Latino Americans in the Workplace

Latino workers comprise a large sum of the population of workers in America. Particularly in Canada, as many as 244,400 individuals who are of Latin American origin live in Canada in 2001 (â€Å"The Latin American Community in Canada,† 2006). About 64% of adult Latin Americans in 2001 age 15 and above were employed and working, with 71% of these falling under the age category of 45 to 64 (â€Å"The Latin American Community in Canada,† 2006). Further Jorge Brea notes that the population of Latin Americans tripled between the mid 1900s to the early parts of 2000, with the service industry being the primary source of employment in many Latin American nations (Brea, 2003, p.4). These facts reveal the presumption that Latin Americans have a sizeable presence not only in the local workforce but also in international workforce such as those found in Canada. One significant instance with regard to the experiences of Latin American workers is after the time when hurricane Katrina shook America. Prior to the hurricane, approximately 3 percent of New Orleans is Latin Americans. After the hurricane, the population of Latin Americans in the region significantly increased, and most of these individuals sought employment in a city that direly needed the manpower to rebuild it (Agresta, 2006). One can thus have the idea that at least one part of the experiences of Latin American workers reflects the vision of Latin American laborers in a working environment which has the greatest possibility of churning out the most probabilities of landing a job while putting their lives at risk. Not even distance can hinder the Latin American worker from reaching fertile ground. For instance, approximately 435,500 Latin Americans adults live in Japan wherein 70% send money to their families back at home on a steady rate with an average of $600 (â€Å"Remittances to Latin America from Japan,† 2005). It has also been observed that Latin Americans have a strong attachment to their religion which is predominantly Catholic. This can be observed even among the workers, oftentimes carrying small images of Saints in their pockets or wallets, crosses hanging in their necklaces or bracelets, and small prayer pamphlets or booklets in their bags or tool kits just to name a few. It is apparent that the religious yet diverse cultures of Latin Americans largely influence the workplace roles, especially among workers and managers. Hence, potential managers should consider the cultural, religious, and financial backgrounds of Latin Americans in order to maximize their capabilities in the workplace. In essence, potential managers should observe several ‘do's' and ‘don'ts' with regard to their consideration for their Latin American employees. One of the ‘do's' that the potential manager should most likely consider is to give ample space for the Latin American employees to exercise their religious beliefs. That is, managers should allow the observance of religious holidays and other religious events and practices so that the Latin American employees will not be hindered from fulfilling their religious duties. Hindering them from doing so is one of the ‘don'ts' since it will most likely result to a form of religious intolerance wherein the employees are suppressed from exercising their religious obligations and, hence, restricting one of their fundamental rights. In its course, a number of these employees will most likely find ways to go around the religious restriction being imposed which may affect their performance and the growth of the organization. Further, potential managers should nevertheless carefully identify the religious holidays that might lower the performance of the organization. Managers ought to do a balancing act: permit the observance of certain religious holidays without having to sacrifice the performance of the organization or company. Likewise, managers ought to comprehend the fact that most Latino Americans work in companies far from their homes in order to earn a decent wage and provide ample sustenance to their families. Since this is usually the case, company managers should see to it that their Latin American employees are properly compensated while taking into account the financial capabilities of the organization to pay proper wages and other benefits. One way to achieve this is to carefully consider the suitable number of employees, especially Latino Americans, who will operate the essential functions within the organization with respect to the financial status of the company. Managers should also make the most use out of significant and reliable information available such as the most recent trends or patterns with regard to the rate of salaries and benefits and ensure a comparable rate to the Latino American employees. On the other hand, the manager should make it clear to prospective Latino American employees that there too are limitations on the financial capabilities of the company. This ensures that the labor of the employees will be compensated properly in compliance to the financial constraints present. Latin Americans are known to have a history of oppression from other people, a number of which are experienced in the workplace and in other financial institutions. These facts should serve as a reminder to the manager that Latin American workers may have the lingering impression of fear that their history of oppression from other people is not too far from being repeated elsewhere. While the natural response of these employees from the potential harms they may perceive is to stay on guard of their status in the company and the way their superiors treat them, managers should make certain that their Latin American employees are treated decently and professionally in such a way that the environment of the workplace exudes a friendly yet professional feeling. Managers can achieve this end by constantly interacting with the Latin American employees in the workplace, checking and ensuring that their tasks are efficiently met in a friendly yet professional tone. These are just a few of the things that managers should do and should not do in order to have a healthy group of Latino American employees working in the organization. Due importance must be realized and given to these people for the reason that they share a significant portion of the economic and organizational development of the country. Without Latin Americans in the workplace, the economy of the country in general will most likely be affected. This is perfectly exemplified in the movie â€Å"A Day without a Mexican† where the film emphasizes the significance of at least 11 million Latin Americans in California in terms of the various jobs across the region (â€Å"How Do You Make the Invisible, Visible? You Take It Away,† 2004.). The film highlights the absence of Latin Americans which lead to the depreciation in the cleanliness of the state as garbage mounts in the streets of California and in the economic devastation of the state. In both theory and practice, the theme of the film is highly probable. In general, it should be noted that there are crucial Latino American issues in the workplace all over the world. Across America alone, the numbers of issues are significantly present, and that these things pose an important challenge both to managers and potential managers. The delicate balance between the Latino American factors and the disposition of managers and potential managers spells the difference between an efficient and effective workplace and one that is bound to fail. References Brea, J. (2003). Population Dynamics in Latin America. Population Bulletin, 58(1), 3. â€Å"How Do You Make the Invisible, Visible? You Take It Away.†Ã‚   (2004).   ADWAM News. August 4, 2007. . Remittances to Latin America from Japan. (2005). Inter-American Development Bank Multilateral Investment Fund, 2.   

Agriculture Insurance in India , Problems and Prospectus Essay

Agriculture production and farm incomes in India are frequently affected by natural disasters such as droughts, floods, cyclones, storms, landslides and earthquakes. Susceptibility of agriculture to these disasters is compounded by the outbreak of epidemics and man-made disasters such as fire, sale of spurious seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, price crashes etc. All these events severely affect farmers through loss in production and farm income, and they are beyond the control of the farmers. With the growing commercialization of agriculture, the magnitude of loss due to unfavorable eventualities is increasing. The question is how to protect farmers by minimizing such losses. For a section of farming community, the minimum support prices for certain crops provide a measure of income stability. But most of the crops and in most of the states MSP is not implemented. In recent times, mechanisms like contract farming and future? s trading have been established which are expected to provide some insurance against price fluctuations directly or indirectly. But, agricultural insurance is considered an important mechanism to effectively address the risk to output and income resulting from various natural and manmade events. Agricultural Insurance is a means of protecting the agriculturist against financial losses due to uncertainties that may arise agricultural losses arising from named or all unforeseen perils beyond their control (AIC, 2008). Unfortunately, agricultural insurance in the country has not made much headway even though the need to protect Indian farmers from agriculture variability has been a continuing concern of agriculture policy. According to the National Agriculture Policy 2000, â€Å"Despite technological and economic advancements, the condition of farmers continues to be unstable due to natural calamities and price fluctuations†. In some extreme cases, these unfavorable events become one of the factors leading to farmers? suicides which are now assuming serious proportions (Raju and Chand, 2007). Agricultural insurance is one method by which farmers can stabilize farm income and investment and guard against disastrous effect of losses due to natural hazards or low market prices. Crop insurance not only stabilizes the farm income but also helps the farmers to initiate production activity after a bad agricultural year. It cushions the shock of crop losses by providing farmers with a minimum amount of protection. It spreads the crop losses over space and time and helps farmers make more investments in agriculture. It forms an important component of safety-net programmes as is being experienced in many developed countries like USA and Canada as well as in the European Union. However, one need to keep in mind that crop insurance should be part of overall risk management strategy. Insurance comes towards the end of risk management process. Insurance is redistribution of cost of losses of few among many, and cannot prevent economic loss. There are two major categories of agricultural insurance: single and multi-peril coverage. Single peril coverage offers protection from single hazard while multiple –peril provides protection from several hazards. In India, multi-peril crop insurance programme is being implemented, considering the overwhelming impact of nature on agricultural output and its disastrous consequences on the society, in general, and farmers, in particular. Agricultural Insurance market is on the threshold of a spectacular growth. The support measures proposed by the government in the horticulture sector; potential of organic farming; growing clout of aromatic and medicinal plants; Bio-diesel plants; contract farming; corporate farming and integrated insurance (supply chain and ware housing) etc are likely to put agricultural insurance on high pedestal. The government underlined its priorities for agriculture in 2004 by setting a target of doubling agricultural credit in next three years. A large chunk of credit for agriculture would be supported by insurance collateral. Considering consumers? preference for branded agricultural products; big corporate houses too have taken up corporate farming, increasing the demand for insurance. Agricultural insurance in future though is likely to be largely demand driven, the efforts of the government to support and finance insurance products and / or facilitate congenial environment as meaningful risk management tool would further enhance the potential and credibility of agricultural insurance. Despite progress of irrigation and improvement in infrastructure and communication the risk in agriculture production has increased in the country. The risk is much higher for farm income than production, as is evident from lower risk in area and higher risk in production. State wise results show that only in the states where irrigation is very reliable, it helped in reducing the risk. Those states where irrigation is not very dependable continue to face high risk. In some states farmers face twin problem of very low productivity accompanied by high risk of production. As, with the passage of time, neither technology nor any other variable helped in reducing production risk, particularly in low productivity states, there is strong need to devise and extend insurance products to agricultural production. Despite various schemes launched from time to time in the country agriculture insurance has served very limited purpose. The coverage in terms of area, number of farmers and value of agricultural output is very small, payment of indemnity based on area approach miss affected farmers outside the compensated area, and most of the schemes are not viable. Expanding the coverage of crop insurance would therefore increase government costs considerably. Unless the programme is restructured carefully to make it viable, the prospects of its future expansion to include and impact more farmers is remote. This requires renewed efforts by Government in terms of designing appropriate mechanisms and providing financial support for agricultural insurance. Providing similar help to private sector insurers would help in increasing insurance coverage and in improving viability of the insurance schemes over time. With the improved integration of rural countryside and communication network, the Unit area of insurance could be brought down to a village panchayat level. Insurance products for the rural areas should be simple in design and presentation so that they are easily understood. There is lot of interest in private sector to invest in general insurance business. This opportunity can be used to allot some target to various general insurance companies to cover agriculture. To begin with, this target could be equal to the share of agriculture in national income. Good governance is as important for various developmental programmes as for successful operation of an agriculture insurance scheme. Poor governance adversely affects development activities. With the improvement in governance, it is feasible to effectively operate and improve upon the performance of various programmes including agriculture insurance. Crop insurance program works as collateral security, therefore also benefit banks. When claims are paid, banks first adjust the claim against their outstanding dues, and balance if any is credited to the farmers. Therefore, the Crop Insurance Scheme also benefits the banks. In Philippines, banks are made to share a part of the premium burden. For rice where the premium is 10. 81 per cent, borrowing farmer pays only 2. 91 per cent, while the government pays is 5. 90 per cent and the lending institution, 2. 00 per cent. A similar arrangement can be recommended for participating banks in India. Such arrangement would also bring non-loanee farmers into the fold of banking network, thus institutional lending of crop loans. Remote sensing is the emerging technology with potential to offer plenty of supplementary, complimentary and value added functions for agricultural insurance. The present technology available shall not only provide the insurers with tools like crop health condition, area-sown confirmation, yield modeling which are very important, but also strengthen the position of insurers vis-a-vis re-insurance market. Some of the possible applications of for agricultural insurance could be as follows: 1. Estimating actual acreage – sown at insurance unit level to check the discrepancy of „over-insurance? (area insured being more than area sown). 2. Monitoring crop health through the crop season, and investigation on ground for advance intimation of yield reduction. 3. To check adequacy and reliability of CCE data. 4. Developing satellite based crop productivity models for cereals and other crops. There is a need to promote private sector participation in agriculture insurance. First license for the private sector, was issued in October 2000. As of today, there are ten private sector insurers in the general insurance business: Reliance, Tata-AIG, Royal Sundaram, IFFCO-Tokio, Bajaj-Allianze, ICICI-Lombard, HDFC- Chubb, Cholamandalam, ECGC and Star Health. The latter two, are limited to only a few lines of general insurance. The fact remains that these insurers have not yet undertaken agricultural insurance to a significant extent. Only two companies in the private sector have initiated crop insurance, albeit on a small scale. ICICI-Lombard was the first company to experiment with rainfall insurance in 2003. The concept is further extended to weather insurance since 2004. IFFCO-Tokio General Insurance (ITGI), the second company in private sector, started piloting rainfall insurance, since 2004. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has stipulated that every new insurer undertaking general insurance business, has to underwrite business in the rural sector to the extent of at least 2 per cent of the gross premium during the first financial year, which is to be increased to 5 per cent during the third financial year of its operation. Crop insurance is included in the rural sector insurance for this purpose. The business targets stipulated in rural insurance apparently are very small. Those who do not meet even these small targets, are getting away by paying penalties of nominal amounts. If private insurers are to be spurred to enter the rural insurance market in a significant manner, the business targets have to be raised substantially by IRDA. The experience of government supported and subsidized crop insurance and the recent entry of private insurers, raise questions about the co-existence of government and private agriculture insurance. One view is that the private sector will be unable to compete with government insurance, given the subsidies and access to the administrative machinery for delivering insurance. An alternative view is that given only 15 per cent coverage by government insurance, the private sector can carve out a reasonable market for itself based on improved efficiency, better design and superior services. Here one can even think of public-private partnership in providing agriculture insurance as against public-private competition. However, it is possible only when crop insurance can be run in a more professional manner with clear objectives. Providing Government help to private sector insurers would help in increasing insurance coverage and in improving viability of the insurance schemes over time. There should also be insurance provided by seed companies so that farmers who paid high prices for seeds such as GM crops did not suffer in case of crop failure. In order to promote public – private participation in agriculture insurance GOI should follow the USA model to work out premium rate through an exclusive technical agency, and offer the product to all insurers. Insurers can implement the product, enjoying the same level of support and subsidy. As a variation from the USA method, the government would not provide reinsurance support and reimbursement of administrative and operating expenses, as these costs would be loaded in the actuarial rates. The government can decide whether or not different insurers compete in the same area, or allocate specific crops and areas to a particular insurer (Planning Commission, 2007). With increased commercialization of agriculture price fluctuations have become highly significant in affecting farmers? income. Accordingly, market risk is now quite important in affecting farmers? income. We feel that implementation of market insurance to cover price risk is much easier than yield insurance. This can be done by requiring interested farmers to register their arketable surplus with insurance agency or market committee at the time of sowing of crop. The insurance agency should offer insurance cover to include price guarantee which could be minimum support price in some cases or market based price from the past. Farmers should pay premium for this kind of price insurance and initially government should share some burden of the premium. During harvest if price in the notified market falls below the guaranteed price then insurance agency should pay indemnity. Modalities to be worked out for implementation of this kind of model. The farming community in India consists of about 121 million farmers of which only about 20 per cent avail crop loans from financial institutions and only three fourth of those are insured. The remaining 80 per cent (96 millions) are either self-financing or depend upon informal sources for their financial requirements. Most of the farmers are illiterate and do not understand the procedural and other requirements of formal financial institutions and, therefore, shy away from them. Therefore, while the institutional loanees are insured compulsorily under the NAIS, only about 15 per cent of the non-loanee farmers avail insurance cover voluntarily. This is quite indicative of the enormous insurance potential that exists for addressing the needs of the farming community and enhancing the overall efficiencies as also the competitiveness of the agriculture sector. This also signifies the tremendous potential of agriculture insurance in the country as a concept, which can mitigate the adverse impacts that such uncertainties would have on the individual farmers.

Critically evaluate the need for risk management in the event industry Essay

Critically evaluate the need for risk management in the event industry - Essay Example Risk management, as it relates to the event administration, may include action items such as fire evacuation procedures or it may be a minor problem from rowdy guests. Risk management, basically seeks to minimize the prospect of money or other forms of finance that can be utilized ineffectively or abused. It increases the profit margin for the company, by making sure that all resources are utilized safely, logically, and efficiently. Though, the actual process of risk management varies from company to company but in general, it requires support of owners, together with the management team, in order to filter the overall process and attain the lowest degree of risk possible. (What is risk management, 2003) As risk management is an integral part of any kind of business, it is also an essential component and a specific prerequisite for successful  event management. It combines many management disciplines, such as change management, knowledge management, strategy and leadership. Risk management can be considered as an informal decision making course that seeks to generate certainty from uncertainty.   The importance of risk management in the event industry has developed with the growing complexity and specialisation of service supply. Though, it does not prevent snow conditions from forcing event managers to cancel a festive marquee event, but not understanding and effective execution of useful risk management strategies can result in disastrous situations. Risk management, without any doubt, is significant part of the planning process. Analysing the risk, allows a firm to recognize the degree to which potential risks might impact the events. Risks can be measured in accordance to their possibility or likelihood of happening and they can also be considered in terms of the impacts of the risk or its consequences. Examining a risk and preparing risk matrices enable the managers to

Fibonacci numbers and the golden section Article

Fibonacci numbers and the golden section - Article Example Recall that an integer is prime if it has no proper divisors. Some Fibonacci numbers are prime, for example 514229, but it is still unknown whether there exist infinitely many prime Fibonacci numbers. The problem of finding prime numbers with many digits is crucial for the find a very large prime number, you are able to write a secret code that is reasonably safe (this principle is the basis of the Public Key Cryptography, nowadays used by banks and governments all over the world). Suggested readings. We suggest, as a first reading, the following website: http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fib.html. It is well written, in elementary terms, contains a number of illustrations and it explains clearly some applications of Fibonacci numbers to natural sciences. It contains also several links to other websites on the same topic. We suggest to follow the link "Fibonacci numbers in nature": there, you will find applications to family trees of rabbits, cows, geometry, flowers, and vegetables! It is a short, fascinating walk in the real world seen through the mathematicians' eyes. As a further, more technical reading, one can read the material contained in the website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number. ... It is well written, in elementary terms, contains a number of illustrations and it explains clearly some applications of Fibonacci numbers to natural sciences. It contains also several links to other websites on the same topic. We suggest to follow the link "Fibonacci numbers in nature": there, you will find applications to family trees of rabbits, cows, geometry, flowers, and vegetables! It is a short, fascinating walk in the real world seen through the mathematicians' eyes. At the bottom of the page there are suggestions on the paths to follow to explore further the site. As a further, more technical reading, one can read the material contained in the website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number. Part of this site is probably too advanced for a non-specialist, but most of its content is certainly accessible. These readings can be the opportunity to learn a little, but very useful, piece of mathematics: the difference equations. A difference equation is a function whose value at n is defined linearly by the value at n-1 and n-2, as in the case of Fibonacci numbers. For such functions, there exist always a closed formula, that is, a formula giving the value at n only as a function of n, with no knowledge of the values at n-1 and n-2. The method is explained at the beginning of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recurrence_relation. In the bibliography, we suggest some elementary books for a further reading. To conclude, I think that this suggested reading is accessible to everybody, it doesn't require any special knowledge in mathematics and it has sufficiently many practical applications in arts and science, to be a fascinating and intriguing subject. BIBLIOGRAPHY [1] Dunlap, R. The Golden Ratio and

American History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

American History - Assignment Example First generation of immigrants had a feeling that they had more rights in the country than those who just settled in. These sentiments resulted in series of violent attacks against Irish immigrants and the Catholic Church in the US. Several small parties took into consideration the nativist ideas and formed the Know-Nothing Party. Since it was a aecret society in the very beginning, party members were not allowed to tell anything about this organization. They were saying that they â€Å"know nothing.† That is where the name of the party originates from. Using the Dred Scott case the Supreme Courte tried to put an end to debates over issues of slavery in the territories. The Court figured that the decision of Wisconsin Territories to ban the slavery was unconstitutional. Since slaves were considered a property, the Court believed that constitution protects all property ownership rights. Therefore it was concluded that the Congress had no rights to outlaw the slavery on territories. John Brown initially attempted to organize a revolt against slavery. According to his plan he was supposed to seize the arsenal at Harpers Ferry, give the weapon to slaves and go southward with his army. Brown’s supporters were able to occupy the town without any problem. However the Federal troops did not let his plan to achieve, they killed almost all of his men and prevented the slave’s revolt. Even though slaves did not follow Brown, northerners supported and sympathized him a lot. The case of Harpers Ferry underlined the differences and increased the cleavage between the North and the South and highlighted the sense of disunion. This created a situation when the Northerners were sent off from the South? Some of people were lynched, slaves found themselves in the worse situation than

MANAGEMENT INNOVATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

MANAGEMENT INNOVATION - Essay Example Market opportunities need to be seized with alacrity and new territories explored with professional ease and objectivity. Time should not denounce Nokia later that, like other large companies, it could not stay ahead of its time nor engage its rivals and competitiors in eventful combat in the market place. For this it is necessary that Nokia should be ahead of its times and grab every innovative opportunity that comes its way. During the course of this research, recourse has been sought to empower resources at their command through cases. Research design is mainly framed to identify and analyze different ways for conducting the research and it also involves taking decision related to the sources from which the information has to be collected. Research design is an arrangement of situation and examination of all the information in a way that it aims to connect the significance of the research. Finally it is seen whether the objectives of research has been met in terms of the research questions. It is seen that to a very large extent, the secondary research has been able to meet the goals and objectives of research. The history of Nokia could be traced back to 19th century, 1865 to be precise, when an enterprising engineer called Frederik Idestam constructed a wood-pulp mill factory in South Finland. The town in which this factory was built was called Nokia, which has also rendered the brand its name. During the early years, Nokia’s main business was paper and pulp, which gained a reasonable degree of success because of the demand for this kind of paper in Europe, post the industrial revolution. Russia was one of their main buyers. However, the disintegration of Russia during the early 1990s also adversely swung the future of Nokia and for a brief period, this company went into bankruptcy. Upon recovery, it began to focus on telecommunications,

Internal Resistance of a Battery Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Internal Resistance of a Battery - Lab Report Example The rheostat’s resistance is then varied a number of times, taking the current and voltage readings for each turn. The equation V = ÃŽ µ - Ir, is then used to determine the internal resistance of the battery, where V is the recorded total voltage drop across the battery, ÃŽ µ, the electromotive force or the total voltage put out by the battery, I the current flowing through the circuit and r the required internal resistance of the household battery. ÃŽ µ, V, and I, are measured and then the equation V = ÃŽ µ – Ir used to determine r which is then compared to accepted values. A possible limitation to this experiment that may lead to inaccurate results is the resistance of the connecting wires that is never taken to account. A new 9-volt battery was obtained and the voltage it could put out measured and recorded. Next, the slide on the rheostat was put to the extreme right—its maximum level--and its resistance measured and recorded. The circuit was then connected as shown in figure two below, keeping the switch open and taping its base to the table for stability (Internal Resistance of a Battery, p 2). The high current (20A) input of the ammeter was used, setting it up to the appropriate scale. Everything was now set for measurement taking. In quick moves, the switch was closed, both the voltage and current readings recorded and then the switch opened immediately. A few seconds were then to pass before the next measurements were taken (Internal Resistance of a Battery, p 2). The rheostat was the disconnected and its resistance decreased by sliding it a few centimetres to the left. This resistance was then measured and recorded. The circuit was then reconnected and the above procedure of taking measurements repeated. Next, the rheostat was disconnected and moved a few more centimetres to the left. As in the previous steps, the resistance was measured and recorded, the circuit reconnected and the current and voltage measurements repeated as

Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Final - Essay Example Berkeley looks critically at the notions of having to tell what an object is by looking at its physical appearance and sees it as a way in which we can variably state the existence of an object. Idealism is spread through notions of using common sense to distinguish between perceived objects and the apprehended ones. Thus, the best way to deal with notions of objectivity is by feeling the object either by touch or by the sense of comprehension. The fainter it is the more a person uses the senses of apprehension to get its full understand. The bigger it is, the more one uses touch to identify the nature of the object. He further talks about allusion that external ideas are composed of ideas that tend to show their impact on the way we deal with them. I agree with his idea since we either visualize or apprehend what is seen. There is a need to look at everything objectively in order to check on the possibility of having new ideas on objects we formed suggestions on and get them figured as they are supposed to be. Humes on the other hand brings about the idea of having a close relationship with what one is experiencing to prove that there is nothing as important as having the ability to use ones impressions, experience, ideas and sensations as away of identifying what is existent and what is non-existent. He relies on the use of criticism and reality on proving his critics wrong. He supports his notions using counter-criticisms as a means of winning souls and mind with the same thinking strategy as his. He uses metaphysics as a sign of explaining why he believes in one thing and detests the rest but does not fully explain what is meant by having him resolve the causes and their effects in the real world (Peter, 2006). He is similar to Berkeley and some earlier philosophers in the way he talks of relating what one sees with the impressions created by the mind.

Cars Type Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cars Type - Research Proposal Example A hybrid car typically provides a higher mileage at lower emission rates and lower gas consumption as compared to the traditionally powered gasoline cars. A typical hybrid car with a combination of electricity and gasoline provide these benefits to the users by combining the set up of these two systems to provide necessary leverage in gasoline consumption and electric power. A traditional hybrid cars works on the principal of hybrid technology which combines the use of traditional locomotive engines which are run by the two different sources of fuel. Most of them work either on Gasoline plus electricity or Diesel plus some other source of fuel and can use nuclear power also. Therefore any vehicle that can combines two or more sources of propulsion are considered as hybrid vehicles. Most of the cars which are now commonly used are hybrid in nature as they use either diesel and electricity or gasoline and electricity as two mutual sources of propulsion. A typical gas powered car carries a fuel tank which is a chief source of providing gasoline to the engine which in turn provides engine the ability to transmit which actually move the wheels of the car whereas compared to the gas powered hybrid car, the electric powered hybrid car which has a set of batteries which provide the power to the engine to run. The normal structure of a gasoline-electricity powered car include a gasoline engine, a fuel tank, electric motor which also acts as a generator in advanced models, a generator to produce electric power, a set of batteries which are used to store electric power, and transmission mechanism which is basically used to perform basic transmission functions like in traditional cars besides providing a radically different mechanism in car models like in Toyota Pirus. (Layton and Nice). Traditionally, the power in the electric-gasoline car can be combined in two ways. One is called Parallel Hybrid in which the gas tank provides fuel to the engine

The Consumption Function Essay Example for Free

The Consumption Function Essay To make the income-expenditure model more realistic, we will need to introduce other components of demand, including the government and the foreign sector. But first we need to recognize that consumers planned expenditures will depend on their level of income. †¢Consumer Spending and Income The consumption function describes the relationship between desired spending by consumers and the level of income. When consumers have more income, they will want to purchase more goods and services. A simple consumption function can be described by the equation C = Ca + by In which total consumption spending, C, has two parts. The first part, Ca, is called autonomous consumption, and it does not directly depend on the level of income. The second part, by, represents the part of consumption that does depend on income. It is the product of the fraction b, called the marginal propensity to consume (MPC), and level of income in the economy, y. The MPC, which has a value of b in our formula, tells us how much consumption spending will increase for every dollar that income increases. If b equals 0.7, then for every $1 that income increases, consumption would increase by 0.7 ÃŽ § $1, or $0.70. As firms produce output, they pay households income in the form of wages, interest, profits, and rents. We can therefore use y to represent both output and income. †¢Changes in the Consumption Function The consumption function is determined by the level of autonomous consumption and by the MPC. The level of autonomous consumption can change, and so can the MPC. Changes in either shift the consumption function to another position on the graph. A higher level of autonomous consumption but no change in MPC will shift the entire consumption function upward and parallel to its original position. More consumption occurs at every level of income. A number of factors can cause autonomous consumption to change. Here are two: Increases in consumer wealth will cause an increase in autonomous consumption. Wealth consists of the value of stocks, bonds, and consumer durables (consumer goods that last a long time, such as automobiles and refrigerators). Note that a person’s wealth is not the same as income. Income is the amount of money someone earns during a period, such as in a given year, whereas wealth represents the persons total net worth. Increases in consumer confidence will increase autonomous consumption ratio. Forecasters pay attention to consumer confidence, a measure based on household surveys of how positive consumers are feeling about the future, because it helps them to predict consumption spending. The Conference Board, a nonprofit organization devoted to disseminating economic analysis, publishes an index of consumer confidence each month that many forecasters rely on. A change in the marginal propensity to consume will cause a change in the slope of the consumption function.

Fragile X Syndrome Case Study Health And Social Care Essay

Fragile X Syndrome Case Study Health And Social Care Essay From seven years old, Michaels speech was still rather incoherent, he spoke very quickly and under his breath and didnt make much eye contact. Only up until the last couple of years his speech has improved and is much clearer, although he still tends to perseverate and get stuck on a subject and repeat the same thing over and over. Michael has a sister 2 years older and in 1992 they were both referred to the genetics clinic in the Royal Childrens Hospital by our pediatrician as they both presented with significant developmental delays and the doctor suspected some genetic condition may be at the root of the problem. Tests were performed, even an X-ray on Michaels head as they noted he had rather dysmorphic features, but nothing proved positive and there was no known reason for their problems. ______________________________________________________________________________The patient presented in the above case study is a classic case of Fragile X-Syndrome, the most frequent cause of inherited mental retardation. Patients presenting with this syndrome are affected in various facets of functioning, including intellect, emotion, behavior, and physical characteristics. The cause of the syndrome involves the expansion of a single trinucleotide gene sequence on the X chromosome. Other disorders that are placed in this category include Huntingtons Disease, Kennedy Disease, Dentatorubralpallidoluysian atrophy, and Friedrichs ataxia. This consequently results in the failure to express a protein that is required for normal neural development, and coded by the FMR1 gene. Because it is an X-linked disorder, cases are seen in all carrier males and in 35% of carrier females. Because of the subtle nature of signs of the syndrome and difficulty in diagnosis, all children with mental retard ation should be tested for Fragile X syndrome and family members are advised to undergo genetic counseling in order to decrease the recurrence of Fragile X in the family. Etiology The abnormality of the chromosome presented in Fragile X syndrome is found on the Xq27.3 site and commonly used as a diagnostic marker for the syndrome [1]. In most cases, the expansion of the single trinucleotide gene sequence includes 50 to 200 CGG repeats at the site and these repeats are passed down from generation to generation [1]. In comparison, the number Mathew 2 of repeats in a normal individual is between 6 and 50. Due to the increasing expansion of the trinucleotide gene sequence, there is methylation of the DNA which in turn silences the FMR1 protein [3]. FMRP plays important roles in learning and memory, and also appears to be involved in development of axons, formation of synapses, and the wiring and development of neural circuits. Diagnosis Because there is no clinical diagnostic criteria, scoring systems have been developed to select individuals for Fragile X Syndrome [4]. It can also be diagnosed using molecular genetics testing of the FMR1 gene. One method of diagnosis is based on chromosomal study to present the chromosome under special folic acid deficient culture conditions [3]. There are two different types of molecular DNA tests. The screening tests are polymerase chain reaction based. Additionally, they need to be confirmed using Southern blot hybridization [5]. It is important to diagnose affected patients as early as possible to provide early intervention and supportive care (i.e., specific developmental therapy and an individualized education plan) and to inform parents for further family planning [4]. One half of families in a 2002 survey reported having an additional child with fragile X syndrome before the older affected child was diagnosed [4]. Family history collection should include questions about other family members, with particular attention to developmental delay, mental retardation, and psychiatric disorders [4]. In addition, a family history of women with premature ovarian failure and men with FXTAS should be ascertained. A positive family history in a proband with developmental delay should prompt consideration of genetic testing of the FMR1 gene [4]. The American College of Medical Genetics recommends testing, regardless of family history, for all males and females with mental retardation of unknown etiology [4]. Therapy/Treatment Treatment is supportive, requiring a multidisciplinary team and including anxiety-reducing measures, behavior modification, and medications to manage associated psychiatric disorders. Individual education plans are necessary for school-age children [2]. Although several Mathew 3 medications have been proposed to treat fragile X syndrome, none of them are supported by ]good evidence [2]. While there is no current cure for the syndrome, there is hope that further understanding of its underlying causes would lead to new therapies. Currently, the syndrome can be treated through behavioral therapy, special education, and when necessary, treatment of physical abnormalities [2]. Persons with the fragile X syndrome in their family histories are advised to seek genetic counseling, to assess the likelihood of having children who are affected, and how severe any impairments may be in affected descendants [2]. The Fragile X syndrome been the subject of numerous studies, and recent investigations have addressed the question of whether this disorder is amenable to either prenatal diagnosis or to treatment with folic acid [3]. In a previous study, the effect of oral folic acid therapy (10 mg/day) in a blind study of 14-year-old monozygous twins with the fragile X syndrome was examined [3]. They reported on eight patients with psychotic-like symptoms. Seven were improved by therapy with I M 5-formyltetrahydrofolate (folinic acid) at doses of 0.5 mg/kg body weight for a period of a few weeks [3]. Three patients had an almost total recovery from psychotic-like symptoms [3]. One 14-year-old boy who was severely hypotonic and disinterested in his environment became responsive and able to sit and crawl after 2 months of therapy with folic acid in doses of 1 mg/kg day [3]. Harpey also reported some success with therapy with intramuscular folinic acid and hydroxocobalamin by mouth [3]. In a recent re port, a male fetus was diagnosed as having fragile X and the mother was started on a regime of folic acid 2 mg/day [3]. After delivery, the baby was treated with 1 mg/day of folic acid. On evaluation at 6 weeks of age, the baby was described as having a dolicocephalic head, long ears, a flattened malar area, enlarged testes, and a high frequency of fragile X chromosomes (20/60 cells). Two studies attempted controlled trials of folate in the fragile X syndrome, and one of these has been reported in some detail [3]. Brown conducted a double-blind crossover study in which two brothers with the fragile X syndrome were treated with either intravenous folic acid (1.6 mg/kg daily as a single dose) or saline placebo for 8 days [3]. Following the controlled trial, the brothers were maintained on 10 mg/day of oral folic acid for 3 weeks. Over 6 weeks, the dose was increased to 500 mg/day for the younger brother and 1,000 mg/day for the older brother, and then both Mathew 4 brothers were maintained on 1,000 mg/day from 1 month to 5 months after the onset of the study [3]. Because this disorder is a very common cause of familial mental retardation, and because of the in vitro effect of folate in decreasing expression of the fragile site, one may be tempted to attempt folate therapy in these patients. However, two studies to date have failed to demonstrate any abnormality of folate metabolism in cultured cells from patients with the fragile X syndrome [5]. Therefore, we urge continued caution in the expectation of beneficial results and advise against routine use of folate therapy in patients with established mental retardation and the fragile X syndrome [5]. Because there is no cure for Fragile X syndrome, the hope is that future investigations into the underlying causes that will further lead to new therapies.

The Inspiration of Caedmon :: Caedmon Essays

The Inspiration of Caedmon    The poem "Caedmon," written by Denise Levertov, enlists readers to learn more about God and creation and by doing so expands their understanding of the universe.   At one point or another in life, people go through stages where they have no inspiration and sometimes shrink back from something that they think is too complicated to achieve.   Therefore, they are limiting themselves and their undeveloped talents, much like Caedmon was before his sudden inspiration by the messenger of God.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The story of the poet Caedmon and his sudden inspiration is recounted in the Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History.  Ã‚   In the following lines of the poem "Caedmon" when he is asked to contribute to the songs, he feels that it is impossible and that if he were to attempt to sing, he would break their verses like a clumsy dancer:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All others talked as if   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   talk were a dance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Clodhopper I, with clumsy feet   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   would break the gliding ring.   (1575)      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When anyone would try to nudge him forward to contribute, he would always use the excuse that he was a cowherd to escape the passing of the harp and retreat back to the barn with the animals.   He would feel content and at home amongst the animals where he was not forced into improvising verses to keep the banquet lively.  Ã‚   While he is sitting amongst the animals, the event occurs that changes his life.   In the following lines of "Caedmon," he describes the angel that suddenly appears in front of him:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Until the sudden angel affrighted me - light effacing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   my feeble beam,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   a forest of torches, feathers of flame, sparks upflying:   (1575-76)      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The next few lines are in conjunction with a similar event that is recounted in the Bible.   In the poem "Caedmon," the event is described as follows:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   but the cows as before   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   were calm, and nothing was burning,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   nothing but I, as that hand of fire   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   touched my lips and scorched my tongue   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     and pulled my voice  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   into the ring of the dance.   (1576)    In Chapter 6, Verse 6 of Isaiah, Isaiah is told to prophesy and he is unwilling, much like Caedmon was unwilling to contribute to the passing of the harp.   Isaiah has a similar experience when an angel confronts him in the following lines of the Bible:

Life Means Life - Original Writing :: Papers

Life Means Life - Original Writing The sly shoves and kicks from policemen didn't bother me. It was the look on their faces. They turned up their noses as if the smell of me was too foul to endure. Their eyes seemed to darken at the sight of me. The first time it really hit me that I was going to spend the rest of my life in prison was only when they took away my personal belongings. Everything that gave me a sense of identity, of individuality was carefully listed and placed into that blue plastic box - a Mars bar which I have loved since I was a little lad; my keys that never worked first time you twisted them in the lock; my worn and familiar clothes that I refused to throw out just because they were old, and my wallet with the picture of - my girlfriend who says she no longer loves me. These small insignificant things that made me an individual were stripped away literally and all that was left was me. Me. It made me break down right there in the room while they were removing the laces from my shoes. "We don't want any hangings tonight do we?" said the surly officer. A humiliating, brutal and invasive search of my naked body followed amid sniggers and crude comments from the men in blue before being marched to my cell. By this point I was beyond caring. A switch in my mind was flicked and I stared straight ahead, silently following the instructions of the uniformed guards neither flinching nor responding to anything anyone said or did. The door slammed shut and I surveyed my new home with its hard bed and a bucket in a corner. I was placed in solitary confinement `for my own security' which meant I didn't have to face the other inmates immediately although I realised at some point that I would have to. Solitary confinement - time to give me think about the weeks and months leading up to this point and the crime they say I committed.

The Atrocity of Saul Alinskys Utilitarian Approach to Communcation Ess

The Atrocity of Saul Alinsky's Utilitarian Approach to Communcation Jeremy Bentham, one of the founders of Utilitarianism, believed his philosophy could provide for the â€Å"greatest happiness of the greatest number of people†. However benign it may sound, at the heart of Utilitarianism is a cold, teleological process which reduces happiness to a mere commodity. It is even worse that Saul Alinsky would extend this philosophy to a point where the truth becomes relative, justice becomes a tool of those powerful enough to wield it, and any means are justified to reach one’s desired ends. Utilitarianism’s focus on outcomes inevitably leads to a lack of concern with the means used to accomplish a given outcome. This allows for a process in which the rules of conduct are vague, open to interpretation, and less important than one’s objective. This lack of absolute standards clearly violates several key standards of Martin Buber’s Dialogic values, which I believe are essential to ethical communication. These standards stress the importance of the authenticity and honesty of one’s me...

A Sermon Review

The preacher’s approach in delivering his sermon was rather argumentative than expository. The first two main points were built around sub-points which argued that God never change. First, unlike man and everything on earth that alters changes, the preacher says â€Å"God is perpetually the same.†Although we do not know what substance that is which we call God, the preacher emphasized that his essence never change. Second, Spurgeons Argued that God’s attribute never changes. He meant that God’s moral attributes such as his mighty power, his omnipotence, his wisdom, and all the powers of God during the beginning of the world never ever changes even with the passing of time.God is ever the same and he never grow old, He never becomes weak nor has his power diminished as the time passed. Third, the preacher argues that God’s plan never changed. That is, his plan for the world and for every creations including the human beings and He is set to fulfill h is plan.The fourth sub-point talks about God’s promises in which Spurgeons argued that God never change his promises. That we can count on God’s promise and the best way of living in this world is to trust in God’s promises.Finally, Spurgeons argued that God is unchanging in his threatenings against ungodly and sinners. That is, when God says â€Å"Those who will not believe shall be damned† and when they are thrown to hell, it will forever and will never ever change despite of the passing of million ages.The preacher emphasized that God’s unchanging character is a depiction of God’s perfection and eternity. That is, if God changes, He could not be perfect anymore and he could not also be eternal. Spurgeons also argued that God as infinite being sees to it that all his words in the past are fulfilled despite of times that passed. Citing the towns and cities that God said will fall, and it happened, it means that God promises and the fulfillm ent of his words transcend beyond time and ages.The content and breadth of the sermon  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The content and breadth of the sermon was more of a devotional rather than theological although the sermon also reflects significant theological issues. However, it appears that the content of the sermon was not meant to give a lecture on theology but to emphasize on God’s immutable characteristic so that we can trust God for He is a very reliable God. That is, the sermon was intended to strengthen the faith of the congregation rather that to feed them with theological arguments.The context by which the sermon was given was the period of the great industrialization which means that people during this period were amazed by the introduction of new technologies. This was the time when people look at knowledge as power. In view of this, I could say that the breadth of the sermon was deep and sound with the preacher contending that despite of everything that was coming out of society, God is still the same powerful God and everyone must heed his words and threatening.The depth of his sermonThe depth of his sermon as it appears to me was just fit to the situation and to need of the people during his time. The sermon was neither narrow nor too deep but was more practical and easy to understand even by the least educated listener. Nevertheless the sermon was powerful enough to convince the listeners that God do exist eternally, that He never change, and that we could hold on to his promises.

Attention Deficit disorder

My high school years have been challenging but I have managed to fit in. I was born with a condition known as Attention Deficit disorder (ADD). This condition causes inattentiveness, over-activity and impulsivity. I learnt to cope with these conditions by having a good self-esteem.I did not to inform the administration about my condition because I did not want to receive special treatment like getting more time to take my tests. I took challenging courses like chemistry, functions statistics and trigonometry. To improve my understanding of the academic material and also to get a better grade in my course, I attended summer school.I did this to retake courses that were difficult to understand during school time and to boost my overall cumulative G.P.A. These courses required sustained mental efforts in class, which were difficult to maintain, but I extended my school hours to get more help from my teachers. I even arranged with them to stay longer hours in the school labs for extra tu toring.I am very talented in gymnasium and my talent helped me get admitted in the varsity cheerleading team during my junior year, where I learnt to cultivate my interpersonal skills. During practice I dedicated all my energies to the teams performance and was promoted me to the assistant co-captain of the varsity cheerleading team.I had supportive friends in the team, who with my coaches assisted me to solve difficult class work problems. They lifted my self-esteem in believing in me. Through the team I learnt that to succeed I needed to have self-confidence.During my sophomore year I attended sylvan learning center, where I learnt to study and improve my skills to become academically successful. In the center I was able to develop good interpersonal skills and improve my communication skills. This has enabled me cultivate good leadership qualities.I believe am capable of getting in the university and once am there I will use talents in the gymnasium to occupy my free time. Being idle is a way of causing distraction and I want to remain focused during my academic years. Iwill use my interpersonal skills to develop good relations with a students and also to be become a student leader. I will study hard in the university to achieve all my goals despite my condition. I believe in working hard to be successful. Work citedStein, E, Amy. Fragments: Coping with attention Deficit Disorder. Haworth press. 2003. 91-120.

If We Go Through The Poem We Will Get The Glimpse

Animism was the first Indian poet to catch and voice these trends in his poetry. As a modern poet in India, he started to voice his own thoughts and opinions, his own experiences, which were the experiences of the every man.. In all his creative works he was very keen to select Indian situations and present them with a purely Indian attitude. He was not for idealism and romanticism, the soft and beautiful aspects of life. He highlighted the reality of Indian life with its bitterness ,hypocrisy and bits of sweetness through the lives of common people.The characters of is poems are from different walks of life but without a bit of exaggeration. We feel and experience the Indians and Indian culture, Indian temperament through each and every character and situation in the poems. If we go through the poems we will get the glimpse about south Asian society and their cultures and politics. Animism Ezekiel creates an authentic flavor of India by his use of Indian English. The Indian flavor h as created by stressing various mistakes which Indians commit in their use of English. Animism Ezekiel is entirely Indian not only in sensibility but also in proper use of Indian attitudes.In the â€Å"Very Indian Poem In Indian English† the common mistakes committed by Indians in using English and other Indians are freely employed to create the typical flavor with an artistic purpose In a realistic way. This has started giving with a ironic title. In this poem, very sit few lines indicate that there is going on political unrest or chaotic moment in society. â€Å"l am standing for peace and non violence. Why world is fighting fighting' After uttering these line he tells that why we are not following Mahatma Gandhi.He has taken the great Indian character in his poem who stood for peace. He also tells us that we are totally away from our ancient culture. He also used 200%, 100% and very colonial words to satire and to indicate that modern generation are so far away from our a ncient culture. Modern generation are cherishing foreign cultures, fashion and neglecting their own culture. So he uses these Irony towards modern generation. † But modern generation is neglecting – Too much going for fashion and foreign thing' He also satire the political leaders ,because their allured speech much than their works.Perhaps he has wanted to say that whatever they tell, they doesn't turn it into org. He also stairs their way of behaving and he is also taken glimpse of their speech that â€Å"Friends, Romans, countrymen, am saying Lend me the ears. The regrettable thing in the modern world is the act of violence and anti – social tendencies proving to be a menace. Still the positive aspects like regeneration, remuneration and contraception could be thought of as a way out of the present muddle. One can certainly hope for the better and propagate the best that is thought as unique.He has also very aptly shown us the Indian picture-Lassie can be take n as equivalent to he western wine if only a little salt is added to make it a lovely drink. The poet confesses that he is the total abstainer from drinks while it is taken by addicts to gun themselves, he for his part would turn to simple drinks like lassie. Thus, the poet tries to receive the old Gandhi days. We can assume by this poem that there are clash between county to county, and country to country to rule over one another. It has become a trend of every country.So to come out from this poet is urging that if only one consider the other as the brother then the trend could be changed.. He gives the hand of friendliness to the visitor and expects him to come again. The poet is optimistic when he says that he enjoys every moment of good company. So, he ends the poem by saying that he does not feel the necessity of celebrating ceremonies. Animism Ezekiel has picked up the typical picture of Indian subcontinent very dexterously through the poem ‘Conga'. By depicting conga h e has shown us how wealthy class people fell pride on lower class people treating them very badly as their goods.Animism Ezekiel has depicted very common and true future Of society in very much interesting and funny way that how wealthy people neglecting harassing, torturing on their servant. The poem â€Å"Conga† has started that we pride for our generosity to servant and their generosity is that they give a chance to a prostitute woman to work at their houses. Miss Ezekiel ironically has given a pathetic description of servant how they are treating in the society. But even in our society servant are the victim of sexual harassment. So there is a question arise that is it pride that a prostitute works at wealthy men houses.It is a poke to upper class people. They give them a cup of tea which they eve preserved from previous evening. They give tem stale ‘chapatti' and give old clothes by which they could exchange a cup,etc. They give one coins and take it return. So it has been a trend of upper class that they feel comfort, enjoy by dominating them like that way. But these men never learn because of their poverty. Perhaps poet wants to tell though we are seeming greater man by possessing these things but we are in darkness. Because we are wanting to be civilize reaming them unlearned and uncivilized So it is a slap to moral civilization.The poem ‘Guru' portraits the modern picture of the Gurus who are more terrestrials than ever and above ordinary men – â€Å"the lesser considered as holy men while they totally lack all the virtues of saints. They make a sharp discrimination between the rich and the poor, men and women, countrymen and foreigners. The following lines show characteristically Indian touch which becomes an irony on our part: The saint, we are told, Once lived a life of sin nothing spectacular, of course, Just the usual things. We smile, we are not surprised. Unlikely though it seem, we too one day May grow up like him, d ropping our follies like old clothes or creeds.

How Technology Changed the world Essay

Over the last five years, technology has been rapidly changing and expanding in every field imaginable. Smart phones are now capable of acting as standalone computer devices that can take pictures, search the Internet, send emails and text messages and yes, they even make phone calls. While it might seem that the technology of today has reached its limits, it is still actually spreading its proverbial wings. Only twenty or so years ago, personal computers were becoming small enough and affordable enough for families to buy them for home use. Since then, the world of technology has shown no signs of slowing down and practically every device available today is somehow tied to computer technology. From the first day that technology was introduced to war, it has helped shape the latter. Flint-made daggers and spears, and leather or wickerwork shields, did quite as much to shape the tactics adopted by ancient societies as horses did during the middle ages and as tanks, aircraft, and vario us combat ships do today. All transportation depends on technology, whether it’s the wheel, the jet engine, or the computer chip. Transportation is not just technology it’s a system of technology, people, energy, money, and more—but advances in technology play a key role in shaping transportation systems, which in turn help to shape our lives, landscapes, and culture. Because transportation is so important to commerce, because literally and figuratively so much is riding on it, it has been the focus of an enormous amount of inventive activity. Corporations have invested billions of dollars in improved technology. Individuals have sought their fortunes in breakthroughs big and small. Technology has changed society tremendously. Things like iPods, Netbooks, BlackBerrys, Blue Tooth, and flash drives have definitely not been around for a long time. Our society today has many advantages thanks to technology. Law enforcement officers have a great advantage with things like  GPS and tracking devices and cell phone records. The general public also faces a lot of distraction because of some technology though. Car accidents used to be caused mostly by people falling asleep or drunk driving. Now the big concern is that people are playing with their gadgets, messing with music players, playing DVDs in the background for kids, and talking on their cell phones. That is a lot of potential distractions! Society is becoming a union of ‘we want it now’ people thanks to most technology offering super fast services. There isn’t enough stopping to smell the roses anymore. For the most part, however, technology does us more good than harm: It’s reconnected us with old college roommates, helped us learn a foreign language, and encouraged us to exercise. Follow us as we look back at how technology has changed our lives—for the better and for the worse—in terms of communication, computing, dining, entertainment, and travel. http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Technology-Affects-Us&id=7429569 http://www.ehow.com/info_7844707_impact-technology-warfare.html

Claude Monet Painting The Regatta at Sainte-Adresse Research Paper

Claude Monet Painting The Regatta at Sainte-Adresse - Research Paper Example Monet was raised in Normandy and Eugene Boudin introduced him to painting. He joined Charles Gleyre’s Paris studio where he was the academic history painter; Monet was twenty-two at that time and he studied with other painters who became impressionists later. He got limited success in his early career and had just a few landscapes, portraits, and seascapes which were accepted at the annual Salons for exhibition in 1860s. He faced rejection and a lot of criticism that he took as a motivation to move forward. The subjects for Monet’s paintings were found in his surroundings such as people and places that he knew the best. His models were his first and second wife frequently. The landscapes he painted were the north of France to London which covered his journeys of moving. He often painted his home gardens and gathering places. His paintings had a unique objective that would always catch the eye such as signs of domestic relations. Monet followed the path of the Barbizon p ainters and adopted their commitment towards naturalistic representation and close observation. He extended that commitment and created his own style which included painting on large-scale canvases outdoors then completing the work in studio. He captured nature accurately and rejected the European conventions that governed composition, perspective, and colour. He enhances his work using vibrant brightness and unmediated colours; he adds a variety of colour tones for shadows and for traditional landscapes he uses light coloured primers.

Missions to Nicaragura Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Missions to Nicaragura - Research Paper Example Solving the problems faced by the people of Nicaragua as well as improving their life was the main aim of the mission groups. One of the mission groups is a BIMI mission group. The BIMI for Nicaragua is a Baptist international mission group that started its mission work in 1962. The mission group was started by Bob and Sabina Dayton. The main aim of BIMI mission group is to bring together and support missionaries and mission projects that were still going on in Nicaragua (BIMI, 2003). The group supported different mission groups in order for them to be in a position to serve better the people of Nicaragua. Another mission group is Nicaragua mission project which is a Christian movement mission that started in 1960s as a ministry to prisoners. The mission started with the name â€Å"the Christian mission in the jails†, and their founders were Rev Marceline Davila Castillo, a pastor in assemblies of God and Antonio Martinez who belonged to church of Nazarene. The group’s objective is to solve the problems faced by residents of this country by improving their life (Lubensky, 1999). The mission group goals were to build churches in order to spread the gospel and reach to people in all areas in that country. The group aimed at reinforcing ecumenical associations as well as promoting growth of churches as well as their communities. The group is a combination of various organizations such as CEPAD (Evangelical council of Nicaragua), Latin American council of churches, Disciples of Christ, united church of Christ and Christian Pentecostal church of Cuba. It has partnered with worldwide ministries for many years. The mission group started their mission by building churches, building bible schools for the people of Nicaragua and creating children’s programs (Baptist International Missions Inco, 2003). In its mission work, the missionary

Outline Aristotle's definition of rhetoric as it relates to dialectic, Research Paper

Outline Aristotle's definition of rhetoric as it relates to dialectic, and identify the role rhetoric plays in our present-day political process - Research Paper Example There is no denying the fact that dialectic tends to be the art that pertains to logical argumentation. To some extent even at a superficial analysis, it does seem to be true that dialectic does come out as a counterpart to rhetoric in the sense that just like rhetoric, dialectic has a lot to do with the concept of persuasion and facilitating logical arguments and proofs, and does tends to take into consideration the opposing and contradicting arguments and viewpoints pertaining to any specific issue. Yet, dialectic also tends to differ from rhetoric in many salient ways. Quiet unlike rhetoric, dialectic is primarily restricted to the notions of argumentation and the proofs and logical fallacies attendant to a given argument, and does abstain from extending a theoretical framework to the use of emotion and is seldom concerned with the audiences imminent on an argument and the carried contexts in which an argument tends to unwind. In the light of this fact it seems apparently strange that Aristotle tends to place rhetoric as being a counterpart to dialectic, when one certainly cannot doubt the fact that Aristotle was conversant with the crux of the art of dialectics that primarily happens to be to test the veracity and truth attending an argument. Thereby, by considering rhetoric to be a counterpart of dialectic Aristotle not only enjoins on the art of rhetoric with the imperative to owe allegiance to truth, but also imbues the art and science of rhetoric with salient moral and ethical implications (Gross & Walzer, 2000, p. 149). While aligning rhetoric with dialectic, Aristotle not only imbues the art of rhetoric with ethical and moral implications, but also tends to present rhetoric as a tool that is neutral, which could readily be used by individuals and groups given to moral depravity to achieve spurious ends, if rhetoric is alienated from the imperative of being truthful and

Animal rights and Nazi in Germany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Animal rights and Nazi in Germany - Essay Example Vivisection was first banned in Nazi Germany. Immediately after the Nazis took power, regulation on animal protection was passed. This was followed by regulation of the slaughter of poikilotherms. The prime minister of Prussia, Goring announced an end to suffering and unbearable torture in animal experiments. He threatened that those who continue to treat animals as inanimate property would end up in concentration camps (Sax, 2000). Hermann Goring also banned animal trapping and made sweeping restrictions on hunting and shoeing of horses. Boiling of crabs and lobsters was also regulated. On one occasion, a fisherman was taken to a concentration camp for cutting up a bait frog. In 1933, Reich animal protection act was enacted to protect animals. The law prohibited the use of animals in film making, forceful feeding of fowls and tearing up the thighs of frogs which are alive. This was followed by enactment of a decree by Prussian ministry of education which facilitated education on animal protection. Enforcement became a challenge causing the regulations to become weak. Some laws were revised, and later many lax provisions were

PALETIVE CARE FOR LUNGS CANSER PATIENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

PALETIVE CARE FOR LUNGS CANSER PATIENT - Essay Example â€Å"Bronchogenic carcinoma is a major cause of mortality world-wide and the survival rate has not improved significantly in the last 20 years. Over 150000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed in Europe every year but less than 10 percent are cured†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Doyle, Hanks , Cherny, and Calman, K., 2005) The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines pain as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage. (Morrow, 2009). It is an experience and assessment is difficult. There is no simple definition for palliative care also, and the definition based on the World Health Organization states â€Å"A Palliative care is care that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing life-threatening illness. With palliative care particular attention is given to the prevention, assessment, and treatment of pain and other symptoms, and to the provision of psychological, spiritual and  emotional support.† (Avert, 2010) Due to lack of effective surgical and medical cure especially for the lung tumors, the importance of palliative cure in this area has significantly increased. In the disease management of lung cancer major surgery is rarely justified for palliation. â€Å"The National Council for Hospice and Specialist Palliative Care Services (1997) has defined psychosocial care as concerned with the psychological and emotional well being of the patient and their family/carers, including issues of self-esteem, insight into an adaptation to the illness and its consequences, communication, social functioning and relationships.† (Jeffrey, 2003, p.1) Palliative care for the patients who are at the verge of death has several dimensions to it apart from the pain associated with the disease. Understanding these following factors is very important as the entire gamut of the care hinges on appreciating the complexities of these factors, as the issue is not

Domestic Violence is a Serious Public Health Issue Essay

Domestic Violence is a Serious Public Health Issue - Essay Example Thus, focusing on the theory of mindful space, this essay will illustrate how domestic violence can be prevented, if not at least avoided, by focusing on its primary victim - women. Domestic violence is a serious public health issue that often leads to fatality for victims or serious emotional, psychological, and mental problems for survivors. However as research illustrates, such occurrence is not the result of a single isolated event, but the product of a continuing pattern of abuse that usually "escalates through time in severity and frequency", such that women usually ignore lesser acts of violence until it becomes destructive and unpreventable (cited in Health, 1998, p.1468). In this respect, domestic violence can be prevented if its would-be victims can detect the lesser forms of aggression and employ effective measures even before domestic violence becomes destructive. Such approach, however, is difficult to achieve given the definition that today's literature attaches to viol ence. As Burlae (2004) points out, most definitions identify violence only after it has begun, making it difficult for victims to stop them. Hence, by understanding violence in terms of intimidation, coercion, and emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, women tend to ignore the lesser and less noticeable forms of aggression, allowing the aggression to escalate and become destructive. Such reactions from women can be attributed to today's patriarchal society where cultural norms, impose on them certain roles that make them vulnerable to these acts of violence. Using Virginia Woolf's phrase "angel in the house" description, Burlae explains that the roles women take within the family setting of being charming, sympathetic, selfless, and mindful of others illustrate "characteristics that are antithetical to the possession of one's own territory", making them vulnerable to acts of aggression (2004, p.87). Awareness, in this respect, requires more than disseminating information on what is domestic violence, but instead, re-orienting the victims', especially women, a perception of what constitutes violence. In this respect, Burlae proposes the "theory of mindful space" to help women identify cues early on and help them respond accordingly. As Burlae suggests, violence should be understood as an invasion of one's bodily, personal and cognitive spaces (2004, pp.94-97), which although not always violent per se can be damaging and destructive if left unchecked. Thus, while a husband being passive aggressive to his wife may not be violent itself, it is a violation of his wife's cognitive space, which could escalate to more violent behavior if allowed to persist repeatedly. Hence, he suggests being attentive to such violations of space and setting limits to determine when it is time to seek help, take action, or disengage from a relationship. In this respect, clinicians and social workers play an integral role in helping would-be victims identify invasions of space and craf t preventive strategies.  Ã‚  

Women in mathematics,Science,and Engineering Essay

Women in mathematics,Science,and Engineering - Essay Example In this paper, the status and role of women in math, science, and engineering in Canada will be reviewed in order to determine how successful one of the most developed of such societies has been in its efforts. Canada was chosen as a focus for study because there is sufficient evidence in that nation’s research literature to make good comparisons between women’s standing and men’s standing in the relevant career fields. The paper will review the professional opportunities and challenges that women face in math, science, and engineering, as well as the political, economic, and social issues that impact on the role women play. The resource that will be used to review the relevant data will be a comprehensive report titled Women in Science and Engineering in Canada, produced by the Corporate Planning and Policy Directorate (CPPC) of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Following the review of the information, a conclusion and recommendati ons will be offered regarding how successful Canada has been in promoting participation among women and what the nation can do to improve in its efforts. The CPPC indicates that only 3% of women in Canada have careers in the technological fields including sciences and engineering, while 10.5% of men have such careers (p. 29). Further, the workforce in those fields was made up, in 2004, of only 22% women, despite the fact that women hold approximately 40% of the Bachelor’s degrees given in appropriate fields of study (p. 30-31). Women have equal to higher unemployment rates than men, despite the fact that their overall numbers are less than a third of men’s within the relevant fields (p. 31). They are less likely to hold management positions, even among groups with similar levels of degree attainment (p. 32). In private and corporate enterprise research and development careers, their numbers of participation range from lows of less than 20% to highs of 25% regardless of degree levels achieved (p. 41). In the government research and development sector, where great efforts have been made to increase participation in the last three decades, women’s overall rates of participation have increased from 3% of the workforce in 1980, but they still stand at just 20% by 2009 (p. 42). Even in the public world of the higher academies, where the CPPC notes that â€Å"employment equity programs† have resulted in women’s participation rates growing at levels up to five times higher than that of men in recent decades, the highest level of women making up any particular discipline’s overall numbers of full professorships or associate professorships is less than one third. Most fields show that women hold less than 20% of such positions (p. 37). These figures hold across all age groups and degree groups, indicating that lower participation rates among women are a system-wide problem (p. 39). The CPPC summarizes that for the academies part icularly â€Å"the hiring statistics present a rather slow and steady improvement for women. There has been progress over the last decade according to the data†¦ but gender equality remains a distant possibility† (p. 39). Overall rates, including both public and private career groups, support these conclusions. The employment facts for women in math, science and engineering in both the public and private sectors, as shown in these and other figures, indicates that women are underrepresented. The CPPC considered a number of possible reasons why this occurs. One

History of Atlanta Essay Example for Free

History of Atlanta Essay Even by the standard of America, Atlanta is a young city. Even before it became a settlement, such cities like Cincinnati, Charleston, Chattanooga and New Orleans were already thriving cities. Atlanta can be said to be a bright, aggressive and brash town with the rough ages smoothed by time. The city dashes with the charm of the south. Atlanta has a unique and proud heritage despite its relatively young age and has a past that is worth being preserved. Even though Atlanta was in the South, it was not however of the south from the beginning. It begun as a small railway crossing. As such, it was established as a railway terminus. The culture, values and mores of the town resembled those of the frontier towns of the Old West than of the cities of the Old South. The catalyst for its growth and economy still remains transportation. The city always attracted men and women who possessed vision from the beginning, the opportunists who possessed the foresight to offer the facilities that would make Atlanta become one of the most important cities in the Southeast. The Creek and Cherokee Indians owned the land that is now Atlanta some one hundred and fifty years ago (Robert, 1981). When the first white settlement was founded on the banks of the Chattahoochee River near the Indian village of Standing Peachtree, the United States was well into war. This was in the year eighteen twelve. The white people and the Indians lived together until the year eighteen thirty five when the leaders of Cherokee nation consented under the Treaty of New Echota to leave their lands and move west. During this period, the Cherokee lands were officially under the possession of Georgia, an act that resulted into the infamous Trail of Tears. Farmers and craftsmen from the mountains of North Georgia, Carolinas and Virginia were the early settlers in the area of Atlanta. These early settlers were in most part hardworking and deeply religious. Through lottery disbursements, they came to possess their lands. They lived in harmony and peace with their Indian neighbors. They also owned a few slaves. They built schools and churches. They often traveled to Decatur to trade besides marketing their cotton in Macon which was a hundred miles to the south. In the antebellum south, this society was as close to being termed yeoman as possible. In the metropolitan Atlanta area, some of their pre-Civil War churches, homes, mills and cemeteries are still in existence. The inception of Atlanta was the integration of necessity and geography made possible by the steam engine. The construction of a trade route from the coast of Georgia to the Midwest was voted by the Georgia General Assembly in the year eighteen-thirty six. It was meant to be a state railroad which was to facilitate trade between the state and other regions. The terminal for the railroad was to be at the sparsely populated Georgia Piedmont. It was to run from a particular point on the Tennessee line close to the Tennessee River, starting near Rossville to a point on the Southeastern bank of the Chattahoochee River that could be easily accessed by the branch railroads (Reed, 2006). The name of the railroad was to be the Western and Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia. Stephen Harriman Long, an army engineer with a wealth of experience, was offered the task of finding the most practical route foe the new rail line. He chose a site that was eight miles south of the river. The Indian trails and connecting ridges converged at this point. This point that he chose proved to be just the right site with an ideal climate. The stake was driven near the present Five Points in Downtown Atlanta. Atlanta is positioned in the Piedmont Plateau with an elevation of one thousand ands fifty feet yet no natural barriers can impede on the growth of the city. Atlanta grew developed like the towns in the West between the periods that long drove his stake on the ground and the beginning of the civil war. Gold was stroke in the rail lines instead of mining. Opportunists, salesmen, merchants, craftsmen and land speculators were soon attracted by the railroad workers little settlement which was aptly named Terminus. What followed were the warehouses, ironworks, textile industry, sawmills and banks. The city later came to be called Marthasville in honor of the Governors daughter. However, prominent citizens considered this mane to be too long and bucolic for the progressive city and hence were changed to Atlanta. The patterns of settlement were slowly being formed. A substantial merchant residential community known as Mechanicsville thrived around the rail yards. Near the White Hall Tavern grew the West End. Luxurious home begun to be built on Marietta, Whitehall, Broad, lower Peachtree and Washington Street as residential avenues of important citizens begun to be established. However, pre-War Atlanta was not a quiet business community. According to Franklin Garrett, the town was classified as tough even as the number of good, moral citizens increased. The city distinctively developed as a railroad center with vices that were characteristic to rough frontier settlements. Gambling dives, brothels, resorts and drinking were normal in the city and the sporting elements were insulting on their defiance of the public order (Robert, 1981). When the Civil War erupted, Atlanta was already an important city. It had a population of more than ten thousand individuals, banks, manufacturing and retail shops, four rail lines, banks, carriage and wheelwright shops, three thousand eight-hundred homes, tanneries, warehouses, mills and iron foundries. It became an important shipping and supply center for the Confederacy. It also possessed the facilities which made it necessary for the Union forces, led by Sherman, to seize and destroy it. In July 1864, General William Tecumseh Sherman began his campaign from Chattanooga to Atlanta. The city surrendered to his forces on September 2 after a series of battles and a siege of the city lasting for a month. The city was on fire not because of Union shells but mainly due to the box of explosives that the retreating Confederates blew up. Evacuation of the city and the destruction of buildings that could be used by the confederates were ordered by Sherman. By the time Sherman started his march to the sea, the only structures left standing in Atlanta were about four hundred buildings. The city became a ghost town of ashes and rubble. When the residents came back and begun rebuilding the town, the city was still smoldering. The residents came back with a new and stronger spirit than before. Their confidence in the future of Atlanta grew and within five years after the holocaust, the city was rebuilt and its prewar population redoubled. The city adopted a new form of architecture which waxes popular during that era since the original antebellum architecture was almost entirely destroyed during the period of the war. However, some of the few fine whitewashed columned mansions that were in downtown Atlanta survived even though others were later destroyed to provide room for state and city buildings. The limits of the city were originally circular and extended one mile from the zero milepost. Its initial expansions were circular too. The demographic patterns of the city were reestablished as before the war. West End continued to thrive as a residential business community of the upper class. Along the Peachtree and Washington Streets, wealthy white citizens established and built Victorian mansions. Prosperous black enclaves also developed despite the fact that segregation existed in the city. These enclaves were concentrated along Auburn Avenue after 1906. Summerhill, Vine City and many other residential pockets around the central city emerged as black neighborhoods. The city experienced rapid growth from the time that the Civil War ended through the last decade of the nineteenth century. The central business district expanded from Union Depot toward the it’s limits by the end of eighteen seventy (Best of Images of America, 2000). The city was dissected by a path of railroad tracks which converged in the lower downtown gulch. The flow of traffic over the tracks was facilitated by the construction of a network of viaducts that were planned in the turn of the twentieth century and completed twenty five years later. The business district was moved to another level by the viaducts which led to the establishment of another area that is presently known as Underground Atlanta. For the railroad depots, a simple utilitarian Italianate architecture was encouraged and this influenced so much the design of the design of the commercial buildings that were constructed before the turn of the century. The foundation of Atlantas economy within this period still became the railroads. This continued through to the Second World War when emphasis shifted to truck and air transport. The citys growth was spurred by transportation and private enterprise. In the final decade of nineteenth century, new rail lines were added to the citys network. Its dominance as southeasts railroad center became established with the consolidation of ten radiating lines within that decade which included divisions of Southern Railway totaling five. With the recession and depression of the economy of the nation in the nineteen eighties, a series of fairs and expositions were staged by an Atlanta promoter to attract business in this area. In an attempt to establish a new economic base in the postwar south, the International Cotton Exposition was staged in 1881. Atlanta was advertised as a commercial and transportation center by the Cotton States and International Exposition of 1895 which made Atlanta to emerge as one of the major cities of the Southeast. The Exposition became recognized worldwide and by 1903, many regional and national companies had their headquarters in Atlanta. The growth of Atlanta as an industrial base, contrasting it with the rest of the south which was inclined toward agriculture, came as a result of the fair and exposition. Industrial complexes were established along the rail lines, textile mills also came south and mill villages were also constructed to house the workers. The residential perimeters also expanded with the introduction of horse drawn street car in the 1871. There was also the emergence of several private developers. Among the notable private developers was Joel Hurt who built the fast skyscraper in Atlanta. He also established the first planned residential suburb in Atlanta. Atlanta adopted the Chicago school of architecture in the establishment of skyscrapers of elevator buildings. The citys skyline was transformed from the picturesque High Victorian to a collection of multipurpose skyscraper office buildings and hotels. These new buildings attracted a large railroad and insurance. Atlantas distinctive personality is offered by the early commercial buildings and the Victorian and post-Victorian settlements that were build between 1890 and 1930. Atlanta in the southeasts capital city, a future city with strong ties to the past, its soul being the old in the new, a heritage that enhances the quality of life in a modern city.

Artificial Selection Essay Example for Free

Artificial Selection Essay Many different species have been altered through selective breeding. Selective breeding is a very common practice in the livestock breeding and has impacted the livestock industry greatly by using information obtain from research of the myostatin protein. History of selective breeding of cattle In the 1800s the demand for a better quality as well as quantity of beef was high. Cattle breeders begin to breed select breeds of cattle that appeared larger together in hopes of producing offspring with a larger quantity of meat. The selective breeding began with the Durham Shorthorns and Friesian cattle. (Lee, 2004) The result of the selective breeding produced 3 different strands of cattle breeds the Belgian Blue, Piedmontes and Parthenias. These breeds of cattle all have one similarity, that has proved to be very valuable, the inactive Myostatin protein. Due to the inactive Myostatin protein these cattle produce roughly 20 % more meat than other cattle. The Belgian Blue cattle are a common breed of cattle in the beef and livestock industry representing the double muscle trait caused by the inactive Myostatin protein. Myostatin In 1997 a research team from John Hopkins School of Medicine led by geneticists Dr. Se-Jin Lee and Alexandra McPherron released information from their research on how proteins regulate the growth of tissue in mice. Through their research the team unintentionally discovered the growth differentiation factor 8 (GDF-8) also known as Myostatin protein. With the discovery of the Myostatin protein the team decided to produce a mutant strain of mice that did not have the Myostatin protein. The results showed that the mutant mice had 3 times the muscle tissue than that of a regular mouse. The research showed that with the absence of the myostatin protein the muscle tissue did not have anything to regulate the size; therefore muscle tissue was extremely larger. The Myostatin (GDF-8) protein is a member of the transforming growth factor ? superfamily of secreted growth and differentiation factor. (Lee, 2004) Myostatin is a secreted protein that acts as a negative regulator of skeletal muscle mass. During embryogenesis, myostatin is expressed by cells in the myotome and in developing skeletal muscle and acts to regulate the final number of muscle fibers that are formed. (Lee, 2004) The research of Dr Se-Jin Lee and his colleagues brought the discovery of the Myostatin protein to the forefront of science. However they were not the only group of researcher. Two other research group have also reported finding on the Myostatin mutation. Micheal Georges of the University

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Policy Analysis

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Policy Analysis Policy Analysis on Female Genital Mutilation FGM The policy on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), adopted by the Human Rights Commission of Ontario, Canada, in 1996 (and further revised it in 2000) acknowledges the practice as an internationally recognized violation against women and girls human rights and looks at the domestic implications of Canadas obligations as a signatory to international conventions and treaties which recognize FGM as a human rights violation. The policys focus is on the practice of FGM in Canada by immigrant groups who have brought the practice to the country from their countries of origin in Africa and parts of the Middle East and Asia. The policy looks at human rights issues as well as health, social and criminal law concerns. The Ontario Commission acknowledges the complex social and cultural roots of FGM and the need for dialogue and education initiatives within the at-risk communities in Ontario and across Canada. However, it underlines that arguments based on a defence of cultural or religious values sh ould not be accepted as justification for the practice, nor for discriminating against women who have been subjected to, or perceived to have been subjected to, genital mutilation. Significantly, immigrant groups and advocacy organizations in Canada have acknowledged the need to deal with FGM as an internationally recognized health and human rights concern. This essay will first of all define FGM and look at the reasons the practice has survived in some regions despite international condemnation. It will also give a summary of the key elements of the Ontario Commissions policy, the arguments it uses to justify its actions and also show that in this case, the need to protect and promote the rights of women and girls is more important than concerns of cultural imperialism. The policy adopted by the Human Rights Commission of Ontario on FGM is based on the over-arching argument that the importance of good health to a womans well-being and that of her family and society cannot be overstated. Without reproductive health and freedom, women cannot fully exercise their fundamental human rights, such as those relating to education and employment. Womens disproportionate poverty, low social status, and reproductive role expose them to high health risks, resulting in needless and largely preventable suffering and deaths. The benefits of eliminating the harmful and painful practice of FGM are easily demonstrated, yet the practice persists for cultural and traditional reasons. FGM is a gender-specific violation of the rights of girls and women to physical integrity. Over the years, FGM has become recognized not only as a health hazard and a form of violence against women and girls, but also as a human rights issue under international law. Efforts at the international level, particularly by United Nations agencies, have placed FGM on womens health and human rights agendas. FGM is practised by many ethnic groups, from the east to the west coast of Africa, in southern parts of the Arabian peninsula, along the Persian Gulf and among some migrants from these areas in Europe, Australia and North America. It has also been reported in some minority groups in India, Malaysia and Indonesia. In these societies, FGM is considered a rite of passage preparing young girls for womanhood and marriage. However, often performed without anaesthetic under septic conditions, FGM or female circumcision as it is sometimes called, can cause death or permanent health problems as well as severe pain. Despite these grave risks, its practitioners look on it as an integral part of their cultural and ethnic identity, and some perceive it as a religious obligation. The most severe form of FGM, infibulation, which involves removal of the clitoris, results in trauma that is repeated after each childbirth. In many communities FGM is believed to reduce a womans libido, and thereby is further believed to help her resist illicit sexual acts. Cultural ideals of femininity and modesty, which include the notion that girls are clean and beautiful is also another reason for which FGM is carried out (WHO). The practice has been condemned in many international fora and by womens groups as a manifestation of gender inequality and an attempt by society to exert total control over women. In countries where FGM is widely practised, however, it is often supported by both men and women, usually without question, and anyone departing from the norm may face condemnation, harassment. It is often practised even when it is known to inflict harm upon girls because the perceived social benefits of the practice are deemed higher than its disadvantages (UNICEF, 2005a). Though no religious scriptures prescribe the practice, practitioners often believe it has religious support. Religious leaders take varying positions with regard to FGM: some promote it, some consider it irrelevant to religion, and others contribute to its elimination. In most societies, the procedure is considered a cultural tradition, which is often used as an argument for its continuation (WHO). Local structures of power and authority, such as community leaders, religious leaders, circumcisers, and even some medical personnel can contribute to upholding the practice. The age at which the procedure is performed varies depending on the ethnic group and location. It is sometimes performed on babies, more commonly on girls between ages 4 and 8, but also in adolescence, or as late as the time of marriage or during the first pregnancy. Adult women are under pressure to submit to it in order to ensure the status which marriage and childbearing confer and to demonstrate solidarity with fa mily and community. Younger women and girls have no choice at all (UNFPA). The Human Rights Commission of Ontario has successfully and forcefully used several arguments to make its case against the practice of FGM among minority communities living on Canadian territory. International Law: FGM has been condemned by numerous international and regional bodies including the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the Organization of African Unity and the World Medical Association. In 1995, the Platform for Action of the World Conference on Women in Beijing included a section on the girl child and urged governments, international organizations and Non-governmental groups to develop policies and programmes to eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl child including FGM. The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women defines violence against women as encompassing, inter alia, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women. The Commission underlines that in various African countries where the procedure is performed, comprehensive action plans have been developed by womens groups to attempt to eliminate the practice- although overall progress has been slow. FGM has been outlawed in Sudan since 1946, but it continues to be widely practised. In Burkina-Faso and Egypt, resolutions were signed by the respective Ministers of Health in 1959, recommending that only partial clitoridectomy be allowed, and decreeing that it be performed only by doctors. In 1978, as a direct result of the efforts of the Somali womens movement, Somalia established a Commission to abolish infibulation. In 1984, participants from twenty African countries, as well as representatives of international organizations attending a seminar in Dakar, Senegal, on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children and recommended that the practice be abolished. African states acknowledged that there was a need to establish strong, on-going education programmes for meaningful progress towards elimination of the practice. Rights of the Child: The policy points to the link between FGM and the rights of the child, saying that the Convention on the Rights of the Child asserts that children should have the possibility to develop physically in a healthy and normal way, with adequate medical attention and be protected from all forms of cruelty. The Convention establishes the rights of children to gender equality, to freedom from all forms of mental and physical violence and maltreatment and to the highest attainable standard of health. An article of the Convention explicitly requires States to take all effective and appropriate measures to abolish traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children. FGM and health rights: The physical and psychological health complications resulting from genital mutilation of women have been extensively documented. The partial or complete loss of sexual function constitutes a violation of a womans right to physical integrity and mental health. Domestic implications of international human rights law: the Commission argues that since Canada plays a prominent role in the international arena as a supporter and promoter of womens human rights and is a signatory to over twenty major international conventions and treaties, the province of Ontario would be in compliance with its obligations by taking steps to eradicate this practice. Domestic or national courts are required to interpret implementing legislation in conformity with international convention insofar as the domestic legislation permits. This is also the case in Europe where legislation prohibiting the practice of FGM exists in Sweden, France and Great Britain where the procedure carries a penalty of imprisonment. Criminal Law: The Criminal Code can be used to control the transportation of female children outside the country for the purpose of obtaining FGM. A memorandum was issued to all Chiefs of Police and the Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police, stating that FGM is a criminal offence. In 1997, FGM was included in the Criminal Code and put under aggravated assault- any person who commits an aggravated assault is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years. If a parent is present and is in agreement with the act of FGM being performed on their child as well as if the parent performs the operation themselves can be convicted. Duty to report: In Ontario, a duty to report FGM exists under the policy of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO). Under the CPSO policy, the performance of female circumcision, excision, infibulation and/or reinfibulation by a physician licensed in Ontario, unless medically indicated, would be regarded as professional misconduct. Under Ontarios Child and Family Services Act,42 there is a duty to report information with respect to a child who is in need of protection. This duty exists despite the provisions of any other Act. If a person has reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is or may be in need of protection, the person is obliged to report the suspicion to appropriate authorities. The Ontario Human Rights Code: The Ontario Human Rights Code, recognizes the inherent worth and dignity of every person in Ontario. The creation of a society in which all persons can live and work in an environment that is free from discrimination is central to the policy objectives of the Ontario Human Rights Commission in virtue of the Code. There are new immigrants to Canada who may not be aware that some of their traditional or culturally rooted attitudes and values may result in practices that are clearly in conflict with Canadian law, including the Ontario Human Rights Code. FGM is practised within certain immigrant groups- where the families might not consider the operation as a form of physical or sexual abuse. The Commission does recognise the need to treat such issues in a sensitive manner and to educate the public on human rights issues. The need to work with communities: The Commission acknowledges the complex social and cultural roots of FGM and the need for dialogue and education initiatives within the at-risk communities in Ontario and across Canada. However, it is the Commissions view that arguments based on a defence of cultural or religious values should not be accepted as justification for the practice, nor for discriminating against women who have been subjected to, or perceived to have been subjected to, genital mutilation. The Commission is committed to working with members and organizations of the at-risk communities, as well as with other agencies in the public sector in developing public education initiatives around FGM. The efforts of the Commission, together with those of the affected communities and concerned organizations, can help to create an environment in which people are encouraged to eradicate the practice, without imposing a threat to the dignity and cultural identity of the affected communities. The Commissions focus is very correctly on eradicating FGM among immigrants in Toronto which are from the regions where FGM is practised. It is estimated that there are 70,000 immigrants and refugees from Somalia and 10,000 from Nigeria. Reliable statistics on the incidence of FGM are not available. However, based on discussions with members of the communities that are at risk, there is some evidence to indicate that FGM is practised in Ontario and across Canada and that in some cases, families from those communities send their daughters out of Canada to have the operation performed. The Commission is working with local non-governmental groups to spread the message. The National Organization of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women of Canada has prepared a workshop manual for health care workers and facilitators working with communities that have traditionally practised FGM. The aim is to educate participants about the health and legal consequences of FGM, to correct misperceptions and fallacies about the tradition and to support efforts to eradicate the practice. As there were no co-ordinated efforts between various professionals and institutions, and no consistent policy in Canada regarding FGM, members of affected communities requested that the Minister Responsible for Womens Issues establish an Ontario FGM Prevention Task Force. The Task Force, an inter-ministerial/agency/community initiative, was mandated to develop and recommend strategies and policies designed to provide support for girls and women who have been subjected to FGM, to prevent the practice, and to support community work by, and for women affected by genital mutilation. The focus is not on imposing a foreign value system (the concept of cultural imperialism) on societies in Africa etc. but asking immigrants and religious groups which have come to live in Canada to act in accordance with the countrys concerns about the health of women and their reproductive rights. The policy is therefore based around the idea of the empowerment of women and of ensuring an end to discrimination. The Commissions policy has had a direct impact on immigrant communities living in Ontario but also helped to publicise the problem in other parts of Canada and the world. In 1994, in a landmark ruling, Canada also became the first Western country to recognise FGM as grounds for granting asylum. The Human Rights Commission of Ontario has therefore taken a courageous and ground-breaking policy stance to tackle a serious violation of the rights of women.