Success Essays (462 words) - Belief, Epistemology, Truth, Motivation

Success Success: The achievement of something desired or attempted. Aim for success is an independent, non-profit, educational organization that promotes a life style of excellence by encouraging the development of self-control, self-respect, and self-discipline. Through live presentations students are encouraged to develop strong, responsible characters. We learned to speak one word after another. A sequence of thoughts can direct our brains to a series of actions that lead to ACCOMPLISHMEN. So how can we direct our brains and schedule ourselves for achievement? The series of thoughts that led to motivations, self-esteem, and accomplishment must be embed in the UNCONSCIOUS. I only have to mention three now: beliefs, decisions, and strategies. Beliefs are POWERFUL but they can remain just potential. You can have powerful beliefs all your life and never bring them to fruition. Decisions are NECESSARY. They are how we take a belief and decide to achieve prosperity. Strategies are necessary to bring beliefs and decisions to DYNAMIC achievement. SET for Success provides a self-evolutionary template that gives you step-by-step instructions for EMPOWERING beliefs, decisions, and strategies. You believe that you deserve to be more successful and you are absolutely right. That belief needs a decision, a spark. The brain evolved as our ancestors scratched, fought, and thought their way to survival and prosperity. It describes how we use five senses plus language to project images, provides floods of feelings, and creates logic in our internal dialogue. It teaches you how to use the mental tools that we all have we all have, our inheritance from our ancestors. It is easy to stagnate in life. Do the same routine things while life just whizzes by. Think back when you were a kid and you had all those dreams of your future. You may have planned on being and doing great things. Achieving success from living a totally empowered and fulfilling lifestyle. Can you feel the excitement you felt back then? The world was at your feet and you could do and be anything you chose. All the opportunity, the uncertainly and yet the unquestioning knowing that you would get exactly what you pictured and desired. So where are you now? Have you bogged down in the everyday chores of living? Are you struggling to make ends meet and thinking of embarking on that next plan to get where you think you ought to be in life or just get away from where you are. From my point of view success is achievement of one's purpose. I also found another definition of the word success that is very generous. It says that success is achievement of fame and wealth. But to be famous and rich does not mean that the person is successful in life. Psychology

Macadamia Nut Poisoning in Dogs Essay Example

Macadamia Nut Poisoning in Dogs Essay Example Macadamia Nut Poisoning in Dogs Paper Macadamia Nut Poisoning in Dogs Paper Macadamia Nut poisoning in dogs| Roger Meadows| VET 123 Mrs. Owens | | Macadamia nuts come from the Macadamia tree grown in the United States, mostly found in Hawaii. They are popular ingredients found in cookies and candies or on a table during a party. Every year, calls are made to the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center about dogs eating different amounts of macadamia nuts. The findings from these fairly rare calls have close to the same outcomes and are remarkably consistent (Macadamia nut toxicosis in dogs, 2002). Macadamia nut toxicosis can last up to 48 hours and have symptoms that are very uncomfortable, though it is unlikely to be fatal in dogs. Dogs that have ingested macadamia nuts may look to be in pain, have weakness in the back legs, might acquire a low grade fever and tremors may start. This should all get better over a 48 hour period, but dogs experiencing more than mild symptoms should see a veterinarian, and care may include intravenous fluid therapy and pain control (ASPCA, n. d. ). 48 calls about dogs eating macadamia nuts came into the ASPCA APPC between 1987 to 2001. Weakness, depression, vomiting, ataxia, tremors, and hyperthermia are the clinical signs that were most reported. In 94% of the cases in which dogs had consumed macadamia nuts from the periods of 1998 to 2001, reports show at least one of these signs. Wide ranges of dosage were reported over the time period. Based on ASPCA APCC data, weakness was reported after dogs ingested as little as 2. 4 to as much as 62. 4 g/kg. Vomiting was reported to occur after the ingestion of 7 to 62. 4 g/kg. The mean amount of macadamia nuts ingested was estimated to be 11. 7 g/kg (range 2. 2 to 62. 4 g/kg). The reported time from ingestion of nuts to development of clinical signs was less than 12 hours in 79% of the cases. These clinical signs of toxicosis were reproduced in the laboratory after administering 20 g/kg (about 2 tsp. /lb. ) of commercially prepared roasted macadamia nuts to four healthy dogs via a stomach tube. (Macadamia nut toxicosis in dogs, 2002) The dogs developed marked weakness with the inability to stand on their rear legs by 12 hours after dosing. Extensive blood tests were performed, but only serum lipase activities were elevated. All dogs appeared normal within 48 hours. Tremors were not noted in the perimentally exposed dogs. The reports of tremors in the field cases were probably related to muscle weakness (Macadamia nut toxicosis in dogs, 2002). â€Å"In a search of the human medical literature revealed reports of anaphylactic reactions to macadamia nuts similar to other nut IgE-mediated hypersensitivities† (Macadamia nut toxicosis in dogs, 2002). In this medical collected works, no symptoms similar to what happens in dogs are found in human reports. There has been found in the macadamia nut kernel a protein that reveals antimicrobial, but the importance of this research is unknown. Why dogs show signs of toxicosis when they eat macadamia nuts it not really know. Why dogs are getting sick may be specific to the dog or involve the ingredients of the nuts themselves. Toxins from processing, mycotoxins or other unidentified causes may also be at fault (Macadamia nut toxicosis in dogs, 2002). Macadamia nut toxicosis is based on a history of known exposure and consistent clinical signs for a diagnosis. Macadamia nut identification in vomit or stool, empty containers that have been chewed up, or if the dog was seen eating the nuts are all part of the history of exposure. Chocolate-covered macadamia nuts also may result in methyl xanthine toxicosis and should be treated accordingly if thought to have been eaten. If a dog shows signs of back leg weakness and no nervous system involvement or musculoskeletal pain or and signs of wounds then macadamia nut poisoning should be considered (Macadamia nut toxicosis in dogs, 2002). Make your dog vomit as soon as possible and then call your vet immediately if you think your dog has eaten macadamia nuts with in the last hour. By having your dog vomit you can reduce the amount of nuts digested by the dog, so if you could not get your dog to vomit then the veterinarian will do it for you. Activated charcoal coats the lining of the digestive system and that will reduce the amount of nuts digested so your veterinarian may give this also. Until the toxin passes out of your dog’s system he will be treated as each new symptom appears. Hyperthermia is treated by cooling the body’s core temperature. Cool wet towels can be used to cover the body and even intravenous fluids will work. Never use an ice bath, because this could cause the problem to get much worse. If the dog’s body temperature has been significantly elevated for a long period of time, the dog’s clotting mechanisms can be severely compromised. In this case, the dog would need possible plasma transfusions and heparin therapy† (Macadamia Nut Poisoning in the Dog, 2011). Medications can help to stop the trembling if sever e muscle tremors start. A fast or racing heart rate can be treated with medication if need be. These medications will be stopped after the dog begins to return to normal (Macadamia Nut Poisoning in the Dog, 2011). In most cases, the dog can return home in around 48 hours as the signs are mostly gone by then. The prognosis for complete recovery with no evidence of complications is very good for most dogs with the common signs. Dogs regularly return to normal within 24 to 48 hours according to the ASPCA APCC’s experience, with only observation at home. Every case managed by the ASPCA APCC has resulted in complete recovery to date (Macadamia nut toxicosis in dogs, 2002). Macadamia nut ingestion in two pet dogs; Case 1 â€Å"In December 2000, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) received a call involving a 1. 5-year old, castrated, 14. 1-lb (6. 4-kg) bichon frise that reportedly ingested 4 oz. f macadamia nuts (17. 7 g/kg) late in the day. The owner reported that seven and a half hours after ingestion, the dog vomited a large quantity of macadamia nuts and could not stand or walk without support. The ASPCA APCC veterinarian advised the owner, based on the clear evidence of macadamia nut exposure and the consistency of the clinical signs with known field and research cases, t hat recovery without treatment was expected within 12 to 36 hours. The dog remained at home under observation. When contacted by phone three days after exposure, the owner reported that the dog’s clinical signs had subsided. The owner did not recall exactly when the dog had returned to normal† (Macadamia nut toxicosis in dogs, 2002). Case 2 â€Å"In July 2001, the ASPCA APCC received a call involving a 9-year-old, castrated, 26. 8-lb (12. 2-kg) cocker spaniel that reportedly consumed 5. 3 oz. of macadamia nuts (12. 3 g/kg) one hour earlier. The dog was reported to be moderately ataxic with muscle tremors and mild dyspnea. In this case, the attending veterinarian administered an enema and provided pain relief combined with other symptomatic and supportive care before contacting the ASPCA APCC. No additional treatment procedures were recommended. Within nine and a half hours, the clinical signs resolved, and the dog fully recovered† (Macadamia nut toxicosis in dogs, 2002). Referemces Macadamia nut poisoning in the dog. (2011). Vet blog. Retrieved on August12, 2011 from http://vetblog. co. uk/vetblog/macadamia-nut-poisoning-in-the-dog Macadamia nut toxicosis in dogs. (2002). aspcapro. Retrieved onAugust15, 2011 from www. aspcapro. org/mydocuments/x-toxbrief_0402. pdf ASPCA. (n. d. ). Virtual pet behaviorist. Retrieved on August 16, 2011 from aspcabehavior. org/articles/71/Foods-That-Are-Hazardous-to-Dogs-. aspx

Food Shortages Due to Global Warming, Study Warns

Food Shortages Due to Global Warming, Study Warns Half of the world’s population could face severe food shortages by the end of this century as rising temperatures shorten the growing season in the tropics and subtropics, increase the risk of drought, and reduce the harvests of dietary staples such as rice and maize by 20 percent to 40 percent, according to a study published in the journal Science. Global warming is expected to affect agriculture in every part of the world but it will have a greater impact in the tropics and subtropics, where crops are less able to adapt to climate change and food shortages are already starting to occur due to rapid population growth. High Highs Scientists at Stanford University and the University of Washington, who worked on the study, discovered that by 2100 there is a 90 percent chance that the coolest temperatures in the tropics during the growing season will be higher than the hottest temperatures recorded in those regions through 2006. Even more temperate parts of the world can expect to see previously record-high temperatures become the norm. Higher Demand With the world population expected to double by the end of the century, the need for food will become increasingly urgent as rising temperatures force nations to retool their approach to agriculture, create new climate-resistant crops, and develop additional strategies to ensure an adequate food supply for their people. All of that could take decades, according to Rosamond Naylor, who is director of food security and the environment at Stanford. Meanwhile, people will have fewer and fewer places to turn for food when their local supplies begin to run dry. When all the signs point in the same direction, and in this case its a bad direction, you pretty much know whats going to happen, said David Battisti, the University of Washington scientist who led the study. Youre talking about hundreds of millions of additional people looking for food because they wont be able to find it where they find it now. Member of the International Panel on Climate Change agree. In their latest review of the food security issue, they point out that its not just crops: fisheries, weed control, food processing and distribution will all be affected. Edited by Frederic Beaudry.

U01d2 Cost Shifting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

U01d2 Cost Shifting - Essay Example There are a number of different treatments like the surgical, non – surgical cancer, organ transplants and other imaging like CT, MRI, PET scans and numerous other highly sophisticated tests which need to be considered and covered for. America’s health care system in the country is also structured in a manner which contributes to the rise on costs (Griffin, 2000). The concept of cost shifting is one of the major reasons that the costs have also gone up. Cost shifting simply implies at how the cost of care has shifted from one set of people to another group. The concept is such that if one group of people is unwilling to pay the bills, then the costs are redistributed to another set of people who can’t refuse to pay for the costs. One of the few reasons for the inclusion of cost shifting in the health care industry is the creation of Medicaid and Medicare. Shi and Singh explain that the cost shifting was included to offset costs when the charity received was used to make up for the difference. Feldstein explains that when there is a belief that cost shifting occurs, this could possibly be when the hospitals raise their prices to compensate for the patients that are lower charged (Morrisey, 1994). Feldstein also unveils that the costs have increased for two reasons, namely, an increase in the variable costs in terms of the wages and secondly, there are changes in the hospital payer mixes, i.e. an increase in the less price sensitive patients which allows the hospitals to increase the mark ups. This is viewed to be a profit for the hospital however this is a selfishly induced process and is controlled by the cost shifting. The knowledge that people have on the increase in the costs of the providers to make profits has led the industry to be impacted negatively and is also impacting the human charity as well. There is a clear sense of mis happenings within the industry where the rich are being given complete access to quality

Australian waste Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Australian waste - Essay Example The most polluted sites in Australia include transport sites, roadsides, park/waterfront areas, rivers and creeks, school grounds, coastal/beach areas, as well as shops and malls. A recent trend exists that seeks to move away from burying and burning of waste in Australia towards its reuse and recycling. This shift towards sustainable development and conservation ideals with regards to waste disposal, as well as policies aimed at recycling, reusing, reduction of generation, and extraction of energy from the waste have caught on in Australia. Since the 1990s, household waste recycling has become more popular. Reasons for this trend can be explained by the presence of kerbside recycling; raising commodity prices, as well as increased levies for land fill services to prohibitive levels. However, mobile phones have introduced a new dilemma since they contain harmful products. This has necessitated novel ways of disposal. AUSTRALIAN WASTE Australia generates approximately one tonne of was te every year that is sent into a landfill. After the United States and Israel, Australia ranks as the third largest producers of landfill among developed countries. Significantly, most of this waste is resultant from goods that Australians do not even use with waste of over $10.5 billion per year occurring. This habit has begun developing in the early 20th century as ideas of convenience and hygiene gave rise to disposable products, which was justified because the consumer was assured of un-contaminated products. Buying into disposability is easy because new products are cheaper than fixing a broken one. However, this kind of disposability is a fantasy that exists because Australians do not have to see, smell, or handle their waste. This is unlike natural systems where waste is critical in the maintenance of life and, therefore, is not removed, but used as a resource for another system. While organic material in nature can decompose and be used to create something new, this is not possible for industrial objects. It, therefore, becomes important to recognize the regenerative power that waste can have. Australia’s recycling habits, however, have been improving, although there is room for improvement. The most important waste management principle, including recycling, repair, reuse, and reduce, is refuse. Australians are encouraged not to buy a lot of products to begin with since the realization of a sustainable environment also needs a reduction in consumption (O'Connor, 2007). For fourteen years, plastics make up the majority of waste collected in Australia with 31.75 of all collected waste being plastics. Miscellaneous items like cigarette butts made up 17.7% of all rubbish. Metal, especially aluminium ranked third at 14.6%, followed by glass at 13.1%, and finally paper at fifth accounting for 12.6% of all collected rubbish (Australia Bureau of Stastistics, 2007). Other material included polystyrene and rubber. These are the major sources of rubbish i n Australia. When it comes to rubbish items, cigarette butts rank first accounting for 29.6% of items surveyed. Alcoholic beverage containers made of glass were second with 5.4%. The other rubbish items in order of prevalence include confectionary and plastic chip bags, plastic bottle caps, pieces of glass, PET drink containers, metal items, especially aluminium, and paper. The most polluted sites in Australia include transport sites,

Management, Organisations and People Module Report Essay Example for Free

Management, Organisations and People Module Report Essay Introduction: The aim of this report is to provide an explanation to ‘Mimi Vasquez Hair and Beauty’ managers’ approach to leadership and go on to explore his relationship to his work group and how they have developed over time. It will first outline the methodology used to conduct this report and then go on to introduce the managers and workers and explain how their current work roles have developed over time. Subsequently, the report will provide an explanation to ‘Mimi Vasquez Hair and Beauty’ managers’ approach to leadership and go on to explore his relationship to his work group. To conclude the report, there will be a quick summary of what has already been mentioned and some limitations of the findings, methodology and related theories used in the report. The beauty salon which was named after its manager is privately owned and located in Chiswick in West London. In addition, it has two other branches located in Ealing and Hammersmith, both also within the West London area and owned by the same manager. All three of the beauty salons are relatively small in size making satisfactory profits and located just off the high streets in quieter areas. The first branch was opened in 1999 in Chiswick and the others followed on 5 years later, the Hammersmith branch being the newest. Method This report was conducted using both primary and secondary research. The primary research was collected directly from the manager and team members by interviewing them. By so doing, the research collected was new and wasn’t research that had already existed. Secondary research was collected through the use of books, the internet and articles and hence looking at existing data. Findings and discussion Behavioural theory As the manager, Mimi Vasquez, supervises and manages the overall performance of his staff and the business. His current work role is to analyse and recommend developing strategies on how to improve the quality of their services e.g. more speed and efficiency in cutting hair and accuracy with mixing colours of hair dye. These two examples are some of Mimi’s main targets and he wishes to have met these goals by July 2011. Mimi also examines ways to achieve his business goals of maximising profits and acknowledges that compensations and rewards have worked well in the past as they motivate and encourage staff to work better: Every year he elects 2 people as the most improved and most enthusiastic team members and rewards them in the form of bonuses and HMV vouchers. His work role also involves instructing his team members and allocating them to different parts of the salon when the day gets busy Moreover, this has played a great role in the development of Mimi’s leadership within the business. Yukl (2006, p5) defines leadership as- Leadership is the process wherein an individual member of a group or organization influences the interpretation of events, the choice of objectives and strategies, the organization of work activities, the motivation of people to achieve the objectives, the maintenance of cooperative relationships, the development of skills and confidence by member, and the enlistment of support and cooperation from people outside the group or organisation. Yukl’s definition very closely matches Mimi’s approach to leadership in the sense that it emphasizes the importance of ‘people skills’ and the social influence that leadership can have. One theory to provide evidence for this is the behaviour perspective. This theory claims that people become leaders because of what they do and this can be split into two different categories: task behaviour and relationship behaviour. Task behaviour places the main focus on the degree to which a leader emphasises productivity targets, goal accomplishments and maintaining standards. These behaviours can also be called ‘production-centred’ and it can be seen in Mimi’s leadership style when he uses HMV vouchers to motivate his staff to work harder and faster. Mimi has also said that rewards gave his staff an incentive to work and this played a crucial part in keeping them happy and full of energy, even towards the end of the day. Furthermore, relationship behaviour focuses on manager’s actions that show concern for their staff and their welfare as opposed to behaviours that concentrate on completing tasks. Although this contrasts to task behaviour, this can also be seen in Mimi’s leadership approach in the sense that he aims to improve his staff’s skills and help them gain more confidence in their job role. Trait perspective The controversy in defining leadership has enabled many different theories to be developed in an attempt to explain the meaning of a leader within a business or an organisation. Bratton (2010, p363) cited that ‘individuals who occupy leadership positions possess superior qualities or attributes compared with the traits possessed by non- leaders’. This view is known as the trait perspective and its’ theories such as the ‘great man theories’ focus mostly on positive characteristics such as stamina, intelligence and fluency in speech. Research in 1974 by Stogdill showed that socioeconomic factors also played a great role for example, very few corporate leaders had fathers who held a low class position or who were paid quite poorly. Stogdill also found that intelligence and fluency in speech were very closely related to leadership and used these traits to differentiate leaders from followers. He then concluded that there were ‘specific patterns’ of traits that occurred in some people which gave them an advantage when seeking a leadership position. Shabina and Mario also described their manager to hold very positive characteristics such as friendly, talkative, enthusiastic and organised and wasn’t like the other staff members at ‘Mimi Vasquez hair and beauty’ in the sense that he was much more determined. This therefore justifies why Mimi is a leader. In addition, research into ‘substitute’s for leadership’ claim that there should be a distinct difference between the leader and the followers in a business and there should be inflexible rules and formalized areas of responsibility in order to prevent the followers from being guided by their peers and replacing their existing leader. This would occur if the followers realized that their peers had the skills equivalent to their leader and they decided to follow them instead. Keith Grint (2005) also argues that successful leadership- Is not a list of innate skills and competences, or how much charisma you have, or whether you have a vision or a strategy for achieving that vision, but whether you have a capacity to learn from your followers. This again, provides evidence against the trait perspective stating that this is not what makes an effective leader. The shared/super leadership theory The founding of Mimi’s other branches, helped him gain experience which developed his role even further as he had to identify problems, make choices and provide alternatives actions to his initial plans. His role development throughout the years has been quite significant and his responsibilities have duplicated allowing him to improve his time management and organisation. Mario and Shabina are two team members of the salon who were also interviewed. Mario is a professional hair stylist whose work role involves restyling and cutting clients’ hair, dying, permanent hair straightening, Brazilian hair blow drying etc. His work role is crucial to the business as he has qualities and skills that require a lot of training and experience in order to gain. Mario’s work role has developed over the years as his experience has allowed him to move up the ladder in regards to the styles and haircuts he can confidently perform. The number of clients he reserves on a daily basis has also increased over the past 6 years of working at the salon showing an improvement in his abilities. He is now responsible for his own clients as before he would only deal with Mimi’s clients and help around. However, he is still in a lower position to Mimi and is usually responsible for making sure that Mimi’s clients are booked in for the dates and times they requested, making sure none of the time slots clash with one another. The Shared/super leadership theory suggests that excellent leaders are those who help their followers develop by acting as their teacher rather than keeping all of their knowledge to themselves. To add, Peter Senge(1990) also stated that ‘leaders are designers, stewards and teachers’ which supports the view. Mimi has constantly trained his team members, in particularly Mario and this also adds towards the statement that Mimi is an effective leadership. Fiedler’s leadership contingency theory Shabina is the only beautician at ‘Mimi Vasquez Hair and Beauty’ and her role involves taking care of her own customers and making her own bookings as well as offering all of the services; waxing, laser hair removal, threading, massages etc. Her role doesn’t involve anything to do with hair, and she works in her own room downstairs. However, Mimi is her manager also and so it is her responsibility to follow all of his guidelines and instructions. Her role has developed over the past 3 years as she first started out as an assistant, cleaning around and helping the beautician. She then worked her way up by gaining experience and qualifications and developed her role into a full-time professional beautician. Fiedler’s leadership contingency theory proposes that the effectiveness of the leader depends on whether the leadership style is matched with the followers and the environment. It is based on 3 main assumptions: 1) leader-member relations, which relate to whether the leader receives support, respect and trust of the followers; 2) task structure, which relates to how structured the tasks performed by followers are; 3) position power, which relates to the formal authority that the leader can exert through the use of punishment and rewards. This theory can explain Mimi’s leadership style as it explains why Mimi’s leadership is effective and hence how he has been able to successfully run the business for so many years. In relation to this theory, Mimi is placed to be known as a relationship-orientated leader and so it explains that his team members have been able to develop throughout the years because of his concern for them. The situational leadership theory Mimi’s relationship to his group is fairly hierarchical where he would force influence upon others to do something that they otherwise wouldn’t. This hair and beauty business is a good example as it shows how Mario takes responsibility for making bookings for both, his and Mimi’s clients. The group itself had developed over the years as they have slowly started to work as a team, helping each other and finishing each other’s jobs off when the salon gets busy. In 1999, manager Mimi’s Vasquez’s main roles were to simply open and close the salon, receive payments for the service provided and order raw materials such as; hair dye, scissors, wax etc. Now, with the growth of the business, all of the team members in the salon have developed their roles as they have had to cover for each other and enhance coordination skills. The situational leadership model is where the leaders’ leadership style depends on the maturity of the followers; it can explain that why Mimi trusts his staff to look after his salon whilst he is in a different branch. The friendly nature of the business also allows Mimi to be less formal and more flexible with rules and procedures. Bratton (2010, p.370) states that ‘Follower maturity is determined by the ability and willingness of the followers to accept responsibility for completing their work’. The fact that each team member has their own set of responsibilities proves that their levels of maturity are very high and hence can explain why Mimi’s rules are quite flexible, according to Mario and Shabina. Conclusion The report has explored Mimi’s approach to leadership using the behavioural, trait, shared/super leadership, contingency and situational theories and it can clearly be seen that leadership is not easily defined and its effectiveness isn’t easily measured. It has also outlined the work roles of the manager as well as the team members and explained how their roles have developed. To conclude, although the report gives a sense of idea of what Mimi’s leadership approach may be, in reality it is very hard to accurately describe using only one theory. Appendix Bratton, J. (2010) Work and organisational behaviour. 2nd edn, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan Grint,K.(2005) Leadership: limits and possibilities, Basingstoke: Palgrave Senge, P.M.(1990) The Fifth Discipline. New York: Currency/Doubleday Yukl, G.(2006) Leadership in organizations.6th edn, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall

The Ubiquitous Monopoly :: Business Essays

The Ubiquitous Monopoly Monopoly is nearly always seen as something undesirable. Courts have wrestled with monopoly for ages, sometimes defining it as: "the power to control prices and exclude competition", "restraining trade", or "unfair and anti-competitive behavior." Should monopolistic practices be condemned and outlawed? Let's look at anti-competitive behavior and practices, but let's not confine ourselves to what's traditionally seen as monopoly. The marriage contract is essentially a monopoly document. It represents a legally sanctioned collusive agreement between two parties to exclude competitors and restrain trade. It closes the market to competition, or at least it is supposed to. This collusion has benefits as well as costs. Because I have exclusive rights to her affections and property rights to a stream of highly valued domestic services, I place a higher value on my spouse, making me willing to share with her a greater percentage of my wealth. My spouse receives a comparable set of benefits from this collusive arrangement. This monopolistic arrangement has a cost side and perhaps some inefficiencies as well. Neither one of us is as attentive as we were before we made our contractual arrangement. For my part, I don't open the car door for her as often, don't use breath fresheners and colognes as frequently, am not as nearly considerate and gentlemanly as before our marriage some 42 years earlier. The reason is simply that before marriage I was competing against other men and therefore could ill afford to act as a monopolist. Read the Old Testament's Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 5, where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. The first commandment, and presumably the most important is, "Thou Shalt have none other gods before me." The second is, "Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above. . . ." Then there's, "Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God. . . ." If a corporation made a similar decree regarding its services, it would find itself in the sights of the U.S. Department of Justice for gross violations of the anti-trust provisions of the Sherman and Clayton Acts. The Ten Commandments decree exclusive dealing and mandate neither substitutes for nor competition with God. In order for one to condemn all monopolistic practices as evil, at least for consistency, he would have to also condemn marriage and the basic tenets of Christianity.