Embarking on an Acid Trip: Analysis of the benefits and dangers of LSD :: social issues

Embarking on an Acid Trip: Analysis of the benefits and dangers of LSD Embarking on an Acid Trip: Analysis of the benefits and dangers of LSD HP200 Abstract A thorough analysis of the hallucinogenic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25) and its effect on humans are given. The various uses of the drug are also examined throughout several decades, beginning with its first synthesis in 1938 as well as first use by humans five years later to its current usage today by young adolescents. Various myths have also surrounded the capacity of the drug. For example early users believed that it could alter your personality and way of thinking or pave the way toward spiritual enlightenment, while in later decades, anti-drug campaigns led people to believe that the drug could cause insanity or genetic damage. The realities associated with the drug are that it can be used for psychoanalysis and other studies of the mind. Yet there is always the possibility the user may undergo panic attacks and hysteria from the inability to cope with the intense cortical overload. In the end it seems that our understanding of the properties of LSD are still very limited and it would be hard to proclaim judgment over whether or not the drug would be more harmful or beneficial in our current applications of it in scientific research. Embarking on an Acid Trip: Analysis of the benefits and dangers of LSD Drug use has been an undeniable factor in human life. From Aspirin and Caffeine to Cannabis Sativa and Opium, its uses vary widely from medical purposes to substance abuse. History has also forced our society to cope with the reality that the problem will always exist as long as people can find ways to synthesize and obtain them. Even so, an effective way of combating this problem is to have a thorough understanding of how these drugs work, and how they affect the user. One type of drug that has created much controversy over its possible benefits and/or dangers would be the psychoactive drug Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD). The Psychoactive Drug Lysergic Acid Diethylamide The drugs that have won the greatest attention in today’s drug abuse problems fall under the category of psychoactive drugs, or drugs that can alter ones perception, way of thinking, and behavior. Of these, hallucinogens have the ability to â€Å"alter [the] consciousness in profound ways.† (Williams & Knight, 1994) They have also been labeled illusionogenic, psychedelic, and mind-expanding, depending on whether scientists or users are talking about them.

Isaac Asimovs Foundation - Cycles of History :: Isaac Asimov Foundation

Isaac Asimov's Foundation - Cycles of History Foundation is a novel throughout which the cycles of history are present. Isaac Asimov's peculiar notions on how change in the environment affects the nature of historical change are present throughout this novel. Asimov uses principles of Marxism to fabricate his future history. Asimov also creates a future political structure modeled on the Roman Empire. According to Jean Fielder, one of the greatest influences on Asimov's Foundation novel is Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. This parallel is most discernible as Foundation depicts the gradual disintegration of a great empire, the concomitant rise in regional trade, and the eventual consolidation of political and economic power in the trading city- (or planet-) states. And, like a history, "[Foundation] focuses on mass movements rather than on individual actions"(Fiedler 59). In Foundation, the Galactic Empire is the gradually disintegrating great empire, just as the Roman Empire is the disintegrating empire in Gibbon's work. And, as in Gibbon's history, the Foundation builds a trading empire that later unites the planets together. Many popular histories seem to focus on the empire-builder's military conquests. However, in Foundation, Asimov's history of the future "makes the cogent point that the true tools of empire-building are economic and socio-political development" (Fiedler 57). This principle is shown through the use of the Seldon Crises. Most often, the resolutions to these crises are a unique mix of psychological manipulation and technological usage. For example, the Galactic religion provides a means of psychologically manipulating the people of the galaxy to become dependent upon the technological sophistication of the Foundation. Much of Asimov's Foundation is based upon Marxism and the Marxist principle of historical materialism. In Charles Elkins's opinion, these Marxist ideas include the old puzzle of historical inevitability (predestination) versus free will, which itself flows out of the often unsuccessful yet desperately necessary-and therefore always repeated-struggles of men to control their personal futures and the futures of their societies.(Elkins 100) These ideas are shown throughout Foundation, and in fact are the basis behind most of the heroic characters. Characters like Hober Mallow, Salvor Hardin, and Limmar Ponyets epitomize men who struggle to control their futures (Elkins 105). These men devote their lives to doing their part to help Seldon's Plan to be a success, but in reality, they are a planned part of Seldon's plan to help the Foundation succeed.

Robert Frosts Desert Places and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening :: Robert Frost Poet Poems Desert Woods Essays

Robert Frost's "Desert Places" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" Robert Frost takes our imaginations to a journey through wintertime with his two poems "Desert Places" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". Frost comes from a New England background and these two poems reflect the beautiful scenery that is present in that part of the country. Even though these poems both have winter settings they contain very different tones. One has a feeling of depressing loneliness and the other a feeling of welcome solitude. They show how the same setting can have totally different impacts on a person depending on their mindset at the time. These poems are both made up of simple stanzas and diction but they are not simple poems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the poem "Desert Places" the speaker is a man who is traveling through the countryside on a beautiful winter eventing. He is completely surrounded with feelings of loneliness. The speaker views a snow covered field as a deserted place. "A blanker whiteness of benighted snow/ With no expression, nothing to express". Whiteness and blankness are two key ideas in this poem. The white sybolizes open and empty spaces. The snow is a white blanket that covers up everything living. The blankness sybolizes the emptyness that the speaker feels. To him there is nothing else around except for the unfeeling snow and his lonely thoughts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The speaker in this poem is jealous of the woods. "The woods around it have it - it is theirs." The woods symbolizes people and society. They have something that belongs to them, something to feel a part of. The woods has its place in nature and it is also a part of a bigger picture. The speaker is so alone inside that he feels that he is not a part of anything. Nature has a way of bringing all of her parts together to act as one. Even the animals are a part of this wintery scene. "All animals are smothered in their lairs,/ I am too absent-spirited to count". The snow throws its blanket of whiteness over everything and to him it is a feeling of numbness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  "The loneliness includes me unawares". The speaker has lost his enthusiasm for life. He can not express his feelings easily because of this feeling of numbness. The speaker is also in denial about feeling alone. He is at a stage where he just does not care about too much and he is feeling a bit paranoid. "They cannot scare me with their empty space." He is saying who cares how I feel, I do not need anyone else.

The Age of Social Influence

We know that the once linear and transaction-centric purchase funnel is now multi-directional, random and heavily influenced by opinion and information gathered by consumers. And we know that because of social media and technology, consumers can now enter the purchase cycle at various points, and spontaneously influence others as they travel along the path the purchase. But do we really understand how marketers can unlock the real value of all this? Do we know how social media works with other more established media?And do we know how to harness the power of social media for real commercial gain? In order to find aanswers to some of these crucial questions, Initiative set out to explore the individual and combined strength of TV, social and mobile, and how consumer interaction with each has altered the path to purchase. Specifically, we wanted to investigate: †¢ Howdoweproducegreatersynergybetweenoursiloed media,socialandmobilebudgetsandtacticsthatresultina greaterreturnoninvest ment? †¢ Whataretheimpactofsocial,TVandmobileonshopper decision-making? †¢ Whatroledoesconsumerinfluenceplayalongthepathto purchase?However, our study found that while the integration of social, TV and mobile has indeed altered the way consumers make decisions about brands, it is not because of their ability to simply multiply brand messages. Increasingly, consumers are becoming the driving force powering what, when and where brand interactions occur. Based upon our findings, Initiative believes that by leveraging the consumer’s natural inclination to engage with media across multiple screens and social media, we can create a consumer-powered media synergy effect that is both non-linear and emotional – driving deeper engagement and trust.

Current topics

A Wag Whenever one sits down to write on the mess that one finds in the arena of higher education, one is struck by a sense of d ©J ¤ vu as well as a sense of inability to say nything new. Pawan Agarwal's comprehensive paper that he wrote for ‘CRIER, the excellent report by National Knowledge Commission (headed by the irrepressible Sam Pitroda) are Just two of the many articles that easily come to mind. The first one mentioned, has exhaustive data at a fairly disaggregated level so that this aspect need not detain us here.The issues and challenges in this context -that are fairly well understood – are diverse not typical. Thus, the challenge is not epistemological but one of political will and at a more mundane level of implementation. In India, it oes not take a genius to point out the problems in any sphere, least of all in the higher educational sector. The point however is (ought to be) to identify workable solutions. In this article I will concentrate on the cap acity, flexibility and quality issues that beset the higher educational sector in India and suggest some steps that need to be taken to remedy the situation.Rest assured, there will be no magic wand and no single solution. Help and initiative from whatever quarter must be sought and grabbed by both hands. A bouquet approach will alone be realistic, driven by ragmatism rather than ideology. Whilst finance is undoubtedly important, I argue that governance is the key. The essentials of the story are easily told: Despite tremendous expansion in the sector, there is inadequate capacity and hence access; after all we have 350 universities with huge enrollment (one of the largest in the world).The system is characterized by rigidity with absolutely no flexibility; we have degrees being offered in a rigid framework with very little choice for the students (who should matter the most) and the regulations are archaic with peculiar unresponsiveness to the current context. Thanks to the pervers e hiring policies and protracted procedures (not to mention politics: with and without state interference) the quality of faculty is in a state of rapid decline. The reasons and solutions are well known and yet some of them bear repetition.Having made a first cut let us revisit the issues in some detail, but first some preliminaries. India is at cross roads. It has all the pretensions of emerging as a knowledge economy and yet the time is running out for it to catch the bus. Surely, we don't require Thomas Friedman to point out the gravity of the situation. After all, what we o today – by way of investment – will have a decisive influence fifteen years from now. For that is how long (even in these fast paced times) it takes for changes in educational system to fructify.It is no secret that a genuine knowledge has a prerequisite of solid foundation provided by educational institutions characterized by relevance and excellence in training and research. This then must pro vide us with the parametric environment for what follows. The long queues in front of the colleges as well as the screaming headlines in the newspapers, starkly present the scarcity of capacity in the higher educational sector. The premium that the seats in better colleges for almost all the courses attract is common knowledge.Whilst there are supervisory mechanisms in place (de Jure) we know that supervision many a time means additional side payments. As an aside, the only solution lies in self enforcing system design which in this case would clearly imply removal of striuctural and overall scarcities through increased capacities. The National Knowledge Commission (NKC) report talks of setting up 50 National Universities (over a period) with augmented resources leading to capacity enhancement.There is the private universities' bill which should help too. There is a scope for great enhancement of capacity in the PPP mode, for which the regulation has to be more welcoming if not frie ndly. Whilst there is a need to think out of box, there is no denying the fact that the traditional state funding mode will however continue to be of importance for at least some time to come. We must once and for all put an end to view that improvements are possible witn Just non-monetary means.This implies a self binding commitment on the part of governments at all levels to provide the necessary financial resources. The urrent spending on higher education that is pegged at around 0. 7% of GDP must be doubled. This will require a serious lobbying effort. In this context, it may be noted that there is much that can be done by the institutions on their own in terms of raising resources. Alumni represent a huge potential source, so also setting up of off shore campuses and attracting foreign students are other obvious sources.However, this will require some amendments in the existing provisions of the ‘Act', also, experience suggests that such efforts are ‘rewarded' by cu t back in aid, instead of matching incentive grants being proffered. Such efforts in the past have been – post facto – subjected by the government, to severe restrictions on the use of monies so collected. Clearly there is a governance issue involved here. This apart, the required enabling (through regulatory changes) of private sector is a must for the purposes of raising supplementary resources.The private endowments which at one time were significant, have to be restored through incentive based legislation. At the same time the interference – as distinct from engagement – of the State in all aspects of education has to be significantly reduced, especially in the ‘operations' and rocedural aspects. This has been a major cause that led to the Universities being converted into patron saints of mediocrity! The state must truly practice private enablement with ‘oversight from a distance'. Of course, the processes involved in the setting up in th e national universities (or even investing in old ones! are so long drawn and convoluted that with the given absorption capacity of the institutions it will be some time before the plan becomes a reality. Also, and more importantly, the paucity with regard to the attendant requirement of quality faculty (which we shall ook at later) is so great that even with physical infrastructure the delivery will not be assured. This requires some bold and innovative thinking and application which requires a key governance initiative. The external agencies like the corporations and industries will have to play (be enabled to do so) a major role.In the interim, I would suggest that IT enabled distance learning mode as well as the platform for e-learning have to be exploited to the fullest extent. This will require huge organization and collaborative effort of the best minds. It is especially required to mention this here ecause these avenues (particularly the first mentioned) are pretty much have received step treatment and have been left to the whims and fancies of the second raters. This has created sections of milch cows that fraudulently extract money from the hapless students and give nothing in return.

Hrm-595-62172 Negotiation Skills

FIELD ANALYSIS: UNDERSTANDING THE KEY PARTIES AND THEIR ROLE IN A NEGOTIATION Instructions: For purposes of this assignment, assume that you are the negotiator who is tasked with a salary (on call time, step increases, overtime for captains and majors) and benefits (insurance while employed, insurance after retirement, accrual of leave time, retirement multipliers) dispute between a large municipal county with a strong mayor and the sheriff’s department for the county. You are negotiating the contract on behalf of the sheriff’s office.The purpose of this activity is to give you an opportunity to construct a field analysis on your relationship with a specific other negotiator. This tool should be helpful when negotiators have to consider multiple parties—on their own side and on the other side—who can affect a negotiation outcome, and whose needs and interests must be considered. YOU/YOUR TEAMOTHER/OTHER’S TEAM 1. Who is on my team on the field? (A) —Me —The Sheriff’s office 2. Who is on their team on the field? (B) —Large municipal county Mayor 3. Who is on my sidelines who can affect the play of the game? (C) —Back up players (Captains, Majors, Retirees, Insurance Company, Community Organizations, National Sheriff’s Association, Court Agents) 3. Who is on their sidelines who can affect the play of the game? (C) —Back up players (Unions, Employees, Councilmen/Freeholders, Business Owners) 4. Who is in my stands that are involved and interested, either directly or indirectly? (D) —Residents —Business Owners —Employees —Media 6.Who is in their stands that are involved and interested, either directly or indirectly? (D) —Residents —Business Owners —Employees —Media 7. What elements outside the stadium have an interest in the game, or can affect our game in positive or negative ways (E): —Depending upon how a Sheriff is a ppointed, an election can +/- affect the rules in our negotiation; —Change in climate can come from community support and national association lobbying —Concession from the mayor and municipality —The police department can be a competitor . What elements outside the stadium have an interest in the game, or can affect their game in positive or negative ways (E): —Depending upon how a Sheriff is appointed, an election can +/- affect the rules in our negotiation; —Negative media coverage highlighting the mayor when there may be a large constituency in favor of the Sheriff’s point of view, may change the climate —Other competitors may include a mayoral candidate seeking to gain support and using the negotiations as a platform to garner support

Inside Job

Where would we be today if the â€Å"decision makers† would have made more acceptable decisions that affected the economy prior to the market crashing? Millions of middle-class Americans have been left jobless, and even homeless, as a result of the major corporations getting bailed out, while certain individuals were benefiting millions of dollars in bonuses. Following the Great Depression, the United States did not have a single financial crisis. However, according to Charles Ferguson, who is the director of Inside Job, the progressive deregulation of the financial sector since the 1980s gave rise to an increasingly criminal industry. In fact, many executives and leaders that were involved in this meltdown refused to answer questions, and some refused to interview for the documentary all together. The financial crisis of 2008 left many of us with many unanswered questions wondering how the most powerful nation in the world ended up with a destructed economy. The documentary Inside Job hunts down the culprits of the major financial institutions that had the biggest effect on the nation’s economy. The film attempts to provide a comprehensive understanding of the most important subject we have yet to face as a country; which is the worst financial crisis since the Depression, as well as holding those accountable who destroyed our financial system. Inside Job exposes the shocking truth behind the economic crisis. Throughout the film, you feel yourself cringing more and more by each interview. This documentary not once uses the word ‘capitalism’, although it is implied throughout the entire duration. The underlying message about capitalism in the movie is that it mainly benefits the elite, and that it is a corrupt world of finance. The big banks and financial institutions molded the government policies in their favor. As the economy came crashing down, the owners and leaders of financial institutions walked away from the crisis with their personal accounts untouched, and in superb condition for what the entire global economy was going to face next. Joe Boustead, of Socialist. et, states â€Å"The truth is that in a capitalist mode of production anarchy rules, this in turn led to a massive crisis of overproduction, there were simply too many commodities being produced to be consumed as the individuals could either not afford them or simply had no need for them. † One by one, the big banks came crashing down, and more debt was being added to what would become the worst economic crisis in history. Out of the various philosophers, Friedrich Nietzsche would be inclined to agree with the behavior of the Wall Street moguls and the politicians who were responsible for the â€Å"Great Recession. Nietzsche is the philosopher of the will to power, seen as vital creation and fulfillment. He believed that humans and animals seek to live only to exert power and that each person should establish their own moral codes. As Nietzsche believed, â€Å"A living thing seeks above all to discharge its strength—life itself is will to power; self-preservation is only one of the indirect and most frequent. † As evidenced in the documentary, the government and executives sought to discharge their strength by partaking in self-preserving behaviors. While Inside Job exposed the criminal culture of Wall Street, a culture of lies, trickery, and corruption for power, it also exposed the widespread abuse of cocaine and prostitutes. Jonathan Alpert, a psychological counselor for Wall Street executives and professionals in the film, tells us that these practices â€Å"go right to the very top. † Nietzsche valued individualism above all else. He spoke negatively of anarchists, but he believed that only certain individuals should attempt to break away from the â€Å"herd. † That is the main reason I believe he would agree with the behaviors shown in this film. He would be inclined to believe that only certain individuals would be intelligent enough to take advantage of certain laws implemented by government, and somehow twist them into their own benefit, which is exactly what these Wall Street moguls did. If I were to propose legislation to address the problems and issues presented in the documentary, I would use John Stuart Mill’s philosophical view as a basis for the legislation. Mills believed in utilitarianism, which claimed that â€Å"one should assess persons, actions, and institutions by how well they promote human happiness. James Mill claimed: The desire, therefore, of that power which is necessary to render the persons and properties of human beings subservient to our pleasures, is the grand governing law of human nature [Essay IV; cf. Essay V]. I would use utilitarianism as a standard of conduct. Mills believed in the common good for the greatest number. This legislation would not have allowed the senseless, selfish acts that were committed which resulted in a recession that the entire nation had to deal with. Utilitarianism would have avoided the issues that were addressed in the documentary. It would maximize happiness and reduce the suffering of millions of people. I would also implement Sartre’s â€Å"bad faith†, or better known as his existentialism philosophy. Existentialism is a concept where a human would be under pressure from society and acts authentically. These CEOs and leaders knew what they were getting not only their institutions in, but also the economy. Instead of acting authentically and making decisions that would later on benefit the greater amount of people in the world, they chose to act unconsciously. It is a fact that the recession could have been avoided. The wrong decisions were purposely implemented in order to cover certain individuals and maintain power, and of course wealth. Jean-Paul Sartre believed that one should be held responsible for his own actions, and that all individuals should act authentically. From Sartre’s view, we are all â€Å"conscious† when we make decisions. He focused on three modes of being: being-for-itself, being-in-itself, and being-for-others. The â€Å"being-for-itself† would be better described as the being of consciousness. All of these problems that we are facing today, would not be occurring if the decision makers would have acted with consciousness, rather than cruelty, and greed. The people who purposely made calls to somehow sabotage the economy for their own interest should be held accountable, and prosecuted, just as any criminal. Inside Job does an amazing job of informing the audience of what happened behind closed doors to end up where our economy is today. It goes back in history far enough to explain where this economic downfall started, and who there is to blame. The economic crisis could have been avoided if the correct course of action were taken, but instead the middle-class ended up in a situation that was never thought of. Due to greed, this country has to work harder to clean up the mess of the power and money-hungry executives that allowed the economy to get to this state. Inside Job is an informing documentary that leaves us disgusted, but yet informed of the unethical moves people are willing to make in order to stay in power and wealthy. At the end of this documentary, we are left wondering, where would we be today if greed didn’t partake in people’s every move? What is next to come to America, what was once the most powerful country in the world? These moguls are roaming free enjoying their millions of dollars, rather than behind bars for leaving the nation in the worst state we have ever been in as a nation. While the less-powerful, and innocent, are figuring out where the next meal is coming from, or finding a way to get their children to college, the rich are feeding off of every dollar that was benefited and controlled. The truth always comes to light, and in this case, regardless of how hard these folks tried to hide it, the research was conducted to find out what exactly happened. Inside Job Inside Job Summary Inside Job is a documentary by Charles Ferguson, about the causes of the global financial crisis and revealed what was going on inside the U. S. financial industry during the first decade of the 21st century. The movie highlights the effects of a series of causes beginning in the Regan Administration. These causes most prominently include deregulation that allowed excessive and reckless actions in finance, fraud, and conflicts of interest. Deregulation allowed the financial sector more freedom and less discipline, which provided more opportunity for profit and risk.Reflecting the profit growth resulting from deregulation, investment banks went from small, private firms to public companies. The movie illustrates the growth of the financial sector beginning in the 1970s and continuing into the early 2000s, considering that from 1978-2008 the average salary in the United States in every profession other than investment banking rose by 25% and the average salary in inv estment banking rose by 150%. In early 2000 another method mortgage lending was developed that allowed for excessive risk and allowed for incentives to bet against the system for personal gain.The system was called the Securitization food chain and loans were mixed with other types of debt, such as car loans and credit card debt, given a rating, and investors would include these mixes in their funds depending to their rating. Since each party was removed from risk by selling the debt, lenders could extend absurd loans that were highly unlikely to be repaid, rating agencies could grade the absurd debts highly without consequence and the result was the opportunity for virtually anyone in the US to receive a home loan and purchase a home.Which sent home prices incredibly high and since the financial sector was profiting from this procedure through the Securitization Food Chain no one cared about who was holding the bag. The rest is history. The financial industry knew that the meltdown was going to occur. Records show that internally they were betting AGAINST their own offerings. The bubble bursts resulting in people losing their illusory homes and their previously tangible jobs. The financial sector lost their businesses.An incredible, sweeping wildfire of foreclosures and bankruptcies. The US government claimed that if these major financial institutions that caused the crisis were allowed to fail, the effect on the global financial system would be catastrophic. The US government said these firms were ‘too big to fail' and paid out several hundred billions of taxpayer money to save these firms. The unemployment and inflation from these rescues is still accumulating today.