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Saturday, August 31, 2019

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Day

Hiroshima Peace Day falls on August 6 and Nagasaki Peace Day on August 9. The two days to remind the world of the destruction that a war can wreck. According to estimates the bombs killed a large number of people – with the majority of the causalities having died from flash or flame burns. What happened? In 1945, the United States of America dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. On August 6, the nuclear weapon â€Å"Little Boy† was dropped on Hiroshima because it was a city of considerable military importance and contained Japan's Second Army Headquarters. It also was the communications centre and storage depot. On August 9, at 11:02 a. m. , at an altitude of 1,650 feet, Fat Man (right) exploded over Nagasaki. The yield of the explosion was later estimated at 21 kilotons, 40 percent greater than that of the Hiroshima bomb. Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000 – 166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000 – 80,000 in Nagasaki, with roughly half of the deaths in each city occurring on the first day. Six days after the detonation over Nagasaki, on August 15, Japan announced its surrender to the Allied Powers, signing the Instrument of Surrender on September 2, officially ending the Pacific War and therefore World War II. Germany had signed its Instrument of Surrender on May 7, ending the war in Europe. The bombings led, in part, to post-war Japan adopting Three Non-Nuclear Principles, forbidding the nation from nuclear armament.

Karl Marx and Andrew Carnegie Essay

Throughout history competition has created bitter tension between social classes. Competition has occurred in every social structure that has existed to this day. Social structure has been the determining factor of competition: in essence the poorer classes have always tried to compete with the wealthier classes to seize their wealth and power; the greater the economical gap between the two opposing classes the fiercer the competition between them. Two highly esteemed and different people, Karl Marx and Andrew Carnegie, developed their own ideologies to resolve and ease class tension, that is, whether changes should be imposed on the structure and role of social classes. Another writer, Sam Keen illustrates the effect of competition in the extreme. Within their opposing and controversial views, there lies the more efficient social-economic resolution: a modified version of Carnegie’s argument, despite the fact that it has some imperfections. The answer is determined by the ack nowledgment by the powerful and the wealthy of certain responsibilities to the poorer classes. Each author feels that the competition within a capitalist society has definite effects on social structure but disagree as to what this effect is. Competition exists in many forms and in our case it exists in the form of class struggles. The upper class, known as the bourgeois, possess wealth and power over the lower class, known as the proletariats, that consists of the working class in society. The battles between these two classes have ranged from verbal fighting to stages of bedlam and bloodshed. Financial stability allows the wealthy to fulfill their desires and needs by exploiting the working class to a great degree. In response, the working class engages in competing with the wealthy to overcome their control and establish itself as the ruling class. Unfortunately, relatively few people in the poor class ever achieve this goal, thereby showing the level of difficulty of overcoming a higher class authority. To this day true equality has not been established; instead some truce has developed, stemming from their dependency on each other. A very honorable and well-known socialist, Karl Marx, argued that capital should be socially and not privately owned. He analyzed the conflict between the proletariat and the bourgeois and claimed that the constant battle  between them, the never ending subordination of the proletariat, has only established new classes, new conditions of oppression, and new forms of struggle in place of the old. Marx believed that the bourgeois, the large middle class of merchants who rule society, have corrupted all the old values of society and turned them into monetary ones. By this he is taking the intellectuals and artists of society, the honorable personnel (those respected scientists and artists who contribute to society), and portrays how the bourgeois made them part of their workforce, thereby, removing all of their value in society. Marx is rather angry that free competition between the bourgeois has created tension in society, and moreover, has removed the natural values of society and replaced them with competitive monetary ones. He believes that with the growing class of the proletariat, eventually they will all unite and overthrow the bourgeois in an effort to revolutionize society and create unified distribution of wealth that removes all conflicts and battles between the classes. Removing competition will enable society to flourish at a constant rate and revive the humanistic values of society. Unfortunately, such an economic system cannot exist because there will always be people trying to garner more power and authority, and thereby aggregate large wealth that will throw off Marx’s Utopian society. In relation to the pursuit of wealth and control, society’s structure is probably determined by the demands of society. According to Sam Keen, people are raised accordingly to the demands of their present society. If society demands a competitive economy then the mindset of the child will be that of a competitive one. However, if society is more complacent then people will be raised with a calm outlook on society without competition. Institutions (schools and industry) try to instill rigid beliefs according to society’s demands. Since society has been based on the demand of goods it caused competition amongst the people that barter for these goods, thereby forming a competitive economy. Keen puts the white collared workers in a favorable position as opposed to the blue collar workers. Here again, the white collared employers lead society and have authority and control over the blue collared workers, the employees. He argues that the white collared workers are always hig hly regarded, but the blue collared workers, regardless of  their income, will always be considered poor. In Keen’s point of view, the competitive economy is the way society inevitably will formulate itself. The problem is that Keen reflects on competition that is taken to the extreme. Competition in practice however, is not necessarily taken to this drastic extreme. In fact, analysis of extreme competition shows that it is not beneficial, but a moderate account of a competitive society is rather useful. Another perspective comes from one of the great industrialists, Andrew Carnegie, who attempted to explain and give reasons for the difference within the classes in a way that brought out the dependency of each class on the other and the responsibilities that each must fulfill. Carnegie considered the biggest problem to be the proper distribution of wealth. He knew very well from his own experience of social mobility that it was every American’s dream. However, it was far from an easily achievable dream, which led him to develop a theory of social reliance, in which one class relies on the other. Theoretically, he saw the Law of Competition in the working world and realized that the wealthy business owners were the true benefactors to society. That competition brings out the true leaders of society, who become the wealthy business owners. With the concentration of business, industrial and commercial interests, in the hands of a few, Carnegie depicted these intelligent leaders a s the rare fruit of society. Carnegie clearly states, â€Å"That this talent for organization and management is rare amongst men is proved by the fact that it invariably secures enormous rewards for its possessor, no matter where or under what laws or conditions.†(The Gospel of Wealth0 p.250) Here Carnegie is referring to the talent that allows those few men to organize and manage large corporations that inevitably provide large profits for them. Running a corporation has to endow profit otherwise it would be shut down, according to Carnegie who claims that there is no middle ground, only either/or. The most intelligent and capable men develop these corporations and bring in large sums of profit that is rightfully theirs, according to Carnegie. Since the overbearing level of competition prevents the many from founding their own corporations, the ones that succeed are undoubtedly entitled to this great wealth that comes with it. However, Carnegie believed that this wealth comes with its own responsibilities which the rightful possessor of the wealth must  acknowledge. These responsibilities include contributing beneficial things to the public such as educational institutions that will allow progress to occur, also, beautification and entertainment centers that the average individual cannot afford to contribute. However, giving back to the public doesn’t necessarily contribute to everyone. It will be limited to the ones that afford to find time to use these facilities since the less fortunate people who have to work long hours will not be able to use them due to time constrictions. As a Great Industrialist who possessed enormous wealth, Carnegie was in a financial position that allowed him to take part in philanthropic events. He believed that the rich business owners possessed this wealth not only for their own use but for the benefit of society as a whole. Carnegie donated a large portion of his earnings to building libraries, parks, museums, music halls, and other public resources. By doing so he was a living example to his theory: that the Law of Competition was only beneficial to society. He explained that the inferior working class was not intelligent enough to benefit society. He did not believe in random charity giving, instead he felt that society should help those that will help themselves, people who need a push forward to start them again. He also felt that the people who were worthy of assistance, seldom required it. With these truths taken into account, society could truly benefit from the wealthy and powerful industrialists. Carnegie embodied the wealthy individual as becoming â€Å"the mere trustee and agent for his poorer brethren, bringing to their service his superior wisdom, experience, and ability to administer, doing for them better than they could do for themselves†; this is pointing out the benefit of competition as a positive influence on society. By his statement Carnegie illustrates the superiority of the wealthy class and the beneficence that it gives to the poor class of society. Since the poor class is not capable of managing and distributing wealth in society, the affluent must take upon themselves the responsibility of giving back to the community by using their superior qualities and benefiting society to the best of their ability. In this social-economic structure, Carnegie builds his syste m of two separate classes that compete against each other, yet are codependent for the benefit of one another. With all the viewpoints taken into account we can see that competition has allowed the better suited people to run the economy. Society has developed a codependence on the wealthy and poor classes. Together, the working class, the proletariat, relies on its employers, the bourgeois to provide it with an immediate income to support itself; the employers benefit from the proletariat’s work, accumulate great wealth and take the responsibility upon them to act as the trustees of the proletariat and give back to them via the most efficient public donations. By fulfilling each class’s responsibilities to each other, society will benefit as a whole and progress will occur for everyone. Marx’s utopian society could not exist due to the greediness of people that would try to seize power, which would create competition. Keen has taken the view of competition in the extreme which is rather unrealistic. Allowing a moderate level of competition will have a positive effect on society. Like Carnegie, the few wealthy should possess great resources that enable them to become the trustees and benefit society in the aforementioned ways that an average individual cannot. Although giving back to society is partially ineffective as previously noted, it is a more balanced system of Carnegie’s competitive social structure. P.S- Allegorically speaking, the two competitive classes, the proletariat and the bourgeois, can be viewed as a supersaturated solution. A solvent being the wealthy employers, the solute being the enormous working class and the undissolved particles lying on the bottom: the unemployed. Hypothetically, the wealthy class possesses total control over its solute, meaning how much it will be dissolved.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Moral philosophy

In the film entitled ‘Liar Liar’ scripted by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur, there several charaters who feature. These include such people as Fletcher Reede’s acting as Jimmy Carey, Justin cooper acting as Max, Maura Tierney as Reed’s estranged wife, and Jenniffer Tilly among others (www.totalfilm.com ). The movie is about smooth-talking attorney and habitual liar, manipulating his way to the helm of his job a local law company through winning great challenging cases. In the course of the film we find his son celebrating his fifth birthday. The son is seen at one time trying to encourage his father to lies.  Ã‚   This is because it is portrayed that this main character has lived and earned his career through lies. It is not clear whether that he will be able to win a case involving a character by the name Samantha Cole whose cases is on infidelity. The main character is also faced with the challenge of stopping his ex-wife taking his son to live with her in Boston. Through the application of lies Carrey survives in his career without the web of lies on which his career depends. In the movie Liar Liar, though clouded in comic laughter, there are several incidences whereby some acts are portrayed as immoral. The main character in this film in his endeavors to push his career up, he did some things which proved to be immoral. He pursued his cases based on a web of lies which worked wonders for. Though to him this was a success the acts were in themselves immoral. Based on Kant’s moral philosophy which states that an action is immoral not by virtue of its consequences but by the actual intentions of the actions. Kant further argued that moral requirements are based on a standard of rationality which he describes as â€Å"Categorical Imperative† (CI). In this case immorality will entail a violation of the categorical imperative and is therefore not rational (http://www.uchile.cl/bioetica/doc/honesty.htm). To be straight to the point, it is clear that we are commanded to exercise our wills in a particular manner and not to do some actions or others. It is therefore categorical in the course of applying to us unreservedly, or merely because we possesses rational wills. This is true because without indication to any ends that we might or might not have (http://www.uchile.cl/bioetica/doc/honesty.htm). Like his predecessors, Kant argues that moral requirements are based on standards of rationality which are either desire-based instrumental principles of rationality or based on pother rational intuitions. According to the film the main character acts against his duty of being honest to his clients and the public. This is against his duty to which he is called to. According to Kant, this is the only moral motive. In order to act morally people should to what is right guided by a sense of duty (www.answerbag.co.uk/q_view/398707). To conclude the movie gives us a picture of how people behave during their day to day life. During such times they go about doing things which to them are perceived as moral yet in actual sense do not constitute morality. The philosopher in this case i.e. Kant gives the true picture of what is moral and not moral. Works cited Truth and true professional, available at:   http://www.uchile.cl/bioetica/doc/honesty.htm, assessed on April 6, 2008 Kant: the moral order, available at: http://www.uchile.cl/bioetica/doc/honesty.htm, assessed on April 6, 2008 What is the basis of your moral philosophy?, available at: www.answerbag.co.uk/q_view/398707 – 65k – assessed on April 6, 2008 Liar Liar – film review, available at: www.totalfilm.com, assessed on April 6, 2008 Moral Philosophy I think that moral philosophy of Jeremy Bentham is the best suited for business and decision-making. Bentham’s philosophy is based on three principles of the greatest happiness, universal egoism and artificial identification of one’s interests. His philosophy is also referred to as utilitarianism. For example, Bentham argues: â€Å"By the principle of utility is meant that principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question: or, what is the same thing in other words, to promote or to oppose that happiness†. I think that in our tough and often hostile business environment it is better to be universal egoism because in such a way you remain strong and steadfast defending your positions at the market place. The principle of greatest happiness can be interpreted in the way that company’s success makes leadership happy. Actually, Bentham philosophy is rational and logical, therefore, it is the best suited for our rational world. Bentham emphasizes the usefulness of things and actions meaning that everything should have its own place and purpose because it will lead to general happiness. Bentham approach is naturalistic as he promotes universal hedonism. He assumes that the primary motivators are pleasure and pain. The same is in business – when pain is felt, leadership and team do their best to cure the pain. Bentham also argues that humans are always seeking for the greatest happiness because their interests are interrelated with interests of other humans. Bentham’s moral philosophy held the advantage as the principle of utility is very popular. Compared to other principles, the principle of utility is very velar and enables decisions to be made where there is a need to solve the conflict of legitimate interests. Bentham’s philosophy is a fundamental commitment to human equality. Bentham’s principle of utility suggests that â€Å"one man is worth just the same as another man†. References Jeremy Bentham. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved November 19, 2007, from http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/b/bentham.htm#H4                      Moral Philosophy In my opinion, David Hume’s moral philosophy is the best suited for business and decision-making process because it proclaims the principles justice, charity, benevolence, and patience. Moreover, Hume argues that ethics should play important role in decision-making process as it gives thinkers an opportunity to make such a decision won’t oppose anybody’s suggestions or preferences. He says that moral agent is motivated by character traits which nature is either virtuous or vicious. If a person is willing to donate money or things for charity, his actions are motivated by virtuous traits. In business decision-making, he notes, such traits should be natural and instinctive, and only in such person will make really ethical decisions. Hume’s moral philosophy is distinct and exact. (Fieser 2006) For example, Hume clearly divides qualities into virtuous and vice. The natural virtues are meekness, generosity, charity and benevolence, whereas artificial or vice virtues are chastity, greediness, dishonesty, and keeping promises. It seems that Hume places qualities needed for a well-ordered states as artificial. I think that in such a way he wants to show that business and decision-making should natural and instinctive. Agents are provided with psychological roles, though in certain situation a person may refer to more than entrusted role. (Fieser 2006) David Hume concludes that there are four categories of qualities necessary for moral business running and decision-making: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Qualities useful for others: charity, fidelity, meekness, and benevolence; 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Qualities useful for oneself: patience and perseverance; 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Qualities agreeable to others: cleanliness, eloquence, and wit; 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Qualities agreeable to oneself: pride, humor, and self-esteem. Actually, David Hume discusses all the qualities which are considered the core of adequate business running. It is necessary to mention that to make really ethical decision means to use trained sensitivity to ethical issues. (Fieser 2006) References Fieser, Jame. (2006). Hume’s Moral Theory. Retrieved November 14, 2007, from http://www.iep.utm.edu/h/humemora.htm               

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Project Proposal Hypertension in Saudi Arabia Research

Project Hypertension in Saudi Arabia - Research Proposal Example Thus for adequate health promotion, community participation, development of skills, supportive environments, health public policy and reorienting services are very essentiation. Of these, community participation plays a major role in the prevention, early detection and management of any disease. In this essay, the role of community participation in prevention and management of hypertension will be discussed in an effort to gain funds for accomplishment of project related to development and establishment of community awareness and community participation in hypertension, with intentions to decrease the incidence and prevalence of the disease and also reduce mortality and morbidity related to it. The main aim of this project is to enhance the knowlege of all Saudis above 30 years of age about the benefits of early detection and appropriate management of hypertension and thereby allowing the community to take part in various aspecting of decision-making in health care and services pertaining to health care. The objectives are: "Active involvement of people from communities preparing for, or reacting to, disasters" is known as community participation. "Involvement of the people concerned in analysis, decision-making, planning, and programme implementation, as well as in all the activities" is known as true participation. The WHO suggests community participation as one of the means of health promotion. Infact, one of the goals of primary health care movement is community participation at various levels of decision making in health like planning, evaluation and management of health services and also ones health. Community participation involves increasing the knowledge and awareness of the community pertaining to the pro grammes and projects concerned to the disease, empowerment of the people to exercise control in the process of decision-making

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Blue Cross Blue Shield Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Blue Cross Blue Shield - Research Paper Example Services offered by health care systems are various and include surgical care, cardiac care, pediatrics, cancer and women care, maternity care, and other specialty care services. Blue Cross and Blue Shield offer a number of different health care insurance coverage types. The one you are most likely familiar with is an HMO, or health maintenance organization. This benefit plan requires that you receive health care from providers who in ‘network,’ meaning that they have a contract with Blue Cross and Blue Shield and a primary care physician will act as a coordinator in your health care needs, Most of the time you will need a referral to see a specialist or someone who is outside of the network (Types†¦). POS or point of service is usually the most preferred option and makes it possible for members to choose providers outside of the network as needed for health care services. Blue Cross Blue Shield also offers a preferred provider organization where members are able to choose their own provider though higher coverage is provided if the provider is in network and contracts with Blue Cross Blue Shield. Blue Cross Blue Shield also offers flexible spending accounts, a plan that reimburses employees for specific expenses and funds are usually deducted from the employee’s paycheck and contributions to this plan are usually not subject to income taxes. Blue Cross and Blue Shield provide coverage to federal employees and provide coverage to approximately 4.5 million federal employees, their families and retiree’s. Federal employees include the Department of Defense, US Postal Service, Department of Energy, Health and Human Services and Environmental Services, and Employees of agencies paid through the National Finance center (Blue Cross†¦.). Being a federal employee is not the only way to become eligible for Blue Cross and Blue Shield coverage though. The National Labor Union also acts as liaison between Blue Cross and 38 independent

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Lord of the flies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Lord of the flies - Essay Example Discuss the Beast. What is it Do you believe, as Simon said, that the beast is within human beings Could there be any possibility of a physical manifestation, and if so, what/who would that manifestation of evil be .. disappointment: "I should have thought that a pack of British boys would have been able to put up a better show than that," adding that the boys situation remind him of the coral Island. Although goldings novel is partly based on R. M. Ballaynes coral island, goldings approach to juvenile psychology and to human nature is widely different from that of ballantyne. Lord of the flies belongs to an age of disillusionment and therefore strikes an altogether different note from the Victorian optimism of ballatynes story in which the enterprising boys recreate a picture of British society far away from home, in the wilderness. Lord of the flies denies even the hope that human innocence exits in children golding said that salvation is universal and that he was committed in a world, which had increasingly materialistic, to the view that god is within us. one of the evils of this century, according to golding, is the mummification of figures like Marx, Freud and Darwin; and indeed the tendency constantly to create totemistic images by which most people seem to live out their lives one morning Sam and Eric, who had put on duty one night to keep the fire burning, come in a state of deep perturbation from the mountain top and tell Ralph and the others that they have seen a beast on the mountain top and that beast had tried to chase them in order to seize them. Actually there is no beast on the mountain top. What the twins had seen and what these three boys have now seen is dead body of an air pilot entangled in the strings of his parachute. This air pilot had tried to land by parachute from an aircraft which had perhaps been attacked by the enemy, and had got killed in the process of landing on the mountain top. In the

Monday, August 26, 2019

Creating a Motivating Environment in the Workplace Research Paper

Creating a Motivating Environment in the Workplace - Research Paper Example Understanding what drives positive attitudes, energies and dedication to meeting organizational goals is at the very foundation of motivation and consists of personality, fear responses, and personal demand for empowerment in key environments. The method of creating a more motivational environment depends on the individualist values held by the employee related to these ideas or emotions. Understanding the psychology Wang & Erdheim (2007, pp.1494) describe the elements of the big five personality traits that include neuroticism, agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness and openness to new experiences. Sociability is measured in extraversion, emotional stability is associated with neuroticism, conscientiousness supported by concepts of goal-attainment and dependability (Wang & Erdheim). Each concept is associated with internal dynamics of personality that relate to whether or not an individual adjusts effectively or is responsive to external stimuli. Herzberg (1968, p.2) describes motivation from the perception of a pet and its master. â€Å"The dog wants the biscuit, but it is I who want it to move. I am the one who is motivated, and the dog is the one who moves†. Herzberg describes motivations in terms of incentives or promotions as a means to drive productivity, however the responses that are formulated against this extrinsic reward style are borne of personality factors and indivi dual beliefs associated with reward. Of the big five personality dimensions offered, agreeableness is represented by â€Å"emotional support needs, caring, and nurturance† (Erdheim & Wang, p.1495). This is why externally-driven incentive rewards inspire higher levels of performance as they build on self-confidence and other foundational needs associated with security and belonging. The consequences or outcomes of this motivation are unique depending on the ambitions or goals of the organizational environment or leadership. According to Margaret Wheatley (1997, p.1), â€Å"organizations of all kinds are cluttered with control mechanisms that paralyze employees and leaders alike†¦these mechanisms seem to derive from our fear (or) our fear of one another†. Control systems are associated with typical models of management such as the Theory X management style that believes individuals need to be motivated with a strong voice or a harsh hand. Though regulated by certain government restrictions on control behavior, authoritarian posturing achieves results. The question is not whether it is derived from extrinsically-driven incentives or motivations, it is whether or not the employee is responsive based on their individual needs or personality structures. A manager with high levels of controls exhibits a sense of fear that is associated with loss (or fear of loss) such as formal reprimands for losing one’s position and therefore prompts new actions after rationalizing the impact on lifestyle. When a manager is able to control others through stricter policies and activities, there is no sense of empowerment or the production of a mutually-rewarding cultural or job-related environment. â€Å"Psychologically empowered workers are necessary to maintain the experiential process of learning and innovation† (Doll, 2010, p.54). So, there is a disparity between different management

Sunday, August 25, 2019

In patients with obesity can diet and excercise control weight gain Research Paper

In patients with obesity can diet and excercise control weight gain better than weight loss pills lipofuz or Alli - Research Paper Example late obesity with the abnormal food intake or poor diet (Styne, 2005), genetic factor such as a metabolic defect (Roth et al., 2004; Rosmond, 2002), leptin deficiency and/or the use of steroids (Link et al., 2004). Children and adults who are obese are facing problems not only related to social adjustment disorders or social discrimination (Pearce et al., 2002) but also a long list of serious health concerns such as heart diseases, diabetes and the different types of cancer (WHO, 2005). Aside from providing the definition of health and chronic illnesses as stated by the World Health Organization among others, how these definitions are in consistent with my own thoughts will be thoroughly discussed. After determining the impact of food manufacturers’ television advertisement on the increasing rate of obesity in the United States, the proposed research study will focus on determining whether or not preventive measures is a better method of weight control for obese patients than those who prefer to undergo gastric banding. In the process of going through the main discussion, the significance of diet, exercise, and gastric banding procedure on minimizing the cases of obesity will be compared and contrast. Based on the gathered information, a list of recommendations will be provided prior to conclusion. The World Health Organization (2003) defined health as â€Å"the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity†. On the other hand, chronic illness is defined as â€Å"the irreversible presence, accumulation, or latency of disease states or impairments that involve the total human environment for supportive and self-care, maintenance of function, and prevention of further disability† (Curtin & Lubkin, 1995, pp. 6 – 7). In my own thoughts, the health and wellness of each person is not all about being physically free from being ill but living a lifestyle that would prevent these people from having the need

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Ancient Egypt Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ancient Egypt - Annotated Bibliography Example Being a professor at American University in Cairo, having published many works, and studied at Bryn Mawr College for Bachelor in Egyptology and Archeology, University of Cambridge for her Masters and PHD in Egyptology and Museum studies make her a credible expert on this topic. There are no scholarly sources cited in the article but the author makes an allusion of scholars work stating â€Å"scholars believe the valley had from about I million to 4 million people† (â€Å"Ancient Egypt, Par. 5). The author’s thesis in the article is that Ancient Egypt was the â€Å"birthplace of one of the world’s first civilizations (â€Å"Ancient Egypt, Par. 5†). The author believes that one of the world’s first civilizations began 5,000 years ago along   the River Nile and lasted for over 2,000 years making it the longest lasting civilization ever. The author uses three main points as a measure of backing up her thesis on Ancient Egypt being the earliest civilizations in history. These three points are â€Å"Ancient Egypt created the worlds first national government, basic forms of arithmetic and a 365-day calendar† (â€Å"Ancient Egypt, Par. 2†). To back the above main points the author uses other illustrations to strengthen the thesis including the creation of a form of picture writing known as hieroglyphics, invention papyrus a writing material, development of religion on life after death, and the building of great cities from which arose skilled doctors, architects, painters, sculptors, doctors, and engineers. The author uses the main points to strengthen the thesis through writing on the history and life of Ancient Egypt. The author writes about   the start of civilization when King Menes United Lower and Upper Egypt around 3100 B.C. forming the world’s first government. King Menes also made Memphis, present day Cairo, as the capital of Egypt depict the earliest national government backing the main thesis in the article. The author uses the

Friday, August 23, 2019

Intellectual's in chekov's work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Intellectual's in chekov's work - Essay Example He is modest and quiet, just like a girl!... He's simply wonderful." The memoirs f Maxim Gorky give us a modest and gentle and saintly Chekhov, too good to be true. In fact, not altogether true, according to Donald Rayfield's recent biography f Chekhov. Rayfield gives us the well-known facts--the boy who lived in poverty, whose father was tyrannical, who became the breadwinner f his extended family by working at two vocations (doctor and writer), who at the age f 24 began spitting blood, the first sign f the tuberculosis that would claim his life 20 years later, the doctor who treated poor peasants without receiving pay, who visited penal colonies to heal or console plague victims, the famous writer f short stories and plays--but he also tells us f Chekhov's callousness when he tried to protect his privacy and f Chekhov's many sexual relationships with women (what for many was a surprising finding about the man who had, according to V.S. Pritchett, an unusually low "sexual temperature"). The Rayfield biography gives us a truer, more balanced portrait f a complex man but it doesn't make cool the warm feelings we have toward the writer whose compassion informs his art and whose plays--complex, ambiguous, difficult--continue to be pop ular. What prods me to write about Chekhov is the American Repertory Theater's production, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, f Ivanov, which I saw in January, 2000. Ivanov (1887) is Chekhov's first full-length play--he had already written many oneact farces--written and produced before the four plays that give Chekhov his importance--The Sea Gull (1898), Uncle Vanya (1899), Three Sisters (1901), and The Cherry Orchard (1904). Four plays is a surprisingly modest number f plays on which to sustain so high a reputation; obviously, it's enough. Chekhov worked very hard at his playwriting, which, unlike his writing f short stories, did not come naturally to him. His notebooks and letters are filled with remarks on his struggle. A playful but accurate indication f his attitude toward the two kinds f writing in his comment: "Narrative is my legal wife and drama a flamboyant, rowdy, impudent, exhausting mistress." (This is a variation f his much-quoted statement, "Medicine is my legal wife and literat ure is my mistress.") Chekhov said he didn't recall a single tale f his that took him more than a day to write; he wrote short stories, he said, with haste and carelessness. His mistress, it seems, gave him more trouble and demanded more attention. My focus is Chekhov's mistress. Ivanov was the A.R.T. debut f one f Russia's leading directors, Yuri Yeremin, who is Artistic Director f the Moscow Pushkin Theatre. Because Yeremin is a disciple f the Stanislavsky method f rehearsal and acting, and because Stanislavsky's Moscow Art Theatre was the company that gave life, and took life, from Chekhov's plays, my expectations were high. They were disappointed, although I must admit I never saw a praiseworthy production f the play. Ivanov gave Chekhov much trouble in the writing; he spent many years revising it. During the revising he made many comments about it to his friends, itself a painful experience for a modest man who rarely discussed his work. From these comments we learn that Chekhov wrote the play to satirize a Russian type, whose existential sickness was a Russian disease. Its plot is conventional and melodramatic, what the Russian

Experiential learning as posited in the work of Kolb and other Assignment

Experiential learning as posited in the work of Kolb and other scholars - Assignment Example Life Learning Using Kolb Cycle about Public Personal Speaking Experience Introduction David Kolb’s learning styles model was first published in 1984 and introduced terms such as experiential learning theory (ELT) and learning styles inventory (LSI). Kolb’s work entitled â€Å"Experiential Learning: Experience As The Source Of Learning And Development† reports experiential learning reported earlier including the work of Jung, Piaget and Rogers. The learning theory posited by Kolb is one that states there are four specific learning styles and these are framed in a four-stage cycle of learning. The four-stage cycle is stated by Kolb to include: (1) Concrete Experience (CE); (2) Reflective Observation (RO); (3) Abstract Conceptualization (AC); and (4) Active Experimentation (AE). (Business Balls, 2011) The four learning styles stated by Kolb include those as follows: (1) Diverging (CE/RO); (2) Assimilating (AC/RO); (3) Converging (AC/AE); and (4) Accommodating (CE/AE) (Business Balls, 2011) The following illustration is a diagram that shows the learning styles and learning types as posited in the work of David Kolb. Figure 1 Source: Business Balls (2011) The preferred learning style of the individual varies from one person to the other and the factors that influence the preference of learning style are many. The developmental stages identified by Kolb in learning include those as follows: (1) Acquisition – from birth to adolescence and include the development of the individuals most basic of abilities and the individual’s cognition; (2) Specialization – early work and individual experiences in adulthood when specialized learning style of the individual is influenced by social, educational, and organizational socialization; and (3) Integration – mid-career into later life of the individual when the individual expresses the non-dominant learning style in their work life and in their personal life. (Business Balls, 2011) Kolb held that the learning style is the result of two pairs of variables. These are conceived as lines of axis in which each has conflict at either en d as follows: Concrete Experience – CE (feeling) -----V-----Abstract Conceptualization – AC (thinking) Active Experimentation – AE (doing)-----V-----Reflective Observation (watching) A typical presentation of the two continuums of Kolb is stated to be that the Processing Continuum or the east-west axis is how the individual approaches a task and the north-south axis or the Perception Continuum is the individual’s emotional response and how they think about or feel about the task. The learning styles are the two lines of axis combined and these are formed between what Kolb states are â€Å"dialectically related modes of grasping experience (doing or watching) and transforming experience (thinking or feeing). The following illustration labeled Figure 2 in this study shows the conception of these two axis. Figure 2 Source: Business Balls (2011) Concrete experience is knowledge that is gained through practical experience while reflective observation has its focus on what the meaning of the experience is to the individual. The work of Wirth and Perkins (nd) report that there have been â€Å"calls for new kinds of learning from many different parts of society.† Student surveys are reported to indicate â€Å"that courses are not interesting, that students fail to recognize the value of what they are learning, and that many faculty rely too heavily on lectures for transmitting information.† (Wirth and Perkins, nd) It is reported that Fink (2003) reported that society and individual learners â€Å"now have different needs, both in terms of what people need to learn and how they can and should learn.† (Wirth and Perkins, nd) The work of Gardiner (1994) listed critical competencies for workers and citizens including the following competencies: (1) Personal responsibility; (2) Ability to act in principles, ethical fashion; (3) Skill in oral and written

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Technological Innovation Impact on Accounting Field Essay Example for Free

Technological Innovation Impact on Accounting Field Essay Technology innovation is the process through which new (or improved) technologies are developed and brought into widespread use. Innovation can be composed of research, development, demonstration, and deployment. Although it is known clearly that innovation is not a linear process there are various interconnections and feedback loops between these stages, and often even the stages themselves cannot be significantly disaggregated. I don’t think if the phenomenon of technological innovation can become a stumbling block in prosperity of management accounting since through innovation management accounting discipline and career have been significantly improved. These areas are as follows The Information Revolution: in early years it was cost fully to collect, analyses and store accounting information. This was because of inadequacy of infrastructures which were importantly needed for this purpose. Today information technology makes possible sophisticated database accounting systems that are both powerful and flexible in terms of the accounting information that they can collect, organize and report. Even today, however, the cost of designing, implementing, and running cost accounting systems is a substantial obstacle in many organizations; a fact probably underrepresented in business schools. Proliferation of Product Lines: This is not much matters if a company makes only one product, since many cost accounting issues can be resolved. When companies significantly expanded their product lines to gain market share and increase profits, the difficulty and importance of obtaining accurate cost information on individual products increased. Back then companies were allocating costs among products in a manner that led to poor production and marketing decisions. A management accounting tool called activity-based costing was developed to help correct this problem, by improving the accuracy with which costs are allocated among products. Globalization of the Economy: Globalization has several implications for management accounting. First, globalization has resulted in a more competitive environment, which encourages the implementation of accounting systems that provide the most accurate, relevant, and timely information possible. Second, the growth of multinational corporations has increased the importance of transfer pricing. A transfer price is the amount one division of a company charges another division for an intermediate product. Transfer pricing plays a role in taxation, international trade negotiations, and production and marketing decisions within decentralized firms. Finally, globalization has increased the pace of change within the management accounting profession. Many recent innovations in management accounting, as well as in the fields of strategy and operations management, originated in Japan. Direct competition between Japanese and U. S. companies has led many U. S. companies to adopt these Japanese management practices. Innovative Management Practices: In addition to the four economic and technological trends described above, the following three innovations in the fields of strategy and operations management have influenced management accounting systems and practices over the past several decades. Total quality management (TQM): Quality programs go by several names, including TQM, zero defect programs, and six sigma programs. The focus on quality has had a significant impact on many organizations in all sectors of the economy, beginning with the automobile industry and some other industries in the manufacturing sector of the economy about forty years ago. Sophisticated quality programs are found today in many areas of government, education and other not-for-profit organizations as well as in for-profit businesses. The impetus for TQM programs is the assessment that the cost of defects is greater than the cost of implementing the TQM program. Advocates of TQM claim that some costs of defects have been underestimated historically, particularly the loss of customer goodwill and future sales when a defective unit is sold. Some advocates of quality programs believe that the most cost-effective approach to quality is to eliminate all defects at the point at which they occur. If successful, these â€Å"zero defect† programs would not only result in higher levels of customer satisfaction, but would also eliminate costs associated with more conventional quality control procedures, such as inspection costs that occur at the end of the production line, the cost of reworking units identified as defective, and costs associated with processing customer returns. The focus is on preventive controls to prevent the defect from occurring in the first place, as opposed to detective controls to identify and correct the defect after it has occurred. Just-in-time (JIT): During the last two decades of the 20th century, many companies implemented just-in-time programs designed to minimize the amount of inventory on hand. These companies identified significant benefits from reducing all types of inventories—raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods—to the lowest possible levels. These benefits consist principally of reduced inventory holding costs (such as financing and warehousing costs), reduced losses due to inventory obsolescence, and more effective quality control The relationship between JIT and TQM is important. Many defects in raw materials or the production process can be ignored indefinitely if high-quality materials can be substituted for defective materials, and if additional first-quality units can be produced to replace defective units. In a non-JIT environment, defective materials and half-finished units might be set aside in a corner of the factory. However, under a JIT program, if raw materials received at the factory are defective, there might be no first-quality materials on hand to substitute for the defective materials. In extreme cases, the production line might be shut down until first-quality materials are received. Hence, a JIT program can focus attention on quality control in ways not generally possible in a non-JIT environment. The challenge in a JIT environment is to avoid stock-outs. To meet this challenge, some companies have found ways to decrease production lead times. Shorter production schedules result in less work-in-process inventory, and also allows companies to maintain lower levels of finished goods inventory while still maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction. Early in the 21st century, acts of terrorism (such as the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City) and natural disasters (such as Hurricane Katrina) prompted some companies to rethink the practice of maintaining extremely low levels of inventories. These companies are concerned that future incidents could result in the disruption of inventory pipelines, particularly for imported materials. Consequently, the advantage of maintaining safety stocks of inventory is receiving renewed interest.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Analysis Of Blindness By Jose Saramago English Literature Essay

Analysis Of Blindness By Jose Saramago English Literature Essay Blindness, a novel by Portuguese author Josà © Saramago, depicts the dystopian outcome of a plague of white blindness, (clunky) a mysterious disease that eventually becomes known among the novels characters as the white evil. Saramago quickly introduces the malady, recounting the first infection within the first few pages of the novel. Out of fear of future contamination, the government arranges for a quarantine in an abandoned mental asylum.  Inside the asylum, the reader follows the harrowing account of a small group of internees led by the Doctors Wife, who is the only person to retain her eyesight. The white blindness spreads at a seemingly exponential rate to the point that the whole world has fallen victim to the white evil. Once the number of quarantined individuals accumulates in the asylum, social order crumbles and morality disintegrates, for even the Doctors Wife balances on the cusp of right and wrong. However, there still remains those individuals who make decisions t hat demonstrate altruistic sacrifice for the good of the rest. Josà © Saramago writes a captivating story of not only social decay, but also the emergence of a new morality only present in the most desperate circumstances. An easier way to establish context for Blindness would be to analyze Saramagos life as well as the historical events surrounding it. On November 16, 1992, Josà © Saramago was born in Azinhaga, Portugal in the Ribatejo province to a poor farming family. His father had served in the French military during World War I, and he decided to pursue a career in law enforcement in Lisbon, Portugals capital. Their way of living had greatly improved because of his new job, but they remained poor regardless of a new home. Saramagos parents sent him to grammar school, though, they could not afford the tuition long enough for him to finish his studies. As a result, Saramago attended a technical school to become a mechanic while studying literature during his free time. Before marrying his first wife Ilda Reis in 1944, he began working as an administrative civil servant for the Social Welfare Service. Three years later he published his first book, The Land of Sin, though his initial literary endeav ors were not very successful. He wrote more novels, but he failed to publish his projects. Saramago describes his early attempts at writing in his autobiography, The matter was settled when I abandoned the project[s]: it was becoming quite clear to me that I had nothing worthwhile to say For 19 years, I was absent from the Portuguese literary scene, where few people can have noticed my absence (Saramago, Autobiography). For more than half of Saramagos life, the brutal Portuguese fascist dictator, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, a former professor, was in power (1928 1974). Salazar drew inspiration for his own dictatorial rule from Hitler and Mussolini, just as Saramago modeled his mental asylum in Blindness after Salazars appalling and inhumane prisons that simulated Nazi concentration camps as well as the Japanese internment camps in the United States following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In an interview for a Portuguese newspaper, Saramago calls his mental asylum the final solution, a resemblance of Hitlers plan to exterminate the Jews (quoted in Frier). Not only were the prisoners subjected to horrifying punishments such as being forced to lie under the African sun, the ocean water flowed into the chambers everyday, washing up both garbage and human waste (Frier). The mental asylum, though not against an ocean, also filled with human excrement because the internees had given up locating the restro oms after a few days, resorting to defecating on the floor or on their beds. ( Same as last sentence?) One could be sent to these prisons, the most notorious being Tarrafal on the Cape Verde Islands, for being a dissident and for criticizing the Portuguese government, often without physical evidence. Antà ³nio de Rigueiredo, a Portuguese dissident, recounts his experience in Tarrafal, After 1945, as soon as the regime felt sure of its survival and new alliances, it passed from arbitrary but casual repression to a scientific system of incarcerating individuals (quoted in Frier). Another prisoner recalls that the only doctor in Taraffal neglected prisoners and allowed them to die in the unsanitary conditions of the prison (Frier). Though the victims of the white evil in Blindness were not interned for any political reason, they experienced many of the same abuses by the military; their force was a direct order from the government as well as out of fear of being contaminated. A sergeant on assignment tells his soldiers after he has killed an internee, From now on, we shall leave the con tainers at the halfway point, let the/m come and fetch them, well keep them under surveillance, and at the slightest suspicious movement, we fire (Saramago 84). Although these prisoners try to approach their providers without provoking attack, their blindness prevents them from knowing whether they will be shot for making a wrong move. Acquiring the daily rations most often ends in violence or verbal abuse from the military. Saramago was highly distrusting of the Salazar regime and government, so he joined the Portuguese Communist Party in 1969. To do so was illegal under Salazars dictatorship. Within the last few years of Salazars rule, Saramago worked for two Lisbon newspapers, Dià ¡rio de Lisboa and, later, Dià ¡rio de Nà ³ticias. He lost his job from the latter in 1975 after the new anti-Communist government had come into power. With no hopes of finding another journalistic position, he turned to writing literature and developed his unique writing, consisting of very little punctuation and dialogue within narration. His later novels became much more successful, though he met much opposition from both the Catholic Church and the Portuguese government because of Communistic and anti-religious undertones. Baltazar and Bilmunda (1982) criticized the role of Catholicism in 18th-century Portugal. The Church criticized The Gospel According to Jesus Christ (1991), claiming that Saramagos depiction of Jesus was too human and offensive to the Church (Saramago, Autobiography). Because the government was very much influenced by the Church, it did not allow this novel to be presented for the European Literary Prize. Many of Saramagos supporters protested the decision. Later on, Saramago moved to the Canary Islands with his second wife, Pilar del Rà ­o, because the support he received inspired him to write even more. There, he wrote his two most famous novels, Blindness (1995) and All the Names (1997). Saramago expresses his distrust for the Church again in Blindness in a scene towards the end of the novel in which the Doctors Wife enters a church that has become a refugee camp for the blind. She observes that all the images in the church had their eyes covered, statues with a white cloth tied around the head, paintings with a thick brushstroke of white paint, there was only one woman who did not have her eyes covered, because she carried her gouged-out eyes on a silver tray (Saramago 317). She tells her husband and he replies, Perhaps it was the work of someone whose faith was badly shaken when he realised that he would be blind like the others, maybe it was even the local priest (Saramago 317). The strange alteration of the images and the speculation that a priest may be behind them suggests that, just as the world has been struck blind, so too has the Church. God and the saints no longer listen to the pleas of the victims. Naturally, those who in the church are offended from he aring the mere suggestion that their faith could not cure them. However, they flee the church after a few scream at the thought that what the Doctor and his wife say may be true. Shortly after, people slowly begin to regain their sight. In her analysis of the novel, Carole Champagne says that the powers associated with the images in the church have been transferred to humanity, who are empowered to use their own moral and spiritual resources-their own eyes-which are their birthright (Champagne). So long had the refugees in the church depended on their faith for a moral balance until they had regained their sight. They would no longer have to look to a higher power that did not answer their prayers. The presence of morality in a damaged society, and the lack thereof, and the consequences that result from right and wrong are major themes of Josà © Saramagos Blindness. Early in the novel, as the Ministry of Health arrives at the Doctors apartment, his wife attempts to accompany him. The ambulance driver refuses to let her in, but she claims that she has been struck blind. Shortly after, the reader learns that she had faked her blindness though she is sure that she will eventually become blind. After days of experiencing the unsanitary conditions and constant conflict between internees, the Doctors Wife feels the need to help them, though she struggles both with herself and with her husband over the proposition. Her husband tells her, Think of the consequences, they will almost certainly try to turn you into their slave, [Y]ou will be at the beck and call of everyone [D]ont think that blindness has made us better people, It hasnt made us any worse, Were on our way though (Saramag o 133). The Doctor suggests that the peoples morality has left along with their sight, and that once his wife tries to assist them, she will be taken advantage of until she no longer can utilize her sight for herself. What she had thought was the right thing to do had gotten her caught in a downward spiral of disintegrating social order and chaos. Also, early in the novel, the First Blind Man confronts the Car Thief in the asylum. As soon as the First Blind Man discovers that his Samaritan had stolen his car after bringing him home, they immediately resort to hopeless fist fighting. This event signifies the first descent into moral decline, especially with how quickly the event transpires, though the First Blind Mans reaction to the car theft is still a normal reaction a sighted person would have. As the novel progresses, interpersonal conflicts become more prevalent among the internees, especially when dealing with the meager rations the government supplies them. The Doctor says, Fighting has always been, more or less, a form of blindness (Saramago 133). Fighting had existed before the whole world was struck blind, suggesting that people had already been blind, not in the literal sense but blind to each others needs. The conflict over food finally escalates to the point that a group of hoodlums band together to take control of all the food in hopes of taking all the internees valuables. The Doctors Wife organizes a resistance to fight against the gang, though it end in bloodshed on her side. In their confrontation, the head of the gang says to the Doctors Wife, I wont forget your voice, and she responds without thinking, Nor I your face (Saramago 140). Though she can physically see the hoodlums face, her threat suggests that only his face could belong to something so evil that would take food away from the rest of the internees. As if foreshadowing a heightened conflict, the First Blind Man says to the Doctor, Well, Im not entirely convinced that there are limits to misfortune and evil (Saramago 144). After the hoodlums run out of valuables to steal from the other internees, they demand that each ward send in all its women to satisfy their lust. Otherwise, the wards would not get their food. Immediately the men pressure the women to visit the hoodlums and have sex with them for the well-being of the others. The women, fearing for their lives, become enraged and chastise the men for suggesting they appease the hoodlums. While some of the women listened to the mens reasoning, others challenge the men with the same attitude the men had expressed. And what would you do if these rascals instead of asking for women had asked for men, what would you do then[?] (Saramago 168). One man replies, There are no pansies here, while another woman says, And no whores either (Saramago 168). In desperation, the asylum has eru pted into a mess of sexism and moral degradation. The men would be willing to give up their women in exchange for food, thus reducing and objectifying the status of women. A small group of women including the First Blind Mans Wife and the Doctors Wife agree to prostitute themselves despite protests by their husbands, the former especially. The narrator concludes the womens decisions: [D]ignity has no price, that when someone starts making small concessions, in the end life loses all meaning (Saramago 169). At the expense of the men, the group of women experience a brutal gang rape, resulting in the death of one of the women. To restore the dead womans dignity, the Doctors Wife finds water to wash her. This event indicates how much the community within the asylum has degenerated, for the men have put a price on the bodies of the women they know. Perhaps the event that illustrates the most difficult moral decision of the whole novel is the murder of the hoodlums leader. Prior to the event, the Doctors Wife discovers that she had brought a pair of scissors with the intent of helping her husband shave. She never uses them for the original purpose and hangs them on a wall. However, after her rape, she grabs the scissors without hesitation and heads for the hoodlums ward. As the leader rapes one of the women, the Doctors Wife sneaks behind him and stabs him in the throat as he has an orgasm. His cry was barely audible, it might have been the grunting of an animal about to ejaculate, as was happening to some of the other men (Saramago 189). Saramago describes the hoodlums as having degenerated to the point of becoming animals, acting solely upon appeasing natural inclinations and vices. The Doctors Wife runs away with the raped woman and breaks down. She justifies the murder by thinking, And when is it necessary to kill When what is still alive is already dead (Saramago 192-93). Though the first inclination is to think that the Doctors Wife justified the murder because the hoodlum had proven himself to be incapable of being human, she could have meant that it was she who was the inhuman one. She is the only sighted person among the blind. If even she has dropped to this level of moral decay, then the rest of the internees have little hope in restoring their own humanity until they regain their sight.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Identification of Bacillus Coagulans from Agricultural Soil

Identification of Bacillus Coagulans from Agricultural Soil Introduction Soil is a common substance that is found almost everywhere in the world and is home to a diverse community of microorganisms, especially for bacteria. Bacteria are so common in soil that surface soil can be home to 108 to 109 bacterial cells per gram of dry soil (Prescott et al., 1999). This quantity of bacterium in soil, however, decreases deeper into the subsurface of the soil. There are small variations in bacterial quantity in subsurface layers, but the surface layer is always the most numerous in quantity (Weaver et al., 1994). This is because these bacteria prefer the smaller soil pores (2 to 6 ÃŽ ¼m in diameter) that are more commonly found in surface soil. This is likely a method to avoid being eaten by protozoa (Prescott et al., 1999). As small soil pores are common habitats for bacterium, and soils contain higher concentrations of CO2 and CO, with lower concentrations of O2, many of these bacteria have developed the ability to grow in microaerobic or anaerobic conditions (P rescott et al., 1999). Although bacterial quantity is plentiful in the surface layers, it is common to find relatively few bacteria of the same species. Rather, there is much variation in the species of bacterium cohabitating in these soil layers (Weaver et al., 1994). As a diversity of bacteria brings a diversity of metabolic pathways and nutrient fixation, this proves beneficial for plants and insects that live in the soil and rely upon the nutrients produced by these bacteria (Weaver et al., 1994). Through isolation, culturing, and testing of agricultural soil bacterium, this lab attempted to isolate and identify a single species of bacterium from agricultural soil. Methods A 10-2 dilution in distilled water was created using 1 g of agricultural soil. From this dilution, a TSA streak plate was made and incubated at 22Â °C for 48 hours and then chilled at 4Â °C until further analysis could be preformed (Egger 2010). From this streak plate, a single culture was chosen to be sub-cultured on a TSA streak plate and was incubated as above. This culture was also gram stained and observed under microscope. The bacterial cell dimensions were calculated and cell shape and arrangement were recorded. The bacterial subculture was then observed for colony morphology. Individual cells were then tested for starch hydrolysis, H2S reduction and motility, ammonification, nitrification, denitrification, oxygen tolerance, and for catalase production (Egger 2010). Further testing was then performed to determine optimal growth temperature, osmotic pressure, and pH. Temperature testing was done at 4, 22, 37, and 50Â °C; osmotic pressure testing done at 0, 0.5, 2, and 5% NaCl; and pH testing was done at pH 3, 5, 7, and 9 (Egger 2010). Data from tests were pooled and used to determine the possible identity of the unknown culture. Results The streak plate of dilute agricultural soil revealed a large quantity of different bacterial colonies varying in colour, shape, size, texture, and elevation. After isolation of a single bacterial culture, there was little to no variation in these characteristics. This single bacterial culture revealed a circular form with a flat elevation and a rough texture. The colour was observed to be clear to white in colour and translucent in appearance. Further observation under microscope revealed staphylobacillus approximately 40 ÃŽ ¼m in length. Gram staining and testing for starch hydrolysis, and nitrification all turned out positive, while testing for H2S reduction, motility, ammonification, and denitrification all proved negative, which is further outlined in Table 1. This bacterium was then determined to be a facultative anaerobe with an optimal temperature of 37Â °C, optimal pH of 7, and optimal osmotic pressure of 0.5% NaCl. It was also observed that there was little growth at 5% NaCl and reasonable growth at pH 5. Discussion As the bacterium isolated in this experiment was rod shaped, gram positive, and catalase producing, it is likely that this specific bacterium belongs to the genus Bacillus (Butler 1986). Determination of the specific species of Bacillus proved more difficult. As this bacterium was able to hydrolyse starch, was a facultative anaerobe, had an optimal growth temperature around 37Â °C, and an optimal pH around 7, the possibilities were narrowed to either Bacillus coagulans or Bacillus licheniformis (Butler 1986). Although B. licheniformis is common to most ground soils, there proved to be a few common factors that supported the greater plausibility of this specific bacterium to be B. coagulans. The isolated bacterium was unable to reduce nitrate to nitrite and was unable to grow significantly in a NaCl medium of 5%. As B. licheniformis is capable of reduction of nitrate to nitrite and growth in 5% NaCl medium, it is unlikely that this unknown bacterium was B. licheniformis (Butler 1986). It was also noted that the unknown bacterium was capable of growth at pH 5, which is a characteristic of B. coagulans (Butler 1986). Specifically, B. coagulans has been recorded as having an optimal pH of 6 and a minimum of 4.0-5.0 depending on specific stra ins (Butler 1986). In order to further verify that the unknown bacterium was B. coagulans, it would have been beneficial to test the bacteriums ability to hydrolyse casein and gelatine as B. coagulans cannot hydrolyse casein and gelatine while B. licheniformis can. It would also have been beneficial to further investigate growth in 7% and 10% NaCl to further verify the identity of B. coagulans if growth did not occur. Unfortunately, not all tests that were performed were useful in the identification of the specific species of the unknown bacterium. The tests were useful, however, in determining genus. As the genus Bacillus was reasonably simple to identify based on the rod shaped bacterium and catalase production, some of the tests, such as the test for H2S reduction were not as useful as others, such as the test for catalase production. If the unknown bacterium did prove to be B. coagulans, this would be an uncommon isolation as B. coagulans is not common in soil (Butler 1986). For this reason, there is little information recorded on B. coagulans ecological role in soil. It would be advised that further investigation into the ecological role of B. coagulans should be performed as, although uncommon, B. coagulans is still a soil bacterium and must therefore play an ecological role in soil. It may also be beneficial to further investigate B. coagulans as it is a common additive in medicated creams and antacids (Butler 1986). This is because of the possible pro-biotic benefits of B. coagulans in the gastrointestinal tract, although these benefit claims have been questioned as to their validity in recent years (De Vecchi and Drago 2006). There has also been a recent study that suggests that application of B. coagulans to arthritic joints may cause a decrease in pain and a reduction in disability of these joints. Althoug h, these are preliminary studies, and the function of this pain relief is unknown, there is significant reason to peruse B. coagulans as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (Mandel et al. 2010). Although the unknown bacterium is likely B. coagulans there were possible sources of error. A major source of error could have come from the gram staining process. There was a possibility that the stain was not rinsed with ethanol for long enough, which would have caused retention of the dye in the cell wall of the unknown bacterium. This would have lead to a false positive for gram staining. If this was true and the unknown bacterium was gram negative, this would indicate a possibly different genus and definitely different species. Although errors could have lead to misidentification of the unknown bacterium, based on the data collected, it is most likely that the unknown bacterium isolated was B. coagulans. There was no reason to believe that the isolated colony was contaminated with different species of bacteria, and testing lead to a conclusive identification of the unknown bacterium. From this it is reasonable to say that the objectives of this experiment were met.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Describe the process by which genes and environment operate together to

Describe the process by which genes and environment operate together to influence development. Discuss the significance of these processes for our understanding of child development. This essay will give a detailed account of the process by which genes and the environment operate together to influence development. Looking at Physical development and Language development and the perspectives of Natavism, Behaviourism. Constructivism and Social Constructivism it will explain the role of these perspectives in understanding child development. It is argued that the genetic blueprint can interact with the environment to encourage development. The process of genes and environment working together is often referred to as epigenetics and shows how environmental factors which can affect a parent can change the types of genes passed onto their children. Looking at Physical Development it can be seen if the process of genes and environment operating together influence development. As the environment is constantly changing humankind needs to have changeable characteristics, some of which are physical, this is known as â€Å"Developmental Plasticity†. Piaget studied water snails and found that shape of the snails shell varied depending on its habitat. Pond snails had longer shells than lake snails who had shorter shells to suit the water turbulence. Suggesting that cells have the properties to change and become â€Å"self-organising†, cells can change the way they are developing in response to environmental stimuli. It is argued that genes can be switched â€Å"on† or â€Å"off† in response to this environmental stimuli and can alter the characteristics they produce.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Piaget called this process â€Å"Epigenetic Development†, Epigenetic information is constantly being acquired throughout development, giving the environment an active role in influencing development. The environment is shaping information in our genes and changing our physical development. Humankind standing on two legs and walking was a response to environmental changes. This has had a significant effect on our genetic makeup from the shape of our pelvis to the size of our skull.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Epigenetic systems can only change things during the period of maturation and once a characteristic is adapted it can not change back. Richardson, 1994, argues in relation to child developmen... ...agreed with Piaget as his theory ignored the social environment. Vygotsky argued society was essential to child development as it allowed child interaction with others. He argued that language is acquired by the child â€Å"internalizing social interactions†. A child learns from another person and after interactions are repeated several times the child internalizes it. Vygotsky argued this can only be achieved with another person and carried out in the child’s â€Å"zone of proximal development†. Both Vygotsky and Piaget felt a child was active in the their own development. Vygotsky argues environment and its interactions shape the child, in contrast Piaget’s theory is more biologically linked. In conclusion it can be seen from looking at physical development and language development that genes and the environment operate together to influence development. In relation to child development the gene-environment perspective is not the only one to be considered. Gene only perspectives, Environment only perspectives and the Transactional model which sees the child as actively shaping its own development all play important roles and help us to understand the process of child development.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Confessions of a Chronic Shopper :: Personal Narrative Shopping Toys Papers

Confessions of a Chronic Shopper It began with Barbie. I received my first at age four, and for awhile, I was happy with just that one. But when I walked down the all-hot-pink aisle at Target, I couldn’t help but need another. Magic Moves, Peaches and Cream, Crystal. Barbie and the Rockers. And then came the accessories. Barbie’s pink Jeep. Barbie’s bed and bedroom furniture. Kitchen accessories. Gym equipment. A tall Barbie house with an elevator. My sister and I had the works. We would set up luxurious Barbie mansions and would select from a bottomless Barbie pit four or five Barbies apiece, creating elaborate plots that could contend with any of the afternoon soap operas. Their days consisted of primping, changing clothes at least 35 times, ordering miscellaneous stuff advertised on the radio, and dating. And with only a Ken and a Derek to go around for eight Barbies, there was much stealing of boyfriends. They led extremely enriching lives. Then Cabbage Patch Kids were born. Since they were in such high demand, it was agony wondering if I’d even get one. But Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Leo were successful on Easter of 1985. Although Grandpa had to literally fight with a woman in the aisle of Toys ‘R Us over the last Cabbage Patch on the shelves, he won, thank goodness, so that I could have Martina. Martina Dorisa. But after awhile, Martina needed a playmate. And another. And a fourth. So, I acquired three more—Billy, Gary, and a little premie named Felice. My sister had four as well, and ironically, when we played with them, we would pretend that we were destitute single mothers. The home we set up was underneath the ping-pong table in our basement, cramped quarters for two girls and eight babies. But we were impoverished, after all. In all honesty, however, I cannot remember a day when I ever felt the scarcity of money —whether it was the fear that I might not be getting another meal or that I might not be getting another Christmas present. As the fourth and youngest child in my family, my parents were in their thirties and well-established when I was born. While my older siblings felt the consequences when my parents struggled to make ends meet, I never had to witness such financial straits or worry about money at all. I grew up knowing only affluence, receiving almost any desire I entertained, and so consumption naturally became a part of my life, just as some children who are born into poverty naturally understand privation and want as a natural way of life.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

On Morality Essay

What is Morality? The inevitable fore comings of being a child literally flash right before your eyes. One minute you are learning how to walk and talk and in the next you are graduating high school. We find ourselves constantly wondering where the hell all that time went. And in between all this growing up it seems we acquire a set of â€Å"morals† and â€Å"values†; merely things we tend to blame our actions and thoughts on. It’s like this illusory line comes into play where we place the good and the bad. Perhaps once you have a belief about something it becomes permanent and forever engraved in your head but I don’t think I have the particular values or perspectives on life as I once did. To think that one of a parent’s main ambitions is to produce a child and raise it to have said good morals and values. It is only slightly disturbing to think of Hitler or Stalin’s parents and wonder what happened? As an adolescent we are taught an abundance of things, but if asked to come up with pertinent examples, I think a lot of us would stutter to come up with a few. The problem is that these lessons and ideals become instilled in us therefore becoming second nature – no thought process needed. A moral is something so excruciating and hard to be defined. Everyone seems to have their own set, but how is it that the majority sees the differences between okay and not in agreement? The absence of an explanation leads me to conclude that your own values and morals are dependent upon the circumstances you are subjected to. The point that I am so desperately trying to convey is that certain situations I had to deal with as a child and a young adult have led to my morals and values consequently changing. Joan Didion once said, â€Å"I followed my own conscience. I did what I thought was right. How many mad men have said and meant it? † (On morality, 1965) A statement that is so relevant to my own thinking due to the fact that I have felt myself questioning where and how the â€Å"good and bad† contour was formed. If a mad man truly felt that a mass murder was right, and cohesive with his conscience, then who are any of us to circumscribe his well -being? When you think of this mad man in a different context, you resolve that maybe rather than being â€Å"mad† possibly, he has converted his pragmatic necessities into moral imperatives without second thought. â€Å"You see I want to be quite obstinate about insisting that we have no way of knowing – beyond that fundamental loyalty to the social code- what is â€Å"right† what is â€Å"wrong† what is â€Å"good† what is â€Å"evil†. I dwell upon this because the most disturbing aspect of morality seem to me to be the frequency with which the word now appears; in the press, on television, in the most perfunctionary kinds of conversation. † (Joan Didion, on morality) What Joan Didion and presumably I keep diverging back to is the improper use of the word. What truly matters is exactly that- the way in which you toss these words around. Words like morals and values are merely titles. The manuscript of my childhood may or may not have stayed but there are still reminiscent little bits that remind me of who I am and where I came from. So what is morality? I have no idea.

Constitutional Development Essay

News has been defined differently by different experts. Some of the definitions are given below: 1. News is anything out of the ordinary 2. News is the unusual picture of life. 3. News is anything that people talk about; the more it excites the greater its value. , 4. News comprises all current activities which are of general human interest and the best news is that which interests most of the reader*. 5. Anything that enough people want to read is news provided it does not violate the canons of good taste and the law of libel. 6. News is like a hot cake coming straight from oven. 7. News is the report of an event that is fresh, unusual and which is interesting to a greater number of people. From these definitions we are now clear to have understood the elements of news. Let’s see what these are. Objectivity News is the factual report of an event. What the reporter sees is supposed to report. Objectivity means to report the facts exactly the same way as they occurred. It goes against objectivity if the reporter adds something from his own imagination. Comment/suggestion or proposal is not the task of a news reporter. These are considered right in a column, editorial, etc. In these formats of journalistic writings the writer can provide in-depth and background information. In simplest words objectivity means just to report the tip of the iceberg and leave the rest to analytical and in-depth reporting. It will not be an objective reporting if the reporter wants to angle, slant or shade the news. Introduction Of News Values News values are general guidelines or criteria used by media outlets, such as newspapers or broadcast media, to determine how much prominence to give to a story. They are fundamental to understanding news production and the choices that editors and other journalists face when deciding that one piece of information is news while another is not. According to former Times and Sunday Times Editor, Harold Evans, a news story†¦ †¦ Is about necessary information and unusual events †¦ Should be based on observable facts †¦ Should be an unbiased account †¦ Should be free from the reporter’s opinion However, the selection of news stories is subject to a wider range of influences than this simple basic definition. News values is about examining the process of selecting news sources, and how news Values inform the process. News values, sometimes called â€Å"news criteria,† are commonly held to be active at several stages in the gate keeping process.   First, they supposedly make a story or event more likely to be chosen as news (the â€Å"selection† hypothesis). Second, they’re said to be underscored, or even exaggerated when a news story is written (the â€Å"distortion† hypothesis), and finally, they are purportedly further emphasized as a news item passes through each stage of the Production process. A variety of external and internal pressures influence journalists’ decisions on which stories are covered, how issues are interpreted and the emphasis given to them. These pressures can sometimes lead to bias or unethical reporting. Achieving relevance, giving audiences the news they want and find interesting, is an increasingly important goal for media outlets seeking to maintain market share in a rapidly evolving market. This has made news organizations more open to audience input and feedback, and forced them to adopt and apply news values that attract and keep audiences Some news organizations use the term ‘News Values’ to describe a different concept: the ethical standards expected of journalists in their work. These ground rules spell out the good practice journalists should apply as they gather and process news stories. They are simply a code of ethics or canons of good and responsible journalism. These guidelines attempt to ensure the integrity of the journalist and guarantee the reliability of the news story. Both professional journalism associations and individual news organizations often make these rules freely available so that the public may know what to expect from their journalists. The BBC lists the following values: †¢ Truth and accuracy †¢ Impartiality and diversity of opinion †¢ Editorial integrity and independence †¢ Serving the public interest †¢ Fairness †¢ Balancing the right to report with respect for privacy †¢ Balancing the right to report with protection of the vulnerable †¢ Safeguarding children †¢ Being accountable to the audience History In 1965, media researchers Galtung & Ruge analysed international news stories to find out what factors they had in common, and what factors placed them at the top of the news agenda worldwide. In 1965, media researchers Galtung & Ruge analysed international news stories to find out what factors they had in common, and what factors placed them at the top of the news agenda worldwide. They came up with the following list of news values. – a kind of scoring system – a story which scores highly on each value is certain to come at the start of a TV news bulletin, or make the front page of a newspaper. Journalists and editors also draw heavily on their experience – of what an audience expects, of what stories have had a major impact on public consciousness in the past, of what is important – and each news organisation will have their own system of setting a news agenda. Galtung and Ruge, in their seminal study in the area put forward a system of twelve factors d escribing events that together are used as a definition of ‘newsworthiness’. Focusing on newspapers and broadcast news, Galtung and Ruge devised a list describing what they believed were significant contributing factors as to how the news is constructed. Their theory argues that the more an event accessed these criteria the more likely it was to be reported on in a newspaper. Furthermore, three basic hypotheses are presented by Galtung and Ruge: the additivity hypothesis that the more factors an event satisfies, the higher the probability that it becomes news; the complementarity hypothesis that the factors will tend to exclude each other; and the exclusion hypothesis that events that satisfy none or very few factors will not become news Gatlung and Ruge introduces the major factors related to news values as explain under Gatlung And Ruge, 1973 * Relevance – How relevant is a news story to the audience in question? For example, a California earthquake is almost always more relevant to a West Coast audience than to an audience in Calcutta. * Timeliness – How recently did the event unfold? Timing is of the utmost importance in today’s 24 hour news cycle. Recent events, or events in the making, are most likely to lead the news. * Simplification – Stories that can be easily simplified or summarized are likely to be featured more prominently than stories that are convoluted or difficult to understand. * Predictability – Certain events, such as elections, major sporting events, astrological events, and legal decisions, happen on a predictable schedule. As the event draws closer, it typically gains news value. * Unexpectedness – On the other hand, events like natural disasters, accidents, or crimes are completely unpredictable. These events are also likely to have significant news value. * Continuity – Some events, such as war, elections, protests, and strikes, require continuing coverage. These events are likely to remain in the news for a long time, although not always as the lead story. * Composition – Editors have to keep in mind the big picture—the sum of all content in their media outlet. For this reason, an editor might select soft human interest stories to balance out other hard hitting, investigative journalism. * Elite People – Certain individuals, like politicians, entertainers, and athletes, are considered, by virtue of their status, more newsworthy. If someone throws a shoe at an everyday person, it’s probably not news. If someone throws a shoe at the President of the United States, it will likely be in the news for weeks. * Elite Countries – Famine, drought, and national disasters are more likely to draw attention if they are happening in â€Å"First World† countries than if they are happening in developi ng countries. * Negativity – Generally speaking, editors deem bad news more newsworthy than good news. Shoemaimker Et Al., 1987 * Timeliness – Shoemaker et al. also recognize timeliness as a critical news value. * Proximity – Similar to Gatlung and Ruge’s â€Å"Relevance.† The closer an event takes place to the intended audience, the more important it is. This is why huge local or regional stories might not make the national news. * Importance, impact, or consequence – How many people will the event impact? Issues like global warming issues have become big news in recent years precisely because environmental changes affect the entire planet. * Interest – Does the story have any special human interest? For example, the inspirational story of a person overcoming large odds to reach her goal appeals to a fundamental human interest. * Conflict or Controversy – Similar to Gatlung and Ruge’s â€Å"Negativity.† Editors generally deem conflict more newsworthy than peace. * Sensationalism – Sensational stories tend to make the front pages more than the everyday. * Prominence – Similar to Gatlung and Ruge’s â€Å"Elite People.† The actions of prominent people are much more likely to make the news than non-public figures. * Novelty, oddity, or the unusual – Strange stories are likely to find their way into the news. Dog bites man—no story. Man bites dog—story. In the present era of audience fragmentation, individual audience members increasingly choose what kind of news content they receive, yet traditional news values often still govern how deeply a news story permeates a community. In 1973, Gatlung and Ruge developed one of the first models of news values. Shoemaker el al. followed up in 1987 with a similar model. Both offer a useful framework for understanding how gatekeepers evaluate potential news stories. Elements Of News While dealing with news, two stages we have covered so far. First, to see what we call news, what actually isnews? Second, to understand those features that convert an ordinary event or statement or opinion, into News. Now we go into details of news elements. News must carry following elements to come up to the ideal Standards of news. 1.Accuracy 2.Meaningful 3.Interesting 4.Factual 5.Objectivity 6.Conciseness 7.Clarity 8.Comprehensiveness 9.Cohesiveness Ingredients Of Good News 1. Proximity Closeness, either because of geographical proximity or because of relationship For example: News about the area (geographical) or news about things of interest/concern to locals (relationship). Example LAHORE, Feb 5: One person was killed and six others suffered multiple injuries in a roof collapse incident at Muhammad Ali Chow in Johar Town early on Tuesday.dawn 2. Timeliness The news happened recently (since the last edition) It’s new , otherwise, we’d call it â€Å"olds† Almost every story has some timeliness aspect For example: A teen driver is hit by another car at the intersection of Miller and Russell today, in the newspaper tomorrow. Example LAHORE: Dense fog causes problems in Lahore Interchange of the motorway has been closed due dense fog here, SAMAA reported Wednesday night. Several cars collided with each other owing to dense fog on Lahore-Islamabad Motorway, leaving 11 people injured near Thokar Niaz Baig on Tuesday. National Highway and Motorways Police said that around three kilometers distance from Thokar Niaz Baig on Motorway, 10 cars collided in to each other due to reduced visibility on the Motorway. They said Lahore-Islamabad Motorway would remain close in the foggy hours to avoid any such incident 3. Consequence The subject of a story has an impact on how people live their lives. For example: A story on a new curfew that will take effect, or a street that is under construction, or a scientific breakthrough Example Measles spreads in Gujranwala; affects 100 children GUJRANWALA: As many as 100 children have been diagnosed with measles in just three days here, SAMAA reports on Sunday. Several cases of the disease are being reported in the city’s hospitals. Right now at least 100 children who are affected by measles are under treatment. 4. Uniqueness /wonderfulness Weird stuff. For Example . A 77-year-old Ukrainian man won a jar full of sour cream for coming first in a dumpling eating contest and then promptly died, local media reported on Wednesday. Example World’s longest cat dies Stewie the Cat, the longest domestic cat in the world, measuring more than 4 feet long from nose to tail, has died after cancer battle. 5. Number of people Big crowd makes a big news but small crowd is not news. . For example protest of young doctors is a news . Example LAHORE: Young doctors of Punjab continued to observe a hunger strike in Lahore for the third straight day on Wednesday. Dozens of young doctors working in various health facilities staged a sit-in to order to pressureize the provincial government for accepting their demands regarding service structure and reinstatement of suspended fellow workers. According to reports, some participants of the hunger strike were hospitalized after their condition deteriorated. Others are getting necessary medical help in the camp. According to doctors, the government is yet to make any contact with them. Office bearers of Railway Labor Union also met the protesting doctors and assured their complete support. 6. Mystery A profound secret; something wholly unknown, or something kept cautiously concealed and therefore exciting curiosity or wonder to the audience when it is disclosed to them . Example Meher bukhari mubashir luqman the anchor person on Duniya News channel did the pre planned intrerview of Malik Riaz the owner of bahria town society and considered as a very rich person of Pakistan,to damage the position of Chief Justice Of Pakistan Ch Iftikhar that show was totally fake and planted and that cheap clipping was leaked by Tallat Hussian the senior anchor person of Dawn News 7. Emotions New which is related to the emotions of the people or effects them emotionally Example The cold-blooded murder of 20-year-old Shahzeb Khan in Karachi, at the hands of two young feudal despots – Nawab Siraj Talpur and Shahrukh Jatoi – is just another example of our collective failure in this regard 8. Prominent personality New related to prominent personality,s life Example Famous singer Mehnaz laid to rest in KarachiI: Pakistan’s prominent female singer Mehnaz Begum, who died in Bahrain on Saturday, was laid to rest here on Monday, Her funeral prayer offered after Zohar in Khairul Amal Masjid at Ancholi area. She was buried in Wadi-e-Hussain graveyard near Karachi Super Highway. 9. Adventure and invention News related to something which is like a invention or adventurous to the public Example The heaviest ride able bicycle weighs 750 kg (1650 lb) and was built by Wouter van den Bosch (Netherlands) Conclusion Every news outlet has a different protocol for selecting which stories to run, but some traditional values often determine the â€Å"newsworthiness† of a story News values are criteria used in newsroom practice to Select, out of the several contending items that are potential news, only a few items That qualify for inclusion in the news. Journalists judge news events in terms of their News values quotient. It has also shown that news values, in addition to being seen as Professional ideologies constructed by journalists, are exercised in augmentation with

Friday, August 16, 2019

Religion in the workplace Essay

Religion is protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by allowing people who work for an employer to be able to ask or take time off in order to observe a religious holiday or attend services. It also forbids employers to discharge, discriminate, limit or segregate any employee based off of their religious preferences. According to what is stated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 employees are allowed to take that time off of work for religious reasons as long as the employer does not experience any kind of hardship due to the absence of the employee. If a business does not comply with what the law states they can receive up to $1,000.00 fine, one year in jail or possibly both. Some examples of religious accommodations qualified employers must take are: 1. Providing tuition reimbursement even if it is a specific religion course. 2. Allowing employees not to participate in training sessions due to their religion. 3. Employees are allowed to engage in any religious expression. 4. Allowing flexible scheduling around someone’s religious preferences. 5. Providing time and or place to pray. It is important for employers to understand how religion is protected by Title VII because if they fail to comply they can receive hefty fines and possibly jail time. An employer can also be sued by someone if they fail to allow them to express their religious preferences. As for employees it is definitely necessary for them to know about Title VI when it comes to religion. Knowing this information will allow an individual to express their religious rights inside the workplace and not feel threatened because they might believe differently than others. COMING TO AMERICA The group that I choose to talk about is Muslims. This group faces religious discrimination in this country today and has seen an increase of discrimination after September 11th. People assume that because some radical terrorists created 9/11 that all people from that religion is against everyone in the United States. It is sad to hear this because it has been shown that most Muslims do not agree with the radical terrorists. There is even a word that describes the mass hysteria of people who are prejudicial towards Muslims called Islamaphobia. Several articles that I have read stated that people are extremely judgmental towards this group as well as hostile towards any Muslim people they come across. It seems that workplace discrimination towards this group is on the rise as well with several lawsuits pending towards different companies. Most of the lawsuits have to do with the ethnic attire and praying that Muslims do. Do I believe that they can overcome this type of discrimination? No I think they have a long hard road to go. Unfortunately there are a lot of uneducated people in the US and people tend to blame a whole group not just the individual in a terrorist situation. What needs to happen is more education on that religion and harsher judgments towards people who do hate crimes towards a Muslim.