Technological change in organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Technological change in organizations - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the development of technology has changed the entire world of business. This change has encompassed activities from very basic level of idea generation such as through CAD (Computer Aided Design) to product or service production by CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) and post business activities.   From the computer revolution to the Internet and most recently and constantly growing Internet based applications such as trading on the Internet, social media, etc., have all forced businesses to harness their adaption to high-paced change by anticipating it rather than following the change merely for survival. Fast pace of technological change has also proved to be proportional to the benefits it brings to business. Immense literature has been developed based on studying various aspects of the technological change to business. ISACA, global nonprofit IT association, has predicted that the entire year 2012, IT departments of business will be collecting huge data from various sources. Growingly conducting a complex procedure to manage the bulk of zeros and ones in a way that benefits the firm with growing return on investment will remain a challenge for IT departments of businesses. This big handling of data constantly grows on the horizontal as well the vertical bases with more of 40 percent projected growth in global data generated in year 2010 while spending on IT has increased by only 5 percent. The rise in demand for people handling big data is so steep that availability of big data analytical talent in US in year 2018 is expected to override the supply (Manyika et al., 2011). (Manyika et al., 2011) Data sources range from consumer behavior at physical outlets to a large number of internet subsections. The emergence of a ubiquitous phenomenon in 2000 has changed the entire business model, constantly challenging IT department to increase capacity to manage (Kenney, and Marshall, 2000). (Kenney, and Marshall, 2000) For instance, technique in retail industry such as bar code, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and vendor-managed inventory (VMI),  etc. (Smaros, and Holmstrom, 2000), and similar techniques multiply pressure as retrieving and constantly updating data remains with the IT section. Similarly, Self Service Technologies (SST’s), mainly adopted in the financial sector with the Internet banking and ATM, etc., has already put extensive pressure on the IT section. Though these techniques have been developed in the past, constant efforts from the marketing side of business to offer various promotions and extracting information based on consumer activity require increased efforts from the IT section in respect of the program development, i.e. the way information can be retrieved or updated. Applications of social media such as Facebook, twitter, blogs; heavy video content such as Multimedia content, which already accounts for more than half of the Internet traffic, is expected to grow by 70 percent in year 2013, with

Using Demand Management Policies to Promote Economic Growth in the UK Essay

Using Demand Management Policies to Promote Economic Growth in the UK - Essay Example Economic growth can be defined as a measure of a rise in the Growth Domestic Product (GDP). It is for this reason that we determine whether a country is undergoing inflation or growth and the cost of living of a particular country. To better understand the definition, the term GDP should be made clear. The latter gives a sum total of the production of a given country for the year in question. The total sum comes from adding the government, business and citizen’s expenditure and deducting it from all exports of the country (McCombie and Anthony 43). This will give a general idea of how the market is performing against other international trading markets. The current economic level as explained earlier can be attributed to a number of factors. One of them is that the government has been against the policy of owning property by the public and has also declined the expansion of welfare programs for the public. Nevertheless, the country has an enviable service industry with proper and modern facilities in place. These facilities can be traced to the banking sector, insurance and other business entities that have sky-rocketed the economic growth. Ironically, industries are not in the limelight anymore. As for the forecast economic growth, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has much to say about the future of the United Kingdom. They report that the world is undergoing a recovery phase, but certain factors will inhibit this progression. High risks with no guaranteed returns continue to challenge investors, which can diminish growth; added that the financial aspect and business opportunities are low. Mr. Daniel Tarling-Hunter, an economist explains why the economy may be falling apart (Thompsons 22). The three reasons that he puts forth are linked to an increase in the rates of unemployment, adding that there is increasing inflation in the region leading to people’s distrust in the government. He adds that this may change in the middle months of 2012 d ue to hosting of the Olympic Games and an overall decrease in inflation. The economic policies of the UK gear towards a decrease in the manufacturing and production industries. This has caused a stir among the renowned economists of the country. The government has been instrumental in providing policies aimed at enhancing even and proper financial growth all over the country. For instance, it has tried to promote business and its prospects in a view to increase employment in the region. There have been four policies instigated to help economic growth. One of them is the fiscal policy targeting the finance sector which has been out of hand since the public is borrowing large sums of money to pay expensive mortgage thus enhancing debt. The monetary policy will aid in ensuring regulation of prices for greater stability in the trade market while the microeconomic policies will target at drawing the country into a better stand in the world economy by looking into issues of taxation syste m and business system. Increased government spending refers to the act of the government to influence the economic setup of a country by acquiring more goods and services than it had previously allocated in its national budget. There is an overall rise in the total demand of the country during such periods. It is part of the fiscal policy by the government to control spending in the country. It could have a positive or a slowed impact on the country’s economic prospect. When there is less spending by the government, the rate of GDP goes under since it

Nihilism in T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland

Nihilism in T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland Chapter 1 Introduction Nihilism is a very popular concept in English Literature and many authors have taken Nihilism as a theme in many of their works. The word Nihilism has long history. The word Nihilism is the resultant of the Latin phrase ‘Nihil’, which means anything does not exist. This term grew to be preferred with the newsletter of Ivan Turgenev’s novel Fathers and sons (1862) the place he used nihilism to explain the basic and rudimentary scientism supported by way of this character Bazarov who sermonizes a statement of belief of total negation. There are a couple of interpretations of the phrase Nihilism, as many critics have stated about Nietzsche that he believed within the literal dying of god. Nietzsche in lots of his works expresses a terror that decline of religion, the upward thrust of atheism, and the nonappearance of a better moral authority would thrust the world into chaos. The western world for a long time was depended on the rule of god for steering and direction and the way in which it gave order to society and which means to way of life or existence . Without this, Nietzsche says that society will move into an age of nihilism. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) is one of the most popular name to be associated with the concept of Nihilism, as he has referred and thereby included this concept in many of his works. He was a German thinker and philosopher of the late 19th century who defied and challenged the fundamentals of Christianity and conventional and traditional morality. Nihilism in step with Nietzsche is first of all the situation where the world appears to be without value, morals, the world after the loss of life of god. There is not any get away from the fact and whilst there is not any approach to reconcile oneself to it, since all of the method have utterly failed. This can be a predicament, an untenable trouble, a state of powerlessness that we cannot probably suffer. For the world seems to be without value precisely on account that the values we invested on this world are failing: they now not participate in their ordering or organizing perform. Nietzsche is probably associated with nihilism that put his factor ahead via saying that its corrosive and mordant results would eventually smash all moral, religious and metaphysical convictions and precipitate the finest trouble in human historical past Nihilism is a term which describes the lack of value and meaning in individual’s life. When Nietzsche mentioned that god is lifeless, he meant that Christianity has somewhere been lost as a guiding force in our lifes and there is nothing to replace it. Nietzsche’s philosophy arrives from the rejection, from outrage on the world, from the simple that world reasons. It is only once we learn to care for this pain, when we observe its vigor, that we will be able to appreciate the world as it is. This needs that we confront nihilism, now not most effective nihilistic attitudes or role but most of all the nihilism of what occurs, the nihilism of our lives. Nietzsche is famous for proclaiming death of god. Through talking concerning the demise of god, Nietzsche is maintaining come what may that god existed for a time and that he died, ceased to exist. Nietzsche is just not pronouncing that god literally existed and he actually died. What he means is right here is that the sugg estion of god performed a principal and a unifying function in western philosophical concept as good as everyday lifestyles, and that this proposal has ceased to satisfy its operate. The topics of nihilism and faith, nihilism and morality, and overcoming of nihilism. This thematic focal point reflects three primary features of view of which nihilism is massive for Nietzsche’s idea. The dying of god represents a predominant precondition for the uncompromising stance regarding the diagnosis of nihilism. After Nietzsche, the influence of nihilism has its clearest and most sustained effect within the huge area of morality; finally the doctrines of eternal return and the desire to power conceived as stratagems for the overcoming of nihilism. In all of the three sections, religion, morality and the overcoming of nihilism – a growing universalization of the predicament of nihilism makes manifest. Nietzsche, at the end of the 19th century mentioned that the approaching century will be the story of nihilism-the expertise of the dying of god and the simultaneous retention of the ancient expectations in regards to the which means, rationale and worth. For the duration of the transitional period of nihilism, humans will think that there is not anything rationale, meaning or values. In short, the world identity nothing-that is the expertise of nihilism-the interpretation of the new world order in phrases of the categories correct to the ancient, now defunct worldview. Nihilism is theref ore a transitional state that outcome from having one foot in the historic world and the opposite in the new of expectations proper to the Christian world view. The points that Nietzsche had put forward regarding Nihilism were critiqued by several religious challengers, and existentialist. One of the popular critics called Albert Camus, believe that the human beings generally logs and desires for higher order absurd. He also said that the death of god was insignificant and unimportant and that the entire mankind, do not need any higher authority or power and danger of divine wrath to live a contented, happy life full of morals. Nietzsche talked about the end of Christian morality in the world. Nietzsche in God is Dead stated that he believed that here is no longer a real essence or substance to conventional and traditional social, political and religious values. He witnessed that old values and old ethics, probity and morals, now, don’t have the same power that they once had. At this stage, he announced the death of god, stating that the traditional or time-honoured resource and basis of transcendental value, God, no longer did not ho ld any importance in modern culture and was efficiently dead to us. Generally, Nihilists believe in the fact that without any apposite and apt source of complete , universal, and inspirational values, then there cannot be any real values at all. Chapter II Unveiling Hidden Aspects of Nihilism in T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland T.S. Eliot (1888-) was born and brought up in St. Louis, Missouri. He went to Smith Academy in St. Louis and after that the Milton Academy in Massachusetts, as his family was initially from New England. Eliot started courses at Harvard University in 1906, graduating after three years with a Bachelor of Arts degree. At Harvard, he was extraordinarily affected by teachers eminent in verse, rationality and abstract feedback, and whatever is left of his artistic profession would be formed by each of the three. Not long after the turn of the century, Eliot started seeing his poems and short stories in print. T. S. Eliot was a writer, screenwriter and scholarly commentator and a Nobel Prize victor for his excellent work. Some of his best known works incorporate the poems The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, Murder in the Cathedral The Hollow Men, Four Quarters and the plays Murder in the Cathedral and The Cocktail Party. His most renowned exposition remains Tradition and t he Individual Talent. For his lifetime of idyllic advancement, Eliot won the Order of Merit and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. The Waste Land, by T. S. Eliot, showed up during an era when European culture was not knowing as to what to do with itself. Europe had quite recently risen up out of World War I, a war which had damaged the landmass , its general public and society. Numerous people of that time believed in the fact that society has become disordered, chaotic,coldhearted and humans without any sentiments. A feeling of disappointment, disillusion and criticism got to be proclaimed and nihilism became popular and came to the front. The poem then was known as a poem which reflected the condition after the war and how that resulted in degradation and loss of values and ideals,and further resulting, a loss in faith. The Waste Land also expresses the hopelessness which was present in that time in the society. People felt that nothing is left. The poem commences with the central character of the poem, of the wasteland, thinking about the spring: April is the unkind and callous month, variety Lilacs out of the dead land, amalgamating Memory and desire, blending Dull roots with spring rain. Winter keep us warm, covering Earth in dreamy snow, feeding A little life with dried tubers. This passage is an indication of the extent of the dilapidation, deprivation and corruption and degradation of man. The man has drawn and has gone so low into depravity, corruption, and decadence and evil that he now wants to live a life of unawareness and due to this they are not living a complete and a fruitful life. April, the month in which spring starts, is no more a happy time in which new life is commended and rejoiced, yet a coldblooded time of resurrection that reminds man that his own particular life is frightfully unfilled and is empty. The speaker then reviews the time he initially understood that his life has become empty, blank, vacant and bare. In the springtime, he says, he gave his mate hyacinths. When he gave a glimpse to her, then he noticed that his beloved arm’s were full of beautiful flowers and from her hair, water was dropping, then he anticipated to see joy, contentment, fulfillment and satisfaction on her face, but saw nothing. As of right now, he understands that genuine bliss cant be found in passing and temporary things. The world holds nothing for him- Oed und scoff das Meer-forsaken and vacant is the ocean. It is conceivable that Eliot resulted in these present circumstances same acknowledgment through a comparable reason, as he and his wife had an exceptionally miserable relationship. The hero then goes up against us a trip through society, an excursion that shows the full degree of human corruption and profound spiritual emptiness and blankness. In the first scene of A Game of Chess, an affluent couple is indicated at home, living futile lives and a life without meaning which is made out of dull schedules. Their relationship is constrained and simulated, every so self-assimilated that not one or the other can correspond with the other. The world war I is one of the most enormous disaster and misfortune in the history. The after effects of the war to had a drastic effect on the ordinary people. The condition of that time was also portrayed in literature, and in poems as well. T.S. Eliot is one of the most important war-poet who in his poem the wasteland, depicts the condition of mankind struck in paramount destruction and demolition following the war. The poem is divided into five parts and its puts forward some of the themes like social devastation, thrashing of joy and looking forward in future and belief in nothing. The poem begins with the first part of the poem named as, ‘The Burial of the dead’. In this section , the speaker can be Eliot himself, is describing the seasons. Spring brings reminiscence and the necessitate and need and then the speaker’s memory drifts back to time to munich, to childhood sled rides and to a potential romance with a hyacinth lady. He then goes on remembering som e other incidents which includes the fortune teller namely , Sosostris and then he finds himself on the London bridge. The third part ‘ The Heart Sermon’ opens with a picture of river. The speaker is sitting on the banks and muses on the deplorable condition of the world and then the scene shifts to maidens singing a song of lament and one of those id crying because of the fact that the world has lost its innocence to a similarly lustful man. The fourth section, ‘ Death by Water’, describes a dead Phoenician lying within the water. The speaker cries for rain and it finally comes. Second part of the poem is a very famous part which is named as ‘ A game of Chess’ which focuses on the aspect that humans share some similarities with the pieces just like there are on the board of chess. The title suggests the horrible conditions after the war for the complete society. People were living on the wasteland, and they have been clutched and compressed in a situation just as pieces in chess. One of the line of the second part of the poem which involves the fisher king myth and it underlines the infertility and barrenness of humanity after the war. There was no love , communication between the lovers and thus it resulted in no reproduction at all. The idea of nothingness and emptiness is the central theme of the poem, which is the symbol of realism of that society. The famous poem the Wasteland is divided into five parts which represents five totally different elements of earth, fire, water, etc, because of the hunter picture in a search. The effects of the war was as such that it did affected the physical environment but it also resulted in the loss of spiritual and moral life and its vitality, liveliness and strength. Because of this condition it was difficult for people to return on the previous innocence and it was marked by emptiness and a search which goes on its journey without any probable scope of improvement. The second part of the poem is also marked by hopelessness, degeneration, infertility, unworthiness and cruel condition of humanity. Humanity has no other option to flee and runaway. But people were still living and continuing there designated roles and was living in horrible conditions around them. The title of the second part is highly symbolic, just as in the game of chess there is an division based on hierarchy, in the same w ay humans are also divided on several parameters and social realities. The second part of the poem can itself be divided into two parts, the first one is concerned with the richer class and the setting is their respective households. And second part depicts the poorer class and the action takes place in a pub. The main subject matter of first part is despair , despondency and lack of optimism are portrayed here. The unproductiveness and aridity of the setting is a major theme which is highlighted by focusing on social classes and persons. The barrenness of marriage is also emphasised to all classes of society and the fact that love does not appear anymore. At the end, what is left behind is darkness, dimness and sadness and a crystal clear picture of the wasteland. Chapter III Conclusion Nihilism is one of the most celebrated notion in English language and many writers have taken Nihilism as a subject matter in many of their works. The word Nihilism has long history. The word Nihilism is the resultant of the Latin phrase ‘Nihil’, which means anything does not exist. Nihilism in step with Nietzsche is first of all the situation where the world appears to be without value, morals, and the world after the loss of life of god. There is not any get away from the fact and whilst there is not any approach to reconcile oneself to it, since all of the method have utterly failed. For the world seems to be without value precisely on account that the values we invested on this world are failing: they now not participate in their ordering or organizing perform. This can be a predicament, an untenable trouble, a state of powerlessness that we cannot probably suffer. Nihilism is therefore a transitional state that outcome from having one foot in the historic world and the opposite in the new of expectations proper to the Christian world view. There are many elements of Nihilism which are found in T.S. Eliot’s the Wasteland. The wasteland causes a sensation once it absolutely was printed in 1922. Nihilism with reference to the Wasteland talks about the end of Christianity and religion as a guiding light to the people because of the growing power of the evil and the victory of good over bad. The Waste Land, by T. S. Eliot, came up during an era when European culture and world was not knowing as to what to do with itself. Many people of that time believed that society has become disordered, chaotic ,and humans without any sentiments. A feeling of disappointment, disillusion and criticism got to be emphasized and nihilism became popular and came to the front. The poem then was known as a poem which reflected the condition after the war and how that resulted in degradation and loss of values , morals and ideals ,and further resulting, a loss in faith. The Waste Land also expresses the hopelessness which was present in t hat time in the society. People felt that nothing is left on which they can believe and attain solutions to their various problems. With his depiction of London as the ‘unbelievable and incredible city’ whose populace has been fixed by death, Eliot plainly depicts the sadness experienced by the British after the war. The city is not just possessed by the coagulated waterway of sighing masses which courses through its mist secured roads, however by the spooky memories of officers like Stetson who lost their lives amid the war. Like The Sound and the Fury, ‘The Wasteland’ endeavors to pass on the agnosticism of its day through its extremely structure and style. By its disconnected lines and various dark references, the poem introduces an age in which otherworldly and existential assurance.Remaining out of sight of this poem is the Fisher King, a legendary figure from Arthurian legend. His barrenness speaks to the sterility of the age, and his just trust is that somebody will ask him what it is that upsets him. In The Wasteland, Eliot is underlining the way that the issue for present day man is not to be found in the absence of bounteous answers, however in the absence of the best possible inquiries. The age that delivered World War I couldnt settle its own particular issues; just a come back to the knowledge that had gone before it offered any trust. These works impart a compelling truth: that in his ascent to power and investigative ability, humankind lost his direction. Perplexity rules and his tower is left to disintegrate. This is skepticism: the breaking down of all esteem; the lethal oversight of overlooking that the most valuable things that a man has are not those things which can be full in a wash room, put away in a ledger. Yet, as Eliot saw, there is trust: escape from the maze of negligibility is not found by pressing forward into the dimness, however by taking after the breadcrumbs of times long past once again to the doorway and to escape. The poem’s main element of ni hilism can be found in a manner that the death of Christianity and religion as a source of enlightenment and inspiration from is as it is dead because of the increased corruption and loss of values and morals. The poem also gives many examples in various sections about the degrading values and morals and the way people are becoming materialistic and only thinking about themselves rather than humanity on a whole. Works Cited:

John Steinbeck: Experiencing the Dust Bowl Essay -- essays research pa

The 1930’s were a decade of great change politically, economically, and socially. The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl wore raw the nerves of the people, and our true strength was shown. From it arose John Steinbeck, a storyteller of the Okies and their hardships. His books, especially The Grapes of Wrath, are reflections of what really went on in the 1930’s. John Steinbeck did not write about what he had previously read, he instead wrote what he experienced through his travels with the migrant workers. â€Å"His method was not to present himself notebook in hand and interview people. Instead he worked and traveled with the migrants as one of them, living as they did and arousing no suspicion from employers militantly alert against â€Å"agitators† of any kind.† (Lisca 14) John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath was derived from his personal experiences and his journeys with the migrant workers. John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in the town of Salinas, California. Salinas was an agricultural trading center with ties to the farms and ranches in the area. Steinbeck’s father, John Steinbeck Sr., was in the flour-milling business and through it supported his family of three daughters and one son. Steinbeck was a good student and a great writer even at an early age; he wrote stories for his high school paper. (Lisca 1-4) The experiences that were most influential to Steinbeck were not at school, but instead came from his home and the countryside. He read his mother’s books, which included the titles of Crime and Punishment, Paradise Lost and The Return of the Native. Another major influence was the countryside of California that surrounded him all his childhood. He went with Good 2 his family to his mother’s family ranch, where Steinbeck was surrounded by nature, and these kinds of trips led him to write such books as â€Å"East of Eden† and â€Å"The Red Pony†. (Lisca 3-5) Later in life, Steinbeck wrote a book called â€Å"In Dubious Battle†, which made him known as sympathetic to the labor conditions in California. Because of this, Steinbeck accepted assignments to write articles about the migrants working in California. Steinbeck had been aware of the labor problems in his state of California, but for these articles he wanted to experience it firsthand. For inspiration for his articles, and also what would turn out to be the inspiration for â€Å"Grapes of Wrath†, he visited t... ...out I’ve tried to make the reader participate in the actuality, what he takes from it will be scaled entirely on his own depth or hollowness. There are five layers in this book, a reader will find as many as he can and he won’t find more than he has in himself. (DeMott xiii).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Steinbeck was not observing these people’s plight, but was instead living and feeling it. Steinbeck could have only been considered an observer in that he did not have to experience it. Throughout his experiences living and working with the migrants he not only became interested or aware of the cause, but he became attached to the cause and it became a part of him. Good 5 Works Cited DeMott, Robert. Introduction. The Grapes of Wrath. By John Steinbeck. New York: Penguin Books, 1939. Lisca, Peter. John Steinbeck: Nature and Myth. New York: Thomas Y. Cromwell Company, 1978. Steinbeck, Elaine, and Robert Wallsten. Steinbeck: A Life in Letters. New York; Penguin Books, 1989 Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. 20th century ed. New York: Penguin Books, 1939. Steinbeck, John. Working Days: The Journals of Grapes of Wrath. Ed. Robert DeMott. New York: Penguin Books, 1989.

The Reasons Young People Use Drugs

The Reasons Young People Use Drugs Jenita Magdalena, 1106053256 FIK UI 2011 Drugs are not a familiar problem in the ears of the people of Indonesia today. Especially in the ears of young people. Why? Because many young people in Indonesia now felt into drugs. And tragically, this is no longer just a problem in big cities only, but now also been expanded to rural areas. This is because drug addicts today are not only the wearer, but also as a dealer. The easier access to get drugs must be one of the factor.With the above explanation, it is clear that the drugs problem undermines the future of Indonesia's young generation. There are many reasons that many people -especially young people- using drugs. There reasons are media, curiosity, lack of proper family guidence, and the factor of friends. The reasons were not the absolute reason. There are still many other factors, but the above factors are a common factor in today's society. It helps us to better identify the factors above as an initial step spread of drugs prevention. The first reason of someone falling into the circle of drugs is the media factor.Along with the development of today's technology, people become very dependent on technology such as mobile phones, television, radio, and internet. Thus the role of the media becomes very important in a person's psychological development. People who are too often witnessed the violence in movies or the internet, believed to be more aggressive. As same as the drugs problem. Someone who often witnessed how drug users or drugs used, were also likely to fall into drugs. Therefore, the sensors could be reducing the scenes of drug use as one of the major steps in drugs prevention.Besides the media, of course, is the major causative factor is high curiosity and want to try drugs. Because someone who has seen drug users in film, television, and internet, will appear curious and wanted to try drugs. They are not know, by trying the drugs it will be difficult for them to escape from the drugs. Because the drugs is one type of substance that would cause the addiction for the wearer. Lack of proper guidance of the family can also be an important factor in causing a child got into drugs. Parents should act as educators in the family, should be a good example for children.So that children can imitate the good behavior of their parents. Based on research, a child who was raised by parents who become drug addicts, most likely the child will also become addicted to drugs later. Thus, the role of parents can be an important one of the psychological development of children. And the final factor that is not less important is the factor of friends. Often, playmates who use drugs will invite other friends to come to feel or using drugs. And usually, someone who offered his friend to use drugs will be easy to take drugs.That's because a sense of solidarity and friendship is strong, so people are can’t reject his captives. Of course as we all know, once so meone has tried to feel the drugs, it will be difficult to him to get out of the bondage of drugs. Thus by knowing the factors that cause someone to fall into the drugs, we expected to take reasonable precautions against those around us. So that step by step spread of the drugs will be reduced in this country. And of course our hope is with the reduced network with drugs in this country is Indonesia's future will be bright, because the future of Indonesia is in the hands of youth.

Nutrition †Food Essay

In our today’s society, especially western countries, the issue of fast food seems to be at the top of every health related debate. As these debates become more controversial, the question of who bears the responsibility remains unanswered. In his essay, Don’t Blame the Eater, David Zinczenko attempts to answer this key question by placing the greater responsibility of America’s obesity and other fast food related health issues on the fast food industries. Contrary to Zinczenko’s argument, Raldy Balko, in his essay, What You Eat Is Your Business, states that, people should take ownership of their health and well-being, and are therefore responsible for what and how they eat. Although both Zinczenko and Balko address the issue of responsibility, though with contrast, but valid arguments, Zinczenko seems to present a more convincing argument due to the way in which he explains the politics of food, the way in which our lifestyles are altered by what we eat, and things we can do to change the way we see food and its role in our lives. Although Zinczenko hold consumers responsible to an extent, he blames the fast food industries for the rising rate of obesity and other health issues related to fast food due to their failure to provide labels for their products. Zinczenko convincingly supports his claim by noting statistical data that shows the rise in money spent to treat diabetes. â€Å"Before 1994, diabetes in children was generally caused by a genetic disorder only 5 percent of childhood cases were obesity related, or Type 2 diabetes. Today, according to the National Institutes of Health, Type 2 diabetes accounts for at least 30 percent of all new childhood cases of diabetes in this country†(Zinczenko 392). He argues that, if the fast food companies are regulated so that they are responsible for their food contents, by providing proper labels, than consumers will make informed food choices. Contrary to Zinczenko, Balko argues that what one eats should be a matter of personal responsibility. To Balko’s credit, I believe that people should take personal responsibility for their health by adding a sensible diet and exercise to their routines. Where I differ from Balko is when he says that government restrictions on food are a result of people making poor food choices. According to Balko, â€Å"a society where everyone is responsible for everyone else’s well-being is a society more apt to accept government restrictions† (397). I think Balko’s argument in this regard, is a selfish one, and is an attempt to exempt the rich from paying their fair share of taxes that would otherwise benefit the poor or some middle families who cannot afford the high cost of health insurance. Both Zinczenko and Balko seem to agree on the rising health costs that are somehow a result of fast food, these two authors seem to differ on reasons. Zinczenko argues that health care cost is on the rise because of diseases caused by fast food due to the failure of fast food companies to provide labels and that consumers should not be blame for it. However, Balko argues that it is so that, we allow the â€Å"government to come between us and our waistline† (396). Balko states that, the more the government continues to fund health issues that are direct attribute of poor food/health choices, the more people will continue to dine on fast food and engage not in an effective diet and exercise regimen. (398) The growth of the fast food industry and the rate at which fast food is consumed is so fast, and its accompanying risks of obesity and related cardiovascular diseases have become a societal epidemic. Zinczenko blames the fast food industries for the spring in the rate to which obesity have grown in the United States. Even though Zinczenko is right about the rising rate of obesity, and that the consumption of fast food forms part of its etiology, the thesis of his argument cannot be proven and therefore cannot form the basis for his claims against the fast food companies since there are other contributing factors regarding the cause, onset, and progression of obesity. Obesity is also biologically linked. These biological attributors include: genetics, hormones, enzymes, and vitamins and minerals. Some people have fat in their genes that, no matter what they do, they are just fat. Others have issues with hormonal imbalances and or inadequate enzymatic actions that would aid in the adequate digestion and absorption of certain foods. Fast food is just one of the many environmental attributes associated with obesity. So Zinczenko can accurately make his case against the fast food industries for providing labels so as to enable consumers make informed food choices and not a case of obesity. Sometimes, people are too fast to pass judgment on others, especially people that are obese. I am equally guilty of the accusation myself. I work as a nurse at a nursing home facility and, in most cases, when staff member comes to me complaining of headache, first thing I say to them is; let’s check your blood pressure and, God forbid, the blood pressure is elevated, or if that person just look fat to me, my next comment is, it is because of all the junk you eat. My judgment, though may be incorrect, is based on the fact that most of these staff members are single parents, live in inner cities, and have a total commute time of two hours to and from work. Not to mention, some of them have more than one job. However, these people are being made to feel guilty about something that is totally out their control. In most instances, their wages aren’t even enough to meet up with their rents and utilities bills. Fast food comes handy in such instance where one can spend ten dollars and get ten cheeseburgers to feed a family of three to five versus going to the grocery store where each healthy ingredient is almost equivalent to the price of the entire dinner comprising of fast food. People fall back on fast food because it is cheap. Zinczenko explains that his parents were split up and that he had to live with his mother who worked long hours just to make the monthly bills. â€Å"Lunch and dinner, for me, was a daily choice between McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Pizza Hut. † (Zinczenko 391). In Zinczenko’s case, his lifestyle is altered because fast food is his only option since his family is dysfunctional. His single mother has to work very hard to pay bills and provide him a meal. It doesn’t matter the kind of meal. A meal is a meal, especially for someone who doesn’t have the time to prepare a home cooked meal. The people afflicted with fast food related obesity are not to blame for what they eat because they have very little or no options regarding what they eat due to all of the above reasons. However, to Balko’s point, while people may not have the option about what they eat, they have the option to control how they eat. Zinczenko states in his essay that fast food is â€Å"the only available options for an American kid to get an affordable meal†, and so, he urges his readers not to â€Å"blame the Eater† (392). But as with Zinczenko, we are well aware of the role fast food play in our lives. We understand that, though fast may be one, or the only available meal choice that we have, the way we eat can help us determine the role these foods play in our lives. Zinczenko supports his argument about the role food play in his life by giving information about his pre-college weight. â€Å"By age 15, I had packed 212 pounds of torpid tallow on my once lanky 5-foot-10 frame† (392). Even Zinczenko believes that, consumers are as equally responsible for the way they eat. However, he maintains his argument that the fast food companies bare the greater responsibility. In conclusion, both the eater and the producer are responsible for fast food related obesity, but I believe that the fast industries should bare the greater responsibility. Fast food companies must provide their consumers with proper food labels that enable them to make inform decision about what they eat. Label should not be falsified or misleading, like in the example giving by Zinczenko about the misleading label on the â€Å"chicken salad† (393). He refers to the salad as not healthy and that it is a caloric death- trap aimed at eaters who will not suspect it. Although Balko makes some really good points, his objectives seem to me as a means to an end. Zinczenko cautions that there are few or no alternatives to what we eat and that things have to change. Balko cautions that allowing food regulations for labels means letting the government between you and your waistline. In either case, we as a people have a responsibility to consider what and how we eat.