Anatomy & Physiology Essay Example for Free

Anatomy Physiology Essay In this assignment the concept of homeostasis will be explained and the probable homeostatic responses to changes in the internal environment during exercise will be discussed. Homeostasis is simply how the body keeps conditions inside the same. It is described as the maintenance of a constant internal environment. Generally, the body is in homeostasis when its needs are met and it’s functioning properly. Every organ in the body contributes to homeostasis. A complex set of chemical, thermal, and neural factors interact in complex ways, both helping the body while it works to maintain homeostasis. In homeostasis there is the concept of Negative feedback which ensures that, in any control system, changes are reversed and returned back to the set level. There are four different homeostatic mechanisms for regulation these four are the heart rate, breathing rate, body temperature and blood glucose levels. Negative feedback system is made out of receptors to detect change, a control centre to receive the information and process the response and effectors to reverse the change and re-establish the original state. (Anatomy Physiology, 2013) The autonomic nervous system controls the heart and has two branches; the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. When the body is undergoing muscular work, fear or stress the sympathetic nervous system will be active. When the sympathetic nervous system is active it will cause every heartbeat to increase in strength and heart rate. During resting, peace and contentment the parasympathetic nervous system is active and it calms the heart output. During periods of fright, flight and fight the sympathetic nervous system is boosted by the hormone; adrenaline. The nerves of the adrenaline are the cardiac nerves. A special cluster of excitable cells are supplied by the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system in the upper p art of the right atrium. We call this ‘the peacemaker’ in general terms. A connection of impulses from the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves acting on the sino-atrial (‘the pacemaker’) regulates the activity of the heart to suit situations from minute to minute, hour to hour and day to day. The  sino-atrial node sends out a cluster of nerve impulses every few seconds around the branching network of atrial muscle fibres to cause contraction. The impulses are caught by a different group of cells forming the atrioventricular node and relayed to a band of leading tissue made of big, modified muscle cells called Purkinje fibres. In the atrioventricular node the transmission of impulses is delayed slightly to enable the atria to complete their contractions and the atrioventricular valves to start to close. The location of heart valves is on a fibrous figure-of-eight between the atrial and ventricular muscle masses.(Aldworth and Billingham, 2010) The lowest part of the brain is the medulla and is located above the spinal cord and is often kno wn as the ‘brain stem’. The two important centres for control of the heart rate are located in the brain stem. These are called the cardiac centres. The sympathetic fibres descend through the spinal cord from the vasomotor centre while the cardio-inhibitory centre is in charge of the origins of the parasympathetic fibres of the vagus nerve reaching the sino-atrial node. (Aldworth and Billingham, 2010) Baroreceptors are found in the walls of the aorta and they detect changes in blood pressure. If in the arteries a small upward change in blood pressure happens it often indicates that extra blood has been pumped out by the ventricles as result of the extra blood that enters the heart on the venous or right side. When the baroreceptors detect the change they relay the information in nerve impulses to the cardiac centres. Movement in the vagus nerve slows the heart rate down and reduces the high blood pressure to normal. Thermo receptors are receptors that are sensitive to temperature and they are present in the skin and deep inside the body. Also they relay information through nerve impulses to the hypothalamus; this is a part of the brain which activates appropriate feedback systems. During fear, stress and exertion, the adrenal gland releases a hormone called circulating adrenaline. Circulating adrenaline stimulates the sino-atrial node to work faster, therefore boosting the effect of the sympathetic nervous system. The hypothalamus activates the sympathetic nervous system when thermo receptors indicate a rise in body temperature to the brain. When the sympathetic nervous system is activated it causes the heart rate to increase. Our rate of ventilation is mainly on ‘automatic pilot’ and do not notice little variations that are the result of homeostatic regulations. We are only voluntarily controlling our breathing  when taking deep breaths, speaking or holding a breath. Breathing rate increase slightly when metabolism produces extra carbon dioxide until this surplus is ‘blown off’ in expiration. Also a period of forced ventilation will decrease the carbon dioxide levels in the body and homeostatic mechanisms will slow or stop breathing until levels return to normal. A period of forced ventilation can be for example gasping.(Aldworth and Billingham, 2010) Internal receptors relay nervous impulses to the brain about the status of ventilation from the degree of stretch of muscles and other tissues when they function as stretch receptors in muscles and tissues. Changes in chemical stimuli are detected by chemoreceptors and they supply the brain with the information. There are to chemoreceptors; the central and peripheral. The central chemoreceptors are located in the medulla of the brain and monitors H+ ion concentration. When H+ ion concentration is increased it causes increase in ventilation rate. Peripheral chemoreceptor’s increas e ventilation when oxygen levels decrease. Peripheral monitors changes in oxygen. (Aldworth and Billingham, 2010) The respiratory system has a dual autonomic supply. The sympathetic causes the bronchial muscle to relax and the parasympathetic causes the bronchial muscle to contract. This causes narrowing in bronchi. Vagus means ‘a wanderer’ and the vagus nerves is so called because it wanders all over, supplying internal organs. Sympathetic nerves emerge from the places where nerves interconnect, to run to the bronchi, these places are called a chain of ganglia.(Aldworth and Billingham, 2010) The upper part of the brain is called cerebral cortex; this part of the brain is responsible for voluntary control of breathing. The respiratory centre, also called the involuntary centre is found in the medulla and the pons. Each centre receives information of internal receptors about the state of ventilation. The respiratory pacemaker and the respiratory centre are similar to each other. The inspiratory and expiratory centres are two groups of nerve cells. If one is active the other one is inhibited. The inspiratory centre is actively sending nerve impulses to the nerve to the diaphragm, the phrenic nerve, and the thoracic nerves are sending impulses to the intercostal muscles which cause contraction and the contraction results in inspiration. Inspiration stops when the stretch receptors send bursts of impulses to the inspiratory centre. These bursts of impulses indicate that the chest and lungs are fully  expanded, and the flow of impulses subsides, releasing the expiratory centre from inhibition. The expiratory centre then sends nerve impulses to the respiratory muscles which causes relaxation and expiration. The information that comes from the other internal receptors, for instance the chemoreceptors (which effects the homeostatic regulation) monitors and modifies the cycle. The body predicts the changes before an individual starts the exercise, this is because the sympathetic nervous system is stimulated. Also adrenaline is released to rise cardiac output and stroke volume. When arterioles become narrow the blood pressure increases, whereas the arterioles in the muscle relax. The extra oxygen that is needed is received by an increase in blood flow and ventilation rate. (Aldworth and Billingham, 2010) The only animals that can survive in tropical and polar regions of the earth are human beings. This is because the efficient thermos-regulatory homeostatic processes and the use of intelligence (for shelter and clothing), which mean that body temperature changes only slightly. The importance is to keep all the organs and cells at a normal temperature while allowing the periphery to adapt to changing conditions of external temperature. When body temperature is too low the water component of the body will freeze and when body temperature is too high, enzymes and body proteins will be altered or denatured (form will alter). It wouldn’t be possible to live in these conditions therefore homeostatic regulation of body temperature is vital. (Aldworth and Billingham, 2010) The skin plays an important role in regulation of body temperature. It covers the external surface of the body and it actually is the largest organ. The skin, protects the underlying tissues against friction damage, waterproofs the body, protects against ultra-violet radiation, protects deeper structures from invasion by micro-organisms, relays nerve impulses generated from the specialised skin sensory receptors for heat, cold, touch, pain and pressure, therefore informing the brain of changes in the environment and the skin synthesises vitamin D from sunlight acting on the adipose layer. When cells are shed from the surface layers, new cells will form to replace them and this happens continuously. The skin is an important part of our in-built or innate immunity. The skin forms a waterproof layer and a microbe-proof covering. The skin has a major role in the homeostatic regulation of body temperature and is considered to be part of our nervous system; this is  because of his sensitivity. Throughout the body the thickness of the skin will differ, for instance over the eyelids and lips and on the soles of the feet. The skin is divided into an outer thinner layer and a deeper layer. The outer thinner layer is called the epidermis and the deeper layer is called the dermis. The deeper layer covers adipose, areolar, striated muscle and some cartilage and bone. Hair follicles run down into the dermis and produce hairs made of keratin. Sebaceous glands that coat the surface in hairy parts are attached to the hairs that are made of keratin. The epidermis gets penetrated by sweat ducts as they emerge from the actual sweat gland in the dermis. The dermis is connective tissue, most likely areolar in which blood vessels, nerves, sweat glands, elastic and collagen fibres intermingle. In the basal layer we can find co llections of pigment cells, also known as melanocytes and they produce skin colour. Specialised receptors for temperature changes, pain, touch and pressure are formed by nerve endings. (Aldworth and Billingham, 2010) The metabolic processes that take place in the body generate heat. Energy is released during chemical reaction for muscle contraction but some of this energy is released as heat. The body gains some heat from hot foods and drinks and sometimes from the sun’s rays. Most heat is gained of chemical reactions that take place in the liver, the liver is a massive generator of heat but it doesn’t feel hot because the blood distributes this heat around the body.(Aldworth and Billingham, 2010) The receptor for heat temperature and cold temperature can be found in the peripheral skin and around the internal organs. These receptors are specially adapted cells with nerve fibres that run up the spinal cord to the temperature control centre in the hypothalamus of the brain. Nerve impulses get send by the hypothalamus to muscles, sweat glands and skin blood vessels. This causes changes that counteract the external changes. (Aldworth and Billingham, 2010) The parasympathetic nervous system helps the unstriated muscle coats of the skin arterioles to relax, but has no significant role in thermo-regulation. The sympathetic nervous system’s function is to control sweat glands and the calibre of the arterioles. While thermoreceptors tell the hypothalamus in the brain that the temperature is rising, arterioles are expanded to let extra heat reach the surface of the skin and sweat glands get activated by the sympathetic nerves at the same time. When arterioles expand it will increase heat loss by radiation and  disappearance of sweat. When the essential temperature is decreasing (cooling down), the sympathetic is active causing contraction of the arterioles but there is no sweat ‘‘it’s turned off’’. This makes the skin c older to touch and reduces heat loss and therefore it preserves the essential temperature. Essential temperature dominates the peripheral skin thermoreceptors when conflicting information is received is the reason of the colder skin and reduced heat loss. (Aldworth and Billingham, 2010) An increase in glucose will stimulate the production of the hormone insulin from the beta cells in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. Glucose is produced by digestive enzymes when carbohydrates are broken down. The functions of insulin are to regulate the concentration of glucose in the blood and to increase the passage of glucose into actively respiring body cells by active absorption. Very little glucose is able to pass through cell membranes without insulin expect of liver cells, and so the plasma level of glucose rises. Individuals who have diabetes mellitus, which is caused by a lack of insulin, that are not treated will have high plasma glucose levels and this can lead to other biochemical disturbances. Glucose hardly varies at all in healthy people this is because the liver ce lls that are controlled by insulin convert glucose into liver glycogen for storage. Another hormone, glucagon, from the alpha cells in the islets of Langerhans, is secreted when blood glucose starts to fall as a result of fasting or being used up by respiring cells. The secreted hormone converts liver glycogen back into glucose for release into the bloodstream. These two hormones control the amount of glucose in the blood plasma by negative feedback mechanisms and they both have receptors attached to their islet cells to recognize increase and decrease in plasma glucose levels. Also the conversion of glucose into fat is promoted by insulin and insulin delays the conversion of amino acids into energy. It is important to identify the role of another hormone, adrenaline, in the homeostasis of glucose. Adrenal glands release adrenaline when the sympathetic nervous system is active under stressful conditions, adrenaline acts aggressively to insulin and it dominates it, to adapt glycogen in the liver to glucose. This provides energy for muscles to become active under emergency conditions. After the emergency, insulin will once more become active and store any surplus as before. (Aldworth and Billingham, 2010) In conclusion, the concept of homeostasis is explained and  the probable homeostatic responses to changes in the internal environment during exercise are discussed. In this assignment I will be explaining why homeostasis occurs during exercise and how the body responses to homeostasis during exercise. There are two types of exercise; aerobic and anaerobic. Anaerobic exercise builds muscle, power and strength. When you do anaerobic exercise, your muscles are exercising at high intensity in a short time. This short time is usually not more than about two minutes. Aerobic exercise is done at moderate level of intensity for longer periods (at least 20 minutes). Aerobic is to improve the body’s consumption of oxygen and involves mainly the large muscle groups. Homeostasis is the process by which the internal environment of the body relatively stable even with changes in the external environment. Homeostasis makes it able for the body to adapt to several conditions, for example an average human body temperature is 37 degrees. This varies slightly from individual to individual. When the temperature outside decreases your body will maintain the same temperature. This proves your body has the ability to regulate its own temperature. This is not only with body temperature but there are many other ways in which your body regulates itself, particularly during exercise.In order to maintain its normal state the body must account for and adjust functions inside the body, whenever your body feels a change on the outside. Most of the time people sweat without even thinking of why your body is suddenly dripping in moisture. During exercise, there will be a wide range of effects on the systems within the body. Each system strives to help create enough e nergy to continue exercising, also to help the body recover after exercise. This use of energy has several effects on the body’s homeostasis including increased heart rate, breathing rate and sweat rate.(wiseGEEK, 2015) Homeostasis and exercise must work together within the human body to ensure that the pulmonary, heart and muscle system function properly. Two common forms of exercise are; lifting weights or jogging down the street, these two exercises produce a stress or strain on the body. During movements of the exercise the muscles must react fast, while blood flow and oxygen levels must be redirected to compensate for the extra energy use. If an individual is jogging his breathing rate has to be higher than a person who is resting. If the individual has a lack of oxygen to any vital body system it will result in cellular damage, or injury. The extra oxygen that enters the  jogger’s lungs, which comes through the pulmonary system, helps to return balance to the body. Homeostasis refers to the human body’s balance among all vital li fe systems. When oxygen intake increases, the muscles will produce more adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Adenosine triphosphate is needed for continued muscular movement. The heart is the main muscle that is affected by exercise and homeostasis. During exercise the heart must beat quicker to move oxygen-rich blood out to the skeletal muscles for motion. When the individual slows the exercise, the heart will respond to the change in homeostasis by reducing the pumping action. Until the individual is at rest, the body will continue to change its functions to maintain homeostasis.(wiseGEEK, 2015) The cardiovascular system has chemoreceptors which are located in two places; in the carotid arteries that run through the neck to the brain and in the aortic arch, which is an arterial feature near the heart. Some of the most essential chemoreceptors notice carbon dioxide. When the chemoreceptors sense high levels of carbon dioxide during exercise, the breathing rate and heart rate is going to increase to remove the waste product from the blood. The chemoreceptors work with the cardiovascular system and the respiratory system, since the cardiovascular system ge ts carbon dioxide to the lungs for elimination and the lungs need to work harder to exhale the carbon dioxide. During exercise the blood flow supply routes change within the body. To enhance oxygen supply to the muscle cells, the stress placed across the muscular system requires more blood than normal. The body switches blood normally directed toward digestion or nervous system activities to the skeletal muscles, in response to the exercise and homeostasis requirements. Removing the stress on the muscles will result that the blood flow returns to its normal routes to achieve a resting homeostasis. In relation to exercise and homeostasis, body temperature is an important consideration. During exercise your body’s system for regulating works quicker and harder. Heat production by the body can cause your internal temperature to rise up to as high as 40 Í ¦C. This can possibly lead to fatal complications. Homeostasis occurs during exercise by allowing the body to sweat. Homeostasis occurs by allowing the body to sweat. The lossof sweat from the skin cools the body down, which results in overall temperature balance to allow continued exercise without overheating. During exercise your metabolic rate increases. Heat is produced during  metabolism. An increase in metabolic rate also increases heat production. The change in body temperature during exercise is produced by the action of large muscle groups contracting. The more heat that is produced means the higher the temperature during exercise. Muscles that have enough energy store fat for a short burst of activity, after thisthey rely on increased blood supply to deliver oxygen, blood sugar and other nutrients to produce more energy. The human body burns the sugar in the blood and calls for the liver to supply stored glucose to keep up with energy demands, which causes variation in the blood sugar when exercising. Your muscles start c alling for nutrients, as you warm up, to produce energy. Energy supplies are; glucose that is carried in the blood and delivered to the muscles and free fatty acids, which is a type of lipid that is carried in the blood that provides energy when glucose is decreased. Using energy during exercise assists in balancing high blood sugar and provides fuel at the same time. Energy supply increases at the same time as blood flow to the muscles increases. The muscle cells refer signals to start burning glucose, and more of it is delivered to the cells which lower the blood sugar levels. During exercise the amount of oxygen available in the bloodstream increases, but the body must get rid of carbon dioxide from the blood at the same rate. When the body cells make energy, carbon dioxide is produced as a waste product. The carbon dioxide goes back into the bloodstream and from there it will flow through the veins back to the lungs where the carbon dioxide will be exhaled out of the body. Your breathing rate must continue to stay at a high level, to maintain balance. Now the lungs can expel the extra carbon dioxide being produced by the muscle cells during exercise. When the individual stops exercising and the cells turn back to normal energy needs, there wi ll be less carbon dioxide that is created. This allows the breathing rate to return to normal. In this assignment I’m going to explain the importance of homeostatic within the body. Homeostasis is the control of internal situations: it maintains a constant internal environment by negative feedback. The human cells live and function in a certain temperature which means that they depend on the body environment. The body environment is kept under control by homeostasis and it keeps the condition accurate for cells to function and live. If the cells don’t get the accurate condition they won’t be able to function properly. Certain process such as osmosis and  enzymes will not function correctly. Homeostasis maintains the body’s water and salt balance, if the water and salt balance are in a good condition it will maintain the process of diffusion and osmosis. Diffusion and osmosis is the transport of chemicals such as; oxygen, carbon dioxide and dissolved food .The living cells depend on the movement of these chemicals around the body. The cells in our body are kept alive by chemical reactions; the chemical reactions make the cells do their job. Enzymes speed the chemical reactions up which keep the cell alive and also enzymes ensure that the job is done. Homeostasis is responsible for maintaining a constant body temperature and enzymes work best at particular temperatures which is maintained by homeostasis, therefore homeostasis is very important to cells. (Bbc.co.uk, 2015) Negative feedback makes sure that, in any control system, changes are reserved and returned back to normal state, for instance; keeping a constant body temperature even in a hot or cold environment. Shivering is a reflex which is controlled by the nervous system. Without homeostasis the human body would not be able to function in hot or cold temperature. Shivering is a way to warm the body up, because it generates heat. If an individual is cold, homeostasis occurs and sends signals to the body which causes the reflex of shivering. Sweating is the opposite of shivering. If the body has an absence of sweating, which is also defined as hyperhidrosis, it can affect small and large areas within the body. Sweat is important for the human body because it keeps the human body cool, gets rid of excess body heat and protect from overheating. If an individual is not able to sweat it can be very dangerous, that’s why it is important to maintain homeostasis. Not sweating in whenever the body is hot can lead to serious damages and injuries, such as coma and death. It is important that the human body has homeostasis, because a failure in maintaining homeostasis can lead to death or diseases. For example heart failure can occur when negative feedback mechanisms become overwhelmed and unhelpful positive feedback mechanisms take over. Diseases that can occur from a failure in maintaining homeostasis are; diabetes, dehydration, hypoglycaemia, gout and any other diseases that are caused when toxin gets into the bloodstream. (wiseGEEK, 2015) A failure in maintaining energy balance can result in obesity and diabetes. Obesity is caused when a person overeats. The stomach releases a hormone whic h is called hormone ghrelin. This hormone goes to the  brain and increases a person’s appetite. The answer will come from another hormone which is named Leptin; this hormone is produced by cells in the fat tissue. Leptin goes to the brain and encourages a sense of satiety, or fullness. If the brain refuses to respond to ghrelin, an individual will keep feeling hungry. If the brain refuses to respond to the hormone Leptin, an individual will never be happy from a meal. Therefore a person will keep on eating and a person may overeat and this causes obesity. Homeostasis maintains energy balance. Without homeostasis an individual would overeat. (Biology-online.org, 2015) Homeostasis is also important in fighting viruses inside the body. For example if someone in your environment spread flu when he/she sneezed, your body will be affected. The body needs to fight off the entering virus, which likes living at normal body temperature. At 37á µâ€™ C the virus is able to breed and reproduce/multiply well, this will make the individual more prone to the illness as there is more bacteria to spread it. Although the body wants to maintain homeostasis and a normal temperature, but it would result that the v irus takes over your entire body. Therefore the body temperature rises above the normal range. When the body temperature rises it makes the body an uncomfortable place to live for the virus. In hotter temperature, the virus will slow down and you immune system will be able to attack the virus. Therefore homeostasis is very important, it helps fighting illnesses. If homeostasis would be disrupted an individual would become sick. A failure in homeostasis can result in dehydration. Maintaining water balance is important for good functioning of nerves. The kidney can detect blood pressure and the brain can detect the amount of water in the blood. The brain makes the body ‘thirsty’ when water levels in the body are low, while sending signals to the kidneys to retain more water. Dehydration occurs when there is too little water and it can cause kidney damage, heat cramps, shock, and coma and organ failure. However, when an individual drinks too much water, it can cause hyper hydration. Hyper hydration can lead to weakness, confusion, seizures and irritation. The human body’s weight is more than the half percentage of water. Homeostasis maintains the correct balance of water. (Balance, 2015) Homeostasis has a survival value, because it allows the human body to adapt in a changing environment. It deals with the temperature difference that a human faces when they step out their front door. The body will try to maintain a norm, the desired level of  a factor to achieve homeostasis. But it can only work within acceptable limits. In extreme condition the negative feedback mechanism can be disabled. In these circumstances, death can be caused unless there is medical treatment. (Biology-online.org, 2015) References Aldworth, C. and Billingham, M. (2010).Health social care. Harlow: Pearson. Balance, H. (2015). How Homeostasis Keeps Your System in Balance For Dummies. [online] Dummies.com. Available at: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-homeostasis-keeps-your-system-in-balance.html [Accessed 27 Feb. 2015]. Bbc.co.uk, (2015).BBC GCSE Bitesize: Why is homeostasis important for cells?. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_ocr_pre_2011/homeostasis/importancerev1.shtml [Accessed 27 Feb. 2015]. Biology-online.org, (2015).Physiological Homeostasis Biology Online. [online] Available at: http://www.biology-online.org/4/1_physiological_homeostasis.htm [Accessed 27 Feb. 2015]. Biologyreference.com, (2015).Homeostasis Biology Encyclopedia cells, body, examples, function, human, process, system, organisms, blood. [online] Available at: http://www.biologyreference.com/Ho-La/Homeostasis.html [Accessed 27 Feb. 2015]. LIVESTRONG.COM, (2011).The Effects of Exer cise on the Baroreceptor Reflex | LIVESTRONG.COM. [online] Available at: http://www.livestrong.com/article/484396-the-effects-of-exercise-on-the-baroreceptor-reflex/ [Accessed 27 Feb. 2015]. Metabolism-metabolic-rate.com, (2015).Details about catabolism and anabolism Metabolism Metabolic Rate. [online] Available at: http://metabolism-metabolic-rate.com/details-about-catabolism-and-anabolism/ [Accessed 27 Feb. 2015]. The Classroom | Synonym, (2015).Homeostasis. [online] Available at: http://classroom.synonym.com/rad-results.html?google_kw=Homeostasiscategory=subcategory=School+Subjectsmedia_type=Articlechannel=4449597176google_rt=ChBU8E7IAA3SXQrbO4SvAEfHEgtIb21lb3N0YXNpcxoIltKWAN_kRPQoAVITCOvqm_H8gcQCFQth2wodoyQAXggoogle_page_url=http%3A%2F%2Fclassroom.synonym.com%2Fhomeostasis-fails-19395.html [Accessed 27 Feb. 2015]. wiseGEEK, (2015). wiseGEEK: clear answers for common questions. [online] Available at: http://www.wisegeek.com

Nonprofit and charity organizations

Nonprofit and charity organizations Why are Volunteers Important? For many nonprofit and charity organizations volunteers are the life-blood that keeps the organization working and performing to its true purpose and goals. Without these unpaid volunteers the charity or nonprofit organisation would not be able to function because costs of employing paid workers would probably make it unviable. For any organisation that uses volunteers recruitment can cause a big headache. It is tempting to think that if someone is prepared to give up their time for free then that is all that is needed. This is a mistake. It is important to find the right people for the tasks that need doing but those people will need to have or be prepared to learn the required skills. Shared Values and Purpose Volunteers will also need to fit into the organization so they will need to have the beliefs and attitudes that the organization sees as being important in the role it aims to fulfil in society. This means an organization will need to have clear values and purpose and look for people who share them to recruit as volunteers. When selecting and recruiting volunteers consideration needs to be given as to why the organisation needs volunteers. It is likely that the financial considerations will be an important factor with the economy of unpaid volunteers favouring setting on paid staff. At the same time it is important to recognise that some members of the organisation may well need to be paid employees Them and Us Sometimes a them and us or volunteers and employees scenario may develop which may not be healthy for the organisation. It may be necessary to emphasise that paid employees are an essential part of the organisation and that volunteers will probably be the lifeblood. Rewards for Volunteers People rarely do something with out some kind of reward or return whether it is monetary, training, gaining experience, or for personal satisfaction. Volunteers will need to feel they are contributing and receiving. Ways will need to be found to ensure that both employees and volunteers feel they are valued and have a proper place within the organisation. Defining Boundaries It will be necessary to define the roles and boundaries within the organisation for employees and volunteers and define and communicate clearly what the organisation needs and expects from both which may differ. It will also be necessary to decide what the organization will give to the volunteer. This may be satisfaction and a sense of doing good work, training, experience, a good reference for future employees or perhaps something else. Whatever it is it will need to satisfy the volunteers expectations. To help ensure the nonprofit or charity organization gets the right person in the right place at the right time there will need to be an understanding of what roles are required and the type of people needed to fill them. Job Descriptions and Contracts It is a good idea to create a separate Job Descriptions and contracts for employees and volunteers. This will help define the boundary between employee and volunteer. This is important because some volunteers have been known to claim that they are employees with employees rights which can have serious legal implications. Also some employees may try to claim some of the volunteers perks, rewards or working conditions. The role, or roles, that the organisation want filling will need to be clearly defined to ensure that candidates are interviewed for the right position. An organisation may have several different roles it want to fill and it will be a waste of time interviewing a person who does not have any administration skills or interest in learning them for a role in administration. It is essential to define the role and then decide what skills the candidate will need to either have, or learn. Person Specification. It will be necessary to identify the characteristics and personal qualities and beliefs of the volunteer and their motives for volunteering to ensure that they are right for the organisation and in sympathy with the aims and mission of the organisation. A good idea is for an organization to decide the kind of person they will be looking for and decide what characteristics, attributes and skills are essential or desirable. Separate Recruitment Procedures and Policies The organisation will need to have a separate recruitment procedure and policies for employees and volunteers. This will be necessary to protect the organisation and also offer best protection for employees and volunteers. The organisation will need to comply with the law. Finding Volunteers When the organization has defined the role of the volunteer, created Job Descriptions, Contracts and Personal Specifications and knows exactly what sort of people they are looking for how do they find them? Word of mouth can be an effective and cheap way to find volunteers depending on the role of the volunteer and the numbers of recruits required. This can be effective for some organizations with employees, existing volunteers and their friends and neighbours spreading the word, or service users and their families doing the same. There are also various forms of advertising that can be used to help recruitment. Television, radio, internet, newspapers magazines can be expensive but reach a great number of potential recruits. Cheaper ways of advertising such as putting up posters in local shops, or leaving flyers in public places such as libraries can also work well as can simply handing them out in busy shopping centres. |What ever way the organisation decides to advertise the advertisement will need to have certain information displayed clearly. The name of the organisation and the nature, purpose and values needs to be made clear. It will also be important to display the role of the volunteers and the benefits they will receive. To make it easy for potential recruits the advertisement will need to display clearly how to apply, where to apply or get further information. A contact name, postal and email address and telephone number will help and encourage potential recruits to apply or ask questions. Information in the advertisement should be clear and simple, concise and inoffensive. It should stand out but for the right reasons. Once the method or methods of advertising have been decided and advertisements placed the next stage is to send out application packs with the Job Description, Person Specifications, Application Forms and any other information the organization wants to send or is required to send by law. The organization may decide it wants to keep to assign a date for the return of applications or it may decide to leave it open. Either way it should advise the potential recruit as well as advising them on how or when they will be informed if they are accepted for interview. Interviews The interview should give the organization the chance to access the candidates potential and consider how they will fit in. The previous work done on producing a Job Description and Personal Specification will be a big help in this. Before the interview takes place the format of the interview needs to be decided. For example, will it be a group interview, will there be tasks or tests, or it will candidates be interviewed individually? Decide who and how many people will interview candidates, what questions are going to be asked and how the answers will be rated. All candidates should be treated equally and fairly. When these points have been addressed then a timetable can be scheduled taking in advertising, closing dates, time to consider applications and sending out invitations. With all the preparation work done the interview should give the organization a good idea of if the candidate is suitable for them. Candidates need to be informed as soon as possible. Successful candidates should be informed first just in case they turn down the offer for some reason. An offer can then be made to the next best candidates if deemed suitable. It can also be useful to keep unsuccessful candidates details on file just in case a more suitable position comes up in the future This will save the need to advertise. It should be made clear to successful candidates that any offers are subject to suitable references, qualification checks and any legal checks that may need to be done. It may be necessary, depending on the role offered, for some, or all of these checks to be done before a starting date can be arranged. Getting the Right Person in the Right Place. Finding the right volunteers for a required role can be very difficult and time consuming and expensive. An unsuitable volunteer may cost the organization or charity a lot of money or cause damage to their reputation so it is essential to recruit the right people. If all of these points are considered and taken into account the nonprofit organization or charity will stand a very good chance of selecting the right volunteers for the right role at the right time.

The Ipremier Dos Attack

The Ipremier Dos Attack Online websites and business face several security threats from hackers that are aiming to vandalize the website or steal information or at times notify the company about its internet security weaknesses. These threats include malicious code, bots and bot nets, phishing and DDoS or Distributed Denial of Service (Laudon K., Traver C., (2010)). Ipremier, an online business, faced one of these threats, the DDoS attack. iPremier is a successful online retailer of luxury, rare and vintage goods (Austin, R., (July 26, 2007)). The DDos attack begins by the hacker distributing bots on several computers and making these computers botnets (Laudon K., Traver C., (2010)). A botnet is a computer that is controlled by a hacker to perform activates such as participating in a DDoS attack (Laudon K., Traver C., (2010)). The hacker uses these botnets or controlled computers to flood a server with unwanted requests which slows or shutdown the server operations (Laudon K., Traver C., (2010)). This can b e costly to an online business because the customers wont be able to access the website. It can also affect the firms reputation if the website doesnt work for long. However, these attacks can notify or clarify for a company its weakness points in its internet security and infrastructure. The CIO Bob Turley was in New York when an employee called to inform him that the website is not working and that they have been receiving numerous emails that say Ha (Austin, R., (July 26, 2007)). The CIO called Joanne the technical operations team leader to discuss the current situation but she was still on her way to Qdata where the company servers are located and did not know what was going on (Austin, R., (July 26, 2007)). She suspected that the actions were caused by a hacker and that the sender of the e mail was unknown and hard to track (Austin, R., (July 26, 2007)). Unfortunately, their emergency plan was out dated and they couldnt remember where the document is placed (Austin, R., (July 26, 2007)). A suggestion was made to call the police or FBI but they were concerned about negative publicity (Austin, R., (July 26, 2007)). After a while the CIO called the CTO to take his opinion on the matter (Austin, R., (July 26, 2007)). The CTO refused the idea of pulling the plug becau se information on the attack might be lost (Austin, R., (July 26, 2007)). The CEO mentioned that the detailed logging was not enabled so the logs wont provide them with much information (Austin, R., (July 26, 2007)). The legal counselor called as well to provide legal advice on the matter and told the CIO to pull the plug to protect credit card information (Austin, R., (July 26, 2007)). After Joanne arrived at Qdata she wasnt able to access the NOC for security reasons (Austin, R., (July 26, 2007)). The CEO called a senior in Qdata and Joanne was allowed access to the NOC (Austin, R., (July 26, 2007)). He discovered that the attack is directed at their firewall and it is being directed from multiple IP addresses (Austin, R., (July 26, 2007)). She tried to shutdown traffic from the IP addresses but it didnt work because when one IP address shuts down another one operates and so on (Austin, R., (July 26, 2007)). The main concern was that customer information was not jeopardized or sto len (Austin, R., (July 26, 2007)). At 5:46 AM the attack stopped and Joanne suggested that they do a thorough audit to be sure that customer information has not been stolen and to know the points of weakness (Austin, R., (July 26, 2007)). During the attack it was obvious that the employees were shocked by the security threat. They did not know what to do, they never faced a security threat before and they do not have an emergency plan. The employees communicated through phone calls and no one knew what needs to be done or what was happening. Also, there wasnt a proper emergency communication with Qdata which led to banning the technical team leader from entering the NOC. The team reacted well to the situation despite that they did not have any structured plan to face the problem. They were trying to solve the problem through intuition and experience because there wasnt any plan. They tried hard and the top managers were awakened at the middle of the night to solve the crisis. However, when looking at the overall situation there hasnt been any systematic process in solving the problem and instead they relied on intuition and experience. If I was bob truly, the CIO, the first person I would have contacted is the CTO and I would have cancelled the meeting in New York and went to the company if possible. If it was not possible to find a flight, I would have instructed Leon to get the emergency plan and work on it. Although it is outdated, I would try to modify it as much as I can to match the current situation which can be useful. Also, I would stay in close contact with the CTO and Qdata to solve the problem faster. Some service providers do not respond to customers quickly and require the customer to call them over and over until they perform the request. In addition, after the attack is over I would have called for an emergency meeting to assess the current situation, the companys technological infrastructure, know what information have been or could have been jeopardized and discuss the modifications on the emergency plan. After the attack the company should be worried about the customer information and specially credit card and transaction information. Another thing is that the attack might have gone far and installed a bot on one of the servers. If this happens the servers might be used for another attack and the ipremier will be held responsible. Also, the infrastructure and security is not effective against threats so using Qdata as the website host must be changed. Moreover, I have to be sure that there hasnt been any leak because if the customers know that the website was hacked they may never deal with the company again. They may not understand that these things happen and security threats happen almost all the time, several people are not familiar with the term Cyber War. The company should create a backup customer and transaction database that is disconnected from the internet to prevent it from being attacked from the outside. It is an online business, so the customers and their transaction information should be well protected from any attack. I would recommend that not all the website and its information to be outsourced. The server, website design, and website related information can be outsourced but the customer and transaction information should be handled internally for more control. They have to find another host other than Qdata with more abilities and more technological advancement to handle their operations and protect them from further attacks. Also, I must have a full understanding of the situation so that if there is any leak to the press I can answer their questions and find a way to assure the customers that their data is safe. In conclusion, ipremier is an example for every online business. They did not expect that an attack may happen and were very confused when it actually happened. What online businesses should learn from ipremier is that an emergency plan is critical for any business. Also, they should know that there isnt one perfect security system that can protect them from all kinds of attacks. They should keep in mind that since man created these security systems then he is able to break through it. what who Where architecture Infrastructure architecture Infrastructure architecture Infrastructure Hardware Do we need a new security system? What kind of hardware do we need for the new security system? Who knows the most about the companys technological infrastructure? Who will handle the operation of the new security system? Does the new security system require a relocation of our servers? What hardware components need to be changed to install the new security system? Software What parts of our companys software will be affected? Do we need any new software for the new security system? Who will be affected by installing a new security system? Who needs to be trained in order to accommodate with the new system? Does the geographical location of our company affect the installation of the new system? Will the new security system have the functionality we need? Network Does the new security system require a minimum bandwidth? Can the current network handle the operations of the new security system? Who will have access to the security system network? Will any body need access from outside the companys physical boundaries? What are the security threats in the companys current technological architecture? Where will the company locate the necessary components of the new security system? Data Will the current data formats be compatible with the new security system? Which formats need to be changed? Who will have access to the data provided by the system? Who will be responsible for backup and to whom is the access limited? Where does the current architecture face problems in regards to data flow? Does the company need to change its current storage devices for the new security system? Resources:- Austin, R., (July 26, 2007). The iPremier Company (A): Denial of Service Attack. Harvard Business School. Laudon K., Traver C., (2010). E-commerce 2010 (6 Ed.), chapter 5. Pearson Education.

Symbolism Essay :: essays research papers

Throughout Elizabeth Winthrop’s short story, â€Å"The Golden Darters,† are symbols of how Emily, the main character, is growing up. The most obvious symbols are Emily piercing her ears, her father’s table where he works on the flies, and the golden darters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A symbol of Emily growing up is the fact that she pierced her ears, even after her parents forbid it, telling her she had to wait until she was seventeen. This shows defiance toward her parents, but also shows her becoming more dependent and able to make decisions on her own. Emily’s father’s workstation, or table, where he made the flies symbolizes the world her father was in. It was in a secluded corner of the house, isolated from much contact with anyone but her father. Her father was trying to keep Emily like the table in a way, wanting to isolate her from the world of â€Å"boys† and everything else that comes with growing up. Another symbol of Emily growing up were the golden darters, or streamers, which were the first fishing lures that Emily and her father made together. He described them as â€Å"a big flashy fly.† After Emily gets her ears pierced, she uses the golden darters to make herself look â€Å"flashier.† The purpose of the lures was to attract fish, but Emily was using them to attract members of the opposite sex. What was meant to be a typical fishing lure is now becoming a sexual lure. Twelve-year-old Emily is obviously trying to grow up, but her father is not ready for that yet. When she shows the new earrings to her father, he is not pleased with what he sees. He is not ready for his daughter to become a woman, yet there she is, standing in front of him, looking like one. It seems as though he is angry that she used the lures the way she did, but he really doesn’t know how else to express his feelings. When he says, â€Å"that is not the purpose for which the flies we re intended,† he meant just that; the flies were not meant to be anything more than fishing lures.

Particularly within the leisure centre environment it is important :: Business Management Studies

Particularly within the leisure centre environment it is important to identify and address those factors which improve the safety of the customers , maintain high levels of services , quality of facilities and promote a healthy safe work environment. In the various activities of modern life social domestic, work or leisure the cost of work place accidents and incidents is immense in terms of wasted costs, loss of revenue, insurance claims and premiums and a host of unquantifiable indirect costs. Its is incumbent upon all organizations to identify and evaluate the environment within which they operate regardless of whether they are in manufacturing , services transport or leisure ect .however , within each of these sectors there are specific issues to be address and actions to be taken in relation to health and safety and customer satisfaction . Particularly within the leisure centre environment it is important to identify and address those factors which improve the safety of the customers , maintain high levels of services , quality of facilities and promote a healthy safe work environment. When considering the customers of a leisure centre the factors which are likely to affect health and safety and promote a high level of customer satisfaction must be identified first. Then what must be determined is the ability to control this risk, after risks have been identified an effective prevention policy must be prepared for implementation. Within the physical confines of a leisure centre there are certain aspects of the environment that are of particular important when trying to balance the paramount need of a safe environment ,a pre set budget and the desire to maximize customer satisfaction. These factors include essential housekeeping issues such as maintenance on buildings and equipment, factors affecting by legislation including noise, light, air temperature and renewal and statutory requirements on electrical risks, chemicals storage etc and other external issues such as customer confidence in staff commitment and ability to become professional in areas such as First Aid. Initially the leisure centre management has to develop a Health and Safety policy in conjunction with the public. Usually a framework for identifying risk bearing activities, this can be done by a mixture of staff questionnaires, monitoring and through customer satisfaction surveys. The next step is to develop risk avoidance procedures which in a leisure centre may include preset policies such as manning levels in pool areas, storage of equipment/chemicals etc. Next it is important to evaluate these risks and combat them at source such as â€Å"no running in the pool area†; chemicals to be kept under restricted access, and all electrical equipment to be inspected and approved at regular

Sophies World Outline

Chapter 4: The Natural Philosophers Charles Williams Madison Smith Anisha Jagannthan introduction: The idea that nothing can come from nothing is introduced. Sophie questions whether all things come from a basic element. She learned that things in nature are in a constant state of transformation. Is there a beginning of everything? What do you believe it to be? introduction: The idea that nothing can come from nothing is introduced. Sophie questions whether all things come from a basic element. She learned that things in nature are in a constant state of transformation. Is there a beginning of everything? What do you believe it to be? Yanotan Zelink I. event one A. Sophie receives a letter containing three new questions. Which she contemplates an entire day before getting another packet with a letter explaining to her that the philosophy course will be going from ancient Greek philosophy up to present day philosophy. B. She learns that the ancient Greeks believed the world was eternal. The earliest Greek Philosophers are sometimes called natural philosophers because they were mainly concerned with the natural world and its processes† (30). So, they never asked about where it came from. Instead they were interested in the question of change. C. The Tao of Physics II. event two A. The debate â€Å"what are we made of? † is raised. Early philosophers shared a belief that there had to be a certain basic substance at the root of all change. B. While some natural phi losophers believed that everything was made of water, others believed they were made of air. Earth, air, and fire were all necessary the creation of life† (33). C. Human-Aesthetic Perfection Song & Lyrics III. event three A. All Things Flow- â€Å"Everything is in constant flux and movement, nothing is abiding. Therefore we ‘cannot step twice into the river. ’†(34)- Heraclitus B. Heraclitus states the world is made of opposites- we would not appreciate one thing if we did not experience the other. C. A Healthy Transformation by Dr. Jeffery McCombs IV. conclusion A. As Sophie thinks about all of this, she concludes that one cannot learn philosophy. They can only learn how to think like a philosopher. V. journal questions A. If you were to come up with your own philosophy about life and what we’re made of, what would it be? Explain your philosophy. B. Other than physical aspects of a human, such as bones or basic elements, what would you say humans are made of emotionally or philosophically? Why? C. If there was only good in the world and no bad, how would it be and how would the outcome affect the world?

Southeast Asia

2. What are some of the ways in which power manifests itself in Southeast Asia? Illustrate your answer with at least 3 examples. The concept of power is one that has existed in Southeast Asia for a long period of time. Unlike that of the Western regions, where power is more of a concept and is intangible, power in Southeast Asia is more concrete and real. Power is defined as the possession of control or command over others (Dictionary. com, n. d. In the context of Southeast Asia, power is gained through control of powerful items or valuable resources, as this would usually translate to wealth, a higher position within the social hierarchy, and hence more command over other people. In Southeast Asia, the focus is on accumulating more command and control, instead of just exercising it. Due to the long history of trade and migration within Southeast Asia itself, these concepts have inevitably become a coherent and homogenous one. My essay will seek to show the various ways that power is manifested, particularly in three different levels within a nation state.Firstly, power exists on a national level via certain nation state political models. Secondly, within a nation state, power manifests in different groups of religions, as religious beliefs have influenced how they attempt to both acquire and accumulate power. Thirdly, power exists among individuals, in the idea of merit and social mobility throughout one's social hierarchy. Firstly, the most evident way that power is manifested in Southeast Asia is on a national level, through nation states' political systems. One such political system is the mandala system, where power is centralized and drawn towards the sacred core.One might imagine this visually as a series of concentric ever widening circles, with state authority fading as the circles widen. What mattered was the sacred centre, not the borders (Tambiah, 1970). This political system was typically found in Pre-colonial nation states in Southeast Asia. For e xample, in the 13th Century, King Suryavarman II spread its Mandala polity throughout the state of Angkor by building the renowned ‘Angkor Wat’ among many monasteries and temples in the centre of the state (Dellios, 2003).Thereafter, advantaged by its location on the northwest shore, Angkor relied successfully on trade of its wet-rice agriculture to produce great amounts of wealth, enough to support a population of a million people (Dellios, 2003) In this aspect, power is recognised in the form of wealth, as many people saw ‘Angkor Wat’ and its surrounding temples as the sacred centre that drew the wealth towards the core of its nation. Because Angkor Wat was built by King Suryavarman II, many people also acknowledged him as a manifestation of god, someone with immense power.In a mandala polity where power diffuses further away from the centre, these people tried to get closer to the centre, hence giving King Suryavarman II even more command and power over them. A more recent example of a region following the mandala system can be found along the Thai-Burmese border, where the Akha, a tribal upland ethnic minority, reside (Tooker, 1996). Under Thai law, the lands which the Akha and other upland groups occupy are owned by instead owned by the state. This insinuates that power is directed towards the centre, in the lowlands where the state resides.On the other hand, the Akha, who reside by the highlands and are thus further away from the centre, have much lesser power. For instance, the Akhas suffered from occasional forced labour, extortion by government officials and forced migration (Tooker, 1996) by the state. In this context, the state has command over the Akha tribe and this allowed them to control the Arkas' resources, such as human labour, and wealth in the form of money. This is thus consistent with the mandala model, whereby the centre is most crucial and the borders are less important because power is drawn to the core.Furthe rmore, villages surrounding this state tend to be aligned such that their hierarchically highest individual, the ‘founder-chief’ is centrally located within their village (Tooker, 1996) . They believed this would usher in prosperity because it was aligned with that of the cosmos, which in this case was associated to the central core of the state itself. This reinforces another characteristic of the mandala political model, the patchwork construction; where smaller centres surrounding the core could preserve a greater deal of autonomy for acknowledging the potency of the central state.Secondly, looking within a state itself, power is also manifested among different religions in Southeast Asia, as religious beliefs have continually influenced the way southeast Asians try to both acquire and accumulate command and control. One way is through the acquisition of sacred or mythical objects, which they believed were associated with power. An example of such an object is the kr is, a unique ancestral dagger with a wavy blade, which was considered the paramount prestige weapon across many religions in pre-independence Indonesia, particularly in the Binamese culture (Hitchcock, 1987).Here, the kris was seen to contain magical and sacred powers, believed to be bestowed by the gods, making it a sacred object that is coveted because of its devine connection. Hitchcock also noted that it was crucial for the personality of the kris to mesh positively with the personality of its owner, which i feel is important because of their aim to accumulate more power from the kris. Furthermore, in the Binamese culture, where imperial status was often inherited, the royal kris was a prized heirloom that visually depicted a genetic relationship to the former ruler (Hitchcock, 1987).In this aspect, the kris can be seen as a symbol of a ruler's mandate to the rule. Hence, the kris can be considered as a powerful object because possessing it granted a ruler with overwhelming comm and and control over the people. The power of the kris is further exemplified when you consider the social status of its manufacturer, usually known as a smith, in traditional times. For instance, let us examine Java, where in the past, a smith had a very high social status, considered to be just below the government of princes and having an honoured position in court (Wrassers, 1940).Wrassers (1940) even goes a step further to examine the ancient times, where the roles of a smith and prince more or less coincided, to the point that their relationship was sometimes likened to that of brothers. Hence, we can see that a kris was considered so sacred and powerful in Java that the manufacturers association with it vaulted his social status to the very top of the hierarchy, indirectly giving him more power in the Javanese society. Another way in which religious beliefs have influenced the acquisition and accumulation of power is through certain religious practices, such as those of the M ien people of Thailand.For example, in their Mien wedding ceremonies, a medium, together with the groom and his father, are required to offer spirit-money to the ancestors by kneeling in front of a bed of corn and burning the spirit-money on it (Jonsson, 2004). These spirit-money, often made of paper, is burned and thus considered transformed into the realms of spirits. In this case, power is manifested in the form of money and wealth, as these exchanges with ancestor spirits brought honour and wealth into the spirit world and in return, urged blessings and wealth for the Mien household.The idea being that having more money and wealth would vault one higher up the social hierarchy, hence giving them more authority and control over those of a lower social status in the hierarchy. I feel that this depicts a patron-client relationship between the spiritual ancestors and the descendants of the Mien household. The spiritual ancestors, who reside in the spiritual realm, are the patrons as they possess spiritual and divine power because of their ability to bestow a household with wealth.The descendents are then the clients who benefit from this wealth bestowed upon their household, but the amount of benefits received will depend on how much resources, in this case the spirit money, they can offer these ancestors. Thirdly, power is also evident when we focus on individuals within a state itself. It exists in the idea of merit and social mobility, because merit traditionally denotes the position and degree of mobility one has within the social hierarchy (Adams & Gillogy, 2011, p. 5) One is in a disadvantageous social position if he or she lacks merit, but the more merit one accumulated, the greater ability he had to move up the social hierarchy and gain power and control over those below this social hierarchy. In Thailand, merit is directly linked to the amount of resources that one owns. Thus the two ways to move up the social hierarchy is either through accumulating more resources independently, or forming a patron-client relationship with another possessing greater resources than yourself (Adams & Gillogy, 2011, p. 2). It is a patron-client relationship because the leader has to reciprocate the benefits he accepted from the client. Forming this patron-client relationship is usually preferred as it is much easier. When many such relationships are formed with the same patron, the resources of the group increase and they grow in size and stability, hence denoting more merit and power within the social hierarchy. Adams and Gillogy (2001) also noted that the resources are first distributed to those close to the leader, and diminishes down the scale.Hence, we can see that social mobility is prevalent as individuals can ascend from the bottom of the Thai social hierarchy as long as he could find the correct patron and accumulate sufficient merit in the form of resources. This idea of merit and social mobility also exists in Laos, where merit is linke d directly to wealth, and the most effective way of obtaining merit is through doing virtuous and moral deeds. This is because Laotians believe that wealth can beget to wealth via the mechanism of merit.One example would be religious offerings, such as daily offering of food to the monks or grand donations to sponsor temple buildings (Adams & Gillogy, 2011, p. 41) . They hope that their donations will increase their merit, thus bringing them wealth and other positive outcomes, in this and the next life. This possibly explains why large donations are rarely anonymous, as the donor wants to be recognised for his contribution and eventually accumulate as much merit as possible.Hence, we can see that in this context, obtaining merit is important for Laotians because it increases their wealth and ultimately gives them an opportunity to move up the social hierarchy, thus gaining control over those now below them. This is also consistent with the idea of social mobility, in that it is not difficult to move up the social hierarchy in Laos as long as one accumulates sufficient merit. In retrospect, looking at modern Southeast Asia, while some new ideas of power have been introduced, such as those in the form of nuclear weapons and fear, some of these traditional ideas are still very relevant today.For example, elements of a sacred centre and religious beliefs exist till this day in Thailand. Sitting in the middle of the grand palace of Bangkok is the Emerald Buddha of Thailand. This key relic was captured from a Lao king by a Thai king in the 18th century and has since served as a marker of the Thai monarchy (Adams & Gillogy, 2011). It is a sacred relic with a history that both represents and embodies the king of Thailand's power because the Buddha is seen as divine and sacred in Buddhism, Thailand's main religion.In conclusion, power manifests differently across the three different levels of a nation state. Firstly through political models of a nation state itself, se condly through religious influences of a religion within the nation state, and lastly in the idea of merit and social mobility among individuals of the nation state. However, even though they manifest in different ways, ultimately the aim of accumulating more command and control is still unanimous throughout Southeast Asia. Total Word Count: 1996 Words ? Bibliography Adams, & Gillogy. (2011). Everyday life in Southeast Asia.Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. Dellios, R. (2003). Mandala: From Sacred Origins to Soereign affairs in traditional Southeast Asia. Gold Coast, Australia: Bond University : School of Humanities and Social Sciences : Centre for East-West Cultural and Economic Studies. Dictionary. com. (n. d. ). Power. Retrieved Retrieved September 13 2012, from http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/power Hitchcock, M. (1987). The Binamese Kris: Aesthetics and Social Value. Bijdragen tot de Taal-,Land-en Volkenkunde , 125-140. Jonsson, H. (2004).Mien Alte r-Natives in Thai Modernity. Anthropological Quaterly Vol 77, No. 4 , 673-704. Tambiah, S. (1970). Buddhism and the spirit cults in North-east Thailand. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tooker, D. E. (1996). Putting the Mandala in its Place: A Practice-based Approach to the Spatialization of Power on the Southeast Asian ‘Periphery' — The Case of Akha. The Journal of Asian Studies Vol. 55, No. 2 , 328-358. Wrassers, W. H. (1940). On the Javanese Kris. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indie Deel 99, 4de Afl , 501-582.