Katrina Barcelo

â€Å"The characteristic of sound by which a shrill sound can be distinguished from a grave sound is known as PITCH.†Pitch of sound depends upon the frequency of sound. The greater the frequency, the higher is the pitch and vice versa. It is the pitch of sounds that enable us to distinguished b/w a sound of man and woman or man and dog. Etc. sound of a woman is shrill due to high pitch. Sound of a dog is grave due to low pitch and low frequency.QUALITY OR TIMBERâ€Å"The property of sound by virtue of which we can distinguish between two sounds of the same pitch and the loudness originating from two different musical instruments.† The sound produced by two different instruments is usually complex. It is a mixture of several tones. The tone of lowest frequency is called Fundamental frequency and other tones are known as OVERTONES OR HARMONICS. The loudness of sound depends upon the amplitude of vibration. And pitch determined by its fundamental frequency. Two or more sou nd may have the same loudness and the same pitch but that they may differ in number and relative intensities of overtones. The quality of sound depends upon the wave from of the resultants. Nature has such a great diversity that it is very rare to have some overtones of two persons exactly. So this difference is overtones makes it possible to recognize each sound. This characteristic of sound is called QUALITY. INTENSITY OF SOUNDâ€Å"The intensity of sound is defined as the amount of energy transmitted per second through unit area held perpendicularly in the direction of sound waves.† Intensity of sound = E/t.A OR I = E/t.A Pitch Pitch = frequency of soundFor example, middle C in equal temperament = 261.6 HzSounds may be generally characterized by pitch, loudness, and quality. The perceived pitch of a sound is just the ear's response to frequency, i.e., for most practical purposes the pitch is just the frequency. The pitch perception of the human ear is understood to operate basically by the place  theory, with some sharpening mechanism necessary to explain the remarkably high resolution of human pitch perception. The place theory and its refinements provide plausible models for the perception of the relative pitch of two tones, but do not explain the phenomenon of perfect pitch. The just noticeable difference in pitch is conveniently expressed in cents, and the standard figure for the human ear is 5 cents.Sound quality is typically an assessment of the accuracy, enjoyability, or intelligibility of audio output from an electronic device. Quality can be measured objectively, such as when tools are used to gauge the accuracy with which the device reproduces an original sound; or it can be measured subjectively, such as when human listeners respond to the sound or gauge its perceived similarity to another sound. The sound quality of a reproduction or recording depends on a number of factors, including the equipment used to make it, processing and master ing done to the recording, the equipment used to reproduce it, as well as the listening environment used to reproduce it.In some cases, processing such as equalization, dynamic range compression or stereo processing may be applied to a recording to create audio that is significantly different from the original but may be perceived as more agreeable to a listener. In other cases, the goal may be to reproduce audio as closely as possible to the original. When applied to specific electronic devices, such as loudspeakers, microphones, amplifiers or headphones sound quality usually refers to accuracy, with higher quality devices providing higher accuracy reproduction. When applied to processing steps such as mastering recordings, absolute accuracy may be secondary to artistic or aesthetic concerns. In still other situations, such as recording a live musical performance, audio quality may refer to proper placement of microphones around a room to optimally use room acoustics.

Jesus vs Hercules

Myths and Religion are generally presumed to be two entirely different things. Myths are seen as stories shared between groups of people that are part of a cultural identity, while Religion is a belief that a group of people of a cultural identity share. Although they differ in certain aspects, they still hold similarities. Comparable to bible stories, myths have different versions which are both inspirational, as well as entertaining to those who do not believe them to be true. Along with this major similarity, there are parallels to specific stories. Various nurturing aspects of Hercules from Greek mythology, and Jesus Christ from the Bible are similar, including their birth, life and ultimately death in their respective lives. Right from their births, Jesus and Hercules’ lives are comparable. Jesus was born of a virgin mother, Mary, while Hercules was born of Alcmene, who was impregnated by Zeus. Although both their mothers were not virgins, their birth was similar in the sense that they were both half mortal and half god. Jesus and Hercules both had mortal mothers and gods as fathers. They were both raised by other men who played the role of a father in their lives – Joseph for Jesus, and (name) for Hercules. As babies, Jesus and Hercules’ lives were both in danger. Herod, who was the king at the time Jesus was born, wanted him killed as he was afraid Jesus was to be the next king. To solve this, he sent out armies of men to kill every newborn in the city. Jesus was saved when an angel appeared in Joseph’s dream to warn them about the danger. In the case of Hercules, his stepmother was the one that wanted him killed. She was jealous that her husband Zeus slept with multiple women and wanted baby Hercules dead. She let two venomous serpents into his crib, but being the son of Zeus, Hercules was born with great strength, and was able to easily catch and strangle the serpents to death. During their time on earth, Jesus and Hercules lived fairly normal lives as men in their towns. Jesus started to perform miracles in his home town around the age of thirty where as Hercules was always seen as a mighty strong man. Hercules and Jesus were both icons, Jesus the icon of Christianity and Hercules the icon for the Greeks. They both had many followers as young men who seemed to have later been abandoned during times or turmoil and danger. Jesus when he was preaching about God lost many followers as the Pharisees claimed Jesus’ works a cult, where as Hercules lost his followers when cursed by Hera his stepmother in a fit of anger killed his own wife and children. Although many seem to think of Hercules as a redeemer and saviour, Hercules did not save the world in any sense nor did he ‘redeem’ people as a whole. He defeated bad guys and rescued good guys, but never granted salvation from sin or died to save any followers as Jesus gave up his life to save the world. During the few end years of their lives, Jesus and Hercules were made to suffer a great deal. Jesus had to live being ridiculed and shamed where as Hercules lived in exile away from everyone as he spent twelve years doing the twelve labour he brought on himself to make up for the remorse he felt for brutally murdering his family. Ultimately Jesus and Hercules both met with violent deaths, Jesus died on the cross out of own free will for the love of his people, even though he did not voluntarily decide to die on a cross. Hercules on the other hand voluntarily decided to died on a pyre of fire as stories mention he wanted to get rid of the body that was responsible with the killing of his family.

Nowadays, Food Has Become Easier to Prepare Essay

Nowadays, Food Has Become Easier to Prepare. Has This Change Improved the Way People Live? Use Specific Reasons and Examples to Support Your Answer. By annicat Man, through the ages, has undergone many changes, from a period when he hunted for his food to the present era when man is dependent on preprocessed foods. During this period not only has man changed his mode of eating but his whole lifestyle as well. In pursuit of more in this competitive world, man no longer has time as he once had. He is caught in a race against the clock. A person who finishes more n lesser time is considered more efficient. This pressure to do more in less time has affected his eating habits as well and, as a result, man no longer has time to cook food. Early man’s only objective was to seek food to sustain him and his family. Nowadays finding food has taken a back seat to other priorities, such as career and education. Food is no longer of that importance. This is not an encouraging trend. People are too dependent on preprocessed or precooked food, which no longer has the freshness it once had. Such foods loose their mineral and vitamin content and re not as healthy as fresh food. That is why the number of diseases is also rising. People have also shifted to high calorie content food like French fries, pizzas, and ice cream, etc. , which is causing obesity, fatigue, etc. As man is becoming busy and too involved in his busy schedule, he has no time even to take care of his own personal needs. Furthermore, cooking is an art which is dying out. People once enjoyed cooking . It was a means of eliminating stress and tension. People were once able to relax during this time and reflect on their lives. People may tend to argue that by sing precooked and preprocessed food they are efficiently using time and can use this precious time saved for other purposes. But is it really worth it? This is a question whose answer can invite much speculation about whether by saving this little time we are inviting lots of other problems, which could easily be avoided. It is actually making our lives not simpler but more complicated. We have lost many of the simpler things in our lives, like the simple acts of selecting our evening meal, preparing it, and enjoying it with our loved ones, and we are worse off for it.

Lesson 7 discussion & Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lesson 7 discussion & - Assignment Example Devendra Banharts song touch upon his own reflections of the past, including the themes of social inequality. Willy Masons lyrics, just as that of Bob Dylan, are often focused on issues of tensions between social classes, poverty and existential problems, such as loneliness and senselessness of the modern way of life of an ordinary man. Beth Orton reminds me of Joan Baez with both her style of singing and subjects that her lyrics is focused on. She often sings of love and failed relationships between a man and a woman. I do not agree with Pete Seegers statement according to which folk magazines have to print the best rap songs. Although, the origins of rap root to American hip hop, which, in turn, is in incorporates some distinct features of traditional music of African American people. At first glance rap and hip hop have nothing to do with folk at all. In fact, these are different musical styles and genres. Unlike folk, rap is more of spoken word poetry with a monotonous rhythmic music on the background, where lyrics lie at the heart of every song and the role of music itself is neglected, though there are certain criteria to it among rap artists. Rap culture was initially widely spread in urban areas among African Americans, although today the situation has changed and the genre found its audience among other social and racial groups. Folk, to the contrary, rooted from suburban and countryside areas populated by white communities. On the other hand, comparing rap and folk Pete Seeger believed that there are more similarities in these two genres than differences. In fact, the way lyrics plays a the most important role in each and every rap song, touching upon social and existential issues, has a strong resemblance with the style and spirit of folk music, not to mention the historical implications of the development of rap genre. In spite of similar subjects that both rap and folk tend to

John Stuart Mill's principle of liberty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

John Stuart Mill's principle of liberty - Essay Example I prefer this definition of public policy because it establishes a direct connection between expectations of a society and the effectiveness of their embodiment by governments. With such observations in mind, let us try to find out to what extent, if at all, John Stuart Mill's principle of liberty is a workable and attractive basis for public policy in light of real-life challenges. ... ills principle to public policy, because in the latter case we may fail to exactly identify aspects of the principle that cause difficulties in its practical implementation as a basis for public policy. Besides, the fact Mill himself differentiated between the spheres of application of the principle of liberty in positive (freedom for personal development) and negative (knowledge that our freedom from harmful interference of others is protected) ways suggests that for him, as a utilitarian, this differentiation was needed in order to provide a practically applicable frame for his moral philosophy. Indeed, while for Mill the maximisation of happiness serves as the moral end, he realises that the task of distribution of limited amount of goods that can promote happiness requires the establishment of strict social norms violation of which should be punished for the common benefit. The first part of the Millian principle of liberty, which declares that a person has the right to do whatever he or she wants and be free from the interference from other people, stems from Mills principle of utility "grounded on the permanent interest of man as a progressive being".1 By this Mill implies that the choice of forms of governance should be based on their capacity to promote development of faculties of each individual, which would generally increase moral freedom, responsibility, and rationality among people, thus leading to more happiness. This aim is justified by the fact that free personal development is an end for each individual, and at the same time is a proper way for the whole society to thrive.1 So, it is after all the utility that dictates the best forms of social life.2 Therefore, with the personal development being the basic value, Mill states that liberty, insofar as it

Medieval Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Medieval Philosophy - Essay Example In his illustrious Proslogion, Anselm longs for seeing the holy face of the Lord, which is, according to the Abrahamic mythology, impossible to do in this life on the earth. Consequently, idea about God can only be conceived and imagined, instead of seeing the countenance of the Lord. The theologian further expands his notion by stating the very fact that though the concept of God is much greater than human power to conceive, it does not put His existence in doubt altogether. Moreover, since God cannot be seen, but can be understood and imagined, it is somewhat a vehemently difficult thing to believe in someone unseen because of the deficient mental and physical faculties attributed to the human beings at large. Somehow, the fool would, according to Anselm, take the concept of God as an illusory matter in nature, which could only be supposed because of the characteristic of His concept, existing in the minds of the people only rather maintaining any reality in its scope. Since God has been in the fool’s understanding since long, but having no clear picture and image related to Him, the fool can understand His concept in the same manner as he conceives about the unreal objects that have no real existence in the world. Thus, having belief in the (Supreme) Being, unable to be conceived, is hard nut to crack for the fool.

FISH TRANSPORT DESIGN Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

FISH TRANSPORT DESIGN - Assignment Example This investigation is aimed at delineating criteria to transport fish followed by three concept level models. These models will be evaluated against the delineated criteria and the most suitable model will be chosen to transport fish over long distances. The business viability of the chosen model will be evaluated in terms of investment and operational costs to help fish owners and transporters decide if they wish to install such a system. NUMBERS OF FISH AND TIME FOR TRANSPORT The current problem clearly states that fish will have to be transported in numbers between 5 and 200 and that the fish can stay on the road for up to 2 days. The most expensive fish in the lot is the Koi Carp. The Koi Carp is potentially a very sensitive fish and needs to be cared for excessively. For the purpose of this investigation, the baseline of water quality will be taken as that for the Koi Carp. If the water quality for the Koi Carp falls below certain constrained levels, then a major loss or failure will be assumed. Constraint 1 maximum transportation time will be 2 days (48 hours) As mentioned before, the baseline will be taken for Koi Carp. Thus aeration constraints will be developed along the lines for the Koi Carp. The density of Koi Carps should be kept at 80 cm length of fish for every 1 m3 volume. (Koi Carps, 2009) The average size of the Koi Carp is between 24 and 36 inches. If these values are averaged, the size of an average Koi Carp comes out to be 30 inches (76.2 cm). (Davis, 2011) Constraint 2 ? fish density based on average size 76.2 cm Water Quality The largest problem in maintaining healthy fish is the dissolved oxygen level. Any variations in the oxygen level can spell disaster for fish especially if the oxygen levels are not replenished after half an hour to acceptable levels. (FAO, 2011) Any and all factors that affect dissolved oxygen levels in water must be considered and dealt with accordingly. Generally the aeration system is constrained by: efficiency of the aeration system; transport duration; temperature of water; fish size; fish speci es. It is essential that the water used to house fish is kept clear. Any turbidity should be avoided and filters should be installed in the system to remove any particulate matter. Constraint 3 ? turbidity clarity Moreover, the pH level must be checked regularly to ensure that it keeps around 7. The acceptable pH levels for housing fish are 6 to 8.5. Constraint 4 ? pH level average at 7 Water temperature has a direct bearing on the amount of oxygen dissolved in water. Oxygen solubility in water decreases exponentially as the temperature of water increases. Therefore, if the water temperature rises significantly as the fish are being transported, the oxygen levels in water will suffer significantly. (Engineering Toolbox, 2011a) The variations of oxygen levels with water temperature are graphed in Appendix A. Constraint 5 ? water temperature should not vary significantly Moreover, the oxygen content of the water needs to be checked regularly to ensure that it does not fall below the d esignated threshold of 5 mg / litre. The variation in oxygen levels is between 8 and 9 mg / litre. Constraint 6 ? oxygen levels in water averaged at 5 mg / litre Moreover, the water quality should be maintained within the constraints listed above and no value should be allowed

Paraphrasing Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paraphrasing Practice - Essay Example a woman who is not physically and psychologically ready to have a child would lead to many complications that may be hazardous to human community as well, because a child who is not needed/accepted by his mother/parents can pose more threat to the world than a fetus that is medically removed before it becomes a living organism/individual. a. My understanding of the statements of friend changed drastically after I used active listening. At first, I was prejudiced against his view and thought that he was arguing for free sex, without taking into account the serious problems that it would create. However, once I slowed down to paraphrase his statements, I began to see how I misinterpreted some of his views, and could have argued against those in an infuriated state of mind. He got sufficient time to explain his point of view clearly because I held my views until his argument, my paraphrasing, and his corrections/approval of how I comprehended them. I came to know that he had formed a perception regarding the topic on the basis of careful observation, and not on impulse. He did not want to promote irresponsible man-woman relationships, but was adamant that one has to take into account the present state of affairs when discussing a serious issue that dealt with it. I understood his points of view regarding the situations where a woman gets pregnant our of rape or incest, and the cases where a pregnant woman is not mature enough to deal with becoming a mother, or where the failure of contraceptive measures fail even among married couples who have decided that their family is complete. If I had voiced my views vehemently without trying to understand his point of view, we would just have argued for a long time with no use at all, as if speaking in entirely different languages. b. The wide gap that existed among the views of my friend and me narrowed to a great extent as a result of active listening. Both of us took quality time to pause, understand the other’s

Comparative evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Comparative evaluation - Essay Example Simply relying on the idea of watching horror movies does not in any way make all of us to be abnormal. In fact, I am aware of a good number of people who dislike watching horror movies. In my view, his generalizations give those with contrary opinion enough reasons to counter his argument. On the other hand, Shanker Vedantam is exploring the manner in which our brains process tragedy and empathy by considering the â€Å"telescope effect†. The main argument present in this text is that telescope effect in human brain is responsible for human behaviour where a person would care so much for the good of a few rather than the good of the many. The choice to use real life examples in countering possible counterarguments makes the claim that the author makes believable. Finally, Sheila McClain, in her article Fitness Culture: A growing Trend in America, is discussing how celebrity endorsements of fitness centres is gradually increasing but doing very little to maintain the motivation of those clients. The arguments she is presenting here is on how human minds can easily be manipulated. It is shocking people end up doing things simply because a celebrity has endorsed only to feel less motivated after a while. She handles counterarguments by presenting examples in real

Summary and text response Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary and text response - Article Example Economists are surprised at the rate of growth in retail sales because the unemployment rate is still very high and people are not saving as much as before. The news that manufacturing production has increased in New York is a positive sign because the manufacturing sector will play an important part in the economy’s recovery. The reason why growth has now suddenly started to pick up is due to lower gas prices and also the effects of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan have started to wear off. Even though the stock market is performing above expectations, investors are cautious due to the debt crisis in Europe. There is a strong possibility that the Fed will attempt to stimulate demand and hiring in the early part of next year. The main concern is that the European debt crisis will spill over into America. Consumer spending is up from previous quarters, but many experts are worried that much of this is coming from savings rather than through cash. Because consumer spending ma kes up most of U.S. economic activity, it is a key indicator to judge how well the economy is performing. I think that the growth in the American economy is only short term. Even though the economy is performing better than most experts had predicted, I feel that it is only delaying the inevitable. In all likelihood, the America economy will enter into a double-dip recession sometime over the next 12 months. Even though retail and consumer spending are up, these are only short term indicators and cannot be relied upon for the long term. What is even more disconcerting is that many Americans are choosing to cut into their savings in order to fund their consumer purchases. This does not lead to sustained growth because if savings decrease, investment will also go down. A strong U.S. economy needs to have good savings so that the government can afford to pay of the U.S. debt. Spending more money isn’t going to solve the problem—only by saving can the economy get back to

Society of Kenya Essay Example for Free

Society of Kenya Essay The Tourism industry in Kenya operates within a liberalized economic environment that is characterised by active partnership between the Government and the private sector. While the private sector is expected to be the motive force, the Ministry of Tourism is charged with the responsibility of formulation and implementation of policies a kin to tourism as well as co-ordination of planning, development, promotion and marketing of tourism. The functions of the Government may be summarized as follows:- (i) Formulation and implementation of general policy guidelines for the tourism industry; (ii) Setting the required targets such as:- increasing the contribution of the sector to the National Gross Domestic Product, through increased foreign exchange earnings and retention from the sector; increase the sectors employment generating capacity. conserving and protecting the environment; diversification of the tourism product range and source markets; developing sustainable tourism; and the development of all facets of tourism. (iii) Planning, development and regulation of tourism activities; (iv) Licencing, classifying and upholding the quality of tourism facilities and services; (v) Co-ordination and Consultation with other government Ministries and departments in order to facilitate tourism development by providing the necessary enabling environment; (vi) The Ministry has also the responsibility of overseeing the operations of such State Corporations as:-   The Kenya Tourism Development Corporation, which lends to and advises investors in the tourism industry. The Kenya Utalii College which trains all cadres of manpower for the hotel and tourism sub sectors. The Catering Levy Trustee, which collects training levy on the sale of food, drinks and accommodation for purposes of funding training programmes for the hotel and tourism sub-sectors.   The Bomas of Kenya which is the national conservatory of Kenyas diverse cultural heritage where traditional rituals, dance and music are performed for the benefit of both visitors and the local people.   The Kenya Tourist Board which is charged with promotion and marketing of the destination both locally and internationally. The Kenya Wildlife Service which is not an integral part of the Ministry of Tourism, is vested with the responsibility of conservation and management of wildlife, and the maintenance of infrastructure, within the National Parks and Game Reserves. (vii) The Ministry co-ordinates Kenyas Tourism Promotion worldwide; and (viii) Co-ordinates bilateral and multilateral relations in tourism with other Governments, Non-governmental Organisations as well as other Donor Agencies. In addition, the Government provides such basic infrastructure for tourism development, as roads, educational programmes and the requisite security. It should also be noted that the Government is responsible for demarcating, protecting and gazetting all protected areas. COUNTY COUNCILS Most areas and communities where tourism is developed are under the authority of local County Councils. These Councils therefore play an important role in tourism development and are responsible for the following:- provision of incentives for tourism investment and management as well as provision of the requisite amenities for tourism development;   development of visitor management systems through zoning and land use policies aimed at securing participation by the local communities; Formulation and implementation of enforcement programmes pertaining to proper and ethical use of protected areas;   investing in improved tourism infrastructure such as roads and rural electrification;   developing consistent concession policies which are meant to enhance visitor management within the National Parks and Game Reserves;   liaising with communities on development projects to be funded by the tourism sector. (c) The Kenya Wildlife Service: The organisation is important since it is the primary custodian of the countrys flora and fauna. Its active participation has ensured reasonable resolution of human/wildlife conflict. However a lot remains to be done in this area. (d) The National Environmental Secretariat: The Secretariat co-ordinates the activities of the various Non-Government Environmental Organisations. Its contribution is important in the provision of vital environmental data and guidelines as required by the key players in the development of eco-tourism as and when required by the key players. (e) The Eco-tourism society of Kenya: This is a voluntary association of individuals and corporate bodies with mutual interest in tourism. It provides a platform for the resolutions of conflicts pertaining to conservation and the operations of tourism industry through:-   bringing together commercial, conservation and the local communities interested in sustainable tourism development;   promoting responsible and sustainable tourism; protecting the integrity of the natural and cultural attractions which are the bedrock of the industry. The Eco-tourism society of Kenya and its members aim at improving and promoting the image an ideal eco-tourism Kenya as a tourist destination by:-(i) Fostering tourism practices which can contribute to the conservation of Kenyas natural environment and thereby improve the lives of the communities living in close proximity to the protected areas; (ii) Developing suitable framework of Environmental Management standards relating to both tourist attractions and facilities; (iii) Devising and publishing eco-tourism regulations and codes of conduct; (iv) Increasing environmental awareness as well as developing strategies appropriate to mitigate negative ecological, cultural, social and economic impact of tourism; (v) Carrying out empirical research and pilot tests relating to new approaches and initiation and promoting projects which conform to the dictates of eco-tourism; (vi) Providing professional, advisory and consultancy services in policy, formulation research, planning and management of eco-tourism; (vii) Participation in relevant educational and training programmes as well as developing professional standards, certification and licensing systems that are in sync with Eco-tourism. (f). INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES. In Kenya both individuals and groups are encouraged to host wildlife on their lands under the Kenya Wildlife Service Programme known as Winning space for Wildlife. When Promoted hand in hand with nature based tourism, the programme enhances conservation and also ploughs back benefits to the host community. Other features of Winning Space for Wildlife programme include non-interference with land ownership and such other traditional economic activities as crop farming. (g). NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGO). There is a large number of resident conservation oriented Non-Governmental organizations which promote eco-tourism through: (i) Public education on conservation (ii) Developmental studies, position papers and codes for sustainable use of natural resources (iii) Publication of tourist information literature. (iv) Organizing annual workshops on conservation and environmental management. (v) Organizing seminars and workshops to promote community input into the management of nature and cultural tourism. THE KENYA ASSOCIATION OF TOUR OPERATORS (KATO) The Kenya Association of Tour Operators is an Association of the leading and most experienced tour operators in Kenya. Its members are governed by a code of conduct which requires them to conduct business in an ethical and responsible manner. The Association works closely with the Ministry of Tourism and other stakeholders for the promotion of eco-tourism. These other players include:- The Kenya Wildlife Service on the beach management programme and the development of park use rules. The Ministry of Tourism, Kenya Wildlife Service and Safari Guides Association on the development and observance of a code of conduct for visitors and tour operators. Eco tourism Society of Kenya and other Non-Governmental organisations on identifying and advising on the potentials of nature based tourism among various communities.   Local communities on capacity building and maximization of revenue generation. For example with the help of the Kenya Association of Tour Operators assistance, two groups adjacent to the Mara Reserve were able to raise their revenues from US$ 83,000 to US$ 2 Million within a year. Organising annual workshops on the conservation and environmental management for sustainable tourism development. Organizing seminars and workshop to promote community input in the management of nature and cultural tourism. In addition other notable stakeholders include established trade Associations that serve both as lobby groups and active participants in the overall development and marketing of Kenya as a tourist destination. These include:- Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers (KAHC);   Kenya Budget Hotels; Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA); Mombasa and Coast Tourist Association (MCTA);   Kenya Budget Hotels Association;   Kenya Air Charter Operators Association; and   The Board of Airlines Representatives. An active partnership exists between the Associations and the Government with optimum performance of the tourism industry being the common goal. Consultation and dialogue among all the stakeholders is a guiding principle in Kenyas tourism development. SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTIVE WILDLIFE UTILIZATION AND ECO-TOURISM. The concept of sustainable consumptive wildlife utilization has been formulated so as to counter the negative trends that were inherited from the wildlife based tourism and wildlife management policies that existed during and soon after the colonial period up to late 1970s. By then, conservation and tourism policies overlooked the interests of the local people by emphasizing control and regulations while neglecting incentives that would contribute to the success of wildlife conservation and management programmes in the country.

Creon and Antigone †Victims of Fate Essay Example for Free

Creon and Antigone – Victims of Fate Essay Sophocles put a lot of layers of meaning in his Creon and Antigone. For ancient Greeks these great tragedies were not only an entertainment, but they also possessed a lot of philosophical meaning which made people think about many different problems. When reading Sophocles’ play Antigone we get into a difficult life situation together with main characters, think about their choices and possible consequences of their mistakes. We can see two different systems of beliefs, two different worlds presented by two main characters Creon and Antigone. Creon is a carrier of the state power; he expresses obedience to his fate and obedience to the state laws. He is driven by the burden of responsibilities put on him by his high position. We see that he is ready to forget about his feelings and emotions in order to perform his duties. â€Å"Kings, my girl, have other things to do than to surrender themselves to their private feelings† he says to Antigone during their talk (Sophocles 42). He can not influence his destiny and it seems that everything is predetermined for him. Antigone is a complete antipode of Creon. She is lively, impulsive, enthusiastic and counts on her feelings and emotions. She can break the limits of the state laws and even does not feel guilty for that. â€Å"I didn’t say â€Å"yes†. I can say no to anything I think vile, and I don’t have to count the cost. But because you said yes, all that you can do, for all your crown and trappings, and your guards- all that you can do is to have me killed† (Sophocles 45). She is driven by completely different motives and her inner truth is more important to her than formal laws and regulations. She makes decisions, which determine her fate. She influences her own life and people around her. Antigone seems free and determine. She makes her decisions and is ready to take responsibility for them. We can find a lot of things, which unite them if we look deeper than just on the surface of the play. Creon and Antigone do not seem so different if we study their personalities better. They both are stubborn; they both are directed by their goals and do not want to step aside. They have different values and look for different things in life but both are ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of these values. Creon recognizes himself in young and passionate Antigone. â€Å"Don’t think me fatuous if I say that I understand you; and that at your age I should have done the same thing. A moment ago, when we were quarreling, you said I was drinking in your words. I was. But it wasn’t you I was listening to; it was a lad named Creon†¦he was thin and pale, as you are. His mind too was filled with thoughts of self-sacrifice† (Sophocles 50). He knows that they are alike, were alike if to be precise. But the burden of state responsibilities has changed his thoughts and deadened his feelings. His ideals were replaced by the obedience to laws and higher power. Like in the most Greek tragedies Creon is dependant on the will of whimsical gods and has little choice. The only his choice is whether to follow his destination or not. Creon makes his choice and obediently follows his fate. Antigone challenges not only social norms, but also her own destiny and will of gods. Antigone easily breaks with her beloved sister when she refuses to help her. She does not forgive her even when Ismene comes to prison and wants to share Antigone’s guilt. The same thing does Creon, when refuses to listen to the advice of his old and loyal friend Polyneices. Both, Antigone and Creon could sacrifice their dear people and just forget about them in the fight for their ideals. Both, Creon and Antigone have their own moral standards and live according to them. Works Cited Sophocles: The Complete Greek Tragedies. Edited by David Grene. 2 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1954-57.

The Cell Adhesion Practical

The Cell Adhesion Practical The extracellular matrix consists of many polymeric proteins and polysaccharides that are assembled into an organised meshwork. The extracellular matrix in our own bodies can be found as connective tissues such as bone and tendon. In animals the extracellular matrix forms a structure called the basal lamina. Basal lamina is a thin, tough, flexible sheet of matrix molecules and is essential in underpinning all of the epithelia. The basal lamina separates the cells and epithelia from the surrounding connective tissue and forms a connection between them. A Basal lamina determines the cell polarity, promotes cell survival, proliferation, and serves as a direct route for cell migration. The basal lamina in the extracellular matrix of animals consists of two main classes of extracellular macromolecules: fibrous proteins known as glycoproteins and gylcosaminoglycans which are polysaccharide chains covalently linked to core proteins to form proteoglycans. The matrix applies powerful influenc es on the cells. These influences are applied mainly through transmembrane cell adhesion proteins that act as matrix receptors. These matrix receptors have a main role in epithelial cells and mediating their interactions with the basal lamina. Many types of molecules can function as matrix receptors. The main receptors on animal cells for binding most extracellular matrix proteins are the integrins. Integrins are a large family of heterodimeric proteins that exist as both alpha and beta heterodimers. Many matrix proteins in vertebrates have multiple integrins. 5 can bind to Laminin and 9 types of ÃŽ ² subunits and 24 of ÃŽ ± subunits are formed from human integrins. ÃŽ ²1 subunits form dimers with 12 ÃŽ ± subunits. These subunits are found on all vertebrates and an example of this integrin is the ÃŽ ±6ÃŽ ²1 Laminin receptor. Fibrinogen is bound by the ÃŽ ²3 integrins. These integrins are found on many cells such as blood platelets. Platelets interact with fibrinogen during blood clo tting. It is known for ÃŽ ±2ÃŽ ²1 to bind to collagens, ÃŽ ±5ÃŽ ²1 binds to fibronectin, and ÃŽ ±6ÃŽ ²1 binds to laminins. The binding of a matrix component to an integrin can send a message to the inner part of the cell, and this causes the interior part of the cell to send a signal back to the matrix. The extracellular matrix of connective tissues plays an important role in many muticellular organisms. The connective tissue in the matrix is constructed from glycosaminoglycan polysaccharides which form proteoglycans and fibrous proteins such as collagen. The collagen fibres strengthen and help organise the matrix together. The fibrous proteins give the matrix the flexibility. Collagens are secreted in large quantities by the connective tissue cells. A main feature of a collagen molecule is its triple helical structure. The fibrous proteins give the matrix strength and form structures to which the cells can be anchored using glycoproteins such as Laminin and fibronectin that have ma ny binding sites for integrins on the cell surface. Laminin is the first extracellular protein synthesised in a developing embryo. It is made up of three polypeptide chains held together by disulphide bonds. The extracellular matrix also contains noncollagen proteins with multiple domains and specific binding sites for receptors on the surface of cells. These proteins organise the matrix and help cells attach to the matrix. The extracellular matrix components are degraded by proteolytic enzymes called proteases that act close to the cells that produce them. These proteases belong to two general classes: matrix metalloproteases and serine proteases. Matrix metalloproteases depend on bound Ca2+ and Zn2+ for activity. The matrix metalloproteases and serine proteases cooperate to degrade the matrix proteins collagen, Laminin, and fibrinogen. The adhesion assay to be used in this experiment involves using trypsin. Trypsin is an enzyme used to remove the living C6 glioma cells from the confluent dish. Gilal cells are important cells in the brain. The experiment will use rat tumour cells. The media will be grown in calf serum. The Calf serum contains growth factors which are used for cells to divide and also contains the ECM components such as fibrinogen. Trypsin is dissolved in a solution that contains a divalent cation cheladtum. This will interfere with the calcium and magnesium cations that are important f or cell-cell interaction and cell matrix interactions. The cells will be put in suspension to see how they attach to different ECM components and then placed in the two top lanes of a 96 well dish. The first lane will contain Laminin, collagen I, and fibrinogen. The 2nd lane is the control. When matrix components are placed on well they will stick but not all stick this is when BSA is used in second lane. BSA is a protein added to other ECMs to block the sites that the 3 different ECM components havent stuck to. (1)(2)(3)(4)(8)(9) Cell adhesion assays are useful in many aspects of cell physiology and the mechanism of the adhesive response itself. Cell Adhesion Molecules (CAMs) are proteins located on the cell surface that are involved with the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the process called cell adhesion. Cell adhesion molecules have been identified from epithelial cells and studies demonstrate the role of extracellular matrix proteins, fibronectin and Laminin in cell attachment to matrix. These proteins contain specific domains which interact with other matrix components such as collagen. Cell adhesion is a complex process that involves molecular interactions and receptor ligand binding. Adhesion assays measure the contacts between a cell and extracellular adhesion proteins and also provide information about the cellular events. Cell adhesion assays are used to test the ability of a cell line to adhere to a subtrate(4)(5). The methods for measuring cell adhesion can be divided into two types. In the first type of methods, cell adhesion is analysed under static conditions. Static assays are used widely to assess the adhesion of different types of cells such as fibroblasts and epithelial cells. This assay describes the cells ability to adhere. This method is simple to perform and provides assessment of the adhesiveness of cells to a defined extracellular matrix substrate for example Laminin. However, static assay methods poorly stimulate adhesion that occurs in blood. Therefore, a second method is used to measure the cell adhesion using flow chambers. The use of flow chambers enables the researcher to stimulate blood flow and to reconstruct cell systems in the presence of shear. Flow chambers are available commercially and most commonly used to study leukocyte adhesion, either with endothelial cells or to substrates purified ligands. The aim of this practical is to perform a cell adhesion assay with 3 di fferent ECM components and to investigate the ability of extracellular components to adhere to c6 glioma cells. (4)(5) Results In the practical there was an experimental error this is due to mixing with serum. Therefore only B9-B12 was used along with other colleagues results. Trypsin is an enzyme used to remove the living C6 glioma cells from the confluent dish. Gilal cells are important cells in the brain. The experiment used rat tumour cells. Trypsin is a protease used to degrade the ECM proteins. Trypsin is dissolved in a solution that contains a divalent cation cheladtum. This will interfere with the calcium, magnesium cations that are important for cell-cell interaction and cell matrix interactions. Cells are put in suspension to see how cells attach to different ECM components. Discussion From the results it is shown a hierarchy of ECM components can be concluded. Matrix 1 concludes to be fibrinogen; this is because it is the least to adhere with C6 glioma cells. Asano et al,(2004) stated that C6 cells adhered a little more than twice as well to type I collagen as to Laminin this can be clearly shown on the bar chart as the two greater bars (matrix 2 and 3) indicating fibrinogen as the least. Results for both individual and model show C6 glioma cells adhered well to both type I collagen and laminin-1 but C6 glioma cells did not adhere well to fibrinogen. A reason to why the C6 glioma cells did not adhere could be that they are derived from glial cells in the rat brain. Cells derived from gilal cells are unlikely to adhere with fibrinogen and therefore unlikely to express integrins which interact with fibrinogen and this can be seen clearly in both model data and own data. A number of integrins require activation to bind their ligand and anchor the cell to the ECM. For example alphaIIb beta 3 integrin from platelets cannot bind to fibrinogen unless the platelets are activated by binding collagen or thrombin in a forming clot. The activation leads to changes in the integrin which are linked to the cytoskeleton remodelling. In both the model data and own matrix 3 shows to have the greatest absorbance and adherence. This is because collagen is the most abundant protein and most of the extracellular matrix is made up of collagen. Collagen shows the most adherences to the cells this is because collagen contains more integrin receptors than the other ECM components. Trypsin breaks down the ECM properties and therefore cells appear separated under the microscope. A reason to a higher adherence to collagen could be trypsin breaks down the collagen components faster than fibrinogen. A low adherence is shown for fibrinogen this is because fibrinogen in the brain is low. Glioma cells originate from the brain and therefore they would not encounter with fibri nogen so the integrins only bind to collagen and Laminin.(3)(2) Another experiment in determining which integrins are important in cell adhesion to the ECM component is using antibodies. Antibodies identify the functions of the ECM receptors in cell attachment and cell migration by attaching to the alpha and beta and are also used to block adhesion to ECM .Blocking the function of the beta subunit inhibited cell adhesion to Laminin and fibronectin. These results were expected because a beta polypeptide can associate with several alphas to form receptors for collagen and Laminin. In the late 80s functionally blocking antibodies were used on ÃŽ ±2 integrins to block adhesion to collagens and ÃŽ ²1 integrins blocked the adhesion to several ligands. 2 Rat monoclonal antibodies have been used against integrins. Monoclonal antibody (mAb) 13 recognizes the integrin class 1 beta polypeptide and monoclonal antibody 16 recognizes the fibronectin receptor. These monoclonal antibodies were used to test the inhibitory activities in cell adhesion, spreading, and migration using w138 human fibroblasts. It was shown mAb 13 inhibited the attachment and spreading of w138 cells on fibronectin and Laminin substrates. It was shown Laminin mediated adhesion and was sensitive to mAb 13 compared to mAb 16 which showed cell attachment to fibronectin but not Laminin. This shows this receptor is not involved in Laminin cell adhesion. (7) The ÃŽ ±1ÃŽ ²1 integrin can bind to collagen types I, II, III, and V but favours other subtypes such as type IV and XIII. This is why ÃŽ ±2ÃŽ ²1 integrin is the major receptor for type 1 collagen. An experiment in determining the collagen receptors is to see the effect of collagenase-cleavage of type I collagen on a2b1 integrin-mediated. Collagenase-3 cleavage of type 1 collagen has shown to have an effect on ÃŽ ±2ÃŽ ²1 integrin. An isolated ÃŽ ±2ÃŽ ²1 integrin and ÃŽ ±2 integrin A- domain were found to bind native collagen and native k fragment. It was shown integrins were lost after heat denaturation of the collagen fragments and shown human fibrosarcoma cells (HT1080) adhered to type 1 collagen and k fragment at 37Â °C. HT1080 cells cultured on type 1 collagen and collagen fragments expressed high in ÃŽ ±2ÃŽ ²1 integrin on cell surface and very little to ÃŽ ±vÃŽ ²3 integrin detected by immunolocalization. This experiment shows that ÃŽ ±2ÃŽ ²1 integrin binding to type 1 collagen i s dependent on the maintenance of the collagen triple helical conformation. (6) Inconclusion integrins are important adhesion molecules involved in cell-cell- matrix adhesions.

Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry Essay -- Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry Mildr

Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry Mildred D. Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry is set during the Great Depression, in the rural areas of Mississippi. The majority of the people in this community are sharecroppers, who are greatly dependent on plantation farming. The Logan family is fortunate because they have a piece of land of their own, so unlike other black sharecroppers they do not have to be dependent on the whites. However, due to the sharp decrease in the price of the cotton crop the family have to work hard to keep it in their hands, whilst also providing food in order for them to survive. The situation is further worsened because of the severity of racism and segregation in the society. The Logans are one of the few families who own land and this causes resentment from the whites whose beliefs are that black people are inferior and the whites must maintain their supremacy. David Logan and Uncle Hammer both believe that prejudice must be stopped, yet the ways in which they fight against it differ greatly. Papa prefers to act non-violently and to work within the system. He does so by concentrating on paying off the mortgage of the land so that his family will be on an equal par with the whites and have self-respect. He modifies his behaviour and considers things carefully in order not to jeopardise the land and the safety of his family. Hammer on the other hand has left Mississippi to get away from the prejudice, but once confronted with it again; he reacts violently and impulsively. Being a single person he puts his sense of injustice before concern about repercussions against the family. Papa works on the railroads in order to support his family and the land, so as a result he only returns to Mississippi during the wintertime. Unlike Papa, Uncle Hammer does not live with the family. He is not married and lives in Chicago where segregation is less severe, and thus has the opportunity to earn a good salary. When he visits the Logan family during the Christmas season "Uncle Hammer wore, as he had everyday since he had arrived, sharply creased pants, a vest over a snow-white shirt and shoes that shone like midnight.'; This shows that he is not afraid to flaunt his wealth, which in turn provokes the whites. His aim is to show them that black people can be as equally successful. Also the black community admire him for his achievements, "Uncle Hammer... ...n never to give up and to fight against racism. "We keep doing what we gotta, and we don't give up, we can't'; They also teach the children to demand respect. This plays an important part in the stability and the survival of the family. Another thing they have in common is that they both value their roots through the act of story telling, passing on their cultural heritage from generation to generation which happens often throughout the novel. For example during Christmas time Papa tells the children, "and ole Hammer and me, we used to sneak up there whenever it'd get so hot you couldn't hardly move and take a couple of them melons on down to the pond and let them get real chilled.'; In conclusion Uncle Hammer behaves much more impulsively than Papa, who can control his temper very well. He does not act spontaneously and thinks things out carefully, unlike Hammer who often acts on the spur of the moment. Despite the differences in their self-control and lifestyles, they are loyal family men who have similar values and principles and want to pass on their culture and teach the children their history. In view of this Uncle Hammer and Papa have more in common than is different. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry Essay -- Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry Mildr Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry Mildred D. Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry is set during the Great Depression, in the rural areas of Mississippi. The majority of the people in this community are sharecroppers, who are greatly dependent on plantation farming. The Logan family is fortunate because they have a piece of land of their own, so unlike other black sharecroppers they do not have to be dependent on the whites. However, due to the sharp decrease in the price of the cotton crop the family have to work hard to keep it in their hands, whilst also providing food in order for them to survive. The situation is further worsened because of the severity of racism and segregation in the society. The Logans are one of the few families who own land and this causes resentment from the whites whose beliefs are that black people are inferior and the whites must maintain their supremacy. David Logan and Uncle Hammer both believe that prejudice must be stopped, yet the ways in which they fight against it differ greatly. Papa prefers to act non-violently and to work within the system. He does so by concentrating on paying off the mortgage of the land so that his family will be on an equal par with the whites and have self-respect. He modifies his behaviour and considers things carefully in order not to jeopardise the land and the safety of his family. Hammer on the other hand has left Mississippi to get away from the prejudice, but once confronted with it again; he reacts violently and impulsively. Being a single person he puts his sense of injustice before concern about repercussions against the family. Papa works on the railroads in order to support his family and the land, so as a result he only returns to Mississippi during the wintertime. Unlike Papa, Uncle Hammer does not live with the family. He is not married and lives in Chicago where segregation is less severe, and thus has the opportunity to earn a good salary. When he visits the Logan family during the Christmas season "Uncle Hammer wore, as he had everyday since he had arrived, sharply creased pants, a vest over a snow-white shirt and shoes that shone like midnight.'; This shows that he is not afraid to flaunt his wealth, which in turn provokes the whites. His aim is to show them that black people can be as equally successful. Also the black community admire him for his achievements, "Uncle Hammer... ...n never to give up and to fight against racism. "We keep doing what we gotta, and we don't give up, we can't'; They also teach the children to demand respect. This plays an important part in the stability and the survival of the family. Another thing they have in common is that they both value their roots through the act of story telling, passing on their cultural heritage from generation to generation which happens often throughout the novel. For example during Christmas time Papa tells the children, "and ole Hammer and me, we used to sneak up there whenever it'd get so hot you couldn't hardly move and take a couple of them melons on down to the pond and let them get real chilled.'; In conclusion Uncle Hammer behaves much more impulsively than Papa, who can control his temper very well. He does not act spontaneously and thinks things out carefully, unlike Hammer who often acts on the spur of the moment. Despite the differences in their self-control and lifestyles, they are loyal family men who have similar values and principles and want to pass on their culture and teach the children their history. In view of this Uncle Hammer and Papa have more in common than is different.

To Kill A Mocking Bird :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

To Kill a Mockingbird Usually, my method of writing a book review starts off with a quote. However, this time with this particular book I’ve decided to begin with a description of the author. Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926. She studied law along with her father and sister. In her allegorical novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee writes about a young girl in a small southern town by showing the difficulties she will have to face as she grows up.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The author’s purpose is to show us how life isn’t always fair. I strongly agree with her on that for several reasons. For example, look at what happened to Tom Robinson. He was accused of a crime he didn’t commit and then he was killed because someone was lonely. She got him in trouble, which drove him to his death. In this example, life is definitely not fair because he never should have been accused of something he did not do. I could give several examples of smaller, less important situations that have the same theme as this story does â€Å"do not harm people who do not harm you.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The setting of this book was in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. Scout, Jem and Dill spend the summer trying to get Boo Radley out of his house. None of them had ever seen him. Scout started to school and on his way there and back, he and Jem would find gifts in a hole in the tree by the rocky place. Scout and Jem started hearing their father referred to as a â€Å"nigger-lover† because he was defending Tom Robinson – a Negro man accused of rape. When Scout, Jem and Calpurnia come home from church, they find Aunt Alexandrea is staying with them for the trial. One night, Atticus mysteriously leaves the house. Scout, Jem, Dill follow him. A lynch mob appears and was trying to force Atticus to let them have the Negro prisoner, but then the kids show up. On the way back from a Halloween pageant, the children were attacked by someone and caused Jem a broken arm.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the book, Scout changes a lot. She goes from being an immature young girl to a mature young lady. She had a lot to adjust to in this story. For example, Jem felt her was older and too old to hang out with his little sister.

Colonialism and Africa Essay -- African Countries, Post Colonial Afric

Introduction Modern African states have several problems ranging from corruption, to armed conflict, to stunted structural development. The effects of colonialism have been offered as a starting point for much of the analysis on African states, but the question of why African states are particularly dysfunctional needs to be examined, given the extent to which they have lagged behind other former European colonies in many aspects. In the first section, I will consider the problems with African states from the level of the state. That is, the nature of the states' inceptions and the underlying flaws may explain some of the issues that have been associated with African states today. Next I examine the development of, or lack of, civil society and the institutions which took place across the continent in the colonial era. In particular, I consider the lack of education and judicial authority and how this affected the formation of the structures which exist in the post-colonial era. Lastly, the econ omic legacy of colonialism is analysed, and whether the failure of African states to prosper can be explained by colonial practices. State Formation Ever since the boundaries of Africa were drawn up in 1884/5, very little has changed in terms of the continent's territorial divisions. Much has been made of the fact that the post-colonial states which constitute Africa were the products of colonial demarcations, and whose territories are not congruent to existing political and ethnic organizations. Ethnic conflict within states is an unfortunate feature of several African states, and one which undoubtedly retards development of any kind. There has been debate surrounding the nature of African ethnicities and whether they were synt... ...provision of education in the colonial period affected the ability to develop from within. The civil institutions were weak, and the judiciary unable to provide a balancing role to the central power of the state. Indigenous Africans were typically not allowed to rise to meaningful levels in the industrial complex, and the infrastructure was built only enough to serve the extraction of wealth. The small number of educated bureaucrats who previously prospered in their positions, found themselves as a new elite class in the absence of the colonialists, and it was perhaps too difficult for them to change their behaviour after inheriting the state. In summary, it could be said that large portions of the inhabitants of the newly independent state had not entered into any sort of stable 'social contract' by the organic process which had been the case for other societies.

Bosu Balance Trainer Essay

BOSU has used a few types of competitive advantage`s principles in order to defeat copycat products. BOSU created a new product and locked in customers and buyers by establishing alliances with trainers. BOSU`s marketing strategy created market entry barriers. 2. Information systems played a key role in BOSU`s success. Fitness Quest maintains a database of trainer data. It uses that database for email and postal correspondence as well as for other marketing purposes. Fitness Quest was crucial in the process of BOSU developing a successful marketing strategy. By Fitness Quest database of trainer data, BOSU was able to establish alliances and lock in consumers and buyers. 3. There are many ideas that could be used by Fitness Quest in order to develop its information systems. The main idea would be to help to strengthen ties between customers and between costumers and trainers. Trainers could share ideas about fitness classes for example. There could be also an available chat for customers, so BOSU buyers could participate in chat groups about how they like and use their BOSU trainers. 4. Through trainers, BOSU was able to differentiate. BOSU`s focus was on fitness trainers within the industry. This worked because the trainers believed the BOSU was the best product for giving customer value, which built a relationship between each customer and the product. 5. 1.enhance products and services 2.differentiate products and services 3.lock in customers and trainers 4.raise barrier to market 5.entry and establish alliances 6. There are many differences between BOSU and Indo-Row since those are two completely different products with two different goals. BOSU product focused on balance and Indo-row focused on total work out (it competes with other equipment-based forms of group exercise as Spinning). Indo-row is also more expensive than BOSU and there is no direct competitor since the product is new in the market. The main threat Indo-row and BOSU may face is the possibility of competing with a copycat product in future. 7. It would be already expected from Fitness Quest to send the Indo-row information to trainers and clients by database provided through email and mail. It would be also interesting to provide seminars and training for trainers in order to instruct them how to use the product (so they would be able to teach people how to get the best out of Indo-row). Customers and trainers group chats would be also a good idea, so they would be able to interchange opinions about the product.

Impact of Globalisation on Folk Culture Essay

It has been experienced that every step of movement towards economic, political and cultural modernization, taken by the state in India, is responded to by the people with an enhanced sense of self-consciousness and awareness of identity. Cultural modernization, sponsored by the forces of globalization, is resented if it encroaches upon or does not promote the core cultural values of society, its language, social practices and styles of life. The vigour of the renewed sense of self-awareness generated among the members of the local cultures and communities is such as to succeed in making adaptive reconciliation with the forces of globalization. The linkages both visible and invisible, defining the cultural interdependence among communities and regions in India which have existed historically, reinforce instead of threatening the national identity. These bonds seem to become stronger as India encounters the forces of modernization and globalization. Key Words: Globalization, Culture, Modernization, etc. Globalization is the process which expands and accelerates the movement of ideas and exchange of commodities over vast distances. From a global perspective, globalization’s most important impacts are often highly localized. Globalization really affects people with respect to their way of life, culture, taste, fashion, preferences, etc. It has led to good and bad effects on the lives of the people. With the dream of great opportunities, people used to move from east to west and vice-versa. But, the global financial crisis all over the world resulted in reverse migration. Researches had proved that many foreign-born workers; mainly from China and India, have considered returning home to better job opportunities.

Amy Tan and Functionalism Essay

This essay will explore the real life of Amy Tan and the translation of her life through her large body of work. The research will not only involve biographical information but quotes from her books as they relate to her life and the influence of Asian culture on those works as well as her life. The works that will be focused on in this essay will The Joy Luck Club and other others. The main development of the essay will be based upon the comparing qualities found in The Joy Luck Club. This essay will be partly analytical and partly research based in its design. Amy Tan’s work, though broad in theme will usually bear the relationship of the mother-daughter paradigm in the weight of the story incorporating a functionalist theory. Cognitive processes performed by the brain allow for construction of an internal model of reality from the sensory data. This also coincides with consensual reality or perceived reality which is the function of the normal processes of the brain. Sensory perception is a crux by which cognitive science develops its theories. As such, the mind is in a continuous learning equation. The brain chronically categorizes representations of reality (objects, feelings, events, etc) and learns how to problem solve, and compute these different sensory receptions. This is a self-organizing process by which the mind acts like a computer and stores information from sensory events into a coded mechanism. Amy Tan writes about the way in which an Asian woman grows up in a Western culture and the effects of this on the mother-daughter relationship. Thus, not only is the theme of the familial relationship relevant but also the theme of the first generation Asian American important. Especially in the novel The Joy Luck Club the view of Asian values as they are pitted against Western culture is examined, just as in Amy Tan’s life, such issues were relevant. Tan’s novels peak with relevance to the negotiation of the characters toward their assimilation into Western society †¦Asian American culture emerges out of the contradictions of Asian immigration, which in the last century and a half of Asian entry into the United States have placed Asians within the United States nation-state, its workplaces, and its markets, yet linguistically, culturally and racially marked Asians as foreign and outside the national polity. Under such contradictions, late nineteenth-century Chinese immigrants labored in mining agriculture, and railroad construction but were excluded from citizenship and political participations in the state†¦By insisting on Asian American formation as contradictory, and therefore as dialectical and critical†¦while immigration has been the locus of legal and political restriction of Asians as the other in America, immigration has simultaneously been the site fro the emergence of critical negations of the nation-state for which those legislations are the expression†¦The national institutionalization of unity becomes the measure of the nation’s condition of heterogeneity. If the nation proposes American culture as the key site for ht resolution of inequalities and stratifications that cannot be resoled on the political terrain of representative democracy, then that culture performs that reconciliation by naturalizing a universality that exempts the non-American from its history or aestheticizes ethnic differences as if they could be separated form history (Lowe 11). Asian Americans are prone to negotiation and this interaction between cultures as well as between generations is especially prevalent in The Joy Luck Club as it relates to Tan’s life. In the context of this process is the history of Tan’s own life. She was a first generation Asian American born in Oakland California. Her parents were Chinese immigrants. Her father was a Baptist minister and her mother was a Shanghai nurse. When Tan was fourteen years old, her father as well as her elder brother died of brain tumors. After the death of the figurehead of the family and the brother, Tan, her mother Daisy and the younger brother Peter moved to Montreux, Switzerland. As Tan grew older she began to realize the great gap that existed between herself and her mother due to their difference in culture. As Tan grew up she realized that there was much tension between herself and her mother. Tan eventually moved away from home and gained her master’s degree in linguistics at San Jose State University. Tan’s first job was as a children’s speech therapist. Within the context of Tan’s writing there exists these elements of her life; integration, acceptance, alienation both in terms of culture and through this culture of familial ties. The ideal behind the immigration to America is extrapolated in her novels as a way of achieving the American dream. This issue is brought subtly to the foreground by way of the parents’ expectations of their children and the children’s noncompliance to these wishes, a sort of shucking off of the parents’ ideal for the children’s own interest, Although ‘Asian values’ have continued to define the material success of Asian Americans in American culture and society since the 1980’s, these values have equally been deployed to suggest the inability of Asian Americans to embrace the American Dream, a problem that would culminate in the myth of ‘perpetual foreigner. ’†¦the history of Asians in America can be fully understood only if we regard them as both immigrants and members of nonwhite minority groups precisely because Asian Americans have never been completely absorbed into American society and its body politic (Shu 93). Thus, Tan’s novels, as juxtaposed with her life emphasize the alienation first generation Asian Americans deal with as being ostracized from either culture, Culture is the medium of the present—the imagined equivalences and identifications through which the individual invents lived relationship with the national collective. But it is simultaneously the site that mediates the past, through whih history is grasped as difference, as fragments, shocks, and flashes of disjunction. It is through culture that the subject becomes, acts, and speaks itself as American. It is likewise in culture that individuals and collectivities struggle and remember, and in that difficult remembering, imagine and practice both subject and community differently (Lowe 10). In Tan’s novel The Joy Luck Club the main attraction for readers resides in the focus of the four main Chinese-American families. These families unite in the club they formed called The Joy Luck Club in which the mothers, and towards the end of the novel the daughters play the Chinese game Mahjong for money while also partaking of a myriad of Chinese dishes. In fact, Tan brings a lot of Chinese culture into her stories through food. The novel is written in a vignettes style in which the characters lives are portrayed in sixteen chapters divided into four sections where the narrative is dedicated to both the mother and the daughter. The beginning of the novel begins with Jing-Mei or ‘June’ who has at this point lost her mother Suyuan to an aneurysm. The Joy Luck Club requests that June take the place of her mother at their game. This begins the novel in a fashion of exploration and a journey in which June discovers who her mother was and thereby finds her own identity through her mother on behalf of the information gleaned from Suyuan’s friends. This topic of finding the self through the mother relates to Tan’s own life and her relationship with her mother. This is also a cultural issue in which the daughter denies her heritage, in this case both Tan and June, and only through this journey of discovering who the mother is does the daughter begin to understand her own self, In contrast, the cultural productions emerging out of the contradictions of immigrant marginality displace the fiction of reconciliation, disrupt the myth of national identity by revealing its gaps and fissures, an intervene in the narrative of national development that would illegitimately locate the immigrant before history, or exempt the immigrant from history. The universals proposed by the political and cultural forms of the nation precisely generate the critical acts that negate those universals. These acts compose the agency of Asian immigrants and Asian Americas: the acts of labor, resistance, memory, and survival as well as the politicized cultural work that emerges from dislocation and disidentification. Asian immigrants and Asian Americans have not only been subject to immigration exclusion and restriction, but have also been subjects of the migration process and are agents of political change, cultural expression, and social transformation (Lowe 11-12). Tan’s novels also focus on the American dream as it is reinterpreted by her characters. Tan’s use of culture as it applies to the characters is also applicable through the identity of being an immigrant. The loss of self through the loss of culture becomes a very viable source of depression for the characters in the novel just as Tan wrote that her own family suffered from this disease. Depression is prevalent with the daughters of the novel in struggling to find their identity and for June in finding out who her mother was as a person and as a mother. The novel deals greatly in behind the scene actions and events that are not revealed to the protagonist until the right time toward the end of the novel. In a way the old adage of a woman not becoming a woman until the death of her mother plays a specific role in this novel just as it does for Tan’s life. When June’s mother dies June must take on her mother’s responsibilities in the Joy Luck Club and in a way become her mother for these women. It is in this position that June learns of Suyuan’s life before being a mother just as much as she is an identity as a mother. Tan stated that her mother Daisy witnessed her mother’s suicide. This theme was emphasized in The Bonesetter’s Daughter when the mother tried to contact Precious Auntie. The form of contact that June clutches to in The Joy Luck Club is found in Suyuan’s circle of friends My father has asked me to be the fourth corner at the Joy Luck Club. I am to replace my mother whose seat at the mah jong table has been empty since she died two months ago. My father thinks she was killed by her own thoughts†¦My mother could sense that the women of these families also had unspeakable tragedies they left behind in China and hopes they couldn’t begin to express in their fragile English. Or at least, my mother recognized the numbness in these women’s faces. And she saw how quickly their eyes moved as she told them her idea for the Joy Luck Club (Tan 19-20). The pressure that mother insists upon the daughter is prevalent in Tan’s live as well as it is presented in the lives of her characters, especially June. There is a theme concurrent with this idea of memory, escape and eventual recognition in The Joy Luck Club which persists with the image and symbolism of the piano. Jing-mei’s mother Mrs. Woo insists that Jing-mei is a musical prodigy but during her debut recital both mother and daughter realize how bad she is at playing the instrument. As a result of this terrible recital Jing-mei shouts at her mother that she wishes she had never been born, that she were dead like those twins Mrs. Woo had to abandon. The mother then backs off and allows Jing-mei to forget about the piano. Later in the story the piano is given to Jing-mei as a thirtieth birthday presents and in this gift Jing-mei realizes that her mother only wanted her to find something worthwhile in her life. The gift of the piano reminds Jing-mei of the daughters that her mother had to leave behind, however, it is only after her mother’s death that Jing-mei can come to accept the gift of the piano. As she plays the piano Tan’s underlying theme becomes refocused on the American Dream translated into Chinese culture. Jing-mei’s mother wanted her to make something of herself, hence the piano. In Jing-mei’s ugly comment about wanting to be dead like her twin sisters the reader realizes that this is a metaphorical death, that Jing-mei is realizing that she is the product of a Chinese household but with ever growing dreams persuade by Western culture. Jing-mei eventually goes to China to meet with her twin sisters and in so doing she becomes reunited with her mother in the stories that she must give them, but all is revealed in that initial hug between the sisters. The mother’s children unite thereby uniting the family after so many years dislocated. In this way Tan’s focus is one of Diaspora, in the lack of home and the journey emotionally, spiritually and physically that each character in The Joy Luck Club must undertake to come to recognition with their identity, as Asian Americans, immigrants, products of a cultural dichotomy and as daughters and mothers, Tan also explores the effect of popular culture on the immigrant. Mrs. Woo gets her ideas from television and popular magazines. She does not question the validity of these sources. The magazines range from the bizarre—Ripley’s Believe It or Not—to the commonplace—Good Housekeeping and Reader’s Digest. Everything has been predigested for mass consumption (Shu 93). This predigested concept elicits for Tan the idea of self as seen through culture. The mother in this passage is seeking to redefine and assimilate into a culture for which she is ill designed. The theme then, as it was for Tan who was a first generation Asian American who later moved to Switzerland and then back to the San Francisco Bay area, is this idea of relocation, Diaspora. Through this concept of Diaspora through Tan’s novels it is easy to understand the psyche of her characters in relation to her own sentiments about life, immigration, identity as they in turn relate back, each of them, to the mother and daughter relationship. These forced concepts of becoming a woman and struggling with identity as it pertains to these outside forces is a daunting realization for each other Tan’s characters as it must have been difficult for her to define her life growing up a first generation Asian American. Amy Tan’s talent for writing is based on her affiliation with true life events which is a very functionalist way to write. Thus, when she writes her fiction novels she is also writing in part her biography as the thoughts of the characters are revealed to be strikingly similar to the sentiments that Tan must have felt growing up and finding out the history of her own mother who witnessed her mother’s suicide. Through the incorporation of these personal thoughts there is also the element in this way of thinking that focuses on Asian culture. The concept of the immigrant as it applies to Western culture is inclusive of being ostracized. Thus, the characters in Tan’s novels are in search of identity; identity as it relates to the dichotomy of Asian and Western culture, mother-daughter relationships, and the self. Through the arrival of the mother’s past revealed to the daughters in each of Tan’s novel, the daughter comes to an epiphany. The daughter realizes that she is her mother in part, and that is where her home is found. Thus, Tan is able to transfer this personal quest of self in the novel, as well as her real life, into the notion of the self being identified through the struggle of the mother for the daughter and the sacrifice therein. This concept is proved especially with June’s character, but for Tan , the idea of the mother defining the daughter is constant. Work Cited Lowe, Lisa. â€Å"The Power of Culture†. Journal of Asian American Studies. Vol. 1, No. 1. 1996. Shu, Yuan. â€Å"Globalization and ‘Asian Values’: Teaching and Theorizing Asian American Literature. † College Literature. Vol. 32, No. 1. Winter 2005. Tan, Amy. â€Å"The Joy Luck Club†. Putnam. 1989. Tan, Amy. â€Å"The Bonesetter’s Daughter. † Putnam. 2001.

A Comparative Look at Beethoven and Mozart Lives

Beethoven and Mozart are great and famous composers of classical music who share similarities in musical composition and still both exhibit certain differences. Being counted among the list of the most influential composers in the history of music, Wolfgang Mozart and Ludwig Beethoven are artists who have much in common.This paper draws on the views that both of these composers have the same musical foundation having been introduced to music by their fathers. It seeks to explore the similarities as well as differences in the lives of Mozart and Beethoven in the history of music.Mozart and Beethoven are from the same origin and they worked in the same musical genres such as classical and romantic thus exemplifying themselves as very talented musician a as well as prolific composers. However, it is plausible to accept the fundamental truth there are no two people are exactly the same. On this basis, Mozart and Beethoven harbor certain differences that emanate from their different perso nalities and perspectives in music. As a result, it emerges that the age at which they began composing points out clear differences in their composition and musical careers coupled by their musical style.Differences The first notably difference between Mozart and Beethoven lies in their musical style. Brown (23-25) postulates that the overwhelming greater part of the composition of Mozart is not only light but also very aerial and delightful. As such, music critics have attributed that the musical pieces of Mozart aim at general entertainment and extensively apt relaxation which underlies the whole paradigm in which music is composed and performed. On the hand, Beethoven’s music is typical of intensive drama which makes it heavier and typical of a wide range of pith.In light of this, Wallace (105-107) explains that the music of Beethoven exhibits a lot of in-depth passion and dynamism in composition as well as performance. Notably, another important difference that marks the Beethoven and Mozart is their entry age in the field of musical composition. Arguably, Mozart began his musical career at the age of five and grew up composing music for royal people in most cases (Lancaster, 37-39). On the same note, Beethoven is said to have delved into music when he was already a teenager and concentrated a composing music for the public at large.With regard to this difference, both musical artists grew in different circumstances as pertains their introduction to music and thus, their audience became marked by the conditions that characterized their entry in music. With the different audiences, Mozart and Beethoven had to compose music at deferent condition and they addressed different thematic concerns hence marking their greatest difference in their lives and music (Pestelli, 52-54). Significantly, it is prudent to note their difference in notation styles. Mozart continued to produce musical piece that was marked by clear and neat notations.Comparatively, this was greatly different from the notational styles of Beethoven since his composition was marked by sloppy, unclear and somewhat careless notations (Brown, 49-51). Extensively, the style of their music as well as the audience they composed for left them emotionally feeling different. For instance, as Mozart became a happy, easy-going composer and person in life while Beethoven was typical of bad temper and largely became depressive. On this note the life experiences of these two life time composers propelled them to different pedestals.Essentially, Beethoven led a lone life but his due to the question that he composed and performed for the general public he received an honorable burial after his death at the age fifty six. On the other hand, Mozart who specialized in composing for the royalties was buried in unmarked grave in Vienna at the age of thirty six (Lancaster, 87-89). Unlike Mozart, Beethoven had a method of composing which mirrored a situation where he recorded ideals in not ebooks and later used them in building up blocks for his composition.For example, the Ode of Joy, a symphony that was build on the theme of seeds was a concept conceived several years ago Accordingly, it is a reflection of a long gestation period of composition where Beethoven paid supreme attention to minute details in a bid to depict that in the music lies strength of idealism (Wallace, 36-38). This creative process marked the inspirational ability of Beethoven. However, Mozart was radical and was dubbed the Trent Reznor of his lifetime. He succeeded in his spontaneity ability as well as his outspoken nature.With regard to their musical works, Beethoven composed pieces that rapidly diverged from his teacher and peers. Revolution was in air and Beethoven’s symphonies mirrored both political and artistic features. For example, his third symphony was dedicated to Napoleon but later own, Beethoven deleted his name on the title of the Symphony after the realization that Napoleon had already declared himself an emperor (Pestelli, 41-42). The resulting events led to Beethoven to produce shorter symphonies such as his fourth and eighth.In light of this, Beethoven explored new areas in life and extensively wrote string quartets following the influence he got from his teacher Haydin. The works of Beethoven largely bordered personal introspective works that slid into uncharted musicals that still remained intimate. As a result, Brown (45-48) highlights that Beethoven composed various pieces that included several overtures, a mass and opera as well as concertos. He even stretched his base to write for piano with a host of sonatas and concertos for violins.On the other hand, Mozart influenced greatly on the musical development by drawing his works from figures and preludes and extensively employed fugal writing within the larger composition of symphonies. Although this influenced greatly on the development of classical music, it had little connection to his creati vity. Wallace (28-29) argues that the feelings, thoughts and ideologies of Mozart formed the basis of his influence and success in musical composition. As a result, these influence strove Mozart to commit to the depth of musical form and thus position him as a successful romantic composer.In the same vein, both great musicians had extraordinary pieces of music and performed in different era. Mozart belonged to the classical period while Beethoven belonged to the romantic era. As such, Mozart ended up being criticized for composing radical music that endangers the morals of the women since majority of these women were aroused with Mozart music. Beethoven on the other hand Beethoven had the advantage of in paving way for the creation and invention of pianoforte. The greatest music of Beethoven is his symphonies which are still heard in the present time as they were listed to in his time.Compared to Mozart, Beethoven continued to unify contrasting movements using musical continuity. Of ten, his music would have unclear ending, something that made his symphonies a bit longer (Brown, 57-61). Similarities It is worth noting that ideas and differences between Beethoven and Mozart can not suffice to say that either of them was better than the other but the interesting point of focus should be built around the understanding that both of them made major contributions in the world of classical music; contributions which led to the development of music as an art.Arguably, we can draw from their differences to construct a viewpoint of how Mozart and Beethoven are similar. Significantly, considering the fact that both of them were creative and gifted innovators of classical music during the classical and romantic period, both Mozart and Beethoven share a similar characteristic of being musical genius (Pestelli, 12-17). In addition, Brown (65-67) illustrates that Beethoven went at length of achieving the iconic status of musical composer.This factor is equally shared by Mozar t and thus, the iconic status as a composer was a status achieved as a result of ones revolutionary and immense influence on the development of music within the milieu of pivotal points in terms of the classical and the romantic periods. As such, the symphonies of Mozart as well as Beethoven demonstrates the development for music in these eras as the themes portrayed in these symphonies resonate what was entirely used as the European anthem. Moreover, their images are construed within the parameters of musical history.Beethoven, just like Mozart was born into a musical family where the father and grandfather were singers. Although this is not to the same extent, it is plausible to argue both Beethoven and Mozart were musical prodigies who were taught music by their parents at a tender age. Lancaster (121-122) asserts that the education of these two musical composers was courted by musicians such as Neefe; a factor which enabled them to demonstrate their musical talents in areas such as keyboard playing piano and harpsichord.In addition, composers during their eras were employees of the church, state or rich patron who were requested to compose musical works to articulate different occasions that were deemed important within the precincts of religion as well as secular. According to Wallace (23-44) both Beethoven and Mozart exhibited some sense of independence in their creative works. As such, they could set their own agenda in the entire composition.The basis of the set agenda gave these artists the opportunity to express their deepest feelings in life as exemplified by Beethoven who have his three symphonies reflecting the ideals of republicanism, liberty, religious beliefs as well as the aspect of brotherhood in the society. Conclusion From the foregoing discussion, it is evident that Beethoven and Mozart are great and famous composers of classical music but both exhibit certain differences. Being counted among the list of the most influential composers in t he history of music, Wolfgang Mozart and Ludwig Beethoven are artists who have much in common.However, both Mozart and Beethoven harbor certain differences that emanate from their different personalities and perspectives in music. All these similarities and differences fall within the wider framework of their musical careers, experiences and musical styles of composition. Work Cited Brown, P. The Musical Times: Mozart and Beethoven. Cambridge: CUP 2007 Lancaster, E. The Golden Age of Symphony: Mozart and Beethoven. London: Alfred Music Publishing 2000 Pestelli, G. The Age of Mozart and Beethoven. Harvard: HUP 1984 Wallace, R. Classical Equilibrium in Music. Oxford: OUP 2009

Assisted Suicide Mercy Or Murder Essay Research

Assisted Suicide: Mercy Or Murder? Essay, Research Paper Assisted Suicide: Mercy or Murder? It is good recognized that there are ethical, moral and legal differentiations between assisted self-destruction and mercy killing. Like abortion or racism, mercy killing is a hot issue that is long debated. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution. There are many factors driving the assisted self-destruction argument. Should people be free to make up ones mind for themselves if they wish to decease? Does the patient have the right to do that determination for himself? In Oregon, mercy killing has been accepted morally and lawfully. Western Torahs have by and large # 8220 ; considered the act of assisting person to decease a signifier of homicide topic to legal countenances. Medical moralss have been stuck in the center of this het argument, as physician assisted self-destruction is incompatible with the doctors function as a therapist. For physicians, # 8220 ; the lone option to allowing the patient to decease is to coerce intervention on them. # 8221 ; Euthanasia is non a simple or individual issue, but really involves four distinguishable state of affairss: voluntary active mercy killing, nonvoluntary active mercy killing, voluntary passive mercy killing, and nonvoluntary inactive mercy killing. This paper will concentrate on voluntary active mercy killing, peculiarly assisted self-destruction. I think the job with aided self-destruction is that many people are unnecessarily losing their lives, hence assisted self-destruction should be illegal.For the intent of treatment, it is critical to specify footings. Euthanasia # 8220 ; besides mercy killing # 8221 ; , is the # 8220 ; pattern of stoping life so as to let go of and single from incurable disease or unbearable suffering. # 8221 ; Assisted suicide # 8220 ; the proviso of aid ( medicine, kiping pills, deadly injection, etc ) with the purpose that the patient will utilize these agents to perpetrate suicide # 8221 ; , this can be done by a doctor, household member , or some other individual. Many terminally sick patients, who encourage assisted self-destruction, experience that the right to take aided self-destruction should be based on freedom of pick, such as the right to acquire married or have an abortion. Every individual does merit the right to do picks for themselves. # 8220 ; Peoples have an involvement in doing of import determinations about their lives in conformity with their ain construct of how they want their lives to go. # 8221 ; Possibly if the attention of these patients becomes more efficient, the patients would non experience like such a load to society. The patients could perchance hold less subjective believing about self-destruction. Some terminally ill besides feel that when they are faced with decease they want to be involved in the determination of how their decease will come approximately. The argument of this peculiar issue is will the patient be able to do a rational determination, will their province of head ( f or illustration, are they depressed ) let them to do a clear opinion. Is the deceasing individual able to warrant their petition for decease? It is hard to happen grounds to find if the patient is being rational or irrational. I do non believe that agony is good in itself. The terminally ailment should be spared hurting every bit far as possible. This includes the power of drugs. Much more can be done, and should be done to extinguish the hurting of those who are deceasing. Given these considerations it is urged that aided self-destruction is unneeded. At the nucleus of this issue, What does the Bible state? If slaying and self-destruction were incorrect, would help suicide be incorrect? The first commandment # 8220 ; Thou shalt non kill # 8221 ; is the most basic of God-orientated commandments. Before building a hierarchy of human value, we must see, what is God # 8217 ; s sentiment? In his eyes, are people # 8217 ; s lives, no affair how short or hard is life worth populating? Principles that are of import in this statement are value of human life , death, pain and pain relief, and compassion and mercy. Though we are not directly told God’s view of the whole issue, it is obvious that any form of euthanasia is condemned in the Bible. It comes down to the value of human life, and as a Creator and Sovereign, God alone has the ultimate prerogative of giving and taking human life. The worth of each human being is determined by its intrinsic God-given nature, the fact that it is created by him and in his image. Unfortunately today, we live in a somewhat secular society. Not everyone believes in God, therefore if you do not believe in God, this argument is irrelevant. With this in mind, remember that death is still a universal experience of mankind. To me every person is an image and likeness of God, entrusted by God with the gift of life, and sustained into being by the action of God. In view of these principles we have examined regarding God’s sovereignty over life and death, however, the relief of pain could never justify actively taking a human life. Assisted suicide is wrong because it infringes on clear biblical principles. Life is a valuable gift that has been bestowed on all living creatures we must respect it and be thankful. To think that we should be able to write the script of our whole life is to deny God’s commandment: â€Å"I am the Lord your God.† In birth and in death we follow the Lord. To follow the crucified Lord means give us trustfully into God’s hands. After all God freely accepted a death that he did not choose, and he showed us the path to life. It is important to recognize that if pain is controlled, as it can be in virtually all cases, very few terminally ill people ask to be put to death. The patients benefit by having a shorter pain-free life rather than a longer, even more painful life. â€Å"The greater good for the patient is relief of pain, and the lesser evil is loss of life† , â€Å"a person has worth in and of itself and is not mer ely a means to an overall balance of others goods over evils in the person’s life.† To me a request for assisted suicide is a cry for help, a call for assistance to positive alternatives as solutions for very real problems. Modern medicine has the ability to control pain, and should be used to help ease the pain of a dying patient. Helping a patient kill themselves is to claim that we are a law unto ourselves, and that every possible choice is good as long as we choose it. It is to consecrate â€Å"choice† and to make it God. There are some life decisions that are not ours to make. A wise man once told me, life is not always fair, and what appears to be fairer is not always right, therefore one should protect the soul. That includes living the life that God has chosen for us, and accepting our natural death. While it is not for me to judge, if it were my life I would feel obligated to with these factors, even if they were somewhat pragmatic, in my decision. We mu st not simply act on our subjective feelings of what seems to be merciful and what does not. It is important to be objective, after all we are dealing with people’s lives. References†Euthanasia† Microsoft ? Encarta ? 98 Encyclopedia. 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation.†Euthanasia, Voluntary† Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 1996 Robert Young La Trobe University.†Voluntary Active Euthanasia† D. Brock. Hastings Center Report 22. No. 2(1993) pg.10-22.†A Right to Choose Death?† F. M. Kamm. Boston Review. 1993-1998.†Causing Death or allowing to die? Develops in the Law† Pamela R. Ferguson. University of Dundee Scotland. 1997 pg. 368-372.†A Rational Approach to Rational Suicide† Joseph Richman, Ph.D, Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, Vol 22, 1992. The American Association of Suicidology.†The Holy Bible†By Tanya L. Vissia