Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - Essay Example Studies allover the globe cites PTSD as a common mental disorder among veterans of war. Moreover, these studies indicate that this disorder has a lifetime prevalence rate of 7% to 12%. In addition, there have been several studies carried out in vulnerable populations. These vulnerable populations include â€Å"peacekeepers, combat veterans, Aboriginal populations and terrorist attack survivors.† In the studies of all these populations, there were higher rates of the disorder compared to the rest of the population who are not susceptible. Moreover, many of the people with a diagnosis of PTSD have a comorbid diagnosis with an additional lifetime mental condition (Sareen et al, 2007). Despite the prevalence of the disorder being high among at-risk populations, these rates vary according to the circumstances surrounding the susceptibility. For example, studies carried out among Vietnam battle veterans demonstrate higher prevalence of PTSD than is found in noncombat veterans or sim ilar nonveterans. Moreover, other studies indicate that the Posttraumatic stress disorder experienced by most of the U.S. veterans, is at least because of battle-related PTSD (Boscarino, 2006). The development of diagnosis of veterans with combat-related mental disorder dates back in the 1800. During this time, the United States military doctors diagnose soldiers with a condition they called â€Å"exhaustion†. ... Other signs include being bad-tempered or angry, flashbacks, trying not to bear in mind the incidents that occurred, nightmares and feeling emotionally frozen or isolated from others (Paolillo, 2008). Effects of Posttraumatic stress disorder in the Military In addition, PTSD-positive veterans may be more vulnerable to autoimmune diseases. Although there could be inconsistency, investigations have found that individuals who developed PTSD, especially men exposed to war, have shown to have lower plasma concurrent with higher catecholamine levels. In addition, studies have clearly shown that Vietnam veterans with current PTSD had clinically raised leukocyte and T-cell counts. In addition, it is evident that there is a relationship between the PTSD development and alterations in immune system functions (Boscarino, 2006). Because of nighttime PTSD symptoms, the patient is likely to experience suicidal ideation, alcohol and drug abuse, and can precipitate completed suicide. According to cl inical studies, the enhanced postsynaptic adrenergic receptor responsiveness to central nervous system (CNS) leads to the pathophysiology of PTSD, especially at night. This on the other hand, interrupts sleep physiology increasing sleep stage phenomena linked with emergence of trauma nightmares and increasing emergence of primitive alarm-related cognitive processing (Raskind et al, 2007). Implications of Posttraumatic stress disorder in the Military There is rising proof that exposure to sensitively shocking incidents among combat veterans’ leads to increased medical morbidity. In addition, it is evident that there is a direct connection between prolonged exposure to harsh psychological suffering and the commencement of disease. The experience with battle veterans suffering

Filipino Americans In America Essay Example for Free

Filipino Americans In America Essay Filipino Americans have retained their racial and cultural pride and outlook even as they are fast becoming assimilated and adopting American values and cultural norms in the United States as an adopted country. This is a preliminary paper which featured six respondents to a fundamentally open ended but structured questionnaire, intending to elicit their inner sentiments on their nationality as immigrants to the United States. Qualifying criteria: Filipino ancestry, and residency in in the United States for the last 5- 15 years. Must have spent at least 10 to 15 years in the Philippines prior to immigration to the United States. Structure of Questionnaire: This is a fundamentally controlled emic questionnaire, initially, intended to have open-ended response that will give the inner sentiments of the respondents. Six respondents were given a free-wheeling right to answer the following questions (1) how they feel being Filipino Americans (2) the comfort level they have in being called Filipino Americans (3) their attitude to the previous citizenship (4) their general feeling about being Filipino or simply, Americans. (5) the values that differentiate them as a group (6) the beliefs that are common among them (7) their loyalty to their mother country (8) their religious faith/s (9) their attitude towards the US elections and the candidates (10) their celebrations and joys (11) The problems they perceive about their home country (12) The problems they meet in the United States. Emic-Etic Research 3 Interview results: 1. Four of six said they were proud Filipinos â€Å" just living or working in America. † Two said they are Filipino Americans, but that the United States is their country. 2. Four of six said they are not comfortable being referred to as Americans. Two were comfortable, but explain that they have Filipino roots. 3. All six said they were proud of their racial roots. Four of six said they identified with the United States as a friendly second country. 4. All said they would have preferred to stay in the Philippines because of the character of the people there (friendly and hospitable, and â€Å"wonderful†) but they would like to look for higher paying jobs in the US . 5. Five of six said their Catholic religion bind them together, four said they are proud of the heroes of their race, all five of six said they are proud of the racial industriousness and resourcefulness of their fellow Filipinos, and that their friendly nature distinguish them as a group. 6. All six said belief in God is a national faith. Among the values that they share as a group are: being good to foreigners, kindness to neighbors, cleanliness in their bodies, living harmoniously with neighbors. Some of the vices of their race include: gambling, gossip, and crabbing or stealing dreams. 8. Four of the six said they are non-practicing Catholics One was Protestant. One did not answer. 9. Three would vote for Obama , one for McCain. Two are not inclined to join the electoral discussions as irrelevant to them. Four said a McCain victory would be bad for Emic-Etic Research 4 Filipino immigrants. The same number said Obama would be good to immigrants. (Two answered twice) 10. All six said they enjoy Christmas as the most awaited holiday of the year. They enjoy singing publicly or in groups. They also all eagerly await the religious month of the Lenten season. They also enjoy family reunions, attending funeral wakes, group drinking, and teasing beautiful women, passing hours for their siesta, engaging in small talk, talking about their politicians, listening to movie gossip, either Filipino local or Hollywood. 11. The following came out as their negative list of events and/or descriptions in their country of origin: low value of the peso (5 of interviewees ) , high unemployment (4 of respondents) , air and water pollution ( 3 of respondents ) , and corruption in government (2 of 6 respondents). . 12. All six said they have experienced and can easily discern racial bigotry and discrimination in America. ANALYSIS The results of the tally suggest a pattern of national consciousness, an awareness of nationhood and national pride. The limited number of respondents at = six (6) is without any other controlling variables like total population and distribution profile and therefore cannot be a basis for any claim of being representative of the population of Filipino US immigrants. Emic-Etic Research 5 The present practical inquiry however can serve as a basis for future etic questionnaire that will define the answers to the above from a truly representative sampling, and allow an etic database that will provide objective percentages to the initial summary of findings above. As important as what the respondents above are saying are those that they have left unsaid. For example in Item 2, four of six respondents were unwilling to be called Filipino Americans –a fact that clearly displayed national loyalty and preference for their citizenship branding as Filipinos. The two who acknowledged their American citizenship were nevertheless fully cognizant and proud of their Filipino roots. In item 12, the stark figure of all six respondents saying they have experienced and could discern racial bigotry and discrimination in the United States speaks volumes about the social environment they operate, and describes their inner sensitivity to indications of racial discrimination. This is wide field of further inquiry that can further establish objective etic ( or objective, verifiable) information of concrete cases of discrimination that respondents have experienced in the United States.

Dead Poets Society Essay examples -- essays papers

Dead Poets Society Dead Poets Society Hysterical Text One person’s interpretation of a story is always different than another’s. Some of us may see things that are not being shown to us. Dead Poets Society, in author Tania Modleski’s eyes has taken on a manifestation larger than the author herself. This story is not what the author will have you believe, whereas the true story was hidden in the misconception of Modleski’s beliefs. The sexual content, homoerotic tensions, and antiauthoritarian behavior, seemed to come from the author’s wishful thinking as opposed to the reality of the film. In the film a homosexual theme could not be seen. When Mr. Keating came to the school to teach, he did not insist on being called oh captain my captain. That phrase was used only three times in the movie, once by Mr. Keating himself. Oh captain my captain was used by two separate young men as a show of admiration and respect for Mr. Keating. In contrast Modleski sees oh captain my captain as a â€Å"pious deference to male authority†(Modleski â€Å" Dead White Male Heterosexual Poets Society† 315) because the very authority the film pretends to be challenging. One character that just enrolled at the school and was somewhat of a loner, and misfit, and is expected to achieve great success as his brother did before him. He is an example of how some families push one child to be exactly like another i.e. his older brother. When he first comes in contact with Mr. Keating he could not speak openly in front of a crowd. This is evident when he decides not to write a poem that is to be read in front of the class the following day. When Mr. Keating calls upon him to read and he cannot, he uses the technique of spinning him around while spewing... ...land. Mr. Keating probably was dismissed from the school in England for his freethinking ways. He may travel from school to school spreading the Dead poets Society way of free expression. This is illustrated when a boy returns to his room, and finds Mr. Keating’s book of poetry lying on his desk. When Modleski critiqued this movie, with good intentions in mind, somehow she lost her way. There are two sides to every story and these boys and Mr. Keating’s has been told. The illustrations, and aforementioned reasons, show that Dead poets society is a hysterical text. We may never know the real meaning behind this movie, but we all have our interpretations of it. There are no hidden or reclusive meanings being portrayed here, just a boarding school that suppresses freedom of thought, and creativity. This is why Mr. Keating’s character comes through loud and clear.

Plate Tectonics Essay -- essays research papers

The theory of plate tectonics, only recently introduced to the world, transforms the thought that the earth has been the same since its beginning. The theory alters the view of the average person almost in the way that Columbus showed the world was round. The theory of plate tectonics was developed from the theories of continental drift and sea-floor spreading and states that the earth’s surface is divided into several large plates, which are constantly in motion. In 1912, Alfred Wegener, a German scientist, was the first to notice this and develop the theory of plate tectonics. He noticed that the earth’s continents fit together almost like a jigsaw puzzle. This, combined with the fact that similar fossils and rock types are found on different continents separated by large bodies of water, helped him formulate his conjecture. He contended that the plates at one point formed one large continent called Pangea, which allowed like fossils and rock types to become closer together, which broke apart. Despite how well the continents fit together and the facts about the geology, the general public would not accept Wagener’s proposal. This is largely due to religious conflicts and the lack of evidence presented to them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The earth’s surface and the mantle make up the composition of the tectonic plates. This layer, called the lithosphere, rests on top of the asthenosphere, a layer of molten rock. The asthenosphere is constantly moving and flowing due to the extreme pressures...

Optical Computing Essay

Jainam Shah Kalol Institute Of Technology, Kalol, Gujarat, India. jainam_8888@yahoo.co.in Abstract—Optics has been used in computing for a number of years but the main emphasis has been and continues to be to link portions of computers, for communications, or more intrinsically in devices that have some optical application or component (optical pattern recognition, etc). Optical digital computers are still some years away, however a number of devices that can ultimately lead to real optical computers have already been manufactured, including optical logic gates, optical switches, optical interconnections, and optical memory. The most likely near-term optical computer will really be a hybrid composed of traditional architectural design along with some portions that can perform some functional operations in optical mode. Computing applications as a consequence of faster processing speed, as well as better connectivity and higher bandwidth. II. NEED FOR OPTICAL COMPUTING The pressing need for optical technology stems from the fact that today’s computers are limited by the time response of electronic circuits. A solid transmission medium limits both the speed and volume of signals, as well as building up heat that damages components. One of the theoretical limits on how fast a computer can function is given by Einstein’s principle that signal cannot propagate faster than speed of light. So to make computers faster, their components must be smaller and there by decrease the distance between them. This has resulted in the development of very large scale integration (VLSI) technology, with smaller device dimensions and greater complexity. The smallest dimensions of VLSI nowadays are about 0.08mm. Despite the incredible progress in the development and refinement of the basic technologies over the past decade, there is growing concern that these technologies may not be capable of solving the computing problems of even the current millennium. The speed of computers was achieved by miniaturizing electronic components to a very small micron-size scale, but they are limited not only by the speed of electrons in matter but also by the increasing density of interconnections necessary to link the electronic gates on microchips. The optical computer comes as a solution of miniaturization problem. Optical data processing can perform several operations in parallel much faster and easier than electrons. This parallelism helps in staggering computational power. For example a calculation that takes a conventional electronic computer more than 11 years to complete could be performed by an optical computer in a single hour. Any way we can realize that in an optical computer, electrons are rep laced by photons, the subatomic bits of electromagnetic radiation that make up light. I. INTRODUCTION With the growth of computing technology the need of high performance computers (HPC) has significantly increased. Optics has been used in computing for a number of years but the main emphasis has been and continues to be to link portions of computers, for communications, or more intrinsically in devices that have some optical application or component (optical pattern recognition etc.) Optical computing was a hot research area in 1980’s.But the work tapered off due to materials limitations that prevented opt chips from getting small enough and cheap enough beyond laboratory curiosities. Now, optical computers are back with advances in self-assembled conducting organic polymers that promise super-tiny of all optical chips. Optical computing technology is, in general, developing in two directions. One approach is to build computers that have the same architecture as present day computers but using optics that is Electro optical hybrids. Another approach is to generate a completely new kind of computer, which can perform all functional operations in optical mode. In recent years, a number of devices that can ultimately lead us to real optical computers have already been manufactured. These include optical logic gates, optical switches, optical interconnections and optical memory. Current trends in optical computing emphasize communications, for example the use of free space optical interconnects as a potential solution to remove ‘Bottlenecks’ experienced in electronic architectures. Optical technology is one of the most promising, and may eventually lead to new III. SOME KEY OPTICAL COMPONENTS FOR COMPUTING The major breakthroughs on optical computing have been centered on the development of micro-optic devices for data input. A. VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) VCSEL (pronounced ‘vixel’) is a semiconductor vertical cavity surface emitting laser diode that emits light in a cylindrical beam vertically from the surface of a fabricated wafer, and offers significant advantages when compared to the edge-emitting lasers currently used in the majority of fiber optic communications devices. The principle involved in the operation of a VCSEL is very similar to those of regular lasers. Fig. 2. Optical Interconnection Of Circuit Boards Using Vcsel And Photodiode VCSEL convert the electrical signal to optical signal when the light beams are passed through a pair of lenses and micromirrors. Micromirrors are used to direct the light beams and this light rays is passed through a polymer waveguide which serves as the path for transmitting data instead of copper wires in electronic computers. Then these optical beams are again passed through a pair of lenses and sent to a photodiode. This photodiode convert the optical signal back to the electrical signal. B. SLM (Spatial Light Modulators) SLM play an important role in several technical areas where the control of light on a pixel-by-pixel basis is a key element, such as optical processing and displays. 1) SLM For Display Purposes Fig. 1. Two semiconductor materials sandwiching an active layer There are two special semiconductor materials sandwiching an active layer where all the action takes place. But rather than reflective ends, in a VCSEL there are several layers of partially reflective mirrors above and below the active layer. Layers of semiconductors with differing compositions create these mirrors, and each mirror reflects a narrow range of wavelengths back in to the cavity in order to cause light emission at just one wavelength. For display purposes the desire is to have as many pixels as possible in as small and cheap a device as possible. For such purposes designing silicon chips for use as spatial light modulators has been effective. The basic idea is to have a set of memory cells laid out on a regular grid. These cells are electrically connected to metal mirrors, such that the voltage on the mirror depends on the value stored in the memory cell. A layer of optically active liquid crystal is sandwiched between this array of mirrors and a piece of glass with a conductive coating. The voltage between individual mirrors and the front electrode affects the optical activity of liquid crystal in that neighborhood. Hence by being able to individually program the memory locations one can set up a pattern of optical activity in the liquid crystal layer. C. Smart Pixel Technology Smart pixel technology is a relatively new approach to integrating electronic circuitry and optoelectronic devices in a common framework. The purpose is to leverage the advantages of each individual technology and provide improved performance for specific applications. Here, the electronic circuitry provides complex functionality and programmability while the optoelectronic devices provide high-speed switching and compatibility with existing optical media. Arrays of these smart pixels leverage the parallelism of optics for interconnections as well as computation. A smart pixel device, a light emitting diode under the control of a field effect transistor can now be made entirely out of organic materials on the same substrate for the first time. In general, the benefit of organic over conventional semiconductor electronics is that they should lead to cheaper, lighter, circuitry that can be printed rather than etched. D. WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) Wavelength division multipl exing is a method of sending many different wavelengths down the same optical fiber. Using this technology, modern networks in which individual lasers can transmit at 10 gigabits per second through the same fiber at the same time. which interact with light and modulate its properties. Several of the optical components require efficient-nonlinear materials for their operations. What in fact restrains the widespread use of all optical devices is the in efficiency of currently available nonlinear materials, which require large amount of energy for responding or switching. Organic materials have many features that make them desirable for use in optical devices such as 1) High nonlinearities 2) Flexibility of molecular design 3) Damage resistance to optical radiations Some organic materials belonging to the classes of phthalocyanines and polydiacetylenes are promising for optical thin films and wave guides. These compounds exhibit strong electronic transitions in the visible region and have high chemical and thermal stability up to 400 degree Celsius. Polydiacetylenes are among the most widely investigated class of polymers for nonlinear optical applications. Their subpicosecond time response to laser signals makes them candidates for high-speed optoelectronics and information processing. To make thin polymer film for electro-optic applications, NASA scientists dissolve a monomer (the building block of a polymer) in an organic solvent. This solution is then put into a growth cell with a quartz window, shining a laser through the quartz can cause the polymer to deposit in specific pattern. V. ADVANCES IN PHOTONIC SWITCHES Logic gates are the building blocks of any digital system. An optical logic gate is a switch that controls one light beam by another; it is ON when the device transmits light and it is OFF when it blocks the light. Fig. 3. a. Wave length division multiplexing b. A WDM System WDM can transmit up to 32 wavelengths through a single fiber, but cannot meet the bandwidth requirements of the present day communication systems. So nowadays DWDM (Dense wavelength division multiplexing) is used. This can transmit up to 1000 wavelengths through a single fiber. That is by using this we can improve the bandwidth efficiency. IV. ROLE OF NLO IN OPTICAL COMPUTING The role of nonlinear materials in optical computing has become extremely significant. Non-linear materials are those, Fig. 4. Optical AND-logic gate To demonstrate the AND gate in the phthalocyanine film, two focused collinear laser beams are wave guided through a thin film of phthalocyanine. Nanosecond green pulsed Nd:YAG laser was used together with a red continuous wave (cw) He-Ne beam. At the output a narrow band filter was set to block the green beam and allow only the He-Ne beam. Then the transmitted beam was detected on an oscilloscope. It was found that the transmitted He-Ne cw beam was pulsating with a nanosecond duration and in synchronous with the input Nd:YAG nanosecond pulse. This demonstrated the characteristic table of an AND logic gate. A. Optical and Gate In an optical NAND gate the phthalocyanine film is replaced by a hollow fiber filled with polydiacetylene. Nd:YAG green picoseconds laser pulse was sent collinearly with red cw He-Ne laser onto one end of the fiber. At the other end of the fiber a lens was focusing the output on to the narrow slit of a monochromatic with its grating set for the red He-Ne laser. When both He-Ne laser and Nd:YAG laser are present there will be no output at the oscilloscope. If either one or none of the laser beams are present we get the output at the oscilloscope showing NAND function. faster read-out rates. This research is expected to lead to compact, high capacity, rapid-and random-access, and low power and low cost data storage devices necessary for future intelligent spacecraft. The SLMs are used in optical data storage applications. These devices are used to write data into the optical storage medium at high speed. Fig. 6. Optical Disk More conventional approaches to holographic storage use ion doped lithium niobate crystals to store pages of data. For audio recordings ,a 150MBminidisk with a 2.5- in diameter has been developed that uses special compression to shrink a standard CD’s640-MB storage capacity onto the smaller polymer substrate. It is rewritable and uses magnetic field modulation on optical material. The mini disc uses one of the two methods to write information on to an optical disk. With the mini disk a magnetic field placed behind the optical disk is modulated while the intensity of the writing laser is held constant. By switching the polarity of the magnetic field while the laser creates a state of flux in the optical material digital data can be recorded on a single layer. As with all optical storage media a read laser retrieves the data. A. Working The 780nm light emitted from AlGaAs/GaAs laser diodes is collimated by a lens and focused to a diameter of about 1micrometer on the disk. If the re is no pit where the light is incident, it is reflected at the Al mirror of the disk and returns to the lens, the depth of the pit is set at a value such that the difference between the path of the light reflected at a pit and the Fig. 5. Optical NAND-logic gate VI. OPTICAL MEMORY In optical computing two types of memory are discussed. One consists of arrays of one-bit-store elements and other is mass storage, which is implemented by optical disks or by holographic storage systems. This type of memory promises very high capacity and storage density. The primary benefits offered by holographic optical data storage over current storage technologies include significantly higher storage capacities and path of light reflected at a mirror is an integral multiple of halfwavelength consequently, if there is a pit where light is incident, the amount of reflected light decreases tremendously because the reflected lights are almost cancelled by interference. The incident and reflected beams pass through the quarter wave plate and all reflected light is introduced to the photodiode by the beam splitter because of the polarization rotation due to the quarter wave plate. By the photodiode the reflected light, which as a signal whether, a pit is on the disk or not is changed into an electrical signal. VII. APPLICATIONS 1) High speed communications: The rapid growth of internet, expanding at almost 15% per month, demands faster speeds and larger bandwidth than electronic circuits can provide. Terabits speeds are needed to accommodate the growth rate of internet since in optical computers data is transmitted at the speed of light which is of the order of 3.10*8 m/sec hence terabit speeds are attainable. 2) Optical crossbar interconnects are used in asynchronous transfer modes and Shared memory multiprocessor systems. 3) Process satellite data. VIII. MERITS 1) Optical computing is at least 1000 to 100000 times faster than today’s silicon machines. 2) Optical storage will provide an extremely optimized way to store data, with space requirements far lesser than today’s silicon chips. 3) Super fast searches through databases. 4) No short circuits, light beam can cross each other without interfering with each other’s data 5) Light beams can travel in parallel and no limit to number of packets that can travel in the photonic circuits. 6) Optical computer removes the bottleneck in the present day Communication system IX. DRAWBACKS 1) Today’s materials require much high power to work in consumer products, coming up with the right materials may take five years or more. 2) Optical computing using a coherent source is simple to compute and understand, but it has many drawbacks like any imperfections or dust on the optical components will create unwanted interference pattern due to scattering effects. Incoherent processing on the other hand cannot store phase information. X. SOME CURRENT RESEARCH High performance computing has gained momentum in recent years, with efforts to optimize all the resources of electronic computing and researcher brain power in order to increase computing throughput. Optical computing is a topic of current support in many places, with private companies as well as governments in several countries encouraging such research work. A group of researchers from the University of Southern California, jointly with a team from the University of California, los angles, have developed an organic polymer with a switching frequency of 60 GHz. This is three times faster than the current industry standard, lithium niobate crystal based device. Another group at brown university and the IBM, Alma den research center has used ultrafast laser pulses to build ultra fast data storage devices. This group was able to achieve ultra fast switching down to 100 picoseconds. In Japan , NEC has developed a method for interconnecting circuit boards optically using VCSEL arrays .Another researchers at NTT have designed an optical backplane with free-space optical interconnects using tunable beam deflectors and mirrors. The project achieved 1000 interconnections per printed circuit board; with a throughput ranging from 1 to 10 Tb/s. XI. FUTURE TRENDS The Ministry of Information Technology has initiated a photonic development program. Under this program some funded projects are continuing in fiber optic high-speed network systems. Research is going on for developing Fig.7. Use of optical devices in future New laser diodes, photo detectors, and nonlinear material studies for faster switches. Research efforts on an particle thin film or layer studies for display devices are also in progress. At the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai, efforts are in progress to generate a white light source from a diode case based fiber amplifier system in order to provide WDM communication channels. XII. CONCLUSION Research in optical computing has opened up new possibilities in several fields related to high performance computing, high-speed communications. To design algorithms that execute applications faster, the specific properties of optics must be considered, such as their ability to exploit massive parallelism, and global interconnections. As optoelectronic and smart pixel devices mature, software development will have a major impact in the future and the ground rules for the computing may have to be rewritten. XIII. REFERENCES [1] [2] See for example: Chemical and Engineering ews, â€Å"Photonic Crystals. Assembled on Chip†, 79(47), 31 (2001). P. Boffi, D. Piccinin, M.C. Ubaldi, (Eds.), Infrared Holography for Optical Communications— echniques,MaterialsandDevices,SpringerTopics in Applied Physics: Vol 86, July 2002. Alain Goulet, Makoto Naruse, and Masatoshi Ishikawa, â€Å"Simple integration technique to realize parallel optical interconnects: implementation of a pluggable two-dimensional optical data link†, Applied Optics 41, 5538 (2002) Tushar Mahapatra, Sanjay Mishra, Oracle Parallel Processing, O’Reilly & Associates, Inc., Sebastopol, California, USA, 2000. S. J. van Enk, J. McKeever, H. J. Kimble, and J. Ye, â€Å"Cooling of a single atom in an optical trap inside a resonator,† Phys. Rev. A 64, 013407 (2001). A. Dodabalapur, Z. Bao, A. Makhija, J. G. Laquindanum, V. R. Raju, Y. Feng, H. E. Katz, and J. Rogers, â€Å"Organic smart pixels†, Appl. Phys. Lett. 73 , 142 (1998). Henning Sirringhaus, Nir Tessler, and Richard H. Friend, â€Å"Integrated Optoelectronic Devices Based on Conjugated Polymers†, Science 280, 1741 (1988).

Comprehensive Review of the Star Math Online Assessment

Comprehensive Review of the Star Math Online Assessment STAR Math is an online assessment program developed by Renaissance Learning for students in grades one through 12. The program assesses 49 sets of math skills in 11 domains for grades one through eight and  44 sets of math skills in 21 domains for grades nine through 12 to determine a student’s overall math achievement. Areas Covered The first- through eighth-grade domains include counting and cardinality, ratios and proportional relationships, operations and algebraic thinking, the number system, geometry, measurement and data, expressions and equations, numbers and operations in base 10, fractions, statistics and probability, and functions. The 21 ninth- through 12th-grade domains are similar but much more intensive and rigorous. There are 558 total grade-specific skills that STAR Math tests. The program is designed to provide teachers with individual student data quickly and accurately. It typically takes a student 15 to 20 minutes to complete an assessment, and reports are available immediately. The test begins with three practice questions designed to ensure that the student knows how to use the system. The test itself consists of 34 math questions varying by grade level across those four domains.   Features If you have Accelerated Reader, Accelerated Math, or any of the other STAR assessments, you only have to complete the setup one time. Adding students and building classes is quick and easy. You can add a class of 20 students and have them ready to be assessed in about 15 minutes. STAR Math provides teachers with the appropriate library that each student should be enrolled in for the Accelerated Math program. Students who work in the Accelerated Math program should see significant growth in the STAR Math score. Using the Program The STAR Math assessment can be given on any computer or tablet. Students have two choices when answering the multiple-choice style questions. They can use their mouse and click on the correct choice, or they can use the A, B, C, D keys that correlate to the correct answer. Students are not locked into their answer until they click Next or push the Enter key. Each question is on a three-minute timer. When a student has 15 seconds remaining, a small clock will begin to flash at the top of the screen indicating that time is about to expire for that question.   The program includes a screening-and-progress monitor tool that allows teachers to set goals and monitor a student’s progress throughout the year. This feature allows teachers to decide quickly and accurately whether they need to change their approach with a particular student or continue doing what they are doing. STAR Math has an extensive assessment bank that allows students to be tested multiple times without seeing the same question. In addition, the program adapts to the students as they answer questions. If a student is performing well, the questions will increasingly become more difficult. If he is struggling, the questions will become easier. The program will eventually zero in on the student’s correct level. Reports STAR Math provides teachers with several reports designed to assist in targeting which students need intervention and areas where they need assistance, including a: A diagnostic report, which provides information such as the student’s grade equivalent, percentile rank, percentile range, normal curve equivalent, and recommended Accelerated Math library. It also provides tips to maximize that students math growth. In addition, it details where a student is specifically in meeting both enumeration and computational objectives.Growth report, which shows the improvement of a group of students over a specific period of time. This report can cover a few weeks or months to several years.Screening report, which provides teachers with a graph that details whether students are above or below their benchmark as they are assessed throughout the year.Summary report, which provides teachers with whole-group test results for a specific test date or range, which helps to compare multiple students at one time. Relevant Terminology The assessment includes several important terms to know: The scaled score is figured based on the difficulty of the questions as well of the number of questions that were correct. STAR Math uses a scale range of 0 to 1,400. This score can be used to compare students to each other as well as themselves over time. The percentile rank allows students to be compared to other students nationally who are in the same grade. For example, a student who scores in the 54th percentile ranked higher than 53 percent of students in her grade but lower than 45 percent. The grade equivalent represents how a student performs compared to other students nationally. For example, a fourth-grade student who scores a grade equivalent of 7.6 scores as well as a student who is in the seventh grade and sixth month. The normal curve equivalent is a norm-referenced score that is useful for making comparisons between two different standardized tests. Ranges for this scale are from 1 to 99. The recommended Accelerated Math library provides the teacher with the specific grade level that the student should be enrolled in for Accelerated Math. This is specific to the student based on her performance on the STAR Math assessment.

Kanye West Concert Review essays

Kanye West Concert Review essays Kanye Wests recently made the transition from producer to rapper, with the debut of his album College Dropout. With this release came a tour across the continental United States, also making stops in Ontario. The tour, headlined by West, featuring performances by Dilated Peoples and various other artists, kicked off in Virginia and traveled up the east coast, where they appeared at the Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts. Even if you havent heard of Kanye before, you have most likely heard some of his music. Throughout the past few years, he has produced albums for some of the top performers in the game. He has become one of the most sought after producers in the business, working on albums by Jay-Z, Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and even the pop princess herself, Britney Spears. The show at the Palladium, on March 23 of this year, was supposed to start at eight, but didnt go as planned. Tuesdays show fell very short of anything spectacular. All who attended the event expected much more than what was brought to the stage, and agreed, the show was not worth the forty dollars listed as the ticket price. Many of the problems throughout the performance were due to technical difficulties. It seemed as if there hadnt been a sound check before the show at all. Many concert goers expect technical difficulties, with hip-hop shows, but Tuesdays show reached a new low; the negatives far exceeded the positives. The concert kicked off with short-lived performances by locals 7L and Esoteric. These brief, but respectable, sets provided some entertainment to the crowd, who expected much more to proceed. After a thirty minute break between sets, Skillz took the stage, but was instantly booed for his choice to wear a Yankees hat in front of a Massachusetts crowd. Although Skillz performance wasnt terrible, the crowd was growing ...

The parable of the Cave

The parable of the Cave Plato’s parable of the cave was describing the situation of prisoners chained and made to stay in one position for a long time. A fierce fire that was burning behind them was their only source of light. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The parable of the Cave specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The chains where designed in a way that the prisoners could see nothing else apart from their own shadows that were projected to the wall by the light from the fire. After sometime, puppets were moved in front of the fire and their shadows were projected to the wall too. The prisoner mastered puppets’ images as they appeared on the wall, they could even predict the sequence of appearance of these puppets. (Chadwick 13) One day, one of the prisoners was set free from the chains and made to turn and see the fire, as well as the puppets, which he compared with the shadows he had been seeing he had been seeing. They wer e very different. Later, the freed prisoner moved out forcefully of the cave and saw the real things using the light from the sun. The sun’s light was so bright and for some time he could not see anything. He even feared looking at it, until he was well adapted to the brightness. This prisoner was astounded to see how things really looked like and then difference between the objects and their shadows. While out there, he was able to see the difference between the shadows and the reflection of objects in water. He remembered his fellow prisoners who were still in the darkness and chained in the cave. He decided to go back and save them from their confusion, but he found that the prisoners had even crowned each other for being then best in predicting the sequence of the images (Gilson, 369). He could not do what they were doing and when he tried to tell them that what they were seeing was not real, they laughed at him, and accused him of destroying his eyes when he went up th ere. Though he pitied them, they could not buy his idea of reality, the only choice he had was to leave them. Had he insisted to liberate them, he would have paid a high price that could have included him life. The fire and the puppets in the parable were signifying the unrevealed truths about reality, and the limiting aspect of this knowledge (Chadwick 325). The limited light signifies the shallow knowledge of reality that people get from politicians. The puppets are the issues that affect the life of men.Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The puppets pass in front of the fire-projecting image on the wall that signifying distorted reality. As Plato saw it, people who become enlightened are the ones who should take the leadership in society, as they will lead people towards the truth. The fire and t he puppets also signifies politics, politicians and political leadership. Aug ustine’s Confession Augustine knows that God is absolute and he is all knowing. God is also above the human beings in all aspects, and his confession he indicates and worships the power of God. Light refers to knowledge and a mind that is enlightened (Gilson 150). If God’s mind resembles absolute knowledge, then the point of contact with the human mind is like light. God reveals wisdom to human beings by shading light on their brains that they may be able to reason in the right manner. Plato was referring to the light from the sun as the genuine illumination that helped people to see the reality, and that the sun controlled the seasons. Plato clearly demonstrated that light from the sun was brighter than that which was coming from the fire. The light is unchangeable n the sense that it is absolute and complete. Least but to mention, it is in its whole form, and nothing is beyond it (Gilson 157). Even though the light is above us, it is in our mind because God allows i t to have it. Human beings cannot perceive things that are not at par with them. Confusion Descartes, in his first meditation, decided to doubt everything that he has ever believed and start seeing as false. His move was prompted by the realization of the fact that fact that everything that he knows was as his sense could perceive. Therefore, his knowledge lacked the aspect of objective truth, but remained subjective to the opinion of his senses. He started on a journey towards achieving the objective truth of the world, because he realized that his sense have been deceiving him (Saint, 100). Plato discusses the same idea in his parable of the cave, as he indicated the need to take on a journey of salvation that will help him to see the real world. This journey begins with doubting the original knowledge and developing the desire to know then reality as it is not as it is perceived by the senses (Saint 96). In conclusion, the philosophers named in this write up had a common vision of saving humanity from ignorance. They demonstrated the need for an individual to gain objective truth that will help him to have a different view of the world. They also emphasized on the need to recognize the superiority of God and the need to maintain a good relationship with him to be able to experience the truth.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The parable of the Cave specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Chadwick, Henry. Saint Augustine: Confessions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Saint, Augustine. Confessions. Henry Chadwick, trans. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. Chadwick, Henry. Augustine. New York: Oxford University Press, Past Masters Series, 1986. Gilson, Etienne. The Philosophy of Saint Augustine. L.E.M. Lynch, trans. London: Random House, 1960.

Impacts and implications on the performance and growth of small and Dissertation

Impacts and implications on the performance and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises in London - Dissertation Example In this research paper, after a review of the existing literature, new econometric results on the impact and implications on the performance of SMEs, the ongoing evidences of 2009 and forecasts (2010-2013), and drive some key financial and economic policy implications. Financial crises have impacts on all the economic units as is in accordance to the case study of London and SMEs’ structure at micro and macro stages. The main purpose of this study is to determine how SMEs, which are considerably the smallest sections of economics and have a share rate of about 95% (percent) of both developing and developed countries’ economic compositions, have been both negatively and positively been influenced by the effects of financial downturn in London. Small and medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) have been recognized as catalysts to spur the economic advancement of London. In this regards therefore, special focus has been given to the well being of these SMEs in recognition of the f undamental roles they play in economic advancement of the London’s economy. Several research findings indicate that the small business sector has a greater importance for the national economy, the employment and the innovative environment of a country-London. Despite the encouragement and support given to the SMEs, their success and failures compared gives a more picture of frequent failures due to internal and external environmental factors. This study, therefore, gives some recent and final data for the 2009 and forecasts for 2010-2013 on financial and economic downturn impacts on the SMEs’ performance in London. Key words: financial crisis, economic downturn, econometrics, Access to Finance (ATF), small and medium-sized enterprises. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦.†¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. i 1. CHAPTER ONE: GAP IN THE RESEARCH 1.1. Background of the study†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦. 1 1.2. Competitive Advantage as Determinants of Success†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 1.3. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in London †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦...†¦.. 4 1.4. Research Problems†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 1.5. Main Objectives of the Study†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 1.6. Specific Objectives of the Study†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦....†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 1.7. Research Questions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 1.8. Research Hypotheses†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦....†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 1.9. Significance of the Study†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦.†¦.. 11 1.10. Scope and limitations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦11 2. CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Financial and Economic Crises and Notion of SMEs†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..13 2.2. The Concept of Strategic Management †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 15 2.3. The Effects of Financial and Economic downturn and External Environmental Factors on Performance and growth of SME in London†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 17 2.3.1. Porter’s generic strategies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦.. 20 2.4. Threats of New Entrants†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦

The Lottery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Lottery - Essay Example his own trip up to the box to pull for his new family, he had stopped plotting with Nancy and now Davey who had become old enough to discuss the plan to stop the lottery. Davey didn’t remember Tessie nor remember the warm nights on the porch sipping lemonade that she made from tart lemons sweetened with sugar before pouring the water into the pitcher. Davey didn’t know her loss in a real sense, only through the pain of his sister and brother. He knew the pain of his father who sat in a chair staring out over the fields in silent resentment, cold and stoic as he accepted the fate of his wife, but not his own fate of raising three children on his own. It was Davey who moved to make their plans a reality. He had seen others who had fell to the stones, sacrificed for the good of the town. He sat for hours trying to see the connection between the horrific act of stoning the one and the success of the fields. He tracked the harvests year after year, noticing that some years were good and some were bad, never relating to the person who was stoned. He tried to show Mr.Summers that the lottery did the town no good. However, Mr. Summers had an excuse and argument to counter every point that Davey made. When Mr. Summers died, he tried again to speak to his father who surprisingly took over in running the lottery year after year, as if he could reconcile Tessie’s sacrifice by deeper participation. This didn’t change a thing. Nancy came up with the idea. The town gathered, the children made the pile of stones, and the tense, polite conversation began to murmur through the growing crowd. Bill Hutchinson raised hands and smiled, quieting the crowd to ready for the lottery to begin. The year before had been brutal as the five year old child of the village teacher had been the sacrifice, and mothers were noticeably more protective of their young ones, cradling them in their arms and turning slightly away. Janie held her a Bill’s child close, her lips kissing repeatedly

Wheel Works Cycling Company Business. Case Study Essay

Wheel Works Cycling Company Business. Case Study - Essay Example Some other researchers (e.g., Friedlander, (1964) refers to motivation as, â€Å"the amount of effort people are willing to put in their work depends on the degree to which they feel their motivational needs will be satisfied. On the other hand, individuals become de-motivated if they feel something in the organisation prevents them from attaining good outcomes (Friedlander 1964). It can be observed from the above definitions that, motivation in general, is more or less basically concern with factors or events that moves, leads, and drives certain human action or inaction over a given period of time given the prevailing conditions. Further more the definitions suggest that there need to be an† invisible force† to push people to do something in return. It could also be deduced from the definition that having a motivated work force or an environment in which high levels of motivation are maintained remains a challenge for today’s management. This challenge may emanate from the simple fact that motivation is not a fixed trait –as it could change with changes in personal, psychological, financial or social factors. 1.1 Maslow's Hierarchy of Need Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a five-level hierarchical need theory of motivation that specifies that the lowest-level unsatisfied need has the greatest motivating potential (Greenberg & Baron 2003):. The needs include: Physiological needs Safety needs Belongingness needs Esteem needs Self-actualization needs According to Maslow, the lowest-level unsatisfied need category has the greatest motivating potential. When needs at a particular level of the hierarchy are satisfied, the individual turns his or her attention to the next higher level. A satisfied need is no longer an effective motivator. Self-actualization needs, however, become stronger as they are gratified (Greenberg and Baron 2000). At Wheelworks, to satisfy employee's needs following Maslow's doctrine, the Male Speaker does all personnel selection on personnel encouragement. At the same time lot of

Religion and Music Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Religion and Music - Research Paper Example People face numerous situations where they are compelled to listen to music whether by choice or without it. Even in our Muslim state no matter where we go we are required to listen to music. Restaurants, department stores, homes, cars there is no place where music isn’t played. With the availability of cell phones, I pods and so many electronic gadgets like these have eased the access to listening to music. It is imperative for us to know that what our religion teaches us about music and to what extent it permits us to listen to it. For this we need to refer to the Quran, Hadith and sayings of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and Prophet’s companions. According to these sources, music has been termed as ‘haraam’ in our religion. Interpreters of the Holy Quran have identified the term â€Å"lahwal hadith’ as listening and singing songs, buying singers and buying instruments for amusement. Sayyidana Abdullah Ibne Mas`ood, a close companion of the Holy Prop het was inquired the meaning of the phrase â€Å"lahwal hadith’ and he answered, â€Å"I swear by Him besides whom there is no other God, that it refers to ghinaa (singing).† It is believed that he repeated this statement thrice and his views have been seconded by the Four Caliphs, the prominent Sahaba and other reliable personalities in Islam. Music is forbidden and also regarded as a major sin in our religion. Playing of musical instruments is also a major sin hence it is haraam to play the guitar, piano, drums etc. Imam Ali ibne Musa Reza says, â€Å"And to be engrossed in musical instruments is also one of the great sins.† (Bhimji) A verse from Surah Luqman in the Holy Quran is often offered as a proof of prohibition of music, ‘And there are among men those who purchase idle talk in order to mislead others from Allah's path without knowledge, and who throw ridicule upon it. For such there will be a humiliating punishment.† The word â€Å"idle t alk’ here refers to the word ‘lahwal hadith’ which has been discussed earlier. This word has been interpreted in two more ways but they refer to shirk (polytheism) and diverting people from Allah’s worship which takes us to the same idea of engaging in prohibited activities. (al-Kanadi) However there are contradicting views that can be found among people and some misinterpret that music is permitted in our religion. The Quran says, â€Å"And verily, We did favor some of the prophets over others, and to Dawood We gave the Psalms†. This verse of the Quran is not a proof for those who consider music being legal. Psalm (Zaboor) was the Holy Scripture that was given to Hazrat Dawood by Allah and it contained teachings of wisdom and talked about Allah’s greatness. Nowhere in the holy book is it mentioned that music or musical instruments are allowed. The truth is that Prophet Dawood was blessed with a melodious voice which was intensely beautiful a nd captivating that when he recited the Zaboor men, birds, animals and jinn gathered around him to listen to his recitation. This in by no means indicate that Zaboor was reveled with musical instruments or talked about music.(al-Kanadi) Some people believe that another verse from the Holy Quran relating to Prophet Ayyub permits music and dancing. Allah the All Mighty, commands Prophet Muhammad in Holy Quran, "And recall Our servant, Ayyub, when he cried unto his Lord, 'Verily, Satan has afflicted me with distress and suffering.' It was said unto him, 'Strike the ground with your foot; here is a spring for a cool bath and water to drink†. Many Sufis have taken the phrase ‘Strike the ground with your foot’ as an act for allowing music and dancing however the tafseer of the Holy Quran re

Global warming Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Global warming - Research Paper Example Plants captured atmospheric carbon and converted it into sometime useful for the plant and life. These processes continued for thousands of centuries and the atmosphere became pleasant. However, due to the impact of the natural disasters like earth quakes, floods, etc, the plants, tress and organisms died on a massive scale and buried under the layers of sand. The immense pressure and temperature under the layer of sedimentation converted the organisms back to the carbon compounds. There organic compounds with greater ratio of carbon is present under the crust in the form of coal, oil and natural gas. These organic compounds are often referred as fossil fuel resources. When human race discovered that there is an immense amount of energy trapped in the coal, oil and natural gas, they tried to extract the energy out without acknowledging what will be byproduct of the reaction and how byproduct will affect the earth’s atmosphere and human life. The use of fossil fuel resources increased as the hunger for energy increased. No one has the idea hat the burning process is doing to the environment. In the 19th century, the demand for energy increased significantly due to the massive industrialization. Industrial goods were considered more reliable. Trains as the medium of transportation were introduced. Trains reduced the time period of the journeys. Steam trains utilized massive amount of coal to generate mechanical power fro the train. The use of coal in various other sectors also increased. Some people argued that coal energy is not good to the health but coal was the prior source of energy and no one argued to restrict the use of technology no matter what are the side effects of the energy. With the invention of internal combustion engines, fossil fuel based oil resources were used to power the internal combustion engines. Cars, motorcycles, trucks, busses, etc are fitted with internal combustion engines. Many industrialists came up with newer vehicle designs

Religion and Music Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Religion and Music - Research Paper Example People face numerous situations where they are compelled to listen to music whether by choice or without it. Even in our Muslim state no matter where we go we are required to listen to music. Restaurants, department stores, homes, cars there is no place where music isn’t played. With the availability of cell phones, I pods and so many electronic gadgets like these have eased the access to listening to music. It is imperative for us to know that what our religion teaches us about music and to what extent it permits us to listen to it. For this we need to refer to the Quran, Hadith and sayings of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and Prophet’s companions. According to these sources, music has been termed as ‘haraam’ in our religion. Interpreters of the Holy Quran have identified the term â€Å"lahwal hadith’ as listening and singing songs, buying singers and buying instruments for amusement. Sayyidana Abdullah Ibne Mas`ood, a close companion of the Holy Prop het was inquired the meaning of the phrase â€Å"lahwal hadith’ and he answered, â€Å"I swear by Him besides whom there is no other God, that it refers to ghinaa (singing).† It is believed that he repeated this statement thrice and his views have been seconded by the Four Caliphs, the prominent Sahaba and other reliable personalities in Islam. Music is forbidden and also regarded as a major sin in our religion. Playing of musical instruments is also a major sin hence it is haraam to play the guitar, piano, drums etc. Imam Ali ibne Musa Reza says, â€Å"And to be engrossed in musical instruments is also one of the great sins.† (Bhimji) A verse from Surah Luqman in the Holy Quran is often offered as a proof of prohibition of music, ‘And there are among men those who purchase idle talk in order to mislead others from Allah's path without knowledge, and who throw ridicule upon it. For such there will be a humiliating punishment.† The word â€Å"idle t alk’ here refers to the word ‘lahwal hadith’ which has been discussed earlier. This word has been interpreted in two more ways but they refer to shirk (polytheism) and diverting people from Allah’s worship which takes us to the same idea of engaging in prohibited activities. (al-Kanadi) However there are contradicting views that can be found among people and some misinterpret that music is permitted in our religion. The Quran says, â€Å"And verily, We did favor some of the prophets over others, and to Dawood We gave the Psalms†. This verse of the Quran is not a proof for those who consider music being legal. Psalm (Zaboor) was the Holy Scripture that was given to Hazrat Dawood by Allah and it contained teachings of wisdom and talked about Allah’s greatness. Nowhere in the holy book is it mentioned that music or musical instruments are allowed. The truth is that Prophet Dawood was blessed with a melodious voice which was intensely beautiful a nd captivating that when he recited the Zaboor men, birds, animals and jinn gathered around him to listen to his recitation. This in by no means indicate that Zaboor was reveled with musical instruments or talked about music.(al-Kanadi) Some people believe that another verse from the Holy Quran relating to Prophet Ayyub permits music and dancing. Allah the All Mighty, commands Prophet Muhammad in Holy Quran, "And recall Our servant, Ayyub, when he cried unto his Lord, 'Verily, Satan has afflicted me with distress and suffering.' It was said unto him, 'Strike the ground with your foot; here is a spring for a cool bath and water to drink†. Many Sufis have taken the phrase ‘Strike the ground with your foot’ as an act for allowing music and dancing however the tafseer of the Holy Quran re

MSc International Management Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

MSc International Management - Dissertation Example Cultural diversity is a trend in the age of globalization. Meanwhile, the demand for localized products is growing. Adaptation is one innovation that global organizations have to apply in their marketing strategies to adjust to cultural differences. McDonald’s UK is the main focus in our study of standardization and adaptation. McDonald’s originally came from the United States. When it penetrates foreign markets, it has to adapt to the cultures of the country of destination. This is what they call adaptation, as opposed to standardization of products. McDonald’s UK suffered rough sailing in the initial stages. Later on, it adapted strategies. How the company did it is a test of the company’s desire to succeed is the primary focus of this paper. There are criticisms that McDonald’s do not apply diversity in its marketing strategy and that as an international organization, it is an agent of globalization. Adaptation is coping with a culture of a count ry where an organization operates. If an organization wants to do business in a country with a different culture, it has to adapt. It always has to cope with the local culture. Cross-cultural aspects affect the people in the organization, including organizational knowledge, marketing, product mix, etc. International organizations have their own way of doing international marketing. Some modify a little of their products and strategies, or adapt to the culture and behavior of the local community. 2. Literature Review A remarkable gap between standardization and adaptation is that it is still one of the controversial issues and has always been a subject of debate among international companies since 1961 (Vignali and Vrontis 1999; Elinder, 1961 cited in Vrontis et al., 2009). To date, international companies still battle over which one to choose. There have been numerous studies conducted on these two subjects but it remains a hot topic for discussion (Vrontis et al., 2009). Vignali an d Vrontis (1999 cited in Vrontis et al., 2009) stated that the debate started as far back as 1961 when advertising was one of the primary topics. Multinational companies wanted to standardize advertising, and to further apply it to other promotional mix and marketing mix. Until now the debate whether to standardize marketing (or to adapt new products) remains a focal point for discussion (Schultz and Kitchen, 2000; Kanso and Kitchen, 2004; Kitchen and de Pelsmacker, 2004; Vrontis et al., 2009). Ryans et al. (2003 cited in Vrontis et al., 2009, p. 478) pointed out that academic research on this subject has covered much of the literature on marketing. They pointed out that because of globalization, there has been a surplus of exports over imports, prompting international companies to minimize cost of production. However, firms realized that it was necessary to answer or meet the needs and wants of consumers. Meeting the needs and wants of customers is a primary marketing strategy of i nternational companies nowadays. A study was conducted by Hite and Fraser in 1988 on whether firms used standardization or adaptation in their international trade and business throughout many countries. The study utilized a sample of 418 Fortune 500 companies, and the findings were varied and, in fact, surprising. The respondents comprised of 66 percent international firms who advertised internationally, but of this percentage, only 8

Robert W. Sweet Essay Example for Free

Robert W. Sweet Essay To ponder the legal and judicial problems that arise from the drug war we turned to Robert Sweet, a District Judge in New York City. He has served as an Assistant U. S. Attorney and as Deputy Mayor of New York City under John Lindsay. He is a graduate of Yale and of Yale Law School. WHY does a sitting judge, constitutionally charged with enforcing the laws of the United States, seek the abolition of the criminal penalties attached to drug use and distribution? The answer in my case stems from personal experience, leading to the conviction that our present policy debases the rule of law and that its fundamental premise is flawed. In college in the Forties, while experimenting with the drug of choice alcohol I cheerfully sang the lyrics of Cocaine Bill and Morphine Sue, without any understanding of the reality behind the words. As an Assistant United States Attorney in the Fifties, I accepted the enforcement of the drug laws without question. In the Sixties, as Deputy Mayor of the City of New York, I supported methadone and various modalities of treatment and rehabilitation. After becoming a federal trial judge in 1978, I presided over drug trials and sought to impose just sentences ranging from probation to twenty years. Then Congress enacted mandatory minimum sentences, and judicial discretion was radically restricted. The day in the fall of 1988 that I was mandated to sentence Luis Quinones, an 18-year-old with no prior record, to ten years of real time because he was a bouncer in an apartment where drugs were being sold, I faced our national drug policy and the need to re-examine it. Assisted by the writings of Professor Ethan Nadelmann I concluded that our present policy of criminal prohibition was a monumental error. A number of other judges have reached the same conclusion. Judge Weinstein has characterized our present policy as utter futility, and Judge Knapp has likened it to taking minnows out of the pond. As Chief McNamara writes, the realities of criminal prohibition are becoming recognized. The first and foremost effect is the creation of a pervasive and unbelievably powerful underground economy. The Economist estimates that the markup on cocaine and heroin is not 5,000 per cent, as Messrs. Buckley and Duke suggest, but 20,000 per cent. The drug market in the United States is estimated at $150 billion a year. At least one group of distributors in a case before me sold 37,500 kilos of cocaine a month for gross sales of almost $20 million a month, and this group was but one of a number operating here. While this economic engine drives forward, so have our efforts to punish those who operate it. Today we have the highest incarceration rate for any Western nation, almost 1 million [There are higher estimates. ED. ] In jails or prisons at a cost of $20 billion a year. Federal drug cases have trebled in ten years, up 25 per cent in 1993 alone, with marijuana cases up 17 per cent. The total federal expenditure on the drug war this year under the proposed budget will exceed $17 billion. Ten years ago the annual expenditure on the drug war was $5 billion for all governments, federal, state, and local. While our expenditures have increased tenfold, the number of Americans using drugs has remained relatively constant at 40 million. Steady users are estimated to be 6 million, with 1 to 2 million of those seriously disordered. Our present prohibition policy has failed, flatly and without serious question. Secondly, the rule of law has been debased by the use of criminal sanctions to alter personal conduct. Of course, the same effort was made in the Twenties and Thirties with respect to alcohol, with the same results. Al Capone and Nicky Barnes are interchangeable. Drive-by shootings, turf wars, mugging, and random violence are all the direct result of criminal prohibition. Courts are clogged with drug cases to such an extent that in some jurisdictions (the Eastern District of New York and the Southern District of Florida, for example) it is difficult to find the resources to try civil cases; yet, the street-corner availability of drugs is known to every citizen. The rights of the individual have been curtailed in the name of the War on Drugs. We have seen the elimination of an accuseds right to pretrial release for most charges under the drug laws; heightened restrictions on post-conviction bail; and invasions into the attorney client relationship through criminal forfeiture. The criteria for securing a search warrant have been relaxed. In drug cases, the Supreme Court has permitted the issuance of search warrants based on anonymous tips and tips from informants known to be corrupt and unreliable; permitted warrantless searches of fields, barns, and private property near a residence; and upheld evidence obtained under defective search warrants if the officers executing the warrant acted in good faith. Taken together, these holdings have been characterized as the drug exception to the Fourth Amendment. Police corruption and the unwholesome practice of using confidential informants (one of whom made over $100,000 in a case before me) have been noted by Chief McNamara. Finally, the fundamental flaw, which will ultimately destroy this prohibition as it did the last one, is that criminal sanctions cannot, and should not attempt to, prohibit personal conduct which does no harm to others. Personal liberty surely must extend to what, when, and how much a citizen can ingest. The Framers of our Constitution explicitly acknowledged that the individual possesses certain rights not enumerated in the text of the Constitution and not contingent upon the relationship between the individual and the Federal Government. When a right has been narrowly defined as, for example, the right to possess marijuana or cocaine, the courts have refused to recognize it as one that is fundamental in nature. However, when the right to ingest substances is considered in more general terms as the right to self-determination, that right has a constitutional foundation as yet undeclared. To overturn the present policy will not be easy, given the established bureaucracy, but President Kennedy at the Berlin Wall was correct: Change is the law of life. We must recognize that drug use is first and foremost a health problem, and that, as Professor Nadelmann has established, mind-altering substances are a part of modern life to be understood and their effects ameliorated, rather than grounds for prosecution. Alcohol and tobacco have a social cost when abused, and society has properly concluded that abuse of these drugs is a health problem, not a criminal issue. Indeed, our experience with the reduction of 50 per cent in the use of tobacco the most addicting of drugs, which results in 400,000 deaths a year confirms the wisdom of that policy. To distinguish between these substances and heroin or cocaine is mere tautology. While the medicalization of the issue is going forward, Congress should accept the recommendations of President Nixons commission on the drug laws and of the National Academy of Sciences in 1982 and end the criminalization of marijuana, which is now widely acknowledged to be without deleterious effect. That reform alone would take 450,000 arrests out of the system. The latest crime bill proposed a study of violence and crime encompassing drug policy but failed to fund it. The Surgeon General proposed such a study and got fired. Such a study, if fairly conducted, would compel the abolition of criminal prohibition of drugs by the Federal Government, permitting all drugs to be treated much the same as alcohol: restricted by the individual states as to time and place of sale, barred from minors, subject to truth in advertising, and made the source of tax revenue. As with alcohol, those who harm or pose a threat to others while under the influence of drugs would face criminal sanctions. The effect of the underworld drug economy, the debasement of the rule of law, and the undermining of fundamental fairness and individual rights under the war on drugs all combine to require that the criminal prohibition against drug use and distribution be ended.

Foundation Stage Curriculum in Design and Technology

Foundation Stage Curriculum in Design and Technology Introduction The following study is designed to be a very brief introduction to one distinct area of the Foundation Stage Curriculum. It would be impossible to fully discuss all the issues which have been raised by my study, nonetheless, it will attempt to provide a succinct introduction to each of the main points. Rationale I have chosen to research the Designing and Making aspect of Knowledge and Understanding of the World from the Foundation Stage Curriculum (DFES 2000, 91). I have chosen this particular area of Learning because I feel that I have had limited experience of teaching Design and Technology at any point in the Primary age range, and as such wish to develop extend and develop my understanding through further research. The Foundation Stage Curriculum could be considered to be the basis for all other learning throughout a child’s life, and as such a thorough grounding in teaching and learning Knowledge and Understanding of the World, should provide a sound basis for teaching Design and Technology in other phases of the Primary school, as this quote demonstrates: ‘In this area of learning, children are developing the crucial knowledge,  skills and understanding that help them to make sense of the world. This  forms the foundation for later work in science, design and technology,  history, geography, and information and communication technology  (ICT).’ (DFES 2000, 82) In addition to the reason given above, I am also unsure how to best support a child as they develop designing and making skills at such a young age, with regard to providing them with a wide range of opportunities, yet taking health and safety into consideration. ‘Understanding design work will come from using a variety of joining methods and materials,’ (DFES 2000, 82), yet how should these methods be taught to best effect? It is also difficult to know which specific designing and making skills will be useful to the child, and what range of skills should be taught to the child. Should each child be taught a range of skills which are specific to them? My final reason for choosing to study this particular aspect of the Foundation Stage Curriculum has been derived from looking at the Ofsted Subject Reports for 1999-2000 (Ofsted 2000). ‘In one quarter of schools standards and the quality of DT have risen markedly since the previous inspection, but in one school in six DT provisions have deteriorated,’ (Ofsted 2000, 1), this shows that although the provision of design and technology has improved in a quarter of our primary schools, it has either stayed the same, or deteriorated badly in three quarters of primary settings. This would seem to support the assertion that the provision of good quality design and technology teaching and learning, should be of paramount importance to out schools, starting with facilitating children as they access the Knowledge and Understanding of the World portion of the Foundation Stage Curriculum. A solid base on which to build, as discussed above, should ensure that children are better place d to access the design and technology curriculum as they progress through school. Evidence The following is a summary of the evidence collected concerning the teaching of designing and making skills in the Foundation stage settings of two different Primary schools. The schools will henceforth be referred to as School A and School B. School A is a large Primary school with an integrated Foundation Unit. The majority of the staff in the Foundation Unit are ‘High/Scope’ trained and as such the setting follows the High/Scope daily routine, as outlined by Hohmann and Weikart (2002, 151-165). ‘In the High/Scope approach to early childhood education, adults and  children share control. We recognize that the power to learn resides  in the child, hence the focus on active learning practices. When we  accept that learning comes from within, we achieve a critical balance  in educating young children. The adult’s role is to support and guide  young children through their active learning adventures and  experiences. I believe this is what makes our program work so well.’ (Hohmann and Weikart 2002, 3) The above quote neatly summarises the main reasons which prompt different settings to adopt a High/Scope or ‘active learning,’ approach to the Foundation Stage Curriculum, the main idea being that children learn best from first hand experiences and from self-generated learning opportunities. This idea is further supported by the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage, for instance, ‘they learn effectively by doing,’ (DFES 2000, 82). I observed a plan-do-review session, as part of the daily routine at School A. During such sessions the children choose where they wish to work, for example in the water area, and formulate a plan which they will execute once they start work in their chosen area. Following the main, ‘doing,’ part of the session the children are encouraged to ‘review,’ what they have done and comment on the relative success or failure of the plan. In this way the children are encouraged to learn from their mistakes, and also to gain encouragement from their successes, (Hohmann and Weikart 2002, 167-243). I observed one child during the aforementioned session, Child A, and followed her through the entire process. She had planned to work in the construction area with the large bricks, and had decided to build a boat. Before beginning work she collected a piece of paper and a pencil and sat down to plan her boat. Child A worked for some time on this design before starting work. She used the large bricks to build her boat and then started to collect other equipment from around the setting to place ‘onboard,’ including large quantities of plastic food from the role play area. When asked about this Child A explained that she was going on a long journey and needed to take lots of food with her. During review time Child A explained to the rest of her group and the adults who were present, that she felt she had successfully carried out her plan, however, she would have preferred to build a boat that would float. The class teacher explained to her that this might be possible in th e following plan-do-review session. Indeed for the following session, the teacher collected lots of materials, such as plastic bottles and corks to give Child A the scope to build her own floating boat: ‘When adults seek out and support children’s interests, children are free  to follow through on interests and activities they are already highly  motivated to pursue. They are also willing to try new things and to  build on what they are already doing.’ (Hohmann and Weikart 2002, 55) The evidence outlined above shows a good example of how children can be supported in developing their own designing and making skills, and indeed can be highly motivated to do so. Child A was given the opportunity to meet an early learning goal through the medium of play: ‘Provide opportunities for children to practise their skills, initiate and  plan simple projects and select, choose and devise their own solutions  in design and making processes†¦.’ (DFES 2000, 91) In School B, I was able to observe the teaching of designing and making skills in a completely different way to that outlined above. I observed a Reception teacher leading a planned lesson in which the aim was for each child to produce a money box. The children were taken in small groups to sit with a classroom assistant to make their money boxes, while the rest of the children played. The children were asked to assemble the net of a box, which had already been cut out for them, by gluing the flaps and sticking them together. They were then permitted to decorate their boxes as they chose. It was difficult to assess whether any true learning had taken place during the lesson as the children were all producing exactly the same piece of work, and in many cases much of the actual assembly work was carried out by the teaching assistant. School B does not appear to have embraced the key features of the Foundation Stage Curriculum as outlined by Tassoni (2002, 1) in Appendix I, as such the children are unlikely to meet the Early learning goals for designing and making skills, one of which is detailed above (DFES 2000, 91). They would benefit from developing a child initiated approach to teaching design and technology in the early years, as advocated by the High/Scope approach (Hohmann and Weikart 2002) and the Foundation Stage Curriculum (DFES 2000). It is obvious from the evidence given that no real learning took place in the design and technology lesson which was observed in School B. Such a directed activity can leave no room for the child’s initiative and the development of their individual designing and making skills. Conclusion In conclusion, the evidence outlined above has led me to conclude that designing and making skills can be best taught through child initiated learning. The adult can support the child’s learning by providing further opportunities and materials once they have highlighted the child’s own interests. A directed approach to teaching design and technology in the Early Years does not follow the guidance given in the Foundation Stage Curriculum (DFES 2000), and as such should have no place in our schools as it does nothing to further the children’s learning. I now feel more confident that I would know how to approach the teaching of designing and making skills if placed in a Foundation Stage setting. Appendix I ‘Key Features of the Foundation Stage: Recognition that young children need to learn through practical experiences rather than being taught. Play is emphasised as the vehicle of learning for children. The importance of working from children’s interests and needs is highlighted. It is the first curriculum in England to cross the divide between pre-schools and schools. Personal, social and emotional development of children is recognised as providing the backdrop for other learning. The role of parents is promoted as that of being an equal partner.’ (Tassoni 2002, 1) Bibliography DFES (2000) Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage London: Department for Education and Skills. Hohmann, Mary and Weikart, David P. (2002) Educating Young Children London: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation Ofsted (2000) Ofsted Subject Reports, 1999-2000: Primary Design and Technology (DT) London:Ofsted Tassoni, Penny (2002) Planning for the Foundation Stage: Ideas for themes and activities Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers

Opening Scene of Educating Rita Essay -- Educating Rita Themes Charact

Opening Scene of Educating Rita Explore the ways in which Russell engages the audiences interest in the main characters and themes in the opening scene of Educating Rita and explain whether you think the play written in 1979 is still relevant to 2005. Willy Russell’s play, Educating Rita, written in 1979, is a story about a typical lower class woman called Rita who decides she wants to lead an ‘educated life’ and she tries to do this by getting a private tutor called Frank to teach her, but learning to lead an educated life proves to be not what she expected. Willy Russell introduces Frank and Rita in two very different ways. Frank is introduced as a well read university tutor who seems to like his drink; this is shown when Russell writes ’the walls are lined with books’ making him appear educated. But then writes: â€Å"pulls out a pile of books to reveal a bottle of whisky† which makes the audience question their first impression of him as a typical university teacher, is he an alchoholic? Does he drink too much? Is this important? Rita is introduced as an uneducated, loud, rude young woman. The first impression Russell gives the audience is Rita saying: â€Å"I’m comin’ in, aren’t I?† to someone she has never met before, which shows a lack of manners or simply a casual upbringing. He then shows her going to a chair and â€Å"dumping her bag†. By using the verb â€Å"dump† Russell immediately suggests that Rita is not a ladylike person, and this follows the impression that she is ill mannered. Russell presents the play as a two-hander so that the audience is focused on the clash between Frank and Rita and the entire play is focused on Frank and Rita’s point of view. The two very contrasting personalities seem t... ... or missing something in his life, and Rita also says ‘ I want to be free’ which means she feels trapped in her life and wants to escape and she wants to do this by getting educated. They both seem to change through the play almost into totally different people, Rita changes her name to susan as she thinks it sounds ‘proper’. The play has a certain humour about it as the two characters personalities and views are almost opposite, this creates chaos, as neither of them knows what the other is talking about which is amusing to the audience, and Rita is very loud and uses a lot of swearing and slang which is not what you would expect in a university. In conclusion, Russell uses the contrast of the two characters in Educating Rita to create humour and engage the audience, whilst facing issues and views that are still a problem and relevant to today in 2005.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X :: Malcolm X Civil Rights American History Essays

The Autobiography of Malcolm X Malcolm Little was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. At the time of his birth, Malcolm's father was a Baptist Minister. His mom was a writer of Marcus Garvey. Before he was born, his father had 3 children with his previous marriage and 3 before him with his mom. Malcolm's father played a big role in scripting his life from early childhood by the beliefs that he carried and gave to the children by Garvey's teachings . He taught Malcolm to be a very strong man to be able to provide for himself without any help. Marcus Garvey was the founder of the U.N.I.A (Universal Negro Improvement Association) which was to raise the banner of black race purity and exhorting the negro masses to return to their ancestral African homeland. The Ku Klux Klan was a big threat to Malcolm's family so it forced them to move around quite a bit. Then suddenly one day, Malcolm's mother and father got into a big dispute that forced Malcolm's father to go out and take a walk to clear his head. Malcolm's mom felt very strange and uncomfortable about it. So before he had gone to far, she tried to catch up with him and tell him that she had a bad feeling and for him to come home. So later on that night two policemen came to their house to inform the family that Malcolm's father had been killed by an train cart. The accident was speculated because it was said that he was forced under the cart for it to hit him by the Klan. This whole ordeal had an very negative impact upon Malcolm's life growing up. After the father's death, the family was forced to be put on welfare. This was very hard for the kids and especially the mother to accept because they were use to the father being the provider, and it went against everything that they were taught by their father. They had welfare personnel coming by to check up on them very often. The mother felt so helpless and was unable to provide and care for the kids like she used to. It was even harder to try to discipline the kids without the father there to enforce the punishments.

Analysis: Jb Hi-Fi Essay

JB Hi-Fi limited is a company that is based in Australia. It usually engages in the selling of the home consumer electronic products which include the televisions, video cameras, mobile phones, home theatres, digital still and other electrical accessories like the kitchen equipment, computing equipment, the air conditioners, small electrical appliances like the car sound systems; both visual and audio and other things like the movies and games. It continues to stock exclusive specialist range of Hi-Fi products. JB Hi-Fi has its subsidiaries that include JB Hi-Fi (A) Pty Ltd, JB Hi-Fi Group Pty Ltd, Rocket Replacements Pty Ltd and JB Hi-Fi NZ Limited. JB Hi-Fi was established in 1974 by a simple philosopher Mr. John Barbuto (JB) who was trading from single store in Victoria a place called East Keilor. He was delivering variety of Hi-Fi equipments as well as recorded music at lowest prices in Australia. In 1983, the business was sold and later in 1999, nine stores were opened. With the aim of taking the business to be a successful model all over the nation, private equity bankers and senior management purchased the business in July 2000. JB Hi-Fi was floated in October 2003 on the Australian stock Exchange. JB Hi-Fi is the largest retailer as well as fastest growing home entertainment Retailer Company in Australia. The Queensland Clive Anthony’s stores were bought by JB in July 2004. The Queensland Clive Anthony was selling the consumer goods like the cooking appliances, consumer electronics and air conditioning equipments before it was bought. It has been revealed that the executive or the CEO of a Melbourne based JB who led to the company’s success in year 2009 Richard Uechtritz will retire from the position in August after being in that position for 10 years. He will be succeeded by Terry Smart who joined the company in year 2000 together with Uechtritz. Uechtritz led the company towards making a half year net profit of $76 million in Australian currency which is approximately $66 million from $59 million Australian equivalent of $51 million in corresponding period. He also scaled up the group sales from $1. 09 billion one year before to $1.35 billion by end of 2009. The 124 JB’s stores in Australia registered 10. 2percent comparative growth across the Australia while in its 10 stores in New Zealand a 5. 8 percent growth was achieved. JB Company was resilient throughout the economic crisis; this led to gained consumer confidence by the company. This is a clear indication of a strong retail model and how str ong the management team is strong. JB is also well known for being a leader in CD album sales. It is said that for every 10 albums sold, 4 of them are rung up in JB. This is widely seen as a major factor that is behind the Australia’s largest popularity in the CD albums market (JB Hi-Fi, 2010). The JB Hi-Fi Company has a charter that provides the summary of board of directors’ roles in the structure of the business and the company’s operations. To ensure that the company thrives and overcomes the crisis that may come on the way, the company has various strategies and ways to overcome that and to keep the company on the track which includes constitution and board of directors which has various roles and responsibilities. The company has got a constitution and also corporations’ act. The companies’ values are the trust, integrity and honesty. The board carries out the duties in regard to the interest of the companies’ shareholders, staff, customers and the community in which it operates. The board has responsibility for the company’s corporate governance which includes establishment and empowerment of board to assist in its work. The board is also responsible for overseeing the affairs and the business of the company by establishing the financial objectives and strategies for management to implement; reviewing and approving the financial objectives of the company and corporate plans as well as actions; approval of the capital expenditure in excess of limits that have been delegated to the management; approval of the capital management initiatives; another vital role is to ensure that they are adequate procedures are put in place so as to identify the principal risks in the business as well as implementing systems that are appropriate in managing the risks. The board is also responsible for communicating with the shareholders of the company as well as community at the right times towards getting right results and developing the business operations of the company. The board is also responsible for appointing or selecting and evaluating regularly the chief executive officer’s performance and also determining the remuneration and succession of the chief executive officer. The board is also responsible of approving the major human resource major policies as well as overseeing the strategy development for high performing and senior executives. The board should also ensure that the appropriate procedures are put in place so as to make sure that business is conducted in honest, ethical and in an open manner. The board is also supposed to institute the internal procedures for performance evaluation of the board, the individual directors and the board committees.

Artificial Birth Control

Definition of Artificial Birth Control Artificial birth control can be defined as any product, procedure or practice that uses artificial or unnatural means to prevent pregnancy. Barrier methods such as condoms and diaphragms, hormonal methods such as the pill and IUDs, and surgical sterilization procedures such as a vasectomy or hysterectomy are all considered to be artificial birth control methods. Artificial birth control is also refers to the use of any medication, barrier or device to prevent pregnancy.Many people use it instead of or in addition to natural family planning, which relies on tracking menstrual cycles, body temperature and consistency of mucus discharge to determine when a woman could conceive. The term â€Å"artificial birth control† is most frequently heard in relation to religious teachings on family planning. Many religious groups encourage the use of natural family planning as opposed to artificial birth control, believing that using artificial contrace ption is contrary to God's will. Certainly, though, there are also non-religious people who choose not to use artificial birth control for personal, ethical or medical reasons.Barrier Method The barrier method is one type of artificial birth control and as the name implies, barrier contraceptives use some sort of barrier to prevent sperm from reaching an egg. Available barrier contraceptives are male condoms, female condoms, diaphragms, cervical caps and contraceptive sponges. Spermicide acts as a chemical barrier and therefore also falls into this category. It is also to prevent pregnancy by killing ejaculated sperm. Spermicide is often used in conjunction with barrier birth control. Hormonal Method Any type of hormonal contraceptive is considered to be artificial birth control.Although the birth control pill is probably the most common hormonal contraceptive, it's far from being the only one. Other available hormonal contraceptives are the birth control patch, the vaginal ring, De po-Provera injections, Lunelle injections and the intrauterine device (IUD). Intra-uterine devices (IUDs) are small devices inserted in a woman's uterus. They prevent the fertilization and/or implantation of the egg by changing the mucus around the cervix and the uterine lining. They last for several years. Surgical Sterilization The final type of artificial birth control is surgical sterilization.For men, the sterilization procedure is called a vasectomy. For women, both tubal ligations (also known as having one's tubes tied) and hysterectomies cause sterilization. It's important to understand, though, that a hysterectomy is typically performed for medical reasons, including cancer or endometriosis. For this reason, a hysterectomy is not usually considered artificial birth control. Alternative Methods If you have decided that artificial birth control methods are not right for you but you aren't yet ready to have a child, you may want to consider natural family planning.Natural fami ly planning involves tracking your temperature or cervical mucus changes to determine your fertile days. On those days, you abstain from sex to avoid pregnancy. The rhythm method finding your ovulation date based on your menstrual cycle and withdrawals are also considered by some to be natural family planning methods. History Artificial birth control methods have been used for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians created vaginal suppositories thought to prevent pregnancy, and many cultures used condoms made of linen or animal intestines.