Protection for Every Occasion

Protection for Every Occasion

Birth Control techniques don't work unless they're used regularly

The following efficacy rates, provided by the U.S. Public Health Service, are yearly estimates based on several studies. Methods that are dependent on conscientious use are subject to a greater chance of human error and reduced effectiveness. Without contraception, some 60 to 85 percent of sexually active women would likely become pregnant within a year.

Male Condom: About 90% effective.

Use: Applied immediately before intercourse; used only once and discarded. Nonprescription.

Risks: Rare irritation and allergic reactions.

STD protection: Latex condoms help protect against sexually transmitted diseases, including herpes and HIV.

Female Condom: 74 to 79 percent effective.

Use: Applied immediately before intercourse; used only once and discarded. Nonprescription.

Risks: Rare irritation and allergic reactions.

STD Protections: May give some protection against sexually transmitted disease, including herpes and HIV; but not as effective as male latex condom.

Spermicides used alone:

Use: Applied no more than ah hour before intercourse. Nonprescription.

Risks: Rare irritation and allergic reactions.

STD Protection: Unknown.

Learn more about birth-control techniques. Photo by Elena

Sponge

72 to 82 percent effective.

Use: Can insert hours before intercourse and be left in place up to 24 hours; used once and discarded. Nonprescription.

Risks: Rare irritation and allergic reactions; difficult removal; very rarely, toxic shock syndrome.

STD Protection: None.

Diaphragm with Spermicide

82 to 94 percent effective.

Use: Inserted before intercourse; can be left in place 24 hours, but additional spermicide must be inserted if intercourse is repeated. Prescription.

Risks: Rare irritation and allergic reactions; bladder infection; very rarely, toxic shock syndrome.

STD Protection: None.

Cervical Cap with spermicide: At least 82 percent effective.

Use: Can remain in place for 48 hours, not necessary to reapply spermicide upon repeated intercourse; may be difficult to insert. Prescription.

Risks: Abnormal Pap test; vaginal or cervical infections; very rarely, toxic shock syndrome. 

STD Protection: None.

Pills: 97 to 99 percent effective. 

Use: Pill must be taken on daily schedule, regardless of the frequency of intercourse. Prescription.

Risks: Blood clots, heart attacks, strokes, gallbladder disease, liver tumors, water retention, hypertension, mood change, nausea; not for smokers.

STD protection: None.

Implant (Norplant): 99 percent effective.

Use: Effective 24 hours after implantation for approximately five years; can be removed by physician at any time. Requires prescription, minor outpatient surgical procedure.

Risks: Menstrual cycle irregularity; headaches, nervousness, depression, nausea and dizziness, change of appetite, breast tenderness, weight gain, enlargement of ovaries and/or fallopian tubes, excessive growth of body hair; may subside after first year.

STD Protection: None.

Injection (Depo-Provera): 99 percent effective.

Use: One injection every three months. Prescription.

Risks: Amenorrhea, weight gain, other side effects similar to Norplant.

STD Protection: None.

IUD: 95 to 96% effective.

Use: After insertion, stays in until physician removes it. Prescription.

Risks: Cramps, bleeding, pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility; rarely, perforation of the uterus.

STD Protection: None.

Was it the most glorious of the most monstrous moment when you met his Creative spirit? The German duo Heracut Graffiti at 1135 Dundas Street East, Toronto. Photo by Elena

Periodic Abstinence: 53 to 86 percent effective.

Use: Requires frequent monitoring of the body's functions and periods of abstinence. Instruction from a physician or clinic.

Risks: None.

STD Protection: None.

Surgical sterilization: Over 99 percent effective.

Use: Vasectomy is a one-time procedure usually performed in a doctor's office; tubal ligation is a one-time procedure performed in operating room.

Risks: Pain, infection, and, for female tubal ligation, possible surgical complications.

STD Protection: None.

The Vasectomy Option

Reversing the process is sometimes possible, but you better not count on it.

When it comes to birth control techniques, most of the options belong to women. But when it comes to sterilization, the man takes center stage. That's because vasectomy has long been regarded as both simpler and safer than its female equivalent, tubal ligation. For couple ready to conclude their child-bearing, vasectomy is the better course, say doctors. More than half a million men elect this option each year.

Not that vasectomy carries no worries. Two recent studies have raised the possibility that men with vasectomies may have some higher risk of developing prostate cancer. While the research is considered too preliminary to require revising current medical practice, further investigation of the question is warranted.

In a vasectomy, the tube that carries sperm to the penis is cut. The procedure can be done on an outpatient basis and requires only 15 to 20 minutes. The doctors injects a local anesthetic in the scrotum and around each of the two vas deferens, the tubes that carry sperm from the testicles to the penis. After making a small incision in the scrotum, the doctor cuts and closes the tube with ties. After the operation, a man will still produce sperm, but the sperm can't enter the penis. Seminal fluid continues to be produced, nevertheless, and erection and ejaculation still take place.

Post-operative complications are relatively rare, and minor in most cases. They can include bleeding, infection, and the development of painful lumps in the scrotum. Risks can be greatly minimized by having the operation done by a doctor who performs it frequently.

Reversal of a vasectomy is often possible, but success is by no means a certainty. Advances in microsurgery techniques make the chances of successfully reconnecting the vas 98 percent, but even is the vas is reconnected, there is only a 50 to 70 percent chance that the man will be able to fertilize an egg. That's because men who have had vasectomies often form antibodies against their own sperm. The antibodies don't appear to harm the man's health, but they can destroy fertility.

How to Estimate Total Return

How to Estimate Total Return

A simple way to figure out how much money you’re really making

Just following your mutual fund in the newspaper won’t tell you how you’re really doing. To find out a fund’s total return, you need to know not only the fund’s net asset value over a given period of time, but also the distributions per share of dividends and capital gains during that period.

The quickest – and certainly the easiest way to learn your fund’s total return may be to simply ask the fund via its toll-free number or email. Before you can estimate a fund’s one-year return yourself, you need to know three things:

The fund’s net asset value per share a year ago.

Its NAV now.

Distributions per share of dividends and capital gains in the interim.

You should be able to find all this information on your account statement. You can take up distributions per share in different sources.

Here’s how to perform the calculation: As of January 31, year 01, Terminator Fund’s net asset value was $64.67 per share. A year later, its NAV was $73.65. During the year, it distributed $7.25 per share in income and capital gains. Therefore, subtract the beginning NAV from the ending NAV: $73.65 – $64.67 = $8.98.

And add to that all the distributions: $8.98 + $7.25 = $16.23.

How to estimate total return. Photo by Elena

The result gives you the total return in dollars. Now convert this dollar amount to a percentage by dividing the total return by the starting NAV and multiplying by 100.

$16.23 + $64.87 X 100 = 25.1%

Other, more complex, formulas that are figured by computer may produce a slightly different answer, but this estimate is close enough.

Managers Who Really Manage

Many investors wonder whether to ditch their fund or take a chance with a new manager. After all there is no way to test a mutual fund manager’s record, even if rating systems exist which help investors figure out which fund managers stand out and which don’t. Some of these systems correlate funds’ results specifically to their managers. These rankings compare the record of every manager who has been running a fund for at least two years against the records of other funds that invest in the same kind of securities – corporate bond funds or growth funds, for example. The ratings are described as a percentage of total return the manager has achieved above or below other managers in his basket of securities.

Major Economic Theories

Major Economic Theories

Economics is a social science which studies production and distribution of resources. One of the major dilemmas in economics is the reconciliation of unlimited human wants with limited resources. Economics can be normative or factual. Further, economics are subdivided into microeconomics and macroeconomics, and the highly debated in the scholar literature – mesoeconomics.

Microeconomics focuses on individual economic agents such as firms and economic agents, while macroeconomics analyses entire economies. Mesoeconomics is often used as an umbrella term for subjects falling outside clear microeconomic or macroeconomic definitions. For example, microeconomic theory would explain such topics as fixed, variable and mixed costs, while macroeconomic models define GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and the importance of central banks in regulating a country’s economy.

Hotel Atlantis in Bahamas. Photo : ElenaB.

At its inception, economics was very closely related to political science ad was named political economy. Only later has the term economics emerged. Further, finance is a field of economics. Many economists would suggest that economics are all about supply and demand, or the willingness and ability of producers to produce and consumers to consume, respectively. When the quantity produced equals the quantity consumed the market is in equilibrium, thus the term economic or market equilibrium.

The major economic theorists remain Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes. Adam Smith is considered the founder of economics with his book The Wealth of Nations published in 1776. Classical and neoclassical economists disagree about the interpretation of the publication, however. Classical economists include Adam Smith, Jean-Baptiste Say, David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus and John Stuart Mill. Alternatively, neoclassical economics is an alternative school of thought. Additionally, Keynesian economics or Keynesianism rests on the idea that during recessions (the opposite of expansions) economic output or production is directed by aggregate demand.

Economics: A Brief Definition and Some Facts

As outlined elsewhere, economics is the social science grappling with the problematic of scarcity. How to satisfy an unlimited number of wants with a limited amount of resources? Economic theories aim at resolving this dilemma. Just as psychologists and other scientists of humanities and the social realm, economists come under laborious criticism. Nonetheless, normative economics distances itself from the outlining of objective economic facts.

Further, as shown in this animated video, the study of economics may be subdivided into three categories: macroeconomics, mesoeconomics and microeconomics. For brevity’s sake, and to avoid rehashing the cartoon’s information, the details are omitted from the present short essay.

When quantity (Qs) supplied equals quantity demanded (Qd, the market is in equilibrium (E) at the market price (Pe). Demand (supply) and quantity demanded (supplied) differ in that the former is a curve, and the latter is a point on that curve. When analyzing which forces drive the economy, one often hears economics are all about demand and supply. Image: Copyright © Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

Studies in economics reveal many noteworthy facts, such as that royalty the term used to refer to what musical artists get when their song is played on the radio – royalties – was derived from the past, when monarchs had to be paid for cultivation on their land. Although the transition from nomad hunting to sedentary agriculture proved largely beneficial to civilization’s progress, before the Industrial Revolution (when massive urbanization took place), most peasants and surfs had to subsist on the fruits of their farming and agricultural labor. Part of what they cultivated went as payment to the sovereign who owned the land they lived and planted crops on.


Aside from some exceptions, feudal society is largely gone, and most of today’s economies are so-called mixed market economies. In conclusion, ceteris paribus is a widespread assumption in economics, and stands for ‘all other things being equal” in Latin, often used to signify that all remaining factors except the one of interest are held constant.

Management

Management

Business and Managerial Theories

Business, commerce, administration and management studies are a popular cluster of majors across the world. Admission to the best known associated professional degree, the MBA or Master of Business Administration, usually requires both an academic and working experience-based background. The situation is similar with the many professional accreditations common in the field (accounting: CPA – Certified Public Accountant, CA – Chartered Accountant, CMA – Certified Management Accountant, CGA – Certified General Accountant; finance: CFA – Chartered Financial Analyst).

The definition is less clear-cut when it comes to managers, although theoretical constructs, such as the newcomer advantage, are abundant. Among other strategies, the newcomer advantage has been defined as a factor in attaining commercial success (making profits being the assumed goal of most businesses). Further, managerial theories often examine the growth and development of an organization through time, such as with leadership crises and related stages. Organizational behavior is a close sub-discipline bordering on industrial psychology.

While the business world is one where the environment is rapidly changing and competition is fierce, theorists advance managerial postulates, designed to minimize risk and maximize profit. By definition, a business ought to strive to remain profitable, and one aspect of survival may be to protect the firm from economic attack. As published in the notorious Harvard Business Review (HBR), utilizing useful strategies may help in this undertaking. Porter (2008) outlines the five competitive forces and proposes strategic solutions. The author first published a legendary article in the HBR about strategy in 1979. For example, businesses in some industries, like airlines, are pulled in all directions by rivals, suppliers and employees, in addition to customers. One suggested solution is effective audience targeting, a marketing concept. The anecdotal evidence in question came from luxury trucks, reminding one of the correlation between a good’s elasticity and its luxury item status.

Interestingly enough, soon after the first decade of the new millennium, few marketing Professors would omit mentioning Apple’s success in their lectures. Along these lines, the computer and software organization made a great move seizing the opportunity and introducing iTunes, linked to iPod and other Mac products, into the digital era, while many music labels remained static and collapsed.

The diamond industry, encompassing diverse processes from mining and extraction to sales in jewelry stores, is often used in academic, economic examples. Image: Copyright © Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

The Harvard Business Review (HBR) is notorious for publishing articles outlining theories that become classics. For example, Porter (2008) establishes five strategic forces that impede profitability in business: overly savvy customers, powerful suppliers, market entrants, alternatives and strong rivals. The author proceeds to enumerating possible strategies to overcome these obstacles, reviewing which in more detail lies outside the scope of the present very short paper.

In conclusion, human resource management is an important process in a firm’s functioning, and Dunn & Short (2008) looked at when entrepreneurs feel they need to get external resources in the personnel management department. Functions were defined as hiring, termination, training, motivation, performance evaluation, compensation and other employment related actions. Successfully managing human resources may even bestow a competitive advantage. Interestingly, organizations of all sizes must engage in HRM (human resource management) but smaller firms tend to be more informal. In their study, the authors found that smaller businesses with less than 11 employees tend to see HRM as less of a priority than larger small businesses (those with 11 employees or more but fewer than a 100 employees).

References:

Dunn, P., Short, L. E. & Liang, K. (2008). Human resource management importance in small business. Small Business Institute Journal, 2: 1-22.

Porter, M. E. (2008). Five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business Review, January: 1-19.

Porter, M.E. (1979). How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy. Harvard Business Review,March/April: 137-45.

Drugs of Abuse and What They Do

Drugs of Abuse and What They Do

Cocaine use is down since the mid-1980s. Marijuana use is off, too, although millions still smoke it.

Amphetamines: Often called speed or uppers. What it does: Speeds up physical and mental processes. Visible signs of use: Weight loss, dilated pupils, insomnia, irritability, trembling. Long-term effects: Paranoia, extreme weight loss, violent behavior.

Barbiturates: Often called downers. What it does: Produces extreme lethargy and drowsiness. Visible signs of use: Blurred and confused speech, lack of coordination and balance. Long-term effects: Disruption of sleeping pattern, double vision, risk of death from overdose, especially when used in conjunction with alcohol.

Cannabis: Includes marijuana and hashish, often called chronic, dope, pot, grass, hash. What it does: Relaxes mind and body, heightens perception, causes mood swings. Visible signs of use: Red eyes, dilated pupils, increased appetite, lack of physical coordination, lethargy. Long-term effects: Brain, heart, lung, reproductive system damage.

Cocaine: Often called candy, coke, blow, crack. What it does: Stimulates nervous system and produces heightened sensations and sometimes hallucinations. Visible signs of use: Dilated pupils, trembling, apparent intoxication, agitation, rapid breathing, elevated blood pressure. Long-term effects: Ulceration of nasal passages and perforated septum (area separating the nostrils) if drug is snorted. Generalized itching, which can produce open sores. Very possible heart failure.

Bob Marley. Photo by Elena

Opiates: Including opium, morphine, heroine, methadone, as well as synthetic painkillers. What it does: Relieves physical and mental pain and produces temporary euphoria. Visible signs of use: Weight loss, lethargy, mood swings, sweating, slurred speech, sore eyes, drowsiness. Long-term effects: Constipations, extreme risk of infection, including hepatitis and HIV, if drug is injected and needles are shared. Absence of periods in women. Possibility of death from overdose.

Psychedelic Drugs: Including lysergic acid (LSD) and mescaline, as well as “designer drugs” such as ecstasy (MDMA). What it does: Unpredictable. Usually produces hallucinations and intense introspection, which may be pleasant or extremely frightening. Visible signs of use: Dilated pupils, sweating, trembling, sometimes fever and chills. Long-term effects: Possibly irresponsible behavior.

Volatile Substances: Includes the inhaled fumes of glue or cleaning fluids. What it does: Produces hallucinations, giddiness, euphoria, unconsciousness. Visible signs of use: Obvious confusion, dilated pupils, flushed face. Long-term effects: Risk of brain, liver or kidney damage, possible suffocation from inhalation.

Bob Marley Museum. Photo by Elena.

Bob Marley Piano. Photo by Elena.

Cannabis grows in Jamaica. Photo by Elena