Building Blocks of Life Essay

Part 1: Mitosis and Meiosis Short-Answer Response Use Ch. 5 of BioInquiry and the â€Å"Comparing Mitosis and Meiosis† video as resources for Part 1 of this assignment. Write 75- to 100-word answers to the following questions. Why are the process of mitosis and meiosis both important to a living organism? Both mitosis and meiosis processes are extremely important because they are the division of chromosomes and without this division reproduction would not occur. Cell division plays an important role in the life cycle of a cell allowing the cell to grow, develop and then reproduce. If these processes did not occur then the cells would eventually die out and without the ability to be replaced by new cells then the host would die as well. When would an organism need to undergo the process of mitosis? Meiosis? An organism would need to undergo the process of mitosis in order to repair damaged cells or to start a new cell life cycle through cellular division. All cells need to be replaced on the regular basic within a living organism the cells divide and create new cells. An organism would need to undergo the process of meiosis when it needs to produce cells that are designated for sexual reproduction, such as egg or sperm cells within humans What would happen if meiosis did not occur? If meiosis did not occur then haploid cells would not be made resulting in the cell being unable to reproduce. Meiosis I reduces the number of chromosomes by half so that when fertilization occurs the number of  chromosomes would be reestablished. During meiosis II the daughter cell is a unique variation of its parent cell while still only having one pair of chromosomes. Part 2: Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration Matrix Complete the matrix. Use the following questions to aid in completion: What is the purpose of this pathway? Reactants: What does this reaction need to proceed? Products: What is produced because of the reaction? The role of ATP: Does it supply energy or store energy? Cellular respiration Photosynthesis Pathway Glycolysis Krebs cycle Electron transport Light-dependent reaction Light-independent reaction Purpose Energy Harvesting or Sugar-Splitting breakdown of glucose to single carbon molecules Converts oxygen to water Provide energy for the light-independent reaction Produces food for cellular respiration Where it takes place Cell cytoplasm Mitochondria Mitochondria Chloroplasts Chloroplasts Reactants ATP, NADH, Pyruvates,CO2,Coenzyme A,PGAL Acetyl Co-A, oxaloacetate, Citrate, Alpha ketoglutarate NADH, FADH2 Sunlight, chlorophyll, and water ATP, carbon dioxide, and NADPH Products H20, NADH, ATP Carbon dioxide and ATP 36 ATP Oxygen and ATP Carbohydrates (sugar and starch) The role of ATP Energy used to breakdown Pyruvic acid into Acetyl Co-enzyme A for the Krebs Cycle Energy to drive the electron transport High production of ATP produces energy for overall cell growth and repair Transports solar energy in the form of ATP to power other chemical reactions Fuels the formation of carbohydrates

The Golden Lily Chapter 13

THE DAY OF THE DANCE, I seriously considered going back to the costume store and buying the flammable white costume. Lia's dress was†¦ a bit more than I had expected. She had done a fair job copying the chiton style worn in ancient Greece, I'd give her that. The dress was sleeveless, pinned at my shoulders to drape into a neckline lower than I was comfortable with. The dress was floor length, and she'd somehow nailed my height perfectly without measuring me. That was where the historical resemblance ended. The material was some sort of silky, flowing fabric that draped around me and showed my figure better than you'd expect a dress like that to manage. Whatever the material was, it was nothing the Greeks could have produced, and it was†¦ red. I couldn't remember the last time I'd worn red. Maybe when I was a child. Sure, the Amberwood uniform variations sometimes had burgundy in them, but it was a subdued shade. This was a brilliant, flaming scarlet. I never wore colors that intense. I didn't like the attention they attracted. Amplifying it was the amount of gold she'd worked into the dress. Gold thread danced along the edge of the red fabric, glittering in the light. The belt was golden too – and not the cheap plastic of the costume's. The pins holding the dress were gold (or at least some high quality metal that appeared gold), as were the accessories she'd provided: a necklace and earrings made of little coins. She'd even given me a gold comb with little red crystals on it. I tried it on in my dorm room and stared at the glittering, red display I made. â€Å"No,† I said aloud. Someone knocked at my door, and I grimaced. It would take forever to change out of the elaborate dress, so I had no choice but to answer in costume. Fortunately, it was Jill. Her mouth opened to speak and then just hung there in silence when she saw me. â€Å"I know,† I said. â€Å"It's ridiculous.† She recovered herself a few seconds later. â€Å"No†¦ no! It's amazing. Oh my God.† I hurried her into the room before our classmates could see me. She was also dressed for the dance, in a fairy confection of pale blue gauzy material that looked perfect on her willowy Moroi frame. â€Å"It's red,† I told her. In case it wasn't obvious, I added: â€Å"I never wear red.† â€Å"I know,† she said, wide-eyed. â€Å"But you should. It looks amazing on you. You should burn all your gray and brown clothes.† I shook my head. â€Å"I can't wear this. If we leave now, there's still time to go by the costume store and get something else.† Jill shook off her awed state and took on an adamant, fierce look that seemed kind of extreme for the situation. â€Å"No. Absolutely not. You are wearing that. It's going to blow your boyfriend away. And you should put on a little more makeup – I know, I know. You don't like anything crazy, but just darken the eyeliner and put on some lipstick. Just a little. You've got to match the dress's intensity.† â€Å"You see? Already this color is causing problems.† She wouldn't back down. â€Å"It'll take like a minute. And that's all we've got. If we don't leave soon, we're going to be late. Your boyfriend's always early, right?† I didn't answer right away. She had me there. Brayden was always early, and as much as the costume pained me, I couldn't stand the thought of making him wait – especially since he wouldn't be able to get into the dance without an Amberwood student. â€Å"Fine,† I said, with a sigh. â€Å"Let's go.† Jill grinned triumphantly. â€Å"But first – the makeup.† I conceded to the makeup and then, at the last minute, added my cross necklace. It didn't go with the theme and was instantly swallowed by the more flamboyant gold jewelry, but it made me feel better. It was a piece of normality. When we finally left, we found Eddie waiting for us in the lobby. He was dressed in normal clothes, his only nod to Halloween being a plain white half-mask that reminded me of the Phantom of the Opera. I was half-tempted to ask if he had a second one so that I could do a quick wardrobe change and just go masked. He jumped up from his chair, his face going dreamy when he saw Jill in her blue, ethereal glory. Honestly, how could no one else see how crazy he was about her? It was so painfully obvious. He drank her in with his eyes, looking as though he might swoon then and there. Then, he flicked his gaze over to me and did a double-take. His expression wasn't lovestruck so much as dumbfounded. â€Å"I know, I know.† I could already see tonight's pattern forming. â€Å"It's red. I never wear red.† â€Å"You should,† he said, echoing Jill. He glanced between her and me then shook his head. â€Å"Too bad we're ‘related.' I'd ask you guys to dance. Seeing as my cousin already wants to go out with me, though, I suppose we shouldn't start any more rumors.† â€Å"Poor Angeline,† said Jill, as we walked out to my car. â€Å"She really wanted to go.† â€Å"Seeing as there'll be speakers there, it's probably best she doesn't,† I said. Eddie paused when we reached Latte. â€Å"Can I drive? I feel like I should be a chauffeur tonight. You guys look like royalty.† He grinned at Jill. â€Å"Well, you're always royalty.† He opened one of the back doors and actually swept her a bow. â€Å"After you, milady. I'm here to serve.† Practical, stoic Eddie was rarely given to such dramatic shows, and I could tell it caught Jill off guard. â€Å"Th-thank you,† she said, getting into the backseat. He helped her tuck her skirt inside, and she regarded him wonderingly, like she'd never noticed him before. After that, I could hardly deny his request and gave him the keys. The Halloween dance was being held at a very pretty hall adjacent to some botanical gardens. Eddie and I had checked it out this week so that he could determine its safety. Micah was meeting Jill there, though for different reasons than Brayden meeting me. Supervised buses were shuttling most students from the school to the dance. Upperclassmen like Eddie and me were allowed to take our own transportation, along with family like Jill. No one would technically know if Micah dropped her off later, but for now, she could only leave campus in the family carpool. â€Å"I hope I'm ready for this,† I muttered, as we pulled into the parking lot. The dress had distracted me so much that I hadn't had time to ruminate over my other concern: going to a dance. All my old social anxieties returned. What did I do? What was normal here? I hadn't had the nerve to ask any of my friends. â€Å"You'll be fine,† said Eddie. â€Å"Your boyfriend and Micah will both be speechless.† I unfastened my seatbelt. â€Å"That's the third time I've heard ‘your boyfriend.' What's going on with that? Why won't anyone say Brayden's name?† Neither of them answered right away. Finally, Jill said sheepishly, â€Å"Because none of us can remember it.† â€Å"Oh, come on! I'd expect that from Adrian but not you guys. It's not that weird of a name.† â€Å"No,† admitted Eddie. â€Å"But there's just something so†¦ I don't know. Unmemorable about him. I'm glad he makes you happy, but I just start to tune out whenever he talks.† â€Å"I can't believe this,† I said. Brayden was waiting out front for us, no doubt having been there for at least ten minutes. My stomach fluttered as he looked me over from head to toe. He didn't comment, though his eyes widened a bit. Was that good or bad? I flashed my student ID to get him in the door, and Jill almost immediately joined Micah. Eddie's brief romantic flare was gone as he shifted into business mode. A brief look of pain crossed his face, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. I touched his arm. â€Å"You going to be okay?† I asked softly. He smiled back. â€Å"I'll be fine. Just have fun.† He walked away, soon melting into the crowd of students. That left me alone with Brayden. Silence fell between us, which wasn't uncommon. It sometimes took us a few minutes to warm up and get the conversation going. â€Å"So,† he said, as we walked further inside. â€Å"You have a DJ. I wondered if it'd be that or a live band.† â€Å"Our school just had a bad experience with a live band,† I said, thinking of Angeline. Brayden didn't press for details and instead gazed around at the decor. Fake cobwebs and twinkling lights were strewn near the ceiling. Paper skeletons and witches hung on the walls. Over on a far table, students were scooping punch out of a giant plastic cauldron. â€Å"Amazing, isn't it?† said Brayden. â€Å"How a pagan Celtic holiday has become such a commercial event.† I nodded. â€Å"And a very secular one. Well, aside from attempts to merge it into All Saints Day.† He smiled at me. I smiled back. We were safely in familiar academic territory. â€Å"You want to check out the punch?† I asked. Some fast, bass-heavy song was on, drawing lots of people to the dance floor. Fast dancing wasn't really my style. I didn't know Brayden's take and was afraid he might want to join in. â€Å"Sure,† he said, looking relieved to have a purpose. Something told me he'd been to as many dances as I had: none. The punch provided us with a reason to discuss sugar vs. artificial sweeteners, but my heart wasn't into it. I was too concerned about something else. Brayden hadn't said one word about my dress, and it was filling me with anxiety. Was he as shocked by it as I had been? Was he politely holding back his true thoughts? I could hardly expect compliments if I wasn't giving them, so I decided to take the plunge. â€Å"Your costume's great,† I said. â€Å"That's from the theatrical company, right?† â€Å"Yes.† He glanced down and smoothed out the folds of his tunic. â€Å"Not entirely accurate, of course, but it'll do.† The tunic was knee-length, pinned on one shoulder, and made of very light, off-white wool. He had a woolen cape over it dyed in a dark brown that was accurate to the time period. Even with the cape, a fair amount of his arms and chest were exposed, showing a runner's body with a lightly muscled build. I'd always thought he was cute, but it wasn't until this moment I realized he might actually be hot. I expected that to trigger a stronger feeling in me, but it didn't. He was waiting for me to say something. â€Å"Mine's not entirely, um, accurate either.† Brayden studied the red dress in a very clinical way. â€Å"No,† he agreed. â€Å"Not at all. Well, the cut's not that far off, I suppose.† He thought for several moments more. â€Å"But I still think it's very pretty on you.† I relaxed a little. Coming from him, â€Å"very pretty† was high praise. While he often had a lot to say about every other topic, he was thrifty with words when it came to emotions. I shouldn't have expected anything more than a simple statement of facts, so this was a big deal. â€Å"Whoa, Melbourne. Where have you been hiding?† Trey strolled over to us and began liberally filling a cup with the fluorescent green punch. â€Å"You look badass. And hot.† He shot Brayden an apologetic look. â€Å"Don't take that the wrong way. Just telling it like it is.† â€Å"Understood,† said Brayden. I couldn't help a smile. Trey had been behaving weirdly around me for the last day or so, and it was nice to see him back to usual form. Trey gave me another admiring look and then turned back to Brayden. â€Å"Hey, check it out. We both went for togas. Romans rule!† He held up a hand to high-five Brayden but didn't receive it. â€Å"This is a Greek chiton,† Brayden explained patiently. He studied Trey's homemade toga, which looked suspiciously like it had been made from a bed sheet. â€Å"That's, um, not.† â€Å"Greek, Roman.† Trey shrugged. â€Å"What's the difference?† Brayden opened his mouth, and I knew he was about to explain exactly what the difference was. I quickly rushed in. â€Å"Yours looks good on you,† I told Trey. â€Å"Looks like all those hours of weight training paid off – and I finally get to see the tattoo.† Like Brayden's, Trey's tunic was draped over one shoulder, giving a glimpse of his lower back. Trey, like half the school, had a tattoo. But unlike the rest, his hadn't been part of the high-inducing, sinister vampire blood ones that had swept the student body. Trey's was a sun with highly stylized rays. It had been done in normal, dark blue tattoo ink. Eddie had told me about it, but I'd never gotten a look at it before, seeing as Trey didn't really go shirtless around me. Some of Trey's enthusiasm dimmed, and he turned slightly, keeping his back away from us. â€Å"Well, it's pretty softcore compared to yours. Nice to see it out again, by the way.† I absentmindedly touched my cheek. I usually covered the golden lily with makeup at school, but I figured here at the dance, I could claim it as part of the costume if any teachers grilled me about the dress code. Another fast song came on, and Trey brightened again. â€Å"Time to show off my moves. You guys coming? Or are you going to supervise the punch all night?† â€Å"I don't really do fast dancing,† said Brayden. I nearly sagged in relief. â€Å"Me either,† I said. Trey gave us a rueful smile before heading out. â€Å"Color me surprised.† Brayden and I spent a good deal of that evening by the punch, actually, continuing our discussion of Halloween's origins and the larger subjugation of pagan holidays. Friends of mine came by occasionally, and Kristin and Julia in particular couldn't stop gushing about my dress. Every so often, I'd also catch a glimpse of Eddie patrolling the crowds, silently and covertly. Maybe he should've been a ghost. He was almost always within sight of Jill and Micah but focusing on guardian mode seemed to have saved him from pining over her too much. Both Brayden and I stopped talking when a slow song finally came on. We tensed and then exchanged glances, knowing what was coming. â€Å"Okay,† he said. â€Å"We can only avoid this for so long.† I nearly burst out laughing, and he answered with a small smile. He too was fully aware of our social ineptitude. Somehow, that was comforting. â€Å"Now or never,† I agreed. We walked over to the dance floor, joining other couples locked in embraces. Calling what most of them were doing â€Å"dancing† was kind of a stretch. Most were just kind of stiffly rocking and rotating around. A few were simply using the opportunity to plaster themselves all over each other and make out. They were quickly pulled apart by chaperones. I took hold of one of Brayden's hands, and he rested his other on my hip. Aside from the kiss, this was probably the most intimate contact we'd had so far. There were still a few inches between us, but I couldn't help but be overwhelmed at the change to my normal personal space boundaries. I reminded myself that I liked and trusted Brayden and that there was nothing weird about this. As usual, I didn't feel surrounded in hearts or rainbows, but I didn't feel threatened either. Attempting to shift my thoughts from our closeness, I listened to the song and immediately got a feel for its count. About a minute into the song, Brayden realized what I was doing. â€Å"You†¦ you can dance,† he said in amazement. I looked up at him in surprise. â€Å"Of course.† I was hardly sweeping across the floor in some grand ballroom waltz, but all of my movements were timed to the song's beats. I couldn't really imagine how else you would dance. Brayden, meanwhile, was only one step removed from the rigid movements of most of the other couples. â€Å"It's not hard,† I added. â€Å"It's just kind of mathematical.† Once I put it into those terms, Brayden got on board. He was a quick study and counted off the beats with me. Before long, we looked as though we'd been taking dance lessons forever. Even more surprising, I glanced up at him once, expecting to see him concentrating and counting. Instead, he was regarding me with a soft expression†¦ an affectionate one, even. Flushing, I looked away. Amazingly, the smell of coffee still clung to him, even though he hadn't worked today. Maybe no amount of showering could get rid of that scent. Yet, as much as I loved eau de coffee, I found myself thinking of the way Adrian's cologne had smelled at Wolfe's. When the next fast song came on, Brayden and I took a break, and he excused himself to go talk to the DJ. When he returned, he refused to explain his mysterious errand, but he seemed supremely pleased with himself. Another slow song soon followed, and we headed back to the dance floor. And for once, conversation between us stilled. It was enough to just dance for a while. This is what it's like to lead a simple life, I thought. This is what people my age do. No grand machinations or fights between good and – â€Å"Sydney?† Jill was standing beside us – a worried expression on her face. My inner alarms immediately went off, wondering what had caused such a sudden change from her happy, carefree attitude earlier. â€Å"What's wrong?† I asked. My first fear was for Adrian, that she'd sensed something through the bond. I shook the thought. I needed to be worrying about Moroi assassins, not his well-being. Jill said nothing but simply nodded toward the punch table, almost exactly where Brayden and I had been earlier. Trey was back, talking animatedly to a girl in a Venetian mask. The mask was beautiful – an icy blue, decorated with silver leaves and flowers. The mask was also familiar. Jill had worn it in Lia's runway show and had been allowed to keep it. Equally familiar was this masked girl's outfit, a threadbare shirt and ragged jean shorts – â€Å"No,† I said, recognizing the long, strawberry blonde hair. â€Å"Angeline. How did she get here? Never mind.† There were any number of people she could have sneaked here with. The chaperones probably wouldn't have noticed her on a shuttle bus. â€Å"We have to get her out of here. If she's caught, she'll be expelled for sure.† â€Å"The mask does hide her features,† Jill pointed out. â€Å"Maybe no one will notice.† â€Å"Mrs. Weathers will,† I said, sighing. â€Å"That woman's got a sixth sense for – oh. Too late.† Mrs. Weathers was chaperoning on the other side of the room, but her eagle eyes missed nothing. Peering over the crowded dance floor, I saw her begin making her way toward the punch. I didn't think she'd made a positive ID on Angeline yet, but her suspicions were definitely raised. â€Å"What's wrong?† asked Brayden, glancing between Jill and me. No doubt we wore mirrored expressions of dismay. â€Å"Our cousin's about to get in some serious trouble,† I said. â€Å"We have to do something.† Jill's eyes were wide and anxious. â€Å"We have to get her out of here.† â€Å"How?† I exclaimed. Mrs. Weathers had reached the refreshments table, just as Trey and Angeline began walking toward the dance floor. I saw her start to go after them, but Mrs. Weathers didn't get very far – because the punch bowl suddenly exploded. Well, not the bowl itself. The punch inside exploded, spraying out in a spectacular shower of bright green liquid. There were shrieks as several nearby people got splashed, but it was Mrs. Weathers who took the brunt of it. I heard a sharp intake of breath from Brayden. â€Å"How in the world did that happen? That must have – Sydney? I'd cried out and jerked a few feet away, knowing exactly what had caused that bowl to explode. Brayden assumed my reaction was fear of injury. â€Å"It's okay,† he said. â€Å"We're too far away for any glass to be over here.† Immediately, I looked at Jill. She gave me a small, helpless shrug that said, Well, what else was I supposed to do? My usual reaction to Moroi magic was disgust and fear. Tonight, shock and dismay were there too. We didn't need attention drawn to us. True, no one knew or would even guess that Jill had used vampire water magic to create the punch distraction, but it didn't matter. I didn't want any word of weird, unexplainable phenomena leaking out of Amberwood. We needed to stay under the radar. â€Å"Are you okay?† Eddie had suddenly appeared by our side – or rather, Jill's side. â€Å"What happened?† He wasn't even looking at the punch. His focus was all on Jill, and just like earlier, she actually seemed to notice it. Brayden was the one who answered, his eyes alight with intellectual curiosity as he watched teachers scurry and try to clean up the mess. â€Å"Some sort of chemical reaction, if I had to guess. Could be as simple as using baking soda. Or maybe some kind of mechanical device?† I gave Eddie a pointed look. â€Å"It was a prank,† I said. â€Å"Anyone could've done it.† Eddie looked at me, then looked back at Jill. He gave a slow nod. â€Å"I see. We should get you out of here,† he told her. â€Å"You never know what – â€Å" â€Å"No, no,† I said. â€Å"Get Angeline out of here.† â€Å"Angeline?† Eddie's face registered disbelief. â€Å"But how†¦?† I directed him toward where she stood with Trey on the dance floor. They, like many others, were staring at the aftermath of the punch explosion with wonder. â€Å"I don't know how she got here,† I said. â€Å"It's irrelevant. She needs to leave. Mrs. Weathers nearly caught her.† A knowing glint flashed in Eddie's eyes. â€Å"But the punch distracted her?† â€Å"Yes.† His attention fell back on Jill, and he smiled. â€Å"Convenient timing.† She smiled back. â€Å"I guess we got lucky this time.† Their gazes locked, and it was almost a shame to interrupt. â€Å"Go,† I told Eddie. â€Å"Get Angeline.† He cast one last look at Jill and then jumped into action. I couldn't hear the conversation as he spoke with Angeline and Trey, but the look on his face would accept no arguments. I could see Trey yielding to family authority, and after a few more arguments, Angeline gave in as well. Eddie quickly escorted her out, and to my relief, neither Mrs. Weathers nor anyone else seemed to notice. â€Å"Jill,† I said. â€Å"It might be best if you and Micah leave early. You don't have to go right this second†¦ but soon.† Jill nodded, face sad. â€Å"I understand.† Even if no one would connect her to this, it was best if she wasn't around. Already, I could see people gathering at the table and, like Brayden, trying to figure out what could have caused such a phenomenon. She vanished into the crowd. Brayden finally looked away from the spectacle. He started to say something to me and then suddenly jerked his head toward the DJ. â€Å"Oh no,† he said, face crestfallen. â€Å"What?† I asked, half-expecting the DJ's table to collapse or a speaker to catch on fire. â€Å"This song. I requested it for you†¦ but it's almost over.† I tilted my head to listen. I didn't know the song, but it was slow and romantic and made me feel†¦ well, kind of guilty. Here it was, a sentimental gesture from Brayden, ruined by my â€Å"family's† wacky hijinks. I caught hold of his hand. â€Å"Well, it's not over yet. Come on.† We were able to dance to the last minute of it, but it was clear that Brayden was disappointed. I wanted to make it up to him somehow and, in spite of everything that had happened, still have the normal high school dance experience I'd wanted. â€Å"The night's young,† I teased. â€Å"I'll go request one for you, and then you can try to guess when it comes on.† Considering I didn't listen to the radio, it probably wouldn't be that hard to guess. I made the request and then joined Brayden for another slow song. I was still a little anxious about what had happened earlier but told myself all was well now. Jill had left. Eddie had taken care of Angeline. All I had to do was relax and – A vibration startled me as I danced. I was wearing a tiny, red dress purse over my shoulder. It was lost in the folds of my gown, but the buzz of my cell phone was unmistakable. Apologizing to Brayden, I stopped dancing to check the message. It was from Adrian: We need 2 talk. Great, I thought as my heart sank. Could this night be any more of a disaster? I texted back: I'm busy. His response: I'll be fast. I'm close by. A feeling of dread crept over me: How close? The response was about as bad as I could expect: The parking lot.

A Struggle Between Greed And Lack Of Wisdom In Esther Forbes Novel Johnny Tremain

A Struggle Between Greed And Lack Of Wisdom In Esther Forbes' Novel Johnny Tremain Universal Concepts:Johnny Tremain In the storyâ€Å"Johnny Tremain†,by Esther Forbes, the main character, Johnny Tremain, struggles with his arrogance and selfishness prior to the Revolutionary War. Several concepts, like pride, disillusionment, and loss, are introduced by events that the protagonist encounters such as his work as a silversmith,his crippled hand, and the loss of Rab.These concepts are further reinforced by the thoughts and actions of Johnny Tremain in response to events. Johnny Tremain displayed the concept of pride in the story when he was making a handle of a silver basin for John Hancock, a wealthy man from Boston. This was shown in the passage, â€Å"By Sunday noon, Johnny, following Mr. Revere’s advice and his curve, had got the model of the handle exactly right. He could tell with his eyes closed. It felt perfect.† After experiencing many failures, he prided his success in making the handle perfectly. Evidently, we see him seem to â€Å"soak† in the satisfaction of his achievement, further displaying the concept of pride in this passage. The concept of disillusionment was revealed when Johnny Tremain realizes that because of his crippled hand, he cannot pursue his dream of being a silversmith. The text states,†He got up, stood facing them stiffly, his bad hand jammed into his breeches pocket. ’I’m going out,’ he said thickly.† In this section, we can see the reality of the situation dawn on him and affect him mentally. From the disillusionment, we also see him turn away and avoid the comfort from others in the Lapham’s household. The idea of loss is shown in the novel when Johnny Tremain was informed of Rab’s death.Upon fully facing the truth that Rab was dead, he felt as if,†He had moved off into a strange lonely world where nothing could seem real not even Rab’s death.† This is significant to note because we can already see that losing Rab had affected Johnny Tremain emotionally and had given us a sense that he finds the experience almost surreal. And with its surreal feel, he also felt the loneliness with the death of Rab, showing the massive impact that losing Rab had. In the novel, Johnny Tremain’s actions are similar to certain events in my life. Upon being discouraged, Johnny Tremain turns away from the comfort of others. I recall many times when a family member or friend were discouraged, and when I attempt to comfort them, they quickly turn away. In conclusion, the concepts in the novel- pride, disillusionment, and loss- have been displayed through the thoughts and actions of Johnny Tremain.

Alconomics. Alcohol consumption in US and Russia Essay

Alconomics. Alcohol consumption in US and Russia - Essay Example Correlation analysis is used to establish whether there is a linear relationship between the variables income (independent) and level of consumption, measured in pints of alcohol for the preceding month (dependent variable). We realize that there is significant positive correlation between the amount of money an individual earns and their tendency to increase alcohol intake, at 1% level of significance. Therefore the richer a Russian is (owing to their immediate income), the greater their tendency to take more alcohol. There is weak positive correlation between the income of an individual and the severity of their alcoholism tendencies. However, the correlation between the variables is not significant at 1% level of significance. This means there is a weak positive relationship between the earnings of an individual and their alcohol consumption rate in the USA. Next we test whether age is a strong determinant (or a determinant at all) of the level of alcohol consumption among individuals. This is tested using regression analysis. The dependent variable is level of consumption (number of pints) while the independent variable is the age of the respondent. Only 2.2% of the variation observed in the dependent variable (age of respondent) is explained by the independent variable (amount of alcohol). Therefore age is not a valuable predictor of the amount of alcohol consumed by the Russian population, when the results are generalized to cover the whole population represented by the sample. Next the study takes a predictive dimension, trying to ascertain what we would expect to see in the levels of alcoholism between the two countries. To do this we assume that on average, the respondents are not sure whether they will stop alcoholism at all. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test is used to test any deviations of the overall response from this pre-determined score (assumed median

Do moral rights protect author's creation from sampling Essay

Do moral rights protect author's creation from sampling - Essay Example This occurs particularly in the case of rap or hip hop music for example, where DJ’s repeat breaks from various songs and compile it together into a new recording2. Sampling of music is possible through the use of digital samplers which are pieces of musical hardware or computer programs which work on a digital computer and are designed to record specific bits and sequences of sound and through the judicious use of sound synthesizers and software, the fragmentation of musical notes and re-synthesis has been facilitated3. Instantaneous download of music poses a threat to the moral rights of an author because it undermines the very core of identification that is the basis for assignment of moral rights. In order to promote the incentive to create, it is necessary that an author’s skill and labour are recognized and upheld through the protection of the law. Creators of music have historically faced the threat of inequitable contracts with recording companies and sampling o nly allows further exploitation of their work without due economic compensation. Therefore the question that is posed in this proposal is to examine whether the existence of moral rights of an author as currently framed within the scope of a law are adequate to protect work from sampling and thereby losing their economic potential? The rights of an author are guaranteed under the Copyright, designs and Patents Act of 1988, which first came into force on August 1, 1988 and has been amended since, in 1990 and 1991 to incorporate the provisions of the European Convention of Human rights.4 The CDPA has also introduced the concept of moral rights to allow a creator to protect the artistic integrity of their works.5 The purpose behind providing copyright protection to an author is to provide the incentive to create by ensuring exclusivity in claiming the economic benefits that accrue from the performance or use of the creative work6. Where music is concerned in particular, the creation of

Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Markets - Essay Example And the effective predator will come prepared. Don't be shy about peering into hidden corners. You might see my friends there and my friends have the power. We have purchasing power and our conversations will be heard. After all, the whole idea of marketing is to sell a product. Bottom line. Sell a product. You can have your ideals now, or a hundred years ago, or since, sales figures will still be the bottom line. It's nice that you can iconolize a product, but its not that simple. Even with the Internet, hyper cybernation, and the click track repeating the mantra of "Isn't That Special", there are still the main components of product quality, delivery date, and price. These are the qualities that the product will live or die by, not some word of mouth or over blogged innuendo. The million-dollar web site doesn't work anymore, it never did. With the technology available, web sites are an afterthought. The idea is in the communication, and the idea needs to remain crystal clear. The idea needs a clear channel of communication. The idea is to deliver a product that works when you say it will work, and someone that can afford to pay for it. Your Ipod needs to work as advertised and you need a guarantee that the cell phone you just bought will work in the area where you live. Then, and only then, will the talk become as cheap as the time spent talking. The vehicle to transmit that talk Priceless. Even at its worst, our newfound c... Well, DUH! The ability to communicate instantly and intimately is one of the most interesting aspects of any relationship. But, it does not preclude a trade show. It does not make humor obsolete. By the way, I happen to like the glitz and glare of a three-dimensional romp with like-minded competitors. And there are some pretty amusing sitcoms. I wish I could trust the world of high definition flat screen electronics, but it just doesn't have enough texture. Global business won't be accepted through a Pepsi commercial at the Super Bowl and it won't be accessed through the million dollar corporate web site I gaze at 9 hours a day. If the corporate website is a dinosaur, then TV sitcoms can't be far behind. and trade shows are as irrelevant as last week's laundry. The ability to spoonfeed the public with a one size fits all mentality has certainly gone the way of the bow and arrow. Just because your conversation is interesting and more entertaining than 'I Love Lucy', it still does not require me to spend a lot of time with it. We need to measure the quality of our time and factor that into our equation for brand recognition. Our newfound conversations would be unequaled in length. And anyway, this is about getting in touch. It's nice and it's interesting, but this short conversation with you just doesn't make the payment on my BMW. As markets, as workers, both of us are sick to death of getting our information by remote control. Why do we need faceless annual reports and third-hand market research studies to introduce us to each other These are the statements of a desperate, whining man running into the open, welcome arms of defeat. Technology has a way of doing that. A way of beating you

Textual Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Textual Analysis - Essay Example These myths are seen as the past of each gender, male and female. In her argument, she describes males as dominant over women. Men always try to be powerful than women by using some myths, while, in reality, this is not true. Beauvoir seeks to show that the myths that talk about women are indeed false and that in, reality, these women are different. These myths are developed because men are trying to be dominant over women, but in the modern world, this is not the case. Women are termed as equal to men. While the myths of men have indicated that males have control over females, this is not true today, and this is because things have changed and men no longer have control over women. Everything in today’s society is equal, and the myths that exist are no longer recognized, and they are far forgotten (Beauvoir 785). According to the version of Raines (72), men are powerful creatures in society, and they always see themselves as violent, virile and vital people. This is depicted in the character O’ Shaughnessy. This character sees him in front of a saloon with a gun, and as a frontier, he uses his skills of bullfighting to impress the blacks. In her argument, Raines says that the character is performing some rituals, by taking advantage of the blond Irish appearance. By so doing, he is revealing his strong place in society as that of a domineering male character. In the end, he is reduced to the status of a woman by his successful challenger who uses a knife to carve labium marjoram on his cheek. According to Raines the characters sex life has all the qualities of a fighter at war. This is further explained by the encounter O’ Shaughnessy has with Denise. The two are described as making love as fighters with physical violence and physical abuse. O’ Shaughnessy sees Denise as masculine in appearance and behavior. She is given the qualities of a kind lean force with muscles of a young boy who is aggressive (Raines 72). Raines further desc ribes the character as one who admires the qualities that Denise has like; pride, intelligence, one with the force of will and an independent individual. He further wishes to have these qualities because he believes by that he can acquire them by defeating Denise and turning her into a more passive and submissive woman. Raines further argues that O’Shaughnessy sees himself as a hero (73). He sees his sexual dominance as a force that is revitalizing and one which allows him to successfully, win in all the situations of life. He is seen quoting his penis as the avenger (73) because it serves as a symbol of weapon in the war. Raines continues her argument that, in a, sexiest society, the sexual power is the most valuable item in the social and cultural power. After the encounter with Denise, O’ Shaughnessy is portraying the quality of dominance. In that, he says he must make Denise dependent on him (73) by bringing her to her first orgasm. He believes this will make him s ure of victory at last. He is quite startled by Denise when she proves that she is a skillful opponent. Denise reveals to him that he has a feminine side that he does not know. This is because O’ Shaughnessy action in mouth love was passionate. He is wounded by these words, and he allows the female in him to betray his victory and finally Denise becomes a victor (Raines 73). However, O’Shaughnessy is quick to make excuses that would justify his failure to win. He states that Denise had won because she told the truth and

Vietnam and Philippines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Vietnam and Philippines - Essay Example While the political elites in the country may not have wished to share their authority and command with other leaders and the populace, this situation was necessitated by the states experience of near starvation in the 80s - a situation that demanded that the political leadership open up to other interest groups for the country’s survival. Philippines on the other hand has a weak state that is characterized by weak social institutions and personalistic presidential politics. The national and central government has massive control over the public and private sectors with power entrenched in oligarchs, their families, and their cronies. Generally, the centralization of government in Philippines has led the country to be less competitive as oligarchs and clans retain control over resources. Even though electoral democracy exists in the Philippines, the country continues to witness systemic corruption and limited economic growth compared to Vietnam which has an authoritarian government. This is the case with the Philippines considering that the social institutions and government bodies that are charged with the responsibility of fighting corruption and putting the government on check are dominated by different clans and oligarchs who are keen on protecting their interests as opposed to performing their duties. The power that the oligarchs, their families, and their cronies wield together with the personalistic politics that characterize the country have seen corruption thrive in the Philippines. This is not the case in Vietnam where the government is decentralized, political leaders have responsibility to their constituents, and provinces have the power to control what is done at the state

Pathophysiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Pathophysiology - Essay Example To manage his lifestyle, the patient should minimize the fat intake through consumptions of energy dense foods that lack fiber contents. He should engage in breads prepared from whole wheat flour and exclude the use of any oil. The patient should also consume a lot of vegetables and fruits that should be eaten raw instead of juice. He should completely avoid alcohol, cakes, pastries, sweet meat, cheese, ice-creams, gathia, puris, red meat and jam (Balakrishnan, 2004). The patient is advised to take part in regular exercise, for instance, a brisk walk early in the morning for around 30 minutes. This is helpful because exercise increases blood circulation, lowers blood lipids, increases HDL, minimizes platelet adhesiveness and increases fibrinolysis (Balakrishnan, 2004). It is proved that tobacco smoking increases atherosclerosis throughout the whole cardiovascular system. A lot of chemicals in cigarettes supply to atherosclerosis. Smoking is believed to directly destroy the inner lining of the artery, the endothelium which enhances the initiation of atherosclerosis. Smoking also promotes the blood to clot easily. Clotting incorporated with hardening and narrowing of the arteries result to blockage in the coronary artery that may result to sudden cardiac death (Schneider & Fields 2006). Everyone in the society experiences some form of chronic stress. All kinds of stresses that is emotional, social and psychological maximizes the risk of heart disease and hypertension. This should be avoided because chronic stress enhances other risk factors of heart disease for example smoking, high cholesterol, physical inactivity and obesity (Schneider & Fields, 2006). People tend to be exposed to more risk of cardiovascular diseases as they get old. The blood pressure of old people tends to increase constantly with each passing year. Although old people engaged in daily routines and activities, their blood pressure does not increase with age. For the old

Cooling the Lava Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cooling the Lava - Assignment Example In the same period, strange masses of ice drift obstructed harbors and caused wide destruction. Suddenly, a fissure opened in the community outskirts and a lava curtain fountained high into the sky. The crew courageously watered the lava front as a garden. The water reduced the heat of the lava and a chilled lava wall was created to dam the red lava behind. As the lava moved below the air, the skin of glass developed. The skin could be repeatedly broken by the liquid motion under and tinkled (John A. McPhee. 104). Â  The crew used bulldozers to flatten a jagged surface glass and make way for the crew to move heavy pipes. Some individuals could catch fire and cool themselves with water and return to work. There was no any minute to waste as the crew had declared fight against the fatal lava. It seemed like the crew was in combat. The eruption vapors choked the people, but no one dared to put the tools down. They focused to contain the lava and turn it black. The falling ash formed a fog that obstructed visibility but could not deter their effort. They steadily watered and cooled the advancing lava from the summit until they stopped the flow.

Pocahontas Term Paper Essay Example for Free

Pocahontas Term Paper Essay In Camilla Townsend’s book, Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma, Townsend points out that there are many historical inaccuracies and myths that are associated with the story of Pocahontas. Using historical evidence to support the story of Pocahontas, Townsend attempted to create an accurate timeline bringing the past to the present. At the same time, the Disney film Pocahontas attempted to depict Algonquian culture accurately, however, according to history, much of the material presented in the film is full of misconceptions and is historically imprecise. In fact, Disney’s Pocahontas epitomizes John Smith and Pocahontas as heroes who prevented a war between the Algonquian Native American tribes and the colonists who were living in Jamestown. However, historical evidence proves that at the time John Smith came into contact with Powhatan, Pocahontas was only a young child around the age of ten and, thus had very little influence over her father. Additionally, the film depicts John Smith as a leader who was looked up to by the other colonists, while historical records prove that he â€Å"had made many enemies by the time he had left Jamestown.†1 Disney inaccurately portrayed particular pieces of the Native American experience with the European colonists, specifically regarding Pocahontas, yet, it is important to consider the audience that this part of history was being presented to. One of the biggest historical inaccuracies presented in the Disney film Pocahontas is the love story between John Smith and Pocahontas. The fi lm exhibited John Smith and Pocahontas as falling madly in love at first sight. This love is represented in the film through the â€Å"colors of the wind† which can often be seen circling Smith or Pocahontas. In the book, Townsend provides evidence of a relationship between the two that included only friendship, laughter, and education, but not love. A demonstration of this relationship would be when Pocahontas â€Å"participated in a class of mutual language instruction with John Smith.†2 In fact, it is from these lessons that Smith was able to write down the only full Powhatan sentences to ever be recorded. While there was no love between Smith and Pocahontas, historical evidence has shown that Smith thought about Pocahontas in sexual  ways. Actually, â€Å"council investigation openly acknowledged that he made lewd comments about her – or having even done things to her – in jokes, or in moments of sexual arousal.†3 The true love story in Pocah ontas occurred between John Rolfe and Pocahontas at the Jamestown settlement a few years after Smith had made contact with the Algonquian tribe. Unfortunately, Rolfe was not even represented in the first Pocahontas film. Another historical inaccuracy that can be seen in the Disney film is the physical depiction of both John Smith and Pocahontas. The film portrays Smith as a young, tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed colonist who is charming and interested in protecting the Native Americans after coming into contact with Pocahontas. In contrast, historical evidence mentions that he was interested in control, and his intent was to subjugate the Native Americans so that â€Å"they could be made to work for their conquerors.†4 Smith was particularly interested in power and control over the Native Americans to further the cause in the New World for the English, which â€Å"unfortunately had passed the English by for at least a century.†5 Interestingly, Smith is portrayed in the film as being a young adult, of similar age to Pocahontas; however, in reality he was a middle-aged man with a large beard, and much older than Pocahontas.6 Smith is not the only person who was represented inaccurately by Disney in the film. Pocahontas is portrayed in the film as being a tall, beautiful, young adult who is free-spirited and passionate about nature. The most serious inaccuracy regarding Pocahontas is undoubtedly the fact that she is represented as a young adult, most likely around the age of twenty. According to historical records, Pocahontas, at the time of Smith’s arrival to the New World, was only ten years old.7 Additionally, the film depicts Pocahontas as being shocked and in awe of the English, however, evidence shows that â€Å"at no point did Powhatan, Pocahontas, or any of their people look on the strangers with wide-mouthed awe or consider them gods.†8 In fact, it is because of her young age that Townsend believes that â€Å"Powhatan and his advisors were hardly under her influence† when it came to policy decisions. Thus, her representation as a young adult is historically inaccurate and was clearly put in place to support the imaginary love story betwee n her and John Smith and make this fairy tale seem more believable. In Disney’s Pocahontas, it is evident that Powhatan desires Pocahontas to marry a Native American. In fact, the film even depicts Powhatan selecting Kocoom,  one of his strongest warriors, to be Pocahontas’ future husband. However, Townsend shines light on the idea that Powhatan did not have a strong preference about who Pocahontas married because Pocahontas’ mother lacked â€Å"political significance.†9 For this reason, any male child that Pocahontas was to bear would have not been placed in a seat of power, so it was not particularly necessary that she marry at all. As a result, she was given the choice of whom she wanted to marry. Interestingly, historical records indicate that Pocahontas â€Å"married a man named Kocoom, around the age of twelve or thirteen† and that â€Å"she must have liked him very much indeed.†10 So while the Disney film inaccurately portrayed Powhatan’s interest in Pocahontas’ love life, the film was able to successfully introduce Kocoom as a great warrior who had love for Pocahontas. Unfortunately, the film also inaccurately depicted a skirmish between Smith and Kocoom, which ultimately led to Kocoom’s death after being shot in the back. One thing historians are certain about is that Kocoom was the first husband of Pocahontas, however, â€Å"within a few years Kocoom seems to have disappeared.†11 The true story behind what exactly happened to Kocoom is up for debate, although many believe that he could have been killed in war, as he was a warrior for Powhatan. Another historical inaccuracy in Pocahontas is the portrayal of Powhatan as a person who practices monogamy. In fact, there are slight references in the film that Pocahontas’ mother had died, thus, making Powhatan a widow. While it is possible that Pocahontas’ mother died, historians know that Powhatan practiced polygamy regardless, due to the numerous amount of children he had. Through this sy stem, â€Å"whole clans of brothers and sisters had an obvious shared interest in remaining united and maintaining their family’s power.†12 In Townsend’s book, it is stated that in order to maintain rule over the tribes he conquered, Powhatan would â€Å"simply marry a woman of their royal family† because â€Å"a son conceived by her would grow up with loyalty to both his father and to his mother’s people.†13 To be ensured of this loyalty, the children were to be raised by Powhatan himself. The film also portrayed the inaccurate idea that Powhatan was interested in killing all of the colonists. In fact, what Powhatan really wanted was to gain metal tools as well as technology in the form of guns, knives, hatchets and pans; this is the reason why he made a deal John Smith.14 Townsend even included the fact that Powhatan was interested in  Ã¢â‚¬Å"establishing kinship ties as a means of ensuring his expanding control.†15 While Disney portrayed the story of Pocahontas inaccurately in many ways, some of the historical information was displayed in a correct manner. At the beginning of the film, the women of the tribe can be seen working in the fields. This, from the study of history, is accurate because we know that every member of the tribe worked in the village, even the royal family.16 Women could be seen dividing into groups in the morning; some would work the field, some would pick up firewood, and others would gather Tuckahoe to make flour.17 The film also depic ted the Native Americans’ telling of great stories that included the European conquests of parts of the New World. Being that Native American culture is passed down orally, historians can easily accept this idea that historical tales were told around campfires. Townsend explains that on an â€Å"ordinary evening, Pocahontas might have sat in the flickering light of torches and the central fire†¦listening to the older people tell stories.†18 While historians will never know exactly what Pocahontas was taught about her ancestry, it is safe to assume that there were many stories about the prior attempts of colonization that the â€Å"coat-wearers† had on their land. When analyzing the historical inaccuracies of the Disney film Pocahontas, it is important to keep in mind the audience that the film was created for. Disney undoubtedly created the film as a way to introduce the concept of Native Americans to children. In fact, one could argue that the primary audi ence that this film was intended for is between the ages of six and nine. As a result, Disney would not want to create a film that portrays all Europeans as power-hungry and eager to conquer the world in violent ways. After all, American children are more than likely living on land that belonged to the Native Americans at one time. It would not be favorable for Disney to illustrate the people around these children as a group who is interested in stealing from others. Disney hopes to teach kids about the importance of giving to others and keeping those you love close. Thus, this is why we see John Smith and Pocahontas as attractive role models who fall madly in love. Pocahontas was created to be a fairytale that portrayed the idea of ultimate love and happiness, not to show the utter destruction that the Native Americans and their land suffered from after contact with the Europeans. One could argue that Pocahontas was created to depict a peaceful transfer of lands from the Native Americans to  the European colonists through mutual agreement, an example of how inaccuracies about the true occurrence still persist today. Disney attempted to develop a film that introduced the history of Native Americans and the New World to young children through a simplistic story with a happy ending. However, this could become dangerous if the children who view the film do not receive proper education about the subject and continuously base facts off the film. In general, making a fictitious representation of true events could pass as unobjectionable in order to make a story more interesting for film. In the case of Pocahontas, when a story works to make the group that was truly at fault look innocent, issues arise in terms of proper education and the reinforcement of unjust myths. The film, Pocahontas, was undoubtedly filled with many historical inaccuracies, which have caused confusion about the realistic story of Pocahontas, but it did provide truthful, basic background information about Native American lifestyle at the time of the European conquest. I agree with Townsend that Pocahontas deserves for her true story to be known. However, I believe that creating a Disney film was not the best way to accomplish this, nor was it the goal of the company. Introducing the true interactions and agreements made between the Algonquian Native Americans and the European conquerors was not possible to do through an animated Disney film due to the typical audience of the film and the simplistic, family-oriented themes that Disney incorporates. American History classes provided in American schools, particularly in areas that have a strong historical Native American presence, are doing a better job of teaching students about the truthful atrocities that the European settlers created for the Native Americans. It is clear, however, that pop-culture may not be at the same level of educating society. Works Cited Townsend, Camilla. Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma. New York: Hill and Wang, 2004. Pocahontas. Dir. Mike Gabriel. 1995. DVD.

United States’ Food Supply Safety Essay Example for Free

United States’ Food Supply Safety Essay The food supply of the Unites States is safe from contamination. This is evident through the regular surveillance and other efforts done by the authorities to keep the safety of the nation’s food supply especially from contamination. The safety of the food supplies starts at the farm and not in the grocery stores. According to the article of Sharon Durham in Agricultural Research entitled Food safety in the 21st century: Coordinated Monitoring of Animal Health, in the year 2003, the Agricultural Research Service or ARS as well as two other agencies under the US Department of Agriculture or USDA started a combined effort in protecting the health of the livestock of America as well as ensuring the safety of the food supply (Durham, 1). This research gives way of tracing the critical diseases in food production that involves animals. In addition, it improves general understanding of factors that causes food safety risks such as those in plants and other manufacturing plants. Also, scientific examinations help detect contamination at vital points in food production (Apgar, 1). On the other hand, the National Animal Health Monitoring System or NAHMS performs surveillance that seeks to identify as well as tackle animal health and food safety matters of major concern. Also, the US Customs and Border Protection or CBP and the Food and Drug Administration or FDA initiated new joint efforts in protecting the food supply of the nation. Through the Memorandum of Understanding or MOU signed last December 2003, the Customs agents are now allowed to examine foods that are imported to the United States (FDA Consumer, 1). Furthermore, the CBP and FDA issued a policy guide that tells their strategy in maintaining the continuous flow of food imports while increasing their safety. The policy guide deals with enforcing two regulations. These are first, it require an advance notice to the FDA for shipments of imported foods into the country. Second , it requires a registration with the FDA of local as well as overseas facilities such as manufacturing, processing, packing and holding services for consumption in the United States. These rules aim to boost the security in the supply chain yet it also involves additional cost and difficulty to transporters (Albright, 1). Meanwhile, the government seeks to enhance standards for industries to get extra money for bigger examination to improve the security of government amenities. National agencies such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Defense (DOD), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are working together on bio-security plan. In addition, the EPA makes sure the safety of the water supply even from the terrorist attacks. The agency together with local water utilities performs evaluation of susceptibilities, to stiffen security within the vicinity of the facilities, to improve emergency response plans whenever attacks occur (Chapman, 1). Anyway, the food industry has been working vigorously also in ensuring the safety of the food supplies. There are several associations that participated in the Alliance for Food Security. They conduct meetings together with government agencies directing food security concern. The industry is sharing methods that a lot of companies are getting to improve their security, to full background checks on employees especially the new ones, and to limit the employees who have access to main zone of the facilities. Some members of the industry have worked strongly with the aforesaid government agencies to address queries concerning food. The FDA has the direct liability for guaranteeing the safety of the food products while CDC leads in conducting disease surveillance. They keep an eye on the occurrence of sickness in the US that is attributable to the supply of food. Moreover, programs such as the annual Food Safety Summit and Expo that is sponsored by National Food Processors Association and the National Restaurant Association help the tighten the security of the entire nation’s food network. Strategies to prevent intentional as well as unintentional food contamination are being laid out during this annual activity (Prewitt, 1). The food industry, itself, has its own programs in keeping the safety of the food supply and this id done in cooperation with the different companies. For instance is the Supplier Audits for Food Excellence or SAFE Program which is initiated through the assistance of more than two-dozen member companies (Johnston, 1). Further, the technological advancements today are a big help when it comes to ensuring the safety of the country’s food supply. The flourishing field of genetic engineering has started changing the daily American diet. Biotechnology has provided us with progress like foods with improved nutritional content and this time, FDA is controlling new food products to ensure their safety. References: Durham Sharon. â€Å"Food safety in the 21st century: coordinated monitoring of animal health†. Agricultural Research. October 2006. Available: http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m3741/is_10_54/ai_n16807530, http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m3741/is_10_54/ai_n16807530/pg_2. March 2, 2007. â€Å"Agencies team up to protect food supply U. S. Customs and Border Protection†. FDA Consumer. March-April 2004. Available: http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_2_38/ai_114242021. March 2, 2007. Albright, Brian. â€Å"New cargo security regulations: present challenges to shippers, carriers: advance manifest and food safety rules could increase safety—and cost—of cross-border shipments Supply Chain Management†. Frontline Solutions. February 2004. Available: http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0DIS/is_2_5/ai_113907155, http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0DIS/is_2_5/ai_113907155/pg_2. March 2, 2007. Chapman, Nancy. â€Å"Industry secures food supply†. Prepared Foods. January 2002. Available: http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m3289/is_1_171/ai_81861689. March 2, 2007. Apgar, Toni. â€Å"A call to action-food poisoning and food supply safety†. Vegetarian Times. November 1996. Available: http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0820/is_n231/ai_18810447. March 2, 2007. Prewitt, Mildred. â€Å"Safety summit: Securing U. S. food supply an uphill battle; Contamination and bioterror hot topics Food Safety Summit and Expo Legal Beat†. Nation’s Restaurant News. March 25, 2002. Available: http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_12_36/ai_84237780, http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_12_36/ai_84237780/pg_2. March 2, 2007. Johnston, Kelly. â€Å"Safety with a good bottom line Formulation Ingredient Challenges Food safety†. Prepared Foods. March 2002. Available: http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m3289/is_3_171/ai_83744775. March 2, 2007 Young, Frank E. â€Å"Safety first: protecting Americas food supply FDAs Year of Foods†. FDA Consumer. July-August 1988. Available: http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_n6_v22/ai_6589510, http://www. findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_n6_v22/ai_6589510/pg_2. March 2, 2007

Company That Change The World Media Essay

Company That Change The World Media Essay Today, the companys worth exceeds RM200 millions, with a turnover of around US1.6 billion and employed more than 1500 staffs. Karangkrafs business was started by publishing their first magazine publication, Mingguan Kanak-Kanak in a little shop lot in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. They sold more than 150,000 copies every week during that time. This is when people realized that Karangkraf is a publishing house that was different. With constant demand of printed reading material from readers in Malaysia, during year 1990, the company started to enter commercial printing business with the opening of Ultimate Print Sdn Bhd and Dasar Cetak Sdn Bhd to provide printing services for Karangkrafs products. By then, with their own printing divisions, Karangkraf started to publish books and novels under its Alaf 21 and Karya Bestari imprints. In year 2006, Karangkraf take a big step by publishing own daily newspaper called Sinar Harian . However, Sinar Harian actually is not the first daily publish by Karangkraf. During the 80s, Karangkraf publish a daily tabloid on entertainment and politics called Ekslusif. But the tabloid had to shut down as government refused to renew the publishing permit. With persistent and bravery shown by Dato Hussamuddin, finally Karangkraf received permit to publish a daily newspaper that known to be unconventional, transparent and ready to publish what others will avoided. This motto is the reason Sinar Harian becoming the number one local newspaper in Malaysia. As years passing by, Kumpulan Karangkraf becomes larger and bigger in terms of size and volume. Then the company takes step in year 2010, with incorporation of Kumpulan Media Karangkraf as the parent company to replace Kumpulan Karangkraf to monitor the four core business divisions: magazines, newspaper, books, printing and digital each managed by its own team of management. 1.2 The Divisions Grup Majalah Karangkraf (Magazine Business) currently is publishing 29 titles of magazines throughout Malaysia that cover different genres for different age and gender. In terms of market share, Karangkraf has taken over about 50% of total magazine market in Malaysia. The magazine division accounts for 30% to 40% of Karangkraf revenue. Grup Buku Karangkraf (Book Division) has published more than a thousand books over the past 10 years. This division currently publishes average of twenty titles monthly to meet the demand of Malaysian readers. The book division contributes about 10% of Karangkraf turnover. Grup Sinar Karangkraf (Newspaper Division) publishes daily local national newspaper, Sinar Harian in the Peninsular of Malaysia. Sinar Harian has eight different editions to supply local news to different regions in the country. The division contributes about 10% to 15% of group revenue. Grup Percetakan Ultimate (Printing Division) is division that contributes nearly 40% of Karangkraf revenue, also is the largest commercial printers in Malaysia. Ultimate Print Sdn Bhd does not only commit to print Karangkrafs publications but also has a big reputation in printing business for having most of major clients such as Sony and Panasonic. Grup Digital Karangkraf (Digital Division) is the latest group in the company. This division was created to engage in digital business and to provide digital reading materials. 1.3 Geographic Market Forty years ago, when Karangkraf has only started, the founder was target to build business within Malaysia as during that time, reading materials were dull and uninspiring. With constant determination to inspire Malaysian to read more and to uphold Malay language, now Karangkraf is one of the biggest publishing groups in Malaysia and it is the largest Malay language publisher. Kumpulan Media Karangkraf Sdn Bhd builds their head quarter in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia which is the head office to all the divisions except for printing division. This head office held most of the staffs such as editors, graphic designers, reporters, and photographers and also the place where books, magazines and newspapers been published. Most photo shoots for their magazines are held in here. Authors of books and novels will send their work to editors here for editing before send to printing division for printing process. For Ultimate Print Sdn Bhd, they have their own office and printing factory nearb y and also in Shah Alam. With skills workers and advance machines, Ultimate Print capable to print 2 million copies monthly. As for newspaper division, this group also has sub offices in different states; Perak, Kelantan, Terengganu, Johor, Pahang, Pulau Pinang, Kedah, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan, according to the state of the Sinar Harian edition. These sub offices are for the editors and reporters to prepare and supply local news faster to the community in the area. Karangkraf currently only publishes their publications in Malay language. Malay language is national language in Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia and one of official languages in Singapore. Thus, for the past years, their target customers are only limited to these regions. However, with the fast and advance technology of internet and gadgets nowadays, they have started their digital group division to make their magazines and newspaper available online. Karangkraf already have started to provide purchase services via online to simplify customer to buy and subscribe to Karangkraf publications. With their establish brand, Karangkraf also have explored the need to translate their books and magazines into different languages to get through demand from international readers. 2.0 PRODUCT OF KARANGKRAF; MALAY LANGUAGE NOVEL 2.1 Introduction of Malay Language Novel Publication in Karangkraf The Karangkrafs book division is the collaboration of three publication subsidiaries called Alaf 21, Buku Prima and Karya Bestari. On April 1997, Alaf 21 was born and this is the start point of books business under Karangkrafs wings. Alaf 21 now is known as an establish publisher of Malay language fiction novels. Biofoto Raihan is the first publication under Alaf 21 and started from that, Alaf 21 keep on producing quality reading materials for readers. Alaf 21 also produces motivational, recipe and craft work books. With more than three hundred supplier agents around Malaysia, the market for their books also covers Singapore, Brunei and individuals around the world. 2.2 Type of Good Novels are classified into monopolistic competitive market where there were many firms in the market but the products are differentiated products. Because each novel is unique so the publishers are rather price makers rather than price takers. The cost to reprint additional copy is actually much less than the price of the novel itself. Example, price of a novel by Alaf21 is RM19.90, but the cost to reprint another copy is not RM19.90, it is actually much less than RM4 per copy for normal size paperback novel. Thus, the price is higher than marginal cost which fulfils monopolistic competition case. Other than that, Karangkrafs novels can be specified as a normal good as it is positively related to income because when income increases, quantity demanded followed increases and vice versa. This statement is according to mini survey that was held by our group to loyal novels readers. From 23 respondents, 21 of respondents said that if the price was increased, they will still buy but with quantity less than before. They will limit to novels that received good reviews or certain writers only and not just any novels from the shelf. But if the price is unchanged and their income increased because of bonuses or increments, all of them agreed that they will spend more on novels. As quantity demand and income move in same direction, Karangkraf novels have positive income elasticities (elasticity > 0). At some times, publishers will lowered price of some novel when customer pre-order the novel before it hits the store. The sales revenue of that particular novel will increase resulting from increasing of quantity demanded by customers. Thus, this product agrees with Law of Demand. This is an example for novel titled Adam dan Hawa. After the drama series adapted from the novel screened on television, Karangkraf reprinted the novel and gives lower price of RM16.92 each for readers whom pre-order via online instead of normal price RM19.90 each in the stores. This discounted price got encouraging responses from readers and also the television series fans and has increased the sales of that novel. 2.3 Demand of the Product The brand of Karangkraf and Alaf 21 are well known to Malay language novels lovers. The quality of the novels published has been established and trusted with over forty years of experiences in publication. With new technology and now more substitutes reading materials available in the internet or online, worldwide publication companies had decreasing in quantity demanded of printed reading materials. However, Karangkraf still experienced increasing in profits in their printed publications. Many factors could be the reason of this event such as increasing of income, the trusted Karangkrafs brand or Karangkrafs good marketing strategy. This also shown that the demand of Karangkrafs products did not affected by the substitutes or competitors. Recently, the drama of Adam dan Hawa was screened on television is adapted from the novel by Alaf 21. The popularity of the drama series has causing the same titled novel has increase in the number of sales and the demand for the novel also increasing tremendously. Even though this novel was published on 2005 but the impact of the drama make the quantity demanded for the novel increases. Although there still no exact figure of profits Karangkraf received with this phenomena as the drama still in running on television. With that kind of special attentions were given to a novel, Alaf 21 has reprinted the novel to fulfil the demand and the price of the novel in bookstore is still the same with other title. Another factor that can affect the increasing demand is 1Malaysia book voucher worth RM250 that were given to students. By receiving this voucher the students whom mostly are teenagers tend to spend it for novels than textbooks. This is because one of the major populations who read novel is teenagers or students. Besides education book, novel will be apart as their reading material in a leisure time and for entertainment purpose. 2.4 Target Market Novel is a fictional narrative to represent some characters and usually a plot in different genres such as romances, actions, thrillers or mysteries. Different types of genres attract different group of population. Karangkraf is a publisher that aims all types of generations and genders. This statement can be supported by the types of novel that Karangkraf publishes; love, teenager love, family love, thriller, Islamic and nostalgia. Focusing on Alaf 21 publications, they have more inclination towards publishing romances fictions or chic-lit. So their target markets are women above 20 years old. Karangkraf has stated that romance novels which dominate the Malay book market are mostly read by women above 35 years of age. As for Buku Prima, they are more focusing on publishing lighter content novel and give moral values towards reader. So their target markets are teenagers below 20 years old and also children. Karya Bestari is a publisher for religion or Islamic books and their target m arket are Muslims of all ages. 2.5 Special Characteristics There are a lot of novels published by Alaf 21 become phenomenal to novel fans such as Ombak rindu, Adam dan Hawa, Bicara Hati and Kasih Yang Suci. All this novels are either was adapted into a movie or into a drama series shown by television; hence it increases the commercial value of the novels. This is actually a marketing strategy that now makes Alaf 21 and also Karangkraf, the trusted brands in creative fiction. The impact is that the readers will always waiting for new published novel as they already have confident with the quality and satisfaction in reading of Alaf 21 novels. 2.6 Competitors and Substitutes There are few competitors of publishers in Malay language novel in Malaysia such as Karyaseni Enterprise and Kaki Novel Sdn Bhd. Karyaseni was started their business on 2006 from web based homepage named Penulisan2u.my by collecting short story and novel submitted by authors around the country. They realized the demand and important of printed novels thus Karyaseni as a publication company was born on 2011. Kaki Novel started their publishing Malay language novel on 2005. Both of these publishers are considered very new in this industry while Karangkraf is the pioneer with no peers during their first started. Novel can be said as an entertainment source for reader by giving excitement and fun and sometimes valuable information and moral values to the reader. Reading novel can be sort of a hobby to some people. In the market, there are a lot of substitutes for novel such as comics, magazines, internet, television and other source that can give entertainment to people. Karangkraf must have a good marketing strategy to distinguish from other competitors and substitutes to keep on survive, gain demand and profits. Karangkraf also achieve a competitive advantage as their  business position better within the business environment. They have an advantage in operational effectiveness as Karangkraf have their own printing company. Also with Karangkraf own printing company, novel by Karangkraf is not expensive in the market as they already cut cost in that department. This may attempt to increase quality, productivity, and employees and customers satisfaction with the company. 2.7 Marketing Strategy Karangkraf always involve their writers and authors during launch ceremony of their creations and turning their authors into celebrity. Book signing activity is the usual agenda during the launch of the novel to introduce the author and keep a good relationship between the authors and readers. By that, authors will have loyal fans that will always waiting for new novel by their favourite author. Karangkraf keep on exposing the good and creative creation of their authors for adaptation by directors that will turn the novel into motion pictures. This positive relationship between Production Company and Karangkraf had shown the quality of products by Karangkraf. The novels of Karangkraf that turn into movies and dramas always received high ratings or become a box office movie. The writers will receive royalty and this is a good encouragement towards other writers to keep on giving a creative product and different from others. Karangkraf need to do a lot of promotions to promote their products as well as their writers. Karangkraf take action by always conduct their own book carnivals, Pesta Buku Karangkraf to introduce all of their products in one place. During the events, discounts were given to attract more buyers. Karangkraf also have considered more of their products to be available online to attract more young reader and also the needs of translation into different languages to promote their products outside Malay language regions. Karangkraf also established a web called karangkraf mall whereas a customers may purchase karangkraf product online. The web is very user friendly and makes the process of purchasing easier to the customer. This is an innovation strategy that provides them a competitive advantage. Karangkraf always give great attention and hard work to design their cover page despite the idiom Do not judge the book by its cover, but with attractive design on the cover will capture the buyers eyes from many books in the market. 3.0 CONCLUSION With over forty years of experience in publication, Karangkraf keep on producing a quality product that can be trusted. As a market leader, Karangkraf have their speciality and strength to focuses on what the customer wants from company and how to provide that. They also are able to provide products that are different and offer different features than the competitors. With cost operational advantage they will perform the business activities better and maximize the profit.

Parrallels in the Life of John Steinbeck and the Characters in his Works :: Biography Biographies Essays

Parrallels in the Life of John Steinbeck and the Characters in his Works      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   John Steinbeck was perhaps the best author of all time. He was the winner of a Nobel Prize, and among other accomplishments, Steinbeck published nineteen novels and made many movies during his lifetime. All of his experience and knowledge are shown through his novels. A reader can tell, just in reading a novel by Steinbeck, that he had been through a lot throughout his life. Also, Steinbeck worked very hard to accomplish everything that he did during his lifetime. Nothing came very easily to him, and he had to earn everything he owned. This helped him in his writing, because he was able to write about real people and real experiences. John Steinbeck got his inspiration from life experiences, people he knew, and places he had gone.    Steinbeck went through many trials throughout his lifetime (French). He went through a lot of phases in his life that were not easy to deal with (French). Although not all of his life experiences were good, they all helped him to improve his writing. This is comparable to the saying "Whatever does not kill you, makes you stronger." This is the case with Steinbeck, because all of his experiences made him stronger, not only in his life, but in his writing. Several things that improved his writing through life experiences were, when he was a ranch hand, when he was a marine biologist, and when he wrote war transcripts during World War Two. These examples were all used in Steinbeck's writing, thus proving that Steinbeck used his life experiences in his works.    Steinbeck was employed as a ranch hand during part of his life (Lisca). This is easily seen throughout the book The Red Pony. In this novel, a young boy named Jody gets a pony named Gabilan. This pony is described in detail that only a background with horses could give. Also, the story is centered around several characters. One of these characters is Billy Buck, and he is described to look very similar to the way Steinbeck looked as a young man (The Red Pony). This could very well be self-portrayal in his writing.

Insurance Mandate Essay -- Healthcare

1. (a) Why was the requirement of an insurance mandate for all citizens so important that it was supported by the Heritage Foundation a right wing conservative think tank, former Speaker of the House and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, former Senate Majority Leader and presidential candidate Bob Dole and former Governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney who made it a provision of the Massachusetts health care law? The requirement of an insurance mandate for all citizens was so important to conservatives â€Å"because it called for individual responsibility to address what economists call the "free-rider effect†Ã¢â‚¬  (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123670612). This keeps individuals who become injured from being able to get a free ride off the backs of other citizens who have insurance. The mandate would require individuals to take responsibility for their own health care needs. Having a mandate would also prevent premiums from escalating because an affordable policy would be easy to come by. The mandate likewise gives momentum for employers to offer health care benefits to their employees. Furthermore, today’s individual mandate â€Å"won’t allow high-deductible, lower cost plans that pay only for catastrophic illness. And some low-wage workers who get "mini-med" coverage through employers will likely have to buy more comprehensive policies† (http://www.politifact.com/georgia/article/2012/mar/26/health-care-debate-switching-sides-individual-mand/). No one would be able to purchase just a new bare necessities policy, and employers would most likely beef up their benefits packages to employees. Denying people coverage with pre-existing conditions will also not be allowed. This precedence would back up the co... ...rk: Longman, 2011. 348. Print. Young, Jeffrey. "Supreme Court Health Care Reform: Without Mandate, Nightmare Awaits Insurers, Uninsured." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 28 Mar. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/28/supreme-court-health-care_n_1385710.html. Works Cited The Economist. The Economist Newspaper. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. http://www.economist.com/economics-a-to-z/d. "Federal Open Market Committee." FRB:. FRB. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomc.htm. "Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) (United States Defense System)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/568214/Strategic-Defense-Initiative-SDI/. Volkomer, Walter E. "Chapter 13." American Government. New York: Longman, 2011. 352-353. Print.

Comparing the Treatment of Madness in The Bell Jar and The Yellow Wallp

Treatment of Madness in The Bell Jar and The Yellow Wallpaper  Ã‚   Mental illness and madness is a theme often explored in literature and the range of texts exploring these is tremendously varied. Various factors can threaten a character's sanity, ranging from traumatic events which trigger a decline to pressure from more vast, impersonal sources. Generally speaking, writers have tried to show that most threats to sanity comprise a combination of long-term and short-term factors - the burning of the library in Mervyn Peake's novel 'Titus Groan' precipitated Lord Sepulchrave's descent into madness, but a longer term problem can be discerned in the weight of tradition which caused him to worry 'that with him the line of Groan should perish'. Such interplay between the acute and the chronic is, it would seem, a matter of agreement between authors who explored this issue. The manner in which characters respond to these threats is not. In some works the threatened character succeeds in becoming empowered - they find a way to maintain themselves and emerg e from the ordeal undefeated, if not unbowed. Esther Greenwood as portrayed in Sylvia Plath's autobiographical novel 'The Bell Jar' is one such character, although the question always remains whether such a victory is a permanent solution. In many other works the only option for the characters is escape. This may be an escape from reality as described in Roald Dahl's short story 'Georgy Porgy'. It may be an escape from self-awareness as shown in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's novella 'The Yellow Wallpaper'. The ultimate escape is self-destruction - Sepulchrave's death in 'Titus Groan' and Sylvia Plath's real-life suicide in 1963 (barely three weeks after 'The Bell Jar' was published) ca... ...emonstrates throughout the first half of the novel that Greenwood is increasingly withdrawing from herself, with her failure to identify with her reflection in a mirror ("The face in the mirror looked like a sick Indian" - she uses no words to suggest that "the face in the mirror" is herself, and it is only from context that the reader knows this at all) being symbolic of this. The first half of the Bell Jar, then, demonstrates that Esther Greenwood's initial responses to the pressures threatening her sanity are firstly to lose her emotional link to the world, and secondly to lose this link within herself. Such a response only lead to further problems which the author explores in the rest of the novel, and it is a point worth noting that in many cases the defences that can be useful at first in response to a threat can end up as part of the problem itself.      

Manager Production Essay

GENDER Fewer differences between men and women that affect job performance. GENDER 1. Women are more willing to conform with authority. 2. Men are more aggressive and more likely to have expectations of success. 3. Women with pre-school children prefer part-time work, flexible work schedules, and telecommuting to accommodate family responsibilities. GENDER 4. No consistent male-female differences in: ? ? ? ? ? ? Problem solving ability Analytical skills Competitive drive Motivation Sociability Learning ability 5. Absenteeism – no significant differences. People in the workplace do identify more with  people like themselves so in some cases there may be opportunities given to people based on the fact that they are like their supervisor. RACE & ETHNICITY †¢ People in organization may favor employees of their own race. †¢ On the basis of race people some times get lower ratings in interviews, paid less and promoted less frequently. †¢ Some scholars argue that it is not productive to discuss race for policy, biological, genetics and anthropological reasons. TENURE Tenure refers to the length of time people have been on the job and is tied to seniority. Recent evidence demonstrates a positive  relationship between seniority and job productivity. †¢ Tenure (work experience) appears to be a good predictor of employees productivity. †¢ Longer a person stays in a job, less likely to quit. TENURE †¢ In terms of both frequency of absence and turnover, tenure is the single most important explanatory variable. †¢ Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. †¢ Tenure and job satisfaction are positively related. †¢ Stable predictor of job satisfaction than chronological age. OTHER BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS 1. Religion †¢ May impact the workplace in areas of dress, grooming and scheduling Sexual Orientation †¢ Federal law does not protect against discrimination (but state or local laws may). †¢ Domestic partner benefits are important considerations. 3. Gender Identity †¢ Relatively new issue – transgendered employees. INTELLECTUAL ABILITY †¢ Ability – defined as an individual’s capacity to perform the various tasks associated with the job. It is a current assessment of what one can do. †¢ Intellectual ability – are abilities needed to perform mental activities like, thinking, reasoning, problem solving etc. INTELLECTUAL ABILITY. Smart people generally earn more money and  attain higher levels of education. †¢ General Mental Ability (GMA) takes a look at overall intelligence and is generally recognized by researchers. †¢ Wonderlic Personnel Test is generally used as a quick measure of intelligence in the hiring/recruitment process. DIMENSIONS OF INTELLECTUAL ABILITY Number Aptitude Verbal Comprehension Memory Spatial Visualization Intellectual Ability Deductive Reasoning Inductive Reasoning Perceptual Speed NUMBER APTITUDE †¢ Is the ability to do speedy and accurate arithmetic. †¢ Will be effective in jobs requiring mathematical ability, such as an Accountant. VERBAL COMPREHENSION †¢ Verbal comprehension is the ability to understand what is read or heard and the relationship of words to each other. †¢ This ability will be helpful in jobs where the manager needs to understand policies in order to carry out their job tasks. PERCEPTUAL SPEED †¢ Perceptual speed is the ability to identify visual similarities and differences quickly and accurately. †¢ This particular ability is helpful when an employee needs to take in a lot of information and make decisions about the patterns, such as a Detective or Inspector. INDUCTIVE REASONING. Inductive reasoning is  present when an individual can identify a logical sequence in a problem in order to help find a solution. †¢ An employee who needs to make decisions about the future based on historical information will need this ability. DEDUCTIVE REASONING †¢ Deductive reasoning is the ability to use logic and assess the implications of the argument. †¢ When making choices between two different possible solutions to a problem, a manager would need to call upon their deductive reasoning skills. SPATIAL VISUALISATION. Spatial Visualization is when someone can imagine how an object would look if its position  in space was changed. †¢ An employee who needs to make decisions about office setup or interior design would need to have a high level of spatial visualization ability. MEMORY †¢ Memory is the ability to retain and recall past experiences. †¢ Individuals who need to act quickly in a situation, such as a paramedic or nurse, would need a significant degree of memory ability. INTELLEGENCE & JOB SATISFACTION †¢ While intelligence is a big help in performing a job well, it doesn’t make people happier or more satisfied with their jobs. †¢ The correlation between intelligence & job satisfaction is about Zero.

Evidence-based practice Essay

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a system of incorporating research findings into nursing practice so as to improve the therapeutic outcomes. (Polit, F. D & Beck, T. C, 2010). â€Å"The evidence based practice places particular emphasis on the use of evidence, in particular research findings, in clinical decision making†. (Parahoo, K, 2006). During past clinical exposures, the issues regarding post natal depression were found as a less explored one because of the complex involvement of both mental health nursing and maternal and child health nursing. â€Å"Postpartum psychosis is a manifestation of a life time vulnerability to affective disorders with child birth as the precipitating factor† (Spinelli, M. G, 2009).The focused clinical question discussed here, which is an important element in an evidence based practice is as follows; How effective is the education of nurses about postpartum depression in helping to identify and reduce postpartum depression among new moth ers in a maternal ward or community?. According to the PICOT strategy for formulating EBP questions, here, the population is ‘new mothers’, the intervention is education of nurses about postpartum depression and outcome is ‘identify and reduce postpartum depression’. The clinical settings chosen for this focused clinical question is maternal ward in a hospital as well as community settings. It is based on the general assumption that initial care will be given in a Hospital maternal ward followed by contact care given in community settings. Having a baby is a joyous moment, but for some women it also brings worries as well as stress. Many recent study reports highlight alarming rates of occurrence of post natal depression. About 10% of new mothers suffer from the most severe form of post natal depression.(Science Daily, 2010). It is evident that, being the closest aid of a post natal delivered woman, maternal and child health nurse can do a lot in identifying and reducing post natal depression. Here, an attempt is made to explore and analyse the educational aspect of nurses in alleviating the said problem. The online databases chosen for this assignment is CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) . A systematic search stra tegy has been carried out using key words such as postnatal depression, postnatal emotional disturbance, puerperal depression, perinatal depression, psychosis, nursing care, nurse knowledge, nursing care, and education. More than 700 results were yielded initially when postnatal depression used as the key words. The  results were narrowed by choosing the publication dates between January 2000 and December 2010. Results were further sorted by re arranging them in a date descending order and a suitable article titled ‘Detection, treatment and referral of perinatal depression and anxiety by obstetrical providers’(Goodman ,J,H, Tyer-Viola, L, 2010) obtained. Key words were combined by using Boolean operator ‘AND’. The combination of key words postnatal depression and nursing interventions generated 4 results, and among them, two results with titles, ‘Improving the postnatal outcomes of new mothers’ (Morse C, Durkin S, Buist A, and Milgrom J, 2004) and Comparison of effects of nursing care to problem solving training on levels of depressive symptoms in post partum women’ (Tezel, A and Gozum, S, 2006) were found relevant for the focused clinical question.

The Need for Better Mental Health Care

IntroductionMany individuals who woke up this morning wished that they should have never done so at all. There are those who are about to go to bed praying that they will not have any more tomorrows to face. While some who are at work, sitting through their classes at school, or fixing their children’s lunches are wondering what have become of their lives and what more potential does the bleak future offer.In fact, there are those whose family and friends are mourning already, never quite understanding why an apparently healthy human being would end his own life. One common thread unites all these people and events: mental depression. This paper looks at the need for more mental health care services in order to better help people suffering from this condition and thus provide hope for them and for their families.Gravity of Mental IllnessFew individuals realize the gravity of a mental illness such as depression in another human’s life. For some, the state of being depres sed is a choice, and a person can easily â€Å"snap out of it† if only they would think positively and cut all the drama. Mental illnesses just like depression, is a medical condition, an actual disease of the mind that is not easily fixed with mere will power.People sick with flu or colds are not asked to cure themselves, hence, why should depressed individuals bear their sufferings alone and without any care? It is a relief, nonetheless, that depression is not anymore new. Millions of individuals have it and millions are also seeking the necessary treatment and medication to get on with their lives. However, recognizing and acknowledging the problem, as opposed to ignoring it, is the first step towards recovery.From the early philosophers, scholars and scientists’ perspectives, depression is a mystery caused by unknown powers in the universe. Based from early accounts, depressed or melancholic people demonstrate bizarre behavior, in which nobody could pinpoint the re ason behind. Symptoms range from extreme sadness and lack of zeal in life to drastic mood changes. With the gradual development of modern scientific processes and correspondence among experts, specialists were able to define depression, identified its symptoms, and tried to discover its causes and remedies.Mental Health FacilitiesTraditional psychiatric hospitals and private psychiatrists and psychologists have been unable to meet the growing need for mental health services. The trend has been to develop local mental health clinics that offer the services of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, family therapists and others.Emergency help is rendered to persons with acute mental disorders as well as to persons with chronic emotional problems. Short-term counselling and psychotherapy are usually provided. Programs are planned to deal with problems involving school, family, marriage partners, drug and alcohol abuse, and adolescence. Night clinics and suicid e prevention centers are often established if a need exists. A person in need of immediate assistance is frequently helped by phone â€Å"hotline† services, manned by counselors and others, such as trained volunteers.Many non-traditional facilities have been established to meet the needs of local area. An example of such a facility is a psychiatric day care center which was developed in a sparsely populated rural area in Michigan. Lacking funds to support a traditional psychiatric day care center, a psychiatric nursing consultant sought lay volunteers and used facilities in a community church to set up a program.This program was designed to maintain and support persons referred by the local hospital psychiatric service and the community mental health center outpatient service. The nurse spent two hours one day a week as a group therapist. She also acted as a consultant to the volunteers. The program successfully met its objectives. It has grown from one group and one voluntee r to three groups and thirty volunteers.Person-Centered TherapyPerson-centered therapy is differentiated from other forms of therapy because of its â€Å"focus on the importance of the therapeutic relationship for effective therapy† (Josefowitz & Myran 2005). The person-centered approach was founded by acclaimed American counselor and psychotherapist, Carl Rogers (Kirschenbaum 2004). Early during his career, Rogers witnessed how stubborn a client could become and all together reject therapy even if it is for his betterment.He then saw that patients could resist â€Å"even the most skilful therapist intervention† if such intervention is against his wish or purpose. Rogers realized the loopholes in the popular practices of his times for failing to incite effective client participation. He pondered on a new approach based on his understanding that â€Å"it is the client who knows what hurts, what directions to go, what problems are crucial, what experiences have been dee ply buried.†Rogers was the first to employ the â€Å"non-directive† approach. It was a unique method where the counselor does not question, interpret, advice, suggest or offer any directive remarks on the patient, he only listens. The therapist carefully reflect the patient’s thoughts back to him, with the idea of helping him realize his issues and then decide on his own the direction of his self-actualization.It was this non-directive method that applied the initiative that persons going into psychotherapies are not helpless individuals at the mere mercy of their psychotherapists’ designs. Clients can wilfully determine how their treatment should go because they are â€Å"responsible clients† who knows what aspects of their lives and personality need to be treated. His method has such respect for its patients that it assumes the key to a person’s self-actualization lies on the person and not on external influences (therapists or counselors). One of Roger’s important ideas that still have its impact today and is crucial to the personal approach is that a â€Å"counselor’s attitude is as important as his techniques† (Kirschenbaum 2004)Depression as a Mental Health IssueDepression is one of the most prevalent mental health medical cases in the United States today with about 18 million Americans or 9.5 percent of the population affected. The problem of depression is not to be taken lightly, nor set aside as sheer caprice of a problematic person. Medical institutions including the United State’s National Institute of Mental Health declared it as a serious â€Å"real illness,† not just because of its prevalence, but also because of its effect on the lives of the afflicted individuals. Monetary expenses is a give fact when seeking treatment for depression, yet the heavier costs are those that concerns the pains of the individuals, the drudgery they have to face everyday, and the correspondin g effect of the situation to their friends and loved ones.Depression has already been observed since the ancient times, even during the prehistoric times. Real efforts to comprehend depression were only apparently undertaken during the time of the Hellenistic Greeks. Later part of history revealed that the growth of psychiatric or psychological science was hampered due to society’s closed mindedness and lack of concern for the mentally ill. Nevertheless, with the sporadic studies now and then, it was discovered that depression was once called â€Å"melancholia† and scientists made quite commendable documentation of the symptoms they observed among melancholic persons (Hollon, 2002).The causes of depression are often summarized into the three classifications of neurobiology, genetics and environment. Neurobiological factors pertain to the abnormalities in neurotransmitters and hormones that affect mood, manner of handling stress, and perspective of traumatic situations. Genetics, as the name implies, refers to the inheritance of potential depression-causing gene traits within the family.There is no solid proof of the existence of this gene so far, although there are relevant studies made to suggest that genetics may indeed play a role. Besides the number of cases of within-family depression speaks for itself. The last factor, triggers environmental depression brought about by emotionally taxing events that are not easily forgotten or set aside, so that it comes to haunt the person and affect his normal life. Depression may also be learned when the thought of powerlessness is so internalised. The person feels depressed with that thought that whatever actions will not merit any change or improvement.ConclusionHealth Plans generally fall into three categories based on how they are organized to deliver/pay for care. HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations) deliver services through provider networks and may use a member’s primary care provider as a ‘gatekeeper’ to more specialized services. PPOs (Preferred Provider Organizations) generally allow access to any provider, with some cost savings to a member for using providers in the network. Indemnity plans are traditional insurance products with defined cash payments, and no network limitations.At present, prevalent types of Health Plans are HMOs and PPOs   (Health Plan). Effective policy and decision-making cannot be made in a vacuum, and is committed to providing the most comprehensive data possible. Taking that into consideration, public Health Plan performance must be well studied and its data analyzed. The HMO as well as other health care delivery systems must unite in order to address this issue since they are all important and adequate means of health care for many consumers with mental health problems.REFERENCESBeck. A. (1967). Depression. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Grnblatt, E. (2006, November 3). Depression; New depression research has b een reported   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   by scientists at Ludwig Boltzmann Institute. Genomics & Genetics Weekly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retrieved Feb. 8, 2007   http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1151092561&Fmt=3&clientId=11123&RQT=309&VName=PQDHollon, D.S., Thase, M.E. & Markowitz, J.C. (2002, November). Treatment and Prevention of Depression. Psychological Science, 3,   39. Retrieved Feb. 8, 2007   Ã‚  Ã‚  at: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=233500451&sid=5&Fmt=2&cli entId=11123&RQT=309&VName=PQD