Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Vouvoyer in Translation

This is a very interesting word that the French may use to reprimand someone, or to remind them, or inform them of status. Essentially,  vouvoyer (pronounced voo vwa  yay) means to use vous with someone. Vous is the more formal version of you, whereas tu is informal. Example Il faut vouvoyer le chef.You should use vous with the boss (equivalent to saying call him sir).   Related Le vouvoiement - the action of using vous with someone.

Monday, December 23, 2019

Education Is Killing Students Creativity - 892 Words

Creativity is undoubtedly the most essential element to social change in the daily life of people living in this era and society. Creativity as defined by Merriam-Webster’s dictionary is â€Å"the ability to make new things or think of new ideas,† ; creativity is in grave danger in today’s society, with the increased removal of the arts from public education and the increase of technology usage in children, kids are being programmed not to think, understand, and create for themselves. Social change is most directly driven by innovations in technology, education, and design through the creativity these innovations spark in the younger generations. Tan Le’s Emotiv delves into the idea that our communication with machines does not have to be limited to direct, physical interaction, and can occur within our minds, Ken Robinson focuses on the idea that public education is killing students creativity by valuing certain subjects over others, and finally Dale Dou gherty reveals to listeners the wonderful world of makers and what they’re adding to society through thinking outside the box. All three of the TED talks selected focus around the topic of creativity and the idea that it is often ignored and undervalued but is fundamental to the evolution of society in the coming ages: Tan Le, Ken Robinson, and Dale Dougherty all promote this idea through their speeches and ideas. In relation to creativity, one would generally think most directly to the arts and design but this element ofShow MoreRelatedPros and Cons of Public Education Essay1676 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States prides itself on its public education system making it a core value of many families. The level of education a person has will influence their career achievements. Americans expect their public system of education to provide a solid curriculum. Most of the people in the United States place their trust in the public school system in which they support through taxes. This trust although is contradicted by the public system of education’s current shape. Much of the schools in theRead MoreWhy Today s Schools Just Aren t Cutting It1470 Words   |  6 Pagesdeveloping society. Not all students are cut out to sit in a classroom for seven hours a day and sit through boring lectures. Not only are today’s schools not fit for most children, they are killing creativity and keeping students from expressing themselves and being curious about the world around them. With pressure from getting students prepared to take high-stakes test and preparing high school students for college and the future, schools are limiting creativity. â€Å"Creativity flourishes at the intersectionsRead MoreCanada s Education System Of Education1673 Words   |  7 Pagessurface, Canada’s education system appears to revolve around a well rounded and efficient structure. This notion, however, is far from the truth. Although Canada’s standard system of education may seem like a well balanced and efficient system, there needs to be major adjustments made to repair the holes that it has created.These problems include how schools are demanding students to learn unnecessary information that will not benefit most of them and how schools are preventing many students from doingRead MoreStop Stealing Dreams : Seth Godin At Tedxyouth @ Bfs927 Words   |  4 PagesWhat connections do you see to the ideas that suggested about Sir Ken school killing creativity? Sir Ken Robinson suggested that school totally destroys creativity and student’s behavior. Sir Ken felt the 21st century deprived students from being creative (TED 2006). Creativity was at the bottom of students list Sir Ken suggested. Sir Ken suggests that school was supporting the core subjects and did not feel creativity was important to student’s daily lives (TED 2006). Math, English, science andRead MoreOur Education System Is Killing Creativity Essay1090 Words   |  5 Pages WHERE DOES CREATIVITY COME FROM? It is often said that the creative adult is the child that survived, implying that there was some kind of death that occurred along the way. Logic knows what I had yet to figure out in leaving university; creativity cannot exist in solidarity. I cannot wake up one day and decide, â€Å"I will be creative without the preceding training and skills that are crucial to the creative process.† Dr. Larry Dossey, a physician of internal medicine says it as so: â€Å"Someone whoRead MoreCharles Murray And Ken Robinson1226 Words   |  5 Pagesthe major flaws are in the education system. Murray s problem lies with the false accreditation of the BA, while Robinson s problem revolves around the killing of creativity in schools. Murray and Robinson s opinions are certainly different, however, they both share the same ultimate goal regarding education. This goal is to rid the education system of these issues in order to create a more effective system of learning. There are surely many pr oblems with the education system today, and not allRead More No Child Left Behind1472 Words   |  6 Pageswars. Not just physical wars that I am considered about but also wars on education. The nation could destroy its own glory and way of the source of great future that it rely on by initiating a war on the minds of the children. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is a federal education policy that was developed in 2001. (Lagana-Riordan and Aguilar 135). NCLB is a program designed to minimize the differences in the level of education that white or rich people get to poor African-American, Hispanic or any otherRead MoreAnnotated Bibliography Essay1319 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ Stacy Perry MTE/562 Annotated Bibliography Gerald Thatcher WORKS CITED A comparison of norm-referencing and criterion-referencing methods for determining student grades in higher education. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2015, from http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/assessinglearning/06/normvcrit6.html This article is about the comparison of norm referencing and criterion referencing methods. The purpose of this is contrasting the two. It is about clear statements, and expectedRead MoreFederal Regulation Over National Curriculum And Testing Essay1727 Words   |  7 PagesThe education system in the United States could definitely use some serious changes. As of now, what we are doing is not producing the results it should and it would seem that it is time for a change. But the last thing this change should be is a federal regulation over national curriculum and testing, if anything, that would increase the current problem. There are numerous issues with the current education system to be addressed. One of the main focuses will be on its lack of concerns for students’Read MoreEffectiveness And Use Of School Uniforms1140 Words   |  5 Pagesthe purpose of schools uniforms among parents and school administrators have increased in the last few years. The debate on whether scho ol uniforms affect students’ performance have challenged also. School uniforms are often seen as unstylish and unattractive due to lack of design and color scheme. The use of school uniforms are used to aid students’ behavior, performance, and attendance. It provides an opportunity of growth in a student’s physical, social, and moral development. In addition, the long

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Muslim Immigration Free Essays

The sentiments supporting Muslim immigration into this country misses one important aspect of the Islam faith. Their Quran teaches annihilation of all kafir civilizations (that’s us). Deadly anti-Christian attacks are commonplace in the Muslim world; over 2,000 in just the last three years, including church bombings and the slaughter of any who refused to convert to Islam. We will write a custom essay sample on Muslim Immigration or any similar topic only for you Order Now At a time when we need to be alerted to these dangers, political and religious leaders, as well as the media, are instead joining the Muslim Brotherhood-manufactured battle against â€Å"Islamophobia.† In the face of the Islam-inspired genocide of Christians, this strikes me as a grotesque inversion of priorities. I put â€Å"Islamophobia† in quotes because a phobia is an irrational fear. If you check history, including recent history, people should have reasonable fear of authentic Islam. These true historical facts, were all by Muslims: 1968, Robert Kennedy, shot/killed. 1972, Munich Olympics, Israeli athletes kidnapped/massacred. 1972, Pan Am 747, Cairo. Hijacked/blown up. 1973, Pan Am 707, grenade attack. Rome. 33 killed. 1979, Iranian US Embassy takeover. 1980’s, Americans kidnapped. Lebanon. 1983, Beirut. US Marine barracks blown up. 1985, cruise ship Achille-Lauro hijacked, 70-year-old American passenger thrown overboard in his wheelchair. 1985, TWA Flight 847, hijacked. Athens, US Navy Diver, rescuing passengers, murdered 1988, Pan Am Flight 103, bombed. 1993, World Trade Center, bombed (first time). 1998, US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, bombed. 2001, four airliners hijacked/crashed. World Trade Center/Pentagon. Thousands killed. 2002, US fought Afghanistan war against Muslims. 2002, reporter Daniel Pearl, kidnapped/beheaded. 2013, Boston Marathon bombing, four killed, 264 injured. 2015 Chattanooga, Tennessee military center, five killed 2015 Inland Regional Center, San Bernardino, California, 14 killed 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, 49 killed, more wounded 2017 — New York, eight pedestrians killed/dozen injured near World Trade Center Regrettably, singular focus on terroristic atrocities are misleading. It feeds into the narrative that the threat of Islam is limited to a handful of extremists. But, there is a much bigger problem: widespread and unrelenting persecution of Christians and Jews is found in every Muslim society and in Europe. The attitude of Muslims toward non-Muslims is not one of hate, fear, or envy, but rather contempt. The pervasive nature of the persecution, including discrimination, intimidation, rapes, abductions, forced conversions and the destruction of homes/churches, suggests that it stems from the core texts and teachings of mainstream Islam itself, not a distortion of Islam. Muslims have not misinterpreted Islam †¦ more likely the misunderstood are those who, though well-intentioned, have no real-life experience of Islam. Islam is presented as a religion of peace and justice, not unlike Christianity. But, Muslims and Christians do not share a common faith. These misguided statements aren’t based on teachings nor history of Islam, but ignorance. Read the Quran yourself. This aggressively, anti-Western culture which has a hold on Europe was enabled by immigration policies based on an uncritical view of Islam. Europeans, naively assuming Muslims would assimilate to Western values, are forced to acclimate to Islamic values— polygamy, misogyny, honor violence, female genital mutilation and anti-Semitism. Jews are fleeing Europe in numbers unseen since the Nazi era. With just 4 million Muslims in the 66 million UK population, there are over 3,000 mosques, 130 Sharia courts, 50 Sharia councils, numerous â€Å"no-go† areas, approximately 70 percent of Muslims on free benefits/housing, and Muslim mayors in leading cities. Europeans are losing their civilization, not because they are â€Å"Islamophobic,† but, because of ignorance of Islam. They obediently accepted the â€Å"peaceful† depiction of Islam, presented to them by social and governmental elites, and are paying the price. Hijrah is the takeover of a nation without going to war. Never before has our immigration policy threatened our current way of life, Republican form of government, and our moral base. It’s sobering. Yet, our clergy, political leaders and media are guilty of promoting the same pleasant picture of Islam and immigration that has thrown Europe into chaos. We need to correct our course fast. How to cite Muslim Immigration, Papers

Saturday, December 7, 2019

K-12 Education free essay sample

In his  MINI CRITIQUE column that appears in The Philippine Star, October 14, 2010, Isagani Cruz  summarized the following pros and cons on the K+12 debate: The PROS (which is basically the side of the government, well-heeled and articulate leaders from the academe, the business community and the media): 1. â€Å"Enhancing the quality of basic education in the Philippines is urgent and critical. † 2. â€Å"The poor quality of basic education is reflected in the low achievement scores of Filipino students. One reason is that students do not get adequate instructional time or time on task. † 3. International test results consistently show Filipino students lagging way behind practically everybody else in the world. In the 2008 mathematics exam, for example, we came in dead last. 4. â€Å"The congested curriculum partly explains the present state of education. † Twelve years of content are crammed into ten years. 5. â€Å"This quality of education is reflected in the inadequate preparation of high school graduates for the world of work or entrepreneurship or higher education. We will write a custom essay sample on K-12 Education or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page If ten years were adequate, how come employers do not hire fresh high school graduates? How come most high school graduates flunk the UPCAT? 6. â€Å"Most graduates are too young to enter the labor force. † Since most children start Grade 1 when they are 6 years old, they do not reach the legal employable age of 18 when they graduate from high school today. 7. â€Å"The current system also reinforces the misperception that basic education is just a preparatory step for higher education. † Why prioritize the minority of high school graduates that go to college? . â€Å"The short duration of the basic education program also puts the millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), especially the professionals, and those who intend to study abroad, at a disadvantage. Our graduates are not automatically recognized as professionals abroad. † The best examples are our engineering graduates, who are condemned to international jobs not befitting their professional status d ue to our not having a 12-year basic education cycle. 9. â€Å"The short basic education program affects the human development of the Filipino children. If we believe that 17-year-old high school graduates are emotionally, psychologically, and intellectually mature, why do we require them to get parental consent before they get married? The CONS (which are basically the madlang people whose pocketbooks would be adversely impacted by the proposed additional 2 years of basic education): 1. Parents have to shell out more money (for transportation and food) for the education of their children. 2. The government does not have the money to pay for two more years of free education, since it does not even have the money to fully support today’s ten years. DepEd must first solve the lack of classrooms, furniture and equipment, qualified teachers, and error-free textbooks. 3. We can do in ten years what everyone else in the world takes 12 years to do. Why do we have to follow what the rest of the world is doing? We are better than all of them. Filipinos right now are accepted in prestigious graduate schools in the world, even with only ten years of basic education. 4. As far as the curriculum is concerned, DepEd should fix the current subjects instead of adding new ones. The problem is the content, not the length, of basic education. As an editorial put it, we need to have better education, not more education. 5. A high school diploma will not get anybody anywhere, because business firms will not hire fresh high school graduates. 6. Every family dreams of having a child graduate from college. 7. While students are stuck in Grades 11 and 12, colleges and universities will have no freshmen for two years. This will spell financial disaster for many private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). 8. The drop-out rate will increase because of the two extra years. â€Å"The government has not yet shown the arguments of the opposition to be fallacious,† writes Cruz. On the other hand, Cruz characterizes the opposition (anti) as being â€Å"very vocal airing its arguments not only in newspapers, on radio, and on television, but even in the parliament of the streets. † â€Å"As of this writing,† Cruz writes, â€Å"I have not heard the opposition rebut the arguments of the government. In fact, as far as I can see, they have refused to even listen to the government. Since this is a public debate, Cruz contends that â€Å"we have to move from constructive speeches to rebuttal†. I think we really don’t have a compelling need to listen to rebuttals. Enough yakety yak already! What we need are objective, actual (empirical) cost-benefit and pedagogical studies to support or debunk the claims of either side. A promising start would be to read  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Len gth of School Cycle and the ‘Quality’ of Education† written by Felipe Porio published in the  Philippine Education Research Journal (PERJ).

Friday, November 29, 2019

Insect Mosquitoes Essay Example

Insect: Mosquitoes Essay Chapter I Introduction Background of the Study Mosquitoes nowadays are a problem for us humans. Mosquitoes are attracted by skin odors and the carbon dioxide in our breath. With our climate, it is easy for us Filipinos to get attracted by mosquitoes simply because we are sweating a lot. Because of mosquito bites, we can easily get diseases like West Nile Virus, the West Nile virus is contracted when a mosquito bites a human or animal. This virus can cause fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and rash in its early stages and can lead to paralysis. Dengue Fever, a contracted type of mosquito bite mainly during the day. Especially dangerous for children, dengue fever is found primarily in the tropics. It resembles viral flu and can be fatal. Malaria, also found primarily in tropical regions, mosquitoes carrying malaria bite during the night. Symptoms of this disease include fever, chills, headache, malaise and muscle ache. And Yellow Fever, Mostly found in South America and Africa, yellow fever resembles the symptoms of other diseases carried by mosquitoes. In addition to these flu-like symptoms, yellow fever can also cause backache and jaundice and can be fatal. The menace posted by mosquito bites have surged so much that mosquito control measurements are almost crucial to keep ourselves from contracting serious illnesses like the malaria or the West Nile Virus. Mosquito control is more significant than ever before. Infected mosquitoes are the main culprit behind the spreading of these diseases and avoiding mosquito bites is the only successful way to remain unhurt. Some Mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus are often active at dawn and dusk, which makes them less likely to be noticed. We will write a custom essay sample on Insect: Mosquitoes specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Insect: Mosquitoes specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Insect: Mosquitoes specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Mosquito bites can produce allergic reactions. Itchy red bumps, for instance, are considered allergic reactions to the insects saliva. More severe reactions include blisters, hives, bruises and intense inflammatory reactions. Our problem that we need to solve is the mosquitoes, because it carries the Dengue virus, which we Filipinos are aware of. As of this year, many people have died because of dengue. We want that we can help in our own way is to repel mosquito in our skin so we will not get hurt or get a bite from a mosquito. Statement of the Problem Our main goal is to create a mosquito repellent that is eco-friendly, yet effective in repelling mosquitoes. Also, compete with the standards of the commercialized repellent. The researchers aim to answer these following questions: 1. Are the organic mosquito repellent sticks better than the commercialized repellents? 2. Is using lemongrass and catnip possible in making effective organic mosquito repellent sticks? 3. Which is more effective? Basing on the number of mosquitoes repelled and killed. (Catnip stick, lemongrass stick, or both combined. ) Hypothesis The organic mosquito repellent sticks can be a substitute to a commercialized repellent, because it is more eco-friendly and maybe less harmful to the body especially the lungs. The researchers think that it is possible to make organic mosquito repellent sticks using lemongrass and catnip, since those two agents are known to be effective ingredients in making mosquito repellents. The researchers believe that the coil with both agents is much more effective, because the effects of both agents combine is much better than just one of the catnip or lemongrass. Definition of Terms . Mosquito-repelling incense -Usually shaped into a stick, and typically made from a dried paste of pyrethrum powder. -In the study, this refers to the product that the researchers are trying to create. 2. Lemongrass -A fragrant tropical grass that yields oil that smells lemony. -This refers to the tall grass used in making the repellent sticks. 3. Catnip -A natural mosquito repellent. -One of the main ingredien ts of our mosquito repellent sticks. 4. Malaria -Caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted via the bites of infected mosquitoes. In this study, this is the disease that is common in poor countries caused by a parasite 5. Dengue Fever -A contracted type of mosquito bite mainly during the day. Especially dangerous for children, is found primarily in the tropics. -In the study, this is the virus that is widely spreading in the Philippines that we want to prevent. 6. Nepetalactone It  is an organic compound first isolated from the plant catnip. -In the study, it is the main component of catnip that makes mosquitoes be repelled. Significance of the Study The significance of this study aims to help people prevent mosquitoes from staying in homes or schools. The researchers want to help people who get irritated by pesky mosquitoes. The researchers want to help certain people who encounter mosquitoes in their everyday life. 1. General Public a. The masses in general, since everyone needs to be protected from these insects for they are harmful to the body. 2. Campers b. These people like boy scouts and mountaineers like to stay outdoors, such as forests and mountainous areas, where there are a lot of mosquitoes. So the researchers want to help them repel mosquitoes on their camps. 3. Parents c. Parents want to prevent their children from getting bit by mosquitoes making them. Our organic mosquitoes repellent sticks will be a great help to these people 4. The Poor d. These people can’t afford to buy repellents for their homes. This will aid them, because it is easy to make and really affordable even to the poor. Scope and Limitation Our scope of the study is to make effective mosquito repellent sticks, to prevent mosquitoes from invading homes and other places. To lessen the risk of diseases caused by mosquitoes, such as Dengue Fever and Malaria. As a group we can only limit our organic repellent sticks to only prevent mosquitoes, but not to other insects. The researchers only aim to repel mosquitoes, but not to the extent that we would stop their existence. Chapter II Review of related literature Mosquito Coil Mosquito coil is mosquito-repelling incense, usually shaped into a spiral, and typically made from a dried paste of pyrethrum powder. The coil is usually held at the center of the spiral, suspending it in the air, or wedged by two pieces of fireproof nettings to allow continuous smoldering. Burning usually begins at the outer end of the spiral and progresses slowly toward the centre of the spiral, producing a mosquito-repellent smoke. A typical mosquito coil can measure around 15 cm in diameter and lasts up to 8 hours. Mosquito coils are widely used in Asia, Africa, and South America. Bad effects Burning mosquito coil (MC) releases various aromatic compounds like benzo pyrenes, benzo-fluoroethane and particulate matters. These chemicals have the potential to produce harmful effects on airways as demonstrated by histopathological changes in the airways of various animal models. It has been estimated that burning one MC over 8 hours produces particulate matter smoke (as measured as PM2. 5) equivalent to around 100 cigarettes. Particulate matter pollution has been shown to increase airway hyper responsiveness and cause decrements in lung function. Mosquito The mosquitoes are a family of small, midge-like flies: the Culicidae. Although a few species are harmless or even useful to humanity, most are a nuisance because they consume blood from living vertebrates, including humans. The females of many species of mosquitoes are blood eating pests. In feeding on blood, some of them transmit extremely harmful human and livestock diseases, such as malaria. Some authorities argue accordingly that mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals on Earth. Eggs of some mosquitoes float on the water in rafts. Larvae, often called wigglers, have a soft body, a hard head and a breathing tube, or siphon, at the tip of the abdomen. Pupae are shaped like a comma, and are commonly called tumblers. Adults have delicate legs, a long proboscis and one pair of transparent wings Dengue Dengue fever, also known as break bone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles. In a small proportion of cases the disease develops into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage, or into dengue shock syndrome, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs. Dengue is transmitted by several species of mosquito within the genus Aedes, principally A. aegypti. The virus has four different types; infection with one type usually gives lifelong immunity to that type, but only short-term immunity to the others. Subsequent infection with a different type increases the risk of severe complications. As there is no commercially available vaccine, prevention is sought by reducing the habitat and the number of mosquitoes and limiting exposure to bites. Treatment of acute dengue is supportive, using either oral or intravenous rehydration for mild or moderate disease, and intravenous fluids and blood transfusion for more severe cases. The incidence of dengue fever has increased dramatically since the 1960s, with around 50–100 million people infected yearly. Early descriptions of the condition date from 1779, and its viral cause and the transmission were elucidated in the early 20th century. Dengue has become a global problem since the Second World War and is endemic in more than 110 countries. Apart from eliminating the mosquitoes, work is ongoing on a vaccine, as well as medication targeted directly at the virus Catnip Catnip is a perennial herb and member of the Mint family  Labiatae. It is native to Europe ; Asia, however has become naturalised in America ; Canada after being introduced. There are approximately 250 species of Catnip. The active ingredient which causes this is an essential oil called nepetalactone, which can be found in the leaves ; stem of the plant. Other constituents include Acetic Acid, Alpha and beta-nepetalactone, Citral, Nepetalactone, Geraniol, Dipentene, Citronellol, Nerol, Butyric Acid, Valeric Acid and Tannins. Catnip is also known by the following names:  Ã‚   Cataria,  Catmint, Catnep, Catrup, Cats Heal All,  Cat’s-play, Cats Wort, Catswort, Catwort, Chi Hsueh Tsao, Field Balm, Garden Nep, Herba Cataria, Herba Catti, Nebada, Nep. Lemongrass Lemongrass herb is a very popular plant found commonly in India and used for medicinal, food and mosquito and insect repellent products. The lemongrass oils are also used in cosmetics, soaps, perfumes, dyes and odorizes along with thousands of other products. There are many different and related types of lemongrass, all belonging to the grass family, Poaceae. East Indian and West Indian lemon grass are popular names for Cymbopogon flexuous and Cymbopogon citratus. Lemon grass is an evergreen, native to Southeast Asia, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Australia. Another type of lemongrass also used in insect repellents comes from Malaysia. The thin stems and foliage of lemon grass ranges from blue-green to gold, and the flowers are white, cream, or green. Lemongrass grows to around 8 feet in height in some cases with the majority of species tapering off at 4 feet. Lemon grass grows best in full sun and moist soil and cab be propagated by dividing the root clump into sections. Lemon grass leaves can be dried or frozen but require rehydration before use. Lemon grass is very mild, rating only a one on the hotness scale. It is mostly known as a common staple found in Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Indonesian, and Indian cooking. Lemon grass is used in curry, stir fry, soups, and marinades and it can be sauteed, mixed with soy sauce and spices, and used as a marinade. Lemongrass is particularly popular with seafood due to its distinctive lemony aroma and flavor. Effectiveness In a 2004 study presented at the California State Science Fair, a 25-percent lemon grass solution was tested against a commercial 15-percent Deet spray. The lemon grass brew was 51 percent effective in repelling mosquitoes, compared to an effectiveness of 81 percent for the Deet product. The study concluded that lemon grass showed promise as a partial replacement for Deet-based repellents. In a study conducted in 2010 at Maranatha Christian University, researchers compared lemon grass stem extract to citronella oil. Citronella oil proved more effective at repelling mosquitoes than the highest concentration of the lemon grass extract. Both studies reveal that while lemon grass does repel mosquitoes, it does not work as well as other products. Nepetalactone Nepetalactone is a  terpene  composed of two isoprene units, with a total of ten carbons. Its chemical structure is similar to that of the valepotriates derived from the herb valerian, which is a mild central nervous system sedative (or stimulant to some persons). The molecular formula for nepetalactone is C10H14O2. The first fully characterized methylcyclopentane monoterpenoid. Isolated from the volatile oil of catnip produced by  Nepeta cataria Nepetalactone , its cas register number is 21651-62-7. It also can be called Nepetalactone cis-trans-form ; Cyclopenta(c)pyran-1(4aH)-one, 5,6,7,7a-tetrahydro-4,7-dimethyl-, (4aS,7S,7aR)- ; Cyclopenta(c)pyran-1(4aH)-one, 5,6,7,7a-tetrahydro-4,7-dimethyl-, (4aS-(4aalpha,7alpha,7aalpha))- . It   is an organic compound first isolated from the plant catnip. Chapter III METHODOLOGY This chapter presents the project’s research design, list of materials and their quantities needed for the research, and the laboratory procedures which are the pre-lab procedure, laboratory proper, and post laboratory. Research Design This study made use of an experimental research design. The experimental and control groups were used in this study. This design is illustrated as follows. Table 3. 1 Set-up| Location| Product Used| Quantity of Mosquitoes| Set-up A| Enclosed room| Catnip Incense Stick| 10 mosquitoes| Set-up B| Enclosed room| Lemongrass Incense Stick| 10 mosquitoes| Set-up C| Enclosed room| Catnip and Lemongrass Incense Stick| 10 mosquitoes| Set-up D| Enclosed room| CommercializedIncense Stick| 10 mosquitoes| Subject of the Study -The researchers used mosquitoes as the subject to the experiment. Ten mosquitoes in each container, with a total of forty mosquitoes (Caught with the mosquito trap). Materials Needed: One (1) Masher Four (4) Mosquito traps Three (3) Incense holders Ten (10) Incense sticks Two (2) Catnip Two (2) Lemon Grass Four (4) – Containers of Mosquitoes One (1) – Commercialized repellent Pre-Lab Procedures: Catnip and Lemon Grass were collected by the researchers. The researchers pulverize the Catnip and Lemon Grass to extract the juices from them. The researchers then put the extracted juices into 3 containers. First with only the catnip, Second with only the lemon grass, lastly with both catnip and lemon grass in the container. Laboratory Proper Procedures: The researchers applied the juices of catnip to three incense sticks and was labeled Set-up A, lemongrass extract juice to the other three incense sticks and labeled Set-up B, and both the lemon grass extract and catnip extract juices to the remaining incense sticks and labeled Set-up C. The commercialized repellent was labeled Set-up D. The researchers applied the extract juices thoroughly by hand or by cotton swabs. The researchers then let the incense sticks rest for about 6 to 10 minutes, to let the extract juices be absorbed by the incense sticks. Post Laboratory Procedures: The researchers put the incense sticks in their respective incense holders in order. The researchers then put sample #1 in an enclosed room beside the mosquito trap. The researchers then lit up the incense sticks and released the first batch of mosquitoes. The researchers closely observe the experiment. The researchers then waited for the incense sticks to disintegrate (15 to 20 minutes). Then the researchers do the same with the sample #2, sample #3, and to the commercialized repellent. The researchers recorded the results based on how many mosquitoes were repelled and killed. Chapter IV Presentation, Interpretation and Analysis of Data This chapter shows the presentation, interpretation and analysis of data gathered after a thorough investigation. Table 4. 1 Mosquitoes that were effectively repelled Experimental| Quantity(number of sticks)| Mosquitoes Repelled| Time Element (minutes)| Catnip| 3| 4 out of 10| 20| Lemongrass| 3| 3 out of 10| 20| Both Combined| 3| 5 out of 10| 20| The table above shows that the Incense stick with the Catnip effectively repelled 4 mosquitoes and the Incense stick with the Lemongrass only killed 3 out of 10 mosquitoes. On the other hand, the Incense stick with the Catnip and the Lemongrass combined showed the best results in this test. This shows that the Catnip and Lemongrass combined will yield better results than the Catnip and Lemon grass alone but the results of this test were unsatisfactory because only half of the mosquitoes tested were repelled effectively. Table 4. 2 Mosquitoes that were effectively killed Experimental| Quantity(number of sticks)| Mosquitoes Repelled| Time Element (minutes)| Catnip| 3| 1 out of 9| 20| Lemon Grass| 3| 1 out of 9| 20| Both Combined| 3| 3 out of 9| 20| The table shows that Catnip and Lemongrass killed only 1 out of 9 mosquitoes but when combined the product repels 3 out of 9 mosquitoes, this proves that the organic incense stick will yield better results if both Catnip and Lemongrass combined, rather than the Catnip and Lemongrass alone because it only kills 1 out of 9 mosquitoes as shown on the table. Table 4. 3 Mosquitoes that are killed by the commercialized product Experimental| Quantity(number of coils)| Mosquitoes Repelled| Time Element (minutes)| Baygon| 1| 9 out of 10| 20| This table shows that the Baygon coil effectively killed 9 out of 10 mosquitoes. This proves that our incense stick with Lemongrass, Catnip or both can’t compete with a better, well known commercialized product like that of the Baygon. Baygon uses stronger chemicals unlike that of our incense stick, which uses organic plants. Chapter 5 Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations Summary: The researchers made a mosquito coil that is organic and eco-friendly. The researchers also studied between a commercialized mosquito coil with their own mosquito repellent. The researchers also made mosquito traps for trapping mosquitoes for the researchers experiment. Their product is effective and it produced some positive results. The catnip and lemongrass combined shows the best results, based on how much mosquitoes it repelled and killed, throughout the experiment. Conclusions: Throughout the experiment, the researchers found out that the commercialized mosquito coil is more effective than our organic mosquito repellent. The researchers found out that it is possible to make a mosquito coil using catnip and lemongrass because the two agents are an effective mosquito repellent. Out of the three mosquito coils we had made, the catnip and lemongrass combined showed the best results basing on our experiment. Recommendations: The researchers recommend the people to use natural and safe mosquito coils that can be home made. The researchers also recommend using stronger plants to use in making mosquito coil. The researchers also recommend adding scented aroma to the coils/sticks so it can be a pleasing feeling for the people who will use it. The researchers also recommend using both Catnip and Lemon Grass for making a mosquito coil because it is effective. References: From Internet: Brian, Dan. How to Make Mosquito Coils. 1999. 2013. ;http://www. ehow. com/how_12031090_make-mosquito-coils. html; NewTechBio, Inc. Lemongrass as an insect repellent. 2007. March 2013. ;http://www. newtechbio. com/articles/Lemongrass-as-an-insect-repellent. htm; Kim, Scott. Nepetalactone Chemistry. 1996. January 2012. ;http://chemistry. about. com/od/factsstructures/ig/Chemical-StructuresN/Nepetalactone. htm Ombrello, T. (2011). Catnip. Retrieved from http://faculty. ucc. edu/biology-ombrello/pow/catnip. htm Wilson, Julia. Catnip: Everything You Need To Know About Catnip. 2002. 2013. ; http://www. cat-world. com. au/all-about-catnip; American Chemical Society (2001, August 28). Catnip Repels Mosquitoes More Effectively Than DEET. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 14, 2013, from ;http://www. sciencedaily. com ­14; Mosquito coil. (2013, February 26). In  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:12, March 14, 2013, from  ;http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Mosquito_coil;oldid=540610115; Dengue fever. (2013, March 8). In  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:13, March 14, 2013, from  ;http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Dengue_fever;oldid=542736735; Mosquito. (2013, March 14). In  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:14, March 14, 2013, from  ;http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Mosquito;oldid =544115233; jasonf808. (Dec 11, 2008). Mosquito Trap. Retrieved March 14, 2013 from ;http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=guNOeAqVG6Q; Eartheasy. (Apr. 28, 2011). 5 easy to grow mosquito-repelling plants. Retrieved from ;http://eartheasy. com/blog/2011/04/5-easy-to-grow-mosquito-repelling-plants/; Knight, J. (2012). Alderleaf wilderness college: Nature ; wilderness survival school  . Retrieved from ;http://www. wildernesscollege. com/plants-that-repel-mosquitoes. html; Appendices: The mosquito trap that was placed in a corner. The mosquito trap that was put beside the drawer. The mosquito trap that was placed behind the door Materials used in making the lemongrass Extracted juice from lemongrass. incense. Chopped lemongrass for the extraction. Lemongrass coated incense sticks. Dried up product. Setting up the experiment. Lighting up of the incense.

Monday, November 25, 2019

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Walter Benjamin as a Claim for Originality

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Walter Benjamin as a Claim for Originality The main idea of the essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction is that the traditional ritual meaning of art can be lost due to the modern technical facilities and chaotic print of the works. I consider this statement as a valid and well-grounded. For Benjamin, every work of art should be unique in order to create the spiritual connection with the audience. In the age of mass-products, the real value of art is neglected. Although reproducible works are popular and accessible, only original art has the ritual ground.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Walter Benjamin as a Claim for Originality specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Although, in general, I agree with Benjamin, it would be wrong to insist upon the statement that all products of the mass-culture are empty and meaningless. The successful life of the reproductions, different interpretations of well-known works of art demonstrate a tendency of simplification of our life. It is the basic of modern civilization. It is obvious that, seeing the authentic work, we can have more profound experience. However, in case if someone cannot visit the famous galleries, one has a possibility to become acquainted with the works of art by observing the reproductions. I think that the geographical distance is one of the key moments which should be taken into account, talking about the negative side of reproductions. Benjamin says that all human artifacts can be repeated by other humans. However, the process of mechanical reproduction led to the enormous print. It is difficult to argue with the author, as today we are witness of the chaotic production of the famous pictures, for instance, Mona Lisa or Sunflowers of van Gogh on the paper, clothes, glasses, etc. But, also we can see that the mass-production became iconic for the whole population. Therefore, it would be absolutely wrong to i nsist on the statement that modern art is something outlive and soulless. Perhaps, reproductions do not contain the same aura as the authentic works, but they still can inspire people. I do not agree with the fears that reproduction can reduce a creation of the original works. In all times, people were appreciating the authentic works of great masters. Although, the mechanical print of the works of art have a significant influence, today, the originality is still essential and people of all nationalities admire the best examples of the world heritage that cannot be out-of-date, in spite of the world-wide prevalence of the secondary works and reproductions of the famous artifacts.

Friday, November 22, 2019

Drug Safety Evaluation and Pharmacovigilance Assignment

Drug Safety Evaluation and Pharmacovigilance - Assignment Example The systems that are used to assess post-marketing events include medical record databases or computerized claims, reports and pre marketing studies. Drug toxicity is frequently a major safety issue for an investigational new drug. This may occur as an unexpected reaction to a nontoxic drug or it may be an expected consequence of the intrinsic toxicity of a drug, taken in a sufficiently large dose (Berlin, 2008). It is the function of pharmaceutical research companies to take the path from understanding a disease to bringing a safe and effective treatment to patients. To ensure that collection of data is complete and to protect the safety of study participants, various processes are put in place during clinical trials (Meadows, 2006). The completeness of data is important in developing an understanding of the advantages and side effects of a new medicine (Meadows, 2006). With one or more solutions at hand, researchers turn their attention to testing them extensively to determine if they should move on to testing in humans. Efficacy and safety of investigational new drugs have an inherent deficiency in the inability to detect major, rare and adverse effects (Talbot, 2011). The limitations of these safety data for predicting post authorization safety profiles must be a consideration. These pre-marketing clinical trial limitations include lack of globally accepted gold standards for determining whether a signal on drug safety represents true risk. While the regulatory bodies have well established regulatory statutes, standards of ascertaining safety are heterogeneous (Edwards & Tilson, 2005). There is limited statistical power in determining the specific harm due to lack of statistical significance in the selected population. The selected patient group is small and excludes patients who are at a greater risk. There is limited generalizability since the study participants are carefully selected. There is a strict criterion of selecting whom to include

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Classroom management strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Classroom management strategies - Essay Example But teaching and learning was considered as a divine thing earlier. The teachers were considered as â€Å"Gurus† earlier and apart from the parents, they were the most influential persons in the life of a student. Classroom is considered to be another place where the scientific management principles are required now because of the immense changes happened in the student-teacher relationships. Disruptive children often create problems for the teacher in managing the class. Kellie Hayden, a famous teacher of 16 years of experience, in her article ‘Top Five Classroom Management Strategies’ argues that, a simple question like â€Å"Are you OK?† can make lot of changes among the disruptive students. For example, hyper activity among children often considered due to lack of care from the parents. Such children will engage in some kind of activities in the class which may trouble the teacher and the fellow students. The teacher should take extreme care while managing such disruptive students. The teacher must try to identify the reason for his disruptive behavior. The teacher should never question the problematic student in front of his colleagues; instead he should be taken to another place where the privacy can be guaranteed and ask him â€Å"Are you okay†? That student may have lack of care from the parents and when the teacher enquires about his well being, he may feel some confidence in the teacher and will open his closed faculties of mind. In a private environment only the disruptive student may open his heart and will tell the truth about the reason why he became disruptive. The teacher’s smooth, calm and encouraging behavior may force him to think about the problems he has caused to the teacher and the class and may refrain from such behavior in future. It is important to maintain privacy while dealing with the problematic students Gene Van Tassell, in his article ‘Classroom management’ wrote that â€Å"control of students by teachers tends to

Monday, November 18, 2019

Web Services in Android application Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Web Services in Android application - Essay Example However there is a belief that the utilization of RESTful services, with records in JSON format is the best choice for applications in mobile, whether the customer’s device technology is Android, Mobile Web or even Blackberry (Oehlman, Blanc 2013). This paper will try and look at the main differences that exists between REST and SOAP for usage in mobile apps, do an analysis of typical assumptions regarding them and try and offer an approach which is aimed particularly for the exceptional challenges involved in creating mobile apps, specifically for numerous platforms. It is important to define SOAP and REST.SOAP simply means Simple Object Access Protocol whereas REST is defined as Representational State Transfer. SOAP-is a protocol specification which exchanges structured information through XML in implementing Web Services in various computer networks. SOAP is a popular technology that has effectively been used within a framework of SOA for some period of time. Many businesses have instituted service tiers outside and inside their IT infrastructure to provide services to various applications, both outside and inside the firewall. The design of SOAP was done so as to leverage on many various kinds of data transport stratum, which include; asynchronous queues such as MQSeries, synchronous HTTP/HTTPS, and still over the email. This capacity assists SOAP to be a sole solution for several heterogeneous interconnectivity challenges. However, the design of SOAP was put in place even before mobile applications and mobile technology exploded (Constantine , 2011). There are some problems associated with SOAP and they are as follows. Foremost there is an issue with change control; this simply means that trying to change services that make use of SOAP frequently means a complex code change on the side of customer. When this customer is for instance a web app server, this change isn’t essentially problematic; however when the

Saturday, November 16, 2019

File Systems and Permissions Summary

File Systems and Permissions Summary John David Woody chmod -rwxr-xr-1 instruct staff 270311 Aug 11 2009 install.sh I will attempt explain the best I can. Chmod, on linux or unix like operating systems, there are a set of rules for each file which defines who can access that file and how they can access it. The at position 0 denotes the type of file, it is either a d if the item is a directory or l if it is a link or it could just be a regular file. The symbols in the positions 1 thru 3 rwr are permissions for the owner of the file and the symbols in position 4 thru 6 r-x are positions for a group, the remaining positions 7 thru 9 r-1 are permissions for anyone else. The rwx shows that owner has read (r), write (w) and execute (x) permission. The shows the permissions for the group to which the file belongs. The r-xr represents that has permission to read (r) and execute (x) and, read permissions without write permission. The last xr-1 set of characters, represents the permissions for everybody else. The octal numbers 270311 each have individual meanings for permissions. I researched this at, the WEB site below on the reference page. Now, 2 is for write, the 7 where my confusion stepped in is the numeric mode from one to four octal digits which are derived by adding up the bit values, so 4 is for read , 2 for write, and 1 is for execute when added equals 7 so all access is allowed. The 0 from what I read has no permissions. The 3 is for write and execute and the 1s only can execute. How the commands and the octal numbers relate requires me to do more homework. The remaining items below 2 -5 and 1 4, will be described and follow the same patterns as above. I just hope Im explaining things correctly. Chmod -rw-rr1 instruct staff 348039 Aug 12 2008 User_Guide.txt Chmod, on linux or unix like operating systems, there are a set of rules for each file which defines who can access that file and how they can access it. The at position 0 denotes the type of file, it is either a d if the item is a directory or l if it is a link or it could just be a regular file. The symbols in the positions 1 thru 3 rw- are permissions for the owner of the file and the symbols in position 4 thru 6 r are positions for a group, the remaining positions 7 thru 10 r1 are permissions for anyone else. Now, this textual representation consist of 10 characters but from what I have read the rules still apply. The octal numbers 348039 each again have individual meanings for permissions. Now, 3 is for write, the 4 is for read, 8 again confusion stepped in until I will research this more. The 0 is for denial, 3 again is for write and of course there is a 9 Ill also have to look into. Chmod -rw-r1 instruct staff 635106 Aug 12 2009 Admin_Guide.txt Chmod, on linux or unix like operating systems, there are a set of rules for each file which defines who can access that file and how they can access it. The at position 0 denotes the type of file, it is either a d if the item is a directory or l if it is a link or it could just be a regular file. The symbols in the positions 1 thru 3 rw- are permissions for the owner of the file and the symbols in position 4 thru 6 r are positions for a group, the remaining positions 7 thru 10 1 are permissions for anyone else. Now, this textual representation consist of 10 characters but from what I have read the rules still apply. The octal numbers 635106 each again have individual meanings for permissions. Now, 6 is for read/write, the 3 is for write, 5 is for read/execute. The 1 is for execute only, 0 all access denied and 6 read/write. Chmod drwxr-xr-x 4 instruct staff 144 Aug 12 2009 Documents Chmod, on linux or unix like operating systems, there are a set of rules for each file which defines who can access that file and how they can access it. The d at position 0 denotes the type of file, it is either a d if the item is a directory or l if it is a link or it could just be a regular file. Well this is a directory. The symbols in the positions 1 thru 3 rwx are permissions for the owner of the file and the symbols in position 4 thru 6 -x4 are positions for a group. The octal numbers 144 each again have individual meanings for permissions. Now, 1 is for execute only. The two 4s are read only access. chmod -rwsr-x 1 nobody nobody 169202 Aug 11 2009 httpd Chmod, on linux or unix like operating systems, there are a set of rules for each file which defines who can access that file and how they can access it. The at position 0 denotes the type of file, it is either a d if the item is a directory or l if it is a link or it could just be a regular file. The symbols in the positions 1 thru 3 rws are permissions for the owner of the file and the symbols in position 4 thru 7 r-x1 are positions for a group. The octal numbers 169202 each again have individual meanings for permissions. Now, 1 is for execute only. The 6 is for read/write allowed, the 9 I still have not figured out yet, but I will. The 2 is for write access only, the 0 means all access denied, again the 2 is write access only. Metacharacters/Regular Expressions * Matches zero or more occurrences of the previous character ? The preceding item is optional and will be matched, at most, once. ^ The caret ^ is an anchor that indicates the beginning of a line. $ The asterisk is a modifier and also an anchor. In a regular expression it specifies that a previous character set can appear any number of times, that includes a zero. [0-9] Matches any one of the numbers given within chars, where chars Is a sequence of characters. [a-z] Matches any one of the characters given within chars, where chars Is a sequence of characters. Regular expressions to match the following All files that end in txt ls -1 grep *.txt Files that have a second character of a and end in sh ls -1 | grep *.sh Any file that starts with a number ls -l | grep [0-9] A blank line ls -l | grep [] A traditional 10-digit U.S.-based phone number, in the following format: (407) 555-1212 ls -l | grep [(0-3)] [0-3]-[0-4] Note: Not quite sure about this one but I tried. Reference www.computerhope.com/unix/uchmod.htm

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Gender-based Violence (GBV) Data Collection Essay example -- Violence

Violence against women, particularly intimate partner violence and sexual violence, is both a public health problem and a violation of women’s human rights. The issue of gender-based violence (GBV) has increasingly become an agenda item addressed by nations across the world. International organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations (UN) and humanitarian aid/relief agencies like the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and PLAN International have been collectively working to provide services to victims, advocating for increased gender equality and reducing rates of violence against women, etc. The evidence-base on the magnitude of this problem across various settings continues to grow; potentially providing governments, aid agencies and other partners with the strengthened capacity to design and implement prevention and response interventions. While the undertaking of prevalence studies in complex emergencies has the potential to influence GBV program ming and policy in emergency settings, challenges exist that thwart its effectiveness. Using some of the most cited papers in the emergency field as a framework, this paper seeks to explore the intricacies of GBV data collection in humanitarian settings. Drawing upon the critiques of these works, the use of strengthened and standardized methodology will be suggested as a means to improve GBV programming. Starting with the World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993, and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the same year, violence against women has been thrust into the light as a health and human rights concern. This recognition would be strengthened by agreements and declarations at international conferences includin... ...er 1995. New York, NY, United Nations, 1995 (document A/CONF.177/20). United Nations. 1993. â€Å" Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women.† United Nations General Assembly Resolution 48/104. NewYork: United Nations. United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (UNDAW) (2005) ‘Violence against women: a statistical overview, challenges and gaps in data collection and methodology and approaches for overcoming them’, report of the Expert Group Meeting, Geneva, 11–14 April 2005 http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/vaw-stat-2005/docs/final-report-vaw-stats.pdf Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. Adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna, 14–25 June 1993. New York, NY, United Nations, 1993 (document A/CONF.157/23). Jones 10 Watts & Zimmerman (2002). Violence Against Women: global scope and magnitude. The Lancet, (359), 1232-7

Monday, November 11, 2019

Love Triangles and Betrayal in Carmen Essay

The creation of operas from pre-existing literary texts is a complex process implicating the original author, the librettists, the opera directors, the publishers, and the composer. In the process of transformation, the involved parties consider prevailing cultural values as well as their own artistic ideals. These considerations weigh all the more heavily on the process when the literary text involves complex romantic relationships. Georges Bizet’s Carmen (1875), Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello (1887), and Claude Debussy’s Pelleas et Melisande (1902) provide examples of this transformation process. In all three of these works, love triangles figure prominently. These love triangles, though they share some superficial similarities, are extraordinarily different in terms of their composition and the ultimate fate of the characters. Carmen When the directors of the Opera-Comique, a venue with repertoire typically geared towards an extremely conservative, family-oriented, bourgeois audience (McClary, 1992, p. 15-16), commissioned Bizet to write an opera in 1872, Bizet suggested Prosper Merimee’s novel Carmen as a possible subject (Macdonald, 2010). The directors of the Opera-Comique were divided in their support of this work as a subject for an opera. De Leuven, in particular, was against this choice, citing the scandalous nature of the story and the conservative nature of the venue’s target audience as reasons behind his disapproval: â€Å"Carmen! The Carmen of Merimee? Wasn’t she murdered by her lover?†¦ At the Opera-Comique, the theatre of families, of wedding parties? You would put the public to flight. No, no, impossible. † (as cited in Jenkins, 2003). Indeed, it appears that the on-stage death was of particular consternation for the director: â€Å"Death on the stage of the Opera-Comique! Such a thing has never been seen! Never! † (as cited in Nowinski, 1970, p. 895). The choice of Carmen ultimately played a role in de Leuven’s resignation from his post in 1874 (McClary, 1992, p. 23). The source text for Carmen is a novella by Prosper Merimee. The author originally published this work in 1845 in the Revue des deux mondes, a non-fiction journal. The author had previously published travelogues in the same journal, and this work contained no indication that it was a work of fiction (Boynton, 2003). Instead, the work reads as a â€Å"true† story of Merimee’s voyage to Spain in 1830. In the midst of his travels, the author-narrator encounters Don Jose, the man who, after succumbing to Carmen’s seductive powers, kills her in a jealous rage following her confession of a love affair with Lucas. The librettists for Carmen, Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy, at the time that they were commissioned to write this work for the Opera-Comique had already successfully worked together as a team on a number of works (including Offenbach’s La Belle Helene and La Vie parisienne) for the Parisian boulevard theatres (McClary, 1992, p. 18). In their previous librettos, the team had split the work: Meilhac wrote the prose dialogue, and Halevy supplied the verse (McClary, 1992, p. 18). In operatic settings, the prose would typically be left as spoken dialogue (for the Opera-Comique) or set as recitative. In transforming Merimee’s novella into a libretto, Meilhac and Halevy made numerous changes. Unfortunately, there is a lack of primary source evidence detailing the minutiae of the collaborative process which would shed further light upon the reasons behind these changes (Jenkins, 2003). These changes include minimizing Carmen’s criminal activities, adding the character of Micaela, and eliminating Merimee’s framing device. The removal of Merimee’s framing device (accomplished by not including a narrator) and the introduction of Don Jose before his downfall make Carmen, and not Don Jose, the focus of the story (Jenkins, 2003). Indeed, the Carmen of the libretto, with her voice not being interrupted by the narrator’s commentary, speaks directly to the audience (McClary, 1992, p. 21). Carmen was composed as a four-act opera comique, originally with spoken dialogue (as opposed to recitative). The dialogue was transformed into recitative by Guiraud for a production in Vienna, and it was performed this way for many years before producers reverted to Bizet’s original spoken text (Macdonald, 2010). Further changes to Merimee’s original resulted from Guiraud’s involvement. Meilhac’s original dialogues at times quoted directly from Merimee’s Carmen, and these instances of direct quotation were largely eliminated in Guiraud’s version (McClary, 1992, p. 45). With the addition of Micaela, the librettists created a moralizing character, the polar opposite of Carmen, with whom the Opera-Comique audiences could readily identify (McClary, 1992, p. 21). The addition of Micaela complicates the love triangle. In Merimee’s original, the love triangle included the characters of Carmen, Don Jose, and Lucas. In the operatic version, both Don Jose and Escamillo are in love with Carmen, and both Carmen and Micaela are in love with Don Jose. The librettists also substantially changed Carmen’s character. Though they downplayed Carmen’s involvement in criminal activities (she is no longer the leader of the smugglers as Merimee portrayed her) arguably in order to make her more sympathetic, they focus almost exclusively on her sexuality (to the exclusion of her healing powers and intelligence as presented in the original) (McClary, 1992, p. 22). Bizet’s music underlines the differences in characters and underlines the complex nature of the interlocking love triangles in the opera. Micaela is presented as a sweet, pure, innocent woman. Her entrance is conventional, and her music is marked by neither intense chromaticism nor indications of exoticism (McClary, 1997, p. 120). Carmen’s entrance, in contrast, disrupts the formal procedures Bizet set up from the beginning of the opera, and her music is largely chromatic and marked with features typically associated with the exotic (McClary, 1997, p. 120). Her music, like her body and personality, is irresistible to any man she sets her sights on. Don Jose’s music is different from that of both of his female admirers. His melodic lines are long, irregularly phrased, and lacking in regular cadences (McClary, 1997, p. 124). Additionally, he, unlike Escamillo, lacks a signature melodic line (McClary, 1997, p. 127). McClary points to the incompatibility of Carmen’s and Don Jose’s musical styles as evidence of the ultimate failure of their relationship. In contrast, Carmen’s brief duet with Escamillo in act four seems sincere because their musical styles are compatible (McClary, 1997, p. 125). Ultimately, Don Jose kills Carmen in a fit of jealousy over her relationship with Escamillo, and Micaela is deprived of her true love as he gives himself up to the police following his murder of Carmen. Otello Though the two Shakespeare aficionados Giuseppe Verdi and Arrigo Boito met as early as 1862, it was not until 1879 that the events leading to the composition of Otello were set in motion (Aycock, 1972, p. 594). The four-act Otello received its premiere on February 5, 1887 in Milan. In transforming the play into opera libretto, Boito eliminated six of the fourteen characters and cut the entire first act (Aycock, 1972, p. 595). Boito also cut Othello’s statement of self-defence following his murder of Desdemona from the end of the play (Aycock, 1972, p. 596). This last cut serves to keep the opera’s focus on the tragic love story. This love story principally revolves around the actions of Othello, Desdemona, and Iago. When the opera opens, Desdemona and Othello are newly married. However, Roderigo (Iago’s friend) still loves Desdemona. Iago, upset with Cassio who has been promoted over him, fabricates proof of Desdemona’s infidelity with Cassio in order to play on Othello’s jealous nature. The proof of this infidelity, in both the play and the opera, is a handkerchief. Othello murders Desdemona, and when he learns that his belief in his wife’s infidelity was mistaken, he kills himself. In this story, both Roderigo and Othello are in love with Desdemona. Given Roderigo’s minimal role in the opera, however, Iago takes his place in the dramatic situation of the love triangle. It is his betrayal and deception that leads to the demise of the two main characters. The end of the first act contains a conventional love duet between Othello and Desdemona. As Aycock (1972, p. 595) remarks, the love between these two principal characters is mature and predicated on confidence in each other’s fidelity. The climax of this love duet, on the words â€Å"un bacio†¦Otello!†¦ un bacio,† features a new melody in the orchestra. This melody reappears only in the last act, most notably when Othello commits suicide (Lawton, 1978, p. 211). The character of Iago in the opera is much more the creation of Verdi and Boito than of Shakespeare. Iago’s Credo, where he proclaims his devotion to a cruel God and admits that he is unquestionably evil, was entirely the invention of Boito (Aycock, 1972, p. 600). For Verdi, the emphasis on this character allowed him to confirm to Italian operatic tradition, which called for a baritone villain role (Aycock, 1972, p. 601). Pelleas et Melisande Maurice Maeterlinck’s play Pelleas et Melisande received its Parisian premiere at the Theatre des Bouffes-Parisiens on May 17, 1893, and Claude Debussy was in attendance (Grayson, 1985, p. 35, 37). By the fall of the same year, he had already begun composing what would later become Act IV scene 4 (Grayson, 1985, p. 37). In the case of this operatic transformation, there was no librettist acting as a middle-man. Instead, Debussy constructed the libretto himself, from Maeterlinck’s original text. The composer remained true to the original play, changing nary a word. He did, however, cut some scenes, and these cuts were made with the Maeterlinck’s authorization. In November 1893, the composer travelled to Ghent to meet with the author, and the two men discussed several possible cuts. Debussy reported to Ernest Chausson that Maeterlinck had given him â€Å"complete authorization to make cuts and even indicated some which were very important, even very useful† (as cited in Grayson, 1985, p. 37). From Maeterlinck’s original play, there were only four scenes that Debussy did not set: Act I scene 1, Act II scene 4, Act III scene 1, and Act V scene 1 (Grayson, 1985, p. 38). These scenes appear to have been cut because they are unrelated to the central narrative, leading to the demise of both Pelleas and Melisande. While Debussy used Maeterlinck’s original text, he did, in some instances, cut some of the text to make the libretto more concise. Act III scene 3, for example, was cut so heavily so that only one third of the original text remained (Grayson, 1985, p. 40). Two further cuts came in 1902. During Pelleas et Melisande’s first season at the Opera-Comique, Debussy was forced to cut one scene from the performances: Act IV scene 3 (Grayson, 1985, p. 39). This almost purely symbolic scene features Yniold (Golaud’s son from a previous marriage). At the end of the scene, Yniold, wishing to share his experiences with Melisande, unwittingly reveals to Golaud that she is not in her room (Grayson, 2003, p. 76) – in essence, he signals her disloyalty to her husband. The scene was reinserted in its second season. Also, at the dress rehearsal, the Director of Fine Arts, censored the work, calling for the suppression of Act III scene 4, a scene where Yniold is forced, by his violent father, to spy on the suspected lovers (Grayson, 2003, p. 80). Pelleas et Melisande begins with Golaud discovering Melisande by a fountain in a forest. She seems to be lost and confused, and she follows Golaud on his wanderings. The two get married in secret and return to the castle of Golaud’s father. There, Melisande meets Golaud’s brother Pelleas, and these two fall in love. In one scene, Golaud happens upon Pelleas caressing Melisande’s hair streaming out from a tower window, and he realizes that his brother has betrayed him. Golaud, blind with jealousy, kills his brother in Act III. At the end of the opera, Melisande also dies, but not before giving birth to a daughter. The plot, then, revolves around the love triangle of Melisande, Golaud, and Pelleas. The unquestioning inclusion of on-stage deaths demonstrates how much the Opera-Comique had changed since the 1875 premiere of Carmen. From the time of Debussy’s first draft of Act IV scene 4 in the fall of 1893, it took almost a decade for the opera to reach the stage of the Opera-Comique. Debussy worked intensely on the opera in 1895 and completed a short score of the opera in August of that year (Grayson, 2003, p. 78). Though he had a completed opera, he had major difficulties finding a suitable venue for the performance of the work. Albert Carre, the director of the Opera-Comique, accepted Pelleas â€Å"in principal† in 1898, but he did not give Debussy written confirmation of the deal until 1901 (Grayson, 2003, p. 79). Though Debussy was ambivalent about Wagnerian leitmotive techniques, he does employ leitmotivs in Pelleas. While most of these leitmotivs are connected to ideas, each major character has his or her own leitmotiv (Nichols and Smith, 1989, p. 81). Melisande’s motive, for example, is comparatively lyrical, wandering, and typically played by oboes or flutes while Golaud’s motive consists of two notes in alteration with a more pronounced rhythmic emphasis. These motives are typically associated with different harmonic fields. Melisande’s melody is pentatonic but is typically harmonized with a half diminished seventh chord (Nichold and Smith, 1989, p. 91). Golaud’s motive, because of its sparse melodic line consisting of only two notes, is more harmonically flexible. Debussy uses it in a variety of harmonic contexts including whole-tone, dorian, and minor. Comparison of Works These three works present a widely diverse picture of operatic life in late nineteenth century France and Italy. In terms of source texts, there is a novella (Carmen), a play in verse (Otello), and a play in prose (Pelleas et Melisande). In two of the cases (Carmen and Otello), neither the composer nor the librettist knew the author of the original literary work. In the case of Pelleas, the composer had direct contact with the original author and constructed the libretto himself. These three operas were then composed in different forms: an opera comique in versions with both spoken dialogue and sung recitative (Carmen), a hybrid of continuous action with set pieces (Otello), and a largely through-composed work with one aria (Pelleas). In each instance, the transformation process reveals that it was not only the librettist and composer who were involved in the opera’s ultimate form: opera directors, publishers, and censors also had some hand in the final product. One shared trait amongst these three works was the need for the librettist to cut considerable amounts of literary material from the original text. This phenomenon is understandable given that it takes a considerably longer period of time to sing a text rather than say it. In choosing sections of texts to cut, the librettists were faced with the challenge of leaving enough of the narrative design so that it would remain comprehensible to the audience. The composer could then use musical devices to fill in some of the gaps that this missing text created. For example, Bizet could use different musical styles to highlight differences in race and class (McClary, 1997). Similarly, Debussy could use different harmonic languages (whole tone, pentatonic, modal) to indicate subtly differences in the quality of light (Nichols and Smith, 1989). A second shared trait is that two of the composers appear to have made decisions based on operatic convention in their composition of the opera. Bizet’s concession to operatic convention takes the form of the introduction of the character of Micaela, a character absent from Merimee’s original but whose presence, as mentioned above, was deemed necessary to make the work suitable for the conservative Opera-Comique audience. Verdi’s concessions are evident in the finale to Act 3, where he asked Boito to alter the libretto to make room for a traditional grand concertato finale (Parker, 2010) as well as in the changes to Iago’s character mentioned above. A third shared trait is that these three works focus on love triangles, with an act of betrayal or jealousy leading to the deaths of one or more of the principal characters. In Carmen, the primary love triangle revolves around Carmen, Don Jose, and Escamillo. In the end, Carmen dies. In Otello, the love triangle of Othello, Desdemona, and Roderigo has a tragic ending with the death of both Othello and Desdemona. Similarly, the Pelleas-Melisande-Golaud triangle results in the death of two of the characters: Pelleas and Melisande. In each case, the composer highlights one of the romantic relationships as being more viable or more sincere than the others. Bizet, as noted, employs different musical styles for each of the characters, with only Escamillo’s language being compatible with Carmen’s. Verdi wrote a traditional love duet for Othello and Desdemona, the sincerity of which is highlighted with its aforementioned reappearance in the final act. Debussy employs a technique similar to that of Bizet: he has Pelleas and Melisande sing together in octaves in Act IV scene 4). The similarities between the presentations of the love triangles stops with this characteristic, for the relationship dynamics within the central triangles are quite different in these works. In Carmen, the title character is both the primary female love interest and the character responsible for the betrayal. She betrays Don Jose’s love for her, however ill-founded it may be, by confessing her love for Escamillo. In contrast to the other operatic heroines studied here, Carmen is a femme-fatale. In Verdi’s Otello, the love between Othello and Desdemona is sincere, and neither one carries on an affair with someone else. The primary reason behind their deaths is Iago’s treachery. However, Othello does, in a sense, betray Desdemona by believing Iago’s lies. His acknowledgment of this betrayal can be seen in his committing suicide. In Debussy’s Pelleas, the guilty party is less clearly identified. Melisande, though she betrays her marriage by falling in love with Pelleas, is not depicted as a femme fatale. Instead, she is presented as an innocent, idealized woman (Smith, 1981, p. 105). Pelleas betrays his brother by having an affair with his wife. Though Debussy, as mentioned above, sympathizes with their love and highlights the love Pelleas and Melisande have for each other by having them sing together in octaves. It appears that these characters are not to be held accountable for their actions because their love was inevitable, foretold in advance by fate. ? References Aycock, R. E. (1972). Shakespeare, Boito, and Verdi. The Musical Quarterly, 58 (4), 588-604. Boynton, S. (2003) Prosper Merimee’s novella Carmen. New York City Opera Project: Carmen. Retrieved from http://www. columbia. edu/itc/music/NYCO/carmen/merimee. html Grayson, D. (1985). The Libretto of Debussy’s Pelleas et Melisande. Music and Letters, 66 (1), 35-50. Grayson, D. (2003). Debussy on stage. In The Cambridge Companion to Debussy. Ed. Simon Trezise. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 61-83. Jenkins, C. (2003). Carmen: The Librettists. New York City Opera Project: Carmen. Retrieved from http://www. columbia. edu/itc/music/NYCO/carmen/librettists. html Lawton, D. (1978). On the ‘Bacio’ theme in Otello. 19th-Century Music, 1 (3), 211-220. Macdonald, H. (2010). Carmen (ii). Grove Online. Retrieved from http://www. oxfordmusiconline. com/subscriber/article/grove/music/O008315? q=carmen&search=quick&pos=22&_start=1#firsthit McClary, S. (1992). Georges Bizet, Carmen. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. McClary, S. (1997). Structures of identity and difference in Bizet’s Carmen. In The Work of Opera: Genre, Nationhood, and Sexual Difference. Ed. Richard Dellamora and Daniel Fischlin. New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 115-130. Nichols, R. & Smith, R. L. (1989). Claude Debussy, Pelleas et Melisande. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nowinski, J. (1970). Sense and sound in George Bizet’s Carmen. The French Review, 43 (6), 891-900. Parker, R. (2010). Otello (ii). Grove Music Online. Retrieved from http://www. oxfordmusiconline. com/subscriber/article/grove/music/O003882>. Smith, R. L. (1981).

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Introduction to Business: Walmart Essay

1.  Unethical Business Ethics is defined as beliefs about what is right and wrong or good and bad in actions that affect others.( Therefore, unethical behaviour is behaviour that is believed to be bad or wrong actions or decisions. Other definition about ethics is ‘the activity of examining the moral standards of a society, and asking how these standards apply to one’s life and whether these standards are reasonable’ (Velasquez, 1998; pg 11). Ethics are based on personal or social beliefs. Furthermore, these beliefs are our moral standards, and moral standards differ among individuals. Thus, no one can say with certainty that a particular action is right or wrong and good or bad. Business ethics refers to ethical or unethical behaviour of a firm’s employer. Unethical business refer to decision made by employer with getting maximum profit as the main reason and other parties such as employees and customers receives negative effects. For example, a firm advertises their product as the best brand compared to other brands with the same type of product, but the product’s quality is not as good as it purported in the advertisement. 2. Wal-Mart Wal-Mart is the largest American corporation that runs discount department stores. It was found in 1962, Arkansas, USA by Sam Walton. It was incorporated on October 31st, 1969. Furthermore, Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in the world. Wal-Mart owns and operates Sam’s Club(, Wal-Mart Stores Divisions U.S., and Wal-Mart International. Wal-Mart has nine different formats of retail business, which is, supercenters, food and drugs, general merchandise store, small markets, cash and carry stores, membership warehouse clubs, apparel stores, soft discount stores and restaurants. Wal-Mart also offers private label store brands. Private label store brands are products offered by Wal-Mart which usually has the lowest price compared to other brands that offers the same product in the store. These brands are produced by subsidized contracts awarded to the lowest bidder. Wal-Mart’s private label brand includes Sam’s Choice, Great Value and Equate. 3. Discrimination Companies are responsible for any problems in regards to their employee’s welfare. Employees with high position jobs should give proper treatment and avoid discrimination to other employees with less paid jobs. Employees who apply for a position in a firm should not be subjected to discrimination because of their national origin, race, gender, or religion. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits such forms of discrimination. (Madura, J. 1998) To estimate that a certain company is practicing discrimination against a certain group, is by looking at how that certain group is distributed within the institution. There are three kinds of comparisons that show the practicing of discrimination. They include; comparisons between the average benefits that the discriminated group gets and the average benefits of other workers, comparisons between the level of jobs and comparisons of advantageous positions between the discriminated and the normal labours. However, as an established company, Wal-Mart is not responsible to its workers. In fact, the three kinds of comparisons can be clearly seen in its management. They have been discriminating against women, minorities, and the disabled workers. Furthermore, Wal-Mart’s staff has also been discriminating their customers, racially(. This is very unethical, as the company cannot survive without their clients or customers. By discriminating and making offensive actions racially to customers, customers will switch to the firm’s competitor as the services provided are not satisfying. Moreover, some customers sued Wal-Mart for not being ethically responsible.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Free Essays on Escher

Maurits Cornelius Escher was born on June 17th, 1898 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. His father was a civil engineer. Escher’s great skill for art and drawing was realized at an early age. This led his father to decide to send him to study at the School of Architecture and Decorative Arts in Haarlem. But, when he was 21 years old, Escher gave up architecture to study in the field of graphic arts. Escher spent most of his life travelling in Europe looking for inspiration for his works. In 1921 he got married and stayed in Rome. This is when his works of art began to show landscapes with impossible perspectives. In the 1930s, Fascism in Italy made life impossible for Escher and his family, so they moved to Switzerland. In 1936, Escher visited the Alhambra in Granada. The Moorish tiling he came across was amazing too him. Escher read and understood Pà ³lya’s paper on the 17 planes of symmetry, even though he didn't understand all of the ideas in the paper. Between 1936 and 19 42 Escher concentrated on colored drawings using all of the different symmetry types. He invented a highly mathematical system of study using a process which he invented himself. In 1941, Escher went home to the Netherlands. His popularity began to grow, and in the 1950s, articles on his work were written. His drawings of symmetry began to be displayed in science museums more than art galleries. In his later years several books were published about him. One of these books described his works of art as he neared death. â€Å"When Escher's view of the world turned inward he produced his best known puzzling prints, which, art aside, were truly intellectually playful, yet he was not. His life turned inward, he cut himself off and he had few friends. ... He died after a protracted illness...† Escher died on March 27th, 1972, in the Netherlands.... Free Essays on Escher Free Essays on Escher Maurits Cornelius Escher was born on June 17th, 1898 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. His father was a civil engineer. Escher’s great skill for art and drawing was realized at an early age. This led his father to decide to send him to study at the School of Architecture and Decorative Arts in Haarlem. But, when he was 21 years old, Escher gave up architecture to study in the field of graphic arts. Escher spent most of his life travelling in Europe looking for inspiration for his works. In 1921 he got married and stayed in Rome. This is when his works of art began to show landscapes with impossible perspectives. In the 1930s, Fascism in Italy made life impossible for Escher and his family, so they moved to Switzerland. In 1936, Escher visited the Alhambra in Granada. The Moorish tiling he came across was amazing too him. Escher read and understood Pà ³lya’s paper on the 17 planes of symmetry, even though he didn't understand all of the ideas in the paper. Between 1936 and 19 42 Escher concentrated on colored drawings using all of the different symmetry types. He invented a highly mathematical system of study using a process which he invented himself. In 1941, Escher went home to the Netherlands. His popularity began to grow, and in the 1950s, articles on his work were written. His drawings of symmetry began to be displayed in science museums more than art galleries. In his later years several books were published about him. One of these books described his works of art as he neared death. â€Å"When Escher's view of the world turned inward he produced his best known puzzling prints, which, art aside, were truly intellectually playful, yet he was not. His life turned inward, he cut himself off and he had few friends. ... He died after a protracted illness...† Escher died on March 27th, 1972, in the Netherlands....

Monday, November 4, 2019

Tranitioning to registered nurse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Tranitioning to registered nurse - Essay Example Brown. In order to establish a therapeutic relationship, communication skills are significantly important. Communication has two major purposes: obtain information and to influence others, which are essential in establishing a relationship (Scott et al, 2009). It is possible for me to develop this interaction in the form of therapeutic communication. Therapeutic communication is a basic intervention for nurses for use in therapeutic relationships. It encourages idea and feelings expression, whereas conveying the acceptance and respect of the nurse (Thomas et al, 2009). In this case, one technique of communication that can help is active listening, which is one of the most important techniques of communication. It will allow me to understand the communicated message better, which will be a good way to develop trust with Mrs. Brown. The strategy of active listening will help me to start understanding Mrs. Brown better, as well as attend to her effectively. In a case that the patient fe els that the nurse needs to attend to them, the patient would have more trust for the nurse, which would allow her to open up about problems or anxiety that they could be facing (Thomas et al, 2009). ... To begin with, empathy is a skill required by nurses in establishing therapeutic relationships. It is all about attending, understanding, listening, and observing, as well as being with the patient emotionally, cognitively, and physically (Skott, 2010). Empathy will allow Jesse to understand the situation Mrs. Brown is in, as well as objectively realize her past and current experiences. Therapeutic relationships, along with empathy, will let the GRN communicate with the patient without judging her (Skott, 2010). Building a strong relationship based on trust could encourage the patient to become more confident and talk on issues openly with the GRN. Via the implementation of therapeutic strategies, Jesse can aid Mrs. Brown to attain skills for achievement of her goals and implement an effective discharge plan. In taking care of Mrs. Brown, Jesse should put her focus on promoting independence and self-care. Towards Mrs. Brown’s termination of hospital stay, the nurse will have t o focus the manner in which she will live after hospitalization. Jesse will be the best planer for the discharge, as the therapeutic relationship development will put her in a situation to evaluate and assess Mrs. Brown. Discharge planning will involve patient assessment and provision of information that could prevent any future health setback (Lubinski, 2009). There are four phases of therapeutic relationships pre-interaction, introductory, working, and termination phases. The final phase is termination and the nurse should ensure that the patient, prior to discharge, has the capability to care for himself or herself. Therapeutic relationship’s importance can also be seen in this phase where the

Saturday, November 2, 2019

FINANCIAL REPORTING - INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING STANDARS Essay

FINANCIAL REPORTING - INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING STANDARS - Essay Example The IASC was founded by an Accountants’ International Study Group in the year of 1973 (Wood & Sangster, 2008). The IASB is an independent accounting setting body. After formally converting into the international accounting standards setting body, the IASB decided to develop, in the public interest, a single set of high quality international accounting standards(about Us). Since its inception, the IASB has been successful in introducing and implementing many fundamental accounting standards globally. Many developed and under-developed countries have extended their support for the mission of the IASB. However, there are still certain areas where the IASB faces a real threat of challenges. Critical analysis of the IASB Has the dream of global international accounting standards received a reality in the corporate world? Many authors have no positive answer for this question. Additionally, many believe that a single international accounting body may create problems for many stakeho lders (Lont, 2010).To substantiate their point, they say that the international accounting standards of the IASB are voluntary in nature: The IASB has no legal authority to impose and implement these accounting standards on any entity. Since the IASB has no legal authority to enforce its own devised international accounting standards, it would not be easy for the IASB to ensure the global uniform application of the standards. Furthermore, soon after the creation of the IASC, Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in the United States of America came into existence, creating a counter balancing force to the mission of the IASC. In the same year of 1973, the FASB drafted its own accounting standards and implemented on the corporations working inside America. Till this point of time, the U.S. corporations follow the Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP), in other countries; the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are used. Also, the IASB faces some politica l challenges as well. The powerful waves of global financial crisis drowned the boats of many large multi-nationals between the periods of 2007 to 2009. Many critics point out the fair value model used in the International Accounting Standards IAS 39 was mainly responsible in bringing the nightmare of global financial crisis. In October 2008, the IASB came under a severe attack from the European political leaders over the role of IAS 39 in the global financial crisis (Veron, 2010). Given to the severity of economic and financial situation, the IASB brought some reclassification amendment to the IAS 39 standard on the financial instruments (Veron, 2010). Additionally, the FASB behaves like a competitor rather than a professional associate of the IASB. Recently, it has been announced by the IASB and the FASB that by the end of 2015, the IFRS would be enforced in America. This is an attempt to ensure the global uniform application of the IFRS; and this would bring a forward step moveme nt of the IASB in attaining its global mission. However, this global mission received a serious blow when the FASB separately and independently developed and published its own visions on how to introduce reforms in the accounting of financial instruments (Veron, 2010). Furthermore, the IASC Foundation has received many questions on its professional integrity towards achieving its mission. The European banking industry shares its many reservations over the many of the announcements of the IASC. This situation has created an environment of

Thursday, October 31, 2019

How Attitudes Influence an Organization Research Paper

How Attitudes Influence an Organization - Research Paper Example The importance of the attitudes is no different in the corporate world as well. We can observe in the job advertisement placed by the organizations in which they explicitly mention the importance of a â€Å"can do attitude† in the applicant. Therefore, it is important to understand why organizations need individuals with a positive attitude. Importance of Attitude The increasing competition within the corporate world has compelled organizations to be extremely dynamic in their approach. The need to adjust according to the demands of the market and customers and for this they need employees who have a positive and flexible nature to adjust immediately to the required changes. The increased number of companies has also not helped the cause for many organizations as it stiffened the competition in the market. In the situation where organizations needs to be extremely innovative in their business approach, require their employees to think out of the box. The creative thinking is o nly possible when an individual is trying to find a solution rather than just filling in the situation. ... ees are an integral part of any success that an organization achieves and hence it important for the companies to have employees who are always thinking of something new and innovative. Attitudes Influencing Organizations Generally Organizations perform their activity in a competitive commercial environment which is permanently changing, which forces them to constantly adapt to new conditions. In an organization, management is performed by people, through people. Essentially, the organizational transformation resides in a holistic approach, emphasizing the human dimension of the company, which simultaneously takes into account the changes for purposes on the whole, the structures, the culture and the strategy of the organization, based on new perceptions, ways of thinking and of behaving. The dynamic nature of the corporate world has increased the importance of evolving organizations. The rapid advancement in technology is also changing the way of business practices around the world. The employees, thus, needs to be extremely positive in their approach to accept these changes in the work environment. The competitive forces in the industries have somehow shortened the length of competitive advantage for the firms, as many other firms would master the art of producing it with some additional features that too in a very short span of time. The example of Smartphone is the perfect elaboration of the above discussion. In this situation, if employees resist changes in the organization, which is brought in it to move forward and compete in the industry, the organization is likely to fall out of the competition (Olatokun, Wole and Olalekan). The approach or attitude of the employees is thus of critical importance. Their attitude shapes the attitude of the organization as the

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

International student essay Essay Example for Free

International student essay Essay The relations between the representatives of various cultures, either social or economical grow stronger with each passing year due to the globalization. In my opinion, the opportunity to get to know the other cultures and lifestyles through communication with its representatives is invaluable, as no books, movies or reports about the chosen country, can present such complete and accurate information, as people can. The circumstances were that China became the country were I got my first serious working experience, after graduating with a major in Chinese and English from the acclaimed Daewon Foreign Language High School. I spent two years working in this country, and that was when I became interested in China, in the opportunities that the diverse and multiple populations of these state presents to the businessman, in the peculiarities and technologies of its fast-growing economy. That was when I felt that Chinese economics was growing, and I realized it had the potential for becoming the worlds biggest and most powerful one. It was than that I felt I was interested in establishing business relationships and working in that country. Considering these facts, I feel I would like to study with a person who grew up in China, in a state, whose social system and economy are very different from that in my country of origin. My opinion is that for to work successfully in a foreign country, you should be well acquainted with its language, cultural patterns, and the way of life, as they influence business directly. Communication with the person who spent his/her childhood and youth in the country of my interest would help me to have an insight into the specifics of life in China. Unfortunately, in the present time I have little opportunities of practicing Chinese, and studying with a person of Chinese origin would also improve my language skills. I believe that people can and, moreover, should study from each other, share their experiences, as it is the most convenient way to get the most valuable practical knowledge. I hope that while studying in the University of Texas in Austin both my classmates and I will have a chance to benefit from communication with students with various cultural and academic backgrounds.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Arguments For and Against the Vaccine

Arguments For and Against the Vaccine Vaccine Debate Introduction There has always been a debate over the idea that children our newborns don’t need vaccinated. Some people think they give babies deadly diseases that would kill them. Who knows it may or may not be true. In this paper I’m going to go over both sides of this big debate and explain why getting your children vaccinated is VERY important, especially when it comes to your children’s lives. Another thing is how a vaccine even works to show you that vaccines are safe. The Doctor Is out: The anti-vaccination movement in America Since 1998, a growing fear surrounding vaccinations in the United States and England has been spreading. The claim is that vaccinations contain dangerous amounts of Mercury, Formaldehyde, and other toxins and can possibly link to bowel disease and autism. Despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, the anti-vaccination (which has gained the dubious moniker, anti-vax) movement continues to grow in The United States and England. This paper looks to outline the history of the movement, both historical vaccination scares and the modern incarnation of anti-vax, and shed light on the dangers of not having children vaccinated, as well as present evidence to the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. The current vaccination scare is nothing new, and is reminiscent of previous historical scares, the worst of which being in 19th Century Europe. In 1853, the British government passed the Vaccination Act of 1853, making vaccinations mandatory for all children in the first three months. The pas sage of the act caused a violent anti-vaccination movement to begin, with riots in Ipswich, Henley, and Mitford. Subsequently, the Anti-Vaccination League in London was formed the same year, giving the movement an appearance of credibility. In 1867, Parliament passed another law, The Compulsory Vaccination Act of 1867, extending the vaccination schedule to fourteen years. This caused more backlash within the anti-vaccination community, and more groups began forming, such as the Anti-Compulsory Vaccination League, as well as scientific journals such as The Anti-Vaccinator (1869), The Vaccination Inquirer (1879) and The National Anti-Compulsory Vaccination Reporter (1874) (Wolf, Robert M; Sharp, Lisa K, British Medical Journal). The movement didn’t stop in England, however. By the 1870s it had spread to Sweden, and the vaccination rate in Stockholm dropped from 90% in 1872 to 40% in 1873. The Swedish government did little to react to this until Stockholm was hit by a major Smallpox pandemic in 1874. With so few people vaccinated against the virus, it spread quickly and ravaged the city, leaving 4,063 dead in Sweden, and 1,206 of those deaths in the city of Stockholm (Kotar, S.L., Smallpox: A History p. 177). Other countries weren’t immune to this outbreak, either. Europe was in the middle of the Franco-Prussian war at this time, meaning large forces were moving quickly across Europe, and taking the disease with them. Smallpox spread into Denmark and Norway, which led to 6,620 reported cases and 425 deaths in Denmark, and 2,235 cases with 275 deaths in Norway (Kotar, S.L., Smallpox: A History p. 177). By this point in history, a viable Smallpox vaccine was available and had been for decades. In 1798, Edward Jenner effectively immunized patients against Smallpox by injecting them with a weaker strain of Cowpox. The body’s immune response to fight off the Cowpox virus conferred a permanent immunity to contraction of Smallpox. The uproar over vaccine denial in Europe, however, made the vaccination useless, and while Sweden had laws in place requiring vaccinations, they were not well enforced. 49% of children weren’t immunized in Stockholm, the city that took the brunt of the pandemic. Understanding this direct cause and effect relationship between lack of vaccinations, mobility of people, and deaths from preventable diseases is important in the fight against the modern day anti-vaccination movement. Europe in the 1870‘s lost a portion of its population to a preventable disease, which was spread so quickly by the movement of armies during the Franco-Prussian war as well as the displacement of civilians resulting from the war. Smallpox, as with most diseases, incubates in people for a few days before symptoms are visible, however it is still possible to spread the virus while it’s in its incubatory stages. So, this means that many people who arrived in Sweden and Denmark that were carriers had no outward symptoms. They were interacting with a culture that was largely unvaccinated against Smallpox, allowing the disease to run rampant amongst the population with deadly consequences. Fast forward 130 years to the modern world and this scenario could again become a lethal reality. We live in a world that increasingly connected, where people travel daily from one country or continent to another, and with little effort. While there are vaccination laws in the United States and most of the rest of the developed world, places such as West Africa have no such laws, and very high rates of vaccine preventable illnesses. People can travel quickly and with relatively little effort from these places and back again in less than the amount of time it would take a viral infection to start showing symptoms. This is exactly what happened in Newark, Texas in 2013. The Eagle Mountain International Church in Newark is a church that boasts over 1,500 members. They are also vehement anti-vax proponents. In August of 2013 a member had traveled to Indonesia, where he contracted measles. He showed no outward symptoms upon his return to Texas and attended church, where he then spread the measles to other members of the congregation. Sixteen people contracted the illness, nine children and seven adults, none of whom had been vaccinated against it. One of the adults then spread the measles to nearby Denton, Texas, infecting another five people, again, not vaccinated (Aleccia, Jonel; NBC News). While this case was relatively mild and brought no fatalities, it shows a demonstrable pattern between vaccine denial, migration, and infection. To understand why vaccinations are important, it’s necessary to understand how they work; and to understand the denial movement it’s important to know the stance of the anti-vaccinationists. Without delving too much into the science (entire doctoral and PhD thesis have been written on the subject), vaccines work by injecting weak or paralyzed forms of viruses and other chemicals directly into the bloodstream of a patient. The patient’s (typically an infant) immune system then fights off the infection, and the body builds an immune response to the infection. This response is permanent, and the patient has now developed anti-bodies to various diseases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, How Vaccines Prevent Disease). The anti-vaccination stance is that vaccinations are not tested enough, that pharmaceutical companies cannot be trusted, and that the added chemicals in vaccinations aren’t safe for human consumption. They claim, as well, that parts from aborted fetuses, rabbit brains, dog kidney, and chicken embryos are used in the manufacture of vaccines, and that while you can always get a vaccination, you can’t undo an existing one. The list of chemicals in vaccinations is indeed staggering, according to the anti-vaccination camp. Thimerosol, MSG, anti-freeze, and formaldehyde are just a few of the long list of dangerous chemicals in vaccinations, according to the web site The Healthy Home Economist (http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/six-reasons-to-say-no-to-vaccination/). While it is true that many of these chemicals exist in vaccines, they are frequently in trace amounts not harmful to humans. Many of them are used only during the manufacturing process and are actually removed from the final product. Thimerosol, which contains ethyl mercury, is common in many vaccines, and is used as a disinfectant (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Vaccine Ingredients). Anti-vaxers have claimed for years that the addition of mercury into an infant is incredibly dangerous, however, a study published in The Lancet and conducted at the University Of Rochester proved just the opposite. 40 infants were randomly selected, 19 of them received vaccines with ethyl mercury, and 21 without. Blood, urine, and stool samples were then taken from the infants from three to twenty eight days after the initial vaccination. The infants were exposed to 111.3 micrograms of Thimerosol containing ethyl mercury (higher than is contained in vaccines) or to 82.5 micrograms if the i nfant was under 3 months old (for scale, 1 microgram is equal to 1.0e-9 kilograms). The findings showed that, between 4-10 days, the half-life decay of ethyl mercury was 95%, meaning that 95% of the chemical had dissipated from the infants in just over a week. Further, the trace amounts that were actually injected into the infants were incredibly minute, so much so that, by comparison, you would consume more mercury by eating an apple, almost ten times as much. Only one of the infants was shown to have an increased level of ethyl mercury after 28 days, but the amount still fell within the acceptable tolerance range (Pichichero, The Lancet). Mono Sodium Glutamate, or MSG, is present as well in vaccinations; however this chemical in small amounts is in no way harmful to humans. It’s commonly found in table salt and other food seasonings. While formaldehyde is indeed used in the manufacture of vaccines, it is not in the final product. The formaldehyde is used to paralyze the vir us that is going in the vaccination, and is subsequently removed before the vaccine is complete. The American Journal Of Public Health performed a study in 1954 of the use of formaldehyde in the poliomyelitis vaccine, and found it to be completely safe (American Journal Of Public Health, Salk, Jonas E. M.D., Volume 44 Issue 5). Anti-freeze is another harmful chemical that the anti-vaccinators will frequently tell you are contained within all vaccines. While this isn’t completely untrue, it’s not totally true either. It is more the subject of a poor understanding of chemistry. Anti-freeze is primarily methanol, which is in the chemical family of alcohols. However, methanol is completely harmless to humans in small amounts. Anti-freeze, though, is very poisonous in nearly any dosage. That’s due to the active ingredient, the freezing-point depressor ethylene-glycol. While methanol is certainly found in vaccines due to its sterile properties, ethylene-glycol certainly isn’t (Brown, M.D., Baby 411: Clear Answers Smart Advice about Your Baby’s Shots). The modern evolution of the anti-vaccination movement started in earnest with Dr. Andrew Wakefield in 1998. He published a study in The Lancet Medical Journal in which he claimed to have found a link between the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine and Autism Spectrum Disorders, or ASD. The initial report sent shock waves through the medical community. However, four years later the results of his research were unable to be reproduced by any other medical team and speculation arose. Finally, in 2004, Brian Deer, an investigative journalist for The Sunday Times in London published his findings. In the course of his research into Dr. Wakefield’s study he found multiple conflicts of interest (Deer, Brian, The Sunday Times). His article prompted a lengthy investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC), England’s medical ethics and licensing board. During the course of their investigation, they found Andrew Wakefield to be guilty of serious professional misconduct and stripped him of his medical license, and had his home stricken from the Medical Register. The GMC found that he had accepted money from a private contingent of lawyers, the Legal Aid Board (LAB), who were engaging in a class action lawsuit against a vaccine production company. Wakefield was paid $84,160.00 (converted from Pounds Sterling) for his research, and it was concluded that over half of the money went directly to Mr. Wakefield instead of into the study. He was also found to be guilty of tampering with 5 of the patients, even though he had a strict no contact rule with all patient test subjects (General Medical Council, Fitness to Practice Council, 1-7). As far as a link between autism and the MMR vaccine, doctors have dismissed it as a classic case of correlation not being equal to causation. Most children are diagnosed with ASD shortly after they are vacc inated, but that’s only because nearly all children are vaccinated, and the age at which vaccinations take place are the same age at which ASD starts to show its symptoms, but there is no direct correlation between the two. Even though the evidence all points to the contrary, and the research and testing have proven vaccinations to be both safe and effective, vaccination denial is still a prevalent health issue. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) releases a weekly report, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly. Report that shows all cases of infectious and communicable diseases reported in the United States. The data shows a clear spike of vaccine preventable illnesses, such as Measles, Diphtheria, Rubella, and Smallpox in geographical areas that have higher concentration of anti-vaccination advocates (Centers for Disease Control, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, report data for April 2014). The danger isn’t just for those who choose not to get vaccinated or choose not to get their children vaccinated. Vaccinations are so effective because of â€Å"herd immunity†. There are people who are incapable of getting vaccinated, either due to allergies or to rare medical conditions. They rely on the people around them to be properly vaccinated, thus eliminating a host for the virus. As rates of vaccination decline, the herd becomes smaller, and viruses and diseases will be able to find hosts easier, not only contaminating those foolish enough not to get vaccinated, but also those who are just unable to get vaccinated. Conclusion This is a dangerous and very real health concern. The CDC has (unofficially) referred to celebrities such as Jenny McCarthy and Bill Maher, who are staunch opponents of vaccinations, as public health threats. The data is clear, vaccinations are safe, and there is absolutely no link between vaccinations and autism. The media has leaned heavily on scare tactics to boost ratings, reporting that vaccinations are potentially dangerous and encouraging people to seek homeopathic or natural remedies instead of synthesized ones. It is our duty as a people to educate and be educated on such matters that concern our public health with such tremendous force.