Dell Company Background Essay

DELL is a multinational information technology corporation based in Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest technological corporations in the world, employing more than 96,000 people worldwide. Dell had 46,000 employees as of Jan. 30. About 22,200 of those, or 48.3 percent, were in the United States, while 23,800 people, or 51.7 percent, worked in other countries, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.[citation needed] Dell is listed on the Fortune 500 (2010). Fortune also lists Dell as the most admired company in its industry. Dell has grown by both organic and inorganic means since its inception—notable mergers and acquisitions including Alienware (2006) and Perot Systems (2009). As of 2009, the company sold personal computers, servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, and computer peripherals. Dell also sells HDTVs, cameras, printers, MP3 players and other electronics built by other manufacturers. The company is well known for its innovations in supply chain management and electronic commerce. On May 3, 2010, Fortune Magazine listed Dell as the 38th largest company in the United States and the 5th largest company in Texas by total revenue. It is the 2nd largest non-oil company in Texas (behind AT&T) and the largest company in the Austin area. DELL SWOT Analysis Strength †¢ Customer oriented marketing strategies. †¢ Well-Known for online selling of Computers. †¢ Listed in the fortune 500 companies as the 25th largest company. †¢ Dell Company employs more than 76000 thousand people. †¢ Provide quality PCs, Laptops and computer peripherals at low price. †¢ Low manufacturing cost. †¢ Dell offer computers with AMD and Dell processor. †¢ Dell has nine of manufacturing plants. †¢ Offer wide range of PC, Server, Laptops, Monitors and LCDs, Data storage devices, network switches and software. †¢ Dell built computer on customer provided specifications. †¢ Dell always keen to embed latest technology in its products. †¢ It has a reliable support and service. †¢ The company website at least receives 25 million visits. †¢ Efficient Inventory management. †¢ Dell became the first company in the information technology industry to establish a product-recycling goal. Weaknesses †¢Elimination of bonuses in 2006 to increase the company financial performance. †¢ Closure of Dell’s biggest call center in April, 2003 terminating 1100 employees. †¢ On January 8, 2009 Dell announced the closing of its manufacturing plant in Limerick, Ireland with the loss of 1,900 jobs and the shift of production to its plant in Poland. †¢ Dell not able to attract the students of schools and colleges, this segment earn only 5% of total revenues. †¢ Lot of criticism against the Dell’s claim of world’s most secured notebooks. †¢ Dell willingly discontinued the â€Å"world’s most secure laptops† advertisement after the declaration of the NAD investigation. †¢ Dell have no proprietary technology, the currently used technology by dell are shared by the other major competitors. †¢ Dell is dependent on its suppliers Opportunities †¢ India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are the untapped markets. †¢ Market penetration in education and Government markets. †¢ Cost reduction in latest technology. †¢ Partnership or acquiring of suppliers. †¢ Dell has opportunity to sell computer directly to retailers. Threats †¢ Fluctuation in currency outside US. †¢ Major competitors in the market. †¢ Most of the countries are hit by recession which may result in the reduction of revenues. †¢ Government Policies. †¢ Bargaining of Suppliers. †¢ Rapid change in technology obsoletes the product in small span of time. †¢ Aggressive marketing by competitors.

Byzantine and Islamic Civilizations

A civilization can be described as the culture of a complex society, not just the society itself. Every society, civilization or not, has a specific set of ideas and customs, and a certain set of items and arts, that make it unique. Perhaps the single most salient aspect of Byzantine culture was the transmission of classical culture. While classical studies, science, and philosophy largely dissipated in the Latin west, Byzantine education and philosophy still zealously pursued these intellectual traditions.It was in Byzantium that Plato and Aristotle continued to be studied and were eventually transmitted first into the Islamic world and then back into Western Europe. A basic education in Byzantium consisted first of the mastery of classical Greek literature, such as Homer (largely unknown in the West during this period)—almost all of the Greek literature we have today was only preserved by the Byzantines. Byzantine culture is important because of two lines of transmission.One line of transmission involved the exporting of classical Greek and Roman culture into Islam and, to a lesser extent, the transmission of Byzantine theological speculation into Islamic theology. The second is the transmission of Byzantine culture and religion to Slavic peoples, especially to the Russians. Byzantine cultural practices and beliefs are still practiced among Slavs today. Russian religion, art, philosophy, and even literature, such as the writings of Chekhov and Dostoevsky, show profound influences from Byzantine culture.The first flowering of ecclesiastical literature of Byzantium is Hellenistic in form and Oriental in spirit. Their works, which cover the whole field of ecclesiastical prose literature . The epigram, suited the Byzantine taste for the ornamental and for intellectual ingenuity. It corresponded exactly to the concept of the minor arts that attained high development in the Byzantine period . The influence of Byzantine art in Western Europe; particularly Ita ly was seen in ecclesiastical architecture.The Arab-Islamic culture played its leading part in the best way possible in building world scientific renaissance. While Europe was buried in the darkness of the Middle Ages, the Islamic -civilization (the cradle of the Arab-Islamic culture) was at its apogee. Islam greatly contributed to the advancement of science, medicine and philosophy. The imprint of the Arab-Islamic culture was predominant, noticeable and effective in many scientific, intellectual and cultural fields.Arab and Muslim scholars invented the numerical system; the figure Zero; the decimal system; the theory of evolution-one hundred years before Darwin; pulmonary circulation -three centuries before Harvey. They discovered gravity and the relationship between weight, speed and distance several centuries before Newton; they measured the speed of light, calculated the angles of reflection and refraction, computed the circumference of the earth, and determined the dimensions o f heavenly bodies. Many forms of Islamic architecture have evolved in different regions of Europe.Notable Islamic architectural types include the early Abbasid buildings, T- type mosques, and the central-dome mosques of Anatolia. The oil -wealth of the 20th century drove a great deal of mosque construction using designs from leading modern architects. Thus these two civilizations have enormously enriched this world especially Western Europe and laid a solid foundation for further enhancement in almost every field of activity thereby giving us so many reasons to be proud of. Bibliography: 1. Culture of Greece Wikipedia 2. Islamweb. net 3. European middle ages 4. Byzantine Civilization – Speros Vryonis

Banned and Censored Music

The discussion of whether or not the censorship of music is constitutionally sound has come about.   This problem has been around since the beginning of music in one way or another.   The fact of the matter is that there is technically no such thing as the censorship of music in the United States(Banned Music 1).   Although that is supposedly the case, that statement can be very misleading.   It is stated in the First Amendment of the United States   Constitution that every American is granted the Freedom Of Speech.   This includes all musicians.   Contrary to this statement, there has been a numerous amount of cases in which a song or music group has been banned of either their right to perform their act on stage, or the sale of their album has been condemned as   illegal.   The troubling fact about music censorship is that music is considered to be an art form, and there are certain laws set up to protect art from being censored. People should have the right to ch oose what type of music they want to listen to in this country. Plagiarism Detection >Censorship is the control of what people may say or hear, write or read, or see or do.   Censorship can affect books, newspapers, magazines, motion pictures, radio and television programs, and speeches.   (World Book 345)  Most of the early problems with the censorship of music came about in the early 1950s.   This was the first real era of rock and roll in America. In 1954 a Michigan Congresswoman tried to pass a bill that stated that the mailing of any explicit or pornographic album could lead to some hefty jail time, up to five years if convicted. When looking back, the 50s had some of the most laughable incidences when songs were banned.   There was a Billie Holiday song by the name of Love For Sale, none of the radio stations were allowed to play it because of its strong sexual content and its depiction of prostitution.   In even a funnier case there was a song by the name of Tran sfusion banned because it was felt that a blood transfusion was not a laughing matter.   Perhaps the most farcical form of censorship in the 50s came about in 1957 when Elvis Presley was scheduled to perform on the Ed Sullivan show.   Cameramen were instructed not to film any of Elviss lower body because his dancing was considered inappropriate for the viewing audience(Elvis To Ice-T 3). What is so offensive about that to have it censored from the public. Times have changed though, today we just sit back and laugh at that type of censorship.The 1960s brought about a new wave of censorship.   During the 1960s, popular music diversified, and so did the censors. Although the censorship supposedly diversified, the uncalled-for censorship of certain music continued.   In 1964 the state of Indiana banned the song Louie Louie because they felt that it had some sexual content in it.   But if you listen to the words it is obvious that sexual content is no where to be found. In 196 7, the Rolling Stones were forced to change the lyrics of a song in order to perform it on national television because, of course, it had sexual content.   The song was called Lets Spend The Night Together and they were forced to say Lets Spend Some Time Together. Later that decade John Lennon and Yoko Onos album Two Virgins featured a naked picture of the two.   These albums were confiscated before they even had a chance to hit the record stores.   There was one Chicago retailer shut down by the vice squad for carrying this album(The 1960s 1). A piece of art is destroyed if altered. What would Michael Angelos famous sculpture The Thinker be like if somebody carved clothes on to him.   it wouldnt be what he attended and therefore   the art piece would loose most of its significance.People often times do not get offended as easily as they use to. In the early 1990s an album released by Nirvana featured a naked baby on the cover.   There was very little controversy over t he cover and there was no ban of the record sale. Unlike the 1950s, the 60s proved to have a few more controversial topics. That goes to show how people change their views about morality as time passes.The 1970s proved to have just as many controversial cases about censorship, as the fifties and sixties.   In April of 1971 Officials in Illinois released a list of popular music that contained drug references.   The list included the popular childrens song Puff The Magic Dragon and the Beatles Yellow Submarine, (The 1970s 1) This is so absurd.   These officials must really have had a lot of time on their hands to sit around and turn around the words to these wonderful children songs. If somebody wanted they could depict violating thoughts or images out of many different forms of art.The censorship of music only increased as the years passed by. In 1981 Olivia Newton Johns song Physical was banned because it was believed to have strong sexual content and this was considered to b e more than inappropriate for the Mormon religion. 1985 brought about one of the most prominent groups to support censorship in music.   This group was the Parents Music Resource Group.   This group was headed by Tipper Gore.   This group was later named the Parents Music Resource Center.  Ã‚   The PMRCs primary focus was getting record companies to monitor and rate their artists releases with a system similar to the MPAA system for movies.   This group brought about some problems about two types of music, rap and heavy metal.   The PMRC hit them so hard that it became very hard to find a rap or heavy metal record in stores.   In order to get around this many record labels released two versions of the same album, one was the original album and the second one was an edited version.   The PMRC created a type of stickering system.   Under the sticker system if an album was believed to be inappropriate, a sticker would be placed on the album cover.   This sticker wou ld indicate that the album should not be purchased by anyone under the age of eighteen due to explicit lyrics or violent behavior.   This was a big step backwards for those who were against the censorship of music.   This stickering system did not include the censorship of pornography.   In 1987 a singer by the name of Jello Biafra was arrested for the distribution of pornography.   He had a picture of a naked lady on the cover and was found to be inappropriate for the public.   These albums were later seized and his band eventually broke up.(The 1980s 1) Pornography and prostitution are often times found to be legal   in America, but a persons constitutional right of speaking freely can be outlawed by the same government, that really doesnt make since!The 90s by is the most controversial decade as far as censorship goes. With all of the Knew and   diversified types of music there is sure to be differences in taste.   The widely known incident about the subject of banned music took place between the police in Dade County Florida and the rap group 2 Live Crew.   2 Live Crew released a very risquà © album by the name of Me So Horny   The record sale and distribution of this album were deemed illegal in Florida and Alabama just to name a couple of states.   2 Live Crew were also arrested in Florida at a concert.   The police claimed that the performance was too obscene for the general public.   This led to 2 Live Crews next album to be titled Banned In The USA.   Later on that year rapper Ice Ts album Freedom of Speech was banned.   Its lyrics were also considered to be too obscene.   (Music Censorship: Elvis to Ice-T 5) It seems that rap music is taking the fall for music censorship.   Public Enemy, another rap group, has recently been under some heat for a video and an album they just recently released.   The name of the album By the Time I Get to Arizona features a video in which it depicts the governor of Arizona as a Da vid Duke type of character.   Public Enemy claims that it is just trying to get its point across that it is wrong that the state of Arizona does not celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day(Loder, Censorship, A Town Meeting).   Evan Mecham, the former governor of Arizona had this to say about the matter, I could not understand how anyone could have the gall to market something like that and call it entertainment,(Gregory Lewis 1).   It should be added that Mecham was impeached for abolishing Martin Luther King Day as a national holiday.   So I guess that you could say that Public Enemy was trying to get a point across and they succeeded.In the mid 1990s many large chain stores took a major role in the sales of these so called obscene albums.   Such stores as Wal Mart and K Mart decided not to sale any records that proved to be obscene.   This meant that if a record label wanted to sell a lot of copies of an album, they would have to start making sure they were acceptable for the general public. Since the Wal- Marts and K -Marts were so big it would be really hard to sale a large quantity of the albums at record stores.      As you can see, censorship is a big part of the music industry these days.   Obviously censorship has been around for a while, but is it all that it is cracked up to be?There are many groups or coalitions who believe the answer to this question is no.   There is a group by the name of the Free Music Coalition, based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that is always fighting for the right of musicians.   They feel that the censorship of music is wrong and it is bad for the music community.   The Free Music Coalition has three basic goals: 1.   To educate the public about the seriousness of the threats we are facing.   Church groups, politicians, and the police have formed a network to censor music.   Fans need to understand this to effectively fight back.   2.   To organize a counter attack.   To be successful everyone must band together, only then will activities such as letter writing campaigns, petitions, boycotts and demonstrations produce results.   3.   Make censorship illegal.   The First Amendment is supposed to protect our freedom of expression, but lawmakers and police are able to twist the laws to stop ideas that they find dangerous or offensive.   What we need is a law that prohibits the censoring and labeling of records, books, arts, or films.   Only then can artists create without a cloud of fear hanging over them.   Only then can we enjoy the music we want to hear ( Fighting Censorship 1). Plagiarism Detection >The Free Music Coalition is against the censorship of music because censorship is unfair to musicians.   In a recent case in Michigan it wasnt a bands lyrics that got banned, it was one of their T-shirts.   A young boy went to school with the inscription Korn on his plain black shirt. He was asked to change the shirt, and if he didnt, he would be sus pended (Music Censorship: Elvis to Ice -T 12). This incident can be more rightly justified; the Offense Principle states that a person can be stopped from doing want he or she wants do if it is going to offend others(Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues 203). Everybody has a choice about what kind of music they want to listen to. My friend is big into rap music, and I am offended by the language used in it.   It is his choice to buy and to listen to it, and it is mine not to. Him buying it doesnt affect me, so there for it should be his right.   If nobody is affected   by a persons actions then it should be allowed.The First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution states pacifically that each person has the right to freedom of speech.    Congress shall make no law representing an   establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free   exercise there of; or abridging the freedom of speech,   or of the press; or of the right of the people living   peaceably to assemble, an d petition the government for   a redress of grievances.   If a person is not allowed to express themselves and their feelings vividly, then they are not being given the right that is rightfully theirs.    Artists have never had their drawings censored because they are inappropriate, and boxers dont get censored because their sport is too violent, so why should musicians?   Sure, some of the music out there is not appropriate for little kids to hear, but it is not the musicians responsibility to make sure youngsters do not hear it. So, for those people who believe the censorship of music is correct, maybe they should take their own advice and start censoring what they and their kids buy, and quit worrying about what others are buying. America is based on individual rights and individual differences.   Censoring the music in this country would go against everything America is all about. People should be able to choose want they want or dont want.

Continued Review of Article on Hypertension Coursework

Continued Review of Article on Hypertension - Coursework Example Alternatively, in the blood pressure measures, the total prevalence reflected that 287 cases were a part of the socio-demographic correlates in the tackling of dependent variables such as central obesity and cardiovascular disease. It means the 250 respondents who are equivalent to 20.2 percent are calculated using the multivariate logistic regression supported by Creswell in his tables. On the other hand, the descriptive statistics applied amongst 45,587 individuals spread in 11 villages and found among 7,164 families indicate the disparity in correlation especially for testing true and false hypotheses. Additionally, in the data sets as observed in the statistical tables, analysing random variables is crucial because it will reject null data acquired during the sampling method. In the case study, for instance, an allowable error of between 15 and 95 percent was permitted because the hypothesis could not cover all the socio-demographic risk factors and variables. Overall, the rationale for using the experimental study is to help in comparing the various data

Conservation Agriculture adoption in Paraguay Essay

Conservation Agriculture adoption in Paraguay - Essay Example The sustainable natural resource management project (PMRN) was introduced to the farmers to enhance the conservation of agriculture in Paraguay. The case study involves 17,000 farmers whose main reason was helping them improve on agriculture productivity using a number of strategies. Agriculture production in Paraguay was poor and had declined due to the policies that discouraged good agricultural production in the colonial periods. The management took an exercise whereby they analyzed characteristics of farmers in order to understand some of the factors that led to poor results of agricultural produce in Paraguay. One of the identified factors was that, a small rise in business caused by liberation together with market-oriented trade, resulted to degradation and loss of fertility in the lands. Competitive markets lead the farmers to increase their productivity as they previously used crude methods such as burning of land and deforestation to increase the land for production. As a re sult, soil erosion, decreased forest reserves and loss of organic matter to the soil result to water and soil erosion, low productivity of the land, high levels of carbon dioxide and water pollution from chemical and pesticide use led to a decline in productivity. The government of Paraguay had to adopt the non-tillage farming system, proven as a success in other countries such as Argentina and Brazil. The most relevant group depending on agriculture is the small holders in Paraguay representing 43 percent of the total amount of farmers (Knowler & Bradshaw 2007).

Mass media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mass media - Essay Example In many cases it is the mass media which has represented the drugs in a pleasurable way. First of all, it is important to analyze why the mass media is so influential nowadays. A group of sociological researches investigated that how important is the role of mass media in the modern society and how it is inducing human intellectual and psychological development. In the book â€Å"One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the ideology of Advanced Industrial Society† Herbert Marcuse claims that in modern society people are determined by the information that comes from mass media and technologies (13). This information creates the perceptions people keep in their minds to evaluate situations their face in their lives. The idea is that people have become addicted and are astounded by the images and concepts that mass media have thrust in them. In some cases, concerning drugs, mass media shows people who have used some medical drugs to become healthy and happy, we undoubtedly believe that we will get the same effect if we start using the drugs as well. The reason behind the bli nd trust on mass media is idiom frequently used by media â€Å"Seeing is believing†. We forget the fact that everything is about business which is shown on media even the media itself is the part of the business. It is the biggest tool of manipulation used on the society. Niklas Luhman, in his book Social Systems, explains that communication is the basis of society. Our modern society and social system are highly dependent on mass media; it works throughout all the aspects of society (25). Initially public opinions are formed through advertisement, programs or shows, which are evidently one of the most manipulative effects against personality. In simple context people tend to learn a lot from media in term of what to wear, how to behave, what to look like etc. Luhmann claims that the messages we receive from media can describe the current developmental level the society is

Project 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Project 1 - Assignment Example Ans3. The economic-benefit component consists of two variables namely delayed costs and avoided costs. Avoided costs were the maintenance or the operational expenses that were to be incurred but were avoided. Whereas, delayed costs are the ones which were postpones by the violation but will be incurred to attain compliance. On the other hand, gravity based component are the penalties over and above the economic benefit. The gravity based component is more effective because in this way businesses will be encouraged to self-police and not to violate. Ans4. The conditions are that the discovery of violation must be through environmental audits or EMS- Environmental management system; Discovery of violation must be voluntarily; agreement of taking steps for preventions should be there. The violation must be disclosed within 20 days after the discovery to EPA. Within 60 days, the violation must be corrected. Ans5. We have learned the ways of conducting business ethically and this article highlights some rules and regulations that regulate the businesses and their environment. It keeps a check and balance that humanity and environment should not be harmed in the process. EPA’s incentives would help the businesses to be proactive from the start and they would not end up violating the rules, thus doing business ethically. Ans6. The main aim of any business is profit maximization. If the penalties hinder this objective then they will definitely make sure not to violate the rules. Moreover, in order to have a good image they will fulfill their corporate social

Cost of Financial Intermediation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Cost of Financial Intermediation - Essay Example The general view among experts in this field is that if administrative authorities are in favor of competition, it will lead to the presence of larger number of players in the banking sector that would automatically lead to lower bank rates as competing bankers will vie with each other to attract customers, and will automatically have to become efficient in their functioning in order to stay afloat in such highly competitive environment. So, the economy as a whole would be able to enjoy efficient banking services coupled with comparatively affordable bank rates. However, if entry in banking sector is strictly regulated, it would result in less competition and might also lead to lesser efficiency and almost certainly higher bank rates as the few banks that would be operating in the finance sector would remain assured of clients as the latter would have no option but to approach these few bankers for finance. It must be repeated, however, that these statutory regulations differ so wide ly between countries and regions that the only plausible method of measuring the impact of such biases and restrictions on bank rates and efficiency would be to consider each instance individually and comparing it with the larger and more generic backdrop of financial efficiency. (Demirg''-Kunt, Laeven and Levine) Impact of net interest margin and overhead expenditures on Cost of intermediation Cost of intermediation is substantially impacted by net interest margin and it would be worthwhile to study in a little more detail as to the exact characteristics and features of net interest margin. Put simply, the net interest margin signifies the income of banks and it consists of the interest a bank earns by lending money to borrowers and the interest it has to pay to its depositors. The exact measure of net interest margin is obtained by dividing the difference between a bank's interest earning and interest expenditure by the volume of interest bearing assets. The net interest margin thus is related to the traditional functions of banking industry - accepting deposits at lower interest rates and lending them at higher rates of interest. The overhead expenditure ratio of a bank is calculated by dividing bank overhead costs by the total assets of the bank. It is but obvious that the more inefficient a bank the higher would be its overhead expenditure ratio. But overhead expenditures are not only dependent on pure operational efficiency of a bank. It also depends on the prevailing market regulations and freedom or otherwise for players to leave or enter the banking sector as and when the desire to do it arises. The degree of freedom of entry or exit is, quite obviously, determined by the statutory or law enacting authorities of the country. It might be worthwhile to mention at this juncture that though freedom of entry and exit primarily determines the extent of competition in the banking sector, there are other equally important issues that determine the ability of the commercial banks to offer credit to potential

Kairos moment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Kairos moment - Essay Example My kairos moment Growing up I was passionate about being a medical doctor. I believed that I would serve the community better if I was able to attend patients. This caused me to win support from my parents who urged me to be the best performer in related studies. My childhood experience let me to appreciate the need to have a stable family. My parents separated when I was still a teenager. This affected my academic performance and shook my goals to the core. I realized that part of the reason for the separation was because of the long working hours my father was having in his career. My father was an accomplished medical doctor whose achievements caused him to be extremely busy. One evening, when I was in school I took time to think over and understand the pain I was going through arising from the separation. I was feeling helpless, vulnerable and deserted. I took time to relook at my career aspirations and consider the implications they would have in future. This period coincided th e school schedule set to determine the future career as a pupil. That became my defining moment in career. I opted to change my career with an expectation to spend adequate time with my family. This explains why am in this class. It later turned out that my actual flair was in linguistics and oratory skills. I almost succumb to my father’s pressure to join his profession. My reaction was urgent and opportune although it was triggered by metal anguish. I was in an ideal place to determine my career and did it in the right time. Ancient thinkers considered the kairos moments to be important. Success is dependent on the ability to balance particular within a given situation (Crowley and Hawhee, 37). Greeks had two words that were used to describe time. These were kairos and chronos. The impression created is that when these moments are missed, incredible opportunities are lost. The awareness and timing of an opportunity or situation affects the achievements to be expected. Kairo s is about balancing the various aspects of a situation (Hambrick, 7). People are expected to be watchful for the opportune moment to achieve a desired result. This moment is seized with a sense of urgency, self-awareness and with precisions. According to ancient Greek thinkers, there was an ideal time for doing something no matter how difficult. The willingness to take a chance can be the difference between successful people and failures (Crowley and Hawhee, 38). The currency and urgency of a situation is linked to the ability of the beneficiary to have prior information of the moment. This urgency demands action. Kairos moments teach us that it is possible for people to lose the immediacy of a moment. This causes the relevance of the issue to appear misplaced. Kairos moments justify the fact that we live in a dynamic world where the appropriateness of a moment is dependent on the current audience, prevailing views, time and place of the rhetoric (Crowley and Hawhee, 42). Kairos po ints indicate the situatedness of an argument at a particular place in time. Why this was a karotic moment The timeliness of the decision action helped to me to appreciate the need to change my career aspirations. The decision happened in an opportune moment, the ideal time to pick a career of right time. I had the courage and the strength to take the bold step that became a blessing which

Research paper2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Research paper2 - Essay Example It is often argued that obesity is strongly associated with fast food. Irrespective of young or adult, fast food is getting more popularity among people all over the world. â€Å"A new study shows that toxicperfluoroalkyls, which are used in surface protection treatments and coatings to keep grease from leaking through fast food wrappers, are being ingested by people through their food and showing up as contaminants in blood† (Mercola). Above all, it is an accepted fact that fast food contains more fat contents than any other foods. Therefore, the logic of using fast food on a regular basis is highly debatable. Food is necessary for the sustainment of human life. At the same time, over food and limited food or lack of food are equally responsible for causing health problems. Moreover, modern farming methods are not so good for keeping the health of people. In order to increase the yield, farmers all over the world are using huge amounts of fertilizers, chemicals, and pesticides in their agricultural lands. Crops or food grains developed as a result of such unhealthy farming methods are causing huge health problems in many ways. Above all, increased use of fertilizers chemicals and pesticides is causing huge pollutions to air, land and water. In other words, improper farming methods have the ability to cause multiple problems to all living things in this world, including human beings. Genetically modified food or GM food is a new concept in the farming field. Genetically modified foods are capable of providing more yields. However, the safety of using such foods is still unclear or debateab le. Organic food is one of the most modern concepts developed in the farming field in order to eliminate all the concerns explained above. â€Å"The foods that are cultivated without using any chemical fertilizers and pesticides, processed without adding any of the artificial ingredients and packaged using natural means can be referred as organic foods†

Building High Performance Team In A Minute Essay Example for Free

Building High Performance Team In A Minute Essay When working with a group or a company, the most expected mantra recited is â€Å"be a team player† in order contribute for the organization’s accomplishment of all its goals and objectives. To quote, â€Å"Someone may be great at his or her job, maybe even the best there ever was. But what counts at work is the organization’s success, not personal success. After all, if your organization fails, it does not matter how great you were; you are just as unemployed as everyone else† (Johnson, Kantner Kikora, 1990). This is why Kenneth Blanchard decided to jack up his One Minute Manager book series by coming up with something that will focus on teamwork, which is The One Minute Manager Builds High Performing Teams (1990, revised 2000). With Eunice Parisi-Carew, Blanchard tackles in this book the in-depth dynamics of team structure and the most rewarding interactions of each team members. Blanchard hopes that, by reading the book, participants of these work groups will gain a clearer understanding of how their teams may function at optimal levels. As a prominent author, speaker and business consultant, Kenneth Blanchard is often described as one of the most insightful, powerful and compassionate gurus in the business world. Blanchard is chairman of Blanchard Training and Development Inc., a management consulting and training company which he founded in 1979. He co-authored four books in the One Minute Manager series that collectively sold more than nine million copies and have been translated into more than 20 languages. Also, he has regularly appeared on popular television news and business programs in the US and has been featured in leading magazines such as Time and US News. This is why if somebody has enough expertise on how teams can be made effective, Blanchard has definitely the authority to discuss how teams work to become high performing and achieve excellence for the organization. Noted for his leadership approach that promotes self-esteem and self worth through a clear and structured approach to making people accountable for their behavior, Blanchard emphasized that â€Å"people who feel good about themselves produce good results — and appeal is based on applying techniques that take only one minute to apply†. What’s most relevant in e One Minute Manager Builds High Performing Teams (2000) is that the authors presented seven characteristics of the perform model that identified the desired behaviors of an effective team:  · Purpose. Team members are clear about what the teams work is and why it is important.  · Empowerment. Members are confident about the teams ability to overcome obstacles and to realize its vision.  · Relationship and communication. The team is committed to open communication, and members feel that they can state their opinions, thoughts and feelings without fear.  · Flexibility. Members are flexible and perform different tasks and maintenance functions as needed.  · Optimal productivity. High-performing teams produce significant results, due to a commitment to high standards and quality results.  · Recognition and appreciation. Individual and team accomplishments are frequently recognized by the team leader as well as team members by celebrating milestones, accomplishments and events.  · Morale. Members are enthusiastic about the teams work, and each person feels pride in being a team member (p. 9-16). At 106 pages, this book is not a heavy read and filled with fictionalized dialogue to establish concrete examples. Also, this book interestingly explains the developmental stages a team goes through on their quest in becoming â€Å"high-performing† and â€Å"self-directed.† Emphasizing on the group dynamics, the authors easily described how an effective leader or â€Å"educator† can help steer the team that will empower individual members to contribute their creative ideas and talents to attain the common goal: accomplishing the team’s mission. In the work environment, teams materialize to focus on tasks or solve problems that are beyond the capacity of one individual. With this type of set-up that allow creative and innovative juices to flow through the constant sharing of information,   people could appropriate division of labor among the members of the team can lead to more effective, more efficient and less stressful workplace. Their high levels of performance with regards to quantity, quality, and timeliness of work results can contribute to their sense of satisfaction, addressing a psychological and motivational need. With incessant exposure to each other, team members and their superiors could ascertain whether they have a team that can continue working together with synergy or their togetherness poses a detrimental effect on their output and interrelationships. Thus, with the help of this book, managers, leaders and even parents can make most of their teams to have a wider perspective of the processes and a detailed coverage of the activities that occur and address what needs to be improved in their respective organizations.

The Various Types Of Child Abuse Social Work Essay

The Various Types Of Child Abuse Social Work Essay Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Services (MCYS, 2005) states that, Child abuse is defined as any act of omission or commission by a parent or guardian which would endanger or impair the childs physical or emotional well-being, or that is judged by a mixture of community values and professionals to in inappropriate. Different types of abuse MCYS (2005) recognised four different types of abuse, namely physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse as well as neglect. In addition, neglect can be broken down into 4 segments; physical, medical, education and emotional (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006) Therefore, what actually comprises in each of the different types of abuse? Physical Abuse In accordance to Child Welfare Information Gateway (2005), physical abuse is physical injury caused by punching, beating, kicking, stabbing, burning or using a foreign object to hit the other party. The severity of injury may vary from minor bruises to fractures or death. Furthermore, physical abuse does not take into consideration if perpetrators accidentally or intentionally harm the child. Sexual Abuse Sexual abuse is known as inappropriate activities performed by the perpetrators. The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) further defined sexual abuse as the employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of any child to engage in, or assist any other person to engage in, any sexually explicit conduct or simulation of such conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct; or the rape, and in cases or caretaking or inter-familial relationships, statutory rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children. (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006) Emotional Abuse Child Welfare Information Gateway (2006) states, child can be emotional abused if perpetrators conduct behaviours that affects childs emotional development or sense of self-worth. However, MCYS (2005) added, emotional abuse not only affects childs emotionally development, it also weakens childs social and intellectually development. Additionally, such abuse exists with adults continual hostility, ignoring, blaming, threats, discrimination or blatant rejection of the child (MCYS, 2005). Moreover, based on research, both sources agreed that other types of abuse are also present if emotional abuse is being identified. Neglect In relation to Chan, Chow Elliot (2000), neglect was redefined as either omission or commission of any act that impairs the childs physical, psychological, intellectual or social development. As mentioned above, neglect can be categorised into 4 different segments. First, physical neglect may be the inability of providing food and shelter as well as the lack of supervision (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006). Second, adult may failed in the provision of essential medical care or mental health treatment which is known as medical neglect (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006). Next, adults may commit to education neglect if they are not capable of giving child an education as well as the lack of attention to special education needs (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006). Last but not least, if adults do not attend to childs emotional needs, failure to give child adequate love and care and allowing child to have easy access to alcohol and drugs, adults are at high risk in executing emotional neglect (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006). However, it is important for further investigations to be done if any of the neglect is present. There might be other contributing factors such as poverty or different culture practices that might surface parents are being negligent. Why is Child Abuse a topic of interest As an advocator, it is important to know that children are safe, being respected and are treated appropriately. With the raising numbers of cases of child abuse in Singapore, it shows that any children may be at risk of being a victim. According to the statistics on child abuse investigations from Year 2009 to Year 2010 (MCYS, 2011), apart from physical neglect, the rest of the types of abuse cases had increased. The numbers shown were the cases with evidence of cases. For example, the number of physical abuse cases had a jump from 82 to 133, which is about 38%. As for sexual abuse, it raised from 28 to 46 numbers of cases, which is equivalent to 39%. Emotional abuse cases had increased by 2, summing up to 6 cases in Year 2010. Although there was a drop of 4 cases for physical neglect, it may show that people may be more aware of such wrong behaviours. However, these numbers stated above only showed the reported cases with evidence. What about the other cases that had been reported but inadequate evidence were gathered? In addition, children from the United States (U.S) were victims of abuse and neglect as well. Statistics for Year 2006 shows that 54% are victims of child maltreatment of age up to 7 years. To add on, statistics reported an estimated number of 1,530 children died due to abuse or neglect. Out of 1,530 children, 78% were children under the age of 4 (Shaw Goode, 2006). This shows that children of the preschool years are very vulnerable to abuse. Maine State Dept. of Behavioral and Developmental Services (2001) mentioned that childhood abuse may lead to adult experience of shame, repeated flashbacks and nightmares may be traumatic for the victim. In addition, it may cause victim to be severely anxious over matters, depression as well as developing feelings of humiliation and unworthiness. Therefore, it is also important to educate parents about the raising numbers of child abuse cases. In addition, to create awareness that no one should deprive a child to have a healthy childhood experience. Hence, in this present paper, it will further elaborate on who may be the victims of child abuse and its impact on children, how child abuse affected parents and what happened to survivors of child abuse as they grow up. Victims of child abuse and its impact According Chan, Chow Elliot (2000), evidence from research stated that adolescents are also at high risk on physical maltreatment. On top of that, more commonly reported cases of physical child abuse cases involve the adolescents as well. Therefore, what makes a certain child be at a higher risk of child abuse? Statistics consistently showed that families that are socially and economically disadvantaged have more reports on physical abuse. Based on the research, families that falls under the low income family or annual income are below poverty level, it is more likely for the child to receive more fatal or serious injuries (Chan, Chow Elliot, 2000). Being financially unstable may cause a child to be a victim of child abuse, however this is not the main reason to place such child at risk. Pre-matured infants, intellectually disabled and any child who are developmentally disabled can be vulnerable to being abused too (Chan, Chow Elliot, 2000). The reasons behind it are such child is viewed as a source of stress and burden to the family and family might find it difficult to handle. For instance, a child was being physically abused, how did the experience affects the child negatively? In accordance to Chan, Chow Elliot (2000), it may cause impairment in childs behaviours, varied severity of physical injuries on child, child faces difficulties at school and child may have poor interpersonal skills. However, one of the limitations of this study is that research was carried out long ago and results are still limited and scarce in Singapore. Next, this study did not exactly mention the precise source where they gathered the statistics or how did they go about gathering and compiling the results. Lastly, this study focuses on two age groups which are the infants and toddlers and the adolescents. What about children from the older age group? How high is the risk for older children pertaining to child abuse? Impact on parents The term impact on parents refers to parents who were once victims of abuse or parents who had child who was being abused. Hence, how did once victimised parents got over the bad experience and started a new family? In addition, how did parents feel when their child was being abused by others? Being a parent, survivor of child abuse, and yet having a child who was assaulted, it may be very distressing especially for parents who disclose their childhood abuse experience for the first time (Grant, 2006). Furthermore, these parents may start to develop a sense of guilt as they were not incapable to protect their child despite experiencing it. Parents may also have flashbacks of those painful memories after disclosing the abuse (Grant, 2006). In addition, Grant (2006) mentioned that parents who had child being abused may begin to face many challenges. Having a child being abused, it may be hard for certain parents to accept the fact. Certain parents may be too overwhelmed and can be emotionally unstable. Parents may be in the state of confusion which in turn may impede their ability to support and provide help for their child and family throughout the investigation process (Grant, 2006). Taking for example if parents entrust their child with a caretaker and it turn out to be the caretaker who is the perpetrator, parents may be devastated and hard to believe. In addition, parents may be in great shock and developed a sense of betrayal. Therefore, after encountering such incident, how easy or possible can the parent cooperate and trust other unknown professionals? (Grant, 2006) Additionally, parents may also put the blame on themselves for allowing their child to be abused. For instance, they may question themselves, Why had not I (parents) see this situation?, Why did not I protect my child? or What type of a parent am I? (Grant, 2006) Upon accepting reality, it can be really hard on parents to handle the upcoming problems faced at home if they have more than one child. Parents may understand that they had to spend more time with the victim, trying to help the child to get over the bad encounter. On the other hand, parents have to ensure that they are capable to maintain a healthy relationship with other children at home. If the situation is not handled appropriately, other children may start to develop a sense of jealousy and resentment towards the victimised sibling as well as the parent (Grant, 2006). However, one of the limitations in this study is that there was not any statistics given. Next, this study did not mention the age of the parents. Older parents may be able to handle the situation better than younger parents. Lastly, this study did not give detailed information on the parents family background and the relationship within the family. With a supportive family, parents as well as child may be able to recover faster from the bad encounter. Survivors of child abuse when they grow up As researched by Maine State Dept. of Behavioral and Developmental Services (2001), some abused children may experience lifelong emotional harm as they grow up. For instance, some abused children may experience serious mental health problems. Research estimated that abused children are 2 to 3 times more likely to develop a serious mental illness. In addition, up to 70% of women who were treated in psychiatric setting have histories of childhood abuse (Maine State Dept. of Behavioral and Developmental Services, 2001). On top of that, some may suffer lifelong physical harm due to childhood abuse. Ranging from 3% to 6%, research shows that abused children may develop a permanent disability (Maine State Dept. of Behavioral and Developmental Services, 2001). Brain damage is an example of permanent disability and 20% to 50% of abused children suffered from brain damage but of different severity. It is further hypothesized that abused children are of higher risk of getting heart disease, cancer or even other chronic medical conditions (Maine State Dept. of Behavioral and Developmental Services, 2001). However, there is not concrete evidence to prove this hypothesis. Another negative impact on abused children is that they cause self inflict harm. Some abused children may get into a depression and others may choose to attempt suicides (Maine State Dept. of Behavioral and Developmental Services, 2001). Some abused children may even abuse the use of drugs, alcohol or nicotine in order to minimise or hide their pain. It was also reported by Maine State Dept. of Behavioral and Developmental Services (2001) that sexually abused children may be more exposed to further sexual abuse or to contract sexually-transmitted disease (STD). However, one limitation of this study is that the statistics are not up to date. Therefore, results given in this study may not be accurate enough. Findings may vary if research is done based on recent years. Apart from the depressing impacts that happened on survivors of childhood abuse, some survivors chose to seek help from professionals such as social workers, counsellors or therapists. This research was done by questionnaires and interviews were conducted based on respondents willingness. Out of 500 questionnaires mailed out, there were 384 completed questionnaires. Fifty interviews were also conducted to further supplement the data. Out of the 15 themes that were emerges based on how helpful the services were, seven common themes were mentioned in the study. Respondents felt that professional helpers were patient and they listened. In addition, professional helpers seem to be empathetic (Palmer, Brown, Rae-Grant Loughlin, 2001). Next, respondents felt that professional helpers were able to help them deal with their raging feelings and they no longer have to avoid those feelings. To add on, having nonjudgmental and understanding professional helpers benefitted survivors as they were encouraging too. Next, survivors felt empowered as the professional helpers believed in them. Professional helpers were also able to provide connections for the survivors with other survivors, letting them know that they are not alone. On top of that, professional helpers helped survivors to build their self-esteem and develop a value of self worth. Lastly, professional helpers were able to validate survivors experience giving surviv ors assurance (Palmer, Brown, Rae-Grant Loughlin, 2001). However, one of the limitations of the study is to generalise survivors experience across different types of abuse. In addition, the study only produced one side of the data. Findings may be different if these components are further addressed. Conclusion To conclude, it is important to create the awareness to parents about the raising numbers of child abuse cases in Singapore. By doing so, parents may be more aware of their own actions and not commit to any form of abuse be it accidentally or intentionally. In addition, parents are encouraged to develop an early, secure and consistent relationship with the children (Shaw Goode, 2008). On top of that, according to Shaw Goode (2008), parents need to provide the same level of attention to childs emotional and social needs, not only their cognitive skills. For future research, it would be good to research more on how one can further help victims and survivors who are really resistant to get over the bad experience. In addition, another research can be done to help children to work on their social and emotional skills after the bad encounter.

Cell Adhesion Molecules in Olfactory Connection Formation

Cell Adhesion Molecules in Olfactory Connection Formation This dissertation study investigated expression, function and the regulatory mechanism of cell adhesion molecules in the formation of olfactory connections. Identification and characterization of a novel protocadherin, Pcdh20, provided additional evidence that multiple cell adhesion molecules are involved in the development of the olfactory system. In combination with several established studies by Sakano and Yoshihara’s group, my study further supports the neural identity model and provides a regulatory mechanism involving MeCP2 in the establishment and maintenance of this combinatory cell adhesion molecule expression in the olfactory sensory neurons. OR identity in correlation with cell adhesion molecule expression Though many cell adhesion molecule expression patterns were described, few of them were correlated with specific ORs. On the other side of the coin, it is also unknown whether a specific OR is correlated with a specific set of cell adhesion molecules throughout development. In adult mice, Pcdh20 expression is in a subpopulation of OSNs and their axons terminate in a small number of discrete Pcdh20-positive glomeruli in the OB. Interestingly, the distribution and numbers of Pcdh20-positive glomeruli are markedly different across gender. More Pcdh20-positive glomeruli with a wider distribution pattern are observed in the male OB, whereas fewer glomeruli with more restricted clustering of Pcdh20-positive glomeruli are found in female OB. The sexually dimorphic expression of Pcdh20 suggests that there may be different ORs associated with Pcdh20 in different sexes. 103 If Pcdh20 expression is correlated with specific OR expression, identification of Pcdh20 associated ORs could reveal possible sex-specific OR expression and aid in further investigation of OR-specific ligand function. In previous studies, cDNA libraries from a single OSN were obtained. OR expression in a single OSN can be identified by PCR using degenerate primers (Dulac and Axel, 1995). In collaboration with Dr. T. Cutforth from Stanford University, I have initiated this study by isolating single OSNs by dissociation of OE and attempting to identify Pcdh20 expressing cells by PCR. Several attempts were made to confirm OR expression using degenerate primers designed by L. Buck (Buck and Axel, 1989). Though I will not be able to complete this study during my dissertation research, identification of Pcdh20 associated ORs will provide important insight into not only OR and CAM association but also understanding of differential OR gene expression in different sexes and whether or not the main OB is related to pheromone recognition. Neuronal activity and regulation of cell adhesion molecule expression Neuronal activity results in long term changes in neurons by regulating gene expression. OSNs constantly respond to external stimuli throughout the life of the animal. Using genetic models and surgical manipulations, it is shown that blocking odorant evoked activity alters the expression of selected cell adhesion molecules. Even though regulation of cell adhesion molecule expression is important for the formation of olfactory axonal converge into glomeruli, the regulatory mechanism of gene expression is undetermined. I reported here that olfactory axon convergence is disrupted in MeCP2 null mice. Furthermore, I also obtained evidence that MeCP2 directly regulated Kirrel 2/3 expression. In MeCP2 KO mice, significant increases in Kirrel2/3 gene transcripts were observed in OE, suggesting that MeCP2 is a transcription suppressor for Kirrel 2/3 gene expression. In addition, my data provide evidence that MeCP2 function is regulated by neuronal activity. With the presence of odorant evoked 104 activity, MeCP2 is phosphorylated at Serine80 and also possesses enhanced binding affinity to promoters of Kirrel2 and Kirrel3 genes. Though MeCP2 increased its binding to promoters of both Kirrel2 and Kirrel3, transcript level changes are markedly different between Kirrel2 and Kirrel3 under odorant stimulation. Other transcription factors were shown to be regulated by neuronal activity. It is likely that both Kirrel2 and Kirrel3 are regulated under multiple neural activity dependent transcription factors. We propose a model in which a balanced transcriptional regulation from both repressors (like MeCP2) and enhancers (like CREB, MEF) determines the expression levels of Kirrel2 and Kirrel3. When both repressor and enhancer are under neural activity regulation, how the balance tilts will determine whether Kirrel2/3 expression will be up- or down-regulated in OSNs. In this study, the olfactory system serves as an excellent model system to study gene regulation of MeCP2 by neuronal activity at physiological levels. Previously, the mechanism of MeCP2 on gene expression regulation by neuronal activity was only studied in vitro. The brain is composed of heterogeneous cells and their neuronal circuits are extremely complex. In contrast, the OE is composed of a single type of neuron. This property provides an opportunity to study neuronal subtype specific MeCP2 function. In addition, the olfactory system provides an excellent system to study the effect of neuronal activity due to it accessibility. Odorant stimulation can be given to the OSNs in the nasal cavity to allow investigation of gene regulation under physiological level of stimulation. To further investigate the model we proposed, it is important to elucidate the full spectrum of MeCP2 target gene regulation. Future study should be done to screen MeCP2 target binding through ChIP-Chip analysi s. MeCP2 binding sequence will provide information in the target genes they regulate in the OSNs. To further provide or block odorant evoked activity, changes in MeCP2 binding will allow us to identify target genes that are activity dependent. Furthermore, identification of odorant evoked activity dependent transcription enhancers in OSNs will allow further  validation of the regulatory model we proposed here. Understanding neural activity dependent MeCP2 function is critical in elucidating the mechanisms of Rett Syndrome. Though rapid progress has been made in the identification of MeCP2 targeting genes, we still do not understand how changes in gene expression result in neuronal structural and functional changes. Rett Syndrome is exacerbated during the early postnatal period. Neural activity plays a critical role in this process. Understanding the relationship between physiological levels of neuronal activity and MeCP2 regulation is the obvious next challenge. The olfactory system provides an excellent model for the easy manipulation of activity stimulation and examination of subtle axonal targeting defects. This study established that cell adhesion molecules are regulated by MeCP2 in an activity dependent manner. Further genomic analysis will provide a comprehensive understanding of MeCP2 regulation of gene expression and could help in the development of treatment strategies for Rett Sy ndrome.

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea :: essays research papers

20000 Leagues Under The Sea The year 1866 is an important time in nautical history. It is the year that the world was first terrified by an amazing ocean going monster, the Nautilus. During that year several ships had met with this "thing," a long slender object much bigger in size than any creature known to man. After tons of sightings and the pass of many months the "monster" began attacking any vessel that drew near. This alarmed all the world's nations and the United States decided that they would send out the Abraham Lincoln to defeat the "monster," and once again bring peace to all the seas. For the expedition the best ocean educated men were invited to join the crew for the the journey. Included in this group was Monsieur Aronnax of the Paris museum and Ned Land, a world known harpooner. Monsieur Aronnax had written a two-volume work called Mysteries of the Ocean Depths. His work was especially well received by scientists, making him a specialist in that field. With him he brought his trusted servant of ten years, Conseil. Besides being Monsieurs loyal servant Conseil was an extremely bright classifier. He took great joy in this and was sometimes a big help to his master when identifying different creatures. Ned had an excellent shot with his harpoon, one so good that fisherman around the world knew his name. The rough travels from one ocean to the next for months without a sign of the wretched creature. Then on the night of November 5 the Ned spotted a bright glow approaching from just below the waters surface. Reports stated that at times the monster tended to glow, so they took pursuit. For a day and two nights the Abraham Lincoln chased the monster through the waters of the Northern Pacific. As the creature let them draw near, the Abraham Lincoln began firing its cannons at the monster but the cannon fire would just bounce off what seemed to be a thick layer of armor. At last the monster began circling the frigate and suddenly began a rush at the side of the boat. The crash tossed some men to the decks and threw overboard Monsieur Aronnax and Ned Land. At the sight of his master plunging into the dark sea Conseil dove into the water to save the professor. The three men tread water for many hours until at last Ned came upon a large, hard object floating in the water.

Causes of the French Revolution Essay -- History France French Revolut

Causes of the French Revolution The French Revolution was essentially a class war between the emerging Bourgeoisie against the Privileged class, this meant they saw the Privileged class as the only hurdle between themselves and equality within French society. Many of the ideas they pursued stemmed from the enlightenment and they believed that in order to gain their full economic, social and political potential and gain equality, the Bourgeoisie had to eradicate the privileges that were halting their rise in society. To do this they had to seize power for themselves and gaining power within the government and making badly needed changes, such as, improving the tax system, creating a fair system of production where profits went to the producer, improving the whole fiscal system of the government, improving the geographical divisions of France and the problems they caused, plus many more. The revolution was a fight for equality and recognition by the Bourgeoisie, it was not a revolt against poverty, for many of the French people had been living in poverty for centuries and had learnt to live with it . France had prospered in the Eighteenth century. France had had no major famines or plagues, its population had increased, there had been no wars on its soil, industry such as textiles was doing well and offshore trading had increased enormously. It was the Bourgeoisie that had enabled this abundance of wealth and they were emerging as the economic power inside France. But their new found power was being smothered by the privileged class. The privileged class of nobility and clergy, who owned the bulk of the land, were using their ancient rights to plunder most of the profits that were made by the lower classes. This meant that the; Ã ¬Prosperity came only to those who held fairly large estates, who exercised feudal rights, or who could manipulate farm rents.Ã ®1 The only people who fell under these categories were the Nobles of the robe and the clergy. So in order to get the prosperity equally divided in society and thus profit themselves, the bourgeoisie had to get rid of the privileged classes ancient rights. To do this they had to revolt against the government, that supported the privileged classes and which was reluctant to make the necessary reforms. It is seen here that it was the Bourgeoisie were struggling against the Privileged class ... ...hed to them, because their privileges were taking large percentages of profits, adding on-costs to goods, causing massive inflation and reducing the wages of the middle class. In order to do this though they had get the reforms they wanted by having a role in government and take some of the power from the king, because he supported the Aristocracy. At no point in the build up to the revolution did poverty become an issue, the Bourgeoisie were looking after their own interests and trying to create a equal society in which they would become the most powerful and richest. Word Count:- 2,148 words Citation 1. Johnson, D. (1970) The French Revolution, Wayland, London. 2. Townson, D. (1990) France in Revolution, Hodder and Stoughton, London. 3. Townson, D. (1990) France in Revolution, Hodder and Stoughton, London. Bibliography 1. Microsoft Encarta, USA, Funk and Wagnall's, 1994 2. Ergang, R. Europe From the Renaissance to Waterloo Third Edition, USA, Heath and Company, 1967 3. Townson, D. France in Revolution, London, Hodder and Stoghton, 1990 4. Fisher, H. A History of Europe Volume 2, G Modern European History - French Revolution Essay - Jonah Haines - 1293

Expository texts Real Gorgeous by Kaz Cook :: essays research papers

Features and rhetorical devices of non fiction text encourage responses from the reader, how do they do this ? We are often bullied into doing things against our will, this could also be said of expository texts which aim to inform, instruct and explain but importantly to persuade. They use shock value to force us to look at our values, attitudes and ideologies. When devices such as statistics, personal touch, persona, language and case studies are used the responses from the reader will have been deliberated by the author, Who uses these features to illicit the desired response. Looking at articles such as Real Gorgeous, The other country crisis and Columbine it is obvious to see the many features and devices that have been carefully positioned to encourage responses in the reader.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Almost all statistics do not consider the varying factors contributing to the study. When reading a text containing statistics the reader feels they are attaining the hard facts, this however could not be further from the truth as Rod Quin points out with the example of the text Manhood written by Steve Biddulph. Biddulp states â€Å"One in seven boys will experience sexual assault by an adult or older child before the age of eighteen.† Reading this the audience will feel outraged or sympathetic towards men, Quin however asks us to consider the â€Å"rest of the â€Å"facts† that â€Å"one in a hundred girls will experience sexual assault by an adult or older child before they reach eighteen† that’s five times the rate of men. While the statistics are convincing it is also the source they come from that can encourage a response from reader. They will feel the â€Å"fact† is more credible if it comes from a well known source. The Other Country Crisi s by Stephen Scourfeild states that â€Å"According to the Bureau of statistics, Australia has once of the highest rates of youth suicide† Once again the reader is not seeing all of the facts, yet the source from which the statistic come from is credible and well known. With this in mind the readers response will still be swayed because we are taught to trust authority. The author has triumphed in encouraging the desired response. It is always more pleasant and enjoyable to read something that appears to be personal or sympathetic. Real Gorgeous by Kaz Cooke is a perfect example of manipulative language. The text encourages the reader to feel comfortable with themselves that they are fine â€Å"the way they are† .

Understand Sequence & Rate of Each Aspect of Development from 0-19 Years

1. 1 Explain the sequence & rate of each aspect of development that would normally be expected in children & young people from birth -19 years Development is what happens to every individual at every stage of his or her lives. Developing something means to learn different skills, physical aspects and involves gaining control of the body. For example, a baby will develop physically because it is still going to grow, which means the body will still be changing. Another example is if an older person is learning a new skill, like how to use a computer. That person’s computer skills are developing as he/she is learning a new skill and is gaining control over it physically and mentally. When you are developing, you are learning and growing into a better person than what you are now. You begin to understand more than what you already know. This means your body is changing and has to retain a lot more information every time you develop. Therefore, a developmental milestone is what the average child does at each stage of their development. It is a basic functional skill or age specific task that most children develop at a certain age range. When the baby is new born, for the first few years of the baby’s life, he or she visits a paediatrician for regular check-ups. The paediatrician checks how the baby is developing using milestones. Although there is a specific age for when the child is expected to meet each milestone, this is not always the case. Every child is unique and therefore each child develops and reaches its milestones at different ages. The level of age that a child should reach each milestone is just an average estimate. There could be a number of different reasons as to why a child is not reaching the milestones are the expected ages, some of these reasons could include: * Genetic factors – a child inheriting the parents genes, * Parent involvement – the amount of time the parents have for their children, to encourage their children’s development, * Health implications, * Environmental factors – the quality of the child’s home and area. Growth is different to development. Growth is being able to grow into a bigger person. The growth process not only involves a child’s height and weight, it also involves the growth of their teeth, when a child gains teeth, they then fall out and gain new teeth. For a teenager it involves starting puberty and for any person it involves the growth of hair and nails. All these different growth processes occur as the body matures. Although growth and development have different meanings, they are closely linked. They usually follow the same pattern, although sometimes this is not the case. For example, if there is something wrong with the child or they have a disability, this could be because they are still growing but not developing. There are different factors that could influence a child’s growth and some of these include: * Genetic factors – inheriting the parents genes * Environmental factors – e. g. living in cramped spaces could lead to poor growth. * Financial factors – e. g. the child’s parents may not be able to afford new shoes for their child, therefore if the child continues to wear the same small shoes, their feet will not grow properly. * Emotional factors – e. . if the child is emotionally stressed and upset, they may not eat very well or lack sleep, preventing them to grow. * Intellectual factors – e. g. the child not having the knowledge to know what is a healthy diet. Therefore, if the child eats a lot of junk food instead of fresh foods it could prevent a healthy growth. * Physical factors – e. g. having a problem or condition, which affects a child’s growth. Growth and development is very important, especially throughout a child’s childhood. This is because at these early stages of their lives, they develop and learn the most. It is important for a child to have the right foundation of growth and development in the early stages of their lives for them to increase their growth and development throughout the rest of their lives. Good development enables a child to increase their skills and knowledge, which will help them throughout their lives. For example, when they are looking for a job they will be equipped with a good development of knowledge and intellectual skills, which will result to a better job. Another example is if when a child attends school, they will be able to learn and develop quickly which will result to better grades. Good growth on the other hand, enables a child to have a healthy weight, height and an overall healthy body. Good growth also helps a child’s development. Physical growth and size Physical growth occurs from 0 to 18 years. This is from the time the baby is born to the time the baby matures. The child will grow according to the individual child and the different parts of its body; this also depends on the rate that the child will grow at throughout the years. The child may experience a ‘growth spurt’, which is when the body tends to grow at a much faster pace than the child’s usual growth rate. Parts of the body also grow quicker than other parts at different times. For example, usually a baby’s head is larger than the rest of the body when born. As the baby grows, the head becomes smaller in proportion to the rest of the body parts. Health professionals monitor babies’ growth using a chart called the ‘Centile Chart’. Midwives and health visitors usually measure and weigh babies and children and then plot the measurements on the centile chart. A centile chart is used to measure babies and children’s’ height and weight and compare it to the average height and weight. This is to check if they are growing at a normal rate. If they are not, then it could be because of health implications, which is then assessed by the GP. A centile chart is quite similar to the developmental milestones, as they both measure babies and children according to the average measurements. The height and weight of a child is usually recorded on two separate centile charts. There is also a separate centile chart for both boys and girls. This is because boys are usually taller and weigh more than girls, so the average height and weight will be different for both genders. The chart has three lines marked on it and they are known as the 98th centile, the 50th centile and the 2nd centile. For the 98th centile it would be labelled as ‘98’ and this will show the children who are taller or heavier than the average child. The 50th centile would be labelled as ‘50’ and this shows the average height and weight of the child. Therefore, the 2nd centile would be labelled as ‘2’ and this shows the children who are shorter or lighter than the average child. Only 3% of children are expected to be above or below the 98th or 2nd centile. Physical Development Physical development is when the child starts gaining control of their movements and learning skills, these are developed with age. Physical development is when the muscle strength increases in a child. They learn to sit up by themselves, and then they learn how to crawl and eventually how to walk. This is all to do with the physical development of a child’s muscles. However, physical development also includes the maturity of the central nervous system. This means that children are more tolerant to pain as they grow older, due to the toleration levels of their central nervous system. For example, if a child is dropped at 3 months old, the amount of pain inflicted on the child would be substantially high, where as if a child at 3 years was dropped the amount of pain inflicted would be noticeably lower due to the developmental progression of the nervous system. Physical development can be divided into three main categories, these are: * Fine motor skills * Gross motor skills * Sensory skills Gross Motor Skills Gross motor skills are the reflexes in a child’s body. This consists of using the larger muscles in the legs, arms, torso and feet to control their body and larger movements. When a baby is born their physical movements consist of unintentional movements known as reflexes. These reflexes help babies to survive, as they have no control over their bodies or their movements at first. Once the baby gains control over it’s body and movements, these reflexes go. This type of reflex is known as ‘primitive reflexes’. For example, anything placed in a baby’s mouth will automatically be assumed as a breast or teat. Therefore, the baby will automatically start sucking as they think they are getting fed. This is a primitive reflex, which disappears once the baby is 6 months old. Fine Motor Skills Fine motor skills is another reflex movement but involves grasping. To enable smaller movements and manipulation, this reflex involves using smaller muscles of the fingers, thumbs, toes, wrists, lips and tongue. For example, a baby will first start to curl their hands when born, therefore, if an object was placed in their hands, they would try to hold onto the object by curling their hands. This reflex disappears after 3 months. A ‘pincer’ grip is when a baby can hold an object between their thumb and index finger. Pincer grasp is usually developed at the age of 1. A child usually performs gross motors skills before they perform fine motor skills. This is because a baby finds it easier to develop their larger muscles before they develop their smaller muscles and movements. For example, a baby will learn to wave their legs and arms around first, before wiggling their fingers and toes. This is because gross motor skills involve controlling the body; the baby needs to know how to control the body before it can perform smaller movements and manipulations. Gross and fine motor skills are very similar however, as many activities depend on the co-ordination of both motor skills. For example, being able to pick up a ball that is placed on the floor – the child needs to be able to pick up the ball with its fingers (pincer gripping – fine motor skills) and move the ball off the floor with its arms (gross motor skills). Although they work together most of the time, there is a difference to what each skill performs. Gross motor skills are the larger muscle movements and fine motor skills are the smaller muscle movements. They are both reflexes but involve different parts of the body. For a baby to develop properly, he r she needs to develop both skills well, as one skill performed without the other would make it extremely hard for the baby to physically develop to its full potential. Sensory Development Sensory development consists of using our senses, which are sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. Senses are the physical processes of our nervous system. For example, breastfed babies can sense the smell of their mothers’ breast compared to other women’s breast. This shows that the baby can use its smell sense to distinguish different smells. Therefore, the baby is developing its sense of smell. This will develop as they grow older, for example, when the baby is 5 years old, their sense of smell would have fully developed to an adults level. Intellectual Development Intellectual development is the development of the mind. A child’s mind is very active from birth. As children develop their mind to think, learn reason and explain, their intellectual development progresses. For example, at 3 months old a baby likes to explore different textures, like on a play gym or an activity mat. By the time the child is 2 years old, they have developed different textures in their mind and are now able to match different textures. Children learn intellectually through different ways, some of them being: * Using their senses * Exploring * Imitating/role play * Curiosity * Experiments * Observing * Making mistakes * Playing There are some factors such as family history that can affect intellectual development. This is because a baby’s development can be affected by inheriting genes from its parents. The inheritance could be from a family’s history of late developers. Another factor that can affect a child’s intellectual development could be encouragement from the parents to help learn and develop their child’s mind. It could also be the environment that the child lives in; if the child’s environment is cramped, this could mean that there is not a lot of space for the child to play and do certain activities that would develop his or hers skills. This could also lead to financial factors, the parents of the child not having enough money to facilitate learning aids to help their child’s development. Cognitive development Cognitive simply means thinking. Cognitive development is similar to intellectual development as it is the development of the mind, however it is the development of the mind through thinking and learning skills. This enables a child to understand the environment around them. The keys to successful cognitive development are: * Concepts – Children need to learn different concepts. The child has to see and experience things to develop a range of concepts. An adult providing activities, equipment and support can also develop these concepts. Problem solving skills – A child learns how to solve problems through trial and error, identifying there is a problem that needs solving, working out a solution and predicting what might happen. This is also linked to the child’s ability to reason. They begin to understand that their actions will produce results such as; pushing a button on a toy will produce a result by making a noise. * Creativity – this gives a child the ability to use their imagination to express their ideas. This can be done through painting pictures, making collages, dancing and making music, etc. Imagination – this is when a child sees things that do not exist or are not in front of them. Children imagine images in their head to play pretend games, make up stories or talk to an imaginary friend. This gives them comfort in knowing there is someone there with them. * Memory – a child storing and retrieving information, ideas and things that have happened to them, learn this mentally. They remember things that have happened to them in their brain for a short time or depending on the situation, this could be a long-term memory. Sometimes a little release of information can trigger off what they stored as memory in their head. * Object permanence – this describes the awareness of an object to a child. For example, if an object were no longer visible to a baby, they would think that the object no longer exists. Object permanence tries to develop the child’s mind to think that the object still exists although it is not visible to the eye. * Concentration – this is the ability of a child to spend time and pay attention to a task. The child develops the ability to stay focused on a task for longer as they develop, whereas at first, they would get distracted and lose concentration a lot quicker. A theorist called Piaget believes that the stages of cognitive development have an effect on how a child’s thinking is developed throughout their childhood. However, this theory was understood in the late 1980s and since then, children’s stages of cognitive development have increasingly changed due to the child’s age. Language development Language is how a person speaks and communicates with others, also known as verbal communication. Language development is how children express their needs and share information with others using language. A child’s language is developed depending on how much the child practices speaking. From birth a baby cannot speak, however they use other forms of language to share information. For example, they learn how to cry when they are hungry, this is using language and the baby has developed this skill by knowing that when he or she cries, they will be fed. Speaking through the mouth does not only develop language, it also involves other physical movements. E. g. face expressions, sign language, writing, etc. It can also involve non-verbal communication such as listening to voices, practising sounds and learning what different sounds mean. Language development can be divided into two stages: * Pre-linguistic * Linguistic The pre-linguistic stage occurs between birth and 12 months. At this stage, babies learn to understand what is being said to them and learn the rules of how to communicate. Although they cannot talk at this stage, they learn to communicate to gain attention by crying, smiling and using facial expressions; they may also point to what they want or nod their heads. The linguistic stage is when babies’ speech starts to develop. Now words can be used to label objects or to share information. The child first starts off with one-word speeches and then later on their language develops into complex sentences. Emotional Development Emotional development is how children understand what people are feeling and what they are feeling about themselves through the things they do. Children feel a lot of emotions including fear, excitement, affection, pride, jealousy, sadness and contentment. A child develops emotionally starting from birth. For example, when a baby is feeling lonely they will cry for attention and love. This is how babies express their emotions, through crying, laughing and facial expressions. When children grow older, they learn to control their emotions. This is another emotional development as they have learnt how to control their feelings, and their brain functions. This is learnt through the later stages of childhood. An example of this would be a child falling over and not wanting to concern others of his or her accident, therefore controlling his or her emotions. This in affect will not only control the child’s emotions, but the child has also developed that it will affect other people’s emotions and is trying to control that too. Emotional development can affect intellectual and social development. They learn how different emotions can affect others around them. The children learn to understand that being happy is healthier than being sad, as there is a less risk of the child becoming stressed or depressed. Emotional development can also affect social development by the child understanding that their emotions affect the relationship they have with others. For example, if they love their parents, the parents will care and love the child back. On the other hand, if a child was being rude and arrogant, other children would not want to socialize with him or her, leaving the child feeling emotionally lonely and upset. Children also learn different emotions through social experience. Social Development Socialising is the process of interacting with others. They begin to socialise at first with their primary carer, e. g. parents, carers, etc. The social skills developed from a child are through the child socialising with its primary carers. A baby’s social development follows a pattern, which is: * Interaction with their main carer – this include making eye contact, smiling, showing facial expressions and babbling. * Knowing that they are part of a family – they recognise who their family are through familiar faces that they see all the time. They understand who strangers are by not recognising the faces. * Mixing with other people in a group and co-operating – they start to follow instructions, copying and imitating actions, playing with other children and sharing toys or objects with others. Children are not born with social skills; they have to learn how to develop this through life experiences. Usually it is the primary carers that encourage socialisation between their child and others. They help them develop the skills of interacting with others. This is also helped by the physical, social, language and intellectual development, as they all play a big part on how children should socialise with others. These social skills are developed through time; depending on the age of the child, their actions will be different.

Junk Food Industry and Obesity

â€Å"In the U. S. obesity rates have risen from 14% in 1978 to 31% in 2000†¦according to WHO/FAO in 2001, chronic diseases resulting largely from poor diet contributed to 60% of the 56 million reported deaths worldwide† (Lang & Heasman 2004:53). Both Canadian and American citizens alike spend vast amounts of their money on food and a significant percentage of that money is spent on low-nutrition foods such as fast foods and processed foods. Being the cash cow that it is, the capitalist food system has provided the opportunity for corporations to profit numerous types of junk foods (fast & processed foods containing high sugar, salt, fat). According to Robert Albritton’s (2009:90) â€Å"Let Them Eat Junk,† he argues that â€Å"the consumption of junk foods is not the only cause of obesity, but it is doubtless a major cause†¦[and] obesity is something that we allow to happen, and while there may be many causes, [he] would argue that the primary cause is a capitalist food system that we have allowed to subject us. † This essay will further extend on that argument and examine that the growing trend of obesity is caused by the fundamental principle of the capitalist food system, which is to profit from selling junk foods without considering the health consequences associated with it. Examining why consumers eat junk food in a sociological perspective, the financial incentives associated with selling junk foods in a capitalist perspective, and the health problems/consequences from the consumption of junk foods will be explored. A solution will be provided in attempts to rectify the growing trend of obesity due to junk foods. It is vital that we also look into the health implications as a result of the consumption of junk foods. Most notably, the greatest risk being obesity. Public health is an important factor in today’s society. Billions of dollars are spent on health care all over the world. At the same time, about the same amount of money is being put into a system that deters the health of millions of citizens every year (Adams 2005). In the present, the junk food industry is becoming a focal point in controversy surrounding its impact on public health. For example, â€Å"many blame fast food businesses for public health concerns, arguing that fast-food choices and large portion sizes contribute to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and a variety of other diet-related problems† (Adams 2005). In 2002, director Morgan Spurlock subjected himself to a diet based only in McDonald's fast food three times a day for thirty days and without working out. His objective was to prove why most of the Americans are so fat, with many cases of obesity (IMDB). He gained about 18 pounds over the course of the experiment, experienced mood swings, loss of sex drive, and nearly catastrophic liver damage. Spurlock’s body fat composition increased by 7 percent, his cholesterol went up 60 points, and his blood pressure rose from 120/80 to 150/100. Shortly after Mr. Spurlock’s revelations about his fast-food experiment, the Associated Press reported that McDonald’s was phasing out its super size menu options (Hagloch 2005). â€Å"Super Size Me† (name of the documentary) was a great example of how junk food affects the general public and is also an indication that the junk food industry, motivated by profits and shareholder interests, has ignored its responsibilities to the consuming public. It is clear that there is a huge demand for junk foods and that corporations thrive on this demand by creating more and more junk foods. As a result, there are health consequences such as obesity. Solutions to reduce obesity should be one of the main concerns in today’s society, however, to completely rid junk foods entirely need not be one of the solutions. The junk food industry plays a significant role in stimulating the North American economies. â€Å"Three-quarters of all Americans live within three miles of a McDonald’s, and two-thirds live within three miles of a KFC, Pizza Hut or Taco Bell fast food restaurant. † (Albritton 2009:98). In addition, supermarkets in North America are one of the most popular destinations for consumers to do most of their shopping. Supermarkets play a major role in the American food regime since that is where 40% of all food is purchased. Supermarkets typically sell a high proportion of highly processed, highly packaged and highly transported foods. In other words, supermarkets are largely purveyors of unsustainable petrofoods and unhealthy processed foods† (Albritton 2009:120). Given that junk foods are a signific ant contributor to the North American economies, it would be unwise to completely abolish the production and sales of junk food in order to solve the obesity epidemic. Rather, there should be more of an educational solution to fight against obesity. With the high demand for junk foods due to the fast-paced lifestyle in North America and for the availability of these foods provided by corporations that strive to gain profits, it is no surprise that junk food is one of the leading causes of obesity in North America today. As Robert Albritton (2009:90) pointed out, â€Å"†¦the primary cause is a capitalist food system that we have allowed to subject us. Although the junk food industry is significantly vital towards the stability of the North American economies, it would be unwise to rid the production and sales of junk foods entirely. Instead, the use of subsidy dollars to invest into nutritional awareness programs and the reduction in portion sizes for fast and processed foods are recommended options to prevent obesity. These steps may not on its own prevent obesity, however, these are one of many important steps in fighting against the obesity epidemic today and for future generations.

Play It Again Sam Analysis Essay

Sam is an excellent production, by far one of Woody Allen’s best movies. It tells the story of Allan Felix, a neurotic New York film critic who is left by his wife, since according to her he is an ‘observer, not a doer’. This devastating event makes him fall into a deep depression; consequentially, he gets corporal aid from his married friends, Linda and Dick. However, this help appears not to be enough, Allan’s love life seems going nowhere until he creates a special connection with Linda, which leads him into her arms. My opinion about this movie being excellent is based on several facts, which can be easily appreciated when watching this extremely controversial film. The word ‘controversial’ should be emphasized when analyzing this movie, considering that the topics discussed in it were not commonly discussed or confronted in the mid nineties, time in which this film was released. This movie is considered polemic due to the obvious critiques towards the American’s daily life, which is achieved by mentioning different subjects such as, dependence. This theme is represented in a different way depending on the character we focus; with Allan, this topic is represented by the deep depression he falls into, which follows him though all the film. When focusing in another character, Linda in this case, her dependence is shown by her pill addiction. Finally Dick, he is a workaholic, his dependence takes him to the point when he starts comparing his love to his wife with an ‘economical investment’. These characters decide to depend on something so it is easier for them to be secure and comfortable, ignoring the problems surrounding them and escaping from reality. Stereotyping is another main theme in this movie. When Dick asks Allan how he liked women, he describes a model type ‘Skinny, blond, good breasts’. This stereotype of perfect women is a consequence of the idol worshiping so characteristic of us, human beings. We all have someone we follow. An actress, singer, model, etc. someone we relate ourselves with or because we want to overcome something we don’t like about ourselves, we always use someone as a reference and Allan is not the exception. Allan’s character is a Humphrey Bogart-obsessed film writer that has abundant imagination. Bogart himself appears as an apparition to give Allen advices. Allan: I can’t do it. How does it look? I invite her over and then come on like a sex degenerate. What am I, a rapist? Bogart: You’re getting carried away. You think too much. Just do it. Allan: We’re platonic friends. I can’t spoil that by coming on. She’ll slap my face. Bogart: Oh, I’ve had my face slapped plenty of times. Allan: Yeah, but your glasses don’t go flying across the room. The reason why Woody Allen sets the title ‘Play it again, Sam’ is because it is originally a quote from the film Casablanca, and as I already said before the main character is obsessed over this movie (Casablanca) and the main character of it. Not only the apparitions of imaginary characters and dependence on drugs and self unconformity but how music is applied to the film shows how Allan is trying to escape from reality and place himself in a romantic Bogart movie. Every time he has a date, he turns on the music volume really loud so that the atmosphere is more movies like or factionary. We can appreciate this all over the movie and mostly at the end when he quotes the ending of Casablanca. Finally, trying too hard is the last main topic. Allan is always trying too hard for everything, making things tougher for himself and being clumsy. This is a quote from the movie demonstrating what I just stated, Allan: What are you doing Saturday night? Woman: Committing Suicide. Allan: What about Friday night? This character is always trying to fit in, we can appreciate in a scene on the movie the night after his wife leaves him that he goes to a pub and takes a drink but he doesn’t really likes it, he is juts doing what most of the men do trying to be normal. In conclusion, I believe this is a great movie, considering that it is not only hilarious; but it is fascinating how the different elements used by the film director Herbert Ross such as, music, effects, lights and place set; creates a perfect atmosphere for each of the scenes. Also, the actors chosen were all brilliant choices and how every character has its own meaning, contributing a special and unique theme to this classical film. This movie is one of my favorite oldies.