fine tune the actual edits needed. It is much easier to verify the substance of the report when it is front and center in a concept map. Here is an example of a concept map for a report summarizing the outcomes of a training course: Step #2 Each person writes his or her appropriate section of the report. In this example, if applied here at Instructional Solutions, I would ask our client care manager to write the section on course data since she would know it best. I would ask the instructor most involved in the course to write the section on course evaluations and participant writing since she worked directly with the training group. I would write the course summary section since I typically manage training projects and work directly with our client project manager. This writing strategy ensures that the most qualified person is writing their area of expertise. Additionally, it will be easy for the writers to draft their respective sections because they have a plan and visual map to tether them to that plan. They simply need to unfold the map, and write it out in the right tool (MS Word, PowerPoint, or Excel, as determined by the group discussion.) Step #3 One person combines the sections following the content map structure, and edits the report. This ensures the report has unified style and tone. I see so many "Frankenstein reports" that feel like it was patched together, instead of developed strategically. One person must own the report and have final approval on language and substance. That said, the final editor/writer has two responsibilities: He or she has final say on the language choices.I have seen so many conflicts when too many people are allowed to edit a report. Truly, I've seen resentment between co-workers erupt over a simple word choice. When this happens, the conflict usually isn't about the word choice. It's really about control. Don't open this Pandora's box. Assign editorial control to one person. Choose a strong writer. However, the final writer/editor must discuss any changes in substance with the section writer. At this point, if the group planned the report appropriately in Step #1, substance should not change during an edit. Therefore, any substance changes here are a danger sign that content was not well planned from the start or the editor is making strategic changes. The key to successful collaborative report writing is planning content as a group and capturing it in a concept map, letting the right staff write appropriate sections, and giving one person the task of editing the report. A group can write a very strong report, and stay happy! Learn how to master all aspects of report writing in our Report Writing Course.

Astronomy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Astronomy - Essay Example One of these methods is through the use of spectroscopy. Spectroscopy is a method of looking at the composition of a star or other celestial object by observing differences in the electromagnetic radiation patterns that are picked up. Different elements vibrate at different wavelengths; therefore each element shows a different color when a spectrometer is picking it up. This is how scientists can tell what elements are and are not present in a star. These series of lines are unique to each element. For example, helium produces: one red line, one yellow line, one green line, three blue lines, and four purple lines. This pattern is inherent to only helium, therefore it will show/not show up if it is present/not present. Atomic emission spectra look at the differences in energy that are absorbed when a photon goes through changes in energy levels. Thus when the photon is absorbed, the electrons jump up in energy levels because they become more excited. This jump in energy is what scient ific instruments pick up. This is achieved through lines. Absorption spectra look at the â€Å"holes† that are left when that electron is moving up and down energy levels. Basically, both are looking at atomic energy levels, however they are observing two different effects of energy at the quantum level.

Finance International Investments Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Finance International Investments - Assignment Example The country is expected to capture 1% of the global trade in the near future. The level of exports has grown to nearly 24% as compared to the last four years (Guenthner). India is expected to be among the largest economies by 2035 (Guenthner). This is the right time to invest in India based on the level of economic growth and future prospects. India is viewed as an appropriate market for investors who have long term objectives. Risks of investing in India Investing in India is considered as a huge risk by a number of investors claiming that the chances of success are equal to those of failure (Canada.com). However, these risks are known to exist in any given business venture in a country. This concerns the acceptability of the new product in the market (Trade Chakra). The Indian population is at 1.1 billion however only 40 million people frequently use the internet (Guenthner). Funds should be invested in the online sector as it is among the most promising. In the past, the country h as experienced a couple of terrorist attacks and this has had negative effect on investor confidence. However, this concern has a short-term impact and it should not prevent investors from investing their funds in India. Nevertheless, it is a country with high levels of poverty and strict traditions and it may be hard to introduce new products in the market. Its economy has a long way to go before it fully develops and this poses a risk and challenge of growth to any company. Most of the people are employed in the agricultural sector and 30% of the population lives below the poverty line (Guenthner). The country has a poor infrastructure and this may prove to be a challenge to an investment. Long-term potential for growth in India Indian economy possesses immense economic promise and potential. This has captured a great deal of attention from investors globally. India is said to be an economy with numerous possibilities and can have unpredictable impacts on businesses (Hall and Polo z, 771). The economy is expected to grow at a high rate (12.8% per year) in the near future and this is quite attractive to the investors. The income for Indians is also expected to increase in the coming years. The economy is expected to be among the most powerful in the next two decades. While it is true that the market in India has greater potential than other markets globally, available funds should be invested in sectors with long-term prospective growth such as technology more so the internet. The funds should be invested in areas where the rate of return is over 15%. Political or economic upheavals that might impact performance of the fund Political stability in any given country is vital since it determines the stability of the business environment. India is considered to be the biggest democracy in the world. The current political situation in the country can be described as fairly stable. The major problem facing politics in India is corruption which is a contributing fact or to poor investor confidence. Citizens feel that democracy is not fully exercised which can lead to an uprising in future leading to political instability. The economic state has been improving over the years as earlier mentioned. In terms of purchasing power and GDP, India is ranked third globally after the US and China (Guenthner). The GDP in 2007 was estimated to be $2.965 trillion and the GDP per capita was estimated to be $2700 (Guenthner). The FDI in 2007 was $16 million while in 2006 it was $5.5 million