Corporate Development During The Industrial Revolution Essays (617 wor

Corporate Development During the Industrial Revolution The Standard Oil Company founded by John D. Rockefeller and the U.S. Steel Company founded by Andrew Carnegie. The Standard Oil Company and U.S. Steel Company were made successful in different ways due to the actions of their different owners. The companies differed in their labor relations, market control, and structural organization. In the steel industry, Carnegie developed a system known as vertical integration. This means that he cut out the middle man. Carnegie bought his own iron and coal mines because using independent companies cost too much and were inefficient. By doing this he was able to undersell his competetors because they had to pay the competitors they went through to get the raw materials. Unlike Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller integrated his oil business from top to bottom, his distinctive innovation in movement of American industry was horizontal. This meant he followed one product through all its stages. For example, rockrfeller controlled the oil when it was drilled, through the refining stage, and he maintained control over the refining process turning it into gasoline. Although these two powerful men used two different methods of management their businesses were still very successful (Conlin, 425-426). Tycoons like Andrew Carnegie, "the steel king," and John D. Rockefeller, "the oil baron," exercised their genius in devising ways to circument competition. Although, Carnegie inclined to be tough-fisted in business, he was not a monopolist and disliked monopolistic trusts. John D. Rockefeller came to dominate the oil industry. With one upward stride after another he organized the Standard Oil Company, which was the nucleus of the great trust that was formed. Rockefeller showed little mercy. He believed primitive savagery prevailed in the jungle world of business, where only the fittest survived. He persued the policy of "ruin or rule." Rockefeller's oil monopoly did turn out a superior product at a relatively cheap price. Rockefeller belived in ruthless business, Carnegie didn't, yet they both had the most successful companies in their industries. (The American Pageant, pages 515-518) Rockefeller treated his customers in the same manner that Andrew Carnegie treated his workers: cruel and harsh. The Standard Oil Company desperately wanted every possible company to buy their products. Standard Oil used ruthless tactics when Rockefeller threatenedto start his own chain of grocery stores and put local merchants out of business if they did not buy oil from Standard Oil Company. Carnegie dealt with his workers with the same cold lack of diplomacy and consideration. Carnegie would encourage an unfriendly competition between two of his workers and he goaded them into outdoing one another. Some of his employees found working under Carnegie unbearable. These rivalries became so important to the employees that somedidn't talk to each other for years (McCloskkey, page 145). Although both Carnegie and Rockefeller created extermely successsful companies, they both used unscrupulous methods in some aspect of their corporation building to get to the top. The success of the Standard Oil Company and U.S. Steel company was credited to the fact that their owners ran them with great authority. In this very competetive time period, many new businesses were being formed and it took talented businessmen to get ahead and keep the companies running and make the fortunes that were made during this period. BIBLIOGRAPHY Conlin, Joseph R. History of the U.S.: Our Land, Our Time. pp. 425-426. 1985. Bailey, Thomas A. and David M. Kennedy: The American Pageant. pp. 515-518. 1987. Latham, Earl: John D. Rockefeller; Robber Baron Or Industrial Statesman? (Problems in American Civilization Series). pg. 39. 1949. McCloskey, Robert Green: American Conservatism In The Age Of Enterprise 1865-1910. pg. 145. 1951. --------------------------------------------------------------

Homosexuality Essay Example

Argument Essay/ Homosexuality Essay Example Argument Essay/ Homosexuality Essay Argument Essay/ Homosexuality Essay Essay Topic: The Second Sex Argument Essay There are many rights I believe homosexuals should not have. Their life style is an abomination in god’s eyes! The King James Version of the bible says in Leviticus 20:13, If a man also lies with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. It is totally a sin to have sexual relations with the same sex. God intended sex to express love to your mate and reproduce. Because I am a Christian, I am utterly against homosexuality! Public affection, marriage, and adoption dealing with homosexuals also rub me the wrong way. First of all, homosexual public affection is not and should never be considered the norm. As much as society is cooping with this situation, it is not appropriate. There are people who want the world to know how ecstatic they’re to be in a same sex relationship, so they tend to show off. My cousin in-law, who is a lesbian, is not afraid to show her affection to her partner in public. She likes to grope, kiss, and huge all the time. I remember as a child how you only knew homosexuals by word of mouth or by a close friend or family member. I never saw gays or lesbians walking around flaunting their sexuality. They had to be in a secret society that meets in a secret location at a secret time. My mom had a gay friend she grew up with and he never acted as if he was gay in me presents. He talked a little different, like a woman, but he dressed conservative, wearing suits and ties like a man. My mom explained to me how they would have to keep their life styles on the hush, also known as ‘staying in the closet’. This means to keep it a secret. Society back then would not allow such things. Secondly, I believe homosexuals should not be able to get married. Marriage is an honor in the sight of god. I don’t mean to keep throwing my religious opinion in this, but this is what I was raised upon and basically all I rely on. It was made for men and women to share their spiritual enlightment, reproduction, and to have a life time companion. The research shows that Public opinion remains firmly opposed to the redefinition of marriage. A May 2008 Gallup Poll asked the question: Do you think marriages between same-sex couples should or should not be recognized by the law as valid? Respondents opposed homosexual marriage by a margin of 56 percent (opposed) to 40 percent (agreeing). Respondents to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll in October 2007 rejected same-sex marriage by the same margins. My cousin in-law also got married about three years ago. They had to travel to another state just to get married. The point that I am trying to get across is that if homosexual marriages were meant to be you wouldn’t have to sneak off to do it. It would be legalized through out the world! Third of all, homosexuals adopting kids would subject the children to an unstable environment. Kids at a young age will not understand the situation unless you explain it to them thoroughly. If not, they will always wonder why they have two of the same sex parents. My cousin in-law, who has two kids, also is going through the same thing. She no longer has custody of her children because of her life style. She chose this over her family. Her relationship was more important than her taking care of her kids. So her family saw the neglect and decided to take full custody of the kids. Many homosexuals and their sex partners may sincerely believe they can be good parents. But children are not guinea pigs for grand social experiments in redefining marriage, and should not be placed in settings that are unsuitable for raising children. In conclusion, homosexuals should have limitations to their rights. They should stay in the closet like back in the day. Everyone in society is not okay with homosexuality. This life style is an abomination in god’s eyes. Because of my religion I am against homosexual rights. Public affection, marriage, and adoption dealing with homosexuals, to me, aren’t right! Everyone might not agree with me but this is only my opinion. bible. com/bibleanswers_result. php? id=246 12/01/09 truenews. org/Homosexuality/facts_about_same_sex_marriage. html 12/01/09

The Developing Manager Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

The Developing Manager - Assignment Example Instrumentl ledership: when generl rules nd types of behvior re creted where it is written wht is expected from subordintes. Encourgement ledership : is bsed on interpersonl reltionships more thn on orgniztionl processes Prticiptive ledership: implies consulttive pproch to mnging people. Decisions re mde by the group tht is working on certin project. Oriented ledership: is imed t reching success by employees through following the set objectives nd building the trust between employees. ii. pplied knowledge (Your mnger's ledership skill in the orgniztion) I think tht my mnger's ledership skills tht help him to effectively mnge the hotel I work in re s follows: The bility to drw others to them not just becuse they hve vision but becuse they communicte n extrordinry focus of commitment Mening through communiction: mking drems pprent to others nd to lign people with them, leders must communicte their vision. Communiction nd lignment work together. Trust through positioning: Trust is essentil to my orgniztion orgniztions. The mnger mnges trust through relibility. Deployment of self: the mnger knows his skills nd deploys them effectively. The mnger relized tht without mngement of self, he cn do more hrm thn good. c) Evlute communiction processes i. Wht is communiction Communiction is the process of sending nd receiving informtion or communiction with nother person. In simplistic form, informtion is sent from sender or encoder to receiver or decoder. In more complex form feedbck links sender to receiver. This requires symbolic ctivity, sometimes vi lnguge. Communiction development is the development of processes enbling one to understnd wht others sy (or sign, or write) nd spek(or sign, or write), trnslte sounds nd symbols into mening nd lern the syntx of... My orgniztion pplies neither of in-bove described styles. It is rther something in the middle of exploitive - uthorittive nd prticiptive-group which cn be referred to s consulttive. Mngers within my orgniztion hve substntil but not complete confidence nd trust in subordintes, usully try to mke use of subordintes' ides nd opinions, use rewrds for motivtion with occsionl punishment nd some prticiption, engge in communiction flow both down nd up, mke brod policy nd generl decisions t the top while llowing specific decisions to be mde t lower levels nd ct consulttively in other wys. Communiction is the process of sending nd receiving informtion or communiction with nother person. In simplistic form, informtion is sent from sender or encoder to receiver or decoder. In more complex form feedbck links sender to receiver. This requires symbolic ctivity, sometimes vi lnguge. Communiction development is the development of processes enbling one to understnd wht others sy (or sign, or write) nd spek(or sign, or write), trnslte sounds nd symbols into mening nd lern the syntx of the lnguge. Communiction is bsed on the ide of respect, promises nd the wnt for socil improvement. Nonverbl communiction dels wit

Ancient Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ancient Art - Essay Example It is only proper to acknowledge that pyramid of Giza as being among the seventh wonder of the world because of the fact that it’s the largest and oldest among the three other pyramids found in El Giza, Egypt. The pyramid of Giza stands more than 481 feet, the tallest structure built by human in the 2560 BC remained so for the next 3000 years, the world wonder form adopts a trapezoid structure made of massive stones and rocks with an outer surface. The pyramid major purpose was to host the mummies of the pharaoh and the wife to the pharaoh on the upper deck with the servants on the lower part of the pyramid. Chapter 4 (Cycladic art ) Cycladic art entails the visual aspect of art best representing the ancient Cycladic civilization that was present in the time frame of 2000 to 3300 BCE. The Cycladic persons were believed to be part of Aegean cultures (Kleiner 34). The Cycladic art form of sculptures is still embraced to the present time as evident with the exhibition in the Cycl adic sculptures in the National Archeological Museum of Athens. The Harp Player is an example of popular sculptures under the Cycladic art because it entailed using marble to create sculpture in the Greece period. Majority of the art forms depicting the female human form with nice geometric qualities. Chapter 5 (Kritios boy) Kritios Boy is an Ancient Greek sculpture that was found in the ceremonial dump that destroyed sacred artifacts and debris was buried especially after the invasion of the Persian army in 480 BC (Kleiner 123).

Plastic Bag Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Plastic Bag - Essay Example In her book called Everything Is a Human Being, Alice Walker states, â€Å"While the earth is enslaved, none of us is free’’ (Walker 666). Accordingly, she suggested so long as the earth suffers, then each and every person, together with other living creature will suffer.As such, it is therefore essential for us to take actions to protect the Earth. To reverse the gains made in polluting the earth, a piece of legislation was enacted in August 2014. The law induced a ban on all plastic bags mostly used to pack commodities in chain retail stores was enacted. California was the first state to put to work the legislation. In this case, a large number of stalls complied with the directive. The bill,accented by Governor Jerry Brown, will be valid from July 1, 2015. Consumers are not able to get normal commodities in plastic bags in accordance with the provisions. The ban on the aforementioned traders has will soon trickle to other small scale traders such as convenience stores and other small food retailers after one year. the use plastic bag has been discredited for causing economic losses, damages the environment and ecosystem, and is harmful to human health, the authority will continue to engage in the throughout the united states since the use of plastic bags It is estimated that each and every American uses one plastic paper per day. As such, apart from the use of plastic bags by traders, the law also focuses on activities around producing plastic bags and dealing plastic bags trash involve high economic cost that add burden to the society. In addition, we regular reuse our plastic bags, we just throw them as a trash after one-time use.Approximately $10 million of the New York City money goes to send 100 thousand tons of plastic bags that are dumped as general trash in the landfill of South Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania every year. According to the deputy commissioner in charge of satiation in New York states that, â€Å"Plastic shopping bags are an

Practical Application Of Lewins Force Field Analysis Change Model Nursing Essay

Practical Application Of Lewins Force Field Analysis Change Model Nursing Essay The aim of this paper is to to describe practical application of Lewins (1951) force field analysis change model in reducing Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients length of stay (LOS) in a Tertiary Care University Hospital. Introduction: This paper reports on a change from 6.5 days to 4 days reduction in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients length of stay (LOS) in a Tertiary Care University Hospital. The change was embedded with systemic assessment, planning and implementing standardized strategies for all ICU long stay patients and finally evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of ICU bed utilization with multidisciplinary team approach. Change is inevitable for the reason that it ingrained human lives, core processes and system reforms. Day by day many changes have been observed in health care; associated with disease processes explicitly from prevention to rehabilitation, health care norms and nomenclature, infra structures modifications, policy matters, reengineering and system transformation. Different components of health care depends on one another for assembling such changes in order to produce work like from providers to payers, hospitals to suppliers, education to regulatory bodies and research to professional associations; all these are interlinked to perform function. Many of the above stated happening are planned however at times nature takes its own turn to act as a catalyst for change for example natural occurrences like tsunami, some crucial system analysis like break through reports from Institute of Medicine (IOM) on patient safety and the quality of care provided to all the health care customers. Th ese were just simple examples of revolutions in health care taken place on an ongoing basis. Traditionally it is believed that changes are always for the betterment however at times it has been observed that this phenomenon is proven to be cynical and challenging especially when it is not made in a haphazard manner, without pursuing change management principles. Addressing the challenge of change Fetherston et.al (2009) stated that: Managing changing in the health care setting is always challenging, especially when it involves transforming entrenched habits grounded in professional expectations (p.2581). Despite change involves resources like human, material and cost and therefore whatever is proposed for change need to be evaluated for its effectiveness and efficiency, applicability, and consequences. It also depends on the team we are working with and there are times when the team building is so strong and the communication between the team is such that adopting to a new concept is very easy versus if the team members are not on same wavelength and have a lot of differences of opinions failure to reach to a simple consensus. Coch and French (1948) concluded that rate of recovery when learning a new task is directly proportional to the amount of participation. To improve understanding of change dynamics Armenakis and Harris (2011) recommends that readiness for change is distinguished from resistance to change and readiness is described in terms of the organizational members beliefs, attitudes, and intentions. Change agent is a very important contributor to make change happen constru ctively and productively. The personal and professional characteristics, interpersonal competency all these aspects are dependent to an outcome of change. Another factor involved in change process seems to be very crucial is the timeframe require for change. Is it a short term or a long run change which is going to measure and monitor, what about the sustainability of the proposed change etc. In order to have successful change Kotter and Schlesinger (2008) recommends and put idea in practice (Appendix) and suggested that analyze situational factors, determine the optimal speed of change, and consider methods for managing resistance (p1, 2). According to Lippincott-Raven Publishers 1986 Crucial to facilitating change is selecting a strategy that is likely to produce the desired change with minimal time and resistance. Background In todays health care setting, organizational change is essential for growth and development to keep up with the market competition Although health care continues to be enmeshed with ongoing challenges of cost, technologies, access to health care, human resources, quality inconsistent with an arena where error rates are too high there are multiple growing opportunities to improve client care management and service delivery components. Changes have been observed in clinical practice based on evidence based research resulting in application of new technology, diagnostics, drug regimes, treatment profile, care monitoring and finally the patient outcomes. All these are direct provision to a customer and perhaps if we look at the wider base it heavily involves all support functions available for patient care and employees of the organization. How all these are managed with patient flow and activities? Who is accountable? Change has both individual and institutional significance; and addre ssing its importance Watwood et al. (1997) shared that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦changes à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ bring opportunity for personal and institutional growth and development (p 162). When it comes to an institutional change; it has emphasized that it should complement the philosophy, mission and vision of the organization. Therefore Heller Arozullah (2001) identified four key factors for successful program development and achievement and those were: aligning the program with the strategic goals of the organization; obtaining active senior leadership commitment, including allocated resources; securing the appropriate infrastructure to facilitate integration of recommended actions into daily practice; and setting up systematic communications with all involved stakeholders (p551) Several challenges exists in system when it comes to a revolution however factors define by Heller Arozullah (2001) would help in embarking change in a more structured manner. ICU is a consolidated area of a hospital where patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries receive round the clock specialized medical and nursing care. Intensive care is one of the hospitals most complex and expensive medical systems. As medical care has improved, the type of patients treated in critical care units has changed from those with acute illnesses to those suffering from complications of chronic diseases. While better technology and better ways of taking care of patients has improved longevity and general health, the patients in the intensive care units of hospitals are getting sicker and globally these beds have a high demand based on the critical needs of patients and it doubles the need in an arena where these resources are very scare and inadequate This would augment medical care required, cost of care and excess use of resources when they are not required. Long stays in the intensive care unit are associated with high costs and burdens on patients and patien ts families and in turn affect society at large. Williamss et.al (2010) states that: It has been estimated that between 2% and 11% of critically ill patients require a prolonged stay in ICU, accounting for 25-45% of total ICU days, and a significant proportion of resources(p 459) The cost of caring for patients in ICUs in the United States has been estimated to account for 1% to 2% of the gross national product shared by (Miller et al. 2000, Seeman David 2004) ) whereby Haugh (2003) stated that 15% to 20% of US hospital costs represents 38% of total US healthcare costs. According to Miller et al. (2003) the total number of hospitals, hospital beds, and inpatient days decreased during the years 1985 to 2000, the number of critical care beds and days in critical care increased dramatically during the same period Whereby Stricker et al (20037) found that only 11% of patients admitted to the ICU stayed for more than 7 days, these patients used more than 50% of ICU resources. Furthermore, in several studies (cited in Ryan et al 1997, Wong et al 1999) the mortality of patients with ICU admissions lasting 14 days or longer was estimated to be nearly 50%. Rosenberg et al. (2001) shared that Mortality rates are higher in ICU than in any other area of the hospital due to the complexity of patients medical condition. Fakhry et al (1996) found that 70% of patients with stay longer than 2 weeks reported less than 50% functional recovery. Esserman e t al (1995) found that 32% of ICU resources were spent caring for patients who survived less than 100 days after discharge from the hospital. In a tertiary care university hospital where I am presently working patients were found to be stuck in the ICU and have longer stays and in the month of January 2009 it was found to be 8.4 days and subsequently in the following quarter 1 it was 6.5 days (refer appendix 1). When explored, multiple factors aroused (refer appendix 2) and therefore to address this concern a multidisciplinary team was formed. It was proposed to undertake the work of reducing patients length of stay in ICU and therefore it the goal was to reduce patients length of stay from 6.5 days to 5.5 days in the second quarter for the year 2009. Rogers and Shoemaker (1971) framework was used to appraise the various component of the proposed change in order to identify its strengths and weaknesses.  Team assessed its relative advantages to current situation and felt that it is worth spending the time and effort for the given scenario, change seems to be appropriate and compatible with existing philosophy of the clinical area, easy to be understood and applicable by all bedside staff. Moreover the project was trialable to a pilot    before going the whole way and relevant to organizational goals. Discussion Changes will continue as an adaptation and at times mandatory in order to survive. Lot of literature is available when it comes to the change management in health care setting. There are models available to address organizational change, system revolution, and human transformations which address many other aspects of successful implementation of reforms. Change process follows the same course as of nursing process and problem solving approaches. According to Christensen a Christensen b (2007) Lewins (1951) theory of transitional change is the most used form of change implementation strategies. The change we were supposed to undertake; this theory appeared to address many aspects of it and therefore the mechanism for identifying the social system within organization for selecting, developing and implementing the strategies to serve as a solution was done by application of this model. According to course notes Lewins widely cited, classic model of the change process, the three changes are: Unfreezing, where faced with a dilemma or disconfirmation the individual becomes aware of the need to change; changing where the situation is diagnosed and new models of behaviour are explored and tested and finally, refreezing where the application of new behaviour is evaluated and adopted. (p53) Huber (2006) states that: The basic concept of the change process was outlined by Lewin A successful change involves three elements: unfreezing, moving and refreezing. (p810) Fetherston et.al (2009) emphasized the importance of major change like this and endorsed that: Where a major change is implemented, models such as Lewins (1951) model of unfreezing, changing and refreezing can be a useful guide Baulcomb (2003) states that This theory places emphasis on the driving and resisting forces associated with any change, and to achieve success the importance lies with ensuring that driving forces outweigh resisting forces. Driving forces tend to initiate change or keep it going whereas restraining forces act to restrain or decrease the driving forces. The intention to reach a state of equilibrium (p277). Unfreezing Lewins change approach fall within three steps and this is the first one where the process of thawing out the system to create motivation for change. Its like getting the team warming up to play their cards; getting everybody on the same wavelength and organizing. Huber (2006) shared that the first stage is cognitive exposure to the change idea, diagnosis of the problem, and work to generate alternative solutions. (p811). Though it was a great challenge for the team however the process of systemic assessment and unfreeze stabilizing the team readiness was initiated for the said change. Different strategies were brain stormed in a multidisciplinary team.ICU patients length of stay was gathered prospectively. Potential predictors were analyzed for possible association with prolonged ICU stay. Driving and restraining forces were studied (Appendix ) Moving Then we proceeded with the second stage of Lewins theory i.e., moving and changing. It involves moving a target system to a new level maintaining equilibrium; viewing the problem from a new perspective, situation is diagnosed and new models of behaviour. This stage was determine through formation of ICU long stay committee with terms of reference, notification of long stay patients stayed in ICU for more than 7days or earlier if deemed necessary to all concerned, holding meeting with primary team everyday to discuss next course of action, identification of patients difficult to wean, patient requiring early tracheotomy to maximize discharge process, initiating daily rounds by multidisciplinary team with primary team. Furthermore, introducing expected admission discharge time (EADT) to facilitate bed identification. According to Hoda (2008) length of stay (LOS) may be influenced by the availability of appropriate high dependency units to discharge patients. Review on daily basis the n eed for bed for inpatients and emergency. Admission /discharge policy was reinforced through multidisciplinary approach. Alternate accommodation in other units like CICU and CCU which has same bed accessories and uniform care provision were identified. Early tentative beds are booked in wards before rounds in order to facilitate early bed arrangement and patient transfer. Refreezing The final stage is refreezing. In this stage new developments are incorporated and improvements are made to stabilize the selected strategies to ensure the sustainability of the project. Daily check at unit and divisional level by bed management coordinator and ICU team. Monitoring on shift bases by charge nurses and nursing supervisors. Interventions involving palliative care, ethics consultations, and early decision about patient transfer and orders writing, family willingness and readiness and other methods to increase communication between healthcare personnel, patients, and patients families were helpful in decreasing length of stay in the intensive care unit. Thus, interdisciplinary communication played a vital role in improving ICU patients LOS whereby its importance is being defined by Pronovost et al (2003) and point out that communication failures lead to increased patient harm, length of stay (LOS), and resource use (p71). Hence to a major extent the daily communication st rategy worked out very well and the team was successful to bring about this change. ICU length of stay was 6.5 days in quarter one and it was reduce to 5.6 days in the second quarter for the year 2009 and consequently to 4.8 and 4 day in third and fourth quarter of 2009. Fetherston et.al (2009) stated that: When change is managed in systematic steps with adequate evaluation and communication throughout the process, it is more likely to result in successful outcomes. (p 2582) Evaluating the Change Project s took place and was received very positively. Following are the most important attributes I have experienced for this successful change like it was logical, efficient, and planned not haphazard then it was based on explanation of reason for a change so that individuals understand it. After that it was very informative and staff supported change when they were involved in assessment and planning. Change agent interpersonal competency and expertise (knowledgeable) of the given task was outstanding and hence the monitoring feedback on timely basis -to ensure that all team members is on same wave length wa carried out in a very sposticated manner.

ANABOLIC STEROIDS :: essays research papers

Anabolic steroids are drugs containing, or hormone-like substances, that are used to increase strength and promote muscle growth. They were first developed in the 1930s in Europe to treat undernourished patients and to promote healing after surgery. Competitive weightlifters began using steroids in the 1950s as a way to increase their athletic performance. Use gradually spread throughout the world among athletes in other has been estimated that at least one in 15 male high school seniors in the United States--more than a half-million boys--has used steroids. Some are athletes attempting to increase their strength and size; others are simply youths attempting to speed up their growth to keep pace with their peers. In some countries, anabolic steroids are available over the counter. In the United States, a doctor's prescription is necessary. While the effects of steroids can seem desirable at first, there are serious side effects. Excessive use can cause a harmful imbalance in the body's normal hormonal balance and body chemistry. Heart attacks, water retention leading to high blood pressure and stroke, and liver and kidney tumors all are possible. Young people may develop and a halting of bone growth. Males may experience shrinking testicles, falling sperm counts, and enlarged prostates. Women frequently show signs of masculinity and may be at higher risk for certain types of and the possibility of birth defects in their children. The psychological effects of steroid use are also alarming: drastic mood swings, inability to sleep, and feelings of hostility. Steroids may also be psychologically addictive. Once started, users, particularly athletes, enjoy the physical "benefits" of increased size, strength, and endurance so much that they are reluctant to stop even when told about the risks. Major athletic compet itions, including the Olympics, routinely screen athletes to prevent steroid use.