Gate log system using rf-id reader

Chapter oneGATE LOG SYSTEM USING RF-ID READER1.1 What is RFIDShort for wireless frequence designation, RFID is a dedicated short scope communicating ( DSRC ) engineering. The term RFID is used to depict assorted engineerings that use wireless moving ridges to automatically place people or objects. RFID engineering is similar to the saloon codification designation systems we see in retail shops everyday ; nevertheless one large difference between RFID and saloon codification engineering RFID does non trust on the line-of-sight reading that saloon codification scanning requires to work. 1.2 Why RFIDIn an progressively disconnected, regulated, and unsure universe, Texas Instruments ‘ ( TI ) RFID engineering gives concerns, authoritiess, and consumers a safe, private, and unnoticeable manner to maintain path of it all. Consumers benefit from shorter lines at check-out procedure counters, in infirmaries, libraries, and gas Stationss because RFID fast-tracks them to the forepart of the waiting line. They can besides profit from lower monetary values because of the efficiencies RFID brings to the supply concatenation. Business and establishments are turning to RFID engineering as they comply with authorities product-tracking ordinances, seeking to restrict larceny, cut down out-of-stock losingss, strengthen trade name trueness, and do interaction with clients a more positive experience. RFID is a mature, exhaustively tested engineering. In most RFID applications, the period of tests, proving, and economic feasibleness surveies is over. Large-scale RFID system rollouts are underway. 1.3 RFID Application OverviewThere are about as many RFID applications as there are concern types. Titanium has established a leading place in these basic classs:Automotive– Auto-makers have added security and convenience into an car by utilizing RFID engineering for anti-theft immobilizers and passive-entry systems.Animal Tracking– Ranchers and farm animal manufacturers use RFID engineering to run into export ordinances and optimise farm animal value. Wild animate beings are tracked in ecological surveies, and many pets that are tagged are returned to their proprietors.Asset Tracking– Hospitals and pharmaceuticss meet tough merchandise answerability statute law with RFID ; libraries limit larceny and maintain books in circulation more expeditiously ; and athleticss and amusement enterprisers find that â€Å" smart tickets † are their ticket to a better underside line and happier clients.Contact less Payments– Blue-chip companies such as American Ex press, Exxon Mobil, and MasterCard use advanced signifier factors enabled by TI RFID engineering to beef up trade name trueness and encouragement gross per client.Supply Chain– WalMart, Target, BestBuy, and other retail merchants have discovered that RFID engineering can maintain stock lists at the optimum degree, cut down out-of-stock losingss, bound shrinkage, and velocity clients through check-out lines.About from the beginning, TI was there: assisting set up criterions ; back uping the RFID supply concatenation of inlay and label makers ; and systematically using leading-edge semiconducting material engineering to the nucleus of RFID, the transponder. 1.4 Why this undertaking is of importWhat we are be aftering to make is a gate log system based on the new engineering which is the RF-ID READER, the user will hold a CARD that will let him to come in the gate, when he acquire near to the gate the receiving system will observe the card and read the informations stored on the card wirelessly by mean of the rf-id reader. The microcontroller on the receiving system will read the informations from the RF-ID reader and if the user is allowed to come in the microcontroller will give the signal to open the motor ( gate ) .else a message will look on the LCD and the motor will non open. An of import portion of our undertaking is the Personal computer interfacing so all of the operations and the event will be displayed on a log tabular array. 1.5 System block diagram: –The chief constituents that will be usedmovie microcontroller ( pic16f876A )DC-motor ( little motor for simulate open/close )Consecutive interface bit ( this bit will manage the electromotive force degrees between the microcontroller and the personal computer )RF ID-readerH-bridge this is a will known circuit which have two inputs from the microcontroller to drive the motor clock wise or counter clock wiseLCD ( liquid crystal show ) that will be used to expose the user figure and any coveted notes such as ( non known user )1.6 Features that leads to take ID-12d as the rf-id reader for this undertaking:It requires 5V supply ( it can be supplied from the same supply as movie )125kHz read frequence ( compatible with most sorts of releasing factor cards )EM4001 64-bit RFID ticket compatible9600bps TTL and RS232 end product ( can be connected straight to pic microcontroller utilizing the usart faculty )100mm read scope ( good reading distance )1.7 Method of operationThe end product of the rf-id reader is consecutive which will be connected straight to pic microcontroller, when the reader detects any rf-cards in scope it will read it and direct the ruddy informations ( 64-bit ) serially, the microcontroller will have those bytes and hive away them in a twine, so it will compare whether this Idaho is existed or non, this action will be displayed on the liquid crystal display. If the user is allowed to come in the gate so the microcontroller will publish the bid to the h-bridge to open the dc_motor, wait certain clip so publish the shutting bid. Besides the microcontroller will direct the information to the personal computer ( serially ) to be stored in a log tabular array Needed packagemikrobasic compiler, this will be used to compose the codification for the microcontrollerocular basic.NET, this package will be used to compose the plan that will have the information from the microcontroller and show it on a tabular array.

Persepolis

In the current international community, the issue of human rights had been one of the main issues that are faced by the different countries in the world. Topics such as the inhumane treatment towards women and children mostly in the Middle Eastern Countries and Islamic communities around the world are the problems that are still in being debated by my leaders today. Although many feminist say that there is inequality and inhumanity in the treatment of women in the Middle East, in reality, women are really torn between deciding to obey their culture or practice their right as a woman. In the past, Persian women are given the equal rights with men. These women have their own properties and are able to retain these even after their marriage. Most of them are given the right to their own freedom and are acknowledged as the most important people in the society given their ability to bear a child and such. In an article written by Massoume Price, he stated that based on historical facts â€Å"†¦the widowed wife inherited from the deceased even if she did not have children. A woman could not act as a witness in the drawing up of contracts, but she could act as a contracting party and have her own seal† (Price, n. . ). Women had the same power as men but as the years progress, female rights in Iran have lessened which led to repression and gender inequality. In the book Persepolis discusses such dilemma of a 9 year old child living in Iran during the Iran and Iraq war. The author of the book is Marjane Satrapi who actually is the lead character in the whole s tory and narrates her experiences as a child until now as an Iranian woman. The book is a graphic novel which looks like a comic strip. The book is filled with black and white drawings (The Creole Cat, 1) which I personally think as unique and cool. It is not like a typical book which is filled with words and serious topics that will turn out to be a boring book in the end. Although the book does not present is self as a serious and a complicated book to read, the issues raised in the book has became one of the most controversial concern in Iran and in various countries in the world. (Revolution, n. p. ) The graphic novel narrates the life of Marjane Satrapi who was then living in a chaotic world of politics in Iran. Her family is connected to the political branches of the government which makes her more exposed to the lifestyle of politics in Iran. Her family was communists who generally do not agree with the system of the Islamic Fundamentalists and its actions. Her family usually hosts under ground parties which was a form of rebellion in the government. These parties were not allowed by the government because they are believed to be a western practice which opposes the belief of the fundamentalists. Therefore heavy punishments could be held to them if they are caught participating in these activities. As Marjane lived in a family that was against the Islamic Fundamentalists, she also created measures that imitated the actions of her family. She got interested in punk and heavy metal music and often bought Nike shoes in the black market. Due to the bold actions of the young Marjane, her family decided that she must live in a different country to prevent her from being arrested by officials, â€Å"It would have been better to just go† (Eberstadt cited in Satrapi n. p. ). During her high school life, she was sent to Vienna Austria however, she felt like she was isolated and typically hated the people around her. She believes that Westerners do not put any value to the freedom that they have. After a few months of her stay in Austria she had a relationship with a young man. She became passionately in love with him but after a while, she discovered that he was cheating on her. Due to this, she had clinical depression and almost died of bronchitis. She went home to Iran with a broken heart (Revolution, n. p. ). By the time that she was in college, she went back to Iran. She was hopeful that changes in the society would be present because the war had already ended however; the problem in Iran seemed to have a much bigger issue to solve. Petty issues such as small differences in religion, and group executions due to political conflicts had been a source of bigger complications in the society which lead to a much chaotic Iran. The conflict made the lives of the people much more difficult most especially to the women living in the country. Iran had a much more conservative law which made life for Marjane much more complicated. Freedom of wearing make-up was prohibited. Marjane was almost caught wearing cosmetics but in the end, she got out of the situation for accusing the police for staring wrongly at her body. In addition she married her boyfriend just to avoid the police scrutiny. In the end, Marjane Satrapi separated with her husband after their three years of marriage. Other events happened and finally her parents decided that she must leave the country in order to prevent her from being arrested by the police. Marjane agreed to the plan of her parents however, after her departure from Iran her grandmother died. In the whole story, the role of women was one of the strongest and most evident participation. In some articles that critiqued the book has stated that the graphic novel is about feminism and women empowerment in the Middle East. The book highlights the role and responsibilities of women in a conservative and Islamic community such that of Tehran, Iran. When the Islamic Fundamentalist party one the most obvious changes that the women had to do was to change the way they dress. Women need to cover their hair in order to not entice the men. In the conservative belief of the Islam religion, women must not show of a body part because it might lead to something sinful for the part of the men. The veil became a mandatory outfit of every woman whether they may be young or old (Creole Cat, 1). Make-ups are also not allowed by the Islamic Fundamentalists for they believe that it is a Western belief and thus is should not be put on by any woman. In the story Marjane was almost arrested by the police but she was able to make an alibi. In addition, women in many ways had created actions in order to prevent men from being caught by the police while going against the action of the government. A scene in the graphic novel where in the police stopped their car for inspection. The police officer inspected her father and suspected that Marjane’s father had drunk wine. Upon inspection, the mother tried to negotiate with the officers pleading that her father just became surprised with the inspection. In the continuing scene, the grandmother excused herself through justifying that she has diabetes. She was understood by one of the officers and through this, the grandmother and Marjane were able to go up their apartment and sneak in. They were able to throw away the wines that they have kept in their apartment. Females in Iran were able to somehow cover up for the men because of their characteristic of being compassionate and patient with negotiations with other people. Marjane’s mother is specifically patient and calm during situations like these. She gives support to her husband but is more composed. Although she wanted to have justice and equality amongst everyone in Iran she does not act as violently as others would do. (Satrapi 107-110) The role of the maid in the story was also an important part of the novel. Although it is given small attention, the scene of the story is proclaiming that there is social construct of limiting oneself from interacting with other people due to the social class. A maid is not a high paying job compared to other jobs available. Maids are also seen as low class citizens and must not go out of their social class. They must not marry higher class people such as the middle class and the elites. It would be immoral and improper because in the Iranian society, any individual must not go out of their social class, like Marjane’s father said â€Å"In this country you must stay within your own social class† (Eberstadt cited in Satrapi n. p. ). Due to this belief and social construct, the interaction of the society becomes limited which creates in equality. However, Marjane stated a line in which makes the readers realize that there must not be boundaries with the relations of people â€Å"We were not in the same social class but at least we were in the same bed†( Eberstadt cited in Satrapi n. p. ). Her line expressed states that everyone is equal with one another, in terms of loving another person. The situation of the maid, demonstrated that class difference is one of the main issues faced by Iran. The main character, Marjane illustrates a child that was born in a family that wanted to have a just world. Just like her parents, she also employs her own belief system which led to many troubles which were narrated in the book. Her boldness and strong belief present a modern Iranian woman that wants to get out of her shell to explore other realities. Marjane advocates the openness to other new experiences such that of the western culture. As a young girl, she immediately had a different sense of desire for freedom and equality. When she was in her younger years, she was already out spoken about her ideas and her dreams. She wanted to become a prophet which is not really a dream for most the girls of her age. Her teacher even called her parents because she got disturbed by the idea the Marjane wanted to be a prophet. Her dream of becoming a prophet evidently makes her represent the female population that wanted freedom and equality from the Islamic Fundamentalists belief. Although Marjane was being bold and was acting against the principle of her belief, she still believed in a higher and stronger being which was shown in her graphic novel. Though, women were repressed and were forced to the will of the fundamentalists, Marjane’s role became an important in the book to show that she was a woman that pursued what she believed is right even though she was held back by the society. She did chase her dream in making the lives of women and other Iranians free from all the difficulties that she had in her past life. Marjane’s life became a symbol of courage and change for many women in the Iranian society. In conclusion, women in the book all have their own roles. The elderly women in the book such as the mother and the grandmother of Marjane played the role of protecting their families through peaceful means. As much as possible, these elders are fighting for what they believe is right however, they do not do the extremes unlike Marjane. They move with grace and caution to make sure that their family is well protected and at peace. The maid’s role in the story is being a woman less powerful than the normal one due to her status in the society. Being a woman and being poor held her back to the lower part of the social system. The Iranian conservative society does not allow a lower class female to marry or be in a relationship with a male who is in the higher social status or vise versa. On the other hand, Marjane’s role in novel changed the perspective of many of the characters. Her rebellion made gave her a little freedom which was needed by most of the women during her time. Marjane showed her strength and courage in battling the norms of her society to prove that women should be given more freedom than their culture allows.

Attitude, Legislation, and Litigation Essay

In the past the Special Education has overcome some challenges and length. The laws and rules made it potential for all special needs to have an education and to be treated fairly like everyone else. The special needs are human beings just like any other person and they need to have the same opportunities and equality in today’s society. Attitude Over the years the attitude towards the intellectual disabilities has been poorly repulsive and prejudice. Connecticut 1650 code was a law where the special needs get sterilization and can no longer reproduce. Hitler also eradicated the special needs, because he saw them as being weak to his supreme race. The people were afraid of the special needs because they did not fit into the normal society. In the coming years the attitudes slowly change and special needs are becoming more accepted into society. The laws and rules will soon open up people minds and eyes to change their attitude towards the special needs. â€Å"Furthermore, the stigma and discrimination commonly experienced by individuals with intellectual disability are not only a barrier to effective integration but also result in reduced self-esteem and feelings of isolation† (Ouellette-Kuntz, Burge, Brown, Arsenault, 2010, pg. 132). Legislation and Litigation Litigation has made a huge impact on the Special Education. The IDEA and the NCLB has changed the education for the special needs to allow the students into the school to learn and have the same education values as other students. The special needs students were not permitted to go to school and people were afraid of them or they might get the same disabilities of what they had. The Legislation brought up laws to protect the special needs and  to have them to go to school along with the general education. The Legislation also ensures the NCLB that all the students and teachers meet their requirement goals and given assessments for students for their grade levels. The IEP (Individualized Education Plan) benefit the teachers to keep track or their students’ progress and contains information on how well they are learning. â€Å"It is critical that IEP teams carefully consider the implications of choosing an alternative assessment as it may lead to an alternative diploma or certificate and may influence the kinds of jobs and postsecondary options available to the student† (Bowen, Rude, 2005, pg.27). Legislation made a wave for the Special Education and continues to put new laws in to the school systems to provide resources and materials for the students who have disabilities. Challenges There are some challenges that the educators are facing, where they have to make sure their students are passing and they have to follow the NCLB act. The resources and funds are being cut in the education departments and it is making it uneasy for the special needs those essential materials in order to learn. In some school district it is affecting their students to progress and the teacher’s accountability to provide the materials to the lesson plans. The teachers are facing hard times if their students are not passing because of budget cuts and spending. Predictions Student with disabilities are still being encourage to believe that there is still expectation for them to succeed. Students with mild disabilities are in the regular education classroom and learning the same materials other students are learning. In the future Special Education will thrive for the best, because there will be more voices and concern for the privileges of educations. The students will also be allow to have more choices for their education and hopefully the budget and spending will be prosperous for more resources and supplies to give out to the Special needs. Personal Encounter My first encounter with a person with disabilities, I was thinking â€Å"What happen to them, or why do they behave like that?† I would think will that ever happen to me? I also spectacle why do they attend the same school I go to. I started to run out of questions and answer and that’s when I asked my  mother who is a Special Education teacher and she told me â€Å"People with disabilities have the same equal rights and opportunities as other people do and they are human beings just like us.† That day on I change my who perspective view on people with disabilities. Conclusion The Special Education teachers are willing to take on challenges and roles to support their students to achieve. The laws and regulation are pushing it ways through the doors and allowing benefits, and educational plans for the special needs. The parents, teachers, and communities are the voices that will provide better treatment and exceptional tools to better the educational needs for the students. References Ouellette-Kuntz, H., Burge, P., Brown, H. K., & Arsenault, E. (2010). Public Attitudes Towards Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities as Measured by the Concept of Social Distance. Journal Of Applied Research In Intellectual Disabilities, 23(2), 132-142. doi:10.1111/j.1468-3148.2009.00514.x Bowen, S. K., & Rude, H. A. (2006). Assessment and Students with Disabilities: Issues and Challenges with Educational Reform. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 25(3), 24-30.

Physical Assesment Case Study Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Physical Assesment Case Study - Research Paper Example Client was awake, alert and coherent. Physical assessment revealed erythematous plaques covering both cheeks, and at the bridge of her nose, without affecting the nasolabial folds or any other part of her body. Aside from that, her head was found to be normocephalic with no signs of trauma or other deformities. She had clear white sclera and clear conjunctiva; her pupils were reactive to both light and accommodation. Erythema was noted on the posterior wall of her pharynx, and ulcers were found on both of her buccal mucosa. Her neck showed no swelling or bumps, and no traces of lymphadenopathy or thyromegaly. Patient had no trouble achieving full range of motion in her joints with no obvious swelling or deformities. Patient’s vital signs showed a normal heart rate at 62 beats per minute, normal respiratory rate at 12 breaths per minute, a normal blood pressure of 112/66 mmHg, and an elevated temperature of 100.3 degrees Fahrenheit. Interview and Health History Patient reported that the rash was first noticed after a week outdoor hiking and camping in the Appalachians. She denies exposure to any new skin products, usage of medications, environmental exposure, and food allergies. She has not taken any medication for the rash. She denies experiencing headache, sore throat, ear pain, nasal congestion, chest pain, shortness of breath, cough, pain during urination, urination and diarrhea. She reports no stiffness in the joints or difficulty in getting up in the morning. The only surgical procedure that the patient has undergone was a tonsillectomy at age 9 due to her chronic strep throat infection. Other than that, she has not had any other diseases needing hospitalizations as an adult. An investigation into her family history revealed that her mother had rheumatoid arthritis She does not engage in smoking or recreational drug use, but admits to taking a glass of wine almost every night with dinner. Nursing Care Plan Based on the information, the patientâ€⠄¢s main concern is the rash on her face and what it means. Considering the location, the shape, and the other symptoms, it could be a malar rash pointing to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, but since it is yet to be diagnosed, the more pressing concern is her fatigue. This can be caused by not enough energy being produced to cope with the inflammation going on with her rash, the erythematous posterior wall of her pharynx, and her fever. Her weight loss could also be an effect of this. Fatigue is defined as â€Å"an overwhelming sense of exhaustion and decreased capacity for physical and mental work at the usual level† (Doenges, Moorhouse, & Murr, 2010). The patient verbally reports feeling fatigue after the rash appeared (Sommers, Johnson, & Beery, 2010; Smeltzer & Bare, 2011; WebMD, 2011). In a nursing care plan to take care of the client’s fatigue, the desired outcomes would be that the client will: - Report improved sense of energy - Identify the basis of fatigue and individual areas of control - Perform ADLs and participate in desired activities at level of ability - Participate in recommended treatment program with sufficient energy (Source: Doenges, Moorhouse, & Murr, 2010; Sommers, Johnson, & Beery, 2010) Nursing interventions to help with the patients fatigue are: Intervention: Identify the presence of physical and/or psychological conditions (e.g. infection, nutritional deficiency, depression, trauma, autoimmune disorders, substance use/abuse,

Answer some questions to some short stories Essay

Answer some questions to some short stories - Essay Example 3. Yes, John is the villain in the story. She is against the empowerment and wellbeing of his wife. There other people falling in this category, but he emerges the epitome and fits the description of villain in the story. This is because, the narrator is his own wife and any reader would expect him to treat her in the right and humane manner contrary to what he does. 4. The color of the wallpaper is yellow. Yellow is next brightest and most visible color after white. On the paper are sub-patterns of desperate women. The patterns are clear to the narrator. The paper is a representation of medicine, family, as well as tradition which the narrator has found herself entangled in. The color shows that the oppressive practices of men are clear to the eyes of the victims, women. 5. (Q9). The roles of women in the story are facilitation and enhancement of themes such as love, death, and enabler. The author, O’Brien, uses the existing love between Lt. Jimmy Cross and Martha to show the trend between the separation created during the war and the soldiers. The relationship between the two was not that hopped for in the first place. Cross is obsessed with Martha and this leads to the death of Ted Lavender. Similarly soldier’s love and patriotism for their country makes them kill opponents. Kathleen, O’ Brien’s daughter acts as the enabler for untrue stories he writes. Linda acts as a symbol that the dead can be immortalized (O’Brien 18). 6. (Q11) War is a representation or metaphor of human life. People like Perish because of love. The soldiers fight and some of them die because of their love for their people. There are also loneliness and isolation in the story. O’Brien affirms that loneliness in Vietnam is destructive forces like any other type of ammunition. 7. (Q12) If the US instituted the law today, I will definitely go and serve my country in Vietnam. There are challenges as revealed in the book by Tim challenges

Te Uku - wind farm project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Te Uku - wind farm project - Assignment Example t which is the first of its kind in New Zealand was commissioned in 2010 and successfully built by a joint alliance between a giant electricity generating and retailer company known as Meridian Energy and WEL Networks which is a lines company (WEL Networks, 2010). At its full capacity, the Te Uku - wind farm project is estimated to have a potential of generating up to 65MW of electricity which is currently enough to power more than 30, 000 local New Zealand homes. This is critically important not only to the local populations but also to the government of New Zealand (NZWEA, 2010). For example, apart from the local benefits, the project not only adds to New Zealand’s growing portfolio of renewable energy sources but is also set to contribute towards the country’s energy self sufficiency goals. This report provides a critical overview of Te Uku - wind farm project, reasons for its success as well as its potential outcomes to the region. The planning as well as the successful management of the Te Uku Wind farm project was primarily carried out and supervised by a team consisting of members from five different companies. For example, the principal project engineers who were largely responsible for overseeing the civil engineering design and delivery of construction materials were from Bloxam Burnett & Olliver Company. On the other hand, Coffey Geotechnics provided geotechnical consultancy for the project including inspections and certification of earthworks and construction of turbine foundations. The other companies that were involved in the planning and management of the project included Hick Spartan Joint Venture which was the main contractor for roading and earthworks including the construction of turbine foundations, Coffey Information which provided field and laboratory testing and Siemens New Zealand which was responsible for the construction of the wind turbines (WEL Networks, 2009). With support from a number of sub-contractors and sub-consultants, the

Analysis of Ernest Hemingways short story Soldiers Home Research Paper

Analysis of Ernest Hemingways short story Soldiers Home - Research Paper Example This paper will first analyze the main characters of the story, then will focus on the symbolic element in the story and will analyze it, finally ending with an analysis of the setting in the story. Character Analysis Harold Krebs: He is the protagonist and the story chronicles his war experiences, and his problem in adjusting to his home place. Krebs gets enlisted in the army and moves to Europe during the First World War, where he undergoes both enlightened and at the same time traumatic experiences. Tormented by those war experiences, Krebs reenters his home town but finds it difficult to live a normal life and interact with the people there. His dejection further accentuates, when the people in the town, avoid listening to his wartime stories. Due to pressure from his mother to marry and have children, Krebs becomes further disillusioned and even decides to move out of the town. However, towards the end of the story, he understands that he cannot keep on holding on to his war exp eriences, particularly when that negatively impacts his current life. He calmly decides not to think about his past as well as future, and instead take things as they come, and goes to see his sister play a baseball game. Thus, his character undergoes various transformations, from a war hero to a depressed soul, and then finally a nonchalant person. Mrs. Harold: Harold's mother is portrayed as a very religious woman, who feels for his son’s difficulty in adjusting to the normal life in the town. She tries her best to aid her son to come out of his post-war trauma, but that did not work out favorably. However, her efforts were more of pressure to Krebs than being constructive. Without understanding the trauma her son underwent in the war, she continuously nags Krebs to discard his war experiences and start living a normal life immediately. â€Å"Krebs' small-town mother cannot comprehend her son's struggles and sufferings caused by the war.† (Imamura 102). In addition, she further pushed him to get a job, marry a girl and have children, by comparing with other boys in the community. â€Å"The boys are all settling down; they’re all determined to get somewhere†¦ Charley Simmons, who is just your age has a good job and is going to be married† (Hemmingway 115). Thus, the character of Mrs. Harold is of a mother, who although wants a good life for his son, mistakenly pressurize him. Mr. Harold: Harold's father never makes any kind of direct appearance in the story, and instead he is mainly ‘referred’ by Mrs. Harold during her conversations with Krebs. Mrs. Harold uses the character of father mainly to validate the advices she gave to Krebs to make him return to normal life. â€Å"Your father thinks you have lost your ambition, that you haven't got a definite aim in life.† (Hemingway 115). However, it seems that Krebs did not have much of a father-son relationship with Mr. Harold, with the mother being the only com municator between them. Thus, the character of Mr. Harold does not have a major role to play. However, this â€Å"non-committal† presence of the father’s character in a way reflects the mindset of Krebs. As stated by Baerdemaeker (32), â€Å"in an extra Oedipal twist, Krebs becomes exactly like his father: non-committal.† Helen Krebs: Harold's younger sister, Helen is an indoor baseball player, and although she does not have a

Summary of Chapter 1_The End of Risk-Free Rate Assignment

Summary of Chapter 1_The End of Risk-Free Rate - Assignment Example This is because the bonds provide funds for healthcare, education, law enforcement as well as other public requirements. The most common theories associated to risk free rate and from which other valuations are derived include modern portfolio theory (MPT) and the capital asset pricing model (CAPM). Additionally, the risk free rate functions in rare occasions since the MPT maintains that there is only one risk-free rate, which is the risk-free rate asset that pays a low rate. The risk free rate is used by MPT to determine the optimum portfolio. At the basic level, risk is said to be the probability of outcomes or events and is divided into three main categories that include absolute, default and relative risk. There have been attempts to use alternatives to the risk-free rate such as the T-bill that remains the best option since it was the closest investment to a short-term riskless security. The main reason why the risk-free rate has changed is the catastrophic events happening in most developed countries’ economies that include credit market collapses, stock market collapses, and wars. The valuation level of the risk-free rate can be determined or judged through the Fisher equation. The idea that treasury bills have yielded zero or negative in certain periods indicates that there is no real risk-free rate. On the other hand, there have been increased debts in major governments and the development of other aspects such as debt mutualization. This is because of realization of too little growth versus intense debts. In some instances, the total debt has exceeded the total GDP. Without growth, fiscal consolidation proves futile. Fiscal measures should be permanent to help in reduction of debt. If austerity is followed, it could take approximately 10 years to realize results. Debt ratio might increase by attempting to reduce it through austerity, which adds risk premium to government bonds over time. The market demand for safe assets has

Teenagers should not be allowed to drive until age eighteen Essay

Teenagers should not be allowed to drive until age eighteen - Essay Example Thesis Statement Children should not be allowed to drive until they turn eighteen, the obligation of this rule has its significance since young drivers prove to be reckless and thrill seeking as compared to elders. Children Should Not Be Allowed to Drive Until Age Eighteen The legal age at which individuals can drive varies in different countries; in some places teenagers are not allowed to drive until they are 18 while at some countries such as America, 15 or younger is a legal age to drive. It is usually in relevance to the age at which teenagers are allowed to vote or drink alcohol. Previous researches and records have proved that young drivers are reckless and their driving results in majority of road accidents; it is due to this fact that different countries have emphasized on raising the age at which driving should be made legal, the appeal was given regard in some places and in other cases, it was not taken into account. There are various pros and cons which will contribute to better understanding of this argument; they are as discussed below. (Margaret, 250) Benefits of Raising the Legal Age at Which Teenagers Would be Allowed to Drive The life of humans is very precious and to safeguard them and ensure their security is one of the basic responsibilities of any government therefore it should be entailed that all the possible steps be taken to guarantee this. Raising the age of driving will reduce the number of road accidents since teenagers below eighteen are more likely to cause accidents than older drivers. A research report revealed 30,000 deaths in USA in 1995-2004 caused by young drivers; this further emphasizes how dangerous it can be to allow young drivers on the road. 18 years is considered to be the perfect age to grant permission since at this age further freedom such as the right to vote and drink alcohol is permitted. The attitude that is most commonly observed in 16-17 year old teenagers is that they are fearless and do not generally regard the traffic rules that have been put up for their and other individuals’ safety, they are more inclined towards taking risks and seek thrill in driving. They observe good driving as the ability to maneuver the car at high speeds, are more likely to take influence of the peer pressure and join in the competition of rash driving. This behavior makes them risky and unreliable drivers who would add to the number of car crashes and road accidents. Hence granting them license at an older age might prove to solve this problem to some extent thus ensuring road safety. Taking fruitful steps towards this cause can also benefit the society in the longer run; when younger teenagers would not be allowed to drive until they reach the standard age, there would be lesser cars on the road hence less traffic which will ease the traffic flow, preventing congestion ultimately reducing both noise and air pollution. This is also a very challenging issue these days and any step that can be taken t owards its resolution should be encouraged and supported. Teenagers generally lack experience and to top it they do not consider it as a big deal which results in non serious behavior. They do not understand rather do not value the consequences that might result from their recklessness. Secondly the driving classes do not benefit them much; either the driving schools are not fully equipped or the classes are not beneficial enough to tech the teenagers about how

RISK MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

RISK MANAGEMENT - Essay Example Strong leadership defines the risk culture and shares that vision with management. Leadership acts as if it believes in its vision. In the feedback cycle, leadership listens to new risks identified and responds with a course of action consistent with the culture of risk. (Marks and Rassmussen, 2010) (Hopkin, 2010) Management commits to the leadership vision and manages to that standard. Teamwork is essential throughout the workforce and it is management that provides the regulation of the team. Management trains employees to respond properly to risks, for example, wearing safety equipment or using machinery correctly. Management monitors the results of risk management tactics and accounts for poor risk taking behaviors. Management establishes quantitative analysis tools to measure risk culture compliance. Any problem areas are reported to leadership, discussed and a mutually agreed upon intervention occurs. (Marks and Rassmussen)(Hopkin, 2010) Strong financial risk cultures identify key risks inherent in the business; these may include currency exchange, interest rates, diversification issues, fluctuating suppliers’ prices and raw commodity pricing. The key financial risks order by primacy from largest concern to least impactful. The financial risk manager reviews the company risk tolerance and manages the priorities accordingly, implementing strategies and tactics to reduce risk where desired. These tactics usually involve the derivative markets, like interest rate swaps and commodity trading. Risk management is a repetitive process, so the financial risk manager monitors the markets of concern and refines his strategy as needed. (Horcher, 2005) (Das, 2006) Operational risk management concerns both management and measurement of risk. Traditionally, operations risk management involved all the company processes and systems, all employees for management and training, and any external event, such as political interference. A strong culture identifies, measu res and implements a strategy consistent with overall company goals. Of course, on-going stewardship is required as with the financial risk management. (Abkowitz, 2008) Weak Risk Culture Weak risk cultures begin with resistant leadership, sometimes arrogant leadership. Management is either not told goals or communications are not transparent. Leadership and management must believe in and be committed to the same vision of risk culture. New risks are not identified on a timely basis, on-going stewardship is an essential part of a strong risk culture. Underutilizing personal or improper training creates a weak risk culture operationally. Only considering risk avoidance and mitigation rather than proactively seeking profitable means to deal with risk is a characteristic of a weak risk culture financially. For instance, trading in derivatives can be profitable by trading risky interest rate situations for more time sensitive hedges. Weak risk cultures do not do what strong ones do. (And erson and Schroder, 2010) Risk-Return/Risk-Reward The financial risk manager observes the risk-reward behavior of financial instruments in order to determine the least risk available for the highest return. If all instruments shared the same risk, the investor would choose the highest reward. If all risks had the same reward, investors would choose the lowest risk. This balance is achieved through diversification of investments and managing the volatility of an investment

Ethical Issues Research Assignment Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethical Issues Assignment - Research Paper Example g is an ethical issue in which a struggle between the body and mind would happen and the winner would be either the body (In case the person opts for mercy killing) or the mind (In case the person decided against the mercy killing). Proponents of mercy killing are of the opinion that it is better to assist a person medically to terminate his life, if he is in a hopeless situation. In their opinion, the person who suffers pain and discomforts should have given the right to take decision about sustaining his life in such pathetic condition. Others can cite ethical or moral issues against the mercy killing; but the ultimate sufferer would be the patient only. On the other hand, critics of mercy killing believe that only the creator has the right to take the life back of his creations. They are of the opinion that life is the most important thing in the world. Nobody has so far succeeded in unveiling the miseries about the life. Nobody knows from where we come and where we go after death. No science or technology, so far succeeded in creating an artificial life in a laboratory setup which underlines the importance and value of life on earth. Moreover critics also argue that only the creator has the right to modify or destroy creations and anything against his will would be unethical. As expected, we met strong arguments both in favour and against mercy killing during our research. We found most of the arguments of the proponents and the critics logical and valuable. It was difficult for us to take a position on this issue and our group actively discussed all the major arguments from both the sides in order to make a conclusion. Some of the arguments we found during our research are given below. The article IF MERCY KILLING BECOMES LEG, argued that mercy killing would be misused if it is made legal (IF MERCY KILLING BECOMES LEGAL). The above argument seems to be logical as the antisocial elements can kill innocent people on behalf of mercy killing in order to

Minimum Wage Increase Essay Essay Example for Free

Minimum Wage Increase Essay Essay Most people would agree that raising the minimum wage sounds like a good idea, but arguments arise concerning if this increase would benefit the economy. Jared Bernstein believes that a minimum wage increase would positively affect the American economy. He argues that the economy is driven by consumer spending and low ­income workers are very likely to spend their extra earned money. On the contrary, Douglas Holtz ­Eakin strives to make the point that raising the minimum wage would not be beneficial to the economy. He argues that there would be no reduction in poverty because only a small percent of minimum wage workers are in poverty, while most are unemployed. An examination of raising the minimum wage will reveal why it will benefit American society. According to Jared Bernstein raising the minimum wage would help. Bernstine suggests that the American economy is made up of 70 percent consumer spending. He argues that an extra dollar earned by a wealthy person is less likely to be spent than an extra dollar earned by a low ­income person. In addition Bernstein points out that this leads to the low ­income worker being much more likely to consume their extra dollar of earnings. Similarly one might argue that a minimum wage increase that directly raises the pay of a relatively small share of the workforce by a small amount is unlikely to be a big deal. Raising the minimum wage is a growth strategy and should be used to try to revive our economy. The wage increase would help families struggling on minimum wage salaries. These families would see these new earni ngs as a chance to spend on new things and will slightly help macroeconomic growth. Helping the economy on the margin while also helping these families make ends meet. One should conclude that raising the minimum wage will help families in need and in terms help the economy. According to Douglas Holtz ­Eakin Raising the federal minimum wage will neither reduce poverty nor boost growth. Holtz ­Eakin suggests that increasing the minimum wage would ensure that m illions of Americans got raises that they would presumably turn right around and spend. He argues that unfortunately the money for a raise has to come out of the wallet of another American. In addition Holtz ­Eakin points out that the minimum wage hike for one low ­wage worker comes directly out of the pocket of another. In contrast one might suggest that the wage increase is neither anti ­poverty nor stimulus. According to Holtzs article companies may not be able to hire as many workers if the wage is increased. The money may not come directly from another working americans pocket but it has to come from somewhere. Businesses may suffer from the increase. Some businesses may not even be able to hire as many employees as necessary, taking away jobs. One should conclude that increasing the wage may harm other americans not directly affected by the increase. According to Jared bernstein the moderate increases in the minimum wage boost the earnings of most low ­wage workers without leading to large employment losses. He argues that The increase favored by the president and congressional Democrats, would place the real value of the wage floor back where it was in th e late 1960s. In addition Bernstein suggests that this increase would directly affect about 13 percent of the workforce. He argues a vast majority of low wage families would benefit from the increase. Similarly one might suggest that some families struggling to make ends meet have 2 or 3 minimum wage jobs. These families with multiple minimum wage jobs will greatly benefit from the increase. This research does not put into account that many families struggling on minimum wage have multiple minimum wage jobs. Now these families would have extra earnings to make ends meet and stimulate the economy. Since minimum wage workers are more likely to spend their extra dollars,the american economy will benefit from extra consumer spending. One should conclude that raising the minimum wage would help lower class families who depend on minimum wage. According to Douglas Holtz ­Eakin the minimum wage is a poor tool to fight poverty because it does not target those in poverty. Holtz ­Eakin suggests that only 2 percent of workers earn the minimum wage, and only 20 percent of those are in poverty. He argues that the reality is that the dividing line between being poor and being non ­poor is having a job. In addition Holtz ­Eakin points out that only 7 percent of those who have a job are in poverty, while more than 27.5 percent of those without jobs are poor.

Mass Media And Youth Culture Criminology Essay

Mass Media And Youth Culture Criminology Essay Mass media plays an important role in shaping youth culture. As we all know, the Internet, television, radio, newspapers, magazines and other forms of mass media have been integrated into the lives of youths today. The Internet provides a powerful platform for the youths to learn more about what is happening around the world. However, the mass amount of information that it distributes may be both positive and negative to the youths. Not too long ago, Teen who stared at group slashed to death (The Star/Asia News, November 02, 2010, p.1) made its way to the headlines which threw Singapores public security into jeopardy. The display of physical aggression is what causes moral decay in youths nowadays. Domestic violence and peer pressure are the key factors in influencing the youths to display signs of physical aggression while the Internet only plays a minor part. In this essay, I further expound on how the Internet, domestic violence and peer pressure can lead to physical aggression am ong youths today. Internet has widened the youths channels of absorbing information and knowledge, but it includes decadent information which may eventually spread violence among youths. Website such as YouTube, a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos, allows youth to come into contact with videos containing violent acts easily. (Hopkins, J. 2006.) Online video games also play a significant role in influencing the youths to develop violent behavior. For example, Counter-Strike, one of the so-called killers games where the gamer plays through the eyes of a heavily armed character and kills as many enemies as possible. The display of violence in the game such as using a knife to stab the head of an enemy can be imitated by youths to kill relentlessly. The outburst of sources containing violence from various means has intensified the juvenile crime situation, causing variations in crime types, methods and results. In the 1980s, juvenile crime generally involves theft and fights. In the 2000s, juvenile crime progressed on to banded robbery, major theft even disengaged murder, armed robbery, arson etc. (Georgia, 1992.) The research shows that serious criminal offences have been markedly worsen. However, the fault does not lie with the Internet, just like water can float a boat, so can it swallow the ship. The excessive amount of information involving violence distributed by the Internet plays only a minor role in guiding the youths to develop violent behavior. However, domestic violence and peer pressure plays a huge part. First of all, parents are their childrens first teacher, which is why what we are just like a mirror reflection of our parents. As the saying goes, Monkey see, monkey do. If a parent is violent, it would not be surprising if his or her child takes after his violent nature. Therefore, domestic violence is undoubtedly the number one factor which causes youths to develop violent behavior. The domestic violence mainly refers to physical abuse. Each year, an estimated 3.3 million children are exposed to violence from their mothers, babysitters or by family members. (American Psychological Association, 1996.) Youths are highly vulnerable to fear, anxiety and pessimism if they have been witnessing family abuse or even experiencing physical abuse from their parents since they were young. Children may suffer from self-abasement or even get isolated from his peers and affect their academic results and daily life. If the situation becomes severe, there will be at a greater risk of runaway youth s or youths committing criminal acts. Youths will get the wrong message that it iss okay to abuse other people or let others hurt them. Research done by Browne and Angela (1987) shows that a third of all children who see their mothers being physically abused develop emotional problems, and that boys who see their fathers physically abuse their mothers are ten times more likely to be abusive in their future marriages. Boys who witness family violence are more likely to batter their female partners as adults, and girls who witness their mothers abuse have a higher rate of being battered as adults. These common sense observations are facts, not myths. (Ewing Charles Patrick, 1987) It is undeniable that domestic violence is the major factor which has caused the youths to develop violent behavior. Another one of the major factors that lead to teenage violence behavior will be peer pressure. Peer pressure may be especially strong during adolescence. (Kate Havelin, 2000) Teenagers at this stage are easily influenced by their peers. For example, you may decide to buy a same brand of bag that your friends have. Such behavior does not seem to exude anything, but it is a sign of getting on the bandwagon. For example, one of your friends might persuade you to join his gang after you have been bullied by someone else and that, only by being in a gang, can you take revenge. Matt Monteverde (2008) stated that youths cannot resist the temptation of peer pressure. Many youths who experienced physical abuse from their peers often worry that they may get into hot soup if they inform the teacher or parents about the abuse. We should deal with violence among youths thoroughly, or else a wrong message will be spread across to youths that Violence can be accepted. Peer pressure can cause the vi ctim to gradually believe that I should be the victim of violence and submit to humiliation. Eventually, peer pressure would worsen the situation of violence among the youths and severity of upgrades. The Internet, domestic violence and peer pressure have indeed formed a vicious circle that reinforces itself through a feedback loop. Firstly, the Internet has gradually becoming a huge platform for the young victims of domestic violence to spread and share their resentment with others. As mentioned before, that youths can easily upload, share, and view videos involving violence on website such as YouTube or Facebook. Children who view media violence are said to be more likely to have increased feelings of hostility, decreased emotional response to the portrayal of violence and injury that lead to violent behavior. The Academy of Pediatrics says More than one thousand scientific studies and reviews conclude that significant exposure to media violence increases the risk of aggressive behavior in certain children, desensitizes them to violence and makes them believe that the world is a meaner and scarier place than it is. (Aimee.T, 2003) If youths start to think that this kind of viole nce is acceptable, then these thoughts are often difficult to change in rest of their life. Then eventually can lead to domestic violence in the future. In turn, youths who experience domestic violence will use violence on their peers through imitation. Many victims were been forced to remain silent for the pain that they endured. Therefore the only simple way for them to voice out their anguish is again, through social net working sites such as Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. Lastly, the three factors will form a vicious circle and resulting in more youths been influenced to develop violent behaviour. Eventually, why domestic violence and peer pressure are the major cause of developing violence among youths is because what they bring to the youths is only the negative impacts. The effect of domestic violence is absolutely negative towards youths. For peer pressure, although it affects youths to develop negative behaviors, the competition among the peers can be a kind of motivation power sometimes. Finally, what the Internet can benefits us are more than enough to cover the blemish it has left on developing violence among youths. For example, Dawn Smith stated (2010) Internet games can help children focus. Youths who have Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADD, can actually sit for longer periods of time to play some of their favorite games. Not only does this help them keep focus, it also teaches them patience. In fact, the Internet has plays an important role in preventing and educating people about domestic violence. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence of USA has held a n conference in last year regarding the issue about: using online technology to advance the movement to end domestic violence. Their main goal was to let the public get to know more about domestic violence around them and learn how to stop the extension of such cases through social net working sites. By using the power of social net working sites, it became extremely easy to share and spread information to help the victims worldwide. In conclusion, the Internet plays an important role in shaping youth culture but it is not the main cause of violence among youths. This is because domestic violence and peer pressure contribute much more negative impacts that influencing the youths to develop violent behavior compare to the Internet. Therefore, I conclude that the Internet is not the main cause of developing violence among youths.

Traditional And Modern Music Of Malta Film Studies Essay

Traditional And Modern Music Of Malta Film Studies Essay Maltese folk music is intrinsic to the culture of the country and is valued worldwide since it is sung in English (Zahra Borg, 2006). Over the years, interest In Maltese Music has spread significantly. In 17 century, Malta was an influential place where musicians and publishers recorded music. The 18th century was certainly the Golden Age of Maltese music. Moreover, music life of the island was divided and focused on the Manoel Theatre in Valletta, St. Paul`s cathedral in Mdina and Conventual Church of the Order, St. Johns in Valletta (Bruni, 1998). It is undeniable that Malta and Italy made a great influence to each other. The first study to deal with Maltese music and its relations with Italy was in 1929. In spite of its drawback due to absence of historical proof Rolandi`s research Is the only extensive survey of Maltese music and culture among the few works on this topic (Sansone, 2001). Also, during the last decade Professor O Aquilina and then in 1942, Capt. Busuttil in his Gabra ta` Qwiel Maltin, made a beneficial contribution to the research of Maltese songs (Pullicino Aquilina, 1947). Ghana The primary traditional Maltese music is Ghana. Ghana verses are represented by a mixture of Sicilian ballad and Arabic tune (Cassar, 2010). With the time the way people sing Ghana has been modernised. Some published song texts and written notes about Ghana are more than 100 years old. It is believed that todays Ghana is very similar to the one that has been formerly written and performed, however, it can be noticed that some developments over an ancient form took place, music has adapted to the changes within a society. In 1909 Bertha Ilg and Hans Stumme have published the largest collection of lyrics that has ever been gathered (Zahra Borg, 2006). The villagers enjoyed singing the Ghana versions from Stumme and Ilg, both at work and their own spare times. And a lot of people, who grew up before the 1960s in Malta, still remember that they enjoyed singing these versions as a child (Casha, 1994). Depending on peoples moods, they could improvise the way they sang the songs. But usually they sang textbook quatrains which they selected according to ones mood. Rather than improvising the words, the voice was far more important and also many different instruments were involved in the music (Zahra Borg, 2006). Up until the 1960s, Ghana changed considerably towards a version about modern times. This change was reflected in the way Ghana was sung. Another change was that Ghana became more popular throughout Malta even with the middle class. This was largely due to a folklore festival, first organised by Guze Cassar Pullicino in 1953. Middle class people started realising that Ghana was more folklore and not just singing songs by the lower class (Zahra Borg, 2006). Since then Ghana became music for the popular events of the middle class. The change was bigger among the working classes. The influence of the radio made Ghana more widespread. New listeners to Ghana heard ballads, laments and satire, all about a changing society, where old lifestyles and values were disappearing. A militant Labour Party invited people to Ghana sessions to win them over. Also, it was the time of Maltese people emigrating to Australia, Canada and they listened to Ghana recordings. Famous Ghana events were recorded on tape and later also on video (Zahra Borg, 2006). All of the above changed the role of the Ghannej, as they now performed in bars, where men judged their skilful art in silence. Types of Ghana Nowadays there are three types of Ghana distinguished among others: Spirtu Pront Tal-Fatt Fil-Gholi Ghana Spirtu Pront Today the most popular form of Ghana is Spirtu Pront. This is a song battle between two singers known as Ghannejja. The singers try to make their point in the argument and it is important to rhyme perfectly. The arguments are interrupted by guitar parts, thus, giving the singers an opportunity to create new rhymes (Cassar, 2010). Moreover, there is a prize for exceptional vocabulary, repartee or metaphor. Though the spectators should follow the rules and show their gratitude only when the duel is over. Today, Spirtu Pront is the most popular type of Ghana and such duels usually are organized in bars and are not advertised in the media (Zahra Borg, 2006). Ghana Fatt Ghana Fatt is usually melancholic. In this form of Ghana, the Ghannej recounts a tale of a tragic event (Cassar, 2010). In this type of Ghana only one singer is involved. In the olden days, between 50-100 years ago, songs were composed and published by more educated people and only then Ghannejja sung them, though, in our days lyrics are often written and then performed by the same person. Moreover, today it is popular to transform the local poetry, legends and ballads into Ghana-Fatt. The Ghannejja of today write their own lyrics, and some are influenced by Maltese poetry. Because there is a resemblance between the poetry and Ghana Tal-Fatt, especially the way it rhymes and the way the metre goes (Zahra Borg, 2006). Fattijiet always are about morals, so the singer uses simple values to share them with the audience. As opposed to before, when Fattijiet was sang on holidays, feasts and picnics, today people listen Ghana Fatt not only on festivals, but also via cds, radio and mp3 players (Zahra Borg, 2006). Ghana Fil-Gholi This type of Ghana is also called La Bormliza. The meaning of the word Fil-Gholi is: high-pitched; while the town of Bormla gives its name to La Bormliza. Fil-Gholi used to be sung by groups of women who were doing chores together. Some men have sung it, trying to reach high enough notes. You do not really hear it much these days (Zahra Borg, 2006), and unfotunately, today there is a small number of places in Malta where Fil-Gholi is sang (Cassar, 2010). La Bormliza really brings out the melodious use of the voice, accompanied by a guitar. It feels like the audience is drawn into this melodiously sung songs. Unlike in Spirtu Pront, in Fil-Gholi people are enchanted with the music and the lyrics do not matter that much (Zahra Borg, 2006). Modern Ghana The last decade was crucial in history of Ghana. During the first part of twentieth century no one could imagine that Ghannejja would be estimated at ones true worth, moreover, it was inaugurated by the Head of the State (Zahra Borg, 2006). It is important to remember that ghana is considered as a true music of Malta and highly conserved as an inalienable part of culture. Some composers and musicians have arranged fame Ghana melodies in various stages and recorded them, as well. Above all, it enables to save precious history of Ghana development, makes it eternal and keeps it for younger generation and fans. It goes without saying that the more ghana gain popularity and general recognition the merrier it attracts young Ghannejja and bring into line (Casha, 1994). Earlier music was linked to the frame of the Roman Catholic Mass, wedding songs and once was movingly performed at the funeral of Fredu Abela Il-Bamboccu, one of the greatest Ghana singers. GÄana Festival was organised in 1998 by the Ministry of Culture. Nowadays, Gorg Mifsud-Chircop, famous folklorist, manages to organize this annual event. The festival has made a great contribution to the modern music, assisted novice talanted singers, revealed female ghannejjas and also acquired vogue. Some ghannejja musicians still trying to experiment with music style, rhetoric musical instruments and subjects. It is vital to note that twentieth century progress has made a great influence on gÄana melodies, that is why since 1998 when the first website was designed for Maltese folk music by John J. Cassar, gÄana has covered the internet (Zahra Borg, 2006). Many musicians took part in development of ghana, such as Charles Camilleri, who has revealed the essence of classical music on his works; Vince Pulo who has promoted ghana in his recorded works on television and radio, Evarist Azzopardi, Laurie Bugeja and others. The main issue that may bother people is fate of this music stream in the future; For all that the skill should be pass on to the future generation to avoid a terrible loss. Moreover, Frans Baldaccino was first ghannejja singer who has introduced theatre the novel side, side of gÄana music. By dint of his works he create a new life of gÄana culture. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Budaj became a new trend that had influenced even oversea cultures. The popularity was growing and he has managed to record his first Ghana CD. That time he had his own band of Karmenu Bonnici (II-Bahri), second Ghannej singer, and guitarists: Jon Saliba and Manwel Panis (Casha, 1994). Music between yesterday and today Between the XIX and the XX century the whole World started its evolution with the new technology. As results the music followed its steps. In fact, without forgetting the importance of folk and popular music, new musicians find their way to express their self in the new type of music called Modern. In addition the instrumental traditions of the people, such as farmers and fishermen, allow European instruments to take their place. As Charles Baudelaire said The music, other language dear to the lazy and deep souls who seek recreation in the diversity of employment, will talk about you, tells you about the poem of your life. Maltese Local cultural history represents an enigma to artists today who look for their own creativeness in the Maltese folk heritage and some Maltese musicians interpret their Poem of your life as a link with their culture. One example of that is Etnika, a group of Maltese artists would like to popularize the traditional Maltese music. Since 2004 Ruben Zahra, Steve Borg, Guzi Gatt and Andrew Alamango built old instruments and searched melodies, rhythms and musical text forgotten in the old archives. Three songs also include Arabian melody with Maltese folk music on a basis of West European harmony. These songs join different type of instrument: from clarinet, violin piano to electric guitar and drum kit. These variations bring a dynamic and explosive quality of these three tunes because they include parts of rock with parts of folk music. They found their inspiration in the Maltese folk music and they became famous in the last year because Etnika participated at Etnikafe, held annually and other Mediterranean festivals. This is just an example of a music mix between the past and the present. This shows how Folk music is an inspiration for modern artist because they sustain to be link with the past and from there they build the present with new contemporary music. (http://www.rootsworld.com/reviews/etnika.shtml) Maltese artists around the world In general, artists are pushed to travel away from their country by making known their talent and their music internationally. During the last century, the majority of the artists follow this way and they travel all around the world improving their skills and expanding their knowledge of music. This happen especially in small country as Malta because popular singer want to let the world know about their history and their country traditions. Charles Camilleri is one of these types of artists. He was born in Malta in 1931 and his father was valid musician in his small country. The young Charles began his way along the paths of art from an early age learning the styles of popular music and began performing improvising on various instruments. At 15, he composed his first melody about Maltese traditions which was played in the orchestra. After he left his studies, he dedicated his life to the music and born his global vision of the music where he defined as metaphysical entity without space and time osmotically flows through the Earth, Man, Space and the Universe. Charles begins to travel around the world, introducing in his compositions the folklore of all the places he visited. After studying at the Conservatory in Canada, his fate offers him a beautiful musical scene where he and his huge corpus created almost 300 compositions. After his experience abroad he decided to return to his homeland, Malta, and he became a music lecturer at the university. In addition, in 2006 he also became a member of the Malta council for culture. The 9th January 2009 Charles Camilleri died in Malta aged 77, four days before his last composition, New Idea Symphony, is premiered in Brussels. Of this great Maltese author, his fans surely remember his magnificent organ concert (favorite instrument of the author) in 1983 with other songs like Wine of Peace, Lamour de Dieu and Invocation to the Creator. In addition, Charles Camilleri is in the recent news: in fact as the Sunday Times of 23th December 2012 write, Mrs Camilleri decided to donate her late husbands music scores to Maltas National Archivesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Camilleris reputation helped put Malta on the international music map and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ his music belongs to Malta as much as it belongs to the world mainstream  [1]  . (http://xoomer.virgilio.it/fborsari/arretra/personaggi/comp21.html) Much more modern than Charles Camilleri and completely different from him is Fabrizio Faniello, another Maltese artist who looked for fortune reached Italy and becoming famous there. Fabrizio has Italian parents and before he discovered his talent for music, he dedicated himself to the sport, specifically in football. During his career he also participated in the Maltese selections for the Eurovision Song Contest but he only reached the fourth place. Fabrizio Faniello is a pop artist who has a very strong feeling with the Italian peninsula: in fact one of his famous songs, cosà ¬ semplice is written in Italian also if he is Maltese. In 2010, his fame became important enough to participate in the selection of Sanremo Giovani, a very important Italian festival that present all the song from the best Italian artists (Dove ce musica, 2011). From the small Maltese island, many artists decide to travel around the world bringing with them their culture, their traditions and introducing new music to other countries. The Travelling, however, is not becomes a way to forget their homeland but it is an alternative for introducing a bit of Malta anywhere. Maltese music festival As many tourism web sites shows, Malta has a continue holiday mood during the hole year. This is determined by a huge number of national and international festivals and important concert which take place in Malta. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Maltese_musical_festivals) One of the most important international events is the Jazz festival. This event is organized by the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts and it is held annually since 1990 during the third weekend of July .These are three Mediterranean nights where Latin and classic International jazz is played by the most famous musicians in a truly unique setting. In fact, it take place in the picturesque backdrop of Ta Liesse in Vallettas Grand under the ramparts of the sixteenth century close to the Grand Harbor. In the story of this special event, there was a transformation in 2006. The event was subtracted from its tradition and from the management of Charles Gatt City, director and founder of the festival. Therefore it was assigned into the hands of the private NGN company who tried to change the conventional style of the festival, transforming it into a Rock and Jazz Festival. But, conversely to their expectative, the event had less success. Consequently, in 2009 the traditional Internation al Jazz festival was returned to its roots and was an incredible success. To conclude, as MCCA said: Malta International Jazz Festival is known as a hub for the exchange of musical experience. (http://www.maltaculture.com/content.aspx?id=185294). This implies that the host population, the Maltese people, enjoy this festival and they cooperate each year to improve their music culture more and more. http://www.maltaculture.com/content.aspx?id=185294 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta_Jazz_Festival Another important European music event was the Malta song for Europe where the contests organizer is the PBS Malta (Public Broadcasting Services). The music event nationally selects who will represent Malta in the Eurovision Song contest. This contest is an annual competition founded in 1956 and organized by the European Broadcasting Union. Malta participated for the first time in 1971. During the seventies, however, it participates only twice, in 1972 and 1975 but it returned in 1991. Since then it has taken part in all editions achieving good results. These songs were all sung in English except for the first two, which were sung in Maltese. Malta song for Europe is important for Maltese because they choose who will represent them at the European level by competing with 26 other nations. Moreover, through this festival Malta makes known its own characteristics and skills in whole world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta_Song_for_Europe In addition to these international events there are others nationals such as Malta folk music festival. This is held in 3 days during the first week of June and, as the jazz festival and it is organized by Malta Council for Culture and the Arts. The Malta Mediterranean Folk Music Festival is a wonderful festival of Mediterranean folk music which different types of Ghana songs are played by Maltese folk groups and folk musicians from neighboring Mediterranean countries such as Morocco, Spain and Greece. Furthermore the festival also offers special activities for children and a big number of traditional instruments seminars. In fact, the Maltese are very attached to their culture and traditions and live in a constant state of feast imitating the origins of their folk songs (Arts, 2012). These are just a small part of the musical events that the Maltese island offers. There are many festivals organized by local television broadcast, such as the Isle of MTV, MTV music Award and all the popular festivals which take place in each city in Malta. In general music festivals and events promote tourism in Malta and offer the chance for young people to meet and continue their culture and tradition participating in the Maltese cultural festivals. Contemporary Maltese music Many people were concerned with a question what Maltese music is? One of the ways to present it is to get to know albums that were written by Maltese bands in their native language. There are three of them which can be identified as underground music that you won`t hear on the radio (DEmanuele, 2009). The Brikkuni`s album which called Kuntrabanda is an example of Maltese music and contemporary Mediterranean culture. The band is considered as superb and if you are into music, you won`t pass over the performance to enjoy the authentic voice of local dwellers of the island. Music of the band Xtruppaw sounds punk but it is ranged from continuous rock to country. Their single Diska Cool GÄar-Radio (A Cool Song for Radio) was still quite successful, which is ironically written about the politically lyrics just to be heard on the radio, although their streetwise lyrics are offensive. 3. Album from the annul L-Ghana tal-Poplu (The Song of the People) contains songs from different singers. This festival is different from the others because all singers are singing live which feels acoustic and real. (DEmanuele, 2009) Conclusion

Predicting the Future of the United States Economy Essay -- economics

It is to my belief that no one can possibly predict the future of the economy. Because of this we are faced with many questions that cannot be easily answered. Will the economy recover drastically or simply continue to increase moderately? Or could the economy in turn go into a recession? â€Å"There's been plenty of good news about the U.S. economy†¦ employment is expanding (2.4 million new payroll jobs in the last year); inflation remains low (less than a 2 percent rate in the past quarter); the stock market is higher (up 11 percent on the Dow from its November low), and business investment is impressive (rising at a 14 percent rate in late 2004).† (1) It is my opinion that unless something drastic happens in the world today, positive or negative, the economy will continue to increase at a modest rate. Even though no one quite knows which way our economy is heading, there are many economic concepts designed to help measure positive and negative changes that can show us how well we are or are not doing. These concepts include examples such as gross domestic product (GDP), business cycle, and unemployment rate. It is only human nature to want economy growth because it will lead to higher incomes and higher living standards. In order to see which direction our economy is heading and measure our economic performance, a system was invented that measures the value of all final goods and services produced within a country during a specific period of time, usually a year. This system it called gross domestic product (GDP). These figures are closely watched by those in the business and financial communities to measure our economy’s growth. GDP is a measure of the economy’s output. It is measured by counting all final goods and services once and only once that are produced during a current period, within the country. GDP can be measured by totaling the expenditures on goods and services produced during a specific time frame. This is referred to as the expenditure approach. Conversely, GDP can be reached by adding the income payments to resources suppliers and the other costs of producing those goods and services. Production of goods and services can be costly because it requires resources that cannot be used else where. These expenses generate incomes for resource suppliers. Therefore, this method of calculating GDP is referred to as resource cost-income a... ... The rate of unemployment is an important measurement of the conditions in the total labor market. The rate of unemployment is the percentage of people in the labor force who are unemployed. It is equal to the number of people unemployed divided by the number of people in the labor force multiplied by 100. The department of Labor indicates five reasons why people may experience unemployment. These reasons included: new entrants, reentrants, job leavers, dismissed, on layoff. As the world changes, new products are introduced and new technologies are developed, some unemployment is inevitable. However, there can be a positive side to job searching because an individual can possibly find a better job. Even though no one can quite know which way our economy is heading, by closely observing our gross domestic product (GDP), business cycle, and unemployment rate we will have a better understanding. Because our world is so dynamic, there are so many variables that can change in an instant creating a peak or recession in our economy. The most important thing to remember, however, is neither a peak nor recession last forever so the only thing that remains constant is change.

Self-Concept Essay -- Self Concept

The Self-Concept is a complicated process of gaining self-awareness. It consists of mental images an individual has of oneself: physical appearance, health, accomplishments, skills, social talents, roles, intellectual traits, and emotional states and more –all make up our self-concept.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The development process begins at about six or seven months of age. The child begins to recognize â€Å"self† as distinct from surroundings. They stare at anything they see, including their own body parts; hands, feet, toes, and fingers. As they grow, their sense of identity expands through interactions with others –creating self-esteem levels that become the â€Å"booster† for the ability to interact. There are two theories that describe how interactions shape our self-views. One defines perceptions of the judgments of others called Reflected Appraisal. It is the notion of receiving supportive and nonsupportive messages. It states that positive appreciation and a high level of self-value is gain when supportive messages are received. In contrast, receiving nonsupportive messages leads to feeling less valuable, lovable, and capable. Everyone that you and I interact with influences these self-evaluations. Either from your past or from present –all shapes how you view yourself, especially from our significant others. The strength of messages from significant others become stronger and eventually affect the health, when they are nonsupportive; depression, for instance, leads to less physical activities that are necessary for a healthy body. However, the foremost important influences are our parents. Supportive parents raise children with healthy self-concepts. While nonsupporti ve parents raise an unhappy child who view his/her self in negative ways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The other theory defines evaluation of ourselves in terms of how we compare with others, called Social Comparison. There are two types, superior or inferior comparison and same as or different from others. We compare by attractiveness, success or failures, intelligence, and it all depends on whom we are comparing ourselves with. For instance, an individual might feel inferior when compared with an inappropriate reference group. Therefore, he or she might feel inferior because she feels less of everything from the reference. Similarly, the opposite occurs when compared with an appropriate reference group.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In addition, we a... ... behavior. This means that self-awareness must also come into play. I will have to be concerned about the way I present my ideas, as well as my behavior; otherwise, it will be perceived negatively.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  So far, my self-concept has changed positively and in time, it will improve (optimists). The only difficulty that I have been facing is the ability to defend myself against negative comments from others. Because of my thinking process speed, it takes time for me to acquire comments and how to say them immediately. In addition, I found that it is not necessary to give a response back to negative comments in order to defend yourself, except in courtrooms. Nonverbal expressions are also as powerful. For example, ignoring critical comments create a serious climate between you and the speaker –sending a message that the comment was unnecessary and offensive. But in some cases, verbal messages are necessary, such as that in debates over issues. In conclusion, I would have to say that what has been written are only a scratch on a big surface of interpersonal communication skills that I have learned from this class. This concept just happened to be the most important for improvement.

Debilating Effect of Tv on Children

ARGUMENT ANALYSIS WORKSHEET Title of Article: Debilitating Effects of TV on Children Author: Dr. John M. Grohol The main purpose of this article is to convince the reader of the negative consequences of television being watched by our younger generation. Not just the quantity but the quality as well. It is too also show how parents fail to monitor what they allow their children to watch on television. It also shows how their developing minds are absorbing what they see and hear and television and the negative consequences to it. The main arguments that the author is making is that the research studies from the past, present and future, showing how our younger generation are suffering in a multitude of different ways, such socially and academically. The evidence or facts the author uses in this article to support the arguments are as follows: 1. A 2005 study that was published in the American achieves of pediatrician[->0] and adolescent medicine. It found that the increase of television being watched ultimately led to teen pregnancies, a decline in health, as well as our youth no longer seeking to further their education[->1]. They were no longer interested in college[->2]. (Grohol, 2009). 2. A 2007 study that was done at Columbia found similar to the 2005 study. Our younger generation was lacking in academic studies, performance and was lacking in the homework department. (Grohol, 2009). The main conclusion[s]/inference[s] in this article is that just like everything else in life it is good in moderation. Television is not the problem as is the quality and quality that is being consumed that is the problem. The main assumptions underlying the author’s thinking are that American parent is either one of two things. Either they are aware of the detrimental dangers of television but fail to parent or they are not educated on the subject. If we accept the author’s line of reasoning, the implications are that society is to blame for up keeping and raising of our youth, we now blame society for our children’s flaws and fail to own up to our own responsibility as parents. It is up to us to not only monitor what our children watch but how much of it as well. We live in an era of technology there are many ways in which we can both monitor how much and what they watch. We can block certain channels or teach the right from wrong, we can buy electronically devices that lock a child out of certain programs and also shut a device down after a certain time limit. It is up to us to raise our children not society. If we reject the author’s line of reasoning, the implications are then we own up to our responsibility. We are saying that it isn’t the television show â€Å"16 and pregnant†, fault as top why my child is pregnant but my fault for failing to raise her or him correctly. If your child knows right from wrong what he or she watches should not affect them. Grohol, D. J. (2009, 09 27). World of Psychology:The Debilitating Effects of TV on Children. Retrieved 11 1, 2011, from Psych[->3] Central: http://psychcentral. com/blog/archives/2009/09/27/the-debilitating-effects-of-tv-on-children/ [->0] – http://courseroom2. capella. edu/webct/urw/lc16700962973011. p16700962994011/newMessageThread. dowebct? discussionaction=viewMessage&messageid=16849915434081&topicid=16700963160011&refreshPage=false&sourcePage= [->1] – http://courseroom2. capella. edu/webct/urw/lc16700962973011. tp16700962994011/newMessageThread. dowebct? discussionaction=viewMessage&messageid=16849915434081&topicid=16700963160011&refreshPage=false&sourcePage= [->2] – http://courseroom2. capella. edu /webct/urw/lc16700962973011. tp16700962994011/newMessageThread. dowebct? discussionaction=viewMessage&messageid=168499154340

Clarkson Lumber Case Essay

Clarkson Lumber Company is a classic example of a privately held company that has experienced a rapid growth in sales and has reached a point where it is facing a shortage of cash to sustain the expected growth in sales in the following years. The owner, Keith Clarkson, bought out his partner’s interest in the company in 1994 for $200,000. His partner, Henry Holtz, took a note for the $200,000 with an interest rate of 11% and was repayable in the semi-annual installments of $50,000 beginning June 30, 1995. The note was taken to give Mr.  Clarkson time to arrange for the necessary financing. Mr. Clarkson seems to be running the company well, evident by the constant growth in sales year after year. However, the company is running low on cash on hand, and needs some form of financing to reach the expected sales of 5. 5 Million in 1996. Moreover, the borrowing limit set by the Suburban Bank has been reached, prompting the bank to ask Mr. Clarkson to guarantee the loan personally. Mr. Clarkson has been in communication with another bank, Northrup Bank, which might be willing to extend a line of credit of up to $750,000. Analysis There are several reasons for Mr. Clarkson’s need to rely on borrowing despite good profits. Although the profits are good, they are not good enough in our view. The Net Profit Margin has been close to 2% since 1993 (Exhibit D). The cost of goods relative to the sales is high and is keeping the profit margin low. In other words, the costs have increased at a faster rate than sales. The Cost of Goods Sold is consistently around 75% of sales. Secondly, the Return on Assets is roughly 5% in 1995 (Exhibit D). This ratio is kept low due to a high total assets figure. Total assets are also inflated due to the liabilities taken in the form of trade credits by Mr. Clarkson The company is keeping a high volume of inventory in stock as shown by its Inventory Turnover ratio average of 6%. The Average Collection Period has jumped from 38 days to 48 days since 1993 (Exhibit B). Thus, the limited amount of cash inflow is largely tied in inventory, and payments on loans. Mr. Clarkson has been unable to take full advantage of the trade discounts (2% if paid with in 10 days) during the last two years ‘due to a shortage of funds arising from his purchase of Mr. Holtz’s (his partner) interest in the business and the additional investments in working capital associated with the company’s increasing sales volume’ (Case, Pg 2). And even though Mr. Clarkson has been able to use the credit from Suburban Bank of up to $400,000 to finance the increase in sales, the ceiling has also forced the company to use cash to fund itself and pay off loans. The current and quick ratios both support this fact (see Exhibit D). Based on the pro forma sheets there is an additional $251,000 needed to attain the goal of $5. 5 million in sales. Also, since part of the agreement is to break off from Suburban National Bank, the line of credit has to cover the 399,000 covered by the loan. With about $650,000 line of credit used, the remaining $100,000 of the new loan could be used to pay off Mr. Holtz and enable Mr. Clarkson to take advantage of the trade discounts by paying his suppliers back in 10 days; thus achieving the sales target with lower cost. Recommendations We recommend Mr. Clarkson to seriously consider taking the new line of credit. The line of credit will enable the company to take advantage of the trade discounts and pay off previous debt. Lowering the costs should be a high priority and it might be worth while to consider holding less inventory (if it does not affect the service and quality clients expect). Mr. Clarkson should identify and prioritize the high profit margin products/services the company offers and focus on those. The company would also do well to try to reduce the Average Collection Period to with in 30 days. As far as Northrup Bank is concerned, we recommend that the bank extend the line of credit but makes sure that the company does not reach the ceiling again. A high proportion of the credit line would be used in the beginning but that is due to the line of credit covering the previous loan, Mr. Holtz interest and some immediate financing for inventory purchases. In the foreseeable future though, once the company sheds the loans it carried and get more streamlined, it will start increasing its cash gradually. Mr. Clarkson’s business references are excellent and the company has always paid its bills on time. Therefore, the company is not a risk and the line of credit should be approved.

Archetype and Nationalism in Tolkien’s Silmarillion

ABSTRACT This thesis demonstrates the relationship of fantasy fiction, archetypes, and nationalism in one of fantasy fiction, namely Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. Fantasy fiction, with the stereotype of escapism, is less appreciated. This thesis is written in attempt to give more appreciation to fantasy fiction. Analysis to show the relationship of fantasy fiction, archetype, and nationalism is carried out by applying archetypal approach and Frye’s concept of mythos. This analysis is aimed at determining the position of the story in Frye’s mythos taxonomy and its values.The values, then, are compared with values found in English nationalistic discourse. The result of this analysis indicates that the story of The Silmarillion can be classified as tragic mythos. However, tragedy in the Silmarillion is elaborated differently from the characteristics of the mythos suggested by Frye. Tragedy of The Silmarillion is collective in its nature. The uniqueness of tragedy in T he Silmarillion is read as representation of fellowship spirit value in English nationalistic discourse.The Silmarillion also shows wisdom and historical continuity values parallel with values found English nationalistic discourse. From these values The Silmarillion shows that pastoral life with its collectivity, wisdom and tranquility as an ideal life for English people. Keywords: fantasy, archetypes, nationalism, Tolkien v ABSTRAK Tesis ini menunjukkan keterkaitan fiksi fantasi, arketipe, dan nasionalisme yang muncul di dalam salah satu karya sastra fantasi, yaitu The Silmarillion karya J. R. R . Tolkien.Fiksi fantasi, dengan stereotip sebagai fiksi yang dianggap hanya memberikan tempat untuk melarikan diri dari kenyataan dan fiksi yang lepas dari nilai-nilai realitas, kurang mendapat apresiasi yang cukup. Untuk memberikan apresiasi terhadap fiksi fantasilah tesis ini ditulis. Analisis untuk menunjukkan keterkaitan fiksi fantasi, arketipe dan nilainilai nasionalisme pertama-tama d ilakukan dengan melakukan analisis plot cerita dengan menggunakan pendekatan arketipe dan teori mythos Northrop Frye. Analisis plot ini dilakukan untuk menentukan posisi cerita di dalam taksonomi mythos Frye dan nilai-nilai yang dikandungnya.Nilai-nilai ini kemudian akan dibandingkan dengan nilai-nilai yang ada dalam wacana nasionalisme Inggris (England). Dari analisis yang dilakukan terlihat bahwa cerita The Silmarillion tergolong dalam mythos tragedi. Namun, sifat tragedi dalam The Silmarillion berbeda dari ciri mythos tragedi Frye yang terkonsentrasi pada satu individu. Tragedi dalam The Silmarillion bersifat kolektif. Keunikan tragedi di dalam The Silmarillion ini dianggap mewakili nilai kebersamaan yang juga merupakan salah satu nilai keinggrisan dalam wacana nasionalisme Inggris.The Silmarillion juga menunjukkan nilai-nilai kebijaksanaan dan keberlanjutan sejarah yang di dalam wacana nasionalisme Inggris dianggap merupakan nilai-nilai yang khas Inggris. Dari nilai-nilai dalam The Silmarillion yang paralel dengan nilai-nilai dalam wacana nasionalisme Inggris tergambar bahwa kehidupan ideal Inggris adalah kehidupan pedesaan yang penuh kebersamaan, kebijaksanaan, ketenangan dan memiliki keberlanjutan sejarah. Kata kunci: fantasi, arketipe, nasionalisme, Tolkien vi

Disease in the News Critical Appraisal

There has been a rise in the number of cases of HIV/AIDS in men who have sex with men in the US. Trends suggest that between the years 2001 to 2004, the number of HIV/AIDS cases is rising in African American and Hispanic populations compared to the White population. The survival rates after 3 years were the lowest for men belonging to the African American and the Hispanic community compared to the White community. Since, the year 1999, there has been a rise in the number of cases of HIV/AIDS especially in men who have sex with other men.The article is a thoroughly peer-reviewed journal suggesting that the information is current, evidence-based, validated and researched carefully. The authors of the article include Hall, H. I. , Byers, R. H. , Ling, Q. , and Espinoza, L. They work for the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, which is a unit of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, US. The journal has given the details including the contact address and the email ID of the authors thus permitting clearance of queries and doubts. The authors are well versed and experienced in the field of HIV/AIDS.Hall and Byers have completed their PhD, Ling has done MS, and Espinoza has completed DDS. The authors are from various groups, and hence they would express the problems of these groups in their work. Each of the authors has played a different role in bringing out the journal. The writing, origin of the study, designing of the study, review and the interpretation has been done by Hall. Major contributions of the writings and modeling of the data has been done by Byers. Ling has performed analysis of the data and the data progression details.Espinoza has done the interpretation and discussion of the data. As this study was just about collecting data and not performing a clinical trial, it did not involve following a protocol. The article has been broken into various subtopics including abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion and references. Credential web sites such as Pub med and the CDC have also cited the article. The article is about the diagnosis of HIV in the male homosexual population, and determining the rate at which the disease progresses.The researchers are interested on working with this topic as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has seemed effective in delaying the symptoms of the disease and the development of fatal outcomes from the disease. In the 1990’s, there was a reduction in the mortality rates arising from AIDS, due to development of HAART. This therapy is able to reduce the viral load. Since the year 1999, there has been a rise in the number of cases of HIV/AIDS due to the increase in homosexual men amongst certain segments of the population.Another indicator of the trend of men having sex with other men was the rise in the number of cases of syphilis in the male homosexual population. The cases of HIV/AIDS were especially high in men below the age of 30 years. In o ther parts of the world, the results obtained from similar studies were different. For example, in the UK, it was found that the high incidences of HIV/AIDS were observed in men who had sex with men between the ages of 25 to 44. The incidences of HIV/AIDS increased in higher numbers in the African-American and Latin populations compared to the Whites.It was about 10 and 3 times higher. Before this study was conducted, HIV/AIDS was not detected in a high proportion of the study model. The Whites were more aware of their HIV status compared to the Hispanics and the African-American population. This suggests that the Whites are more likely to start HAART faster and develop better outcomes with the disease. The data was collected for this study by the HIV surveillance system in place. Several statistical methods such as Poisson regression was utilized to determine the HIV diagnosis rates.The study demonstrated that higher rates of HIV/AIDS were observed in homosexual men belonging to Af rican-American and Hispanic background compared to other segments of the population. Besides, the survival rates after 3 years was also lower the same populations. HIV progressed faster in Hispanics and African population. The article talks about a specific population, namely the homosexual men. The geographical area of this study was limited to the United States. However, the results of the study were compared to other countries such as the United Kingdom.The various ethnic groups that were studied included Hispanics, African-American and Whites. The CDC performed the study. The article does make claims of the treatment. In this case, it is HAART to treat HIV/AIDS. HAART plays a major role in reducing the mortality and morbidity from HIV. The study picks up some evidence available from 1996-1999 in which HAART was utilized to reduce the transmission of HIV infection. This may be in the fact that HAART helps to reduce the viral load in infected people.The article speaks of the ongoi ng emphasis given to the Governments Healthy People 2010 policy, and the need to reduce the transmission of HIV infection. The article also aims to reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS in the homosexual male population especially. There are various strategies suggested for treatment including prevention, early diagnosis, HAART therapy, etc. The article has used about 48 current and relevant journals written by authors whose credentials are also good. The user can access the abstract of the references by clicking on the link provided. References: Espinoza, L., Hall, H. I., Campsmith, M. L. et al (2005), â€Å"Trends in HIV/AIDS Diagnoses — 33 States, 2001—2004,† CDC MMWR, 54(45), 1149-1153. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5445a1.htm Hall, H. I., Byers, R. H., Ling, Q. et al (2007), â€Å"Racial/Ethnic and Age Disparities in HIV Prevalence and Disease Progression Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in the United States.† AJPH, 97(6), 1060-1066. http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/full/97/6/1060