European Studies 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

European Studies 2 - Essay Example This paper attempts to explain why and in the process discusses the qualities and characteristics that make a good leader, based on the views of Machiavelli, which seem to do violence on the popular concept of leadership. According to Machiavelli, good intentions, strong moral convictions and even technical expertise do not guarantee success in the political and administrative arena (Dobel, 1998). â€Å"The man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous.† A man from the common people may aspire for the highest post, and he can do alone or with the help of others. If he becomes a leader through his wealth rather than through popularity or force of arms, he is still said to have become a leader with the help of others. The reason is that the people will look not to him but to his wealth as the source of his power. The people’s attitude will be based not on the strength of his character or the wisdom of his acts but on the state of his finances. Machiavelli counts liberality and generosity as among the various qualities it is desirable to see in a leader, but â€Å"the reputation for liberality or generosity is better than the practice thereof.† In other words, one does not need to be liberal or generous throughout. The important thing is he acquires a reputation for these predilections without going overboard. The danger with a thoroughly liberal disposition, according to Machiavelli, is that this is likely to â€Å"consume his whole substance in things of this sort†¦ and be obliged, to maintain his reputation for liberality, to burden his subjects with extraordinary taxes and to resort to confiscations and all the other shifts whereby money is raised.† By consuming the means for practicing liberality and generosity, these dispositions lead to a reputation for the opposite. In general, leaders are better off if they are loved rather than feared by their constituents. Machiavelli,

Seeing Through the Illusions of the Sports Hero Essay

Seeing Through the Illusions of the Sports Hero - Essay Example The researcher states that many young children idolize professional athletes; that’s why they are easily influenced by these athletes whom they regard as their heroes. If, for instance, they see their hero athlete using steroids, they may think that using steroids is just okay. An athlete should really project an impeccable image to the society. However, parents should take the responsibility to teach their children and be their role models. Parents should be there for their children and guide them about which sports figures should be held in high esteem. But athletes, as public figures, should mind what they are showing to the public especially the athletes who are always followed by media. High profile athletes, by virtue of their celebrity, should act like paragons of virtue, even if they weren’t. According to the article â€Å"Seeing through the Illusions of the Sports Hero,† the author pointed out that these sports heroes are actually being just manipulated and most of them are not that perfect as role models. People like Martin Luther King Jr., who paid the ultimate cost for his devotion to justice with his life; Mother Theresa, who selflessly devoted herself to bring hope to others; and Muhammad Ali, who was willing to give up his title and risked being imprisoned for his religious objections to the Vietnam War. These are the people who should be considered as role models. The phrase â€Å"role model† should be a special title for people who exemplify the essence of civic responsibility.

Why I Chose to Study Engineering

Why I Chose to Study Engineering The significant contribution of engineers to the local and global communities is what has inspired me to study engineering. There are many disciplines of engineering though I have chosen to study architectural engineering. In this essay, I will reflect on my choice of study and explore the skills and contributions of architectural engineering. I will discuss what factors have inspired and motivated my choice of study, the roles of an architectural engineer, the attributes required to be a successful engineer, how they serve society and the obstacles that will be faced in the industry. I did not choose architectural engineering at random, there are some aspects that inspired and motivated my choice. I have always known I wanted to pursue a career in engineering, as I enjoy mathematics and physics, but I was unsure of which field. My personal interests have had a large impact on my choice of study. I love to design and create, take on new challenges, solve problems and give back to my community. Originally, I intended to study mining engineering and participated in a week of work experience at a mine. After that week, I believed that it was not for me. I had heard of architectural engineering and thought I would check it out. I researched everything I could about it and knew that it was the field I wanted to do. Architectural engineers give so much to the community through the structures they assist in designing. I hope to be able to help create systems that will assist our society. There were times when I was doubtful as engineering is a male-dominate field and the only course available is in Melbourne. However, my parents have pushed me to pursue my dream. They are my motivation, I do not want to let them down. I aspire to make them proud. Architectural engineers apply engineering principles and technology to the design, construction and planning of buildings. They are responsible for taking a design from an architect and developing the details of the buildings structural and environmental systems. The systems of a building include: structural integrity, heating/air conditioning systems, ventilating systems, plumbing, fire protection and electrical systems [1]. As shown in [2] architectural engineering incorporates elements of several other engineering disciplines including mechanical, electrical, fire protection, and others. Some architectural engineers may focus on specific areas, such as a structures capability to endure the stress of natural disasters. While others may concentrate on improving air quality, energy efficiency and minimising environmental impact. They work in teams with architects and engineers who a specialist in other fields [1]. As to be able to design and construct a stable and safe building, they need to be able to communicate, work together and solve problems. The attributes of a successful engineering can be listed in to three categories set by Engineers Australia. These three categories are: knowledge and skill base; engineering application ability; and professional and personal attributes [3]. The first two categories are based on having an understanding and application of engineering, mathematics and physics. The last category includes many of the key attributes required to be a successful architectural engineer. The ability to communicate with others and work in a team environment are two of the main key attributes. An engineer needs to be able to communicate well, both orally and in writing, to not just other engineers but also other specialist. In the industry, there will be times when engineers must work with others that may not have the same level of knowledge, so they must convey technical ideas in non-technical language understood by the audience [3]. Architectural engineers need to be creative, inquisitive, analytical and detai l-oriented [1]. This will enhance their problem-solving skills and lead to further ideas and developments that will serve society. Architectural engineering has a large impact on the systems that support societys standard of living [4]. Engineers are continuously aiming to improve and develop concepts that will greatly benefit society through the use of science and technology. Architectural engineers create building systems based on what is requested from society [4]. They have developed buildings that can withstand the stress of a natural disaster. They strive to create safe and convenient places for people to work and live. The designs developed by architectural engineers do not just benefit society with the final structure but also during the planning and construction phases. The different stages of a project require people from different professions, initiating many job opportunities for people within the communities. When architectural engineers have a project, they aim to create a safe and functional building suited for the consumers but this doesnt come without many obstacles. In the work force, there will be obstacles and challenges. There are many factors that could impact a project including: environmental impact, budgeting, resources and work environment. There are major concerns from society about the environmental impact of projects, thus engineers are trying to minimise our impact [5]. Budgets are a foremost factor in the creation and construction of a building as it is what gives architectural engineers a guideline, though sometimes it is considered a constraint. The budget allowed also impacts the availability of resources and materials. Architectural engineers can only create a building with what is available as it is unprofessional to start a project and realise that there is a limited amount of the building materials. The final factor, workplace environment as seen in [6] is the most critical factor in maintaining the productivity rate and satisfaction levels of a workplace and employees. The main aspect that has inspired me to study architectural engineering is the large contribution it has on improving and developing societys standard of living. In this essay, I have reflected, discussed and explored the aspects that have inspired and motivated my choice of study, the responsibilities and role of an architectural engineer, the attributes required to become an accredited engineer, the impact that they have on society and the challenges that will be faced in the workplace. References [1] Architectural Engineering Overview, Sloan Career Cornerstone Center. Accessed on: Mar. 10, 2017. [Online]. Available: http://www.careercornerstone.org/pdf/archeng/archeng.pdf [2]C. Ozansoy, Class Lecture, Topic: Chapter 1 What is Engineering? NEF1103, College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Melbourne, Vic., Feb., 27, 2017. [3] D. Dowling, R. Hadgraft, A. Carew, T. McCarthy, D. Hargreaves and C. Ballie, What is Engineering? in Engineering Your Future: An Australasian Guide, 3rd ed. Milton: John Wiley Sons, 2016, ch.1, pp. 24-27. [4] University of Michigan (2013, Aug. 2). 2013 James R. Mellor Lecture William Banholzer [Video file]. Accessed on: Mar. 19, 2017. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XY4mMZNGl4 [5]D. Dowling, R. Hadgraft, A. Carew, T. McCarthy, D. Hargreaves and C. Ballie, Sustainable Engineering, in Engineering Your Future: An Australasian Guide, 3rd ed. Milton: John Wiley Sons, 2016, ch.3, p. 119. [6]E. Ajala, The Influence of Workplace Environment on Workers Welfare, Performance and Productivity, The African Symposium: An online journal of the African Educational Research Network, vol. 12, no. 1, p. 141, 2012.

Writing with Technology Essay -- Writing Technology Education Writer E

Writing with Technology The task was seemingly straightforward; create a piece of writing without using a single form of technology. I didn’t think this would be much of a problem. I figured I could hand-write something instead of typing it or using a word processor and that would meet the requirements of the project. However, according to Dennis Baron in his essay From Pencils to Pixels the pencil is, in fact, a form of technology. Evidently, it was invented â€Å"by joiners, woodworkers specializing in making furniture, to scribe measurements for wood† (Tribble/Trubek, 42). Adding further to my obstacles, paper, being a created object, was not an option as well. This was turning out to be harder than I thought. After I pondered and thought through a myriad of options, I found it to be increasingly difficult to revert back to what felt like caveman days when writings were scratched on a stone wall using very sharp rocks. When I had thought it through to what I thought was the fullest extent, I began preparing for this project trying to use the same premise as the very basics of the typewriter; to imprint letters on a surface and make them visible with the use of a substance that stands out visually from the surface. Unfortunately, this premise did not work for me as it had for Mark Twain, â€Å"one of the first Americans to buy what was, in 1874, a new-fangled novelty: a typewriter† (500). Easy it was for him to use such a technology, but how difficult it was for me! I initially tried to create a writing technology without using technology by thinking of ideas that were detailed, complex, and difficult. My original idea, I found, turned out to be much more complicated than I had anticipated. I recruited my boyfriend and we wen... ...s impossible to complete without using any form of technology at all. Although I enjoyed the discovery process and the creation of my writing technology, I can’t help but wonder how inconvenient it would have been for Thoreau to spend his time in the woods crushing berries and writing with a stick. Works Cited Baron, Dennis. â€Å"From Pencils to Pixels: The Stages of Literacy Technology.† Writing Material: From Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn Tribble, Anne Trubek. Addison Wesley Longman. New York. 2003. Ong, Walter. â€Å"Writing is a Technology That Restructures Thought.† Writing Material: From Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn Tribble, Anne Trubek. Addison Wesley Longman. New York. 2003. Twain, Mark. â€Å"The First Writing-Machines.† Writing Material: From Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn Tribble, Anne Trubek. Addison Wesley Longman. New York. 2003.

MedNet †Analysis and Strategic alternatives Essay

We are presented with a case where Heather Yates, vice president for business development at MedNet.com, a website delivering health information free to consumers, was losing one of their biggest advertiser ‘Windham Pharmaceuticals’. She along with the leadership team were on the task of convincing Mahria Baker, Windham’s CMO to continue advertising with them instead of investing their advertisement dollars on ‘Marvel’ which was essentially a large search engine with a huge audience. Mednet is also facing tough competition from several other websites providing expert information on therapeutic treatments and condition specific diseases like cholesterol. About MedNet: MedNet is an American corporation which provides health information services. The website was created with a mission of providing reliable and trustworthy medical information to consumer audience for free and to make profits through advertising from pharmaceutical companies. Two important aspects to be always monitored by MedNet to be on top of the things are it’s Visitors and Advertisers. What does an advertiser want? Sales, leads, brand awareness? What are the best metrics for measuring these? The advertisers here are pharmaceutical companies who buy onscreen advertising space from websites. Though branding in the form of promoting company’s logo, slogan, and their product’s name along with its features is paramount to any company, it is the ‘numbers’ in terms of Sales revenue that matters the most. The possible measuring metrics is the Banner advertising charging advertisers on a cost per thousand impressions (CPM) basis where an impression means that one visitor actually saw an online advertisement. The second is Click through rate (CTR) method which counts each time a potential buyer clicks the advertisement seeking more product information. CPM accounts more for the brand awareness whereas the click through accounts more for the Sales revenue generated in general, however, the winning metrics greatly depends on the industry one is catering to. What specific consumer behaviors determine whether or not a business model produces the results an advertiser wants? MedNet is greatly financed by  advertising, selling online magazines and sponsorships. It has a business model that’s very much centered on advertising. MedNet is a go-to resource for basic health and diagnostic information. However, competitors like cholesterol.com and others emerged that offered tailored and condition-specific health recommendations to each visitor’s specifications for such chronic diseases. Though MedNet was known to post the most up to date and reliable health information which helped them enforce trusted relationships with their audience, it was important that they ensure that the customer returns back to them each time. Based on the CTR and the CPM, the advertisers can precisely analyze the consumer’s preferences and purchasing patterns. What is the best argument Yates can make to justify charging Windham for impressions in stead of click – throughs? Does she have acceptable alternatives? MedNet charges for cost per thousand impressions to Windham Pharmaceuticals while Marvel, the search engine is doing it for free. Yates, the VP, rightly argues that though the impression might not be an accurate measure of a sale of the product but it does have an assuring and positive impact about the advertiser on the consumer. It instills a belief of goodness of a product making it highly likely that the consumer buys it at a later point of time. She laid emphasis on the ‘trusted’ relationship which however, is not quantifiable. I think, the best argument she puts across is along the lines of the targeted audience. According to reports, more consumers seek health information than finance or health information online. ‘Health’ comes first and a diligent consumer would want to access only reliable diagnostic information which is guaranteed via MedNet which is an established well known website for its health information services. Thus, audience looking at the Windham’s ad through MedNet is more likely to buy the product. The alternative approach to this is as follows: 1) MedNet could charge Windham for click throughs only. However, this is NOT acceptable given the small audience that MedNet captures. It is less likely for this limited audience to actually go click an advertisement. This would affect their sales revenue. 2) Windham can wait to see the results of the Vesselia (prescription medication) coupons that were redeemable at the pharmacy. This way, Windham could know if MedNet was more promising and profitable than Marvel. What value to the customer does a general interest  site contribute that a niche site can’t? General interest sites like MedNet faced tough competition from the specialized niche sites like cholesterol. However, the following are a few aspects that give the general sites an edge over the niche ones. 1) They provide a wide source of information on different medical conditions. This way, they are running a business that attracts a larger audience. They are providing real value to these customers. 2) General interest sites are more ‘well known’ to the unprofessional and less sophisticated consumer base. They might not be aware of the niche sites. Thus, general interest sites provide a larger coverage of the general audience. 3) Because general sites cater to larger audience who are their regular visitors, they can afford to provide cheap services to their advertisers thus making their scheme much more attractive than the niche sites. 4) The niche sites providing Tailored recommendations were running a huge risk of providing the full diagnosed information violating the state and federal govt. regulations thus in turn, risking their customer’s integrity. What steps can MedNet take to address emerging competitive threats? MedNet is facing a tough competition from potential competitors like Marvel, Cholesterol etc. The major underlying issue being the limited visitor traffic. Most of the traffic gets diverted to Marvel. 1. In order to increase their popularity and generate more returning traffic, they can do the following: Retain the same content but add more value by using social media to create community groups to encourage group discussions, create forums and blogs that helps people learn from reviews and feedbacks. These community tools will make the site more interactive and encourage visitors to return to the site. MedNet is in the business of advertising where it is promoting its advertisers. But ‘self-advertising’ is important too. Promote and Publicize self, using conventional means of advertising like prints on paper like newspapers, Yellow pages and magazines. They should target advertisers of more common ailments like high blood pressure, allergies and depression/anxiety. Thus, in order to increase the value provided to Windham, MedNet needs to focus on the volume  of the consumer traffic and make sure these consumers return. 2. Target employer websites and private online health portals, which give employees a secure gateway through which they can access their personal health information, and insurance claims. This will help diversify revenues and maintaining existing consumers. Alongside, it would help in branding through Corporate Word of Mouth. Though there will be initial setup and marketing costs, but this will pay off in the long run. MedNet should also discuss with the employers to provide pharmaceutical ads in addition to these services they offer to the employees. 3. MedNet can broaden their pool of advertisers that currently focus only on pharmaceutical companies to others like professional high profile clinics, pharmacies, health insurance companies etc. There is a tough competition among these smaller advertisers because they are large in number and thus would need advertising to promote self-more than ever. So these are potential customers to MedNet. Thus above are a few alternative approaches that MedNet can take to have an edge over it’s competitors. References: About WebMD. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebMD. The official WebMD site to understand the look and feel of a health information service website. Retrieved from http://symptoms.webmd.com/default.htm#conditionView.

Social obligation of business

There were arguments that obligation of business is to maximize long term profit for shareholders In a sustainable way, while others call them to Involve more to social responses. Each judgment has its own reasons which this research sought to analyze. Based on that, certain social obligations of business will be addressed with evidences, showing their necessary of being more responsible to social outcomes. Key words: corporate social obligation, shareholders, corporate profit, social responslblllty Introduction There has been a long debate on the role of business in society.Some people agreed with argument of: â€Å"The social obligation of business is to sustainably maximize long-term profits for shareholders. Nothing more. Nothing less† . However, others judge: â€Å"Business has a key role to play in combating issue like climate change, since the traditional response of many environmentalists and governments (namely, to encourage behavioral and attitudinal change amongst the general population) Is not enough in itself to ultimately produce desired environmental outcomes† .Different Judgments have their own reasons based on appropriate grounds. My view Is that business should ensure long term profit and stable operation while promote applying CSR practices into their daily operation for better performance. Companies today are confronting intense pressures to address social concerns and it is undeniable that socially Irresponsible businesses may lose their competitive advantage . Corporate Social Responslblllty (CSR) Definition Since 1920s, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) started to be discussed.However, due to the Great Depression economics and World War II, business leaders did not discuss about it seriously until the 1950s. The definition of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) varies between businesses and possibly changes at certain time points, depending on their visions and goals. There are so many definition for CSR . However, the most general definition for it is that â€Å"CSR is about how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society† . Appllcatlon CSR now a day has been a popular term in different businesses.However, it seems corporations pay more attentions to these activities than those of small and medium size, who usually blame that they do not have time and money to follow these luxury' practices. In all effort, the UN Global Compact guideline on ISO 260000 had been developed to help enterprises of all sizes to globally approach and practice CSR strategies. CSR application is not required by law, while business profits and social obligations are always difficult choices for management, CSR strategies are most of time considered for implementation, as the business trend is to contribute good thing and more responsible to society.We will analyze each situation in the next paragraphs, to understand better on why sometimes it is hard making decision. Corporate Social Responsible OR corporate profit? It is argued that social obligation or social responsibility was defined as the obligation of business to meet its economic and legal responsibilities and no more . This viewpoint is based on the notion that business organizations were set up with aims to provide goods and services to society, and enterprise were operated primary on profit motive.Many scholars agreed upon this point of view, including Milton Friedman (1970), as mentioned in his article in the New York Times Magazine . This belief has been maintained for many years not only by Friedman but also other usiness executives and scholars. It is true that the primary social obligation/social responsibility of a business is to bring benefits to its owners and shareholders who invest a significant amount of money there. Consequently, fulfilling the economic responsibility is the initial obligation of a business, it should also obey the laws and regulations of the so ciety while running its operations.Social matters are not the concern of business people, these problems should be resolved by the unfettered workings of the free market system (Friedman, 1970). In cases where corporate profit nd social benefit aligned, CSR might not be considered and therefore irrelevant. Or in other cases where corporate profits and social welfares are opposite, then the profit will be taken into consideration, as business management will always want to prioritize shareholder's interest.

Mentos Diet Soda Chemical Volcano

Mentos Diet Soda Chemical Volcano Chemical volcanoes are classic projects for science fairs and chemistry demonstrations. The ​Mentos and diet soda volcano is similar to the baking soda volcano, except the eruption is really powerful, capable of producing jets of soda several feet high. Its messy, so you might want to do this project outdoors or in a bathroom. Its also non-toxic, so kids can do this project. This simple  chemical volcano takes a few minutes to set up and erupts for a few seconds What You Need Roll of Mentos candies2-liter bottle of  diet sodaIndex cardTest tube or sheet of paperA mop for cleanup Makingthe Mentos and Soda Erupt First, gather your supplies. You can substitute another candy for the Mentos, such as MMs or Skittles, but ideally, you want candies that stack into a neat column with minimal space between them, have a chalky consistency, and barely fit through the mouth of a 2-liter bottle.Similarly, you could substitute normal soda for diet soda. The project will work just as well, but the resulting eruption will be sticky. Whatever you use, the beverage has to be carbonated!First, you need to stack the candies. The easiest way to do this is to stack them in a test tube narrow enough to form a single column. Otherwise, you can roll a sheet of paper into a tube just barely wide enough for a stack of candies.Place an index card over the opening of the test tube or end of the paper tube to hold the candies in the container. Invert the test tube.Open your full 2-liter bottle of diet soda. The eruption happens very quickly, so set things up: you want the open bottle/index card/roll of candies so that a s soon as you remove the index card, the candies will drop smoothly into the bottle. When youre ready, do it! You can repeat the eruption with the same bottle and another stack of candies. Have fun! How the Mentos and Diet Soda Experiment Works The Diet Coke and Mentos geyser is the result of a physical process rather than a chemical reaction. Theres a lot of carbon dioxide dissolves in the soda, which gives it its fizz. When you drop a Mentos into the soda, tiny bumps on the candy surface give the carbon dioxide molecules a nucleation site or place to stick. As more and more carbon dioxide molecules accumulate, bubbles form. Mentos candies are heavy enough they sink, so they interact with carbon dioxide all the way to the bottom of the container. The bubbles expand as they rise. The partially dissolved candy is sticky enough to trap the gas, forming a foam. Because theres so much pressure, it all happens very quickly. The narrow opening of a soda bottle funnels the foam to make a geyser. If you use a nozzle that makes the opening at the top of the bottle even smaller, the jet of liquid will go even higher. You can also experiment using regular Coke (as opposed to the diet versions) or tonic water (which glows blue under a black light).

CBC STAT Professor Ramos Blog

CBC STAT Its 5 a.m. I’m on the unit doing my job minding my own business. I’m drawing blood on   patient after patient moving along quite nicely. I come of out of my fifth patient’s room I look around and see white coats everywhere. Uh oh, shit is about to hit the fan. My workload doubles in a matter of seconds. I’ve been a phlebotomist for ten years And I quickly learned this is not just about poking and getting blood.   It’s about talking to people. It’s about social skills. About Dealing with difficult people in the midst of difficult circumstances. â€Å"The hospital† is a teaching hospital, therefore the doctors are learning how to be doctors. These are called the residents, the ones in the white coats. The residents round in teams of six to eight with one attending. The attending is the teacher for the residents. Because they are learning how to be doctors, they really don’t know how to order lab tests. This leads to patients being poked four to six times a day minimum.   This in turn leaves the patients very frustrated and angry. Because of the size of the teams and the amount of patients they need to see, they don’t always talk to each other, causing many problems. Not only do they order the same lab tests over and over, they order them incorrectly. â€Å"Can we add a lactate to that?†, he so rudely asks as I have the needle in the patient’s arm. ( No I can’t add it. He couldn’t have told this before I came in the room?) Likewise most of the doctors do not have a good bedside manner or manners in general.   This is very frustrating to be around but I have to work with them so I learn to ignore it or shrug it off. This is not something that can be taught in a book like all of their other material, it is a process learned over time.   It’s pretty funny sometimes, to watch doctors who go to school for ten years, struggle with what to say to people. Due to the HIPAA law, it makes it more frustrating for me to do my job. This law doesn’t allow me to get mentally prepared before I go into the room. Sometimes I’m shocked at what I see, from a man with no face to an amputee.   HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This healthcare law provides security provisions and data privacy to keep patients medical information safe. This law is so strict that I’m not even allowed to tell the patients what I’m drawing their blood for. Therefore as a phlebotomist, I don’t even know why they’re in the hospital or what they have. If a patient has HIV, the nurse is supposed to tell me but often times she does not. When I walk in the room I never know what I’m walking into. This can be shocking not only visually but emotionally. Their condition directly effects their emotional state and their attitude.   I get smacked in the face with it. I saw a man with no face, his jaw was taken off, the top of his mouth and his nose. This man was not pleasant but I wouldn’t be either if someone took off my face. I could barely keep a straight face. Patients rip out their IV’S. There are dialysis patients, patients with liver failure, these patients are usually yellow. Patients are confused and often combative, they scream, hit, cry, and complain. All these physical conditions directly affect how hard it is to get their blood, physically and Socially. The sicker they are the more frustrated and rude they are. â€Å"You can’t get my blood, I’m a hard stick, they poked me 10 times in the ER† I hear this at least five times a day. Or my personal favorite, â€Å"Good luck, my veins are small and they roll.† I can get it, the nurses in ER couldn’t draw blood to save their life. I can’t tell the patient that though. Most nurses are rude.   Nurses are not the caring gentle people you might think. Some of them only become nurses for the money. Wrong move, those people do not belong holding someones life in their hands.   The nurses that do care become hardened to the things they see on a daily basis. I can understand. Nurses can draw blood too, they just don’t try. So I have to do it. â€Å"Do you have have a BMP for room 6 bed 2?† she says with a demeaning tone. Yes I have it here. â€Å"Can you do it next hes going to CT?’ And she walks away. Although its been ten years and now I’m an expert at drawing blood I don’t think its possible to ever be an expert in dealing with these people. I’m human of course and get frustrated too. It’s the field we’re in. We see some daunting things, it’s hard to watch. As a result people become hardened, Usually this happens by default and without the person being aware. It has advantages though. It would not be good if a doctor or nurse cried every time they learned a patient took a turn for the worse. Watching this transformation from sweet to hardened keeps me aware. I don’t ever want to become that way. Learning to deal with these people gives me motivation to be grateful. Its hard to be in a bad mood when I’m drawing a patient with a colostomy bag, or an amputee, or when the patient is crying because they are overwhelmed with their diagnosis.   After a while the procedure gets easier and easier, however it is oftentimes very heartbreaking to constantly see people hurting.   And It is easy to get caught up in the chaos, to get lost in the procedure, in the hustle bustle of the day.   It does help when the cancer patient I am drawing is the one cheering me up. I catch myself complaining about some silly little thing like forgetting to return an item to the store or because I’m not happy with my coworkers. The person in the hospital bed struggling for their life offers me a better perspective and tells me they will pray for me. It really makes me grateful for my health and for JESUS. I get a quick reality check. I’m Healthy, I’m working in the A.C. Li ving in beautiful southern California. I have a lot to be grateful for. I didn’t learn these lessons from just one patient, one nurse, or one doctor. I learned this through many of them over time. Nor did I learn it from one or two situations. It didn’t happen only once and then I learned and was a better person immediately after.   It doesn’t work that way, at least not the way I learn. It wasn’t easy learning to deal with these people, it took patience and practice. It was a long process but now I can usually let it roll off my shoulders. I am grateful because this a skill I can now use anywhere I go and for the rest of my life.

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

#1 - Assignment Example His work can be used by the central banks to curb inflationary expectations appropriately. 2005: Robert J. Aumann and Thomas C. Schelling: They received the award for their research of conflict and cooperation through game-theory analysis. Schelling applied the concepts of game-theory to international relations. Prof. Aumann’s work focused on the issue of effect of continued repetition of games on co-operation. 2004: Finn E. Kydland and Edward C. Prescott: They received the Noble prize for their research on effects of business cycles on international trade. They examined the driving forces behind business cycles, and analyzed the temporal consistency of economic policy 1998: Amartya Sen: Prof. Amartya Sen received the Noble prize for his work on welfare economics in case of famine, and suggestions to prevent it. His work focused on the human development theory, the underlying mechanism of poverty, and political liberalism. The Oxford English dictionary defines theory as â€Å"an idea or set of ideas that is intended to explain something† (â€Å"Theory†). Formulation of a theory is a step-by-step scientific process, starting from an opinion to stating the final theory. The starting point of a theory is an observation of a particular process. The interest created by this observation then leads to the formulation of an opinion regarding the process. This opinion is based on the available information regarding the same process, and the researcher’s beliefs. These opinions are also a reflection of the researcher’s expectations regarding the outcome of the enquiry. These opinion and observation then lead to the formulation of hypotheses. Hypothesis is a possible theoretical explanation of the observation made by a researcher to fill the gaps in the research previously done on the subject matter. This is followed by collection and classification of the data. Data collection is followed by the formulation of invariance

Policy of Hong Kong in Healthcare System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Policy of Hong Kong in Healthcare System - Essay Example The paper presents that in the era of globalization and advanced technical knowhow countries are making significant reforms in their various sectors. In such a respect Hong Kong is also not left behind. The country has made a number of alterations within the healthcare sector. The reforms have been directed towards providing better health care services to the country’s citizens. The Department of Health is entrusted with framing policies for country’s healthcare care services and also to facilitate efficient allocation of resources. It has implemented new policies and modified existing policies. Several modifications have been made in healthcare practices and management. New pricing policy has been introduced in Hong Kong healthcare sector. The country in 2002 has introduced charges for patients who are admitted in hospitals under emergency situation or after meeting with an accident. The reforms have lead to noticeable reduction in death rates and increased life expect ancies. Better treatment is available from efficient health care professionals at a considerably low cost. Keeping this at the backdrop the current paper tends to present a critical review of the pricing policy that has been implemented for the health care system of Hong Kong. The public hospitals and clinics in Hong Kong receive a good amount of subsidies from the government so as to provide medical treatment to the citizens at the lowest possible cost. The government despite such high quality medical care has imposed low rates of taxes. However government is expected to bear the burden of expensive medical facilities which is likely to increase in the upcoming years. The estimates have shown a continuous increase in governmental expenditure for health care (Development and Financing of Hong Kong’s Future Health Care, 2007). Pricing Policy of Hong Kong Healthcare System Health care services in Hong Kong are considered to be a mixed one. The public sector has taken up the res ponsibility to give 92 percent of the hospital services. About 85 percent of primary care is provided by the private sector. Most people approach public hospitals for complex diseases in Hong Kong mainly due to the low cost of treatment (Fitzner, Coughlin, Timori and Bennett, 2000). The fees charged by public health care institutions in Hong Kong are very much less compared to other countries. Government has imposed strict regulations on these public sector fees. However patients have a hard time trying to get to the physician. The healthcare system is very time consuming. Patients have to pay a high cost in terms of inconvenience and time consuming treatment. Physicians often send their patients to emergency department in order to get a simple diagnostic test done. The emergency department remains filled with such patients depriving the actual needy ones from proper treatment (Hay, 1992, pp.35-36). However medical treatment for diseases like tuberculosis is performed free of cost. However to make such a low cost medical system sustainable for the country is a major challenge before the government (Hong Kong (China), 2010). It is becoming increasingly difficult for the government to meet the expenses of such low cost medical treatment. Recent economic predictions have shown increase in tax rates to finance healthcare needs. Such a pricing policy under health care system have made even the richer sections rush to public hospitals for treatment. The demand for such health care facilities has been continuously growing (Hay, 1992, p.51). Clearly Hong Kong has adopted a non- interventional for its public healthcare system. The pricing policy was aimed at providing medical facilities to those sections of population that cannot afford medical treatment elsewhere. Reforms have also been made in the structure of funds in Hong Kong to adopt such

Relationship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Relationship - Essay Example on to jobs as service crew at two ice cream parlors and later on transferred to a travel agency as an accounting assistant and travel agent at the same time. I did all this to help my mother who is the only close family member with me here in America. My father passed away some years ago and all my determined efforts are both to help out my mother and prove to myself and perhaps to my late father that I can make it out on my own. My job at the travel company entailed a lot of accounting work and was happy this is so because it closely correlated with my college degree. My fluency with both Chinese and English together with a third language was really a big help in my job with this casino-related travel company where I got to meet lots of people, greatly improved my marketing and selling abilities, enhanced my people skills and most importantly, gave the needed practice to boost my self-confidence. This job also gave me the much-needed work experience which was all more valuable as it related to what I am pursuing in college. Hardships I had encountered made me a stronger person and I hope this will help make me realize my full potentials. I am ambitious and totally focused on my life goals; probably also because I am a woman. If a person will ask me why I strive so hard, I will perhaps answer it is because I am a woman and I need to prove to myself and everybody that I can do the same job even better; that I can also accomplish great things when given the chance. I consider this opportunity to study in the United States as a rare once-in-a-lifetime chance which I will obviously not just squander away doing inconsequential things. I dream big and aspire for bigger things to come. At the moment, I had temporarily given up my job to concentrate on my studies and I intend to fully achieve my dreams by totally focusing on it for the time being. I also know that sometimes it is harder for a woman to get ahead in this society despite some progress towards gender

Impact of Democratic Principles and Policies Application on War Essay

Impact of Democratic Principles and Policies Application on War Incidence - Essay Example This essay provides a comprehensive analysis in order to establish the specific impact of democracy, as well as economic integration and international institutions, on the prevention of wars. It also aims to establish, how the application of these democratic concepts affects the actual occurrence of war and of any other violent encounters within and among states. Human history has been riddled with various incidents of violence and wars. Wars have had causes, including poverty, social stratification, ethnic differences, as well as political differences. Wars have been seen within states, but mostly, it has involved one or more countries. Liberals argue that various instruments – democracy, economic integration, and international institutions – make wars less likely. They argue that where people have more freedom, they are less likely to take arms against the government or other countries; where they are more economically coordinated with each other, they are also less likely to declare wars against each other; and where international institutions are in place, the incidence of wars can be reduced or even eliminated. Others are however not convinced of these possible preventive measures for wars. Democratic pacifism seems to be the main basis of the contention that democracy makes wars less likely. Its ideas are based on the following premises: democracies rarely if ever go to war against each other; democracies tend to be more peaceful than dictatorships; democracies tend to have less internal violence.

How business adjusts (fails to adjust) to the change in its external Essay

How business adjusts (fails to adjust) to the change in its external environment - Essay Example The main objective of this study is to understand how organizations adjust in change, more specifically a change coming from the external business environment (Kazmi, 2008). Introduction It has been seen that entrepreneurs operate with respect to the environment in which they are established. There is a significant relationship which businesses have with their respective external environment (Chidi et al., 2011). Though environment brings opportunities for the business like growth opportunity or expansion opportunity, but there are certain threats too like competition or rivalry. Environment has three major components including globalization, market and competitors which can change rapidly or be rigid for a longer aspect of time (Adekola & Sergi, 2007). It all depends on how the market evolves and how businesses compel in the present environment situation. Hence the progress of entrepreneurs depends on two things, first how much they accept the change from environment components, and second how quickly they adjust to that change (Chidi et al., 2011). Interaction is very important in this respect as it sets the ground for developing a positive relationship between the entrepreneur and its environment (Chidi et al., 2011). ... Theoretical background When entrepreneurs adjust to the change they have to analyze each components of the external environment. According to modern literature, components include the market, the competitor and company’s individual business domain. All areas are parts of company’s external environment and come out separately in devising company’s growth or expansion strategy (Weiss et al., 2008). Globalization is one of the major components of external business environment, holding a direct influence for companies at the time of change (Adekola & Sergi, 2007). When companies are highly internationalized, they have to review all the features (culture, politics, society, and economics) associated with globalization in order to appropriately adjust to the change (Adekola & Sergi, 2007). Multinationals often find it a challenge, as they have to analyze all the features which are important from their global business point of view. This is one core requirement which hy per-globalists have to fulfil; otherwise they are out from competition or even out from the state of heading forward (Singla, 1993). According to several classical business theories like The Uppsala Model, when entrepreneurs are in a position to internationalize, they should target the developing regions, where new markets are waiting and new trends can be set (Jain & Griffith, 2012, pp.136). Companies can become pioneers in those regions if they understand the diversity and cultures of the new place. With respect to the Uppsala model, business expansion is itself a change where adjustment can be brought if organizations make the right decision. A right decision for an expanding entrepreneur would be to target the developing nation, where there is less

The Struggles of African Slaves Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Struggles of African Slaves - Essay Example No one knows who that was until Nunu reveals a secret to the main character. She tells Shola that she was raped by a white man while being shipped for a trade. There is one more argument which proves that slaves were treated as objects and property. At the beginning of a film when Mona appears to be in the past, we see that white masters catch her and burn a brand on her skin with sizzling hot metal. Animals on farms also get such brands to show who they belong to. Such scenes help the viewers to understand how mistreated the African slaves were, and how desperate their lives were. Apart from sexual abuse, the enslaved people were subject to other types of discrimination. They suffered a lot from physical violence of their masters. Slaves were constantly brutally beaten for every fault and for each act of disobedience. There were special places where the slaves were tightened and severely whipped. The beating was conducted with such a strength that in many cases the victims did not s tand it and died. In one of the scenes from Sankofa, a pregnant woman Kuta is whipped to death, not having any more strength to stand the pain. To crown it all, the cruelty of white masters was sometimes aimed at innocent slaves. If there was some kind of a rebellion or disobedience, slave owners wanted to punish Africans. If they could not find guilty ones, they simply took a random group of innocent people and punished them severely. Poor slaves were locked up in small wooden cages, hung high on trees and left there until they died.

Financial part of group case study about material Assignment

Financial part of group case study about material - Assignment Example Generally, business firms require capital for meeting long term financial needs and for meeting working capital needs. Long Term Financial needs include cost for purchase of building and plant and machinery. Roberto (2007:2). This amount would remain blocked for more than one year. It may even remain blocked for the entire life of the project. Hence, the purchase of plant and machinery, Land and Building that is, Fixed Assets has to be funded through Long Term Sources of Finance. All these capital expenditure decisions involve huge investments, however the benefits of the same can be perceived in the Long Term only. Moreover, these expenses are irreversible in nature; this means that once the expenses are incurred they cannot be altered. Hence, these expenditures need to be planned carefully to avoid liquidity crises. The firm has planned to meet the Long Term Capital needs through Owner's Capital and long term debt from relatives. We conclude that this is a sound decision as it redu ces the liquidity risk. Firms also require capital for meeting short term financial requirements include working capital which means the capital required for meeting the short term cash requirements for purchase of raw materials etc. Robert (2001:3). These are generally held in form of cash, for meeting short term requirements. ... Moreover, money can be blocked in accounts receivables, customers to whom goods are sold on credit basis. Liabilities are economic obligations of a business towards others to pay money or provide goods or services. Ronald (1986:4). There may be short term liabilities which need to be paid such as accounts payables, bills payable, outstanding expenses etc. The current assets and liabilities have to be managed efficiently. The firm is kept 1000 for meeting working capital needs, in order to fund the purchase of raw material and meeting short term manufacturing expenses. Cost of Capital The capital of the firm includes 40,000 loan (debt) and 10,000 as owner's capital (equity). The cost of capital of a business is the minimum rate of return it should earn to satisfy the various categories of investors who have contributed to the capital of the company. We have to determine the Weighted Average Cost of Capital. Roger, Shannon (2008:5). Here, we take debt and equity as weights. The rate of return required by equity investors is higher than the return required by debt holders. This is because there more risk associated with equity capital than debt capital. The debt capital holders will receive a fixed interest income every year and the equity shareholders receive dividends only in case there is profit. Hence, the rate of return required by equity shareholders is assumed to be 20% and the interest cost on debt is @ 8% p a. The interest cost is tax deductible. Hence, it reduces the cost of capital significantly. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is determined by the following formula: D/(D+E) X Kd (1-T) + E/(D+E) X Ke Here, D = Debt Capital E = Equity Capital Kd= Interest rate on Debt T = Tax

The Struggles of African Slaves Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Struggles of African Slaves - Essay Example No one knows who that was until Nunu reveals a secret to the main character. She tells Shola that she was raped by a white man while being shipped for a trade. There is one more argument which proves that slaves were treated as objects and property. At the beginning of a film when Mona appears to be in the past, we see that white masters catch her and burn a brand on her skin with sizzling hot metal. Animals on farms also get such brands to show who they belong to. Such scenes help the viewers to understand how mistreated the African slaves were, and how desperate their lives were. Apart from sexual abuse, the enslaved people were subject to other types of discrimination. They suffered a lot from physical violence of their masters. Slaves were constantly brutally beaten for every fault and for each act of disobedience. There were special places where the slaves were tightened and severely whipped. The beating was conducted with such a strength that in many cases the victims did not s tand it and died. In one of the scenes from Sankofa, a pregnant woman Kuta is whipped to death, not having any more strength to stand the pain. To crown it all, the cruelty of white masters was sometimes aimed at innocent slaves. If there was some kind of a rebellion or disobedience, slave owners wanted to punish Africans. If they could not find guilty ones, they simply took a random group of innocent people and punished them severely. Poor slaves were locked up in small wooden cages, hung high on trees and left there until they died.

Hear My Cry Essay Example for Free

Hear My Cry Essay Stacey feels responsible for his younger brothers and sister and feels the need to protect them: Stacey glowered at T. J. a moment longer, then walked swiftly to Little Man and put his long arm around his shoulders saying softly, Come on, Man. It aint gonna happen no more, least not for a long while. I promise you that. Stacey is not only loyal to his family but also loyal to his friends. When he is faced with the decision to either be truthful to his mother or face a punishment as a result of being loyal to T. J. he chooses loyalty and therefore suffers the consequences. The society the children live in forces them to mature much more rapidly than in our society. Stacey is very mature and he is well aware of the differences between right and wrong: Despite any effort to persuade Stacey otherwise, when Mama came home he confessed that he had been fighting T. J. at the Wallace store and that Mr Morrison had stopped it. He stood awkwardly before her, disclosing only those things he could honourably mention. T. J. is Staceys best friend. He is very self-centred and is loyal to no one except himself. He seems to have no conscience and is very sly: At first T. J.wouldnt do it, but then he seen Miz Logan startin toward em and he slipped Stacey the notes Jeremy is an exception to the rule. He is a white boy but he disobeys his parents and continues to socialise with the black children. This even surprises the Logan children: It was only then that I realized that Jeremy never rode the bus, no matter how bad the weather. To help us visualise the setting of the novel Mildred D. Taylor uses occasional light, evocative description. She uses just enough for us to understand the image she is trying to portray without using too much which could cause us to loose interest. These short paragraphs of description are very effective, as she does not tell us directly what the scene is like but through similes and metaphors: Before us the narrow, sun-splotched road wound like a lazy red serpent dividing the high forest bank of quiet, old trees on the left from the cotton field, forested by giant green and purple stalks, on the right. The Difference between the Great Faith school for black students and the Jefferson Davis school for white students is acute. The Great Faith Elementary and Secondary School was a dismal end to an hours journey. Consisting of four weather beaten wooden houses on stilts of brick, 320 students, 7 teachers, a principal, a caretaker, and the caretakers cow, which kept the wide crab grass lawn sufficiently clipped in Spring and Summer. Jefferson Davis County School, a long white wooden building looming in the distance. Behind the building was a wide sports field around which were scattered rows of tiered gray-looking benches. The Jefferson Davis School for White Students gives an image of wealth and prosperity in comparison to the Great Faith school for Black students. The Logan Household is warm and inviting. The features shown in the house show that the Logan family were very skilful people. They seem to be a lot wealthier than other black people at this time: The furniture, a mixture of Logan-crafted walnut and oak, included a walnut bed whose ornate headboard rose halfway up the wall to meet the high ceiling The theme of this novel is racism and discrimination towards the black people at this time. There are many occasions in the first four chapters alone which express this racism. The most white people feel they are superior to black people in every way. They feel that if a black person steps out of line by doing the slightest thing they have the right to punish or even murder them. They seem to have no hesitation about taking the life of a black person as they feel black people are there to be taken advantage of Something as simple as saying something offensive to a white man: Mr Barnette says, you callin me a liar, boy? And Mr Tatum says, Yessuh, I guess I is! Could end up with a black man being severely punished by a gang of white night men: Tarred and feathered him! T. J. announced hastily. Poured the blackest tar they could find all over him,and plastered him with chicken feathers. The children cannot understand why the white and blacks are separated; however they are forced to understand as a matter of life and death. They are robbed of their childhood innocence long before they should be due to the dangers they would face if they stepped out of line. The author is also trying to put across the message that because of the discrimination towards the black people they live in extreme poverty. The Logans are better off than most black families as they own land, however they need money so badly that the father is forced to work away from home on the railroads for money. The schools are given books for the first time however, they are not the long awaited books they were hoping for, but torn worthless books which were no use to them. In concluding, Mildred D. Taylor has successfully portrayed the hardships the black population of the southern states of America, had to endure in the early 1930s. In the first four introductory chapters, she set the scene using descriptive tactics. She introduced us to most of the main characters and told us a bit about their physical appearance and their personality. And she most importantly explained to us the difficulties the Logan family and generally, all black families faced, due to their race and how unfair society was towards them. We learn how white people took the law onto themselves, carrying out vindictive murders at the drop of the hat. Even in the first four chapters, Mildred D. Taylor has evoked sympathy for the black people. By Emma-Jane Reilly 11E Mr Devlin! Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mildred Taylor section.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Genetically Modified Organisms Biology Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Genetically Modified Organisms Biology Essay The benefits and risks of any particular genetically modified crop depend on the interactions of its ecological functions and natural history with the agro-ecosystem and ecosystems within which it is embedded. These evolutionary and ecological factors must be considered when assessing genetically modified crops. We argue that the assessment of genetically modified crops should be broadened to include alternative agricultural practices, ecosystem management and agricultural policy. Such an assessment ecological services that support it. The benefits of genetically modified crops should be compared to those of other means of agricultural intensification such as organic farming, integrated pest management and agricultural policy reform. A gradual and cautions approach to the use of genetically modified crops that relies on a truly comprehensive risk assessment could allow people to reap substantial benefits from genetically modified crops while mitigating their serious risks. INTRODUCTION Genetically modified organisms ( GMOs ) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources which are combined into one molecule to create a new set of genes. This DNA is then transferred into an organism, giving it modified or novel genes. Genetically Modified Organisms can be produced by gene cloning methods in which a non-native gene is introduced and expressed in a new organism. Generally the new protein has also been somewhat modified or engineered for proper expression in the new host. In particular, differences between microorganisms and eukaryotic cell must be overcome, such as the presence or absence of introns, occurance of DNA methylation and certain post-translational modifications to the protein itself for proper transport within or between cells. The advent of PCR and gene sequencing methods have opened up the door to all sorts of manipulative techniques for changing the structure of protein through genetic alterations. The introduction of bacterial genes into cash crops, to enhance their growth, nutritional value or resistance to pests, is becoming rather common place in plant technology. One example that has made frequent headlines is the introduction of bacterial genes for natural pesticides into plants in order to eliminate the need for chemical pesticide use. The drawback to this technology is public concern over the consequences of ingesting these natural pesticides. Problems such as these might be alleviated by site-specific expression of the gene or control of expression throughout the lifecycle. For example, it might cause less concern if expression of a pesticide gene in the leaves of young plants could be used to prevent foliage from being destroyed early on without expression in the fruit later in the lifespan. Advantages of Genetically Modified Organisms The world population has topped 6 billion people and is predicted to double in the next 50 years. Ensuring an adequate food supply for this booming population is going to be a major challenge in the years to come. Genetically modified foods promise to meet this need in a number of ways: Pest resistance Crop losses from insect pests can be staggering, resulting in devastating financial loss for farmers and starvation in developing countries. Farmer typically use many tons of chemical pesticides annually. Consumers do not wish to eat food that has been treated with pesticides because of potential health hazards and run-off of agricultural wastes from excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers can poison the water supply and cause harm to the environment. Growing genetically modified foods such as B.t. corn can help eliminate the application of chemical pesticides and reduce the cost of bringing a crop to market. Herbicide tolerance For some crops, it is not cost-effective to remove weeds by physical means such as tilling so farmers will often spray large quantities of different herbicides (weedkiller) to destroy weeds, a time-consuming and expensive process, that requires care so that the herbicide doesnà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t harm the crop plant or the environment. Crop plants genetically-engineered to be resistant to one very powerful herbicide could help prevent environment damage by reducing the amount of herbicides needed. For example, Monsanto has created a strain of soybeans genetically modified to be not affected by their herbicide product Roundup. A farmer grows these soybean which then only require one application of weed-killer instead of multiple applications, reducing production cost and limiting the dangers of agricultural waste run-off. Disease resistance There are many viruses, fungi and bacteria that cause plant diseases. Plant biologists are working to create plants with genetically-engineered resistance to these diseases. Cold tolerance Unexpected frost can destroy sensitive seedlings. An antifreeze gene from cold water fish has been introduced into plants such as tobacco and potato. With this antifreeze gene, these plants are able to to tolerate cold temperatures that normally would kill unmodified seedlings. Drought tolerance/salinity tolerance As the world population grows and more land is utilized for housing instead of food production, farmers will need to grow crops in location previously unsuited for plant cultivation. Creating plants that can withstand long period of drought or high salt content in soil and groundwater will help people to grow crops in formerly inhospitable places. Nutrition Malnutrition is common in third world countries where impoverished people rely on a single crop such as rice for the main staple of their diet. However, rice does not contain adequate amounts of all necessary nutrients to prevent malnutrition. If rice could be genetically engineered to contain additional vitamins and minerals, nutrient deficiencies could be alleviated. For example, blindness due to Vitamin A deficiency is a common problem in third world countries. Pharmaceuticals Medicines and vaccines often are costly to produce and sometimes require special storage conditions not readily available in third world countries. Researchers are working to develop edible vaccines in tomatoes and potatoes. These vaccines will be much easier to ship, store and administer than traditional injectable vaccines. Phytoremediation Not all genetically modified plants are grown as crops. Soil and groundwater pollution continues to be a problem in all parts of the world. Plants such as poplar tress have been genetically engineered to clean up heavy metal pollution from contaminated soil. Disadvantages of Genetically Modified Organisms The pros and cons for using genetically modified organisms ( GMOs ) are vast and varied but there is little argument over the uncertain consequences of this relatively new science. The pace at which GMOs have found their way into the food supply is what frightens many opponents, as long-term risk assessments wonà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t be available for many years. Long-term health effects The science of genetically modifying organisms is in its infancy, coming online in earnest in the mid-1990s. Pressure from agricultural interests and the scientific community eager to prove the viability of the process has led to what some would call an irresponsible rush to market of these products. More than 60 percent of the products in most U.S. grocery stores are derived from sort of genetically altered plant or animal, notes Nina Fedoroff, a molecular biologist at Penn State University in the spring 2007 issue of Science Journal. There simply hasn;à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t been enough time to study the long-term health effects on humans from eating genetically altered foods. Gene spilling Many of the arguments against bio-engineered food stuffs focus on the law of unintended consequences. It is unclear what effect, if any, genetic pollution from inadequately sequestered populations of genetically modified crops would have on the surrounding wild varieties. Releasing pollen from genetically altered plants into the wild via wind and insects could have dramatic effects on the surrounding ecosystem but there is no long-term research yet available to gauge the impact. Reduced biodiversity Biodiversity even within a species or genus, keeps plant and animal population viable. If a particular virus for example, affected corn in Northern Iowa but the slightly different variety of corn grown on an adjacent farm was immune, only the portion of the crop susceptible to the virus would be lost. As genetically engineered crop consume more and more acreage, the number and variety of wild species is reduced. Such as alignment threatens the entire supply as pests and diseases repelled by just one or a few genetically altered varieties develop resistance to those defenses. In a doomsday scenario, a lone pathogen could wipe out an entire harvest nationwide and spawn years of underproduction as the agriculture industry struggles to recover and combat the threat. Cross-pollination The potentially negative environmental impacts of GMOs are numerous, and many are as yet unknown and could be irreversible. These include the loss of flora and fauna biodiversity, unintended harm to other organisms and reduced effectiveness of pesticides. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, one of the biggest concerns is the creation of super weeds: the unintentional transfer of herbicide resistance genes from desired crops to weeds. Some of these concerns, however, are the same concerns that could occur with breeding. Genetic consequences The artificial insertion of genes into organisms could destabilize that organism, encouraging genetic mutations that could be detrimental either to the environment, to humans or both. Insertion of the desired gene into a crops genome could activate or deactivate other genes, causing unintentional consequences as well. For example, genes that orchestrate the precise development of tomatoes could be de-activated, leaving tomatoes rotting on the vine before maturation. Long-lived organisms, such as trees, would be most at risk with consequences unknown for perhaps years. Its entirely possible they would no longer bear fruit, or they would have weak trunks. Characteristics of bark we may rely upon for paper products may disappear. The possibilities are essentially endless. Furthermore, changes in gene expression of genes that already exist in the organism may have negative consequences by interacting with the product of the inserted gene. For example, the gene coding for the red color of berries could interact with the inserted disease resistance gene creating an entirely new protein that perhaps would cause cancer after the berries were eaten by humans. As of 2010, many of the consequences are purely speculative and true issues would not be known for perhaps years. Animals GMOs pose a potential risk to insects, particularly those involved in pollination of GMO crops, as well as birds, insects, organisms in soils, and water. The impact of GMO pollen in bees gut or ingestion by bacteria is not known. One fear is that the insects may develop resistance to the pesticides after ingesting GMO pollen, creating swarms of pesticide-resistant bugs. Intellectual property The risk of GMOs to the world economy may be significant. It is entirely possible that world food production would be dominated by a few companies, increasing the dependence of developing countries on industrialized nations. Foreign exploitation of natural resources, labeling issues and scientific advances skewed to interests of richer countries are just a few of the concerns. Although eventually more efficient and economical, initial research and development costs involved in bringing GMO products to market are substantial. To offset these costs, companies patent their products. Infringement issues are a major issue. Human health Human health is also at stake. GMO plants may create new allergens or unintentionally confer antibiotic resistance in humans. As part of the technique, genes that confer antibiotic resistance are inserted into GMOs as markers but they could confer resistance to these antibiotics when consumed by humans. However, the gene introduced into the potatoes was already known to be toxic to mammals. Researchers simply chose the gene to test the technique and it was never intended for human or animal consumption. As pollen spreads, pharmaceuticals derived from plants and fed to animals are then consumed by humans, also with unknown consequences. Food supply at risk Genetically modified seeds are a patented product, and in order to purchase the seeds customers must sign an agreement for use with the seed manufacturer. As the reliance on GM seeds expands world wide, concerns about food supply and safety continue to escalate. Genetically engineered seeds are identical in structure, and if a problem affects one particular crop a major crop failure can result. Environmental destruction Most GMO seeds are genetically engineered to be herbicide tolerant, resistant to insect infestation and disease. Environmentalists worry that the characteristics of GM crops may encourage farmers to increase their use of herbicides and pesticides, which will raise human consumption of dangerous toxins. GM crops also manufacture their own pesticides, which puts further poisons into humans and soil and may cause unforeseen changes in the environment. Another concern is that toxins contained in the GMO plants may harm other organisms, such as monarch caterpillars, bees and birds. The pesticide found in genetically modified cotton and corn is implicated in the deaths of poultry, cows, horses, sheep and buffalo worldwide. Conclusion As a nutshell, although Genetically Modified Organisms have a lot of advantages but still face many ethical issues related to the growing and consumption of genetically engineered crops. They hold potential to greatly increase the nutritional value of food as well as the productivity of crops, while at the same time provide many safety as well environmental concerns. These decisions need to be looked at by all of humanity since everyone is directly affected by the choices. While each person can read these details and come to different conclusion on the value of genetically engineered foods as well as the ethical choices being made by the companies in charge of producing these foods. The ultimate choice on genetically engineered foods should be placed onto a well informed consumer not held in the dark by those in power of the government and large corporations which may not have the general publicà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s interests as their primary goal.

The Power and Genius of Alexander Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades Essay

The Power and Genius of Alexander Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades In Alexander Pushkin’s â€Å"The Queen of Spades,† many aspects of the short story have made for considerable debate among scholars.   Pushkin fills an integral role in Russian literary history, and there are abundant research sources to use in analyzing and interpreting his texts.   Pushkin is often referred to as the Father of Modern Russian Literature, but until just recently much of the criticism on Pushkin focused on Pushkin himself as the author, the innovative simplicity in his prose, or the political relationship between Pushkin and the Russian aristocracy.   Pushkin’s personal life was often the subject of public debate among his readers and the Russian aristocracy, forcing him into a some what reclusive state.  Ã‚   His prose was innovative, but, in the early research, very few bothered to interpret why the style was so effective.   What about the words made Pushkin different?   It did not seem to matter as long as the aristocracy was satisf ied. Finally, much of the early information available on Pushkin had nothing to do with his writing.   During Pushkin’s time, the domination of the Russian nobility over publications was so great, the ultimate beauty and depth to Pushkin’s writing was over looked in order to expose censorship and political manipulation.  Ã‚   These early attempts at criticism and investigation fall short of exposing the true power and genius in Pushkin’s writing. Another problem with much of the available literature on Pushkin and his texts is   inconsistency in interpretations.  Ã‚   Scholars do not research sufficiently and are often vague in communicating their ideas to the reader.   The purpose of the given work is often confusing enough to the aud... ...nleaf. Studies in Romanticism v 36 n 2 (Summer 1997): 292-299. Pushkin, Alexander.   â€Å"The Queen of Spades.† Alexander Pushkin: Complete Prose Fiction. Trans. Paul Debreczeny. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1983. 211- 233. Rosenshield, Gary. â€Å"Choosing the Right Card: Madness, Gambling, and the Imagination in Pushkin’s ‘The Queen of Spades.’† PMLA v 109 n 5 (October 1994): 995-1008. Rosenshield, Gary.   â€Å"Freud, Lacan, and Romantic Psychoanalysis: Three Psychoanalytic Approaches to Madness in Pushkin’s ‘The Queen of Spades.’† Slavic and East    European Journal v 40 n 1 (Spring 1996): 1-26. Shrayer, Maxim. Rev. of Pushkin’s â€Å"The Queen of Spades,† by Neil Cornwell. The Modern Language Review   v 90 n 4 (October 1995): 1051-1053. Terras, Victor. Rev. of Pushkin’s â€Å"The Queen of Spades,† by Neil Cornwell. The Russian    Review v 54 n 3 (July 1995): 453-454.

Existentialism :: essays research papers

Existentialism In our individual routines, each and every one of us strive to be the best that we are capable of being. How peculiar this is; we aim for similar goals, yet the methods we enact are unique. Just as no two people have the same fingerprint, no two have identical theories on how to live life. While some follow religious outlines to aspire to a level of moral excellence, others pursue different approaches. Toward the end of the Nineteenth-Century and on through the mid-Twentieth, a movement followed "existentialism," a philosophical theory of life, in order to achieve such a level. Even though the idea of existentialism is complex, certain themes are common amongst philosophers and authors: moral individualism, freedom of choice, responsibility, alienation. Fundamental to understanding existentialism is the conception of moral individualism. Existentialism rejects traditional ethical endeavors. Philosophers since the time of Aristotle, circa Third-Century B.C.E. (before the common era), have held that everyone should aim for a common peak of ethical achievement. Aristotle argued for the existence of a divine being, described as the "Prime Mover," who is responsible for the unity and purposefulness of nature. In order for humanity to attain such a climax, everyone must imitate The Almighty's perfect profile. Aristotle's basic philosophy deduces that humanity strives for an identical peak of moral excellence, as judged by a higher being (Aristotle). Existentialism declares that the individual must choose his way; there is no predetermination. Since the universe is meaningless and absurd, people must set their own ethical standards. The universe does not predetermine moral rules. Each person strives toward a unique moral perfection. The Nineteenth- Century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, who was the first writer to call himself e)existential, reacted against tradition by insisting that the highest good for the individual is to find his uniqueness. His journal reads, 'I must find a truth that is true for me ... the idea for which I can live or die" (Existentialism). Existentialists believe that morality depends on the individual, rather than a supreme being. Next to moral individualism, the inevitability of choice is the most prominent existentialist theory. Existentialism assert that people do not have a fixed nature, as other animals and plants do. Our choices determine who we are. The Twentieth-Century French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre proclaimed that the most Important choice is the choice of ourselves. Each character makes choices that create his nature. Existence suggests freedom where mankind is open to a future that is determined by choice and action. Choice is inescapable and central to human existence; the refusal to choose is a choice. Even when a

Vacant Chapter 12 Waiting

I knock, but there's no answer. I let myself in and I'm immediately relieved to see Emily's things still around the house, including her bedding on the couch. Remorse creeps back into my chest as I think about the numerous times I've tried to convince Emily to take my room – my bed – but she never has. I kneel down on the floor in front of the sofa to worship the scent lingering in the sheets. She always smells like baby powder, the cheap off brand they sell at the Dollar Tree, but regardless of the price, it smells like heaven to me. I close my eyes and enjoy her essence while also promising myself to buy her name-brand lotion. No more generic. The shouting startles me awake. â€Å"I don't care! Get the mother-fucking money. I don't pay you to lose my shit!† Then I hear the unmistakable sound of a fist meeting flesh. My blood runs cold as I wonder if it's Emily next door. The thought hits me like the fist from next door: What has she done to get money for herself? I've had many neighbors while I've lived here. It's to be expected, as the downtrodden are a transient population. That unit was empty when†¦.when I left, so I hadn't thought about a new tenant. I also hadn't figured on undesirables moving in. I'd never worried about my safety, but now I have to think of Emily's safety and protection. This is no place for her. I hear a feminine scream amid the sounds of skin being struck and I know it's not my girl. I know what her scream sounds like after a spider infestation and that's not it. It's not Emily. â€Å"Get up, Punta!† I hear more ramblings and shouts in Spanish; the female cries in response. All I can think is, Thank God it's not Emily. But it is someone – someone's daughter, sister, or friend. I do the only thing I can. I call the police and let them handle it. While I've read heroic tales of men saving the day, it's not safe or practical in this case. It's very likely that the monster next door has a weapon, and I'm no good to protect Emily if I'm dead. The cops come and go quickly. The woman refuses to press charges, but the man is escorted off the property with a warning not to return. He'll be back, though. They always are. My thoughts drift to moving to a better neighborhood, but then I realize I may not have a job because I'm a complete coward who left for a week without calling his boss; it'll be a miracle if I'm not fired. How will I take care of Emily without a job? I'm an idiot. God, how did I fuck this up so badly? I dial Margie's number and her cheerful greeting relaxes me a bit. â€Å"Hey, Marge, it's Ethan.† â€Å"Well hey, Sugarplum. How was your vacation?† She knows I wasn't on vacation, and I try to discern if there is sarcasm in her voice, but I can't seem to detect any. â€Å"Margie, I wasn't on vacation.† â€Å"Sure you were, kid. It's on the schedule; I approved it myself. There's paperwork and everything. The owners are glad you finally took some time off. You had more than three weeks coming to you. It makes them nervous that you've never taken a day off in five years.† I'm confused and my silence must confirm this to my manager. â€Å"So, are you coming in tomorrow? I'm down a cashier and could use ya.† Cashier? I'm a â€Å"back of the house† guy. The â€Å"make sure there's always chips on the display† guy; low man on the grocery store food chain. â€Å"Uhhhh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is my incoherent reply. â€Å"It's time you take on more responsibility, kiddo. You have that pretty girl to take care of.† She knows. She knows about Emily. How does she know? â€Å"I'll see you tomorrow, Ethan.† I'm left holding the phone wondering what the hell is going on.

Outline two perspectives on learning Essay

Classical Conditioning is when behaviour is learned through a stimulus response bond (S_R) This is done by using unconditioned stimuli as well as conditioned stimuli. Simply put this method of behaviourist learning is able to create behaviour that doesn’t normally exist (e.g. salivating at the sound of a bell) this is done through association. For example if a person was to ring a bell right before they fed the dog, the dog would salivate due to the presence of the food. If done enough times, the dog would salivate at the sound of the bell alone, even if no food was present (Pavlov’s experiment) Operant Conditioning is used to shape behaviour that already exists in the learner. This is done through reinforcement whether it be positive (rewarding) negative (taking away a negative trait) or punishment Skinner found that people are more likely to learn a behaviour if they are rewarded after doing it (e.g. praise, gifts etc.)  SLT refers to Bandura’s research, as he believed that people can learn through vicarious learning watching other people doing or not doing as they do. This is done by Modelling, which can mean to make an example of a peer in school, thus showing others how to, or not to act. Humanistic Carl Rogers believed that people learn best when they are given/shown Unconditional positive regard, empathy and genuiness. This looks at learners as human beings with sensitivities and self esteem as opposed to machines which can be programmed (behaviourist) Maslow was another humanistic believers he created the hierarchy of needs, suggesting that the learners needed their basic needs to be satisfied (food safety belingingess) before they can learn and have the desire to explore the â€Å"meta needs† (learning etc.)    Due to the fact that the three perspectives are so different in design, it can be very difficult to say how one method is nomothetically better than another. Each perspective has its own strong and weak points.  The behaviourist perspective is a very affective method of learning as performance levels tend to be at the highest when the techniques of classical, Operant and SLT are applied. However this suggests that people learn only what they show, valuing nothing but the behaviour of the learner. For example the use of Classical Conditioning can create associations which can benefit the learner (e.g. standing up when a governor enters the room) as it can avoid embarrassment however, it can also be considered unethical to use such techniques as learners ten can become unable to control their own actions as the SR bond created put their behaviour in the control of the subconscious therefore using classical conditioning techniques would not be best when trying to teach something of a creative nature (e.g. art, music etc.) as personal control is very important in these subjects Another ethical issue with the use of behaviourist tactics in learning is that the reinforcement can hurt the learner’s self esteem. This can be seen in Operant Conditioning techniques like punishment in that although the behaviour may be shaped to an â€Å"acceptable standard†, the learners would become less motivated to produce work. This can also play a role in bad association between the student and the subject being taught in that they don’t like how the behaviourists teacher treats them, they would learn to dislike the subject as opposed to simply the teacher. The Humanistic view, due to the fact that they value the development of the person more than the acquisition of trivial knowledge, can often very poor exam results within schools. An example of this would be the Summerhill school (Neil) which applied a completely humanistic approach to the workings of the school (e.g. no reinforcement of class attendance, no rules etc.) the results of this experiment showed that with the humanistic perspective, exam results were poor, however follow up studies showed that psychological problems and better stability within alumni Another possible criticism of the humanistic views of Maslow is that there are people who can learn in school very well yet not have all of their basic needs satisfied (e.g. negligent parenting) however it can be said that the higher meta needs would be easier to pursue if the basic needs were provided for the learner. This goes against Maslow’s theory in that the hierarchy of needs can have exceptions based on individual differences (which can be analysed in the Myers Briggs Personality Indicator) Cognitive psychologists believe that all information can be presented in a way that’s best taken on by the learner. However this goes against the theories of Piaget and Ausubel who thought that information was exclusively better if present in certain ways, (bit by bit versus all encompassing respectively) The cognitive approach doesn’t consider the learners as anything but information processors, which can also hurt students self esteem as they are not necessarily regarded as human beings who are valued (Rogers) When it comes down to it each perspective is very helpful to the improvement of learning within children however if used exclusively can cause their own contrasting problems. The best way in my eyes is to create a hybrid of the systems, for example, in regards to dealing with disruptive behaviour a behaviourist system of punishment be most effective, but then followed up with a humanistic debrief, (explaining why being punished) this would allow the student to learn the behaviour as well as maintain or reinforce self esteem.

Drama Assignment

LHE 3253 TEACHING THE LANGUAGE OF DRAMA Assignment 1 Dorothy Ting Siao Wei 153071 Dr. Habsah Bt Hussin Submission date: 19 Oct 2011 THE JEWELS OF THE SHRINE 1. One of the themes of this play is  false relationship  among family members. Quote the part(s) in the play where you can discern this theme. Throughout the play the theme false relationship among family members is seen. Firstly, it is seen in the character of Bassi. Bassi is not related to Okorie at all but is seen to be always around the house attending to Okorie. It is as if she is his wife when she is not at all. She is actually married elsewhere and have kids. This is seen in several parts where she appears. â€Å" Bassi: It is enough, Grandfather. Long talk make you tired. Come, your food is now ready. Okorie: Woman, I cannot eat. When happiness fills your heart, you cannot eat. † From here we see how Bassi would advice Okorie to stop talking and eat his meal. Her tone sounds like a wife who cares for a husband rather than a married woman of a neighbor. â€Å"Bassi (holding him and leading him to sit on the bed): You are excited. You know that whenever you are excited, you begin to forget things. Okorie: That is not my fault. It is old age. Well, but what was I saying? † Here we even see Bassi sending Okorie to bed which could be hardly seen in olden times. Bassi is a married woman with her own husband which she should be putting to bed with rather than a senile old man. But she did and she did in gently like how a wife would. Perhaps there is a sincerity of the treatment she gave but there’s no legit relationship that they have. The other place in the play where false relationship among family members is seen is when Arob and Ojuma started treating Okorie nicely just because they heard something like a great inheritance that they will get if they treat him nicely and bury him with great honour. All of these can be seen in the following excerpts of the play. â€Å"Ojima: At last, poor Grandfather is gone. I wonder if he know that we only played up just to get something from his will. Arob: Well, it didn’t matter to him. He believed us, and that is why he has left his property to us. A few months ago he would rather have thrown it all into the sea. † 2. From the language used by Okorie, Arob and Ojuma in their dialogue, what can you discern about their relationship? Give two factors contributing to the disintegration of family units and children neglecting their filial duties toward their elders. From the language used by Okorie, Arob and Ojuma in their dialogue, it seemed like their relationship is not a good one. Okorie doesn’t even call or refer to his grandsons as his grandsons but people and Arob and Ojuma didn’t speak properly or with respect all the time. In my opinion, one of the factors contributing to the disintegration of family units and children neglecting their filial duties toward their elders is, the lack of proper discipline in the family. As seen in the play, Arob and Ojuma’s father passed away earlier than their grandfather, Okorie. No one disciplined them or brought them up in the proper manner. Okorie might have even spoilt them when they were younger so there was no sense of fear and respect from both of them towards their grandfather. They cannot even see the contribution of their grandfather and appreciate him. They even took everything that is his and sold them to get whatever finances that they could get. They never had anyone to discipline them. The other factor that contributes to their misbehavior is a growing sense of selfishness that comes with the welcoming of modernity. As seen and discussed by Okorie and the stranger at the beginning of the play, it seemed like the society has been getting more and more selfish and cruel that they don’t take care of older people but mistreat them too. With the coming of new technologies, new development that first enters the city, more selfishness prevails and the people are getting crueler. They only think about their own welfare, their own happiness and they just disregard for any other people, even the older people in their own family who are flesh and blood. It seemed like all that does not matter at all anymore. Everything is about their own pleasure and comfort and no one else. MOTHER’S DAY 3. Mrs. Pearson’s difficulty in speaking her mind and communicating the truth with her family had caused her much unhappiness. Quote the part(s) in the Play where you can discern this quality in Mrs. Pearson. There are several parts in the play where Mrs. Pearson depicts her difficulty in speaking her mind and conveying the truth with her family. Firstly is when Mrs. Fitzgerald came to visit her at her house and they were talking casually when the subject of her unhappiness in her home came up. When Mrs. Fitzgerald advised her to be firm and do something about it she became apologetic saying, â€Å"That’s easier said than done. Besides, I’m so fond of them even if they are so thoughtless and selfish. They don’t mean to be†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It shows that she does love her family although they are thoughtless and selfish but she gave them too much leeway that they mistreated her by not thinking about her but only themselves. She finds it hard to speak her mind also because she doesn’t like confrontations and she is mighty afraid to make others feel unpleasant. She doesn’t know how to tell them how she felt. She only drops hints to them. This is seen later when she said, â€Å"I – keep dropping a hint†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"†¦ But I do hate any unpleasantness. And it’s so hard to know where to start. I keep making up my mind to have it out with them – but somehow I don’t know how to begin. † It is also pretty obvious from the way she kept having pauses in her speaking and getting embarrassed and sending a sense of hopelessness that she has very low confidence which, I believe contributed in her difficulty in communicating the truth with her family. Even when she talks to Mrs. Fitzgerald, she has lots of pauses as seen, â€Å"Mrs. Fitzgerald – I know you mean well – in fact, I agree with you – but I can’t – and it’s no use you trying to make me. If I promise you I’d really have it out with them, I know I wouldn’t be able to keep my promise. 4. Discuss effective communication skills that Mrs. Pearson should inculcate in herself to make her family be respectful of her and appreciate her more. Mrs. Pearson needs to learn to speak more confidently and perhaps, be more confident about herself. If she kept bein g not confident about herself, she will not get anywhere. Her lack of confidence shows in her communication and her family, who seemed to consist of stronger personalities will take advantage of her lack of confidence and mistreat her. Mrs. Pearson needs to know her role in the family is a mother and a wife and not a servant and she eeds to realize that she needs to stand firm and strong in her role in the family as a mother and a wife by speaking more with confidence and a sense of authority and eliminate her habit of always being apologetic and trying to explain. This will help her family recognize her as she executes orderliness in her family, establishing boundaries and a sense of respect within her family. Through that, her family will respect her and she will be able to teach and perhaps train them to have proper manners and a sense of respect for people especially towards her. If she is able to establish that, her family will not step all over her and know that she is serious and not one to simply mess with. Mrs. Pearson needs to also speak clearly and directly to her family, to convey her true wishes to them so that they will know what she wants, how she feels and what she wants them to do and they will be able to understand her better and treat her well. She cannot just throw hints at them because in general, a lot of people cannot pick up hints. Only those who are sensitive and does pay attention to little details will pick up hints but these kind of people are rare unless the hints are too obvious to ignore. Mrs. Pearson also needs to eliminate her fear of confrontation and fear of unpleasant atmospheres because confrontations are necessary to convey clear messages and not at all evil. Unpleasant atmospheres cannot be avoided totally also in all relationships as each human are unique, complete with strengths and weaknesses so certain unpleasantness will come naturally once in a while and it is not necessarily bad, just depending on how one deals with it and also the cause of it. A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL 5. In this Play, conflict in the form of argument prevents Lomov from asking Natalia to marry him. Extract sample dialogues from the Play to indicate where the conflicts are. There are two conflicts that happened in the play. Firstly, Lomov got into an argument with Natalia about who owns the meadows when he was trying to propose to her. The argument went as followed: â€Å"LOMOV: †¦ and my property, as you know, adjoins your own. If you will be so good as to remember, my meadows touch your birchwoods. NATALIA: Pardon the interruption. You said â€Å"my meadows† – but are they yours? LOMOV: Yes, they belong to me. NATALIA: What nonsense! The meadows belong to us – not you! LOMOV: No, to me! Now, my dear Natalia Stepanovna! NATALIA: Well, this is certainly news to me. How do they belong to you? LOMOV: How? I am speaking of the meadows lying between your birchwoods and my brick earth. NATALIA: Yes, exactly. They belong to us†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lomov and Natalia continued arguing and then a series of things happened and he got chased out of the house and asked to come back again to get engaged to Natalia. Then the second conflict happened when they started talking about hunting and they argued about whose dog is a better dog, Otkatai or Ugadi. The argument went as followed: â€Å"LOMOV: †¦Really? Otkatai is better than Ugadi? What an idea! Otkatai better than Ugadi! NATALIA: Of course he is better. It is true Otkatai is still young; he isn’t full-grown yet, but in the pack or on the leash with two or three, there is no better than he, even- LOMOV: I really beg you rpardon, Natalia Stepanovna, but you quite overlooked the fact that he has a short lower jaw, and a dog with a short lower jaw can’t snap. NATALIA: Short lower jaw? That’s the first time I ever heard that! LOMOV: I assure you, his lower jaw is shorter than the upper. NATALIA: Have you measured it? LOMOV: I have measured it. He is good at running though†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Their argument, yet again, went on for a while and Tschubukov came in and forced them to quickly get engaged. Right after they are engaged, they continued with their arguing. 6. If Natalia and Lomov get married, what should they do to minimize conflicts in their marriage? If Natalia and Lomov get married, they should learn the art of communication. Lomov’s speech seemed too elaborated and containing too much details which are so unnecessary and long. If he learns to communicate clearly and directly while also respecting the other, it would have lessened so much miscommunication. Natalia should also learn to be less sensitive over petty issues. Perhaps the issue of who the meadow belongs to is important for her but she could have expressed her disagreement in a gentler manner without flying off the handle and her opinions could have been easier to be taken in. Both of them should learn how to manage their anger and know ow to discuss issues or difference of opinions in a more civilized manner rather than getting heated up so fast and raising their voice at each other. They need to look at the other’s perspective and try to be more understanding. They could have responded in a more neutral manner and there would not have much conflict. They should also learn to be more selfless and put each other higher than themsel ves. From the way they have argued, they seemed rather selfish, insisting that they themselves are right instead of tolerating each other and they also go to the point of degrading the other’s opinions. They need to learn not to cross the boundary, to respect each other’s opinions and not to put down each other. They also need to work out their differences and look for each other’s similarities. Natalie really wanted to marry Lomov so obviously there is something that she likes about him and the fact that Lomov went to propose to Natalia also indicates that there is attraction. They need to focus on the good points, especially the things they love about each other and always be reminded of that and not let petty arguments get in the way.