A Commentary on Isaiah Essay

A Commentary on Isaiah 6 Isaiah 6 is written with a mixture of prose and verse, detailing the calling, or commission, of Isaiah by the Lord God. Much of the verse is written in the style of a vision, detailing message to the people of Judea. The main theme running through Isaiah is the message of salvation, even the name of the prophet means ‘salvation of Yahweh’. The book is first of the ‘major prophets’, so called due to its greater length than the shorter ‘minor prophets’ or ‘twelve prophets’. In the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible and in all other English Bibles, the book follows on from the Song of Solomon or Song of Songs. However in the Hebrew Bible, it is seen after 2 Kings, which A. S. Herbert states is ‘a more natural order since this prophet [Isaiah] was deeply involved in the historical events of his day’ and gave a ‘distinctive interpretation of these events’ (1973:1). The genre of the book is mainly of a prophetic nature, with a mixture of oracles, prophesies and reports of the situation in Judah; however it does deviate from this, most notably in chapter 13, where it takes the form of a supposed psalm. This book is written at a time of great strife for the region of Israel. The region has split into two kingdoms, the Assyrian empire is closing in around them and the death of Jeroboam II of Israel (745 BC) and the death Uzziah of Judah (742) ended a time of peace, security and prosperity for both states. Soon after Jeroboams death, civil war broke out in Israel and in 721 BC the Assyrian armies completely subjugated the kingdom. So, we can see that Isaiah is writing in a time of great conflict and insecurity, which increased throughout his prophetic life, ending in the unavoidable conquering of the small Judean kingdom by the Assyrian empire. It is not easy to trace who Isaiah actually was and when he lived, however the general consensus is that he started his ministry around the death of King Uzziah in 742 BC, where he is thought to be around the age of 20. However, the date of his birth is unknown, along with the date of his death, which is thought to be cc. 680 BC, making the prophet well into his 70’s or 80’s before he stops his ministry. We can justify that he certainly ministered during the reign of four Judean kings, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, as found in Chapter 1 verse1 (Watts 1985:XXV). Clements, however, questions the validity of the first chapter in Isaiah as it seems certain that it has been ‘composed at a relatively late stage in the literary growth of the book’ (Clements 1980:8). It has been speculated that Isaiah may have been related to the royal blood line, most notably Manasseh, who, tradition dictates, martyred Isaiah by sawing him in two (Heb. 11:37). However, this is hardly convincing as many prophets where martyred by Kings and rulers and there is no real evidence to suggest any relationship between Isaiah and Manasseh other than that Isaiah may have still been ministering around the time of Manasseh’s reign. Another problem with dating this book is the question of the authorship. During the time that the books in both the Old and New Testaments were written, it was not uncommon for disciples and students of teachers and prophets to publish works in their tutors name, or to continue a teachers works. Therefore, it is unclear how many authors the book of Isaiah has. Both Watts and Clements maintain the view that Isaiah 40 – 66 are the works of followers of Isaiah during the exile and restoration periods, with Clements stating that the work of J. C. Doederlien in 1775, which argued the above point, has ‘come to be the prevalent consensus of scholarships’ (Clements 1980:2). The text will have been originally written in Hebrew, the oldest surviving copy being part of a collection found in the Qumran Caves, the dead sea scrolls, dating back to around 125 BC. Although there are not many major translation errors, we don’t have the original scroll from over 600 years earlier therefore there could be translation errors from the original to the great Isaiah scroll found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The setting for Isaiah Chapter six is provided by the Jerusalem temple, ‘looking through the entranceway into the main aula of the temple building’ (Clements 1980:71). A problem can be seen in verses nine and ten, the forewarning that the peoples hearts will harden in response to the teachings that Isaiah will put forward. Many, such as Fohrer and Wildberger, believe this to be from a later period of his prophesy, looking backwards in reflection, however in R. Kilian’s Bauteine Biblischer Theologie 1977, it is argued that this small section was written at the same time as the rest of the verse. Verse six can be split up into three parts; the first (verses 1 – 3) being the vision, the second (4 – 7) the cleansing and preparation of Isaiah for prophetic ministry and thirdly (8 – 11) the divine commission. It is thought that verse 12 – 13 are not part of the original, but addition, probably made in the sixth century BC. There is however, a debate over the date of the last verse (verse 13), with the idea of it being from the exilic age, to give hope in this rather somber and threat filled chapter. 6:1, In the year that King Uzziah died: Uzziah is described in the bible as an incredibly able and holy man, favored by God, ‘He did what was right in the sight of the lord’ and ‘as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper’. However, Uzziah insulted the Lord by burning incense at the alter, something that only the Priests could do and so He struck Uzziah down with tzaraat or leprosy, a term that at the time was for several skin diseases and so the precise meaning is uncertain. Because of this, for the last 11 years of Uzziahs reign, his Son Jotham acted as co-regent, then going on to reign for sixteen years after the death of his father. There is speculation that Jotham died a year or so before his father and that Uzziahs grandson, Ahaz took over the co-regency until his death, however, the first version of events seems to have the most universal consensus. I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Uzziah’s death, thought to be around the date 736 BC, would have been seen as the end of a golden age for the Judeans and a time of uncertainty due to the impending invasion of the Assyrians. It is at this time that the Lord reveals himself to Isaiah. This could be seen as God reminding the people that there is one King above all others and that even though their earthly king has died, there is still an eternal King watching over them. It is typical of most visions of God in the bible for Him to be seated, for example Job (26:9) and in revelation, the apostle John sees God sitting on His throne (4:1 – 11). His robe filled the temple: this could be seen as a display of power and might, as kings often wore long, expensive robes made from silks and gilt so show their worth. The fact that the Lords robe fills the temple could be again showing that there is an even mightier King than Uzziah. Seraphs were in attendance above Him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two the covered their feet and with two they flew: the word ‘seraph’ only occurs in Isaiah. While Clements translates the word as ‘burning one’, Herbert seems to feel that the designation of the word ‘seraphim’ only appears in Isaiah, but also in Numbers and Deuteronomy but as ‘serpent’ or ‘snakes’. This, he says, could then lead one to the conclusion that the large bronze serpent in the temple, as described in 2 Kings 18:4, may have stimulated the ‘visionary experience’ (Herbert 1973:58). Many other passages mention Cherubim, and while there is a debate about whether seraphim and cherubim are the same or not, seraphim translates as ‘burning ones’ and in Ezekiel 1:13, cherubim are described as ‘something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving to and fro among the living creatures; the fire was bright and lightening issued from the fire. The significance of the six wings is most probably due to Exodus 33:20, ‘You cannot see my face; for no man shall see me and live’. Therefore the two wings covering their faces is to shield themselves from the glory of God so as not to incur the same fate as Lots wife when she gazes upon the might of God as He destroys Sodom and Gomorrah. Feet at this time were unclean and normally full of dust and are often used as a metaphor for humbling oneself throughout the bible and so covering their feet could be seen to be them humbling themselves before the lord. And one called to another and said: ‘holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory. ’ The threefold use of the word holy conveys the mystery and unapproachable qualities of the Most Holy. In Hebrew, repetition denote the intensity with which they are speaking, therefore having holy three times conveys to the reader the strength of feeling they have towards the Lord. The pivots on the threshold shook at the voices of those who called: suggests that the majesty and power of the seraphim’s voices shook the building. The translation of the Hebrew meaning pivot is uncertain. Many versions of this passage use hinges on doors or the door posts. Some even translate it as the whole foundations of the building are shaking due to the force of the adoration of God. One might read this verse and interpret it as an example of how much the Lord should be praised. We should aim to praise the Lord so much and with such energy that we shake the earth. It could also be Isaiah’s reaction to the voices that it shook him so violently that it felt as if the whole building shook with him. And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts! ’ We are back again to the unworthiness of human kind to gaze upon the Lords splendour, ‘You cannot see my face; for no man shall see me and live. ’ Herbert suggests that I am lost is because ‘Isaiah is reduced to the silence and stillness of death’ (Herbert 1973:59). For Herbert this is due to him being a creature of sin confronted with holy perfection, not just that of a disciple meeting the deity that created him. Unclean lips demonstrates that Isaiah is aware of the sinful nature not only of himself but of his fellow people, something that does not please the Lord and ‘unfitness to use his mouth in the service of God’ (Clements 1980:75). Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the alter with a pair of tongs. This section of the chapter is different to any other calling to minister for God. The prophets in the bible are always seen to endure trials and hardship before they enter Gods favour. Abraham was tasked with the slaughter of his son and perhaps the most well known trail is that of Job who had to undertake a huge ordeal before ‘the Lord gace Job twice ass much as he had before’ (Job 42:10). ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? ’: the us indicates that God is deliberating with the Holy council of seraphs surrounding Him, however it is also clear that Isaiah is meant to ‘overhear’, in a sense, so that he recognizes that only he (Isaiah) can answer that question by giving himself fully to the work of the Lord. The us could also be interpreted as an early mention or idea of the Trinity. The Jewish people are waiting for a messiah come from God and so it could be logical to suggest that until that messiah comes, He is with the Lord and there could already be a notion of the Holy Spirit in the way the breath moves over the water in creation. However it is more likely that God wanted Isaiah to give himself to god freely, giving Isaiah a choice as to whether he will go out and prophesy about the Lord, therefore using the question and the ruse of the Holy council to incite Isaiah to come forward. And I said, ‘Here am I; send me! ’: this response shows that Isaiah had a willingness to go and carry out the work Yahweh had for him. Although it seems like one single task to complete, I don’t think there can be any doubt that Isaiah knew this was him giving his whole life to the service of the Lord. Although up to this point Isaiah does not know what this task is, it can be derived that from the burning coal purging his lips it seems he is called to preach and prophesy to the people about Yahweh and that this cleansing has allowed the word of God to flow through his lips. And He said, ‘Go and say to this people: the reference to this people suggests that there is an element of ‘divine rejection’ (Clements 1980:76). Yahweh no longer sees the chosen people in a favourable light and is sending Isaiah to tell them. ‘Keep listening but do not comprehend’: there is, for Clements, a sense of irony in this section, ‘for the prophet undoubtedly did, very passionately and sincerely, want the people to hear and to understand’ (1980:77). Clements also suggest as Isaiah will have written this account some time after the vision occurred, it could be that he integrated how the message was received into the words that Yahweh spoke to him. However, due to the belief that God is in everything and everything comes from God, Isaiah would have been justified in doing this as he would know that the hardening of the hearts of the people towards his message is because of God. Then I said, ‘How long, O Lord’: throughout the Bible, how long is often the start of a lamentation. This cry out is not just asking how long the suffering will last, but a plea for God to end it quickly. Until cities lie waste without inhabitant is a reference to the devastation that war will bring about when the Assyrian empire seeks to expand further. The land is utterly desolate refers to Judah, where Isaiah ministers, however it may mean the whole of the promised land. Verses 12 – 13 are an addition by and editor, most probably one of the later Isaian disciples around the time of during the exile and restoration periods. Until the Lord sends everyone far away adds to this idea as it must refer to the Assyrian empire sending the Jews to captivity in Babylon. Even if a tenth part remains in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak whose stump remains standing when it is felled. This passage is a complex one with much debate on what the Hebrew originally was and therefore how it should be translated into the Bible of today. The most widely regarded solution would be that the Hebrew bam should in fact be bamah which means ‘high place’. Therefore the noun for stump, which in Hebrew is massebe? would then mean ‘sacred pole’. ‘Thus ‘a sacred pole grows out from its place in a hill-shrine’ (Clement 1980:78) is the new sentence created. However this passage is translated, it is agreed that there is a very real element of threat present. Just as a stump is not left in the ground, but instead a hole drilled in the top and filled with fuel and burned, s o will the Jews suffer, even though they may feel they have suffered enough. The Holy Seed is its stump is almost certainly a later addition, post – exile, in order to give hope to those who were now under the Babylonian captivity. Herbert comments that this sentence is ‘absent from the Septuagint, but the Greek Modified [verse 12] to mean ‘and those who were left on the land were multiplied’, a similarly hopeful note’. (Herbert 1973:60). The addition of this last sentence gives hope as it suggests that even the stump of a felled tree may once again grow, meaning that some will survive and carry on the line of David.

Important step for starting company Essay

NAME: SUNEET KAUR To start a New Business or Project is very exciting no doubt but the challenges to get into the system is very heart rendering. The same thing happened to me, when I took upon myself a task to develop a Soft ware Product Development system whereby I required office space, systems, software development team, power back and miscellaneous small activities, and naturally all these requires budget, as I really didn’t had any finance at my disposal. To over come this problem, the foremost thing I needed to do was chalk out Business Plan for myself, as it is the foremost thing to do. It is a prerequisite to not only define all the Propositions for your business plans but also to estimate your budget and chalk out the source of funding. FINANCIAL PLANNING To finance my project, I took upon initiative the task of estimating the financial planning, which included initial estimate of resource requirements, associated costs, revenue, identifying operating costs and to prepare budgetary plans. It also involved cash flow to ensure that there are no gaps between income and expenditure, analyzing breakeven levels and forecasting profits. PLANNING FOR SOURCE OF REVENUE To find out the source that can really finance your business and fulfill your dreams, prepare a well planned Budget including all your recurring cost that will go into a Cost Center like Income or value going into the Cost Center, Cost of Office Space as well as infrastructure, Wages or Salaries of the employees, Cost of power back up and communication systems, Cost of miscellaneous activities etc. After charting out the business and Budget plan, I set upon the task to search the source of funding not only for the start up of the business but also expanding the business, and this source of funding is a back bone of your company. SOURCE OF FUNDING The borrowing depends on number of factors like purpose of funds, your borrowing requirement, repayment period, the availability of security or collateral etc. Bankers will never lend against the full equity value of property, the availability of the loan will be limited by the equity or residual value of property. All these points count if you intend to search for the source of funding. There are several sources for funding, and for me I started with: SHORT TERM AND MEDIUM TERM BANK LOAN I took upon myself to get the short term and medium term bank loan. For the repayment of this loan it took me two to five years. For sum of $5000, the security is required in the form of private or company property, fixed or floating charge over the books debts and assets of the business. Interest is fixed at between 2 per cent and 5 percent over the base rate at the time the loan was taken out. Arrangement fee is also charged on new loans. This loan system was best suited for me as the rate of interest is just fixed for 2 to five percent. It is more advantageous then the other loans because security required is very less. BUSINESS ANGELS Business Angels invests in new and developing enterprises. They, rather than start their own business, invest in someone else’s Investment proposals and initiatives. Those companies who have skilled and technically qualified people, business venture, capital and skill gives a greater chance to succeed with financing from business Angels. There is a site called as a Business Angels Pty. Ltd. Who provide the facility for meeting the both angels and prospective Entrepreneurs. The needs of the business are matched with the angels’ criteria. There are lots of other sources of financing too like Long term loans from banks, Share Capital from private Investors, Debentures etc, Mortgage debentures, Commercial mortgages etc. but the system of Business Angels are best if starting a New Company because it depends on the negotiations between the two parties.

Berkshire Threaded Fasteners Case Essay

Berkshire Threaded FastenersBerkshire Threaded Fasteners Company has recently lost their president, John Magers. The resulting appointment of his inexperienced son Joe Magers has lead to the company’s loss of confidence. Brandon Cook is the recently appointed general manger who was hired to turn the company around after a loss of $70,000 in a good business year. As a member of an outside consulting firm I have been called in to give advice on the problems the company is facing. The time period has been updated to the present times. Manufacturing ProcessSee Appendix A for the detailed manufacturing process. In short, fasteners begin as wires, rods and bars which are then cut to length, headed and finally threaded. What should be noted is that this particular manufacturing process called cold forming is high-speed, high-volume, economical and has low wastage. Such economies of scale will allow Berkshire to offset the very high costs of cold-forming equipment. Business StrategyA careful analysis is needed in order to determine Berkshire’s business strategy. At first one would think it was product differentiation because of the inelastic demand in the short run. But one thing that should also be noted is the fact that for most goods, demand is much more price elastic in the long run than in the short run. This combined with the fact that Berkshire is convinced that it could not individually raise prices without suffering substantial volume declines, and that all the products of the different manufacturers in the industry are very similar, prove that their business strategy is in fact cost leadership. Another piece of evidence that also supports this strategy is the fact that the major focus of their accounting system seems to be on cost reduction. Place in the EconomyThe industrial fastener industry has been experiencing modest growth since the 1990s with an average per annum revenue growth rate of 3.6% ; though the number of employees have remained relatively the same. The North American fastener industry is still expected to grow by around 4% annually despite the competition from foreign countries. However this number represents a decline from the 9% growth spurt which occurred in 1998. The North American fastener production is strongly tied to the production of automobiles, aircraft, appliances, agricultural machinery and equipment, and the construction of commercial buildings and infrastructure. The more these industries prosper, the greater the demand and prospects for the fastener will there be. There has been as ever expanding market for fasteners in the 21st century in the aerospace industry. In fact a 9% annual growth in fasteners for this industry can be expected. Motor vehicle sales have also increased by 9.6% from 2005 to 2006. Unfortunately housing starts have only increased by 0.7% from 2005. In the future analysts expect metal fasteners to face competition from the adhesives industry as more products are being made with plastic, a product best joined together by adhesives. Also buyers have now been demanding innovative and diverse fasteners which are also more environmentally friendly- fasteners that maintain lubricity without the use of cadmium, a suspected carcinogen. So the industry is slowly shifting its focus to more highly engineered, technologically advanced fasteners. SWOTStrengths:1) Newly appointed Brandon Cook has wide executive experience in manufacturing products similar to that of Berkshire. 2) Berkshire operates in a capital intensive industry. But as a percentage of total sales, Berkshire’s labour costs are 24.69%. This suggests that they either still retain their employees even when they could have done without them or that they pay very high salaries to a few workers. This shows that Berkshire has either very loyal employees or very skilled employees- both being assets. Weaknesses:1) Joe Magers is not very experienced and the company is facing losses in the production of the 200 and 300 series’. 2) As a percentage of total sales, Berkshire’s fixed costs are 47.37%. This is much higher than what a price competitive manufacturer like Berkshire should have had. 3) Berkshire pays 49% of all its wages and salaries to administrative and sales employee, when the industry average is 27% . This shows poor decision making processes of the firm. Opportunities:1) If product lines are discontinued, with the excess capacity and skilled labour force they can branch out into the production of more diverse fasteners. This ties in with the fact mentioned previously that buyers are now demanding more specialized products. Threats:1) Berkshire operates in an industry where a few of its competitors are much larger. 2) The industry is dominated by Bosworth who dictates the prices that are charged for fasteners. 3) Buyers are slowly demanding more specialized fasteners. ProblemWhat is very evident is that the company is losing money on its products. In the previous time period they had incurred a loss of $70,000. Berkshire is unsure if it is the result of the production of the 300 series or the pricing decisions of the 100 series. These alternatives need a careful analysis in order to make informed decisions that will help turn the company around. Alternative #1 Status QuoQuantitative Analysis:In order to determine if the company should â€Å"do nothing,† is to predict the future cash flows and net income (loss) for the second half of the year. See Appendix B for this calculation. The predicted net income is in fact a loss of 1134. Yet, net income may not be a faithful representation, so cash flows have also been calculated. The predicted cash flow is a negative amount of 388. These amounts while better than alternative #3 (drop the 300 series) is not as good as the cash flow and net income amounts for alternative #2 (reduce price levels of the 100 series). One very important thing that needs to be noted is the fact that variable costs are indeed relevant. Fixed costs remain constant even after the production is stopped, but variable costs increase and decrease with production. Therefore the total contribution margin for this alternative was calculated to be 1504 which does show this alternative in a better light  especially when in comparison to its net loss and cash flow figures. Qualitative Analysis:The reduced production of the 100 series as a result of the price level remaining the same will have a significant impact on Berkshire. The reduced production may lead to employees worrying about the fact that they may be laid off to such an extent that their productivity is significantly lowered. Berkshire could also develop a reputation of charging higher prices than the industry standard and they could end up loosing more and more buyers to competitors. Alternative #2 Change price level to $2.25 for the 100 seriesQuantitative Analysis:In order to determine if the price level needs to be dropped a few calculations are needed. First a prediction of its impact on the net income and cash flows for the second half of the year is needed. These calculations are shown in Appendix C. The predicted net income figure is a loss of 1035. The predicted cash flow is a negative amount of 289. While these figures do seem abysmal, what should be noted is that in comparison to the other alternatives, these figures are much better. Both the net loss and negative cash flow amounts in this alternative is 99 lower than the â€Å"status quo† alternative and 338.58 lower than the â€Å"drop 300 series† alternative. This hints to the fact that maybe the price should in fact be dropped. Another fact that backs this assertion up is in the calculation of the Contribution Margin (CM) for both price levels, based on data from the first half of the year. Table 2 in Appendix A shows this calculation. While the CM of the new price level is lower than that of the original level (0.96 vs. 1.16), the fact that they will sell 250,000 units more (and hence a higher total CM for the new price) clearly makes up for this difference. The success of the new prices level will be contingent on the number of units sold. What is very dangerous about this alternative is that if in the future the demand in the market for this product line slumps, only a very small amount of money will be available to be used to pay off the fixed costs. Qualitative Analysis:The change in price level will not have much of an effect on the employees of Berkshire because they would still be producing  around the same amount of units (1000000 vs. 996859). They would not have to worry about being laid off. What will be affected is Berkshire’s reputation. If they had not changed they would have developed a reputation of charging high prices. The reduction of the price would put them at par with Bosworth. Alternative #3 Drop 300 seriesQuantitative Analysis:In order to determine if the 300 series needs to be dropped a few calculations are needed. First a prediction of the impact of its removal on the net income and cash flows for the second half of the year is needed. The predicted net income figure is a loss of 1373.58 and the predicted cash flow is calculated to be a negative amount of 627.70. The net loss figure calculated is the highest loss of all three alternatives and the negative cash flow amount is also much higher than the alternatives as well. This hints to the fact that maybe the 300 series line should not be dropped. Also, if the 300 series had been dropped at the beginning of the year it can be seen that there would have been a loss of -183. See the calculations for these numbers in Appendix D. Another aspect that backs up this assertion is the calculation of the Contribution Margins for all three product lines based on first half information. Even though Berkshire incurred a loss of .22/unit in the first half for series 300, when you calculate the CM it is a whole new story- the CM of 300 is a positive number- 1.15/unit, this means that Berkshire would in fact incur an even greater loss if they chose to halt production. The 1.15 per unit would no longer be available to cover some of the fixed costs. What is also surprising is the fact that the 300 series Contribution Margin is not far behind from that of the 100 series (the most profitable product line) and equal to that of the 200 series. A few other very important observations also need to be taken into account. First, since many products do cover all their variable costs, no product line would ever be dropped if only a contribution margin analysis were conducted. Second, even though the 300 series covers its variable costs and part of its fixed costs, it proves to be below par when considering full costs. Finally, in the long run all costs are variable, so the 300 series in this time frame is in fact a poor product line. Qualitative Analysis:If the 300 series was dropped it would have a significant qualitative impact on Berkshire and its employees. All the employees who were involved in the production of this line would either have to be laid off (which would have a negative impact on the reputation of the firm), or they could still be retained (which would lead to them obtaining a deep sense of respect and loyalty to the firm). Also the employees who would be shifted around would gain a greater skill set and hence become very valuable assets to the company. Evaluation of the alternativesComparison Table1) Profitability2) Timeliness3) Consistency with Strategy. Alternative #1-$11347 daysNot as muchAlternative #2-$10354-7 daysYesAlternative #3-$137410-14 daysNot as much1) Profitability:The primary objective of all businesses, no matter how big or small, is profit. That is why as a criterion, Profitability was given the number one rank. The three alternatives can easily be evaluated on this criterion by comparing the net income figures. Alternative #2 easily wins in this criterion. Despite the fact that it does have a net loss, the loss was not as great as that of Alternative #1 and #3. One important thing that should be noted is the fact that perhaps the second half of the season is always a slow period and that is why the net income figures are so low. 2) Timeliness:Berkshire operates in a business environment where if firms that lag behind in decision making, implementation of policies etc, they will be left behind with no profits. That is why Timeliness was given the rank of two. Surprisingly Status Quo would have an implementation time of around 7 days. Since keeping the price level of the 100 series the same at 2.45/unit would result in them producing 385332 less number of units (See Appendix E for the calculation), time would be need to shift employees around to new jobs in the firm, possibly close down a warehouse or even convert the machines used to produce the 100 series to now produce a different product line. Alternative #2, â€Å"reduce price level† would probably only take 4-7 days to implement. The only thing Berkshire would need to do would be to inform their current buyers of their new price level and perhaps also to advertise the lower price in a specialized fastener industry journal. Alternative #3, â€Å"drop the 300 series† would probably take around 10-14 days. Not only would Berkshire need to shift employees around, close down a warehouse etc, as a result of producing a lower number of 100 series units, but they would also have to announce the dropping of the 300 series line to its buyers, move even more employees around (or possibly lay them off), close even more warehouses down, move machinery around the manufacturing space etc. This would be a very time consuming process. Overall Alternative #2 would win in this criterion as it would have a less time consuming implementation time and process. 3) Consistency with Strategy:This criterion was given a rank of three because while necessary in the evaluation, Profitability and Timeliness do have a greater importance. In the short run Alternative #2 had the greatest consistency with strategy. Berkshire is a cost leader, and reducing the prices of the 100 series ties in very well with this strategy. Alternative #1 and #3 chose not to reduce the price and this decision conflicts with their cost leadership strategy. ConclusionOverall I would recommend that Berkshire implement Alternative #2- reduce the price level of the 100 series, as it did win in all three criteria. But one important thing needs a re-mention. The CM per unit of the reduced price level was lower than that of the higher price level. It was only because of the higher volume of sales did it manage to have a higher total contribution margin. In the future if sales volumes drop, despite the price change Berkshire would incur heavy losses. At this present time Alternative #1 and #3 are both very unprofitable and will still be in the future. At least Alternative #1 is not as unprofitable at this present time but what happens in the future will all depend on sales. Recommendations for Specific Action1) Chose a date when the price change will come in to effect and make sure all current buyers are aware of this well ahead of time. 2) Advertise in newspapers, journals etc to get the message across to new buyers that Berkshire has reduced its prices. 3) All forms, documentation, accounting systems etc should be changed to take into account the new price level. 4) Make sure that there are people at hand to research the market and evaluate whether demand is going to decline for the 100 series. 5) Make sure that there are researches available to study the market for new trends and new types of fasteners that could be produced in the future.

Critical Thinking And Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Critical Thinking And Decision Making - Essay Example The way my grandmother narrated her story allowed me to catch a glimpse of her past, which somehow reflected the pathos of the speech. It’s difficult to separate my emotional attachment with her and the pathos of her story, but I remember not feeling any form of pain or suffering from her speech; what I felt was sympathy. The logos, meanwhile, consisted of some information about the past and present states of education in the country. It was not widely different from what I had seen on books, newspapers, and news programs. She presented generally accepted truths about education instead of making logical connections among different premises. The speech had strengths and possessed several areas which can be improved. The main rhetorical component which made the speech persuasive was the ethos. My grandmother lives a very successful life which mirrors her values and beliefs about education. In addition, our emotional connection highlighted the otherwise absent pathos in the speech. My grandmother did not express any form of emotional appeal but I subtly sympathized with her experience. I think the logos could have functioned better if my grandmother drew logical conclusions from her experience with good education. A dramatic experience, meanwhile, could have firmly established the pathos of the speech. Assessing my grandmother’s speech improved my understanding of the three rhetorical components. A speech can be persuasive even if it stands on only one component (i.e. ethos in the case of my grandmother) but it would be more effective if it draws on the strengths of the other two components. I also realized that pathos need not be established as long as the speaker is emotionally connected with the

Present and discuss the moral positions of Natural Law and Essay

Present and discuss the moral positions of Natural Law and Existentialism. Next evaluate the theories and discuss any relevant criticisms - Essay Example The same rationale continues that the right action is that which corresponds non-defectively with the good on the one hand. On the other hand, existential ethics places the individual as the primary point of concern and therefore, postulates that personal ethics and morality supersede popular ethics and social morality. The main underpinning of this ideological standpoint is existentialists’ belief in subjectivity of truth. In its bare form, existentialism is a cultural and philosophical movement which asserts that the genesis of philosophical thinking is individual experience and that scientific and moral thinking are insufficient in understanding human experience (Finnis, 32). Natural law has its strength being readily manifest in the complementary relationship between the law and morality. The law and natural law are seen to merge, since like the law, natural law becomes morally binding if it is just, able to be promulgated, directional towards common good, is made by someone holding appropriate authority and is reasonable. For instance, there can be no law that decriminalises any form of stealing or crimes against humanity since acts that bring about these crimes do not meet the qualities of natural law such as being geared towards common good. Secondly, the strength of natural law is seen in the fact that it supersedes the law, generatively. The fact that natural law is naturally knowable by all humans, with the good anteceding the right and comprising people’s natural and common ends makes the legislation against crime possible (Pearce, 1339). At its best, existentialism only fosters tolerance and at its worst, remains ultimately impractical. By saying that individual experience is the starting point in encountering the truth and that scientific and moral thinking are insufficient in understanding human experience, existentialists leave no room for the judgment of another person’s actions. However, existentialist ethics

Accounting and Reporting Principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Accounting and Reporting Principles - Essay Example In the same audit, the revenues should as well be traced so they can give opinions as to whether all cash received as taxes or government revenues are properly recorded and remitted to the town’s treasury. The journal entries below record the issuance by the town of a three-year note to purchase police vehicles. The journal entries recorded in the general journals of the General Fund differ from those recorded in the general journals for governmental activities at the government-wide level. The General Fund general journal reflects the creation of temporary accounts – namely, Other Financing Sources-Proceeds of Three-Year Note and Expenditures-Capital Outlay – upon the issuance of notes and the purchase of the vehicles. On the other hand, the government-wide level general journal reflects the recording of assets and liabilities, namely the Transportation Equipment and the Notes Payable. This is because the accounting books of the General Fund are mostly concerned only with the inflow and outflow of the current financial resources of the town. Meanwhile, the books for the government-wide entity should show all transactions affecting the net assets of the town; thus, the specific accounts such as Transportation Equipment, Notes Payable, then subsequently, the Depreciation Expense and Interest Expense are used. General Ledger Debit Credit General Fund: Cash 120,000 Other Financing Sources-Proceeds of Three-Year Note 120,000 To record the issuance of the 3-year note. Expenditures - Capital Outlay 120,000 Cash 120,000 To record the purchase of 4 police vehicles. Governmental Activities, Government-wide: Cash 120,000 Notes Payable 120,000 To record the issuance of the 3-year note. Transportation Equipment 120,000 Cash 120,000 To record the purchase of 4 police vehicles. Works Cited Accounting for Government and Nonprofit Entities (as

Organizational Behavior Principles Phase 3 Individual Project Essay

Organizational Behavior Principles Phase 3 Individual Project - Essay Example Likewise people and things usually resist changes that come. This resistance to change is a strong one and usually occurs when people or things sense a change around them. Organizational culture has been a major player in shaping up the future and role of any organization in this fast moving world. Organization culture develops in a long time and includes important aspects of the working environment. While trying to bring about a change in the organization the resistance that can be faced comes in different forms. For example lack of coordination by employees, morale of the employees goes down, productivity can decrease, strikes by labor unions and etc. Individuals naturally rush to defend the status quo if they feel their security or status is threatened. The major symptom of a resistance to change is the behavior of the employees. Though some times the resistance is positive as well and might help in implementing a change in a much easier way. The resistance to an organizational ch ange or culture that we are going to discuss here is in the form of low productivity that occurs due to the unacceptability of the change by employees. Many employees that see themselves in danger and resist a change are potentially afraid of the side effects and aftermath of the change. This is natural, as all of us fear the unexpected the best way to eradicate this fear is by forecasting and showing the potential benefits of the change and how it is going to be beneficial for all the employees. When employees fear a change they start thinking about the potential dangers to their job and other services this results in questions that take shape in their mind, the eventual result is lack of concentration in work, which then results in the decreasing productivity. In this situation mentors in the organization can help the employees in resolving the lack of concentration by answering their questions

Case Study Analysis - Tiffanies Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis - Tiffanies - Case Study Example The sale of â€Å"fine† jewelry accounts for only a small percentage of the overall sales and profitability for the firm; however, it continues to represent a lion’s share of the overall investment, research and development, and product space that such items receive within the Tiffany branded stores. Tiffany’s is seen by consumer markets as representing on extremely expensive pieces of fine jewelry; this somewhat reduces the degree and extent to which it can hope to engage consumers within other markets. Solution a: Activate an aggressive marketing campaign that alerts consumers that Tiffany’s provides for the needs of a diverse group of consumers; not only those that are within the highest socio-economic category. Solution b: Begin slowly phasing less expensive products into the product mix and hope that the consumer base will respond positively by means of gradual osmosis; continuing to utilize the 18 month product cycle previously defined. Solution a: Promote a strategy that engages consumer awareness that Tiffany’s physical location only represents a portion of what the firm has to offer and that online shopping as a manner by which everyone else that does not live in close proximity can enjoy their products. Solution b: Begin to alter the brand marketing approach so that Tiffany’s will not only be marketed within certain select forums. This will encourage a re-integration of understanding in terms of what the firm represents and how. Solution b: Discontinue existing and outdated marketing approaches that have placed a disproportional focus on word of mouth and status advertising; as these are outdated and insufficient to reach emerging markets. Solution a: Whereas almost all other luxury brands have engaged with the Chinese market thoroughly, Tiffany’s only represents 10 stores in this nation of over 1 billion people – indicating a situation in which potential for profitability and market space within China

Strategic Management and Leadership of General Motors Case Study

Strategic Management and Leadership of General Motors - Case Study Example GM, along with strategic partners manufactures automobiles and trucks in thirty-four nations, and trade and service these vehicles through its numerous brands.   Its biggest national market in the United States. China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, and Germany are the other nations which follow America in this context.   GM’s OnStar ancillary is one of the leading industries in vehicle safety, security and information facilities. On 10th July 2009,  General Motors Company obtained functions from General Motors Corporation. The General Motor Corporation established its place in the automobile manufacturing industry with the manufacturing of luxurious cars, which are classy at the same time superior from the other rival manufacturers of automobiles. Due to their high brand name and reputation in the market, the cost prices of cars from General Motors are generally very high and sometimes unreachable for general customers. (Global Operations, n.d.; General Mot ors, n.d) The General Motors Corporation held the first place as an automobile manufacturing company with respect to its sales for around 77 years until; Toyota took its place in the year 2008. The downfall of the company from the number one position is due to its negligence in terms of designing new innovative cars. There was a lack of creative innovations in terms of designs as they only have done some slight or minor changes in the designs to satisfy the customers. Some are of the view that the downfall is due to the poor strategic management of the company. The company faced difficulties in coming up with the internal and external pressures, like the accessibility of loans for the customers, the pressure from the Government and Labor Unions, crisis of oil, other competitive technologies such as electric cars, etc. (Global Operations, n.d.; General Motors, n.d) These difficulties clearly suggested that the company needs to re-strategize its  operations.

Performance Enhacing Drugs in Sports Essay Example for Free

Performance Enhacing Drugs in Sports Essay Performance enhancing drugs should not be allowed in sports. As plain and simple as my opening sentence reads and I totally believe in the theory. The theory that not only are the drugs un-healthy in prolonged use, but the fact that it allows for an unfair advantage over other players who are competing legitimately, and is 110% cheating. This also gives the youth a positive idea if they see their role models take enhancers, leading them on to think that these drugs are okay to partake in. Legitimate competition should be taken very seriously, with the attitude of fair play and gracious defeat. Just as if a card player could see their opponent’s cards, so is the unfair advantage that is caused by using these performance enhancing drugs. There is a great deal of preparation that goes into the competitors before they compete in a match of their choice. Some people train all their lives just to be able to compete in an event, let alone win. To throw an opponent in the ring that put in less effort for the results shown is an unfair advantage on its own. But facing someone who has trained all their lives, and you who have just done adequate training on top of the drug usage is not only unfair, but it is cheating. If you cant compete legitimately then there is not much point in competing at all. If you cannot play a sport in which you are paid more than enough money to play without using â€Å"enhancers† you should not be allowed to play. Besides the issue of unfair advantage there are also health and social issues. Not only do sportsmen hurt themselves undergoing artificial treatment for both their body and mind, but they also hurt society. When players take part in drugs, they are not thinking of the long term effects of what they are injecting into their bodies. For example, when athletes take anabolic-steroids, they are putt ing themselves at risk for dehydration, digestive disorders, and addiction to the steroid itself!(Ray) As sports is a big part of our culture and the famous players are also role models for our youth this act sets an awful example. Athletes such as hometown hero Mark McGwire, baseball legend Barry Bonds, and even an Olympic contestant Marion Jones have lead us to believe it was their original skill, but in reality, it was help from the drugs.(pharmacytech) If we allow these drugs in sports then even the recreational weekenders would call for steroid use, thus leading the youth of our culture to exposure of bad medicine and physically wrong deeds. Morally our culture is against the use of drugs both mind altering and physically negative. However with the current generation of youth who would just like to go to the gym for health reasons or what not, a large majority partake in steroid use. In the United States, about 3 million people use anabolic steroids — one in four of these steroid users started as a teenager, and one out of every 10 is a teenager.(Mayo) These are not even professional athletes and they already have such a high view of steroids and think it is the â€Å"easy way out†. As a society we have done our best to prevent the use of drugs, but when role models and favorite players are caught participating in steroid use, they think it is okay because they want nothing more than to be like their role model. But what the youth is not thinking about are the side effects which are just yawned upon, and left for later down the roads of their lives. Conclusively I would stress that when a famous athlete injects himself with these substances, he/she also injects the minds of todays youth. I for one firmly believe in role model influence and believe that the role models of today should lead by example, not by how high of rank they can receive. Work cited Ray, Linda. livestrong.com. Ed. Julie Mendenhall. N.p., 27 Sept. 2009. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. www.pharmacytechs.com. N.p., 2 Apr. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. MayoClinic. cnn.com. N.p., 5 Jan. 2007. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.

The Fragile X Syndrome

The Fragile X Syndrome The fragile X syndrome is one of the most prevalent mental retardation problems that are inherited to generations. The clinical features of people with this syndrome are very subtle and hard to diagnose. Recent progress in the field of molecular biology and genetics has outlined the molecular mutation, that causes the syndrome was a triplet repeat mutation. Due to repetitive CGG repeat the respective proteins are not expressed. New molecular methods including direct probe analysis and PCR analysis, have simplified the process of diagnosis. The nature of the gene, their respective gene product and its function has not been yet found clearly. Inheritance may be found due to common ancestral flow of X chromosome at birth. Introduction Fragile S syndrome is a genetic disorder that affects the intellectual, physical and mental factors of a human being. It is also known to be martin-bells syndrome and the effects range widely from mild to severe. It is caused by the mutation on the X chromosome of the individual in a single gene called the Fragile X mental retardation gene (FMR1). Psychological problems such as mental retardation may be caused by two main factors, the physical environment or the genetic factor that is hereditary. As we mainly focus on the genetic factor, the FRAXA locus in xq27.3 is associated in causing fragile X mental retardation. Therefore based on molecular genetic testing of FMR1 gene, fragile X syndrome can be diagnosed. Women are only 50% affected by this syndrome when compared to males due to the fact that they have two X chromosomes where as males have one. Most common symptoms found are seizures, mood instability, attention deficit, sensory over stimulation, aggression, autism, speech diso rder and sleep differences. This syndrome also shows certain physical symptoms such as long narrow face, large ears enlarged testacles in males, flexible joints etc., various researches is being done across the world to find a solution for the disease. Various genetic techniques has been developed and handled to identify the fragility of the chromosome. There has been so much improvement in research but a definite solution has not been obtained. The treatment for this syndrome is usually a multidisciplinary approach which includes occupational therapy, medical managements, education and linguistics. The Fragile X Mutation: Genes are the precursors of specific protein molecules which in turn are specific for various functions of the body. The major cause for the fragile x syndrome is due to the mutation in one single gene called the fragile x mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene which is the precursor for the fragile x mental retardation protein FMRP. This protein is responsible for the normal development and functioning of the brain. Men have only one x chromosome so presence of mutation in that chromosome will cause the disease whereas in females, they have two x chromosomes and hence full mutation in one copy makes them carriers of the syndrome and they may be affected partially according to the amount of mutation and number of cells expressing the FMR-1 gene copy. The inheritance found on the chromosomes is termed as x linked recessive inheritance which is more complex than the normal x linked genes. Fig.1 X chromosome with fragile site [1] Fig. 2 A photograph of X chromosomes showing a fragile site from both a male and a female [2] The number of CGG repeats on the FMR-1 gene determines the complexity of the syndrome. The repeats are classified as short, medium and long repeats. The short repeat of about six to fifty times which is found very common. These short repeats are mostly unstable and do not definitely cause the syndrome. Yet a genetic counseling along with certain tests is recommended. The medium repeat is about 50 to 200 times and is called permutation. The fragile x mental retardation protein (FMRP) has lower risk of the syndrome as short sequence repeats. The long repeats are usually more than 200 and are termed as full mutation where the complete FMR-1 gene is altered and production of the FMRP protein is totally stopped. Among the people with full mutation or long repeats, men will have the fragile x syndrome and women will be carriers. Fragile x mental retardation protein (FMRP) The FMRP protein is found in the ribo-nucleoprotein complex and is encoded by the FMR1 gene. The FMRP weighs up to 60-70 kD. This protein is associated with the polyribosome or polysomes. Two RNA-binding domains, KH domains or K homology domains are possessed by this protein and it binds to fetal human brain to 4% approximately. It also has the ability to bind to its own mRNA. Even a small amount of mutation in one of the KH domain could stop its interaction with the polysomes leading to the fragile x syndrome. Inheritance of fragile x syndrome Males have xy chromosome and hence have only one FMR-1 gene where as females have xx chromosomes and hence they have two FMR-1 genes. On the F1 generation each parent transfers one chromosome each to the offspring where the transfer of the FMR-1 gene is determined. Therefore the possibilities of their offsprings being affected are grouped under two conditions. Condition-1 [3] If a male has a mutated gene in his chromosome it can be transferred only to his daughter because only the Y chromosome can be transferred to his son by him. So if he was crossed with a female with normal genes all their sons will be normal and the daughters will have one fragile gene and remain as carriers. father à ¡Ã‚ ºÃ¢â‚¬ ¹ y mother x xà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ¢â‚¬ ¹ (carrier daughter) Xy (normal son) x xà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ¢â‚¬ ¹ (carrier daughter) Xy (normal son) à ¡Ã‚ ºÃ¢â‚¬ ¹ fragile x gene Condition-2 [4] If a female has one mutated gene in her chromosome and is crossed with a normal male then there is 50% chance of all the offsprings, be it male or female to have the syndrome. father x y mother à ¡Ã‚ ºÃ¢â‚¬ ¹ xà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ¢â‚¬ ¹ (carrier daughter) à ¡Ã‚ ºÃ¢â‚¬ ¹ y (fragile son) x xx(normal daughter) Xy (normal son) à ¡Ã‚ ºÃ¢â‚¬ ¹ fragile x gene Symptoms The symptoms of fragile x syndrome are categorized into : Physical Large eyes Prominent forehead Large testecles Seizures Cognitive development Social and emotional hyperactivity Behavioral Shyness Social anxiety Speech and language Rapid and repetitive Inability to adopt words Over-talkative Autism Flapping of hands Poor eye contact All these symptoms need not be necessarily seen. A combination of various symptoms may vary from person to person based on the amount of gene altered in their chromosome. Sometimes there may also be no visible symptoms making the chances of early diagnosis even worse. Molecular diagnosis [5] The chromosome associated with the syndrome is classified into three major types based on the number of CGG repeats as Normal allele the CGG repeat in FMR1 is 6-50 PCR analysis is sufficient to study all normal type genes Specific point mutations and mosaicism must be studied using specific types of pcr or other molecular methods Visualization is achieved either by radio-active labeling or auto radiography followed by automated sequencing Agarose gel electrophoreses may be used for simple separation analysis with stains such as ethidium bromide. Appropriate size markers and size controls are very important. Controls used for analysis mut approximately contain 50 repeats. Pre mutation The CGG repeat in FMR1 is 55-200 PCR analysis is not possible hence southern blot is always preferred. Since both premutation and full mutation have methylation status, specific methylation sensitive enzymes such as EagI or NreI is used to resolve the size of the fragment. Methylated alleles are cut only by one enzyme where as non methylated normal alleles are cut by both the enzymes. Prenatal diagnosis is very important for pre mutation carriers. Rather than normal PCR a radioactive PCR can be used to test for premutation and then the result can by confirmed using southern analysis. Full mutation The CGG repeats in FMR1 ranges from 200 to thousands This can be analysed only by a southern blot technique. At complications, if a confirmable result could not be obtained from a southern analysis then a radio active PCR can be run combined with a linkage analysis and the result can be confirmed with southern blotting. Intermediate alleles The CGG repeats in FMR1 gene is usually between 45-55 Since they are in the overlapping region between stable normal allele and unstable premutation alleles, diagnosis and interpretation is very difficult Diagnostic Tools and Methods With the advancement in technology DNA tests are always effective in diagnosis of fragile x syndrome. With the findings of Sutherland et al. that folic acid deficient cell culture medium was able to induce a fragile site at xg27.3 cytogenetics was the major way to determine the presence of the syndrome but after cloning of the FMR-1 gene direct methods for identifying the x linked gene has become possible. By using monoclonal antibodies specific to FMRP it is also possible to show the expression of FMR-1. The most common methods used for diagnosis in the genetic level are Polymerase Chain Reaction Southern Blotting Antibody test Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis Single strand confirmation polymorphism Non-radioactive molecular diagnosis. Polymerase chain reaction Polymerase chain reaction may be defined as a technique where one copy of a DNA is amplified into numerous copies at a rate of 2n where n is the number of cycles. It is achieved under specific conditions of temperature, along with polymerase enzyme. PCR amplification is one of the preliminary methods in diagnosing fragile x syndrome. Since the syndrome is associated with CGG repeats PCR is not considered as the best method always, since the amplification across C-G composition could be unreliable for PCR technique. However now its very much possible for a PCR to identify CGG repeats in combination with various techniques. methylation specific PCR of the FMR1 locus fluorescent methylation specific PCR methyl-CpG-binding PCR Some of the major advantages of PCR are that it is less time consuming, a very small amount of the sample is enough to produce numerous copy and the tri-nucleotide repeat in the FMR-1 gene is accurately sized. There are also various disadvantages of this technique. When there are more than hundreds of tandem repeats it is impossible for the PCR to determine the complete mutation which may give a different result. Due to differential amplification PCR is incapable of detecting mosacism between pre mutation and normal alleles. Fig 3: fragile x analysis using PCR [6] Southern Blotting Southern blotting is one of the best methods of diagnosing fragile x syndrome. It is modtly used as the confirmatory test after PCR. The variations between the mutations and permutations along with the amount of methylation occurred can be clearly obtained by the southern blotting technique. The process can be summed up in two simple steps: Step 1: the patients DNA is digested using restriction enzymes. Step 2: southern hybridization is carried out along with specific radioactive probes after separation of FMRI region. Using southern Blotting, the differences in full mutation and pre mutation can be easily identified. Full mutations usually cause smearing of the band and are always unstable. The only advantage of this technique is that its accuracy whereas its labor intensive, time consuming. The major drawback of this method is its inability to determine the exact number of tandem repeats of the CGG nucleotides which is very much necessary in determining whether the patient is completely affected or a carrier. Fig 4: fragile x analysis by southern blot [7] N refers to normal Specific tools for analysis DNA probe A DNA probe can be defined as a single strand of DNA which act as a template to identify the target DNA molecule. To identify the fragility of chromosome on the DNA specific probes were designed which increases the accuracy rate of the diagnosis. Chemicon (Millipore) [8] has designed a special probe named The CHEMI probe which is labeled with dioxegenin to detect the CGG repeats in the FMR-1 gene. Markers There were special markers called the microsatelite markers used in linkage analysis. This came to an end with the advent of modern techniques. However these markers are now being used under special circumstances like prenatal diagnosis where southern blotting has failed. Some of the markers used are DXS548, FRAXAC1 and FRAXAC2 combined with PCR. They are considerably accurate and they undergo low recombination mechanism with CGG repeats. Treatments There are no gene therapies or genetic treatments available for fragile x syndrome though a lot of other therapies are available which include speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and behavioral therapy. There are also a large number of medications available as listed in the table below: Symptoms Medications Seizures Mood instability à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Carbamazepine (Tegretol) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Valproic acid or divalproex (Depakote) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Lithium carbonate à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Gabapentin (Neurontin) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Lamotrigine (Lamictal) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Topiramate (Topomax), tiagabine (Gabitril), and vigabatrin (Sabril) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Phenobarbital and primidone (Mysoline) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Phenytoin (Dilantin) Attention deficit (With or without hyperactivity) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta) and dexamethamphetamine (Adderall, Dexedrine) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ L-acetylcarnitine à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Venlafaxine (Effexor) and nefazodone (Serzone) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Amantadine (Symmetrel) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Folic acid Hyperarousal Sensory over-stimulation (Often occurs with ADD/ADHD) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Clonidine (Catapres TTS patches) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Guanfacine (Tenex) Aggression Intermittent explosive disorder Obsessive-compulsive disorder (Often occurs with anxiety and/or depression) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Fluoxetine (Prozac) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Sertraline (Zoloft) and citalopram (Celexa) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Paroxetine (Paxil) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Fluvoxamine (Luvox) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Risperidone (Risperdal) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Quetiapine (Seroquel) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Olanzepine (Zyprexa ) Sleep disturbances à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Trazadone à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Melatonin Table 2: symptoms and medications for FRAXA [9] (*these prescriptions have serious effects. DO NOT INTAKE ANY OF THESE WITHOUT CONSULTING A MEDICAL PRACTITIONER) Current Research Gene Therapy: studies are carried out on the recombination strategy of the target gene, whether removal or replacement of the defective gene with a recombinant gene would eliminate the syndrome. Protein Replacement Therapy: research is being carried out on the possibility of producing FMR protein and supplying to the patients through external sources like food or tablets. Psychopharmacology: research is being carried out in finding medications for all the symptoms of fragile x syndrome. Conclusion Fragile x syndrome is one of the genetic diseases that causes psychological problems due to the lack of FMR protein responsible for the mental behavior of the person. The protein is not expressed in the individual due to fragility of the FMR1 gene in the x chromosome. Though PCR and southern blotting are the only tools available for diagnosis they are considerably accurate and research is being carried out on various re-combinative tools for diagnosis. A complete cure has not been still devised for the syndrome though various behavioral and physical therapies help the patients gain psychological strength.