Lecture Fm

Vietnam National University – HCMC International University SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION COURSE SYLLABUS BA016IU Fundamentals of Financial Management 1. COURSE STAFF Lecturer: Ms. Phan Ng? c Anh, MBA Room: #205 E-mail: [email  protected] edu. vn Consultation hours: Thursday OR by appointment (preferred) Teaching Assistant: TBA Should the students wish to meet the staff outside the consultation hours, they are advised to make appointment in advance. 2. COURSE INFORMATION Prerequisite courses: Principles of Accounting 1 2. 1 Teaching times and LocationsLecture: Saturday, 13:00 – 16:00 Venue: C102 1 2 2. 2 Units of Credit: 3 credits 2. 3 Parallel teaching in the course: N/A 2. 4 Relationship of this course to others BA207U – Fundamentals of Financial Management provides students with basic concepts of financial management. The course is provided based on foundation knowledge of financial accounting and economics. This course may fulfill requirements of curric ulum for students majoring in business administration in general; however is the foundation for students majoring in finance and accounting.For those students that major in finance and accounting, they can take higher level of courses in finance after this course, to count for some, Corporate Finance, Financial Institutions and Market, Investment and Portfolio Management, International Finance, etc. 2. 5 Approach to learning and teaching Employing the interactive learning and problem-based teaching approach, this course emphasizes the interaction between lecturers and students. The lecture materials will be uploaded in Blackboard to help the students to preview the materials and to concentrate on listening and critical thinking during the lecture.This will help students to interact with the lecturer during the classroom. The sessions for presentations and discussions comprise company case studies as well as answering some theoretical and conceptual questions, which help the students to see how the concepts are applied in the real international business context. Students will present the case to the class and discuss with the peers. 3. COURSE AIMS AND OUTCOMES 3. 1 Course Aims The aim of this course is to expose students to and familiarize them with the theoretical frameworks and practical matters of financial management..The learning experience will include: an introduction to financial management; time value of money; techniques of pricing of financial instruments such as bonds and stocks; evaluation of major projects; the relationship between risk and return; an introduction to Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and Portfolio theory; and cost of capital and capital structuring. 3. 2 Student Learning Outcomes After completing the course, students should be able to: * Explain the purpose, goals, and importance of financial management; * Understand the relationship between risk and return; Understand time value of money and possess skills to convert financial t ime values; * Make basic valuation of bonds, stocks, and investment projects; * Evaluate capital budgeting alternatives, using the firm’s cost of capital in conjunction with internal rate of return and net present value techniques; * Compute cost of capital and capital structure. 3. 3 Teaching Strategies The learning system in this course consists of lectures and discussions. Lectures elaborate the appropriate theoretical content in the textbook and readings.Classes provide a more detailed and refined analysis of both concepts and applied materials. Classes are strongly oriented towards interactive discussion of the text and cases. 4. STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES AND CONDUCT 4. 1 Workload It is expected that the students will spend at least eight hours per week studying this course. This time should be made up of reading, research, working on exercises and problems, and attending classes. In periods where they need to complete assignments or prepare for examinations, the workload may be greater. 4. 2 AttendanceClass Attendance is Mandatory. Roll will be taken by random quizzes’ submissions at times of classes. University regulations indicate that if students attend less than eighty per cent of scheduled classes they may be refused final assessment. Exemptions may only be made on medical grounds. 4. 3 General Conduct and Behavior Beepers, cell phones, and pagers need to be turned off before entering the classroom. The students are expected to conduct themselves with consideration and respect for the needs of the fellow students and teaching staff.Conduct which unduly disrupts or interferes with a class, such as ringing or talking on mobile phones, is not acceptable and students will be asked to leave the class. 4. 4 Keeping informed The students should take note of all announcements made in lectures or on the course’s Blackboard. From time to time, the university will send important announcements to their university e-mail addresses without pro viding a paper copy. The students will be deemed to have received this information. 5. LEARNING ASSESSMENT 5. 1 Formal RequirementsIn order to pass this course, the students must: * achieve a composite mark of at least 50; and * make a satisfactory attempt at all assessment tasks (see below). 5. 2 Assessment Details Two Class tests 30% Mid-Term Exam 30% Final Exam 40% Total 100% Mid-term Exam and Final Exam: Mid-term and final test will be a combination of short answer questions, application problems and multiple-choice questions and will cover all the reading, homework, and lectures associated with the topics noted on the reading list. 5. 4 Class participationStudents are expected to attend class regularly, and are responsible for materials covered during their absences. Although it is the responsibility of the student for non-attendance, the lecturer has full authority to drop a student for excessive absences. 5. 5 Special Consideration Request for special consideration (for final examination only) must be made to the Office of Academic Affairs within one week after the examination. General policy and information on special consideration can be found at the Office of Academic Affairs. 6. ACADEMIC HONESTY AND PLAGIARISMPlagiarism is the presentation of the thoughts or work of another as one’s own (definition proposed by the University of Newcastle). Students are also reminded that careful time management is an important part of study and one of the identified causes of plagiarism is poor time management. Students should allow sufficient time for research, drafting, and the proper referencing of sources in preparing all assessment items. The university regards plagiarism as a form of academic misconduct, and has very strict rules regarding plagiarism. 7. STUDENT RESOURCES 7. Course Resources Required textbook: Brealey, R. A. , Myers, S. C. and Marcus, A. J. , Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 5th ed, McGraw Hill 2007 Note: the course will cover Chapter 1 – 12 Recommended readings: Recommended website: http://highered. mcgraw-hill. com/sites/007353062x/information_center_view0/ http://www. mhhe. com/business/finance/corpfinonline/. Choose â€Å"Finance Tutor Series†. www. finance. yahoo. com www. bloomberge. com www. reuters. com www. vneconomy. com www. efinance. com. vn Other recommended books: Brigham, E. F. and Houston, J. F. 2007), Fundamentals of Financial Management, 11th edn, South-Western. Ross, S. A. , Westerfield, R. W. , and Jordan, B. D. (2010) Fundamentals of Corporate Finance – 7th ed, McGraw Hill. Additional materials provided in Blackboard The lecturer will attempt to make lecture notes and additional reading available on Blackboard. However this is not an automatic entitlement for students doing this subject. Note that this is not a distance learning course, and you are expected to attend lectures and take notes. This way, you will get the additional benefit of class interaction and demonstra tion. 7. Other Resources, Support and Information 1 Additional learning assistance is available for students in this course and will be made available in Blackboard. Academic journal articles are available through connections via the VNU – Central Library. Recommended articles will be duly informed to the students. 8. COURSE SCHEDULE: Week| Topic| Learning materials| 1| Introduction to corporate financeIntroduction CorporationGoals of the corporationAgency problemsFinancial DecisionInvestment DecisionFinancing DecisionDividend PolicyRoles of Financial ManagerWhy corporations need financial markets?Functions of financial markets and intermedias| Textbook, Chapter 1| 2| Time Value of MoneyBasic conceptsTime line/ Future values (FV)/ Present values (PV)Simple interest rate (SR)/ Compound interest rate(CR)Multiple cash flowsFuture value of Multiple Cash FlowsPresent value of Multiple Cash FlowsPerpetuity cash flowsPresent Value of a PerpetuityOrdinary annuity cash flow/ Annuity d ue cash flow Future Value of an AnnuityPresent Value of an Annuity| Textbook, Chapter 4| 3| Time Value of Money (Cont. Growing ordinary annuity cash flow/ Growing annuity due cash flow Future Value of an growing annuityPresent Value of an growing annuityMortgate loansInflation and time value of moneyReal versus nominal cash flowsEffective annual interest ratesQuiz 1| Textbook, Chapter 4| 4| Bonds and their evaluationBond characteristicsBond evaluationCoupon bonds, semi-annual coupon bondsZero-coupon bondsBond yieldCurrent yieldYield to maturity (YTM)Rate of returnRelationship between market interest rate and bond priceBond premiums and bond discounts| Textbook, Chapter 5| 5| Stock and their evaluationEquity versus debtCommon stocks Preferred stocksBook values, Liquidation values, and Market valuesStock valuation: Dividend Discount Model (DDM)Zero growth common stocksConstant growth common stocksDifferential growth common stocksPreferred stocksGrowth stocks and Income stocksMid-Term| Textbook, Chapter 6| 6| Project Investment Criteria and Capital Budgeting DecisionCapital budgeting decisionCapital budgeting processProject classificationsNet Present Value (NPV) methodInternal Rate of Return (IRR) methodPayback Period (PP)/ Discount Payback period (DPP) methodProfitability Index (PI)| Textbook, Chapters 7| 7| Project Investment Criteria and Capital Budgeting (Cont. Principles of identifying cash flowsCalculating Cash Flows Capital investmentOperating cash flowsInvestment in working capitalTerminal-year incremental cash flowMinicaseQuiz 2| Textbook, Chapter 8| 8| Introduction to Risk, Return and Opportunity Cost of CapitalIntroduction relationship between Risk and ReturnHistorical overview of risk and returnRates of returnMeasuring riskVariance and standard deviation Risk and diversificationDiversificationAsset versus portfolio riskVariance and standard deviation of returns for a two-asset portfolioUnique risk versus market risk | Textbook, Chapters 10| 9| Risk, R eturn and capital budgetingMeasuring market riskConcept of betaPortfolio betasRisk and returnCapital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)Security Market Line (SML)Capital budgeting and Project Risk| Textbook, Chapter 11| 10| Capital Structure and Cost of CapitalMeasuring capital structureMarket versus book weightCost of capital Cost of debtCost of preferred stocksCost of equityCost of retained earningWeighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC)WACC and business evaluation| Textbook, Chapter 12| 11| Revision| | ——————————————– [ 1 ]. This is adapted with kind permission from the University of New South Wales.

Gang Essay

Alexander Williams Society today can be Very Pressuring Especially Adolescent teen who want respect Usually out of fear. Young people tend to recognize at an emotional level that they are truly Incapable of dealing with the world and feel as though they would be empowered if they Belong to something larger. Sometimes their â€Å"friends† invite them to become a member of a Gang and there can be some intimidation, which plays right into their emotional feeling of Weakness. Once they grow up a little, emotionally that is, many of the former gang members Recognize that it's not a good idea and they try to leave.At that point, some gangs have a â€Å"no exit† policy and life gets difficult. It really is unfortunate that so many of them believe in the rhetoric of the gang members. It's partially a result of the warehousing practices of the public school system that end up not teaching anything of value leaving these kids to learn nonsense from other kids. While it's true tha t a value oriented education system will not be able to save them all, it would certainly be able to do better than what we have now.Once a person joins a gang, their complete loyalty is demanded by the gang even over their family. Everything the gang tells them to do, they have to do, even stealing from their family. Gangs rule by fear ; intimidation. They accomplish this by committing crimes within their turf, or boundary, as set by various gangs. Many times the worst crimes are committed by younger members of the gang, ; for 2 reasons. First, they want to show the gang their loyalty ; second, they get in less trouble with the law if they get caught.The main effects are the amount ; degree of crime committed by members that over burden law enforcement, jails, ; courts. Another is the breakdown of the community because of the fear. ; intimidation. Gang areas usually result in attempted murder, torture, mayhem, etc. case where a person was hogtied, shot, stabbed. We need to get the cities on our side first. Organize families, neighborhoods and areas, once you get community cooperation it will be easier to reach the children. All children have some respect for their families or an authority figure at some point in their life.If we can motivate small neighborhoods to take care of their children as a community we can reach some before it is too late. Even for teenagers who are thought of as it being too late to reach, there is always time. It just takes time to build a trusting relationship with each other. It helps if the authority figure is someone from a similar background, but it is not necessary. Don't blame one ethnic group for all the violence and degradation of society, it is just as much a white problem as it is any other color problem. Our society seems to perpetuate the myth of the poor violent minority

HIV Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

HIV - Research Paper Example Theories has been used to try to explain how the virus crossed from animals to human but all of them does not show evidence that indeed HIV originated from animals. For instance, it is believed that the virus crossed as a result of eating monkey meat. The virus is believed to have originated from Africa as monkeys from Asia and South America has not been found with the virus (Worobey et al., 2008). HIV is an epidemic. It has spread so fast in the world and causes a lot of harm in countries. For instance, a lot of money has been put aside to fight the spread of HIV. This affects the country’s economy. On the other hand, HIV is taking dominance to the young and middle aged people in a country. The group that is most productive. With this it is clear that HIV is indeed a problem that needs to be taken care of seriously. The productive age groups of young and middle aged are endangered thus burdening a country with children and elderly who are not in a position to provide for thei r living. This paper will look at HIV as the problem worldwide that needs to be understood well and necessary precaution taken to reduce its spread. The first case of HIV was discovered in early 1980’s in the USA. Gay men displayed symptoms of opportunistic infections like cancer. HIV/AIDS did not come in to the picture but those men seemed to suffer from a common syndrome; their infections resisted treatment. HIV was later discovered. HIV has been spreading fast in the world because of several reasons such as blood transfusion, immigration, use of injectible drugs, unprotected sexual behaviors and transmission of mother to child. With the current globalization, most people are traveling from their countries with the purpose of trade. There is no restriction of migration of people who are infected with the HIV virus. People travel and mingle with other people from different

Those who would give up freedoms for temporary security deserve Thesis

Those who would give up freedoms for temporary security deserve neither, civil right violations - Thesis Example After the civil rights movement people in America became more aware of their rights than ever and more willing to battle the government to protect these rights. Despite the advances made the 1960’s America currently faces many threats to the civil rights of its citizens in areas such as freedom of speech, illegal search and seizure and the rights to bear arms. Freedom of speech is sacred privileged given to every US citizens by the forefathers of this nation when they wrote the constitution of the United States of America. The first amendment of the constitution which is part of the bill of rights states â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or the press; or the right of the people to assemble and to petition the government for a redness of grievances† (Usconstitution, 2009). Despite the existence of such a powerful abiding law concerning freedom of speech violations to this constitutional right have occurred many times throughout America’s history. Music is a form of expression that allows artists to express their thought and feelings their loyal fans. Music unites people and provides musicians with the ability to send social messages that can change their environmental surroundings. In the 1990’s a new genre of music was born called Gangster Rap. This new form of rap utilized violent lyrics and sexually explicit material which many segments of our society did not like. In 1990 Missouri introduced a bill that forbids the sale of records containing lyrics that are violent, sexually explicit, or perverse (Nuxum, 2003). Some of the first artists that were affected by this complete violation of the freedom of speech privileges Americans enjoy were Two Live Crew, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Ice Cube. Sometimes violations to the freedom of speech privileges occur in the most unlikely

Digestion and diseases of Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Digestion and diseases of - Term Paper Example Digestion is a complex process involving mechanical and chemical processes. Different complex molecules in our food are treated differently by our digestive system, depending upon its composition such as fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals etc. All these compounds are important as they provide source of energy, for protein making, for growth and for all the activities that we carry. The digestion starts from the mouth by chewing of food called mastication. A cephalic phase starts in which a signal is transferred to stomach lining to produce acid. The enzymes and saliva (produced by salivary glands for moistening the food) also enters the complex food particles. The starch and fats starts to breakdown right from the mouth due to saliva. The esophagus transfers the chewed food to the stomach, and this ineffective barrier may cause the acid in stomach to come up to the esophagus and cause a disease called gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD) which is very common nowa days. The stomach consists of fundus, body and antrum. The gastric phase starts when food enters into a large body called stomach. Here, the proteins start to break down to form peptides and acidic conditions in stomach prevent the microorganisms for further contamination. The fundus lining in the stomach produce hydrochloric acid when as the food enter in the lining of stomach, and by this acid the de naturation of proteins occur. The pepsinogen becomes activated in the form of pepsin after the formation of hydrochloric acid. The gastric lipase further hydrolyzes the fats in the stomach. The anturm stabilizes the acid produced and is a site for the grinding action. Food passing through pyrolic sphincter to the small intestine is called chime, while passing through the pyrolic sphincter, small intestine simulates hormones secretin and cholecystokinin, further resulting in the release of pancreatic juice from pancreas. The food enters the small intestine that is extended and has incr eased surface area for absorption. It contains folding called plicae, villi and microvilli. The sucrose, maltase and lactose hydrolyze di sugars. In the region called duodenum, the bicarbonates mix with chime decreasing its acidity. The pancreatic juice also helps in digestion. Iron and calcium are taken in duodenum, while most minerals and vitamins are absorbed in jejunum. The starch also digested in duodenum and jejunum. The liver produces bile that solubilizes fat. The ileums being the final part of small intestine do the final digestion. At the end of this process, 90 percent of food is digested. The large intestine conserves the water and salts. The remaining fibers in large intestine may remain there for up to 3 days. After the whole process, the unwanted food is defecated outside the body, from colon to rectum and then out of the body. The intestines are the important part of gastro intestinal (G.I) tract because most of the absorption and digestion is done in intestines, so it has vital importance in our body. Intestines are divided into small intestine and large intestine. The anatomy tells us that from which cells, the small intestines are made up of and then discuss the physiological role played by intestines. Small intestine is that portion of intestine which is connected to stomach and food contents from stomach come into large intestine via small intestine. Here, absorption, mixing and digestion takes place. Small intestine

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation - Essay Example Besides, the motivation for a behavior may also be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as altruism or morality. According to Geen (1994), motivation refers to the initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of human behavior. In other words, motivation is a state of mind which is influenced by the environment, by those around and above all by us (Yates, 2002). Researchers have identified basically two kinds of motivation- the intrinsic and the extrinsic motivation. The main purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. Additionally it also examines the effectiveness of both types of motivation and discuss some of the personal views with respect to which process provides the most effective results and why. There are several researchers who have worked and continue to work on intrinsic and extrinsic types of motivation, and these studies have shed light on their impact on individuals on both developmental and educational practices (Ryan and Deci, 2000). In general, intrinsic motivation occurs when people are internally motivated to do something because it either brings them pleasure, they think it is important, or they feel that what they are learning is morally significant. For example, in a husband and wife relationship unless both are motivated to be faithful, happy and committed to each other or are intrinsically motivated, it is impossible for them to be happy. Another example is if a child is studying out of real interest in the subjects and his curiousness to learn about the subject, it can be said that the child is intrinsically motivated. On the other hand extrinsic motivation can be explained as if a person is motivated to take an action after gaining the knowledge of the rewards. In other words extrinsically motivated behaviors are actions that result in the accomplishment of externally administered rewards, such as pay, material possessions, status, and positive evaluations from others (Bateman and Crant, N.D.). For example, when a student is compelled to achieve distinction in his exams because of the prize announced by the teacher can be considered as extrinsic motivation. The student does not learn the subjects out of the real interest on the subjects but due to pressure. While it is debated that intrinsic motivation plays a major role in reflecting the natural human propensity to learn and assimilate, extrinsic motivation differs considerably in its relative autonomy and thus can either be a sign of external control or true self-regulation (Ryan and Deci, 2000). Motivation influences productivity, and I believe it is essential to understand what motivates people to reach peak performance. It is not an easy task to increase their motivation because they respond in different ways. Motivation among different category of people differs. For instance, a child of 2-3 years may differ from a school going child in motivation. A teenager may differ from the adult. An employee may differ from the business owner. Therefore in all these cases there are different intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and researchers have studied in depth on these issues. And most of them agree that motivation in general is something that energizes, direct, and sustains behaviors (fiu.edu, N.D.). If we take a look at the work of early researchers it can be seen that the extrinsic motivat

Competitive Environment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Competitive Environment - Case Study Example Most companies have faced domestic competition and done well in the limited competitive milieu that they have been operating in. But now all companies will face competition from companies all over the world. Governments will be unwilling to protect domestic companies because they have realized that they will be doing a great disservice to their economies and people by limiting competition in their countries. Most governments are going overboard in making their countries attractive destinations for foreign capital, technologies and companies. The game is clear. Only the best companies will survive (Adler et al, 1993). The nationalities of companies will not matter and country markets will become intensely competitive. There will be another type of competition which is more difficult to contend with because it comes from unexpected quarters. New technologies are pouring out of laboratories and development centers. These new technologies do not respect the boundaries of existing busines ses. They solve customers' existing and even unarticulated needs in fresh ways. Customers lap up the products and services made with these technologies because they are decidedly better than the products and services they are using. ... In that sense video-conferencing is a direct threat to air travel and hotel industries. Companies need to keep a track of development of technologies in varied areas, because there is no way to find out which one of them is going to hit them. To explain Toyota's competitive advantages, much focus has been on Toyota's Just-in-Time tools such as kanban-card paced pull systems, frequent, small batch production and delivery, and reduced inventories. For instance, Hopp and Spearman (2000) have contrasted ConWIP and kanban control of production flows. Deleersnyder et al (1989) and Lee (1989) have compared the relative efficacy of push and pull approaches for production. Customers' needs are changing because their economic status and their views about themselves and the world are changing. Customers are reinventing themselves more frequently these days and hence their whole being and their rationale of existence is changing (Cusumano, 1989). This reflects in the products and services they buy and their motivations in buying those products and services also change. They want their needs to be served differently, and in most cases by different providers. A family used to go on a holiday once in a while for a change. It essentially used to be a meaningless outing. But now a family will go on a holiday with the avowed purpose of recuperating and energizing. Certain activities have to be part of this holiday. There has to be yoga sessions, mountain climbing, bonfires, etc. The holiday planner that served the family will have to reinvent his business or there will be another provider waiting to grab his client. Companies has to keep track of its customers'

Torture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Torture - Essay Example On the other side are those who believe that the allowance of torture destroys our national commitment to the inherent rights of all human beings. In the middle of this heated debate are those who believe that psychological torture, non-physical torture, should be permissible. It is not agreed that America should be permitted to use torture as a means of obtaining information from detainees. The United States was established on absolute principles of human rights, and the use of torture, whether physical or non-physical, past or present, violates those principles. for terrorists who suffer, or for those who die mercilessly at the hands of their torturers. Unfortunately that is human emotion at work, not ethics. Torture is a violation of human rights. In his Time to Think About Torture, Jonathan Alter admits that "we can't legalize physical torture; it's contrary to American values."1 The UN convention against torture came into force in 1987, prohibiting the acts that cause severe pain or suffering in order to gain information from prisoners. Alter wonders if using methods just short of physical torture will force four hijacking suspects to talk.2 He also added that he was not advocating the use of "cattle prods" or "rubber hoses", but "psychological torture."3 The act of psychological torture is subjecting a prisoner to mental stress, such as sleep deprivation, putting them in stressful situations, and sensory deprivation, in order to force a confession. Psychological torture, which leaves no visible signs of abuse, is still torture, and is illegal. According to research, prisoners subjected only to psychological torture report as much mental anguish as those who are beaten. The lasting effects psychological torture inflicts are as detrimental as those of physical torture. Novelist and journalist Henry Porter, wrote in his article that "torture is an absolute evil and there can be no allowances, especially in a country which stands for liberty and spends a good deal of time distinguishing itself from the Taliban and al-Qaeda on those grounds."4 If we as a nation disregard the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, our Constitution, and the UN convention against torture by using the same tactics as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, then we become no different than the ones we oppose. Terrorism has spread fear among Americans. Our citizens have desperately tried to justify the means of torture. The ticking bomb scenario, which implies that torture should be used to gain useful information that may prevent the possible loss of many lives, is just a scenario. It is a tactic used to persuade fearful Americans that torture is necessary. In discussing the fear of Americans, Porter states, "It is to be hoped that their very understandable fears do not lead to a further deterioration of human rights."5 Common sense and intelligence should be used to fight terrorism, not torture created by fear that opposes human rights. Torture is counterterrorism. Advocating any type of torture defeats the purpose of the Constitution, which guarantees protection against cruel and unusual punishment. Just as slavery and genocide are wrong for America, so is torture. Torture, whether physical, psychological, mild or severe,

Essay questions for history Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Questions for history - Essay Example Since the earliest humans lived a nomadic lifestyle, mainly foraging, or hunting, and they no doubt used wooden spears and wood for shelter there is very little lasting evidence of where they lived. Some groups appear to have become isolated and this turned out to be a risk factor, since they did not develop so many new adaptive techniques for survival. It appears that humans wandered out from the central African Savannah, reaching north and east into Asia and from there travelled to Europe and the rest of the world. Tracing their flints and axes is a way of showing how they communicated with each other through trade. [2] There are different theories why people might have stopped being hunter gatherers and started early forms of agriculture. The climate is one reason, since hunter gathering was the only option available in the colder parts of the world during the ice age, and agriculture just was not possible then. As the world’s climate warmed up, however, growing plants became more of an option. Another reason for agricultural lifestyles may be that the food sources became scarce when people began to increase in number. Once a herd of animals is hunted to extinction it is very difficult for that area to recover and become able to host human inhabitants again. The most convincing reason, however, is that certain locations such as river deltas, provided such a rich soil that plants grew readily in the wild, and people naturally settled there for longer and longer periods to take advantage of the crops. Eventually people would have learned to maximise the return from crops, use irrigation and plowing and sowing techniques, so that they could produce a very large excess of food. This in turn enabled them to live in larger groups, which was good for safety, and learn new arts and skills, which made them better able to

Biological Psychology Essay Example for Free

Biological Psychology Essay Abstract Psychology has its own biological boundaries. This is in the form of biological psychology or behavioral neuroscience. The main aim of this branch in psychology is to have a clearer picture of the relationship of the mind and body, and mind and brain. It tries to link the brain functions to the different mental processes and behaviors. This type of psychology investigates man’s physiological phenomena such as memory and emotions. Biological Psychology Human beings are more then a collection of systems, more than a collection of organs and more than a collection of cells.    The human body is complex. It is an operating organism which functions as a whole. The human body involves a great deal of variety of processes. By examining the parts, it does not mean that one can understand the whole organism (Arnold, 1999). Biological psychology is the field of psychology which main endeavor was to link the different brain functions to different mental processes and behaviors. Psychologists in this subdiscipline of psychology are often interested in relating biological variables to psychological or behavioral variables. It deals with biological processes and behaviors that are shared with mammalian animals. This is because biological psychologists utilize animals in their experiments. Some of these processes are sensation, perception, motivation, learning memory and control of motor movements (â€Å"Biological Psychology†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The history of Biological psychology emerged from various philosophical views in the 18th and 19th century. However, its study started much earlier. It dates back to Avicenna, a Persian psychologist and physician. He recognized physiological psychology in the treatment of illnesses involving emotions. Avicenna also gave some psychological explanations on somatic illnesses. He believed that humidity inside the brain can cause mood disorders. Humidity is brought by the change with the amount of breath. Another is that happiness increases the breath so it contributes to the brain’s moisture. But then, too much moisture can make the brain loss control thus having mental disorders (â€Å"The Mind-Brain Problem†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The philosophical history of Biological Psychology surfaced from philosophers like Rene Descartes. He believed that the pineal gland was the point of contact between the mind and body. He also proposed a theory that pneumatics or fluid power of bodily fluids is connected to reflexes and motor behavior (â€Å"The Mind- Brain Problem†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another philosopher who contributed to Biological psychology is William James.   He is the one who argued that in the study of psychology there should also be consideration to the understanding of Biology. He also stressed that the functions of the brain must be included in the study of psychology. The connection between mind and brain became progressively clearer in the nineteenth century. In this century, the doctors started observing patients who suffered from head injuries. The patients usually exhibited alterations in language and memory and some variation in their personalities. One patient is a refined businessman and a loving father became a vulgar person who lacks in affection for his loved ones after a sever blow in the head. These observations is lead researchers to experiment by producing surgical lesions in animals in different regions of the brain to observe what effects these lesions have on behavior (Westen, 1999). Since its origin, one of the major issues faced by biological psychologists was localization of functions. This entails knowing which different parts of the brain control different aspects of functioning. In 1836, a physician named Marc Dax, noted that lesions on the left side of the brain were associated with aphasia or language disorder. Because of this discovery, many other discoveries linking the left hemisphere of the brain with language function appeared (Westen, 1999). These other discoveries led to the finding of Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas. Broca’s aphasia involves difficulty in production of speech, whereas Wernicke’s aphasia involves difficulty in comprehending language (Westen, 1999).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The clinical assumption of Biological psychology is that organisms share similar biological processes and behaviors. Some of the other disciplines in psychology greatly related with biological psychology are comparative psychology, evolutionary psychology, neuropsychology, clinical psychology, cognitive psychology and experimental psychology (Westen, 1999).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Comparative psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes of animals other than human beings (Westen, 1999). Biological psychologists use animals in their experiments. They compare the results done on these animals to human processes and behaviors. Evolutionary psychology, on the other hand, deals with the explanation of mental and psychological traits and how they evolved to adapt to different stimuli. Neuropsychology is an interdisciplinary field of psychology and neuroscience that aims to explain how the structure and function of the brain relate to certain psychological behaviors (â€Å"Evolutionary Psychology†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Other fields of psychology related with biological psychology such as clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, and experimental psychology are connected with biological psychology because these fields aim to link the physiological processes with different mental processes. Clinical psychology focuses on the nature and treatment of physiological processes that lead to emotional distress. Cognitive psychology examines the nature of thought, memory and language. And, experimental psychology examines mental processes in human and other animals (Westen, 1999). Some of the noted modern biological psychologists are Nikolaas Tinbergen, Karl von Frisch, Eric Kandel and Arvid Carlsson. Nikolaas Tinbergen is a Dutch ornithologist who won the Nobel Prize for Physiology in 1973. His contribution is the organization and elicitation of individual and social behaviour patterns in animals. Karl von Frisch is an Austrian ethologist who won the same award with Tinbergen. He studied the senses of bees and identified they methods of communication(â€Å"Nobel Prize in Physiology/ Medicine 1973†)..Eric Kandel is a neuroscientist whose contribution is the analysis of biochemical changes in neurons assiciated with learning and memory storage. Arvid Carlsson is a neuroscientist most noted for his on the neurotransmitter dopmaine and Parkinson’s disease (â€Å"The Nobel Prize in Physiology/ Medicine 2000†).   Reference Arnold, T. (1999). Mind and Brian Relationship. Retrieved February 8, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.hyponoesis.org/html/essays/e022.html Biological Psychology. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.psypress.com/common/supplementary/184169360X/part1.pdf Evolutionary Psychology. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.psychnet-uk.com/evolutionary_psychology/evolutionary_psychology.htm The Mind- Brain problem. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/~dualism/papers/brains.html The Nobel Prize in Physiology/ Medicine 1973. Nobelprize.org. Retrieved February 11, 2008,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   from http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1973/index.html The Nobel Prize in Physiology/ Medicine 2000. Nobelprize.org. Retrieved February 11, 2008,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   from http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2000/index.html Westen, D. (2nd Ed.). (1999). Psychology: Mind, Brain and Culture. U.S.A.: John Wiley   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sons, Inc.

Multiple Sclerosis and Autism Spectrum Disorder Causes

Multiple Sclerosis and Autism Spectrum Disorder Causes Multiple sclerosis and Autism spectrum disorder are two neurophysiological diseases that are found to develop in the genetically susceptible population. The exact causes of these diseases and the exact interplay between the genetic factors and environmental factors in the development of the disease are serving to be a billion dollar question. MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: Symptoms and Progression: MS is a chronic neurological condition which affects the central nervous system (CNS).1 The CNS consists of the brain, optic nerves and the spinal cord. As the CNS controls various motor and behavioural functions in the body, an array of symptoms develops. The symptoms as well as the progression of the disease varies significantly from individual to individual. The symptoms in most individuals though, start at the age of 20 to 40, but the symptoms are really slight that they usually go unnoticed till the disease progresses. In few individuals, the symptoms are noticeable right at the onset of the disease itself.2 SYMPTOMS: VISUAL IMPAIRMENT: As the disease attacks the optic nerves, visual problems arise in the patients. The inflammation of the optic nerves lead to severe pain behind the eyes. Double vision is a really common symptom in MS patients. In certain patients, even vision loss is reported. BLADDER AND BOWEL PROBLEMS: 50% of the patients have constipation which sometimes lead to faecal impaction. Bladder problems arise which makes the patient to urinate more frequently. COGNITIVE SYMPTOMS: Hearing impairment, loss of memory or short term memory loss, slurred speech, attention troubles. Dizziness and depression are reported as well. MOTOR SYMPTOMS: Numbness, tremor, gait, muscle spasms and seizures, fatigue and vertigo. SEXUAL DYSFUNCTIONS: Males affected by MS have difficulty in getting / maintaining an erection. Females affected by MS have difficulty in getting orgasms.2 PROGRESSION OF DISEASE: The progression of disease, just like the symptoms, vary from one individual to another. There are five types of progression seen in MS patients. Relapsing-remitting MS: Majority of patients show this kind of progression. As the name suggests, there are episodes of mild/severe symptoms followed by episodes of very mild or no symptoms at all. The episode of attacks usually lasts between few hours to a few months! Primary progressive MS: About 10-15% of the patients have primary progressive MS. The severity of the symptoms worsen progressively. No relapse and remission cycle is seen in these patients. Secondary progressive MS: The initial stages of the disease show relapse and remission cycles. But after a certain point, the symptoms worsen gradually, just like in the primary progressive MS. Progressive relaxing MS: In these patients, the symptoms are followed by recovery, but the severity of the symptoms increase gradually. Benign MS: The individuals undergoes episodes of mild symptoms but gets recovered completely ergo no permanent disability.3 GENETIC FACTORS: The researchers have identified certain genes and environmental factors which most likely cause and progress the disease. One striking observation is that genetic linkage studies have shown the variation in the genes associated with the Major Histocompatibility complex (MHC) promotes the risk for developing MS in individuals.4 The group of genes called the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes encodes for Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in our body.5 The HLA genes are present in the short arm of chromosome no 6. The MHC consists of two classes. The genes HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-C form the MHC class I. The genes HLA-DP, HLA-DQ and HLA-DR make up the MHC class II. The MHC proteins bind to the T-cells to recognize antigens.6So, the MHC basically helps the immune system to differentiate between self and non-self cells (a property called as MHC restriction).6 It has been identified that the HLA-DRB1 mutant alleles and HLA-A alleles increases the risk of developing the disease.7,8 Though these are the most commonly reported variant gene present in MS, variants in genes present in the HLA system such as HLA-DR15, HLA- DQ6,etc have been linked to the disease as well.7 Also, variants in IL7R have been linked to MS. Presence of C risk allele of the IL7R gene decreases the expression of IL7R.9 IL7 signalling pathway is essential for the T cell differentiation of CD4-CD8- thymocytes.10It also plays a major role in maintaining the T-cell homeostasis. Variant of the IL7R results in the decrease in the expression of IL7R which affects the interlukin pathway, thereby disrupting the T cell development and T cell homeostasis.10 But with the help of genome wide association studies (GWAS), a set of 12 susceptible genes which promotes the risk for developing MS have been identified recently.11,12,13 Although the effect of variations in these genes are not as profound as the variations in the HLA gene system.11 Demyelination: The neuron/nerve cells comprises of a cell body and an extension from the cell body called axon. The axons play a central role in carrying the message from one neuron to another. The axons in the body usually have a coating rich in lipids, called the myelin. Myelin insulates the axon and protects it (just like an insulating coating over an electrical wire).14This helps in the efficient nerve transmission. Myelin present in the central nervous system are produced by a special set of cells called the oligodendrocytes.15 It is believe that in MS patients, a wayward immune system is unable to differentiate between the self and non-self cells and cause an inflammatory response, most likely because of the variations present in the HLA gene system and IL7. This triggers the T-cells to attack and destroy the myelin sheath of the axon or the oligodendrocytes (cells that produce the myelin sheath), keeping the nerve fibres unprotected and uninsulated. This is called as demyelination.14This consequently causes destruction to the nerve fibre (as the protective sheath is degenerated). This produces many scar tissues or lesions (hence the name multiple sclerosis) along the nerve cells, thereby limiting or blocking the transmission of impulses through the nerve cells. Consequently, the brain cannot communicate properly with the other parts of the CNS and eventually causes the various symptoms that are seen in the MS patients. In a nut shell, the disease is believed to be caused by the interplay between inflammat ion and neurodegeneration.1 After the episode of attack, the inflammation reaction may get halted and the neurons that are not demyelinated resume their normal function and even some recovery is possible (as seen in the relapsing-remitting type of progression). It has also been shown that the demyelinated axons tend to produce more sodium channels and this helps in the remission.16 So, sodium channels are rightfully targeted for the MS therapy now.17 Also, even though the oligodendrocytes are not present around to remylinate immediately, myelin does grow back, but it may take a real long time.15 Picture Source: [eMedicineHealth, (2014).Myelin and the Central Nervous System Causes, Symptoms, Treatment What is myelin? eMedicineHealth. [online] Available at: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/myelin_and_the_central_nervous_system/page2_em.htm] AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes social, cognitive and language impairment and the tendency to show repetitive behaviour, interests and activities in the individuals.18 ASD is a collection of neurodevelopmental disorder.19The main types of ASD are: Autism, Asperger’s syndrome, Pervasive developmental disorder- not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). The rare disorders in the class are Rett syndrome and Childhood disintegrative disorder.18 Symptoms and Progression: Symptoms include impairment of social relationships, lack of communication and lack of imagination skills and signs of repetitive behaviour. Symptoms vary from one individual to another significantly. 18Asperger’s syndrome patients did not have significant cognitive impairment/delays like autism patients. PDD-NOS is considered as the milder form of autistic behaviour and usually show symptoms in one area, for instance, just lack of social communication.19 The progression of the disease is also different in different patients. Symptoms in childhood may include constant crying, sleeping problems, absence of speech, repetitive movements like handshake or clapping, lack of eye contact, etc. Symptoms in the adolescence and adulthood may be mood imbalance, presence of disability becomes more obvious and prominent, increased anxiety levels, epilepsy and seizures in rare cases.19 Genetic factors: ADS is more of a syndrome than a disease, caused by a variety of genetic and environmental factors.19 Whole genome screens, next generation sequencing (NGS) and cytogenetic studies have been carried out to figure out the genes involved in the cause of the syndrome.20 ADS is a really complex neurological condition which is linked to about 100 genes as of now. 21The genes generally fall into: genes regulating synapsis genes regulating transcription Mutation of genes that are involved in the synaptic functions are commonly observed in ASD. A few important genes are discussed below: Neurexin (NLGN3, NLGN4) and Neuroligin (NRXN1): The genes involved in the production of Neurexin and neuregulin are commonly found mutated genes in ASD. Neurexin and Neuregulin act as neuronal cell surface receptors and organize the interaction between the pre-synaptic and post-synaptic neurons. Neurexin interacts with CASK in the pre-synaptic neuron. Neuroligin interact with PSD95 in the post- synaptic neuron. The two proteins interacts with intracellular factors as well as scaffolding protein, forming a trans-synaptic interaction necessary for a synapsis to exist. Mutations in the genes encoding for these proteins have been reported in ASD patients. Also, the targeted knock out of these genes in the mouse model have caused deregulation of synaptic function. Mutation of neurexin in mice have shown to disrupt the voltage-gated calcium channel, thereby hindering pre-synaptic release of vesicles. Mutations in neuroligin in ASD patients reduced the expression of neroligin, thereby causing less interaction with neurexin thereby causin g synaptic transmission defects.22 SHANK: SHANK consists of three genes: SHANK1, SHANK2, SHANK3. SHANK is involved in the post-synaptic neuron. It interacts with PSD95 and SAPAP and form a protein complex which regulates the formation of dendritic spine. Overexpression of SHANK3 results in the increase in the dendritic spine and the knockdown results in the decrease of dendritic spine formation. Reduced dendritic spine formation leads to defective postsynaptic structure thereby inhibiting synaptic transmission.22 Also, mutations in cadherin9, cadherin10 and cadherin15 are observed in ADS patients. Mutations in these genes destabilize the pre-synaptic and post-synaptic interactions, thereby inhibiting synapsis, leading to autistic symptoms.22 Contactin associated protein-like 2 (CNTNAP2): CNTNAP2 is a member of the neurexin family that encodes for a neuronal membrane protein that helps in the trans-synaptic interaction. Mutations in this gene have been reported in autistic patients.20 MECP2 gene: Methyl –cytosine binding protein (MECP2), a transcriptional regulator, is mutated in Rett syndrome. The gene is present in the X chromosome. This mutation occurs exclusively in females as the mutation of this gene in males is lethal. Mutation of this gene results in leads to reduced release of vesicles in inhibitory synapsis and affecting the excitation to inhibition ration. 23Another rare mutation in the form of the transcriptional regulator, ARX, is seen in autistic patients.23 Picutre Source: [Walsh, C., Morrow, E. and Rubenstein, J. (2008). Autism and Brain Development.Cell, 135(3), pp.396-400.] Role of demyelination in the disease: Mutations in HLA region (like MS) and increased level of IL12 are reported in autism.24 This causes the T cells to attack the myelin sheath. The damage of myelin sheath ergo nerve cells (mechanism explained above) have been a factor of brain damage in autistic individuals. Neuropathological findings suggest a role for demyelination in the damage of amygdala, hippocampus and cerebellum of autistic patients.24 Environmental factors: Along with the genetic factors, the environmental factors also seem to play a role in the development and progression of these two diseases. Lack of Vitamin D supposedly plays a role in increasing the risk of developing MS.2 Mercury vaccines have been suspected to increase the risk of developing ASD.25 Mercury vaccine results in the deficiency of zinc and that in turn impacts the level of vitamin B12.25 Vitamin B12 in turn is essential for myelin sheath formation.25 In sum, these two neurological diseases are really complex and not yet fully understood yet. Tonnes of research are being performed in order to understand the cause and the exact interplay of genetic factors in the development of disease. Fully understanding the diseases would also provide better ways to treat individuals affected by these devastating complex neurological diseases. REFERENCES: McDonald WI, Ron MA. Multiple sclerosis: the disease and its manifestations.Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences1999;354(1390):1615-1622. Irishhealth.com, (2014).Multiple sclerosis irishhealth.com. [online] Available at: http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?con=191 [Accessed 15 Dec. 2014]. Irishhealth.com, (2014).Multiple sclerosis irishhealth.com. [online] Available at: http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?con=191 [Accessed 15 Dec. 2014]. Rubio JP, Speed TP, Bahlo M, Kilpatrick TJ, Foote SJ. The current state of multiple sclerosis genetic research. Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore. 2000;29(3):322-30. Baranzini SE. Revealing the genetic basis of multiple sclerosis: are we there yet? Current Opinion in Genetics Development. 2011;21(3):317-24. Kindt, T., Goldsby, R., Osborne, B. and Kuby, J. (2007).Kuby immunology. New York: W.H. Freeman. Genetic risk and a primary role for cell-mediated immune mechanisms in multiple sclerosis. Nature. 2011;476(7359):214-9. Genetic risk and a primary role for cell-mediated immune mechanisms in multiple sclerosis. Nature. 2011;476(7359):214-9. Gregory, S., Schmidt, S., Seth, P., Oksenberg, J., Hart, J., Prokop, A., Caillier, S., Ban, M., Goris, A., Barcellos, L., Lincoln, R., McCauley, J., Sawcer, S., Compston, D., Dubois, B., Hauser, S., Garcia-Blanco, M., Pericak-Vance, M. and Haines, J. (2007). Interleukin 7 receptor ÃŽ ± chain (IL7R) shows allelic and functional association with multiple sclerosis.Nat Genet, 39(9), pp.1083-1091. Lundmark F, Duvefelt K, Iacobaeus E, Kockum I, Wallstrom E, Khademi M, et al. Variation in interleukin 7 receptor alpha chain (IL7R) influences risk of multiple sclerosis. Nature genetics. 2007;39(9):1108-13. The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium The Australo-Anglo-American Spondylitis Consortium.Association scan of 14,500 nonsynonymous SNPs in four diseases identifies autoimmunity variants.Nature Genet.39,1329–1337(2007) The ANZgene Consortium.Genome-wide association study identifies new multiple sclerosis susceptibility loci on chromosomes 12 and 20.Nature Genet.41,824–828(2009). The International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium.Risk alleles for multiple sclerosis identified by a genomewide study.N. Engl. J. Med.357,851–862(2007). Waxman SG. Demyelination in spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis: what can we do to enhance functional recovery? Journal of neurotrauma. 1992;9 Suppl 1:S105-17. eMedicineHealth, (2014).Myelin and the Central Nervous System Causes, Symptoms, Treatment What is myelin? eMedicineHealth. [online] Available at: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/myelin_and_the_central_nervous_system/page2_em.htm [Accessed 15 Dec. 2014]. Moll C, Mourre C, Lazdunski M, Ulrich J. Increase of sodium channels in demyelinated lesions of multiple sclerosis. Brain research. 1991;556(2):311-6. Waxman SG. Sodium channels as molecular targets in multiple sclerosis. Journal of rehabilitation research and development. 2002;39(2):233-42. Muhle R, Trentacoste SV, Rapin I. The genetics of autism. Pediatrics. 2004;113(5):e472-86 Webmd.com, (2014).Autism Spectrum Disorders Symptoms, Types, Causes, Treatments. [online] Available at: http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/autism-spectrum-disorders [Accessed 15 Dec. 2014]. B., J., L., T., Benson, M., Bray-Ward, P. and R., A. (2011). Immune Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorder.Autism A Neurodevelopmental Journey from Genes to Behaviour. Ucsf.edu, (2014).Dozens of Genes Associated with Autism in New Research | ucsf.edu. [online] Available at: http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2014/10/120146/dozens-genes-associated-autism-new-research [Accessed 15 Dec. 2014]. Zhan, Y. and Kong, X. (2011). Synaptic Dysfunction Attributes to Autism Spectrum Disorder.American Chinese Journal of Medicine and Science, 4(3), p.112. Walsh, C., Morrow, E. and Rubenstein, J. (2008). Autism and Brain Development.Cell, 135(3), pp.396-400. Ashwood P, Wills S, Van de Water J. The immune response in autism: a new frontier for autism research. Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 2006;80(1):1-15. The vaccine-autism connection: a public health crisis caused by unethical medical practices and fraudulent science..The Annals of pharmacotherapy45(10): 1302–4.

James Baldwin versus Malcolm X Essay -- Race African American

Gentle Yet Strong: Leading the Oppressed Malcolm X and James Baldwin were two men that played a large role in defining a people and a cause during the 1950s and 1960s. Both of these men were dynamic African-Americans who lived primarily to help their people, who were terribly persecuted in the United States for many years. The interesting thing about these two men is that they strove towards the same goal—to unify African-Americans and give them strength and confidence—but they accomplished this goal in very different ways. Malcolm X, a leader in the Nation of Islam movement, believed that African-Americans needed to acquire strength and confidence so that they could separate from the White man and live together in peace, harmony, and production. On the other hand, James Baldwin, renowned writer, believed it necessary for African-Americans to have strength and confidence so that they might coexist on the same level as whites and accomplish what whites were accomplishing. The methodology and teachings of J ames Baldwin and Malcolm X differed greatly, but their general belief, that African-Americans were just as good as everybody else prevailed over all else, and made these men two of the very important faces of a generation. More often than not, the quality of leadership lies deep within certain people. It is not a quality that people build or develop easily. The basis of good leadership is personality. Those who have dynamic and charismatic personalities can lead, if they choose to do so. Malcolm X possessed these types of qualities. Throughout his life, Malcolm—born Malcolm Little—always showed a proficiency for leadership, as evidenced by his roles as seventh-grade class president, as leading hustler ... ...li, Noaman. Malcolm-X.org. 2000. 28 Apr. 2004. . Baldwin, James. â€Å"Down at the Cross.† 1963. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998: 296-347. ---. â€Å"Take Me to the Water.† 1972. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998: 353-403. ---. â€Å"To Be Baptized.† 1972. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998: 404-474. Harper, Frederick D. â€Å"The Influence of Malcolm X on Black Militancy.† Journal of Black Studies 1 (June 1971): 387-402. Hoyt, Charles Alva. â€Å"The Five Faces of Malcolm X.† Negro American Literature Forum 4 (1970): 107-112. Shabazz, Ilyasah. â€Å"Malcolm X.† Ebony July 2002: 122-124. X, Malcolm. â€Å"God’s Judgement of White America.† 4 Dec. 1963. Ali. 28 Apr. 2004.

Ambition Essay -- Definition Ambitious Essays

Ambition   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before I could really start to write about ambition, I had to ask myself what ambition really was. What causes people to be ambitious, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of being an ambitious person? At first, I must admit it was fairly difficult to comprehend. But I found it to all come together when I related it to another kind of person or group of people – dreamers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When I think of ambitious people I think of dreamers. These are the people with hopes of one day conquering and ruling the world single handedly, and having everything work out just the way they want it to. I also feel that an ambitious person is a confident one. And because of this, they feel there is nothing they cannot accomplish. There are they types of people who often set goals so high and glamorous that they often set themselves up for disappointment when things do not work out their way. This, I guess, would qualify to be one of the disadvantages of ambition. But since I am the kind of person who believes that the sky is the limit, and if you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything, I choose to stay away from the disadvantages of ambition for the time being.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Evver since I was a little boy, I have always been ambitious. But who wasn’t? Before writing this paper, I did a little research to help me better understand the different forms of ambition, and if it differs between younger and older groups of people. I sat and asked my little brother what he ...

2004 MLB Wins Regression Essay -- essays research papers

On Wednesday, October 27th 2004, the Curse of the Bambino was finally lifted off the City of Boston and its long-suffering baseball fans (see Appendix A for more on the Curse). For the first time in 86 years, the Boston Red Sox were the world champions of baseball. There is no arguing that the 2004 Red Sox were a good team that played excellent baseball throughout the season. The team was led not by talent cultivated through the Red Sox’ farm system but by high-priced, free-agent acquisitions such as Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, Keith Foulke, Curt Shilling and David Ortiz. The average age for a Red Sox team member was 31.1 years, the oldest team average in the league. Additionally, the cumulative payroll for the 2004 Red Sox was the second highest in Major League Baseball at $125,208,542 or $4,173,618 per player. The previous two statistics describe some of the off-field demographic makeup of the 2004 Red Sox. In additional to being a veteran and well-paid ball club, the Red Sox performed well on the field as well. The team batting average (number of hits divided by number of official at-bats) of the Red Sox was tied for the highest of the 30 Major Leagues teams at 0.282. In terms of pitching statistics, the Red Sox were in the top thi rd of earned run average (E.R.A.; the number of earned runs allowed per nine innings of play). Fielding average (number of successful fielding attempts divided by total number of fielding attempts) is the only major statistic where the Red Sox were significantly below the mean, ranking in the bottom quartile. I am interested in analyzing the Major League Baseball data from the 2004 season to determine the factors that best predict success (measured by the number of team wins). I am especially interested in analyzing the relationship between wins and payroll. I am most curious about this relationship because this relationship can be controlled by the ball club’s management. On-field performance is less controllable by the team’s management because it has a higher ‘human performance’ element. Furthermore, I will obtain the linear regression equations for the various variables and detailing the additional amount of wins for the marginal amount of the independent variable. In addition to analyzing the relationship between payroll and wins, I am also interested in analyzing the relationship between other major statistical categ... ...s out the level of payroll was not a significant variable for predicting the number of wins. Although the Boston Red Sox had a high payroll, I conclude that their success was much more related to their superior hitting and pitching during 2004 than to their high-payroll. Appendix A The Legend of the Curse In 1918 the Red Sox won their 5th World Series, the most by any club at that time. One of the stars of the Boston championship franchise was a young pitcher by the name of George Herman Ruth, aka The Babe or The Bambino. In 1920, however, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee needed money to finance his girlfriend's play, so he sold Babe Ruth's contract to Colonel Jacob Ruppert's New York Yankees for $100,000 (plus a loan collateralized by Fenway Park). Since then, the Yankees, who had never won a World Championship before acquiring Ruth, have gone on to win 26, and are arguably one of the greatest success stories in the history of sport. Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox have appeared in only four World Series since 1918, losing each one in game seven. Many consider Boston's performance after the departure of Babe Ruth to be attributable to "The Curse of the Bambino." 2004 MLB Wins Regression Essay -- essays research papers On Wednesday, October 27th 2004, the Curse of the Bambino was finally lifted off the City of Boston and its long-suffering baseball fans (see Appendix A for more on the Curse). For the first time in 86 years, the Boston Red Sox were the world champions of baseball. There is no arguing that the 2004 Red Sox were a good team that played excellent baseball throughout the season. The team was led not by talent cultivated through the Red Sox’ farm system but by high-priced, free-agent acquisitions such as Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, Keith Foulke, Curt Shilling and David Ortiz. The average age for a Red Sox team member was 31.1 years, the oldest team average in the league. Additionally, the cumulative payroll for the 2004 Red Sox was the second highest in Major League Baseball at $125,208,542 or $4,173,618 per player. The previous two statistics describe some of the off-field demographic makeup of the 2004 Red Sox. In additional to being a veteran and well-paid ball club, the Red Sox performed well on the field as well. The team batting average (number of hits divided by number of official at-bats) of the Red Sox was tied for the highest of the 30 Major Leagues teams at 0.282. In terms of pitching statistics, the Red Sox were in the top thi rd of earned run average (E.R.A.; the number of earned runs allowed per nine innings of play). Fielding average (number of successful fielding attempts divided by total number of fielding attempts) is the only major statistic where the Red Sox were significantly below the mean, ranking in the bottom quartile. I am interested in analyzing the Major League Baseball data from the 2004 season to determine the factors that best predict success (measured by the number of team wins). I am especially interested in analyzing the relationship between wins and payroll. I am most curious about this relationship because this relationship can be controlled by the ball club’s management. On-field performance is less controllable by the team’s management because it has a higher ‘human performance’ element. Furthermore, I will obtain the linear regression equations for the various variables and detailing the additional amount of wins for the marginal amount of the independent variable. In addition to analyzing the relationship between payroll and wins, I am also interested in analyzing the relationship between other major statistical categ... ...s out the level of payroll was not a significant variable for predicting the number of wins. Although the Boston Red Sox had a high payroll, I conclude that their success was much more related to their superior hitting and pitching during 2004 than to their high-payroll. Appendix A The Legend of the Curse In 1918 the Red Sox won their 5th World Series, the most by any club at that time. One of the stars of the Boston championship franchise was a young pitcher by the name of George Herman Ruth, aka The Babe or The Bambino. In 1920, however, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee needed money to finance his girlfriend's play, so he sold Babe Ruth's contract to Colonel Jacob Ruppert's New York Yankees for $100,000 (plus a loan collateralized by Fenway Park). Since then, the Yankees, who had never won a World Championship before acquiring Ruth, have gone on to win 26, and are arguably one of the greatest success stories in the history of sport. Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox have appeared in only four World Series since 1918, losing each one in game seven. Many consider Boston's performance after the departure of Babe Ruth to be attributable to "The Curse of the Bambino."

A Report On LVMH HR Policies Education Essay

Lvmh HR policies are in surplus of required and implement on the concern groups and companies. Through flexible regulation, it besides provides organisation. The map of corporate HR is to normalise certain ways, to exemplify program and to give force to companies ‘ HR squads. In connexion with scheme, HR offers other than hardly of all time oblige. An employee work reciprocally with the concern group which study to corporate central office. Approximately 55 to 60 % of advancements are controlled by companies, the else managed by the concern groups or corporate. There are four types of HR directors at Lvmh. Subsequent the group ‘s construction, they operate on four degrees: corporate, regional, concern group and company degree. The subordinate HR Director or the individual moving as such, studies to the subordinate ‘s President. The subordinate ‘s HR Director gets recommendation and shore up from his company. The concern group ‘s HR Director organizes his companies ‘ HR Directors through monthly meetings. The intent of these meetings is to place vacant places throughout the universe and to analyze the list of possible campaigners for these places, between which are the Ready to Move. Lvmh has ready internal mobility – both geographic and functional – a footing of their human resources policy. This cross-fertilisation of experience within their ecosystem under the consolidative umbrella of the group creates matchless cause of proficient and personal fulfillment. International mobility is indispensable portion of every prospective calling way. It targets to make planetary directors many of them have far above the land cardinal practical move. As an illustration the caput of HR development remember the instance of a Gallic insurance specializer in the manner concern unit who was sent to Romania to head a shoe mill. LVMH be on familiar footings with they could make with hazards to develop likely impending. It needs to set them in new fortunes to assist them develop new accomplishments and set up their bravery. Lvmh actively supports the professional development of its employees. The decentralised organisation of the Lvmh group encourages single enterprise. Half of Lvmh ‘s senior executives and over 40 per cent of managerial staff are Gallic, whereas the Gallic history for 37 per cent of the group ‘s planetary work force. HR needs to develop more planetary concern directors so they can be a portion of globalized top direction. Lvmh mobility procedure works on the web of HR squads who largely staffed with locals. Lvmh did non direct out any experts because non hold local gift. Generally their experts fit two profiles: those sent out by the corporate HQ to command its subordinates and protect its involvements and sent out to develop their accomplishments. To back up the international concern growing relocate is lifting. Though, it non means that increasing figure of Gallic exiles will coerce this disposition. Lvmh lake of planetary directors creates their order adverse in footings of deploying adept director to company ‘s desire program or task given to that director. Lvmh did non pull experts by giving them higher fringe benefits in footings of their degree. The group is motivated for cost effectivity. They know that a good bundle is indispensable, but that it non the chief encouragement to travel abroad. The primary balance-sheet move in the way of bundle is based on the benchmark that proficient should neither lost nor turn from their reallocate. Lvmh ‘s C & A ; B section has connected this draw near as a direct for it does remunerate bundle policy. Specific state based salary is evident for international mission. Salary will acquire hire during the period of mission. That is used as a vital for work out of societal security and pension payments. The mobility rewards are mean comparison to local labor market. Lvmh distinguishable two types of high potencies, HP1 and HP2 is an single likely to accomplish a top direction place such as member of Board commissions, Regional president or Subsidiary president. An HP2 is an employee probably to travel up one or two stairss in the hierarchy. For corporate HR this word picture of high potency is excessively wide and is more relevant for level constructions. It is now sing contracting it. It would retain the definition of HP1 and include those who are considered to be experts in their field. Lvmh is giving specific undertaking or mission to the planetary director in their working content for specific period and give him or her full authorization to take determination for the company, besides they want to larn from this sort of freedom to make new or dare things. Undertaking 2To fit the planetary demand of concern working form Lvmh has to deploy local people instead than experts from the Gallic, because they do non hold know the local civilization or local market how they react in new or old section for their merchandises or what is the tendency among them for Lvmh ‘s merchandises. If they select local director with relevant expertness for their desire undertaking or purpose to accomplish. In this status they can acquire director with accomplishment which they want and besides acquire betterment from his cognition about their merchandise fiting the local public positions and if possible implement them for acquiring better consequences. For LVMH operates in all over universe so, they have to believe globally and move locally for their operations. For illustration they have decided same regulations and ordinances for the all employee universe broad like their rewards and benefits. In France they have decided to give 6500 ˆ per month wage to the planetary director for giving his or her services to the company as per same wage may non be pay in other continent like Asiatic states China or India. Populating criterion in all continents is different so, their policies should be different than headquarter and subordinate in footings of rewards. Lvmh has to take attention for the different civilization base for their scheme in HRM for illustration in Japan they can non deploy younger director on the employee who is senior in footings of age so him or her, because Nipponese have cultural usage that they respect elder individual and do non traverse their words of all time so, in that manner Lvmh has to be specific about cultural differences. Like in South East Asia India is a populated state and have more knowledge base potency campaigners are available to fit their standards but they have to maintain in head that Indian civilization is a versatile and full of festivals. If they want to establish the new merchandise there they have to look frontward for the appropriate gay season for their merchandises and the director who familiar with the usage of this festival and achieve company ‘s end. Before directing the planetary trough on his or her assignment they has to be given developing about linguistic communication which is locally spoken over at that place and have good bid over at least 3 linguistic communications other so French. Looking frontward the HRM policies of Lvmh is to follow divergency in footings of local environment like in UK people like to imbibe Beer while in USA and France prefer to imbibe Wine. Such things keep in head and develop their program for act in a planetary market through their planetary directors who really implement their policies to their concern. Undertaking 3Lvmh has created his name in the planetary universe so they have to choose planetary linguistic communication like Good English talking individual because in the yesteryear they select staff from the France merely, they ca n't talk English fluently for that they have to larn English as a preparation and development undertaking which is programmed by HR section and educate them to cover in English at planetary degree.

Imitation of Jonathan Swift’s Satire “Modest Proposal”

AP English 7 October 12, 2012 The solution(Imitation of Jonathan Swift's Modest Proposal) It is sad thing to see our learning environment; the place where we come to play sports, meet people, have a good time, learn many interesting things as a place where drugs are also associated. Furthermore, it is depressing to observe an intelligent kid become a person who just doesn’t care about school due to the substance that made them not.The fact that they started ads more to the big idea that it needs to end. It’s clear and apparent that by all parties that this prodigious problem has affected and continues to affect our lives and needs to come to an end by having to deal with the students that do not care no reason about school and I have formulated a great plan to reduce if not illuminate this problem and that is by hosting a assembly in our institute for the students to come and try out all the drugs!This would be a great solution for the reason that students try the drugs and experience their affects so they will not be curious about the drug. What I have concluded is that the curiosity of the student followed by the peer’s pressure will make the student more susceptible to potentially buying drugs from the dealer that could have in fact treated the substance to be more addictive. By eliminating the main factor of curiosity would abolish the first step of a student taking or buying the drug.Furthermore, by the school providing the drugs would make it the safest way to get the curiosity out of their system. For example, the school may provide safe items to use the drugs. I believe that every other way to tackle this problem is futile since everything that we try is not working as we hope it should, like using a dog to track down drugs is just plain dumb and threating the students with not being able to participate in school activities for a set amount of time if cot is unheard of.

History Story Teaches Us That History Teaches Nothing: Discuss Essay

1.0 INTRODUCTION All human cultures tell stories about the past, deeds of ancestors, heroes, gods, or animals. Songs sacred to particular peoples were chanted and memorized long before there was any writing with which to record them. Their truth was authenticated by the very fact of their continued repetition. History which can be considered as an account that purports to be true of events and ways of thinking and feeling in some part of the human past stems from this archetypal human narrative activity. While sharing a common ancestry with myth, legend, epic poetry, and the novel, history has of course diverged from these forms. Its claim to truth is based in part on the fact that all the persons or events it describes really existed or occurred at some time in the past. Historians can say nothing about these persons or events that cannot be supported, or at least suggested, by some kind of documentary evidence. Such evidence customarily takes the form of something written, such as a letter, a law, an administrative record, or the account of some previous historian. In addition, historians sometimes create their own evidence by interviewing people. In the 20th century, the scope of historical evidence was greatly expanded to include, inter alia, aerial photographs, clothes, motion pictures, and houses etc. Furthermore, all developed countries have their National Archives. This is in recognition of the simple fact that knowledge of the past is essential to society. What happens in the present, and what will happen in the future, is very much governed by what happened in the past. Without a thorough knowledge of past events and circumstances, we could not even attempt to grapple with these problems. Without knowledge of the past we would be without identity, we would be lost on an endless sea of time. However, it is obvious that knowledge of the past has not brought easy solutions to problems in, say, Nigeria, Mali, Zimbabwe, Palestine or even other parts of the world. Notwithstanding the fact that history is paramount in any society and in fact a necessary ingredient for its growth, but many practical facts staring us at the face have shown that people learn from  history that they do not learn from history. Thus, I would like to support and defend the assertion that ‘history teaches us that history teaches nothing’. But before delving into this argumentative cum intellectual excursus, I would like to clarify the term ‘History’ and ‘Why people study history’ 2.0 WHAT IS HISTORY? Etymologically, the term ‘history’ is from the Greek word ‘á ¼ ±ÃÆ'Ï„Î ¿Ã ÃŽ ¯ÃŽ ±Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ – historia, meaning â€Å"inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation†. It was still in this Greek sense that Francis Bacon used the term in the late 16th century, when he wrote about â€Å"Natural History†. For him, history is â€Å"the knowledge of objects determined by space and time†. History is the study of the past, specifically how it relates to humans. It is an umbrella term that relates to past events as well as the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about these events. Scholars who write about history are called historians whereas the events occurring prior to written record were considered prehistory. By â€Å"prehistory†, historians mean the recovery of knowledge of the past in an area where no written records exist, or where the writing of a culture is not understood. By studying painti ng, drawings, carvings, and other artefacts, some information can be recovered even in the absence of a written record. Since the 20th century, the study of prehistory is considered essential to avoid history’s implicit exclusion of certain civilizations, such as those of Sub-Saharan Africa and pre-Columbian America. In 1961, British historian E. H. Carr wrote; ‘the line of demarcation between prehistoric and historical times is crossed when people cease to live only in the present, and become consciously interested both in their past and in their future. History begins with the handing down of tradition; and tradition means the carrying of the habits and lessons of the past into the future. Records of the past begin to be kept for the benefit of future generations’1 Herodotus of Halicarnassus (484 BC – 425 BC) has generally been acclaimed as the â€Å"father of history†. However, his contemporary Thucydides (460 BC – 400 BC) is credited with having first approached history with a well-developed historical method in his work ‘the History of the Peloponnesian War’. In his historical method, Thucydides emphasized chronology, a neutral point of view, and that the human world was  the result of the actions of human beings. Greek historians also viewed history as cyclical, with events regularly recurring. Suffice to say that the word ‘history’ entered the English language in 1390 with the meaning of â€Å"relation of incidents or story†. Professor Richard J. Evans defines histo ry as an academic discipline which uses a narrative to examine and analyse a sequence of past events, and objectively determine the patterns of cause and effect that determine them. According to Professor Arthur Marwick in his article titled ‘The Fundamentals of History’, history is ‘the bodies of knowledge about the past produced by historians, together with everything that is involved in the production, communication of, and teaching about that knowledge’.3 In E. H. Carr’s ‘What Is History? Carr draws on sources from Nietzsche to Herodotus to argue for a more subtle definition of history as ‘an unending dialogue between the present and the past’.4 No wonder, Whitney says that history is facilitated by the formation of a ‘true discourse of past’5 through the production of narrative and analysis of past events relating to the human race. History is the analysis and interpretation of the human past that enables us to study continuity and change over time. It is an act of both investigation and imagination that seeks to explain how people have changed over time. Historians use all forms of evidence t o examine, interpret, revisit, and reinterpret the past. These include not just written documents, but also oral communication and objects such as buildings, artefacts, photographs, and paintings. Historians are trained in the methods of discovering and evaluating these sources, and the challenging task of making historical sense out of them, that is to say they are aesthetically disinterested in their approach to events. According to Encarta electronic dictionary, history is ‘a chronological account of past events, it is the branch of knowledge that records and analyses past events’6. More so, Encyclopaedia Britannica defines history as ‘the discipline that studies the chronological record of events (as affecting a nation or people), based on a critical examination of source materials and usually presenting an explanation of their causes’7. Understanding why historic events took place is important. To do this, historians often turn to geography. Weather patterns, the water supply, and the landscape of a place all affect the lives of the people who  live there. For example, to explain why the ancient Egyptians developed a successful civilization, st udying the geography of Egypt is essential. At this juncture, it is paramount to say that the writing of history, especially the writing of history based on the critical examination of sources, the selection of particular details from the authentic materials in those sources, and the synthesis of those details into a narrative that stands the test of critical examination is known as Historiography. 3.0 WHY THEN DO PEOPLE STUDY HISTORY? From my own personal observation, it does occur to me that people explore the field of history for myriads of reasons which are: History is a means to understand the past and present. The different interpretations of the past allow us to see the present differently and therefore imagine and work towards the future. Through the study of history we can investigate and interpret why society developed as it has and determine what influences have affected the past and present and shape the future. It helps one to understand the immense complexity of our world and provides insights to help cope with the problems and possibilities of the present and future. History also provides a sense of identity to understand the collective past that has made us what we are today. The way in which people identify and interact with one another is by and large a consequence of history, which shapes and conditions individuals and societies whether they fully understand it or not, relationship between differ ent ethnic groups in Nigeria can testify clearly to this. History is also a bridge to other disciplines. In order to understand the other humanities and sciences one needs a historical overview. Writers, artists, scientists, politicians, philosophers etc. are all conditioned by the historical milieu in which they lived. Historical knowledge is a prerequisite for understanding the world in which we live. History is magister vitae, â€Å"teacher of life.† History prepares us to live more humanely in the present and to meet the challenges of the future because it provides us with understanding of the human condition. Despite these reasons why people study history, it becomes disheartening to see that these reasons do not readily translate into practice considering what is on ground in the  world. Hence, one can say without any fear of equivocation or ambiguity that ‘history teaches us that history teaches nothing’. To explicate this standpoint further, I would like to delineate in a jiffy the essential factors to be consi dered in history, from there I would showcase why history teaches us that history teaches nothing. 3.1 ESSENTIAL FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED WHY STUDYING HISTORY These are; Persons, ( personal element ), Time element, Event, Place, Circumstance, People’s reaction or Effects, Post Reactions and the Lessons. It is from the standpoint of lessons meant to be learnt from history that I would defend the assertion that ‘history teaches us that history teaches nothing’. 4.0 HISTORY TEACHES US THAT HISTORY TEACHES NOTHING: USING NIGERIA AS A CASE STUDY. Having explained the concept of history and why we study history, the problems that stare us at face are; how has the knowledge of the past positively influenced the present day society? To what extent is the history affecting the lives of people? Why is it that people, nations, continents etc. repeat the same mistake of the past? Does it mean that history has no positive influence on human development or that people have blatantly refused to learn from history? No wonder the prestigious German Philosopher, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel in his lectures on the philosophy of history said; â€Å"What experience and history teaches us is that people and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it†¦ We learn from history that we do not learn from history†¦ [Hence] History teaches that history teaches us nothing. If we go on to cast a look at the f ate of the world historical personalities†¦ we shall find it to have been no happy one. They attained no calm enjoyment; their whole nature was labour and trouble; their whole nature was nothing but their master’s passion. When their object is attained they fall off like empty hulls from the kernel† To expatiate on this assertion that history teaches us that history teaches nothing, I would like to use Nigeria as a case study because I am more familiar with Nigerian history. Before delving into this intellectual discuss, I would like to posit certain questions: What is the percentage of Nigerians that are productively engaged? How many of them can  pay their bills? Education is one factor that can lift the fortunes of a nation overnight: as it is today, what is the percentage of the population that attain school till tertiary institution? What percentage of the population can afford the fees for their education? What has the government done to entrenched unity rather than ethnicity? Why has the government being unable to address these nagging issues? The most suitable answer to these interrogatives is that the government has failed to learn from history. In fact, the history of Nigeria has taught nothing to the government of this country considering what is on ground. The blame is mostly shifted to the government because as Achebe wrote in his book, ‘The Trouble with Nigeria’, the problem of Nigeria is that of leadership. Let me succinctly delineate and expatiate on this assertion that history teaches us that history teaches nothing with some major events that have taken place in Nigeria. To be more precise, I hold the opinion that we have been stagnant in a lot of ways, we have degenerated in so many more ways while very little, if any progress, has been made in our march to meaningful nationhood. A key reason for our lacklustre performance at nation-building as Soyinka prescribes in the Dance of the Forest is the failure to draw lessons from the past at every turn in our history. That is an enterprise in which Nigeria still fails woefully. Hear what I read in one of the National Dailies that Chief Obafemi Awolowo, one of the active participants in the move towards independence, said in a speech he delivered on the floor of the House of Representatives in Lagos on March 31, 1953; â€Å"†¦It has been customary for our friends from the North to threaten the rest of Nigeria with secession if this is done or if that is not done†¦ We find the northern majority is not only being used (by the colonialists, I presume) in having their way, but it is also being used in preventing the minority from having their say†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Such was the suspicion and distrust that existed amongst major ethnic nationalities in the country at the attainment of independence. This suspicion eventually led to many coups like that of; 15th January 1966 Nigeria Major Kaduna Nzeogwu which led to the death of many including Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the then prime minister, 29th July 1966, a bloody coup led by Col. Yakubu Gowon, whichà ‚  claimed the life of Major General JTU Aguyi Ironsi and many others, 29th July 1975, by General Murtala Mohammed against General Yakubu Gowon and was successful, 13th February 1976, by Col. Dinka which resulted to the death of the then Head of State, General Murtala Mohammed, 31st December 1983, by Major General Ibrahim B. Buhari against Alhaji Shehu Shagari took place and was successful, 27th August 1985, by Major General Ibrahim B. Babangida against General Buhari. This suspicion also led to the civil war in which millions of lives were lost. Now, has Nigeria learnt anything from these? I think, NO. This is because, fifty three years old, national integration is still abysmal in Nigeria. There are verbal missiles across the country by individuals who desire to promote the interest of their ethnic groups, all of them fanning the embers of strife and war. Ethnic militias exist in almost different parts of the country threatening the lives and existence of those who do not share their ethnic or religious pedigree. Many Nigerians especially Southerners have lost their lives due to Boko Haram insurgency. This was a kind of situation which made Ojukwu to declare the Republic of Biafra due the massacre of the Igbos in the North. This declaration later led to civil war. We have even seen the â€Å"deportation† of hapless Nigerians from one state to the other and the attendant emotional outbursts that followed it. In fact, Nigeria has failed woefully to learn from history because the lessons of history are never applied to better the life of her citizenry. At the moment, seven gov ernors elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are on do or die mission to get a politician of northern extraction into the office of president come 2015. To them, it does not matter that the north had held that position for 37 out of Nigeria’s 53 years of independence, and that the region in particular and the nation in general, has nothing to show for it, all they are interested in is that the next President is from the North. To drive home the urgency of their desire, some of their supporters have actually threatened that Nigeria would be history if this pet project failed. Are these politicians unable to learn from history that born to rule mentality is a cankerworm that has threatened the fabrics of nationhood? Legendary writer, Chinua Achebe in his celebrated book, The Trouble with Nigeria once said: â€Å"But whereas tribalism might win  enough votes to install a reactionary jingoist in a tribal ghetto, the cult of mediocrity will bring the wheels of modernisation grinding to a halt throughout the land† That is the state of affairs in Nigeria currently. It is as bad as for past and present leaders in the country to brazenly tell the world that Nigeria’s major challenge is the lack of honest and dedicated leadership even as none of them has the nobility to plead guilty of the charge. This plague of bad leadership accounts for the frustrating level of ineptitude that we have in all areas of our national life. It seems to me that a cloud of cluelessness has descended on Nigeria over the years. Corruption in particular is one vice in which Nigeria has grown in leaps and bounds over the years. If there were pockets of corrupt practices in the country at the attainment of independence, Nigeria has within the last 53 years grown corruption to the extent that it has literarily acquired a life of its own. This has almost brought the nation to its knees with the resultant collapse of the middle class and the gap between the rich and the poor widening by the day. This means that Nigerian leaders in all sectors of life have failed to learn from history that corruptive practices retard the development of a nation and the excessive gap between the rich and poor can make the poor people to start a revolt against the rich. More still, agriculture which was the mainstay of the country’s economy up until the end of the First Republic has taken the back burner no thanks to the seeming ease with which petro-dollars have come to us since the oil boom in the 1970s. As Nigeria’s oil prospect increased, political leaders found more money to siphon or launder even as they neglect to sustain the structures which made life meaningful for the citizenry. Today, life is almost unbearable for the average Nigerian. Nigerian leaders seem to forget that it was this kind of atmosphere that ushered in the French revolution. Nigeria has not learnt from history. Hence, from this exposition of Nigerian experience, I continue to maintain that history teaches us that history teaches nothing because people have failed to learn from the lessons of history. 5.0 EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION Some may tend to argue that defending the idea that history teaches us that history teaches nothing is already affirming that history teaches something  because being aware that history teaches nothing is already learning something from history. Remember, the premise of my argument is that history teaches us that history teaches nothing, put in another way; we learn from history that we do not learn from history. This points to the fact that people and nations have failed woefully to apply the lessons of history to promote human well-fare. Thus, Hegel is right when he maintained that we learn very little from history in a global sense. Therefore, history teaches us nothing if we fail to observe the past, ask appropriate questions and learn from the lessons of history. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 Carr, Edward H. (1961). What is History? p.108 2 Evans, Richard J. â€Å"The Two Faces of E.H. Carr†. History In Focus. An article published by Palgrave, 2001. 3 Marwick, Arthur ‘The Nature of History’ The MacMillian Press LTD. pg. 169, 1970. 4 Professor Arthur Marwick in his article titled ‘The Fundamentals of History’ In E. H. Carr’s ‘What Is History? 5 Whitney, W. D. The Century dictionary; an encyclopaedic lexicon of English language. New York: The Century Co, 1889. 6 Encarta Microsoft Electronic Dictionary 2010 edition 7 Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 2011. 8 Hegel’s Lectures on Philosophy of History which was assessed online on the 3rd of November, 2013. 9 Achebe, Chinua. The Trouble with Nigeria, Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishing. Co. Ltd.Reprinted 1998. Print.