The Economic System of The Vikings

Over the 300 years of the Viking Age, and with the expansion of the Norse landnà ¡m (new land settlements), the economic structure of the communities changed. In 800 AD, a well-off farmstead in Norway would have been primarily pastoral, based on the raising of cattle, pigs, and goats. The combination worked well in the homelands, and for a time in southern Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Livestock as Trade Goods In Greenland, pigs and then cattle were soon outnumbered by goats as conditions changed and the weather became harsher. Local birds, fish, and mammals became supplemental to the Viking subsistence, but also to the production of trade goods, on which the Greenlanders survived. Commodities to Currency By the 12th-13th centuries AD, cod fishing, falconry, sea mammal oil, soapstone and walrus ivory had become intense commercial efforts, driven by the need to pay taxes to kings and tithes to the church and traded throughout northern Europe. A centralized government in the Scandinavian countries increased the development of trading places and towns, and these commodities became a currency which could be converted into cash for armies, art, and architecture. Greenlands Norse in particular traded heavily on its walrus ivory resources, in the northern hunting grounds until the bottom fell out of the market, which may have led to the demise of the colony. Sources Barrett, James, et al. 2008 Detecting the medieval cod trade: a new method and first results. Journal of Archaeological Science 35(4):850-861. Commisso, R. G. and D. E. Nelson 2008 Correlation between modern plant d15N values and activity areas of Medieval Norse farms. Journal of Archaeological Science 35(2):492-504. Goodacre, S., et al. 2005 Genetic evidence for a family-based Scandinavian settlement of Shetland and Orkney during the Viking periods. Heredity 95:129–135. Kosiba, Steven B., Robert H. Tykot, and Dan Carlsson 2007 Stable isotopes as indicators of change in the food procurement and food preference of Viking Age and Early Christian populations on Gotland (Sweden). Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 26:394–411. Linderholm, Anna, Charlotte Hedenstiema Jonson, Olle Svensk, and Kerstin Lidà ©n 2008 Diet and status in Birka: stable isotopes and grave goods compared. Antiquity 82:446-461. McGovern, Thomas H., Sophia Perdikaris, Arni Einarsson, and Jane Sidell 2006 Coastal connections, local fishing, and sustainable egg harvesting: patterns of Viking Age inland wild resource use in Myvatn district, Northern Iceland. Environmental Archaeology 11(2):187-205. Milner, Nicky, James Barrett, and Jon Welsh 2007 Marine resource intensification in Viking Age Europe: the molluscan evidence from Quoygrew, Orkney. Journal of Archaeological Science 34:1461-1472. Perdikaris, Sophia and Thomas H. McGovern 2006 Cod Fish, Walrus, and Chieftains: Economic intensification in the Norse North Atlantic. Pp. 193-216 in Seeking a Richer Harvest: The Archaeology of Subsistence Intensification, Innovation, and Change, Tina L. Thurston and Christopher T. Fisher, editors. Studies in Human Ecology and Adaptation, volume 3. Springer US: New York. Thurborg, Marit 1988 Regional Economic Structures: An Analysis of the Viking Age Silver Hoards from Oland, Sweden. World Archaeology 20(2):302-324.

Water for Africa Managing the Vital Liquid for Life and...

Water for Africa Water is the most important element on the planet. Not only is it important for the earth, in general, but it is key to our survival. Leonardo Da Vinci has said, Water is the driving force of all nature (Roberts). It is the building block of life. The average person can survive about a week without water (Ogunjimi). Lack of water is increasing worldwide, but Africa is currently affected the most. It is the second driest out of the 7 continents, following Australia ( ). Africas water crisis is not solely based on the scarcity, but also the contamination of water and what actions can be taken towards the dilemma. As the climate steadily becomes more dry and warm, there is less water for the ever-increasing world†¦show more content†¦The Vaal River located there, a frequently visited tourist destination, is progressively becoming polluted. Sewage is affecting the wildlife in the river. This lack of sanitation is causing fish to die; even to the point where they have hauled 20 tons from the Vaal. HIV or AIDS are not the only things plaguing the African people. These diseases have caused many to die, but what most people don’t realize is that the lack and contamination of water is one of the leading causes of death. Millions of African’s die every year. Throughout the world â€Å"780 million people lack access to an improved water source; approximately one in nine people.† (UNICEF). Children are being affected the most, however. Lack of access to clean water and sanitation kills children at a rate equivalent of a jumbo jet crashing every four hours. (UNICEF). Withou t pure water children across the globe are contracting diarrhoea. Surprisingly, Diarrhoea remains the second leading cause of death among children under five globally. Nearly one in five child deaths- about 1.5 million each year- is due to diarrhoea. 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Language Arts Action Research free essay sample

Classroom Management Inquiry: An Applied Study of Language Arts Data Zoo Southern Illinois university Daredevils Brian Walker Johnson, Literacy Faculty Inquiry into Teaching and Learning Project CLC 445 Language Arts at Elementary and Middle Levels November 22, 2013 Classroom Management Inquiry: An Applied Study of Language Arts The main phenomenon I have concentrated on throughout my Inquiry into Teaching and Learning Project for my applied study of language arts Is the role that speaking, writing, viewing, visually representing, reading and listening play in the management of an elementary school classroom. I have come to understand that classroom management is one of the hardest duties off beginning teacher. Being respected by students and colleagues is what establishes a teacher as an authority, and effective classroom management is a start towards this goal. Managing my students has been the hardest part of my school experience thus far, and I hoped that allowing language arts to become an active part of my management processes would allow my students to think more critically about their actions. We will write a custom essay sample on Language Arts Action Research or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When I began his inquiry study, I believed that writing classroom rules together, reading classroom rules critically, speaking and listening to how rules are applied, and viewing and visually representing class rules in daily walk and conversation might give students a sense of ownership over their classroom and greater respect for teachers. I thought the benefit of using language arts for classroom management might be measured by closer examination of critical conversations students have when rules are broken. So I proposed the following action research question: How does student behavior hanged when students read, write, speak, listen, view, or visually represent apparent misbehaver? Waxier (2007) suggests that written action plans which give older elementary students responsibility for their actions changes misbehaver. Research by Smith (2009) demonstrates that the use of other language arts with preschoolers can have the same effect. Reading these studies motivated me to pursue classroom arts. Method Secondary Sources to Answer Research Question I began my research into how student behavior changes when language arts are integrated into classroom management practices by reviewing two secondary resources. My first source, Blending Effective Behavior Management and Literacy Strategies for Preschoolers Exhibiting Negative Behavior by Smith (2009), was published in a peer reviewed early childhood education Journal specializing in articles that summarize a number of experimental studies. Smiths (2009) summary of research gave the ideas in the article greater validity. Some of the findings Smith (2009) shared described classroom management techniques I have personally experienced as effective. Smiths (2009) findings are limited to studies done with reechoes students, but I believe the findings can be used with older students as well. Unlike Smith (2009), my second source, Waxier (2007), was not published in a peer reviewed Journal. Washers eBook, teach: A Teacher Resource for Learning the Strategies of Master Teachers, was self-published. However, the authors online biography points to decades spent as a professional teacher and consultant who has helped hundreds of elementary teachers improve their classroom management. Waxier, like Smith, also describes a number of management techniques that I have found to be helpful in the past. Primary Source Data to Answer Research Question I continued my research into how student behavior changes when language arts are integrated into classroom management practices by collecting primary sources of data from my third grade classroom. The third grade classroom where I student teach is located in Roseville, Illinois, near the Mississippi River Just north of SST. Louis, Missouri. The third grade at Roseville Elementary School consists of 25 Caucasian students, 13 boys and 12 girls. Well over 70% of these students are on free or reduced lunch programs, suggesting that their families are struggling with poverty. However, the academic achievement of these students is especially high in language arts, evidenced by the schools online report card. These students may represent an exception to the thought that poverty dictates low academic achievement. I began my research into how elementary student behavior changes when language arts are integrated into classroom management practices by conducting classroom observations and collecting artifacts. My classroom observations were done by filling out five observations forms over 1 5 minute intervals over a period of six weeks. I simply observed moments in the life of my student teaching classroom where misbehaver was occurring. Then, using the left hand column of my observation form, I wrote what I saw my teacher and student informants doing during these 15-20 minute snapshots of instruction, scripting the instruction to the best of my ability. I included exactly what I heard and saw. On the same days I made my observations, I went home and read over what I had written. Then, using the right hand column of my observation form, I summarized the instructional moments I saw in my written observations that I thought related to engage arts instruction and changing student misbehaver. Finally, in a different column that: 1) documented which of the language arts were being used in the instructional moment you summarized; 2) described how I thought an additional element of language arts could have been incorporated into the instructional moment. Together with artifacts including written action plans by students to correct misbehaver, photos of room arrangement, copies of class rules, and student/teacher interviews, patterns of how misbehaver changed as a result of language arts applications began to emerge. I believe these patterns are valid because they are supported by three different kinds of primary source data: my observations, informant interviews, and classroom artifacts. My initial primary source data response to the question, How does student behavior change when students read, write, speak, listen, view, or visually represent apparent misbehaver? , emerged after examining data collected midway through my study with colleagues in my Language Arts at Element ary and Middle Levels class at Southern Illinois University Daredevils. I began to see at first that Reading, writing, or speaking about subversive changes misbehaver. As I continued to gather data, it became evident that all of the language arts gave misbehaving students opportunities for reflection that changed misbehaver. Results Results of my analysis of primary source data in the form of five 1 5 minute observations over five weeks, three student interviews, one cooperating teacher interview, and seven artifacts of student work in classroom management demonstrate that use of all of the six language arts gave misbehaving students opportunities for reflection that changed their misbehaver.

Michelangelo Buonarroti Argumentative Essay Example For Students

Michelangelo Buonarroti Argumentative Essay The greatest artist has no conception which a single block of marble does not potentially contain within its mass, but only a hand obedient to the mind can penetrate to this image. ~ Michelangelo Buonarroti Michelangelo describes in the above quote what it is like to carve a likeness of a person out of a large block of marble. As we know from seeing his work, he did an excellent job with this task. Bernini did just as fine a job on his, but in a much different way as you will see in the following pages. Michelangelo Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475, in Caprese, Italy, a tiny village, owned by the nearby city-state of Florence. His father was the mayor. He attended school in Florence, but he was preoccupied by art. When he was 13, his father agreed to apprentice him to some well-known painters in Florence. Michelangelo was unsatisfied with these artists, because they would not teach him their artistic secrets. He went to work under another sculptor hired by Lorenzo de Medici. When Michelangelo was 21, he went to Rome, where he was commissioned to carve a group of marble statues showing the Virgin Mary supporting the dead Christ on her knees. His sculpture was called Madonna Della Pieta, and it made Michelangelo famous. A few years later, in 1501, he accepted a commission for a statue of David. He took on the challenge of carving this beautiful work out of a huge oblong chunk of pure white unflawed Carrara marble à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" some 18 feet high and weighing several tons that had been badly block out and then abandoned by an earlier sculptor Coughlan 85. This piece had always fascinated Michelangelo, but neither he, nor anyone else, could think of what to carve from it, until now Coughlan 85. Thus began a new era in art, the High Renaissance. He began carving this statue for the city of Florence. It would become a symbol of this city, a city willing to take on all comers in defense of its liberty Coughlan 91. The statue acquired this meaning by the way Michelangelo depicted this biblical character. Instead of presenting us with the winner of the battle, with the giants head at his feet and a sword in his hand like Donatello did many years before, he portrays David right before the battle begins. David is in the moment where his people are hesitating and Goliath is mocking him. He is placed in perfect contrapusto; in the same manner the Greeks represented their heroes Heusinger 17. The right-hand side of the figure is composed, while the left side, from the outstretched foot all the way up to the disheveled hair, is openly active and dynamic Heusinger 18. Frederick Hartt does an excellent job of describing the essence of the statue: Throughout the statue, but especially in the head, the conflict between line and formà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦is intensified and deepened. The features are more deeply undercut than in any of the earlier works, possibly because of the height from which the statue was originally intended to be seen. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The enormous eyes à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦seem at once liquid and fiery. The flat planes joining at determined angles underlie all the construction of the David, not only in the squared-off masses of the features but throughout the knotty, bony, sinewy, half- developed, and unprecedentedly beautiful torso and legs. For the first time Michelangelo is able to embody in the quality of a single human body all the passionate drama of a mans inner nature. The sinews of the neck seem to tense and relax, the veins of the neck, hands and wrists to fill, the nostrils to pinch, the belly muscles to contract and the chest to lift with the intake of breath, the nipples to shrink and erect, the whole proud being to quiver like a war horse that smells the battle. But the nature of the battle there is no indication whatever; it is eternal and in every man Hartt 112. Once the statue was completed, a committee of citizens and artists convened to decide where the statue should be placed. Caravaggio, Death Of St. Matthew EssayThe tension of the twisted body shows the force that David is ready to release. His foot grips the base of the statue to withstand the strain in the body. The action has reached that moment when the stone is about to be released. It is a marvel of dramatic action frozen in stone. The unruly hair, the knitted brow, and above all the clenched mouth indicate one of those moments when the complete physical and psychic resources of the will are summoned to extraordinary effort Stokstad 759. The viewer becomes physically involved with the action of the statue. Davids eyes sight past us. The viewers space is his and will soon be the stones. The split second of time captured in the marble demands a single, clear point of view Janson 556. By the time the David was finished, early in 1624, Bernini no longer had time for private commissions. The David, consequently, marks a real break in Berninis life. Berninis unification of real and artistic space stands at the center of most of the Baroque art in the following years. In some ways, the whole history of Berninis artistic journey can be seen as the unfolding of this idea, with ever-richer meanings and more powerful physical environments. A new unison of the arts emerged and the David stands at the beginning of this period Berninidavid. Comparison of the Two Davids Although both of the above artists chose the same subject matter, there are many differences between their sculptures. The first difference is the moment the artist chose to represent. Michelangelo chose the moment just before the start of the battle. His David is thinking about what he is about to do. Bernini on the other hand, chose the split second before David launches the stone from his sling. By choosing this moment, Bernini has created a dramatic representation of an event frozen in time, suggesting the next series of events, the release of the stone and the death of Goliath. His figure is bursting with the same energy that Michelangelo had stored in his figure. Berninis figure implies another figure in our space, Goliath. David no longer a thing to look at in his own space, but is now in the viewers space. He has actively involved the viewer in the sculpture itself, like we have seen before in Hellenistic sculpture. Michelangelo introduced a new tension in his huge figure of David by showing him shortly before the battle, but no sculptor had ever tried to show the actual moment of the shot the way Bernini did. Within two hundred years of each other, four completely different statues of David appeared in Italy and all are great works in their own way. Donatellos came first, then Verrocchios, followed by Michelangelos, and finally that of Bernini. The four sculptors had completely different objectives. Only Bernini was interested in showing the actual action of the slaying of Goliath. Of the four statues, I think Berninis is the most dramatic and the most realistic. I think that is exactly what Bernini wanted to achieve. I also love Michelangelos David for other reasons. It is perfect in form, as is was meant to be, which makes the viewer believe that this is just a boy, even though he is seventeen feet tall. I believe both artists got their point across very well in embodying the artistic ideals at the time of their work. I also think they each did a wonderful job of telling a story that will live on forever, just as their names and sculptures will.

Students name Essays - Family, Human Behavior, Marriage, Family Law

Student's name Professor' name Course Date Do you think Lorna deserved half of the family net worth? Why or why not? No. Lorna, being the wife to her husband did not mean that they were in a partnership agreement; sharing of half the amount accumulated is only practical where the association is a partnership. Since marriage means sharing of responsibilities, she is wrong to demand for half the share of the husband's earnings; because they are divorcing. According to the law, it is possible to have fair distribution, which does not translate to automatic split (50-50). If one parent is a stay-at-home parent while the other is the sole breadwinner, should the money the breadwinner earned be divided equally in divorce? No. the money the breadwinner earned should not in way be subjected to 50-50 sharing rule. Even though both the husband and the wife are one entity, division of property should be fair. Fairness takes into account the status of each member of the family financially. At times the court may rule in favor of stay at home mother who is employment problematic due to her long years of since leaving the wok-force. When one parent takes time out of the workforce, their future wages are affected. If the person took 5 years out of the paid workforce, when she/he returned, her/his wages would be less than if there would be no gap in work experience. Does this fact demonstrate the need for alimony? The above case does not prove the need for alimony at all. In general alimony is awarded to women (stay at home mothers) who contributed to rearing of children in the family. Secondly, it can be given to those who left the market place long ago. Lorna is a good example because she had left her teaching job years earlier before their divorce. Also young women who are employed and who are in a short-term type of marriage are eligible to alimony. When dealing with retirement issues, failure to work or being out of the work force, require someone to have money to cover the lost income. An individual may choose to work longer if he or she is healthy. The gaps might end up rising if the person concerned does not take the responsibility to plan before retirement. Work cited "Lorna Wendt, of GE Capital 'corporate Wife' Divorce, Dies." CNBC, www.cnbc.com/2016/02/05/lorna-wendt-of-ge-capital-corporate-wife-divorce-dies.html.

Ben Folds Five essays

Ben Folds Five essays Ben Folds Five is a band who started in 1994. Ben Folds Five is a trio not a quintet, which it is often mistaken for. The band originated in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Ben Folds Five is known for its half punk and half alternative sounds. The famous band Styx and the famous band Journey have given Ben Folds Five music the title of punk rock for sissies. In the late 1980s, Ben Folds played bass in a band called Maj=sha. The band was not very successful. Maj=sha only cut one record not giving itself a big name. In the early 1990s, he played drums in a group called Pots and Pans. Folds then moved to New York after Pots and Pans broke up. He did some theater work and signed a publishing deal with Sony Music for his singing. This publishing deal allowed him three weeks to return to Chapel Hill and form a new band. Ben Folds Five then originated. The trio includes three band members with much experience under their belts. The lead singer and pianist Ben Folds has been in many bands mentioned earlier. The bassist Robert Sledge formerly played with a band called The Toxic Popsicle. The drummer Darren Jesse was a former member of Limbo. Soon after the trio got together, they released a single, Jackson Cannery, which lead to a deal with a New York based publishing company called Caroline. Ben Folds states he feels more comfortable in littler towns like his own back home. So for their first year or two, they only stayed in local towns and small Getting the piano sound popular was not easy for this band. The sound popular then was the grunge distorted-guitar sound. Ben Folds knew it was going to be tough to become popular without that guitar sound. But still persued Folds states, I wont compromise-we just dont play if theres no piano. If ...

Explain about this picture using roland barthes Essay

Explain about this picture using roland barthes - Essay Example The coastal background of the picture is ideal; tourist can have a cool breeze at the coastline of any ocean or sea. In addition, human beings can manifest the world through pictures, not just through photojournalism (Watson, 2012). Our snaps are a perfect example of how human beings can view the world as a social construct or our personal, individual life. The picture’s relevance can be drawn from the context in which it was taken. Denotative quality of the photograph is portrayed by the human being and the coastal objects contained in the photograph and their relationship with the human being. Denotatively, human beings can find coastline settings ideal for holidays and tourism activities. Tourism is also important for economic growth as well as contributing to employment opportunities. The content of the photograph’s message shows the literal reality of how human beings enjoy nature. The scene is real and not imaginary (Noth, 1995). A photograph is a proof that the holiday adventure occurred in reality. The picture may be distorted; however, there is some evidence that something occurred, which resembles the picture. The notion of style in the picture is evident because it represents reality. The object (human being and the coastline) are objects from reality. The pose in the picture represents how human beings can enjoy the sunshine at the coast. In addition a relaxed pose shows how holiday experiencing can be fulfilling. Stress levels can be reduced when human beings find time to relax and be away from work. Holiday activities rejuvenate strength lost during work. After leisure or holiday, more effort can be achieved at work. Use of communication technologies such as phones helps to get in touch with families and friends. The picture’s background also shows how human beings should relate with the environment. The coastal background is clean and free from waste. Waste disposal to the

Political Parties and Elections Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Political Parties and Elections - Essay Example In other circumstances, parties might choose to form coalitions with disparate interests. It has to be acknowledged that parties in the United States are very powerful for they determine the fate of all citizens1. Ambition in Political Parties Politicians are very ambitious people. Although some choose to stay in their current offices for several terms, others aspire to go to higher offices. In addition, some politicians want to be politics for short periods. This implies that it depends with the politician to know his or her ambitions. Career ambition decides the behavior to be exhibited by the politician. His/her hopes and expectations for the future are the main driving force that helps the politician in making decisions. Majority of political leaders possess progressive ambitions and as a result, they aspire for higher offices. Politicians make policies that satisfy the needs of their constituents at the given time and in future, in order to ensure success. It has to be noted tha t one cannot achieve higher office if s/he lacks ambition2. Although majority of Americans believe that the president is a powerful person who makes all the decisions for the country from white house, Richard Neustadt in his book Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents, believes otherwise. The president’s power is guaranteed in the constitution, the prestige of Washington, abroad, and the country at large. However, article II of the constitution, which defines the powers of the president, does not guarantee that everything that he (presidents) commands he achieves. This means that the president must always ensure that the people around him are persuaded and thus willing to do what he believes is good for the country. The fact that United States of America is a democratic country means that there is separation of powers so the president is not the sole decision maker in the country. The ability and the power to pursued help in ensuring that the policies implemented by the president are able to pass and become law. This can be attributed to the fact that the president in the US does not change legislation alone for it needs approval by the respective houses. If the president is unable to persuade legislators to pass his policies then chances are high that most of these policies will not go through. This is the reason why Neustadt (1990) notes, presidency is not a place for amateurs. Presidents should act in a prospective manner in order to make sure that the decisions he makes today will help him persuade tomorrow3. Power of Politics Obama exercises the power to persuade because he understands that his policies cannot pass without the support other legislators.4On the other hand, Schlesinger acknowledges that the US presidency is becoming too powerful, such that people are not concerned on checking it. He attributes this to the powers that the presidency exercises because of domestic policy, foreign policy, and the affairs that go on in secrecy. Sinc e the president is the commander in chief of the armed forces, he has the authority to defend the United States but the power of declaring war is vested on the congress. This means that the president can make decisions that will cause death or injury to other people who are deemed as a threat to the country5. In his time at the office, Obama has ordered the killing of Somali pirates who had hijacked a ship with American crew. In addition, he ordered

Types of Diabetes, Disease Statistics, and Treatment Mechanisms Research Paper - 1

Types of Diabetes, Disease Statistics, and Treatment Mechanisms - Research Paper Example Type-1 diabetes usually begins during childhood or adolescence.   Type-2 diabetes is the most common type and begins at a later age, usually after 40 years.   This condition is caused when the pancreatic glands do not produce enough insulin for blood sugar metabolism, thereby increasing the blood sugar levels in the body. The third type is gestational diabetes that develops in women during pregnancy.   This condition usually disappears after delivery but may continue in some women as Type-2 diabetes. The WHO fact sheet as of 2011 reports that more than 220 million people suffer from diabetes in the world.  Ã‚   Research and statistics indicate that the number of people developing diabetes will double in the next two decades.   A research conducted by Wild et al (2004) indicated India, China, and the USA as the three countries with highest numbers of diabetes patients in the world; this research also predicted these countries to still remain the highest in the same order by 2030 of people suffering from diabetes. The risk factors for Type-1 diabetes include hormonal imbalance, malnutrition, and viral infection of the pancreas. Risk factors for Type-2 diabetes include age, obesity, stress, lack of physical activity, and hypertension.   NIH reports indicate that specific geographical regions and races are highly prone to Type-1 diabetes.   In some cases, antipsychotic drugs such as Clozapine, Olanzapine, Quetiapine, Risperidone, Ziprasidone etc induce Type-2 diabetes. Clinical symptoms associated with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes include polyuria, polydipsia, weight loss, increased hunger, decreased vision; in severe cases, the symptoms may progress to diabetic coma due to ketoacidosis.   Besides these symptoms, diabetes causes severe complications to other organs and their functions.   Patients with prolonged diabetes suffer from decreased brain functioning in terms of memory, an information-processing speed of understanding, and decreased cognitive ability.   Secondly, insulin dysfunction causes hypertension, obesity, and abnormal levels of lipids in the blood; this condition is termed as metabolic syndrome.  

Significance of Pharmacovigilance for Drug Safety

Significance of Pharmacovigilance for Drug Safety AIM: To present an overview on the pharmacovigilance practice and realize the significance of pharmacovigilance in envisaging drug safety and efficacy To decisively appraise the pharmacovigilance findings of the anti-diabetic drug Avandia INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The World Health Organization defines pharmacovigilance as â€Å"The science and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects or any other drug-related problem†.9 THE NEED FOR PHARMACOVIGILANCE: Primarily let us understand the need for pharmacovigilance. It has been long debated that the data from animal experiments is not completely worth of extrapolation. The differences in their metabolic pathways, resistance to drugs and various other factors, the pharmacokinetics and dynamics of drugs tend to vary within species to species as well. Extrapolating such statistics from animals to humans though necessary is not foolproof. Additionally, the clinical trial environment is extremely controlled. The patient population, however large, is not a good representative of the general global population. The number of patients is limited. Owing to these facts, an adverse effect, which would occur in one in ten thousand or so, is very unlikely to arise within the restrictions of the clinical trial atmosphere. Moreover, in a real life situation the patients using the drug are likely to have other diseases, consuming other drugs and with different genetic make-ups. Accordingly arises the urgent need for better pharmacovigilance practices. The importance of identifying rare and serious adverse effects of drugs that have remained secret during the course of the clinical trial cannot be ignored. THE STEPS IN PHARMACOVIGILANCE: Spontaneous reporting and prescription event monitoring: Spontaneous reports and prescription event monitoring include reports of adverse effects of drugs to sponsors, CROs or regulatory authorities, reported by patients, nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals and consumers. The above process is streamlined with the help of global and countrywide structured programs to accelerate the practice and facilitate consumers to testify an adverse effect. Example: the National Pharmacovigilance Program in India. All events that are serious (as defined in ICH-GCP), unexpected, unlabeled, additional efficacy and lack of efficacy should be promptly reported. An incoming report is called as a case report. FDA has defined certain characteristics of a good case report. They are as follows: â€Å"1. Description of the adverse events or disease experience, including time to onset of signs or symptoms; 2. Suspected and concomitant product therapy details (i.e., dose, lot number, schedule, dates, duration), including over-the-counter medications, dietary supplements, and recently discontinued medications; 3. Patient characteristics, including demographic information (e.g., age, race, sex), baseline medical condition prior to product therapy, co-morbid conditions, use of concomitant medications, relevant family history of disease, and presence of other risk factors; 4. Documentation of the diagnosis of the events, including methods used to make the diagnosis; 5. Clinical course of the event and patient outcomes (e.g., hospitalization or death);5 6. Relevant therapeutic measures and laboratory data at baseline, during therapy, and subsequent to therapy, including blood levels, as appropriate; 7. Information about response to dechallenge and rechallenge; and 8. Any other relevant information (e.g., other details relating to the event or information on benefits received by the patient, if important to the assessment of the event).†6 Signal generation: A signal is reported information of the possible causal relationship between an adverse event and the drug, which has been reported more than once. The frequency of reports to generate a signal depends on the seriousness of the event, drug class, disease status, authenticity of the reporter etc. Signal follow-up and strengthening: Signal follow-up and strengthening consists of identifying similar cases in different countries, mining the literature for evidence to support the hypothesis, pre-clinical information and patient follow-up. The prospective analysis of reports of interests is crucial for a signal to generate any action. Careful scrutiny has to be done in order to assess the ingenuity of the signal. The report could have been due to the patients illness history, concomitant medication, disease state or any other reason not related to the use of drug. Even then, such confounded reports should be analyzed promptly. Signal follow-up ensures authenticity of the reports. Causality assessment: Determining whether the adverse event has a causal relationship with the drug or not, and if it has, the degree to which the association exists is called as causality assessment. The WHO has defined six degrees of relationship, namely: certain, probable, possible, unlikely, conditional/unclassified and unassessable/unclassifiable with lowering intensity of causality. Action: Action is taken once it is well established that there exists a causal relationship in between the drug and the adverse event. Depending on the severity of the adverse event, action taken can be in the form of withdrawal of marketing approval, change in package insert, additional trials to confirm causality and dissemination of information globally. THE PRACTICAL ASPECT: Consider the story of the blockbuster drug Avandia (rosiglitazone), used to treat patients with type II diabetes mellitus. â€Å"Rosiglitazone (Avandia ®) is a thiazolidinedione indicated in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus: as monotherapy in patients (particularly overweight patients) inadequately controlled by diet and exercise for whom metformin is inappropriate because of contraindications or intolerance as dual oral therapy in combination with metformin, in patients (particularly overweight patients) with insufficient glycaemic control despite maximal tolerated dose of monotherapy with metformin a sulphonylurea, only in patients who show intolerance to metformin or for whom metformin is contraindicated, with insufficient glycaemic control despite monotherapy with a sulphonylurea as triple oral therapy in combination with metformin and a sulphonylurea, in patients (particularly overweight patients) with insufficient glycaemic control despite dual oral therapy†4 Little did the world know that a boon was in fact a bane for a certain group of people with a history of cardiovascular illnesses. A meta-analysis by Nissen and Wolski et al. provided evidence that â€Å"rosiglitazone was associated with a significant increase in the risk of (MI)myocardial infarction (odds ratio, 1.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03 to 1.98; P = 0.03) and a borderline-significant finding for death from cardiovascular causes (odds ratio, 1.64; 95% CI, 0.98 to 2.74; P = 0.06).†2 Though the meta-analysis study had quite a few numbers of weaknesses, the increased risk of MI in patients consuming rosiglitazone has come as a rude shock to the sponsors as well as the patient community. Something, which could not be unveiled during the clinical trial process. Another study (called Antipsychotic drugs and heart muscle disorder in international pharmacovigilance: data mining study) by David Coulter et al. used a Bayesian confidence propagation network to analyze the correlation between anti-psychotic drugs and occurrences of cardiomyopathy and myocarditis. Though the study did not prove much, it did bring up an association between use of clozapine and incidences of heart disorders. It also scanned the WHO database and concluded that as compared to other anti-psychotic drugs, clozapine is more widely reported. A French pharmacovigilance study (called Reports of hypoglycemia associated with the use ACE inhibitors and other drugs: a case/non-case study in the French pharmacovigilance system database) by Nicholas Moore et al. set out to find any association between use of ACE inhibitors and incidences of hypoglycemia. The results attested that in fact there was no significant increase in the occurrences of hypoglycemia in patients on ACE inhibi tors. Such pharmacovigilance approaches add to the knowledge base of drugs and related Adverse Drug Reactions. Pharmacovigilance is a vital tool. There are various advances and approaches to good pharmacovigilance practices ranging from data mining studies to conducting global clinical trials. What approach is deemed best to yield the right results, only time will tell. CASE STUDY: THE CHRONICLE OF DIABETES MELLITUS TYPE II, AVANDIA, HOPE AND DEATH! Early in august 2006, Vivians mother had gone to the hospital for some routine cancer tests. However, what was supposed to be routine, did not turn out to be. The doctors found the left side of the patients body swollen. She was admitted immediately. On admission, the doctors found her heart swollen as well. Her heart was racing. Every trick in the trade was tried to get Vivians mother under control, but nothing seemed to work. Just a few days into her admission, she died, of cardiac arrest. Till the end, the doctors failed to find out the root cause for her death. However strange it may seem, the drug which she was taking for the past eight years, to control her blood sugar level has been the prime suspect and the causative agent of edema and myocardial infarction. The name, Avandia; generically known as Rosiglitazone. Vivians mother was put on Avandia since 1999, the drugs approval year. Her death occurred in august 2006. Precisely eight years of Avandia, took her life. Then in May 2007, came to light a stunning NEJM study which spilled the beans for GlaxoSmithKline. They found â€Å"a significant increase 43 percentin the risk for myocardial infarction -with rosiglitazone. They also found a 64 percent increased risk for death from other cardiovascular causes in people taking the drug. These findings were based on analyses of 42 clinical trials of the drug.†10 As a response to this, but probably too late for Vivian and her mother, FDA issued a public warning about the findings of the Avandia pharmacovigilance study. Patients with a bad cardiovascular history were now said to revise their use of Avandia. Either stop it, or lower the dose. The information directly applies to Vivians mother death. Vivian said â€Å"At the time I didnt realize that she had any cardiac problems. But there is a history of heart problems in my mothers family, including a history of heart murmurs. And my brother has a congenital heart defect, my mother was also on at least 13 drugs at the time she went to hospital.†10 A CRITICAL ANALYSIS Thats the tale of one drug and one death. But there have been many. And no noise is being made about it. What approach is the right approach for pharmacovigilance is still to be stereotyped. But so far, the structured ADR reporting systems and data mining seems to have turned the fortunes for Avandia. But for the time being lets spare Avandia, and concentrate our resources towards analyzing the situation of global pharmacovigilance. Does it really happen? What constitutes good pharmacovigilance practice? But one things for sure, the mindsets of sponsors and regulatory authorities needs to change. Things need to get crystallized. Vigilance should be policed. Conditional approval to market the drug should follow stringent laws. The two core issues surrounding pharmacovigilance are drug safety and the reputation of pharmaceuticals. Which one of those needs to be sacrificed does the time arise, is a million dollar question. The reputation, it should be. Compromising drug safety puts millions of patients at risk. Reputation can be back, but life, once gone, never returns, and so is Vivians mother. Even then, the reputation of GSK seems to be untouched. Vivians mother did have a history of cardiovascular illnesses, but still she was on the death drug for over eight years. Such an issue was never raised during any of the trials of Avandia. It is thanks to pharmacovigilance that the root cause analysis was performed and the association between Avandia and edema and myocardial infarction was established. If not completely, at least it has rung the bells at the FDA. It was no doubt too late for Vivians mother, but the information has the potential to save millions of life, now that the correlation has been ascertai ned. However, some issues in the meta-analysis also need to be addressed. The study combined data of 42 different clinical trials. Trials with different outcomes, disease states, patients, duration and many other differentiating factors have been combined to pool in the data. The data from varying trials can be sometimes conflicting. GSK argues, the most reliable way to assess the long-term safety of the trial is to conduct a long-term safety trial. Three long-term safety trials of Avandia have been conducted by GSK. Namely; ADOPT (A Diabetes Outcome Progression Trial), DREAM and RECORD. The studies back Avandias safety profile. No more than a minimalist increase in risk has been noted in one of the studies. Again, as Avandia is known to control the blood sugar level for a longer time, it said to have benefits outweighing the risks. The conflict will always remain. However, in such a scenario, the safety of patients should not in any way take a back seat. Sponsors and regulatory authorities along with consumers and healthcare professionals equal should take serious and committed steps to improve pharmacovigilance. The authenticity of the safety profile of Avandia will be demonstrated over time. But in any case, the death of Vivians mother cannot be reversed, not by me, nor by GSK nor by the FDA. CONCLUSION The coming years are bound to be very interesting on the pharmacovigilance front. The techniques regulatory agencies mandate to make PV more stringent will be worth waiting for. Sponsors will have to invest more money to establish the safety profile of the drug. Awareness among patients has to be created for better reporting of ADRs. The current approach to drug development focuses an intensive, strong and time-consuming pre approval process, but a similar standing is required post approval also. The transition from research to marketing has to be more governed with the research step not stopping at the marketing juncture. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Dhruv Kazi, Rosiglitazone and implications for pharmacovigilance, BMJ 2007;334:1233-1234 (16 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.39245.502546.BE Steven E. Nissen, M.D., and Kathy Wolski, M.P.H., Effect of Rosiglitazone on the Risk of Myocardial Infarction and Death from Cardiovascular Causes, n engl j med 356;24, vol. 356 no. 24 Bruce M. Psaty, M.D., Ph.D., and Curt D. Furberg, M.D., Ph.D., Rosiglitazone and Cardiovascular Risk, n engl j med 356;24 Overview of cardiac adverse drug reactions reported in association with rosiglitazone, Nederlands Bijwerkingen Centrum Lareb November 2007 V. Thawani1, S. Sharma2, K. Gharpure1, Pharmacovigilance: Is it possible if bannable medicines are available over the counter?, Indian J Pharmacol | June 2005 | Vol 37 | Issue 3 Guidance for Industry, Good Pharmacovigilance Practices and Pharmacoepidemiologic Assessment, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), March 2005, Clinical Medical David M Coulter, Andrew Bate, Ronald H B Meyboom, Marie Lindquist, I Ralph Edwards, Antipsychotic drugs and heart muscle disorder in international pharmacovigilance: data mining study, BMJ VOLUME 322 19 MAY 2001, BMJ 2001;322:1207-9 Nicholas Moore et al., Reports of hypoglycemia associated with the use of ACE inhibitors and other drugs: a case/non-case study in French pharmacovigilance sysyem database, Br J Clin Pharmacol1997;44: 513-518, 1997 Blackwell Science Ltd. Data Assessment in Pharmacovigilance (powerpoint presentation), R.H.B. Meyboom Avandia: Meant to Help but Killed Instead March 30, 2008. By Lucy Campbell, Seed Newsvine

Condition of African-Americans in the late nineteenth century Essay

Examine the condition of African-Americans in the late nineteenth century and explain why the Thirteenth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Fifteenth Amendment, which were enacted to aid the new freedmen, actually did little. In the late nineteenth century after the civil war the U.S. was over, there were about 4 million people that were once slaves that were now set free. The big question for President Lincoln and the presidents that followed was what to do with them? Even though the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments were passed to free and aid the freed slaves it actually did very little to help them at all because many other events that took place, which prevented them from working. The white southern government passed restrictive black codes, which was mostly just revised sections of the slave codes and replaced the word slaves with freedmen. The codes made former slaves carry passes, observe curfews, and live in housing provided by landowners. There were certain jobs that blacks still could not get into. Labor contracts even bounded the freed people to plantations and laws would punish anyone who tried to lure workers away from the plantations to other employment opportunities. Since most blacks lacked money to buy land many had to rent the land they worked. They had to rent land from white owners, which turned into sharecropping, where the black farmers kept some of their crop and gave the rest to the landowner for payment of the land. This ...

Fast food vs home food Essay

This generation has many people of all ages which are becoming more obese simply because they are eating more fast food than home food. Restaurants and many other fast food places have foods that contain high in fat, sugar, and salt. Having a healthy regular diet at home will keep you away from many health problems. Also having fast food only on special occasions is fine as well. We all need food to survive, but we should learn to make wise decisions in what we eat for the sake of our health. In today’s society people are making it into a habit of getting their hands on fast foods rather that home foods. Fast food can attract people more than a home cooked meal. This is a very bad habit to make because we are showing our children that it is alright to eat fast foods. For many young teens it is hard for them to say no to an attractive menu with such low cost. America’s children are known to be obese and it is not because of the fast food industry, but because the parents are those not teaching the importance of eating the right foods. For many people fast food can be the only way that they can go on with their busy lives because they are always busy, on the go, and do not have the time to prepare a home cooked meal. Many people can just go to a drive thru after a long day of work and be able to feed their whole family in no time. Little do they know that the fast food industry is considered unhealthy and can lead to many health problems in their future. There are those, like me, who grew up in the tradition of eating home foods. Home food is much healthier than going out to eat to a fast food restaurant. It is healthier because it contains way less calories, sugars, sodium, fats, and carbohydrates. Plus when cooking your foods you are able to use good quality ingredients. Eating at home gives you options of different variety, and you are able to make the food in how you like it. In addition, when eating a home cooked meal you are able to use the freshest ingredients and not worry about bad condiments that the food may have. Even though people eat food at home, that does not mean that they are considered healthy. You always want to watch what foods you buy and the nutritional value of the product. When going to shop for groceries we have to be aware of the nutrition fact labels. This will give you a better understanding of what kind of ingredients you will be putting into your body. Other than fast foods, you have no idea what kind of ingredients that the food may contain. There is a big difference with the calorie intake of a home cooked meal than eating fast food. For example, if I were to make fries at home I would know to use a healthy kind of oil that way it will not have a ton of calories. Other than a fast food place the fries are usually fried with cheap oil that is high in calories yet very tasty so that the customer will come back for more. Eating fast food every once in a while I believe will not hurt you but too much of it can cause serious health problems. Many fast foods are known to consume the cheapest kind of ingredients, which can put many people’s health at risk. On the other hand when having a home cooked meal, you feel much better because you will enjoy your meal without thinking about the health risk. Many people love the idea of going out to eat because the food is really tasty and looks very delicious. There are many fast food restaurants that have value meals and it makes it even more affordable so people can buy. Also many people who do not like to cook would rather go to a fast food stop. Where I live there is a fast food restaurant nearly every 5 miles or to the exit of mostly every neighborhood. This makes it convenient for a lot people because it is close by. These fast food chains are known to have foods that contain high in fat and sodium which can lead to obesity. In the US 1 out of 3 people are considered obese. The fatter you get, more likely you are to be at risk in having chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart attack, and arthritis. These high levels of fat and sodium can also contribute to heart disease and can cause your blood cholesterol levels to rise and your arteries can lead to build ups of plaque. Preparing meals at home benefits in many ways. Creative cooking skills are bound to improve remarkably as you learn delightful ways to cook with flavorful and healthy ingredients. I know many people do not cook simply because they do not how. Which is a bad thing because most likely they are to go and get a fast food meal. Also when you eat more home cooked meals it can help trim the waistline of many obese people. Children who eat home food are likely those who grow up with healthy eating habits. This is beneficial because they can also learn to limit their portion size and also know how to use the different ingredients and healthy products. Parents should consider in teaching their children the importance of eating right that way they grow up with the dynamics of healthy eating. In conclusion, we know what is best for our health we should consider keeping it as a lifestyle to eat the right foods. Both fast food and home cooked food have their differences. Fast food may seem more affordable and convenient but a home cooked meal is made with much better quality. I personally believe that home food is much superior to fast foods. Eating home food will keep my mind from thinking of all the health problems. Promptly it is up to us to choose the right foods to eat. I would much rather go with home food that way I will live a long healthy life.

Shel Silverstein Essays - Childrens Poetry, Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein Essays - Childrens Poetry, Shel Silverstein Shel Silverstein Chris Senn March 6, 2000 572 55 3153 Research Paper While I was growing up as a child, there were three authors whose works I read devoutly. One was Dr. Seuss and I liked his books so much that I am proud to say I have read every one published. The second author who had a profound impact on me was Jan Bernstein who is responsible for that loveable family The Bernstein Bears. The third is a poet, which is odd because I never have liked poetry. Shel Silversteins childrens poetry books were the only poetry I read until I was twelve and are the ones I still enjoy the most today as a young man. Shel Silverstein is known to most as the critically acclaimed childrens poet, and before this project, I was unaware of the other things he had done. Shel Silverstein also did cartoons, served for his country during the Korean War, wrote folk songs, played the guitar, and probably most shocking to me, were his poems and drawings for Playboy Magazine which depicted fairly gruesome sexual acts as well as drug use, especially his own. Life experience seems to be the influence for his NC-17 rated material but I was curious to who influenced his witty, lyrical childrens pieces. When studying Silversteins poetry, you can see how the nonsense subjects and rhymes look similar to Edward Lears nonsense poetry of one hundred and fifty years earlier and how the poetry of Ogden Nash, which Silverstein might have possibly read as a child, had influences on Shels own pieces. However, the conclusion I have reached is purely hypothetical. Shel Silverstein once said he had no influences on his poetic style. In a 1975 interview with Jean Merciar, published in the February 24, 1975 issue of Publishers Weekly, Silverstein said, When I was kid- 12, 14, around there- I would much rather have been a good baseball player or a hit with the girls. But I couldnt play ball, I couldnt dance. Luckily the girls didnt want me; not much I could do about that. So I started to draw and to write. I was also lucky that I didnt have anybody to copy, be impressed by. I had developed my own style, I was creating before I knew there was a Thurber, a Benchley, a Price and a Steinberg. I never even saw their work till I was around thirty. By the time I got to where I was attracting girls, I was already into work, and it was more important to me. Not that I wouldnt rather make love, but the work has become a habit Even though Shel says nobody influenced his artistic abilities it is hard to believe that. Especially when you see how similar some of his pieces are to Edward Lears. One of the most captivating things about Silversteins poetry is that a sketch that he himself drew accompanies each one. They are usually funny, humorous sketches that add a visual interpretation to the poem. I thought that only Silverstein used such a technique but Edward Lear used the same idea during the 1850s. Besides similar artistic abilities they also made silly, goofy poems. Heres an example from Edward Lear: There was a Young Lady whose chin, Resembled the point of a pin; So she had made it sharp, And purchased a harp, And played several tunes with her chin. Along with that piece, there is a comical drawing of exactly what the poem says, a lady with a pointy chin playing a harp. There is a poem in Falling Up, by Shel Silverstein that uses the same techniques: Scale If only I could see the scale, Im sure that it would state That Ive lost ouncesmaybe pounds Or even tons of weight. Youd better eat some pancakes- Youre as skinny as a rail. Im sure thats what the scale would say If I could see the scale. (Silverstein, p. 12) Of course there is a sketch of a fat man standing on a scale he cannot see, done by Shel himself. Besides being humorous pieces, there are other similarities you can derive. Both poets use the same phrase they used to start and to finish their respective poems. However, Edward Lear never took his poetry as far as Silverstein. Most of Lears poems are five lines long

Definition and Examples of Sentence Case

Definition and Examples of Sentence Case Sentence case is the conventional way of using capital letters in a sentence or capitalizing only the first word and any proper nouns. In most newspapers in the U.S. and in virtually all publications in the U.K., sentence case, also known as down style and reference style, is the standard form for headlines. Examples and Observations The 100-year-old scientist who pushed the FDA to ban artificial trans fat.Barack Obama flies to thank troops who killed Bin Laden.FBI investigating Cardinals alleged hacking of Astros computer system.AP Style: HeadlinesOnly the first word and proper nouns are capitalized...APA Style: Sentence Style in Reference ListsIn titles of books and articles in reference lists, capitalize only the first word, the first word after a colon or em dash, and proper nouns. Do not capitalize the second word of a hyphenated compound.Librarians and bibliographers work with minimal capitals [i.e., sentence case], . . . yet [other options] are well established in literary tradition. For many people theres virtue in using [sentence case] in lists and bibliographies, but using one of the other options for titles quoted in the course of a written discussion.In major companies, the problem of consistency may be largely unreconcilable. The public relations department has to use a down style because it is writi ng for newspapers, but department heads insist on capitalizing the names of titles and departments... Sources The Washington Post, June 16, 2015The Guardian  [U.K.], May 7, 2011Democrat and Chronicle  [Rochester, N.Y.], June 16, 2015The Associated Press Stylebook: 2013, edited by Darrell Christian, Sally Jacobsen, and David Minthorn. The Associated Press, 2013(Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed. American Psychological Association, 2010Pam Peters,  The Cambridge Guide to English Usage. Cambridge University Press, 2004Donald Bush and Charles P. Campbell,  How to Edit Technical Documents. Oryx Press, 1995

Economics Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Economics Assignment - Essay Example Based on the fact that within the market place the root of everything litereally comes down to supply and demand, this is altered by monopolistic practices and therefore society tends to disfavor monopolies as practicing on an unfair basis, and creating barriers of entry to firms wishing to enter the market for profit generation, as well as from the perspective of the consumer, being that the monopoly is unfairly regulating prices, by restricting output and therefore is extracting a price without allowing market forces to determine the correct supply and demand balance of the given commodity. Essentially when dealing with a monopoly consumers are at the mercy of the price determination of that monopoly, which they control via total output restriction and subsequent economic welfare reduction. The monopoly comes about when there is little or no competition, normally the latter. The monopoly will always persist based on the barriers to entry for any rival company or concern attempting to enter the market place. Barriers to entry protect a monopoly and at times can even be state sponsored, via legal framework or even finance. The barriers to entry for rival firms include: Legal Ba... Legal Barriers - these take the form of legal framework where a government will only allow a producer to supply a product, for example if one considers the first class mail deliver in the United States which USPS is the only allowed deliverer. Patents - similar to legal barriers due to the legal framework that will support a holder of a patent, although this issue is debatable around the cost of research and development in the patent creation process. A certain school of thought agreeing with the patent barrier, claims government encouraged innovation incentive, whilst others will claim consumer deprivation due to excessive price fixing. Examples would be the pharmaceutical companies that hold patents on medical drugs, Pfizer who manufactures Viagra - they are the patent holders and are therefore the only company entitled to produce and sell the drug. Control of strategic resources - this would entail a holder of mineral rights or mining rights of a commodity that must be present in order to produce the end product. An example is De Beers controlling 90% of the world's diamond production (Wessels, W.J). Natural Barriers - also called economies of scale. This is related to the mere cost of establishment within a given industry. It is too expensive and capital intensive to enter the market on a profitable basis. An example of this would be the various utility companies in any given economy. One can safely deduce that monopolies will continue to exist, as long as there are governments who sponsor such activity, as well as when companies are in the position to be able to create a barrier to entry, via market power or anti competitive behavior, this in turn can be negated by anti trust regulation or competition law. The Economists vs. The

Allocating Fixed Costs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Allocating Fixed Costs - Essay Example Activity Based Management is basically the use of such ABC system towards improving strategic decisions and efficiency. It further uses the ABC information to choose between products and analyze the activities that need to be employed in order to get those products manufactured. The focus is mainly towards identifying using those activities which add value. DHL is one of the earliest implementer of the ABC and the ABM system. DHL is a German logistics company known for its expertise in providing international express mail services. It is considered to be a World market leader in providing such mail services both via sea and air. The company is also popular for its mailing services with respect to heavy weight goods delivery. DHL, in 1990s, applied the ABC and the ABM model to identify non-value activities because as it was experiencing falling margins. DHL discovered that the main cause of the de-escalating margins were mainly because of the product, destination and the customer mixes. Following the implementation of the ABC and the ABM technique, which helped the company understand the margins, DHL designed a new pricing strategy which was globally accredited and adopted by various companies (Hilton, 2007). Just-in-time (JIT) is a technique initially employed by the Japanese in order to gain efficiency within the production by minimizing the storage costs of the inventory needed for the production of the goods. The main benefit of implementing the JIT system is that it helps in reducing the costs of production for a company and hence a company gains huge margins by saving from the inventory costs that are not incurred. The basic feature of TQM is to prevent errors before they actually appear and avoid any wastage. Besides this, the focus is towards the continual improvement of the organization rather than just implementing the

New Pharmaceuticals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

New Pharmaceuticals - Essay Example Secondly, the labeling of the drug is verified and its contents are determined. Thirdly, the methods of manufacturing adopted are verified for their effectiveness in retaining the drug’s â€Å"identity, strength, quality and purity† in adequate measures. The NDA has been so designed as to reveal the whole history behind development the drug such as animal studies, human clinical trials, mechanism of action of the drug on the body, methods of manufacture and packaging (NewDrugApplication). Development Process Discovery or invention of a new drug usually involves selecting a few say five out of more than 5,000 new compounds that are considered safe enough to conduct trials in humans and pre-clinical evaluations lasting for three to six years. From the five compounds selected, only one is approved by the FDA for introduction in the market for treatment. The research process involves the following sequence; Target identification, target prioritization/validation, lead ident ification and lead optimization. Once the drug is optimized through in vivo and in vitro studies involving animals, it is used in human volunteers as an investigational drug. There are a number of phases of testing of drug on humans consisting of Phase I Clinical studies, Phase II clinical studies, Phase III clinical studies, Phase IIIb/IV studies and Post Approval studies. Phase I meant for verification of safety and tolerability in humans lasts for six to nine months. Usually 20 to 100 healthy volunteers are given the investigational drug for a short term for documentation as to how the drugs is absorbed, distributed, metabolized in the body and excreted from the body. Phase II determines the effectiveness and further safety of the candidate drug on the humans. This phase would last for a period of six months to three years. In Phase III, the drug undergoes randomized and blind clinical trials involving several hundred to thousands of volunteering patients for whose diseases the d rug is intended. Phase III b is usually the immediate pre-approval stage. Post approval stage involves testing of the drug introduced in the market focusing on unknown side effects and other risk factors (PPD). Cost of development It has been estimated that new drug discoveries have increased human life expectancy and economic gains from new drugs are estimated to be more than $ 500 billion per year. In view of the above said prolonged development phases, a company has to incur costs not less than $ 800 million to $ 2 billion per drug. In once instance, Pfizer has reported an investment of $ 800 million for Phase III trials alone for one drug. The cost is huge because the U.S. F.D.A. approves just one drug out of five compounds selected out of 5,000 to 10,000 compounds originally studied. It takes at least 12 to 15 years for discovery and development of a drug. Though the patent period is 20 years for a drug, effective period available to the drug developer is hardly 12 years in vie w of the time consumed in the developmental period when the drug developer is allowed to use the drug along the way on volunteers (Masia n d ) Works Cited Masia, Neal. The Cost of Developing a New Drug, Focus on Intellectual Prperty Rights. n.d . 27 March 2011

Nature of Public Administration Essay Example for Free

Nature of Public Administration Essay Before we discuss about the meaning, definition, nature, scope and importance of public administration we will try to know what is administration, organisation and management. As these terms are often used interchangeably and synonymously, it is pertinent to know the differences and distinctions between these three terms. According to William Schulze Administration is the force, which lays down the object for which an organisation and its management are to strive and the broad policies under which they are to operate. An Organisation is a combination of the necessary human beings, materials, tools, equipment and working space, appurtenances brought together in systematic and effective co-relation to accomplish some desired object. Management is that which leads guides and directs an organisation for the accomplishment of pre-determined object. To put the above in simple terms, administration sets the goal, management strives to attain it and organisation is the machine of the management for the attainment of the ends determined by the administration. Some scholars have a different view about the administration and management. According to Peter Drucker management is associated with the business activity, which has to show economic performance, whereas administration is associated with the non business activities like activities of the Government. The other view is that administration is associated with performing routine things in known settings in accordance with certain procedures, rules, and regulations. The Management is associated with performing functions like risk taking, dynamic, creative and innovative functions. Some scholars of Public Administration are closely associated with the first view that is, administration is a determinative function. Management, on other hand is an executive function that is primarily concerned with carrying out the broad policies laid down by the administration.

Cyber Security Policies and Defense Contractors Essay -- Cyberspace Po

Abstract Cyber security policies in the private sector have been a challenging issue for major defense contractors, especially after recent attacks. As a result, the U.S. increased its strict enforcement against these companies by justifying its intervention to improve cyber security. The government would like to impose standards for companies who lack the proper protocol. Due to the revised and new procedures, corporations are responding by rejecting any congressional intervention. This has caused major friction in the relationship between the government and industry. The executive, judicial and legislative branch believes its responsibility is to provide cyber security capabilities to protect all information at contractor facilities. On the other hand, companies believe their current structure will provide the best protection for their clients. In addition, businesses believe their not being compensated enough by the government for the responsibility they have taken on. As these issues continue to arise, lawmakers have taken drastic measures to implement policies that will allow them to oversee their cyber security practices. Introduction Past and recent cyber attacks like Wiki Leaks have prompted the United States government to make drastic modifications to its cyber security policies. Various regulations are, have been and will be put in place to meet the growing problems within the cyber realm. The Cyberspace Policy Review is one plan to evaluate all U.S. strategies pertaining to cyber security. This review will include many procedures that handle security, operations, incident response and recovery. New and existing policies are being revised to meet the requirement set by U.S. government. As a result, the privat... ...o overcome these obstacles, both entities will need to establish a partnership that will assist each other in securing their classified and highly sensitive information. It is imperative that corporations adhere to the rules and regulations outlined by the federal government to prevent cyber attacks and information lost. Although private sector disagrees with these new regulations, the government still believes these policies will benefit the industry tremendously. If these two entities work together, they can provide resources between both domains to help eliminate the rise in cyber attacks. Even though hack events will continue to rise, the government can reduce the amount of cyber attacks with experience security professionals and open communication. These modifications will help prevent further attacks before they occur and defend against others when they occur.

Classical and Post-Classical Hollywood Cinema Essay -- History Hollywo

Classical and Post-Classical Hollywood Cinema INTRODUCTION During the course of this essay it is my intention to discuss the differences between Classical Hollywood and post-Classical Hollywood. Although these terms refer to theoretical movements of which they are not definitive it is my goal to show that they are applicable in a broad way to a cinema tradition that dominated Hollywood production between 1916 and 1960 and which also pervaded Western Mainstream Cinema (Classical Hollywood or Classic Narrative Cinema) and to the movement and changes that came about following this time period (Post-Classical or New Hollywood). I intend to do this by first analysing and defining aspects of Classical Hollywood and having done that, examining post classical at which time the relationship between them will become evident. It is my intention to reference films from both movements and also published texts relative to the subject matter. In order to illustrate the structures involved I will be writing about the subjects of genre and genre transformati on, the representation of gender, postmodernism and the relationship between style, form and content. Classical Hollywood Classical Hollywood is a tradition of methods and structures that were prominent American cinema between 1916 and 1960.Its heritage stems from earlier American cinema Melodrama and to theatrical melodrama before that. Its tradition lives on in mainstream Hollywood to this day. But what is it? Classic narrative cinema is what Bordwell, Staiger and Thompson (The classic Hollywood Cinema, Columbia University press 1985) 1, calls â€Å"an excessively obvious cinema†1 in which cinematic style serves to explain and not to obscure the narrative. In this way it is made up of motivated events that lead the spectator to its inevitable conclusion. It causes the spectator to have an emotional investment in this conclusion coming to pass which in turn makes the predictable the most desirable outcome. The films are structured to create an atmosphere of verisimilitude, which is to give a perception of reality. On closer inspection it they are often far from realistic in a social sense but possibly portray a realism desired by the patriarchal and family value orientated society of the time. I feel that it is often the black and white representation of good and evil that creates such an atmosphere of predic... ... ed (BFI, 1990) we read †¦ â€Å"contrary to all trendy journalism about the ‘New Hollywood’ and the imagined rise of artistic freedom in American films, the ‘New Hollywood’ remains as crass and commercial as the old†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Bibliography 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bordwell, Staiger and Thompson (The classic Hollywood Cinema, Columbia University press 1985) 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bordwell, Thompson Film Art, An Introduction ,7th ed (Mcgraw Hill, 2004) 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pam Cooke(ed) The Cinema Book,1st ed (BFI, 1990) 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Susan Hayward Cinema Studies The Key Concepts(, Routledge, 1999) 5. Jill Nelmes (ed) An introduction to film studies 3rd edition (Routeledge, 2003) Filmography TOUCH OF EVIL (Orson Welles, USA, 1958) Dracula (Tod Browning, Universal, US, 1931) Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Rouben Mamoulian, Paramount, US, 1931) The War of the Worlds (Byron Haskin, Paramount, US, 1953) Invasion of the body snatchers (Don Siegel, Allied Artists, US, 1955) Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, Shamley, US, 1960) Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, Image Ten, US 1968) The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, Warner, US 1980) Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, Columbia, US, 1976) Blue velvet (David Lynch, De Laurentis, US, 1986)

A column Kahn

It was an event so delightful and so thought-wonderful that from it almost all our life in architecture stems. The arch, the vault and the dome mark equally evocative times when they knew what to do from how to do it and how to do it from what to do. Today these form and space phenomena are as good as they were yesterday and will always be good because they proved to be true to order and in time revealed their inherent beauty. In the architecture of stone the single stone became greater than the quarry. Stone and architectural order were one.A column when it is used should be still regardedas a great event in the making of What a column is in steel or concrete is not yet felt as a part of us. It must be differentfrom stone. Stone we know and feel its beauty. Materialwe now use in architecturewe know only for its superiorstrengthbut not for its meaningfulform. Concrete and steel must become greaterthan the engineer. The expected wondersin concrete and steel confront us. We know from t he spirit of architecturethat their characteristics must be in harmonywith the spaces that want to be and evoke what spaces can be.Forms and spaces today have not found their position in order though the ways of making things are new and resourceful. A space in architectureshows how it is made. The column or wall defines its length and breadth;the beam or vault its height. Nothing must intrude to blur the statement of how a space is made. The forms characterizing the great eras of architecture present themselves and tempt us to adapt them to concrete and steel. The solid stones become thinner and eye deceiving devices are found to hide the unwanted but inevitable services.Columns and beams omogenized with the partitions and ceiling tile concealing hangers, conduits, pipes and ducts deform the image of how a space is made or served and therefore presents no reflection of order and meaningful form. We are still imitating the architecture of solid stones. Building elements of solids an d voids are inherent in steel and concrete. These voids are in time with the service needs of spaces. This characteristic combined with space needs suggest new forms. One quality of a space is measured by its temperature by its light and by its ring.The intrusionof mechanicalspace needs can push forward and obscure form in tructure. Integrationis the way of nature. We can learn from nature. How a space is served with light air and quiet must be embodied in the space order concept which provides for the harbouring of these services. The nature of space is further characterized by the minor spaces that serve it. Storage-rooms, service-rooms and cubicals must not be partitioned areas of a single space structure, they must be given their own structure.The space order concept must extend beyond the harbouring of the mechanical services and include the â€Å"servant spaces† aJoining the spaces served. This will give meaningfulform to the hierarchyof spaces. Long ago they built with solid stones Today we must build with â€Å"hollow stones†. with a book goes to the light. A librarybegins that way. He will not go fifty feet away to an electric light. The carrellis the niche which could be the beginningof the space order and its structure. In a librarythe column always begins in light. Unnamed,the space made by the column structureevokes its use as a carrell.A man who reads in seminarwill look for the light but the light is somewhatsecondary. The readingroom is impersonal. t is the meeting in silence of the readersand their books. The large space, the small spaces, the unnamedspaces and the spaces that serve. The way they are formed with respect to light is the problemof all buildings. This one startswith a man who wants to read a book. Dedication Ritual is the chapel A chapel ofa university Ritual is inspired Dedication is personal Inspiredby a great teacher the fortunateyoung man winks to the chapel as he passes. He feels dedicationand performshis own r itual.He was there though he never opened its door. The rally centersthere and inspiresits own ritual. A man is honored there. Dedication is its essence. When I first came to Pisa I went straight in the direction of the Piazza. Nearing it and seeing a distant glimpse of the Tower filled me so that I stopped short to enter a shop where I bought an ill fitting English Jacket. Not daring to enter the Piazza I diverted to other streets toward it but never allowing myself to arrive. The next day I went straight for the Tower touched its marble and that of the Duomo and Baptistery. The next day I boldly entered the buildings.So it is with a universitychapel. Possibly a space protectedby an ambulatoryenteredfrom an arcade in a dimensionedgarden. near and don't enter and those who go in. House A house Home In a certain space it is good to sleep. In anotherit is good to dine or be with others. The serving spaces and the free spaces combine and are placed to the gardenor to the streetto sugge sttheir use. House implies a place good also for another. lt is that quality which is closer to architecture. It reflectsa way of life. It does not make small spaces for small people. Spaces transcend function. A House is more specific. Louis Kahn

Ohio Vital Records - Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates

Ohio Vital Records - Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates Learn how and where to obtain birth, marriage, and death certificates and records in Ohio, including the dates for which Ohio vital records are available, where they are located, and links to online Ohio vital records databases. Ohio Vital Records: Ohio Department of HealthCenter for Vital and Health Statistics246 North High StreetColumbus, OH 43215Phone: 614-466-2531Email: vitalstatodh.ohio.gov Walk-in Address:Ohio Department of HealthOffice of Vital Statistics225 Neilston StreetColumbus, Ohio 43215 What You Need to Know:Check or money order should be made payable to  Treasurer, State of Ohio. Personal checks are accepted. Call or visit the Web site to verify current fees. Requests for vital records may take as long as 10-12 weeks. If you do not know the date or place of event, you may request a search of the State Vital Statistics office files and records. The fee for a search is $3.00 per name for each ten years searched. Payment must be made in advance. After searching is completed you will be informed if the record was located. Vital records in Ohio were not recorded by law until 1867. Although some records from a few counties predate 1867, records of births, marriages and deaths in Ohio are generally not available before this date. Web site: Ohio Vital Records Ohio Birth Records: Dates: From 20 December 1908* Cost of copy: $21.50 (certified copy from state) Comments:  The Ohio Department of Health issues only certified copies of birth certificates. Include with your request as much as you can of the following: full name of individual, date of birth, city or county of birth, full name of father, full maiden name of mother, your relationship to the individual, your name and address and a daytime telephone number.Application for Certified Birth Record Uncertified copies for genealogy purposes are not available from the State or Local Registrars in Ohio. Since vital records are open in Ohio you may, however, perform searches in the indexes at the Ohio Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics, or arrange for a genealogist to search the indexes for you. An appointment is required to search the records. Records identified in the indexes may be viewed and information may be copied from them, however the supplied copy of the vital record must be returned and is not permitted to leave the building. * For birth records from  1867 - December 29, 1908, contact the  Probate Court  of the county where the birth occurred. Online:Ohio Births and Christenings, 1821-1962  (index only, incomplete)Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003  (index and images, incomplete) Ohio Death Records: Dates: From 1 January 1954 Cost of copy: $21.50 (certified copy from state) Comments:  The Ohio Department of Health issues only certified copies of death certificates. Include with your request as much as you can of the following: full name of decedent, date of death, city or county of death, your relationship to the individual, your name and address and a daytime telephone number. Application for Certified Death Record Uncertified copies for genealogy purposes are not available from the State or Local Registrars in Ohio. As with birth records you may, however, perform searches in the indexes at the Ohio Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics, and view and copy information from the death records themselves. * For Death Records from  December 20, 1908-December 1953  contact the Ohio Historical Society, Archives Library Division, 1982 Velma Ave., Columbus, OH 43211-2497.  For death records from  1867- December 20, 1908, contact the Probate Court of the county where the death occurred. Online:Ohio Death Certificate Index, 1913-1944 - Ohio Historical Society  (index only)Ohio, Deaths and Burials, 1854-1997  (index only, incomplete)Ohio Deaths, 1909-1953  (name index and images)Ohio, Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007  (index only) Ohio Marriage Records: Dates:  Varies Cost of Copy:  Varies Comments: Copies of marriage records are not available from the State Health Department. Inquiries will be referred to appropriate office. For certified copies of marriage records, please write to the Probate Court in the county where the event occurred. Online:Ohio, County Marriages 1789–2013 (not all counties available; coverage varies by county)Ohio Marriage Records Index 1803–1900 (requires Ancestry.com subscription) Ohio Divorce Records: Dates: Varies Cost of copy:  Varies Comments:  Certified copies are not available from the State Health Department.  For certified copies of divorces, please write to county Clerk of Courts where the divorce was granted.   Online:Ohio Divorce Index 1962–1963, 1967–1971, 1973–2007 (requires Ancestry.com subscription) More US Vital Records - Choose a State

College Fairs How To Get the Most Out of Them

College Fairs How To Get the Most Out of Them SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Every year, there are college fairs across the country. These fairs can be valuable tools to help you as you try to figure out which colleges you want to apply to, and eventually, which college you want to attend. In this article, I'll explain what a college fair is, how to find college fairs, and what you should do to get the most out of theexperience. What Is a College Fair? A college fair is an event where representatives from colleges come to a school, convention center, or other location to talk to high school students about the colleges they represent and answer questions. Some college fairs have been described as being like flea markets. Each college usually has its own booth, and the representatives are trying to get you to come to their booths. They give out brochures and try to convince you why you should be interested in attending their college. College fairs are a great opportunity to get information about the colleges that are represented. The representatives can answer specific questions about academics, campus life, or financial aid. Also, you can make relationships with the campus representatives. Sometimes students exchange information with the representatives, and the students are able to get further guidance and help with the college admissions and selection process after the fair is over. There are general college fairs in which all types of colleges are represented. Also, there are more focused college fairs, like college fairs in which all of the represented schools are performing arts colleges or HBCUs. Why Should You Attend a College Fair? College fairs can be beneficial in helping you find the college that will be the best fit for you. You can ask specific questions to college representatives who are knowledgeable about the admissions process and the schools they represent. You can get guidance about how to make yourself a qualified candidate for admission, and you can learn about the opportunities that various colleges can provide you. Furthermore, college fairs can expose you to colleges you may have not previously considered. Often, students are not aware of all of their college options, and fairs provide students with a good opportunity to learn about different schools. There are literally thousands of colleges, but in my experience, many students try to limit their college options to only a handful before doing adequate research. Finally, sometimes admissions officers are there representing the schools they work for. While most representatives won't remember the vast majority of the students they interact with at the fair, if you have a pleasant conversation and exchange information, you may make a positive impression on somebody who will be reading your application. How Do You Find a College Fair? There are a few ways to find a college fair you can attend. First, I recommend talking to your counselor. Your counselor may be able to help you find a local college fair or may be able to set up a fair at your school. Also, each fall and spring the National Association for College Admission Counseling holds freecollege fairs in cities across the country. To find local fairs, you can also google â€Å"college fairs† and your state or city.If you can’t attend a college fair in person, you can still get the experience virtually at collegeweeklive.com or collegefairsonline.com. What to Do Before You Go Before you go to a college fair, you should be prepared.Do your research! Find out the schools that will be attending. Research the schools from their websites, guidebooks, college finders, and ranking lists. Determine which schools that will be attending the fair interest you the most.Write a list of questions, and putsome thought into your questions. The more specific and well-written your questions, the better you’ll come off to the college reps, and you’ll be more likely to get the information you’re seeking. Instead of asking â€Å"How are the parties?†, you can ask about the prominence of Greek life on campus or the frequency and types of on-campus events for students.If possible, come up with a few questions that show you’ve done your research.For example, you can ask about a specific recent on-campus event. You can reference a statistic or some information you learned in your research. Write questions related to the most important factors for you in picking a college. Ideally, the answers you receive will help you narrow down your list of schools and aid you in the college selection process.Bring a pen, paper, and a bag to hold all of the brochures you’ll be getting. Make sure the e-mail address you’ll be providing doesn’t sound too silly or unprofessional.Even though justinsbae@aol.com is a lovely address, college admissions officers may judge you negatively for it. Research the schools that will be at the college fair. What You Should Do at the Fair At a college fair, have a general game plan before you start aimlessly walking from booth to booth.You’ll only have a limited amount of time, so map out a route to ensure that you’ll be able to visit the booths from the colleges that interest you the most. Some of these fairs are in huge convention centers. Some fairs will provide a map, and at other fairs, you’ll have to scan the room to locate the booths you’re looking for. Then you should visit the booths and speak to the college reps.Ask the questions you’ve prepared, but also be willing to have a conversation with the representatives and ask additional questions based on the information they provide.Be professional and courteous. Make eye contact while the representatives are talking and thank them for answering your questions. While I believe you should always try to be considerate, you especially want to make a good impression at a college fair. Many of these representatives are admissions officers or have close ties to the admissions offices at the colleges they’re representing. Also, if you make a positive impression, the representative is more likely to want to be helpful. Some students correspond with representatives via e-mail after a college fair, and the students get additional guidance or answers to any remaining questions. However, if a booth is very crowded, you may just get an opportunity to listen to the representative give her pitch or answer questions from other people. After you’re done at a booth, jot down any pertinent information you received or your impressions of the college before going to the next booth. Make sure you’re able to visit the booths of the colleges that interest you the most, but be willing to go to other college booths, too.You may learn about a college you’re less knowledgeable about, and you may spark an interest in a school that you hadn’t previously considered. Additionally, some college fairs offer information sessions. Usually, the information sessions will have a specific focus like filling out college applications or financial aid. If possible, I recommend attending one of these sessions. Go to the session that's most relevant to your needs and you anticipate will offer you the most helpful information.If you're comfortable with the application process, then going to the information session on filling out applications may not be the best use of your time. You want to try to take advantage of all of the resources available to you at a college fair and make sure you're getting as much out of the experience as possible. EducationUSA International Virtual College Fair/Flickr What You Should Do After After you get home from the college fair, try to figure out which colleges made the best impression on you.Reflect on your conversations with the college representatives.Did the representative say anything that excited you about the college? Did you hear anything that made you feel like that school was a place you could see yourself at?Review your notes you took during the fair. Also, organize and review the material you collected.Make a folder or file for each college you’re considering to help you stay organized. If you decide that you’re definitely not interested in a school, get rid of its material. You can avoid clutter and focus on the schools you’re interested in. Then, continue to research the colleges that interest you.You can discuss your college options with teachers, counselors, and parents. If you know any current students or alumni from the colleges, talk to them about their experiences. You can also useNiche, a website that provides college rankings, offers student reviews of colleges. The reviews are about every aspect of the college, including financial aid, academics, parties, and the overall experience. Finally, if possible, plan campus visits.If you’re able to visit a college, you can get an official campus tour and often schedule a meeting at the admissions office. Sometimes you’re even able to sit in on a class.There’s really no better way to determine if you’ll enjoy attending a specific college than by actually spending time there. Attending a college fair is a good step to decide which schools you want to visit. What's Next? If you're still trying to decide what you're looking for in a college, check out these articles on the most diverse colleges, party schools, and whether you should attend a school in an urban, suburban, or rural area. If you're in the process of finalizing your list of schools to apply to, review these posts on reach and safety schools. Also be sure to check out our nifty infographic on how to apply for college. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: