President Obama and the Financial Reform Research Paper

President Obama and the Financial Reform - Research Paper Example It has also enacted the Volcker Rule based on the advice of Paul Volcker a former Federal Bank’s Chairman and headed Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Although many are skeptical of the features and progress of the new Act, the law is understood to be more stringent on the unregulated trading and risk-taking by the financial corporations.   There have 3 major financial reforms in US history preceded by the recessionary phases and accounting scandals. First, the US economy faced the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression in 1929 as a result of which the Glass Steagall Act came into existence in 1933 which legislated the separation of commercial banks from investment banks. Senator Carter Glass was responsible for bringing the Act who believed that the commercial bank’s direct involvement with dealing in corporate securities was a threat to the financial system stability. Since then it has been the topic of research for many economists (Clark, p.205). Second, in 2002 the Sarbanes Oxley Act was signed in the wake of global corporate and accounting scandals such as Enron, WorldCom and Tyco International (Slander, p.1). The Act contains provisions of corporate governance and auditor’s independence and led to the creation of quasi-public agency Public Company Accounting Oversight Board which was responsible for regulating and overseeing the accounting firms as external auditors. Third, the most important reforms, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act has been enacted in 2010 by President Barack Obama and his administration. The law has led to the creation of two important oversight bodies- Financial Stability Oversight Council and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The new Act is considered by many to be based on the Glass Steagall Act. Global Financial Crisis 2007-2010 The Global financial crisis started with the bankruptcy of investment bank Bearn Stearns Inc in 2007 due to heavy exposure to mortgage-backed securities, central to the subprime mortgage crisis. The bank was sold to JP Morgan Chase. Then the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest bank in America was followed, which unfolded the global financial crisis. All those financial institutions which had exposures to the collapsed bank’s short-term assets faced the liquidity crunch. The largest insurance firm AIG faced the liquidity crisis in 2008 because its credit ratings were downgraded.  Ã‚  

What factors prohibits youth from re-entering juvenile detention Research Paper

What factors prohibits youth from re-entering juvenile detention centers - Research Paper Example It has also been seen that 88% of the children re entering the community are either 15 years old or more. However such is not the situation in all the cases and many of the juveniles are successfully absorbed back in the society. The reasons behind the repetition of offenses by the juvenile delinquents have interested the clinical psychologists. A study of the factors that successfully help the juvenile delinquents keep away from the detention center is necessary for the development of the community and this may reduce the number of cases of juvenile delinquencies (Youth Reentry, n.d). Review of current research A number of studies have been conducted to explain the offenses done by a child. Understanding the reasons behind the actions of an offender can help the psychologist eliminate the reason. One of the significant features of juvenile delinquencies has been gang behavior. The juvenile offenders often belong to a gang and commit crimes in the same. According to Roberts and Sprin ger (2007, p 200) the members of a gang have a sense of belonging to the group with feelings such as ‘looking out for each other’ and ‘staying together’. The gang works like a family where the other members deal with any threat posed to a gang member. Sometimes the older members of the gang pass on the traditions of the same to the new members. For a child from a disturbed family, getting included in a gang becomes a natural option in order to fill up the void created by the absence of a properly functional family. It also helps to nurture self-esteem within a child who is suffering from low confidence. Under such a situation the authors have advised to work on the strengths of the child. Sometimes the counselor may need to work on the strengths of the family...Introduction The Juvenile Act of 1973 declared that the children who were not suitable to return to their family were to be kept in a detention center that was separated from the adult delinquents. T hese out of the home facilities are called the juvenile detention centers. The juvenile criminal offenders are often separated from the community when they are perceived to be a threat to the society by placing them in these juvenile detention centers. In this way the detention centers offer a protection to the community as well as the juvenile delinquents. In these detention centers the children are supervised and structured programs are offered to them in order to reduce the ill effects of their confinement. The programs usually consist of educational aspects, recreational aspects and other developmental aspects to develop the social skills of the child with a view to help him return to the community after the release (Juvenile Detention Facility, n.d.). For successful rehabilitation in the community of the youths after their return from the detention center a number of measures must be taken.

Seraikela Chhau And Purulia Chhau Drama Essay

Seraikela Chhau And Purulia Chhau Drama Essay India is a country with a rich range of various cultures and traditions. Each part of India has different ways to preserve those cultures traditions such as folk and classical dances. Folk and classical dances play a big role in the Indian culture as a way of communication. One of the dance-drama folk art that is performed in India is the Chhau dance-drama of Eastern India. There are three types of Chhau dance-dramas but this essay will focus on only two types: the Seraikela of Bihar and the Purulia of West Bengal. Both Chhau styles are masked dance-drama forms that are unique. To understand the significance of this folk art for the Indian community, it is important to first understand the elements and the origins of the Chhau. The Chhau is very significant to the Indian culture because it is both a religious and mythological practise that has been passed on thought many generations. Not only is the Chhau dance-drama used for festive celebrations but is also used as a way to communic ate moral message by the portrayal of stories from the Indian mythology. The portrayal of stories is where the theatrical aspect comes in the picture. The Chhau characters are mute so therefore, movements and masks are used instead of dialogues to show certain emotions and feelings to bring the story forwards. The study of the origins, history, costumes, music, staging, music and performers brings to the conclusion that indeed, the Chhau dance-drama is a folk art that is very significant to the Indian culture and the Indian people. 1) Introduction- Folk dances in India India is one of the very few countries in the world to possess a rich range of different cultures and traditions. Each and every region of India has a unique culture that has passed through many generations for centuries. What I find really interesting about India is that they have well preserved their cultures and that even today, they are still practising certain traditions compared to other countries that have lost their cultures by evolving into a more modernized civilisation. Cultures and tradition can be passed on through generations by many ways like paintings, written scripts, music, theatre and dance. Folk dances and folk theatre play a big role in the Indian culture as they are art forms that are a very efficient way of expression to the community. Folk dance is an art used to convey the local culture, legends, myths and religious beliefs of a specific region and as India has many different cultures, the folk dances vary from one region to another. Indian folk dances are th e products of a variation of socio-economic classes in India. They are usually performed by ordinary people rather than professional dancers in small towns or villages where people gather together to celebrate special occasions such as harvesting, marriages, religious holidays, festivals, birth of a child etc Since in India all those festivities are celebrated quite often if its not every day, folk dances have become an essential part for the Indian culture. Some folk dances which are performed in India also incorporate theatre in their dances. Those dance-drama forms are a rural extension of the ancient theatrical tradition found in the Nathya Shastra . The Nathya Shastra is known as the oldest surviving text on stagecraft in the world written by Bharata Muni between 200 AD and 200 BC. The Nathya Shastra covers stage-design, music, dance, and makeup which are important components for the folk dances in India and also for musicians as it is the only text that provides details about the music and instruments used in that period. One of the folk dance-drama forms that has survived past several centuries and that is still being performed today despite the movement of modernization is the Chhau of Eastern India. The word Chhau is believed by certain people to come from the Sanskrit root Chhaya meaning shadow and since masks forms an important feature of this dance, it is thence called Chhau, which means mask. Among other dance-drama traditio ns in India like Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali and a few more, Chhau is a rare and unique colourful masked dance-drama form. There are three types of Chhau named after their geographical locations; the Seraikela of Bihar, the Purulia of West Bengal and the Mayurbhanj of Orissa (Figure 1). This Essay will focus on the elements and the origins of the dance-drama form of Seraikela Chhau and Purulia Chhau and to what extent they are significant to the Indian Culture as a folk art. Why did I choose this rare form of dance-drama among others? Simply because I thought that my temporary stay in India would be the perfect occasion to discover a totally new and unknown form of art for me that is directly related to the Indian culture. Since I am a theatre student, I think that exploring a rare form of art is an excellent way to broaden my knowledge of theatre through different cultures. I chose to write an in-depth essay about the Chhau dance-drama of Eastern India among many others also because I find the Chhau very interesting in the way it combines dance and theatre together to tell a specific story or mythology by using rhythms, movements and masks instead of dialogues like most of the theatrical forms use. Figure 1: The orange shaded area of this political map of India represents the Eastern part of India where the three types of Chhau dance-drama originated from. 2) The history and origins of Chhau: The origins of the Chhau dance-drama are still not certain as is the origin of the word Chhau. The dance is known as Seraikela Chhau in Jharkhand, Mayurbhanj Chhau in Orissa and Purulia Chhau in West Bengal. If we look at the basic differences between the three different styles of Chhau, the Chhau dancers of Purulia wear highly stylized masks, in Seraikela the masks are smaller, while in Mayurbhanj the dancers do not always use masks. The word Chhau is interpreted in different ways by different quarters and persons. Most of the people say that the word Chhau arises from the Sanskrit root Chhaya which means shadow and that the art originated in West Bengal. On the other hand, some people disagree and think that it had arisen from the word Chauni which means camp for soldiers and that it originated from the state of Orissa. The reason being the hypothesis that the word chhau derived from the word Chauni is that the Chhau originated in the mock fights of the Oriya paikas (warriors) who fought rhythmically to the accompaniment of indigenous music instrument . Chhau dance is then believed to have originated as a martial art that contains vigorous fight and acrobatic movements. Since the period of time the Chhau started to be performed, many of the main rulers of the region of Orissa worked for the development and conservation of the art. The Chhau is a dance-drama performed only by men. The Chhau dance-drama barely evolved and today follows the basic principles of the Natya Shastra text and has become closely connected to religion. For several centuries, the Chhau dances have been used in association with the religious festival Chaitra Parva also known as the Sun Festival which is celebrated every year starting from the Chaitra month of the Hindu calendar which is around March-April in the Gregorian calendar. During this time of the year, the different social and economical classes used to come together, from the royal family to the local farmers, to celebrate the C haitra Parva. India is a country where religion takes an important part among the lives of the people. The aim of the Chhau dancers is to worship different Gods and Goddesses like for example Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati for the goal of acting to call for their blessings to stay protected from evils. Besides being performed for religious purposes, the Chhau dance-dramas are also mythological as they are mainly based on the episodic epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. The Hindu mythology consists of stories of Gods, Devas and Asuras. In Hinduism, Deva is the Sanskrit word for a God or a supernatural being, normally resident in one of the numerous heavens and reborn there as the result of good karma. The Asuras are a group of power-seeking deities who are sometimes referred to as demons or sinful souls and are opposed to the Devas. Basically, there is a confrontation between the good and the bad and this confrontation is portrayed by characters in the Chhau dance-drama. However, with pa ssing of time the dance-drama started being used for many other occasions and celebrations through the year in the different states. 3) Masks and Costumes: a. Masks: Characters from the Indian mythology such as Lord Shiva or Ganesh are mythological and therefore, superior to the human being. It was not easy playing such characters using only the human facial expressions and features and that is the reason why in the early periods, different shapes and symbols were used as facial painting or body painting by the dancers to emphasize the characteristics of the different mythological characters .The practise of covering the face and the body with painting gradually gave birth to masks and bright coloured costumes in the dance performances to personify the God and Goddesses of the Hindu mythology. The mask is made not to hide or to conceal, but to expose. As an instrument of metamorphoses, the mask permits man to lose his identity, and allows the gods to manifest themselves with an uncovered face. To mask oneself is to give life to a superior being Masks have been used for many centuries throughout the world for both ritual purposes and traditional theatres especially for the expressivity they add in a characters performance. Masks are often used in folk arts because they are a part of a costume that adorns the whole body and embodies a tradition important to the religious and/or social life of the community. Unfortunately, I was not able to watch an actual Chhau dance-drama performance but I got to experience I quite similar style of dance during my trip in the island of Bali in Indonesia. As the community from Bali follow the Hindu religion, they have mythological stories resembling the Indian ones. The performance Ive seen in Bali was a dance-drama style of performance as the characters were telling a story using dance, movements and gestures to act a story. The dance-drama constituted five acts telling a story using the good ones and the evil ones which is till now very similar to the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics. In the Balinese dance-drama, the characters were wearing masks as well but not all of them compared to the Chhau dancers of Purulia and Seraikela where it is compulsory for all the characters to wear masks. In the Balinese dance-drama, only the superior characters wore masks to express their power and their high status while the other characters were only covered with colourful full-face makeup. As a member of the audience, I can say that the masks helped a lot in creating an epic style of atmosphere on the stage and also in creating a connexion between the characters and the audience which is the reason why I think that masks are used by all the characters in the Chhau dance-drama. The performance that I have seen in Bali helped me a lot in understanding the purposes of the use of masks in the Chhau dance-drama as the Balinese dance is performed for religious and mythical purposes as well. Figure 2 shows an image of the characters in the Balinese dance taken during a performance while Fig ure 3 shows the characters of the Chhau dance-drama. The similarities in the masks used to portray superior beings can be noticed between both dance-drama forms. Even though both forms use masks, the masks are different in the way they are made and the way they look. Figure 2: Masks in the Balinese style of dance-drama. Figure 3: Masks in Chhau dance-drama of Eastern India The Chhau dance-drama enters in the category of poor theatre as all the materials, costumes, masks and accessories are made out of small expenses. . The Chhau masks are made with low priced ingredients such as river soil, newspapers, thin pieces of clothe, little bit of lime and paint. The facial masks are mostly manufactured by the artisans of the villages of the regions of West Bengal or Jharkhand as the Seraikella and the Purulia are the only styles of Chhau that uses masks as a compulsory part of their costumes in their performances. In Seraikela for example, the craft of mask making is an art that is handed down from father to son through many generations. The techniques and the fundamental nature of the Seraikela and Purulia Chhau dance-drama are based on the use of masks. Not only does it add beauty, color and life to the dance but it also evokes bhava (mood) and rasa (aesthetic sentiments) in the audience. Masks have a big role to play in the relationship between the performe r and the audience. In Chhau, every performer has specific masks according to their characters. The Gods and Goddesses usually wear small pieces of decorative glittering materials in the facial masks accompanied with feathers and jewels while the evils or demons like the characters Ravana or Mahishasura wear grotesque masks. The masks used in the Chhau dance-drama are also used to interpret expressions. As the Chhau dance-drama is a speechless form of performance, the expressions given by the masks becomes essential. As the use of masks eliminate any form of facial expressions, the Chhau dancers use head gestures and neck movements to express any sort of feelings or emotions. I think it is really interesting how the portrayal of a story can be done using only body language and masks instead of spoken language and facial expressions. From a theatrical point of view, it is not common and that is what forms the uniqueness of the Chhau dance-drama in the world. The figures 4, 5 and 6 be llow illustrates example of Chhau masks used for different characters. Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 b. Costumes: Like the masks, the costumes are made out of inexpensive local materials. The costumes that the Chhau performers used at the time the dance-drama started being performed are not known so therefore, we cannot tell if the costumes they are using today have evolved or stayed the same since the early years of the performances. Today, the costumes that are used in the Chhau performances are from various bright colors and designs as it is a performance that is supposed to evoke joy during festive periods. The costumes for the lower part of the body differ for the performers playing the Gods and the ones playing the demons. The artists that play the Gods (Devas) characters usually wear pajamas of light colors like green, yellow or red or a mixture of colors to make the characters look more attractive and alive; whereas those playing the role of the demons (Asuras) wear loose trousers of darker and deeper colors such as black. The costumes for the upper part of the body are made out of vario us designs and are as attractive and colourful as the costumes of the lower part of the body. For the performers that play characters such as animals or birds, suitable types of masks and costumes are used to portray the specific types of animals or birds. For example the character of Lord Shiva will be displayed by a tiger skin costume and his son Ganesh with a dhoti (Figure 7). The costumes also consist of many jewelleries and anything that look extravagant as those costumes are supposed to portray inexistent mythological characters. Figure 7: Dhoti Figure 8: Colourful costumes used in Chhau. 4 ) Music and staging: Staging: As the Chhau dance-drama is performed on festive occasions with a gathering together of a whole village community, there is no raised platform or dais being settled down for the performance. With the aim of keeping the traditionalism of the event, the Chhau dance-drama usually takes place in an open air ground where the spectators are divided into sections of women and men and sit in a circle surrounding the area where the Chhau is performed. The stage used for the Chhau performances is decorated in a colourful and joyful style to create a festive atmosphere among the villagers and is usually lit by torches or oil lamps that serve as lighting which once again are made to adhere to the traditionalism of the event. The staging of the Chhau is organized in a style that encourages people from any social or economical class to gather together and celebrate. The fact that the Chhau dance-drama remains a local and traditional event after so many years is fascinating to me as many other danc e or theatrical forms evolved to become more of an entertainment or money based purpose practise than a traditional one. It is very interesting how the Chhau is staged in a way to form a joyful atmosphere in a folk environment. Music: Like other ritual dances, the music accompaniment is a really important part for Chhau. The music style and the rhythm produced by the accompanying instruments are one of the key factors that characterize the uniqueness of the Chhau dance-drama. As the Chhau dancer is mute, the music and the lines sung by the orchestra are really important to introduce the performance. They create the right kind of mood and atmosphere for the scene to be enacted. The most important instrument accompanying the Chhau performances is the use of drum. The two main kinds of drums that are used in the Chhau performances are the Dhol ( Figure 9) and Dhamsa (Figure 10) which are played by local drummers of the area who also dance as they play. As for the tradition, the drummers themselves make the instruments and the tones used for the Chhau dance-drama based on the Hindustani Ragas wish is a Hindustani classical music concept. Ragas have a particular scale and specific melodic movements; their sound should bring delight and be pleasing to the ear. Reed pipes such as Shehnai (Figure 11) are also used by the orchestra along with the drums. The drum beats are important in the Chhau performances because they are used in the beginning of the dance-drama as an invocation to Lord Ganesha sung by a singer from the orchestra. As soon as the invocation to lord Ganesha is over, the drummers and musicians walk in to create an environment prior to the dance before the Lord Ganesha makes his entry followed by the other characters. Figure 9 : Dhol Figure 10: Dhamsa Figure 11: Shehnai 5) Performers and techniques: Even though the Chhau dance-drama is a folk form of dance, it also includes some elements from the classical form of dance of India like the navarasas. The navaras are basically nine emotions that are used in the Indian classical dances and dramas to make both the dancers/actors and the audience appreciate the meaning of the lyrics and the movements that are being portrayed by. The nine rasas goes as follows: hasya (happiness), krodha (anger), bhibasta (disgust), bhayanaka (fear), shoka (sorrow), veera (courage), karuna (compassion), adbhuta (wonder) and shanta (serenity). These nine emotions have been mentioned in Nathya Shastra and all dance and theatrical forms in India use these emotions extensively. As there are no spoken dialogues in most of the Indian dances including the Chhau, the navarasas are usually portrayed by using the eyes, the face, the muscles and the body shifts as a whole. In the case of Purulia and Sereikela Chhau, the movements of the eyes and the face are not possible as it is compulsory for all the characters to wear masks so the focus is on the body movements more than anything else to portray the nine different rasas. Since the Chhau dance-drama evolved from martial arts, the movements are very specific and important. The mask movements usually show anger while the shoulder and chest movements show joy, depression or courage depending on the way the dancer portrays it. The movements of the lower part of the body of the Chhau dancers are very quick and strong while the upper part of the body barely moves and the head rests in a slanted position. Jumping in the air is a movement that is often used in the Chhau performances because they serve as a gesture of at tack in war scenes between the good ones and the evil ones. The kind of jump seen in the Chhau performances is known as ulfa which is an indicator of the physical power and acrobatic skills of the performers. As we can see, the body language plays an essential role in the folk dance-drama Chhau. In relation to the theory of knowledge, Chhau is very interesting in the way that it uses body language as a way to communicate with people. 6) Interview with Chhau master Chandi Mahato: Chhau dance-drama is a very rare and not commonly known form of folk art. Published books and web sources are not enough to properly study this art form in depth and therefore, I thought that an interview with an actual Chhau dance master would be ideal and effective to pursuit my exploration on the topic. As I live in Bangalore, a city in the state of Karnataka in the south part of India, a face to face interview was not possible so I sort this problem out by having a telephonic interview with the Chhau master Chandi Mahato. Chandi Mahato is a middle aged Chhau master residing in the remote village named Baghmundi in the Purulia district of West Bengal. He comes from a long lineage of Chhau dancers and teachers and has trained a lot of modern Chhau dancers including his son Lalit Mahato. An otherwise almost illiterate person, Chandi Mahato has learned a lot from his experience with Chhau dancing and at 67 years old, Mahato has performed in all major cities in India several times. Ma hato is a farmer for most part of the year but he also engages himself in training theatre troupes in India working with the methods propounded by Jerzy Grotowsky. After asking Mahato nine questions about his experience with Chhau and the Chhau art in general, I felt more enlightened about the Chhau dance-drama form. The answers I got from Mahato are very interesting (See Appendix 1). Like most of the Chhau practitioners, Mahato learned Chaau from his father Gurupada Mahato who also learned it from his father and Mahato also taught it to his son Lalit Mahato which confirms that the Chhau is a tradition transmitted from father to son through many generations. Chhau is usually learned form a young age because when one grows older, the flexibility of the body becomes weaker. Mahatos training techniques are very specific and challenging because dancing and acting using acrobatics is certainly not easy. Chandi Mahato persisted on the fact that the specific training is essential for Chhau practitioners and that consequences such as injuries of the performer or misinterpretation of the character could follow after a bad training. Drama is incorporated in the Chhau by the acting of a story without the use of any spoken language but instead body language. Mahato says that he uses a lot of typical exaggerated actions, movements, and gaits accompanied by music and rhythms which are easily recognised by the audience to carry the story forward. The Chhau master Mahato agrees on the fact that Chhau dance-drama as a folk art is very important to their community and cultural identity. Most of the people from those villages are farmers living in poor conditions. Therefore, they stick to this art form to bring joy and colors to their daily routines and they also use it as a way to express their emotions either the positive or the negative ones in a creative way. Chhau is also very important to their community because it is used to convey eternal moral messages. They use mytholo gical stories to convey these moral messages for goal to educate people from those villages. Mahato is therefore stating that Chhau as a folk art is important to the Indian culture and is very significant as well. 7) Conclusion: After an in-depth study of the elements and origins of the Chhau dance-drama, it is therefore evident that this folk art is based on traditional and cultural elements. Chhau is an integral part of the culture heritage of India and its an indigenous dance form created with a typical Indian psyche which is deeply rooted in the scriptures that are followed by all major Indian dance and dramatic forms. The Chhau is an art that is not only used for festive purposes but also as a way of communication with the community to convey certain messages using mythological stories. The Chhau is mostly performed for an audience that is typically Indian including sons and daughters of Indian soil, brought up with typical Indian values. As explained in the film by Vikrant Kishore Dancing for themselves, the states where the Chhau originated from are states in where poverty is a big problem and that is one of the reasons the residents of those states are very attached to the Chhau and work hard on pres erving it. Lalit Mahato who is the son of the Chhau master Chandi Mahato features in the film Dancing for themselves and explains through the movie how important Chhau is for him and his culture. Lalit Mahato said Whatever it takes Ill teach my son Chhau Dance, no matter if Ive to just eat boiled rice; this quote shows the importance of Chhau as a cultural aspect for the lives of those villagers. The Chhau dancers do not practise this art only to entertain an audience but they also use it as a creative way to express their feelings and emotions. It is incredible how the different states of India Including the ones practising the Chhau dance-drama preserved their cultures intact. What we also have to take into consideration is the fact that those areas have not yet been touched by the fast movement of modernization. What would happen once modernization touch those areas? Will it affects their culture? Will they still perform the Chhau dance-drama as it is performed today and would it still be as significant for their culture? Those are questions that one should have in mind. I personally hope that those states dont lose their culture because I think that the Chhau dance-drama is a unique and fantastic form of folk art that should be preserved the way it is. 8) Bibliography: Interview: Mahato, Chandi Chhau dance-drama. Telephone interview translated by Tamojit Ray. 24 Feb. 2010. Published work: Devi., Ragini. Dance dialects of India. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1990. Print. Gajrani, S. History, Religion and Culture of India. Vol. 4. Dehli: Isha, 2004. Print. Schechner, Richard. Between Theater and Anthropology. New York: University of Pennsylvania, 1985. Print. Video: Chhau Dance Performances : The Ramayana:Love and Valour in Indias Great Epic. Google Video. Web. 09 Dec 2009. Chhau dance promo. Youtube. Web. 05 Dec. 2009. . DANCING FOR THEMSELVES A film by Vikrant Kishore. Dir. Vikrant Kishore. Youtube. 16 May 2007. Web. 11 Dec. 2009. . Web Sources: Chhau dance. Orissa Government Portal. Web. 11 Dec. 2009. . Chhau , Indian Folk Dance. Indianetzone. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. . Chhau. India.gov. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. Courtney, David. FOLK DANCES. Chandrakantha. Web. 09 Dec. 2009. . Courtney, David. Natya Shastra. Chandrakantha. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. . Folk Dances of India. Iloveindia. Web. 09 Dec. 2009. . Folk Dances of India. Web. 11 Dec. 2009. . Kamat, K.L. The Chhau dance. Kamat. 08 Sept. 2001. Web. 11 Dec. 2009. . Masks in Serikella Chhau Dance. Acharyaseraikellachhau. Web. 11 Dec. 2009. . Origin of Indian Folk Dances. Indianetzone. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. . Seraikella Chhau: An Introduction. Acharyaseraikellachhau. Web. 11 Dec. 2009. . Ponmelil, V.A. India Introduction to folk dances. Web. 09 Dec.2009. . West Bengal Chhau. Indialine. Web. 12 Dec. 2009. .

A Comparison of God and Satan in Paradise Lost Essay -- comparison com

Comparison of God and Satan in Paradise Lost      Ã‚   In this essay I shall be focusing on the characters of G-d and Satan from 'Paradise Lost' by John Milton.   Within the essay I shall be attempting to elucidate on the themes of ambiguity of the two characters as well as the uncertainty of moral integrity of each, characterized by John's Milton's use of sentence structure, private thoughts and symbolism.    Foremost I would like to look at the way the way in which Milton characterizes the characters of Satan in particular.   Milton specifically presents different elements of Satan's character by his interaction with those around him. For example it may seem ultimately that Satan (even by his very name) is a creature of great evil.   However, Milton shows elements of self doubt and an almost pitiful nature, forming a contradiction of the stereotypical image of what Satan represents.:    'Which way I fly is hell: My self am hell'    The repetition of the word 'hell' exaggerates a sense of futility now that he has come to Earth for the first time.   The questioning tone implied by the use of the word 'which' further empathises this.   The reader no longer needs to label the morality of such a character; Satan defines himself with the use of the pronoun 'my' and the preceding definition and assessment that 'My self am hell'.   Furthermore through Satan's own assessment the distancing technique by the word 'my' appears to exaggerate the notion of the definition of himself, the natural pause due to the unusual syntax further accentuates this.  Ã‚   The use of Milton's alliteration in 'Racked with deep despair' when describing Satan's countenance only empathises this pitiful nature.    However this sense of self dou... ...ng that G-d deliberately leads Satan into greater evil.    From the outset it appears that G-d and Satan remain in opposition together, an important characterisation of Milton.   'Paradise Lost' states that Satan was acting;    'Against the throne and monarchy of G-d.'    Weston continues this theme by saying that:    'In a fundamental sense, then, the 'hell' of human struggle can be said to have produced the 'heaven' of peace and harmony.'    In other words without the intensity of one character, in 'Paradise Lost' we would be without the other.      Works Cited and Consulted: Bush, D. 'John Milton'  Ã‚   Weidenfeld & Nicolson,   Ã‚  London, 1964. Empson, W. 'Milton's G-d'  Ã‚   Penguin, London, 1973. Milton, J. 'Paradise Lost'  Ã‚   Penguin, London, 1955. Weston, P. 'Paradise Lost- A Critical Study, Penguin   Middlesex, 1984.

Feminist Contributions Essay

Feminism is a conflict theory which views society as male dominated and it seeks to describe, explain and change the position of women in society. Feminism is therefore a theory of women’s subordination and also a political movement. There are different types of feminism, which I will be evaluating in this essay; Liberal, Radical, Marxist, Black and Postmodernist feminist. Feminists criticise mainstream sociology for being ‘malestream’. By contrast, feminists examine society from the viewpoint of women an see their work as part of the struggle against women’s subordination. However, although all feminists oppose women’s subordination, there are disagreements among feminist’s theories about its causes and how to overcome them. Liberal feminists are concerned with the human and civil rights and freedoms of the individual, they believe that all human beings should have equal rights. In liberal feminism, the concept of society changing itself to adapt to women does not occur. Liberal feminists insist that all that is needed to change the status of women is to change existing laws that are unfavorable for women and that this will open up more opportunities for women to prove themselves as equal to the opposite sex, this is referred to as reformism. In addition, liberal feminists reject the idea that biological differences make women less competent or rational than me, nor are men biologically less emotional or nurturing than women are. Liberal feminist Oakley, distinguishes between sex and gender. She claims sex differences are seen as fixed, whereas gender differences vary between cultures and over time. Therefore what is considered a proper role for women in one society or at a specific time may be disapproved of or forbidden in another. According to liberal theorists, sexist attitudes and stereotypical beliefs about gender are culturally constructed and transmitted through socialisation. However, liberal feminism can be seen as a critique of the functionalist view of gender roles. For example, Parsons distinguishes between instrumental and expressive roles. In his view, instrumentals roles such as paid work are taken on by males, while expressive roles such as unpaid domestic labour and childbearing are taken on by females. On the other hand liberal feminism challenges this view. It argues that men and women are equally capable of  performing each roles. Radical feminists emerged in the early 1970s and its key concept is patriarchy. Radical feminists have three key arguments; patriarchy is universal as male domination of women is evident in all societies. Firestone argues that the origins of patriarchy lie in women’s biological capacity to bear and care for infants, as a result of this women become dependent on men. The second argument is that patriarchy is the primary and most fundamental form of social inequality and conflict. Thirdly, all men oppress women and all men benefit from patriarchy. Particularly from women’s unpaid domestic labour and from their sexual services. For radical feminists, patriarchal oppression occurs in the public sphere of work and politics and also in the private sphere of the family. According to radical feminists, patriarchal power is expressed through sexual or physical violence or the threat of it. As Brownmiller notes, fear of rape is a powerful deterrent against women going out alone at night. Likewise Rich argues that men force women into a narrow and unsatisfying ‘compulsory heterosexuality’, which becomes the only socially acceptable form of sexuality. Radical feminists believe that if women are to be free, personal and sexual relations must be transformed. They have suggested three strategies to achieve this. Firstly separatism, which is when women live apart from men and create a new culture of female independence. Feminist Greer argues for the creation of all-female or ‘matrilocal’ households as an alternative to the heterosexual family. The second strategy is consciousness raising, through sharing their experiences in women-only consciousness-raising groups, women come to see that other women face the same problems. The third strategy is political lesbianism; many radical feminists argue that heterosexual relationships are inevitably oppressive because they involve ‘sleeping with the enemy’ and that lesbianism is the only non-oppressive form of sexuality. Marxists have a key criticism of radical feminists. They argue that class is the primary form of inequality and that capitalism is the main cause and beneificiary of women’s oppression, not men. Another criticism comes from Anna Pollert, who argues that the concept of patriarchy is of little value in explaining women’s position because it involves a circular argument. In contrast, Marxist feminists dismiss liberal feminists’ view that women’s subordination is merely the product of stereotyping or outdate attitudes. Likewise they  also reject the radical feminist view that it is the result of patriarchal oppression by men. Marxists see women’s subordination as rooted in capitalism. This results from their primary role as unpaid homemakers, which presents them in dependent economic positions in the family. Their subordination performs four important functions of capitalism; women are a source of cheap, exploitable labour. As they are viewed as financially dependent on their male partners, they can be paid less by employers. Women are a reserve army of labour, that can be moved into the labour force during economic booms and out again at times of recession. Women produce the labour force through their unpaid domestic labour, by nurturing and socialising children to become the next generation of workers by maintaining and servicing the current generation of workers. Thirdly, women absorb anger that would otherwise be directed at capitalism. Ansley describes wives as ‘takers of shitâ €™ who soak up the frustration of their husbands, this explains male domestic violence against women.

It Is Points to Deny the Logical Necessity of the Existence of God.

â€Å"It is pointless to deny the logical necessity of the existence of God. † First of all, we must ask: is the existence of God an analytic statement, or is it synthetic. An analytic statement is one which is impossible to think of as false. For example, a triangle having three internal angles which total 180 degrees is an analytic statement because it it impossible to think of a triangle in any other way. This therefore means that the proposition is logically necessary and it would be incoherent to be considered to be false. However, a synthetic statement is one in which the statements truth or falsity depends on evidence which must be collected. Therefore, to determine whether or not it is pointless to deny the logical necessity of the existence of God the form of the statement must be assessed. In his Ontological argument Anselm uses the idea that God is the greatest possible being which can be conceived (thought of), and must exist in reality and in the mind, due to the fact that something what exists in reality and the mind is greater than that which simply exists in the mind alone. In Anselm's second argument a conclusion is drawn, which states that God has to exist and cannot fail to exist. In philosophical terms this refers to necessary existence. God is not a contingent being, due to the fact that God exists by necessity. According to Anselm, God simply must exist, and this should not be denied. Anselm also claims that is it part of God’s nature that God exists, and this suggests the idea that a predicate of God is God’s existence. An argument which defends the existence of God as an analytic proposition is Descartes’ response to the criticism of his argument. Descartes uses the triangle as an example. The nature of a triangle is that it has three sides, and three interior angles totaling 180 degrees. This nature is immutable, meaning that it is incapable of change and difference. Secondly, triangles are simply an example of ‘what you see is what you get’ meaning that even if no one had any knowledge of a triangle it would still exist in its current form. The key point in this concept is that, like a triangle, God also has an immutable nature. According to Descartes part of God’s nature is that it exists. Part of God’s essence is therefore existence, and from this Descartes states that God existing is as fundamental to the nature of God as the interior angles adding to 180 degrees are an essential part of what a triangle is. Descartes goes of to give two reasons as to why we should believe that God exists. The first is the idea that if you study the idea of God carefully enough is clear that the perfection of existence is part of the way of God. Secondly is the idea that even though you can claim to happily think of mountains and valleys, it does not mean that they exist, whereas Descartes insists that existence is a perfection, and hence God being perfect must exist. When an atheist denies the existence of God, logic will often be uses as his means of reasoning and arguing his point. It is possible to state that logic so clearly demonstrates the existence of God, as a source of beginning and creation, but the matter of fact is that the Atheist has no reason to use logic at all, let alone deny the existence of God at all. As humans we understand that logic is valid, due to the fact that we must use it constantly; and we also know that logic cannot prove itself to be valid. There can be no logical answer other than to say that logic demands the existence of God. Logic presupposes Gods existence, and in this respect by denying God, you are simply denying logic. This therefore means that atheists are stalled. If he admits to the existence of logic, he must admit and understand the existence of God, yet if he denies God he must demonstrate how logic is valid. This is something which cannot be done. Logic demands the existence of God. Logic, therefore, proves the existence of God. However, Immanuel Kant argues that existence is not a predicate. Philosophers try to explain this as Kant saying that existence is part of the concept of God (an analytic statement) but it does not prove that God exists in reality. For Kant, all philosophical statements or propositions regarding existence or actuality or synthetics, and need to be proven or verified as true or false. For Kant, as well as many others, God’s existence (like any other things existence, is synthetic and must be proven in order to be understood and believed. However, Descartes, in reply to Gassendi stated that ‘the relation between existence and essence is manifestly quite different in the case of God from what is it in the case of a triangle. ’ In other words, Descartes is attempting to state that God is a different form of being/ thing than a triangle, and it is the essence of God to exist.

SHALL WE OR SHALL WE NOT HIRE POLICE OFFICERS BASED ON GENDE essays

SHALL WE OR SHALL WE NOT HIRE POLICE OFFICERS BASED ON GENDE essays SHALL WE OR SHALL WE NOT HIRE POLICE OFFICERS BASED ON GENDER OR MINORITY ISSUES? We should not hire people based on gender or minority issues because everybody has different skills and capabilities to perform specific tasks. If we talk about gender issues... well, women are very good in certain aspects, for example, organization and communication... when men have other traits, such as physical strength. If we talk about minority issues... well, people is different... there are many different cultures in the world. Its call diversity. So, if we hire diverse people, we have more probability to find a solution for an specific problem with specific people... For example: An east Indian has decided to kill himself by jumping from a building. The police arrives and surrounds the building. The guy is about to jump, while the cops yell at him orders... But the guy doesnt understand a word... he doesnt speak English very well. So, what to do? Just call the east Indian officer (which is woman, haha) and let her talk with him. She will probably save his life. That is another reason to hire women in the police department. Women tend to use dialogue most of the time to solve their conflicts. Men dont. Men are usually more aggressive, and tend to use their physical strength. So... it is better to have diverse people to develop different tasks. Depending on the situation. At the end I believe that the real question would be... should we hire police officers, or should we hire big guys? If we think about it, it doesnt matter how physically strong is a police officer when you have a problem like in the example. In that case what you need is a person that has good communication skills, that is intelligent, (and last but not least), that is bilingual. Variety is good. Joining different people with different capabilities will give us a stronger police department (or whatever is the case) as a re ...

Basic Directory Transversal essays

Basic Directory Transversal essays When digging into a system it is always smart to look for obvious lack of security instead of looking at holes within the security. In other words, if you want to poke around a system, look for the obvious, visible openings before engaging in actually attacking the security of the system. I look at this as being given access instead of gaining unauthorized access, which legally, is a big difference. Now I am not a lawyer, but these are two completely different things in my Basic directory transversal involves seeing what directories are publicly accessible without "breaking into" anything. More advanced forms of directory transversal involve using these basic principles to slide through security by using things like "/../" and hex codes to try and fool the software into allowing you access to directories that were not intended to be accessible. But lets stick to the basics for now. For example, depending on the type of web server running, you are probably familiar with the fact that there is a specific default directory structure that usually contains at least one subfolder called "images". No HTML is usually stored in this directory, but there are images there. If the privileges are not set up properly, you can browse to the images directory and see all of the files contains within. Take this one step further and see what other directories you can get into. You might find directories called "content", "templates", "members", or pretty much anything. Each one of these folder should be locked down to prevent unauthorized access. The sad reality is that they are not. During your normal browsing of a site, or your intentional targeting of a site, notice the directory structure of the site. Notice that you may suddenly jump two directories deep. You may click on a link from the main page to a page located at "../content/articles/page1.html". ...

An evaluation of the modernist art and educational art in the essay avant garde and kitsch by clement greenberg

An evaluation of the modernist art and educational art in the essay avant garde and kitsch by clement greenberg In his essay ‘Avant-garde and Kitsch’, Clement Greenberg claims that avant-garde or modernist art is a tool to prevent the ordinary culture caused by consumerism. Also with in his essay Kitsch gained popularity. The reason of he avant-garde’s arising is to defend aesthetic standards from the negative effects of consumer society over the artistic taste. He keeps avant-garde or art as more superior than kitsch. They are opposite sides according to Greenberg. He thinks that kitsch is much more like an Academic art. This gave a shape to the art and formed some rules to make the art something learnable. Many forms and ideas in contemporary poetry can be understood by analyzing this essay. For Clement, art includes two types: avant-garde and kitsch. Avant-garde takes the top position as a kind moving our society forward and it can be seen a genuine art. It focuses on the art itself and can make the common or minor, unimportant things a part of the art in artistic way. The avant-garde artists managing to do this, mostly are marginalized in modern world. However, even if kitsch has a characteristic of inauthenticity, modern society is more interested in kitsch. Also, kitsch can’t be behind its time. Art and life is connected with each other and this attracts people to kitsch. However, in other side this quality of kitsch can be seen problematic. Like avant-garde, it is not genuine. Kitsch doesn’t need the effort of readers or viewers while genuine art requires people to work hard and to be educated people to be able to acquire artistic ideas. The avant-garde is a product of Western bourgeois culture. It can be said that the capitalist and consumer society created avant-garde. It aimed to pursue art for its own sake but at the same time it couldn’t save itself from the money of bourgeois society. The avant-garde is both an academic and intellectual movement. Rather than being depended on history and tradition, it is about future and potential. Content is not significant, only the form of art itself is of importance. The avant-garde artist is not imitating or re-creating the world, but imitating and re-creating the form the art itself. The bacis principle in avant-garde is that instead of art that imitates life, art that imitates art. The avant-garde art requires a wealthy and educated audience. Kitsch is a product of the industrial revolution which urbanized the masses of Western Europe and America and established universal literacy. According to Greenberg, the kitsch arose to fill a demand for culture coming from the proletariat of industrial countries. It serves to lower class or middle class and that is it is easy to reach by everyone. It can be counted as a synthesis of culture and media. Kitsch is profitable, mechanical and has formulas. While avant-garde needs an educated class, kitsch doesn’t need such an audience to grasp the ideas. The avant garde imitates the process (and system) of art, and kitsch imitates its effect. Greenberg explains that socialism is the only movement that can support the avant- garde, or new culture. The avant-garde pushes its limits and so is producing new cultural value. Even kitsch is disposed to find new ideas in itself from time to time. While the avant-garde represents high culture, kitsch is the product of mass culture or popular culture and so it serves to common man. Some writers may look to do different things in terms of the structure of the work and the sequence of the sentences, while others working in poetry would create new forms and new ways of working. One of the key things about being avant-garde in literature is that it is all about breaking the existing rules about writing, and whether these are in poetry or in fictional writing, pushing the boundary and expressing themselves in a different way that doesnt conform to the existing rules is vital. The avant-garde has made writing an art form that is about more than just telling a story, but is actually about the form as much as the content. Although it can be an unique and individual way of expressing opinions and of working out new ideas, the changes in the format can also limit the audience for such work, and make it more difficult for people to access their work. James Joyce experimented with the medium of writing, and actually being successful in doing so, with landmark works such a s Ulysses he was a author of avant-garde. As well as Joyce, there are many poets who have also helped to push literature forward, and another of the biggest exponents of the avant-garde within literature is Jack Kerouac. With Allen Ginsberg, he brought many new dimensions to the literature. Their poems reflected unthought and unwritten issues not spoken until that day. If we give an example from world literature the most important example can be Franz Kafka. He chose to narrate the issues through different way of narration as in ‘Metamorphosis’ by using an insect character. The avant-garde painters tried new forms and things in their paintings like writers or poets. George Braque can be a good example. He is a French and develeops new art style, Cubism. With this new style he brings a new dimension to painting. As avant-garde requires, it needs a certain education or culture to grasp the ideas behind the products. In George Braque’s paintings, a common man can have difficulty in understanding art. George O’Keeffe is another important artist. She is an American artist. She is known as the mother of American modernism. Like many other avant-garde products, her art forces people to understand and needs some culture. As a conclusion, the avant-garde and kitsch are opposite sides and both have different audiences from each others. We mostly dealt with the avant-garde in this essay since it requires much more interest with its high-class culture. Kitsch is like a product of mass culture so many people find easy to deal with kitsch products. While kitch can’t go beyond the mediocrity, the avant-garde makes a breakthrough in art and literature. This basic difference between these two art forms create the different forms,audiences and cultures to understand them.

English composition 2 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

English composition 2 - Research Paper Example And just like the physical world, online problems became present that the call to regulate the cyberspace mounted. Also the issue about the ethical use of the internet came into question. The digital personality which Netizens assumed in the cyberspace loosened up with their personality becoming invisible. And â€Å"the growing incidence of online fraud and identity theft, privacy incursions, copyright infringements, trademark violations, domain name disputes, spamming, computer viruses, inadequate or vaguely defined consumer protection laws, and terrorist-related and pornographic websites has fuelled such concerns† (David 2006). These issues necessitated internet governance to regulate the decentralized, scalable and even anarchaic nature of the cyberspace. Since the cyberspace’s geopolitical demarcation is virtually erased, the question of how to control and maintain a set of behaviors according to an acceptable standard became an imperative. But as how to do it still remains the questions; of whether a big government should intervene or the industry itself should regulate and police themselves. This brings to mind the geographic relativity of laws. For example, laws governing e-commerce and speech in the United States may differ or may not even exist say that of the Middle East country and vice versa that the enforcement of cyberspace regulation may prove to be a challenge if not impossible to implement. Such, many concerned parties proposed to adopt an intergovernmental regulation to create a cross-border harmonization of internet governance policy for greater efficacy. There is however other interest groups that espouse the idea of self-imposed regulation of cyberspace conduct. Among these is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in the United States whose mandate is to develop a bottom-up consensus on the usage of the internet among the private sector. Though it differed in

HSBC BANK (Motivation, Recruitment and Selection, Culture, Learning Assignment

HSBC BANK (Motivation, Recruitment and Selection, Culture, Learning and Development, Change Management) - Assignment Example This write up is an analytical paper that takes into concern the HSBC Holding Plc as one of the most reputed multinational banking and monetary service presenter, operating successfully from 1991. Being headquartered in London, it offers varied types of banking and financial services in the entire globe as compared to others. In a very time period, it expanded its wings in almost 90 countries in, North America, Asia, Africa, Europe and South America and many others that amplified its total assets by $2.693 trillion by the end of 2012. Moreover, due to the presence of wide range of customer bases, the operating income of HSBC Holding Plc increased by US$ 22.6 billion and total equity improved by US$ 175.2 billion by 2012. Such type of popularity and competitive position is attained by HSBC Holding Plc due to its remarkable services like consumer banking, investment banking, mortgage, private banking, credit cards, and many others. Due to these underlining reason the organization of HS BC Holding Plc is recognised as the sixth renowned financial institution by another magazine, Forbes. However, the entire prosperity and popularity of the organization of HSBC Holding Plc is due to its highly talented, skilled and motivated human resources. It is mainly due to its remarkable human resource policies and strategies that enhanced the inner morale of the employees and helped in improvement of the profit margin of the organization.

Company Promoter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Company Promoter - Essay Example 1) On 15th August, Bill signed a letter that stated, "For and on behalf of Cornhill Ltd, as agent only, Bill". He agreed to purchase computer equipment costing 30,000 pounds together with a servicing agreement for five years costing 120 pounds per month. Logitech was charging an exorbitant rate for the servicing agreement; hence they wished to terminate the contract. Owing to Salomon3 principle, a company is a separate legal entity different from its members and it can therefore sue and be sued in its own name. According to Salomon principle, Cornhill Ltd can claim can claim for wrong done against it. But here the company was not registered. A company does not come into existence until the promoter has completed the registration Requirements and the Registrar of the Companies issues a certificate of incorporation Prior to this time a company cannot bind by contracts entered into in its name or on its behalf. In practice, however, promoters will need to contract with the third parties for such things as a lease of premises, business equipments and connection to utilities so that once the certificate of incorporation is issued the company can begin trading4. The problem that arises in the relation to incorporation contracts is whether Bills can avoid being personally l... 9(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, now found in s.36C of the CA 1985. If somebody does not exist they cannot contract [Rover International Ltd v Cannon Film Sales Ltd (No 3)]5. So if this principle applied Cornhill Ltd can deny to follow the contract with Logitech because impose high price. Further, since at the time of a pre incorporation contracts the company does not exist, upon its subsequent creation it is necessarily a stranger to it and the doctrine of privity will operate to prevent rights and the liabilities being conferred to imposed on the company. The Contracts (Rights of third Parties) Act 1999, which allows enforcement of contracts by third parties if the contract expressly so provides or a term of the contract confers a benefit on the third party, does not apply to pre incorporation contracts. The Act is based on the recommendations of the Law Commission on its report, Privity of Contract: Contracts for the benefit of the Third Parties (Law Commission report No. 242, Cm 3329 (London, HMSO (1996)). Addressing the issue of pre incorporatio n contracts, the Law Commission drew the distinction between a contract on behalf of the third party and a contract for the benefit of a third party. The Law Commission stated that the former category involves the third party company becoming a party to the contract, and subject to all its rights and obligations, after its incorporation. In Kelner v Baxter6 promoters of a hotel company entered into a contract on its behalf for the purchase of wine the company, when incorporated, ratified. The wine was consumed but before payment was made the company went to liquidation.7 The promoters, as agents, were sued on the

Mathematics concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mathematics concepts - Essay Example Integration,  in calculus, method of determining a function g(x) and its darivative, Dg(x), is same as a known function f(x). It is denoted by the symbol of integralâ€Å"∠«,† such as ∠«f(x), generally known as the indefinite integral of the known function. (At the end of the function sign dx is commonly included, that simply describes x as the variable.) The standard form for writing a definite integral is as the following: Integration by Substitution is one of the most uncomplicated techniques of integration which is used for making the integration uncomplicated. Integration by substitution or u-substitution in its simplest form is utilized each time when an integral includes a function and also contains derivative of that function, such as, for an integral of the structure These new limits u1 and u2 can be termed as placeholder for integration. This time when we reverse the substitution replacement ‘sinx’ for ‘u’ and also reversing the representation to limits as well to ‘a’ and ‘b’ respectively. Now our equation will

Frequency Distributions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Frequency Distributions - Essay Example Initially, there was a bimodal distribution, showing that students were grouped into those that understood better (scores that clustered around the top of the scale) and those that did not understand as well (scores clustering near the lower end of the scale). By the second week, the two groups of students did combine into one unified group; but the majority still did have trouble grasping the concepts in class. A minority of students did far better than the rest and got high score; while the majority still scored towards the lower side of the scale. Scores from the third week show that the class as a whole was starting to make sense of the concepts being taught, and were improving in their understanding. This can be understood from the movement of the majority of the scores from below the 50% mark to very close to the 50% scores point. By now, about half the class understood the concepts reasonably well, scoring above average, and only half the class was struggling and scoring less than average on understanding the concepts. This trend again changed in week 4; where a negative skew showed that now a majority of students had caught up with the concepts being taught in class; and only a minority was still scoring low on the scale while the majority was scoring towards the higher side.

Breast Cancer Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Breast Cancer - Research Paper Example Morphologically breast cancer is divided into two basic types depending on the anatomic site affected by the tumor cells; Ductal and lobular carcinoma. As the name indicates, the ductal type originates form the ducts or lactiferous tubes of the breast while the lobular carcinoma originates from the stroma or lobules of the breast responsible for lactation. On the basis of penetration through the limiting basement membrane, the breast cancers are divided into two basic subtypes; Invasive and non-invasive. The non-invasive types are classified into two types which include ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) on the basis that tumor cells have not invaded the adjacent tissues (Chen 2010; McPherson et al 2000). The causes or risk factors of breast cancer can be divided into two major categories which are modifiable and non-modifiable. Non-modifiable risk factors are age, geographical variations, family history, menstrual history, associated familial syndromes and genetics. The increase in the age of a woman is also a risk factor for breast cancer. Women who fall between the age group of 40-50 are at the highest risk of getting this malignancy. Moreover, if family history shows positive cases especially in first degree relatives like mother, daughter or sister, then it also increases the chances to develop breast cancer. Breast cancer has been associated with genes which include BRCA1 and BRCA2 which have been linked to the causation of familial breast cancer. These are genes located on chromosome 17 which undergo autosomal dominant mutations and are responsible for 5% to 10% inherited cases of breast cancer. The sporadic breast cancer is considered to be caused by mutations in several tumo r suppressor and oncogenes like p53, c-myc, c-myb and bcl-2. Moreover, the over expression of HER2/neu also has a very strong relation to breast cancer. The age of menarche and menopause also plays an important role in the incidence of breast

Frequency Distributions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Frequency Distributions - Essay Example Initially, there was a bimodal distribution, showing that students were grouped into those that understood better (scores that clustered around the top of the scale) and those that did not understand as well (scores clustering near the lower end of the scale). By the second week, the two groups of students did combine into one unified group; but the majority still did have trouble grasping the concepts in class. A minority of students did far better than the rest and got high score; while the majority still scored towards the lower side of the scale. Scores from the third week show that the class as a whole was starting to make sense of the concepts being taught, and were improving in their understanding. This can be understood from the movement of the majority of the scores from below the 50% mark to very close to the 50% scores point. By now, about half the class understood the concepts reasonably well, scoring above average, and only half the class was struggling and scoring less than average on understanding the concepts. This trend again changed in week 4; where a negative skew showed that now a majority of students had caught up with the concepts being taught in class; and only a minority was still scoring low on the scale while the majority was scoring towards the higher side.

Pollution Problem Affecting Hong Kong Essay Example for Free

Pollution Problem Affecting Hong Kong Essay Recently, a survey was conducted concerning about the development of Hong Kong and the related air pollution issues over the last twenty years. The survey investigated the Air Pollution Index (API) of different districts in Hong Kong, including Central, Mong Kok, Kowloon City, Tung Chung and Yuen Long. According to the result, API has been growing in Central, Tung Chung and Yuen Long from 1992 to 2012. Meanwhile, the Air Pollution Index of Kowloon City and Mong Kok have been increasing within these ten years. It demonstrates that air pollution becomes serious because of the rapid development of society. Air pollution is an inevitable consequence of economic development in Hong Kong. Since there are many vehicles and factories in prosperous areas in Hong Kong, exhaust gas are created and air pollution will deteriorate. For instance, due to the construction of Hong Kong International Airport in Tung Chung in 1998, numerous airplanes taken off and landed leads to the increasingly serious pollution problems. Therefore, API has increased from 32 to 174 over these 20 years according to the data. Besides, some factories and manufacturers may be keen on the pursuit of profits but concerning less about the protection of environment. As a result, air pollution problem in Hong Kong become more severe in these ten years. The government should pay more attention to promote environmental protection. One of the feasible solutions of improving the air pollution problem is to promote environmental protection regularly. It is important for the citizens to build up their awareness of protecting environment. People need to know more about the consequences of poor air quality which may harm their health. The government may take some methods to handle the problem arising. For example, advertising through televisions, holding talks and educating the next generations. Therefore, manufacturers may take their social responsibility to reduce the damage on environment. Air pollution problem can be improved when people are concerning more about the situation. There are some possible benefits and challenges for implementing the solution. First, if the government and citizens can join hands in solving the problem, it is possible that promotion of environmental protection can meet our objectives. However, it may be difficult that the air pollution problem can be improved immediately. In long-run, laws and limitations should be introduced to improve air quality, such as introducing stricter pollution controls for factories, introducing higher registration fee of private cars and limiting the private cars on the road. As a consequence, the air quality of different areas in Hong Kong can be improved through these effective measures. In conclusion, according to the survey, the air pollution problem is increasingly serious in different prosperous districts in Hong Kong due to the economic development. There are lots of feasible and effective strategies of improving air quality. If the government and people collaborate in solving the problem, it is not far to breathe in fresh air in Hong Kong.

Multilevel Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Treatment

Multilevel Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Treatment Comparison between anterior approaches and posterior approaches for the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy: a meta analysis Abstract Objective: Both anterior and posterior approaches are used in the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM) due to spinal stenosis or ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). However, the optimal strategy remains controversial. To compare the clinical results between the two approaches, a meta-analysis was conducted. Methods: PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane library were searched up to July 2014 without language restriction. The reference lists of selected searches comparing anterior and posterior approaches were screened manually. Subgroup analysis was conducted according to the cause of MCSM. A fixed effect model was used for pool data, and a random effects model for heterogeneous data. Mean difference (MD) and odds ratio (OR) was used for continuous and dichotomous outcomes, respectively. Results: Seventeen articles were selected in this study, all of which were non-randomized controlled trials. There were significant difference between two approaches for post-Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score (MD=1.13, 95% CI=0.41, 1.86), operation time (MD=67.43, 95% CI=16.94, 117.91), post-range of motion (ROM) (MD=1.86, 95% CI=0.61, 3.12), length of stay (MD=-1.54, 95% CI=-2.25, -0.5)and complication rate (OR=2.28, 95% CI=1.52, 3.41). Meanwhile, there were no significant difference for pre-JOA, blood loss, neurological recovery rate, pre-ROM, pre- and post-Nurick grade. Conclusions: Based on this meta-analysis, post-JOA and length of stay are significantly better in the anterior group, but high complication rate and no apparent difference for neurological recovery rate made it necessary to conclude more trials with high quality to further confirm the conclusion. Keywords: multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy; clinical outcomes; meta-analysis Introduction Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is caused by compression of the spinal cord due to degeneration. Spinal stenosis and ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) have been considered as the two common causes of CSM. CSM can be treated by a variety of anterior, posterior, or combined anterior and posterior surgical approaches. The decision to use an anterior or a posterior approach depends on many factors, such as the reason of spinal cord compression, the number of vertebral segments, cervical alignment, and the surgeon’s familiarity with the techniques1. Anterior approaches usually include anterior cervical corpectomy with fusion (ACCF) and cervical discectomy with fusion (ACDF), whereas the typical posterior approaches involve laminectomy and laminoplasty2. Anterior decompression and fusion has been successfully used for CSM involving one or two levels3, 4. But failures will be observed when three or more levels are involved (multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy, MCSM) with anterior approaches5, 6. Compared with anterior approaches, posterior strategies provide an indirect canal decompression by allowing the spinal cord to float away from ventral compression. The disadvantages of posterior approach were also noted, for example, neck pain, loss of lordotic curvature, segmental instability, and late neurologic deterioration7. Although many studies comparing the two approaches have been done, the optimal approach providing satisfactory decompression remains to be determined. No systematic analysis of the two approaches in the treatment of MCSM has been published yet. In order to provide a basis for selecting, a meta-analysis of clinical results of anterior approaches compared with posterior approaches for patients with MCSM was performed. Materials and methods Literature search The authors searched multiple databases, includingPubMed, Embase and The Cochrane library up to June 11, 2014 without language restriction. Additionally, the reference lists of selected searches and related articles that not yet included in the electronic database were screened manually. The searching strings were (1) myelopathy or cervical spondylosis or cervical vertebrae or cervical stenosis; (2) Corpectomy or anterior cervical discectomy or anterior decompression or ventral; (3) laminoplasty or laminectomy or posterior decompression or dorsal, with the operator â€Å"AND†. Literature screening Articles were reviewed according to the following criteria: (1) The researches were designed as randomized controlled trials, case-control studies or cohort studies; (2) Patients with multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM) due to spinal stenosis or ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL); (3) The anterior approaches group was treated by anterior cervical canal decompression; (4) The posterior approaches group was treated by posterior cervical canal decompression; (5) The outcomes was clinical endpoint, like neurological recovery rates, Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score, range of motion (ROM), Nurick grade, complication rate, operation time, blood loss, and length of stay in hospital. Also, there are five exclusion criteria for literature screening. These were: (1) The cases followed up less than one year; (2) Patients with MSCM were caused by tumors, trauma, soft disk herniation, or previous surgery; (3) Patients without MSCM; (4) Researches without control; (5) non-nature literatures, such as reviews, letters and comments. Data extraction and studies quality assessment Two investigators respectively assessed each potentially eligible study and then extracted data from the included studies. Disagreements were resolved through discussion. The information extracted including the author, publication year, area, ages, sex, number of patients, follow-up period, surgical methods and outcomes. Furthermore, We used the Cochrane8 for assessing the quality of randomized studies, and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS)9 for nonrandomised sudies or cohort studies. respectively. Statistical analysis The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the divergence of all outcomes, and all analyses were performed by RevMan5.2 software. Weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for Continuous variables, while Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CI were calculated for dichotomous data. Statistic heterogeneity was identified using chi-square test and I2 test. If P2 >50%, which indicated heterogeneity exists among all results, random effects model was applied. If P≠¥0.05 or I2 ≠¤50%, which indicated heterogeneity, the fixed effects model was selected10. The publication bias was tested by constructing a funnel plot. Results Search results A flow diagram of the literature search and study selection was shown in fig.1. Basing on the aforementioned criteria, we searched 1216, 1710, and 13 articles from PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane library respectively. A total of 2234 articles were remained after excluding duplicate publications. And a total of 2191 articles that mismatched the included criteria were excluded after screening titles and abstracts. Therefore, a total of 43 articles were identified. Of these, sixteen articles were excluded after reading the abstracts: ten articles did not compare the effects between anterior approaches and posterior approaches and six articles were reviews. Ten articles were excluded for the following reasons: two articles were not about multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy, one was self-controlled study, four were about MCSM due to soft disc herniation, and three articles did not have statistic data. Manual search of references did not find any additional articles. As a result, a total of 17 articles1, 6, 11-25 were identified for the Meta analysis. Baseline characteristics As shown in Table 1, seventeen studies were included for our meta analysis. Patients with MSCM in 10 studies1, 11, 12, 15, 17, 19-21, 24, 25 were caused by spinal stenosis, and 5 studies6, 13, 14, 18, 23 were caused by ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL), two studies16, 22 caused by both types above. The articles were published from 1992 to 2013. The mean ages ranged from 51.8 to 66.8 years old. The sample size, gender ratio, follow-up period, and surgical methods of each study are listed in Table 1. All studies included were non-randomized controlled trails. The qualities of all studies were assessed using Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOQAS). The scale for non-randomized controlled trails and cohort studies was used to allocate a maximum of 9 points for the quality of selection (4), comparability (1), and exposure (3) or outcomes (3). As shown in supplement table 1, five studies scored 7 points and twelve scored 8 points. Hence, all studies were of a relatively high quality. Clinical outcomes The main outcomes in this Meta analysis were preoperative JOA score, postoperative JOA score, operation time, blood loss, complication rate and neurological recovery rates. According to patients type, studies were divided into three subgroups: subgroup spinal stenosis, subgroup OPLL, subgroup spinal stenosis and OPLL. The results of heterogeneity for preoperative JOA score was P=0.21, I2=22%, indicating no heterogeneity. So the fixed-effects model was selected and MD was 0.39 (95% CI =0.09, 0.69, P=0.01) (Fig. 2). However, except subgroup spinal stenosis and OPLL had significantly differences, the other two subgroups had no significantly differences in the preoperative JOA. By contrast, there has a statistically significance in the postoperative JOA score (MD=1.13, 95% CI =0.41, 1.86) among the three subgroups. But both subgroup spinal stenosis and subgroup OPLL showed apparent heterogeneity (Fig. 3). We also analyzed operation time, blood loss, complication rate for subgroup OPLL and subgroup spinal stenosis, respectively. Comparison of operation time and blood loss of the two subgroups showed that subgroup spinal stenosis had heterogeneity but not for subgroup OPLL. The operation time for both subgroups had statistically significance (MD=67.43; 95% CI =16.94, 117.91), while blood loss did not (MD=52.43; 95% CI =-79.8, 184.66) (Fig. 4, Fig. 5). Furthermore, when we compared the two subgroups we found the following results. The complication rate of subgroup spinal stenosis was significantly higher in the anterior approaches than in posterior approaches (OR=2.60; 95% CI =1.63, 4.15; P2=38%), while subgroup OPLL was not significant (Fig. 6). The neurological recovery rates compared among three subgroups showed no significantly difference (MD=11.85, 95% CI=0.86, 22.84) (Fig. 7). Since few studies was reported, secondary outcomes like pre- and postoperative range of motion (ROM) , pre- and postoperative Nurick grade and length of stay are listed in table 2. Only postoperative ROM (MD=1.86, 95% CI=0.61, 3.12) and length of stay (MD=-1.54, 95% CI= -2.59, -0.50) showed significant difference (P=0.04). there were no statistical difference in pre-ROM, pre- and postoperative Nurick grade between anterior and posterior approaches. Publication bias A variety of clinical outcomes had been calculated, funnel plots only for preoperative JOA score and postoperative JOA score were displayed. As shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9, all studies were within the confidential intervals and the shape of the funnel plots revealed symmetric distribution, which suggested there were no significant publication bias. Discussion The surgical treatment for cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) has been studied for a long time. Anterior approaches have been widely accepted as an effective and reliable method for the treatment of CSM. but which surgical strategy should be selected for the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM) remains controversial and challenge. Therefore, we had compared the clinical outcomes of anterior and posterior approaches in the treatment of MCSM due to spinal stenosis or OPLL. In this study, we searched the PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane library and found 17 articles comparing anterior and posterior approaches for treatment of MCSM. According to NOQAS, all included studies had high quality. And a meta-analysis was performed to determine which surgical treatment is more effective. Based on the cause of MCSM, the studies were divided into three subgroups: subgroup spinal stenosis, subgroup OPLL, subgroup spinal stenosis and OPLL. For the clinical results, there was significant difference in preoperative JOA scores in subgroup spinal stenosis and subgroup OPLL. Postoperative JOA scores was better in the anterior group compared with posterior group. This results show that the groups had similar baseline neural function, and the postoperative neural function condition was better in anterior group. Authors selected operation time and blood loss for meta analysis to estimate surgical trauma. In our study, the operation time was significant difference between the two groups, while blood loss had no statistically significance. This suggests that surgical trauma in anterior group was higher than that inposterior group in the treatment of MCSM. In addition, the post-ROM was better in posterior group while length of stay was shorter in anterior group. The preoperative ROM, pre- and post-Nurick grad did not differ significantly between the two groups. In the meta-analysis of neurological recovery rate, significant heterogeneity was found between the studies. Subsequent subgroup analysis was similar for the three subgroups. Complication rate was selected to evaluate complication-related outcomes by some authors. And they found a significantly higher incidence of complications in anterior group compared with the posterior group. Our analysis showed the same results. Subsequent subgroup analysis showed the complication rate of anterior group was higher in subgroup spinal stenosis. This suggests that the anterior approaches were associated with a higher incidence of complications for the treatment of MCSM. There are limitations in our study. First, all studies included in the meta-analysis were non-randomized controlled trails. Second, only few studies were included to evaluate pre- and post-ROM either in subgroup OPLL or subgroup spinal stenosis and OPLL. Therefore, it is necessary to include more prospective and randomized controlled trials with high quality to provide more data on the clinical results of both procedures. Hence, though anterior approaches seems have better clinical outcomes compared with posterior approaches in our study, we could not draw a strong conclusion about which strategy is preferred to the treatment of MCSM due to spinal stenosis or OPLL. Conclusions On the basis of the meta-analysis of anterior approaches and posterior approaches for the treatment of MCSM, we can conclude that the clinical outcomes of anterior approaches are superior to posterior approaches for post-JOA, length of stay, the outcomes blood loss, neurological recovery rate are equivalent between two groups. Because of the existing limitations of the study, future studies with high quality are needed for update meta-analysis in order to evaluate the strategy for MCSM treatment.

Cuban Missile Crisis Essay -- essays research papers

On October 22nd, 1962, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States of America, addressed the nation on television. In his seven-point speech, he informed his audience that long-range nuclear missiles, capable of â€Å"striking most of the major cities in the Western Hemisphere, ranging as far north as Hudson Bay, Canada, and as far south as Lima, Peru† (JFK library p. 3) were being installed in Cuba by the Soviet Union. President Kennedy discussed the United States’ response, which included the placement of a naval blockade around the island of Cuba, a request for an immediate convening of the United Nations Security Council, and a heightened military alert. However, it was his third point which sent a chill around the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Third: It shall be the policy of this Nation to regard any nuclear   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (JFK Library p. 3) With these words, President Kennedy informed the world that the Cold War was perilously close to turning hot, and the world stood on the brink of nuclear holocaust. Almost twenty years since the end of World War 2, after two decades of mounting tension between the Soviet Communist Empire and the Western allies, the dreaded nuclear showdown was underway. America and the Soviet Union were on a collision course. How had this come to pass? Although the announcement came as a great shock to the public, the Cuban Missile Crisis had not occurred â€Å"overnight†; it had been building for more than two years. In mid-1960, Cuba signed agreements with the USSR and Czechoslovakia, and almost immediately U.S. Intelligence detected the start of a massive, secret arms buildup on the island, sponsored by the Soviets. (Johnson, Hatch p. 2) Soviet ships began arriving at Havana, and the Cubans unloaded them under extreme secrecy. Over the next year, U.S. Intelligence recorded deliverie... ...ations, to ensure the carrying out and continuation of these commitments (a) to remove promptly the quarantine measures now in effect and (b) to give assurances against the invasion of Cuba. (Goldman, Stein p. 3) On October 28, the Russian Premier conceded to President Kennedy's demands by ordering all Soviet supply ships away from Cuban waters and agreeing to remove the missiles from Cuba's mainland, and the world breathed a sigh of relief. Looking back on the crisis, Robert McNamara believed the world was one step away from nuclear war. That step would be the President ordering invasion of Cuba. What was not known at the time was the presence of 43,000 combat-ready Soviet soldiers in Cuba, or the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons along Cuba's shore. Khrushchev had also given a standing order to his generals that if he couldn't be reached in the event of an invasion, they had authority to launch battlefield nuclear weapons. If Kennedy had invaded, the Soviets would have used nuclear weapons and President Kennedy would have had no choice but to retaliate. The response would likely have been an attack on Soviet soil, and global nuclear war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Compare and Contrast A Description of New England and A Model of Christ

Compare and Contrast A Description of New England and A Model of Christian Charity Mankind can be conceived in interesting ways by analyzing the writings of John Smith and John Winthrop.   As I read through John Smith‘s â€Å"A Description of New England† and John Winthrop’s â€Å"A Model of Christian Charity,† it became evident to me that the two readings had similar and different viewpoints of the essential nature of man.   Throughout my paper, I will compare their similar beliefs of community and diversity of people and completely contrast their ideas of emphasis on religion and relationships with enemies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both authors stress a sense of community and diversity in order to survive in America.   Smith could not think of anything to â€Å"be more pleasant, than planting and building a foundation for his posterity, got from the rude earth, by God’s blessing and his own industry, without prejudice to any† (Smith 114).   This proves Smith believes everyone in the community should join together without showing any type of discrimination.   Likewise, Winthrop declares we must have â€Å"before our eyes commission and community in the work, our community as members of the same body† (Winthrop 225).   He basically wants the settlers to live and share their wealth as one joined community.   Smith and Winthrop also agree that diversity needs to exist in each community.   â€Å"Carpenters, masons, fishers, fowlers, gardeners, husbandmen, sawyers, smiths, spinsters, tailors, weavers, and such like† are the variety of men Smith f ound in America (Smith 117).   All of these types of men contribute a part of their lives to their community.   In the same way, Winthrop assumes God ordered â€Å"all these differences for the preservation and good of the whole† (Winthrop 21... ...ospel.   Both authors have totally opposing opinions on how an enemy should be treated in America.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ideas of community and diversity of people are similar for Smith and Winthrop, but their emphasis on religion and relationships with enemies greatly differ.   In other words, both authors feel a need for togetherness among various groups of people in order to start a successful life in America.   But while Winthrop places more emphasis on God, Smith places more emphasis on having power over the enemy.   This makes their views of man completely different when it comes to how religion has affected our lives and how we act toward one another.   Like Winthrop, I believe that God is the basis of our life, and He has shown us the way to lead a productive life by loving our enemies.   Without religion, America would not have become the civilized country that it is today. Compare and Contrast A Description of New England and A Model of Christ Compare and Contrast A Description of New England and A Model of Christian Charity Mankind can be conceived in interesting ways by analyzing the writings of John Smith and John Winthrop.   As I read through John Smith‘s â€Å"A Description of New England† and John Winthrop’s â€Å"A Model of Christian Charity,† it became evident to me that the two readings had similar and different viewpoints of the essential nature of man.   Throughout my paper, I will compare their similar beliefs of community and diversity of people and completely contrast their ideas of emphasis on religion and relationships with enemies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both authors stress a sense of community and diversity in order to survive in America.   Smith could not think of anything to â€Å"be more pleasant, than planting and building a foundation for his posterity, got from the rude earth, by God’s blessing and his own industry, without prejudice to any† (Smith 114).   This proves Smith believes everyone in the community should join together without showing any type of discrimination.   Likewise, Winthrop declares we must have â€Å"before our eyes commission and community in the work, our community as members of the same body† (Winthrop 225).   He basically wants the settlers to live and share their wealth as one joined community.   Smith and Winthrop also agree that diversity needs to exist in each community.   â€Å"Carpenters, masons, fishers, fowlers, gardeners, husbandmen, sawyers, smiths, spinsters, tailors, weavers, and such like† are the variety of men Smith f ound in America (Smith 117).   All of these types of men contribute a part of their lives to their community.   In the same way, Winthrop assumes God ordered â€Å"all these differences for the preservation and good of the whole† (Winthrop 21... ...ospel.   Both authors have totally opposing opinions on how an enemy should be treated in America.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ideas of community and diversity of people are similar for Smith and Winthrop, but their emphasis on religion and relationships with enemies greatly differ.   In other words, both authors feel a need for togetherness among various groups of people in order to start a successful life in America.   But while Winthrop places more emphasis on God, Smith places more emphasis on having power over the enemy.   This makes their views of man completely different when it comes to how religion has affected our lives and how we act toward one another.   Like Winthrop, I believe that God is the basis of our life, and He has shown us the way to lead a productive life by loving our enemies.   Without religion, America would not have become the civilized country that it is today.

Cost-benefit analysis is a term that is used to refer

Cost-benefit analysis is a term that is used to refer to the process of comparing the benefits against the costs of one or more options in order to choose the alternative which is the best or the most profitable. It entails assessing all the costs and all the benefits then determining the difference. In order to decide on whether to buy locally produced products or not to buy, one needs to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the benefits as well as the costs of such a move. Examples of products that can be bought locally or imported are foodstuffs e. g. vegetables.Buying locally means buying foodstuffs and products that are produced within one’s locality. Buying locally produced foodstuffs has its costs as well as benefits. Among the benefits of buying locally produced foodstuffs against non-locally produced are that locally produced foodstuffs require less energy to produce than imported ones. (http://www. sustainabletable. org/issues/buylocal/). For instance, the supply ch ain from the farmer to the consumer is short unlike in imported items which have to undergo long distribution chains before reaching the consumers.This leads to less environmental pollution because little transportation is needed to move the produce to the consumer. Processing and transportation of produce requires a large amount of fuel. This leads to more emissions of carbon monoxide and the greenhouse gases thus environmental degradation. These are the gases that lead to global warming. (http://www. sustainabletable. org/issues/energy/). The greenhouse gases also cause direct harm to human health through emission of toxic by-products when they are burnt. Another benefit of buying locally produced foodstuffs is that fewer amounts of fertilizers are used in producing them.Since manures are heavy, they can not be transported over long distances hence are used within short distances. Imported foods would require artificial fertilizers and pesticides for their production since they ar e produced on a large scale. Large amounts of energy are expended in producing these fertilizers hence environmental degradation. Furthermore these fertilizers and pesticides have direct negative impacts on the environment in that they pollute the soil and consequently water. In addition, locally produced foods require less processing and preservation measures than the non-locally produced.Since their distribution distances are not long, locally produced foods can be accessed by consumers when they are still fresh hence do not require processing or use of preservatives. On the other hand, non-locally produced foods require processing and preservation in order to make them reach the intended destinations in usable forms. Processing requires energy thus additional costs. Since local foods do not need large-scale farms to produce, the concept of organic farming can be applied. This is opposed to non-locally produced which are technology intensive i. e.require heavy machinery and large amounts of fertilizers and pesticides to produce. Thus, in terms of energy costs, locally produced foodstuffs are more energy efficient and environmentally friendly than the non-locally produced foodstuffs. (http://www. localharvest. org/buylocal. jsp). Adopting this concept will lead to the world saving a large amount of energy that can be used elsewhere. This system is also good in that it reduces substantially the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. This is good in that effects of the gases on the environment i. e. global warming are reduced.Locally produced foods also have more benefits to the consumer than the non-locally produced. Firstly, locally produced foods can be accessed when they are still fresh hence are more nutritious. This ensures that the quality of the produce is guaranteed. Due to the fact that agricultural products are highly perishable, non-locally produced foodstuffs need processing and preservation to improve their shelf life (http://www. sustainabletable. o rg/issues/buylocal/). Due to this, their quality is not guaranteed. The preservatives also alter the nutrition of the products and can also be harmful to consumers’ health.Processing requires energy hence fossil fuels are used which lead to environmental pollution. Another reason why consumers would prefer locally produced foods to non-locally produced is that they get the products from people they recognize. Thus locally produces foodstuffs are favored to non-locally produced ones due to the above factors. The cost estimates of local foodstuffs are far less than those for non-local foodstuffs. In accordance with the above analysis, it is very cheap to produce foods locally.This is because the farmers can use sustainable production methods which have less harmful effects to the environment (http://www. localharvest. org/buylocal. jsp. ). Locally produced foods also have less energy requirements as opposed to non-locally produced ones. This is due to the fact that less transpo rtation and processing is required for locally produced foodstuffs. Based on the above facts, it is imperative to note that buying locally produced foodstuffs is much more beneficial than buying non-locally produced foods. Not only does doing this support the fight against environmental degradation but also helps improve a peoples’ health. Fresh foodstuffs are nutritious good for a healthy living.This policy would also enhance reservation of the non-renewable energy sources. This policy should be adopted because it can lead to the creation of self reliant food economies and consequently promoting food self sufficiency. REFERENCES Buy Local. Retrieved on 18th April, 2008. From (http://www. sustainabletable. org/issues/buylocal/) Sustainable Table; healthy foods. Retrieved 18th April, 2008. From (http://www. sustainabletable. org/issues/buylocal/) Local Harvest. Retrieved on 18th April, 2008. From (http://www. localharvest. org/buylocal. jsp