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Wednesday, October 30, 2019

The Korean War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Korean War - Essay Example This situation remained so until the Korean War, which changed everything and expanded the conflict to one with a worldwide scope. It was the first armed confrontation of the Cold War, which without a doubt set the standard for later confrontations. The idea of a proxy war was generated due to the character of the war- the fact that it had been fought in another country. This meant that most of the destruction and devastation wouldnt be in either state of origin of one of the two superpowers, but rather in a different country. What this basically means is that another country is functioning as a battleground in the relentless war between the two superpowers. The war had started as the North Koreans, along with their Chinese allies, invaded South Korea. The North claimed that they were launching a preemptive strike against the South, but there is no indication that that was the case. The attack was launched in the dawn of June 25th, 1950. Around 231,000 North Korean soldiers crossed the border. Thousands of citizens had to flee their homes and turn south, carrying only what they can with them. As a result of the well-organized attack, North Korea was successful at the invasion and surprised the South, attacking a number of key places such as Kaesong, Chuncheon, Uijeongbu and Ongjin. The war raged on as the North Korean Air Force bombed major cities in the South, and heavy damages were inflicted upon them. Many South Koreans defected and others were in full retreat. This all changed when the US and other countries joined the war in favor of South Korea, with the UNs approval. The US declared that Korea is a good place to stop the communis t expansion. The US then joined the war, but at first the North Koreans continued to advance south until the US and South Korea were driven to a small area in the southeastern peninsula, around the city of Pusan. The US kept on sending forces there and would periodically bomb supply places and infrastructures of the

Monday, October 28, 2019

Essay on school uniforms Essay Example for Free

Essay on school uniforms Essay Imagine being able to wake up every morning, roll out of bed, put on the same thing you wore the day before, and head off to school. Not only would you be able to do such a thing, but all of your friends were doing it, too! Sound too good to be true? Well, its becoming more common in our society as school uniforms have gone beyond private schools to public schools. Uniforms have a positive effect on students self-esteem, attendance, discipline, and test scores. They have also been proven to decrease the rate of crime and violence in public schools. Most students and even parents will argue that SCHOOL UNIFORMS stifle individualism. The teenage years are a time when adolescents try out different personas, often experimenting with different styles of clothing during this phase. Opponents argue that uniforms take away an individuals freedom of expression. However, the clothes that people wear, or can afford to wear, often define the group by which they are accepted. As a result, many teens are outcast due to the fact that they cannot afford the top-of-the-line, name-brand clothing. This rejection can lead to several problems for the outcast teen: depression, inability to concentrate on schoolwork, or just a general feeling of inferiority. School uniforms put everyone on the same level because no outfit is more stylish or expensive than another. Linda Moore, principal at Will Rogers Middle School in Long Beach, California, states, Uniforms reduce the differences between the haves and have-nots (Ritter, 1). Uniforms allow students to interact with one another without experiencing the socioeconomic barrier that non-uniform schools create. More importantly, children are not judged on how much they spent on clothes or how stylish they look, but rather for their talents and personalities. School uniforms not only break down socioeconomic barriers, but they also increase the safety of the students. In 1996, President Bill Clinton encouraged the use of school uniforms as part of an education program that sought to improve safety and discipline (Hoffman, 1). If students are all wearing the same type of outfit, it becomes much easier to spot outsiders  who may wander onto the campus. In addition, uniforms decrease the number of incidences of students being attacked or beaten for items of clothing such as shoes and jackets. Also, members of gangs frequently have a color or style of clothing used to identify themselves. Unsuspecting students who wear gang colors or gang-related attire might be threatened or intimidated by members of opposing gangs, students wearing expensive or fashionable clothes might become victims of theft, or certain fashion accessories or attire may be used as a means of concealing weapons, or even as weapons (Paliokas, 1). At a school in Long Beach, California, after only the first year that uniforms were implemented, overall school crime decreased 36 percent, fights decreased 51 percent, sex offenses decreased 74 percent, weapons offenses decreased 50 percent, assault and battery offenses decreased 34 percent, and vandalism decreased 18 percent (Manual, 3). Schools with uniform-clad students are also proven to have fewer disciplinary problems and increased attendance than non-uniform schools. Dr. John German, principal of South Shore, located in Seattle, Washington, reports, This year the demeanor in the school has improved 98 percent, truancy and tardies are down, and we have not had one reported incident of theft (Manual,4). Ruffner Middle School, located in Norfolk, Virginia, reports a 47 percent decrease in students leaving class without permission (Manual,5). With the implementation of uniforms, students no longer spend hours deciding what they are going to wear to school. This fear of looking uncool will often cause kids to decide that they do not feel well enough to go to school because they cant find anything to wear. Uniforms allow students to focus more on their academics, and less on what everyone else is wearing. According to Long Beach police chief William Ellis, Students concentrate more on education, not on whos wearing $100 shoes or gang attire (Manual, 3). Elementary Guidance Counselor Sharon Carter of Memphis, Tennessee states, The tone of the school is different. Theres not the competitiveness†¦about whos wearing what (Manual, 5). Many families worry about not having enough money to buy uniforms. Due to the fact that no child can be denied an education because of economic  disadvantage, all schools requiring uniforms must include provisions to assist low-income families. For example, the Long Beach School District solved this problem by setting up a boutique shop, funded by private donors, where needy students can shop (Paliokas, 5). In addition, community and business leaders provide or contribute financial support for uniforms, and students who have graduated often donate their used uniforms to incoming students (Manual, 3). However, uniforms are considerably cheaper to buy than non-uniform clothes, and the students can wear them every day and it isnt considered unusual. Parents can buy a few pairs of pants, shirts, or other variations of a uniform for under $100, while parents of non-uniform-wearing students can spend from several hundred up to $1,000 a year on clothing. Parents find that buying two or three uniforms is ultimately cheaper than buying clothes to follow the fads, and it stops arguments at home in the mornings about what to wear (Oland, 1). Pop culture increasingly sends young girls the message that the smaller and tighter the clothes, the more readily they will be accepted. These outfits, which flaunt navels and bra straps, are not only distracting, but detract from teaching time as teachers argue with students about what is considered acceptable attire. With uniforms, there are only a few acceptable variations of the outfit, no questions asked. A less well-known theory concerning the pros of school uniforms is the halo effect. According to researcher Marc Posner, the halo effect refers to the idea that while uniforms may not change student behavior, the uniforms may change the way teachers and other adults perceive the students who wear them. In a study of the correlation of student clothing and teacher and student perceptions, Dorothy Behling of Bowling Green University found that students and teachers alike believe that uniform-clad students not only behave better, but also do better academically than those who dont wear uniforms. While this may be an illusion, these positive perceptions can help create a self-fulfilling prophecy that teachers and administrators raise their discipline and grading standards to reflect their more positive image of students, who, in turn, behave better. (School Discipline, 1). While research on the effectiveness of uniforms is still ongoing, they have been proven to raise test scores, boost self-esteem, reduce violence and crime, and create a sense of newfound pride in students. They help children to focus on learning and schoolwork, not on what everyone else is wearing or whether or not they fit in. Uniforms are not the solution to all of the problems that teens, teachers, and schools face today, but research and statistics suggest that they may be a step in the right direction.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Science, Technology, and Human Values Essay -- Slaughterhouse-Five Ess

Science, Technology, and Human Values in Sigmund Freud's Civilization and Its Discontents, Henrik Ibsen and Arthur Miller's An Enemy of the People, and Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five Technology has advanced to the point where it touches our lives in nearly every conceivable way-we no longer have to lift a finger to perform the most trivial tasks. The wealth of information and science we have learned in the last few centuries have made our lives easier but not always better, especially when concerning civilization as a whole. Ibsen, Freud, and Vonnegut argue that human values have not kept pace with knowledge's unceasing expansion, which has become an anathema for the individual person and deleterious to society's delectation, albeit without people's entire comprehension. Henrik Ibsen, as adapted by Arthur Miller, uses his play An Enemy of the People to illustrate how one's contentedness is not necessarily aided by technology but in many instances in fact hindered. When the town's main industry, Kirsten Springs, becomes polluted it raises queries from Dr. Stockmann as to its hazardousness to its occupants. Nearly all residents of the little Norwegian city rally behind Aslaksen, the printer and leader of the business class, in destroying the doctor's credibility so that his accusations of the dangerous water will never be believed by tourists, which would result in a prodigious financial loss for all. This quaint town is a representation of humanity's tendencies towards egoism. When money is involved, it doesn't matter what the risk is, regardless of physical injuriousness and potential loss of life. The springs symbolize technology and Dr. Stockmann stands for venerable human values. The technology has become prosperous ... ...ges of technology outweigh the disadvantages to the collective human values of society. Science and Technology are not pursued to improve the moral values of man and as such will be perpetually in disagreement. Humanity will never cease to create new technologies and learn about the universe through scientific methods. A person's values on the other hand are not actively augmented and will suffer. Society is in need of a refreshing of ethics that stays on par with the development of man's other creations. Works Cited Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. Ed. and Trans. James Strachey. New York: Norton, 1962. Ibsen, Henrik and Hampton, Christopher (translator). An Enemy of the People. Boston: Faber and Faber, 1997 Stoppard, Tom. Arcadia. London: Faber and Faber, 1993. Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five. New York: Dell Publishing, 1998.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Alexander G. Bell :: essays research papers

April I87I Alexander Bell mooves ot Boston where again he teaches deaf people at the Clarke School for Deat Mutes, Boston Massachustets and also the American Asylum for the Death, Hartford Connecticut I873 Alexander Bell becomes a Professor of Elocution and Vocal Physiology for the University of Boston two of his death students will be of vital importance to the invention of the phone, having wealthy parents they get Alexander Bell into contact with people that have money to finance his invention Mabbel Hubbard, his future wife and daughter of the attorney Gardiner Green Hubbard George Sanders, son of Leather business man Thomas Sanders teacher Alexander Bell mai I874 Alexander Bell and ear doctor Clarence Blake experiment around the mechanics of the human ear. With the help of the phonautograph they want to represent the sound by graphics while shopping in Charles William's electrician shop in Boston Aleaxnder Bell meets a young electrician Thomas Watson in the summer Alexander Bell has an idea .... but how to make this funny idea work some money is necessary to finance the experiments luckily there was Mabel Hubbard ..... an idea: The Telegraph, using dot-and-dash Morse codes was limited to receiving and sending one message at a time. Woudn't there be a possibility to transmit multiple messages at the same time over the same wire ? Alexander Bell's extensive knowledge of the nature of sound gave him the idea to transmit multiple messages at the same time his 'harmonic Telegraph' was based on the Principle that several codes would be sent simoultaneously if notes and signals differed in pitch when Alexander Bell began experimenting the Telegraph, next to the Post was the current means of communication. Mabel convinces her father Gardiner Huddard to finance the experiment feb 27 I875 a business venture, Bell Patent Association is signed between Alexander Bell, Thomas Sanders and Gardiner G Hubbard experimenting, experimenting, experimenting and November 25 I875 a first result .... not the invention, but Alexander Bell and Mabel Hubbard get engaged .... and finally Bell's telephone patent is widely considered to be the most valuable patent ever issued it was followed by hundreds of legal suits Phonebook of the World was surprised to hear from a visitor of the Website that Philipp Reis had already presented a similar invention I5 years earlier october 26 I86I february I4 I876 in the US Patent Office a certain patent n ° I74 465 gets filed luckily it didn't take any longer imagine only 3 hours later ! Elisha Gray, a different inventor working completely independently files another pattern related to the telephone Alexander Bell's patent is accepted march 7 I876 assistant Thomas A Watson neither Alexander Bell's nor Elisha Gray's theories of the phone were working ... but only a month later march I0 I876 . Alexander G. Bell :: essays research papers April I87I Alexander Bell mooves ot Boston where again he teaches deaf people at the Clarke School for Deat Mutes, Boston Massachustets and also the American Asylum for the Death, Hartford Connecticut I873 Alexander Bell becomes a Professor of Elocution and Vocal Physiology for the University of Boston two of his death students will be of vital importance to the invention of the phone, having wealthy parents they get Alexander Bell into contact with people that have money to finance his invention Mabbel Hubbard, his future wife and daughter of the attorney Gardiner Green Hubbard George Sanders, son of Leather business man Thomas Sanders teacher Alexander Bell mai I874 Alexander Bell and ear doctor Clarence Blake experiment around the mechanics of the human ear. With the help of the phonautograph they want to represent the sound by graphics while shopping in Charles William's electrician shop in Boston Aleaxnder Bell meets a young electrician Thomas Watson in the summer Alexander Bell has an idea .... but how to make this funny idea work some money is necessary to finance the experiments luckily there was Mabel Hubbard ..... an idea: The Telegraph, using dot-and-dash Morse codes was limited to receiving and sending one message at a time. Woudn't there be a possibility to transmit multiple messages at the same time over the same wire ? Alexander Bell's extensive knowledge of the nature of sound gave him the idea to transmit multiple messages at the same time his 'harmonic Telegraph' was based on the Principle that several codes would be sent simoultaneously if notes and signals differed in pitch when Alexander Bell began experimenting the Telegraph, next to the Post was the current means of communication. Mabel convinces her father Gardiner Huddard to finance the experiment feb 27 I875 a business venture, Bell Patent Association is signed between Alexander Bell, Thomas Sanders and Gardiner G Hubbard experimenting, experimenting, experimenting and November 25 I875 a first result .... not the invention, but Alexander Bell and Mabel Hubbard get engaged .... and finally Bell's telephone patent is widely considered to be the most valuable patent ever issued it was followed by hundreds of legal suits Phonebook of the World was surprised to hear from a visitor of the Website that Philipp Reis had already presented a similar invention I5 years earlier october 26 I86I february I4 I876 in the US Patent Office a certain patent n ° I74 465 gets filed luckily it didn't take any longer imagine only 3 hours later ! Elisha Gray, a different inventor working completely independently files another pattern related to the telephone Alexander Bell's patent is accepted march 7 I876 assistant Thomas A Watson neither Alexander Bell's nor Elisha Gray's theories of the phone were working ... but only a month later march I0 I876 .

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

La Noche Boca Arriba Translation

L A NOCHE BOCA ARRIBA Halfway down the long hotel vestibule, he thought that probably hewas going to be late, and hurried on into the street to get out hismotorcycle from the corner where the next-door superintendent let himkeep it. On the jewelry store at the corner he read that it was ten to nine;he had time to spare. The sun filtered through the tall downtown buildings,and he–because for himself, for just going along thinking, he did not havea name-he swung onto the machine, savoring the idea of the ride. Themotor whirred between his legs, and a cool wind whipped his pantslegs.He let the ministries zip past (the pink, the white), and a series of stores on the main street, their windows flash ing. Now he was beginning the most pleasant part of the run, the real ride: a long street bordered withtrees, very little traffic, with spacious villas whose gardens rambled all theway down to the sidewalks, which were barely indi cated by low hedges. Abit inattentive perhaps, but tooli ng along on the right side of the street, heallowed himself to be carried away by the freshness, by the weightlesscontraction of this hardly begun day. This involuntary relaxa tion, possibly,kept him from preventing the accident.When he saw that the womanstanding on the corner had rushed into the crosswalk while he still had thegreen light, it was already somewhat too late for a simple solu tion. Hebraked hard with foot and hand, wrenching him self to the left; he heard thewoman scream, and at the collision his vision went. It was like falling asleep all at once. He came to abruptly. Four or five young men were get ting him out from under the cycle. He felt the taste of salt and blood, oneknee hurt, and when they hoisted him up he yelped, he couldn't bear the presssure on his right arm.Voices which did not seem to belong to thefaces hanging above him encouraged him cheerfully with jokes and assurances. His single solace was to hear someone else confirm that thelights indeed had been in his favor. He asked about the woman, trying tokeep down the nausea which was edging up into his throat. While they carried him face up to a nearby pharmacy, he learned that the cause of theaccident had gotten only a few scrapes on the legs. â€Å"Nah, you barely got her at all, but when ya hit, the impact made the machine jump and flop on its side . . . Opinions, recollections of other smashups, take it easy, work him in shoulders first, there, that's fine, and someone in a dust coat giving him a swallow of something soothing in the shadowy interior of the small local pharmacy. Within five minutes the police ambulance arrived, and they lifted himonto a cushioned stretcher. It was a relief for him to be able to lie out flat. Completely lucid, but real izing that he was suffering the effects of aterrible shock, he gave his information to the officer riding in the ambulance with him. The arm almost didn't hurt; blood dripped down from acut over the eyebrow all over his face.He lic ked his lips once or twice todrink it. He felt pretty good, it had been an accident, tough luck; stay quiet a few weeks, nothing worse. The guard said that the motorcycle didn't seem badly racked up. â€Å"Why should it,† he replied. â€Å"It all landed on top of me. † They both laughed, and when they got to the hospital, the guard shook his hand and wished him luck. Now the nausea was coming back little by little; meanwhile they were pushing him on a wheeled stretcher toward a pavilion further back, rolling along under trees full of birds, heshut his eyes and wished he were asleep or chloroformed.But they kept him for a good while in a room with that hospital smell, filling out a form,getting his clothes off, and dressing him in a stiff, greyish smock. They moved his arm carefully, it didn't hurt him. The nurses were constantly making wise cracks, and if it hadn't been for the stomach contractions hewould have felt fine, almost happy. They got him over to X-ray, and t wenty minutes later, with the still-damp negative lying on his chest like a black tombstone, they pushed himinto surgery. Someone tall and thin in white came over and began to look at the X rays.A woman's hands were arranging his head, he felt that they were moving him from one stretcher to another. The man in white cameover to him again, smiling, some thing gleamed in his right hand. He patted his cheek and made a sign to someone stationed behind. It was unusual as a dream because it was full of smells, and henever dreamt smells. First a marshy smell, there to the left of the trail theswamps began already, the quaking bogs from which no one ever returned. But the reek lifted, and instead there came a dark, freshcomposite fragrance, like the night under which he moved, in flight fromthe Aztecs.And it was all so natural, he had to run from the Aztecs who had set out on their manhunt, and his sole chance was to find a place tohide in the deepest part of the forest, taking care not to lose the narrow trail which only they, the Motecas, knew. What tormented him the most was the odor, as though,notwithstanding the absolute acceptance of the dream, there wassomething which resisted that which was not habitual, which until that point had not participated in the game. â€Å"It smells of war,† he thought, his hand going instinctively to the stone knife which was tucked at an angle into hisgirdle of woven wool.An unexpected sound made him crouch suddenly stock-still and shaking. To be afraid was nothing strange, there was plenty of fear in his dreams. He waited, covered by the branches of a shrub and the starless night. Far off, probably on the other side of the big lake, they'd be lighting the bivouac fires; that part of the sky had a reddish glare. Thesound was not repeated. It had been like a broken limb. Maybe an animal that, like himself, was escaping from the smell of war. He stood erect slowly, sniffing the air.Not a sound could be heard, but the fear was still following, as was the smell, that cloying incense of the war of the blossom. He had to press forward, to stay out of the bogs and get to the heart of theforest. Groping uncertainly through the dark, stoop ing every other moment to touch the packed earth of the trail, he took a few steps. He would haveliked to have broken into a run, but the gurgling fens lapped on either sideof him. On the path and in darkness, he took his bear ings. Then he caught a horrible blast of that foul smell he was most afraid of, and leaped forward desperately. You're going to fall off the bed,† said the patient next to him. â€Å"Stopbouncing around, old buddy. † He opened his eyes and it was afternoon,the sun al ready low in the oversized windows of the long ward. Whiletrying to smile at his neighbor, he detached himself almost physically fromthe final scene of the nightmare. His arm, in a plaster cast, hung suspended from an appa ratus with weights and pulleys. He felt thirsty, asthou gh he'd been running for miles, but they didn't want to give him muchwater, barely enough to moisten his lips and make a mouthful.The fever was winning slowly and he would have been able to sleep again, but hewas enjoying the pleasure of keeping awake, eyes half-closed, listening tothe other patients' conversation, answering a question from time to time. He saw a little white pushcart come up beside the bed, a blond nurserubbed the front of his thigh with alcohol and stuck him with a fat needleconnected to a tube which ran up to a bottle filled with a milky, opales cent liquid. A young intern arrived with some metal and leather apparatus whichhe adjusted to fit onto the good arm to check something or other.Night fell,and the fever went along dragging him down softly to a state in whichthings seemed embossed as through opera glasses, they were real and soft and, at the same time, vaguely distaste ful; like sitting in a boring movie and thinking that, well, still, it'd be worse out in the street, and staying. A cup of a marvelous golden broth came, smelling of leeks, celery and parsley. A small hunk of bread, more precious than a whole banquet,found itself crumbling lit tle by little. His arm hardly hurt him at all, and only in the eyebrow where they'd taken stitches a quick, hot pain siz zled occasionally.When the big windows across the way turned to smudges of dark blue, he thought it would not be difficult for him to sleep. Still on hisback so a little un comfortable, running his tongue out over his hot, too-dry lips, he tasted the broth still, and with a sigh of bliss, he let himself drift off. First there was a confusion, as of one drawing all his sensations, for that moment blunted or muddled, into himself. He realized that he wasrunning in pitch dark ness, although, above, the sky criss-crossed withtreetops was less black than the rest. The trail,† he thought, â€Å"I've gotten off the trail. † His feet sank into a bed of leaves and mud, and then he couldn't take a step that the branches of shrubs did not whiplash against his ribsand legs. Out of breath, knowing despite the darkness and silence that hewas surrounded, he crouched down to listen. Maybe the trail was very near, with the first daylight he would be able to see it again. Nothing now could help him to find it. The hand that had unconsciously gripped the haft of the dagger climbed like a fen scorpion up to his neck where the protecting amulet hung.Barely moving his lips, he mumbled thesupplication of the corn which brings about the beneficent moons, and the prayer to Her Very High ness, to the distributor of all Motecan possessions. At the same time he felt his ankles sinking deeper into the mud, and thewaiting in the darkness of the obscure grove of live oak grew intolerable tohim. The war of the blossom had started at the beginning of the moon and had been going on for three days and three nights now. If he man aged tohide in the depths of the forest, getting off the trail further up past the marsh country, perhaps the warriors wouldn't follow his track.He thought of the many prison ers they'd already taken. But the number didn't count,only the consecrated period. The hunt would continue until the priests gave the sign to return. Everything had its number and its limit, and it was within the sacred period, and he on the other side from the hunters. He heard the cries and leaped up, knife in hand. As if the sky wereaflame on the horizon, he saw torches mov ing among the branches, very near him. The smell of war was unbearable, and when the first enemy jumped him, leaped at his throat, he felt an almost-pleasure in sinking thestone blade flat to the haft into his chest.The lights were already around him, the happy cries. He managed to cut the air once or twice, then a ropesnared him from behind. â€Å"It's the fever,† the man in the next bed said. â€Å"The same thing happened to me when they operated on my duode num. Take some wa ter,you'll see, you'll sleep all right. † Laid next to the night from which he came back, the tepid shadow of the ward seemed delicious to him. A vio let lamp kept watch high on the far wall like a guardian eye. You could hear coughing, deep breathing, once ina while a conversation in whispers.Everything was pleas ant and secure,without the chase, no . . . But he didn't want to go on thinking about thenightmare. There were lots of things to amuse himself with. He began tolook at the cast on his arm, and the pulleys that held it so com fortably inthe air. They'd left a bottle of mineral water on the night table beside him. He put the neck of the bottle to his mouth and drank it like a preciousliqueur. He could now make out the different shapes in the ward, the thirty beds, the closets with glass doors. He guessed that his fever was down,his face felt cool.The cut over the eye brow barely hurt at all, like arecollection. He saw himself leaving the hotel again, wheeling out thecy cle. Who'd have thought that it would end like this? He tried to fix themoment of the accident exactly, and it got him very angry to notice that there was a void there, an emptiness he could not manage to fill. Betweenthe impact and the mo ment that they picked him up off the pavement, the pass ing out or what went on, there was nothing he could see. And at thesame time he had the feeling that this void, this nothingness, had lasted aneternity.No, not even time, more as if, in this void, he had passed acrosssome thing, or had run back immense distances. The shock, the brutal dashing against the pavement. Anyway, he had felt an immense relief incoming out of the black pit while the people were lifting him off the ground. With pain in the broken arm, blood from the split eyebrow, contusion on theknee; with all that, a relief in returning to daylight, to the day, and to feel sustained and attended. That was weird. Someday he'd ask the doctor at the office about that.Now sleep began to take over again, to pull himslowly down. The pillow was so soft, and the coolness of the mineral water in his fevered throat. The violet light of the lamp up there was beginning toget dimmer and dim mer. As he was sleeping on his back, the position in which he came to did not surprise him, but on the other hand the damp smell, the smell of oozing rock, blocked his throat and forced him to understand. Open the eyes and look in all directions, hopeless. He was surrounded by an absolutedarkness. Tried to get up and felt ropes pinning his wrists and ankles.Hewas staked to the ground on a floor of dank, icy stone slabs. The cold bit into his naked back, his legs. Dully, he tried to touch the amulet with hischin and found they had stripped him of it. Now he was lost, no prayer could save him from the final . . . From afar off, as though filtering throughthe rock of the dungeon, he heard the great kettledrums of the feast. They had carried him to the temple, he was in the underground cells of Teo calli itself, awaiting his turn. He heard a yell, a hoarse yell that rocked off the walls. Another yell,ending in a moan.It was he who was screaming in the darkness, he wasscreaming because he was alive, his whole body with that cry fended off what was coming, the inevitable end. He thought of his friends filling up theother dungeons, and of those already walk ing up the stairs of the sacrifice. He uttered another choked cry, he could barely open his mouth, his jawswere twisted back as if with a rope and a stick, and once in a while they would open slowly with an endless exertion, as if they were made of rubber. The creaking of the wooden latches jolted him like a whip. Rent,writhing, he fought to rid himself of the cords sinking into his flesh.His right arm, the strongest, strained until the pain became unbear able and he had to give up. He watched the double door open, and the smell of the torchesreached him before the light did. Barely girdled by the ceremonial loincloths , the priests' acolytes moved in his direction, looking at him withcontempt. Lights reflected off the sweaty torsos and off the black hair dressed with feathers. The cords went slack, and in their place thegrappling of hot hands, hard as bronze; he felt himself lifted, still face up,and jerked along by the four acolytes who carried him down the passageway.The torchbearers went ahead, indistinctly light ing up the corridor with its dripping walls and a ceiling so low that the acolytes had to duck their heads. Now they were taking him out, taking him out, it was the end. Face up, under a mile of living rock which, for a succession of moments,was lit up by a glimmer of torchlight. When the stars came out up thereinstead of the roof and the great terraced steps rose before him, on firewith cries and dances, it would be the end.The passage was never going to end, but now it was beginning to end, he would see sud denly the opensky full of stars, but not yet, they trundled him along endles sly in thereddish shadow, hauling him roughly along and he did not want that, but how to stop it if they had torn off the amulet, his real heart, the life center. In a single jump he came out into the hospital night, to the high,gentle, bare ceiling, to the soft shadow wrapping him round. He thought hemust have cried out, but his neighbors were peacefully snoring.The water in the bottle on the night table was somewhat bubbly, a translucent shapeagainst the dark azure shadow of the windows. He panted, looking for some relief for his lungs, oblivion for those images still glued to his eyelids. Each time he shut his eyes he saw them take shape instantly, and he sat up, completely wrung out, but savoring at the same time the surety that now he was awake, that the night nurse would answer if he rang, that soonit would be daybreak, with the good, deep sleep he usually had at that hour, no im ages, no nothing . . . It was difficult to keep his eyes open, thedrowsiness was more powerful tha n he.He made one last effort, hesketched a gesture toward the bottle of water with his good hand and did not manage to reach it, his fingers closed again on a black emptiness, and the passageway went on endlessly, rock after rock, with momentary ruddy flares, and face up he choked out a dull moan because the roof was about to end, it rose, was opening like a mouth of shadow, and the acolytesstraightened up, and from on high a waning moon fell on a face whoseeyes wanted not to see it, were closing and opening desperately, trying to pass to the other side, to find again the bare, protecting ceiling of the ward.And every time they opened, it was night and the moon, while they climbed the great terraced steps, his head hanging down backward now, and up at he top were the bonfires, red columns of perfumed smoke, and suddenly he saw the red stone, shiny with the blood dripping off it, and the spinning arcs cut by the feet of the victim whom they pulled off to throw him rolling down the no rth steps.With a last hope he shut his lids tightly, moaning towake up. For a second he thought he had gotten there, because oncemore he was immobile in the bed, except that his head was hanging downoff it, swinging. But he smelled death, and when he opened his eyes hesaw the blood-soaked fig ure of the executioner-priest coming toward himwith the stone knife in his hand.He managed to close his eyelids again,although he knew now he was not going to wake up, that he was awake,that the marvelous dream had been the other, absurd as all dreams are-adream in which he was going through the strange avenues of anastonishing city, with green and red lights that burned without fire or smoke, on an enormous metal insect that whirred away between his legs. In the infinite he of the dream, they had also picked him up off the ground,some one had approached him also with a knife in his hand, approached him who was lying face up, face up with his eyes closed between thebonfires on the steps.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Kouroi Essays - Visual Arts, Sculpture, Kouroi, Kouros, Naxos

The Kouroi Essays - Visual Arts, Sculpture, Kouroi, Kouros, Naxos The Kouroi I. Introduction The pair of sculptures studied in this essay are more similar than their first appearances would suggest. The first sculpture, named Marble Statue of a Kouros , depicts a nude young man in marble, and it was made in Attica around 580 BCE. The other statue entitled Kouros , on the other hand, is a huge marble sculpture made by the abstract expressionist artist Isamu Noguchi in 1945. In this paper, both pieces will be analysed , then compared and contrasted against each other. Although the first impression of the pieces is that they are completely different, some of their surprising similarities will be discussed. II. Marble Statue of a Kouros This is an archaic scu lpture of a nude young man. According to the nameplate, it was created between 590-580 BCE in Attica, and it marked the grave of an aristocrat. It is made of white marble and life-sized, standing slightly taller than 6 feet. This piece is composed of a hea d, torso, and limbs, but otherwise, the sculpture is more representational than naturalistic. This statue reminiscent of linear early Egyptian art in several ways. First, the man is posed in a formulaic and somewhat unnatural pose. He is looking straight a head with his fists clenched at his side and his left leg slightly forward as if he were in the middle of a step. However, no other part of his body appears to be taking this step, so the figure feels quite stiff. Other than the left leg taking a step forw ard, the body is symmetrical over the y-axis of the figure. Finally, every individual shape feels stiff. Each part of the body has a soft curve, almost emulating the organic qualities of muscles, but anatomical details are inscribed as opposed to incorpora ted into the shape of the figure. The proportions are not quite accurate to a real man. For instance, the shoulders are very broad while the waist is quite narrow. In fact, the torso looks feminine due to its curvature, like a top-heavy hourglass. Anato mical details are etched on this shape to suggest the pectorals, abdominals, and obliques . There are also subtle indents for the clavicles and a marking for the navel. On the back, there are lines to mark the spine, shoulder blades, and buttocks. The bas ic shapes of the legs are the thighs and calves. The thighs are quite full, from both the front and side view. From the front, their fullest point is wider than the hips, and from the back, the thickest part of the thighs stick out as much as the buttocks. The calves are also quite full. Their widest point, from the front, is nearly as wide as the thighs; however, the calves taper off more drastically than the thighs. In addition, the front of the calves meet at an angle, so the front is not smooth. The cal ves look like plate armor. The detail that is etched on the legs is concentrated around the knees, both the knee caps and the back of the knee. The knee caps look like a pentagon with a thick wavy line on top, reminiscent of Egyptian representations of kne ecaps. The back of the knees shows slight markings of 2 tendons, but no "knee pit." The legs flow into the feet, but not in a natural way. The bones in the ankle do not jut out, for instance. The feet themse lves are round, concave blocks with toes and toen ails carved into them. The arms are composed of the upper arms and forearms. There are markings on the back of the arms for the elbows and wrist bones, and there is a slight indent in the front forearms to suggest muscles. The back of the lower arms meet at an angle like the calves. The hands are one of the least naturalistic parts of the figure; they are chunky and bold, like rounded cubes with the suggestion of fingers etched into them. The hands are not completely separated from the torso either. The l ast part of this sculpture is the head, and the most detail is concentrated here, perhaps to individualize

Monday, October 21, 2019

Free Essays on Theodor Geisel

Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, often used children’s stories such as The Lorax, The Sneetches, and Yertle the Turtle to symbolize the problems and prejudices in society. As he showed us the problems and he also provided ways for us to overcome them. Theodor Geisel was born March 2, 1904, to Theodor Robert and Henrietta Seuss Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts. At a very early age, Theodor Geisel developed a talent that would make him very famous later in his life. He developed a strange and unrealistic style of drawing which came about by doodling on his school books. After attending high school at Central High School in Springfield, he decided to further his education at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. While attending Dartmouth, he edited and contributed cartoons to the campus humor magazine. After graduating from Dartmouth College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English, he went on to write columns for the Springfield Union for a few months. Soon after college, he started graduate work in English literature at Lincoln College, Oxford University in England at which he stayed for one year. After returning from Oxford University, he began his career. In 1927, he sold cartoons to magazines such as Judge, Liberty, and Vanity Fair. While working for different magazines, McCann-Erickson, an advertising agency, saw his work and assigned him to an account. He worked for McCann-Erickson for more than a decade, during which he created humorous campaigns featuring bizarre animals. In 1931, he illustrated for Viking Press. In 1932, he wrote and illustrated his own book, but he could not find a publisher. For almost four years, Geisel did nothingthat is until 1937. In 1937, Geisel wrote, And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street. After the success of that book, he wrote, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins in 1938. In 1939, he began a relationship with Random House Publishing and wrote The Seven Lady God... Free Essays on Theodor Geisel Free Essays on Theodor Geisel Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, often used children’s stories such as The Lorax, The Sneetches, and Yertle the Turtle to symbolize the problems and prejudices in society. As he showed us the problems and he also provided ways for us to overcome them. Theodor Geisel was born March 2, 1904, to Theodor Robert and Henrietta Seuss Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts. At a very early age, Theodor Geisel developed a talent that would make him very famous later in his life. He developed a strange and unrealistic style of drawing which came about by doodling on his school books. After attending high school at Central High School in Springfield, he decided to further his education at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. While attending Dartmouth, he edited and contributed cartoons to the campus humor magazine. After graduating from Dartmouth College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English, he went on to write columns for the Springfield Union for a few months. Soon after college, he started graduate work in English literature at Lincoln College, Oxford University in England at which he stayed for one year. After returning from Oxford University, he began his career. In 1927, he sold cartoons to magazines such as Judge, Liberty, and Vanity Fair. While working for different magazines, McCann-Erickson, an advertising agency, saw his work and assigned him to an account. He worked for McCann-Erickson for more than a decade, during which he created humorous campaigns featuring bizarre animals. In 1931, he illustrated for Viking Press. In 1932, he wrote and illustrated his own book, but he could not find a publisher. For almost four years, Geisel did nothingthat is until 1937. In 1937, Geisel wrote, And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street. After the success of that book, he wrote, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins in 1938. In 1939, he began a relationship with Random House Publishing and wrote The Seven Lady God...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Free Essays on Prison

AN ALTERNATIVE FOR PRISON America's prisons have been called "graduate schools for crime." It stands to reason: Take a group of people, strip them of possessions and privacy, expose them to constant threats of violence, overcrowd their cell- block, deprive them of meaningful work, and the result is an embittered underclass more intent on getting even with society than contributing to it. Prisons take the nonviolent offender and make him live by violence. They take the nonviolent offender and make him a hardened killer. America has to wake up and realize that the current structure of our penal system is failing terribly. The government has to devise new ways to punish the guilty, and still manage to keep American citizens satisfied that our prison system is still effective. Americans pay a great deal for prisons to fail so badly. Like all big government solutions, they are expensive. In the course of my studies dealing with the criminal justice system, I have learned that the government spends approximately eighty-thousand dollars to build one cell, and $28,000 per year to keep a prisoner locked up. That's about the same as the cost of sending a student to Harvard. Because of overcrowding, it is estimated that more than ten-billion dollars in construction is needed to create sufficient space for just the current prison population. The plain truth is that the very nature of prison, no matter how humane society attempts to make it, produces an environment that is inevitably devastating to its residents. Even if their release is delayed by longer sentences, those residents inevitably return to damage the community, and we are paying top dollar to make this possible. Why should tax payers be forced to pay amounts to keep nonviolent criminals sitting in prison cells where they become bitter and more likely to repeat their offenses when they are released? Instead, why not put them to work outs... Free Essays on Prison Free Essays on Prison AN ALTERNATIVE FOR PRISON America's prisons have been called "graduate schools for crime." It stands to reason: Take a group of people, strip them of possessions and privacy, expose them to constant threats of violence, overcrowd their cell- block, deprive them of meaningful work, and the result is an embittered underclass more intent on getting even with society than contributing to it. Prisons take the nonviolent offender and make him live by violence. They take the nonviolent offender and make him a hardened killer. America has to wake up and realize that the current structure of our penal system is failing terribly. The government has to devise new ways to punish the guilty, and still manage to keep American citizens satisfied that our prison system is still effective. Americans pay a great deal for prisons to fail so badly. Like all big government solutions, they are expensive. In the course of my studies dealing with the criminal justice system, I have learned that the government spends approximately eighty-thousand dollars to build one cell, and $28,000 per year to keep a prisoner locked up. That's about the same as the cost of sending a student to Harvard. Because of overcrowding, it is estimated that more than ten-billion dollars in construction is needed to create sufficient space for just the current prison population. The plain truth is that the very nature of prison, no matter how humane society attempts to make it, produces an environment that is inevitably devastating to its residents. Even if their release is delayed by longer sentences, those residents inevitably return to damage the community, and we are paying top dollar to make this possible. Why should tax payers be forced to pay amounts to keep nonviolent criminals sitting in prison cells where they become bitter and more likely to repeat their offenses when they are released? Instead, why not put them to work outs...

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Questions Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Questions - Research Paper Example These good social habits will not only benefit the student but the society as a whole. Moral education will therefore help students know how to interact with the society. In order to curb the growing incidents of depreciation of moral values among students, a moral educational curriculum should be rolled out. Although, moral education is taught under different subjects, it is high time to develop a moral education curriculum that will deal with moral decay among students. A moral education curriculum will among other things, give the teacher a clear way of manipulating their student’s moral values. The moral education will aid in the holistic development of students physical, mental and social aspects. Finally, a moral education curriculum should be rolled out as it is an integral part of the learning process. It will help students become better people in the society. One of the major barriers to curricula is developing teacher assessment tools. There has also been an issue of nurturing leadership at the student level. The universal design for learning is a great tool to assist in student expression, representation and engagement. These form the primary pillars of the universal design for learning. The pillar of representation accepts the fact that different students have different ways of comprehending information. Therefore, information should be presented in different ways to increase learning opportunities. The pillar of expression accepts the fact that students have different ways of expressing themselves. It is therefore important to broaden impact of teaching by accepting this natural diversity. The third pillar accepts the fact that students will give maximum attention to the task at hand. It is therefore important ensure that individual interests of students are incorporated into teaching to broaden the impact of teaching. The three pill ars enhance student engagement, representation and

Friday, October 18, 2019

Animal Assisted Therapy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Animal Assisted Therapy - Research Paper Example In short, wherever people have special needs, someone with creativity and an animal with the proper temperament can probably create an imaginative way to being pets and people together for mutual benefit (Welcome to the World of Animal-Assisted Therapy and Animal-Assisted Activities) Animal Assisted Therapy is gaining popularity at present because of the utility of pet animals in improving health conditions of patients. â€Å"Animal assisted therapy can be defined as the utilization of animals as a therapeutic modality to facilitate healing and rehabilitation of patients with acute or chronic ailments†(McGuirk, p.6). It is a type of therapy which involves the assistance of an animal in improving the physical, psychological and social wellbeing of a patient. Pet owners have known the health benefit of animals well before the animal therapy was introduced by the medical science. It is not necessary that animal therapy alone may successful in curing chronic diseases; however in c ombination with other therapies like physical and cognitive therapies, animal therapy found to be extremely useful in reducing mental stress, Cholesterol, high blood pressure etc. Animal assisted therapy is suitable for animal lovers. Children often establish deep relationships with pet animals. Apart from improving the physical and mental health, the presence of beloved animal can help children in improving their learning skills, memory, vocabulary, motivation etc. Though it seems possible that the novelty of the experiences themselves cause such improvements in children, therapy animals do provide them with the sort of emotional support humans novelty cannot, leading to improved physical and mental states.   The physical interaction with animals or the presence of animals can help children and animal lovers reduce their mental stress. Increased mental stress is the most prominent reason for many of the physical, psychological and social problems faced by children. In many of the cases, children may become problematic when they were unable to get the necessary love and care from the parents and beloved ones. Most of the current parents are professionals and they give more importance to their profession rather than their children. The absence of parents forced children to spend majority of their childhood time with pet animals like dogs, cats, birds etc. Thus many of the children establish deep relationships with pet animals. In some cases, such relationships are even stronger than their relationships with their parents. The presence of loved ones is always providing comfort to a person when he is in critical conditions. Children who loved their pet animals more than anything else may become relaxed in the company of such animals. Human love and animal love are entirely different. Human love in many cases is conditional whereas animal love is unconditional. Animals do not expect anything in return to the love they extend towards their owners. On the other ha nd human always expect something in return for the love they provide to another person. In other words, animals can establish much deeper relationships or love affairs with its owner. In recent years, it has been proven that by owning a pet, or just by being around dogs or other animals, one may enjoy several health benefits. These include: Lower blood pressure, Reduce cholesterol levels, Increase life expectancy, Ease loneliness, Improve communication, Foster trust, Reduce the need for medications by providing a diversion from pain, Improve cognitive functioning, Improve physical conditioning, Decrease stress and anxiety for patients and their families, Provide unconditional acceptance, especially for improving body image, Motivate patient to quicker recovery, Greater risk taking, May be able to alert to an

Homework 3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Homework 3 - Assignment Example Hatfill and spoilt his good name as a doctor and biomedical researcher, and thereby constituted, discretely, defamation, defamation per se, and defamation by fake light." To add, the complaint suspected that Kristofs "intentional public criticism of Dr. Hatfill as the likely anthrax assassin regardless of whether Dr. Hatfill was culpable or not guilty" constituted purposeful infliction of emotional suffering. The court’s ruling does not seem to favor one value over the other because all claims were dealt with as per the law. The case is largely dependent on the use of particular terms since it has so many terms being defined to enable the reader to understand a particular term being used. The definitions used are impeccable in that they clearly simplifies this terms which makes it easier to understand. 2) What assumption allows for existing entities to be held responsible for the actions of deceased individuals? Especially in a case such as this, in which the plaintiff was present as a matter of random chance – a situation out of control of those now held responsible-what reasoning allows for assignment of culpability? Existing entities can be held responsible for the actions of the deceased because when Charles Scarlett told Lourecy that his wife was having a seizure, Lourecy took off her phone to ask for help this might have led to Charles Scarlett shooting his wife and later shooting himself while looking directly at Lourecy. Mrs. Palsgraf should not be awarded the damages because the relationship of the guards doings to Palsgrafs harm was not direct to make him accountable. I am convinced with the court’s ruling because it was difficult for the guard to have known that the wrap up was unsafe and that pushing the traveler would thereby cause a

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Marketing Ethics and Regulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing Ethics and Regulation - Essay Example The code of ethics is one which would really help marketers make the correct choices in many aspects of running a business from determining the price, the promotional materials one makes available to public, accuracy in the representation of the product, support claims made about the product, to the kind of message those advertisements would effect to, and a lot more (Marketing Code of Ethics, n.d.). Aside from these internal factors needed to be considered, a marketer would also have to think about giving the best and what is best to not only their customers but at the same time their employees which is more known as Corporate Social Responsibility. With all these responsibilities that one would be facing as a marketer, the code of ethics would be of utmost help. What is the basic idea of being able to align your business to what is ethical? Well, it is said that the simplest basis of doing so would be making sure you act according to the law. The code of ethics is this law plus all the other specifications that a marketer could possibly encounter that the law would no longer be able to provide for. It reminds any marketer to be responsible for anything they do especially in those situations where there is a grey area wherein it is so easy to succumb to a deceptive marketing. One example of which would be perhaps undergoing cost cutting by choosing a more harmful packaging which is cheaper but could harm your consumers while you justify the act that it is for the common good as you would not have to fire any employee and at the same time cutting cost for your consumers. Indeed, the code of ethics really come into play in pushing a marketer to make the right decision not just according to one point of view but in looking at all the angles of a certain decision (Marketing Tutorials, News, How-to and More, n.d). With

Management Buy Outs in the hospitality (hotel) industry Essay

Management Buy Outs in the hospitality (hotel) industry - Essay Example Most managers need additional financial support from leveraged buyout (LBO) (Ledger, 2015). There are current developments in the hospitality industry involving management buyouts (Wei & Hudson, 2008). This paper examines management buyouts in the hospitality industry, with particular emphasis on hotels, its financial benefits, and possible risks involved. In leveraged buyouts (LBO), large portion of purchasing funds is a debt financed. Buyout associations privately own the remaining equity. MBO get financial assistance from private equity investors who receive shares in the new company as buyout associates. Managers always have internal information about the enterprise than outside shareholders. That is the advantage they over external bidders. Owing to the prior information related to the business they possess, managers tend to purchase the company with excellent prospects for future development. For example, the buying of Menzies Hotel by its management in 2011 led to the restructuring of the Hotel under a new company called Cordial Hotels. Another significant example is the successful closure of Gulf Capital, one of the most active and investments in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi (Gulf Capital, 2015). Management buyouts have diverse financial advantages. There are three groups of parties affected by management buyouts from a financial viewpoint. Stockholder the hotel business entity, the managers and employees, all experience the financial implications of management buyouts. Buyouts may imply the sponsor (s) privately acquires the hotel enterprise or company. Shareholders, therefore, cease to own the company or hotel business. Contrary to the case of a merger, shareholders may not have control over the company’s finances. In fact, they may lose their equity in the company (Wilson & Wright, 2013). Should the sponsors fail to acquire the company,

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Marketing Ethics and Regulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing Ethics and Regulation - Essay Example The code of ethics is one which would really help marketers make the correct choices in many aspects of running a business from determining the price, the promotional materials one makes available to public, accuracy in the representation of the product, support claims made about the product, to the kind of message those advertisements would effect to, and a lot more (Marketing Code of Ethics, n.d.). Aside from these internal factors needed to be considered, a marketer would also have to think about giving the best and what is best to not only their customers but at the same time their employees which is more known as Corporate Social Responsibility. With all these responsibilities that one would be facing as a marketer, the code of ethics would be of utmost help. What is the basic idea of being able to align your business to what is ethical? Well, it is said that the simplest basis of doing so would be making sure you act according to the law. The code of ethics is this law plus all the other specifications that a marketer could possibly encounter that the law would no longer be able to provide for. It reminds any marketer to be responsible for anything they do especially in those situations where there is a grey area wherein it is so easy to succumb to a deceptive marketing. One example of which would be perhaps undergoing cost cutting by choosing a more harmful packaging which is cheaper but could harm your consumers while you justify the act that it is for the common good as you would not have to fire any employee and at the same time cutting cost for your consumers. Indeed, the code of ethics really come into play in pushing a marketer to make the right decision not just according to one point of view but in looking at all the angles of a certain decision (Marketing Tutorials, News, How-to and More, n.d). With

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Operation Management asignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Operation Management asignment - Essay Example In formulating and implementing the organisation’s strategy, the operations management takes the organisation through the main strategic levels (Slack 2003, p23). The managers of these departments ensure the strategies are formulated through three different levels. These are the corporate level, the business unit level, and the departmental level. In the corporate level, the operations management plays a role in selecting the businesses that the organisation has to compete. Additionally, in this level, the operations managers often develop and coordinate the growth of business by ensuring the organisation has achieved its overall goals (Robinson 2012, p 56). In the Business Unit Level, the operations management department works independently in coordination of operating units that sustains the competitive advantage of the organisation’s goods and services. It is in this level that the operation managers implement the changes in demand and technologies. They bring on board the strategies that accommodate them (Mahadevan 2010, p 45). The operations management plays a vital role in the departmental level. In this level, the operations managers deal with strategic issues that relate to value chain and business activities. Additionally, in this level, the members of the operations department coordinate the resources that are important for the operations of the business. In any business, managers are aware strategies are important in maintaining the competitiveness and survival of a business. Such situations demand the top leadership of any business to strengthen their operations management section. Consider the Citizens Advice Bureau in England; it is a successful advice corporation, which pursues profits through a range of operations. The company has ten core business segments. For the growth of the business, the corporation must manage its portfolio of businesses. The operations manager

Athletics In MacGregors Sporting Landscape Essay Example for Free

Athletics In MacGregors Sporting Landscape Essay However, using tactics which corroborate teamwork and competitive factors which in theory will motivate students to strive and increase their participation levels. 1. 0 Introduction This report will provide a detailed analysis of the participation of athletics in Macgregor’s microcosm as the societal norm believe that the status quo is â€Å"uncool†, it is known that the position of Australia’s porting landscape is very weak as there is a lack of participation within Australia as a whole This can be answered by a simple formula created to find the reason why some sports have a lack in participation in mainstream society today, Figueroa’s framework, this formula is divided into Levels listed in the following Cultural, Structural, Institutional, interpersonal and individual levels, nonetheless, it Is concluded that it is up to the individual of whether they decide to participate in Athletics or not. 2. 0 Figueroa’s Framework The social factors that influence an individual’s decision to participate in Athletics may indirectly or directly impact them by shaping their values, attitudes and beliefs. Knowing this the individual may find themselves being subjective to the people and also the certain factors they face in society ranging from cultural differences to peers to themselves. Sociologist, Peter Figueroa, develop a framework that analyses the equity of social resources that can also be implemented into the participation of athletics. . 1 Individual Level It can be argued that when it comes to equity and access issues, the individual level is the most important. This is because, while all levels of Figueroa’s Framework can identify how equity and sporting opportunities are presented to an individual, in the end it is the individual’s choice that will determine his or her access and level of participation in physical education. Kiss, 2012) This level is specific to Macgregor’s sporting landscape as it highlights the lack of participation in students; nonetheless, these decisions about sport and physical activity are ultimately made by the individuals Genes, values, attitudes and personalities which are specific to each individual. 3. 0 Action plan In Macgregor’s deteriorating athletics program, the lack of participation in the carnivals can link to many reasons why they don’t compete in such events. Study shows that the majority of students would prefer to sit and chat with their friends instead of competing in athletics, however, to allow students to participate, an action plan was developed to; in theory create a more fun and enjoyable carnival thus increasing participation levels, using successful methods utilized in Australian sports such as Cricket, NRL, AFL, etc. The ideologies used within these sports can be integrated within the society of Macgregor’s microcosm shaping the status quo of Macgregor’s Athletics program in a more positive, enjoyable way. . 1 Justification of Action plan Throughout sporting history there are various techniques to strive for in order to have a successful carnival, the majority of successful sports share many similar techniques to better improve the participation of athletes in Australia such as making it more interactive for the audience thus improving their participation rates; for example, in tennis they implement a board that measures the speed of the serve for each game as well as the Olympics which show the world record for each event. nowing this; a supposed board that lists all the records of each event is shown publically pre-athletics carnival and during for students to observe and in theory become more motivated and strive to train and compete in the events believing they are able to break that record thus improving participation rates. Secondly, the appearance of famous sporting athletes have known to improve the participation of sports for example, NBA players frequently appear in many occasions of street basketball games as it obviously creates publicity, however, also improves the participation due to the fact that this allows the ‘average basketball fanatic’ who normally would watch their idol from the comfort of their own television, but in fact they are able to play side by side with their idol increasing their moral and motivation to play. This can also be implemented in the athletics carnival by having the famous athlete participate and motivate the students to join in and also create a slight sense of competition. Finally, it is a fact that Australians love to play team based sports as listed, AFL, Cricket, Football, NRL, Soccer, Basketball, Rugby League are in the top 10 Australian sports; this is 7 of the 10 sports that are shown. With this in mind, Students would be required to form groups of 3 and compete in the athletics carnival, with a twist; each event would hold a certain amount of points varying on the position the student places, 10points for 1st, 7points for 2nd, 5point for 3rd and participation will be worth 2 points. The team that scores the highest points will be rewarded with a prize, such as vouchers, etc. 4. 2 Links to survey results The action plan created was based on a census of the whole school to observe whether they would participate in athletics and their reasons to not. To justify the particular choices created in the action plan by showing the statistics which have guided the development as the spikes in the statistics assist in improving the participation by surveying the trend. The reason a record chart was implemented as it adds a competitive flair and students receive social rewards within the athletics carnival as 19% of students feel that there is no reward for students if they win the events, this will help students strive for the record instead of just trying to win. A massive 27% of students feel that they are not good enough for the athletics carnival and believe there is no point to participate and simply just socialize with their peers, with the appearance of a famous athlete; students would be motivated to part take in the events as the special guest can provide moral support and advice to improve their technique, etc. during the carnival as they can join in with the students. By creating team based events the 80% of students that prefer team sports are able to participate and at the same time fill the social void according to the 25% as they strive to motivate fellow teammates and allow each other perform better overall, also considering the 66% that would participate in the carnival if their peers were to join in. (Buckley, et al, 2013) 4. Links to research material including the individual level of the framework The research gathered of Figueroa’s framework on the individual level, it is realised that students values and beliefs are to strive for competition and rewards, as these factors have been fulfilled it will allow students to participate in a more enjoyable way, due to the fact that an individual’s values and beliefs reflect directly upon their parents, siblings and peers, however, it is proven that the individual learns to behave through the experience they have accumulated from mainly their peers, also the fact that students view the sports society in a ‘boring’ manner, they often assume they cannot socialise with their peers which majorly affect their participation rates. 5. 0 Conclusion

Monday, October 14, 2019

The Concept Of Electromechanical Delay Physical Education Essay

The Concept Of Electromechanical Delay Physical Education Essay Electromechanical delay (EMD) is defined as the time lag between the onset of electrical activity (electromyogram, EMG) and tension development in human muscle (Zhou et al. 1995). It has been suggested that there are several components which are all linked to the generation of force in skeletal muscle. These include the conduction of the action potential along the T-tubule system, the release of sarcoplasmic reticulum, cross-bridge formation between actin and myosin filaments, the subsequent tension development in the contractile component and the stretching of the series elastic component by the contractile component (Cavanagh Komi, 1979). Cavanagh and Komi (1979) suggest that one of the primary causes for the value of EMD is affected by the time necessary to stretch the series elastic component of the muscle to a point when muscle force can be detected. Chan et al (2001) therefore thought the initial length could affect the phase lag and the EMD would be expected to be shorter in a stretched position. Their results showed that the EMD of the Vastus lateralis was shortest at 90 ° of knee extension, compared to 150 ° and 175 °. A study conducted by Norman and Komi (1979) was to test the hypothesis that the rate and change of length of the series elastic component of a muscle was a major contributor to variations in EMD time. They used 10 subjects with an average age of 24.6. They performed a series of horizontal forearm flexion-extensions and extension-flexions at 7 different angular velocities, over two ranges of motion. Two ranges of motion was to determine whether there were muscle length effects on electromech anical delay. Their findings supported the hypothesis that the rate of the muscles series elastic component might be a primary cause for the value of EMD. It was supported primarily for the biceps brachii muscle, where the EMD was shorter in fast eccentric contraction that in any other condition of that muscle. An alternative explanation of a shortened EMD in biceps brachii during eccentric contraction is that in fast stretching, the slow type muscle may be capable of efficient storage of elastic energy and its utilization during the subsequent contraction phase of the stretch shortening cycle (Norman and Komi, 1979). EMD has been found to be influenced by the type of muscle contraction (Cavanagh Komi 1979; Norman Komi 1979) where the biceps EMD were relatively longer in concentric contractions but shorter in eccentric exercise. Norman and Komi (1979) observed different EMD times for the triceps muscles and bicep muscles. The differences in EMD times could be explained by the differences in their fibre structures, with the shorter EMD found in muscles that recruit more fast twitch fibres than those which recruit more slow twitch motor units. It has been discussed that reaction time and electromechanical delay can be enhanced with training (Linford et al. 2006). Linford et al. (2006) conducted a study to determine if neuromuscular training had an effect on reaction time and electromechanical delay of the peroneus longus muscle. A six week training programme was conducted on five males and eight females. The study concluded that the training significantly reduced reaction time, while slightly increasing the electromechanical delay of the muscle. Having a decreased reaction time and electromechanical delay is important for athletes for when the muscles need to activate force as rapidly as possible. Having optimal joint stability is vital during mechanical loading of a joint system, so there is not too much stress being placed on one part of the joint system, decreasing the risk of injury. The results drawn from this study are from the peroneus longus muscle so cannot be directly related to the knee joint. Fatigue It has been suggested that EMD measurement is crucial to have a accurate understanding of the type of central nervous system commands required for the execution of different movements, the role and coordination of muscles in a movement and the apparent anomalies between electromyographical activity (EMG) and body segment motion (Vos et al,1991; Norman Komi, 1979). There have been reports that EMD lengthens after a fatiguing dynamic exercise (Horita, T., Ishiko T. 1987) where as other studies have shown no significant change in EMD after repeated dynamic or isometric contractions (Vos et al. 1991). Zhou, S. (1996) conducted a study to investigate the effects of repeated maximal isometric contractions on electromechanical delay of the quadriceps femoris muscle. Eleven subjects took part, and carried out a one leg fatiguing exercise which was 25 isometric knee extension. Each lasted 8 seconds followed by a 2 second recovery period. His results showed a significant elongation in EMD. This is in contrast to Vos et al. (1991) who did not find any significant effect on EMD after a fatigue trial was carried out on the same muscle group. The different findings could be down to the different exercise protocols or methods used to determine EMD. However in the study by Vos (1991), participants carried out the fatigue trial with a force of 50% MVC, which may be the reason for no significant effect on EMD. Whereas Zhous (1996) participants carried out maximal voluntary contraction. This could mean that the participants in the study by Vos (1991) may not be fully fatigued. Minshull et al (2007) conducted a study which determined what effects an acute bout of maximal intensity static fatiguing exercise would have on voluntary and magnetically-evoked EMD in the knee flexors of males and females. Seven men and nine women participated in this study, taking part in two treatment conditions. One being an intervention condition, where the participants performed a fatigue trial of 30 second maximal static fatiguing exercise of the knee flexors. The second condition was a control, consisting of no exercise. The results showed that in both intervention and control group, males EMD performance was maintained. However the fatiguing trial elicited a 19.5% impairment in EMD performance compared to baseline levels in females. This comes as another finding of fatigue on EMD as Zhou (1996) find a overall elongated EMD, not just specifically in females. This could be down to the different fatiguing protocols, the study by Minshull (2007) may have fatigued the participants more with a longer constant fatiguing exercise. These results may differ because of participant variation. Chan et al (2001) examined the effects of knee joint angles and fatigue on neuromuscular performance. Fatiguing exercise caused a significant lengthening of the EMD of the vastus lateralis and medialis at 90 ° and 150 ° of knee extension. Interestingly the fatiguing protocol did not induce any significant lengthening of the EMD at 175 ° knee extension. This shows that knee joint position affects the neuromuscular fatigue of the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis. b) Temperature Cryotherapy has long been used to treat musculoskeletal soreness, with the expectation that decreased tissue temperature will result in constriction of local blood vessels thus diminishing inflammatory response and oedema associated with musculoskeletal trauma (Sellwood et al. 2009). But what effect will crotherapy and heating muscles have on neuromuscular performance. Many studies have been conducted to examine the effects of manipulating a muscles temperature on fatigue, neuromuscular performance, delayed onset of muscle soreness and metabolic responses (Zhou et al. 1998; Nosaka et al. 2004; Bailey et al. 2007; Dae et al. 1997.) Zhou et al (1998) said that a significant increase in body temperature usually accompanies strenuous exercise. With this exercise, the muscle contractile and elastic properties would be influence due to such a change, which could have an effect on EMD values. Zhou et al (1998) conducted a study which measured Peak force, EMD values and muscle temperature before and after an intermittent isometric maximal voluntary contraction exercise, and investigated the influence of passively changed muscle temperature on EMD and peak force. The muscle temperature was manipulated by placing a plastic bag filled with hot water or cold water over the front thigh area with a intramuscular needle thermistor measuring muscle temperature.. T he EMD was measured at 38, 36, 34, 32 and 30 °C. They found that when the muscle temperature was 2.5 °C higher than the resting level, the EMD increased by approximately 5ms. They also found that EMD was increased when muscle temperatures was either higher or lower than 36 °C. There was a trend found that showed the peak force decreased at a low temperature, however a repeated measures ANOVA did not reveal a significant difference of temperature on peak force. This supports a study conducted by Thornley, Maxwell Cheung (2003) who examined the effects of local tissue temperatures on peak torque and muscular endurance during isometric knee extension. They found temperature has no effect on peak torque, although there was a tendency to decrease when cooled, but was found non significant. However this study did not use a intramuscular needle thermistor, they only measured the skins temperature. Their results may have differed if they used a needle thermometer, as they used heat packs of 55 °C, 34 °C, 22 °C and -17 °C, it would be interesting to see what the muscle temperatures were, to add to the knowledge to show to what extent muscle temperature has on peak force. Nosaka et al (2004) found no change in peak eccentric force of the forearm flexors, within a microwave treatment (muscle temperature increase of 3 °C (37.5 °C)) and a icing treatment (muscle temperature decrease of 7 °C (26.4 °C)). This cannot be related to the knee flexor muscles. Skurvydas et al (2006) conducted a study which assessed the effect of leg immersion in cold water after stretch shortening exercise (SSE) on the indirect indicators of exercise induced muscle damage. The participants muscle contractile properties were recorded before the SSE, then at 4 h, 8h, 24h and 48hours post exercise. There was a control group and a cold group. In the cold group the leg was immersed in cold water (15  ± 1 °C) immediately after SSE and at 4h, 8h and 24h. The leg was immersed twice for each test for 15 minutes with an interval of 10 minutes. They found that cold water immersion reduced muscle stiffness and the amount of post exercise damage after strenuous eccentric exercise, but it had no effect on muscle force. Their results also showed that the leg muscles that had been subject to cold water immersion after SSE, significantly increased the recovery speed of maximal voluntary contraction force (MVCF). MVCF had recovered within 24 hours post SSE. However Esto n and Peters (1999) observed no quick recovery of the maximal voluntary contraction force after cold water immersion. It took 48h to 72 hours post cold water immersion for their subjects MVCF to return to baseline values. This could be because in the study by Skurvydas et al (2006) cooling of the musculature was concentrated up to 24 hours, where as Eston and Peters (1999) applied cooling treatment immediately post exercise and every twelve hours there after, for a duration of three days. Another reason for the differences could be that muscle damage was applied to the leg muscles in the study by Skurvydas et al (2006) and to the elbow flexor muscles in Eston and Peters (1999) study. In contrast, Skurvydas et al (2008) looked at leg immersion in warm water before SSE on the indirect markers of exercise induced muscle damage. The participants muscle contractile properties were recorded, then was sat in a 44 °C water bath for 45 minutes in waist high water. The contractile properties were then recorded again and SSE took place. Contractile properties of the participant were taken at 1h, 4h, 8h, 24h, 48h and 72 hours post SSE. They found that muscle pre warming did not cause any changes in MVCF, and it took over 72 hours for MVCF to recover to pre exercise level. The differences in the findings of these two studies may be purely be down to one study uses hot water, and one uses cold. But in the study using cold water, the participant is immersed in the water immediately after SSE and at 4h, 8h and 24 hours after SSE. But in the heat study the participants were only immersed in the water before the SSE. If the same protocol for immersion was used in the warm water study, a difference may be seen in the recovery of MVCF. A study should be conducted using the same immersion type in cold and warm water conditions, therefore showing more accurate comparisons of what effects different temperatures have on MVCF. Bailey et al (2007) examined the influence of cold water immersion after prolonged intermittent whole body exercise. Twenty men were subjects in this study who were randomly assigned to a cryotherapy or control group. Each participants maximal voluntary isometric contraction of the knee extensors and flexors were recorded using an isokinetic dynamometer pre, immediately after, 1 h, 24 h, 48 h and 168 hours post exercise. Subjects completed an intermittent shuttle test and immediately after the cryotherapy group immersed their lower limbs in a cold water bath (10 °C) for 10 minutes. After the cold bath or rest, subjects completed two maximal isometric repetitions of the dominant limb for 5 seconds for extension and flexion. The results showed that exercise resulted in a reduction of knee flexion peak torque at 24 and 48hours in the cryotherapy group. The control group experienced an even bigger detrimental effect in PF at 24 and 48 hours post exercise. This shows that cold water imm ersion improved recovery of maximal voluntary contraction of the knee flexors 24 48 hours post exercise. This supports the findings from Skurvydas et al (2006) suggesting that cooling the leg muscles increases recovery time of MVCF. However it takes seven days for the MVCF to return to pre exercise values. This is vastly different result compared to Skurvydas et al (2006) and Eston and Peters (1999). This may be because the exercise Bailey et al (2007) uses, is a more dynamic whole body exercise (intermittent shuttle run) as appose to a stretch shortening exercise and a bout of eccentric exercise on the elbow flexors (Skurvydas et al 2006; Eston and Peters 1999). As well as artificially changing participants body temperature or muscle temperature with water immersion or ice / heat packs, studies have examined the effects of passively changing bodies temperature and the effect it has on neuromuscular performance. Morrison, S., Sleivert, G. G., and Cheung, S. (2004) determined if passive hyperthermia impairs maximal voluntary isometric contraction and voluntary activation. Participants quadriceps femoris muscle group was measured for neuromuscular performance, then a submaximal running pace, which was maintained for 20 30 minutes took place in an environmental chamber with an ambient air temperature of ~35 °C. At intervals of 0.5 °C, from 37.5 to 39.5 °C of core temperature, subjects performed a 10 second maximal isometric knee extension, and then during skin cooling back down from 39.5 to 37.5 °C of core temperature Results showed that MVC was significantly influenced by passive heating and decreased significantly to the end of passiv e heating. When the skin cooling was introduced there was no significant change in MVC until the end of the protocol when body core temperature had returned to normal. This shows the primary thermal input causing hyperthermia induced fatigue, when the skin was rapidly cooled by 8 °C and core temperature held stable at 39.5 °C, there was no recovery of MVC. Ranatunga et al (1987) claims isometric force properties are generally not strongly affected by lowering muscle temperature to ~25 °C. Drinkwater and Behm (2007) looked at the effects of 22 °C muscle temperature on voluntary and evoked muscle properties during and after high intensity exercise. Participants performed a series of isometric maximum voluntary contractions of the plantar flexors pre, 1, 5 and 10 minutes after fatigue in both hypothermic and normothermic conditions. In the hypothermic condition, a refrigerating pump circling cold (-3 °C) liquid through a plastic pump was wrapped around the participants leg. Results from the normothermic condition showed a moderate decline in maximal voluntary contraction, but did not show a significant difference between 1 and 5 minutes. Maximal voluntary contraction experienced a significant decrease 1 minute after fatigue in the hypothermic condition, -12%, compared to a -15% in the normothermic condition. There was no significant difference in the recovery of MVC. This supports the findings from Morrison et al (2004) who found no recovery in MVC in a hyperthermic condition. 3 METHOD a) Participants Eleven males {21.4 ( ±1.8) years; 183.5 ( ±6.8) cm; 81.8 ( ±10.2) kg} gave their informed consent to take part in the study, and completed a health screen questionnaire. They each knew that they could cease participation at any given time without providing a reason. Participants had been told not to take part in any strenuous physical exercise 24 hours prior to the experiment taking place. Nottingham Trent University Ethics Committee gave ethical approval. b) Experimental Design Following one habituation session, participants were secured in a supine position in a custom built dynamometer (Gleeson et al. 1995). The experimental design comprised of three treatment conditions: (1) An ice condition that required participants to sit in an ice bath for 10 minutes; (2) a heating condition which required participants to sit in a hot bath for 10 minutes; (3) a control condition were the participant sat on a bench for 10 minutes. The conditions were presented in a random order and separated by at least three days, to prevent any carry over effects. Participants neuromuscular performance (peak force, electromechanical delay) was measured prior to and immediately after each condition, and after a fatigue trial which was performed within each condition. Participants were verbally encouraged during the periods of maximal muscle activation. c) Participant and dynamometer orientation Electromyographic (EMG) activity was recorded from the vastus lateralis of the participants dominant leg during maximal contractions. A standardised skin preparation technique was used (Minshull et al.2007) which included shaving of the area, light abrasion with sand paper and alcohol wiped. This yielded inter-electrode impedance of less than 5 kÃŽÂ ©. The mid belly of the vastus lateralis was palpated and two Bipolar surface electrodes (silver-silver, self adhesive, 10 mm diameter) were applied having a 3cm inter-electrode distance, with a reference electrode placed laterally and equidistant to the recording electrodes. The positions of the electrodes were marked on the leg by ink dots and also on a plastic sheet used to identify the exact positions for the electrodes in each test during the experimental period. Electrodes were re placed on the chosen leg once it had been fully immersed in the hot or cold conditions to prevent malfunctioning electrodes. The correct wires were the n attached from the computer onto the electrodes. Participants were strapped in a supine position on the dynamometer using shoulder belts and with their dominant knee flexed passively at 25 ° (0.44 rad) which was held for the duration of the testing. This knee flexion angle is associated with the greatest mechanical strain on key ligaments (Beynnon and Johnson 1996). The hip extension angle was 60 ° and both angles were checked using a goniometer. The lever arm of the dynamometer was moved into the correct position and was attached to the participants with padded ankle cuffs and adjustable strapping. All other body parts were securely fastened with the appropriate straps. Prior to testing, participants were asked to perform a series of warm up muscle activations, consisting of 1x 25, 50, 75 and 95% of subjectively judged maximal voluntary muscle activation (MVMA). Three 100% MVMA were then performed and recorded. Each contraction was held for 3 seconds, with a 10 second rest between each. d) Water bathing The cooling condition required the participants dominant leg to be fully immersed in a cold water bath at 5  ± 1 ° for 10 minutes. The heating condition required the participants leg to be fully immersed in 45  ± 1 ° water for 10 minutes. The temperature of each bath was continually measured using a thermometer, and adjusted accordingly with either added ice, or hot water to keep the water temperature consistent. The water in the bath came up to the participants iliac crest, making sure the whole of the vastus lateralis was immersed. In the control trial, the participant sat on a bench in the same position they would if they were in the bath. e) Fatigue Trial Once the participants exit the ice, heat bath or bench they are strapped in to the dynamometer and electrodes re placed. Three more 100% MVMA were carried out and recorded, lasting 3 seconds each with a 10 second rest between. A fatigue trial was performed, which consisted of a 30 second MVMA of the knee musculature. Finally three more 100% MVMA were carried out. f) Maximal volitional muscle activation Before each condition took place, the participant was required to have full musculature relaxation prior to the test. The experimenter gave a verbal indication of are you ready and within 3 seconds, the signal for the participant to extend their knee as forcefully as possible against the immovable restraint was GO. The muscle activation lasted for 3 seconds. Verbal encouragement was given when the participant was completing the activation so maximal contraction was achieved. A verbal signal being relax was the cue for the subject to withdraw from the force as rapidly as possible. g) Peak Force Peak force was defined as the highest value that the participants obtained during each of the three attempts. The mean of these maximal contractions was used as the value for peak force. h) Electromechanical Delay Electromyography activity was recorded from the vastus lateralis during maximal volitional contractions using bipolar surface electrodes. The onset of electrical activity was defined as the first point at which electrical signals consistently exceeded the 95% confidence limits of the isoelectric line and with the background electrical noise (Minshull et al. 2007). Electromechanical delay (EMD) was defined as the time delay between the onset of electrical activity and the onset of muscle force above 1N. The mean EMD of the three trials within each condition was recorded. i) Statistical data The results collected from the voluntary muscle activations showed the neuromuscular performance of the vastus lateralis. All data was presented as a group mean  ± standard deviation. A fully repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyse time (pre intervention, post intervention, post fatigue) each index of performance (peak force, EMD) under three separate conditions (ice, heat, control). Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) v.15.0. was used to analyse the data. Statistical significance was accepted at pà ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤0.05. 4 RESULTS a) Peak Force

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Asthma Essay -- essays research papers fc

Asthma / Grant 1 Asthma in a Fitness/School Setting For some, the agony of asthma may be an affliction only during childhood; for others, the illness persists throughout adulthood. The least fortunate are those who fall mortal victims. Asthma can kill. Medical science can offer only temporary relief at best. The deviousness of the disease defies almost all attempts at discovering a cure. Asthma can be mild; it can be devastating. Sometimes the symptoms disappear for many years but surface again with even greater severity. In an asthmatic attack the diameter of the small bronchi is diminished as a result of spasm of the muscular coat, active congestion of the mucous membrane and excessive secretion of tough mucus. In inspiration the small bronchi are pulled open and the obstruction is thereby reduced. On the other hand, forced expiration tends to compress bronchi and increase the obstruction. Consequently inspiration is much easier than expiration; the difficult breathing of asthma differs in fact from all other forms of difficult breathing, in being mainly expiratory in character (Mezei, 1988). Not to be confused with asthma is a similar, but less intense, tightening of the bronchial muscles that occurs in people who are exposed to large amounts of noxious fumes, tobacco smoke, and other pollutants. The body attempts to protect itself against invasion by dangerous substances flowing into the lungs. The asthma victim, however, usually hypersensitive, overreacts with severe symptoms (Renard, 1996). Asthma deaths in the country are steadily rising at an ever-increasing rate. Statistics indicated that about 4,000 Americans died from the disease in 1985, more than double the number only a decade ago. Society became more involved into the process of Grant 2 determining why asthma death were increasing. A task force of immunology, chemistry, pulmonary medicine, and epidemiology researchers were charged with finding an answer, but their preliminary report only raised more questions. The rise in asthma deaths during the past decade has puzzled scientists and physicians. But while the severity of the disease appears to be increasing, many asthmatics are unwilling to lead the sedentary lives that some say their condition requires ("Asthmatics", 19XX). As seen in many studies and research done in the past exercise can be both beneficial and deleterio... ...with less respiratory distress can result from involvement in competitive athletics. The coach, teacher, and parents should share a common philosophy with the child, regarding competition. They should make the child aware that winning for an asthmatic does not necessarily mean coming in first place or having more points than the opposition. For an asthmatic, winning is wheeze-free participation (Dennis, 1985). Grant 8 Works Cited Asthma & Food: Know the facts. (1998, May). Executive Health's Good Health, 34, 8, 2. Asthma deaths rising, but asthmatics don't have to give up exercise. (19XX). Aerobics for Asthmatics, Inc. Dennis, Warren. (1985). What Every Physical Educator should know about Asthma. American Lung Association. Excess pounds may lead to asthma. (1998, Jun). Tufts University Health & Nutritional Letter, 16, 2. Exercise and Asthma. (1996). A.C.E. Fitness Matters, 2 Mezei, Gyorgyi. (1998). Physiotherapy of Asthma. Acta Microbiological et Immunological Hungarica, 45, 157-166. Research shows exercise program benefits children with asthma. (1998, June 11). The New York Amsterdam News, 14. William, Renard Jr. (1996). Asthma. Nutrition Health Review, 78, 10.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Cinchona and its Product--Quinine Essay -- Botany

Cinchona and its Product--Quinine The bark of cinchona produces several alkaloids. The most important alkaloid, quinine, has certain febrifuge properties. Quinine was used in the battle against malaria since the 1630's. Of 38 species of cinchona, four species have economic value for the production of quinine: C. calisaya, C. legeriana, C. officianalis and C. succirubra. Cinchona, of the family Rubiaceae, is native to the South American Andes. It thrives best on steep mountain slopes in rich volcanic soils and an annual rainfall of 1,500 cm.(9) The cinchonas flower in 3-4 years. The flowers form small fragrant yellow, white or pink clusters at the end of branches, and are similar to lilacs. The fruits are 1-3 cm oblong capsules with numerous small, flat, winged seeds. The bark of wild species may yield a quinine content of as high as 7%, whereas cultivated crops yield contents up to 15%.(l) HISTORY Malaria has been credited to bringing down whole civilizations. Alexander the Great, in 323 B.C., was afflicted with the fevers which rendered him lifeless and crushed his dream of uniting the regions of his world. The fevers, heavy set in Rome, instilled such fear in the Catholic Church that the Vatican fled to Avignon, France for 68 years. Commoners with malaria were left too listless to work. Field hands and farmers neglected the crops. The fevers may well have been a hindrance to the progress of agriculture. Consequently the search for a cure was intense. Countless theories on causes were put forth. Cures ranged from logical to the ridiculous. Physicians mixed herbs for medicine. Some bled patients to achieve a balance of blood and bile. One physician, determining the blood was bad, tied off the arteries of the pat... ...nt Science-An Introduction to World Crops, Ad Ed. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Co., pp 650-652. 5. Lambert, A.B. An Illustration of Cinchona. Louisville: Lost Cause Press, 1980. 6. Markham, C.R. 1862. Travels in Peru and India. London: John Murray, Albemarle Street. 7. Missouri Botanical Garden. 1930. Proceedings of the Celebration of the Use of Cinchona. St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden. 3. Nichols, H.A. Textbook of Tropical Agriculture. 1911. London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., pp. 221-229. 9. Payne, W.J., Dr. 1980. Tree and Field Crops of the Wetter Regions of the Tropics. London: Longman, pp. 78-79. 10. VonOettingen, W.F., M.D., Ph.D. 1933. The Therapeutic Agents of the Quinoline Group. New York: The Chemical Catalogue Co., Inc. 11. World Health Organization. 1979. World Health Statistics Annual. Geneveve: