The Cosmic Engine Research Essay Example

The Cosmic Engine Research Essay Example The Cosmic Engine Research Essay The Cosmic Engine Research Essay Compare the views of Hubble and Friedman about the expansion of the universe: Edwin Hubble’s observation In 1929, Edwin Hubble announced that his observations of galaxies outside our own Milky Way showed that they were systematically moving away from us with a speed that was proportional to their distance from us. The more distant the galaxy, the faster it was receding from us. The universe was expanding after all, just as General Relativity originally predicted! Hubble observed that the light from a given galaxy was shifted further toward the red end of the light spectrum the further that galaxy was from our galaxy.The specific form of Hubbles expansion law is important: the speed of recession is proportional to distance. Hubble expressed this idea in an equation distance/time per megaparcec. A megaparcec is a really big distance (3. 26 million light-years). Alexander Friedman’s theory In the early 1920’s Friedman for told a theory were universe begins with a B ig Bang and continues expanding for untold billions of years (that’s the stage we’re in now. ) But after a long enough period of time, the mutual gravitational attraction of all the matter slows the expansion to a stop. The universe will eventually start to contract in a big crunch. Friedman embraced the idea that the equation in Einstein’s theory of relativity shows a universe that is in motion, and not constant.* A flow chart to show and describe the transformation of radiation into matter which followed the â€Å"big bang†: * Einstein’s view of the connection between matter and energy: Association between  mass  (m) and  energy (E) in Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, complete by the formula E=  mc2, where  c  equals 300,000 km (186,000 miles) per second i. e. he  speed of light. In physical theories prior to that of  special relativity, mass and energy were seen as distinct entities. The energy of a body at rest cou ld be assigned an arbitrary value. In special relativity, the energy of a body at rest is determined to be  mc2. There for, each body of  rest mass  m  possesses  mc2  of â€Å"rest energy,† which potentially is available for conversion to other forms of energy. The mass-energy relation implies that if energy is released from the body as a result of such a conversion, then the rest mass of the body will decrease.Such a switch of rest energy to other forms of energy occurs in ordinary chemical reactions, but much larger conversions occur in  nuclear reactions. This is particularly true in the case of nuclear-fusion reactions that transform  hydrogen  to  helium, in which 0. 7 % of the original rest energy of the hydrogen is converted to other forms of energy. Although the  atomic bomb  proved that vast amounts of energy could be liberated from the  atom, it did not demonstrate the precision of Einstein’s equation. * Accretion of galaxies and st arsAfter a few hundred thousand years after the Big Bang, the Universe was cooled down and atoms were formed. As the Universe was further expanding and cooling, the atom particles lost kinetic energy and gravity began to attract them together forming regions of high mass density. The regions of high mass density began to attract nearby material and gain mass. This process is known as accretion. At some time or another, all matter in the universe formed discrete gas clouds known as protogalaxies. As further accretion occurred, galaxies were formed. Accretion also occurred inside galaxies, forming stars.As the average temperature of matter in the universe, then as the universe expands there is less hot matter such as stars and colder dark space/matter between it, so when you average things out, you get a lower temperature. * Relationship between the temperature of a star to the wavelength and color emitted from that star. Stars appear to be exclusively white at first glance. If we loo k carefully, we can see that there are a range of colors blue, white, red etc. stars are small blackbodies and their color variation is a direct consequence of their surface temperature.Cool stars radiate most of their energy in the red and infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum and there for appear red, while hot stars emit mostly at blue and ultra-violet wavelengths, making them appear blue or white. To estimate the surface temperature of a star, we can use the known relationship between the temperature of a blackbody and the wavelength of light where its spectrum peaks. That is, as you increase the temperature of a blackbody, the peak of its spectrum moves to shorter bluer wavelengths of light.This simple method is conceptually correct, but it cannot be used to obtain stellar temperatures accurately, because stars are  not perfect blackbodies. The presence of various elements in the stars atmosphere will cause certain wavelengths of light to be absorbed. Because these absorption lines are not uniformly distributed over the spectrum, they can alter the position of the spectral peak. Moreover, obtaining a usable spectrum of a star is a time-intensive process and is prohibitively inefficient for large samples of stars. Propose an experiment that can be conducted at home to find the mathematical relationship between brightness to its luminosity and distance. Shine a clear 100 Watt light bulb through a square hole in a piece of paper and see how many squares it illuminates on a piece of grid paper as you move the grid paper different distances away from the hole. Throughout the experiment, keep the light bulb and the piece of paper with the hole in it exactly 10 cm apart while you move the grid paper progressively farther away.The experiment works best if you turn the light bulb so that the shadow it casts through the hole is as sharp as possible this will usually be when the filament is held perpendicular to the paper. 1. Place the grid paper right a gainst the square hole, so it is also 10 cm from the light bulb. The bulb should illuminate one square on your grid paper. Now move the grid paper 20 cm from the bulb and see how many squares are illuminated. Repeat this measurement for distances of 30 cm and 40 cm from the bulb. 2.At each successive distance tested above, determine how many times farther away the grid paper was from the light bulb than it was at the first distance 10 cm. 3. Throughout this experiment, the amount of light passing through the square hole has remained constant since the distance between the light bulb and the hole has not changed. Thus, if the light is spread out over N squares, then only 1/N as much light falls on each individual square on the grid paper. Determine what fraction of the light coming through the square hole falls on any one square on the grid paper at each of the distances you examined. . Examine your data for trends and relationships. * Hertzsprung Russell diagram: Average mass (the s un = 1) Average luminosity (the sun = 1) * Main Sequence: A main sequence star is not really a type of star but a period in a stars life. When a star is in main sequence it is converting hydrogen into energy. It is then usually called a dwarf star. This is the longest period in a stars lifetime. Our Sun is a yellow dwarf in main sequence. A main sequence star’s mass ranges from 0. 10 M/M to 60 M/M the luminosity can start at 0. 008 L/L and reach 500,000 L/L. their surface temperature which is measured in kalvins can reach from 3000 K to 38,000 K. Once a protostar starts burning hydrogen in its core, it quickly passes through the T-Tauri stage (in a few million years) and becomes a main sequence star where its total mass determines all its structural properties. The three divisions in a stellar interior are the nuclear burning core, convective zone and radioactive zone. Energy, in the form of gamma-rays, is generated solely in the nuclear burning core.Energy is transferred tow ards the surface either in a radioactive manner or convection depending on which is more efficient at the temperatures, densities and opacities. Red Giants: Towards the end of a  star’s life, the temperature near the core rises and this causes the size of the star to expand. This is known to transform a main sequence star into a â€Å"Red Giant†. The average mass of a Red Giant is around 0. 4 to 0. 9 Betelgeuse is a red giant, it is 20 times bigger than the sun about 14,000 times brighter and its surface temperature is no more than 6,500 K.A stars evolution after the red giant phase depends on its mass. For stars greater than 1 solar mass, but less than 2 solar masses, the hydrogen burning shell eats its way outward leaving behind more helium ash. As the helium piles up, the core becomes more massive and contracts. The contraction heats the core as it becomes more dense. * White Dwarfs: Stars that have a lot of mass may end their lives as black holes neutron stars. A low or medium mass star, with a mass less than about 8 times the mass of our Sun will become a white dwarf.A typical white dwarf is about as massive as the Sun, yet only slightly bigger than the Earth. This makes white dwarfs one of the densest forms of matter, surpassed only by neutron stars and black holes. The average mass of a White Dwarf ranges from 1. 1 to 1. 7, the luminosity ranges from 1. 2 to 6. White dwarfs are quite common, being found in binary systems and in  clusters. Since they are remnants of stars born in the past, their numbers build up in the Galaxy over time. It is only because they are so faint that we fail to detect any except for the very closest ones. * Neutron star:A neutron star is a very small, super-dense star which is composed mostly of tightly-packed  neutrons. It has a thin atmosphere of  hydrogen. It has a diameter of about 5-10 miles (5-16 km) and a density of roughly 10  15  gm/cm3. Its mass is between 1 and 2 solar masses. * Proton â⠂¬â€œ Proton Cycle   and carbon cycle Proton-proton cycle,  also called  Proton-proton Reaction,  chain of  reactions that is the chief source of the energy radiated by the  Sun  and other cool main-sequence  stars. Another sequence of thermonuclear reactions, called the carbon cycle, provides much of the energy released by hotter stars.In a proton-proton cycle, four  hydrogen  nuclei (protons) are combined to form one  helium  nucleus; 0. 7 percent of the original mass is lost mainly by conversion into  heat energy, but some energy escapes in the form of  neutrinos  (? ). First, two hydrogen nuclei (1H) combine to form a hydrogen-2 nucleus (2H, deuterium) with the emission of a  positive electron  (e+, positron) and a neutrino (? ). The hydrogen-2 nucleus then rapidly captures another proton to form a helium-3 nucleus (3He), while emitting a  gamma ray  (? ). In symbols:

Sedentism, Community-Building, Began 12,000 Years Ago

Sedentism, Community-Building, Began 12,000 Years Ago Sedentism refers to the decision made first by humans at least 12,000 years ago to start living in groups for long periods of time. Settling down, picking a place and living in it permanently for at least part of the year, is partially but not entirely related to how a group gets required resources. This includes gathering and growing food, stone for tools, and wood for housing and fires. Hunter-Gatherers and Farmers In the 19th century, anthropologists defined two different lifeways for people beginning in the Upper Paleolithic period. The earliest lifeway, called hunting and gathering, describes people who were highly mobile, following herds of animals like bison and reindeer, or moving with normal seasonal climatic changes to collect plant foods as they ripened. By the Neolithic period, so the theory went, people domesticated plants and animals, necessitating permanent settlement to maintain their fields. However, extensive research since then suggests that sedentism and mobility - and hunter-gatherers and farmers - were not separate lifeways but rather two ends of a continuum that the groups modified as circumstances required. Since the 1970s, anthropologists use the term complex hunter-gatherers to refer to hunter-gatherers who have some elements of complexity, including permanent or semi-permanent residences. But even that doesnt encompass the variability that is now apparent: in the past, people changed how mobile their lifestyles were depending on circumstances, sometimes due to climatic changes, but for a range of reasons, from year to year and decade to decade. What Makes a Settlement Permanent? Identifying communities as permanent ones is somewhat difficult. Houses are older than sedentism. Residences such as brushwood huts at Ohalo II in Israel and mammoth bone dwellings in Eurasia occurred as early as 20,000 years ago. Houses made of animal skin, called tipis or yurts, were the homestyle of choice for mobile hunter-gatherers throughout the world for an unknown period of time before that. The earliest permanent structures, made from stone and fired brick, were apparently public structures rather than residences, ritual places shared by a mobile community. Examples include the monumental structures of Gobekli Tepe, the tower at Jericho, and the communal buildings at other early sites such as Jerf el Ahmar and Mureybet, all in the Levant region of Eurasia. Some of the traditional features of sedentism are residential areas where houses were built close to one another, large-scale food storage and cemeteries, permanent architecture, increased population levels, non-transportable toolkits (such as massive grinding stones), agricultural structures such as terraces and dams, animal pens, pottery, metals, calendars, record-keeping, slavery, and feasting. But all of these features are related to the development of prestige economies, rather than sedentism, and most developed in some form prior to permanent year-round sedentism. Natufians and Sedentism The earliest potentially sedentary society on our planet was the Mesolithic Natufian, located in the Near East between 13,000 and 10,500 years ago (BP). However, much debate exists about their degree of sedentism. Natufians were more or less egalitarian hunter-gatherers whose social governance shifted as they shifted their economic structure. By about 10,500 BP, the Natufians developed into what archaeologists call Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic as they increased in population and reliance on domesticated plants and animals and began living in at least partially year-round villages. These processes were slow, over periods of thousands of years and intermittent fits and starts. Sedentism arose, quite independently, in other areas of our planet at different times. But like the Natufians, societies in places such as Neolithic China, South Americas Caral-Supe, the North American Pueblo societies, and the precursors to the Maya at Ceibal all changed slowly and at different rates over a long period of time. Sources Asouti, Eleni. A Contextual Approach to the Emergence of Agriculture in Southwest Asia: Reconstructing Early Neolithic Plant-Food Production. Current Anthropology, Dorian Q. Fuller, Vol. 54, No. 3, The University of Chicago Press Journals, June 2013. Finlayson, Bill. Architecture, sedentism, and social complexity at Pre-Pottery Neolithic A WF16, Southern Jordan. Steven J. Mithen, Mohammad Najjar, Sam Smith, Darko MariÄ ević, Nick Pankhurst, Lisa Yeomans, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, May 17, 2011.   Inomata, Takeshi. Development of sedentary communities in the Maya lowlands: Coexisting mobile groups and public ceremonies at Ceibal, Guatemala. Jessica MacLellan, Daniela Triadan, Jessica Munson, Melissa Burham, Kazuo Aoyama, Hiroo Nasu, Flory Pinzà ³n, Hitoshi Yonenobu, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, April 7, 2015. Railey, Jim A. Reduced Mobility or the Bow and Arrow? Another Look at Expedient Technologies and Sedentism. Volume 75, Issue 2, American Antiquity, January 20, 2017. Reed, Paul F. Sedentism, Social Change, Warfare, and the Bow in the Ancient Pueblo Southwest. Phil R. Geib, Wiley Online Library, June 17, 2013. Rosen, Arlene M. Climate change, adaptive cycles, and the persistence of foraging economies during the late Pleistocene/Holocene transition in the Levant. Isabel Rivera-Collazo, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, March 6, 2012.

Punctuation Marks in the English Writing Research Paper

Punctuation Marks in the English Writing - Research Paper Example Introduction More and more users of English are joining this language community worldwide, as globalization increases. A common language to use in communication across the globe is necessary: electronic technology allows people to reach anyone, from anywhere in the world, so communication has to take place in a common language, if the advantages of instant access and wide connectivity are to be realized. The structure, syntax and construction of English have been, throughout its history, adaptable. From its earliest documentation, by writers such as Geoffrey Chaucer, to its latest uses in text-messaging and social website writing, this language has changed. These changes have often been visible in the words used, the structure of sentences, the positions of parts of speech in expressed sentences, and in the punctuation marks used in writing. Punctuation is defined in the Encyclopedia Britannica as â€Å"The use of spacing, conventional signs, and certain typographical devices as aid s to the understanding and correct reading, both silently and aloud, of handwritten and printed texts.† Many say that punctuation is necessary to â€Å"clarify meaning† and that its misuse â€Å"appears to reflect wider social decline† (Hitchings, 2011, web page), and hence it needs to remain traditional. But clear and accurate meaning is important in any written communication, and changing a language for the sake of change is not wise. Still, there seems to be room for change in the punctuation of English. Thesis Statement This essay will focus on the question of why we use punctuation marks in English writing. To explore this question, the flowing ideas will form the structure of the discussion: The historical development of punctuation marks in language, with specific focus on English The current use of punctuation marks in English, and how this is changing The continued need for accurate use of punctuation, to ensure clear communication Background – Th e Historical Development of Punctuation in Written Language Earliest Forms In classical times, the Greeks and then the Romans used punctuation to indicate to speakers when and for how long they had to pause in their speech. These symbols were eventually named after the pauses they represented, so that a period came to show the longest pause, when a speaker had reached the end of a complete idea; the comma indicated a short pause, for breathing or effect; and a colon indicated that a clause, or a sub-idea, had ended (Nordquist, 2011, web page). Nordquist cites W.F. Bolton (A Living Language, 1988), who suggests that these punctuation marks came to assist speakers in planning the pace, emphasis and elocution of a speech. The Vulgate Bible, for example, allowed St. Jerome to begin to standardize the use of punctuation – he used the period to show when a passage should be read in one breath – from period to period – rather than to end an idea (Crandall, 2008, web pa ge). From the Fifth to the Twelfth Centuries, punctuation continued to determine the reading style of a passage, rather than any syntactical structure, even

Industrial Property Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Industrial Property Rights - Essay Example The first software patent ever granted is probably a patent for a "computer having slow and quick access storage, when programmed to solve a linear programming problem by an iterative algorithm, the iterative algorithm being such that (...)" applied for in 1962 by British Petroleum Company . The patent relates to solving simultaneous linear equations. The USPTO has traditionally not considered software to be patentable because by statute patents can only be granted to "processes, machines, articles of manufacture, and compositions of matter". In particular patents cannot be granted to "scientific truths" or "mathematical expressions" of them. This means that most of the fundamental techniques of software engineering have never been patented. The USPTO maintained this position, that software was in effect a mathematical algorithm, and therefore not patentable into the 1980's. The position of the USPTO was challenged with a landmark 1981 Supreme Court Case, Diamond v. Diehr. The case involved a device that used computer software to ensure the correct timing when heating, or curing, rubber. Although the software was the integral part of the device, it also had other functions that related to real world manipulation. The court then ruled that as a device to mold rubber, it was a patentable object. The court essentially ruled that while algorithms themselves could not be patented, devices that utilized them could. This ruling wasn't as straightforward as many would have liked, forcing many electronic device makers into the courts to establish that their inventions were in fact patentable. Due to different treatment of federal patent rights in different parts of the country, in 1982 the U.S. Congress created a new court (the Federal Circuit) to hear patent cases. The new circuit rejected rulings from some parts of the country, and nationalized others. For example, the court made patents generally easier to uphold by presuming patents were valid unless proven invalid and weakening the defense of non-obviousness. This court allowed issues, such as patentability of software, to be treated uniformly throughout the US. Due to a few landmark cases in this court, by the early 1990s the patentability of software was well established, and in 1996 the USPTO issued Final Computer Related Examination Guidelines. See Software Patents under United States patent law. Also in 1998, the U.S. court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in the case of State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group, Inc. (1998), upheld as valid a patent directed to a computer-implemented business method designed to perform financial calculations and data processing for mutual fund investments. This case was important because prior to this decision, it was widely believed that business methods and systems were not patentable. The State Street case made clear that business methods were to be evaluated in the same manner as any other type of process. In 2000, the JPO followed suit and revised its Guidelines to allow for the patenting of computer-implemented business methods when there is clear "involvement of inventive step." Europe The European Patent Convention (EPC) serves as the basis for a harmonized system of patent protection for all members of the European Union. European patents have the same effect as patents granted by each nation under its own national patent laws. Article 52(1) of

Popular culture

Popular culture What is popular culture? Introduction (John Storey, 2006, p.1) â€Å"popular culture is always defined, implicitly or explicitly, in contrast to other conceptual categories: folk culture, mass culture, dominant culture†. â€Å"Popular† and â€Å"Culture† Before we look into more depth about the term ‘popular culture we must first determine what it actually means. Firstly to break the term down, Raymond Williams says culture is â€Å"one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language† (cited storey 2006). To understand what William means we will take a look at his definitions. William refers to culture in three ways, firstly he states culture could be seen as â€Å"a general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development†.   The examples storey gives are â€Å"great philosophers, great artists and great poets† which noticeably the word great is used giving a sense of high culture. Secondly â€Å"a particular way of life, whether a people, a period or a group† (ibid). - Popular Culture Now we have determined what the terms popular and culture mean we can now look at the word as a whole. Storey states that Popular culture â€Å"is the culture that is left over after we have decided what is high culture† (Storey 2009, p. 6). Popular culture is therefore seen as â€Å"inferior culture† or ‘low culture (ibid). When you think about popular culture in this way there comes a problem, who determines which category it falls into. Storey states â€Å"to be real culture, it has to be difficult† therefore creating a division to who can and who can not. Pierre Bourdieu argues that â€Å"cultural distinctions of this kind are often used to support class distinctions. Taste is a deeply ideological category: it functions as a marker of class† (Bourdieu 1984).   Popular culture is often taken from culture, diluted and then distributed to the masses for personal gain. Sub cultures are created to help a group of people who feel left out from society, find there place. When looking at sub cultures, they are often associated with the youth of society. It could be argued that sub cultures are made possible because the youth within society have much more leisure time. (Lifestyle) The reason for this is said to be because of the generation gap. Some sub cultures create a moral panic because it challenges the norm and goes against how the people should think and what they should be doing. In doing so they create there ideology according to how they feel about society which is often opposed to the elite. If this is the case then it suggests a political dimension to what popular culture is so therefore it is not just about leisure or entertainment. Popular culture and the mass media go hand in hand because the media creates a distorted image of how the world is and the masses are said to passively consume it. Popular culture is also argued to divert people away from what is important which is said to be beneficiary for the elite, an example of this is capitalism. (Storey 2006) Ideology conceals the reality of domination from those in power: the dominant class dont see themselves as exploiter or oppressors†. More importantly though it works in favour of the elite as Storey states â€Å"Ideology conceals the reality of subordination from those who are powerless: the subordinate class dont see themselves as exploited or oppressed†. One of the most significant ideological practices in recent years has been the categorical dividing of what is popular and what is classical. Storey states â€Å"the division between high and popular culture†¦is absolutely clear†¦and transhistorical-fixed for all time.† Up until recent years the divions of the two were quite prominent but with groups like Escala (who were on Britains got talent) the divide becomes blurry. Groups like Escala play classical music in a different way to the norm but which is still classical and since they were on a popular show they made classical music popular. But that does not mean it will stay that way because if you look at some of the Cds they are bringing out for classical music now with such titles as â€Å"Pure Classical† which may seem innocent but could be argued that the elite are trying to police the boundaries. The real question what has been discussed is, value. As we have look in the first part of this essay, culture is not a fixed thing, it changes over time. A prime example of this would be opera. It started off for working class people but over time soon change and now is for the elite in society. If you were to look at the price it started off at it was only a few pennies but now the price of a ticket is quite high which therefore excludes people from taking part. Another example of this would be of you were to take a look at Pavarotti who had top selling albums and chart toppers, who then went to put on a performance in Hyde park for free and a woman attending give a comment to say â€Å"I cant afford to go to the posh opera houses and folk out  £100 for a ticket†. Yet again you could see some of the elite trying to police the boundaries by giving bad reviews saying â€Å"the park is no place for opera†. When you take that review and think about what they are really mean, they are saying it should stay in the opera hous e and keep its exclusiveness. Ideologies gain persuasive powers to either directly or indirectly influence the way people live, how they behave and how they relate to each other. Ideology can be understood by a set of values and ideas that a certain group shares.

Advantage of Taking a Stress Management Class Essay

Unfortunately, stress is a very normal part of everyday life for most of us. Stress can both be positive and negative. Leaving negative stress to chance, you will encounter serious health problems. Although stress is commonplace, it is far from healthy. Stress management professionals in the industry will recommend stress management classes as a means to better health and wellbeing. Stress management classes are available through employers and health care professionals. These sessions will help you to identify the factors that are causing the stress and help you make good lifestyle choices to reduce stress in the future. The larger companies are realizing that assisting employees to cope with stress will not only result in better health and emotional wellness for the staff; it will also improve the bottom line as well. These stress management classes are offered in multiple formats; from formal lectures by authorities in the field, to weekly training sessions that teach skills like meditation and biofeedback. Studies of these seminars show a marked improvement in employees’ stress symptoms after eight weeks of training. Less stress means higher production for employers, so it becomes a win-win situation for many companies. Individual Stress Management Classes There is several ways to access stress management classes for everyone. Do not think that stay at home mom doesn’t have stress. There are other opportunities for stress management classes. A good resource to begin with is your primary care provider. You can also check books and websites for information regarding stress management classes. Advantages of taking a class are that you will learn to spot the sources of your stress in order to take control of them more effectively. Stress management classes will teach you coping skills such as relaxation techniques and exercises specifically targeted at tension. You will also have the chance to meet others who are facing similar hurdles in their own lives, and build a support network with others who are sharing like burdens. Negative stress can take away your emotional wellbeing and at the same time contribute to general poor health. Therefore, stress management classes can help you identify the source of your stress, learn how to gain control over them, and educate you to reduce your stress symptoms. When feeling the results of constant stress, contact your nearest health provider to find out about a stress management class for you. Many people don’t think about stress management unless they’re already on the verge of burnout. With our busy lives, it doesn’t always seem obviously important to take on the practice of stress management before a worn-out body or an overly taxed psyche force the issue. However, developing healthy stress relieving habits really do pay off in the long run. Not only does a regular stress management practice stave off the negative effects of stress, but it can also bring positive outcomes like increased productivity, better health and more happiness in general. The following are some reasons why: †¢ Your Health: Excessive stress really can lead to poor health outcomes, from relatively minor things like headaches and digestion problems in the short run to major conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke after years of unmanaged stress. (Here’s a more complete list of stress related health problems, and a more detailed description of how stress affects your health.) †¢ Your Looks: Many stress relievers can also make you healthier and even more attractive. For example, taking care of your body by getting enough sleep can make you more productive and healthier, and can help you better manage stress, as well as staving off dark circles under the eyes and a poor complexion. Also, eating right can keep your blood sugar levels even, keeping your emotions in check and making you more resilient to stress, as well as helping you stay in your ‘skinny jeans’ or favorite tee-shirts from college. Getting regular exercise can help you blow off steam when you’re frustrated and keep your body fit and toned. †¢ Increased Productivity: Simply put, when you’re not stressed, you can be more productive because you’re more focused. Therefore, it really pays to keep stress to a minimum. Certain stress relief habits naturally make you more productive. Power napping, for example, can help you catch up on sleep and be more focused and productive, making less sleep stretch further. Being organized can also help you save time and money in the long run, reducing stress and helping you to be more productive in virtually every area of your life. Even limiting caffeine can help, improving your sleep and helping you feel less stressed at the end of the day. Finally, having the right attitude is actually a habit that can be learned. Being an optimist can benefit you in many areas of your life, helping you let failures roll off your back and actually enabling you to achieve more! (Think you’re already an optimist? You may be surprised. Take this quiz to find out for sure, and dis cover the secrets of optimistic thinking.) †¢ Your Happiness: Some stress relief practices just bring more joy. If you want to enjoy life more, you’ll want to adopt some of these stress relievers, and the fun will come more easily. Caring for pets, enjoying music, dancing while you clean, working more laughter into your life, maintaining a supportive circle of friends, and even having sex are all fun activities that double as great stress relievers for various reasons. Read more about them and how they can help you, and remind yourself that you’re never too busy to include these activities in your lifestyle—they’re stress management techniques! †¢ Your Stress Levels—Of Course!: The desire to avoid walking around feeling stressed-out is, in itself, a good reason to bone up on stress management. Certain general techniques that primarily just relieve stress (rather than serving some secondary function) are more than worth adopting because, when you’re less stressed, you enjoy life more. Some of the best stress management techniques available include , and good old [link url=/od/breathingexercises/ht/breathing_ex.htm]breathing exercises. Read more about the benefits of each, and choose a few to try, and you won’t have to let stress sap you of energy, productivity and enjoyment of life again! Putting in the effort to learn effective strategies for stress relief and low-stress living will pay off in the long run. Because of this, stress management is among the most important subjects to learn! Ideally, stress management needs to begin when we’re young so that we don’t have battered, scarred trunks when we reach mid life and beyond. But, the reality is, most of us never consider stress as damaging †¦until we’ve been reacting to it for a long time. The good news about our amazing bodies is that once we identify the stressors and make some definite life style changes, we can often reverse a lot of the damage. Sort of like being able to get some wood filler, apply it to the nicks on the tree trunk, then sand it down to recreate a smooth finish on your trunk. Stress management can really promote better health. What are some of the benefits of stress reduction? 1. Better immune function 2. Less illnesses and physical complaints 3. More energy 4. Feeling more relaxed 5. Sleeping better 6. Better digestion 7. Calmer mood 8. More focused, more positive 9.   Case Example: Elaine A housewife named Elaine suffered from dreadful panic attacks. She would be in a state of great agitation. She was sure she was having a heart attack, terrified she would die, despite the fact that she had no heart disease and was just 45 years old. Twice she rushed to the emergency room for help. She was suffering acute chest pain, sweating profusely and nauseated. Her heart was pounding, her breathing was shallow and rapid, her hands shook and she had diarrhoea. Real symptoms. The emergency room medics examined her carefully and told her she was reacting to stress and suggested she see her family doctor. Her family doctor checked Elaine over, sent her for a series of tests to rule out disease and prescribed . . . exercise. Whenever she felt acute anxiety symptoms, she was to jog or run or get on her exercise bike until the attack passed. His notion was that to get rid of the bad chemicals, it was imperative to replace them with good chemicals. After a few weeks of doing that †¦it worked. She was able to control the panic and anxiety with exercise. With a lot of practice, she also learned to do relaxation techniques and deep breathing so that Elaine can take control of anxiety whenever she feels over-whelmed at times when she’s unable to exercise. No pills or magic, just using the body and mind to cure itself. Case example 2 Allen was a firefighter for many years. When he had been to a fire, he would come back to the fire station all keyed up and be unable to relax. The adrenalin he needed to fight the fire was still pumping – hours after he was out of the â€Å"fight† mode. The â€Å"tiger† was gone yet seeing flames destroy people’s property bothered him emotionally. When people were hurt or died in the fires, he was even more keyed up and anxious. He felt sad. Soon he had high blood pressure and was prescribed medication. Realizing he had to take action, try to reverse what he was feeling, he started running on the tread milling once he got back from a fire. His family had a history of heart disease, he was determined not to sick. He gets on the treadmill for 30 – 45 minutes while watching TV or listening to relaxing music. He also learned to meditate which took weeks to master. He does tai chi several days weekly. Within just 4 month his blood pressure was under control and he was able to come off the medication. He actively changed his bad stress chemicals to good stress chemicals. A Stress Management Seminar for understanding and Coping with Stress The length of a stress management seminar may vary from several days to some being only half a day. The stress management seminar may be presented by experts ranging from psychologists to scientist and professionals from other diverse fields. With the promise of change and challenge in our growing markets a stress management seminar may provide some answers for people to try and cope with the growing strain put on their lives. Stress may be a life threatening factor for one man and a life enhancing one for another. The stress management seminar can prove to be pivotal in comprehending many apparently paradoxical observations and realize that the difference between negative and positive stress may lie in the perception and handling of stress as well as how best to cope with it. What vital information can be learnt at a Stress Management Seminar? Just some of the keynote presentations that are dealt with at a stress management seminar; †¢ Self-assessment of stress â€Å"triggers† †¢ Four factors of stress mediation †¢ The power of re-frame and focus †¢ The productive and proper use of W.I.I.F.M strategy. †¢ How to do more with less †¢ Circles of destiny †¢ How to master an action grid †¢ Network strength and organizational alignment. Of course, there are many different stress management seminars available and one should choose a seminar that helps participants in identifying the causes of stress as well as enable them to have effective tools to avoid as well as reduce and manage stress, both on and off the job. Some stress management seminars would include written individual as well as group exercises, group discussions and group activities as well as business simulations to make the learning process more effective. Different themes that are presented at the stress management seminar may include; †¢ getting the most from one’s work †¢ Knowing how stress drains the value from one’s life †¢ Nature as well as causes and effects of stress †¢ An attendee’s personal stress profile †¢ Rational as well as irrational thinking and behavior †¢ Effects of positive as well as negative thinking and much, much more. The kind of people who would normally attend a stress management seminar may include executive team members, managers or employees of different persuasion. Some stress management seminars may be customized for group or even firm requirements. Many seminars have also been changed to suit the skills level the company.

Implications of Investor Behaviour on Corporate Strategy and Performance Free Essay Example, 2000 words

It is evidently clear from the discussion that investors can have a critical role in the development of corporate strategies. In fact, they are the investors that decide on all the critical issues that a corporation has to face. The increased power of investors within modern corporations has been explained using the following arguments: a) investors have key interests on their corporation; their participation in the key corporate decisions should be regarded as quite satisfied since they are their interests that are in risk. However, this view could be opposed as follows: investors are not the only individuals who have interests on a particular corporation; employees, customers, suppliers and even the state have interests on the relevant corporation (in the context of their role as stakeholders). For this reason, all the above persons should also have access along with the investors to the meetings involved in key strategic decisions (Morgan et al. 2010), b) through another point of view, corporation, as any other organization, needs to be governed in accordance with a specific strategy; the application of the corporate mission and aims as included in the corporate mission statement needs to be closely monitored on a continuous basis. We will write a custom essay sample on Implications of Investor Behaviour on Corporate Strategy and Performance or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Investors should have the role of the control of the corporation ensuring that all key strategic targets are effectively pursued (Orhangazi, 2008). It is in this context that key corporate decisions are set for verification by the meeting of shareholders, a term commonly included in the memorandum of association. Despite the above issues, it could be noted that the involvement of investors in corporate strategy can have important implications. At the first level, investors are individuals and can be influenced by their personal perceptions. This means that when being asked to participate in the development of a critical corporate decision, investors are expected to express their view, as being aligned with their perceptions on the issues under discussion.