International business (Discussion Board) Assignment - 2

International business (Discussion Board) - Assignment Example According to Lamy, it is also important that the free trade agreements allow the developing countries to import what they are not good ad producing on their own. Allowing countries to trade at what they are not good at will effectively help the development of the countries. These countries can trade what they have for what they do not have, this means carrying out some kind of barter trade. Currently, the revenue these developing countries earn is spent on developing infrastructure such as roads and electricity production. They also offer their citizens social amenities such as educational and medical services. If they are allowed to trade for what they do not have, it will ease the burden on the governments’ shoulder. The governments would essentially trade for goods such as automated machineries for different production industries such as car manufacturing industries. The result will be further increase in their GDP and less dependence on foreign

Analyze the Effects That the Wealthiest Individuals of the Gilded Age Had on America Essay Example for Free

Analyze the Effects That the Wealthiest Individuals of the Gilded Age Had on America Essay As the American Civil War came to an end, an era of phenomenal economic growth was spurred by a second Industrial Revolution. It touched all geographic areas of America, evident in increased farm output and labor efficiency. The magnificent flow of goods generated could be efficiently transported by freshly lain transcontinental railroads made of Bessemer steel. Presiding over these late nineteenth century developments was a new class of extremely wealthy industrialists, the main beneficiaries of the era’s prosperity. They dominated substantial sectors of the new economy such as steel, oil, banking, and rail transportation. While these individuals created and donated outstanding wealth, they also engineered one of American history’s most corrupt and unequally heterogeneous time periods, dubbed the Gilded Age by Mark Twain. Such ambiguity blurs the legacy of these incredible few, who some call â€Å"robber barons† and other call â€Å"captains of industry†. However, neither polarity is completely accurate. The wealthiest Americans during the Gilded Age had both positive and negative effects on American society. While a large group of individuals amassed incredible wealth during the Gilded Age, there existed an even more elite group consisting of individuals that rank among the richest men in history. It included John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Jay Gould, James Fisk, and J. P. Morgan. To understand their later deeds, one must understand the strikingly similar environments in which these men came of age. For example, all of the aforementioned men were born in the Northeast during the Second Great Awakening, an environment in which principles such as self-discipline, frugality and efficiency were highly valued. Preachers of the time period endorsed the Calvinist view that â€Å"where you find the most religion, you find the most worldly prosperity†, while poverty was considered a condition of the lazy and spiritually weak (Chernow 55). Like many others have done in history, the wealthiest industrialists established religion as the concrete foundation on which they justified their actions. With the exception of J. P. Morgan, the most affluent robber barons also grew up with little material means. Carnegie worked as a bobbin boy at age 14, earning about $1. 20 a week, and Rockefeller picked potatoes for 37 cents a day in his youth (â€Å"Andrew Carnegie†, Chernow 32). These challenging living conditions further instilled frugality and grit inside the destined business leaders of America, qualities that would help them conquer industrial America. Most of the future industrialists also entered the business world in their teenage years. Sixteen-year-old Rockefeller so furtively pursued employment that he visited businesses from early morning to late afternoon six days a week for six weeks until he finally found a job as a bookkeeper (Chernow 44-45). Additionally, they were all in their early twenties when the Civil War began. Amusingly, not one of them enlisted; each hired a replacement for $300 instead (Zinn 255). The young entrepreneurs sought to benefit financially during the war instead of fighting in it, although most supported the Union cause (Chernow 70). The road that each of these extraordinary men walked led them into a monumental era. War raged, new industries boomed, and they had the chance to take advantage of their rapidly changing surroundings. Few in history had as fortuitous opportunities as these men who were born in the right place at the right time. The Civil War gave young industrialists an opportunity to flaunt their business acumen during â€Å"wartime prosperity†. However, with the exception of John D. Rockefeller, who quadrupled his and his associate’s company profits and then bought the company through fair and hard work, their ascent during the period was generally cluttered with acts of questionable morality. In one notorious negotiation, J. P. Morgan bought 5,000 rifles for $3. 50 each and sold them for $22 each to an army general, making a handy $90,000. It was later found that the rifles shot off the thumbs of the soldiers using them. However, no compensation was given because the purchase was an authentic legal contract (Zinn 255). In addition, Jay Gould and James Fisk heftily profited from trading railroad stocks. With inside information, they unfairly beat out rival speculators. James Fisk also commonly sold war commodities for triple their market price to desperate armies (Josephson 66). These young men were still largely in a developmental stage during the Civil War, but their actions during the time period heavily foreshadowed their later actions. Postbellum America was said to be â€Å"the most fertile in American history for chemers and dreamers† (Chernow 97). The young industrialists naturally continued to increase their wealth in the decades after the war with blazing speed, but the actions they made to do so further polluted their legacy and adversely affected American society. Perhaps the most notorious robber baron was John D. Rockefeller. During the war, the twenty-five year old had bought his condescending associates out and then opened Cleveland’s largest oil refinery. â€Å"It was the day that determined my career† he later said (Chernow 87). After the war, Rockefeller sought to further expand his business. He established the Standard Oil Company, a trust with $1 million dollars in capital, with the goal of controlling all of the oil industry (Chernow 134). An action that largely epitomizes his company’s chicanery is the formulation of the South Improvement Company, a collusion with three powerful railroads to increase Standard Oil stakes. Under the SIC, Standard Oil would receive a payment for every barrel of oil shipped by his refineries as well as other refineries, a deal that would discourage railroads to ship oil from refineries outside the SIC, virtually rendering it impossible for small refineries to survive. In exchange, Rockefeller promised to meet a daily shipping quota which would stabilize railroad profits (Chernow 136). When struggling Cleveland refineries heard of the SIC plan, they immediately protested. The plan eventually failed; however, while the plan was intact, Rockefeller bought 22 out of 26 Cleveland refineries in one month, a shopping spree dubbed the Cleveland Massacre (Chernow 145). One Cleveland refiner’s daughter said â€Å"Father went almost insane over this terrible upset to his business. His whole life was embittered by this experience†. Countless similar stories were told as Rockefeller ruthlessly conquered the oil industry by means of horizontal integration. â€Å"The day of combination is here to stay. Individualism has gone, never to return† he said (Chernow 148). Whenever legitimate competition arose, Standard Oil took extreme measures to corral it. When a rival pipeline company threatened Standard Oil’s dominance, Standard Oil hired lawyers to act as farmers and landowners who opposed pipeline construction, bought entire valleys of land, persuaded companies to not sell construction supplies to the rival company, and generously bribed legislatures (Chernow 207-209). Using similar coercive means as well as outright bribery, Rockefeller came to control 95% of the oil industry by 1877, eventually accumulating a fortune that makes him the richest man in American history (Bailey, Kennedy, and Cohen 541, Chernow 505). His success inspired countless business leaders to form trusts that further disproportioned American wealth, hence indirectly harming America socioeconomically on top of his colossal direct harm. Other industrial captains also amassed their fortunes at the expense of others. Railroad builders such as James Hill, Vanderbilt, and the Big Four employed Irish and Chinese workers at the cost of one or two dollars a day. Hours were long and the work was dangerous. In just 1889, 22,000 railroad workers were killed or injured (Zinn 256). The most famous demonstration of railroad labor unrest was the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 which was triggered by wage cuts. 100 people died, and millions of dollars of property was damaged (Carrigan). The steel industry also generated aggrieved workers. Two-thirds of the workers at Andrew Carnegie’s largest steel manufacturing plant, Homestead, earned $1. 40 every 12 hour workday, barely enough to keep a family above the poverty line of $500/year. Asked about working conditions, one Homestead worker said, â€Å"I lost forty pounds the first three months I came into the business. It sweats the life out of a man. I often drink two buckets of water during the twelve hours; the sweat drips through my sleeves, and runs down my legs and fills my shoes† (Reilly 8). The wealthy inequality created by big businesses like Carnegie’s begot class warfare. In 1892, Homestead workers went on strike after the manager decided to cut wages and break the union. When Pinkerton detectives failed to stop the riot, federal troops were called in (Zinn 276). The Gilded Age naturally produced monopolistic big businesses that were owned by immensely wealthy individuals due to the nature of the technological innovations of the time period. They established an unfortunate precedent of greed and â€Å"survival of the fittest† in American society. One must also never forget the hundreds of thousands of forgotten men who toiled twelve hour workdays to enlarge a few men’s coffers. Much like the actions of the Spanish conquistadores, those of the wealthiest industrialists of the Gilded Age are mainly noted for their detrimental effects. However, this Black Legend of the late nineteenth century is not entirely accurate. It is true that greed and inequality loomed over them; however, they also developed the American supereconomy. For example, aided by the Bessemer process, Andrew Carnegie led a dramatic increase in steel production. In 1880, one million tons of steel were produced. By 1910, output reached 25 million tons, largely thanks to Carnegie’s innovative vertical integration (Zinn 254). Incredibly, before the 20th century, Carnegie Steel Company was producing more steel than all of Great Britain (Roark, Johnson, and Cohen 633). Rockefeller also utilized his unmatched executive skills to create a remarkably efficient business machine. For example, by applying thirty-nine drops of solder on cans of oil instead of forty, he saved $2,500 a year early in his career. In time, this tweak saved the Standard Oil Company hundreds of thousands of dollars, and Rockefeller constantly sought for such minute enhancements (Chernow 180-181). His genius can be seen in his jaw-dropping wealth; in 1902, his income was $58 million, over a billion dollars in 1996 dollars (Chernow 504). From 1865 to 1900, the American economy grew eightfold, and this was largely thanks to the talents of the industrialists who aided America in becoming the world superpower it is today (Watts). The 19th century industrialists also did not solely harm the common man. For example, Rockefeller’s monopolization of the oil industry ruined many common men, but it benefited even more by making kerosene widely available. This was because of Standard Oil’s foundational principle: â€Å"that the larger the volume the better the opportunities for the economies, and consequently the better the opportunities for giving the public a cheaper product without the dreadful competition† (Chernow 150). Rockefeller accomplished just this, as the price of refined oil was cut in half as a result of his enterprise. Because of Rockefeller, millions could light their homes for a penny an hour, a cost that would be much higher if not for Rockefeller’s dominance (Folsom 83). Perhaps the advances he gave to the common man outweighed his sins against the relatively few in the oil industry. Adhering to the doctrines of Andrew Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth, the wealthiest industrialists donated stupendous amounts of money to charitable causes. In 1911, the Carnegie Corporation was founded, a charitable enterprise with $125 million in starting capital founded by none other than Andrew Carnegie. To this day, it is one of the highest ranked charitable foundations with over $2 billion in assets for education, prevention of deadly conflict, and strengthening of human resources (Traub). As an extremely devout Christian, Rockefeller donated money from his very first paycheck, a fact that renders any extremely stingy and greedy portrayal of him false. â€Å"I have my earliest ledger and when I was only making a dollar a day I was giving five, ten, or twenty-five cents† he said. What distinguished Rockefeller from other great donors was his generous funding of medical research, an interest sparked by his father’s shady career. When asked about building medical facilities, Carnegie once said â€Å"That is Mr. Rockefeller’s specialty. Go see him†. In 1901, the Rockefeller Institute of Medical Research was founded. Its work produced the first American Nobel Prize for medicine (Chernow 478-9). In 1910, Rockefeller fought hookworm on a global scale and within five years, it was nearly eradicated (Chernow 481). In donating to charitable causes, Rockefeller managed his charitable expenditures as he would with Standard Oil. By his death in 1936, he had given away $550 million, making him American society’s greatest philanthropist (Bailey, Kennedy, and Cohen 576). One area that almost all of the late nineteenth century capitalists contributed to was education. Rockefeller himself supported UChicago, Huntington, two Negro colleges, and the famous Tuskegee Institute. Carnegie personally contributed $60 million to the construction of public libraries (Bailey, Kennedy, and Cohen 576). Many others also contributed to America’s education. Cornell, Duke, Vanderbilt, and Stanford were all captains of industry. The colleges that they founded are among America’s top colleges to this day. Largely thanks to the donations of the industrialists, the illiteracy rate fell from 20 percent in 1870 to 11 percent in 1900.. It has been said that â€Å"a free government cannot function successfully if the people are shackled by ignorance† (Bailey, Kennedy, and Cohen 573). Thus, the donations of the wealthiest industrialists have had a profound effect on American society as young men and women in schools and libraries across the country to this day have been influenced by them. During the Gilded Age, the combination of laissez-faire economics, post-war sentiment, and technological innovation led to a spur of rapid change that forever altered the American landscape. The wealthiest industrialists of the time period became wealthy by taking advantage of its developments. In retrospect, late nineteenth century American society can largely be viewed as the results of the influences of the industrialists. The effects had no definitive net impact, but they did forever shape American society.

Silicon Carbide: Structure, Uses and History

Silicon Carbide: Structure, Uses and History 2.1 Silicon Carbide 2.1.1 Historic Overview Silicon carbide as a material that precedes our solar system, travelling through interstellar space for billions of years, generated inside the fiery nuclear hearts of carbon rich red giant stars and in the remnants of supernovae (Davis, 2011). As a synthesized material it was first discovered by the Swedish scientist Jà ¶ns Jacob Berzelius in 1824 during his pursuit to synthesize diamonds. Sixty years later, Eugene and Alfred Cowles, invented the electric smelting furnace in 1885 (Cowles and Cowles, 1885). Edward Goodrich Acheson based on Cowles invention, created the first process to produce SiC (silicon carbide) while experimenting to find an alternative suitable mineral to substitute diamond as an abrasive and cutting material. The synthetic mineral created by the process was characterized by great refractability and hardness (Saddow and Agarwal, 2004). During the production of SiC crystals, Acheson found hexagonal crystals inside his patented reactor and sent a sample to Profes sor B.W. Frazier were it was discovered that although the crystals were all made from the same substance their crystalline structure differed (Acheson, 1893, p.287). Later, in 1905 Henri Moissan discovered natural SiC crystal inside a meteorite thus the mineralogist community named the mineral moissanite (Saddow and Agarwal, 2004). In 1907, was the year were the first Light Emitting Diode (LED) was produced by H.J. Round, when by placing contacts on a SiC crystal and applying 10V, yellow, green and orange luminescence was observed at the cathode (Brezeanu, 2005). Decades later, a renewal of interest surrounding SiC emmerged when the seeded sublimation growth invented by Tairov and Tsvetkov (1978) made the creation of SiC wafers a reality, thus giving the material the opportunity to be studied for electronic applications. Three years later, Matsunami, Nishino and Ono (1981) showed that the creation of a single crystal of SiC on a Si substrate was feasible increasing the number and va riety of possible applications even more. A huge milestone occurred in 1987 when through the use of â€Å"step controlled epitaxy†, high quality epitaxy of SiC could be made at low temperature on off-axis substrates (Kuroda et al., 1987). Based on this breakthrough Cree Inc. was founded in 1989, and manufactured the first commercial blue LEDs based on SiC along with the production of SiC wafers. 2.2.2 Crystal structure polytypes and characteristics 4. Examples of applications of CDC (Carbide derived Carbon) The multiple nanostructures that CDC presents, makes it a strong candidate to be implemented in numerous potential applications. In their paper, Presser, Heon and Gogotsi (2011) delineate the major research fields for future applications that CDC is currently attracting. In particular, these fields are: (1) The creation of Graphene based electronic devices (2) CDC as a new electrode material for supercapacitors (3) The use of CDC in fuel cells as a gas storage (e.g. hydrogen, methane) (4) CDC application in tribological coatings (5) Pt catalyst on CDC support (6) Protein sorption using CDC . Apart from the aforementioned fields another application area under research is to use CDC for CDI (capacitive deionization) of water or for desalination. The following chapters will give an extensive view of the research done on these fields although the main focus is the . 4.1 Graphene based electronic devices In 2003, (Dimitrijev and Jamet) published a paper were they stated that â€Å"Although SiC offers substantial advantages over Si, in terms of physical properties and thermal stability, it cannot compete Si devices in the areas of low cost, functional density, and moderate temperature applications. However, SiC has created its own applications niche where its unique material properties high electric breakdown field, high thermal conductivity, and high saturated electron drift velocity give this material significant advantages†. Since then, major manufacturers of SiC wafers such as Cree Inc., broke the 500$ barrier per wafer and made SiC accessible for researchers and the industry for optoelectronic devices (EE-Times, 1999) along with the introduction of 150 mm 4H SiC wafer in 2012 (Cree Inc., 2012). The previous breakthroughs made SiC a cheap precursor for the growth of epitaxial graphene. Grapse gia to pos to ftiaxnoume apo to prohgoumeno kefalaio. The intermediate product o f Si sublimation from SiC is CDC were further process gives monolayer or multilayers of graphene. An application under research and a proposed manufacturing method, is the creation of flexible transparent electrodes for screens due to the flexibility, high electrical conductivity and strength of the material (Bae et al., 2010). Studies have shown that CDC is a powerful selective sorbent for a number of molecules due to the variety of sizes its porosity exhibits (Nikitin and Gogotsi, 2004, p. 533) and is suitable for applications such as the removal of toxins or cytokines from human blood (Yushin et al., 2006). Another field of application is the removal of toxic compounds from water or the capacitive deionization (CDI) of water. Particularly, according to (Zou et al., 2008) the ordered mesoporosity of CDC used as an electrode material for electrosorptive deionization is a more effective way of removing salt from water, when compared with the salt-removing capability of activated carbon. The explanation is that activated carbon materials contain randomly arranged mesopores and micropores were ordered mesoporous carbon contains predominately ordered mesopores that increase the capacity to desalinate water. Another example is the usage of CDC as catalyst supports for fuel cells (Jerome, 2005) References Acheson, E.G. (1893) Carborundum: Its history, manufacture and uses, Journal of the Franklin Institute, 136(4), pp. 279 289. Bae, S., Kim, H., Lee, Y., Xu, X., Park, J.S., Zheng, Y., Balakrishnan, J., Lei, T., Kim, H.R., Song, Y.I., Kim, Y.J., Kim, K.S., Ozyilmaz, B., Ahn, J.H., Hong, B.H. and Iijima, S. (2010) Roll-to-roll production of 30-inch graphene films for transparent electrodes, Nature nanotechnology, 5(8), pp. 574-578. Brezeanu, G. (2005) Silicon carbide (SiC): a short history. an analytical approach for SiC power device design. Available at: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=1558796 (Accessed: 7/31/2014 2014). Cowles, A.H. and Cowles, E.H. (1885) Electric Smelting Furnace. U.S. Patent 319945. Cree Inc. (2012) Cree News: Cree Introduces 150-mm 4HN Silicon Carbide Epitaxial Wafers. Available at: http://www.cree.com/News-and-Events/Cree-News/Press-Releases/2012/August/150mm-wafers (Accessed: 7/28/2014 2014). Davis, A.M. (2011) Stardust in meteorites, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(48), pp. 19142-19146. Dimitrijev, S. and Jamet, P. (2003) Advances in SiC power MOSFET technology, Microelectronics Reliability, 43(2), pp. 225 233. EE-Times (1999) Cree Researchs SiC wafers break $500-price barrier for opto applications | EE Times. Available at: http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1268808 (Accessed: 7/28/2014 2014). Jerome, A. (2005) MIXED REACTANT MOLECULAR SCREEN FUEL CELL. US 2005/0058875 A1. Available at: http://patents.com/us-20050058875.html (Accessed: 21/07/2014). Kuroda, N., Shibahara, K., Yoo, W.S., Nishino, S. and Matsunami, H. (1987) Extended Abstracts of the 19th Conf. on Solid State Devices and Materials, Tokyo, Japan, 1987. , 227. Matsunami, H., Nishino, S. and Ono, H. (1981) Heteroepitaxial growth of cubic silicon carbide on foreign substrates, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 28(10), pp. 1235 1236. Nikitin, A. and Gogotsi, Y. (2004) Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Vol. 7. Valencia, CA: American Scientific Publishers. Presser, V., Heon, M. and Gogotsi, Y. (2011) Carbide-Derived Carbons From Porous Networks to Nanotubes and Graphene, Advanced Functional Materials, 21(5), pp. 810-833. Saddow, S.E. and Agarwal, A. (eds.) (2004) Advances in Silicon Carbide Processing an Applications. Boston: Artech House Inc. Tairov, Y.M. and Tsvetkov, V.F. (1978) Investigation of growth processes of ingots of silicon carbide single crystals, Journal of Crystal Growth, 43(2), pp. 209 212. Yushin, G., Hoffman, E.N., Barsoum, M.W., Gogotsi, Y., Howell, C.A., Sandeman, S.R., Phillips, G.J., Lloyd, A.W. and Mikhalovsky, S.V. (2006) Mesoporous carbide-derived carbon with porosity tuned for efficient adsorption of cytokines, Biomaterials, 27(34), pp. 5755 5762. Zou, L., Li, L., Song, H. and Morris, G. (2008) Using mesoporous carbon electrodes for brackish water desalination, Water research, 42(8-9), pp. 2340-2348.

Shakespeares Macbeth - Macbeths Guilt :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Macbeth's Guilt      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Characters in the Shakespearean tragedy Macbeth scarcely feel guilt - with two exceptions: Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. In this essay let's consider their guilt-problem.    In his book, On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy, H. S. Wilson comments regarding the guilt of the protagonist:    It is a subtler thing which constitutes the chief fascination that the play exercises upon us - this fear Macbeth feels, a fear not fully defined, for him or for us, a terrible anxiety that is a sense of guilt without becoming (recognizably, at least) a sense of sin. It is not a sense of sin because he refuses to recognize such a category; and, in his stubbornness, his savage defiance, it drives him on to more and more terrible acts. (74)    Blanche Coles states in Shakespeare's Four Giants that, regarding guilt in the play:    Briefly stated, and with elaborations to follow, Macbeth is the story of a kindly, upright man who was incited and goaded, by the woman he deeply loved, into committing a murder and then, because of his sensitive nature, was unable to bear the heavy burden of guilt that descended upon him as a result of that murder. (37)    In "Memoranda: Remarks on the Character of Lady Macbeth," Sarah Siddons mentions the guilt and ambition of Lady Macbeth and their effect:    [Re "I have given suck" (1.7.54ff.)] Even here, horrific as she is, she shews herself made by ambition, but not by nature, a perfectly savage creature. The very use of such a tender allusion in the midst of her dreadful language, persuades one unequivocally that she has really felt the maternal yearnings of a mother towards her babe, and that she considered this action the most enormous that ever required the strength of human nerves for its perpetration. Her language to Macbeth is the most potently eloquent that guilt could use.   (56)    Clark and Wright in their Introduction to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare explain how guilt impacts Lady Macbeth:    Lady Macbeth is of a finer and more delicate nature. Having fixed her eye upon the end - the attainment for her husband of Duncan's crown - she accepts the inevitable means; she nerves herself for the terrible night's work by artificial stimulants; yet she cannot strike the sleeping king who resembles her father. Having sustained her weaker husband, her own strength gives way; and in sleep, when her will cannot control her thoughts, she is piteously afflicted by the memory of one stain of blood upon her little hand.

Asthma Disease Essay

Asthma is a lung disease that makes breathing difficult for millions of Americans, both young and old. There is no cure for asthma, but the good news is it can be managed and treated so you can live a normal, healthy life. (http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/asthma/) Asthma is characterized by recurrent episodes of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. Sputum may be produced from the lung by coughing but is often hard to bring up. During recovery from an attack, it may appear pus-like due to high levels of white blood cells called eosinophils. Symptoms are usually worse at night and in the early morning or in response to exercise or cold air. Some people with asthma rarely experience symptoms, usually in response to triggers, whereas others may have marked and persistent symptoms. Asthma is a common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction and bronchospasm. Common symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. Asthma is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Its diagnosis is usually based on the pattern of symptoms, response to therapy over time and spirometry. It is clini cally classified according to the frequency of symptoms, forced expiratory volume in one second, and peak expiratory flow rate. Treatment of acute symptoms is usually with an inhaled short-acting beta-2 agonist and oral corticosteroids. In very severe cases, intravenous corticosteroids, magnesium sulfate, and hospitalization may be required. Symptoms can be prevented by avoiding triggers, such as allergens and irritants, and by the use of inhaled corticosteroids. Long-acting beta agonists or leukotriene antagonists may be used in addition to inhaled corticosteroids if asthma symptoms remain uncontrolled. The occurrence of asthma has increased significantly since the 1970s. In 2011, 235–300 million people globally have been diagnosed with asthma, Signs and symptoms Asthma is characterized by recurrent episodes of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. Sputum may be produced from the lung by coughing but is often hard to bring up. During recovery from an attack,  it may appear pus-like due to high levels of white blood cells called eosinophils. Symptoms are usually worse at night and in the early morning or in response to exercise or cold air. Some people with asthma rarely experience symptoms, usually in response to triggers, whereas others may have marked and persistent symptoms. Associated conditions A number of other health conditions occur more frequently in those with asthma, including gastro-esophageal reflux disease, rhinosinusitis, and obstructive sleep apnea. Psychological disorders are also more common, with anxiety disorders occurring in between 16–52% and mood disorders in 14–41%. However, it is not known if asthma causes psychological problems or if psychological problems lead to asthma.

American Fashion Industry in 21st Century

American Fashion in 21st Century ‘Fashion’ is the need to adapt to ever changing styles; to dress in distinctive and current trends and a means for one to express their individuality. Fashion refers to keeping every aspect of one’s body up-to-date for varying reasons. Some people prefer a simple life style with modest attire whereas most passionately follow the fashion industry and rapidly change accordingly. This increase in demand for individually tailored items including everything from clothing and footwear to makeup and body piercings is what gave birth to the fashion industry.The roots of this business can be traced to America in the nineteenth century where it grew rapidly and spread across the globe to become the highly integrated industry that exists today. The fashion industry has created thousands of jobs, increased national output and has made significant contributing to increases in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) but is also accompanied by exploitation of labor, eating disorder particularly in models and also the growth of counterfeit products.The international fashion industry portrays an ideal body type commonly known as the ‘size zero’ which women often attempt to attain. This leads them down the road of low self-esteem, starvation and even self-mutilation often resulting in eating disorders, health issues and even suicide. Models between the age of 18 and 24 practically give up eating and also resort to using drugs and alcohol to combat the ensuing depression and irritability which eventually leads to some of them dying young, all just to gain entry into the fashion industry.Natasha Duncan was one such prominent American model who committed suicide at the age of 21(Rose 1). The global fashion industry projects the image of thin and beautiful people that have been airbrushed to perfection thus creating an ideal image of how ‘fashionable’ people should look. Common women get conscious about their own lo oks and then try to attain this level of perfection, the road to which often go through eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia.In fact, it is estimated that 8 million Americans suffer from an eating disorder – seven million women and one million men( Fashion 1). Nevertheless it is argued that the American fashion industry has made vital contributions to its in terms of creating employment opportunities and boosting GDP. As a matter of fact, despite the severe recession, the fashion industry is one of the most stable and high-growth industries in the economy.This is because, irrespective of inflation and wages, people still need to buy clothes, footwear and makeup and the fashion industry is one that can rapidly adapt to provide them. In 2010 American households spent, on average, $1,700 on apparel, footwear, and related products and services which is why it generates over $20 billion in revenue is annually (Fashion 1). Moreover the fashion industry played an im portant part in giving jobs when other industries were firing people.Currently it employs over 4 million people under the following areas: design, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, retailing, advertising, communication, publishing and consulting (Fashion 1). Beside creating jobs and increasing GDP, the fashion industry has promoted the freedom of expression by allowing individuals to express themselves through their attire. Fashion designers rapidly come up with innovative and creative ideas thus essentially enriching the lives of people and making them more interesting.This is precisely why fashion shows are held: they give models a chance to flaunt their talents and also an opportunity for them to interact with models from other countries, communities and ethnicities which allows them to express themselves and their unique identities. When people are well dressed according to what is in fashion, this would reflect the culture and thinking of the society. Nevertheless, it mus t be noted that fashion leads to competition amongst people to look better than others which manifests itself through jealousy, resentment and even sabotage.What is more, this completion extends to designers as well since they strive to differentiate their products introduce innovative styles which can result in an inefficient use of resources and illegal business practices. This need for cost minimization is one of the reasons as to why the fashion industry exploits cheap foreign labor. The glamor, the runways and the exhibitions are just the front of a dark background. This industry works on the basis of subcontracting, where designers place orders with manufacturers who then hire sub-contractor to complete their orders.Since this industry is highly competitive subcontractor are given only take or leave option with often less payment compared to amount of work which forces them to resort to employing cheap labor in their own workshops which often end up resembling sweat shops. Eve n if this is not the case, designer brands have their own units to produce their goods. Recently many of the fashion retailers have been accused of underpaying their workers and violating international labor laws by running sweatshop. These involve extremely low wages, long working hours and poor working conditions.Earlier this month, factories in Cambodia were investigated for possible violation labor laws. These factories produced clothing for the fast fashion retailer H&M which was found to be paying their workers a measly wage of $61 a month by a Swedish TV program called ‘Kalla Fakta’(Keilla 1). Since America is powerful country, it negotiates trade agreements with developing countries on the basis of free trade agreements. Famous brands then shift their production units to such countries where exploitation is very common. According to a U. S. ommerce department report, the basic wage for garment workers in Honduras is $0. 473 per hour, or $3. 47 per day. After ded ucting costs for transportation to and from work, breakfast and lunch costs of $2. 59 that leaves $0. 80 a day for families and other basic needs ( the Ethics pg 345). This is considered to be completely unfair when workers are hardly making their ends meet but on the other hand fashion houses are making handsome profits. In addition to these the fashion industry has a negative social impact through the creation of counterfeit products.These are replicas of original products which are sold at substantially lower prices in black markets all over the world. It is argued that this practice is unfair since some consumers are paying more than other for the same good. In America such problems are even more complex because their legal system only protects functionality and not design or style. Since fashion houses have globalized their production and distribution process, it becomes easier to produce counterfeit goods. This is represented by the fact that the U. S. customs made 6500 seizur es in 2003 worth over $94 billion (the Ethics pg 346) .High demand for fashion goods gives other business the incentive to make fake copies of original goods and sell in the market. This not only causes a loss in the sale for fashion businesses but also increases the probability of customers mistakenly purchasing fake items. In its annual ‘’special 301† review, the office of the U. S. Trade Representative (USTR) identified more than 30 countries as centers for counterfeiting and piracy and estimated that American industries lose$200 Billion- $250 billion a year to counterfeiting (the Ethics pg 347).The international fashion industry has significantly transformed from what it started out in the nineteenth century to impact a number of aspects of one’s life as the arguments above have demonstrated. That being said, these changes are not constant and continue to grow and evolve due to a number of factors thus making it difficult for economists, industrialists and policy makers alike to objectively weigh the fashion industries benefits and disadvantages.What can be said for certain though is disadvantages such as exploitation of labor, eating disorder and coping of thought and ideas causes more harm to the society as compare to its advantages such as creating more jobs and increasing globalization. Work Cited Al-Azzawi, Ali Malik. â€Å"Fashion Industry and Media Today: The Negative Impact on Society. † (n. d. ): 109. Print. Fashion Industry Stats / Fashion Industry Statistics.  © Copyright SiteRapture, Inc. 2012, 26 Mar. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. . Is Fashion Harmful to Society? †Ã‚  Debate. org. Copyright  © 2012 Debate. org, 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. . Keilla. â€Å"Fashionably Informed: Exploitation of Labor & Popular Clothing Retailers – College Fashion. †Ã‚  College Fashion. Copyright  © 2007-2013 College Fashion LLC, 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. . Rose, Derek, and Alice Mcquillan. â€Å"W ILHELMINA MODEL KILLED SELF, COPS SAY.   NY Daily News. N. p. , 23 July 2001. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. . â€Å"Sweatshops. †Ã‚  Sweatshops. Fashion Crimes, 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. . The Ethics of Counterfeiting in the Fashion Industry: Quality, Credence and Profit Issues Brian Hilton, Chong Ju Choi and Stephen Chen, Journal of Business Ethics  , Vol. 55, No. 4 (Dec. , 2004), pp. 345-354