Difference Between Love And Infatuation

 Love is the greatest feeling for any living being under the sun. Even in the jungle, animals have a very wonderful way of exhibiting love.  For Humans, love is a means to continuity and sustenance of the human race. Love is an aid to marriage and serves as a means to enable the family exist ad infinitum.

However, in search of love, many have been misled. As a result, I have made inroads into finding the difference between love and infatuation. My search has the following:

Difference between love and infatuation by:

Naghina:

Are you really in love? Or do you think that you are in love?
There is a big difference between Love and infatuation. Some people can't tell the difference, thinking they are in love but really it is a deep infatuation. Infatuation is instant desire - one set of glands calling to another. Love is friendship that has caught fire. It takes root and grows; one day at a time. Infatuation is marked by a feeling of insecurity. You are excited and eager, but not genuinely happy. There are nagging doubts, unanswered questions, little bits and pieces about your beloved that you would just as soon not examine too closely. It might spoil the dream.

Love is the quiet understanding and mature acceptance of imperfection. It is real. It gives you strength and grows beyond you - to bolster your beloved. You are warmed by their presence, even when they are away.

Miles do not separate you. You have so many wonderful little films in your head that you keep replaying. But near or far, you know they are yours, and you can wait. Infatuation says, "We must get married right away. I can't risk losing them."

Love says, "Be patient. Don't panic. Plan your future with confidence."
Infatuation has an element of sexual excitement. Whenever you are together, you hope it will end in intimacy.

Love is not based on sex. It is the maturation of friendship, which makes sex so much sweeter. You must be friends before you can be lovers. Infatuation lacks confidence. When they're away, you wonder if they're cheating. Sometimes, you check.

Love means trust. You are calm, secure and unthreatened. They feel your trust, and it makes them even more trustworthy. Infatuation might lead you to do things you will regret, but love never steers you in the wrong direction.

Love is an upper. It makes you feel whole. It completes the circle. It fills the empty space in your heart. Love is elevating. It lifts you up. It makes you look up. It makes you think up.
It makes you a better person than you were before. If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things you don't have. If there is no love in your life, whatever else there is has a lot less meaning. The secret of our being is not only to live but to have something to live for.

INFATUATION
Infatuation is a feeling; real love involves a commitment also. Infatuation is just love of emotion. Real love, though, is love of devotion. Only the emotions are affected in infatuation, but in real love both the emotions and the will are involved. Next, a person "fall into" infatuation, but "grows into" real love.

Guys, have you ever seen a girl who was so beautiful that you thought you'd faint?
This is infatuation! It is based totally on physical attraction. Often you don't know much in-depth about the person you so-called love. Thus, infatuation is mostly biological. Also remember; never tell a girl you love her, unless you are willing to marry her. Then, infatuation is basically selfish where real love is basically selfless. Infatuation is more interested in satisfying yourself and the feeling than it is in the other person.

Real love is primarily interested in the other person. It seeks to give instead of get. Love unselfishly seeks the highest good for the other person. Lastly, infatuation is weakened by time and separation where real love is strengthened by time and separation. This does not mean that there will be no pain in separation. On the contrary, there is great pain in separation if you are truly in love.

LOVE

Now you know what is infatuation, we will go on to discuss about the details of a true love. Love is patient. The word translated "patient" means to wait patiently for the fulfilment of expectations.

When you have difficulty dating this girl and she does not want to come out, if you truly love her, you will not complain and blame her, you must look at the situation from her point of view - maybe she is having some problems which prevented her from coming out. You must react to it with patience and understanding.

Next, have you ever met someone you liked so much that you wanted to push the relationship and make it progress faster? Sure you have! Love, however, is willing to give a relationship time to grow at a natural pace.
It does not push but is willing to wait for the relationship to grow at a rate that is satisfactory to both parties.
Love is Kind Love seeks to encourage and build up others. It respects the feelings and emotions of others...
It finds its greatest satisfaction in making others happy.
You can do the following:

1. Give one another things such as gifts and encouragement cards.

2. Compliment one another. Magnify the other party's strength.

3. Listen to one another. Pay close attention to what each of you has to say and make each other feel that what each says is important.

4. Treat one another special in public. Compliment and encourage one another sincerely in the presence of others.

5. Love is Not Jealous. Jealousy usually indicates an insecure and immature heart. Love wants the best for others, but jealousy is possessive. Jealous is reflected in the childish statement, "If he is going to talk to her, then he can just forget
about me!" Often, one person wants to totally possess the other and to restrict her relationships with others.
6. Love is not about bragging. Love is not a windbag and is not anxious to impress. Often a guy will brag to a girl, trying to impress her so that she will like him. A truly great person, however, does not need to exalt himself! Others will exalt him.

7. Love is not Arrogant. Love is not conceited, boastful, cocky, or stuck-up. Love, instead, is humble and has a servant attitude. Sometimes, a guy may come across to a girl with an "I can take you or leave you" attitude. His demeanour implies, "You ought to be thankful that somebody as neat as me is dating you." Of course, this is not love.

8. Love always covers. This word cover means to pass over in silence, to keep confidential.

9. Love is patient with the faults of others. It doesn't criticise and broadcast to the world the faults of others.
Love is there even when it knows the other is not perfect.

10. Love always perseveres. Love always stands its ground and hold out. It will outlast anything. It will even love in the face of unrequited love. Real love will last though all sorts of trials, tribulations and stresses.

11. Love is Not Provoked. This means that love has a long fuse. It does not become irritated and angry. It is not easily offended.

12. Love does not seek its own. This is the heart of love. Love is other-centred rather than self- centred. Love says, "I love you, I want to give to you." Selfishness says, "I love you, I want you!"

13. Love does not act unbecomingly. This means that love does not behave disgracefully, dishonourably or indecently. It does not embarrass others by its action. It is characterised by tact and sensitivity. This also means that love should have good manner. Be sure to do little things like opening doors for your girl, or offering her your arm when you walk together.

14. Lastly, Love is forgiving. This is a MUST for a successful love story. If a guy is not willing to forgive and forget when his girlfriend is one hour late, he is not exhibiting love. Love doesn't hold grudges when it has been
wronged. It doesn't remain resentful.

** Remember this: Love forgets past failures and sins.

 

THE EFFECTS OF SUGAR

Did you know that uncontrollable consumption of sugar can eventually kill your sex life? Indeed, researchers have determined that high concentration of sugar in your bloodstream can switch off the gene that controls your sex hormones. Excess glucose and fructose are stored as fat lipids after they are metabolized in the liver. The synthesis of these excess fats deactivates the SHBG genes (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin) which control your testosterone and estrogen levels.

(Natural News) Most of us have heard the good advice that we need to eat less sugar - and rightly so. However, despite the numerous warnings by health authorities of the ill effects of sugar, the majority of the population is still consuming sugar on a daily basis in some form or other. "Sugar" is both a broad category and a misleading one. Let's examine it for our health's sake.

We do not have to consume white, refined sugar to be consuming sugar. Sugar includes glucose, fructose (as in fruit sugar), lactose (as in milk), sucrose (as in table sugar), maltose or malts (as in rice malt and honey), jam (contains concentrated juice, which is high in fruit sugar), maple syrup, corn syrup, palm sugar (traditionally used in macrobiotic cooking), and the very deceiving organic brown sugar, which is not all that different from white sugar. Even alcohol is a sugar. All of these sugars are problematic in many different ways.

The sugar industry is not in decline and obesity is on the increase. Sugar is a major culprit in the case against obesity. For obese individuals, consuming even a teaspoon of sugar a day would cause metabolic imbalances that contribute to obesity. Sugar is to be avoided, not only by the obese but by healthy individuals.

Is there rationale behind the statement, 'Sugar is to be avoided'? Definitely!

Nancy Appleton, PhD, clinical nutritionist, has compiled a list of 146 reasons on 'how sugar is ruining your health' in her book Lick the Sugar Habit. Here are some of them:

* Sugar can decrease growth hormone (the key to staying youthful and lean)

* Sugar feeds cancer

* Sugar increases cholesterol

* Sugar can weaken eyesight

* Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children

* Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein

* Sugar causes food allergies

* Sugar contributes to diabetes

* Sugar can contribute to eczema in children

* Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease

* Sugar can impair the structure of DNA

* Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children

* Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases)

* Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)

* Sugar contributes to osteoporosis

The body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch. With 146 proven reasons why sugar is bad for us, is there perhaps one single reason as to why we might need it? The only interesting thing about sugar is that it tastes good and makes us temporarily feel good. This is an area worth exploring.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), a 5000 year-old wisdom of self-contained knowledge of healing, we all need sweetness in our life. We need six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, astringent, bitter and pungent to stimulate the taste buds on our tongue at main meals, in order to experience satiety.

Satiety and cravings are the result of imbalances in brain chemistry and have nothing to do with fullness of the stomach. When foods hit our tongue, our taste buds relay the bio-chemical information to the brain, stimulating various parts of the hypothalamus – the 'satiety centre'. The tongue is also a mini representation of the body, just like in reflexology, and contains points that stimulate all the organs in the body. Avoiding sweetness would be unnatural and unnecessary, as this will inevitably lead to imbalances and sweet cravings. This is why people have such a hard time giving up sugar; it is almost impossible to get children to stay away from it.

Many people really try hard to avoid sugar, and do not sweeten their tea or coffee, yet they crave sugar in some other form, such as chocolates, cakes, ice cream or even fruit - dates and figs. Dates are 99% sugar, in the form of fructose. When a person is in metabolic balance they do not crave sugar. If they do, it is a sign of a metabolic imbalance and it can be corrected without having to consume sugar.

The wonderful thing is that we do not have to give up the sweetness of sugar in order to be healthy; we just need to replace it with better alternatives. While giving up sugar is very difficult, replacing it is now very easy. There are two natural, organic sugar alternatives that are sweet, easy to use and cook with – stevia and xylitol. They may sound like chemicals but they are completely natural and have been proven not only safe but beneficial for our well-being.

The best one to use is Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) from the Asteraceae family, which was rediscovered by Dr. M. S. Bertoni in 1888. Stevia is a herb that has been used as a sweetener in South America for hundreds of years. It is calorie-free, which means it has no effect on our bodies' production of insulin. Stevia, in its powdered concentrate, is 300 times sweeter than sugar, so only tiny amounts are needed for sweetening. Stevia is widely used all over the world. In Japan, for example, it claims 41% of the sweetener market, including sugar, and was used in Japanese Diet Coke until the company replaced it with aspartame (to "standardize" worldwide).

There have not been any reports of toxicity with stevia, which is consumed by millions of people daily. However, in the US, the FDA, and in Australia, the FSANZ, do not allow stevia to be used as a food additive. But in China, Japan, Taiwan and Korea, stevia is fully approved and has proven to be safe, with no toxicity reported from its use to date. In Australia stevia is sold as a supplement and it is readily available from various distributors. A wonderful article that puts the whole sugar industry in perspective is published by the Herb Research Foundation: Stevia Leaf - Too Good To Be Legal? by Rob McCaleb (http://www.dorway.com/stevia2.html) .

The only thing that deters people using stevia is that it can taste a little bitter in drinks and in some recipes, but this can be overcome by using another wonderful sweetener, called xylitol, in combination with stevia for ideal sugar replacement.

Xylitol is a natural substance found in fibrous vegetables and fruit, as well as in corn cobs and various hardwood trees, like birch. It is a natural, intermediate product that regularly occurs in the glucose metabolism of humans and animals, as well as in the metabolism of several plants.

Xylitol is so natural that our bodies produce up to 15 grams of it daily during normal metabolism. Xylitol has been known to organic chemistry since the 1890's. Studies on both humans and rodents have shown that xylitol, when administered orally, is well tolerated and safe to levels of at least 40g per day (which equates to some 10-12 teaspoons of sugar) with no subjective or objective adverse findings. Importantly, much less insulin is released into the blood during xylitol administration than during glucose administration. This is obviously a very good thing for insulin-sensitive individuals or for anyone concerned with weight loss, as insulin (apart from driving the glucose into the cells) also tells the body to store even slight excess carbohydrates as fat, rather than to use them as energy.

Relatively high quantities of xylitol are found in plums, raspberries and cauliflower (0.3 to 0.9 g per 100 g dry matter; the quantities vary depending on plant varieties). Even though xylitol is derived from fruits and vegetables, it is not the same as fructose. Xylitol is a five-carbon sugar, which means that it is anti-microbial (prevents the growth of bacteria), whereas all other forms of sugar are six-carbon sugars, which cause bacterial and fungi overgrowth.

Xylitol looks, feels and tastes exactly like sugar - though that is where the similarity ends! While sugar wreaks havoc on the body, xylitol heals and repairs. It also builds immunity.

There are many benefits of using xylitol as a sugar substitute:

* Glycemic index of 7 (sucrose is 60)

* Minimal effect on blood sugar and insulin levels

* Inhibits yeast, including Candida Albicans (It actually helps fight candida)

* Inhibits plaque and dental cavities by 80% (Dentists use it and recommend xylitol toothpaste)

* Retards demineralization, and promotes re-mineralization, of tooth enamel

Based on scientific and public health evaluations, xylitol has been approved in virtually all industrialized countries to be used in oral hygiene products and in other products to promote oral health.

In its crystalline form, it can replace sugar in cooking, baking, and as a sweetener for beverages. Xylitol is used in chewing gum, mints and hygiene products, such as nasal and mouth washes, because it inhibits bacteria. Unlike many artificial sweeteners, it leaves no unpleasant aftertaste.
Xylitol is formally approved in over 50 countries worldwide. Xylitol has no known toxic levels (Except that quantities over 90 gm/day may have a laxative effect).

The amount tolerated varies with individual susceptibility and body weight. Most adults can tolerate at least 40 gm/day. The only problem with xylitol is that it costs more than sugar, however, if we combine it with stevia in the ratio of 12:1 (12 parts of xylitol to 1 part of stevia), it becomes more cost effective and is a healthy way to sweeten our taste buds and satisfy our brain! Imagine eating cakes and chocolates that not only taste good but are also good for our teeth? You can literally have your cake and enjoy it without the guilt or empty detrimental sugar calories!

References:

Nancy Appleton Ph.D (http://www.nancyappleton.com/)

(http://www.ghchealth.com/refined-sugar-the-sweetest-poison-of-all.htm...)

Hallfrisch, Judith, Metabolic Effects of Dietary Fructose, FASEB Journal 4 (June 1990): 2652-2660.

J. J. Rumessen and E. Gudmand-Hoyer, Functional Bowel Disease: Malabsorption and Abdominal Distress After Ingestion of Fructose, Sorbitol, and Fructose-Sorbitol Mixtures, Gastroenterology 95, no. 3 (September 1988): 694-700.

(http://www.riverhouse.com.au/factsheets/stevia.html)

(http://www.riverhouse.com.au/factsheets/stevia.html)

(http://www.xylitol.org/)

www.empowered-living.com.au
http://www.naturalnews.com/022692_sugar_xylitol_stevia.html#ixzz2EKDdmRCC

THE ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION
 
A business organisation is an entity created and maintained to achieve an objective. A business, regarded in certain circles as enterprise or firm is an organisation engaged in the trading of goods, services, or both to consumers. A business entity is an organisation that is formed in accordance with the law in order to engage in business activities, usually the sale of a product or a service.

Beneficial Effects

Business is any economic activity with a target of producing goods and services for the satisfaction of human needs and wants. It is important to mention here that goods and services produced are directed at a particular market segment for direct or indirect consumption over a definite period of time. To satisfy the segment businesses deal with, it will be prudent to apply information technology to meet the needs of modern and international competition.

Information technology offers innovative approaches to satisfying customer value which eventually lead to the achievement of set targets.

It has been noted time and again that the main objectives of a business organisation are to make a satisfactory level of profit, grow and stay in business. In the modern management, information technology has become the lifeblood for the attainment of these goals.

Denis P. Curtin et al (1998) have defined Information Technology as “the creation, gathering, processing, storage and delivery of information and devices that make all these possible”.

According to the British Department of Trade and Industry, Information Technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numeric information by a micro-electronics based combination of computing and telecommunications.

Telecommunication which is mentioned in the definition above refers to communication technology and it consists of electromagnetic devices and systems for communicating over long distances.

To brass tacks, information technology has served useful purposes in business growth and development. These roles are:  

Communication

Information technology has facilitated Communication in Business – reports, circulars and other type of correspondence and is sent over distances within seconds. In modern business transactions, failure to employ these essential facilities in communication will have negative impact on the business performance.    

Research and Development

For an organisation to make progress, it has to be involved in continuous research and development. This will unveil new opportunities which will help push forth the orgnisation to greater heights. Information technology has been a catalyst in research and development. The benefit here is that, an organisation is able to access accurate and reliable information with resources on the internet.

B2B Commerce

Originally, the term was used to describe electronic communications between businesses or enterprises in order to distinguish it from the communications between businesses and consumers "business-to-consumer". In due course, it came to be used in marketing as well, describing only industrial or capital goods marketing. In contemporary usage it describes all products and services used by organisations. Many organisations have therefore come to terms with B2B which talks about purchasing and sale of goods/items over the Internet. It describes commercial inter-organisational transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, and between a wholesaler and a retailer. Information technology plays an exclusive role in making all B2B possible.

Security

Information technology tools offer a lot of protection to information assets in business transactions. One significant role of information systems in business is the use of biometric and surveillance systems to secure an organisation against theft and harm from unscrupulous people.

Biometrics consists of technology for recognizing human-based intrinsic behavioral traits. This is an information technology tool that can secure organisations in their routine interactions with the business environment. The use of ezwich to send and receive money at the tap of the finger on a device is the usefulness of biometric transactions. The advantage is that, it is a remedy against theft and impersonation in the business world because the device detects natural objects and can pinpoint the person involved in a particular transaction at a given time.

Storage

Information technology is also very vital in the recording and storage of all business documents for future reference. Files have often been stored in manual file covers and folders and kept on shelves to gather dust as the situation is often depicted. Modern information technology tools such as the computer offers an exclusive advantage. Some records such as those stored on the excel application program can be updated at the option of a user when stored for the longest time possible.

Accuracy

Information technology offers precision in office work. It gives more accuracy than the traditional methods of handling information in the office.

Office Automation

Office automation is an information technology system designed to efficiently capture and handle information at source.

In a nutshell, the roles of information technology on business growth are:

• Dissemination - Sharing research and business data among colleagues and like-minded individuals.
• Communicating with others and transmitting files via E-mail.
• Requesting and providing assistance with problems and questions.
• Marketing and publicising products and services.
• Gathering valuable feedback and suggestions from customers and business partners.
• Entertainment such as internet games, music, video for amusement.

Nyan J. K. and Sefenu J. C, (2008) have offered the following beneficial effects of information technology.

(a)    It increases the flow of information.

(b)   It allows many tasks to be performed much more quickly and with greater accuracy, cutting costs and reducing the risks of errors.

(c)    It enables personal letters to be produced simply, thus providing the receiver with a better image of the sender.

(d)   It can reduce the need for travel to personal meetings.

(e)    It increases the security of the transfer of confidential documents

(f)    It makes possible changes in a company’s financial or stock position to be recorded and circulated with the minimum of paperwork.

(g)   The production of high-quality printed materials such as sales leaflets, company reports or political pamphlets in a process known as desk-top-publishing.

(h)   Information has improved the accuracy and timeliness of organisational communication.

O’Brien A.  J. (2003) offers tangible and intangible benefits of e-commerce (component of information technology) system a.

The tangible benefits are:

·         Increase in sales or profits.

·         Decrease in information processing costs.

·         Decrease in operating costs.

·         Decrease in required investment.

·         Increase in operating efficiency.

The intangible benefits he offered include:

·         Improved information availability.

·         Improved abilities in analysis.

·         Improved customer service.

·         Improved employee morale.

·         Improved management decision making.

·         Improved competitive position.

·         Improved business image.

Vices posed by Information Technology in Business

Information technology in the modern day exists as both a virtue and a vice. The virtues have been outlined above. The vices associated with the emergence of information technology are:

Health Problems

Users of information technology tools such as computers are exposed to eye strain, back ache, head ache, fatigue and the effects associated with radiation.

Computer Crime

The computer has been used by scandalous persons as an instrument of crime. Various kinds of computer crime include:

·         Unauthorised use and conversion of software and data over networks

·         Software plagiarism

·         Blocking other users from accessing own data

·         Theft of intellectual property

Hacking

Hacking is the unauthorised access and modification of networks to steal data. Hackers employ tactics to uncover vital information belonging to other users. Hackers also attack other websites and loading it with unnecessary information and in the end the website slows down. Sometimes they also fake e-mail addresses to trick other users to give them vital information so that they can attack databases of profitably organisations.

Cyber Theft

Computer criminals also use unlawful entry techniques to attack and access the database of organisations to transfer funds.

Loss of productive hours

Many workers browse the net, read and send e-mails during working hours. Others visit entertainment sites and get absorbed to the extent that a lot of working hours are lost. Information technology has made available pornographic sites. Some people visit these sites to the detriment of their work.

Financial limitations

Most of the software used is very expensive. Organisations battle it out on a daily basis when it comes to replacements, training and updating of the latest software. For example, a lot of tertiary institutions spend huge sums of money updating their software and purchasing antivirus programs for their computers.

Computer Viruses

A computer virus is a hidden instruction found in a computer and causes damage to programmes and files in other computers. A virus usually attaches itself to a removable storage facility such as pen drives, CDs, memory cards etc and copies itself into another computer’s operating system. At the end the virus is likely to harm the software. Computer viruses are continuously damaging important business documents.

Spam or Junk Mails

Spam messages are unsolicited e-mails sent by internet criminals probably to get sensitive information so that they can steal from other computer users. This is also a serious problem on the internet. Junk mails are constantly used to defraud business organisations.   

Unemployment

Computer automated systems are gradually replacing human beings thus posing serious unemployment problems. However, these systems are noted for higher productivity compared to human effort. 

In a summary, it must be restated that information technology has been misused in a number of ways. Health related issues are cropping up as a result of the interaction with information technology tools. Internet criminals and pirates are typical cases of the misuse of information technology. Junk mails, financial limitations and virus activity are the forms of abuses associated with the use of information technology. The other most important misuse is the spread of pornographic material via the internet.   

Sulemana Haruna