War of 1812 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

War of 1812 - Essay Example Britain was engaged in war with France and wanted to curtail the trade capability of its enemies thus cutting trading channels (Wait 42). At the same time, Britain had implemented a forced recruitment of US seamen in to Royal Navy and started assisting Native American Indians who were engaged in forced resistance of the expansion of US frontier to the North West. The other immediate cause of the war was the desire by the United States to annex Canada territory and expand its frontier Northwest through conquering the Indians (Norton, et al 627). Over several decades, Americans developed the feeling that the Mexicans had very little respect for the young United States. Besides, Mexicans prompted arrogant attacks to the United States and this created a lot of hostility to both nations. Even though the war got official, declaration in June 1812, preparations for engagement in such kind of an attack was already in place with the government congress inviting more volunteers to join the mil itary and the number was rapidly increasing (Black 118). American Indians had cordial relations with the British as a way of building up power to fight against a common enemy. This led to a military support since Britain offered weapons to the red Indians in order to suppress United States military from invading the northwest region that had fertile soil and natural resources (Wait 42). The possible resistance of invasion of the territory from both sides was as an imminent factor to stage the war later named the Mexican war. There was anxiety because the United States had a composition of two major armies. The fist one termed as the United States Amy seconded by the one authorized by the congress. Therefore, the congress army was set up with an agenda to wage wars in order to restore dignity and honor from the nations as one of the strongest forces in the world and it was through this, that the Mexican war came into place as a solid test to determine the strength of such an existenc e (Hanson 31). The United States achievements from the Mexican war Despite objections by the abolitionists, the United States gained recommendable boost on military confidence and mighty since volunteers who joined the forces to help fight enemies. Their military populations remained the same even after the war had technically ended and the US was considered a military power. In addition, the Indians having being supported by the British with the sophisticated weapons, finally agreed to sign treaties in order to allow for United States frontier expansion in Northwest. The United States asserted its trade independence under the international law and need for neutral rights of the countries engaged in the war. Later, Mexican government accepted to a fine charge for having assaulted the United States and agreed to pay a debt amounting to more than three million United States dollars (Wait 42). Conclusion I believe that the United States attained high military confidence by defeating a force that was large and superior in terms of military equipment to the United States and President Jackson demonstrated to the entire world that the US was a powerful military force. Although the signing of treaty after British defeat at New Orleans technically ended the war, the United States attained nationalism and was capable of signing treaties in Northwest thus opening the Native Indian lands for American expansion. Accordingly, the US asserted its trade

Methods for Simply Supported Beams and Columns in Steel Essay

Methods for Simply Supported Beams and Columns in Steel - Essay Example (Lecture 10.6.2: Shear Connection II) To define the total and fractional shear connection, one can simplify as only a simply supported beam by means of 'constant cross-sections' that are deemed to consideration of an evenly dispersed loading or of one concentrated load, but cannot be both. By taking the 'critical length' of a simply supported beam into consideration, the ultimate worth of the overall longitudinal shear force in the length could be calculated by presuming that the plastic resistance moment can be attained within the inner critical cross-section. Therefore the overall longitudinal shear force is equivalent to the less significant plastic axial resistance within either the steel component or the concrete slab within the critical cross-section in question. We can assume that ductile connectors are used for the reason of the design method for a partial shear connection. One should establish the notion of a lessened definitive moment curve and lacking the need to assess the slip along the steel-concrete interface. By assuming that every connector cultivates its design shear resistance, the overall longitudinal shear force within every significant length is equivalent to the total of the shear resistances of the connectors and also to the ultimate compressive force within the concrete slab. A significant choice for the efficient usage of composite beams in buildings is the partial shear connection. Simply supported beams designs depend on the connector ductility and when non-ductile shear connectors are employed the use of an elastic beam theory is used within the simplest design method, assessing the longitudinal shear force per unit length, although when the ductile shear connectors are used, the employment of plastic resistance of cross-sections used within the 'stress block design method'. (Lecture 10.6.2: Shear Connection II) A minimal measure of connectivity depends upon the beam's extent and attention is attracted to the requirements thereof. Through the application of the new (FRP) fibre reinforced polymer bars as extra strengthening within civil engineering constructions, by speedily attaining progress, it may well substitute the conventional steel as it consists of superior matter and of a very good cost-effectiveness. It also adds an advantage of more durability to conventional steel within a problematic atmosphere and surroundings and within areas where conventional steel has the unneeded magnetism or electricity conduction. 172357 3 Another method of column design is within a non-sway bare steel structure. "A semi-rigid design of partially restrained columns in non-sway steel frames." (Journal of Constructional Steel Research 1999) This of which withholds the semi-rigid action of the 'beam to column' connectivity upon the approximation of the efficient length ratio.

Linear Programming: Advantages, Disadvantages and Strategies

Linear Programming: Advantages, Disadvantages and Strategies I LINEAR PROGRAMMING In a decision-making embroilment, model formulation is important because it represents the essence of business decision problem. The term formulation is used to mean the process of converting the verbal description and numerical data into mathematical expressions which represents the relevant relationship among decision factors, objectives and restrictions on the use of resources. Linear Programming (LP) is a particular type of technique used for economic allocation of scarce or limited resources, such as labour, material, machine, time, warehouse space, capital, energy, etc. to several competing activities, such as products, services, jobs, new equipment, projects, etc. on the basis of a given criterion of optimally. The phrase scarce resources mean resources that are not in unlimited in availability during the planning period. The criterion of optimality generally is either performance, return on investment, profit, cost, utility, time, distance, etc. George B Dantzing while working with US Air Force during World War II, developed this technique, primarily for solving military logistics problems. But now, it is being used extensively in all functional areas of management, hospitals, airlines, agriculture, military operations, oil refining, education, energy planning, pollution control, transportation planning and scheduling, research and development, etc. Even though these applications are diverse, all I.P models consist of certain common properties and assumptions. Before applying linear programming to a real-life decision problem, the decision-maker must be aware of all these properties and assumptions. The word linear refers to linear relationship among variables in a model. Thus, a given change in one variable will always cause a resulting proportional change in another variable. For example, doubling the investment on a certain project will exactly double the rate of the return. The word programming refers to modelling and solving a problem mathematically that involves the economic allocation of limited resources by choosing a particular course of action or strategy among various alternative strategies to achieve the desired objective. STRUCTURE OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING General Structure of LP Model The general structure of LP model consists of three components. Decision variables (activities): We need to evaluate various alternatives (courses of action) for arriving at the optimal value of objective function. Obviously, if there are no alternatives to select from, we would not need LP. The evaluation of various alternatives is guided by the nature of objective function and availability of resources. For this, we pursue certain activities usually denoted by x1, x2xn. The value of these activities represents the extent to which each of these is performed. For example, in a product-mix manufacturing, the management may use LP to decide how many units of each of the product to manufacture by using its limited resources such as personnel, machinery, money, material, etc. These activities are also known as decision variables because they arc under the decision makers control. These decision variables, usually interrelated in terms of consumption of limited resources, require simultaneous solutions. All decision variables are continuous, controllable and non-negative. That is, x1>0, x2>0, .xn>0. The objective function: The objective function of each L.P problem is a mathematical representation of the objective in terms of a measurable quantity such as profit, cost, revenue, distance, etc. In its general form, it is represented as: Optimise (Maximise or Minimise) Z = c1x1 + c2X2. cnxn Where Z is the measure-of-performance variable, which is a function of x1, x2 , xn. Quantities c1, c2cn are parameters that represent the contribution of a unit of the respective variable x1, x2, xn to the measure-of-performance Z. The optimal value of the given objective function is obtained by the graphical method or simplex method. The constraints: There are always certain limitations (or constraints) on the use of resources, e.g. labour, machine, raw material, space, money, etc. that limit the degree to which objective can be achieved. Such constraints must be expressed as linear equalities or inequalities in terms of decision variables. The solution of an L.P model must satisfy these constraints. The linear programming method is a technique for choosing the best alternative from a set of feasible alternatives, in situations in which the objective function as well as the constraints can be expressed as linear mathematical functions. APPLICATION AREAS OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING Linear programming is the most widely used technique of decision-making in business and Industry and in various other fields. In this section, we will discuss a few of the broad application areas of linear programming. Agricultural Applications These applications fall into categories of farm economics and farm management. The former deals with agricultural economy of a nation or region, while the latter is concerned with the problems of the individual farm. The study of farm economics deals with inter-regional competition and optimum allocation of crop production. Efficient production patterns can be specified by a linear programming model under regional land resources and national demand constraints. Linear programming can be applied in agricultural planning, e.g. allocation of limited resources such as acreage, labour, water supply and working capital, etc. in a way so as to maximise net revenue. Military Applications Military applications include the problem of selecting an air weapon system against enemy so as to keep them pinned down and at the same time minimising the amount of aviation gasoline used. A variation of the transportation problem that maximises the total tonnage of bombs dropped on a set of targets and the problem of community defence against disaster, the solution of which yields the number of defence units that should be used in a given attack in order to provide the required level of protection at the lowest possible cost. Production Management Product mix: A company can produce several different products, each of which requires the use of limited production resources. In such cases, it is essential to determine the quantity of each product to be produced knowing its marginal contribution and amount of available resource used by it. The objective is to maximise the total contribution, subject to all constraints. Production planning: This deals with the determination of minimum cost production plan over planning period of an item with a fluctuating demand, considering the initial number of units in inventory, production capacity, constraints on production, manpower and all relevant cost factors. The objective is to minimise total operation costs. Assembly-line balancing: This problem is likely to arise when an item can be made by assembling different components. The process of assembling requires some specified sequence(s). The objective is to minimise the total elapse time. Blending problems: These problems arise when a product can be made from a variety of available raw materials, each of which has a particular composition and price. The objective here is to determine the minimum cost blend, subject to availability of the raw materials, and minimum and maximum constraints on certain product constituents. Trim loss When an item is made to a standard size (e.g. glass, paper sheet), the problem that arises is to determine which combination of requirements should be produced from standard materials in order to minimise the trim loss. Financial Management Portfolio selection: This deals with the selection of specific investment activity among several other activities. The objective is to find the allocation which maximises the total expected return or minimises risk under certain limitations. Profit planning: This deal with the maximisation of the profit margin from investment in plant facilities and equipment, cash in hand and inventory. Marketing Management Media selection: Linear programming technique helps in determining the advertising media mix so as to maximise the effective exposure, subject to limitation of budget, specified exposure rates to different market segments, specified minimum and maximum number of advertisements in various media. (if) Travelling salesman problem The problem of salesman is to find the shortest route from a given city, visiting each of the specified cities and then returning to the original point of departure, provided no city shall be visited twice during the tour. Such type of problems can be solved with the help of the modified assignment technique. Physical distribution: Linear programming determines the most economic and efficient manner of locating manufacturing plants and distribution centres for physical distribution. Personnel Management Staffing problem: Linear programming is used to allocate optimum manpower to a particular job so as to minimise the total overtime cost or total manpower. Determination of equitable salaries: Linear programming technique has been used in determining equitable salaries and sales incentives. Job evaluation and selection: Selection of suitable person for a specified job and evaluation of job in organisations has been done with the help of linear programming technique. Other applications of linear programming lie in the area of administration, education, fleet utilisation, awarding contracts, hospital administration and capital budgeting. ADVANTAGES OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING Following are certain advantages of linear programming: Linear programming helps in attaining the optimum use of productive resources. It also indicates how a decision-maker can employ his productive factors effectively by selecting and distributing (allocating) these resources. Linear programming techniques improve the quality of decisions. The decision-making approach of the user of this technique becomes more objective and less subjective. Linear programming techniques provide possible and practical solutions since there might be other constraints operating outside the problem which must be taken into account. Just because we can produce so many units docs not mean that they can be sold. Thus, necessary modification of its mathematical solution is required for the sake of convenience to the decision-maker. Highlighting of bottlenecks in the production processes is the most significant advantage of this technique. For example, when a bottleneck occurs, some machines cannot meet demand while other remains idle for some of the time. Linear programming also helps in re-evaluation of a basic plan for changing conditions. If conditions change when the plan is partly carried out, they can be determined so as to adjust the remainder of the plan for best results. LIMITATIONS OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING There should be an objective which should be clearly identifiable and measurable in quantitative terms. It could be, for example, maximisation of sales, of profit, minimisation of cost, and so on, which is not possible in real life. The activities to be included should be distinctly identifiable and measurable in quantitative terms, for instance, the products included in a production planning problem and all the activities cant be measured in quantitative terms for example if labour is sick, which will decrease his performance which cant be measured. The resources of the system which arc to be allocated for the attainment of the goal should also be identifiable and measurable quantitatively. They must be in limited supply. The technique would involve allocation of these resources in a manner that would trade off the returns on the investment of the resources for the attainment of the objective. The relationships representing the objective as also the resource limitation considerations, represented by the objective function and the constraint equations or inequalities, respectively must be linear in nature, which is not possible. There should be a series of feasible alternative courses of action available to the decision makers, which are determined by the resource constraints. When these stated conditions are satisfied in a given situation, the problem can be expressed in algebraic form, called the Linear Programming Problem (LPP) and then solved for optimal decision. While solving an LP model, there is no guarantee that we will get integer valued solutions. For example, in finding out how many men and machines would be required lo perform a particular job, a non-integer valued solution will be meaningless. Rounding off the solution to the nearest integer will not yield an optimal solution. In such cases, integer programming is used to ensure integer value to the decision variables. Linear programming model does not take into consideration the effect of time and uncertainty. Thus, the LP model should be defined in such a way that any change due to internal as well as external factors can be incorporated. Sometimes large-scale problems can be solved with linear programming techniques even when assistance of computer is available. For it, the main problem can be fragmented into several small problems and solving each one separately. Parameters appearing in the model are assumed to be constant but in real-life situations, they are frequently neither known nor constant. Parameters like human behaviour, weather conditions, stress of employees, demotivated employee cant be taken into account which can adversely effect any organisation Only one single objective is dealt with while in real life situations, problems come with multi-objectives. II SITUATION ANALYSIS Phang furniture system Inc. (Fursys) manufactures two models of stools, Potty which is basic model and a better model called Hardy. SUPPLIES Maximum of 350 pounds plastic per day at the rate of $1.5 per pound by Keow supplies Up to 30 boxes of legs per day at the rate of $7.5 per box. Each box has 10 sets of legs by Yuen supplies Using linear programming the optimal production should be determined for maximum profit. Decision Variables The production units are in terms of number on daily basis. Therefore the decision variables are: Let, X1 = No. of Pottys production daily X2 = No. of Hardys production daily Objective Function The objective in the problem is to attain maximum profit. We have selling price for Potty and Hardy as $12.75 and $18. We need to calculate the unit profit gained by selling Potty and Hardy. Cost of production for 1 Potty = one pound plastic + one set of leg = ($1.5*1) + $0.75(1) = $2.25 Profit made by selling = $12.75 $2.25 = $10.5 Cost of production for 1 Hardy = 1.5 pound of plastic + one set of leg = ($1.5*1.5) + ($0.75*1) = $3 Unit profit made by selling Hardy = $18 $3 = $15 Constraints Plastic Potty requires one pound of plastic and Hardy requires 1.5 pound plastic. So the total plastic used daily is: (1)X1 + (1.5)X2 This plastic supply cant exceed the limit of 350 pounds daily, so constraint is (1)X1 + (1.5)X2

Survival of the Thinnest :: Health Diet Weight Papers

Survival of the Thinnest It all started with Eve. All she wanted to do was eat an apple and what happens? She gets kicked out of the Garden of Eden. It’s such a shame that the world viewed Eve’s sin as losing grace. To make matters worse, during the Renaissance the word â€Å"grace† described â€Å"beautiful† women.[i] Along came graceful Barbie the â€Å"ideal beautiful† woman. She gave all the little girls (and boys) something to dream about. Fast forward to the present. Images of perfection fill television, magazines, and even advertisements. Images that force average young adults, who make up the majority, to question the way they look. Does this make me look fat? I could spare to loose a few pounds, 50 if I’m lucky? Such thoughts consume the minds of millions. And it’s not just the girls; remember Adam got kicked out too. Plus what little girl didn’t think, Ken’s so dreamy? Ever since the dawn of time, it seems society has punished those who just want to eat. Kudos to society for consequently spawning the emaciation fad. So we need a drastic solution in order to reverse humanity’s negative body image crimes. Studies show there is alarming trend in extreme thinness due to starvation amongst high school to college students. In schools around America, teens are obsessing over perfecting their physical bodies. Students are dropping their books in the hopes of dropping something else- pounds. To be a part of the â€Å"In Crowd† they have to look the part right? In a study done by Denise Sloan, female college student participants from Florida and Pennsylvania completed a series of eating disorder questionnaires. Then the researchers measured and compared the girls’ body masses. The results? Brace yourselves folks, because what we are about to reveal is striking. Girls in warmer climates are at more risk when it comes to developing eating disorders. They also weigh less than girls who live in colder climates. Compare this to animals, where animals who live in colder climate need more body mass to keep warm. Who would have ever thought? The surveys also revealed that Florida girls care more about body image than Pennsylvania girls. So, Sloan concluded that, â€Å"The greater distortion of body image may result from the need to wear more revealing clothing.† In other words, body image anxiety increases during warm weather. Of course, since we all have to fit into that bathing suit.

Cost Management:a Strategic Emphasis

Syllabus Course number: Course(in English): Management Accounting Credit hour:3 Pre-course: Instructing language: Chinese Courseware: English Semester: Fall Course kind: Required course Objects: Master The Course Objectives After the study of this course, students should gain full knowledge of the key conceptual framework and generally used methods of management accounting as an important decision making tool for management of businesses and organizations of other types. Consequently, they would be capable of taking medium and advanced management accounting courses in the future.Course book and references Course book(CB): Ronald W. Hilton, Michael W. Maher, Frank H. Selto,Cost Management strategies for Business Decisions,Second edition, McGraw Hill Companies Inc. 2006. References: 1. Charles T. Horngren, Gary L. Sundem, William O. Stratton, Introduction to Managerial Accounting, Chaptpers1-19, 2002 edition, Prentice Hall Publishing. 2. Jerold L. Zimmerman, Accounting for Decision Mak ing and Control, 4th edition, McGraw-Hill, 2003. 3. Anthony A. Atkinson, Rajav D. Banker, Robert S. Kaplan, and S. Mark Young, Management Accounting, 3rd edition, Prentice-Hall , 2001 . 4.He yingqi Chen jiajun,Management Accounting,Shanghai Financial and Economic Press,2003. 5. Harvard Business Review on Managing the Value Chain, HBS Press 1999 The Final Result of Study At the end of the semester, students will be required to submit a semester paper as final examination. After that each student’s final result of study will be computed with 10% participation in the lesson and 20% of the average mark of his/her homework done and 20% of case studies and 50% of his/her mark of the final examination(semester paper). The satisfactory weighted average mark should be at least 60. Instructing plansTeaching plans and the content to see the table as following: DateContentReadingsAssignments 12008. 9. 19Topic 1 Cost management and value chainCB-Chapter 1 and its PPTE1. 26; P1. 33; C1. 41 ; 22008. 9. 26- 2008. 10. 10Topic 2 I. Product costing system: concept and design II. Cost accumulation for job and batch production operationCB-Chapter 2; chapter 3 and their PPTE2. 36; P2. 64; C2. 80; P3. 55; 32008. 10. 17- 2008. 10. 24Topic 3 I. Activity-based costing II. Activity-based managementCB-Chapter 4 ;Chapter5;and their PPTE4. 39; P4. 52; C4. 63; P5. 42; 4Topic 4 Managing quality and time to create valuechapter6;chapter 7 and their PPTC6. 3; C7. 76; 52008. 10. 31- 2008. 11. 7Topic 5 Process costing and cost alloationCB-Chapter 8, chapter9,chapter10 and its PPTP8. 36; P9. 46; E10. 24; 62008. 11. 14Topic 6 Cost estimationCB-Chapter 11, and their PPTP11. 53; C 11. 57; 7Topic 7 Financial and CVP modelsCB-Chapter 12 and its PPTP12. 50;C12. 63; 82008. 11. 21Topic 8 Cost management and decision makingCB-Chapter 12, chapter 13 and their PPTP13. 49;P13. 50; P13. 54; 9Topic 9 Strategic issues in long term capital investment decisionCB-Chapter 14, and its PPTC14. 52 102008. 11. 28T opic 10 Budgeting and financial planingCB-Chapter 15, and itsr PPTC 15. 55 112008. 2. 5Topic 11 Standard costing system and variance analysisCB-Chapter 16, and its PPTC16. 48 122008. 12. 12Topic 12 Flexible budget and overhead cost managementCB-Chapter 17, and its PPTC17. 68 132008. 12. 19Topic 13 Organizational design, responsibility accounting, and evaluation of division performanceCB-Chapter 18, andits PPTP18. 38;P18. 46; 142008. 12. 26Topic 14 Transfer pricingCB-Chapter 19, and its PPTP19. 36;P19. 40;C19. 42; 15Topic 15 Incentive system, performance evaluation, and balanced-scord card CB-Chapter 20, chapter 21 and their PPTC21. 57 162009. 1. 9Final examination (Semester paper)——–

Michael Gow’s “Away” Essay

Drama is a genre that is deliberately written for performance, and therefore, the reader’s understanding of the characters and issues is always improved by its staging. â€Å"Staging† in Drama means the process or manner of putting a play on stage. This refers to the positioning of the characters and props, the way the actors move, the way they use their voice and how the character looks. Gore Vidal once said, â€Å"A talent for Drama is not a talent for writing, but an ability to articulate human relationships.† By this, Vidal meant that to convey a play properly, association between the characters has to be real, dynamic action that captures the attention of an audience. Away is a charming play that deals with family, relationship, life, growing up and death. It depicts the final months leading up to the disintegration of the condition of Tom, a boy dying from Leukaemia. In the final stages of his life, he is desperate to achieve all that a normal person would in his short lifetime. Emily McPherson of the Age newspaper says, â€Å"This moving play prompts us to consider what is ultimately most important in our lives,† and also considers how relevant it is to Australians, even today, noting that â€Å"Every Australian can relate to this play and learn about the deeper meaning to life†. One factor of staging is Stage Directions. These are the way the playwright communicates with the director in regards to movements and actions of characters, positioning of props, and types of sets. These aspects affect the way the audience views a scene, as they can reveal issues, power relations, social positioning, and relationships between characters. In the last Act of Away, an entire scene is performed only through Stage Directions, yet it is a major scene in the conclusion of Away. This scene depicts the returning of Coral to her husband, Roy, and the subsequent resolution of their differences. Jim and Gwen are reconciled as well. In the case of Roy and Coral, the audience sees their reconciliation through the symbolic offering of the shells to Roy from Coral. With just stage directions, we can tell that this is Coral offering herself, her old self, to Roy. She is asking for forgiveness and we know through Roy’s kissing of  the shells and Coral herself that he has accepted her apology. The directions on the positioning of the characters on stage have to be effective to avoid audience confusion, as there is often split scenes. The way the set is used (â€Å"use of space†) is a useful medium to show conditions of the scene. These can include time of day, where the scene is set, the time period of which the scene was set, and the motives of the characters. Props are often included to add reality to the scene and often offer symbolism relating to the character that uses them. On Christmas Day at the campsite that Gwen’s family is staying at, Gwen, rushes onto the scene with a 12-inch fake Christmas tree and announces â€Å"If you want to have a Christmas you’d better get started now so we can get it over with. Hurry up. I don’t spending half the day sitting around waiting for people to open their presents.† This Christmas tree, being fake, represents Gwen’s resentment of Christmas- she obviously thinks it is a real chore. This does not make Meg and Jim’s Christmas real- their they are, on a day that is supposed to promote goodwill, the importance of the family and other relevant values, and their mother and wife is acting like she’d rather be any other place than with them- this day is an inconvenience. Characterisation can be defined as the representation of a character on the stage, especially by imitating actions, gestures, or speeches. Every element that combines to make a character is included in characterisation. Costumes are a helpful channel of symbolism and we can learn different things about the characters, both in connotative and deconnotative ways. To exemplify this, look at Vic’s new sunhat, which she comments on in Act Three, Scene Five- â€Å"I love my new hat.† This sunhat represents her role as the dominant partner in the family through Harry’s line â€Å"We could have sheltered under your hat.† The charisma of the sunhat reveals not only her personal charisma, but as this hat is only worn during the holiday, shows what a great time they are having on vacation. Tom also wears a Hawaiian shirt during the beach holiday scene, reflecting his laidback character. This is just one of many hints that are given to the reader to show Tom’s parallels with Puck, even though this one is very subtle. Tom acts and represents the catalyst, through his resolve and vitality; despite the disease he gives  each family hope. He represents the reasons for the reconciliation of each family, just like Puck in A Midsummer Nights’ Dream. Body language can demonstrate relationships between characters and character motive. Gestures show reactions, emotions the character is dealing with and the implications of these emotions. Expressions work similarly to gestures. Both help to put what the character is saying into context. We can see when Tom lies down on the beach during his walk with Meg that he is offering himself to her sexually. Meg rejects this offer. When this scene in viewed in performance, we can tell that Meg is rejecting Tom because she begins backing Away from him and cautiously glancing back at the path they came, wanting to go back to the safety of her parents, where Tom can’t impose anything like this on her. The audience has gone from seeing the two characters walking closely, side by side, to seeing Meg back away, with a different, more guarded attitude, and ultimately leaving him and hurrying back to the campsite. Lighting is helpful in setting a mood for the scene- for example, dark lighting may conjure up a theme of doom and gloom, where as a single spotlight will centre the audience’s attention on that one character. Special Effects are sometimes used in points of extreme climax. An example of a symbolic use of lighting would be in Act Five, Scene 2. It is the last scene of the play and shows the start of the new school year- probably Tom’s last year alive. The lighting becomes bright, summery, morning. This audience can sense that this echoes the dawn of the last stages of Tom’s life. Special Effects, though not noted in the stage directions, could be used during the storm scene, in which Gwen’s family are caught in a fierce storm that leaves the family in even more disarray. Jim describes their feelings like this â€Å"There doesn’t seem to be much use to carry on with your holiday when your van’s a wreck, your boat’s smashed on the rocks and all your clothes are soaked.† The storm embodies the family’s instability and their strained relationships. The reason Tom’s family was bypassed by that storm is because Tom’s family is a happy family who are content with life and the least uncooperative. Special effects highlight climactic points like the storm. Music reflects the dialogue of a scene and can highlight the important issues in the scene. It is also and effective way to set a certain mood or feeling. In Away, Mendelssohn is often referred to in the stage directions. For example, his calming Dreams is played during Act Three, Scene Five, where Tom’s family having a wonderful, relaxing time during there beach holiday. In this case, the music is reflecting the emotions and essence that embodies the scene. Mendelssohn’s music is often referred to in Gow’s stage directions, meaning it is probably the type of music he thinks reflects the play as a whole. Staging will always enhance the audience’s understanding of what is happening on a stage. The reader/audience member’s perspective of the play is always changed through Stage Directions, Characterisation, Music, Lighting, Special Effects and use of space. Earlier, Gore Vidal’s quote, â€Å"A talent for Drama is not a talent for writing, but an ability to articulate human relationships†, was mentioned. When analysing Vidal’s quote, it can be interpreted that Vidal meant that a playwright did not just have to possess the talent of writing, but that to show an accurate portrayal of the relationships that people have to one another, and the ways in which they handle these relationships. It can be deduced that Vidal was referring to the use of not only literature but also staging techniques that would humanise the characters.

The Presentation of Women in Othello Essay Example

The Presentation of Women in Othello Essay Example The Presentation of Women in Othello Paper The Presentation of Women in Othello Paper Shakespeares portrayal of Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca in Othello comes, generally, in two forms which reflect the prevailing opinion of women in Elizabethan times as mysterious and angelic or, whores, determined to cuckold their husbands. When Othello was written a patriarchal society was the norm. Women had clearly defined roles, as housewives and mothers; they were viewed as inferior, not only physically, but also emotionally. It was thought that they needed a male to protect them, if they were married this responsibility would fall to the husband and if the woman were single, it would be the duty of her father or another male relative. References to any of the three women, Desdemona, Emilia or Bianca, by the other characters, seems always either to praise them for their virtue and beauty, or else condemn them as whores that manipulate men to achieve their own ends. All three are rejected by their respective partners/husbands; they love them almost unconditionally, even when confronted with indifferent and callous behaviour. They are engaged in unbalanced partnerships: they feel more for their self-centred men than the men are capable of reciprocating. Bianca serves to represent the latter of the two opinions; she is a courtesan in Cyprus (Tis such another fitchew IV. i. 145). She is a contrast to Emilia and Desdemona as she is not a part of the domestic world in which they belong; this immediately casts her from the kind of femininity that Desdemona is said to possess. She has fallen in love with Cassio and pursues him quite wholeheartedly, however her affections are not returned (But that you do not love me. III. iv. 197), and she is eaten by jealously (O Cassio, whence came this? This is some token from a newer friend! III. iv. 180-1), Cassio and Iago dismiss this as her unruly nature and respond to her in a patronising manner (Go to, woman, / Throw your vile guesses in the devils teeth / From whence you have them! III. iv. 183-5). She is thought by the men to be a sexual being with a tempestuous nature, in need of control and unworthy of regard (What do you mean by his haunting of me? IV. i. 146). Bianca is held with disdain by men for her explicit sexuality, whereas Cassio, who is committing adultery (A fellow almost dammed in a fair wife I. . 20), receives none. This is a good example of the double standards that existed for women at this time, some of which can still be seen in the modern day, it being more socially acceptable for a man to be promiscuous than a female. Emilia is the representation of the dutiful wife, she is part of the domestic world in which Othello takes place, her marriage is neither happy nor successful, and yet she continues to try to please Iago (for example, by giving him the handkerchief). Iagos treatment of Emilia is very poor; he belittles her continuously throughout the play (Sir, would she give you so much of her lips / As of her tongue she oft bestows on me / Youd have enough II. i. 100-3), with little or no protest on her part. He also suspects her of having an affair with Othello (I hate the Moor / And it is thought abroad that twixt my sheets / Hes done my office. I. iii. 385-7), there is no proof in the text that for this, he does not ask her openly in the play about it and it seems to be a rumour that Iago is merely using for the justification of his actions. Emilia is all too aware that Iagos behaviour towards her is undeserved, she explains to Desdemona in Act 5 how women often suffer this treatment, and what happens as consequence (Then let them use us well: else let them know, / The ills we do, their ills instruct us so. V. 1. 101-2), this suggests to the audience that although women were legally and religiously bound to a subservient position, not all women behaved in a subservient way. In the final scene Emilia is quite prepared to reveal Iagos deceit, however, interestingly, she is fully aware that she is not, by social convention, supposed to, she actually apologises to those present when she disobeys him (Good gentlemen, let me have leave to speak. / Tis proper I obey him but not now. V. ii. 192-3). This disobedience does not pass without penalty, Iago stabs and kills Emilia, proving to the audience just how unbalanced their relationship was. Desdemona is spoken of by the other members of Othello as saintly, kind and virtuous, Cassio goes so far as to describe her as She is indeed perfection (II. ii. 25), and indeed, in Elizabethan times, if a women was not viewed as a whore, she was likely thought to be angelic (Queen Elizabeth I, for example). Shakespeare however was able to characterise women as real people, and take them from their pedestal. The character of Desdemona is often criticised as being weak and mono-dimensional, however in addition to being chaste, loving and virtuous, she is also articulate, stubborn, passionate, practical, and sexually aware. Many of these traits are shown in one of the few moments in the play we meet Desdemona without Othello, in Act II, scene I. She fully understands Iagos innuendos and is able to challenge him (Come on, assay. II. i. 120) in a witty and articulate manner. Desdemonas independence is portrayed explicitly by the fact that she married Othello without her fathers permission (Your daughter, if you have not given her leave, / I say again, hath made a gross revolt, I. i. 131). Women were viewed as a commodity, and marriage as more of a business transaction than union of lovers (Faith, he tonight hath boarded a land carrack: / If it prove lawful prize, hes made for ever. I. ii. 50-1). The opinion of women as the property of men is again illustrated when Iago calls to Brabantio that he has been robbed Look to your house, your daughter and your bags! (I. i. 79), that a person could be grouped alongside a house and money seems shocking in a modern western society, but was obviously the social norm in Shakespeares time as Brabantio takes no offence from that statement. Desdemona is aware of her duty to her father (To you I am bound for life and education: / you are the lord of duty I. iii. 183-5) and that now she is married, her obedience falls to her husband (I may profess / Due to the Moor my lord. I. iii. 188-9), the independence which Desdemona has shown is not seen as acceptable by her father who wishes to have control over her (and in his mind, so he should she is his property) Fathers, from hence trust not your daughters / minds / By what you see them act. I. i. 167-9) and later in the play, the extent of which she is submissive to Othello is stark contrast to these earlier actions, showing the multiple facets of Desdemonas personality, bound by traditional values yet independent minded and willing to support such non-conformist ideas (for the time) as racial equality. Iago is a misogynistic character, he is incapable of viewing women as anything other than worthless nymphomaniacs and when referring to them in Othello it is always with a debauched tone You rise to play, and go to bed to work (II. i. 115). He cannot believe that Desdemona could possibly love Othello and when talking of the couple does it in the most debasing manner (Even now, now, very now, an old black ram / Is tupping your white ewe! I. i. 7-8), always with sexual inferences and often with reference to animals, believing their love to be no more than lust whereof I take this, that you call / love, to be a sect or scion. (I. iii. 331-2). A good example of Iagos firm opinion of Desdemona can be seen in a conversation with Cassio who believes Desdemona to be saintly, Shes a most exquisite lady, And Ill warrant her full of game (II. iii. 17-18). Although Iago may have an extreme opinion of women, it was not too dissimilar from that of other men in the play. Men felt that there was something mysterious about women which they could not understand, they inhabited a different world, the domestic world of house and home, and a more physical world (eg. pregnancy, menstrual cycle) than men. It was felt that they were dangerous, temptresses who would lead them astray, needing to be controlled. The women of Othello do not always conform to the norms set by male opinion, but they are often constrained and held back because of them, and the mens fear that they will disobey sets the scene for much of the tension within the play, resulting in the many tragic deaths.

What to Know About Business Math

What to Know About Business Math Put quite simply; Business Math deals with Money! Who cant benefit from having a better understanding of money and finance? Everyone can! Business math is for the individual who wants to understand everything about personal finance fully and its also for the business person who wants to learn about business finance. You simply cant take business without taking math, business and math go hand in hand. Some passionate business math enthusiasts will tell you, if you dont take any other math or if you dont like math, you still need business math, and because it deals with money, you might just like it. Everyone needs to manage money on some level which is what makes business math important for everyone to take. What Will I Take in Business Math? Topics in business math are many and include, but are not limited to: Interest ratesLoansMortgage Finance and AmortizationDepreciationInvestment and Wealth ManagementInsuranceCreditTaxes and Tax LawsDiscountsPayrollMarkups and MarkdownsStatisticsInventoryFinancial StatementsDepreciationAnnuitiesFuture and Present ValuesSimple and Compound Interest What Math Do I Need to Take Business Math? If you decide that business math is for you or that you need business math for your career goal, you will benefit from having an understanding of the following topics along with the ability to solve word problems: Fractions, Decimals, and Percents (use the four operations with fractions, convert between fractions and decimals and percents, calculate percents of a number with and without a calculator, convert and simplify fractions, reduce and convert fractionsWhole Numbers (to a million, read, write, round and estimate numbers) and Integers (understand how to use the four operations with integersBasic Equations in Early Algebra (solve equations involving more than 1 unknown term, solve proportions, solve equations using more than one operation, use the problem-solving planBe Able to Use a Variety of FormulasUnderstand and Work with the Mean, Median and the ModeRead Charts and Graphs Business MathSummary Business math is not just for the business owner or for personal finance. Business math is also important for the real estate profession, they need to know how to close a deal financially, and to understand mortgages, calculate commission rates, taxes and fees and use a variety of formulas effectively. Wealth managers and advisers, bankers, investment consultants, stockbrokers, accountants, and tax consultants all need to understand the financial transactions for investment purposes along with having an understanding of growth or loss over time. Business owners need to understand payroll applications and deductions. Then theres goods and services. Whether its buying or selling, an understanding of discounts, markups, overhead, profits, revenues, and costs are all essential components of the math needed to manage inventory whether it be goods and services or property, which also needs to be financially managed. Having a background in math opens opportunities, and the job prospects are promising. Now is the time to embark on business math.

Ageing Experience And Psychological Well Being Social Work Essay

Ageing Experience And Psychological Well Being Social Work Essay There are two potential determinates that might influence quality of life and psychological well-being of elderly people. Firstly there are the objective factors that are income, health, status and age and intuitively, usually having more of these things means greater quality of life. However, in various research based on happiness of the elderly people, objective factors are less powerful than one might expect as Lyubomirsky et al; cited in the research article titled ‘Psychological Acceptance and quality Of Life in the Elderly,'(2007). The research suggested that objective factors account for about 8 to 15 % of the difference in happiness. So, †Do people get less happy as they get older?† and their well- being while ageing has been discussed by various researchers in order to define the concept of successful ageing but there is still a lack of consensus on what defines a successful ageing. The various researches on the relationship between old age and well-being have been at many times assessed through life satisfaction, happiness and morale. 2.2 Theories of ageing In attempting to explain the ageing process and moreover the elderly experience with family support in this particular study, the theories of ageing, which describes the ageing process and what it implies will be taken into account. 2.2.1 Activity theory, developed by Havighurst and associates in 1953, asserts that remaining active and engaged with society is primordial to satisfaction in old age. The theory asserts that positive relationships in the aged individual’s level of participation in social activity leads to life satisfaction as active aging equals successful aging. Activity can be physical or intellectual in nature so as to replace those interests and relationships that have been diminished or lost over time. This theory proposes that elderly people need to remain active in a variety of social spheres as for instance with family or friends because activity is pr eferable to inactivity as it facilitates well-being on multiple levels that is assuming that activity is vital to well-being. Activity theory proposes that social activity and involvement with others results in an increased ability to cope with aging, improved self-concept, and enhanced emotional adjustment to the aging process (Lee, 1985). 2.2.2 Disengagement theory was proposed by Cumming and Henry (1961). This theory states that ‘aging is an inevitable, mutual withdrawal or disengagement; resulting in decreased interaction between the ageing person and others in the social system he belongs to’ (Cumming and Henry, 1961, p.2). Disengagement theory thus assumes that social involvement decreases with aging and that successful ageing is best achieved through abandoning social roles and relationships and by the individual reducing both activities and involvement. Proponents of this theory maintain that this separation is desired by society and older adults, and serves as such to maintain social equilibrium. While high morale is evident at the completion of the process, the transition is characterized by low morale. However, this theory has been strongly criticized by researchers who found a lack of evidence from older people disengaging from their surroundings. Whereas older people social relationships change and that they possibly have fewer ties, it was found that these relationships were often deeper and more significant.

Family Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Family Law - Essay Example n his judgment, Lord Nicholls was of the view that: â€Å"Often than not, tribunals and courts in interpreting the requirement threshold outline under section 31 0f the Act have constantly have to decide whether or not an alleged event actually took place. In his wise decision, Lord Nicholls further observed that as a general rule where there is a possibility that a past event might have taken place then that is proof enough to the requisite standard or threshold and the law regards such an incident as definitely having taken place† 2 The legal implication of such a decision by the court is that the determination should be made following the statutory, legal policy or otherwise. Consequently, determination of such an issue is susceptible to change since it is the judiciary and not the legislature that sets the policy and it is still in the hands of the court to reconsider the viability solution for the problem. In the case of Lancashire County Council and Another v. Barlow and Another and One Other Action Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead stated that the court is empowered under section 31(1) of the 1989 Children Act to make an order putting the child under the local authority supervision or placing him or her under the care of local authority, or even under the care of a probate officer. Nevertheless, certain minimum conditions must be met before the court making such an order this conditions are usually referred to as threshold conditions. These threshold conditions are outlined under section 31(2) the 1989 Children Act which reads: A care order or a supervision order may be made by a court if it satisfied ­_ a); that the child in question is suffering, or is likely to suffer, substantial harm; and b). that the harm, or possibility of harm, is actually attributable to the... Courts have held that they are empowered under section 31(1) of the 1989 Children Act to make an order putting the child under the local authority supervision or placing him or her under the care of local authority, or even under the care of a probate officer. Nevertheless, certain minimum conditions must be met before the court making such an order this conditions are usually referred to as threshold conditions. These conditions include: that the child in question is suffering, or is likely to suffer, substantial harm; and that the harm, or possibility of harm, is actually attributable to the care accorded to the child, or the care likely to be given to the child in the event the order was not made, and the care not being what it would be rational to suppose a parent to give the child; or where the child is beyond control of the parent . The court further noted that in the interpretation of section 31 of the Children Act of 1989, particular attention should be paid under section 1(3 ) of the Act which sets out the Childs' welfare checklist. The welfare checklist under the foregoing section includes consideration of any harm that the child is at risk of suffering or any harm that the child concerned has suffered and the capability of each of the child's parent to satisfy the needs of the child. Accordingly, the connection between the casual likelihood need not be that direct, sole, or dominant cause and effect and that a causal connection that is contributory meet the requirements.

Relationship between Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Essay - 1

Relationship between Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Development - Essay Example Considering the fact that the need to meeting once basic needs for existence can be jeopardized in the absence of economic development, not much can be said on the need to promote economic development of all people at all levels of life. The understanding that economic development brings about better living and improved lifestyle does not however guarantee economic development. This is because the achievement of economic development is a complex and systematic process that demands a lot of knowledge, professional requirements, ethical know-how among other factors to achieve (Koduah, 2009). Kasof et al (2007) describe the elements that need to be put in place to attain economic development as values. In academic circles, theorists and economists have associated entrepreneurship and innovation as two of the most important values needed in achieving economic development. Lumsdaine and Binks (2007) also reiterates the fact that creativity and problem solving has a lot of role to play in ensuring that entrepreneurship and innovation are well combined to bring about the economic development. ... Being rather more technical and theoretical, the Lester Centre for Entrepreneurship (2011) explains that â€Å"entrepreneurship has crossed border from the days it used to be all about â€Å"the pursuit of opportunity beyond the resources you currently control† to now include a rather broadened scope â€Å"with segmented interest across a wide variety of fields and topics, including new venture creation, venture capital, social ventures, business model innovation, open software, internet, corporate entrepreneurship, global business, and biotechnology.† Innovation Innovation in the economic sense can also be given a broader interpretation than the mere act of creating something new. Innovation is actually a compounded ability to be of use not just to one’s self but to society at large (Ampong, 2004). There are therefore several theories on innovation that guides the utilization of the phenomenon. Some of the theories can be mentioned as breakthrough, incremental and open source (Real Innovation, 2011). Fusing all these theories together, Peter Drucker explains that â€Å"innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship... the act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth† (Real Innovation, 2011). Economic development According to Economics for Development (2011), â€Å"economic development is the development of economic wealth of countries or regions for the well-being of their inhabitants.† This confirms the point made earlier that economic development is directed towards the achievement of overall wellbeing of people. Theoretically, economic development is judged by certain indicators when the term is used by economic analysts. At the national level, there are indicators such as inflation rate, foreign exchange rate, interest rate and gross

Final Exam Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Final Exam - Assignment Example P3 initiates RNAIII that codes 6-hemolysin. P2 operon is 3Kb in length. It is unique when compared to P3 since it has up to four open reading frames, agrA, agrB, agrC, and agrD. The agrA controls the sensory transduction while agrB is responsible for the production of histidine phosphokinase in bacteria. Due to mutations, defects may occur in any one of four open reading frames, the resulting strains don’t have P2 and P3 transcripts, beside they become arg-. These strains cannot initiate transcription from the P2 and P3. Insertion at C1Ai site in the RNARIII region in P3 results in inactivation of arg functions. 2. a) ÃŽ ²-lactamase has higher activity as compared to the normal P2 and P3 promoters, and thus ÃŽ ²-lactamase can make other existing non-useful plasmids like p1524 unstable. Using P2 and P3 instead of ÃŽ ²-lactamase allows expression of the p15424, and this interferes with the results. b) RN6390B, arg+ produces stronger signals for alpha and beta hemolysins than does RN69 11, a null-arg strain, whose signal is extremely weak. If the researcher used arg+ instead, he would not obtain the same results due to interference by other unnecessary signals. c) When a B lymphocyte secretes antibodies that are directed towards a specific epitope on an antigen, we call the antibodies monoclonal. However, when a significant number of antibodies are secreted that have different affinities and specificities towards different epitopes, we call them polyclonal antibodies. B- hemolysin antibody is a polyclonal antibody, has a wide range of affinities and specificities and thus it can detect any antigen present in its environment. d) In anti-b blot, protein A produces a stronger signal for arg-a42 and no signal in arg-a40. The signal for B-hemolysin is present only in arg-a40 and not arg-a42. These results mean that different regions of P3 codes for different chemicals. 3. The author used RN7220 because it can increase the hla

Single, Married, Separated and Life after Divorce Essay

Single, Married, Separated and Life after Divorce - Essay Example many convincing bible verse evidences, the author proposes that the spouses must strive to keep their marriage alive, resolving individual or family risk and enhancing resilience. The intended audience of Munroe Myles’s book is anyone who can read a book. The audience includes married and single readers. The audience includes the separated or divorced readers. The audience target includes people who are currently in love or breaking out of love. Singleness. â€Å"One lady approached the author stating â€Å"I can’t take it anymore. I am tired of being single. I need a mate now. I am growing older, and life is passing me by (Munroe 11).† The author describes that there are many advantage to being single. First, one will have a unique person. There is no nagging spouse or noisy children. The cultural, social, and economic tenets of society dictates that it is best for a person to get married, a world order (2 Cor 4:4) Further, the author reiterates that the bible does not equate being single as bad or equate being single as being alone. Being single is not the same as being alone. The author insists that one should not marry until one is totally singe. To marry, one must first be separate, unique, and a whole person (Munroe 12). Often marriages crumble into separation or divorce because the marriage partners are not unique or single. The goal of the Christian life is to be separate, unique, and whole person, a vessel that holds a priceless treasure, Jesus Christ (2 Cor 4:7) (Munroe 14). Married. The author insists that the traditional concept of marriage is that it is the basic building block or foundation of society. The reiterates that â€Å"marriage works perfectly only if the right ingredients are mixed together (Munroe 68).† The lack of the minimum required ingredient declines to the state of separation or divorce. Further, the author insists that one should marry only to comply with God’s will (Munroe 140).When the marriage breaks up; society also

Fast food Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Fast food - Research Paper Example In today’s fast-paced life, when you are living live in the fast lane and when you are up and about in the midst of a hectic day of errands, you have hardly enough time to gulp down a drink before you are off preparing for your next appointment. Sitting down to have a decent meal, then, becomes a challenge - a challenge to which fast food restaurants have risen. Fast food has now, become so ingrained in our culture that it is difficult to imagine a world without burgers and french fries. Today, fast food is not only served in restaurants and drive- throughs but also at schools, colleges, malls, gas stations, air ports and even in hospitals. Although fast food is convenient, affordable and readily available, it has brought about increased health problems, resulted in the degradation of the environment, created a food industry controlled by giant corporations and has led to the loss of the family tradition of eating together. In his book, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, Eric Schlosser observes that â€Å"fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of American society† and that â€Å"In 1970, Americans spent about $6billion on fast food; in 2000, they spent more than $110 billion. Americans now spend more money on fast food than on higher education, personal computers, computer software or new cars. They spend more on fast food than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos and recorded music – combined† (Schlosser, 4). In the past, Americans used to eat freshly-prepared and healthy meals at home. Meals were then prepared by people who cared about the health and well-being of their families. Today, however, Americans gravitate towards fast food such as hamburgers and pizza which are prepared by strangers who do not give a thought about our health or about food safety. Why and how did fast food become so popular among Americans? What had caused this more than 500% increase in fast food spending? Eric Schlosser explains part of

Final Exam Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Final Exam - Assignment Example P3 initiates RNAIII that codes 6-hemolysin. P2 operon is 3Kb in length. It is unique when compared to P3 since it has up to four open reading frames, agrA, agrB, agrC, and agrD. The agrA controls the sensory transduction while agrB is responsible for the production of histidine phosphokinase in bacteria. Due to mutations, defects may occur in any one of four open reading frames, the resulting strains don’t have P2 and P3 transcripts, beside they become arg-. These strains cannot initiate transcription from the P2 and P3. Insertion at C1Ai site in the RNARIII region in P3 results in inactivation of arg functions. 2. a) ÃŽ ²-lactamase has higher activity as compared to the normal P2 and P3 promoters, and thus ÃŽ ²-lactamase can make other existing non-useful plasmids like p1524 unstable. Using P2 and P3 instead of ÃŽ ²-lactamase allows expression of the p15424, and this interferes with the results. b) RN6390B, arg+ produces stronger signals for alpha and beta hemolysins than does RN69 11, a null-arg strain, whose signal is extremely weak. If the researcher used arg+ instead, he would not obtain the same results due to interference by other unnecessary signals. c) When a B lymphocyte secretes antibodies that are directed towards a specific epitope on an antigen, we call the antibodies monoclonal. However, when a significant number of antibodies are secreted that have different affinities and specificities towards different epitopes, we call them polyclonal antibodies. B- hemolysin antibody is a polyclonal antibody, has a wide range of affinities and specificities and thus it can detect any antigen present in its environment. d) In anti-b blot, protein A produces a stronger signal for arg-a42 and no signal in arg-a40. The signal for B-hemolysin is present only in arg-a40 and not arg-a42. These results mean that different regions of P3 codes for different chemicals. 3. The author used RN7220 because it can increase the hla

Fast food Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Fast food - Research Paper Example In today’s fast-paced life, when you are living live in the fast lane and when you are up and about in the midst of a hectic day of errands, you have hardly enough time to gulp down a drink before you are off preparing for your next appointment. Sitting down to have a decent meal, then, becomes a challenge - a challenge to which fast food restaurants have risen. Fast food has now, become so ingrained in our culture that it is difficult to imagine a world without burgers and french fries. Today, fast food is not only served in restaurants and drive- throughs but also at schools, colleges, malls, gas stations, air ports and even in hospitals. Although fast food is convenient, affordable and readily available, it has brought about increased health problems, resulted in the degradation of the environment, created a food industry controlled by giant corporations and has led to the loss of the family tradition of eating together. In his book, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, Eric Schlosser observes that â€Å"fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of American society† and that â€Å"In 1970, Americans spent about $6billion on fast food; in 2000, they spent more than $110 billion. Americans now spend more money on fast food than on higher education, personal computers, computer software or new cars. They spend more on fast food than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos and recorded music – combined† (Schlosser, 4). In the past, Americans used to eat freshly-prepared and healthy meals at home. Meals were then prepared by people who cared about the health and well-being of their families. Today, however, Americans gravitate towards fast food such as hamburgers and pizza which are prepared by strangers who do not give a thought about our health or about food safety. Why and how did fast food become so popular among Americans? What had caused this more than 500% increase in fast food spending? Eric Schlosser explains part of

Abnormal behavior Essay Example for Free

Abnormal behavior Essay There are many factors that affect and produce abnormal behavior. Its aspects vary largely depending different factors. Abnormal behavior has many varying classifications. According to the   DSM-IV, there are 5 types of Axis that classify abnormal behavior. Out of these five, there is much importance on the effect of situational factors that can range from simple or grave in nature, nonetheless, situational factors provide a huge effect on abnormal behavior. The DSM-IV provides categorical classification that segregates mental disorders into different kinds or types from a basis of sets of criteria that possess defining features. The five types are the following: Axis I Clinical Syndrome, Axis II Personality Disorder and Mental Retardation, Axis III Physical Disorder, Axis IV Psycho-social stressors and Environmental Problems, and lastly, Axis V Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). See more: Homeless satire essay Abnormal behavior represents different effects. The causes and stimulants for this abnormal behavior may vary very uniquely. But every abnormal behavior condition can be consequences of genetic predisposition, developmental factors that influence, patterns learned due to response from situations, impact of acute or chronic life experiences, defective assumptions, and adaptation to situations. Excluding the genetic predisposition, abnormal behavior largely revolve around factors of different situations that may have started or aggravated the said abnormal behavior. The once normal behavior of people can change due to a very life-changing situation. Examples of these are traumatic events or major disasters that occurred in ones life. Such disorders or abnormality may greatly have been caused by these kinds of situations which resulted to the change of the normal behavior into abnormal.

Heavy Metal Accumulation Within Urban Regions of China

Heavy Metal Accumulation Within Urban Regions of China Word Count: 1944 Introduction The adverse health effects associated with heavy metal accumulation within the body are well documented with problems leading to cardiovascular, nervous system, blood and bone diseases. Heavy metals can be easily transferred to human bodies directly through inhalation, ingestion, and absorption from the skin. The predominant pathway of ingestion is through the soil-crop system due to the accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural areas. This is quite prevalent in rural areas of China as waste water is recycled to tend crops which provide the food for the urban population. Alongside wastewater irrigation, solid waste disposal and sludge applications; vehicular exhaust and industrial activities are the major sources of soil contamination with heavy metals, resulting in an increased metal uptake by the food crops grown on such contaminated soils (Khan et al. 2008). In the urban environment itself, a wide range of toxic substances can be released during recycling and disposal in indust rial processes which cause environmental damage and threaten public health. Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, copper, zinc, and chromium are an important class of hazardous chemicals that can be released from out-dated industrial practices. Therefore a relationship exists with a high population density within China’s urban centres and heavy metal accumulation within the urban environments (soils, atmosphere and drinking water). Industry and economic activities are more concentrated in urban areas, and cities have become the geographic focus of resource consumption and chemical emissions, which cause many environmental problems (Luo et al. 2012). Heavy industries such as metal smelting, manufacturing, energy production, construction and the coal/fuel combustion techniques associated with the mentioned industries are usually localised within the urban centres of China. This is due to their close proximity to the large percentage of the urbanised population who commute to thei r workplaces, and also double up as consumers (and polluters). Because of this, industries release harmful pollutants as by-products into the atmosphere, or can infiltrate the drinking water, and/or affect soils within close proximity. Heavy metals in urban soils may come from various human activities such as vehicle exhaust, waste disposal, as well as coal and fuel combustion (Chen et al. 2005). A recent emergence is that of electronic waste recycling which is infamous for releasing heavy metals. Biophysical and Socioeconomic Background The cause for the environmental degradation which effects are now widely seen in China are by no means an issue that has sprung up overnight. Domestically, the modernisation drive of the Chinese government over the past 30 years has been the main contributor for the environmental degradation, in that the priority of urbanisation, industrialisation, and a stronger economy with the intent of increasing the standard of living for its citizens (reflected by higher consumption) has placed environmental concerns as inconsequential. Because of this, environmental policies over the past 30 years have been considerably lax or non-existent due to conflicting with economic targets. This deregulation by the environmental sector of the government has granted China unprecedented growth and surpass economic goals, but at great consequence to the environment with widespread pollution in all the major cities. Only recently has the Chinese government realised the magnitude of their actions on the envi ronment which have been revealed through recent studies. The first national soil pollution survey conducted between 2005 and 2013 by the Chinese government’s Environmental Protection Ministry showed that 16.1% of China’s soil and 19.4% of its arable land was contaminated with cadmium, nickel and arsenic (BBC, 2014). China’s rapid and extended period of industrial development with subsequent high pollutant emissions has left many regions with deteriorated land quality and soil pollution. Compared to the surveys conducted between 1986 and 1990, levels of inorganic materials were markedly higher. This has dire consequences for the food security of the Chinese people and both the global community, as China currently relies heavily on grain imports to satisfy the needs of its citizens. The Chinese government set the minimum arable land for food production just over 300 million acres, of which this recent study has shown their available arable land does not meet this minimum meaning that China lacks agricultural self-sufficiency (Pei, 2014). Reversal of the degradation is costly and generally avoided, thus the Chinese government is opting to invest in foreign land and agriculture. Many of the recent surveys and research conducted by the government has had loose affiliation with scientific bodies and subsequently distorted evidence with the intent to strengthen political and economic motives, while masking the true nature of the situation. As a result, initial conservative estimations made by the government are insufficient and by no means an accurate representation of the environmental issues facing China. Internationally, the demand for cheaper Chinese labour and consumables has only perpetuated and reinforced the economic drive and manufacturing capabilities of China over the past 30 years – with the environment suffering due to inadequate regulation, economic priorities and a lack of perception for wider issues such as environmental. Specifically, with the expansion of the global market and increased demand for electrical and electronic products (and their short lifespan), electronic waste has become one of the most rapidly growing problems pertaining to waste in the world. A great quantity of electronic waste originating from developed countries has been transferred to developing countries such as China, India, and some African countries where electronic waste is processed using less advanced technology. A wide range of toxic substances can be released during the recycling and disposal and cause environmental damage and threaten public health, especially those of heavy metal s (Zheng et al. 2013). Management Approaches in the Past It was in 1973 where the Chinese government held its first national conference on environmental protection. For the following 20 years, emphasis was placed on pollution control and prevention as the major cities faced industrial and pesticide pollution. Again in 1983 environmental protection was announced as one of the two basic state policies (the other being family planning, or notoriously known as the ‘one child policy’). However proper action to environmental impact has only occurred relatively recently (the mid to late 1990’s) marked by the issuing of the national strategy of sustainable development: ‘Ten strategic Policies for Environment and Development’ and in 1994 the publishing of ‘Agenda 21’. Subsequently, China has implemented a strategy of two fundamental transformations – the transition from a planned economic system to a socialistic market economic system (Wang 2010). Policies within the 1990’s focused mainly on point source control of pollution from industries, and heavily around catchment systems (due to the problem of contaminated water) in contrast to remediation of areas affected by pollution. As is still problematic today, government bodies responsible for the implementation are hindered by weak institutional capacities and generally lack experience in the new field of environmental management (Wang 2010) leading to confusion between local and central governments in relation to the arbitration of policies. Guidelines of environmental protection have been established through many separate rules and regulations authorised by different government entities at different phases adding to this disarray. Local governments also lacked the financial capacity to compensate residents in natural reserves causing conflict within the communities. Centralisation of this organisation appears to be an ongoing process. Similarly, it is all well and good announcing what is going to be done (albeit vag uely) but whether or not action is taken is another matter. Adding to this significance is that the Chinese government is both the regulator and polluter in many instances, and must realise this. Management Approaches at Present and for the Future Presently, the government has specific planned efforts to protect species and ecosystems and have greatly increased over the past decade, but effectiveness has not kept pace with degradation. Major problems exist such as low levels of staff training, inadequate funding and rampant commercial development. The central government’s large-scale payment for ecosystem services campaigns are remarkable in terms of funding and longevity but program effectiveness remains unclear due to a general lack of science based assessment and conflicting outcomes with positive results that meet program goals (Grumbine Xu 2013). The issue of heavy metal accumulation within soils (be it rural or urban) is not directly targeted with China’s environmental management plans of the future. Although management plans incorporate the cleaning up of industries and practices which will hopefully have flow down affects leading to the reduction of problematic pollution (namely, heavy metals). These new ly implemented, almost ‘ad hoc’ environmental standards may not be up to speed to match the ever increasing economic growth and continual urbanisation. Similarly, implementing policy is one thing, enforcing it is another. In rural areas, China did not begin to invest in water pollution control until 2008 with the Ministries of Environmental Protection and Agriculture expecting coverage of 10% of all villages by 2015. In 2012 and again in 2013, the State Council and Ministry of Environmental Protection issued new national policies and funding to strengthen water use and decrease pollution, but institutional reforms necessary for improved implementation have not been addressed (Grumbine Xu 2013). Reformation of current environmentally specific laws (water, biodiversity, conservation) and forging of legal management mandates between provinces and government bureaus within their specific areas, alongside encouraging more policy participation from citizens, non-government o rganisations and businesses is desirable. Some of these reforms go against current government norms, but international scholars believe that significant environmental degradation impacts (such as water scarcity or hazardous materials) will drive more cooperative institutional behaviour (Grumbine Xu 2013). There is little interdisciplinary framework to address the lack of policy connections within and across China’s social–ecological systems. At the national level, ministerial actions often lack coordination and officials often do not have the capacity to enforce regulations. There are disconnects between central and local decision making; at local levels, Beijing’s edicts are subject to behaviour where officials often act contrary to central government mandates resulting in poor policy implementation. With environmental problems now openly acknowledged but solutions still far off, and already-unprecedented urbanisation rates gaining speed. But there still are n o functional national-level regulations in place to guide the largest and most rapid urban expansion in world history (Grumbine Xu 2013). Conclusions and Recommendations After three decades of unconstrained economic growth, China’s social and ecological debts are coming due. The new Chinese leadership has a full agenda yet measured against broad adaptive capacity standards, thus the government remains weak at solving complex, cross-cutting problems. Experts are in agreement that open information exchange, government transparency, institutional coordination, public and private sector participation, iterative decision making and conflict resolution are critical to resolving environmental and social issues under 21st century conditions. These capacities may have little to do with supporting economic expansion under a command-and-control decision making system, but they are recommended repeatedly to solve governance problems in a world of decreasing resources and increasing uncertainty. China must realise that it is both the polluter and regulator so must mediate the two with particularly stronger enforcement of environmental concerns. Short term economic goals should not outweigh the long term importance of the environmental order. Soil is an important component of urban ecosystems, thus its quality must be recognised and integrated into environmental monitoring and management programs. Extensive investigations into urban soil contamination in China have been conducted in the last 25 years but prove inadequate. Given the importance of urban soils, future research should focus on making comprehensive assessments of urban soil quality for better city planning and the sustainable management of urban soil resources. Since metals and organic pollutants have been found many cities of China, these and other emerging contaminants should be included in a multi-compartmental environmental surveillance of urban areas. Biological indicators could be used such as plant, soil invertebrate and microbial assays leading to an improved assessment of soil quality than physico-chemical measurements alone. Attention should be paid towards semi- rural and peri-urban agriculture practices with potential to human health implications. In addition to routine urban soil surveys, a land use-based and environmental availability-based integrated risk assessment framework of pollutants for urban soils needs to be developed in China (Luo et al. 2012). References BBC news China, 18th April 2014, ‘Report: One fifth of China’s soil contaminated’ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-27076645 Chen H, Zheng C, Tu C, Zhu Y, 1999, ‘Heavy metal pollution I soils in China: Status and countermeasures’, Ambio, Vol. 28, pp. 130-134 Chen TB, Zheng YM, Lei M, Huang ZC, Wu HT, Chen H, Fan KK, Yu K, Wu X and Tian QZ, 2005, ‘Assessment of heavy metal pollution in surface soils of urban parks in Beijing, China’, Chemosphere, Vol. 60, pp. 542-551 Grumbine RE Xu J, 2013, ‘Recalibrating China’s environmental policy: The next 10 years’, Biological Conservation, Vol. 166, pp. 287-292 Khan S, Cao Q, Zheng YM, Huang YZ and Zhu YG, 2008, ‘Heath risks of heavy metals in contaminated soils and food crops irrigated with wastewater in Beijing, China’, Environmental Pollution, Vol. 152, pp. 686-692 Luo X, Shen Y, Zhu Y, Li X, 2012, ‘Trace metal contamination in urban soils of China’, Science of the Total Environment, pp. 17-30 Pei M, 18th April 2014, ‘China’s soil pollution: It’s much worse than you think’, Fortune Magazine, http://fortune.com/2014/04/18/chinas-soil-pollution-its-much-worse-than-you-think/ Wang L, 2010, ‘The changes of China’s environmental policies in the latest 30 years’, Procedia Environmental Sciences, Vol. 2, pp. 1206-1212 Zheng J, Chen K, Yan X, Chen S, Hu G, Peng X, Yuan J, Mai B, Yang Z, 2013, ‘Heavy metals in food, house dust, and water from an e-waste recycling area in South China and the potential risk to human health’, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, Vol. 96, pp. 205-212

Suffering and The Book of Job Essay example -- Holy Bible Book Job Ess

Suffering and The Book of Job      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The concepts of suffering addressed in "The Book of Job" have no relevance to the ideas of suffering expressed in eastern religions such as Buddhism and Jainism. In fact, for Buddhists, the cause of suffering was discovered some 2,500 years ago by a prince from India named Sidhartha Gautama. This man, who was known as the Buddha, taught that suffering was caused by the craving for material things; ergo, cessation from suffering could be attained by detaching oneself from the things of this world (Ianuale). Had Job been exposed to these strictly eastern concepts of suffering, his outlook on his vicissitudes would have been quite different indeed.    "The Book of Job" is an epic tale of pious pessimism from the Old Testament of the Bible about a righteous, God-fearing man named Job. Job has been blessed with many children, and great material wealth. But all of that soon comes to an end as Satan and God begin their debate on whether or not Job would keep his piety in the face of adversity.    Satan is allowed, by God, to test Job, once by taking away his family and wealth, and a second time, by afflicting him with sickness and sores. In the first test, Job holds fast to his conviction and never blames God for his misfortunes. The second test, however, proves to be more challenging, and Job curses the day he was born.    In the next section of the story, three of Job's friends come to visit him upon hearing of his misfortunes. Each one of them tries, in separate speeches, to offer Job an explanation as to why such tragedy has befallen him. They insist that Job must have done something to deserve his adversity, saying that all men are, in some way,... ...of Major World Religions" Oral Lecture,     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5 December 2000. Middlesex County College. Edison, NJ. "Job." Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. 7th ed. Ed.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Laurence Behrens, Leonard J. Rosen. New York: Addison     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wesley Longman, 2000:407-433. Kutz, Ilan. "Job and His 'Doctors'; Bedside Wisdom in The Book   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   of  Ã‚   Job." BMJ 321. December 23-30, 2000; 1613-1615. PA     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   RESEARCH II. ProQuest Direct. Middlesex County College     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Library, Edison. 4 February 2001. 2000.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.proquest.umi.com. MacLeish, Archibald. "God Has Need of Man." Writing and     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reading   Across the Curriculum. 7th ed. Ed. Laurence Behrens,     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Leonard J. Rosen. New York: Addison Wesley Longman,     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2000; 474-480. Smith, Huston. The World's Religions. San Francisco: Harper, 1958.   

Health and Happiness :: Happiness Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the fall semester of 2004 I participated in a program to improve my habits of healthy living. I set goals for myself in four different areas, Exercise, Nutrition, Sleep, Social or Family Time, Play/Laugh/Create and, Spiritual development. During the three months of September, October and November I experienced some challenges and some successes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the area of exercise my beginning goal was to play soccer every day and try and lift weights at the gym. This started out really easy because I had soccer everyday and lifted weights on a consistent basis. After the season was over I have found that it has become more difficult to be discipline about running and lifting weights due to trying to improve my grades from the lack of effort during soccer season.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next area I would like to talk about is the nutrition area. I have found this category to be one of the most consistent areas to keep going. It is not very hard to eat something healthy with every meal. But, I have found now that I have more time on my hands it is easier to eat more junk food than I would like to because I just eat what ever looks good to me at the time. I do not think about what I am eating like I did at the beginning of the semester.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Third is the Sleeping category which was the easiest for me to keep up with. I am one of those people that if I do not get enough sleep the night before it is hard for me to function that next day. So, I have tried to get a minimum of seven hours of sleep every night. It does not seem like a hard task but when you are in school, playing a sport and having a relationship with a girl it is hard to get seven hours of sleep every night. I figured out how to keep on a consistent basis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The social/family time was a good one to have. It helped me talk to my parents on a more consistent basis. By talking to them it made me feel like we had a good trustworthy relationship with them. There were also times when I found myself not talking to them because I was to bust with either school soccer or my girlfriend. But, for the most part I felt this was beneficial for my relationship with my parents.

Can terrorism be justified? Essay

Introduction The purpose of this essay is to explore the issues surrounding the morality of terrorism. I will begin by providing contextual information of the topic through exploring the history of terrorism. From the Sicarii in 50AD who carried out assassinations with short daggers to more recent attacks such as 7/7 bombings in the London underground. In this section however we will find it is not only the methodology of terrorism that has changed but its definition has evolved also. I shall use the historical examples to find any patterns in the use of the word and analyse what these examples tell us about the meaning of the word. Throughout my essay I shall adopt a narrow definition as I believe it allows you to explore terrorism in more detail. Subsequently I will seek to define terrorism along the basis that it sets out to instil fear into others in order to reach a final objective. Following this I shall examine the arguments for and against the justification of terrorism through questioning the ideas of various scholars such as Rudolf Bittner who says terrorism is always wrong to the arguments of Kai Neilsen who says terrorism can be justified if the ends justify the means. Hence I shall reach my final conclusion and reinforce my core argument that terrorism can never be justified, as I believe there is always other less harmful options which reach the same results , furthermore I believe strongly that the lives of others should never be sacrificed for personal gain, whether that be social, political or economic. Lit review The first known terrorist organisation originated in 50AD, they were called the Sicarii, The Sicarri wanted liberation from Roman leadership and assassinated all those associated with the Romans, it was said that the fear that was aroused by these crimes was worse than the act itself(law, R. Terrorism: A history, p.27). The arousal of fear is seen even in modern terrorism through the 7/7 bombings in London where civilians were targeted in the underground train stations, subsequently many feared to use London transport. This running theme of sparking terror within a population suggests that the meaning of the word terrorism must be based around the act of instilling fear; however this is only one aspect of the definition. In the case of the Sicarri they committed these terrorist acts in order to reach an end goal of liberation, this highlights that the definition of terrorism must include a final objective. This end goal is seen through many other terrorist organisations and has become more apparent over time , for example the Ku Klux Klan wished to eradicate all rights of black Americans, this was demonstrated by burning down places of worship and public buildings owned by black Americans. Despite these similarities the definition of terrorism has become elasticated over time, thus it has become difficult to pin down into a singular concept. This variation can be seen through the methodology, in the early stages of terrorism the use of swords and knifes were popular, such as the Sicarii’s use of daggers, however modern day terrorists use explosive devices such as bombs in the 7/7 attack in London. As terrorism has evolved so has the brutality of the act, the consequences of terrorist acts are much larger now than in 50AD, for example the al-Qaeda killed 3,000 people in the attack of 911 alone . This makes it apparent that a key part of the modern definition of terrorism should revolve around fear or terror being committed upon a large scale. Definitions In this essay I will be using a narrow definition, as I believe it’s more efficient in focusing upon the foundations of terrorism. This is because I believe wide definitions are too vague as they incorporate all victims of violence. Thus it becomes difficult to be as thorough when zooming into who and what terrorists are. For example under the pretences of a wide definition anybody can be the victim of terrorism, therefore the assassination of Osama Bin Laden could be classed as a terrorist act. This is clearly not the case. Therefore I believe at times wide definitions can lead you to draw incorrect conclusions, as a result I will be using a narrow definition of terrorism throughout the essay. The two core aspects of terrorism is 1)the act of instilling terror and 2)the use of terrorism for a political goal, thus I believe all valid definitions of the term should revolve around these constant features. Various historians and philosophers throughout the course of history have put forward their definitions of terrorism. Walter Laqueur defined terrorism as the illegitimate use of force to achieve a political objective when innocent people are targeted (definitions of terrorism. This definition of terrorism is successful in demonstrating that terrorism is always used as a means to reach an end. However it fails to mention the instilling of terror into a nation and rather focuses upon force by means such as weapons. It also highlights that government organisations can’t be terrorist groups, however many definitions such as Per Bauhn’s would disagree with this. Bauhn defines terrorism as the performance of violent acts, directed against one or more persons†¦.to bring about one or more of the agent’s political goals (Bauhn, 1989:28). In Bauhn’s definition he fails to specify qualities of the agent , I believe this makes his definition invalid. As warfare could then qualify as a terrorist act, which in my opinion it isn’t . Terrorism is difficult to define, however I have reached a definition that terrorism is the illegitimate use of force against an innocent population in order to provoke fear or terror as a strategy to r each an end objective. I believe this definition is plausible as it focuses upon the two core features of terrorism whilst eliminating government organisations. Analysis Philosophers and historians debate continuously about whether terrorism can ever be deemed morally acceptable. I take a deontological stand point and believe that terrorism is wrong in every situation. I believe this as there are always less harmful options which will reach the same result, for example protests and speeches. Moreover if we class terrorism as justifiable, society may begin to use violence to express messages regularly and what sort of a world would we live in then? For example if we classed the attacks of 911 as morally acceptable it would provoke others to do the same. In addition I believe that in any situation the use of terrorism will never be worth the end result, the lives of human beings are always going to be more valuable than any potential gain. However many may disagree with this view point, they could argue that if the end result of terrorism moves us towards a more ideal society then in the scheme of things the loss of a few lives is nothing. However this argument is invalid as how can society truly be improving if it relies on violence to do so? I believe that if change requires others to die in order for it to be fulfilled then it isn’t as beneficial for society as if the change was reached via other peaceful  methods. Thus we should always use other strategies available to us to portray our beliefs rather than opting for terrorism. There are many justifications for terrorism which disagree with my claims; Kai Neilsen is a consequentialist therefore judges every action upon its consequences. He argues that terrorism can be morally acceptable in a situation, if it can be shown to be 1) the most effective action with 2) the least bad overall consequences. His basic argument is that if the means justifies the end then it is acceptable. However a major flaw in his argument is that it is impossible to calculate whether the end result is of a greater good than the course that had to be taken to get there. For example was the death of tens of thousands of French people worth liberation in the French revolution, the families of those who lost loved ones may argue that it wasn’t. In addition how can we be sure before carrying out such terrorist acts that this greater good is going to be reached, we c annot be certain of such things. A disadvantage of all consequentialist ideas is that we cannot predict consequences therefore using Neilsen’s criteria it would be difficult to deem whether a terrorist act is justified before it has taken place, this makes Neilsen’s argument unreliable. Moreover we are unable to define what the ‘greater good’ is, as it varies from person to person, an act which may benefit one person may not have the same effect upon another. This can lead to an individual’s happiness being over looked, as John Stewart Mill stated through the idea of higher and lower pleasures an individual’s happiness can be of a greater worth than the majorities. Quite often in Terrorist acts minorities are over looked which results in the least amount of happiness being achieved. Due to these major flaws in Neilsen’s argument I reject his views. Rudolf Bittner supports my claims and as a deontologist abides by moral norms, as a result he believes terrorism is always wrong as violence violates human rights. I agree with his argument as laws are made for a reason, to keep peace and order in society .Violence however is detrimental to the majority of the laws that society upholds. Therefore if we justify a violent act as extreme as terrorism we are only inflicting terror upon ourselves. On the other hand Emile Henry argues that civilians who benefit from unjust societies are somehow to blame for the society they live in. Henry says that these civilians aren’t innocent at all and should serve as targets for violence. Osama bin Laden adopted this view and justified  killing innocent Americans in 911 by saying ‘the American people are the ones who pay the taxes which fund the planes which bomb us in Afghanistan’ (full text: Bin Laden’s ‘letter to america’, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/nov/24/theobserver, retrieved: 03/08/14). Using Henry’s argument all those in the world trade centre on the 11th September 2001 were guilty and therefore the attack was morally acceptable. However these civilians are not guilty they pay taxes because its compulsory not because they want planes to bomb Afghanistan, they do not give the orders which kill their people, they have no real voice in the matter. This is where Henry’s argument becomes invalid; it is difficult depending upon your perception to say whether a person is truly innocent. Henry’s argument is short sighted and doesn’t think of the bigger picture, If this justification was used then society would be a constant war zone, just because you consider a person to be guilty of a crime doesn’t make their murder acceptable. Nicholas Foiton’s argument against terrorism being justifiable influenced my opinions strongly, he said terrorists have ‘ideological’ conceptions of what is good which misrepresent actual peopl es interests. I agree with this entirely as quite often a terrorist organisation becomes deluded by their aims and forgets to look at the wellbeing of a whole society. For example the members of the Ku Klux Klan believed that immigrants didn’t belong in America. They thought that by attacking black Americans they were moving society forward, when in actual fact they were doing the opposite, they had ‘ideological’ conceptions of what was good for America. Foition additionally said that terrorism is never the last resort to make a change; I adopted this point as there are always alternative less aggressive strategies. For example Martin Luther King’s speech which wished for equality between white and black people in America was extremely influential and helped strive towards the more equal society which we live in today. This highlights that’s terrorism isn’t the most effective option and often results in a nation abiding out of fear rather than choice, therefore has no real change to a societies opinion. Thus terrorism cannot be justified on the basis that is the only available option. Foiton additionally arg ues that terrorism is not morally acceptable because all objectives that need innocent people to die to be reached are bad. If an objective requires people to die for it, is it really worth  carrying out? I agree with Foiton as a human life is worth more than any potential political gain, therefore terrorism cannot be justified upon the grounds that the end will justify the means. Conclusion In my conclusion I shall reiterate my main findings which I have discussed previously. I strongly believe that terrorism Is always wrong and cannot be justified in any situation. My main reasoning for this is that violence should always be considered immoral, it goes against human rights and laws which are implemented into our society for a reason. If we justify violence as extreme as terrorism people will begin to believe that is acceptable to behave in such a manner in everyday life. Furthermore terrorism cannot be justified upon the foundations that it is the last resort, there are always other strategies that are just as effective and less detrimental to society. I conclude that if society has to use violence in order to move forward then society in reality is not really improving at all. In addition I believe that all consequentialist arguments for justifying terrorism are invalid as they lack reliability, we cannot predict outcomes therefore we are unable to utilise justificati ons such as Neilsen’s in practice. Moreover how can we justify terrorist acts such as 911 which killed thousands of innocent people? No act that brings such damage and devastation can ever be morally acceptable; it goes against all the political and religious laws of which our society depends upon. I also believe that defining what the ‘greater good’ for society is, is impossible, therefore any justification which revolves around terrorism being used as a method to improve society is invalid. This is because terrorists believe their opinions to be the only ones that matter, therefore the interests of societies who are affected by these groups are overlooked, this results in the greater good not being reached at all. Subsequently I take a deontological stand point and agree with scholars such as Bittner and Foiton, there is never a right time or place to use terrorism as it can simply never be justified. Bibliography http://terrorism.about.com/od/groupsleader1/p/Sicarii.htm http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/terrorism http://www.azdema.gov/museum/famousbattles/pdf/Terrorism%20Definitions%200728 09.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_terrorism http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/nov/24/theobserver KS5-Philosophy-Can terrorism ever be justified? (brilliant club text book)